Big, Bigger, BEST!

For mutual tonight we played big, bigger, BEST.

The kids broke into teams and each got a toothpick - they had 40 minutes to go around the community and trade their toothpick for something bigger and better.

One team came back with a dog.

Most teams got between 10-15 trades

The winners - an old fridge. 

The prizes ranged from miniture Reese all the way up to King size Reese for the winners

{just a note if you do this for your mutual - I found 6 different sizes of Reese's for prizes..big, bigger, best!}

katie.

One of my best friends and her family came to visit today.  Katie and I were neighbors and really good friends while at Rick's college.  She is now expecting her fourth girl!  It was so fun to catch up.  I think it had been three years since we had seen each other.

Here are some crazy pictures of us in college.  

Camille, Ann, Katie 

Apparently we liked to dress up like fools!

Katie, Camille and Dave.

This is a picture Katie sent me while I was on my mission.  She got married and had her first girl while I was on my mission {my mom and my sister went to her wedding in my place since I could not be there}.

Katie at my wedding {pregnant with #2 and sick!}

We had such a tight group of friends at Rick's College - my college years are some of my most favorite years with some of the best memories. I am still best friends with some of the people I rubber shoulders with in Rexburg.  Good Times.

jean & anna.

Picture overload time...

We had my sisters two youngest girls today for a few hours.  Jean and Truman {26 months} are the same age and so are Anna and Bodie {3 months}.  I got up early and left a house full of sleeping people to go walking with my girlfriends - when I got home Gregg was holding down the fort - four kids under the age of two!  The first thing he said to me was "we have three poopy diapers." After changing three poopy diapers two of them decided to poop again.  So within about eight minutes of being home I had changed five poopy diapers.  Phew.

Of course I wanted a cute picture of Truman and Jean sitting by each other, maybe even giving each other a hug.  I got this instead...it will do!  It shows their personalities a lot better!

The Hopkinson kids have the best eyes in the world to photograph!

They sure love each other - when Truman got up from his nap today and Jean was gone he kept asking "where Jean?"

 Oh Anna - we love you even though you had a tough morning.  Tiff said she wanted to photograph her kids in all their expressions well, here you go...Anna mad at Aunt Millie for trying to take pictures!

Typical Anna face - it's almost like she is saying "how dare you take my binky from me"

 Like I said, the Hopkinsons have the best eyes.  I thought Bodie had blue eyes...not compared to these!

 'Hungry Bird'

 Bodie {11 weeks old}

 Is that a smile?!

golf.

Time for a new sport in our house.
Aunt Amber and uncle Brad gave Truman a little golf club set for his second birthday.
Check out his skills!


"Good Hit"

"Watch my feet"

"New Club"

Where does he learn this stuff?

diapers.

{photo taken on phone camera}

Today I ran out of Bodie size diapers while I was out running errands so I put Bodie in one of Truman's diapers!  

On a side note: I am going to try to blog more.  I have been feeling guilty that I am behind in my scrap-booking and journaling .  Last night I stayed up and updated my boys baby books.  I love to blog {and read blogs when I have time} so instead of feeling guilty for the next {insert number here} of years for not having my scrapbooks and journals updated I am going to be better about blogging about what happens in our family and specific milestones with the boys.  Then maybe in {insert number here} of years when life slows down {or I have some more 'me' time} I can look back at the blog and remember everything!

Thanks for checking in on us!

too much water.

This is our friends house at the top of Lime Canyon {the canyon we live in}.

This is what happens when it rains too much!

Saturday night they started getting water in their basement.  This was the scene today after church.  I think the entire YM organization showed up to dig them out.   Gregg was at there house 5+ hours helping out.  They basically had a RIVER running way under ground {not surface water} from the canyon run off leaking through their foundation.  

Brother Nielsen in the cup of the backhoe trying to get one of the sub-pumps to work.

I like this picture - the men watching.

