aunt jo

I got this email from my cousin and I wanted to share. This is about my Grandma Dee's sister, my Aunt Jo.

Just thought I would share of snippet of time with my 94-year-old mom here in Mesquite.
It's 8:00 am and we have both just awakened. I'm drinking coffee still in my sleeping T-shirt sitting on the couch. My mom is attired in her pink pajamas resting in her recliner with a maroon throw over her lap. Shadow, the toy black poodle, is by her side. We are watching news on CNN. A commercial appears. She mutes the sound and pulls our her harmonica and begins to play Darktown Strutters Ball. This is when I am muttering to myself for not bringing my camera.
For the next 20 minutes or so at every commercial break she asks me for requests. "How about Back in the Saddle Again?" I respond. Gene Autry would be proud of her rendition. She throws in a few Christmas songs as well. This is a woman who has never had a music lesson and can't read music. She also plays the piano.
It's about an hour later and she has changed into her pink sweat suit, complete with a pick handkerchief tied around her neck and oh yeah, pink leather tennis shoes. She's excited because yesterday while grocery shopping we bought Aunt Jemima's buckwheat pancake mix and she's preparing our "hot cakes."
She takes her first bite and says, "This isn't good! Why I remember when you used to open the package and you could smell the buckwheat! This is tasteless." Very disappointed, she finishes her one pancake. I have two and they taste pretty good to me.
Several minutes pass and she says, "There's a phone number on that box. I'm going to call them and chew their asses out!" She dials the 800 number and a real person answers immediately. I am listening intently to mom's side of the conversation. She tells the person on the other end how excited she was to cook the hot cakes and then how disappointed she was when she tasted them. "Where's the bar code Kathy?" she asks me. I take the phone and give the bar code number to the very nice woman on the other end of the line.
I tell her she's been talking to a 94 year old. My mom says, "Tell her I've got all my marbles and I can still tell good from bad buckwheat."
Overhearing my mom, the woman asks, "What did your mom say?"
I repeat the comment. By this time, the woman is laughing and telling me how sorry she is. She requests my mom's name and address. She is going to send her a coupon.
She wishes us happy holidays and hangs up, still laughing.
And this is just a couple of hours here with mom. I'm sure I will have more stories by the time I leave.
Kathy

family collage

Here are a few of my favorite poses from our family pictures. Enjoy.

family pics

This was one of our family photos. I will get more up later I just wanted to give you a sneak peek now.

birthday

Make sure your sound is on.

I've had a birthday shout hurray.
You want to sing to me today.
30 years older and wiser too.
Happy Birthday to me.

Derk has a big birthday day planned for Saturday so I will let you know all the details later. I do know that we are going to Mama Mia that night. Thank you preschool, we won tickets from them a few weeks ago and are finally going. More to come...

tagged favorite 8

8 favorite TV shows:
Desperate Housewives
House
Grey's Anatomy
Privileged
How I Met Your Mother
Pushing Daisies
Big Love
Big Bang Theory

8 favorite restaurants:
Sushi Bar Sage
Cheesecake Factory
In-N-Out
Melting Pot
The Original Pancake House
Bajio
Hot Dog on a Stick
Inta Juice

8 things that happened yesterday:
Went to Tasey's and made waffles for breakfast.
Helped in Keilana's class.
Made pumpkin pies.
Went to dinner at Sushi Bar Sage.
Visited with Brooke and her friend.
Showered.
Watched TV.
Enjoyed the rain.

8 things I'm looking forward to:
Thanksgiving Dinner.
Thanksgiving Day movie.
Having another baby (I'm not making an announcement or anything like that).
Christmas.
My birthday (but not turning 30).
New Years.
Watching the Fairies movie (it's a Christmas gift for the girls so I have to wait to watch it).
My cousin Meg's wedding.

8 things on my wish list:
A bigger home.
Getting pregnant.
A new puppy.
A chicken rotisserie.
A rickshaw.
A move to a new city.
New winter shirts.
A new pair of jeans.

8 people I tag:
I don't know that there are 8 people that read my blog that haven't already been tagged, so if you are reading and feel like being tagged, Tag You're It.

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!!!

