Silly kids!

My kids are all growing up WAY too fast! I never call them by the right name anymore when I am looking at the back of their heads! ANYWAY, I just have to share a couple of funny things that have happened in the last few days.

Tyler.....The other night we were getting ready to pray (I mean we were kneeling and heads were bowed) and out of nowhere he says "Hey when you get pubic hair does it tickle?" Mike and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Ty was a little put out by the laughter but it was really just too funny.

Isaac......Last night I was putting lotion on him and I told him to rub some on his face. He said "No way Mom! That will totally give you zits!"

Nick....Today we were driving and he said "mom" I said "what" and he hit his head on the side of his car seat and said "ouch!" and then burst out laughing! Then he proceeded to do it OVER and OVER and OVER.

I love being a mom!

The Case Of The Missing Snake....Wah wah wah!!

Tonight I was helping Lucas clean his room. I looked in on the snakes and noticed once again that only one was at all visible. I realized that every time I've looked in there this week only the gray one was out. My stomach flip flopped. I had a sinking feeling that last Saturday when Mike fed the orange one (the little tank we feed them in doesn't have a locking lid. Mike says it's totally fine with a book on the lid. hmmm) it had escaped. This is the conversation that followed.

Me "Mike, um, did you put the snake back after you fed him?"
Mike "Of course"
Me "Uh are you sure? Cuz I haven't seen him all week."
Mike "You know they like to hide. It's not an unusual thing"
Me "I think you need to check"
Mike "nah....well, I guess that there's a chance..."

Then he came in and opened the snake tank. And WHAT DO YOU KNOW???? We had a missing snake! My stomach started to churn. Now, I don't mind having the snakes. As long as they are locked in a tank. But roaming my house?!?! No way!! I told Mike to start searching Lucas and Nick's room and I went to call Mary. I needed a compassionate ear!! As I was talking to Mary, Mike came out with the missing snake wrapped around his arm! They found it under the bed! Lucas had crawled under the bed and started throwing stuff out. He kinda forgot what he was doing and when he found the snake he totally freaked out!! Thank goodness our new snake is VERY lazy!

Now I can go to bed and actually sleep!

World's Greatest Sister! Happy 30th Mary!

Well, I can't really believe it but Mary has now been my best friend for 30 years! Ok so in the interest of total honesty, the first 12 years were a little rocky. I did after all try to convince her that she was adopted, but I believe in the power of repentance! Anyway, Mary is the greatest example of a virtuous woman. I hope to some day be like her. I won't ever be as pretty, but I can try!Anyhow, yesterday was her birthday. I had to teach preschool but once that was over we had a fun Birthday lunch.......chick food, but the Mike's still enjoyed it! Jamie and Kami joined us and it was really a lot of fun.

As Lucas and I were frosting her cake he said that it was a heart shaped cake because we loved her with all of our hearts!

Knock On Wood - It Could Be Worse

Well, it's easy to be gloomy or discouraged, what with friends losing jobs, money being tight, work being slow, medical bills, all that stuff that is part of life for so many of us right now. I got a bit of a reality check today, though, in the form of a facebook message from a now-married-with-children girl who was in Prague while I was there on my mission, but went back home to South Africa. SHe said they're on the verge of another racial war there. This was her snapshot of what life is like:

"Yes, it is scary. We have double sided burglar bars (inside the house and out) we have security gates in our house and escape routes in case of anything. we have a security company guarding and alarms and infrared beams across our gardens with high rise walls and electric fencing all around our property. We have at least 3 sets of locks on each of our doors leading to the outside.
We can't walk in the streets, going out is a fear that we live with every day. we have to have shatter proof film on our car windows in case of smash and grabs at the lights... and with the racial things going on well... chaos. The kids are seldom at the shops because the parents are afraid that they will be kidnapped... It's a nightmare so this is why I'm saving up to go to the UK. I am looking for work so that we can leave."

Makes that "need" for a second bathroom and more storage space seem a wee bit insignificant, doesn't it?

The Best Kind of Woodworking Projects

Making my chess board was cool. Making Liz's segmented salad bowl and serving bowl set was even cooler. I enjoy lots of aspects of woodworking, woodturning especially, but my favorite part about working in the shop is working with my helpers. There is a funnel spider that lives in the window sill behind my lathe. Luke wanted me to kill it, but I have a policy against killing the nasty creatures when they're not indoors because they eat the other bugs that kill my plants, so I told Luke we would leave him alone. Now Luke calls him "yours friend spider." I was worried when it of course died in the winter that I wouldn't get a replacement in the spring, but we're good now - hiding down its tunnel with its legs crouched up like Shelob on Lord of the Rings, Mine friend spider is back.

Today was another fun woodworking moment - putting together a new tool stand/portable bench with my helpers, and then of course, product testing by the same helpers. Thanks, boys, for the moments I will treasure more than anything I ever make in my shop. Making pens is cool. Making bowls is cooler, but the most enjoyable, most rewarding, and most important is also my biggest project - making men.

AHHH My Bike!

Well Mike finally got around to getting all of our bikes dusted off (literally) and ready for SPRING!!! We hooked up the trailer and went on our first official family bike ride of the season! It was perfect. Isaac, though still unsure and insisting that he still needs his training wheels, rode with all of his might and we enjoyed our wonderful neighborhood! I LOVE family time!

Cousin Adventure Spring Break Style!

Well we COULDN'T have 4 days off of school with out playing with our cousins! Thursday night Tyler, Matt and Isaac had a FANTASTIC sleep over (which included Mike O's German Pancakes)! Then when I went to pick them up Mary and I spent a long time watching home movies from when my kids were all little! Oh they have grown up so fast! And I have to say, Mary and I do a LOT of fun things together!

