She Thinks She's A Rebel...

But she is far from it! I am way behind on my posting and will try and get caught up. I just had to post first things first. Brag Brag I know....but my model student was student of the month in August. How that is possible with only 4 days of school in the month of August is beyond me...but she brought home her award and a darling stuffed bear to prove it. I was prouder then a peacock to say the least. She has gone to two years of preschool and both of her preschool teachers have always said "She is such a good example to the other kids." I think because she is so shy she just sits quietly and behaves. That's how I was in school and she is just like me.
Anyway, so not only is she beautiful but she is a good student! Ok I'm done bragging....for now!

A Special Garden

This reminds me of RS but could be used for anything.

A Special Garden

Plant three rows of Peas:

Peace of mind

Peace of heart

Peace of soul

Plant four rows of squash:

Squash gossip

Squash indifference

Squash grumbling

Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce:

Lettuce be faithful

Lettuce be kind

Lettuce be obedient

Lettuce really love one another

No garden without turnips:

Turnip for meetings

Turnip for service

Turnip to help one another

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love.Remember, you reap what you sow!

Don't forget that every garden must have thyme:

Thyme for love

Thyme for hope

Thyme for joy

Kielbasa Chili

Ingredients:

2 Tb olive oil
1 lb. smoked kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices (I used turkey and it tasted fine, but less fat)
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained.
1 can chili with beans
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can sliced olives, drained.

Directions:

Brown sausage in oil. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through.

Add cheese or sour cream on top to taste if desired!

Jumping The Gun.

I know Ava has another month and 3 days, but you can't deny she is cute! Sorry it's sideways.

Looking so grown up in the picture above.

Say No To Ponyo!

Gracie and I went out for her special day today. She picks what we do and she decided she wanted to go to the "movies at the mall" and see Ponyo! WHY didn't somebody tell me it was Japanese animation? It was a really bizarre show. I thought it was going to be like Nemo's long lost cousin or something---not a chance. So please unless you like cheap animation and a really weird plot don't go see this movie.

So Soon!?!?!

From minor league! Aka preschool. To the big leagues! Aka Kindergarten!

My little darling is growing up!

Ya, ya---don't mention my roots. I have an appointment today!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

So the pictures are small and annoying--I do like the one that shows the Draper temple in the background though. Ryan, the kids, and I went to the Oquirrh temple open house back in July. I thought it was very cozy inside. There was a lot of brown, which made it seem warm and inviting. There was also a lot of huge, beautiful flower arrangements---which I just love.

Anyway, on Sunday Ryan was kind enough to stay home with the kids while I went to the temple dedication. It was so awesome! The spirit was so strong! Whenever you go into a temple you can just feel the spirit. It is so obvious that temple work is true and important. I remember driving home from the Provo temple one evening (before we had kids of course) --- I was alone (Ryan was at work) and my mind got off on celebrities. I started thinking about how some people supposedly have it all, and yet they have so little really. It just made me feel humble and grateful to be apart of the gospel.

President Monson said something that stood out to me. Just paraphrasing he said..."We have a room in our home for eating, a room for sleeping and a room for recreation....but do we have room in our home for the Savior? We have time in our lives for golfing, time for surfing the internet, time for shopping, but do we have time for the Savior?" That is a rough draft of what he said, but the message to me was----take time for spiritual things such as temple attendance.

Annual Campout

I say annual, because at the most we go camping annually. We have gone about 4-5 times in our whole marriage. Isn't that sad? We both really love camping too, but you know how time just flies and it doesn't happen. Anyway, we went with Ryan's parents for a few nights up on Skyline Drive. It was so pretty. There were some campers that spotted a bear right in the middle of the trail where we went four wheeling. There were a bunch of cows too. Zuka really wanted to play with the baby cows, but the mama cows didn't like that very much! We went to Gooseberry lake. We saw a black snake and Ava got a leach on her. Not to mention all the MUD!

Grandma always has good food.....who would be prepared enough to have waffle cones on a camping trip? She is such a great grammie!

My Food Obsession

Can you not see that I have always been obsessed with food? Look at me! I wouldn't even take my eyes off the cookie to say "cheese." I don't know why not as cheese is one of my many pitfalls on my way to a slimmer me. I was probably debating whether the calories were worth it even back then. Jackie is in the white by me, holding her bottle. Trevan is so cute right there in front of me. Of course Claudia, Spencer and Tina L-R, with the girls looking very 80's. Anyway, I haven't posted in awhile and although I have a lot of recent pictures that I could post about I came across this one and had to laugh. I am supposed to be doing major homework today while Ryan has the kids so I better get to it!

Have a great day everyone!

Tina's 10x20 Storyboards

You will probably have to click on these to get a better view. They are fun though.