My New Babies...

Aren't they cute???  Sunday night we hatched out 12 baby Mandarin ducks. Monday morning I kicked mamma duck out of the nest box, gave her 3 babies, and I stole the other 9.  Only had one fatality and the rest are looking really good.  She ran off in the grass with her 3 and I haven't seen them since.  These little guys are living in the shop with a heat lamp and lovin' life (I hope...).  Building a new pen/waterfall for them - it will be safer and more accessable for viewing.

This picture shows just how tiny they are compared to my hand.  In a couple of weeks, bring your kids by to watch them and maybe even hold one!

This is what they look like full grown - the pretty colored one is the male.

Me and Rachel Ray...

So I signed up for this thing called Bountiful Baskets... every week they deliver fresh fruits and veggies to a designated site for $15 bucks.  Last saturday was the first delivery here in GC.  It consisted of corn on the cob, potatoes, apples, nectarines, romaine lettace, honey dew, berries (I think black or blueberries) tomatoes, red peppers, grapes (I think that was all) and this very strange things called bok choy.  So everyone ran home to look it up on the internet.  Turns out it is a cabbagy kinda thing used mostly for stirfry.  So I made some one night and it was so-so.  Today I decided to give it another go and...  Rachel Ray would have been so proud it would have brought tears to her eyes:

First, I used everything I could find in the fridge:
broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, red peppers, tomatoes, sugar peas, and last but not least, the bok choy:

I cut the end off, then chopped up the rest.  My family isn't much for Chinese food, so I don't stir fry much so, right or wrong, I just put some Canola oil in the frying pan, stirred it up and threw the lid on.
Next, I cut up some turkey (from the post below - thank you, Ned) and threw it in:

Next, I made a sauce consisting of soy sauce, sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, pineapple juice and boullion. Added some pineapple tidbits, threw it all together, cooked for about 5 more minutes and taaa daaa:

One more thing, NO! I don't hire out...   :o}

The Ol' Ladys' Still Got It!!!

Went to "Watch" Kayden play softball last night - a rec league over in Laketown.  He was helping out the senior team since they were short of players...  They ask if I could help if they didn't get a 10th player so what was I suppose to say?  Alas and alack, the 10th showed up.  So bottom of the 1sst inning the opposing team hollered and ask if I would hit for them since they only had 9.  Once again, what was I supposed to say?  Now the composition of our senior team has 2 with mission calls, 1 with papers in, etc.  The composition of the other team?  Well, the team name is "2 be 'ers" but let me tell ya, they seem to have used the apostrophe in jest... But we had a great time. I went 1 for 3 - not bad for a almost 50 year old~~~

Now this is great - Neds dad turns 92 years old next week. Still healthy as the day he was born. So what do you buy a 92 year old guy? It is typically a bird house, or a horse figurine, or a wind vane, etc. Last Sunday we were down for our weekly visit and Jess and Tierney were with us. I don't even remember how it came up but Tier was sitting next to him on the couch. Next thing we know, she has headphones hooked up on him and he was rockin' out to Jim Reeves on her Iphone! It was hilarious! I didn't know if we would ever stop laughing. Then she put on a little Patsy Cline - another hit! Just to make sure he could hear it, she tried a little Black Eyed Peas next and he shook his head and said, Oh HECK no! Can you guess what his birthday present is? You got it - an Ipod and a Ihome so he can rock out when ever he wants to. So we have been recording on the Ipod nano all day - I love it. Reminds me of the rides to and from Stockton, CA and Seattle/Olympia, WA with mom and dad, listening to Jim Reeves, Eddie Arnold, and Sons of the Pioneers. Funny thing, I can sing almost every song by memory~

What next???

Call me crazy - but I have a few issues with "natural" things vs. "store-bought" things... For example:
1. I cannot eat a "real" egg - one that is a different color than white and excuse me, but comes from the back end of a chicken. I can only eat store-bought eggs.

