Random Bits of Brilliance

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year! Lots of costumes and candy! Shaylie was a witch and cute as she can be!

I dressed up in my Luau gear for Red Ribbon Week at school. Scott and I had fun watching Shaylie's last Halloween Parade. Next year she'll be in 6th grade (OMGsh) so we wanted to help her celebrate!

At our ward's Trunk-or-Treat Carnival, I reprised my role as Madame YasMEANa...Misfortune Teller. I love doing this and it's always a big hit with the kids. I entice the kids into my lair and let them choose a MisFortune, which say things like, "Your nose will soon have a booger in it" or "The fleas of a thousand camels will soon infest your armpits." I love hearing the kids giggle as they walk away. So much fun! This is the fourth or fifth year that I've done this and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Taylor decided to borrow a football jersey from a certain someone for her costume. I'm not naming names.

Working my Gypsy magic!

There was a cook-off at the ward party too! Scott made Chili and ended up winning "Best Overall" after the vote was tallied. He was super surprised!

The night after Halloween we drove to a house out in Little Valley where they carve about 80 pumpkins each year. The girl is actually one that grew up in my home town, Holden. She is super creative and I love seeing what they come up with each Halloween. The girls loved seeing all the different characters. This will definitely be a new tradition for us!

It's Been a Long Time!

I can't believe that I haven't posted since October 31st! I'm going to try to get caught up before the New Year begins. There have been a few fun times between now and then, but mostly I've been busy, busy, busy with work, school, and kids! Facebook is more my speed for quick updates lately.

We had some fall fun playing in the leaves. Shaylie loves playing in the leaves! It seems like our tree is the last one to lose it's leaves each year, so it's a test of patience. But, once they've fallen, it seems like the only natural thing is to bury her completely! :)

Scott sure loves his puppies! I couldn't help but snap this photo of Scott and Cricket napping while Bubba kept watch. Is there anything sweeter than a boy and his dog?

Taylor had a flute solo this year for the Christmas concert. We are always so proud of our girl! She is amazingly talented and has gifts I only dream of having. It is pure pleasure for me to listen to her practice and play.

Shaylie is growing up so fast! I can't believe how grown up she is looking these days. She's such a joy to me--with her fun sense of humor and her super clever wit! She is going to be a lovely young lady and I can't wait until everyone else can see what I see in her!

Taylor's soccer season came to an end and she decided that she wanted to tryout for the Pine View Basketball team. She wasn't sure she really wanted to do it until halfway through the tryouts, then she just knew her life would end if she didn't make the team. ;) Luckily for all of us, she did. She has been picking up on the game beautifully and even though their team is struggling, it's fun to see them improve each week. She's played on both the freshman team and the sophomore team, so she gets lots of playing time.

There is also much teenage drama this year as Taylor is in the middle of her first romance. I won't say more since I know she would kick me but I am enjoying this stage of her life. She is so darling and the boy she likes is one that I really like too! I just keep telling her to have fun and know that I'm keeping an Eagle Eye out!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Our Dango Daikazoku Adventure

A couple weeks ago I went to Phoenix to visit my brother Mike, his wife Erin and their cute little Myka. While we were there, Erin took us to an Asian Supermarket called Lee Lee's. I wished Shaylie had been there with me because they had some amazing things. My mom wanted to buy her some Dangos since she's been completely gaga over them for months now. We didn't exactly know what Dangos are but we knew from the Internet that they are Japanese dumplings made out of rice flour that are either boiled or fried with many different kinds of sauces or fillings. We explained the best we could to the clerk and he directed us a couple different kinds. Shaylie was so excited when I came home with some Dangos to try.

The first attempt were frozen premade Sesame Dumplings which were meant to be boiled for 5-6 minutes. They turned out rather disgusting looking but the sauce inside tasted kind of sweet and peanutty. Shaylie was the only one brave enough to actually put one in her mouth.

First, she put maple syrup on it and took a small bite.

She was not very impressed. It tasted gooey and slimey.

Then it got stuck in her expander and she gagged in sink.

Needless to say, the entire plate of those ended up in the trash. Definitely not the right Dangos.

The next morning I promised to make the fried kind before school because she did not want to go to school hating her beloved dangos. So I got up extra early and tried to decipher the lovely packaging. I think the direction were written in Korean, but at least there were pictures.

I mixed up the dough and fried them up. These were looking much more appetizing.

After dunking them in sugar and putting them on the skewers, they looked just like the Dangos of Shaylie's dreams.

I woke her up about 6:00 am to try the final product.

Sleepy but happy with the yumminess.

I'm glad we finally figured it out. She got to go to school and tell all her friends about the Dango adventure we had. Luckily for me, I won't be able to get to the Asian supermarket everyday so these will just be a special treat.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Another Year of Wedded Bliss! :)

Scott and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on August 8th. It's gone by in a flash. I'm lucky to be married to my very best friend in the world. He spoiled me on my birthday this year and got me tickets to the Shakespearean Festival. We took the trip as part of our Anniversary celebration. I always love going to the plays there. This year we saw Pride and Prejudice and Much Ado about Nothing.

The Green Show was fun even though we got a little wet. The raindrops came down in big fat drops and scared us a little bit since we were going to an outdoor show later, but it cleared up just in time.

Aren't we cute? Scott's still in stripes. :D

The view from our seats. We hadn't ever been to the Adams theater in all the years we've been to the Festival so this was a treat. We were right up front and had a great time!

The rest of the Gallery...the VIP seats right up front had seat cushions, water bottles and a little care package on each seat. The show was fun, one of the best I've seen but they always are. We had a good time catching up as a couple and spending some alone time. Can't wait to do it again!

Shaylie Turns 10!

My Shaylie has been completely obsessed with all things Asian for the past few months. She loves to read Manga comic books, and watch Anime shows online. She has been taking Kung Fu and has been teaching herself to speak Japanese. Half the time I don't know what she is saying to me, but she bows at the end which always makes me smile. So it came as no surprise that she wanted an Asian themed birthday when she turned 10 on August 14th! It was a blast putting this party together for the my girl.

We started the party by learning some Origami folding. The girls were really good at it. We also made paper lanterns, which I did not get any pictures of, but they turned out really cute. Shaylie has several hanging in her bedroom now.