Seattle Aquarium

A cool patterned starfish:

Slideshow (click on it to show the photos bigger):

Face Painting - Andrew got a Seahorse and a Octopus:

Natalie got a penguin without actual eye pupils and an otter that looked more like an embryo - LoL

Andrew posing as a jellyfish - yes, it's blurry, but it's funny because I didn't notice the position of his hands until I looked at this photo for the 3rd time:

Natalie as a jellyfish:

Andrew as a cheesy jellyfish:

We went to Pike Place after the aquarium and ate fish and calamari for dinner! Andrew liked the fish & squid, Nat did not like the fish and didn't even try the calamari =)

A Christmas Spirit Movie

I put together a Christmas slideshow, but couldn't share it online, so I then had to revamp it into a movie =) I showed this to my Beehives on Sunday and they loved it!

Opened an early present

Brady says he already has 4 belts, so he's not happy with his gift. I said 'I only ever see you wearing 1 belt'. Brady says 'yeah, I only like white belts' - LoL Maybe we'll have to go and exchange his brown belt for a white one =) Teenagers and the rate they change their minds ;)

Oh, this white belt?

Someone's thinking they're pretty cool in their skinny jeans ;) Which he was only allowed to wear on one spirit day during spirit week. I think they look disgusting! LoL

Moral: Don't shop too early for Christmas presents because it won't be what they want in a month anyway!

Keaton's funny story:

'Ms. Samoni has a zebra print Snuggie at school but she won't wear it any more because Josh wore it to the bathroom one day.' Keaton was laughing very hard which made this story even funnier for the rest of us ;) I asked why she just didn't bring it home and wash it - Keaton said that the kids already suggested that but she hasn't done it.

I wonder if Keaton asked for a Snuggie on his Christmas list was because his teacher has one - we've never even talked about one nor known anyone to have one! Costco had one, so I didn't have to look very hard at all.

I see someone likes their Snuggie a lot already, wore it playing video games & at nap time ;)

Chocolate Souffle Recipe

Ummm, yumminess =) I altered a recipe and made it my own, the only original things are the butter and the eggs.

butter 6 ramekins and then dust with powdered sugar

Separate 5 egg yolks from their whites, keeping 2 yolks together and the 5 egg whites in another bowl, discard the 3 extra yolks.

In a saucepan, combine:

3/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup cake flour

Cook butter and flour together for about 3-5 minutes - until a frothy film appears.

In a separate pan cook:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

and bring it to a boil, then add it to the butter mixture. Cook until a smooth paste forms.

Cool slightly, then whisk in the 2 egg yolks.

Melt 5 ounces chocolate and add to the base.

Whip the 5 egg whites to a stiff peak and fold them into the mixture. Pour into ramekins and bake 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Dust tops with cocoa powder.

For fresh whipped cream - whip 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 tsp powdered vanilla and 1 tbsp powdered sugar for about 3-4 minutes - spoon on tops of souffles when ready to serve.

Mexican Rice Recipe

My kids think my Mexican Rice is tastier than Azteca! What a compliment!

2 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp fresh minced garlic

1 onion, diced

2 tsp cumin

4 cups jasmine rice

4 tomato bouillon

4 cups water

6 oz Cotija cheese

Heat oil with garlic, onion and cumin and saute for 5 minutes or so on med-high. Add rice and cook until rice turns transparent. Add bouillons and water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Crumble cheese and add to rice. Serve! Yum . . . you can also half this recipe - we just like the leftovers and we never throw any of this stuff out because it doesn't stay in the refrigerator long enough to spoil ;)

Cookie & Cupcake Snowman

I made a treat for our last Beehive activity out of a sugar cookie, mini cupcake and regular sized cupcake:

Frosted them and sprinkled white chocolate that I grated with a vegetable peeler (I would have done clear or white sprinkles, but I didn't want to go to the store - hehe) - I was trying to make the frosting look like snow ;)

I was going to get some Reece's peanut butter cups for hats, but didn't have time. The girls could have cared less - hehe The eyes are mini M&M's and the carrot nose and coal mouth is dyed frosting, the buttons are those one butter mints - don't know the name!

Brady's Free Throw to tie the game

Can you say 'pressure's on'? Geesh! Brady was fouled with 1.4 seconds left in the game and his team was down by 1 point! He missed the first free throw . . .

But made the second:

And his team went on to win!

We did youth baptisms at 9 am, had Brady's game at noon, made a pie for the ward Christmas party, finished lessons Jonathan & Cheri both had to prepare for Sunday and then took the boy's & Nick G. out to Ixtapa after the party . . . it was a full day!

Greek Salad

Visiting Teaching Handout Dec

Visiting Teaching message for December is Nurture through Compassionate Service. I made a handout:

right click to save image
OR

you can make an ornament out of it:

and find that google doc here.

Hummingbird in Dec

This hummingbird's feathers reflected in the sun makes for a beautiful green:

Ruffling feathers and grooming:

If I wasn't zoomed in so far when I snapped this photo, I would have gotten the full head shot! But it was really cute how it was bent over so much!

