47-2

Kirsten and T went down to pick up Ashlee who was visiting cousins in Salt Lake. She's taking her to the Nutcracker tonight, so I got to take Brynlee and Lando to a football game today. Utah State beat New Mexico State 47-2 to send our coach to the unemployment line in style. That's three wins in the WAC.The students were mostly gone because of Thanksgiving break, so attendance was sparse. We benefited by finding a nice little spot on the front row, 42 yard line, so the kids got to high-5 several of the players and one of the refs came over and talked to them before the game started, so that was fun.

Spontaneous

Allyson and Brock, Me and Trevor, Mary Anne and Sadie

Yesterday I was a little out of character. I called my sister, Mary Anne, in the morning to see what time Sadie's blessing is this weekend. I left a voice mail (she happened to be taking her final for American Heritage...yeah, she's done with that class!). Landon asked who I was talking to and I told him I left a message for Mary Anne. The next hour or so was filled with Landon asking if he could go to Mary Anne's house. When Mary Anne called back, she asked me if I knew my other sister, Allyson from AZ, was in town....uh, no? I knew there was a possibility they might come up for Thanksgiving but I never heard the final word.

So a thought popped into my head...I should go play with my sisters. Being spontaneous is not natural for me...in fact, it causes a little stress. So the battle goes on in my head...I'll be going down on Friday for the blessing...should I take the extra trip? BUT gas is only $1.69 a gallon (when was the last time I filled up and it was less than $50?! Filling up for less than $30 is beautiful!) It's two hours there and two hours back and Allyson will only be there until 5:00 (it was around noon when I was talking to her) BUT I really want to see little Brock who is just 2 1/2 weeks old even if it is only for a couple hours. I'm in the middle of about 4 loads of laundry...seriously, laundry vs sisters...I'll take sisters any day! The girls need somewhere to go after school before Rob gets home from work. Problem solved with a quick call to a friend (thanks, Katie, LOVE you!) who informed me she was heading to Ogden but her husband would be home with the kids and could pick them up after school with their daughter (maybe I should be saying THANKS, Kade!) Next problem...I hadn't showered yet, kids hadn't eaten lunch and Brynlee needed to be to school by 1:00. Guess how fast I can get ready, feed kids and get Brynlee to school? We were out the door at 12:52, dropped Brynlee off (luckily it's about a one minute drive), stopped at the store to buy some snacks/treats and formula (we were out and Trevor needed a bottle...no time to nurse, besides the fact that I'm trying to wean), and topped the tank off with gas. Landon's wish for the day came true....we were off to Aunt Mary Anne's house.

What can I say...I may try to be a little more spontaneous. I hit all the lights just right as I was heading out of town, I saw lots of cops on the road but the lucky people about 5 minutes ahead of me had already caught their attention (hehehe)....after all, time was of the essence. It was a fun day...ending at 11:11 pm when I pulled into my garage. Do you ever make a wish at 11:11? Instead of a wish, I gave thanks for being able to arrive home without a touch of tiredness after a spontaneous day with sisters!

Do you know what the best part of today was? I got to sleep in this morning and snuggle with ALL my kids in my bed because there is no school. I think today will be a lazy day...

Monkeys

As Kirsten and the girls were off at a practice for the primary program tomorrow, I got to hang out with the boys this morning. After Lando got his clothes on, he noticed we both had orange shirts on. He said, "We have the same shirt on, and the same pants on. We look the same, except I have monkeys on my shirt." It wasn't an amazingly remarkable quote, but what made it so funny was the huge smile on his face and this thing he did with his hand. I don't know how to describe what he did, but he would kind of point at his shirt with all his fingers together how an usher does when motioning which way to go, then at my shirt, then the same with the pants. He's also holding his latest potty prize, a nerf gun, which has already lost 2 of the 3 bullets that go with it. As Lando and I were playing with his gun, T was enjoying some classical music.

