tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-101869862012-01-23T11:50:09.285+10:00...think low and think high. Oh the thinks you can think if only you try...MLnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-27382095022431537242012-01-23T11:50:00.000+10:002012-01-23T11:50:09.293+10:00

When I'm an old lady, I'll live with each kid,And bring so much happiness...just as they did.I want to pay back all the joy they've provided,Returning each deed!  Oh, they'll be so excited!(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.) I'll write on the wall with reds, whites, and blues,And I'll bounce on the furniture...wearing my shoes.I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.I'll stuff

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-68825854097440341152011-10-25T21:55:00.001+10:002011-10-25T21:58:10.239+10:00

We went all out this year in the jack-o-lantern carving (one of the few things I actually like about Halloween).  Casey had the biggest pumpkin, so he did a...circle-rama?...of bats, night skies, and the Grim Reaper.  Kait did the Cheshire Cat, Ezra the one with jagged teeth and vacant eyes (hahaha!), and Eden did the scary one with the eyebrows.  We turned Casey's around to get a better look.

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-2175584114822148072011-09-08T10:43:00.001+10:002011-09-08T10:50:38.126+10:00

We're in the preparations for my love's birthday dinner--steak, local sweet potatoes, and the obligatory something green (hmmm).  A super-fantastic looking cheesecake is ripening in the fridge readying for the multiple toppings we'll try on it (he couldn't decide which he wanted).  He has been playing with a rich, dark chocolate homemade ice cream recipe this morning--the batter is chilling as we

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-45030082114401097092011-08-13T21:56:00.000+10:002011-08-13T21:56:03.944+10:00

I've been doing some traveling in the States visiting family and friends.  Since I don't have FB anymore I decided to put a few of the photos I've taken here so everyone can see them.  Hannah Johnson, Madison Smith, Will Shakespeare, and me. :)  The performance we saw of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was wonderful and hilarious!  Oh gosh--let's see if I can get the names here: Lois and Frank

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-54103016600425703372011-07-24T07:14:00.000+10:002011-07-24T07:14:49.712+10:00

I love getting up early and Sundays are my favorite.  Right now the house is clean and quiet--Casey and Sam have left for PEC (Casey's in the bishopric and Sam is ward mission leader).  I really crack the whip on Saturday nights.  No dishes are to remain undone, the trash is out, a quick vacuum and general straightening up, we toss a cloth on the table and "that's how we get ready for Sun-day".  

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-58520701240230143652011-07-07T18:08:00.000+10:002011-07-07T18:08:37.930+10:00

This came for Sam in the mail yesterday: Dear Samuel: As a result of your hard work and determination, you have excelled in your present studies at the Northern Marianas College.  It gives me great pleasure to inform you that your name has been placed in the Part-Time Student Honor of outstanding students for having achieved a 4.00 grade point average (GPA) for the Spring Semester 2011.  This

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-22788278427934774292011-06-29T20:25:00.002+10:002011-06-29T20:41:14.892+10:00

I just finished this book by Paul Miller.  It's unusual for me to read an entire religious book other than the scriptures.  It's extremely unusual for me to read a religious book written by someone of a different religion--in this case Evangelical Christian.  For a while now, though, I've been bothered by my prayers. I knew I needed to do better--I knew I could do better--but they just seemed

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-67291529146732194012011-06-25T13:57:00.000+10:002011-06-25T13:57:54.947+10:00

It started out with a phone call from Casey. Of course, that was good! He wanted to tell me that he had lost his wallet and had called the bank to stop all of our cards.  Bad. This will give me the opportunity I needed to adjust our personal account with the Quicken file that had become corrupted and get that all straightened out because very little money will come out of that account over the

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-25333445729888293362011-06-19T00:37:00.002+10:002011-06-19T01:08:50.281+10:00

Today.  Price Costco. Checkout. "Senior discount, right?" "No! Well...how old do you have to be for a senior?" "Ummm..."  (She knows she's in trouble now.)  "Maybe 60?" "What?!  I'm not even close! Groan." (Okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration.) (Backpedaling as fast as possible.) "I think I got you mixed up with another lady.  Same haircut...white....." "Yeah.  We all look alike."

