Learning a new life

Well, I've been at home for a little over a week now - loving it, but still feeling like a fish out of water. I guess that after working 22 years, being home will take a little time to get used to. I've been able to do lots of the things that I need to do - sort through papers, get stuff ready to give away, clean - but my to-do list is still a mile long! It didn't help that I was fighting a bad cold all of last week (though it was great to be able to rest). Mara has already tried to hook me up as the Recess Duty at her school. The principal actually called and asked if I was interested in the job - 2 hours a day, $7 per hour, all weather. I still thought it was sweet of Mara to want me there.

I'll post some Halloween pics and stuff ASAP.

Adventures in Applesauce

Last weekend we attempted to pick up all the fallen apples from our large tree, get them to the trash, and pick the good ones that remained. I had grandiose plans to bottle applesauce, pie filling, and apple cake as in some previous years. I even borrowed a friend's strainer to make the applesauce a breeze.

I readied about 4 huge baskets of apples, perhaps 2 bushels if I have my measurements correct. Six hours later I had four quarts of applesauce. It was 1:30 am.

I took this weekend off from apple duty. Maybe tomorrow. Those buggers really cook down, don't they?

Part of Something Big

Lauren and I had tickets to attend the Relief Society General Women's Conference last night. What a great experience - to be part of such a great gathering of women both in the Conference Center and around the world. My favorite part was Elder Uchtdorf's talk about how women have the divine gifts of creation and compassion. You can view it at http://www.lds.org/broadcast/grsm/0,6220,285,00.htmlt if you missed it!

New Outfits

This Tuesday, Mara turned 11! Here she is modeling a styling new outfit. It's hard to believe our baby is getting up there. She is such a little light to all of us. She received her presents on Tuesday, waiting for her dad to return from late dress rehearsal, and Lauren to come from work. She had a good time and giggled a lot!

Because of the Tuesday conflicts, we got together as a family on Friday to see Mark's play, and celebrated her birthday with dessert afterwards. Here's a picture of Mark as "Jacob" in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Heritage School. Like his outfit? The beard was scratchy.


Lily has been up to a bit of fun lately as well. Can you guess who chose THIS outfit?

To Clarify

I looked at the mosaic post below, and realized it may have been misleading... under the question "what do you love most in life" I answered "happy family" - I just chose the penguin photo because it came up when I typed that in... same with the picture of the lady and baby... I put in the word "Nana" (what do you want to be when you grow up was the question).

My apologies to my children for making them feel inferior to penguins...

Seattle

Mark and I spent a week in Seattle in July, with our friend Sharon Merrill! Here are a few photos:

Freedom!!

That's right. After 22 years with the First Security/Wells Fargo institution, I got word this week that my job is being cut, again. I am not the only one in the office, but I am definitely the happiest one in the office right now. Because of my job tenure, I have a very generous severance package and plenty of time to look for something else. Meanwhile, Christmas vacation off, and if I play my cards right, could I realize my dream to be a stay at home mom for the first time?

Yes, I realize that all my kids are in school - what better time to be home? There is so much to do here.

Looking forward to mid-November...

My Mosaic

My niece had this cool idea on her blog, so I had to try it:

Here's how it works:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker. Choose 3 columns with 4 rows.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. Favorite drink?

7. Dream vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name. (kid version: favorite animal? I used my usual online signon)

Welcome to our blog!

This is my first post - so I hope you're patient! Come back soon and see what's new, as soon as I figure out how to post it....