Sister of the Groom aka Chopped Liver

The day is nearly upon us...Kirk's Wedding!! It is an exciting time around here. We leave tonight when Tyler gets off work to drive to Utah for the big shindig. It should be a lot of fun. But as Kirk is the one boy in our family and he has FOUR sisters...lucky guy...I have been pondering on what exactly is the role of "Sister of the Groom". I'll tell you what it is...Nada.

Brother of the Bride has a more prominent role...especially when filling in for an absentee father.

Kirk was a mini-groomsman at our wedding and filled in for any of those "Father/Daughter" special moments. He was so darn cute in his little tuxedo!! How is he old enough to get married?

At Stacey's wedding Kirk had the honor of escorting her down the aisle and then escorting the prettiest girl in the room...Reilly the flower girl...back down the aisle when the wedding was over. Look how little Reilly is...so cute!! Are you loving Kirk's hair color...the one and only time he has ever done something that drastic with his hair and of course he did it right before Stacey and John's wedding.

But back to wedding duties to fulfill...Tyler has a job to do...he is a Groomsman...and has the prestigious honor of holding Kaiden during the ceremony and Ailey is a flower girl. So what does the "Sister of the Groom" do? I guess sit around looking pretty without actually having to do anything and enjoy the wedding. I guess I could handle that.

I did buy myself a new dress for the occasion. Kirk informed me that even my cutest "church clothes" were too casual for the enigmatic "sister of the groom". Jayme picked the colors brown and pink for the wedding party. Her bridesmaids and Ailey will be in pink. The mothers will be in chocolate brown. Sisters of the groom were told to wear black. I hope we don't look like a murder of crows sitting in a corner or worse a coven of witches...since I'm sure there will be quite a lot of cackling going on. I thought it would be a fabulous idea that instead of groomsmen Kirk could have his four sisters stand up with him in our black dresses...that idea was quickly shot down. So I guess I will sit around chatting, eating, and dancing without a care in the world.

This will also be the first time in nearly 13 years that all the original McClellan family will be under one roof...mother, father and all five kids. AWKWARD!! Spending a long weekend with Larry could be um...interesting.

We are staying with Brett and Marissa again. They are so wonderful to always let us invade their house. We can't wait to see them. We are also so excited to see Lori (Tyler's sister) who is flying in for the weekend. We are packing so much into just a couple of days. Lucy...I was hoping to get to see you while I was in town but it isn't really looking like I'm going to be able too. There is just so much going on...showers, brunches, family stuff, rehersal and rehersal dinner etc. that it doesn't look too promising. But with Kirk and Jayme living in Utah I'm sure we will be back for another visit in the near future and hopefully we can get together before you move to Colorado.

See you in a few days!!

Book Review #16



I am really behind in the posting of book reviews. I will attempt to catch up. I LOVE Jane Austen...let me just get that out of the way. I have never met a Jane Austen book I didn't like. Including this one...bad rap though it may have among some.

From the Internet http://www.austen.com/: Mansfield Park has the dubious distinction of being disliked by more of Jane Austen's fans than any of her other novels, even to the point of spawning "Fanny Wars" in Internet discussion forums. Its themes are very different from those of her other books, which can generally be simplified into one sentence, or even one phrase: Sense and Sensibility is about balancing emotions and thought, Pride and Prejudice is about judging others too quickly, Emma is about growing into adulthood, and Persuasion is about second chances. The theme of Mansfield Park, on the other hand, can not be so easily described. Is it about ordination? Is it an allegory on Regency England? Is it about slavery? Is it about the education of children? Is it about the difference between appearances and reality? Is it about the results of breaking with society's morés? Any, or all of those themes can, and have been applied to Mansfield Park.

In this book our heroine...the occasionally annoying, goody-goody, timid, and much put-upon, Fanny Price, is taken in at the age of nine by her wealthy aunt and uncle to help out her large yet poor family. Fanny is raised as a second-class citizen in the family...not as one of the children...but as a step above the household help. Her only friend is her beloved cousin, Edmund, who takes Fanny under his wing and helps to guide her, protect her, and influences her morals and values. Fanny represents the late 18th and early 19th century value of sensibility. As Fanny grows up she becomes the backbone of the family, due to her strength and dependability despite her occasional priggishness.

