I know I can dance

Wednesdays are so fun! Last night I watched my summer tv show 'So You Think You Can Dance,' and it was amazing. Normally there are only one or two numbers that I love but last night, oh my goodness last night was awesome. I loved every single number. I wanted to post a video of my favorite, so here are 8 videos for you to watch. Just kidding, I'll only do three:)

This first one is with my favorite guy in the competition. I've loved all three dances Joshua has done so far with his cute partner Katie, and I'll probably post the previous two routines soon, but here is the one he did last night. It was the samba. Wow!

Here is my favorite girl. When Chelsea auditioned in Salt Lake, she preformed a Latin ballroom routine, and she was so stinkin' sexy it was amazing. She did so good last night doing a hip hop routine. Loved it!



Okay, last one I promise. This next one is Eric's favorite girl. She comes off as a total sweetheart, and I love that in her routines, she can't stop smiling! Too cute.



Tonight they are kicking two off. I don't know who yet because I can't watch it until Eric's back from the gym, his rules. What a great season so far. After each show, I want to get up and as Ty would say, "shake my booty"! If you missed the show, come on over, I have it on my DVR.

Check out these ladies!

So today my mom and I set off around noon to run some errands together. First on the list was the bank so I could buy the things on my list today. When I pulled up to the bank, I was just running over to the ATM so I left my mom in the car, and being the nice daughter I am, left it running with the a/c on for her too. When I got back in the car after making my deposits I started to pull out of the parking lot when I hear a weird noise, that almost sounded like a pot was boiling over. I asked my mom if that sounded like it was coming from my car, and right then the temp. light dinged and the sound got really loud. As the temp. needle was climbing very quickly to the red zone my mom said, "Park, QUICK!". She didn't have to tell me twice. I did find a nice spot with shade though. Anyway, we jumped out and I popped the hood to see one of the caps with some writing on it spitting liquid out furiously toward us. Great, this is just what we needed. We had a busy day of shopping and errands to run. No time for silly car problems. Hummm, what to do now. Well, we figured I was probably out of water and that's why it overheated. Sounded right. We called my mom's long time car fix it guy who said, yep, that's probably it. We are so smart. So we walked across the parking lot to the Olive Garden and asked for some water. We considered staying and having a bite to eat first, but we figured we start with the car and come back when we finished. The nice man at the restaurant gave us a jug full of water and said come back if we need. We left on a mission to fill up the car. When we got there, the engine was still very hot and my mom said this is how people get burned by steam, so watch out. Great. She was holding the water, which meant I had to hold open the lid. Who do you think was going to get burned? ME! Okay, ready, 1, 2, 3... shhhhhhh (that's my sound effect for the steam) I closed the lid and jump back as soon as the first drops touched the engine. They weren't even close to the opening yet. Good thing I'm smart. I took me hair clip out of my hair and used it to hold open the cap. No more fingers in the way, pour away mom! She did and nothing seemed to be happening. After about 1/2 the gallon was poured in, we still couldn't see any water in the water holding tank thing. And what's the weird sound as my mom poured. We can hear the water going somewhere. Where is it going? And why is there so much water on the ground underneath the car? I don't get it, do you mom? (Always ask your mom when in doubt, they always have some answer) Well lets look. Oh my, look! The water is coming right out that tube there and pouring onto the ground. Is that right? NO!

Did someone cut my tube, what a weird tube to cut. Let's call the tow company. Dang. We just paid over $1400 to get the steering column fixed last month, but I guess I can't drive around with water pouring all over the ground. Just then I see my friend Kelly walking out of the yummy Olive Garden. She was on her lunch break and on her way back to work at the bank. I yelled over to her, "Hey Kelly, can I borrow your car? :)" She came over and I told her what happened. She ran into the bank and grabbed Ben, a really nice guy who knew a bunch about cars. Thank you Ben!

He looked at the car and my mom and I quickly learned that we had been pouring the water into the overflow thing and the water was suppose to come out. Yeaaa! In all respects to my mom's knowledge of cars, which is actually pretty high, she probably would of figured that out if her silly daughter wasn't so obsessed with the bright yellow lid that had all the spitting fluid coming out at her. So Ben helped my mom pour the water into the right water jug thing and said we should be fine and sent us on our way. Way to go Ben and mom.

But I still have to say, how smart am I with the hair clip and the super hot yellow lid! And thank goodness for easy, cheap car fixes.

It's Hot Hot Hot!!

Oh my it's hot! Sometimes when it's so hot it's hard to find things to do with the little ones. It's either play outside in the pool or find something inside to do. This week the boys got pink from being outside too long... on Monday, so that meant going outside wasn't an option for a few days after that. Movies are always fun on hot days, but there is a point where even that is too much. So after playing with their toys and getting bored with them, chasing each other around the house and finally getting crazy with feeling like there is nothing to do, I broke out the crafts. I told the boys it was time to be productive. Tyler asked, "what's 'duck-tive?" and I told him it was doing something important, so they jumped right up to the table and awaited their assignment.

