Bella has been cast

They have announced who will be playing Bella in the Twilight Movie. Check it out here: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_movie.html

What do you think?

Bianca Lisonbee on the Today Show

I just received an e-mail from one of my neighbors about another of my neighbors, Bianca Lisonbee. I am so amazed at all the good the Lisonbees do for others. Bianca is one of those truly wonderful people-talented, thoughtful, giving, compassionate, passionate and on and on. She is also an amazing Gospel Doctrine teacher. I love going to her Sunday School class-she brings the sciptures to life and I am committed to becoming a better person because of the way I feel when I listen and learn from her. And I am so glad to have her as a friend and neighbor.

Thanksgiving Holiday

This Thanksgiving was so much fun with family. It all started with a FULL day of cooking on Wednesday. My mom came down for a couple of hours to help with the mashed potatoes. We made 10 pounds of potatoes! So delicious. After she left I made, banana cream pie, coconut cream pie, pumpkin cheesecake, fudge, and confetti salad! I honestly don't think I have ever been that tired! My feet were burning. It was worse than walking around Disney World for an entire day! Everything was delicious. I asked my mom to take the mashed potatoes home with her because I didn't trust myself and the rest of my family :D.

::Will took the picture of Grandma (and a few others of our behinds that I cannot post!)
::Will is getting his first taste of jell-o sugar-he kept asking for more...I wonder why?

::I made little indivdual pies for the children...the things we do for our kids!

Thanksgiving dinner was of course wonderful! Everything tasted so good. The sweet potatoes were heavenly...definetely a keeper. I think it's the first time we've eaten all the sweet potatoes. And my dad made these wonderful green beens. They had so much flavor. Kellie and I finished off the green beans on Friday!

::Mom's heavenly orange rolls and Dad's delicious green beans!

We had a great day. Teri and Shawn and little Cole came and it was great to spend the day with them. Cole seems to be doing well.

It was a weekend of movies...Enchanted (don't you just LOVE Patrick Dempsey!), Mr Magoriums Wonder Emporium, and Grandma took all the kids to Fred Clause. We were actually movie-d out! I never thought I could feel that. I guess it's just kid's movies I've had enough of.

Saturday was of course the BYU vs Utah football game ( I had to put their name in the smallest font possible). Bob, Kevin and Grandpa went to the game and the rest of us went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway. It was really fun. The kids had a great time. We spent 4 1/2 hours at the museum. I was ready to leave after about 2! But I did find a guy who gave me play by play updates on the game as he received them on his Blackberry. What a game! I seriously regret not going. But I thought I would freeze! It would have been worth it! Was that a game or what! GO COUGARS!

Okay...I cry when I watch this...I LOVE BYU FOOTBALL and dare I say it...I ____ the UTES!

Fun With Grandpa!

There was a BYU basketball game last night and unfortunately, Bishop Bob was not able to go because of you guessed it...meetings. So Grandpa took Maddie and William and they had a great time. They got these lovely tee shirts and wanted to wear them to bed. Grandpa bought them shaved ice, pop and Dippin Dots! I'm sure the kids made many trips up and down the stairs. Thanks Grandpa for the fun time...and BYU won!

Camera Man

This is what happens when your son gets ahold of your camera without you knowing. I was unaware that he had taken all these pictures. I started looking through the pics I'd taken and came upon all these "self-portraits". You wouldn't believe the other pics he'd taken: the fridge, the stove, doorknobs, computer screen, light fixtures, stuffed animals in 20 positions, my behind without my knowledge (no that will not show up on this blog), etc. I have not laughed so hard in a long time! This kid cracks me up!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Gorgonzola Crumbles

These sandwiches are delicious. The whole family loved them. And the best part is that they are so dang easy.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with Gorgonzola Crumbles

1 soft sandwich roll of choice

Mayonnaise for roll

Finely shredded romaine lettuce

2 large pre-cooked chicken strips, warm (I used ones from Harmons deli)

¼ Cup Barbeque sauce, add some honey

1 Tablespoon butter

¼ Cup Gorgonzola Cheese crumbled

1. Spread mayonnaise on both sides of roll. Layer bottom roll with lettuce then chicken strips that have been thinly sliced, about ½ inch. 2. Place barbeque sauce, honey and butter in microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, or until butter is melted. Stir to combine and pour over chicken. 3. Top with crumbled gorgonzola cheese and close with top roll. Enjoy!

p.s. There is nothing low-fat in these. That is why they are do dang good!

