Queen of all THIS!

Annie Oakley

2011-05-25T15:45:00.001-07:00

Every year our Elementary School has Biography Day. 5th and 6th graders get to choose someone from history, do a report and then dress up like that person. The kids love it and look forward to 5th grade so they can participate.

Eliza was Annie Oakley and we had so much fun learning about her. Not only was Annie Oakley a very talented sharp shooter but her story is one of overcoming a difficult childhood and becoming an admirable person. She was upstanding and generous with her wealth.

If your interested here is Eliza's report on Annie Oakley:

Annie Oakley

Hello my name is Annie Oakley and I’m a sharp shooter. I was born in Woodland Ohio on August 13, 1860. My real name is Phoebe Ann Moses. I died on November 3, 1926.

When I was 5 my dad died of pneumonia. When I got a little older my family was running low on money for food. I started to hunt and shoot animals for food so my family could eat. When I was 10 years old I was sent to work at Darke County Infirmary. I was sent there because my mom didn’t want me hunting. My mother wanted me to grow up and be a lady.

When I was 15 I started doing “Turkey Shoots” which is a contest of shooting paper targets for money. I was so good at it that eventually they wouldn’t let me compete for money anymore. One of the hotel mangers that I sold game foul to came up with the idea of putting me in a shooting match. The winner of the shoot off would get $100. That was a lot of money in those days! What I didn’t know was that I would be competing against a professional sharpshooter, a man named Frank Butler. He was so surprised we he saw that his opponent was a little girl. I was nervous but hit each of the flying targets perfectly. I got a perfect score of 25 and won the match. Not only did I win the shoot out but I won Frank Butler’s heart too. Not even a year later we were married. Frank and I started doing shows and toured the Midwest as Butler and Oakley. Later we also joined the circus. Then we did Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

While doing Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, I became very popular. People loved to come watch me, a woman, hit every target perfectly. I could shoot off a horse sidesaddle or standing up. I could shoot 11 glass balls with 5 guns in 10 seconds. When I missed, I would scowl and stomp my foot, then I would try a harder shot, like shooting while looking through a mirror or laying down and upside down on some chairs. As the star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, I traveled all across the United States, and later I toured London and Europe. I became friends with people like, Chief Sitting Bull who considered me as a daughter, the Queen of England and her son the Prince. I saved the Prince of Bavaria’s Life and was the star of Paris. After returning home to the United States, I appeared in plays and many more shows. I even did many shows for charities to help raise money for those less fortunate then me, always with Frank by my side.

I was in an automobile accident in 1922 and after a year and a half I performed again and set even more records. In 1925 my health declined and I died on November 3^rd, 1926 ,at the age of 66, of pernicious anemia. Frank stopped eating and died 18 days after me. We are buried together, side by side, in Ohio a few miles from where I was born.

I made my way as a woman in a time when women were not seen as able to do things for themselves. I was the first American female superstar and I paved the way for many women to follow after. I taught more then 15,000 women how to shoot and I did all for free. I fought the newspapers of my time for the lies they wrote about me and paved a way for others to stand up for themselves and protect their good name. I used the wealth I earned as a performer to do good in the world I lived in. For example, I had the gold in the medals I won melted down to help fund the treatment of tuberculosis. I quietly paid for the college education of 19 orphan girls. When I died, it was discovered that Frank and I had spent our entire fortune on our family and our charities.

I picked Annie Oakley because I think she was an amazing woman. Not only was she really talented, but she was incredibly generous. She didn’t drink or smoke or curse. In her day, performers were not always thought of as respectable. Annie took special care of her name and image of a respectable woman who was capable of taking care of herself. She and Frank were great role models.

"The List"

2011-05-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here we are with famous author Melanie Jacobson. Well, maybe not famous yet...but definitely talented! Melanie used to be in our ward and now she has a published book. We got to see her at a book signing and the girls asked her questions about what it takes to get a book published. We had a great visit.

Her book has been top of the Deseret Book Bestseller list. I loved it - it's a quick and easy, fun read. Perfect for summer laying out at the pool or beach. I can't wait for her next book.

Check it out at:

http://deseretbook.com/List-Melanie-Jacobson/i/5060541

Snow?

2011-05-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

I took Hannah and Eliza to see a matinee of "Soul Surfer" today. Sophie was playing with her friend Portia while we were at the movie. I guess it snowed while we were in the movie because these are the pictures Portia's mom texted me during the movie.

What cute happy faces!

By the way, We LOVED the movie!

I'm a neglectful mother.

