College and Driving!?!?!?

When am I suppose to be freaking out....and when am I suppose to be calm?? Amanda has hit us with a double whammy this summer. I must admit...it is an odd feeling. On one side it is soooo exciting and on the other side...it's down right scrary!! I'm getting an appointment with my hair stylist this week so she can color my grey hairs!!!

#1

Amanda's going to college!!! At the end of the school year, Amanda sat down with her counselor and discovered that next year she would not be able to take her Spanish and Health class because she's taking seminary. She proudly told her counselor that there is absolutely NO WAY she's giving up seminary. So, the counselor told her, "Well, there is another option....you can take a course at the local community college and it will count toward a high school credit also." She had to get a written letter from her counselor and the principle and then we started the application process. Because she is under-age, she had to take a placement test. Of course she ACED it!! In fact, after the test, the lady looked at her scores and said, "WOW! You did REALLY well!!" Here's an example....she needed to get a score of 60 on the math section and Amanda scored a 112...That's my girl!! I am so proud of her. The hard part though is that the class she is taking is downtown Hillsboro right across from the county jail and courthouse. OH MY!!! And, community college doesn't tend to hold the same standards as my beloved BYU.....not so clean cut and some smell like alchohol and smoke. I also am praying that no guys try to hit on her....I tried to help her know what to do...she's just so young!!!

#2

Here she is with her PCC student card.....and yes,.......it's a DRIVING permit!! Holy Toledo....she is driving!! As Bob would say, "People should stay off the sidewalks now!!" I let her drive home (on the back streets and then I took over on the major streets). She HATED it and says over and over that she does not want to drive. I actually don't understand this....I LOVED to drive and was in line the very second I could to get my permit and license. I guess I overwhelmed her...ha!...Oh well :)

We be JAMMIN'


Hey!! Look at what Nathan and I did!! Strawberries are in season up here and boy do we LOVE strawberry jam!! So, we bought 32 pounds of strawberries and went to town. Amanda was at girls camp and Bob was at work....so it was just me and Nate (and Toby the dog)

We even surprisingly survived with only one mishap...Incredible!! On our first round, Nate didn't screw the rings on tight and so when we put them in the water bath....weell....jam started oozing out. Not very good. Just an example that what goes into the brain of a kid is sometimes different than what you told him.....I forget about those seemingly "black hole" voids and that all words spoken are usually processed according to "their" interpretation. Nate claims that I just told him to screw the cap on....didn't mention to "screw it on TIGHT". I should have known to just do a quick check....but, it looked like he was doing it right (and besides....I'm pretty darn sure I said "screw it on tight"....hmmmm) All in all we had a blast! And, the jam is DE'LISHIOSO!!!!

I LOVE the Summertime

I am having such a great time with my kids! I LOVE it when they are home for the summer. I just feel....FREEEE!! I also LOVE to barbeque!!! Bob has been grilling up a storm on his new Father's day gift...we LOVE it!! I've been branching out and finding new marinade recipes for my chicken...so much better than store bought! I've also been using chicken tenders and LOVE them a ton better! Here's 3 of my favorites so far. I decided to do it as a post rather than on the sidebar because all three of them are DE'Lish!!!
1st one...from my Sister-in-law Jamie
(so...I seriously use this a TON...I'm totally hooked!)
Terriyaki Marinade
1/2 C soy sauce
1 T cooking oil
1 tsp. Ground dry mustard
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1 T water
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 T brown sugar
Combine all ingredients. Allow meat to marinade 3-4 hours in fridge and then grill
The next 2 are from the picky palate blog
(They may seem like they'd be spicy but they're not bad....my spice-wimpy daughter & son loved them. In fact, Nate..who HATES just about everything....said that I should make these again...wow!! Of course, if you're scared...You can add less spice if you want)
Adobo Peach BBQ Chicken
18 chicken tenders
1 1/4 Cups Peach preserves
¼ Cup adobo sauce (canned chipotle sauce)
½ Cup BBQ sauce
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Place chicken tenders into a large zip lock bag. Pour in peach preserves, adobo sauce, BBQ sauce, salt and garlic. Marinate for at least 1 hour and then grill.
Firehouse BBQ Grilled Chicken

6 thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ Cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
¾ Cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
4 Tablespoons melted butter
2 Tablespoons Worstershire sauce

Place all ingredients in a large ziplock bag and marinate for at least an hour then grill.
If anybody has any marinade recipes that are their all time favorites....Please let me know!! Loving Summertime!!!

The MAN / FATHER of our home


I should be doing my Sunbeam lesson...but...I just love my Bobby so much!! He is an AMAZING father! I am so grateful for Bob, my own father, my father-in-law and my grandfathers. Each one has blessed my life and helped me to feel loved and beautiful. Since Bob has been a father for 15 years.....Here are "15"fun things I've learned about Bob through his father-ing years


1. Bob can't frown....Literally!! If you want a good laugh...ask him to frown. He seriously can't do it. He gets a look like he's constipated or something...it's hilarious. The kids have giggled and giggled and even to this day ask him to try and frown.

