BREAKING DAWN

Well, the day finally arrived. Breaking Dawn, the last of the books in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer came out August 2!! My friend Teresa and I decided to make a big deal out of this for our daughters. Ciera and Caitlyn have read the books over and over and over again. I admit WHOLEHEARTEDLY that I have read and re read them as well. We went to Barnes and Noble on the 31st at 7:30 am to wait to get wristbands to be able to get in and buy our books at the stroke of midnight on the 2nd. We were in the 3rd group (groups of 50) to get our wristbands..the JACOB group. There were people who had slept over night to be the first in line. SO we got our wristbands and were off to wait until the next day.
On the 1st, Kris and I had appt's to look at houses and we were with our realtor until 5pm. We went frantically to walmart to get tshirts, ink for the computer and iron transfer paper for the printer. we made it home by 6 and Caitlyn and I began to design our shirts for the evening. They turned out so cute, but the transfer paper didnt iron on very well. So by 8:30 we FINALLY made it to Barnes and Noble for the party. The girls had a blast. Cailtyn and I ordered the "edward" snack which was a raspberry mocha frappacinno (spelling)..with out the coffee. So I guess it was an "edward, no coffee" and a big cookie. We split a sandwich as well. Teresa and I hung out and waited until 11:30 when they had everyone leave the store and get in their groups. There we well over 1000 people there. The line stretched from the bookstore back to Michaels craft store...
The magic hour finally came and we were in the store by 12:15 and out by 12:20. Books in hand.
I am on chapter...12 and it is GREAT so far! LOTS going on. If you are ahead of me, DONT tell me what is going on!!
Enjoy the pictures!



Caitlyn enjoying her Edward drink



The girls, Steph, Ciera and Caitlyn, enjoying their "edward" cookie

1. Caitlyn gets her copy of Breaking Dawn
2. The Girls with their books
3. A scan of the crowd

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

July 29th was my mom's 75th birthday. I have to say that I am so grateful to be able to have her in my life and to be able to be so close to this amazing woman. We have shared a special bond from the moment I was born, as my birthday is the same as hers! Not many people get to share that with a parent. Each year, she would sacrifice her own birthday desires to make sure mine were met. I remember all the amazing things she did for my birthday growing up. One year we had a princess party with pin the crown on the princess,which was hand drawn by her that was about 4 or 5 feet tall on butcher paper.(no computer clip art back then). She made me a princess cake as well. One year she hand made Lion invitations that said "no LION, its a party" or something to that effect...we went to the zoo. It was always a BIG deal and always memorable. As I grew, I began to appreciate sharing this day with her and making it our day, instead of just about me. One year we got up early on our birthdays to watch the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Di. That was awesome!
And now, as a mom, I wish I could make all of her birthdays as special as mine had been. So this year, my sister, brothers and I decided to throw her a suprise party. We held in on the 27th to throw her off. We held it at Mueller Park in Bountiful and it was a magnificent day!

My mom..relaxing as the festivities unfold

Getting ready to open her presents




We even cooked dutch oven up there..this is one of the yummy cobblers

MEMORY GAME

1. Add a comment on my blog. Leave one memory that you have had with either Kris or I, or our kids or dogs! It doesn't matter if you knew us a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about us, we'll assume you're playing the game and we'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

oh what do you do in the summertime...

Oh what do you do in the summertime when your neighbor brings you a box of apricots fresh off of her tree?



Do you make lemonade? NO, Do you sit in the shade? No!
Do you make Apricot freezer jam?? HECK YEAH!

First you Puree' the fruit




Then you stir in the sugar and lemon juice and pectin and pour into containers




Then you put all the yummy containers in the fridge to set up and then into the freezer!!! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM





So, yes, in the midst of packing up, I found enough tools to do the freezer jam. I could NOT let them go to waste! And freezer jam is SO easy to do. I have done raspberry freezer jam, strawberry/peach/banana freezer jam and now apricot freezer jam!!
So this being Pioneer day, I thought I would put all that good heritage to use and make and preserve some fruit. My kids eat it like it is candy! So good in the winter.
So let me know what you do in the summer time!!

