I really liked this talk. I highly recommend it.

Quote from Elder Russel M. Nelson's talk "The Family: The Hope for the Future of Nations" at the World Congress of Families V in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Aug. 12, 2009.

"What would happen to the future of nations if the next generation failed to appear in significant number? The answer is alarming! Yes, we would be poorer economically, but even poorer spiritually. Spiritual concerns are of great importance. Spiritually, we need children as much as they need us. They are our spiritual wealth. Children teach us the joy of building goodness that will outlive our own. They teach us the joy of loving someone more than self. That love lifts one to give from the abundance of one's own life to help a child."

A Most Underappreciated Fruit

The last two canning seasons, I have gained a new favorite to add to my repitiore of fruit. It is the plum.



I know very few people who love plums or say that it is their favorite fruit. They are pretty good fresh. But my oh my, everything I have made with the plums (basically fruit leather and jam) has been simply incredible. I think plum jam is the prettiest color. LOVE IT! And it has the most wonderful almost tangy flavor.



I haven't made any fruit leather yet, but last year's leather tasted just amazing, almost like a fruit punch instead of plain old plum. And, again, after being blended together, the dark skin makes the leather the most beautiful red/purple/plum color. I am definitely a fan.

So if you see black plums on sale anywhere, buy a few pounds a try a batch of cooked jam. I highly recommend it.

Three car seats in one sedan....

So, one of the many problems we have faced with the pending arrival of a new bambino is the question of what to do car-wise. The most fun choice is obviously to buy a bigger car. We have researched it down to a Mazda 5. We are fans, especially of the gas mileage. It only seats six but that would have been plenty for us.

However, after a few months, it became painfully apparent that buying a new car was just NOT an option. We tried multiple times to squish our three car seats (one infant and two upright) to fit in the back of our Mitsubishi Galant. Unfortunately, I have the habit of buying big, fat car seats because the look so much safer and more comfortable than skimpy ones. It truly is impossible to fit all three of our car seats in the back seat.

I think in the back of my mind I kept thinking and hoping that somehow, someway we could buy a new car, but in the end I reconciled myself to finding a car seat that would fit. I've seen three car seats in the back of small cars before so I know people do it somehow.


From what I've learned, the Radian or Sunshine Kids Radian Car seat is one of, if not, the skinniest car seat out there.





And it is specifically most skinny at the base, where it really needs to be. It is pricey because it boasts to be extremely safe with a steel frame and other extra safe features. But, by far it is cheaper than buying a new car. It is a convertible car seat so it can be rear or forward facing. We added some little pillow attachments to the straps to help Lulu sleep without her head flopping over into uncomfortable looking positions. So now, with a Cosco upright car seat, a Graco Safe Seat infant car seat, and the Radian car seat, we can fit all three (barely) into the back of our car.

Lets just hope that our current kids will not torture the baby since they will be able to reach him so easily. They will grow up close in age and car proximity.

Thrifty Moms

Why do I find this article hilarious? I don't know. Maybe it's because I know a lot of women who have caught the coupon clipping, gotta be uber frugal bug and I just can't seem to get on the band wagon. Because of that, I feel maybe a little lazy and also look at these women and think "Where do they find the energy and motivation to work so hard for saving pennies?" This article took the saving bug to a new level of craziness. I'm sure this lady, who is pretty much my age and I'm sure is a homemaker, didn't think that what she was doing was illegal at all but instead was listening to the little voice inside her saying "Gotta get more coupons, find more deals, save more pennies, argh!..."

OREM -- An Orem woman has been cited after going too far to get grocery store coupons.

Police were called to approximately 300 West and 100 South in Orem after a woman was seen going through various mailboxes.

A witness wrote down the woman's license plate and called police. Officers tracked it to a 28-year-old.

At her home, police say they found she had a large stack of ads and coupons along with mail from various locations.

The woman told police she was after the Albertsons double coupon ads.

She was cited for theft.

Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

Although we are surrounded by temples here along the Wasatch Front, it still was such a wonderful experience to go to the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house and tour that new magnificent structure. The spirit was very strong and I felt so much gratitude for my testimony of the restored gospel and the opportunities I have to be blessed through temples. It is a beautiful building. Afterwards, Baylub kept saying that was so much fun. (his favorite part was the fountain outside)

Watching a video beforehand.

In June We Went to California, and In July We Watched a Parade

A big thanks to Jessie and her family for hosting us in sunny beautiful San Clemente this last June. It was a little week of almost paradise, especially if your paradise includes lots of Rock Band and falling asleep to the sound of the ocean coming in the windows.


Fabulous fun on the boardwalk and beach. Please note Amy does an excellent job of putting on the vibe in her sexy wet suit.









On the lovely San Diego Temple grounds. We inspected the flowers and tried in a hilarious but failed attempt to get a family photo.








One of Lulu's new quirks is to have her foot sticking out of the high chair as she munches.




We had a wonderful fourth of July even though most of our family was out of town. A few of us camped out on the parade route and then we all got up early to watch the hot air balloons. I'm sad we didn't get any pictures of their take off. I love these fourth of July traditions.




Lulu was sporting a lovely festive summer dress complimented by cute pig tails and a huge welt on her forehead and scrapes on her nose, battle wounds from still being a wobbly walker.




The rest of us in our red white and blue. God bless the USA.


The girls watching the fireworks. The boys were either lighting them in the street or, as in Baylub's case, were inside eating chips because they were just too scary.

Lucky Utah

Vanessa Zinke is coming to Utah in August to do some photo shoots for anyone with an extra buck who wants a quality photographer. She really is the real deal. She is the type of creative person that makes great art look easy. Quality stuff people.




Click on the logo to got her website and see her work and get more info.