Hoppy belated Easter!

I meant to post this last weekend, but I forgot. This has got to be one of the all time most adorable Easter pictures ever. Of course I am biased. When this picture was taken, we were on a very tight budget and really all I could get was just this one 8 x 10. I am so glad that I have at least one picture. So here's to Easter past!

Stomp out Loud

Today Diana had the opportunity to go and see "Stomp out Loud". It was a private smaller performance for the Clark County Children's Choir that Diana belongs to. It was really cool. Of course it didn't hurt that she got to miss school for two hours. After the show we stopped at Subway to get some lunch and wouldn't you know that two other families we know had the same idea. It was a really yummy lunch and they had a special for a $5 foot long sandwiches. Then I did take a little bit of a video of the Stomp thing so you can get some idea of what it was like. I would go to the show, although you might want to wear earplugs. I think someone changed the setting on my camera, because it does not seem to be as clear as usual. And I am not even sure how to fix it. Yikes.

Anatomy Class Antics

Imagine my shock, yes even terror, when I opened my computer and this picture had been changed to be the background on my home page. EEK! Yes, thanks, Trent for the little kick start to my blood pressure this morning! If you can't tell it is time to "dissect a cat", in Trent's anatomy class. This is something he told me would be happening, but now I can see it in color and all its glory. I have to say that I never had to dissect a cat when I was in school. I only remember frogs and worms in seventh grade. Trent told me that they took pictures. Of course I told him I needed those pictures for my blog. You got to take interesting and unusual stuff where ever you can find it, right? I apologize to anyone with a weak stomach. Nice pictures Trent. And now a slide show so you can see the whole process from start to finish. I could not find any appropriate music to go with my slide show. Anyone have any suggestions? And why hasn't anyone written a song about cat dissection? Maybe Adam Sandler did and I just don't know of it. Questions to ponder. The slide show seemed so boring without music, so I just used some good old Beethoven. Amazing how classical music seems to make something disgusting not quite so awful. What do you think? And I think I may have nightmares about this poor kitty tonight in my sleep.

Easter Festivities

We had a great spring break week, last week. It is so nice that Marion had his break the same week as the kids. On Friday he took over the egg coloring responsibilities. Notice Diana's concentration as she learns from the master egg colorer. They did a great job. Sometimes I think it is sad for Diana, because the boys (ie teenagers, too cool for such stuff) are not interested anymore. Of course the upside to this is that Diana got to color all the eggs. And then she got to find all the eggs by herself. We had a very nice laid back Easter Sunday. Diana got this cute dress at Burlington Coat Factory. We had a fun mother/daughter shopping trip on Friday. We were both excited to get the movie Enchanted for Easter. Yeah, for fun movies. Also we had a very nice family home evening yesterday about the real meaning of Easter. What a wonderful time of year to remember the blessings the Saviour brings to our lives.

A Bunny Story

Once upon a time there was a man who was peacefully driving down a windy road. Suddenly, a bunny skipped across the road and the man couldn't stop. He hit the bunny head on. The man quickly jumped out of his car to check the scene. There, lying lifeless in the middle of the road, was the Easter Bunny.

The man cried out, "Oh no! I have committed a terrible crime! I have run over the Easter Bunny!"

The man started sobbing quite hard and then he heard another car approaching. It was a woman in a red convertible. The woman stopped and asked what the problem was.The man explained, "I have done something horribly sad. I have run over the Easter Bunny. Now there will be no one to deliver eggs on Easter, and it's all my fault."

The woman ran back to her car. A moment later, she came back carrying a spray bottle. She ran over to the motionless bunny and sprayed it. The bunny immediately sprang up, ran into the woods, stopped, and waved back at the man and woman. Then it ran another 10 feet, stopped, and waved. It then ran another 10 feet, stopped, and waved again. It did this over and over and over again until the man and the woman could no longer see the bunny.

Once out of sight, the man exclaimed, "What is that stuff in that bottle?"

The woman replied, "It's harespray. It revitalizes hare and adds permanent wave."

Another School Picture

Yes, we now have a third school picture for Diana this year. The school takes the class picture in the spring and they always take another individual picture at the same time. This is just one more way that the school is trying to push me over the edge to financial ruin. I only bought the very smallest package. This time there were no surprise accessories showing up in the finished product, however I question the choice of outfit. Since I have long ago given up the notion that I have any input in this area, I am not disappointed. Check out the attitude shot, with the hand on the hip. And I do like the fact that she is wearing her glasses. At least we will know that she did own a pair of glasses, even if they seem to be lost much of the time.