I have to change out the nectar 2 times a day - it freezes SOLID and is oh so sad! Once I had the feeders in my house when one came looking for them, so I hurried and held it outside my door and it flew over and fed from it while I held the feeder in my hand - super fun =)

Video-grooming hummingbird

Upside Down Christmas Tree

Yeah, there's a dark spot on the tree with no lights -LoL But it's too much work to revamp that one area ;)

And I'm all done Christmas Shopping, even all done wrapping (I even wrapped the stocking stuff!) Debating whether or not to send Christmas Cards - leaning towards NOT - hehe

Keaton's bedroom

Keaton's room is almost done now, got the bead board, chair rail and moulding up! =) Now the finish work. The walls are the same color as the ceiling even though the ceiling looks darker than the walls:

Keaton is going to paint directly on his wall . . . eventually wall(s) if it looks okay ;)

YW Value Pages

images found at www.jackshandsjillsheart.com (only have to buy the image once, then print out as many copies as you need - but please don't share or redistribute the file - thanks!)

Bottlecap necklace

Here's my first attempt (still playing around with ideas) at making a necklace for the 2010 LDS youth theme:

I tried to get a clear photo, but the reflection off the top coat didn't allow it - so here's what the image looks like for the necklace and the bead:

I love dangling beads! I really enjoy that I can customize the paper beads to match too! =)

Want the image so you can make your own - click HERE.

Beaded Watch

Blogger won't upload my photos correctly, it keeps rotating them =( But you can still get the idea ;)I'm going to bead some watches to sell - they're so fun to make and wear!

Take a Hand, Touch a Heart

I made this as a thank you gift from a friend who presented a wonderful message from President Monson of take a heart, touch a hand:

I used her daughter's hands in the image when she was over for an activity at my house - I'm so sneaky ;) Like she even has old nail polish on one of her thumbs - thought it gave it character, so I didn't edit it out.I made a matching bead out of paper that hangs as a charm with crackle glaze:Now I have a request to make a HUGE one for the dad, maybe without the glitter, ribbon and charms though, eh? hehe Guys appreciate crafted items too! =)

Video of Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

A very cool woodpecker has visited us multiple times the last 2 days! This beautiful guy is a Pileated Woodpecker:I could see tiny bugs flying around and it seemed as though he was licking them from the air - it's tongue is super long!
I have a video of it too - I'll try and upload tomorrow. After 3 1/2 minutes of just observing, I got bored - hehe And I won't post the whole video - I'll edit it to a minute or so ;)

New Attic Door

This is our attic door before - a little obvious and extremely ugly ;) plus it's plain and tacky:

Here is the attic door and ceiling covered up with bamboo flooring:
It will match the bamboo floor we will put down in the hallway - I like the idea of bamboo flooring on the walls and ceiling - fun!

A bit less obvious - nice work Baby!See my electrical outlet? It's for the fountain - I love being able to say 'Honey, can I have an outlet here?' and it's done! =)

Give Thanks

These are blocks I cut from a 2x4, stained them, mod podged letters I printed on patterned paper and added some ribbon:

A cute mushroom house with a few things to be grateful for that I put at the end:

It was blue & pink before, I erased all the colors and scanned in my fall paper so the mushroom would match =) I lightened the lines to gray too. Okay, I squished it too - but I needed it to fit my block dimensions ;)

I heart fonts! And cute graphics!

Girly 2010 LDS Youth Theme

2010 theme girly ;)

Maybe a handout or scrabble tile necklace - I'm going to play around with the funness ;) (is that word with 1 n or 2 - hehe)

Want the image - click HERE for the link.

YW Handout for Drug Abuse

Combined lesson Word of Wisdom & Drug Abuse - Livi did the object lesson =) We're going to have the girls give a part of the lessons when possible.

I used a Christmas ball ornament and printed off a skeleton face and rolled it up and placed it inside - not a fun task - hehe The Crossbones are bent on the bottom to help it stand up.

Quote: If you never take the first, then you'll never take the second from N. Eldon Tanner. The DDD in the corners of the bones are for 'Don't Do Drugs'.

Here it is standing up - just switched the crossbones wording around on the final product, like the 1st picture:

The girls loved them - they're so cute when they get super excited - is it all about the handout?? (look who's even writing that! LoL) I hope they come away with remembering the message too ;)

Bedroom Closet Bamboo Floor

We got the bamboo flooring in the closet that is shared between 2 bedrooms done on Saturday. I cut all the pieces with the chop saw and Jonathan nailed them in:

Jonathan put up the trim and bead board, now the finish work (more putty, sanding and painting). Like the outlet? We put 2 in the closet . . . won't that be nice? For something, just can't think of what yet ;) Keaton liked it so much, he wanted wood floors in his bedroom - awww, so sad it's going to stay carpet!! Personally Jonathan & I both hate getting out of bed and putting our feet on cold, hard floors. And if there is wood floors in bedrooms, what do people do anyway? Put an area rug down - what's the point? hehe

Welcome to the Hive

We make these signs for the bedroom doors of the girl's we kidnap when welcoming new Beehives into Young Womens:

We have breakfast at the leader's house and the girls love it!

YW Handout for Virtue - Good vs Evil

We learned about having courage to live our standards because of worldly pressures. We talked about Daniel's faith and courage and I gave the girls granola (pulse) with the Word of Wisdom from D&C 89 summary handout. We combined 2 lessons today, which is really tough to do in the amount of time we're alloted for class! But, here's my handout on virtue and judging good vs evil:

I used the GOOD with the EVIL illusion for this handout and only 1 out of 9 in my class had seen it before, but they all liked it.

more ornaments

kissing ball:

Snowflake 1:

snowflake 2 (see, how fun is this ribbon? hehe):who's ready for Christmas? ;)