2010-11-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Eliza has been begging me to get her eyes checked for a long time. A very long time. Like, a year, or even longer??? I didn't take her seriously. I figured she thought wearing glassing would be fun, I assumed her vision was fine, so I didn't make getting the appointment a priority. Days turned into weeks, weeks to months and well, you know, months to years. I finally got around to making the appointment today. I bet you can guess what happened. Yep, that's right, she has horrible eye sight and needs glasses. The doctor was amazed she has functioned at school this long! So, my poor Eliza, with her 20/200 eyesight is getting much needed glasses. Finally!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

Carving pumpkins...

Bill breaks out the power tools...

Two weeks of sewing end with three happy girls in costume.

Hannah's poodle skirt.

Princess Eliza. Those sleeves are pretty fancy!

Sophie wanted to wear roller skates for her 50's car hop costume but decided that the risk of a skinned knee was too high. Here she is with her pencil and pad, "Can I take your order?"

Happy Halloween!

1st, 5th and 7th graders

2010-08-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Today the girls went back to school. I thought summer was too short but they were super excited (and a little nervous) to get back into school. After having a nice quiet day with all my kids in school, I realize that summer was not too short! I sure got a lot done today - I even got to blog!

Hannah is now officially in Jr. High and wears mascara! No more sleeping in... here she is ready to go at 6:45 am. 7th grade is shaping up to be busy since she is on the Color Guard team, choir, plans to join drama club, student leadership and is even thinking about volleyball! Whew, I'm tired already.

No buses to the middle school which is quite a drive (a good 15 minutes, I need to clock the miles) so, luckily, we have a carpool set up. It so great to have wonderful neighbors with great kids to help share the load. Mom will only need to pick up these beautiful girls every other week.

In the car and ready to go! Dad is so embarrassing getting in the car to take a picture...

Sophie and Eliza, my 1st and 5th graders, are ready for school!

Sophie gets to have the same teacher she had in Kindergarten, Mrs. Flores. We love Mrs. Flores and so we have no doubt it's going to be a wonderful year for Sophie.

Here's a picture of Sophie with her friend Jackie. Those two are best friends because they "never run out of things to play." They never tire of playing princess and dress up. Sophie is so happy to have Jackie in her class this year.

This year Eliza did her back to school shopping at Forever 21. Actually, not just any Forever 21, the HUGE 3 story one. She's lookin' like a grown up 5th grader. My little fashionista!

Eliza has Mrs. Domensino and the best part is ALL of her friends are in her class! Look at all the cute girls...I hope Mrs. Domensino is ready!

note:

I'm so far behind in my blogging but figure that I need to start somewhere. So I will start at today and try to add a few updates on what we've been doing this year when I get a chance.

Girls Camp

2010-08-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

This was Hannah's first year at girls camp. She had such a great experience and I am so proud of the young women she is becoming! She didn't even mind that her mother had to tag along! Some of the highlights of camp were singing camp songs, great food (yep, really!), friends, rock climbing, archery, the testimony meeting and so much more!

Here are a few pictures of her at camp.

I was the camp photographer. It was a huge job for an inexperienced photographer like me and I didn't get much sleep. I'm must admit, I was VERY glad to get home and sleep in my own bed! However, it was a blessing to share the camp experience with the young women. So much time and effort was put into camp by amazing women who made camp not only fun but a testimony building experience for these young women. I have a ton gratitude for the stake leaders who did such a wonderful job on on camp this year.

Raging Waters Birthday Party!

2010-07-01T23:25:00.001-07:00

This summer we got passes to Raging Waters

and it worked out to be the perfect place to celebrate summer birthdays.

Hannah and Eliza each invited a couple friends and had their birthday there.

The girls in the picture below (left to right) are:

Kristin, Sydney, Eliza, Hannah, Melia, Lauren (behind Melia),

Emiko and Hannah.

After a fun filled day at Raging Waters,

we went home for pizza, cake and presents.

Hannah is 12!

Eliza is 10!

Oh, and the Moran's had summer passes too so they got to join our party.

What a great group of kids -

we love having such great friends to celebrate with!

Happy Birthday girls!

Hannah's 6th Grade Promotion

2010-06-17T00:44:00.000-07:00

Hannah is now an Elementry School Graduate!

We were so proud when she was chosen to recite her poem at graduation. Here she is giving her poem.

...and here is the poem she wrote and recited:

When I Grow Up…

Where do you see yourself in the years to come?

Where will you be?

Who will you become?

Do you dream to be a …

Doctor, Teacher, the President?

Or maybe an,

Actor, Singer, Engineer?

What do you want to be?

Maybe a…

Scientist, an Astronaut, Policeman too.

What ever you want to be…

Maybe you can succeed.

But…

Where does it all start?

Don’t guess!

Let me tell you.

Here in Elementary school with you!

Teachers,

And Friends,

And everyone around…

We are grateful for you!

To let us have dreams,

To help us succeed.

Sophie is 6!