Birthday party make over!

Last Saturday, Diana went to a birthday party. This is what she looked like when she came home. This party consisted of going and getting your hair and make up done. According to the Diana it was about the best party she has ever been to. There

was also singing and dancing involved. I am glad it was fun, but I was a bit alarmed that she came home looking like she was sixteen. It is bad enough that she already thinks she is that old, she doesn't need to look that way as well. The place they went is called "Justice for Girls". I have never heard of it, but I guess it is a store at the mall that sells clothes, but then they also have a room in the back where they give makeovers. I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but her hair has a lot of pink sparkely stuff sprayed in it.

Where there's a will, there's a way!

Last week, Jared's lacrosse coach told him about a store closing sale going on at Sports Authority. This in turn led to him stalking me around the house until I took him to see what was on sale. The item he really wanted was a net to practice lacrosse. They had one which was meant for base ball, but would work for lacrosse as well. This net was originally $149, but it was on sale for just $30. The fact that we had come shopping, in my small car instead of the van did not deter us from making our bargain purchase. Jared informed me that I should be better prepared like Dad, and have rope in my car. Point well taken. We did attempt to get it to fit inside the car, but there was no way that was going to happen. So instead we just put it on top and each of us rolled down the window and held onto it all the way home. A few times it seemed like it might slip, but somehow we managed to get it home and intact. Now Jared can become an expert player in no time!

Flash Flood

One of the coolest things at the Springs Preserve was a flash flood demonstration. We were standing on a platform and witnessed how fast a flood can happen when it rains. I thought it was pretty cool. In fact the kids thought it was so fun that they had to do it twice. So here is a short little video of what we experienced. Notice how many times I ask the kids if they got wet. Geez can we say annoying mom or what?

Springs Preserve

On Tuesday, a bunch of people from our ward went to this very cool place called the Desert Springs Preserve. It is a kind of museum/park where you can learn cool stuff about the desert. The fact that there is cool stuff to learn about the desert is news to me, but apparently there is quite a lot to learn, because we were there for 5 hours and did not see everything. We did have a lot of fun and this was due probably to the fact that we were there with other good friends. Here are some of the fun pictures that I took. One of the kid's favorite places was the outside playground. They played there for what seemed like forever. Afterwards, the younger kids were pretty tired. One of the kids we were with is named Jared, also. It is kind of interesting, but my Jared has a special bond with his younger namesake. He volunteered to give little Jared a piggyback ride. So here is a picture of the Jareds. I sometimes call them Jared squared. It was a very fun day for the kids and helped fill up the boredom of spring break. Here is a picture of Diana next to what looked like the skeleton of a wholly mammoth. One thing I have to say is that is was one of things that by the end of the day you can barely walk to bed. But usually there is some price for a fun time.

Green Eggs and Ham

Here is one good thing about living in Vegas, people do come to visit. This weekend is the basketball championship tournament for the Mountain West Conference. Yeah, for BYU making it to the finals. This may surprise some, but I am not that big of a basketball fan. Of course since it is BYU, I am rooting for them to win, but it is just not the same as football for me. However, the good news is that my aunt Sally Sue and my cousin Dean came up from Mesa to attend the game. Marion and Jared were on a campout, and Trent spent the night at a friends house, so we had more than enough room. Sally was kind enough to take Diana and I out to IHOP for breakfast this morning. Diana was so excited because she has seen the commercials advertising the Green Eggs and ham and Who cakes. She also got this Who drink, which was sprite with blue and red jello chunks floating in it. Go figure. Here she is preparing to enjoy the festive feast. And here is a close up of her food. It turns out she does not like Green Eggs and Ham, not in a box, not with a fox, not in a house, not with a mouse. But she did thoroughly enjoy the Who cakes. Above is a lovely shot of my aunt and cousin. Thanks Dean, for the wonderful shot of SEE food. Come again any time, and GO COUGS in the championship game this afternoon.

Service Project

Last weekend as part of youth conference we participated in a service project for two families in our ward. They both live on the same street, which made things easy. We pulled all the weeds at one of the houses and helped with some house cleaning at the other. We went to the first house and when the door opened, a little dog came out. She started smelling all of us, and before we could do anything, the dog hiked up its leg and peed on one of the leaders leg. It kind of made the event more memorable, but maybe I can say that, because I was not the one that was peed upon. We have a great bunch of youth and it was good to be able to spend so much time with them last weekend. And the two families in our ward were very grateful for the extra help. It is amazing what many hands can accomplish in such a short time.

