Of Weddings and "Christiansen Shortcuts"

We spent this last weekend in Utah for Curtis' cousin's wedding. It was a lot of fun to visit with family members, and of course, it's always neat to see two people in love tie the knot. The ceremony took place at a lodge near Ogden. It was very nicely done, no thanks to my children. Curtis had told Arden that there would be food there, so the first thing Arden asked (very loudly) as we walked in to the wedding was; "Where's all the food?" Grrr....Then Maile chattered through most of the ceremony. Only by constant shushing did we succeed in not having to take her out. After the buffet began, she kind of wandered around picking up stray pieces of candy that people had dropped from off the floor and, of course, eating them as fast as she could.

The evening culminated with our little Saturn stuck in a snowdrift in the middle of a small dirt road (or a tiny river--it was hard to distinguish the difference at times) on the top of a nearby mountain with no cars for miles. (So much for our GPS' "quickest route!") Only through fervent prayer were we able to get unstuck from the snowdrift. When the road then turned into a solid 5 foot high mass of snow, we determined that was the end of the line for us, and our un-trustworthy GPS found us an alternate route to Grandma's house.

Fun adventures! Arden kept saying; "Wow! We are on Mt. Everest!" and Maile's comment on our snow adventure was "I'm only a little scared."

Wow! Aren't these girls amazing?! Maddy and Kendall are friends of my cousin Alli (on piano) from Arkansas, and apparently they used to play together quite a lot. They were doing a bunch of hymns for us just off the top of their heads. Very talented!

We were then favored by some songs that Alli's boyfriend had composed on his guitar. He is (obviously from the video) very talented as well, and what's more, he is self taught. Cool! I love being surrounded by brilliant people. (-;

(Sorry the lighting is terrible.)

Of Tractor Rides and Walls

So, we attempted to build a small wall a couple of weeks ago. After an unfortunate building mishap back in college involving Curtis and measuring (which I have never let him live down), he is a stickler for making sure things are level and measured correctly. Hopefully our wall will stay straight. We'll find out how good of a job we did in a few years, I'm sure!



Here is our project in process.




When Curtis got out the tractor to take the stone to the back, I think every kid on the block came over for rides!



Here is our completed project. (It's more work then it looks like, I promise!)

The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One

Bob sent this linked video to Curtis and we watched it the other night as we were exercising. Grrrr....it makes me so irritated. Following is the synopsis from the web page.

"The financial industry brought the economy to its knees, but how did they get away with it? With the nation wondering how to hold the bankers accountable, Bill Moyers sits down with William K. Black, the former senior regulator who cracked down on banks during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Black offers his analysis of what went wrong and his critique of the bailout."

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/watch.html

Of Population (not) Overcrowding

To all those of you who worry about population overcrowding, fear no longer. Economist Walter Williams from George Mason University figured out that we could fit the entire U.S. population in Texas. Not only that, but each family of four could live on 2.9 acres of land.

D&C 104:14 "...the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things..."

Now, if only we could get things distributed to those in need!

Of Gardening and Yardwork

This is Maile working on staining our redwood garden boxes. The kids were great helpers! (Ben, you would be appalled by how much we spent on the boxes and soil--we are calling it a landscaping feature to make ourselves feel better about them. I told Curtis if we ever move, those boxes are going with us!)

The garden boxes turned out beautifully. Picture to follow!

So, happy week! I found out this week that another of my sister-in-laws is expecting her third child, so I will be an auntie again! Hurray!

Also, in wonderful news, my sister-in-law, Cherstin, got engaged. Yeah! We just love Jordan, her fiancee. He is such an amazing guy, and he will be a wonderful addition to our family. I was quite proud of myself...of course, I couldn't mention this to Cherstin before now, but I told Curtis the day after we met Jordan, that I thought he would be my new brother-in-law. I guess I was right!

Of March Madness and April Fools

Yeah...Curtis is home again! He has been traveling all over the place in the last month--Texas, Florida, California, midwest somewhere...I can't remember...

Anyway, it is nice to have him back. I had to tease him that the only reason he has been traveling so much lately is because he didn't want to miss March Madness and we don't have television service!

April Fools Day was nice this year. Char--thanks for the great ideas in the CCC! We managed to get Curtis a few times before he had to leave on his latest trip! (I gave him a hard time about leaving on my favorite holiday--I think he planned it on purpose!) Anyway, the kids and I taped newspaper over the door to the garage and filled it with paper wads, 2 liter bottles, and a couple of Crocs. We got him pretty good when he got back from the temple! For the kids, I had frozen water in their cereal bowls the night before...I put cereal and milk on top of the frozen water then served it to them. Hee! Heee! Arden quickly caught on to the idea of April Fools jokes, and ran and hid Curtis' work badge. Of course, I got blamed for that one, but it was all him! I shudder to think what he will be like when he is a teenager! That's when it gets dangerous! Another trick I did for our neighbors, the Williams, is my traditional stand-by...the donut holes made out of playdough and rolled in flour. The kids and I bought a box of real donut holes from the store, and I managed to open it without damaging the seal. (-: I swapped out the real ones for the fakies, resealed the box, then gave it to them. Karen said I got three of the kids. Yeah! I kept expecting them to come over, as I didn't figure they would let that joke pass without retribution, but according to Karen, the kids spent all day trying to think of a joke to play back on me, but they couldn't come up with anything. Oh well, there is always next year!

Of Daylight Savings and Bedtime

Sigh...how in the world do you try to explain daylight savings to a four year old who insists it can't possibly be bedtime if it's light outside? Any suggestions? Anyone?