Not a famine, but stormy weather

In addition to the attack on the family that we've been warned about, President Hinckley warned us 10 years ago in October 1998 General Conference to get our finances in order. After reading from Genesis about the Pharoah's dream of feast and famine, then pointing out that he was not prophesying an impending famine, he had the following to say:

So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.

We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.

...I hope we will never again see ... a depression. But I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people. In March 1997 that debt totaled $1.2 trillion, which represented a 7 percent increase over the previous year.

In December of 1997, 55 to 60 million households in the United States carried credit card balances. These balances averaged more than $7,000 and cost $1,000 per year in interest and fees. Consumer debt as a percentage of disposable income rose from 16.3 percent in 1993 to 19.3 percent in 1996.

...We are beguiled by seductive advertising. Television carries the enticing invitation to borrow up to 125 percent of the value of one’s home. But no mention is made of interest.

...I recognize that it may be necessary to borrow to get a home, of course. But let us buy a home that we can afford and thus ease the payments which will constantly hang over our heads without mercy or respite for as long as 30 years.

...What a wonderful feeling it is to be free of debt, to have a little money against a day of emergency put away where it can be retrieved when necessary.

...This is a part of the temporal gospel in which we believe. May the Lord bless you, my beloved brethren, to set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable.

Deliciously Simple

Around this time of year, I crave Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. Not just any, but the ones you get at Lee's Marketplace. The problem...$4.49 for 8 cookies! Sorry, but I cannot justify that, no matter how jumbo and yummy they are (okay, I justifed it ONCE last month but that is it!). I've tried out different recipes in hopes of recreating the taste of Lee's. I have not had success until last Tuesday when I tried this one out. The best part...only 3 ingredients. Thank you Fonz for bringing this into my life!

1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix

1 15 oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Chocolate chips

Mix together, drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet, bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Now, the secret is to let them cool and store for a few hours in a closed container (hard to do but please, do it for me!). It just does something to it that makes the cookie exactly how I like it. Oh, and I used jumbo semi-sweet chocolate chips because that's what Lee's uses :)

A Prophetic Statement

This quote was on the front of our Sacrament meeting program. It was given by Neal A. Maxwell in a BYU Devotional on October 10, 1978... 30 years ago.

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional, or political life.'

This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ... Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted... This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even these, however, let us leave a record that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do.

We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."
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Last week I was talking with some friends about Proposition 8 in California and someone mentioned a conversation they heard where someone asked, "Why, all of a sudden, is the Church taking such a strong stance on the issue of gay marriage?" It was brought up that on September 23, 1995, President Hinckley read a Proclamation that shows exactly how the church feels toward the issue (now I know this isn't the first time it has been declared how the church feels about it but just an example with an exact date). Now note, this was not something that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles decided members of the LDS church needed to be aware of. This is a Proclamation to the WORLD. Now here are some quotes from the Proclamation.

"We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

"We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife."

"Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets."

"We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

I think it's very clear as to what our responsibility is as a people who support and sustain President Monson, his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. The battle is far from over.

Want a Chance to Win Something?

Go HERE and see these cute blocks...

Taxes

Watching Robin Hood, during the part where Prince John angrily raises taxes in order to "squeeze every last drop out of those insolent, musical peasants," Ashlee had the following to say about taxes:

Ashlee: I'm glad we're not rich, because Barack Obama is going to raise taxes for rich people.

Rob: How do you know we're not rich?

Ashlee: I don't know; I can just tell.