2010-04-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

Sophie is our princess so naturally she had to have a princess make over party.

Big sisters Hannah, Eliza and a few of their friends helped with the make overs.

Hannah and Eliza even made the cake. It's got a princess crown, and jewelry on it.

Aren't they beautiful!

After the make overs the girls settled down with pillows and blankets to watch a barbie movie. Then cousins Abby, Lindsay and Nora got to stay for a sleep over.

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T13:52:00.000-08:00

2009 is quickly becoming a memory as we race into the new year 2010! Here is a short update on the Lindsay family in 2009...

Bill:

Survived layoffs and still has a job for which we are VERY grateful
Loves photography but drives so much for work that he doesn't have the time for it. If you are ever interested you can see some of his pictures on flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/solostandfound/
Wishes he could get out on his bike more often
Loves his garage

Kathryn:

Can't believe all her kids are in school and wonders why she doesn't have all the free time she thought she would have.
Works with the YW at church and loves it.
Plans on eating less and running more in 2010.
Took over Bill's office and is making it into her sewing room.

Hannah:

11 years old and in 6th grade.
On student leadership at school and has LOTs of friends.
Gets along great with everybody (except when she torments her little sisters!)
Surprised her parents by cleaning the whole house while they were out Christmas shopping! She is shaping into an EXCELLENT babysitter.

Eliza:

9 years old and in 4th grade.
Started an acting class with her sister Hannah
Thinks she should be allowed to wear make up
When her Achievement Day class went ice skating last month she made her mother proud by skating with one of the girls who was having a hard time. She was patient and kind when the other girls couldn't be bothered to slow down and skate with the friend.

Sophia:

5 years old and in Kindergarten
According to her teacher, she is the most popular girl in her class
Scared her mom when she said, "All the boys in my class are hot!" Mom asked her what that means and Sophie said, "It means you want to date them!" Then Sophie got very upset when her mother told her that she is not allowed to date until she turns 16!
Lives to play barbies, dress up and be with her friends

Our Garage

2009-12-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

A few of you may know about Bill and his garage. He loves his garage. Since moving into this house 5 years ago he has been working on his dream and now *drum roll* he has finally achieved it! Here are a few pictures of his many hours of hard work - organizing, cleaning, painting etc. I wish I had a before picture because if I did you would ask, "where did all the stuff go?" Well, the stuff went to the trash, D.I., Ebay, filled two sheds in side yard and the attic.

The best part of the garage is... add a disco ball, fog machine, music and it is also a disco. (disclaimer: much cooler in dark but I couldn't video in the dark. Eliza was grumpy because she wanted it dark with the lights on the disco ball. You'll have to use your imagination to get the full effect or better yet, come over and see it for yourself!
Oh, and the little boy in the video is my nephew, Matthew.)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-05T20:39:00.000-08:00

Ready to go Trick or Treating!

Taking a quick photo break...

...and finally time to check out the candy and make trades!

Utah

2009-10-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

We've been talking about going to Utah for conference ever since Hannah turned 8. It's only taken us 3 years to actually go. The trip was too short but we had a great time.

On the way we stopped at Zion. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and although it was crowded because of the St. George Marathon and Conference we had a wonderful day. Here are a few pictures:

Then we continued the rest of the way up to Salt Lake City. Saturday morning we traveled back down to Provo for a little breakfast reunion with my BYU freshman year friends. After losing touch for many years we have reconnected on Facebook. It was so fun to catch up and meet everyone's spouses and kids. A picture of the group:

After the reunion we walked around BYU campus and went to visit Aunt Missy, Uncle Dan, and cousins Lindsay and Ryan. Uncle Drew joined us for dinner at Spaghetti Factory.

We had tickets to the Sunday afternoon conference session. Bill stayed with Sophie while Hannah, Eliza and I attended conference. Eliza was worried she wouldn't be able to sit through the entire session but we were all amazed at how quickly the two hours passed. We felt so lucky to be in the beautiful conference center listening to the words of our prophets. If only I had pictures!

We can't wait for our next trip back to Utah!

1st Day of School

2009-08-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

School started on Monday. The girls were all ready and excited to go back and see all their friends. Sophie is now a big kindergartner and mommy is home all alone (token sad face followed by a big smile) . Here are a few pictures of the big day.

Gotta get a picture of the new school shoes...

Ready to go.

Walking to school.

Big sisters pose again with Sophie
before taking her to the kindergarten classroom.

Sophie gets to write her name on the white board.

Eliza is ready for 4th grade.

Hannah, a 6th grader, and smiling even though she claims to be the
ONLY girl without a cell phone.

Then mom and dad went home all alone...