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-22264357253476017442011-06-14T10:40:00.002+10:002011-06-14T10:43:48.412+10:00

Several years ago I wrote my first comment on here about, what was at the time, the relatively new social phenomenon Facebook.  As time has gone on, my FB friends list has grown to over 400 (?!--who ARE they?), and photos, videos, comments, observations abound in my account.  Some of it has been lots of fun (the Conner Butt photos--hahaha!) and sometimes I am inspired, but sometimes I come away

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-29529344581742347052011-06-09T20:04:00.001+10:002011-06-09T20:26:42.876+10:00

Well, not huge changes, but a little change.  We have a 6 bedroom home--which sounds big--but the living room, dining room, and kitchen are all in an open floor plan.  The living room is really just a seating area within that space and that seating area is small and hard to arrange (for me anyway).  Anyway, I figured new curtains, new furniture arrangement...  We all agree that it feels better.

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-75821180826187290942011-06-05T13:40:00.000+10:002011-06-05T13:40:17.753+10:00

Bamboo Roman shades in "pecan", lined, pinch-pleat drapes in "pure gold" hung from rings on a rod.

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-85487535974026884022011-05-19T14:14:00.003+10:002011-05-19T14:19:42.030+10:00

Some days I just feel like hiding.  No reason.  Nothing's wrong.  Just want to hole up somewhere with a good book and no responsibilities.  And maybe my laptop.  And wireless, of course.  Music I like.  Food readily available.  A phone to which nobody has the number.  Family around, but totally preoccupied with anything that doesn't involve me. Feelings like this make getting older sooo much more

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-90645730064995734862011-05-08T21:18:00.000+10:002011-05-08T21:18:33.423+10:00

Happy Mothers' Day!  I want the same thing every year: a clean house and good kids.  I usually get it, too.  Well, not always, but this year was a good one and here's the run-down (or maybe it's the run-UP since I'm starting with the youngest): Eden made me a card which was presented to me at a Primary Mothers Breakfast on Saturday.  Unfortunately, the Primary cards had been stacked before they

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-68374359690958895032011-04-19T18:55:00.002+10:002011-04-19T19:02:53.979+10:00

I got everything done I had to do today:  I made fish chowder, enough to send some down to a friend who just had a baby and feed my own family dinner, bought candy, an egg-coloring kit, and the ham for Easter dinner which is now thawing in the fridge, made the carrot cake for the bunny cake and have it in the freezer, I ran errands, balanced the checkbook, spent an hour visiting on the phone with

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-26071376054272469222011-04-08T10:49:00.003+10:002011-04-08T11:13:44.883+10:00

I wanna play tooooooo!

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-19306988793700170992011-04-07T18:48:00.000+10:002011-04-07T18:48:29.375+10:00

Here's the thing...we've lived here 10 years.  When we first came the landlord had these blue/white/pinky drapes that I didn't want because 1- they were blue/white/pinky, and 2- because of this: which is The View from the living room and the dining room.  I didn't want to cover up The View!  However, I also had the noise.  Oh, the noise, noise, noise!  Marble-tiled floors, concrete walls--

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-36582236457417756082011-03-18T18:57:00.005+10:002011-03-18T22:12:46.802+10:00

Well, I've talked about baking on Sundays, done an FHE post...probably the only other day of the week that really stands out at our house (other than Wednesdays, which is Youth Night so we aren't even here), is Friday night. Friday is like this big release--you made it through another week. Ahhhh. Time to kick back, relax, maybe watch a movie, have a little free time when it's okay to put off

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-67788698889590709372011-03-14T21:28:00.007+10:002011-03-14T21:56:49.130+10:00

We found this trail that goes up this hill...I've lived here for 10 years and didn't know that "papago" meant "little thorny plant that rips the skin off your legs." Huh. Go figure. Ezra and the rest got up to the top in no time. Eden and I didn't like running into the "papago," so we took a little longer and were a little more careful about where we stepped.It was a beautiful view from the

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-10575126936398450052011-03-13T19:07:00.005+10:002011-03-13T19:52:42.245+10:00

Is it possible that 5 years have gone by since the last time we studied D&C/Church History in Seminary? My, my, my...Well, anyway, we went out yesterday and today to work out a route. It's not easy to come up with a 20-25 mile route on a 14x6 island! Several people have given suggestions, so we went and checked out a couple of places, but today we retraced the route that was used 5 years ago

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-36008555193526673752011-02-15T12:17:00.020+10:002011-02-15T15:58:55.922+10:00

Been there, done that...and it was wonderful! We really enjoyed Rota and the place we stayed, The Coconut Village, was very charming and close to the water so we could easily hear the surf.Rota's reef is very close to the island instead of forming a nice big lagoon like on Saipan, but it has it's advantages and the sound of the surf was only one of them.Here's Casey looking all manly with the

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-80212891352320781822011-02-06T20:16:00.005+10:002011-02-06T20:36:47.022+10:00

