Voice Camp Recital

We had the Voice Camp Concert today. It was wonderful! Debbie did such an amazing job with those kids.
Thanks Marci for not only coming with Mike and the girls but for taping it for us.

You're the best!

Here are some pictures of Hope.

Hope, Kirsten and Megan

The recital included both the younger group and the older group. It was fun to hear them all. Each participant did a solo and there were 3 group numbers. I was so proud of of each and every one of them. That takes courage and they all did a great job! I hope Debbie does "Voice Camp" again next summer. I highly recommend it to anyone in the Katy/Houston areaI have no idea how to add the video or insert YouTube. Maybe I'll be able to add it later.

All Things Pink and Green

I have become obsessed with pink and green with all the wedding plans. I even find myself wearing it inadvertently! Kayley and I are both big time ribbon fanatics! These are some of the ribbons we have ordered for the wedding.

Kayley found an adorable pink grograin ribbon with a green thread woven through the center for the invitations.

We have quite a collection of pictures to draw from for inspiration. These are some of our favorites.

She just ordered favor tins with personalized pink and green labels.....of course.

Death of An American Icon

It is with saddest heart that I pass on the following news.

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community.

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection, and complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Doughboy had been under the care of Dr. Pepper.

Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, who has a bun in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, The California Raisins, Betty Crocker, Dolly Madison, the Hostess Twinkies and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours. Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy, and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart "cookie", wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.

Despite being a little flaky at times, he still, as a crusty old man, was considered a roll model for millions.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

To visit the Pillsbury Website, Click the Doughboy.

Please do not poke too hard.

Best Gasoline Price

This is pretty nifty. Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gasoline in your zip code area.***CLICK HERE***

It's updated every evening.

Tomato Sauce

Listed in Dr. Oz's "Food - Hall of Fame"

I don't really get to watch much TV at all...too busy. Every now and then I turn Oprah on while I'm folding clothes. I've seen her show a couple of times when she has had Dr. Oz as a guest.

Dr. Oz recommends eating 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce per week. "Inside the tomato is a chemical called lycopene," says Dr. Oz. "This chemical has a wonderful effect—it's an antioxidant." Dr. Oz says there are added benefits from eating tomato sauce or paste as opposed to plain tomatoes. "A raw tomato is fine, too, but if you get a little fat with it—either with some nuts or a little olive oil and dressing—then it's perfect," says Dr. Oz. "It helps you absorb it better into your intestinal system."

Ever since that episode, I've been trying to serve spaghetti a few times every month. I came across this sauce by Bertolli at Sam's Club one day and it is really good! I like the Olive Oil Basil and Garlic. If everyone's going to be home for dinner, I use 2 jars and add a can of tomatoe sauce. You can add hamburger, sausage, meatballs or whatever. It's quite tasty!
We had Kirsten here for dinner tonight and she thought it was better than, her favorite,Fazolis!

Dr. Roizen beams when he talks about one particular food: tomatoes. "They decrease cancer and they decrease arterial aging, heart disease, stroke, memory loss, impotence, wrinkling of the skin," he says. "In fact, Dr. Oz and I think a small town should be named after aspirin: it's that important. But a whole country should be named after tomatoes!" So should they be raw or cooked?

"It takes 165 raw tomatoes to equal 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce," Dr. Roizen says. "So it's much easier to have tomato sauce." Dr. Roizen adds that it doesn't matter what kind of tomato sauce you have, "as long as it's cooked, and you eat it with a little olive oil and a little healthy fat because it's much better absorbed with it."

Hmmmm...I think I'll start serving it a little more often!

Voice Camp

We are so lucky to have Debbie Siebert as a friend. She is absolutely amazing! Not only did she develop a program Bravi! Beginnings to teach children music in an entertaining way,
she also teaches piano and voice lessons to children and adults in the Katy/Houston area.
I could listen to her all day long!

This summer she is holding "Voice Camp". Hope and some of her friends are participating and absolutely love it! Debbie has 2 groups of kids divided by age. The sessions are for 1 hr and the camp goes for 2 weeks. She gave each student a folder with the music they are working on together and the piece she chose for them specifically by their voice range, etc. The students will sing this selection for the recital. The song she chose for Hope is, "On My Own" from Les Misérables She also made CDs for each student with the accompaniment so they can practice at home.
I'll try to get some pictures of them to post and of course Marci will have to tape the recital.

K...Marci?

Preppy Paisley

Finally made them!

A couple of months ago I decided it would be fun to sew some matching little dresses for Ella and Addie. I found this fun pink and green paisley fabric that is pre-smocked at the top. I fell in love with it and bought a couple of yards. Around that same time Marci was looking for white dresses for the girls to where to Brittany's Wedding and not having much luck. So, I put the paisley on hold and got busy making them "fluffy" (as Ella says) white dresses.

