Happy Birthday Mike

Mike turned 31 today!!!

Hannah

HANNAH

This is a friend's daughter at the park yesterday...I just loved these shots....it reminded me of those 'carefree' childhood summer days!

Just for Laura

Let me introduce you to my friend LAURA!

So yesterday at the park...a whole bunch of us get together for a 'sort of' playgroup at a local park...my friend Laura and her little girl, Zara, were sitting on their picnic rug...just enjoying the company of everyone...when Laura realised that I was taking photo's of her...she commented 'you better not put them on your blogspot!' So this is what I do to friends I REALLY love :)

Yesterday we had two (hopeful) new additions to our group and no they didn't come in the form of new babies!...although Amanda will be helping us with this one in the next month! - Jerusha (Laura's sister) joined us yesterday...and my sister-in-law, Sarah...(maybe we can get Nichole coming along too, Sarah, now that she has finished work) Congrats to Jerusha who is expecting her second!

Tulips...

SOOOO at the risk of sounding cheesy (see my last blog) in any way whatsoever.....Tulips have a special place in my heart...two places I really want to visit is the Tulip fields in Washington state and also the Netherlands! Tulips are probably one of the things in this life that puts me in a state of absolute awe and wonder of the beautiful things that the Lord has created for our enjoyment.
I grew up with my grandparents and my grandpa was an avid gardner...we always had the good old vegie patch but my grandpa LOVED flowers. During the great depression when things were really tough, he would go door to door to businesses selling his homegrown flowers. Tulips often remind me of my grandpa...I loved him dearly...he also loved the Mormon Tabernacle Choir...even though he wasn't a mormon himself. So when I served my mission on Temple Square...as much as I missed my family - I had so much surrounding me (with the tulips and the choir) to remind me of my childhood with my grandparents that sometimes I felt like they weren't really that far away. Now tulips also remind me of my missionary days and the precious growing experiences I had there...
Over the years I've learnt to trust in myself more - like trust my own opinon...I used to let people tell me what I 'should' like or think... so when it came time to get married....and choose my flowers...my instinct was TULIPS!! I wanted 5 white long-stemmed tulips....I got to the florist and the florist somehow - to this day I loathe that florist! - talked me out of it! That's one of my biggest regrets...I find it difficult to even hang any wedding photo's up with my bouquet of 'not so sentimental' roses....because roses don't really have any sentimental value to me...whenever my husband buys me flowers...he'll always buy me tulips...because he knows!
When Mike and I got engaged...he wanted to get me an engagement ring...I'm really not into all that and I'd always just wanted a wedding band....he wanted me to have gold - I wanted to have white gold...or silver (couldn't careless)...so what did I end up with....a gold wedding band and engagemnt ring, I let him talk me out of it. Now don't get me wrong...it's a beautiful ring set...I say this not to rat on my husband but to make my point....to this day if I had to choose again...I would still just have a white gold wedding band. At the time Mike said the only experience he'd had was hearing what his sister's wanted when they got married...he was yet to learn that every woman's tastes are considerably different. He now dreams of the movie room set up he could get with the money he spent on my engagment ring! I do admit that, now the ring is sentimental and I have been making a concerted effort to wear it more...but I'm a simple girl, (I am imagining some of my dear friends laughing right now at that comment!....) I do like the idea of a simple white gold wedding band that just states simply...'I've married my man...you'll never measure up don't even bother!...j/k ok so just to take a dig at being cheesy....more something along this line 'I married the love of my life'.......sorry there I go with trying to joke again! what I'm trying to say is...I think a simple wedding band describes my life with my husband perfectly...'I'm happy'
I look back over the last 6 years and see how much I have grown, how much I have learnt to trust in my instincts whether it be to do with my children, my husband, decorating my house, or what I'm wearing...no matter how insignificant it is...I've learnt to trust that I don't need to worry about whether someone else might think what I'm wearing is hideous or my taste in decorating doesn't suit them....because....they don't live here..and they don't have to wear it! I'm learning to love me!....and I'm having alot of fun doing it...and I'm glad I made the mistake about the tulips and roses...because it's taught me to TRUST ME!...

