Good-bye Harry (Book Reviews 13 & 14)

This past month I have lived and breathed Harry Potter and it has been so much fun. Kariann picked Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for our book club selection for this month and as I was only on book 4 I had a lot of reading to do. This month I read books 5, 6 and 7 and saw the new movie. Tyler finished the last Harry Potter book this month too and so it has been a frequent topic of conversation around here. We even found a recipe for "butterbeer" (cream soda/rootbeer, cream and butter) on the Internet and we had it for one of our Family Home Evening treats...and now it is over...all over... and I must admit I feel bereft. I loved this series. I am a sucker for "series" when I find beloved characters I want more than one book about them...and J.K. Rowling has been kind enough to provide seven. This series began when Reilly was about 6 months old and I have enjoyed reading a new book every few years and now my baby is reading them too. Time flies.

From Amazon.com

A darker book than any in the series thus far with a level of sophistication belying its genre, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moves the series into murkier waters and marks the arrival of Rowling onto the adult literary scene. While she has long been praised for her cleverness and wit, the strength of Book 6 lies in her subtle development of key characters, as well as her carefully nuanced depiction of a community at war. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, no one and nothing is safe, including preconceived notions of good and evil and of right and wrong. With each book in her increasingly remarkable series, fans have nervously watched J.K. Rowling raise the stakes; gone are the simple delights of butterbeer and enchanted candy, and days when the worst ailment could be cured by a bite of chocolate. A series that began as a colorful lark full of magic and discovery has become a dark and deadly war zone. There is an unexpected bleakness from the start of Book 6 that casts a mean shadow over Quidditch games, silly flirtations, and mountains of homework. Ready or not, the tremendous ending of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will leave stunned fans wondering what great and terrible events await in Book 7 if this sinister darkness is meant to light the way.

What can I say....LOVED IT! This book was a wonderful read with lots of new insight into the characters, revelations on the past, shocking twists and a devasting conclusion that I did not see coming! To delve any deeper into the story poses a risk of revealing too much and for those of you out there still reading this series I don't want to ruin the fun. I was just glad that I had book 7 to move right onto without having to wait two years for the next installment.

My rating: EXCELLENT

Now onto:

From Amazon.com

Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed.The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself.

This book made me a bit melancholy from the get-go...the last book...and the last of a lot of things. I wish I could've taken my time a bit more while reading this book and really savored it. But as I wanted to have it done by book club I read and read and read...even staying up until 4:30 am one night just to finish it...I could not put it down! It was wonderful. Full of excitment and danger from the very beginning to the very end. There were lots of moments that made me laugh out loud and lots of moments that had me sniffling away...by the end I was bawling my eyes out. I was happy with the ending and felt that all questions and loose ends where tied up nice and neat.

This series has come a long way from the light and charming book one to the dark and heartbreaking book seven. I have loved Harry's journey from boy to man and would whole-heartedly recommend this series to kids and adults alike. I'll admit I was very skeptical to read Harry Potter when it first came out...I felt that I was too mature for a "children's book" but by the end of this series they are no longer "children's books" and I'm glad I didn't miss out on this exciting journey. But I will miss Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, the Weasleys (especially Fred and George...they were my favorites) and even the crazy Dursleys. It's been a great ride!

My rating: EXCELLENT

And...book club was great last night. Thanks for hosting Kariann.

Happy 25th Birthday Kirk








Happy Birthday!! I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you very much!! Here's your list of 25 things I love about you:

1.) He is a wonderful loving, supportive, and generous brother.

2.) He is a fantastic uncle...my kids adore him.

3.) He was the cutest baby boy ever!

4.) Before he was born Stacey, Kelley, and I made a wish in a fountain for a baby brother. Shortly thereafter my mom got pregnant with Kirk...when he was an bratty little brother he was fond of saying "Hey! You wished for me!!"

5.) His nicknames are Kirky, Nirky, Smurf, Mr. B, Nirky Quellen but if you ask him his nickname is "Kirk the Jerk".

6.) He is still called Kirky by all four of his sisters and...to my amusement...by his nieces and nephews...UNCLE Kirky that is! :)

7.) He will deny this but as a toddler his favorite toys were a clown doll named "Bobo" and a boy doll he named "Baby Bobby"!!

8.) He is the MOST hilarious person I know...he makes me laugh constantly and abuses this power. :)

9.) He is the king of impressions...my personal fav's...Kip from Napoleon Dynamite, Chewbaka and the Cowardly Lion.

