Trans Siberian Orchestra

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the kids and I went to the TSO concert. It was impressive! I personally have never seen head-banging violinist, but they were good. The singing parts weren't our favorite. The music itself was definitely worth it. We even got good bang for our buck. There were basically 2 concerts. They performed their Christmas music and then alot of music for their newest CD. And as you can see, their light show was out of this world!!

Trip to Vegas

I got to go to Las Vegas and visit my friend Becky. We have had a fabulous time visiting and seeing some of the sights. I love the lights! It hasn't been too crowded, so that is nice. One of my favorite things is the Bellagio fountains. Wish I could stand there for hours and watch all the different programs. They also took me out into the desert to go shooting. I wasn't too bad, if I say so myself. And I really enjoyed it. I think I need a .22...
Thanks Becca and Chad!

Guys and Dolls Video

Havana Dance... Look at those legs!!

Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat

Guys and Dolls

The Maple Mountain High School production of Guys and Dolls ended last night. What a great job those kids did!! Heather was a "Doll" and was absolutely adorable up there. I know I am partial, but it is still the truth... It was a grueling rehearsal schedule- 6 days a week for 2-3 weeks. And it did pay off. Those top pictures are not of Heather, obviously, but I never get good pictures at the shows. So I have to show them off a bit. The picture picture on the right is Samae and Nick as Adelaide and Nathan Detroit. They are Tori's friends and she has been in shows with them.

Big Julie confessing at the prayer meeting

The Crapshooters at the underground dice game

Adelaide and the Chickadees at the Hot Box

Looking bored at the 'prayer meeting'

Gingerbread Festival

In Tori's culinary class they made gingerbread houses to enter in the Gingerbread Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was really fun to see all the houses. Most were kits, but some were quite amazing. Of course, I enjoyed this one the most. I think they did a fabulous job. I sure don't have the patience to do something like this...

Halloween

I enjoy Halloween to a certain extent. I don't like all the movies on T.V. counting down until the day. I also don't like getting all settled and the doorbell keeps ringing. This year I thought, "I'll have Cameron be in charge of handing out candy!" Then I realized that I still wanted to see all the little, and not so little, ghosts and ghouls (and princesses, musketeers, and robots!) So I sat out on the front porch and enjoyed the Halloween parade going around my neighborhood. It was really so much fun that way. I didn't get interrupted!

In the family, Tori dressed up to go to work at the pizza place.

Heather had some friends come over and they went trick-or-treating through the neighborhood and then came back here to watch a great Halloween-y movie, Scared Stiff. Cameron had been on a campout the night before and was pretty much wiped out. So he didn't dress up this year. He did go to a friends for a while, but that was the extent of his Halloween activities.

My two nieces, Alison and Lucy, got into the spirit of the night and dressed up, and when I saw them later they were running from house to house to get their loot.

The New Car

I mentioned earlier that Tori was going to buy a car from her friend Alec, who is leaving on his mission. Well, today was the big day. It is a very cool car! Black, black leather, tinted windows...just cool!!

Conference

Little slow with this one. On October 3 (Tori's birthday) we got to go to Salt Lake City and attend a session of General Conference for our church. Normally we get to watch it on TV while we wear our p.j.s But this was a special treat. The conference center is huge and very cool.

His Cheeseburger

My favorite Veggie Tales song is His Cheeseburger- you know Silly Songs with Larry?! Yes, I have a favorite Veggie Tales song. Well, this past week at the youth activity at church, the deacons- 12 & 13 year old boys- lip synced this song. Much to my delight! And Cameron was the 'lead' singer. It was one of the funniest things ever.

My pictures aren't great cause it was kinda dark in the gym.

But these boys did a fabulous job! And Cameron was spot on!! I added the song to the playlist.... enjoy!

She Can Vote

Tori is now an official adult- at least in the eyes of the law. Her 18th birthday was Saturday. Wow! Doesn't seem like it was that long ago that she was starting kindergarten! Here are some of the things she can now do because she is 18... first and foremost (apparently the most exciting) she can buy dry ice! I was not aware that there was an age limit on that purchase but she informed me that there is. She can buy spray paint and sudafed. She can touch the real swords at the asian store at the mall- not just the wooden ones. She can call on an infomercial- we will now be inundated with snuggies and shamwows I am sure. And she is planning on buying her friend's car, since she can now sign legal documents/contracts.