My Cello Player

Here is a great picture of Jared with his cello. I love it, especially because it is one of the rare pictures of him with out a funny look on his face. I am proud of him and his hard work to master this instrument. High five, and keep up the sweet music making.

Pat's Ponderings

At institute this morning, the teacher gave us this great quote. I thought I would share it with all of you. It was given by Sis. Marjorie Hinkley:
"It is not intended that our lives should be a succession of confused, wearisome, frustrated days. Rather, it was intended that they should be orderly, fruitful days of true joy. Do not allow yourselves to become trapped or pressured by involving yourselves in too many activities without being sufficiently discriminating. This does not mean, however that you should have nothing in your hands but a broom and a dustpan and nothing in you head but laundry procedures and economical casseroles. Be creative. Reach out and embrace the things this wonderful world has to offer. The danger and challenge is that much of what we do does not have eternal consequences. Much of the time we are running to and fro and spinning our wheels. Choose carefully each day that which you will do and that which you will not do, and the Lord will bless you to accomplish the important things that have eternal consequences."
I suppose that this goes right along with Elder Oaks "Good, Better, Best" talk from last conference. I am glad for the reminder to stop the hamster wheel for a moment and evaluate what it is, that I am letting use up all my energy.

Fun in the water!

For any of you in colder climates, this may be hard to see. Avert your eyes. Diana and our next door neighbor got the trampoline wet today, so they could jump higher. It is not what you would call hot, probably mid seventies, but Diana just had PE at the end of the day. She was very hot from running in the sun. So she was glad to have a little bit of cooling off. Maybe we can get the pool up and running by next week, for spring break.

Super Stalker Strikes Shamelessly

OK, here are the further details that I did not get a chance to post on Saturday. And here is the picture of my autographed football. I am not sure if the picture even does it justice, but Coach Edwards has a great signature. Now I need to get myself a special case to put this football in and never let anyone play with it. Coach Edwards and his wife, both gave wonderful talks about this year's Mutual theme "Be steadfast and immovable". Coach Edwards talked about making the most of what you have been given. He used Ty Detmer as an example of this. Ty did not have the physical attributes of a normal football player, but he had such a great mind for the game that he made up for what he was lacking physically. Several of the kids talked about the talks in their testimonies last night, so I am glad that they enjoyed it as much as me.

Speaking of enjoying it, I am friends with the Bishop in the other ward in our building. He was there watching me "stalk" Coach Edwards. It got back to me that this Bishop told his wife that he thought I might have scared Coach Edwards a little bit. Then he told his wife "I think Sis. Hammond might even be a bigger BYU fan than Coach Edwards, himself." Isn't that hilarious? So, yes, I will now be answering by my new pseudonym, given me by my sister-- "Super Stalker".

Our roadshow did turn out well. I have decided that things like roadshows and girls camp are a lot like giving birth to children. There is often a lot of pain, crying, and screaming involved, but once it is over, you think it was worth it. Oh, and yeah, you don't really want to do it again. The theme for the roadshow was Broadway musicals and Disney. Now this seems to be right up my alley. But we did not make a musical version of Napoleon Dynamite, nor did we do some remake of Fiddler on the Roof. What was decided, before I came into the equation was to do something like Stomp out Loud. We hoped that this would appeal to the boys more than singing and dancing. The final product was called Seminary Stomp, where we made lots of different noises using things found at seminary. I should be getting a copy of the video that someone took, but I don't have it yet. Like I said things went rather well, other than the fact that we never once had everyone at a practice at the same time even once before we performed. And to make things more fun, the three main boys with a drum solo that was half of the show, barely made it there in time. But all in all, the kids had fun, the show was a success, and the best thing that can be said is that it is OVER. Except the RS asked if we would perform at their enrichment on Thursday night and we said, YES. What were we thinking. So we will have to try to get everyone to do it one more time, which of course will never happen. But that is OK, the leaders will fill in for the kids that don't show up. I have decided that trying to get all the youth in one ward, in one room, at the same time, is harder than trying to get ants in a jar with no lid. There, that is more than enough murmuring and nay saying. But I am happy that I don't have three practices to go to, this week.

