Sweet's Candy Factory

As a special treat on Maddie's last day of school we went to the Sweet's Candy Factory for a free tour with the Utah Kids Club. Jason's office is literally right across the street so we went and had lunch with him at work and then went over for the candy! It was really fun and very interesting. You get to sample some of the things that they make. We sampled a jellybean center, the orange sticks, and their famous taffy. Maddie's favorite part was watching them make the gummy bears and cinnamon bears. Emma's favorite part was watching them make the jellybeans. Both of the girls were a little disappointed that they didn't actually get to make the candy...just watch and eat. Afterwords we went into their little gift shop and picked up a few more pieces of candy. They loved it!

We had to wear these funny blue hats while we were in the factory. Emma frieked out and didn't want to make candy anymore. She eventually got over it and left it on the whole time.

Everybody say Candy!

Maddie took this picture of Emma and Me. I had to wear the gloves because I couldn't get my rings off of my fat, swollen fingers. They are serious about hygiene here! They gave each of us a bag of candy at the end of the tour.

Emma is holding the bag of loot we bought after the tour. It was a fun time and free!

Maddie's Last day of Preschool

Maddie had her last day of preschool on Thursday. Because her preschool is at the elementary, they participated in the school's Dance Festival. She danced with the kindergarten classes. I was so proud of her. I was shocked and amazed that she even did the dance without a fit and that she didn't just stand there. Emma was going in and out of my legs so it's a little shaky. Enjoy the video!

This is a picture of Maddie with her teacher Miss Holly.

This is a picture that Maddie took all by herself of Miss Holly and the Teacher's Aide Miss Itzy.

Memorial Day

This morning I performed in a little Memorial Day Observance Service. I sing in and accompany for the Lehi City Chorale. We were supposed to have the service at the cemetery. The weather changed it to the Lehi Legacy Center. It was such a spiritual experience. The reverence that was felt and expressed there was overwhelming. Despite the bad weather there was a good number of people there. Those that were up above walking or exercising would stop and listen. Some would sit down and postpone their activities and some took out their earphones and turned off their I-pods to listen and participate. We started out with the national anthem and raising of Old Glory. Even though there was a soloist, it did my heart good to look out into the audience and see most of them mouthing the words along with her. What a wonderful experience and moment of pride as we all said the Pledge of Allegiance together. We didn't have to worry about offending anybody and none of us probably would have cared if we did. It's been such a long time since I've said the Pledge of Allegiance. Madalynn says it every day in her preschool class which makes me proud. They honored the veterans that were there and the spouses of those who had served or were serving, which was very touching. The Mayor of Lehi spoke and gave a wonderful talk about a trip he and his wife took earlier this month to the historical places of the U.S. such as, the Liberty Bell, the house of Betsy Ross, and the various statues of presidents including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Afterwards they honored a local hero. Apparently they honor someone locally every year. He was so cute. After they read a very nice tribute about him they had him stand up. He received a standing ovation from the crowd. After we had all sat down he responded to the recognition by saying."Let there be Peace on earth and let it begin with me. God Bless America!" To which we all clapped again. The commander gave a very solemn tissue talk (because you needed to wipe your eyes with every word he spoke). He recounted a few stories of two local soldiers from Lehi who had fallen in the past few years. He said some very important things that really touched me. He said that they both had written letters and e-mails to their families emphasizing the fact that they chose to be where they are and asked them to be proud of them and what they were doing. One soldier wrote a letter for that "just in case" moment which unfortunately happened. He wrote to his two year old daughter Dakota. He asked her to be proud of him and to understand the reason why he was not there with her. The commander went on to say that "Whether the war is popular or unpopular the sacrifice is the same." That got me thinking as to what my attitude has been of late and how I started thinking about not only the war that is being fought on foreign soil, but the war that started in heaven and is still being fought today. We all have a duty to ourselves, our country, and our families. We may not be soldiers in the army, but we are soldiers in the army of God. During the time when my grandfathers were 19 not every young man could serve a mission. Some had to serve in the war. My mother's father served in the Korean War and left his new bride home. He did not serve a mission but was a great example and missionary throughout his entire life. My father's father did not serve in the war due to physical ailments, but served a mission. He was a great patriot and loved his country dearly. Both soldiers serving different wars, but the same enemy. It saddens me to think that there are those who would see patriotism die out. Who would have the Pledge of Allegiance forgotten and God dismissed in our country. Who have forgotten what Freedom of Speech and Religion really mean. They are few and we are many, yet they seem to have a greater influence than we do. While we are not called to serve on the battle front, we are called to serve. We can be examples and fight to uphold the gospel and the values that we hold dear. We can teach our children and our neighbors. Satan is still gathering his army. He knows the time is near. We know the time is near and we need to gather our army as well. In the book that I just finished, the first in the trilogy THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE, it was about the war in heaven and how Satan gathered his followers and Jehovah and Michael gathered theirs. Even then, missionaries were sent to the enemy to try and teach them. Father gave them every chance possible to come unto Christ. Likewise, we still do the same thing. Being citizens in this promised land is one of our duties and sharing the gospel and bringing those unto Christ is our mission. I know I've been preachy but it really struck me today. The commander also reminded us that Memorial Day is not a day about picnics and going to the beach and BBQ's. It is a day to remember our freedom and those who paid the highest price to give it to us and to MAINTAIN it. While the war we are fighting is not for OUR freedom or OUR land, it is what America does...help and aid other countries. Share the taste of freedom that we have. Again I add my testimony to that of the honored veteran today when he said "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. God Bless America!" and to that I say Amen.