We need a bigger couch

2009-08-26T20:59:00.001-07:00

We now have TWO dogs. Yes really. We have TWO dogs that hog our couch. We added Figaro to our family a few weeks ago and he is great dog. We are all in love with him already. We thought Ashes was lonely so when we had to board Ashes while we were up visiting Family in No Cal we mentioned getting another dog. This was the same place we got Ashes and guess what... they happened to have Figaro who was looking for a new home. He is another whippet, 7 1/2 years old and a retired champion racer. Here are a few pictures of him.

Here is a picture of Figaro racing. He's the one out in front.

Happy Birthday Bill

2009-07-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

This is the interview the kids did in Primary for Father's Day. I meant to post it then but never got it done so here it is for his birthday.

What is something you daddy always says to you?
Sophie: "I love you."
Eliza: "He works."
Hannah: "Ummm.... NO!"

What is your daddy really good at?
Sophie: "Uhhh...Doing Work."
Eliza: "Fixing bikes."
Hannah: "Golf"

What is your daddy's favorite food?
Sophie: "Waffles with whipped cream on them...and I like waffles with shipped cream on them, too!"
Eliza: "I don't know."
Hannah: "Meatloaf." (Opps... Bill hates meatloaf... that's mom's favorite!)

If your daddy was a cartoon character, who would he be?
Sophie: "A car racer."
Eliza: "I think he would be his own character."
Hannah: "Popeye."

How old is your daddy?
Sophie: "5"
Eliza: "40"
Hannah: "41"

What is your daddy not very good at?
Sophie: "Uhh...doing laundry."
Eliza: "Hmm...he's pretty much good at everything."
Hannah: "Painting my nails...he won't do it, because it smells so bad."

What makes you proud of your daddy?
Sophie: "We go swimming."
Eliza: "Uhh...umm...I don't know...I think it's everything."
Hannah: "He's always happy."

How do you know your daddy loves you?
Sophie: "Because I'm smart."
Eliza: "Cause he tells me."
Hannah: "He tells me."

Happy Birthday Bill!

15 Years!

2009-07-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

July 16th is our wedding anniversary!
.... a few pictures of our wedding day 15 years ago.

Conversations with Sophie

2009-07-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon....

Sophie: Whippets get their ears pierced sometimes.
Me: No, whippets don't get their ears pierced.
Sophie: Yes, someone told me that.
Me: Who told you that?
Sophie: I went in my room and prayed and Jesus told me that Whippets get their ears pierced.

Today in the car....

Sophie: I want to have a lot of children.
Me: That's great Sophie!
Sophie: I want 3 children
Eliza: 3 is NOT a lot of children!
Sophie: Mom, is 3 a lot of children?
Eliza: NO Sophie, 24 is a lot of children!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

2009-07-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

My 4th of July Baby is 9!
Happy Birthday Eliza, you are beautiful inside and out!!!!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

2009-06-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

I've been working on scanning pictures so I thought it would be fun to make

a slide show of Hannah for her birthday.

I'm so proud of Hannah! She is never afraid to do what's right

and makes good choices even when her friends are not.

Hawaii

2009-06-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

The kids had their last day of school on June 12th and we started our vacation right away! That afternoon we boarded a plane and were off to Hawaii for 10 days.

We were on Oahu in Ko Olina at the Marriot Beach Club. It was a beautiful resort with three pools and a water slide. Hannah and Eliza LOVED the slide.

Bill and the girls after a ride on the slide.

Sophie just wanted to play mermaid. Here she is doing her "mermaid" pose.

Hannah taking a break from the slide to play mermaid with Sophie.

Eliza with cousins, Lindsay and Daniel.

The Polynesian Cultural Center -

How do you like Eliza's tatoo?

One of our FAVORITE places was turtle beach.

Hannah looking good while snorkeling with the turtles.

They were so close we could reach out and touch them. It was SOOOOOO fun!

Eliza, Sophie, Hannah and cousin, Kristin, at Pearl Harbor.

A few random pictures playing at the beach.

...and here we are enjoying our last sunset in Hawaii....

Sophie turns 5!

2009-04-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

1st we celebrated with family at grandma's house and
Sophie opened lots of presents.

Aunt Tami made a Barbie Cake...

Then we celebrated with friends at Chuck E Cheese.

...and of course more presents!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIE!

Easter

2009-04-24T21:44:00.001-07:00

Easter morning....

The girls pose for a picture before searching for their Easter Basket

Eliza finds her basket.

Sophie finds her basket.

Hannah can't contain her excitement after finding her basket.

Next was church and then to my mom's house to celebrate with cousins and another Easter egg hunt. Only Sophie hunted for eggs at Grandma's house and even then she was easily distracted by Aunt Heather's dog Brutus.