Best Day Ever

So today all my dreams from this week came true. Yes Coach Edwards did love my book. I showed it to anyone who would look at it, and even some who didn't want to see it. My stake president said that he was a bit worried about me, but he did love my turkey bone picture. How could he not? Coach Edwards gave a great talk and so did his wife. I even got a football signed. I will post pictures of that later. Now I have to get ready for our Roadshow performance tonight, which is the end of the youth conference festivities. I was called to be the assistant director and will be soooo glad when it is over. There is much more I could say about that, but I don't have time right now. Then I even got Coach Edwards to pose in a picture with a bunch of the young women in my ward. Notice me in the very back, standing on my tip toes. I am now off to Sam's club to get some pictures developed from this morning to put on a board for tomorrow.

Too Funny

Check this out, if you need a laugh. I saw it on another blog, thanks Jen.

http://media.putfile.com/Al-Mormons

Fauxhawk

For any of you who are not aware of this new hairstyle-here is a picture of Trent modeling the fauxhawk. I am not sure how it is spelled. It is only recently that I myself was made award of this term. It is interesting because Trent has let his hair get a little bit longer on the top, but has still wanted the edges trimmed up. I think it looks quite nice.

Inconceivable Newsflash

Last weekend, I found out some fabulous, exciting, thrilling, extraordinary, incredible, staggering, astonishing, and amazing news. And I don't even think those adjectives adequately describe the happiness and jubilation I feel about this news. So what could make my heart beat so fast you might ask? It is the announcement that the speaker for this weekend's youth conference will be Lavell Edwards and his wife Patti. For any of you living in a cave, Lavell Edwards is the previous head coach of the BYU cougars. Yes, when I heard the news, I was thrilled beyond belief to the point that jumping up and down was required. Every time I think of it, I am just filled with impatience for this Saturday to get here. And just think of the awesome opportunity for me to improve upon my stalker abilities? Oh, it makes me giddy with anticipation. I have taken all of my pictures and autographs, including the famous turkey "Y" bone and put them into a fun little scrapbook. Do you think Coach Edwards will like my book? And will he be willing to pose with me for a picture? I don't know how I will sleep on Friday night. This is big people. Very big. So just wait until Saturday night, I will have a fun thing to post. Yeah, for wonderful blogging situations.

Bathing Beauties

I have been going through some of my pictures lately. In doing so, I found this shot of me in a bubble bath. It reminded me of the picture below of Diana. Strange how many mother daughter pictures I am finding. And it is interesting that I did not even plan to duplicate a picture of myself. If only I had planned it, I am sure that I could have many more such similar pictures. Curses, think of all the missed opportunities for blogging. How lucky I am to have such a sweet little girl to keep me company. And please don't comment on the fact that Diana is bathing with candy in her mouth. I'm sure that is not a good parenting technique. Perhaps this was taken the day after Halloween. That must explain it.

What's for Dinner?

Here are two new recipes I have tried recently. I give both of them two thumbs up for both taste and ease of preparation. The Chicken Tetrazzini is from my friend Elizabeth and the Chicken Lickin one is from another blog. If you are like me, you are always looking for something new to make for dinner.

Chicken Tetrazzini

1/2 c. Butter
1/2 c. Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 c. Chicken Broth
2 c. Whipping Cream
4 Tbsp. Cooking Sherry
4 Boneless Chicken Breasts,
1 7 oz. package Angel Hair Pasta
1 carton of Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 c. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Melt butter, blend in flour and seasonings, cook over low heat, stir until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and cream, heat to boiling stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute, stir in sherry. Cook and drain pasta. Pour pasta in ungreased casserole dish, then put chicken and sliced mushrooms on top of pasta. Pour white sauce on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Chicken Lickin

-8 chicken legs, thighs or breasts
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground Ginger
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 can (16 oz) whole tomatoes
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Rinse chicken parts and pat dry. In skillet, melt butter and brown chicken quickly on both sides. Place chicken in crock pot. Stir together remaining ingredients except cream and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high 4 to 5 hours. Just before serving, stir in heavy cream. Serve over hot spaghetti.Serves 6 to 8

Classical Humor

This is a funny video. I hestitate to post this because there are several bad words towards the end of it. So just don't watch this with your kids around, until you see where to turn the sound down. Or skip it altogether.

Joke for the Day

A local priest and a pastor were fishing on the side of the road. They thoughtfully made a sign saying, "The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" and showed it to each passing car. One driver who drove by didn't appreciate the sign and shouted at them, "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!"
All of a sudden they heard a big splash, looked at each other, and the priest said to the pastor, "You think maybe we should have just said 'Bridge Out' instead?"