School Pictures

The school pictures arrived today. I think they turned out great! In person they are even better. This is just a picture I took of their pictures.

William looks so happy...because he is! He is growing up so fast. He doesn't look like a little toddler boy anymore (he never really did). He looks like he should be in kindergarten, not preschool! He is so curious about everything. He's a smart child and he's quite a ladies man!

I can't believe how old and grown up Maddie looks. She is so beautiful. She is becoming a young woman and I am so happy and proud to be her mother. She amazes me with her talents and skills and her confidence.

Primary Program

Today was the Primary Program. Both Maddie and William had a speaking part and they did great. Maddie had memorized her part and as usual, presented with poise and confidence. However, William was the most entertaining part of the program (according to many witnesses :D). He unzipped and zipped his tie at least 10 times, sucked on it, rolled it up, chewed it, pulled on it, threw it over his shoulder, etc. He knows every word to every song, as evidenced by hiim singing them at home all the time, but he only opened his mouth to sing one time. I must say though, he was not noisy.

It was a great program...it made me miss not being in Primary (but only for a few moments and then the feeling passed).

BYU Football

BYU 27-TCU 22

Bob and I had so much fun at the game on Thursday night. My dad decided not to go and Kevin didn't come down from Boise and since it was a school night, we got a babysitter for the kids and made a date of it. The weather was perfect for football (and I love night games :D). I brought my big white fluffy blanket and wrapped my buns and legs, had cinnamon roasted almonds and a diet coke and was comfy cozy all night long! Oh, and BYU won-YIPPEE!

Toffee-Crunch Cookies

I saw these cookies and knew I had to try them. They are absolutely delicious-in my opinion, better than plain chocolate chip cookies. The almonds in the cookies are so heavenly. These will become a family favorite. They won first place in a cookie contest on the Food Network! Thanks Picky Palate!

1 cup real butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 10 oz bag Heath toffee bits

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup sweetened flake coconut

Cream butter, sugars and vanilla. Beat eggs slightly and add to creamed butter mixure.

Add flour, salt and baking soda. Mix well. Add remainding ingredients just until mixed in. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown.

Disney MGM Studios/Animal Kingdom

AeroSmith Rock-N-Roller Coaster


We l.o.v.e.d. this ride! So dang fun. I think we rode it at least 10 times. There were these wigs in the shop after the ride-too funny!

:: Rock -n- Roller Coaster-I had never been on this ride before and I must say...very thrilling! It takes off super fast and I loved it

:: Tower of Terror-William rode this ride and it was about the funniest thing I've ever seen. He was completely in shock when the ride drops. When we got home that night, he COULD NOT stop talking about the Tower of Terror. Maddie would not ride at first, but then got a huge dose of courage and decided to try it. We could not get her off the ride after that. Bob and I loved this ride. I'm going to have to say....it's my favorite!

:: Star Tours-watching Will was the best part of this ride.

:: Indiana Jones

:: Muppet 3D-not so much a favorite, we just saw it.

Maddie in front of her favorite ride. When you take your picture in front of that sign, the words "Tower of Terror" appear on the photo. Pretty cool!


SUGAR!

ANIMAL KINGDOM

:: SCARY Dinosaur Ride...and I mean SCARY!

:: Animal Safari with REAL LIVE giraffes :D

:: Lion King Show--the "sister" brought it home!

:: Finding Nemo Musical-"Happy"

:: Expedition Everest-full of surprises

I Love, Love, Love this pic of the three boys in the grass!

In front of the gorillas...

Day 3/Sunday

Sunday was our day of relaxation. Bob and I and the kids went to church with Kevin and Kellie and their kids. It really was great to go to church and for the kids to know that no matter where we are, it's still Sunday and we go to church whenever possible. It was their wards Primary Program and they did a really great job. The older boys sang "A Young Man Prepared" and it was awesome. I really felt the spirit and I was glad I was there.

After church Bob felt a tap on his shoulder, turned around, and there were members of our home ward-The Gerstners. They had just arrived in Orlando the day before and were staying at the Marriot Horizons in the same building one floor above us! How crazy is that. (extra glad we went to church :D.