Easter Egg Hunt at Descanso Gardens

2009-04-24T21:22:00.001-07:00

The Saturday before Easter my mother, sisters, me and our kids met at Descanso Gardens in La Canada. It's a beautiful park and they were having easter egg hunts for the kids. Cousins had a great time and the moms enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Here are a few pictures:

Cousins take a photo after the hunt. They each found 5 plastic eggs and then could trade them in for a stuffed toy. Sophie kept telling me, "that wasn't the REAL Easter bunny because the REAL easter bunny brings CANDY."

Eliza waves as she speeds by on the train.

Hannah, Sophie and cousins waiting for the train to get going.

The most beautiful caterpillar I have ever seen. Someday this will be a Monarch Butterfly.
This basket was filled with them.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T08:28:00.001-07:00

My Mom by the Lindsay Girls

2009-03-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

I did this when it was going around facebook and decided to post on the blog too. I figured that lots of my blogging friends don't do facebook, so for the few friends who do both sorry about the duplicate.

I asked my kids these questions separately because I didn't want them to mimic each others answers. This turned out to be so FUN!!!

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Hannah: umm, "get it in writing". no, no, I change my answer, "NO!".
Eliza: Ahh, NO.
Sophie: ahhhh, something special?

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Hannah: Umm, Daddy.
Eliza: Ahh, Daddy.
Sophie: Keeping the house clean.

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Hannah: When we fight.
Eliza: When we are bad.
Sophie: Keeping the house messy.

4. How does your Mommy make you laugh?
Hannah: you say stuff like ummm....I don't know.
Eliza: Helps me with my homework and takes me to piano, golf and cheer and all that stuff.
Sophie: Making silly faces.

5. What was your Mommy like as a child?
Hannah: Shy...no, a little blonde, little girl.
Eliza: Like me.
Sophie: Play house.

6. How old is your Mommy?
Hannah: 41
Eliza: Ahhhh...41.
Sophie: just like me.

7. How tall is your Mommy?
Hannah: 5'4" ?
Eliza: I don't know!
Sophie:

(correct answer 5'4 1/2" good job Hannah!)

8. What is your Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Hannah: See us happy and our rooms clean.
Eliza: Be with us!
Sophie: Play games.

9. What does your Mommy do when you're not around?
Hannah: Read.
Eliza: I have not idea or no, she's on Facebook, she's always on facebook.
Sophie: ahhh, ahhh, go to sleep when it's night time and wake up when it's not night time.

10. If your Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Hannah: Painting toenails.
Eliza: Ahhh, I think it would be for cooking.
Sophie: Playing games.

11. What is your Mommy really good at?
Hannah: Driving us places.
Eliza: Cooking...no, no, no, not cooking. Cooking, singing, everything!
Sophie: Playing games.

12. What is your Mommy not very good at?
Hannah: Playing the piano.
Eliza: Ahh....umm, she is ahhh...nothing.
Sophie: Doing Laundry.

13. What does your Mommy do for her job?
Hannah: Heritage Makers and takes care of her family.
Eliza: She works on the computer?
Sophie: Play games and do laundry and do dishes.

14. What is your Mommy's favorite food?
Hannah: Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Eliza: mmmm, I don't know. She doesn't like fish.
Sophie: Fish but not real fish only the chicken fish.

15. What makes you proud of your Mommy?
Hannah: Your better than all my other friends moms. They always say so themselves.
Eliza: Ahhh...her intelligence.
Sophie: Being happy.

16. If your Mommy was a cartoon character, who would she be?
Hannah: The Popeye Lady because she is nice just like you.
Eliza: She'd be herself but a cartoon character.
Sophie: ahhh...fixing dogs when they are sick...I want you to be a cartoon....like a real one. Then when Ashes is sick you could fix her...

17. What do you and your Mommy do together?
Hannah: Homework.
Eliza: Oh...we go to the mall, and we get our nails done, and we do girl scouts together and we went to a fashion something...
Sophie: Play games and do laundry.

18. How are you and your Mommy the same?
Hannah: That's hard...we both have good fashion sense.
Eliza: We both don't like fish.
Sophie: We have same hair.

19. How are you and your Mommy different?
Hannah: She's blonde and I'm brunette.
Eliza: She likes salad and I don't and I'm a kid and she's a grown up.
Sophie: ahhh....buy clothes like you.

20. How do you know your Mommy loves you?
Hannah: She tells me.
Eliza: She does everything with me, she loves me, she helps me, she takes me to church...
Sophie: like, like...when I sleep and see your name on....wait I'm not done....ummmm...ahhhh.... when I go to sleep and when I grow I will miss you...when you doesn't come with us...then I came back and you were so happy.

21. Where is your Mommy's favorite place to go?
Hannah: Church
Eliza: Oh... she likes that tortilla place. The place where you can watch them make the tortillas.
Sophie: A New Kind of World but it's too far away.

