More Funny Stuff

Yesterday we were driving back home from a family gathering. We were just entering AF when the following conversation occured:

Josh: What are they building next to Chick-Fil-A?

Greg: A strip mall.

Emma: A strip mall???!!! You mean they take their clothes off in there?????

Greg: No, they shop in there. It is just called a strip mall because of the way it is built. No stripping.

Emma: Thank goodness, that could have been awkward.

Silly girl :)

The Gift

Today Greg gave me the best Mother's Day gift ever. He had to work this morning and when he got home he told me that he was starving. I asked him why and he then proceeded to tell me that he had purchased a lunch at his work (they have a full-time chef staffed and amazing food for cheap available to all the employees) and had every intention of eating it. He went outside and was heading for his car (he likes to get away from the building and think during lunch time) when he noticed a homeless man carrying a duffle bag along the road. He told me that he walked over to him and asked if he was hungry and the gentlemen said "Yes". Greg then gave him his lunch, knowing that he would not eat until he came home. What a great guy.

And if that was not enough, there is more. This afternoon I had to run some errands and Greg came with me. We were bagging our groceries in WinnCo when we noticed a lady in the line beside us that was disabled and obviously struggling trying to bag her food. Greg offered to help her and then proceeded to go to her car and load her bags for her. The lady was so sweet and kept saying over and over again, "Thank-You".

Melt my heart. This is the stuff that life is made of...helping others. No wonder President Monson has asked each of us to do some small act of service in celebration of his birthday each year. Flowers die, candy gets eaten but these small acts live in the hearts of those they touch. The best part is that it does not cost a penny...just time and a willing heart. Thanks Greg for making this Mother's Day a memorable one.

Happy Mother's Day To Me

Tara and Austin surprised me today with this little number. Sweettttttt. They bought it for me for Mother's Day and gave it to me early. I have been wanting one of these for a very long time. I am so excited to start chopping, mixing and grating. I have been dying to try a recipe I saw for chicken lettuce wraps that call for ground chicken that you grind in a food processor. Now I can do it!

Thanks Tara and Austin! You made my dream come true :)

Walk-A-Thon

Thursday Emma's school held their annual Walk-A-Thon. This is about the only fund raiser at the school that I really get behind. I like that they are out exercising and having fun...not peddling cookie dough or wrapping paper.

They hold it at the park across from our home, so I ran over and took some random pictures of the kids while they were walking. This is picture of Emma and many of her friends. They are really a good, fun group.

Sixth Grade Tradition

Last week wrapped up Emma's sixth grade class Renaissance Fair at her school. Every sixth grader participates. They have to make a booth for the fair, obtain 100 items totally no more than $10.00 to sell to the other students/teachers/families at the school and dress in something close to the era. This was a follow up to the banner that we posted earlier.

Emma asked me to come help her group paint her booth one day at school. Can I just tell you how much fun we had? Ashlee's mom came too and she was the engineer behind the building part and I helped guide the gals in painting. I think they did a pretty good job. Jenni even came up and helped out. They were assigned the Apothecary (medicine) booth. They sold candy thermometers, skittles pills, crayon hearts and many more cute, creative items. It was really a fun morning and the last time I will have this opportunity...EVER.

Kittens Anyone???

This is Charlie. He used to be Daisy, but then we discovered that SHE was a HE. In the event that we perhaps made a mistake again, we decided to start calling him Charlie. Charlie can be either a boy OR a girls name...pretty sneaky, huh?

Jack must have been running around when I snapped this photo. Those two kitties are running all over the house and getting very frisky. They are fun and it will be sad to tell them goodbye here shortly. Jack already has a home and we are about to let him go off on his new adventure. However, we still have one more darling feline. So...if you know anyone looking for an adorable, frisky, lively kitten, send them our way.

Emma's Banner

Emma's sixth grade class is studying the Renaissance era at school right now. She had an assignment to create a "banner" that depicted her personality using symbols. This is what we came up with.

Before we began, I made sure it was okay for her to have help with this project. I was informed that family participation was encouraged, so I pulled out my watercolors and let loose. I was determined that we would not be running to a store to purchase any supplies for this assignment. I get so tired of spending money on stuff that will eventually be thrown in the trash. We did not have the right colors of butcher paper, so we ended up painting quite a bit of it.

Now...let me explain what the symbols mean. The Bee indicates that she is always on the move and gets things done. So true. The Peacock shows that she takes pride in her appearance, inside and out. The circle with the number 5 in the middle means that she is the fifth child in our family. The beach scene shows what she enjoys - sun, summer and beaches.

I was actually surprised at how creative she was. Using ribbon on top of the peacock's head was her idea as was his feet. She also wanted the bee with the buzzing lines to show movement. Very cute.

This little project ended up taking us 5 hours to complete...yep...you read that right. FIVE HOURS. Both of us were ready to put it away by the time we glued the last thing in place. I told Emma that we both deserve an "A" for effort. And I am happy to report that this is the very last time I will ever have to deal with this project again :)