Sunday afternoon and baking just go together, don't they? I remember my mother telling me that she loved to cook--just not meals (and I'm sure when she said "cook" she meant "bake"). I think I've inherited her attitude. I like leisure baking, not duty cooking. Mallory said lately "cooking therapy" and that's what it's like. It's in-home therapy--creative, goodly, cozy, productive, even

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-42199798938973458422011-02-01T14:10:00.010+10:002011-02-01T15:14:29.361+10:00

We're going on a little Valentine's excursion this year--we'll spend a couple of days snorkeling on Rota, then go over to Guam for a couple more days and then home. Valentine's on a remote tropical island---WOW!! But, you know, a tropical island is a tropical island and just because we live on one doesn't make it any less beautiful or a moonlit, ylang ylang-scented tropical night any less

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-75685290030536909942011-01-31T14:21:00.005+10:002011-02-01T15:19:00.588+10:00

Well, we've had rare birds, monitor lizards, and of course gekkos, shrews, chameleons--rats (ew)--etc., come to visit, but this is a first for us here in Saipan anyway. This little brown pig came to visit on Sunday afternoon. Ezra caught it by the hind legs at first, but it kicked like crazy. He looked like he was trying to hold the handles of a souped-up rototiller trying to chop through

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-39704167141882070882011-01-28T08:38:00.003+10:002011-01-28T09:01:24.051+10:00

I want to do something today. It's Friday and I often feel like this on Fridays. I just taught my last early morning class for the week, the kids are just about done with the weeks schoolwork and ready to turn it all in, I don't want to think about my diet or what I need to prepare for Sunday, or any of the things I have to do. AND Casey's home, so I just want to do something. Something fun.I

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-57317286426531676542011-01-25T11:50:00.002+10:002011-01-25T12:10:36.842+10:00

I repent! Maybe. I told Mallory that I thought one of my New Year's resolutions would be to write in my blog again, so here I am. The problem is Facebook. I've gotten so into Facebook as a place to upload pictures and videos, keep up on what's going on with family and friends, and record my little thoughts and comments that a blog has gotten to seem a little redundant. I feel like with

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-54478773257245035022010-09-15T16:31:00.004+10:002010-09-15T16:38:27.191+10:00

out of the nest. We love you Jacob.

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-40785993760930143722009-11-18T10:52:00.002+10:002009-11-18T11:55:18.552+10:00

Unbelievable, but true!

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-4898412958248324402009-10-31T05:09:00.002+10:002009-10-31T05:15:20.651+10:00

Happy 29th honey! (Thanks again Del.)

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-36162699144082221202009-09-26T00:42:00.002+10:002009-09-26T01:17:04.570+10:00

Madie's just a little over 2 weeks old here--big hiccups, little girl. :)

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-30649330926655230522009-08-26T22:58:00.006+10:002009-08-27T00:12:22.356+10:00

Our niece is moving to Spain with her husband and four children ages 14 and down. What an incredible experience this will be for them! I hope they will come to love Spain and the people. I'm sure there will be challenges and certain aspects that may be confusing, frustrating, or just plain annoying, but I hope that overall they will fully enjoy the wonderfulness of their new home and they'll

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-36840146865682508002009-06-23T09:45:00.004+10:002009-06-23T21:25:00.150+10:00

Remember the personal pledge not to eat junk foods or sweets for 6 months? Well, I'm about at the half-way point (or will be as of June 27), so I thought it was about time for a little report on my progress and findings. What I have found is that I seem to have better control over my eating, which makes sense because I've heard that sugar can actually stimulate appetite. Of course, I haven't

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-91864564167694611482009-06-20T01:00:00.006+10:002009-06-20T01:46:32.818+10:00

I'm up waiting to take a young man who has been staying with us to the airport for a 4 a.m. flight to the States (so we'll have to leave here around 1:45 a.m.), so I'm just killing time Facebooking and surfing the internet and I thought "Hey. I could actually do something constructive like blog," so here I am. It's been a while.I was thinking awhile ago how weird names are here. It seems like

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-85783069256067339472009-05-16T21:35:00.003+10:002009-05-16T21:42:04.036+10:00

Latest from OrlandoSentinel.com blogsLinksFMF, Day 3: A deal and the sounds on Orange Avenueposted by JimAbbott on May 16, 2009 3:11:39 AMAbit of a late start, relatively speaking, because of a Fringe commitment and a visit to the rooftop party at the Plaza. On the roof, I got a chance to meet Matt Maroone of Universal/SRC, who was singing th praises of Million Year Echo. That band, led by Levi

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-35510092262404716262009-05-16T14:31:00.002+10:002009-05-16T21:40:43.993+10:00