Lizard Update

2009-03-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

It seems we have a lot to learn about breeding bearded dragons. The eggs need to be laid in a soil with lots of moisture, otherwise the eggs dry out. We took our eggs to the reptile store and discovered the eggs were no longer viable so there will be no baby bearded dragons at our house.

At least no babies for now - they told us it is very likely she will lay more eggs in the near future (possibly within a couple months). So if we watch her and prepare, we could hatch some eggs and sell the babies to the store. I've had a few friends request one of the babies so let me know :) It will be fun if we can make it work.

Baby Bearded Dragons?

2009-03-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our bearded dragon laid eggs!

I guess now we know that we have a girl and a boy lizard :)

Daddy is perched on the branch and mommy is below laying eggs.

We counted at least 18 eggs!

2009-03-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm sure the Obama supporters I know are more informed than those in this video but...

this really is an interesting piece.

New Cameras

2009-03-19T14:50:00.001-07:00

Hannah and Eliza got cameras for Christmas and have had a great time taking pictures. What do 10 and 8 year old girls take pictures of? Well, I was sorting my pictures and discovered that they like to take pictures of:

Ashes,

New socks,

Sophie,

and Barbies.

I couldn't count the number of barbie pictures I discovered! Also, I spared you the VERY unflattering pictures they love to take of mom!

They also love to make videos but that will have to be shared on another post.

Heritage Makers Cookbook

2009-02-24T19:37:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law made a family cookbook several years ago and I have loved it. It's so great to have all my favorite family recipes and it means even more because I know she put a lot of work into it. This is why I'm so excited about the new Heritage Makers cookbook. What an easy and memorable gift! Gather up favorite family recipes, put together a book and Christmas is done (or Mother's Day, or Birthdays...). I want to make a book to give to each of my sisters with Grandma's Buttermilk Brownies, Heather's Carrot Cake, April's Mango Salsa....yummmmmm. Check out the deal here.....

http://support.heritagemakers.com/comm/promo/2009/cookbook/CookbookPresale09Flyer.pdf

$15 a book seems like a good price to me!??? If you are interested let me know because the sale ends on February 26th - that's this Thursday.

Thanks for listening to my little sales pitch. I hope it's not too annoying but I really do think this is a cool thing and wouldn't want my good friends who might be interested to miss out :)

Long Lasting Polish takes the GOLD!

2009-02-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

Hannah's science fair project won 1st place at District! We are so excited for her. Unfortunately, both her mom AND dad forgot to bring a camera to the big award ceremony. Can you believe it??? I had to resort to using my iphone camera which isn't bad but can't zoom in at all. Anyway, here are the pictures I managed to get.

WAY TO GO HANNAH!

If you want to know which fingernail polish lasts the longest talk to Hannah :)

Haircuts

2009-02-16T22:23:00.000-08:00

Time for haircuts!

Sophie sits under the hair dryer.

Eliza's showing off her new do.

Hannah getting her 1st perm.

Heritage Makers and Digital Scrap Booking

2009-02-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am still here. Yes, we did have Christmas at the Lindsay home. No, I am not posting about Christmas... yet.... and, I'm going to blame my lack of Christmas posts on Bill. I do plan on getting to Christmas posts, but 1st I need to get the pictures from Bill's camera. So, enough of the blame game and onto what I really want to share.

I want to share my latest fad, digital scrap-booking. Those who know me well, know that I am not a scrap-booker. The truth is I HATE scrap-booking, and I am a complete failure when it comes to preserving my history in photos. My photos are a BIG unorganized mess. It completely overwhelms me. So this year I have become a Heritage Makers Consultant. Truthfully, I am a little embarrassed to admit this because, this is, (I mean sales and parties) not my thing at all. I have no desire to sell things to people they do not need or want. But I LOVE this so much. I've done books on other sites and they don't compare to what you can do on Heritage Makers. Plus, I have so much to catch up on, I need all the help I can get. My 1st attempt at making a book with Heritage Makers is posted to the right. It is about our family camping trip this past summer. Hope you like it. I had so much fun making this book and I can't wait finish more projects. If you are interested in making books with Heritage Makers let me know (I can even do virtual workshops online). I'll be posting my completed projects every now and then and maybe even let you know the specials for the month.

Piano Recital

2008-12-14T18:00:00.001-08:00

Hannah and Eliza had a Christmas Piano Recital at a nearby retirement home. The piano students play Christmas songs for the residents and then pass out cookies. This was Eliza's first recital and I think she looks a little nervous.

Here are the girls waiting for their turn.

Hannah gets to go 1st.

Eliza goes next to play a duet with her teacher.

The students pose for a post recital photo.

I am Thankful for....

