The Undaunted

Today I finished a novel that I was reading for myself...not to my children, not a parenting book...a novel that I actually picked for myself. That hasn't happened in a LONG time! I am hoping that once Kaylee and Aaron go back to school I will have more time to read.  I have a long list of books that I would like to read...all in good time I guess. I do love reading with my kids, but I can only take so much of Junie B. Jones!

I read The Undaunted by Gerald N. Lund. It took me a couple of months to read, granted it is 800 pages, but it was a pretty slow read for me. Gerald N. Lund is also the author of The Work and The Glory series which I LOVED so my expectations were pretty high and the Undaunted just did not compare...it was still good, but not great.

The Undaunted is a historical fiction novel about the miracle of the Hole-In-The-Rock Pioneers. In 1879 a stalwart group of Mormon pioneers were called to create a settlement that would serve as a buffer between the established communities of Utah and the lawless frontier of the Four Corners area. Their challenges were enormous as they created their own road by blasting out a trail over slick rock and through impassable cliffs.


David Miller, a professor of history at the University of Utah, wrote this about these pioneers:
"In all the annals of the West, replete with examples of courage, tenacity and ingenuity, there is no better example of the indomitable pioneer spirit than that of the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition of the San Juan Mission.  No pioneer company ever built a wagon road through wilder, rougher, more inhospitable country, still one of the least-known regions in America.  None ever demonstrated more courage, faith, and devotion to a cause than this group...who cut a wagon passage through two hundred miles of this country...Today their feat seems well-nigh impossible.  Yet they proved that virtually nothing was impossible for a zealous band of pioneers."


If you like to read LDS historical fiction, The Undaunted is good but a little too long and drawn out in my opinion.


Now, on to the next book...what shall it be???  Any suggestions?

When Life Gives You Lemons Make...

When life gives you lemons, make something delicious!  These are two lemon recipes that I have recently tried and my family loved them.


Creamy Lemon-Lime Jello
recipe from Sweet Basil
1 large box lime jell-o
1 large box lemon pudding, cook style
(You can also make this with 1 small box of the jell-o and pudding for a smaller serving)

Make the jell-o using the speed set method.  Cook the pudding according to its directions - omitting the eggs.  Pour the pudding into the jell-o and mix.  Pour into a 9x13 pan and let set for about 5 hours.
Delicious, Creamy, and a little Tart...Yum!
Enjoy!

Lemon Bars
recipe from The Essential Mormon Cookbook

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 4 beaten eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Sift together the 2 cups flour and powdered sugar. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until mixture clings together.  Press into an 11x7 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Beat together eggs, sugar, and lemon juice.  Add the 1/4 cup flour and baking powder. Pour over baked crust. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes longer. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar. Cool. Cut into bars.

Enjoy!

Magic Mud

Today has been a VERY MESSY day!!!  It started off with a nasty, stinky mess that Nathan left me.  I won't go into that...it will make a great Monday's Madness post...stay tuned.  Once that was all cleaned up, we made a more enjoyable mess...magic mud.  It is so easy to make and my kids LOVED it...and it's not to bad to clean up afterwards...well, comparatively speaking!

Here is what you need:

• corn starch
• water
• food coloring 

I didn't put any amounts because it is fun to experiment with different thicknesses. I started off with using about 1/2 a box of corn starch.  We added a little water and food coloring and played with thick magic mud that melted slowly in our hands.

Add a little more water and the magic mud turns into a slimy consistency that oozes through your fingers:

 

My kids (especially Nathan) thought that this was the coolest thing ever. And it was pretty cool...the magic mud looks like a liquid in the bowl, but you can make a semi-solid ball out of it, and then it liquefies right in your own hand.  It cleans up surprisingly well.  Nathan got a bunch on his clothes and it just hardened into a glob that I just took right off. When you are done, DON'T pour this down your disposal...I haven't tried it, but I don't think it would turn out good.  I just poured it into a bag and threw it away.  It also left my kid's hands a sickly green color...which they thought was neat.  

Squeeze Every Minute of Life

Squeeze Every Minute of Life

By Erma Bombeck

Someone asked me the other day, if I had life to live over would I change anything.

My answer was no, but then I thought about it and changed my mind.

