Teaching First Grade

I am so lucky and very privileged to get to spend time with all of these awesome children, parents, and co-workers. My two favorite costumes this year were the Madhatter and Alice in Wonderland. These two cuties are cousins. Neither one knew what the other would be wearing. So creative!

Here's my little Madhatter, Grant.

I couldn't stop laughing at him the entire

day. I love him.

Here's Tayla...little Miss Alice In Wonderland.

The back of her hair was done in little, tight

curls ADORABLE!!

This is my First Grade team.

I am the luckiest teacher alive.

There is Mrs. Drumm, Me, Mrs. Reimschussel, & Miss Auich.

These are the best teachers in the entire universe.

I dare you to look into these eyes and NOT be jealous of my job.

There is something so special about this little girl.

She is like an angel. A little waif of an angel.

Be Still My Heart!

Guess what I wear as a hat?

...a lentil.

I just want to thank my daughter, Melissa for sharing this video with me. It is my current favorite! The voice of the little shell has not been altered. The gal is just a pure genius. This makes me smile...which is particularly hard to do on a Monday.

Enjoy!

Peter Who?

Her: I really need you to make a Peter Pan hat for me.

Me: Sure, when do you need it?

Her: ASAP

Me: Okay. Just get me a pattern and some fabric and I'll get going.

Her: I've got the fabric but NO pattern.

Me: NO PATTERN?? I can't make a hat without a pattern. You're nuts.

Her: You can do it.

Me: How?

Her: Just do it.

So, I did.

First I tried making a prototype out of some ugly fabric.

Then, I "just" made it.

I'll admit...the front is a little long but, I don't really care.

Neither does "she".

BABIES!

Babies!

So, this morning I rewatched a documentary called "Babies". I really loved it. I mean, REALLY loved it. As I watched, many ideas and truths came to my mind. Here are a few:

• "Mama" is a tender word in ANY language.

• Dirt will NOT kill you or your baby.

• No matter what comforts, riches, or support available to them, mothers love their babies with all of their hearts.

• Learning to walk is hard work.

• Solid food is fun.

• Breasts are a beautiful thing when nursing a baby (and there are lots of breasts in this movie)

• Siblings are "siblings" in every culture. Any questions?

* At time marker (is that what it's called?) 20:42, I wasn't sure I could handle the spitz bath...now THAT is pure love!

• Throughout the movie, I kept thinking about my bff Kathe and giggling because I could picture her reaction to all of the scenes. She is one of those people who is gaga over babies. I'm going to make her watch it to see if her reactions are what I pictured.

• I could never live in the African bush...oh, the boredom.

• I am totally in love with the Mongolian baby and his big brother. Especially when he drags that cat around on a leash.Hysterical

• Finding your voice is exciting.

• I would like to emulate the pure joy of being a baby and discovering my voice, my feet, my hands, birds, cows, etc...

I could go on and on. I just want one of you to watch it so we can talk about it. You can rent it OR watch it instantly on Netflix. There is no commentary in the film. The babies tell the story. I loved it. It made me even more excited about the little baby growing in my daughter's belly. I love that baby already. I can't wait to watch it go through every single baby stage. But please, Erika, DO NOT USE YOUR OWN SPIT TO BATH IT!

Here, enjoy the preview:

Canadian Thanksgiving!

Oh what a wonderful, crazy, exhausting, exhilarating, fun, delicious, etc...etc..etc..Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner. After weeks of planning, one week of cleaning (perhaps if kept it deep cleaned all the time, it wouldn't take so long!), and one and a half day of cooking...the big day arrived.

Thanksgiving by the numbers:

Total number of attendees? 40!

Total pounds of mashed potatoes? 25 (thanks to Adrianne for peeling and cooking them!)

Total number of HUGE, Costco sized pumpkin pies? 4

Total pounds of butter? 2

Total number of dishes broken? 1 (pretty good, eh?)

Total cups of sour cream? 6

Total number of dishwasher loads? 5

Best street hockey player? Me (of course!)

Farthest distance driven to get here? Ft. Collins which is 471 miles

Best surprise guest? Doyle (my brother-in-law)

Number of tables set up WITH table clothes? 8

Number of pregnant guests? 3 (One was actually overdue!)

Number of little pumpkins used to decorate? 46 (seriously)

The only food I misjudged and got too little of? The turkey! (FAIL) It was good though.

Total fun? Unmeasurable!

Top Row: Riley and Rachel

Row 2: Terry; Sammy; tasty gravy (my specialty); the "kids" table: Erika, Melissa, Danny, Casey, Lucas, and Tyler; Amen (my audio engineer) with the Malad folks: Kauri, Keri, Heather, and little Riley; Zack Thomas (Canadian attending BYU), Erin, and Brant (on his phone as usual!)