10.) He is extremely obnoxious and always has to be the center of attention...but if you ask him he will say he is SHY!!

11.) He was a class clown in elementary school and has the distinction of having made one of his teachers cry.

12.) He is EXTREMELY charming...and abuses this power...it is a good thing because if he wasn't so charming he would've been beaten to death by his four sisters long ago!

13.) His favorite food is calamari.

14.) He hates birthdays and always refuses to have a party or to tell us what he'd like for his birthday...we ignore him.

15.) He doesn't like sweets or raspberries...freak...but has "dirt and worms" every year for his birthday...even as an adult.

16.) He used to torment the boys I went out with by saying things like "You sure have a lot of zits", and "Are you going to French her?" He also spread the rumor around church that he had seen me kissing a missionary!! (Not true...by the way).

17.) He loves animals and spent much of his childhood in the bayous of Houston collecting slimy creatures.

18.) His favorite past time as a child was to go to pet stores. He constantly bought snakes, frogs, toads and lizards which he would smuggle home and keep hidden in his room.

19.) He was in the delivery room when I had Kameron...he claims this has scarred him for life.

20.) He shares my love of the movie "American Flyers" and is probably the only other person in the world besides me who quotes from it regularly.

21.) He always has the best music on his IPOD. Including all my favorites bands from high school...I couldn't be prouder! ;)

22.) He is a riot to go on road trips with...we have gone on countless trips together (Tyler included) to the lake, the infamous trip to Colorado, and who could forget our most recent trip to Boise. SILENCE!! (That would be Stacey yelling at me and Kirk to stop laughing).

23.) He loves boating, water skiing, and wake boarding. He is an amazing water skiier. He makes it an art form...second only to our Uncle John.

24.) A few months ago my mom and I were checking out her online dating prospects which were grim (she has since given up online dating) when we found someone who we felt was particularly pathetic. His interests were watching CSI with his mother and eating popcorn. Not 3 minutes later Kirk yells upstairs "Mom!! CSI is on!!" and what was he eating...POPCORN!! My mom and I nearly peed our pants laughing!!

25.) He is fantastic and loving father to Kaiden.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRKY!! YOU ARE MY FAVORITE BROTHER!

Oh wait...there is more...Reilly just brought down a little tribute from she and Kameron and Ailey:

We dedicate this song to our Uncle Kirky:

Kip's Song

Why do you love me?

Why do you need me?

Always and forever

We met in chapel

Now we're in full bloom

Shining on world

You truly make me feel just great

Yes, I love technology

Not as much as you, you see

Always and forever

Our love is like a flock of doves

Flying to heaven above

Always and forever

Always and forever

Yes, our love is truly great

Always and forever

(Ha Ha Ha Ha...Kirk you'd better appreciate that! They have been upstairs pausing and unpausing the DVD for an hour trying to write down the lyrics...I have printed them as they were given to me!!)

Happy Birthday Jordin

Today is my baby sister's 22nd birthday. Happy Birthday!! It seems like just yesterday you looked like this:

And this...

And this...

Here are 22 things I love about Jordi:

1. She is a wonderful sister and aunt.
2. She is adored by her nieces and nephews...she calls frequently just to talk to them.
3. She is beautiful inside and out.
4. She is funny.
5. She was such cute baby with blonde ringlets and big blue eyes...until one day when I was babysitting and Kirk cut off her ringlets and I got in HUGE TROUBLE...so unfair!
6. She is the only "natural" blonde in our family.
7. Her nicknames are Jo-Jo, J. J., and Snort.
8. When she was little she had a pronounced speech impediment and used to pronounce Kirk as "Kurk" and she used to refer to me, Stacey and Kelley as "The Gulls" (The Girls).
9. When I was in high school and I was going somewhere with my friends Jordi would come running out to their cars and beg for candy and gum.
10. She graduated from high school early.
11. She loves to sing and act.
12. She is a hard worker and usually is working 2 to 3 jobs at a time...because she LIKES to.
13. She has been known to eat a potpie in the most unlikely location... ;)
14. She has never met a stranger. Everyone knows Jordin. Even when she was a little girl my mom would go to the grocery store and people she didn't know would come up and ask her if she was "Jordin's mom".
15. I had to wait to a semester start college at BYU...as a result I got to walk Jordi to kindergarten every day for a few months. The people at her school thought I was her teenage mother.
16. She is a "loud talker" :)
17. She used to write funny stories in school...our family's all-time favorite was one loosely based on Tyler called "Timmy the Diabeties Boy" (original spelling). Our family frequently quotes this story.
18. She told us once that her friend Brittany was from France...when we asked her why she thought this she said it was because Brittany always wore a scarf. Our family still always asks Jordi how her friend "Zee Little French Girl" is doing.
19. She likes to make up dance routines with me...we have quite a few fabulous ones to music from "Grease".
20. She does a PERFECT imitation of our mom!!
21. She is strong and has come through many tough times.
22. She likes to give her family "piggy smooches".