Addie and Ella on Brittany's Wedding Day


How cute is this?




Saturday I finally got back to the paisley fabric. Little Ella is so fun to sew for! She likes to sit next to me at the sewing machine and watches intently.
I think we have a future seamstress!
Addie, Kayley (Aunt Lee Lee), Ella and Scott

Ella in her Clown Suit:

Happy Father's Day

You guys are the Best!

" Mark with Kayley and Hope"

"Dad with Addie, Mom and Me"

Saturday, June 14th is Flag Day

The History Of Flag Day

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.
On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.
Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.
Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.
In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.
Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."
Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

Silly Bill

This was the funniest thing. I tried to capture it with pictures but you just really had to be there! Hope had wrapped one of Scott's birthday presents in her old shoe box.(she has tiny feet) The box was sitting on the stair landing. Bill stepped in it with all four legs and kept turning around in circles. I told him the box was too small for him to sit in but he persisted.

Even funnier, was later Blanco sat in it! Scott took those pictures and I don't have them yet. What silly guys!

Side Note: Marci and Mike adopted a stray white cat that Ella named Meow Meow. She was a cute cat and really sweet. Meow Meow had a litter of kittens ... all white. We let Scott and Hope each pick out a kitten. Hope picked Blanco the first one born and Scott picked Bill. He was the last one of the bunch and a little runt. I think that's why Scott liked him so much. Here are some pictures of them at about a month old:

Here's another picture from Kayley's photo shoot last Saturday.

Happy Birthday Scotto!

His actual birthday is June 10th, tomorrow, but we had his family birthday dinner yesterday. He wanted an Oreo Ice-cream Cake

It took 3 of us to light all the candles quickly so as not to melt the cake!


14 Candles....can't believe it!

Photo Shoot

Today I went downtown with Kayley for a photo shoot. It was really facinating to watch and I actually got to assist the photographer and makeup artist.
Here is the print the photographer gave her.

08/08/08!

We love weddings. We're especially excited about this one! Our middle daughter, Kayley, is getting married this summer on August 8th. She just started a Wedding Blog after much persuasion from her mom and sisters.

I've Been Tagged

I've been Tagged by Kayley..........

... So here's the scoop:

1. 10 Years Ago...
We lived in Chicago, Illinois and all five kids were still living at home.
Marci - 17, Mack - 15, Kayley - 11, Scott - 4 and Hope - 2. Boy does time fly.
I miss those days! I don't think I'd have the energy for it now.....

2. On My To-Do List for Today...
Rent Chairs or Chair Covers for the wedding, set up visiting teaching appointments,fill my orders, plan Scott's birthday dinner for this Sunday, take Hope and Kirsten to Fazolis for dinner.

3. Three Bad Habits of Mine...
1. I try to eat the whole elephant in one big bite!
2. Big time perfection issues.......
3. Starting a load of laundry and forgetting about it.


4. Places I lived....
(in chronological order...)
Oh Boy...are you ready for this?
Memphis
Greece
Georgia
Virginia
Florida
California
Utah
Colorado
Back to California
Utah again (BYU)
San Diego, CA
Redlands, CA
Syracuse, NY
Dallas, TX
Chicago, IL
Back to Memphis, TN
Back to Florida
Houston, TX
and that's where I'm staying!!!


5. Places I have worked...
Sandwhich Shop
Insurance Office
Cleaned the Science Bldg. at BYU
Administrative Assistant
KAM Secretarial(I Had my own typing business)
Pre-School Teacher
Aerobics Instructor
KAM Designs (Custom Pillows)
Southern Living at Home
Photo's with Santa at Katy Mills...seriously!
Pineapple Hill Designs (my latest venture)



6. Three Things People Don't Know About Me...
1. My husband was engaged to someone else when I met him...
well, how was I to know!
2. I want to take piano lessons.
3. I thought I was adopted when I was little.

Auction Results.........

The auction was a great success! We auctioned off CTR Frames, a Summer Gift Basket, Shabby Chic Hooks & a Live, Laugh, Love Sign.

Our bids won a Movie Basket, an End Table (for Kayley and Scott), and the BEST ONE... a Little Pony Gift Bag. Scott's Scout Master put his name down as a bid as a joke. It was so funny when they called Scott's name as the winning bid!


It will be great at Nana's house for Ella and Addie!

Girl's Camp

Tonight is the Spaghetti Dinner ~ Silent Auction and Bake Sale.
Kayley painted two cute frames, mom made a gift basket and
I'm donating some fun items from the store.



I can't wait to see what everyone else does. They are also
auctioning services. Hope has volunteered several hours
of babysitting.

What a kid!