Indiana Jones

Last night we went and saw the new Indiana Jones Movie. I loved it, but I didn't. Harrison Ford has still got it. He is just as sexy as ever. Shia La Bouf is excellent. Cate Blanchett is so talented and I think Oxley is played by the guy who is Mr. Ollivander in Harry Potter and he is cute. You just want to hug him and squeeze him. It's fast paced, action filled, and a little "jumpy-scary" sometimes. However, what they are searching for is not quite what I would have wanted. It's nothing sacred (or even real for that matter) and I think that caused a little bit of an issue with me. It's obviously not as good as the last one with dreamy Sean Connery, but LaBouf does such a good job of adding that bit of charm that Connery had. I certainly wouldn't mind if they carried LaBouf over as Indy Jr. he's so cute. All in all I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars, which isn't bad, but it could have been better. It does have some funnies in it and let's just say that Spielberg or Lucas still enjoys melting peoples faces off and being a little too graphic with killing people off. There were a few times when I had to look away and hope that my popcorn didn't come back up. The action is definitely Hollywood so keep that in my mind. We all know that most of that stuff could not really happen, so don't get hung up on that like my father in-law did. Enjoy it for what it is...Harrison Ford with a whip!

Ducky

Today the girls and I had fun feeding the ducks. My mother in-law works for UVSC and they have two huge ponds where ducks like to live. We have been waiting for the baby ducks to be born. There were two sets there, as well as, a few Canadian Geese. The baby ducks are so cute! One batch looked to be a little older and they were having a hard time telling the difference between the bread pieces and the white seeds from trees that were floating in abundance.

A few of the baby ducks enjoyed climbing onto a piece of debris and then jumping off and getting back on.

First we had a little picnic in the commons area away from the ducks. Last year when we did this the ducks kept coming up to us trying to snatch our lunches. So we decided to change locations.

The girls loved tearing up the bread and throwing it to them. They called out "Here ducky. Come and get your lunch" with high hopes that they would be able to hand feed some of them. My little nephew Ashton also joined in on the fun. He's not quite a year old yet and is just starting to walk. He desperately wanted to walk into the pond and touch the ducks. Any bread we gave him to throw in he just ate for himself. It's so nice to have an activity that is so simple yet will entertain the kids for hours!

Afterwards we went out and bought a new swimming pool. Our other one did not do so well being left out on the lawn through the winter. It was so hot and muggy today that I felt we needed to go swimming before the bad weather set in. The girls were just too excited to wait for the pool to fill up. Every two minutes they would ask if it was full and can they please get in. They played for a few hours outside and had a blast. I enjoyed splashing for a minute and then finished my book so that I could get started on the Host!!! (supervising them the whole time of course) I even got a little sun myself. I'll have to blog about the book I just finished. It's the first book in the trilogy called "The Great and the Terrible." It's about the war in heaven. Fictitious of course because we don't know what really transpired, but interesting none the less. Really gets you thinking about things. The second book is about life on earth and the third about the hereafter. My friends have really liked them so I thought I would start. Unfortunately they will have to wait because I want to finish the Host.