Wow...already to 22 and I feel like I am just getting on a roll here!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDI!! I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!! XOXOXOXOXO

I've Taken A Lover (Book Review #12) ...And The FHE From @$#%

Yes...and his name is Harry Potter. We spend a lot of time together,me and Harry,...I think Tyler just might be jealous. I just finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I am slightly behind on the Harry Potter series. Our book club selection for this month is the final Harry Potter book and I realized that I had only read up to book 4. I have since been immersed in the Wizarding World. I don't think I will have book seven read by next week but I have been enjoying being reunited with Harry.







From the Publisher: In Rowling's fifth book Harry finds himself and Dumbdelore under scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic which refuses to alert the community and acknowledge the terrifying truth that Voldemort has returned. Harry's other challenges include: • Hogwarts having a High Inquisitor • Facing an overwhelming course load as the fifth years prepare for their Ordinary Wizarding Levels examinations (O.W.L.s) • Distressing changes in the Gryffindor Quidditch team lineup • Vivid dreams about long hallways and closed doors • Ever-increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar Harry faces the difficult transition into adulthood, when adult heroes are revealed to be fallible, and matters that seemed black-and-white suddenly come out in shades of gray.


I LOVED this book!! I was charmed by book one and enjoyed books 2,3,4 but book 5 is where things start to get really interesting. I love how as Harry gets older and matures so do the books in their language and content. I really liked Lucy's idea of having her boys read one Harry Potter book a year so they can grow along with Harry. But I don't think that will work at our house. Reilly is already on pins and needles and hanging over my shoulder trying to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (the book I am currently reading).

This book was darker and more complex than the previous books...although book four was starting to get dark as well. This is the infamous book in which a "beloved character" dies...and even though this book has been out for years somehow I never found out who the doomed character was...which was fun. Although I had psyched myself up for who I thought would die and I was completely WRONG! The character that does die is one that I thoroughly loved and I found myself crying big fat tears of despair while reading freaking HARRY POTTER!!




Some of the things that I truly loved about this book were the in depth looks at different places in the wizarding world like The Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo's, and The Noble House of Black to name a few. I loved the cast of characters who made up the Order of the Phoenix. I loved getting more insight into Harry's family. I loved the part of the book where Harry enters the pensieve relives Snape's memory and gets to see his father, mother, Sirius and Lupin as teenagers. That was great!


Onto my rating: EXCELLENT!! I loved this book.









Since I had finished book 5 I was really excited to see the movie...we have a rule in our house that if you want to see a movie that has been taken from a book you have to read the book first. Reilly and Tyler have been waiting very patiently for me to finish the book so we could go see the movie. Problem #1... it is PG-13. ugh! We have had a firm rule that the kids don't watch pg-13 movies...at all. Well...this rule was broken when the last Harry Potter movie came out...we took Reilly...but we had done a lot of research and several trusted friends had seen it so we took her and everything was fine (plus she had read the book).

We decided again that we would take Reilly to see the new Harry Potter movie but against our better judgement we decided to go as a whole family to see it as our Family Home Evening activity...mistake #2. We told Kameron that he could only go if he closed his eyes when we told him too (which he did faithfully). We picked a late movie (8pm) to go see and brought Ailey with her blanket so that she could sleep through it (which she did not). We decided to go to a regular theater to see it instead of the IMAX (Mistake #3)...thinking it would be more comfortable and therefore more sleep inducing to Ailey.