Her uncle, Sir Thomas, is called away on business to the West Indies and while he is gone a brother and sister, Henry and Mary Crawford, move into the neighborhood which begins a series of romantic entanglements. Thus begins the moral decline of Sir Thomas' household into flirtatious and inappropriate relationships...including adultery...not usually a theme of Jane Austen. Edmund falls for the shallow charms of Mary Crawford (much to Fanny's dismay) even though he worries that she lacks manners and disrespects his profession as a clergyman.

Mary's brother, the charming and flirtatious Henry Crawford toys with the hearts of all the women at Mansfield Park. After breaking the heart of Fanny's betrothed cousin Maria, Henry transfers his attentions to the diffident Fanny and decides to amuse himself by making Fanny fall in love with him. The opposite occurs and he...Henry the heart-breaking cad...falls in love with the kind and gentle Fanny who does not return his feelings. Henry proposes marriage but Fanny's knowledge of his improper flirtations with her cousin and her romantic feelings for Edmund cause her to reject him. Sir Thomas returns from the West Indies and is dismayed by her causal rejection of a most advantages match for a poor girl like Fanny. Sir Thomas rebukes her ingratitude and sends her back to live with her poor family until she can realize how useful it might be to have a rich husband.

Fanny is no Elizabeth Bennett and Edmund is no Mr. Darcy but I still loved this book. The sharp wit of Jane Austen is sadly absent from this book but it did provide a most interesting peak into the social norms and values of the time. My favorite characters were the disgraceful Mary and Henry Crawford. I loved them and could identify with Mary and her irreverent sense of humor. It was interesting to learn that during that time her lively personality was considered a character flaw. I was even rooting for the redemption of Henry Crawford. All in all it was a great read!

My rating: EXCELLENT!! A great book to curl up with on a cold autumn night.

Only three more book reviews to go!!

Good-bye Young Womens...Hello...gulp...Relief Society?!?!

Since the big ward reorganization I have been on pins and needles wondering what my next calling would be...boy was I in for a shock! I was released as the second counselor in Young Womens and called to be the secretary in Relief Society. This is foreign territory to me. Some how I am now officially a "Church Lady".

Growing up in my inactive LDS household visits from the "church ladies" was something to be dreaded. No matter where we would move or how many times my mom would say that she wasn't interested in coming to church these ladies would track us down with the tenacity of bloodhounds. Inevitably they would show up on our doorstep in their sensible shoes and denim jumpers bearing baked goods and would question our inactivity. I used to feel sorry for these "do-gooders"...they seemed so hopeful...and then would leave disappointed...and I was left feeling judged.

As a small child I feared these "church ladies" both of my grandmas were "Church Ladies" extraordinaire and had some formidable friends. Their friends used to bombard us with questions like "Have you been going to Primary?" um...no "Don't you love Jesus?" um...yes "Then you need to tell your parents to take you to church!!" Easier said than done ladies. Most of the time I ended up feeling bad and dreaded seeing some of these well-meaning but still scary ladies.

As I got older my church attendance has on occasion been sporadic. I still dreaded the "church ladies" and their looks that seemed to imply "Look who only comes to church when it's CONVENIENT!!"

So as I accepted the calling from the bishop I was dreading the church ladies. I was nervous to go to Relief Society today and introduce myself. What if they didn't like me and judged me...what if I didn't like them and judged them. I have spent a large portion of my life trying to be the antithesis of a church lady...but then I realized today...I make a mean loaf of bread...there aren't any funeral potatoes that can compare to mine...I do love Jesus...I love to "visit" people...even less active members...gulp...I'm one of them...and that's ok.

Guess what? I was greeted with open arms. So many ladies hugged me and welcomed me to Relief Society and said that they were "so excited" to have me in the RS Presidency. I came away with such unexpected feelings of love and gratitude. Now...ISN'T THAT SPECIAL! ;)

Meanest Mom EVER!

We are two 1/2 weeks into the school year and the "meanest mom ever" that would be me (if there was any doubt) has already inspired chorus upon chorus of this particular chant. Why am I so mean? I am a vehement hater of after school activities. I hate them, I loathe them. That's why I love summer so much. I cave for certain things like: ballet, piano, t-ball, and afew other things. Other than that count us out. This doesn't win me any popularity contests with my kids. So far this year I have said "no" to: crossing guard, scouts, soccer, and BAND!! How anyone with half my DNA wants to play in the band is beyond me!