Anyway, we had a really fun time being outside and enjoying Heavenly Father's Creatures, as Maddie likes to refer to them. The girls love their Grandma Childs and visiting her at her work. If you ever need anything free and fun just head on over to UVSC or another pond where ducks like to frequent. Don't forget plenty of bread or they will come after you for more!

Piano Recital

Today was my Piano Recital and it was a huge success. All of my students did exceptionally well. They each had to play two songs. One had to be a song from a movie or t.v. show and the other had to be a hymn or primary song. I was so proud of them! I also played. I play at all of my recitals because I want my students to know that I will never ask them to do something that I am not willing to do myself. I also want them to know that you are never too old to be scared to play in front of people and that you should always share your talents. I played a song from Pirates of the Carribean and My Heavenly Father Loves Me. I used my music even though I had it memorized. It's harder for me to get past that because I don't have anyone to answer to. My husband tried to get on me about practicing...but it was too little too late. Anyway, they all did so well and now it's over. All those months of hard work and it's done. Now I get a break for a few weeks until summer lessons start. Yeah!!

Utah Kids Club

There is a fantastic new thing out right now called the Utah Kids Club. You pay $12 a month and you get this card that saves you money at over 70 locations. Plus they have a monthly calendar that is jam packed everyday with different activities and free events. The best part is that you don't have to have kids to enjoy the savings or you can have as many kids as you want. Use it for date night or play group. Also, you only have to pay for the months you want to use it. So let's say you have kids in year round school. Pay only for the month that they are off track and have tons of activities for them to do. Or only pay for the summer months and not the winter months. You get to pay for whatever you want. Some of the activities: There's swimming places, bounce houses, museums, bowling, young chef's academy, and tons of others. Check them out at www.utahkidsclub.com and if you sign up for May and June you get May for only $1. I can't believe all of the stuff that is there and discounted. Enjoy!

Here we Go!

Ok. So this is my first experience with "blogging" so here we go. I just got an e-mail from my friend Heather and in it contained the invite for my 10 year reunion. Isn't that crazy? I feel old enough as it is and now this! Well, anyway, I won't be able to go because it's a few days before my due date. Not only that but they want $100 a couple and I'm sorry but the people I care about I can talk to for free. You have to prepay they won't allow "at the door" tickets. That's just too much to commit to on the off chance that I will be able to go. We got the girls pictures taken a few weeks ago and man was it cold. It was so windy and freezing that when the kids weren't getting their pictures take we had them wrapped up in blankets. Every year for mother's day my sister and I take our kids to get their pictures taken for my mom. We didn't do it last year and she certainly made it known to us that she looks forward to those pictures and wanted one this year. Because this is my first blog I will just tell you a little bit about my family complete with pictures of course. Jason is 29 and works as a Purchasing Agent for 1800 Contacts. He loves it there and loves his job...but he will never make enough to support a family. Employees there just don't make that much. So he is going to finish out this year and then hopefully find a new company to work for that will support the family. So if anybody knows of a good company or a purchasing position opening up please let us know! Jason enjoys hunting, fishing, sports of all kinds to play and watch, and of course being with me and the kids. I just turned 28 (sniff sniff) and I mostly stay at home. I teach piano and I currently have about 20 students. I also have my own little vinyl lettering business and I sell Mary Kay on the side. So while I do all these great things from my home, I also get to take care of my two girls. Madalynn just turned 5 a few weeks ago and she just thinks that she is the cream of the crop now. She can't wait to start kindergarten. She is in preschool right now and loves it. They are working on a dance festival for the last day of school and she loves all of the art projects that they do. She lost her first tooth a week ago and the tooth fairy gave her 5 dimes. Anything that has to do with the number 5 is such a joy for her. So while it may not seem like a lot she certainly thinks she's the richest woman in the world. She can't wait for baby brother to come because that means that kindergarten will be starting. Emma is 2 1/2 and is our little princess. She loves the princesses!!! She has on a different dress-up every day and likes to watch all of the princess movies. Her favorite color is pink and her favorite princess is Cinderella. She has been taking a dance class for the last few weeks and she just absolutely loves it. Her first recital is in June. We'll see how she does. She is also excited for baby brother to come because after baby brother it's her birthday. Of course she has been talking about this for months and she wants a princess birthday with princess cake. Well, I think for now this will do. I have my Piano Recital coming up on Saturday and of course I don't have my song memorized yet. But I will definitely blog that and other events that happen in our lives. Toodleloo!