FMF: Million Year Echo signs label deal...posted by JimAbbott on May 15, 2009 4:36:16 PMMillion Year Echo, the latest band featuring singer-songwriter Levi Conner (Leave Calmer), signed a deal with Universal/SRC over lunch today, which gives the band something to celebrate at its 10:30 p.m. Wall Street Plaza FMF slot tonight."We're pretty happy," says Sean Perry, who manages the group. Universal/

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-26648289007198160912009-03-26T11:06:00.005+10:002009-03-26T11:29:14.049+10:00

*I'm posting this blog to force myself into a state of accountability.*I'm an addict. A junk food addict. I am a junk food junkie. Me. I have to accept that. I love sweets. In fact, it seems that the less nutritional value a food has, the better I like to eat it. Marshmallows? Love 'em. Sugar wafers? Mmmmm. Cotton candy? One of my favorites. I call them ingestible non-food items, because food is

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-30518838414925734552009-03-25T12:33:00.003+10:002009-03-25T13:17:30.119+10:00

We're weird! I never knew! Okay, that's a lie. But I didn't know that one of the ways that we're different is that we sing regularly--as a family.We're certainly not the King Family Singers (boy, that dates me!), or the Jackson 5, but we do sing in our home quite a bit. I guess "quite a bit" is a relative term and I'm just realizing that it might apply to us. Of course we have individuals in the

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-44421194164405760982009-03-12T09:31:00.002+10:002009-03-12T09:37:15.160+10:00

by FFTL Productions

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-5874729216357273342009-02-20T23:45:00.003+10:002009-02-21T00:07:03.909+10:00

Have you ever been looking over the feeds on your Facebook home page, clicked on the thumbnail photo of a friend and suddenly realized that you have access to someone's Facebook that you've never met? It happens--what I didn't realize when it happened to me is that although the photo I was clicking on was of my friend, it had been posted by a friend of theirs that I didn't even know. By clicking

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-16731694903023290312009-02-01T07:51:00.003+10:002009-02-01T16:44:48.510+10:00

I knew this day would come... You have a friend request. Judith B Alexa (Bangor, ME) You have 8 friends in common.

MLnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-18457522853512979752009-01-18T16:50:00.002+10:002009-01-18T16:54:45.905+10:00

Ez was looking through the refrigerator for something to eat after we got home from church today."Mom, is there any more of that raw fish?""I don't think so.""Oh. I was really hoping to use up the wasabi--it's really good with the raw fish."Oh my.

MLnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-86103153264358678392009-01-01T11:23:00.003+10:002009-01-01T11:28:18.219+10:00

...when you clean your bedroom...like this--from January 2007.

MLnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-66629930728626087492008-12-26T02:28:00.005+10:002008-12-26T07:47:29.959+10:00

Every year I think that the kids will feel like they're too old and won't want to act out the Christmas story. This year I even decided to just have everyone read the different parts in kind of a reader's theater--I'm so glad that I was wrong. I'm the narrator because Casey has always been the donkey--well, since Mal's been gone anyway! This time I got laughing a little because in my peripheral

MLnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-79025812024003494152008-12-16T20:13:00.003+10:002008-12-16T20:22:23.767+10:00

Listening to the news and reading the paper, we sometimes forget that the world is full of them--and this one's from Maine! This came in an email from my cousin--it's worth reading. CHRISTMAS AT ARLINGTON CEMETERYArlington�National Cemetery Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.Know the line has held, your job is done.Rest easy, sleep well.Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.Peace,

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-2832470337076674502008-12-14T21:01:00.002+10:002008-12-14T21:12:46.582+10:00

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-26576733385110064102008-12-06T12:19:00.004+10:002008-12-06T13:03:31.839+10:00

Sorry about all the laughing in the background...I couldn't help it....

MLnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-53859236477727066432008-12-03T22:47:00.005+10:002008-12-03T23:00:45.615+10:00

It was my father's rock-solid creed--DON'T SPEND MONEY YOU DON'T HAVE PERIOD THE END. But, at least in the U.S., it isn't that way. It's one thing to go into debt for a house or an education--it's quite another to go into debt for Christmas presents--ahem, ahem--or (out here where we live) christenings and birthday parties. The reality is that millions of Americans do it on a regular basis, and

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-74049622817939050622008-11-30T22:07:00.002+10:002008-11-30T22:12:21.496+10:00

Question: How much of this recession is a result of people acting on media-driven perceptions? My husband thinks it's about 100%.

MLnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-6155797164927299482008-11-29T06:27:00.004+10:002008-11-29T06:34:40.878+10:00

I read this book as a preview check before giving it to my daughter for her 12th birthday last year. I came so close to tossing it a hundred times before I got to the last few chapters when the action began. I found Meyer's writing mediocre at best. Her descritive phrases are redundant (i.e., "...his eyes tightened"). Her heroine is such a poor model for teenage girls--here's a girl who sees

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-39825962186320704972008-11-26T04:38:00.008+10:002008-11-26T06:44:22.382+10:00

Well, it's that time of year again when I go a little crazy and bake every kind of pie on the planet--okay, it FEELS like I do. The crazy thing is I love doing it.Many years ago, when the big kids were littles, we started a tradition of asking each of them what their favorite pie was and making sure we included it on our Thanksgiving menu. We also started having several guests over and including

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-29297786092054040112008-11-13T15:17:00.005+10:002008-11-13T15:27:30.232+10:00

I'm gonna be a grandma...and grandpa plays the banjo.Life don't get much better than that--oh yeah. :)

MLnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-14603820901635724042008-11-10T21:40:00.004+10:002008-11-10T21:55:14.970+10:00

Well, he's off! Sam went into the MTC on October 15th, had a wonderful experience there, and is now serving in Hawaii. We received an email from his mission president telling us he had arrived safely and is with his first companion in his first area, but they didn't tell us where that was! So he's somewhere on either one of the Hawaiian Islands, Johnston Atoll, or Midway Island. Somewhere. Oh

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-35798936056769499822008-11-10T05:31:00.005+10:002008-11-10T05:44:10.928+10:00

I'm pretty much a family-post blogger with a few tirades thrown in here and there, but this email from my son-in-law made me think about something my husband had pointed out to me. I've included my response.Here is an interesting quote from Elder Maxwell given in 1979. I thought of Proposition 8 in California when I read this. -Michael"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-31325437593199319962008-11-03T09:57:00.003+10:002008-11-03T10:01:40.600+10:00

A website I ran into that's worth checking out before Tuesday--Project Vote Smart. A somewhat non-partisan (or at least multi-partisan), site with candidate bios, voting records, issue positions, etc. all in one place.

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-2987117335593337052008-11-01T07:27:00.005+10:002008-11-01T07:44:48.533+10:00

Yes, he's one of the Good Guys--they do exist. Overly kind, overly generous, overly thoughtful, and overly attractive/attracted--all toward ME! And he's kept it up for 28 years. He's a wonder.

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-52675942230301891082008-11-01T06:21:00.007+10:002008-11-01T07:27:17.811+10:00

Do we have to classify people by something other than good or bad? Friend or foe? I get so tired of discrimination and so-called "reverse" discrimination (you know, instead of "we're good and they're bad" it's "they're good and we're bad").I understand applying identifiable descriptions to people ("Oh you know--she's an American, black, about 35, drives a red Corolla."), but to actually put

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-34130297144864876302008-10-12T22:57:00.006+10:002008-10-13T00:30:52.326+10:00

Susannah tagged me!!! (How DARE she!) Okay, here it goes: Seven (!!!) random--and/or weird--facts about me:I don't remember when I first met my husband.I have eight children and every time I hit an even number I had an equal number of sons and daughters--i.e., 2 kids =1 boy, 1 girl; 4 kids =2 boys, 2 girls; etc. Cool trick huh?Eating raw carrots and fresh homemade bread makes me hiccup.I throw

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-47375464519200346042008-09-08T04:13:00.006+10:002008-09-08T04:41:22.467+10:00

I never did post where Sam is going to serve his mission. If there was ever a place that deserved a photo-post, this is it!

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-89467274769041991412008-09-07T21:32:00.000+10:002008-09-07T21:35:44.736+10:00

Thanks Selena. Happy birthday honey.

MLnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-6093650801287536652008-09-03T10:46:00.004+10:002008-09-03T11:05:11.198+10:00

...I got the blueberries (see below)....I didn't get out to the beach, but the kids did....I didn't get to go to a movie downtown, but I did get to play Scrabble with Mom and Hope and Steve. I can go to the movies anytime....Jake got his blessing....Mom, Kait, Ez, Eden, and I went shopping on Monday until I couldn't stand it anymore! I'm not really much of a shopper....The trees are changing in

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-13766137387833024432008-08-31T10:37:00.007+10:002008-08-31T10:49:22.367+10:00

One last trip to the temple before I leave here. We've been waiting for this particular trip ever since my mother joined the Church 38 years ago. It was wonderful. Boston Temple--The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day SaintsJust a few more things to do--leaves, beach, apples, shopping--before Wednesday!