Row 3: Ariel; Look at that cutie mother Melissa with her daughter Olivia; "real" full-on whipped cream; Kevin and Rachel Walton (even though the picture is fuzzy, you can totally tell that she was 2 days overdue! Bless her!); flowers and dishes!

Row 4: Danny and Melissa; Darling, darling Adrianne; Thanksgiving tableclothes (9 total!); Isabel...the sweetest little pioneer on the planet, along with her new doll outfit (see the previous post!); the amazing parents, Erin and Spencer (Erin just so happens to be my sister/friend/twin/daughter-in-law/daughter!)

The cool evening weather made for a gorgeous game of street hockey...Canadian style! I, of course, played the part of the goalie. I felt pretty sneaky as I gradually inched my shoes closer together. The shoes being the improvised goal posts. By the end of the game, their goal "posts" were about five feet apart and my goal was around 2!! I'm sure that no one noticed! Hahaha!

I love how my porch looks with the Canadian flag hung in the middle. So inviting! So red! So white! Love.It.

Notice the last picture on the top row. See Isabel in her pioneer dress? She was pretty much stuck to me like glue for the evening and I loved it! I also included a picture of me with my son-in-law Tyler. Yes, that is a red maple leaf on my arm. Besides trying to hide my huge arms, I am pretending to have a tattoo. I would totally get a maple leaf tattooed on my shoulder if it weren't against the "law"!

"CAR"

Though many expressed their apprehension about me using my "good" china instead of paper plates, I went ahead and persisted. A good meal really does need to be eaten on "good" plates. My answer to "You're going to let us eat off of these plates?" was, and still is, "They are just plates!" I really feel strongly that lovely plates, no matter how old they may be or to whom they used to belong should be used! What good are they just sitting in a cupboard or in the attic to bring out and LOOK at? So what if a couple break? If it makes the meal more enjoyable then why not??

Now, I have to tell you about mine. I have two sets of "good" china. The china above with the flowers has a great story: I got it while on my mission in Sri Lanka. There is a Noritake factory in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I got it dirt cheap! It is a set that serves 12. It came complete with tea cups, teapot, plates, salad plates, saucers, serving bowls and platters, salt and pepper shakers, and the list goes on and on! If I had bought it here in the states it would be close to $1000 or more. I got the whole works for $300.00 plus, shipping in a crate on a boat was an additional $200.00. What a steal eh?

The other set I inherited from my mother. I think it is beautiful. I remember eating on them practically every Sunday while I was growing up. It belonged to my great-grandmother. I want others to love it like I do and the only way that can happen is to actually USE them. Right? Of course right!

(sorry about that little tangent about plates and fine china...I just can't stop typing!!)

Thank you to everyone who attended this event. It was an honor to have you in our home. Let's do it again soon. Next time, I'll be sure to buy more turkey!!

Before I tell you about Canadian Thanksgiving...

...I MUST show you this:

...and this:

The pioneer dress fit like a glove! I finally understand the meaning of that phrase! I love this little girls. Every stitch was worth it!

In case you missed it:

look and look

Self-promotion

Chloe, Katja, Emily, Lizzy, and Alex!

Our first group.

And, included in this second picture...

Amen and Brant

(videographer and producer respectively)

We were feeling a little "punchy" at this recording.

For those of you who might have missed this 30 second spot between conference sessions here you go! The third "channel" the finger finds is my show "Scripture Stories". The boy's voice you'll hear is Alex. He was in our very first group of children that did the recording sessions. He came up with those words all by himself! What an outstanding young man. Of course, the fact that he has awesome parents really helps!

Bloomer...Sooner! and a little bonus at the end

(That title was specifically for my friend, Pam.)

Bloomers...check! These were so much fun to make. So easy. So cute. Miss Isabel will be complete and looking like a full-fledged pioneer.

The whole package!

NOW, for that little bonus. Once I had finished the bloomers, I called Isabel and we had a good visit. I asked her if there was anything else she could think of that I could do for her. She thought for a while then, later in the conversation, she said "I thought of something you could do. It would be fun if my American Girl doll looked like me." I told her I probably couldn't get that done by this Saturday. She was very understanding so, I said I'd make the doll an apron.

Well, one thing led to another until...

...you KNEW I'd do it didn't you? I had a blast last night trying to make the pattern up. Luckily, all of my daughter's American Girl dolls are still here at the house so I had a "body" to measure.

Now, I am done. I'm content with this darling outfit.

...unless the doll needs a bonnet!