Pet Peeves

On the 'one 4 girls' blog that I'm a part of...my sister told us all it was 'pet peeves' month and we had to write down 3 pet peeves...it got me thinking about what peeved me...so I'm going to admit two of my personal pet 'peeves'...I really struggle with 'cheesiness' and just plain pretending to be something you're not...it grates on me! A nicer way to put it may be I really don't appreciate it when people tend to be completely insincere. I think sincerity is one of the most admirable qualities in a person. I'm not talking about the person who is graceful and courteous and has the outward actions of sincerity...I'm talking about the one that is TRULY sincere...whether it comes with the outward package or not. Often I find it doesn't...my sister-in-law, Emma, is one of these...I think she'd be the first one to say that she is not necessarily good at saying things 'gracefully' BUT you can always count on her being sincere. She'll always be honest and let you know if she's struggling with something, rather than pretend that nothing is wrong...I've always appreciated that about her, I find it admirable. I struggle with a culture that has people believing there are certain things that 'should' be said in a certain moment...or because being courteous, gracious or polite comes more from a sense of duty than a feeling of sincerity! If there is one thing I've learnt from my dysfunctional childhood...is that it's so easy to discern when someone is just being polite but completely insincere...its one of those transparent things. I think we all know when someone is just saying something to be polite as opposed to being sincere...it's kinda like the 'how are you?' but not really wanting to know how that person is really doing...I think we all do this because it's so ingrained in our culture. I'm a bit of a reality girl, I like to live in reality and be realistic about life...I like to admit when things are hard and also acknowledge when they're good...I think mothers/people in general that go around 'pretending' and living in a facade of what motherhood and family life is 'supposed' to be like, according to what culture or society says it should be, bring a HUGE disservice to themselves with the pressure they put on themselves. I also find that these people, to feel good about themselves...are constantly in a state of trying to be better than others...rather than just sitting down and enjoying life WITH others!...I think it's sad...I personally couldn't live like that...I'd literally be declared insane and have to be put away! As for cheesiness...that just plain makes me cringe inside...and then after cringing burst out laughing...for all intentional purposes...because I have such an issue with this I tend not to 'talk' much about those things close to my heart or those things that are personal to me...and often resort to joking. You can judge me all you like, but my personal opinion is that I think that a good laugh can be just as good a therapy if not better than living in a constant state of DENIAL! (yes I have come across those that think living in ignorance really is bliss!)

Showering Babies!

So many of my friends are pregnant right now...due between September and January...!!! One of those is my sister-in-law Nichole....her first 'little Jared' is due on September 19th. She had her baby shower last weekend....it was a really nice spring like day...which made it even more enjoyable! We all sat out in the backyard..had a few games and enjoyed seeing all the great stuff baby Jared was given...among the cutest were some little billabong thongs (TO CLARIFY for all my american friends....FLIP FLOPS!) and a little basketball outfit! very cute! We'll have a little Glen on our hands...hee or at least Nichole will! haa. I didn't take any photo's of the day...one of those camera free days, even though I had it...I was just enjoying sitting and chatting. So here are some photo's from Mike's mum from the day.

This is Nichole on the right and her friend Narelle...both expecting their first!

Happy Birthday CLAUDIA!!!

Today my neice Claudia turned 5!!!

Claudia and Jake are only 1 month apart...my sister Alison and I really enjoyed being pregnant at the same time...we found we would get simliar cravings and we were both into cooking and trying out new recipes...the beauty of having your first (me) and only having one child (Al)!! I remember Al being in Sydney at our place for a couple of days, our husbands both at work - we got major cravings for a nice big juicy steak...so we took ourselves off to The Lone Star steakhouse for lunch along with her daughter Anastasia - we came back feeling like we were going to burst we were sooo full! Didn't want to even think about dinner let alone have to cook it for the boys. But it was one of those days that I've always remembered as it almost felt like we lived around the corner from each other and were hanging out for lunch...a beauty we've never had since being married!!! My sister's have always lived at least 2 hours away! :(

Happy Birthday JACK!!!

It's my nephews birthday today - he's 9 today!

These are some of my favourite photo's of Jack and Mike!

Poaching

Ok so I've poached some clip art from my sister here...but I just loved this one and had to share it!
I'm hoping this will be my reality one day!

Pregnant

My two sister-in-laws are...



Yesterday Jake kept asking Aunty Nichole if she could take the 'baby' out so that he could have a look at it...and then asked her why it was inside and seemed a bit concerned that it would have 'blood' all over it!!! hmmmmm, I have one curious little boy there!

COOKING!