When we got to the theater and Tyler went up bought the tickets and we went to find our seats. About five minutes before the show begins Tyler leans over and tells me "Oh just to let you know there will be subtitles...it is a deaf screening"...WHAT!!!! (Apparently he was told this at the ticket counter). Now I have nothing against the deaf or a subtitled movie but for heaven sakes can't the theater let you know when you call to find out movie times that it will be subtitled?? OR...offer you a discount? Apparently not. I enjoy subtitled foreign movies so I decided I would try to be ok with it...but I wasn't and I wasn't happy. So the movie began... not only was the dialogue subtitled...EVERY THING and I do mean EVERYTHING was subtitled such as "eerie music is playing...somewhere a dog is barking...a woman's voice is heard...blah blah" and when there wasn't anything being heard except music they would flash musical notes!! After about five minutes I was done! It was way too distracting I couldn't get into the movie and after paying $40 for our whole family to go to the movies I was ticked off. I told Tyler I couldn't take one more minute and that I was leaving . We got into a big argument, dragged the kids out of the theater to weeping and wailing, went up to the ticket counter where Tyler accusingly pointed his finger at me and said "SHE DOESN'T WANT TO WATCH SUBTITLES!!" I got dirty looks like I was someone who hates deaf people and begrudges them going to the movies and like a bad mom because the kids were bawling. BIG FREAKING FAMILY FUN!


The next showing was AT 10:10pm...VERY LATE for this family. But we decided to exchange our tickets for that show. Well...then we had hours to kill. We went to the mall and hung out...then the mall closed and we still had an hour and 10 minutes. FINALLY the show started and everyone stayed awake...even Ailey but she spent the whole time with her head in her blanket or buried in Tyler's chest...not out of fear...just cuddling. We got home at nearly 1 am! WE ARE IDIOTS!!


And...my rating of the movie...blah! I was let down. Probably because the book is so good and full of so many details that were lacking in the movie. I don't think you would know half of what is going on in the movie if you hadn't read the book. I was disappointed with the casting of Professor Umbridge. In my imagination she was the spitting image of Reilly's teacher from last year...Mrs. Stern!


So the moral of this story...don't take your kids to pg-13 movies as an FHE activity!! Big mistake. The irony...with my lack of hearing I will probably be a regular attendee to these special screenings sometime down the road.

Sisters Creed Success

Kristin, Mom and Stacey (who is pregnant...she prefers me to state that when I post pictures of her!!)

Saturday was our Sisters Creed Sale. We participated in the big Blue Grass Festival in my sister Stacey's cute town. There was an antiques/craft sale in the park and we were one of the vendors. The weather was fantastic, the setting beautiful, live music, good food, great company and we even made MONEY! Good times! The festival has grown quite a lot since last year approximately 400 more people showed up this year and there were 3 times the vendors. I had a great time.

Our business is truly more fun than business. It is basically glorified "playing store". This was me, Stacey and Kelley's FAVORITE thing to play as kids. We always wanted to play store. We would set up three stores in our playroom and we would collect all our favorite things and make fun displays. We would make money, credit cards, checks, signs... the works. We even had donation buckets for our counters with signs that said "A penny for the poor". Then we would go around and "shop" at each others "stores" buy cool stuff and set it up in our own "store". Sisters Creed is all about "playing store"...but with real money. But we are still our own best customers. My mom has my stocking for Christmas and bought 2 things from Stacey to put in it...Stacey bought several things from me...we would like to buy every single thing my mom contributes!! We had a ball setting everything up and seeing what everyone brought to contribute. We missed Kelley who apparently had "better things to do"...wink wink.

Here are some pictures from our big event:

















My mom hand-quilted some of the most awesome picnic bags...the bags have pockets for wine glasses and utensils etc and inside the bag is a matching quilt...perfect for a live concert or a romantic picnic. She also made two cute toddler playdate bags...the same idea... a bag that you can take to the park that can hold a snack, sippy cups and toys with a smaller quilt. She made a gorgeous pink and brown one for a girl and a super cute blue and white retro Dick and Jane print for a boy. I wish I took a close up shot of both. Here is a picture of the adult one while being modeled by it's VERY EXCITED owner. (This is our third sale in this town and we have some very loyal customers!)


One of Stacey's items ...a cute pedestal bowl... actually started a fight between two ladies over it and one lady even eventually apologized to the other for YELLING at her....that is a Sisters Creed first!

Here was my big sale of the day...I sold my secretary desk nearly two hours before the sale even started. It was purchased by a couple that have a candle and bath-products type store and they wanted to use it for display. This was the secretary desk that I found on the side of the road with a "Free" sign on it that I made Tyler pull over and pick up...MUCH to his chagrin. You'd think he would be used to that kind of stuff by now! ;) I completely redid it and Tyler made it nice and sturdy. Look how cute it turned out! I was a little sad to see it go.




