Thanksgiving 2008

Even though Thanksgiving was way too short, I enjoyed it lots. Every two years, we have a reunion in Payson for the Moody side of my family. Usually, not all of my family can make it since they are so spread out everywhere. I love reunions. I love to visit with my family and hear old stories.

Auralee had lots of fun running around with her cousins and playing outside. The weather was great for it. Taryn, on the other hand was sick and threw up. Poor baby.

They had outdoor games that some enjoyed and some years they even have a pinata.


My sister Brianne came down from Idaho. It was great to see her! My Kent (my mom's brother) and his wife Christine and most of their kids came too. I hadn't seen them in a couple of years, so that was great as well.


Its also fun to see my grandma's brothers and sisters. Not all of them came this year, but my aunt Lily, my uncle Frank, my aunt Ruby and my uncle Tommy were there. My grandma died in a car accident 11 years ago. I miss her a lot, so its nice to be around people who knew and loved her like me.


Every year they file all the families outside for a family picture. Its fun to look at the albums and see how much everyone has changed over the years. My dad wasn't able to make it this year, as well as Marc and Brant and their families. :( I love my family soooooo much!


The food was great and the company was wonderful. There's nothing like family and food to fill you up.

Movie Review

OK, I went to see the new Twilight movie (the day it came out, but at least I'm catching up, right), and I liked it. I had to take it for what it is, but I liked it. The book was really good, so of course, the movie doesn't compare, but if you look at it by itself, its good. I was able to get Luc to go along with me. I felt it needed more of the build up scenes to fill in a lot of the gaps and it was missing a lot of the background to explain the parts they did show. It was all the intense scenes crammed together, but without all the "fluff" they didn't seem as intense. Luc thought it needed more violence :) Men. It had a couple really cheesy parts I could have done without, but all in all, I give it 3 out of 5 stars. My SIL Candace said it gets a lot better the more you watch it. Ill try again :)

Really?!

Ive always been nervous sharing my beliefs with people not of my faith. I cant stand confrontation. I get really nervous and I feel trapped if I cant answer a question or accusation. Lately I have felt that pressure because of the most recent election. No one has confronted me, but I have had the fear of being put on the spot mostly because of prop 102, the marriage amendment here in AZ. California's is prop 8. I supported this amendment, but I think I was a closet supporter. The only reason I had a sign in my front yard was because my husband brought one home and put it there. I'm sad to say this. I have some friends who are homosexual, although I have not had contact with them for a long time. I also have a couple friends who have a son who is gay. He is a good and kind man. I love and respect the latter two, and it was mostly them who I have been afraid to talk to about this issue. I believe in tolerance, but I also believe that tolerance is not acceptance. I believe in the "ability to hate the sin and not the sinner." I believe in my religion and what my God has told me is true and right.

I was recently made aware of an article here, written by an LDS police officer in California. Reading it made me sad. A lot of the opposition of the propositions I read about were carrying signs that were for love, but they sent a message of hate that completely overrode it. I will never condemn anyone for the lifestyle they choose to live, and I would hope the same would be given to me. I choose to live my religion and not be ashamed, but I hope I can stand tall while doing so and not be afraid of the consequences. I know God will help me in my time of need.



Eta: here is a link with Elder Bednar talking about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZE35Tz4lgQ

VOTE!!!!

Nuff Said!

Grandpa Great

Grandpa Great is the best! His name is Lloyd. Ever since I joined the Engstrom family, he has taken an interest in my life and my children. He remembers everything and if something big is happening in your life, he asks you about it. I love him bunches. Right now he is very sick and needs lots of care. Its really hard on him after being so independent for so long. My wonderful mother-in-law has been selflessly taking care of him in her home for the past few weeks as his health has failed. She said that he doesn't really need to be talked to that much, he just really loves physical contact. That's why I love this picture. We were in the other room and my mil said for me to come and look. We peeked around the corner and Auralee was holding her Grandpa Greats hand. It was very sweet. You always have to find the sweet moments in the hard times. We love you Grandpa Great!

*Happy Halloween*

Halloween was fun. The girls got lots of candy even though most of our little neighborhood didn't hand any out. They got lots of compliments on their costumes. Somehow we lost Taryn's little wings and after frantically trying to make some more at the last minute, Luc suggested she use the wings I made for myself a few years ago. I thought they would be wayyyy too big and heavy for her, but I lashed them to her pretty good and they worked great! Everyone loved them. Auralee had to work on her door aproach. Sometimes she would just stand there, but after a little coaxing, she started to say "Tirck or Treat." Next year we'll have to work on her volume and exuberence. She kind of fell flat :( I like a lot of yelling and excitement.