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-51183305850464647042008-08-28T13:31:00.003+10:002008-08-28T13:38:09.829+10:00

I have GOT to tighten up those email settings...

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-26226878318461647192008-08-25T09:16:00.011+10:002008-08-25T21:13:47.695+10:00

We (Sam, Jake, and I) drove to Farmington on Wednesday, August 20th for Jake's patriarchal blessing. It was a lot of fun being with the boys and it was a beautiful drive. They were very impressed with the UM-F campus.Yesterday I took Eden, Kait, Ezra, Moses, and Sean to the fair. My kids have really been looking forward to this all summer. Promising them a trip to this fair got me out of having

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-34724934836117471602008-08-22T04:22:00.015+10:002008-08-22T05:04:49.468+10:00

Check. They're not only delicious (and soooo much better than the big cultivated kind you find in the stores), but blueberries are without a doubt the most beautiful of the berry plants. In the spring they flower and even when the berries have gone by the leaves turn a beautiful red to end out the summer. Every time I lift a stem laden with plump, juicy berries I want to break it off and take it

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-46882697156775452832008-08-19T21:11:00.003+10:002008-08-19T21:20:13.634+10:00

...pick blueberries....go out to the beach....go to a movie downtown....get Jake's blessing....do some more shopping....see some of the trees change....buy/pick some new apples--preferably Macs....have one last temple trip....go to the fair....did I say pick blueberries?

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-26247447389787133482008-08-18T12:29:00.023+10:002008-08-18T14:31:42.393+10:00

I saw this on Susannah's blog and it looks like fun so I thought I'd give it a try. The rule is to post the info by searching Google images and choosing from the first page only. It takes some time, but here we go:my agemy favorite colormy favorite vacation spotwhere I live where I grew upwhere I'd like to travelmy favorite foodmy favorite treatmy favorite animala past lovemy first namemy

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-21359205020244127572008-08-12T14:40:00.007+10:002008-08-12T15:15:58.662+10:00

Here are some of my favorite photos from the Maine reception--Thanks to our dear friend Galen for these:the bride & groom--friends & family--

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-2540540638374477902008-08-12T02:30:00.005+10:002008-08-12T02:45:42.987+10:00

Mallory & Michael's open house was very nice--Brother Pratt (he used to live in Ellsworth) was there as well as Elder Arnold and his family, Joe , my cousins Justin and Eric and their families, one of my former Seminary students, Julia and her husband, the Willden's, and Sister Knickerbocker's parents came because she couldn't make it. We went to Spanish Fork and picked up Moses so he could come

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-53662996334839200832008-06-20T22:10:00.003+10:002008-06-20T22:18:14.275+10:00

I HOPE THEY CALL ME ON A MISSION!

MLnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-26427907121940495162008-04-29T19:12:00.005+10:002008-04-29T19:28:18.734+10:00

I'm a little late on this post...

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-24675929990837871082008-04-25T15:43:00.005+10:002008-04-25T16:34:16.055+10:00

I saw this article on MSNBC and (since I'm at the age where I think about this a lot) I was intrigued. Am I concerned about growing older? Assuming good health, how bothered am I by wrinkles, gray hair, and saggy skin?I bought a birthday card once (many years ago now) for my husband's brother-in-law that said, "You're at the age where your knees look up and say... (inside) AVALANCHE!" I thought

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-83616271966246840612008-04-25T14:04:00.006+10:002008-04-25T14:34:29.112+10:00

I just got this email forward from a friend.For those of you who have been watching the news and may have wondered....Some Mormon women sing... Some Mormon women dance...Some Mormon women write scary stories...Some Mormon women have lots of money and really great hair... I know hundreds of Mormon women. They do all kinds of different things and live all different kinds of lives. This woman served

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-79199970048963139502008-04-18T08:51:00.003+10:002008-04-18T09:54:33.645+10:00

Okay, well, yes. Even though everything in the previous post is true, the tone was set more by the fact that I was tired and just felt like complaining.It looks like there won't be an island-wide blackout--at least not this weekend. According to this morning's paper, CUC (Commonwealth Utility Corp.) was able to buy another 1300+ barrels of fuel to help tide us over. There will be rolling

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-2553163719622617632008-04-17T21:53:00.002+10:002008-04-17T22:20:15.679+10:00

We went to the movies tonight. All of us. In fact pretty much the whole island community. The occasion? Closing night. Tomorrow the movie theater will close. Maybe for 30 days or maybe for good. The Tribune said the theater was due to "inexplicably shut down." We had a laugh about that. The Variety said "insurmountable utilities cost" and just generally the poor economy here on Saipan.