I thought if it didn't sell it would be a cute homework desk for Reilly. But I'm glad it sold because my little doll house sized home can't hold much more furniture!! :)

Here are a few more pictures from our fun day!!

Stacey and I relaxing... Stacey wearing her "lucky" hat!

Prego Stacey...check out the weird lady behind her flashing the peace sign...I tried to crop her out...no luck!

Mom manning the booth

I love spending time with my mom and sisters "playing store" and it turned out to be a quite profitable day too...even better. I earned enough money to pay for all the kids "back to school" stuff AND...buy myself a very cute hot pink Ipod shuffle to work out with...eat your heart out Kelley!! You shoulda been there!!

We might have a sale in September (closer to home) if we can still get into it...I hope we can because my mom made the cutest Halloween stuff and fall wall hangings (I REALLY need to learn to sew) and then we will have our regular Christmas sale in December. Just enough time to replenish our stock! ;)

P.S. We found out that pictures from our booth last year were used on the poster advertising the Blue Grass Festival for this year. Cool huh? Stac--you have got to try and score one of those!!

I'm Outta Here For the Weekend...and Other Tidbits

I am off in a few hours to go to Stacey's for the weekend. We are involved in an antiques sale on Saturday. I spent the majority of this week covered in paint, dirt, grime and hot glue. But my projects are done and ready to be loaded up. Tyler and the kids decided not to come down and are instead going to have a "mommy-free" weekend. My feelings are slightly hurt because the kids keep asking me..."When are you leaving? We are going to have so much fun as soon as your gone!!" Granted I haven't been that much fun to be around lately...bad mood, tired, barking orders and telling people to stay away from my stuff because the paint is wet...but is that any reason to be so darn gleeful? ;) They tell me that they are going to spend the whole weekend eating ice cream, watching movies and having fun!! Hmmm... But it should be a fun "Girls Weekend" for me at Stacey's!!

I will look like a dork though...I was injured on my Tuesday mt. biking extravaganza...not actually while mt. biking mind you...I was injured whilst unloading my bike at my house after getting home. Valynn drove Chris' truck and we had thrown our bikes in the back of the truck. She was helping me to lift my bike up and out of the truck bed...anyway...she thought I had the bike....I thought she did and some how I managed to drop my bike on my face. Yes...I did just say I somehow managed to drop my bike on my FACE!! This should be practically impossible. Not for me!! Anyway I thought I had knocked myself out...stars were seen, spinning sensation, blackness and Valynn asking me if I was ok... I was. I didn't pass out. But I managed to scrape quite a bit of flesh off my forehead and nose.

My fingers should be in the shape of an "L" for LOSER in this picture. It doesn't look as horribly grotesque in this picture as it does in real life...to me anyway! :) But it hurt like freaking heck and I had a big goose egg for a few days. Tyler came home expecting to see something more ghastly and monstrous and was a bit let down. Tiffany--I am glad you are on vacation because you would be mocking me like crazy! Tiffany and Tyler have been privy to so many of these odd accidents of mine. I fully expect to bite it in the end and win a Darwin award like the the guy who cut off his own head with a chain saw.



Now a little report on Reilly....this last weekend she "got" water skiing. She gets up every time and stays up!! We dragged her all over the lake! She quickly acquired the snobbery that only water skiers have against those of us "tubers"...how quickly that takes effect!! :) LONG LIVE THE TUBE!!

AND NOW...for the next installment of ....REILLY REVIEWS!!

Reilly Reviews:

Nancy Drew &
The Double Jinx Mystery
By: Carolyn Keene



This book, The Double jinx mystery, is a book about a teenage girl named Nancy Drew who is a famous detective. In this book she has some people after her & her dad who are also trying to jinx them & trying to stop them from helping a man named Mr. Thurston / Oscar who is not wanting to sell his property to builders who want to make new apartments on his property. Will Nancy be able to stop these men in the end? Find out in The Double Jinx Mystery!


I liked this book because it really gets you interested EVEN IN THE FIRST CHAPTER! My favorite part of all Nancy drew books is at the end of every chapter is a 3-5 word shocker which makes you want to read the next chapter to see what happens. I really enjoy these books, so I'd give this book a 5 star plus. You must read one of the Nancy Drew books in her large series. READ IT!




AND...








Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth.
By: E.L. Konigsburg

The book, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, is about a young girl named Elizabeth who is new in the town called New York and she is one of the loneliest 10 year old girls in New York she thinks until she meets a 11 year old girl named Jennifer who claims to be half witch, half human girl. Jennifer makes Elizabeth do strange and sick things like drink black coffee or eat 7 raw hotdogs a day for a week or even eat 6 raw eggs a day for a week. Will Elizabeth become a life lasting witch? Find out in Jennifer, Hecat, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth.

I didn't like this book because it lost my interest really fast. I rated this book 1 star rating. If I were you I would just skip this book!

Have a great weekend!!

Five Things


Five things I was doing 10 years ago:

1.) Adjusting to life being a stay-at-home mom to Reilly.

2.) Living in Salt Lake City.

3.) Dreaming of some day living close to the lake.

4.) Suffering withdrawls after Tiffany moved to Moscow, ID.

5.) Spending every spare minute with Tyler and Reilly at the pool.


Five things on my My To-Do List today:

1.) Clean my house after a crazy busy weekend.

2.) Laundry, Laundry and more Laundry!!

3.) Grocery shopping

4.) Finish refinishing secretary desk for our craft/antiques sale next weekend.

5.) Work-out at the gym


Five Snacks I enjoy:

1.) Blue Diamond Wasabi and Soy Sauce Almonds...I am addicted!!

2.) Smarties

3.) M & M's

4.) Rockstar Energy Drinks

5.) Crystal Light Tangerine Lime Slurpees (My new obsession...I almost did a whole post on these babies!!)


Five Songs I know the Lyrics to:

1.) Any song by Sting

2.) Any song by Cold Play

3.) Any song by Depeche Mode

4.) Any song by the Police

5.) Any song on by Johnny Cash


Five Things I would Do if I was a Millionaire:

1.) Buy a lake house

2.) Travel, travel, travel

3.) Hire a house keeper

4.) Donate money to my favorite charities

5.) Invest


Five Bad Habits:

1.) Bad Temper

2.) Grumpy in the mornings

3.) I yell

4.) I'm sarcastic

5.) Rockstar Energy Drinks


Five Things I Would Never Wear Again:

1.) Big Ol' Bangs

2.) Acid-Wash Jeans...GROSS!

3.) Turtle Necks (I loathe and despise turtle necks and forbid my family to wear them!!)

4.) Daisy Dukes (that ship has sailed!)

5.) Thong underwear

Five Things I Like To Do:

1.) Play at the lake

2.) Craft/ Restore furniture

3.) Cook

4.) Hang out with Tyler ...and the kids of course!

5.) Travel


Five Favorite Toys:

1.) Ipod

2.) Computer

3.) Digital Camera

4.) Mountain Bike

5.) Boat


Five People I Tag:

1.) Any

2.) One

3.) Who

4.) Reads

5.) This

My New Tuesday Workout

Check out my new Tuesday morning workout!! To shake up my weekly work-out routine my friend,Valynn, and I have started going mountain biking on Tuesdays. It has been so FUN!! I look forward to it all week. We found a great place to go that is absolutely beautiful. We have had a blast! AND...a butt-kicking workout!!

Although on Tuesday we had a bit of an adventure. We went really early and the parking lot to the trail head was deserted. Valynn and I had our bikes out of the car and were just getting ready to go when I heard a jingling-jangling sound...dog tags. Since there was no one around I went to check it out and found a large and vicious looking beast...part Doberman part Rottweiler. Let me take a moment here to say that I LIKE dogs...growing up we had dogs...Tyler and I have always had a dog but I HATE loose dogs...and I really DESPISE their irresponsible owners!! Valynn isn't a fan of large, strange dogs either. This potentially rabid beast had no owner to be seen when suddenly it caught sight of the two of us and came running straight for us!! You have never seen two moms move faster!! In a matter of seconds we hurdled our bikes, sprinted to the Suburban and leaped like gazelles into the back of the car!! My sense of survival must have been pretty great because I just might have elbowed Valynn out of the way. After our big leap into the car we scampered as fast as possible to the furthest corner. One problem...Valynn didn't close the door behind us! Within seconds that dog stuck is big ol' head right into the Suburban!! OH CRAP!! We then began scrambling over into the middle seat...all the while I was thinking if that dog gets into the car what the HELL are we going to do!! Luckily before we were over the seat the dog went his way probably thinking "What are those crazy ladies doing??" Then shortly thereafter his owner came sauntering into view!! I will have to say for two women who have 7 children between us we are extremely SPRY!! We can sprint, hurdle and leap like you can't believe!!