2 sippies of juice and a movie

Yesterday the new Aliante Station movie theater was having movies for $2 and popcorn and soda were also $2, who could pass that up right. (FYI they are having full priced movies Fri and Sat but free popcorn and soda) So we took Keilana out of school early and went and watched Wall-e, very cute movie. Half way through the movie Maile said she was tired so I told her to close her eyes and go to sleep and she was out in seconds. So I sat back and enjoyed the rest of the movie...well that is until I felt a nice warm, wet feeling on my lap and going down my leg. That's right SHE PEED ON ME!!! Thankfully the movie was about over. I did have to hurry home and rinse off and get to the church to set up for enrichment. I was late but it all worked out fine and it went really well. So the lesson to be learned: If you go to a movie and give a child 2 sippies of juice and they fall asleep on you lap, expect to fell a warm, wet feeling trickle down you leg!! Don't say I didn't warn you.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

OK I know I haven't posted in a long time and I really need to get pictures up but my Dell is still at the Dell Doctor and it is much easier to use than the Mac (sorry Mac). Back to why I'm posting today.....PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!! A friend told me a really easy recipe and are you ready I am going to share it with all of you.
1 box spice cake mix
1 can of pumpkin
chocolate chips
mix and bake at 350 for about 15 mins
it helps if you spray the cookie sheet with Pam, they are very sticky cookies.
ENJOY!!!!

1st hair cut

Friday the girls went to Karen's for primping. I got my eyebrows done and boy did they need it, can you say unibrow in the making!! Keilana got a trim, she is getting really close to getting a major chop and donating to Locks of Love. Just before leaving I asked if Maile needed a trim and she got one. She didn't get much taken off but she did get a little off the back. Pictures may follow if I can get them off my phone, if nothing else a picture of the hair that was cut off.

maile's birthday

Happy Birthday Maile!!!!! She is THREE!!! I can't believe that my baby is 3 already goodness I know you all are thinking 'When is the next one going to come???' We are trying! Back to the birthday girl.

Maile is great. I love having time with just her now that Keilana is in school all day. She is smart and wants to be just like her sister. She is always aware to others and tries to help all the time. Her latest is to ask me 'Mom are you nice?' She is so smart and learns so fast. She is our princess and we love her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAILE!!!

spencer and amber

I know these pictures should have been but up a while ago but I'm a slacker on blogging. We had so much fun at the reception. Keilana had a headache and missed the ring ceremony but came down after (grandma got her to take and Advil) and she was on full tilt the rest of the night. Maile fell asleep before the dancing started but Lesee Tanner held her for us and Derk and I danced for hours. It was a blast. So here are the pictures we took at the wedding. Enjoy!!!

Keilana resting.

 

Brooke

Spencer and Mom.

Part of the wedding party.

 

quickie crafter

I have found a talent I didn't know I had. Painting!! This summer we got a wall hanging that tells who does what for FHE but I needed to make markers to hang on it. Here's the results. I still need to get names on them.

This is mine.

This is Maile's.

This is Keilana's.

And this is Derk's.

I can't believe that it only took me an evening to do them. However the pen I used was not the right kind of pen and now I'm afraid that when we seal them the ink is going to run. Well if it does I guess I will just have to redo them.

busy week

Whoever said that you would have spare time once kids were in school was wrong. I can't believe how busy I have been lately, something everyday and most of it has nothing to do with school.

To start we had our retreat and it was so much fun. The theme was 'There's No Place Like Home" and the stake did a marvelous job with the decorations and program. When we got there we took off our shoes and put on 'ruby slippers' (red socks), Friday night we had dinner, chicken, ribs, potatoes etc. and they had a really cute program and then we had ward time until 11:30. We have a great ward well at least one that really knows how to have fun. I walked down the hall at one point and could peek in and see what the other wards were doing and they were having nice quiet ward time playing games etc and then you HEARD us. We were line dancing and playing loud games but boy did we have fun. So much for the spirit and testimony sharing time with us. The next day there were many classes and a great keynote speaker. A weekend worth doing over and over again.

Monday I spent ALL day doing my checkbook. I know it shouldn't take ALL day to do but I had 3 months to catch up on. That night my mom, Derk, and I bottled 2 cases of peaches and got 26 quarts and 6 pints. I hope that lasts us the year we love them. Mom and I also went shopping for a dress for me to wear to the wedding and I found the perfect one, but not in my size.

Tuesday I spent the morning with Maile at preschool and the afternoon getting ready to go to the temple. Amber (Spencer's soon to be wife) took out her endowments. It was great to see both families there, her family is as big and crazy as ours!! And of course we had to go to IN-N-Out afterwards yummy.

Now today I helped in Keilana's class for a few hours. I took Maile with and she fit in with the class as if she was a kindergartner. When we left she asked me where we were going and I told her home and she said "I don't want to go home I want to stay at school." When she realized that wasn't an option she insisted that Keilana come home with us. She cried all the way through the school and across the street and to the gate. Thankfully Derk called and said he was at lunch and when Maile found out we were going to meet him for lunch everything was ok again. After lunch Maile and I met up with my mom and after 8 stores and who knows how many items tried on I found a dress for the wedding. But of course a new dress wouldn't be complete without new shoes and a shirt to go under for that splash of color needed and a stomach flattening pair of under garments which we HAD to go out shopping for after the kids were ready for bed.