Because we were out, we missed a lot of the trick or treaters and ended up with a lot of leftover candy. We always end up throwing out lots of candy a year later because it never got eaten. Its really my fault. I dont let my kids have a lot of candy. Im such a mean mom!

If all else fails, pretend you're asleep

Sometimes Taryn just doesn't want to eat her dinner. It can be the same exact thing she ate at someone elses house with gusto, but when its served at ours, it just wont do. I tried feeding her, but that didn't work. I even tried the airplane noises, but to no avail. I think she got tired of me trying, because she then just pretended to be sleeping. I gave up and let her down, but she didnt get any desert. Poor thing.

Trunk or Treat

Our Trunk or Treat was a week before Halloween. I wanted to do something simple, and I kind of got my wish. Auralee wanted to be Ariel AGAIN this year. Luckily I didn't have to make another wig, I just used the one from last year and the top fit her still. The skirt from last year was too small for her last year, so I knew I couldn't use it again. I found some really cool fabric that worked great for fish scales and tulle is great for fins. It was just a straight seem, so it was easy. All I had to do was measure Auralee to make sure I cut the fabric out correctly and it would fit her. It turned out GREAT! Taryn got the REALLY EASY costume. I went to the dollar store and spent 3 bucks on a couple tu tus and a green onsie and dug through the dressup stuff for the tinkerbell wings. Owala! The girls had lots of fun. There were lots of fun activities and lots of great friends to play with.

Happy Birthday Luc!

My wonderful husband just (in October) had his 29th birthday. Yes, to all of those who care to keep track, he is 3 years younger than I am :] He likes to rub it in and during the two months between our birthdays, he likes to tell people its 4 years. Im looking forward to next year when he turns 30, because once you hit the big 3 0, you cant really use your age to claim youre a young buck ;) It will be a more even playing field then, right? Besides, he might BE younger, but I LOOK younger!

Hair Cuts!

Ok, so a while ago I stated that I was in need of a hair intervention. My sister, Mechelle, gladly obliged and hooked me up with a nice new do :) She always seems to know just what to do to make it work for me. Now, if I could just take the time to style it like its meant to be, all would be good.

Mechelle also cut my girls hair. Auralee was going to school with really cute hair and coming home looking like a tangled mess. She needed a style with more staying power, so Mechelle to the rescue! Taryn's hair was just thin and stringy. Mechelle gave them both a bob to help them out. Its GREAT on Auralee. She has gotten lots of compliments on it and it is easy to take care of. Her hair falls just the right way and if I part it on her front cowlick, there are no problems. Taryn, on the other hand, has hair like mine. One half curls beautifully under while the other half flips out. It takes a little time to style to make it look like it should. Someone suggested that I get one of those curling iron/round brush combos. It seems like that would work well on Taryn, so I think I'll try it.

I bet you didnt know this...

...when I was about a year old, my parents bought an acre and 3 quarters of land and decided to move onto it even without a house. Here is my mothers account of how it all was;

"I graduated from Ricks College in 1976 at the end of April. Dad couldn't get a job with the Forest Service up there, so we came home. About a month later, the Dam broke and the place we were living above the Porter Bookstore was flooded--I heard they changed and rebuilt that old part of Rexburg. The flood waters came up part way on the football field where President Kimball landed in a helicopter. We lived a few blocks east of that.

"So we came home to Bloomfield. I had saved enough from my 3 jobs to pay for baby Carla. When Carla was born 9 August 1976, we rented and lived in an old trailer across from Grandpa and Grandma Snyder. We had our first Christmas there. After living in a trailer where the windows didn't open we were desperate to get another place. We had checked with FHA housing, and they kept changing our floor plan and coming up with more restrictions. We were looking at 3/4 acre on Mangum Road to buy from Brother Cluff. We finally gave up on the FHA loan and refinanced the car and took a signature loan for just under $10,000 for 1 and 3/4 acres. We still didn't have a place to live even though we now had an alfalfa field and we couldn't pay rent and make our loan payments that came to about $157 a month. Dad made abt $3 dollars an hour at General Supply in Farmington.

"Grandma Costner helped us put up the barn with a permanent foundation, so the electric company could place a drop pole, and we ran a water line beside the barn (our first water bills were about $5 a month.) The septic was a barrel buried in the ground, and we had a burn barrel for trash.