After our heart-pounding adventure we went on to have a great workout!! :)

Yesterday was quite the day for feasting...hence my need for daily workouts! It was one of our YW's birthday so we took her out early for breakfast....

Me and Valynn

The Birthday Girl Ariel

THEN...later that afternoon Valynn and Carolyn took me out for a belated-birthday lunch to my favorite Thai restaurant...Linnies! It was delicious!! Thanks you guys! I forgot to take a picture so look at the picture of me and Valynn and imagine Carolyn right next to us. After my day of feasting I met Kelley at the gym and we had a good workout. The A/C wasn't working at the gym and we thought we were going to die of heat stroke but I'm glad I went.

I have been super busy getting ready for the next Sisters Creed Sale. We are going to be part of an antiques/craft show next weekend and I have a ton of stuff to get ready!! If you click on the Sisters Creed icon on my side bar you can read all about our business.

Also Reilly has been a busy little reader and she asked me if she could post book reviews on my blog. I told her "Of Course!!" She was reading and writing all yesterday...what more could a mother want? ;)

Reilly Reviews...Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Julie Of The Wolves
By: Jean Craighead George

The book, Julie Of The Wolves, is about a girl at the age of 13 who is a Eskimo. she lives on the north slope of Alaska. She had a early marriage and it was awful. So, she left her husband and got lost in the wilderness. The only thing that's keeping her alive is a picture of her dead father, her pen pal, Amy's letters, and a pack of wolves. Julie is trying to get to her pen pal Amy's house in Sanfrancisco, but on her way there she makes friends with wolves, but will she be able to get to her friends house before the deathly winter hits hard with white outs? Read and find out!
I loved this book because she was brave and became friends with animals that I fear. I'd give this book my highest rating! I love this book very much and I know you will too! READ IT!
P.S. There are sequels to this great book!

-Reilly V. Johnson

Reilly Reviews...Nancy Drew and The Moss-Covered Mansion

Nancy Drew &
The Mystery Of The
moss-Covered Mansion
By: Carolyn Keene


The book, The Mystery Of The Moss-Covered Mansion is about a teenage girl named Nancy Drew who is a famous detective. In this book Nancy wants her father to buy this one mansion which is neighboring a spooky Spanish moss-covered mansion. A group of men don't want Nancy's dad to buy the mansion next store to them because they think she would uncover their secret that could cost lives. Will she be able to solve this mystery before the rocket takes off? FIND OUT!

I loved this book because it pulled me in the first chapter and kept me interested through the whole book. If you love mysteries, and scary stories, you will love this book! I'd give this book a 5 star plus! ENJOY!

-Reilly V. Johnson

A Blogger's Dilemma...AND...Hangin' with the Smiths



I have reached a milestone in blogging...THE DILEMMA. I knew about it. I have read several blogs about it and now I have experienced it. The dilemma is this... censorship or privacy? When I first started this blog it was semi-private... few people knew about it and I felt like I had a lot of freedom to write how I felt about things. Then I caught the "blog bug" and found the joy and fun of connecting with friends and family and new interesting people out there in the "blogosphere". I have loved every minute of it. It is now nine months into it all and my blog isn't so private anymore. I'm happy people read my blog. I LOVE IT! But now that the ol' blog address is out to friends, family members, ward members, stake members, heck...even some of Tyler's co-workers have read this blog I have to ask myself this question: Do I stay true to my feelings, thoughts, and opinions or do I censor what I write so as not to "offend" someone somewhere, or do I make my blog a private, invitation only blog? Hmmmm.

I have talked to Lucy about this several times...what is a blog? Is it a journal? A Christmas letter-like update, a digital photo album? It's kind of all three wrapped into one. It's like a journal in that I write what we are up to, cute things about the kids, memories, insights, personal quirks, thoughts, feelings, opinions, annoyances etc. I write what I'm feeling that particular day. It is a way for friends and family to see what we are doing and it is a kind of photo album. But now I have been feeling like I need to take into consideration who is reading my blog. Do I write about a spiritual experience or would that anger and annoy the non-LDS or even non-religious reader? Do I only put a happy spin on everything? Do I write that a family member annoys me or do I censor what I write? Do I write about that frustrating ward member? What I have come up with is this...I am who I am. I say what I say. I feel what I feel. If you don't like it...don't read my blog. I much prefer to be who I am than worry if someone is all in a twist and censor myself. That said...I will keep on blogging my little heart out.