Treasures

Yesterday, after rehearsal, We went down the Sandy house to continue project dejunk/restoration. We were packing up Grandma's bedroom and Kris was looking through piles and piles and boxes of bills and miscellaneous newspaper clipping and such. Well, he came to one box and upon opening it, found letters and pictures dating back to 1888. Isnt that amazing? He found one letter to "karoline" (we think this may have been to Kris' great grandmother)it was written in Danish. (if anyone knows how to read danish..let us know..we would love to know what the letter says) Anyway. Kris's grandma was adopted when she was a baby. Her mother died during child birth, or shortly there after. Her father, I guess, felt that he could not raise the children alone and adopted them out. We found a picture of her birth mother and father. It is amazing. We also found a picture of her adoptive mother, Caroline Pederson. If any of you have seen our temple plate we have, this is who it came from. Caroline Pederson was there at the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple and they obtained a bread plate that was made for the occasion of the Temple dedication. When Kris and I got married, his grandmother (who had received it from her adoptive mother) gave it to us. (acutally, it was his Aunt Betty who gave it to us) She said she wanted us to have it since Kris is the only grandchild on that side who has been through the temple. Pretty awesome, huh!!
So we found that and then many pictures of Kris's grandpa Henry in front of the house. We would like to take them and get them blown up a bit and frame them.
I will post pictures as soon I as take some, Caitlyn took my camera to girls camp and I didnt have it with me yesterday.
So after 5 hours down there yesterday, we have most of her room done, the kitchen packed and the pantry/laundry room packed. One more bedroom and the bath room and the hall cupboard and drawers. I have no idea where we will sleep or sit for a while. The floors are not finished yet and such.
We will be having a yard sale saturday..come on down!
Hooray for treasures that link us to the past and help us find a sense of who we are!!

And the Winner is.....

Clearfield Idol 2008, 6-12 year old winner is... CAITLYN POLSON.
We are very proud of Caitlyn this morning in her win yesterday with Clearfield Idol.
When asked how she felt, Caitlyn said " Happiness, Excited, Still a bit of nervousness". She won a trophy, a nice sports bag and $100.00 American Express Gift Card. Fabulous!!
The rest of our 4th of July was spent recovering from covering clearfield Idol. Kris was the Emcee and I was the run around girl. (meaning..I ran around getting contestants to their spots, and getting prized organized) It did feel a little odd to be the one presenting Caitlyn with the winning prize..I just didnt want audience members to think that she won because Kris and I were involved.
She sang with so much confidence and really was the strongest in her category. She really nailed her song.
Here are some pictures from our 4th of July
Nate and his friend Zac
Kris and Nick
Caitlyn on the Idol float




Next is Caitlyn Singing






And Last...Caitlyn and Mom and Some of the spectacular fireworks!!

Independance Day

What a beautiful July morning. The sky is clear, the air is somewhat cool and there is a covering of thin clouds. The sliding glass door is open enough that the dogs can go in and out of their own free will, thus enabling me to sit and type.
Cailtyn just wandered upstairs and is starting her routine of "getting ready" for the day. A bowl of cereal, a look in the mirror, a love on the dogs, a quick "hi" to dad and then she disappears behind her bedroom door. She will be riding on the Clearfield Idol Float today. I am sure it will take her longer than the hour and 15 minutes she has alotted herself to get ready. I could be suprised, it is a summer morning and anything is possible.
I must say it is wonderful to have EVERYONE home this morning. I loved days like this.
I thought I would take a minute and post some of the freedoms I am grateful for on this independance day.
1. Freedom of Religion- I can worship how or what I want. I am grateful for my testimony and the opportunities I have had to share it. I am grateful to have served a mission and to have been able to serve the Lord in other callings and capacities.
2. Freedom of Speech- Although I may not always like what others have to say, I respect the fact that they DO get to say it. Which means, I get to voice my opinion too. Sometimes this is a good thing and other times, it is not. Caitlyn has reminded me on occasion of the phrase we like to use "garnish thy thoughts uncessisingly"..simply put, what you think is what you speak.

I am grateful to live in the land of the Free. America. I am grateful to be able to celebrate the birth of our nation with family and friends.
I hope that none of us takes these freedoms for granted.



Enjoy your 4th!