Break the Mold this Thanksgiving

I was looking at my new favorite website today Disney's Family.com (I've gotten some good recipes from their food section) and got a good laugh. Before I was married, I never knew you could actually make cranberry sauce. I thought it was just part of Thanksgiving that you plopped the sauce out of the can. I mean can you really call something sauce when keeps the form of the can to exactness as it is sitting on a plate? Couldn't you at least mash it up so it doesn't LOOK just like the can? It wasn't until Rob's Grandma Jones actually MADE cranberry sauce from REAL cranberries one Thanksgiving that I realized cranberry sauce doesn't have to look like this. Honestly, I had never tried the gelatinous, can formed stuff but since I tried the real deal, I kinda like it! Of course, I have never been much of a fan of Thanksgiving dinner. I'm just not much of a turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing person (not that it prevents me from eating Thanksgiving dinner...) I would much rather indulge myself in a Thanksgiving like THIS...now that's something I could stuff myself on! My Goodman relatives have the right idea! Can you guys let me know when Thanksgiving will be like that again...I just may have to invite myself to AZ!

Voting - A Kid's Perspective

As I was sitting here checking out blogs via Google Reader, I was listening to the conversation going on in the other room. I kept hearing the word "vote" so I kept listening. Yep, Ashlee and Brynlee are playing with Polly Pockets and evidently they are having an election. The Polly Pockets are voting between the Madame Alexander doll dressed as Mickey Mouse from a McDonald's Happy Meal and the Fisher Price doll house dad (apparently named James). The results: James won. I totally would have voted for Mickey...

On the way home from picking the kids up from school (I was a nice mommy and didn't make them walk home in the hail), I had this conversation with our neighbor, 7 year old Devin.

Devin: Did you vote?

Me: Yep

Devin: Well, who did you vote for? You better have voted for John McCain because if Barack Obama wins, all the black and brown people are going to be sent away and then my dad will be sent away because he's kinda brown.

Me: Sent away where and who in the world told you this?

Devin: If Barack Obama wins he's gonna send all the black and brown people away from here so he's the only one left.

Me: Who told you this?

Devin: Chris and Pearce.

Me: Well, Devin, I don't think that is going to happen. And by the way, your dad is not black or brown.

Devin: He's kinda brown, sometimes in the summer time.

Boogety Boogety Boo

Right Hand on Yellow, Left Foot on Blue

At the girls' school, they have a behavior rewards program called the Principal's 200 Club. The students are awarded "Paw Prints" (their mascot is a Husky) from their teachers for good behavior. They put their paw prints in a container in the office (there is one for each grade). At the end of each day, the Principal draws 2 winners from each grade. The winners go down to the office, draw a number out of a hat, and put their paw print on a board according to the number they drew. When there are 10 in a row, the kids whose paw prints are in that row get to do something special with the Principal.

Last week Brynlee was part of the 10 in a row so yesterday she got to play Twister with the Principal and other winners (and a few teachers) in front of the whole school. Since she didn't have a clue what Twister was, I explained it to her a little bit. Right before it started, I thought I hope she knows her left and right really well. So I asked her, "Brynlee, which hand is your right hand?" and she holds up her left hand....oh great! Luckily a teacher on her Twister board helped her out a bit.

Mr. Markworth dividing the kids up in the four Twister areas...

Some of Brynlee's nice moves...

Pumpkin Walk

On Saturday, we went to the North Logan Pumpkin Walk. Cheryl and her kids and Christie and her boys came up and Grandma Barton also joined us. The theme this year was "Calling All Heroes." Here are a few of the scenes...

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...
Landon and Neil in front of Kung Fu Panda...

Landon trying to imitate the Joker...

Here's two thumbs up for Uncle Jake who is deployed to Iraq...I got a little choked up at this scene. There was a CD player playing "Proud to Be An American", which is a song I love! I couldn't help but sing along! I guess the war never really hits home until you have a family member in harms way. We pray every day for Jake to be protected!

After we went through the scenes, the kids got their pictures in the cutouts...

Trevor as Yoda (which is who he'll really be for Halloween)

Brynlee as Ariel...

Ashlee as Sleeping Beauty and Landon as the Prince...

All the Barton cousins (minus Eddie...he was visiting his cousins on the other side of his family)...

The Barton girl cousins (finally my girls aren't the only ones!)...