2. To think of eating "real" fish turns my stomach in-side-out. But don't ever challenge me  at an all-you-can-eat shrimp place 'cuz I will eat you under the table!

3. "Real" water - gross! I would rather die of thirst. Put a little Crystal Light in it... I can get my 64 oz. in by noon.

4. So now what I am I supposed to do? I absolutely love turkey on Thanksgiving day (could it have something to do with my birth date?) - you know, the good ol' Norbest/Butterball guys? The kind you buy at the grocery store? Guess what my loving husband showed up with yesterday:

What is a woman to do?  And he was so proud of it... showing me what a "big beard" it had.   (Didn't know turkeys had beards...)  And begging me to come take pictures...

Girls just wanna have fun...!

I have a 16 year old daughter who is growing up W AY  too fast! Imagine how thrilled I was when she and her best friend came home from school yesterday and asked if they could go out and play in the rain...  Thank goodness for the child who is still lurking inside her!

(click to enlarge)

Sweet memories....

Sunday was our Stake Conference down (up) in Paris.  It was our turn to have the broadcast version of conference and I couldn't believe how many people were in attendance compared to our usual crowd.  The speakers were Sister Barbara Thompson of the general Relief Society, Elder Dallin H. Oaks and I am sorry but one other that I cannot remember his name.  Then, President Monson talked.  It was a great meeting, except... all the speakers kept commenting on how great it was to be speaking to the saints of Idaho - hard for a Utahn to be mistaken for an Idaho spud!

Anyway, we were up on the balcony (tradition) and I was watching this little girl who was totally out of control (about 4 years old). She was sitting in the middle of the middle row and kept crossing over this elderly couple to get out in the aisle and run around.  Then an older sibling would scoot past them to go round her up.  I could tell they were getting pretty agitated.  The next time I looked back at them my heart jumped up in my throat and tears came to my eyes.  The elderly lady grabbed her, sat her down next to her, and proceeded to make what?  THE SAME THING MY MOM USED TO MAKE DURING CHURCH!  Can you guess what it was?

First, you take a hankie and fold it in half to form a triangle. Then you roll the two long corners in until they meet each other. Now the next part is the trick! You fold the bottom upper corner backwards to the straight edge, push the babies around a little bit, and presto! You have twins in a swing!

The little girl was mezmerized!  And I just wanted to cry... She never moved the rest of the meeting.  So those who remember mom making these for us, go ahead and shed a tear.  For those who have never tried, pull out a hankie and see if you can follow my crazy directions!  Have fun!

Off To The Races!!!

Tonight Kamren Ty competed in his FINAL cub scout derby... For three years now, we have competed annually in the Pinewood Derby, the Sailboat Regatta, and the Space Derby.  He always does super in the heats, then loses in the finals.  His name is "2-place Kamren".  But, tonight was going to be different...  We could just feel it...  He lost the first heat, but kicked hiney on the next two - putting him in first place for the finals.

In anticipation of finally winning, he turned to his pit crew for help:

And finally, they were off!

Note the excitement on everyone's face - Bishop on your left, best friends mom behind the starting gate, den mother on your right... It was obviously the race of all races!  That is his space ship you can see in front of the Bishop - out in front, of course!

Even Brother and Sister Schiess (Cub master and mistress) could hardly contain themselves!  That is his ship whizzing by the treasure box - uncontested!!!

And then, suddenly... from out of nowhere -

Came the dreaded BLACK SHIP!!!  And beat us!!!!

Poor Kamren Ty!  He fell to the floor in anguish... Second place, AGAIN!

The pain was more than he could take... He covered his face in shame as Brother Schiess announced, "Kamren, here is ANOTHER red ribbon to add to your collection of red ribbons at home."  Oh, the joy of cub scouts!

All I can say is....

THANK GOODNESS HE IS ALMOST AN 11-YEAR OLD SCOUT!!!