Check Me Out

My crayon-making post is featured on iVillage this weekend! Check it out {scroll down to The Buzz In The Blogs section on the right sidebar}.

The Parable Of The Peanut Butter Sandwich

or why you should vote yes to Prop. 8

By cousin K.C.

Behold, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was prepared to be made into a delicious morsel of satisfying grub for lunch...or maybe dinner...or maybe even breakfast. One piece of bread was laid upon the counter and in a few swift motions was smothered by delectable smooth peanut butter whilst the other slice of bread was smothered by mouth-watering raspberry jam. When the bread with the peanut butter and the bread with the jam were placed together as one it was approved of God and called a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Now behold there were some who were absolutely in love with peanut butter and had no interest in jam so both slices of bread were covered with Skippy. And then there were some who couldn't resist the mouth watering taste of the jam therefore both pieces of bread were soaked with Smuckers. WHO HATH EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR. And those reading this blog post said unto K.C., why speakest thou unto us in parables? And K.C. quoting Jesus said, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." And it came to pass that for some odd reason those who made peanut butter and peanut butter sandwiches along with those who made jelly and jelly sandwiches wished with all their heart that they could call their sandwiches "peanut butter and jelly sandwiches" and fought and fought and fought (I could go on forever) for the right to call their sandwiches "peanut butter and jelly sandwiches". I say unto you all ye ends of the earth, WO WO WO unto ye residents of CA...and all ye ends of the earth... who wish to call those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!!! For they are not so! If ye make a "like" spreaded sandwich ye are not permitted to call it a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. To you it may be delicious and you can enjoy the benefits of the sandwich thereof but IT IS NOT A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH! "They seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they UNDERSTAND....For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I (the Savior...not K.C.) should heal them."

So that's that! The parable makes perfect sense to me and I hope it makes sense to you too. I know that marriage between a man and a woman was and always has been ordained of God from the days of Adam until now. Everyone who is registered to vote in CA...PLEASE vote yes on Prop 8 if you wish to preserve the sacred institution of marriage. Next time you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...ENJOY IT! And remember that it actually makes sense to name it as such.

Crayon Making 101

If you're anything like us, you have a huge tub of crayons at your house. The majority of them in our tub are broken. I was finally motivated to sort through the crayons and we decided to reuse the broken ones to make fun new crayons- perfect for little hands and little ones {like Jackson}.

Here's what you do:

First, spray a muffin pan lightly with non-stick spray. Then peel the paper off your broken crayons and arrange in the cups. We did some all one color and some mixed colors.



Bake them at 275 degrees for about 10 minutes. Watch them carefully. Some crayon brands take longer to melt, we discovered.

Once they are completely melted, remove and let cool. You can swirl the colors with a toothpick while still melted if you like. We also put our pan in the fridge after it was cool enough to touch which sped up the process.

Once cooled they should pop right out and you're ready for some coloring fun!

Conference Weekend

What a peaceful and relaxing weekend! I always look forward to October Conference- snuggling on the couch with warm blankets & listening to inspired messages from a living Prophet and Apostles. What could be better? Well, nothing really. In addition to hearing wonderful words that motivated me, gave me peace, and lifted me up, we managed to do the following:

Building a goal post and flag at The Home Depot with Daddy

{we forgot to sign up but luckily they had some leftover projects for the kids to do}

Girls {and little boys} Night In while the boys were at Priesthood Session

lots of dancing......

and gyoza making {and eating, of course!}

We also enjoyed a wonderful Conference Brunch at the May's. We LOVE Grandma's brunch!!

I also enjoyed the following kid quotes this weekend:

Kensie- "Mom, why is Dad organizing?" {between Conference on Sat. Matt decided to organize the pantry and the basement. Once he gets going, do not get in his way!}

Me- "He's just in the mood to organize, I guess."

Kensie- "Usually he's just in the mood to sit and watch football."

Lincoln was asking me when it would be Christmas time. He associates Christmas with snow, so I told him "Not too long. See, there is already snow on the top of the mountains." His reply- "Oh, I thought that was just sugar."

Dancin' Fools

A few videos to make you smile. Pilobolus has always been one of my favorite dance companies, and Matt Harding.......well, I wish I were him!
Thanks, Ann, for the links :)

Pilobolus at the 79th Oscars



For some Pilobolus amazingness on Conan O'Brien GO HERE.



Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Yearbook {yes, I was in it}

*inside joke for my immediates :)


Thanks to Josie, I just HAD to yearbook myself!!

no, this is not my mother

who spent that much time on their hair, anyway?!

classic!

ah, the 80's

jean vest, 90210 haircut

i'm pretty sure my hair didn't look like this in 2000

Banned

This week is Banned Books Week. I was surprised by some of the books that have been and are now on the banned or challenged book list {and NOT surprised by others}. Here are a few of the top 100 most banned books {from 2000-2007}:

Harry Potter series- J.K. Rowling

Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings -Maya Angelou
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
Forever -Judy Blume
The Color Purple- Alice Walker
Catcher in the Rye -J.D. Salinger

Bridge to Terabithia -Katherine Paterson
To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
Beloved -Toni Morrison
Snow Falling on Cedars- David Guterson

In the Night Kitchen -Maurice Sendak
Blubber -Judy Blume
Brave New World -Aldous Huxley
Slaughterhouse Five -Kurt Vonnegut
A Time To Kill -John Grisham
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest- Ken Kesey
A Day No Pigs Would Die -Robert Newton Peck
Draw Me A Star- Eric Carle
Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
Junie B. Jones series- Barbara Park
Song of Solomon -Toni Morrison

Most of these books are ones I've read. Looking at the rest of the list I realized that I'm a bit naive when it comes to the plethora of books that are out there- and I'm fine with that {especially looking at some of the book titles & descriptions!}. But I think that people should be able to decide for themselves which books they will and will not read. So go out & read a book!!

Conference Packet

Conference Packets are a MUST for those of us who watch General Conference with young children!! I actually get to listen to {most of} conference.....amazing! Enjoy the packet, as well as the spiritual nourishment that Conference provides.

*this packet can also be found on Sugardoodle.net

October Conference Packet - Upload a Document to Scribd

Randoms

It's been a pretty uneventful week or so......here are a few random pictures from recent happenings:

Cute Lincoln

Laundry Basket Forts

Vollyball & Messy Faces at the Cabin

Hopefully this week will bring some excitement!

too much fun!

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