"Mom had an old Campers tent and I was investigating that idea (and Dad was saying, to himself, yeah right, she can go out there by herself), when Cecil and Alma Schofield heard about it. Cecil thought that was so funny, They offered us the use of their little camper trailer.

"Carla's bed was made every day by taking down the table and placing the seat pads across the table. We had a safety rod for the side, and we covered it all with blankets. We kept cans and jars of food and mustard and salad dressing under the seat on the right. The refrigerator held 1 gallon of milk and about 1 dozen eggs.

"It does seem like there were two lights in the camper, one electric, the other kerosene--we might have lit it once. We had an orange battery light."

Below are a compilation of several different trailers so you can kind of get an idea of what it looked like and how little space there was. Enjoy.

Movie Review

Marie Antoinette

This was one of the worst movies I have EVER seen. They put 80s music to a period piece and didn't really tell a story. It could have been done so much better. I know people are trying to make movies that are new and different, but every time a song came on my stomach turned and I really had a hard time taking the movie seriously. I understand that the 80s was a time of excess and laziness and so was Marie's story, but come on! None of the scenes flowed together well, no one even tried to use a foreign accent unless they already had one and Molly Shannon! Seriously! Seeing her in this movie just made me roll my eyes. So out of character. Using foreign actors would have been at least a good start to fixing this disaster. They also didn't tell the entire story. I was expecting a dramatic ending, but NO, nothing, it just ends. The costumes were the one saving grace of the film. They were beautiful.
The End

Ive been tagged

8 T.V. Shows I Love To Watch

1. Heroes
2. Chuck
3.Stargate Atlantis
4. Eureka
5. Pushing Daisies
6. Smallville
7. A lot of the crime dramas (reality based and fiction based)
8. Ghost Whisperer

8 Things that Happened Yesterday

1. Watched Conference
2. Took a shower
3. Played on the computer
4. Stayed in my jammies for most of the day
5. Cooked Honey Mustard Chicken (yummy!)
6. Posted a blog
7. Caught up on c-jane's blog
8. Washed dishes

8 Favorite Places to Eat

1. Golden Canyon Chinese Resturaunt
2. Chili's
3. Olive Garden
4. Sonic
5. Chic-Fil-Et
6.Taco Bell
7. Applebee's
8. Charlie's Grilled Subs

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Spending time with my family
2. Going to Luna
3. Date night
4. Having our house paid off
5. Luc getting a REALLY GREAT JOB!
6. Succeeding in a garden
7. Getting pregnant again --no were not trying yet :(
8. Getting a back yard put in

8 Things on My Wish List

1. A back yard
2. A soft water system
3. A weekly massage
4. To loose my baby fat
5. To have zero debt
6. To finish decorating my house
7. To help my parents make-over their house
8. To be completely organized

8 People I tag (in case you don't know what "tagged" means it indicates that you will post a blog with your own list of all these '8 things':

1. Lara
2. Heidi
3. Nicole
4. Natalie
5. Im not sure
6. who reads my blog
7. and my sister
8. already took the people I know :)

Auralee lost a tooth!

Ok, so I'm a little late getting this done. Nobody's perfect :) Sunday, September 28th, Auralee woke up and started banging on my door.

Mom! I need to show you something

What!

Just come see!

What is it?

My tooth
(she opens her mouth and shows me her missing tooth as I open the door)

Where is it?

I don't know, its gone.



Ok, so we look everywhere and still cant find it, so we figure she must have swallowed it in her sleep. I'm not quite sure how the tooth fairy works in situations like this. I didn't put any money under her pillow, but I'm thinking Ill put a $.50 piece somewhere in her room and when she cleans her room she'll find it and then Ill just chalk it up to how she lost her tooth. Is that too complicated?

She got really sick later before bed, do you think that could have something to do with swallowing a tooth?

Color Career Test

My friend Lara found this color career test and posted it on her blog. It seemed pretty cool, so I went and took it here. I think its somewhat accurate, but you tell me. Others see people differently than they see themselves. Here are my results;

• Best Occupational Category

  You're a CREATOR

  Key Words:

  Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

  These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

  CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
  Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

  CREATOR WORKPLACES
  Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.

  Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

• 2nd Best Occupational Category

  You're a SOCIAL MANAGER

  Key Words:

  Tactful, Cooperative, Generous, Understanding, Insightful, Friendly, and Cheerful

  This very social type enjoys working in groups, sharing responsibilities, and being the center of attention. Fields of interest are instructing, helping, nurturing, care giving and instructing-especially young people. They discuss and consider feelings in order to solve problems, lead, direct, persuade, guide, organize and enlighten others.

