Shawna

I love Shawna -- I always have.  She is one of the friendliest, hard-working, upbeat and polite people I know.

The first time I met her she was still five years old, fresh out of kindergarten.  I was trying to organize a musical revue one summer for my own children to participate in, as well as any other children who were interested.   As I was fairly new to the area, I asked a friend if she knew any children who would like to participate in this two-week adventure.  She suggested Shawna.

When Shawna arrived, it was clear she was younger than all the other children, and I wondered if it was a mistake to have her in the group.   It turns out I didn't need to worry -- she was perfectly behaved, and had the ability to memorize like crazy.  And the fact that she was on time every day was a bonus!

For the next seven or eight years, Shawna continued to participate in "Showbiz Kids" every year until she got too old.  In fact she -- along with Daughter #3 -- probably holds the record for having been in the group the longest.

As a child she was mature beyond her years.  Someone joked the other day that she was like an adult trapped in a child's body.  Kind of true -- she was never afraid to speak to adults, and always spoke with confidence and clarity.

As a teenager, she was the one everyone wanted to babysit their children.  She was reliable, friendly, competent and trustworthy.

Shawna has been taught well to be of service to others, and always seems to be busy doing good.  I have observed her lending a helping held in many different scenarios, over a span of many years.  When my mom passed away two years ago, Shawna made up a huge batch of brownies for the funeral luncheon and sent them with us as we travelled.   What a sweet memory of a sweet girl.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when Shawna started dating our nephew, and is now engaged to be married to him.  They are both so hilarious -- they've been counting down the days until their wedding since before they were even engaged!

Here are a few pics from the bridal shower I hosted for her:

Listening while all the attendees told of their first memory of her.

 Being "showered" with gifts.

 Glad that she'll soon be part of the family!

Hey, Shawna, only 15 more sleeps!

Dixie

A Hot Night Out On The Town

The Mr. had been out of town for a couple of days.  Upon his return on Friday, the plan was to go out for supper.  When he got home on Friday, I'm not sure if I was more excited to see him, or more excited to eat out, but I was in a hurry to get this date started -- we left the house immediately.

The food was delicious and we talked of going to a movie after.  In the end we decided to come back home and watch a movie on tv instead.

Thank goodness!

The minute we opened the front door we could tell that something wasn't right -- the smell of burnt something.  Sugar, maybe??  YIKES!!  I realized I left a pan of squares baking in the oven while we were gone.  When I opened the oven door, the whole kitchen flooded with smoke!

There in my oven was  a 9 X 13 pan of very burnt squares.

What a disappointment!

Lest you think this was a pan of brownies, or some other brown dessert, here's a little glimpse of what they are supposed to look like.

The Mr. asked me what I was going to do with the burnt squares.  When I replied with, "Throw them away.  What else?",  he told me that I should put it outside for the birds.  

"But it's filled with butter and sugar and chocolate chips -- that's not healthy for birds."

"Sure it is.  That's what suet is -- pure fat."

I don't know why, but I always thought suet was bird seed.  I did a little research on the internet, and sure enough, birds need that extra fat to survive, especially in winter.

So for the time being I've placed my 9 X 13 clump of burnt offerings outside.  But if I start seeing any chubby-looking birds hanging around, it's going in the trash.

Because I also googled "obese birds" and this is what came up:

Far be it from me to knowingly contribute to the poor health of our little feathered friends!

Dixie

Where Has the Time Gone?

I've decided this whole blogging thing is kind of ironic.

During the times when I'm crazy busy with lots of fun and exciting things going on, I have absolutely zero time to blog about them.  Conversely, when things have slowed down and I finally have the time to blog, I either can't remember what I wanted to say, or I no longer care about what I wanted to say.

Either way it seems like a losing battle.  But I'm not giving up yet.  So, here's a quick summary of a few highlights over the past few months (or at least things that I actually have pictures of):

Daughter #3's Wedding

(...and a few from behind the scenes)

Housing the Missionaries

 They looked pretty harmless when they first arrived. 

 

It was fun having someone around to bake for.

They were so appreciative of treats.

This one had a goal to someday be able to fit an entire 

ice cream sandwich in her mouth in one bite.

It required many days of practicing.

Apparently I couldn't resist the challenge.

I enjoyed our little visits in our shared kitchen.

They introduced me to the beauty of caramel apples from

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Well, someone had to clean up the leftovers from the church picnic.

And since we were the last ones to leave.....

I loved having these girls in my home for the summer.

On a totally unrelated note, I gained 10 pounds while they were here.

Making Cookies for the Homeless

I received a group email from a friend letting us know that for her mom and dad's upcoming 70th birthdays, she wanted to put together a book for them chronicling 70 acts of service that were done in honour of their birthdays.  I decided I wanted to put together 70 bags of juice boxes and homemade chocolate chip cookies and deliver them to a homeless shelter.  The Young Women from church wanted to help me with this project.  So, we decided to take a few pictures of us working together.

Delivering the bags was an interesting and humbling

 experience.  Those of us who went definitely came away

 feeling so grateful for all that we have, and hopefully, 

a little more sympathetic to those who have less.

Our (Second) Trip to Utah

Awaiting take-off.  The Mr. and I were separated by an aisle.

My seat was right beside these two.  I'm pretty sure I drooled all

 over my travelling companions once the Gravol kicked in and I fell asleep.

Outside the Jordan River Temple.

Got to visit with my niece, her husband and their cute little guy.

Practicing their knot-tying skills at the Scout Exhibit.

Trying to see if she could make him lose his concentration.  

Waiting for General Conference to start.

My instructions were, "Gradually lean out farther than the next person

so everyone gets their face in the picture."  This is what I got.    ??? 

(I'd love to know what that guy standing up was thinking.)

 

Visited with the newly-weds.

Enjoying our Sunday dinner in the Married Student Housing quad.

Park City -- going up.

And coming down.  

It was a close race, but The Mr. still beat me, despite

 tipping over on his way down.

Ripped his shirt and his jeans when he spilled out of the sled.

Waiting in the airport for the return flight.

Another great trip with great friends!

So, a little bit of a catch up in the blogging department.  Not that anyone cares -- or reads my blog, for that matter, but at least it makes me feel better.  

Dixie