Rachel center stage

When Rachel was young we thought for sure she would be a famous actress.

This girl is DRAMATIC.

But when it came to performing in front of a crowd, surprisingly she froze up,

until now.

All of a sudden she has no fear, no stage fright, no forgetting lines etc. etc.

She performed in a few skits and was wonderful!

I was very proud of her.

But now she is going to be a doctor i think.

There will be plenty of drama there i am sure.

telling james that she wanted his seat in the audience.

He gave it to her.

I love this picture.

her adoring fans.

the walk home.

i love our little one street town.

Not even a stop light.

Summertime means pedicures. YES!

It's finally summer, and time for flip flops and cute sandals.

Which means we girls need to have pretty feet.

This was the first time I had ever gone with Rachel and Rebecca to have pedicures

(we even splurged for a manicure too), and it was

so much fun! How fun to have your daughters be your best friends.

(and btw, doesn't my arm look really skinny in the picture above? It's not of course.

It is just the shadowing of the picture, but a girl can dream. If you didn't know, i am self conscious about my upper arms. I told my friend today, "forget breast implants, I would totally

have surgery to have my arms looked chiseled. Alas, I am cursed with drumstick arms.

Really, of course I am just thankful to have healthy working arms. of course)

I love this picture above. It was so fun to just see them talking and laughing together.

I have drummed into my girls heads from the time that they were little, how precious

your sisters are. When they are angry with each other, I always say, "Who are my best friends?"

To which they reply in unison, "your sisters."

They know the speech. Your sisters will always be there for you.

Friends may come and go, but your sisters will always have your back.

Whenever they have friend problems at school they always have their sisters to turn to

to tell them, "forget them, you are the coolest." and laugh until the hurt dies down.

Let me add though, that I have found friends that are truly sisters to me, and you know who you are. You better be reading my blog!!! smile.

Also, cousins count too!!

Doesn't Rachel look so old???? (as in 18, not old like me. smile)

She does turn 16 this year. Dating? She is really excited at the

prospect of someone else buying her food. oh, that girl.

It was the last day of school today!!!! Time to party!!!

Although we kind of been partying all week. I think Rebecca went to

school one day this week.

Don't worry they all have straight A's. Except Lizzie, who came in crying tonight to me because

she had a B in math and everyone else had all A's. She was wearing just a t-shirt

and dark sun glasses with tears coming down. Precious.

I told her, "Don't you dare cry over a B!" Especially when you are in 4th grade!

A "B" is amazing! I told her that I got a "D" in math my senior year, and look how

smart I am! ha ha. Again, my kids are just so much better than I ever was.

Thankful tonight.

Pretty much thankful every night.

We Read in the scriptures tonight how when people are prosperous and all is going well is when they forget God etc. After we read, I asked what they learned. Jacob said what I just wrote and then that we need afflictions to keep us remembering God." To which I replied, "NO WAY!" I intend to never forget all that my Heavenly Father does for me every day and live every day in gratitude and thanksgiving. I am so not interested in trials for the sake of making me remember him. I am always making deals with Heavenly Father, that I will do whatever he wants me to do every day, just don't give me anything too hard. I'll stay humble, I promise.

Ok, i mean it, i am going to bed now.

for the love of basil.

I have had a serious craving for basil all winter. We have not had it at the commissary since last fall and it still isn't available. I have been going crazy wanting it so bad (and no, I am not pregnant. I just love basil). I made the best homemade pesto sauce. So good that I wanted to just drink it straight. Plus, I have a whole stack of recipes that I want to try, but they call for basil. What is a girl to do?

What a happy day when Kim called me and said that she has already harvested basil from her garden, and was happy to share some with me. Thank you Kim, i owe you big time. I didn't get a family garden plot since we are leaving for most of the summer. Who knew it would grow so quick!

So as you can see above, I immediately made pesto. Here is the recipe i used from allrecipes.com. It is super easy and so yummy. Go easy on the salt at first and add as needed. I think I could handle making it even nuttier.

Along with my pesto on whole wheat pasta, i made one of my favorite salads, and had rotisserie chicken that I got at the store. Perfection I must say. The sweet dressing on the salad mixed with the pesto was an unexpected delight. Here is the recipe...

Strawberry Romaine Salad

Mix 1 lg. head romaine lettuce and 1 head Boston or red leaf lettuce

1 pint strawberries sliced

I cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese

1 cup sugar toasted walnuts (you could do pecan as well)

I like to add crumbled bacon as well (you could do turkey bacon for lower fat)

The dressing

1 cup vegetable oil, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 2 cloves garlic minced,

1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper.

(this makes a lot of dressing, you could probably get away with halving it,

or save it for another time).

Don't mix the dressing with the salad and it will stay fresher, and people can put it on to taste.

Happy cooking!

another favorite

Now that is tired. The only time this has ever happened.

Poor kid he lead the life of a teenager.

don't grow up little man. please.

my favorite.

Another sight I came upon recently that warmed my heart and made me smile. Cozy in bed for his nap. Blankie, pooh bear (he calls baboo), and a good book. Perfection. Look at his little hands. What is not to love?

He is definitely his mother's son (minus the dark chocolates. ha)

The only thing that made this scene better was the smile i received when I said his name.

Such a joyful loving soul. A mama's boy for sure.

Immediately read this book! I am serious.

It will change your life.

You may want to throw it against the wall like my sister did after reading one chapter,

but if you apply it, even the first chapter's assignment you will see instant results.

INSTANT!

I got it in the mail a couple of days ago and since then me, the book, and hershey

special dark chocolates have been inseparable. I am only a quarter of the way through the book and already it has seriously changed my life in only a couple of days.

Dave is a happy man.

I am going to give this book to every single woman i know that is frustrated about not

being able to find someone to marry.

It says it all. Exactly how to be absolutely irresistible to a man.

If you are a feminist, you will not like this book...initially.

But if you are smart, and want everything you always dreamed of in a relationship,

you will be able to get over yourself, and your pride, and really try to

understand what a man needs, and in return you will have all of

your wildest dreams come true. smile.

I promise. Just try it.

I even gave my girls an assignment to try on dave and jacob. They responded

exactly as the book said. (a good thing).

They actually have a book by the same author called, "the fascinating girl". I bought it

but haven't read it yet. But let me tell you , I am giving my girls a great gift. And their

future spouses I might add.

So far there is only one thing I would say is wrong in it. Page 120, you will know what I mean when you read it. there may be more. I will keep you posted.

Again, it may ruffle your feathers, but the book is not about how to make yourself

fascinating to other women, but to men.

Do I have your interest piqued? Don't waste a moment. Order it today, or find it

at your local library.

Watch out Dave!

and you thought i was irresistible before! ha ha

This morning.

rachel and jacob stayed home first period this morning. It was a cozy overcast morning. Rachel made the yummiest crepes (she has perfected them) ala Every Day food magazine. We all enjoyed them filled with nutella and strawberries.

Sharing crepes.

Ammon showing Jacob his favorite animal, an elephant. He just saw a real one at Everland last week.

so happy to have his besties home.

Ammon hugs are the best.

Ammon trying to get the last bite.

they're both keepers. oh, and so is rachel. smile.

What a beautiful sight.

Moments like this give me hope that i'm doing ok.

Such a beautiful sight to come upon. Rebecca out on the balcony reading the scriptures.

It makes my heart sing.

Hold on to this moment mama.

PS-Rebecca turns 13 this month!! Crazy.