Oh What a Mess

Sunday we went to my in laws house for dinner and a combined birthday celebration(I know, my birthday was in Aug, but we hadn't been able to go there for almost a month) for Taryn and I. We had a yummy dinner and a scrumptious dessert complete with candles.



Later, while all the adults were playing games, Taryn and Lily found the tissue boxes and decided to have a little fun. Lily's mom, Sarah, caught them and we all got our cameras and took pictures of the evidence. What a mess, but boy did they have fun!

Speaking of messes...I don't know whats up with my hair. All my life its been a little wavy, but the last few years, its gotten considerably more so. I cant figure out how to control it and make it look good. ARAAAAGHHHH! I need a hair intervention.

Taryn's 2nd Birthday

Friday was my baby's 2nd birthday. We had a nice little party for her and she got gifts that she LOVES! Every one was well thought out--my thanks to all on her behalf. She is getting So Big and her vocabulary has taken off. Shes very smart and perceptive. Sometimes I get a kick out of the things she says and amazed at some of the things she understands.



I had Taryn practice telling people she was two for about a week before her birthday so she could wow everyone :)

We had a nice birthday breakfast for Taryn. We had to get up early so we could do it before Auralee left for school. Banana chocolate chip pancakes are pretty good. YUMMMM!

Here's a little clip of Taryn blowing out her candles. She needs a hair cut, but shes still a cutie!

Its all in how you look at it

I got a visit from my friendly not-so-close-neighborhood Kirby guy. Ive been around Kirbys for a while, and I know how good they are, but I wont be able to afford one for A VERY LONG TIME. I was promised a carpet cleaning and I really needed one, so I let the 19 year old kid who REALLY wanted to win a trip on a cruise, show me all the things I already knew. I like my current vacuum, don't get me wrong, but Kirbys are really good. I also believe a healthy dose of denial is a good thing. When you don't know what your missing, you can be content that what you have is good enough. You can believe that your house is clean when you cant SEE the evidence that its not. I mean REALLY, who is it hurting when you are ignorant of the truth. I really didn't need to see all the dirt my vacuum left behind and I REALLY DIDN'T NEED TO SEE ALL THE CRUD PULLED FROM MY MATTRESS! I was blissfully unaware of my filth. But, Taryn's birthday is tomorrow and now I have a REALLY CLEAN CARPET for my guests.

And hey, IT WAS FREE! Even if I will have nightmares because of it.

PS hopefully my computer will be fixed soon so I can get back to my regular blogging. I'll have lots of pics from Taryn's birthday party to post, so wish me luck!

Computer Problems

My computer has been making funny noises. Since it has crashed 3 times since we bought it 4 or so years ago, we don't want to take any chances. We've even replaced the hard drive recently, but still something is wrong. My wonderful brother-in-law, Tommy, helped me back my important stuff up and we've had it off unless absolutely necessary. It makes it kind of hard to keep up with my blogging, but since I can use my husbands laptop, I can do a little bit. I REALLY hope nothing serious is wrong and whatever is can be fixed quickly and easily. Wish me luck!

Proof

When I was a kid, I remember eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches a lot. So much that now I cant stand them. I also remember having bologna sandwiches and hating them so much that I told my mom they made me throw up so she wouldn't make me eat them anymore.

Now its my turn to be the mom and to pack my kids lunch. Ive never forced Auralee to eat anything. I let her choose what she wants most of the time, and what she wants is peanut butter and honey sandwiches and bologna Lunchables. Not at the same time of course, but often. I just wanted to have proof that its what she likes so that when shes older and I'm "such a mean mom" she cant blame it on me like I blamed it on my mother.

Taryn

Now that we are home by ourselves, sometimes its hard to find things to do. Today, we decided to do a little photo shoot. Taryn, like her sister, can be a great poser. The only problem is that she isn't very patient in holding the pose. You have to be quick or you lose out on something really cute.

I couldn't help but put this one in. She looks so squishy, I just want to squeeze her and pinch those cheeks.

She likes to be silly a lot. Here she asked, "Taryn funny? Momma, Taryn funny?" Yes Taryn, of course you are funny.

Here we are just chattin'. She really does have a big vocabulary, but when she gets around other people she doesn't talk much. She understands a lot and can follow simple instructions I give her without any difficulty. I sure love this baby of mine!