At the end of last year Reilly informed me that she would LOVE to be a crossing guard. Um...ok... after all I was a crossing guard in 5th grade too. Brad Roper and I made a heck of a team as we protected/guarded an intersection in Springville, Utah. Of course I only wanted to be a crossing guard because the cute Brad Roper was one. Anyway I said yes to Reilly and then got a taste of what life is like for the mother of a crossing guard. I needed to drop her off early and pick her up later and HOPE she was paying attention to vehicles. At the end of last year she was "training" which was terrifying to behold. I stalked her at various locations and found that all she did was chat with everyone crossing the street. Very little attention was paid to the cars that she was supposed to be keeping her eye on. One particular location...the water tower intersection was the worst. Dangerous...and I had to actually honk at her a few times from my secret location to make sure she didn't get hit by a car herself while she was deep in conversation with a friend. When school started this year and I realized that she only had 1 day a week free to stay after school and what was Kameron supposed to do while she was doing this and the fact that we BARELY make it to school on time as is I made her turn in her fluorescent vest. But here's a picture of her "training" just to document that she was actually a crossing guard once. Do note that she is posing for a picture not caring that a school bus is barreling right towards her.

Scouts... I have nothing against scouting but Kameron can do it when he turns eight and do it through our church. Something happened at school and I don't know if scouting representatives actually came to their school but whatever it was it was impressive. Kameron came home begging to be a cub scout. Sure I said...when you turn eight. Here began the hysterics...crying...fit throwing. But I held firm. I talked to the moms of Kameron's buddies who wanted to know if Kameron was going to cub scouts and I said no. Lucky for me that was what the other moms said too. But for awhile there were some mopey 1st graders.

Soccer...this is still a sore spot at our house. I'm not against team sports. I'm against every Saturday filled with soccer. I would rather do things as a family. Our motto is let the kids ski...water and snow, snowboard, mountain bike, boat...active yet something the whole family can do together. Tyler and I got burned out sitting through many many soccer games of Kirk and Jordin.

Now onto band. Again...apparently there was quite a fabulous assembly or something pushing the band and strings program at Reilly's school. Reilly came home quite excited to learn to play an instrument. I told her she already was learning to play an instrument...the piano that sits ignored most of the time and why didn't she sign up for choir. Here entered her hysterics. "BUT I WANT TO PLAY THE CLARINET!!" she bellowed. Excuse me? The clarinet? "Who are you?" I asked her and "how are we related?" Then came the buckets and buckets of preteen tears. I'm sorry but the last thing my frazzled nerves can take is the honking or should I say squawking of the clarinet!! (Please no comments from disgruntled clarinet players...It's a wonderful instrument...but not in the hands of my 5th grade daughter).

I am not against band. I see it's value. I was in band for two horrible years in junior high. My mom signed me up (without my knowledge) and gleefully picked out my instrument...THE FRENCH HORN!! She was so excited at the first of those two years. She even bought me a french horn sweatshirt so I could feel extra bonded with my instrument and boy was she ever excited at the end of those two years to let me quit. Maybe one too many times having to accompany me on the piano at solo night did her in. I was HORRIBLE. The french horn and a girl with braces do not mix. I could never produce the "buzz" that then would cause the proper sound to come out of the instrument. I was lucky to get my lips over those braces!! I dragged that instrument home every day for two years and had permanent bruises on my knees from where the large and cumbersome case would whack me. I could barely lift that case and would've missed the bus every single day (I was always late and had to run for it) if Tom Buss (high school neighbor) hadn't taken pity on me and lugged it for me as we would both run for the bus. Oh the memories!! I did learned to appreciate classical music and to love the symphony...and it did build character.

Reilly already gets a lot of that from ballet and piano. She also has a lovely voice, loves to sing, and I think she would really love choir. But this is the argument that refuses to die. Oh the allure of shiny instruments. I said no when she first told me about it. I said no when she brought home the note from the school. I said no when she called me from school twice on the final day and said "I'm calling you so you don't make a terrible mistake by not signing me up for band. Whatever I sign up for I have to stick with for two years and I would hate for YOU to feel bad later on that you had made the wrong decision". Thanks Reilly! Then I just had to say it all again yesterday because apparently band is about to start up and Reilly wanted to "double check" that I was o.k. with choir because she sure wouldn't want me feeling guilty if she missed out on the great talent she could have had with her clarinet!! I'll take my chances. But for now the crown and sash as meanest mother EVER still belongs to me.

Good News and Bad News

Good News: I have thought about blogging a lot this past week.

Bad News: I didn't do it.