Anyway, then on Saturday Mary and I took the boys out during the Priesthood session of Conference. First we went to Chick-Fil-A and let them play on the play ground. Then they got bored (it's small). So we hopped over to Burger King (bigger play place!). We had Icee's and played around until it was time to head home and get the play by play on Priesthood from the Dads!

THEN, on Monday we took the kids to the Natural History Museum at the University of Utah. It was VERY crowded (It was free and with the SNOW I think everyone in Utah was there!) but we still had a blast! EVERYONE of our boys LOVE science so there really isn't a better place to hang out!



Thanks Oveson's for a great Spring Break!

Easter 2010

I LOVE Easter! We started off our celebrations last weekend with an egg hunt and BBQ at mom's. It was a lot of fun. FREEZING, but fun!



We had a great Easter around our place this year. We had worked really hard to get the house all clean and all of our conference treats ready so that we could just spend Saturday and Sunday relaxing and enjoying conference and Easter. It was perfect! There is nothing better than 2 days of Christ centered family time! Here's the break down:

Coloring eggs is always an adventure.....but fun!

Then Mary and I took the kids and played at Chick-Fil-A during the Priesthood session of conference. Well actually we played there for a little while and then the kids got bored so then we went to Burger King (bigger play place) and ate Icees! Then we lost our sanity and went to Deseret Book. That lasted about 5 minutes and we remembered WHY we will wait 12 years to go back on "Ladies Night"

Easter morning was a fun little egg hunt, and then I went back to bed until it was time for conference! LOVED that part!

We ate WAY too much junk but it was a great day. I even conquered Jello! (It has never really set right. But a friend told me just to add less water and VIOLA! I am now a Jello pro!)

Happy Easter!!!

Conference!!!

I LOVE when General Conference rolls around. It's my favorite time of the year! We prepared our treats, made our lists of words to listen for, and searched for our pictures of the Prophet and the General Authorities. And I have to say that the prep work was MORE than worth it. Today's sessions were AMAZING as usual. I was so touched that it's hard to put my feelings into words. So much of what we heard today was about strengthening the family. It didn't matter if you were a Dad, a Mom, or kids, there was help for all of us. Words were not minced but all were said in love. I do feel very strongly that I need to be better about my personal study and the way that I teach my boys. Elder Bednar's talk reminded me that those everyday, unplanned lessons are SO vitally important. I was also reminded that MY modesty, MY comments and MY examples will teach them more that most of my "sermons". Anyway, enough of my rambles. Better get to bed! Can't wait for tomorrow!!

April Fools Day!!

Well another April fools day has come and gone. We started today off by setting the table for breakfast with Jello filled "juice glasses". They were so funny. Matt said "Hey it's frozen! WAIT it's Jello!" They loved it and were so funny as they laughed claimed that they didn't fall for it!
Then I spent the rest of the day baking and cooking dinner! First I made pound cake and baked in bread loaf pans. Then I sliced it like bread and toasted it, and filled it with cheese colored frosting. It looked so much like grilled cheese! Then I made a meat loaf "pie", I added molasses and cocoa and BBQ sauce to make it darker so that it kinda resembled chocolate. Then I put the meat loaf in a pie shell, baked it and then topped it with "strawberry" colored mashed potatoes. It looked pretty cool! Then we made "tomato soup" out of strawberry milk and red food coloring.

The kids weren't really fooled, but they LOVED it! hahahahaha!

Passover

Monday night we celebrated Passover. I made a seder (pronounced Sa-der) dinner. It was so much fun! We read the prayers and explained each item on the Seder plate and the story behind it. The kids were so stinkin cute! LOVED IT! Here's what I did!

1. Charoset is mixture of apples, nuts, wine and spices.
   Charoset is symbolic of the mortar the Jewish slaves made in their building for the Egyptians. To make charoset, prepare 1 cup of walnuts, 1 granny smith green apple, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 2 tsp. sugar, and red wine to moisten. Chop the nuts and apples to the consistency you want (a food processor can be used). Sprinkle with spices, and moisten with wine. The texture of the charoset should remind us of mortar.

2. Zeroa is a shankbone or neck of poultry, roasted.
   Zeroa is a reminder of the "mighty arm of G-d" as the Bible describes it. It is also symbolic of the Paschal lamb offered as the Passover sacrifice in Temple days. Roast the shankbone in the oven for about 30 minutes.

3. Baytzah is hard-boiled egg.
   Baytzah is symbolic of the regular festival sacrifice brought in the days of the Temple. Some authorities have interpreted this as a symbol of mourning for the loss of the two Temples (the first was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E., the second by the Romans in 70 C.E.). With the Temples destroyed, sacrifices could no longer be offered. The egg symbolized this loss and traditionally became the food of mourners.

4. Karpas is a vegetable. Parsley or a potato is generally used.
   Karpas is dipped in salt water to represent tears. The custom of serving karpas dates back to Jerusalem of the 1st and 2nd centuries when it was common to begin a formal meal by passing around vegetables as hors d’oeuvres.

5. Maror is bitter herbs. Horseradish root or prepared horseradish is generally used.
   Maror represents the bitter life of the Israelites during the time of their enslavement in Egypt.

6. Chazeret is a bitter vegetable. Celery or lettuce can be used.
   Those who do not put chazeret on their Seder Plate sometimes put a dish of salt water in its place.

7. • Wine: four glasses of wine are consumed during the service to represent the four-fold promise of redemption, with a special glass left for Elijah the prophet.