I decided watercolors was easy enough so I pulled those out. Ty loves to draw, and actually Tanner does too, he had just never painted before, so he didn't last as long as his brother. Plus Tanner had more fun turning the water different colors with his brush than actually painting on his paper. All in all being 'ductive made the day much smoother and peaceful until it cooled off enough in the evening to go run through the sprinklers. I wonder what we'll find to be 'ductive with next.

Reflection

Today was a challenging one. Not because of my normal whining about how my kids are going into this phase or that of their life, or how there never seems to be enough hours in a day to get everything done that I want, or whatever other little thing I feel needs to be over examined in my life. Today was a different kind of hard, but also left much room for reflection and self examination and gratitude. I attended a funeral for a friend of mine that I've know since about 5 years of age. Her 14 month old daughter drowned last week. After hearing the news of little Emma's death, I was over come with sorrow for her loss and a great sense of love for my own children and how blessed I am to have the opportunity to share these precious moments with them on a daily basis, and a realization of how much I take for granted.

While I went to the service to give my love and support to my friend, I found myself needing to be comforted as the service proceeded because I couldn't turn my thoughts away from my own children. While my boys are both just slightly older than her daughter was, the possibility of losing them was too much to bare. Two messages where given at the service that touched my heart and the spirit reconfirmed to me the existence of my Heavenly Father and the great love he has not only for me but for all the little children. I couldn't help but think of how happy Emma must be on the other side in the arms of God, who has a love stronger than we can even imagine. It was hard to flip back and forth from thoughts of sorrow for my friend and the time she'll spend here on earth without her little girl, the the peace and joy I felt for the knowledge that they will be able to be a family once again in the life here after. President Mullen (a past leader of our Stake within our church) talked about the fear many families have of losing a child and being able to have the chance to raise them, and he confirmed that as these spirits are resurrected the mother will be able to hold her child and raise it with more love than she'd been able to do so in her current life. I probably said that wrong, but basically, yes, they will be a family and be able to raise this beautiful little girl, even though her time in this life was cut short.

Moments like this morning make me so grateful for the chance I have to be a mom and see my little boys grow up. I get to step back and take a deep breath and realize that this is my moment to grow up myself and be the best mother I can for these beautiful spirits that have been put in my care for a time. President James E. Faust once said, "Your influence for good is incalculable and indescribable." I often joke about my need to have a career, even if it's just my little photography business, outside the home, because that gives me a sense of accomplishments. Keeping up on the laundry and vacuuming and getting the boys dressed, sometimes serveral times a day, isn't always the most immediately rewarding job.

In a talk given my Elder Boyd K. Packer in Nov. 1993 he quoted the First Presidency saying, "Motherhood thus becomes a holy calling, a sacred dedication for carrying out the Lord’s plans, a consecration of devotion to the uprearing and fostering, the nurturing in body, mind, and spirit"..."This divine service of motherhood can be rendered only by mothers. It may not be passed to others. Nurses cannot do it; public nurseries cannot do it; hired help cannot do it—only mother, aided as much as may be by the loving hands of father, brothers, and sisters, can give the full needed measure of watchful care."..."Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels."

I am grateful for my opportunity to be a mother, and have a wonderful husband to support me in my endeavors. I am also grateful for the knowledge of the Savior and the opportunity my family will have to be together forever as a family after we pass on from this life. My heart goes out to my dear friend and her family, but I know that Heavenly Father has a purpose for everything that happens in this life, and if we let our hearts listen to the spirit we can grow from every experience the Lord places before us.

Banana Bread

FYI... three pounds of bananas are just $1.37 at Costco this week.  That is a very good thing if your family goes through bananas like we do.  The only problem is even with as much as we eat them, there are always a few that go too brown before we can get to them.  I am good at making smoothies with those spotted ones, but I wanted to try something new.  I found this bread recipe online and was happy to see it looked really easy.  I have about 3 more days with the bunch of bananas in the fruit bowl this week, and then I'll try out this recipe.  Hope it's good!

BANANA BREAD RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

METHOD

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Our much needed shade!!

Today I found another Costco super buy.  But first let me tell you what led up to it.  Yesterday Ty had play group with his friends at the Roseville Aquatics Park.  We had never been there before, so I didn't know what to expect.  If you haven't been there, they have a gated area in the back with a shallow pool with a play structure in the middle of it with water going shooting every where.  We stayed for about 2 hours and the boys had a great time.  It wasn't too hot, so I was excited about the possibility of getting a little color on my legs.  After getting home and assessing my color, I was disappointed to find that little to no color went on my legs, as usual, and my shoulders had turned a nice bright red.  Dang it!  But back to the reason for the great buy... at the pool one of the mom's had this great umbrella.  I've wanted some kind of portable shade device since having Ty.  There always seems to be a great park or activity that comes up during the summer where there isn't enough shade.  My friend said she got here umbrella from Costco for under $20.  Sold.  So today while Eric took Ty to a movie (it's one of their favorite father-son activities) Tanner and I hit the store.  We grabbed our umbrella and a hot dog, of course, and came home to set up our new find.  I love it, and Tanner had a good time with it too.  Here's to a sunburn free summer from here on out.