If I had my life to live over again, I would have waxed less and listened more.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I'd have cherished every minute of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been styled and sprayed.

I would have invited friends over for dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten popcorn in the "good" living room and worried less about the dirt when you lit the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have burnt the pink candle sculpted as a rose before it melted while being stored.

I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn with my children and never worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching real life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband, which I took for granted.

I would have eaten less cottage cheese and more ice cream.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending that the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for a day.

There would have been more I love yous, more I'm sorrys, more I'm listenings, but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it, look at it and really see it, try it on, live it, exhaust it, and never give that minute back until there was nothing left of it.

Enjoy life...it's delicious! 

Smore Camping!

Yesterday I posted about the not-so-happy-camper side of camping.  Now that I have complained, today I will focus on the fun, memorable, and good side of being a happy camper:

Being with my cute kids (except for Aaron who was sick).  They were SO GOOD and fun to be around! (Notice that Nathan has a stick in almost every picture...he was carrying one...or two...around with him the entire trip.)

Roasting marshmallows and eating smores...YUM!

Roasting Starbursts...you've got to try it!  Just put a Starburst on your stick and roast it until it gets bubbly; let it cool so that the outside is crunchy and the middle is gooey...YUM!

Telling scary stories around the fire...Kaylee's story about the Scary, Scary Mouth and the Hairy, Hairy Hands was the best...Eric, your story about The Princess Who Filled Her Pants With___was pretty good as well :)

Enjoying the beautiful surroundings and nature.

Cooling off in the stream.

After all is said and done...camping was great.  I can handle the craziness of getting ready and the messes to clean up afterward when we have these memorable moments in-between.   Yes...I am ready for "smore" camping!

Happy Camper

This last weekend, my family and I (minus Aaron because he was sick and had to stay at Grandma's house) went camping for one night...Oh the madness!  Now don't get me wrong, I had a great time being with my family...more of that in tomorrow's Tuesday's Triumph.  But for today's Monday's Madness, here is what I think about camping:

As the Mom, I have to make sure that we have clean clothes to wear...just to get them filthy again.  I plan the menu and how we are going to cook it...bringing all of our clean pots and pans...just to get them filthy again.  We drag out all of the camping gear, sleeping bags, blankets, air mattresses (yes, we are wimpy campers...although we do sleep in a tent), camping chairs, tent, and camp stove...just to put it all back again.

Once we were there we had some great times...mixed in with trying to cook and eat dinner in the rain, being paranoid about my 2 year old dancing and running around the fire, trying to sleep when EVERY little sound wakes me up, sharing a little bathroom with lots of other people and not enough toilet paper, and smelling like camp fire.

"Oh, I wish that I could sleep this well!"  I thought as I looked over at them.

Then we come home, exhausted, and have to put everything away, clean the dishes, and do laundry.  But, it was all worth it and I would do it again because I love being alone with my kids and husband with no outside distractions...well, except the rain, bugs, and dirt.

Here is a HILARIOUS comic set from Jim Gaffigan about camping...so skip your ab workout today because this will make your stomach sore from laughing so much.

Teaching Kids to Fish

As parents, we are constantly teaching our children...by words and especially by example.  The other day, Kaylee started bossing her brothers around and she sounded just like me...whoops!  I also just got a new calling to teach the 5-6 year olds at church so teaching children has really been on my mind lately.

Elder David A. Bednar said: "Giving a man a fish feeds him for one meal.  Teaching a man to fish feeds him for a lifetime. As parents and gospel instructors, you and I are not in the business of distributing fish; rather, our work is to help our children learn "to fish" and to become spiritually steadfast."

Alma 1:26 - "For the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner...and they did labor, every man according to his strength."

Elder Bednar goes on to say, "Are you and I helping our children become agents who act and seek learning by study and by faith, or have we trained our children to wait to be taught and acted upon?  Are we as parents primarily giving our children the equivalent of spiritual fish to eat, or are we consistently helping them to act, to learn for themselves, and to stand steadfast and immovable?"

I hope that as a parent, I am teaching my kids to "fish" by showing them how to learn and act for themselves.  Like the scripture in Alma says; the teacher and the learner are equal...I have found that as I teach my children I learn new things myself and they end up teaching me.