Good News: I attended Camry's Baby Shower

(L to R: Rita our Laurel advisor, Jayni, Valynn, Me and Camry)

The shower was a lot of fun. Rita was so sweet to host it at her house and it was catered by Shari H. She did a Mexican Fiesta. Jayni won a catered Mexican Feast for ten in our Relief Society Service Swap. The food was fabulous. Glenrose Ward you are lucky to get her!! She is a fabulous cook. I had a great time.

Bad News: It was our last official get-together as a Young Women's Presidency. Sad. Out of all the people at the shower Jayni and I are the only ones in the new ward. :( Losing Valynn, Camry, Rita, all our advisors, and Melody and Hannah P. is a BIG LOSS!! So the night was a little melancholy for all of us.

Good News: Look how cute Camry is and she is due in about 5 days.



Bad News: This is what I look like pregnant at about three months!!

Good News: I had a Garage Sale this weekend.

Bad News: I had a Garage Sale this weekend.

Good News: I sold a load of junk and made money.

Bad News: It was excruciating, mind-numbing hellish torture to do it.

I have NEVER had a yard sale before and believe me I am in no rush to do it again!! I had it on Friday and Saturday. Friday is a BIG yard sale day in our part of the world. Thanks Kelley for taking all the kids to school...even Ailey. You were a HUGE help!! The idea was that Tyler was going to help me with the running of the yard sale...umm...didn't happen. He ended up being very "busy" on Friday at work and having to work on Saturday too. So that left me with all the pleasure. I had the idea that Reilly could help me on Saturday but as each and every man who came to the yard sale looked like a level 4 sex offender I quickly kept her inside on babysitting duty.

Let me just say that I have seen a slice of life that I thought only existed at parades, the Fair and Carnivals. Now I like a Carny as much as the next person but people...THEY WERE AT MY HOUSE!! I LURED them there with bright yellow signs. Scary. Now I like to go to garage sales. But my way of doing it is cruising by...looking to see if they have any good furniture to redo for Sisters Creed and moving on. I rarely get out...I send my minon, Reilly, if I need a closer look. I NEVER haggle...and that is the extent of it. I'm not usually mingling with the other shoppers. Boy have I have been missing out.

Here are a few of the highlights:

-People stealing from me.

-People attempting to steal from me...I got more savvy as the first day wore on.

-People smoking in my face and throwing their cigarette butts in my yard.

-People bugging my dog...had to put her inside. Apparently Mrs. Beasley was freaked out by the scary people too.

-A rude lady who while complaining that $1 for a Ralph Lauren coat was OUTRAGEOUS her flea bitten dog peed on my box of books.

-The man who yelled "WHERE'S THE MAN STUFF? THIS IS ALL GIRLY $%@!"
(Well kind sir... the man of the house wouldn't part with anything he owned so "girly $%@!" it was).

-The woman who "tsked tsked" me for all the "nice" stuff I was selling and how people just don't keep anything anymore and it's that kind of attitude that is ruining America.

-The man who kept asking me if I was divorced...NO...Did I think I would be getting divorced anytime soon? (Uh...maybe if I ever have to do a garage sale by myself again!!)

-The well-dressed and bejeweled middle-aged lady who bought an Ann Taylor Sweater for .50 cents and a Banana Republic Shirt for .50 cents and 4 books (new titles) at .25 cents a piece... who when I told her the total was 2 bucks she said (big sigh) " Well...I guess I won't eat today".

-The two motorized wheel chair ladies who kept pointing their canes at things and yelling at me "What's that?" A rice maker. "I want it!! Get it!!". Those two had me jumping and fetching everything I had all the while yelling at me. Tyler came home on his lunch break to see how things were going during this little dog and pony show and nearly keeled over laughing.

These were but a few of my many "interesting" experiences.

I did get the truly poor elderly living on social security who were counting out their nickles and pennies who broke my heart and I gave away lots of stuff for free.

I also met the coolest brown-haired elderly southern lady from Texas. I recognized that soft Houston accent right away and we seriously bonded.

So it wasn't all bad...not good...but not all bad. But it felt pretty bad. I do have a clutter-free garage and basement now. Yay me!

The Deed Is Done

After months of speculation...hours of conversation....our ward boundaries were revealed yesterday, our ward was split, and new bishops were named. As is always the case when a ward splits there was drama and some trauma and some SHOCK for all involved. All in all I'm pretty happy with the split. We lost some great families but gained some wonderful new ones. My ward is a new ward and it is made up of people from three different wards. My old ward also gained people from another ward. Pretty much all the wards in our part of town either gained people or lost people. Ward names were shifted around. I am now in the 6th ward and the original 6th ward is now called something completely different. Crazy.