We had to stop at the drug store on the way home from church because William had started coughing the night before. And we discovered a Panera on the way home-YUMM-O!

When we got home from church, the kids changed into their swimming suits and headed straight to the pool. (I wish I had some pics of the pools cuz they were awesome.) Us girls, we went to Panera!

For dinner....tacos, yeah right. More like pizza!

A great day...Tower of Terror, here we come!

Day 2/Park 2

EPCOT

::Test Track "uh"1 million times (one of Will's "uh"favorites)/Love the "uh"smell in the "uh"corrosion test :D/"uh" eleven times from the "uh" nerd in the pre ride movie

::Mission Space-definetely orange/makin Bob sick

::Soarin-my "happy" ride-I would never tire of that ride-Jana missing the ride right before it's about to begin cuz Jack has to go potty

::Innoventions/Robot Races/Building Robots-good times

::Walking through the World Showcase/countries looking for food-finding none:( (I did find some yummy cinnamon almonds)

::Buying Jibbitz for Will's crocs

::Lots of Rain

::Lots of Fun!

The Beginning

I can't believe our Disney Vacation has actually come and gone! It seems like we waited for so long and now it's over...back to life, back to reality. Hey, isn't that a song :D.

On Thursday, October 25, 2007, we woke up really early to catch our 8:20 am flight. We flew from SLC to Minneapolis to Orlando and arrived about 6:00 pm...off to get the rental car. Honestly, that seemed like it took as long as the flight did-long day! But Maddie and William were great and didn't seem to mind. We arrived at Marriot Horizons and everyone was there waiting for us-STARVING. Off to Chilis for a yummy dinner and dessert. The kids all got balloons from a crazy balloon guy and had a wonderful, noisy time! We headed back to the villas to get a little sleep before our first day at the Magic Kingdom! (a little sleep was a recurring theme throughout the vacation :D)



October 26...Here we are on the monorail heading for the Magic Kingdom!

This cute display and sign got us excited for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Night at the Magic Kingdom ...doesn't this look fun (more on that later :D)

Anyway...we arrived...finally!

I knew that if we didn't get this picture right at the beginning, we'd never get it. We're missing Jackson and Ellie (Jackson was being camera-shy/darn!) Everything was decorated for Halloween-so festive and so Disney! The kids were really excited to get going!

Off we headed to Tomorrow Land..."Stitches Great Escape". Just for the record...dumb, dumb, dumb! Jackson thought so too :D. I was sitting next to him and let me just say...he's not a fan of that ride! Luckily, it was off to Buzz Lightyear (a family favorite). Everyone loves that ride, even the big kids. Okay by now it's lunchtime....what lunchtime already! Yep, two rides and it's time to eat. Uncrustables (Bob's new favorite food), Cheetos, Chips A'Hoy, water. Needless to say, we split up to divide and conquer the park!

The kids favorite rides at the Magic Kingdom were Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. Of course, Nathan didn't think any of them were quite "cool" enough :D! But he couldn't fool me...he was having a great time!

These are my favorite pics of the kids on Big Thunder Mountain. They are actually on the ride!

Splash Mountain was another favorite...although Bob wouldn't go on because he didn't want to get wet-what a wuss. And Maddie was too scared (at this point). But William wasn't (at this point-he had not seen outside the ride, the big drop. The next time we were at the Magic Kingdom he said "what's that ride?" When I told him Splash Mountain and were getting on, he kind of panicked but got on anyway and had a great time). He was so excited to ride. He wanted to sit next to Kevin. I sat next to Joce and the two of us made quite a pair in our ponchos. Talk about paranoid on getting wet...Jocelyn had maybe one inch of skin showing from underneath her poncho. I'm sure she'll post a picture on her blog. Too funny! Kevin and I got "splashed" right in the face!

And the all time favorite Magic Kingdom Ride...Space Mountain! I think we rode that at least 15 times. Oh and Kellie left her wallet on this ride our first night there. Thanks to lots of praying and perseverance, she found it. Whew!

And at the end of a long day, we were of course, starving! Grandpa, Grandma, Jana, Jason, Jackson, Noah and Ellie had left for home earlier so we headed to Macaroni Grill for a late dinner. William fell asleep the second we got in the car and Maddie and Nathan had a pizza eating contest...Maddie won! Dinner was delicious.

We were exhausted and ready to get some serious SLEEP! Epcot here we come!