Life is busy for our new legal-aged girl. She is loving the culinary arts still. Her class is over by 10:30 every morning so she has lots of time. How is she filling that time? With 2 jobs, of course! The movie theater opened back up so she is there again. Not alot of hours but she enjoys that job muchly. We are now getting into the movie free again- if we go with her. She is also working at a local pizza establishment. She gets more hours there and we get cheap pizza. It is nice when your children have jobs with benefits for you!

Another Teenager

Cameron's birthday was yesterday and it was a big one- the big 1-3!! We now have 3 teenagers in the house. Never a dull moment. He discovered this summer that he loves, loves, loves crab legs, so we went to Red Lobster for his birthday dinner. Oh yeah this is the stuff! MMMmmmm!

3 cute servers came and sang Happy Birthday to him. It was a good night!

Crafting

I wanted a new purse... really I wanted a bag. I wanted to make an organizer to put in it, and I wanted it big enough to carry certain things- like a book and my ipod. I found this fun pattern at the fabric store. I had to make a couple of different covers for it, of course! There was a bonus- it had pockets all around the edges so I only had to make a small organizers for essentials like the checkbook. I thought it turned out well, so I thought I would share.

The Changing Seasons

Well my picture does not show how pretty it actually is... On Saturday there was just a couple of orange patches up high on the mountain. But Sunday there was a ton! Overnight the leaves changed on the mountain. Amazing! I love the mountains and the ones surrounding our little neck of Utah Valley are particularly beautiful (I think). They are greener than some just north of us, if not quite as tall. You should all come and see for yourself! This is the view right from my front porch.

To the Summit and Back

Cameron went on an overnighter/hike with the Scouts last night and today. They had to hike 2 miles into their camping spot. Then today they hiked UP to the summit. The Scout leader had a scope set up at his house and when they got there we were able to go see them. When he got home, he looked exhausted and had some pretty impressive blisters. But he did it!!

They were at the peak to the right.

Guys and Dolls

Heather auditioned for the Maple Mountain High School fall musical this week. She sang a selection from 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'. That was Wednesday and on Thursday they had the dance portion of the auditions. They found out on Friday if they got callbacks. She didn't! But today, Saturday, she could go up there to get her audition critique and if a part was given. We were hoping that maybe she could be in the chorus. But she got a part with a name! She is Lola the Doll. Pretty exciting! Way to go Heather!!

School Has Started

Heather and Cameron started school today. It was definitely a big day. Heather started high school and Cameron started junior high. Tori started on Monday and loves it.
Cameron was happy that he was able to open his locker every time! He has lunch with a boatload of friends from last year. And he can't wait to start playing the cello next Monday.

Heather gets to go to the brand new high school across the highway. Maple Mountain Golden Eagles. It is a big school and on B days she crisscrosses it frequently. She is looking forward to her ASL and music composition classes. This other picture show her new hairdo a little better.

Now as many of you know, Tori does not appreciate getting her picture taken. She refused to get her cute outfit on for me so I picked some from the internet... She is doing a culinary arts program at Mountainland Applied Technology College. She is enjoying it so far and is excited for all she is going to learn. Going to Hawaii in April is a big, big bonus!

This is probably more what she looks like, only prettier...

Peach Raspberry Jam...Delightful!

Last week I made peach raspberry jam. It is soooo delicious. I had never had it before moving to Utah, but it is all the rage in our neighborhood. Since I have 2 peach trees in my yard and I am not going to school this year, I decided this was the year to try it. My larger peach tree has cling peaches and I did not thin the peaches as I ought to have. So I got a bumper crop of small peaches- perfect for making jam!
This is such an easy recipe. No pectin, just Jello- how easy is that. Frozen raspberries, and lots of sugar. Ok a little more info... 5 cups mashed peaches, 5 cups sugar, 12 oz. frozen berries, and 3 small boxes of raspberry jello. That's it!

For easier peeling boiling the peaches for a bit then dunking in ice water helps alot. Though these peaches were still difficult. Good thing I really wanted this jam.

You put all the ingredients, except the jello into the pot. Aren't the colors pretty?

And boil for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the 3 small boxes of jello... stir to dissolve.Pour into clean jars and bottle process. 20 minutes for half-pints and 25 for pints.Voila! Deliciousness in a jar!