After the Pumpkin Walk, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Barton's house for dinner and for the cousins to play. They all put on their Halloween costumes and did a little parade...

What Could Be Better Than Bunco AND Costumes

Every month I get together with a crazy bunch of ladies for BUNCO night! Last night Marcy hosted and she had everyone wear their costumes. As always we had lots of fun! Here's a recap of the evening...

Here's Marcy the Host...not quite sure what to call her costume but she was definitely scary! She won Most Buncos....AGAIN! Somehow she's been on this winning streak the last few months...

Yours truly as Cruella DeVil. I got the prize for Most Wins...
Jane was so focused on remembering to bring the tables and chairs to Marcy's house that she left her costume at home. She ended up with the traveller prize...
Cindy and Hydi were Ghostbusters and Angie aka Petey was a fugitive...
Kristy was Wonder Woman...Wow, check out those boots...seriously, the picture doesn't even do them justice... Angie aka Fonz was a deviled egg...love the creativity on this one...she got my vote for best costume!

Ang was GI Jane...she totally could have pulled off the shaved head look but didn't :)

Mandi, the black kitty...I wish the picture showed her long pink eyelashes. They were the coolest...

Tonya came as a doctor. Here she is giving Wonder Woman a check up...

Denise somehow missed out on the pictures. She had a creative costume as well...she taped small cereal boxes all over her with plastic knives in them... she was a "Cereal" Killer...hahaha!

Marcy was creative (okay so it was Mandi's idea) with dinner. Warning: This is not for the weak stomach! We had:

Bloody Maget stew (Taco Soup) in skulls (Bread Bowls) topped with Dried Skin Chunks (Fritos), Shredded Brain Matter (Cheese), and Whipped Eyeball Whites (Sour cream); Jolly Green Giant Boogers (Spinach Salad); for drinks it was Ghost Urine (bottled water) or Thinned Blood (pink Crystal Light); and the dessert was Bile Cake (a layered dessert made with Pistachio Pudding). Thanks, Marc, for the great party!

In A Dinner Rut...Recipe Tag

Lately I haven't been much in the mood to make dinner. I think I need some new ideas so I'm making up a little "Recipe Tag". I'm going to post an easy dinner recipe and then you post one on your blog and tell people to do the same. Then leave me a comment telling me so I can have a new recipe! Easy recipes that have common or few ingredients are best!

Chicken Casserole

2 C. cubed, cooked chicken
8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 C. milk
1 C. coarsely crushed saltine crackers
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Mix crackers and butter. Put half in a casserole/baking dish. Layer chicken on top of crackers. Mix sour cream, cream of chicken soup and milk until creamy. Pour over chicken. Top with rest of crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve over rice. Complete the meal with a vegetable like steamed broccoli.

You can make this a little healthier by using fat free/reduced fat sour cream or plain yogurt, Campbell's Healthy Choice Cream of Chicken soup and leaving out the butter.

Gettin' a little R & R

Last week the girls had Fall Break so we headed to the cabin for a change from everyday life and activities! We went up Thursday after lunch and arrived at a very chilly cabin. After warming up and hanging out until dinner time, we headed to the Road Island Diner. It's a new attraction in Oakley complete with a server named Elmer! We met Cheryl and her family there as they were coming up to the cabin as well.

The rest of the time was spent on the ATV, making Halloween arts and crafts, playing with cousins, watching "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" on the projector, reading, a visit to Smith & Morehouse Reservoir for throwing rocks (and falling in), and overall having a nice, relaxing, fun time! Here's a sampling of the fun (we took over 100 pictures!)...Chris the Chauffeur waiting for the next rider... Landon, as happy as can be, waving goodbye. He spent most of his time on the ATV!

The couches transformed into the movie theater...

Book worm cousins, Ashlee and Jacob...

At the river on the south end of the reservoir...
Trevor getting up close and personal with nature...

Ashlee, making a big splash...

Forest friends...