For My Dad

My dad worked for Nabisco pretty much my whole life. So we always had what seemed like an endless supply of cookies and crackers at our disposal. Sometimes we even got to try the new product lines before they hit the stores. (It was rough, let me tell you!) But this also meant that we never, and I mean NEVER bought the competitors brand. (I still rarely buy Keebler products due to my childhood brainwashing. :) ) But there was one exception. Mother's Iced Animal Cookies. You know, the pink and white iced cookies with sprinkles on top? And we only bought them on special occasions. My dad used to get so mad and say something along the lines of "I can't figure out why Nabisco doesn't just make 'Iced Barnum's Animal Crackers.' They would be so good." Eventually my dad retired from Nabisco, and low and behold Nabisco is finally making these:And guess what? They are SO GOOD! (Albeit very messy.)

Dad, this post was just for you!

Cheese Heads

This weekend we flew to Wisconsin for a family reunion (Dustin's Grandma's family) in the Green Bay area. Dustin and I haven't been there for 6 years (since the last reunion they had) and that was before we had kids! It was fun to see Dustin's aunts, uncles and cousins. We didn't have time to do much, but Dustin got in some time on his Uncle Ron's 4 wheelers. (I'm still working on getting some of the mud out of his clothes!)The boys played horseshoes with Dad and found plenty of dirt to dig in.
And of course we had lots of fun playing in the water park at our hotel. (Thanks Uncle Jason for staying with us and helping out with your favorite nephews!)Aside from our annoying layovers and cramped planes, we had a good trip.Now we just have to get everyone back to normal!

Forever Young

So this past weekend I had the opportunity to be a counselor at our stake Youth Conference. They wanted to create an EFY type experience, so from Thursday evening until Saturday afternoon I was with my girls. We ate together, went to classes together, drove together, and they even slept at my house. It was great. I was so thrilled to have such awesome girls.The youth in general were so much fun to work with. The dances were awesome! I totally get why my dad, who served as a bishop when I was a youth, loved to attend the youth dances. It was hilarious to watch these kids.And thank goodness for Brooke (who was also serving as a counselor). I was so glad I had someone to share the laughs with (including getting asked to dance by boys half my age!)

Even though I knew doing this would be a big sacrifice for me and my family, I also knew that I would have a great time.. The kids worked so hard at our service projects without complaints.
And they shared such great testimonies, whether in our morning or nightly devotionals, workshops, or in their final testimony meeting. It was a special opportunity, not only for the youth, but for those of us who got to be surrounded by such fine spirits.

Carson's 1st Dentist Trip

Carson had his first visit to the dentist today! We scheduled it so that he could watch me get my teeth cleaned first, and then have his turn in the chair. He did so well. And I was so glad I had my camera with me, since that was how I convinced him to sit by himself (so that he could get his picture taken!) His good friend "Peanut" got to come along too! When he was done he got a new tooth brush, tooth paste and floss AND he got to pick a toy out of a big box. (Carson chose a tiny tube of red chapstick!)Best part? No Cavities!!!

What's New

One of the main reasons I keep up on our blog is so that my family (and mainly my parents) can keep up with our current happenings. (All of the rest of you just get to spy along the way!) Maybe that's why I haven't posted much lately... my parents have been here for the last week! But that doesn't mean we haven't been doing anything. We've been doing plenty.

We've been watching my dad take care of stuff in our house and yard. (Thanks Dad!!!)We've been playing in the water.But mostly we've been enjoying Grandma and Grandpa.We'll be sad to have them go, but we sure have enjoyed the visit so far.

My Boys

Does anyone else watch that show? Love it. Anyway...thought I'd share some random pictures from this weekend. These are from an impromptu photo shoot on Sunday morning (since we actually got ready with time to spare!!!) I love this one because of the way Jensen and Carson are looking at each other- they are such funny brothers.
And this is what I caught Jensen doing Saturday evening when I left the pantry door open.This is the "Uh-oh" face. I love these boys.

Sweet Stuff

Last night I hosted a cake decorating class for a mid-week Relief Society Enrichment activity. I had so much fun! I don't get to decorate like I used to, and despite being pretty rusty, I remembered how much I enjoyed it.

I started out by doing some demonstrating. I ended up with this cute mini stacked tiered cake.
I really enjoyed making it...but not as much as Carson enjoyed eating it! (He told me later that he liked it, but he ate too much frosting!)
But the best part of the evening was letting everyone give it try with different tips and techniques. It became quickly evident that cake decorating can be harder than it looks...and not as intimidating as some had thought! It just takes a little training and some practice. Everyone got to decorate a tiny cake to take home. I was impressed with all the creativity! Thanks to everyone who came, I had a wonderful time. (And seriously, Kristen, I would love to do it again!)