2008-11-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

Bill:

Good Job, Good Family, Good Friends and Ebay

Kathryn:

Besides, of course, My Savior and the Atonement, Bill's good job that gets us a "Verizon Wireless Card" so I can update my blog while driving to his parents home for Thanksgiving :)

Hannah:

Church and Family

Eliza:

Great Friends and Turkeys

Sophia:

Envelopes and Chocolate Milk

And we are thankful for you!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Halloween

2008-11-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Halloween pictures.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumkin patch on Thursday before Halloween. It was a last minute thing and Bill and I decided that we were not going to spend money on the "activities" and warned the children not to beg. We were going to buy a pumpkin and leave. That's it! Walking up to the pumpkin patch I saw that they had little trampolines with the acrobat ropes/wires and kids were jumping so high, flipping and it looked so fun. At that point I knew we would not be able to hold to our "buy pumpkin then leave!" Here are some pictures of the girls jumping.

Do you think they had a good time?

Prop 8: Comic Relief

2008-10-25T21:20:00.001-07:00

"Take Courage"

More High School Musical 3

2008-10-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

Jibjab.com has all sorts of fun stuff. The girls and I had fun making these videos!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

High School Musical 3

2008-10-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

I am such a nice mom. The girls came home from school today and I said, "let's go see High School Musical 3!" They each invited a friend and off we went. I was the official popcorn refiller (we went through 3, yes 3, big tubs of popcorn!) and they had a GREAT time. It was good that we sat in the back because Eliza couldn't resist getting up to dance and even Sophie sat enthrolled during the whole movie! Here are the girls dancing with some of the cast from the movie:

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY!

2008-10-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2008/10/marie-thrse-gown-giveaway.html

Prop 8 supporter gets attacked

2008-10-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry for so many posts on this stuff, it has been consuming so much of me lately. There is so much anger and hate towards Prop 8, it's scary. I just hope we can stay focused on loving all people regardless of their position. Still lots of work to do -- I'm glad it will be over soon.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20081013/pl_usnw/prop8_supporter_violently_attacked_for_distributing_lawn_signs

Opposition to Prop 8 Targets Mormons

2008-10-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

This makes me want to donate more so I can be on the target list.

www.article6blog.com/2008/10/21/californias-proposition-8-open-season-on-mormons/

Obama supporters in Harlem

2008-10-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

I am not a big Howard Stern fan but this is something I had to share.

Trick or Treating this year!

2008-10-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

Naps on the couch

2008-10-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

I hope Eliza can forgive me for this one. I found her asleep on the couch and had to take a picture!

And here is Hannah trying to take a rest on the couch when Ashes decided to snuggle with her.

Sophie and Lindsay

2008-10-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of Sophie and her cousin Lindsay. We went camping over the summer with Bill's side of the family and had a great time. This hammock was a big hit with all the kids!

Pumpkins

2008-10-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

Click here to see some creative pumpkins with complete step by step instructions. My favorite is "The Midnight Hour" Cinderella pumpkin. If I can get motivated maybe I'll give it a try....

Another good YES on Prop 8 Video

2008-10-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

Camping in Big Bear with YW

2008-10-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

We went camping this past Friday with the young women in our ward. Well, not exactly camping since we stayed in cabins - with heaters! I was so glad to have the cabins and the heaters since is was FREEZING cold up there. It got below 30 that night, so having heated cabins was great, although I still was kept up most the night by giggly girls. Bill came along as our "Priesthood" and taught a photography class Saturday AM. Sophie and Eliza got to tag along too.
(Hannah missed out and went to a sleepover party instead).
Saturday morning, after the photography class, we went on a hike. It was beautiful and we had a great time. Here are some pictures:

The girls take a break from climbing.
The view from the top.
Eliza and Bill making their way down the mountain.
We made it!
Bill, Eliza and Sydney made it too.
Sophie in one of the "A" frame cabins. This is where the YW sleep when they come up for girls camp. Luckily, we didn't have to sleep there this time.

Save Now

Yes on Prop 8

2008-10-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent video on the consequences to our families if Prop 8 doesn't pass in California. I don't know if enough people understand the far reaching effects of the disintegration of marriage. This video is only one example. If you live in California PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE! If you don't live in California please encourage any family/friends in CA to get out and VOTE this November. This is SO important!

An Inspiring Message!

2008-10-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

Reflections

2008-10-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

This year for the PTA Reflections Contest at school both girls wanted to do photography. Since their daddy loves that stuff he got to help them. It was fun to see the girls get excited about their ideas and have Bill help them try out some new things. They learned a lot about photography and came out with some great photos.