My girlfriend had just planed new trees and flowers.  We carfully took them all out of the ground and put them back in there pots - I told her in a couple of days when things dry out and they make sure the pumps are all working correctly I will come up and help her 'fix' her landscaping.  So sad.

book club.

I know I just did a post about book club - but here comes another one.  I was late with the last book club post and we only had three weeks between meetings this month.

We read The Double Helix by James D. Watson.  It is about the scientist who discovered the structure of DNA.  Kind of interesting - especially knowing what we know now about DNA.  Biology is probably my worst subject so the 'science' behind it all was way over my head - but there is an interesting story to be told.

I would give this book one* star out of five.

{*disclaimer: I reel really bad saying that especial because the discovery of the structure of DNA is so important - James Watson did receive the Nobel Prize for the discovery! - the one start is not because the book is written bad - its because its not the type of book that is particularly interesting to me but, that is the great thing about book club, it forces you to read things you might not otherwise read} 

The food Bonnie prepared on the other hand was amazing - as always.

Here is what the menu read;

~ Teas ~

Tazo Passion Herbal Tea

Tazo Honeybush Herbal Tea

cream and sugar

~ Mint Lemonade ~

~ Lemon Buttermilk Scones with Currants ~

Devonshire cream, lemon curd

~ Sandwiches ~

cucumber mint on squaw rounds

egg salad with dill on wheat bread

chicken curry salad on white bread

~ Simple Spinach Salad ~

~ Cheese Assortment ~

Double Cloucester with herbs, Dubliner, Red Dorset

~ Fresh Fruit ~

~ Dessert ~

pot de creame au choclate with candied edible flowers

pavlova with whipped cream and fresh berries

{picture from a phone camera}

I had one of EVERY THING {and even two of some things!}

Pictured above is the edible snapdragons coated in sugar - so good.

Amazing Bonnie as always - thanks!

Next we are reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.  I have read this book before but I am excited to read it again!

And, as a side note my dad has me reading all sorts of books about raising boys!  Gregg and I just stated this one called Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax.  I HIGHLY recommend it.  Gregg comment today way "every school teach and principle should read this book."

rainy day.

What do you do on a rainy day?  Meet friends for lunch!
My sister Tiffany and I met our new sister-in-law Lauren for lunch at Olive Garden today.
Lauren is in town visiting while Nate is out of the country.  We had this nice private room so the kids could be as loud and wild as they wanted!  We ordered them bread sticks with lots of dipping sauce while we enjoyed the famous lunchtime soup and salad.

Truman showing off his new "body art" from Quinn.

Later that day I found Truman laying in Bodies moses basket with him.

chicks.

Truman and I discovered that Ace Hardware in Heber has baby chicks for sale.   

We stopped twice last week just to see the chicks - and so Truman could get a free bags of popcorn.  I told Gregg its a new free rainy day activity :)

{quality is not great - taken with my phone camera}

book club.

We had book club a couple of weeks ago and I need to post about it.

Tami hosted us at her house to discuss Life of Pi by Yann Martel.  We ate a very yummy French toast breakfast casserole with cream cheese.  So good.  

I kind of liked this book...in my opinion the first half of the book has nothing to do with the second half of the book {actually it does have to do with the second half of the book but you don't have to read the first half to understand the second half of the book}.  I seriously think you could start reading at about chapter 23 and not miss anything!  The entire book takes a big twist in the second to last chapter..so you have to read the entire book {mom} before making a judgment on the book.  Tara brought up a good point at our discussion about the author - she wanted to know more about the author and his background and what inspired him to write this kind of a book - this book was published in 2001 and is such a popular and controversial book {maybe controversial is not the right word...very talked about book by people.  It leaves you with a very strong opinion as to whether you love or hate the book}.

 And for those of you who have read the book...I don't think it was people on the boat with Pi - I want to believe it really was animals :)   

I give this book four stars out of five.

Tamil made these cute bookmarks for us.  Thanks Tami for a great book and discussion.

{picture by Tami}

Next we are reading The Double Helix by James D. Watson

Should be interesting.