A new beautiful church has been built but we are still in our old church. That is ok with me. I like the old church and it's close proximity to me. Our new bishop...Bishop Finn...was a SHOCK but I will adjust. I hope. ;) But the deed is done and now we can all move on.

We had a fun weekend. A nice respite after a busy week. Friday night I met Andrea and Carolyn at the new church to help prepare for the open house. After that we all met our husbands and went out to dinner at the best Thai restaurant in town and had a fun dinner.

Saturday morning Stacey came early and dropped Dane off while she went shopping for a dress for Kirk's wedding and got a pedicure. A pedicure feels heavenly when you are nearly 8 months pregnant and can't reach your toes. (I have yet to find a dress for the wedding...aahhh!) The kids had a ball playing with Dane. Kelley came over in the afternoon and Stac and I got to meet Kelley's new boyfriend, Victor.

That evening we attended the Open House for the new church. I think it went fantastically. The church looked beautiful and all the booths representing the different auxiliaries of the church looked great. I was very impressed.

Sunday morning at 9 am was our "special" meeting and then we had the dedication at 2 pm. The church in our area is growing rapidly and it has been fun to be a part of it all. Thank goodness for Jason and Andrea who were so kind to invite several families over to their house for dessert, discussion of recent changes, and a fun game!! We had a GREAT TIME!! Thanks!!

Now I have kids to get off to school and a week filled with ballet, piano, joy school and much much more. I am really looking forward to book club on Tuesday!

Behold The Whirlwind


Summer is over, Labor Day is gone, the kids are back in school and I am spinning out of control...so much to do, so many places to go and no time to do it all...and no time for blogging or reading blogs. I'm waiting for our routine to kick in. Give me another week and I should be on top of things.


School. I know there are lots of moms out there who are so happy when the kids go back to school. I am not one of them. I LOVE SUMMER! I like not having schedules, bedtimes,commitments and most of all AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES!!


Our Labor Day Weekend got off to an early start on Thursday when I met KariAnn and Rebecca for a much needed pedicure...and then afterwards we met Andrea for a delicious lunch at Luna's. A day of fun, friends and pampering before the kids went back to school. So nice and so necessary.


Saturday night was our ward Corn Feed. The kids had a great time! Our ward is splitting this weekend so it was our last hurrah.

Ailey and Reilly doing the three-legged race

One of my favorite pictures of the night--Julie and Carolyn after the egg toss! ;)

We then went up to my Mom's house to help her move over the weekend. She is moving from her log house to a house on the other side of her town. So we labored on Labor day...not too exciting.


The kids went back to school yesterday and the crazy mornings have begun. I have started rising before the sun because that is the only way to keep on top of things anymore but the sad result is me sacked out on the couch by 8:30pm. Yehaw! I might as well be 80 years old.

The kids were really excited to go back to school and to see all their friends. Reilly is in 5th grade and Kameron is in 1st. Kameron was so excited to get to stay all day and to EAT LUNCH AT SCHOOL!!








We have a family tradition of going out for dinner after the first day of school...the kids picked Dairy Queen as their restaurant of choice. We got off easy as I know a family that does the same thing and they were off to PF Changs. Dinner at Dairy Queen was delicious! ;) I was quite excited that my all-time favorite blizzard was back...




These are so good!! Thanks Lori for introducing us to them a few years ago. The sad part is they only appear once in awhile. So it was Cotton Candy Blizzards all around! I LOVE cotton candy and these actually taste just like cotton candy unlike most cotton candy flavored ice cream. Could I say "cotton candy" any more times? COTTON CANDY! It must be the inner-carny in me that just can't get enough of it!

But I digress...the kids had a wonderful first day of school. Both were really happy with their teachers and classes. Both Reilly and Kameron had their best friends in their classes with them. Always a worry. They were both chatting my ear off. I am so glad that things went well.

They weren't the only ones to have a "First Day of School". Ailey had her first day of Joy School today!!


I decided to do Joy school for Ailey this year and then she can go to Preschool next year. She LOVED it!! I teach every Wednesday which isn't bad and then I have a 2 1/2 hour stretch on Fridays for volunteering in Reilly and Kam's classes or doing whatever I want. Fun fun.