Time to catch up this blog

One of the reasons I started this blog was so that I could kinda use it like a family journal. Well, like all my journals, I got behind. I really want to print it out some day so I need to catch it up so here goes......

Emma and Logan with their spoils from Australia. We all love it when Harold guilt buys.
"sorry I am never home, but here's a present." Yes we are that shallow.

I love this picture of the girls just chilling. It makes me sad that Miranda is getting so close to leaving the house. Where are my sweet sisters. I miss them.

Feeding the masses. As activities leader this is what I do. Our Branch just combined with another branch and now we are huge but we are still a branch. It's good because we used to say we were more like a twig. Sorry if you are not Mormon, I know this will make no sense.

So a couple of my friends here decided we needed to enrich ourselves and try something new. We came up with the idea of Tuesdays with More(e). After Yoga we would spend the day together doing something new. One of those days we decided to make a Souffle'

Have you ever made a souffle'? We used so many eggs. Here it is before we put it in the oven.


It really did look pretty and then this happened, still it was so good.

Jen and Amanda eating chocolate souffle'


I guess you can just get too much of a good thing.

Ohh and by the way I learned how to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. If you want some just give me advance warning because they have to sit for at least 24 hr. before I can bake them. Totally worth it. All ingredients are weighed and not measured . It takes a good cooking scale, two types of flower and over a pound of Chocolate chips to make. So yummy.


Crazy amounts of baby blankets. The idea was to maybe sell them. Mostly I just have fun making them. Ana Do you see one you like? Tell me and it's yours.

I have been sewing blankets like crazy. One of Harold's brilliant guilt buys was a new sewing machine. Something to keep me busy while he's gone. Plus he was stuck in a little town in Alaska for a week and apparently there was an awesome quilt shop there. Thanks to the sales lady who ripped him off. If I am ever passing through I will stop and give you a hug.

Team Awesome. We love the Fabric market. It makes all things possible. Miranda needed supper hero cloth for girls camp. She actually squealed when she saw it. It was less the 3 dollars a yard and came in like every color. Man I am going to miss that place when I leave.

Life in the Land Down Under

Harold had to fly a mission to Australia a few weeks ago. He actually took some pictures so here they are.

He stopped on a little island called East Timor. He said it was a sad little country with bad food. Who knows why this rooster is tied up or why the fish are in the tree?


Here is a picture just before they landed in Australia.

He was in the Perth Area in Australia. He saw all this just a short walk from his hotel.

Crazy to see pretty birds like that just flying around.

There was a golf Course behind the hotel. He said it was full of Kangaroos. Somehow I think my brothers would like a game of golf like this. They did tell Harold to keep his distance because Kangaroos can be quite aggressive.




Of course we have to have the fighting shot. Strange creators. They look kinda human throwing punches like that.

Sweet 16

Sweet Sixteen. Scary. I am so glad she's a good kid.




She got a new car, actually she got like 5 of them.


Happy Birthday Miranda

Snow much fun (??????)

So I tried Snowboarding for the first time. I was not great to say the least. I do have to say that Miranda and Harold were very patient teachers. I feel so old now and well I am fluffy(really that just means fat but ouch I just can't say it).Harold stuck with me the whole day and watched my many falls. Then he would ski down and help me up again & again & again & again ect...... How do you get up?
Finally when I went into muscle failure(which sadly didn't take long) and Logan, bless his heart, had had enough, Harold let me rest.


Then Harold taught Emma who caught on pretty quick. She is not even sore at all. Oh to be tiny again and be made with cute little rubber bones. I on the other hand wondered if I could drive to church the next day. I never want to go back ,but he made me promise I would try it at least twice before I quit for good. Poor Harold spent the whole day helping someone else and he never even complained. After his heroic behavior how can I back out of a promise.

Everyone in the family enjoys this so I feel like I need to like it. Ahhh the pressure. Still none of them have had four bone weakening babies right. I may have to play that angle.
I do like the idea of sitting in the lodge, getting massages and eating. Only drifting out to the slopes for the occasional picture.




The camera battery died before I could get any pictures of Caleb or Harold. I guess I will have to go back.

Winter break catch up

We had a great winter break. I feel like we really got into Christmas this year. Harold was supposed to be gone but one of the guys from his unit volunteer to go so he came home on the 18th and was here with us for Christmas and the new year. I think that is really put things in perspective. Christmas is not about stress. I feel like we just took it easy and it was nice. I was released from my primary calling 2 weeks before Christmas and put in as our branch activities leader. The first thing I did was cancel the Christmas party. I did have some guilt but to tell you the truth I think that it was a relief for most people. One less thing to do. Here are some pictures from the break.

This is at the Battalion Christmas party. I love how they set Santa up in this Chinook.


Here is Emma on Santa's lap. They are in the Chinook.
Here is how Santa arrived. This is the first time I've seen this.




I know it is cheesy but the kids(and grown men) thought it was pretty cool.

We had the first ever
STANLEY FAMILY CHRISTMAS EVE TALENT SHOW

Here's Harold singing with Emma And Logan. Logan and Harold also did a dance. WOW!Is all I can say about that.

Here is Miranda rocking for us on her Guitar.
Caleb and I played a Trumpet /Saxophone duet. We recorded it but there are no pictures. And You do not want to see the video.

Happy New Year!
We ring in 2010 with some great friends.




And when you walk in and find this you don't ask questions you just get the camera and take a picture.

And just when you have had enough "family time" and you are ready to send them all back to school and work. You wake up Monday morning and find this.
Two more long precious days of family bonding. Everything shut down for the worst snow storm in 40 years.





Happy Holidays!

Milk and Eggs

I was just thinking how this will be our third Christmas here. At first so many things struck me as odd when we first got here. Now I am noticing that things which once were odd have become normal. Like for instance. I buy Eggs in a group of 10, not by the dozen .



And how I can only buy milk by the half gallon.



And that is doesn't expire for over a month sometimes. Yummy! It is really convenient though.(the expiration date not the half gallon thing. That is just annoying.)

I just bought this milk 2 days ago, and I am good until after the new year.