Are you bored? I am. Onto the weekend:

We went out to the lake Friday night after Tyler got off work. The weather was horrible very windy with lots of thunder and lightening. But the lake is fun anytime...especially in a storm. We stopped off at our new FAVORITE restaurant...Cafe Chulo. Thanks Andrea and Carolyn!! You guys were right. The place is delicious!! It is even...DARE I SAY IT? I guess I will now that I have publicly declared not to censor myself on account of any one's tender feelings...BETTER THAN CAFE RIO!! Better AND cheaper...my favorite combination. Anyway back to my story...

We got our food and continued on to the lake. The wind had been extremely strong out there and when we pulled up there were lots of branches, leaves and twigs all over the ground. Floating mats had blown over next door and so Tyler went to retrieve them. Next door is the house that my grandma's sister and her husband built...both have passed away and so it is only in use when their kids and grandkids are out. The wind had been especially destructive there. One of their huge cottonwood trees had blown down and was lying all across their beach and out into the lake. It barely missed their dock.

Luckily Lauri and Jeff were on their way out at the time and arrived shortly after we did. Tyler spent a lot of time on Saturday helping them cut it up with a chain saw and haul it out of there. But we had a great evening out at the lake Friday night. We were the only ones there and it was quiet and beautiful. We put the kids to bed and were just hanging out when a little before 10 pm we heard a knock at the door.We thought it was Lauri and Jeff but SURPRISE SURPRISE it was the Smith family on their way to Montana. They wanted to break up their trip and so they spent the night. We were so excited to see them. We had so much fun catching up with them. I feel bad though...we stayed up until 2:30 am talking (I could've chatted all night) and they still had to be up early the next morning and get back on the road. Which they were. We tried to delay them but we couldn't even tempt them with Tyler's famous huckleberry pancakes!! That Ben's a Slave Driver!! ;) They had recently gotten back from a trip to England and Belgium and they left us some of the most delicious Belgian chocolate. It tasted UNBELIEVABLE!! Thanks you guys. Hopefully we can hook-up with them again on their way back. We love the Smiths!

What a cute family!! Ben, Miley, Wendy and Addison

Cute Miley!!

Addy and Ailey...Ailey's been asking every day "When Addy coming back?"

Our family and the Smiths examining a plump and juicy caterpillar. As we are new found fans of Man Vs. The Wild the kids were trying to get manly-man Ben to eat it. We had just learned on Man vs. the Wild that it should taste like "cream cheese with grisly bits"...Yum! He refused. Darn it!!

Tyler and Ben goofing around after I tried to sneak up on them and take a picture. They were deep in conversation and waxing quite profound...but this is what I ended up with!! Nerds. :)

Saturday was supposed to be stormy but it was GORGEOUS!! See for yourself.

We spent Saturday morning cleaning up the yard and raking TONS of debris. But things were looking great before we were joined out at the lake by family. My grandma was able to come out and spend the night. It was fun to spend time with her. Kameron was raking very thoroughly because he didn't want Granny to fall on a pine cone or trip on any branches. He was so serious about it. It was so cute. We found out that my grandma's blindness is permanent and she has some other serious health issues as well and so she now lives in an assisted-living facility but we try to let her spend most weekends at the lake. We saw a big beautiful blue heron that is nesting across the lake from us.

I decided to walk around and take some pictures purely for family documentary reasons. But it's a better look at the lake house. This is the front looking out towards the lake.

This is the big cabin Lilac Lodge that attaches to the house by a mudroom/walkway. Below is the front of Lilac Lodge.





This is the back of the house...you can see Lilac Lodge. The two places attach where the carport is...but you can't really see the house. My grandparents put the same siding on both Lilac Lodge and the house.

Here's the deck that's between both houses.

This is the boy's "Fort"

This is the Girl's Playhouse. The windows all open up. It is so darn cute!

This is the Memorial that is in memory of my Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma who had the resort on the lake for years and years.


We did lots of swimming and boating on Saturday. The water was so nice. We tried to convince my Grandma to go for a swim but she ended up not getting in. Maybe next time. Ailey had fun swimming. Here is a picture of her "floating" on her back...all by herself...with the help of her floaties of course. This picture makes me laugh. It looks like she is falling through space or something.


We got home late Saturday night. Poor Tyler. The kids and I fell asleep within the first ten minutes of the drive home. Tyler lugged everyone inside. I have no memory of getting out of the car and going to bed. Thank goodness church doesn't start until 11:45 am because we all slept in.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!