Now the rest of the week to look forward to. Presidency meeting, a birthday party, and of course the WEDDING!!!

chasing boys already!?!?!?

Tonight at dinner Keilana was telling us that at recess her and another girl were chasing a boy trying to tickle him and take his shoes and socks off. I don't know about you but I think she is WAY TOO YOUNG to be chasing boys. aaaaahhhh she is only in kindergarten for goodness sakes.

So we have a big Relief Society retreat this weekend and I have been getting ready for that, it is going to be so much fun. Our stake does them every other year however we usually go camping overnight but this year the camp grounds we use are under construction so we are having a 'late' night to midnight on Friday (anyone that knows me knows that that is not a late night for me) and then classes on Saturday. I am really looking forward to it and I am sure I will have lots of fun stories to share next week about it.

I was in a Goodwill mood tonight so I stopped and found a really cool chair but it was sold however the lady said if it didn't get picked up she would call me and I could have it so here's to hoping that it doesn't get picked up!! I also found a huge mirror but it was a little more than I would spend on it and it was at Goodwill (and yes there's another however) however next Wednesday seniors get 50% off and mom will be here so we are going Goodwilling next Wednesday and here's to hoping that it is still there. If I get either there will be pictures to follow. So here's to hoping.

marriage tag

I saw this on a friends blog and thought it was a good get to know me post. Enjoy.

How long have you been married? 9 years

Where were you married? Las Vegas, NV Temple

Honeymoon? Two nights at the Four Seasons, but we went to Hawaii after we were married for 3 years and I always say that was our honeymoon.

How old is your spouse? 40, he robed the cradle hehe

Kids? 2 girls

Who eats more? Derk does, except when I'm pregnant.

Who said I love you first? Derk did I didn't say it til the night he proposed. It was before he proposed.

Who is taller? Derk

Who sings better? Me, he was once picked out of a group and told that he was tone death and not to sing.

Who is smarter? Depends.

Who controls the T.V. remote? Me

Whose temper is worse? Depends. I don't think either of us are that bed but it does depend on how much sleep we've gotten.

Who does the laundry? Both.

Who does the dishes? Both.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Derk

Who cooks dinner? Both.

Who is more stubborn? Me

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Derk, there has to be enough evidence to prove that I am wrong.

Whose parents do you see the most? About the same now that mine are back from their mission.

Who has more siblings? Derk with 13, I have 8 and thought that was a big family.

Who wears the pants in the family? Me.

I tag: Anybody who reads this.

first day of kindergarten

Today was Keilana's first day of school. Maile says "I missing Keilana."

 

Keilana and Jayden. He makes sure to hold her hand as they walk to school together.

After dropping Keilana off Maile and I came home and got ready to go to breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa at our favorite place, The Original Pancake House. As I was getting ready she was pretending on the phone again and I just love listening to her talk, this is how is went this morning.

"Hi, I good. We just got home. I calling you back, are you at home?" calling Rebecca.

Now in closing and coping the idea from my cousin Keli here is the real celebration.

Lorin, Jackie, and I doing the happy dance because school is back in!!!

mornings with maile

There are things my kids say that just make me laugh. This morning Maile was on a role. I know this won't even do it justice on how cute she was being but I will try. She has had a runny nose so she talks with the stuffed up nasal voice and says "My head hurts, I am going to lay down. I need 2 vita c (vitamin c)." So I asked her how old she was and she said, " two and a half. No I six like Keilana. I a big girl." Then as I am walking away to get her the vitamin c she says, "I Katrina's girl." What a little ham, she knows what to say to make me laugh. And boy is she CUTE!!!

big sister to the rescue

We were at my sister Julia’s the other day for Caprice’s farewell party. Everyone was swimming and having a great time. Keilana and Maile are really getting good at swimming as long as they have the floaties on that is. So we had been swimming for a while and I had gotten out and Maile came over and said she was cold. I asked her if she wanted to get back in and she said no so I took her floaties off and put a towel around her. We were all visiting and next thing we knew Keilana was calling for us to help her get Maile out of the water!!! Maile had decided she wanted to get back in the pool. She just jumped in no floaties and Keilana and Charity pulled her out. With all the people there and the 5 year olds saved the day!!! Now in the next few years when Maile is getting on Keilana’s nerves I can say, “Be nice to your sister. She saved your life.” Aren’t sisters the greatest!!!