2. Bob LOVES being a kid and is having a really hard time getting older. He loves jumping on the trampoline, wrestling, watching cartoons, riding bikes....you name it....he'll do it with his kids. Although now we hear a little more moans and groans :)

3. Oh my...Bob is a whistling machine!! I don't think he can go 20 minutes without whistling. He is always so upbeat and happy....it just has to come out somehow....I guess it's like steam....if he doesn't let it out, he'll blow up.

4. Bob is a man of repetition. Why spoil a good thing! He orders the same thing when we go to restaraunts. He has the EXACT same routine every morning. He even eats the same thing for breakfast!

5. When Bob is nervous right before a talk or presentation, he does a dance. I wonder if I can explain it right....let's see....he kicks his legs side to side and rocks with the beat while his head bobs back and forth, he moves his shoulders back and forth and he shakes his hands super super fast! Well...I'll leave it up to your imagination unless you can convince him to do the dance next time you see him. What a NUT!

6. Bob is a Muppet Show maniac. He loves to impersonate the characters. He is a classic Kermit the Frog....if you've heard him...you'll know what I'm talking about.

7. He will drop everything he is doing to help me or his children at any time. There hasn't been a time when he's told his kids that he's too busy. In fact, there have been countless times when it's 11:00pm and Bob pulls out his laptop to finish up his work....he stays up until 2:00am so he can finish up a presentation that is due the next day. He ends up working into the middle of the night because he decided to go to his son or daughters soccer game or help them with their homework. Amazing!

8. The man has a photo-graphic memory for scriptures. He can recall scripture verses like no-other. He even remembers all the scripture mastery scriptures from his seminary days! Who does that????

9. Webster needs to add one more definition to their word "sarcasm"....it should be BOB. I recently found a shirt that I just had to buy! I actually found one in Nathan's size and one in Bob's....it fits so well,..... "Sarcasm, just one of my many talents" Bob says so many things under his breath...it takes a good ear to hear him and then it takes an even better control not to laugh!

10. Bob LOVES old movies and songs from the 50's & 60's. He has a CD that he's burned with all his Elvis songs and Johnny Cash songs that he takes everywhere he goes. The kids moan every time he plays it. He has seen the Movie "12 Angry Men" about 20 times...and just subjected the scout troop to it this last Wednesday. He also LOVES Alfed Hitchcock.

11. Bob cooks 40% of the time....well, at least that's what he tells his co-workers. He really actually does help A LOT with the cooking and basic housework....but nowhere close to 40%!!!!!

12. Bob does do 100% of the ironing....and he LOVES it!! Early in our marriage he got really sick and tired of me burning myself every time I ironed...plus....add on to that...I put the ironing board up backwards. I didn't even realize you could do such a thing....but...I iron with my right hand and Bob irons with his left. So, he is so much happier just to do it himself.

13. Bob LOVES to serve in the church. There hasn't been a calling that he has not liked. He gives 110% every time and is so enthusiastic about everything. I've had to reign him in every once in a while so he can have some balance. But...then...I feel bad about it. This enthusiasm for the church is actually what attracted me to him in the first place. Since I served in the same mission as him....I was able to see the man in true form/action. Boy, he was an amazing missionary!!

14. Bob is a list man. Even though technology has moved to not having/needing a Franklin Planner anymore....that doesn't quite work for Bob...he still has his trusty Franklin in one hand and his pocket pc in his pants pocket. He cannot manage without paper to write his list down on.....so, he carries both.

15. Everyone loves Bob. He's even managed to become the favorite of our dog Toby. Toby will seriously cry and yelp when Bob leaves. He goes into a panic and tries to keep him from leaving each day. Toby doesn't do this for anyone else.

Happy Father's Day Bob!!

SCHOOL'S OUT....finally!


Look at what school did to my kid! Thank goodness it's finally out!!

Nagging, Listening, Paying, Wondering. Hey, It's BRAGGING TIME!

After another year of nagging to practice, subjecting myself to hours of listening to the practice, paying way too much for lessons, and wondering if this is the year I should just give in and let them quit....weeelll....IT'S BRAGGING TIME!! Just look and listen! These two are amazing with the piano. They have all their pieces memorized too - WOW! Enjoy your free concert! Boo-ya!!! (sorry there's a high-pitch squeeling echo in the background...annoying...but I don't know how to get rid of it..argh!)
Make sure to scroll down and turn off my blog music before hitting play.

Bob....My SUPER HERO!!

Super Bob came to my rescue. There is no question in my mind that my Bob is amazing! Over the weekend he came to save me from my depths of sorrow and despair over losing 374 of Nate's track pictures. He had some program that he bought that restored all the pictures.....I'm clueless....but he DID IT!!! Here's a couple of those pictures. Or should I put up all 374??? HA!Thank you BOB!!!!


The home stretch of the 800 meter. How can anyone smile after that long of a run?? Nate can!! I'm telling you he was so much fun to watch and cheer for!! Heeeyyy...is that girl back there checking out my son?
Rounding the corner of the 200 meter. It was a close finish!! I think Nate took 3rd or 4th.

Look at that face....what concentration!!