Hannah wanted to try "light painting" so she got to stay up late when it was a full moon and go out with dad and take some pictures in the orange groves. She set the camera for a long exposure and then walked around the picture with a colored flash and flashed color into the image. It is amazing to me that, because of the long exposure, you can't see Hannah in this picture but only the color she flashed into it.

This is her picture:

Eliza caught a Praying Mantis the other day and decided she wanted to shoot that for her photo. We kept the bug in a little cage for a few days until she was ready to do the picture (or rather, until her dad had time to help her). They put the bug in a big bucket with leaves and she was able to get an awesome close up of this Praying Mantis.

This is Eliza's picture:

HGTV Stars

2008-10-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

My brother's family is going to be on HGTV this Saturday! "Hammer Heads" did one of their rooms last spring and loved the family so much they are using them as the season opener!

If you want to tune in, here is the info:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hheds/episode/0,3172,HGTV_30516_59848,00.html

It's Oct. 4, 2008 at 10:30 am est/pst

(7:30 am in CA according to my dish's schedule)

http://hgtv.com

A Farewell Party for Cassie

2008-09-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Eliza came home from school a few weeks ago very sad that her good friend Cassie is moving to New York in two weeks! Being the trusting mother that I am, I called Cassie's mom imediately and sure enough they were moving ASAP. We had to plan a farewell party for Cassie and I had to come up with some party ideas quick. Eliza, Cassie and another friend loved art and crafts and had an "Art Class" once a week that rotated houses with the mom's planning the "Art" lesson. With this in mind, I came up with the idea to make Cassie an "Art Apron." Here is what I did (and I am quite proud of it since I DO NOT consider myself creative at ALL!)

First I made the apron and embroidered it. Yes, I have to put names on everything because I can and it's so FUN!:

Next the girls at the party sign their name and add a hand print.

And now Cassie can take some California friends with her to New York!

Here are some pictures of the girls at the party:

Hannah's Before and After Pictures

2008-09-24T15:01:00.001-07:00

A year and a half of braces, a little $ and WOW!

Picture Day

2008-09-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Today is picture day at school.

The girls wanted to get all dressed up with hair curled so I had to take a few pictures.

Eliza poses for some pictures first.

Notice Hannah got her braces off and has a cute new haircut.

Hannah is getting so grown up!

Sophie ran up stairs and came down in her dress for pictures so I had to take a few of her too. So cute!

Sophie's Swim Lessons

2008-09-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some video clips of Sophie at her swim lessons. We have this great indoor swim place called the Aquatic Zone that does swim lessons year round. Sophie loves it. I love that almost all my children are water safe!

Now we need a pool in our backyard...

Pictures of Ashes

2008-09-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

This is our Ashes. In case you are wondering, she doesn't have blue eyes. They reflect blue from the flash and I couldn't figure out how to fix that.

Sophie and Ashes sleeping on the couch. Ashes loves to cuddle.

Some video that the girls took of Ashes so you can see her in action.

And finally the info on Ashes. We got her when she was 14 weeks old and she is almost 5 months old now. She is a whippet which I had never heard of until we got her. Whippets look like a small grey hound - skinny and fast. We got her from a breeder; but, she was a rescue dog because of an injury she received during birth. They think she may have broken her leg and although it has healed fine she has a little bump and she will never be a racer. This was fine with us since we didn't feel a need to have a dog run 30 miles an hour like racing Whippets do. I copied some info from Wikipedia on Whippets in case you are interested ..

Whippets are generally quiet and gentle dogs, and may be content to spend much of the day resting. Although especially attached to their owners, they are friendly to visitors. They are not prone to snapping, so they are good with young children. Because of their friendly nature whippets are known to have been used in aged care facilities. They may bark when strangers arrive but are not suited to being guard dogs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whippet

Busy Bee Academy

2008-09-17T23:54:00.001-07:00

Sophie started preschool this year which has been very exciting for her mommy.

Two mornings a week I'm free!

It's amazing how quickly the time goes...

and how little I've been able to get done.

Anyway, Sophie LOVES school.

Here are her class photos.

Sophie is in the second row

between her two best friends,

Portia and Emma.

. . . and here is a picture of just the girls.

Ashes

2008-09-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

As soon as I can figure out how to download pictures onto my computer, I'll post pictures of our dog. She's a skinny little black whippet and LOVED by three little girls at my house. I kinda like her too!

I've done it!

2008-09-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

OK. I've finally done it. I started a blog. I have had a love hate relationship with blogs for a long time. I love to see my friends blogs but hate being filled with stress and guilt over not having one of my own or time to keep up on other blogs. I love the idea of having an outlet and opportunity to show off my cute family but I hate the pressure and not knowing what to say. I hate that my "to do" list is way too long (and now I've added one more thing!) and never goes away but I love to be busy and active.

Well, I guess I've done it now so here it goes. I have a blog!