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-26214609458992971202008-02-27T21:07:00.002+10:002008-02-27T21:21:55.052+10:00

Levi's in Los Angeles. California. He just signed a contract for his band, Million Year Echo, to do 3 demo songs for Epic/Sony Records. They have flown Levi and Alan (band member, co-songwriter, friend), to L.A. for 10 days to work with a producer to see if they can come up with a hit song. Levi can. Yup.Stay tuned...

MLnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-66983192899852098392008-02-17T03:26:00.001+10:002008-02-17T03:26:47.636+10:00

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-46968126638019037832008-01-20T22:21:00.000+10:002008-01-20T22:23:49.675+10:00

Eden

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-7075810847428876502008-01-19T13:41:00.001+10:002008-01-19T13:41:21.969+10:00

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-71266411254619002952008-01-07T19:57:00.000+10:002008-01-13T08:05:09.442+10:00

This one is for the kids--the tradition is: buy the biggest turkey we can find. This isn't the biggest we ever had, but it's definitely the biggest we've found since living on Saipan. Also, everybody, including all the guests, gets their favorite pie--or two.... (unless their favorite is lemon meringue--try making that in 75% humidity!) We don't worry much about leftovers because on Thanksgiving

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-57775636408301022002007-12-19T08:28:00.000+10:002007-12-19T08:32:18.437+10:00

Here are some photos from today's Saipan Tribune. T-BONE RULES: Members of Team Bumblebee and Team T-Bone, composed of boys between the ages 8-10, pose for the camera after the first ever cubmobile race on Saipan Saturday. Team T-Bone had the fastest time and won trophies. Team Bumblebee was given rubber snakes as consolation prizes. (Contributed Photo) SCROOGE'S STOOGES: Scrooge's stooges

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-68015735844083141542007-11-29T12:55:00.000+10:002007-11-29T13:15:50.047+10:00

Uh-oh. My OCD is showing. This morning I ended up at Price Costco about 5 minutes before opening, so I grabbed a cart and settled in to wait with the little group that had gathered to get their shopping out of the way early in the day. I knew right away that the shopping cart I had chosen so carelessly was a reject, so I quickly pushed it to the side and pulled out the next one. It rattled

MLnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-43025770309557484552007-11-23T10:20:00.000+10:002007-11-23T11:25:11.446+10:00

Fourteen pies (Kait made the two pumpkins AND rolled out the crust for several others), 32 for dinner, and 1 Pie Night open house later and we've once again come happily through what is possibly the favorite holiday in our household (actually it's an impossible-to-call-it tie between Thanksgiving and Christmas).So much to be thankful for and so little ability to express it:Alexa's home. She

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-37010952578856993952007-11-04T21:29:00.000+10:002007-11-04T21:50:18.482+10:00

We've had a great week. Thursday was our 27th wedding anniversary and we went "away" for a few days and stayed at a resort here on island. It was so fun--we went kayaking and snorkeling and played at the waterpark...Case said it would make up for all the anniversary dinners we ate at Sam's Club. Actually, I never minded the Sam's Club dinners....Anyway, his mind must have still been on vacation

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-82297762589134677932007-10-29T17:01:00.000+10:002007-10-29T20:24:25.726+10:00

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-74024724426085085532007-10-20T13:04:00.000+10:002007-10-20T13:05:18.186+10:00

Check out these familiar faces on www.youtube.com.

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-40608949784421727482007-10-03T13:30:00.000+10:002007-10-03T13:45:52.416+10:00

This was taken from the "You Know You're From Maine If..." group on http://www.facebook.com/. It's the best one I've seen--I've made additions in red.You know you're from Maine if:You've had arguments over the comparative quality of Fried Dough.You're favorite ice cream is grapenut.You call four inches of snow "a dusting." You don't "shovel" snow, you "dig out."You don't understand why there

MLnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-46683164603389356432007-09-29T11:45:00.000+10:002007-09-29T11:47:54.252+10:00

In case anyone has noticed the beautiful fall photo to the left (Mal)....yes it is the footbridge in Somesville, MDI. Sigh.