So cooking dinner has always been trying for me...I love to cook -WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT - which usually isn't when I need to! I'm usually tired and just want to put something together really quickly. I was never really taught how to cook - growing up with my grandparents, my grandma, being older, was always worried about us getting burnt or cutting ourselves with knives so she didn't feel comfortable having us in the kitchen observing...so over the years I have had to observe from those that I have lived with or my mother-in-law, family and especially friends. My sisters and I are always exchanging recipes and eager to learn from others....so the other day when my friends Laura and Jerusha came over for lunch the topic turned to cooking and finding recipes that were quick and easy and relatively healthy. Laura gave me some hints on things that can be thrown together and I must say that I have enjoyed cooking lately and being able to get herbs from my herb garden...kinda makes me feel like I might actually find a new perspective on 'teatime' - instead of being a drag it could actually turn out to be fun! So I got an email from Jerusha the other day and she sent through a recipe that I just had to share....I found it delicious and am definately craving more! So here it is

Vegie Bake
Peel (if necessary) and thinly slice the following vegies...and layer in a baking dish
(drizzle the baking dish first with a bit of oil)

Sweet Potato
Eggplant
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Capsicum (peppers)
Pumpkin

or any other vegies that you prefer.
Before you add the pumpkin to the top of the dish get the pumpkin slices and spread on the bottom side of it some CHUNKY BASIL with cashews and parmesan DIP....not sure if you can get that exact one in an american supermarket for those of you over there but you can use any chunky dip that you like...this is one of my favourites - then place the pumpkin so it is face down in the dish. Cook in a moderate over (about 180c - I think this is 350f can't be sure) and cook for about an hour. The dip flavour will filter through all the vegies and they all grill really well together. If you like cheese you can on top for the last 10 mins of cooking time.

Thanks for that Jerusha!!!

Taronga Zoo

Yesterday we went to Taronga Zoo...my sister-in-law Sarah was able to get some free tickets and invited us along. The kids really enjoyed it - for the adults...as much fun as it is seeing the kids enjoy it so much, we're just as exhausted as the kids when we get home! But instead of getting to have a nap like the kids, mother still has to get dinner ready! ugghghh Anyway here are the photo's from the day...enjoy!

Our Holiday in the Sunshine!

Ok peoples, we've been back from our holiday on the Gold Coast (Queensland) for a week and a half and I'm having holiday withdrawal symptoms! Trying to get stuck into my uni work for this semester has been a drag! But I will persist!
Our holiday was pretty much what a holiday should be - we had lots of fun, got to hang out with friends and family and Mike and I even managed to go on a date - just the two of us!! The nights were chilly but all in all Surfers Paradise offered us what it's well known for...SUNSHINE! :) and the beach.
We also made our way up to the Sunshine Coast (north of Brisbane) to see Mike's Aunty and Uncle, which was fun in itself...on the way we got sidetracked and decided at the last minute - instead of going to the beach we would go to Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin's Zoo)...the kids really loved it. Bindi and Terry Irwin were doing some filming out the front so the we got to watch that for a little too. When we got to the kangaroos, the kids were running around and petting the kangaroos...we found one that really loved Layne. Layne pretty much could have done anything to it and it still would have sat there. It was kinda funny though because it didn't really like Jake - he kept going to pet it and it would tap him away with it's front paw...which Jake thought was hilarious and wanted to make a game of it.
We also went to SEAWORLD - I love Seaworlds...because I grew up wanting to be a marine biologist - or something so that I could work with dolphins...obviously we know that dream didnt' come to fruition! :) But I always enjoy seeing the seals and dolphins. The kids loved it too. We got to see baby dolpins...and we went on some pretty cool rides. We all went on the log canoe ride....I was a little concerned about the kids as the last part is straight down the hill with water at the bottom - the hill gives the same effect as a roller coaster really...catch you breath and lose your stomach! The kids said they loved it so Daddy wanted to take us on the next one...the bigger one...the boat volcano ride thing. But as we were standing in line I started to study Laynes face to see if she really was 'loving' it or whether she was just feeling the 'peer' pressure and going along with everyone else...I decided to sit it out with her and as we came away from the ride she sighed and said....'A bit scary mummy'!. So we sat out and watched for Mike and Jake to come down the ride...Jake absolutely loved it...he's a ride freak like his dad!
Jake had a bit of a break down at lunch time at Seaworld...he was eating his vegemite sandwhich and a big bird with a really long beak came and snatched it off him...he was devastated....he cried and cried...so we told him that we could buy some hot chips for him but he wanted a vegemite sandwhich...which obviously was a problem since they were only really selling hot food - he didnt' stop until we had taken him into all the food stalls and showed him that they didn't have a vegemite sandwhich!