Fun Week

So the other problem with not bloging regularly is that so much fun stuff piles up and then there is just too much to talk about.  Here's a quick recap on our super fun week.  

Wednesday night my parents took Eric and me to see Phantom of

 the Opera in Sacramento.  I hadn't seen the performance since I was 14 when my parents took my family to see it in San Fransico.  I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.  Eric had never seen the production so I was eager to take him when I heard it was coming to town.  There is not much that compares to the score of that play.  It's so hard not to sing along with the performers, but to the much appreciated ears to the others around me, I refrained.  Eric really enjoyed it.  It was a nice date night too.

Then on Saturday I had the opportunity to shoot a 50th wedding anniversary up in Tahoe, or as Ty calls it, Lake Taco.  I was invited to bring up the whole family and spend the day up there at the parents home.  They had a beautiful home just off the lake.  The day was perfect.  Tanner went down for a nap while Eric went on a boat ride across the lake with the boys and Tyler got his first fishing lesson on the dock and caught 5 fish!  

He stayed on the dock the whole day.  

After dinner I took the family down to the shore for pictures and Eric and the boys played on the pier and in the water while I finished up my work.  We left that night with two kids who had the best day.  Tyler has asked if we can go back to Lake Taco a few times.  We might have to go visit again soon, it was so nice.

Then yesterday we celebrated Father's Day at my parents house.  I made dessert.  As many of you know I'm not a huge fan of desserts, chocolate mainly, but most desserts aren't my huge love.  So I figured if I had to make something, I'd make it fun!  I decided to make it a dinosaur cake.  I ran out of green icing, but other than that it was a success.  And I heard the cake wasn't bad tasting either.  The boys loved it!

This week looks to be full as well.  I'll do my best to keep up:)

No Good

I am not doing so good at this blogging thing lately. Sorry. It just seems after the hours of work spent on the computer the last thing I want to do is spend more time on the computer blogging. I need to re-think my thinking though because blogging is so therapeutic. It's kind of like my view on showering. Sometimes I put it off just because I don't want to deal with the after math of drying my hair and finding the time to do the whole process.... uggh. But then I get in the shower and wish I could spend a whole hour just sitting in there. I don't mean to say I go days without showering or anything, it's just not something I look forward to. It's another one of those whole time management things too I think. I don't know, I'm just weird. Don't worry, I wont be too stinky next time I'm around, hopefully:)

So anyway... here's a cute picture of Tanner I took this afternoon after one of my photo shoots. I can't believe he's two! I can't believe my Tan-man is getting so big. It's fun in so many ways, and I have to admit, that I don't miss the tiny baby stage with him one tiny bit, although I'm gearing up for those "fun" days again. Tanner is in nursery, which is AWESOME and he is SO CLOSE to being potty trained. Oh happy day when that happens. I might actually get a break between diaper changes before November is here. Not that I have anything against diapers but it will be one stage I will appreciate a small brake from! Some day they will done all together. He's great at his knowing his colors and he has a bunch of his numbers down and it's fun to hear him sing his ABC's. The letters at the pauses in the song, like G and P are always emphasized with a huge grin, it's fun to listen to. I'll keep this part about him positive, but just because it was a long day with him too, he is totally two in ALL AREAS, and that's all I say about that:)

Mustard Cranberry Glazed Chicken

June already?

Well this is a recipe I've made and there are three things I love about it: first, it's so easy that it goes together in about ten minutes, second it smells wonderful cooking and third, everyone likes it so that I never have to worry about grumpy complaints.

Lately I've gotten extremely tough against that kind of attitude--one complaint about what's for dinner and the offender is "invited" to spend the rest of the meal up in their bedroom--far away from the food that they find so offensive. I find it looks much more appealing after an hour or two of solitary.

But, enough about my heartless childrearing techniques and on with the recipe. There are a lot of fancy mustards out there and most will substitute nicely--next time you're at the grocery store grab one that looks interesting and thrown it in the pot.

1 whole chicken
1 cup honey
1/2 cup cranberry mustard such as Pepperidge Farms
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Rinse then pat the chicken dry. I will often will substitute a package of thighs or breasts should the whim strike me, it just depends on what I have on hand. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir constantly over a medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.

Brush a thin layer of the sauce over the chicken pieces or whole roaster and bake uncovered for one hour. Then pull the chicken out and spoon the rest of the sauce over the bird and roast for another 15 minutes until it's got a lovely golden brown covering. If you have loose pieces of chicken rather than a whole roaster you should decrease the cooking time by 15 minutes: roast for 45 minutes then spoon the sauce and roast for another 15.

Let the chicken sit for five or ten minutes before serving to set the juices then enjoy--I served this most recently with a side of Parmesan polenta and some springy asparagus--which did elicit a few gasps this last time but no complaints thanks to my new "take no prisoners" meal time policy.