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-6594553988640541892007-09-29T11:13:00.000+10:002007-09-29T11:42:38.097+10:00

The 5 most intriguing things--things that I wonder about and seem to puzzle me a bit right now (given in no particular order):The Twilight series by Stephenie Myers. Maybe I'm behind the times, but I only heard of this book recently and frankly I wasn't much interested--vampires and stuff that I was into at 13. Then I learned that it had wrested the #1 spot on the YA bestseller list from Harry

MLnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-12439245331410520412007-09-07T08:43:00.000+10:002007-09-07T09:09:02.497+10:00

I have joined a book club that a friend of mine has just started. Our first meeting was a couple of weeks ago and there were only five of us there, which I actually think is a good group. If there are too many there begin to be groups within the group.I really need to do this...I need the motivation not just to expand my reading, but I think that the discussions will help me put what I read more

MLnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-79578970025682249082007-09-01T12:19:00.000+10:002007-09-01T12:54:38.576+10:00

After a week of rainy weather, we finally had a break and the day was beautiful and sunny. Since it's a holiday weekend we were a little concerned that the beach might be crowded, but we only saw a couple of fishermen--it was quiet and beautiful. Eden and I did the program last night and it was then that she asked if Sam could baptize her instead of Dad. Sam's response: "I'd love to baptize you

MLnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-16289850908114301512007-08-31T20:13:00.000+10:002007-08-31T20:19:26.143+10:00

The Baptism ofEden ConnerSaturday, 1 September 2007, 9:00 A.M.PauPau Beach, Saipan, CNMIPresiding…………………………………Brother Casey C. ConnerChorister………………………………………..Sister Wendy RiderOpening Song: “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel” #252Opening Prayer…………………………………….Kaitlyn ConnerTalk about Baptism………………………………….Jacob ConnerBaptism Ordinance………………………..Samuel Almon ConnerScripture………………………………………………..Ezra

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-21801344698637804772007-07-29T09:16:00.000+10:002007-07-29T09:30:42.915+10:00

We see the northeastern cliffs as well as beautiful and interesting cloud formations, rainbows, and sunrise over the Pacific.If you look closely at this photo, you can see an image above the sun--I don't know if that is a reflection on my lens or some type of atmospheric phenomenon like a sun dog or pillar? (I thought those had to be in cold places.)

MLnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-85686843566928760932007-07-29T08:45:00.000+10:002007-07-29T09:15:57.967+10:00

We had a Pioneer Day Celebration on July 21 at the Smith's.We started out with a tug-of-war (that's a plastic tablecloth with water in the little depression--oh well).Next was the stick-pulling competition. Jake won against Arthur-- Tori and Madison-- and these four brutes!His loss came against--Limson--as did Roland's. Learning the Virginia

MLnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-61591182536885868502007-07-21T16:21:00.000+10:002007-07-21T16:30:58.683+10:00

And because my beloved daughter has been so sick (but is now feeling much better), I gulped only once when I paid the full retail on-island price. So she gets saved from the boredom of having to stay inside watching videos and playing Speed with Mom (but it was for jelly belly jelly beans so that was fun!). And she gets to read it first, but with one condition: no telling ANYTHING! She agreed it

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-88906302599492321082007-07-20T15:08:00.000+10:002007-07-29T15:49:33.422+10:00

I'm a little slow getting this up, but I wanted to post this picture that Shauna took after church a few weeks ago--the Sunday after the Prance. The black and white is the photoshopped version that Tikla did. She's off to the "Y" and we're [ALL] really going to miss her! (I'm having trouble with the color photo--tune in later.)

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-57401786842285403012007-07-13T23:41:00.000+10:002007-07-13T23:59:43.309+10:00

I said a while ago that I would put up photos of the guys with their dates on the night of the Prance (prom/dance). This was back in May. Enjoy!

MLnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-2522779034623801632007-07-12T10:10:00.000+10:002007-07-12T10:17:30.278+10:00

books andmovies andSprite anddoctor's appointments and pneumonia.

MLnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-6408487338289440212007-07-05T10:33:00.000+10:002007-07-05T10:57:21.603+10:00

From http://www.usaflag.org/"The pledge of allegiance should be rendered by standing at attention, facing the flag, and saluting.When the national anthem is played or sung, citizens should stand at attention and salute at the first note and hold the salute through the last note. The salute is directed to the flag, if displayed, otherwise to the music. "Last week in church our closing hymn was "

MLnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-35669236311951554312007-07-02T13:06:00.000+10:002007-07-02T13:10:50.082+10:00

Thanks for the great photo President Benson!

MLnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10186986.post-71518743890546529642007-06-29T07:08:00.000+10:002007-06-29T07:27:00.914+10:00

We're going camping tonight on Managaha, a small island in the lagoon. It's only used for recreational activities--no houses, cars, etc. It's fun and the kids really love it. It's not unusual to be the only overnighters on the island and the last boat leaves at 4 P.M. so we're alone until the first boat comes out a 9 the next morning. Tonight the students and chaperones from our school will be

MLnoreply@blogger.com1