The River

Several days ago, we put on our suits and went to the river for family night. It was sooooo much fun! We spent the whole time wading in a section that was just the perfect depth for the kids, and they had glorious fun with mud and river rocks. I think it was sensory paradise for them! The weather was perfect and the water was warm. I really love doing simple family activities that cost very little (OR NOTHING!) and keep the kids really happy and entertained. This definitely fell under that category! We've been making an effort to do more as a family--more than just sitting around the house, that is. We've gone to the library together, which I do with the kids, but Phill came this time, and it was a lot more fun (probably because I had more time to steal away and look for my own books.....). We also went for a walk in Santa Clara, which is right next to us, and is a town I absolutely love. I sometimes daydream of living there. Today we are going to be sorting through all our stuff to contribute to a yard sale this Saturday....more on that below the pictures.

BRING ITEMS TO SELL FOR DONATION or BRING CASH AND BUY!!

The 172^nd B-Co. Medical Logistics Battalion (Army Reserve) here in St.George can use your support!

The 172^nd Bravo Company Family Readiness Group provides help for the families of the soldiers, as well as the soldiers themselves. Any funds donated to the FRG go towards supporting them, whether it is to help out struggling families, provide a gift for a new mother, or send packages to soldiers who are deployed.

Do you need to do a little Fall Cleaning? Have some junk you need to clear out? Bring your items to our yard sale! Need some gently-used items at a low cost? Perfect solution….come to our yard sale!!

Saturday, October 11^th, 9a.m. – 2p.m.

@ the home of Marsha Stark

(2459 W. 1720 N.)

Please bring items to be donated no later than the morning of the 11^th. We will also have raffle tickets for $3 to enter a drawing for prizes starting in value from $20.00 from local businesses, as well as a FREE photography session! (from guess who--yours truly--and Lara, would you like to donate a session?)

For more info call: Rachel DeVault (435) two three eight zero three zero four

-or- Marsha Stark (435) six eight zero eight five seven four

Thanks! (and Help!)

Thank you to all of you who commented on my photos! You gave me a good dose of self-esteem medicine. :) And I'm glad to see a positive response for posting photos of myself. I think all of you should post pictures of yourself. Kaysha, I may just hunt you down and SNEAK a photo of you. I really mean that. I may just accidentally show up at Costco at the same time....Wal-Mart.....Children's Place.....keep looking over your shoulder, woman!

Okay. I need some help.

I am addicted to white bread. I HATE wheat bread (for sandwiches) and even when it's homemade, I don't like it (for sandwiches). I LOVE wheat bread as toast or with hummus, but as for sandwiches? I just love that horrible white-flour-and-yeast combination. Sue me.

Anyway, I've discovered that although I possess a rather unhealthy addiction to white bread, I love wraps! Even the whole-wheat ones are good. I've tried using whole wheat tortillas for wrap-ish lunches, but they're just not very pliable or yummy.

Lo and behold....I was at Lin's last night and saw these beautiful wraps--very pliable, labeled as wraps, specifically made for healthier lunches, etc....FOR ALMOST FOUR DOLLARS FOR SIX!!!! Are you as disgusted as I am?! Six wraps, let's see....that would be gone in one lunchtime. One and a half for me, half for Savvy, one for Reed and one for Jax, two for Phill....yep. Gone in one lunchtime. So if I ate those ridiculously expensive wraps for each lunch for one week, that would cost us $28. Multiply that times four if I wanted to make it a habit, and you have nearly $120. Our entire month's budget is $400 (toiletries and cleaning supplies and diapers and wipes INCLUDED....it's HARD to stick to it, and we often don't). I'm not about to spend more than one-fourth of our budget on wraps. We spend maybe $7.50 a week on bread, $10.50 at the top (the Farm Bread brand at $1.50 a loaf). When I consider White bread that I love: $10.50 a week or Really Yummy Wraps that are Way Better For Me: $28.00 a week, I just don't think it's worth the extra cost. Maybe I'm being stingy? Am I?

So what I'm wondering is: Do any of you have a good recipe for wraps? Whole-wheat preferably, but tomato-basil and spinach welcome, as well as other kinds I haven't thought of. Christine? Heidi? Crystal? Abby? Mandy? Call on your recipe archives?

Meanwhile, still dreaming of the incredible wrap I had at Costco a couple of months ago.....turkey and Havarti cheese and some other delicious stuff. That thing was the size of a ferret--it most certainly wasn't healthy in its gargantuan proportions. But it was good enough that yes, I'm still craving it long after its digestion.

If this is vain, well, then call me vain. :)

To those who have already seen these on all the other forums of which I'm a part, I apologize. When I take what I think is a good photo of myself, I tend to feel like it's a bit of an event.....

I've been meaning to practice self-portraits. I'm proud of these. :) These are as of today, and I feel like I look healthier than I did just a couple months ago.

Phill Made the Papes!! :)

Phill has drill the first weekend of the month, every month. (Usually.) One drill of the year for their soldiers has always been to work the St. George Marathon. This basically means they catch people--literally catch people who make it across the finish line and find that they just can't move their legs anymore!

Anyway, this year a couple of the soldiers' pictures made it into The Spectrum! And Phill was one of them!!! It's actually a GREAT photo of him, really shows his true nature.

Go here to see his photo (#68); the other one (with soldiers in it) is #77.

And although we were considering doing the marathon together this year, that's obviously the furthest we got--thinking about it. :) But we've resolved that provided we can register on time, we will do the next one together. Poor Phill, he'll have to go so slow to avoid losing me in the crowds. He did his 2-mile for his P.T. test yesterday in 13:12.

Pfft. Ridiculous.

Thoughts on Conference....but not what you'd expect!

Abby, thank you, thank you, thank you again for helping me have some logic and perspective when I called almost in tears today. I am certain I picked you for my older sister!

Not logical:
Expecting my three children under the age of six to sit silently through two two-hour Saturday sessions of conference.

Logical:
Asking of them just to sit through at least the Sunday morning session, having provided them with necessary hand-busying activities.

Not logical:
Yelling at my children while I listen to lovely messages about faith, hope, charity, etc.....

Logical:
Being better prepared with not only materials, but a more concrete game plan.

More peaceful impressions to follow tomorrow, I expect. In the meantime, apologizing and catching my breath. Glad to have all sessions recorded and at my fingertips for quieter times.