I love Jane Austen! And I was pretty dead on with who I most identified with. I figured I was eather a Lizzy, or an Elinor. Which one are you?

You Are...Elinor Dashwood!
You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Take the Quiz here!

The Last Week's Recap

Matt and I attended our ward temple night last Friday....It was a session for just our ward. The workers, everyone, was from our ward. We had about 50 people in the session, plus another 10 or so doing sealings. I have never been in session with so many people, where I knew absolutely EVERYONE. What an awesome experience!

Our little princess in her Easter Dress wearing rehersal. Days before, we had to try on the dress, and the gloves, and hat, and new shoes (thanks GG) and then of course we had to put on make-up like mommy. We know, we're in so much trouble with this little one. Just look at those eyelashes!

Okay, so here's all of our Easter egg dying pictures. Looks like fun, hu? Chandler prided himself on organizing his eggs by color----

while Morgan only did shades of pink. She also got tired of using the spoon, and started dipping the eggs with her hand. Gabe was in love with his little egg holding bunny, and I just had to laugh the whole time. These kids could have easily dyed 5-6 dozen eggs, instead of only the 2 1/2 that we did. But since Chandler and I are the only ones that like hard boiled eggs, I decided to restrain myself.

Morgan was a lot easier to catch pictures of hunting for eggs. She tended to stick closer to the house, while the boys were off running through the forest. As you can see, we still have snow:(

I was in charge of the cakes for our RS Birthday Dinner. We did the parable of the 10 Virgins, and we decorated like a wedding. The invitations looked like wedding announcements, we had menus at all the place settings that outlined our mid-eastern themed dinner. It was a wonderful eveing!

This was my favorite cake I made for the Relief Society Birthday Dinner. It turned out pretty good, with scrolled white chocolate on the top.

hoppy easter

A Child's Prayer

Blessings at meal time is always fun at the Stastny house. We've learned we can't say "who wants to bless the food?" because a bar brawl ensues and defeats the purpose. 'cause everyone argues over who's saying the prayer) So tonight, Matt asked Morgan to say the prayer. She starts out mumbling, we couldn't quite understand it, and then...

...Morgan: Jesus Christ,
Daddy: Amen
Morgan: ( looks up in disgust) no Daddy, gotta bless the food!)
Daddy: (says nothing, can't talk, too busy trying not the laugh)
Morgan: Thank you for the outside,
Thank you for mommy. thank you for daddy. thank you for broders. thank you for my tacos. thank you for Bear (our dog). thank you for my fwends. thank you for my house. Please bless wi'll have a nice day. Name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Okay, I've been very well aware that I am turning the big 3-0 for the last, oh, 9 months. But as I'm sitting here watching the Bachelor, (you can't make me feel ashamed!) its really struck me. I'm OLD! The Bachelor, is younger than me. You know, it starts after you get married, when, all of a sudden, the missionaries you once thought were so dreamy, are just a bunch of pimply faced, know-it-all teenagers. Then, the girls you once had in Young Woman's are getting married and having kids, and kids you used to babysit for are going on missions and getting married. Then you get called ma'am at the department store. (you really need to stop that Matt!) I'm wishing I could get everything done from my list so that I can go to bed before 9pm. I need glasses to read the hymn numbers at the front of the chapel. Now, the one man in America who is desperate enough to go on a television show to meet women (he's so old) is younger than me! Ahhhhhh! That's it girls, I've decided...I'm just not going to turn 30 this year. It will be 29 the sequel!

Misc. Pictures

Morgan riding her bike down our street. We love pre-break up season, when the roads are clearing . And today especially was beautiful. The sun was bright, no wind, and the temp hovered right around the 30-34 degree range. Not back for early March. I've definitely seen worse.

This is how I found Morgan the other night when I went to check on her before I went to bed. she was propped up in her princess chair, with a stool next to her so she could have the pillow for her arm, she had thrown toys all over the room, and books were everywhere. I think she literally collapsed from exhaustion.

Morgan riding her bike down to grandma's house today.

The boys decided it was sunny and warm enough one afternoon to play outside without their winter coats. They sled down our hill, they jumped on the trampoline, and had lots of fun with their friends in our neighborhood

I The Boss!

Morgan: Mom, Gabe's not turning off the movie for nigh-nighttime. I told them to, and their not. (keep in mind, its Morgan's bedtime, not the boys.
Mom: And who made you boss?
Morgan: Mommy, you the boss, and I told them to turn off movie, and they no do it!
Mommy: but Morgan, who made you the boss?
Morgan: My, my peoples made me the boss.
(mommy can't talk, has to go in the other room to laugh)
Daddy: Who's boss, Morgan or mommy?
(I hate it when he prompts her!)
Morgan: you the boss daddy
(clearly trying to butter him up for a long story read before bedtime)

Okay, so here's my latest Tag from Emily. Thanks Em. It was fun reading your answers. I hope everyone reads mine with a sence of humor...you'll need it.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6am
2. Diamonds or pearls? both for different reasons.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Penelope, see previous post.
4. What is your favorite TV show(s)? AI, Survivor, Men in Trees, (I like to laugh at the way they portray Alaska)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Dessert Protein Shake (usually banana nut or Cinnamon flavor...SOOOO GOOD!)
6. What is your middle name? Don't have one... another thing I can blame on my parents. LOL
7. What food do you dislike? Peppers...yup, just peppers. Unfortunately, I'm not a very picky eater.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? ?CD? with kids? Seriously? Oh, I think we're listening to the Disney Collection number 5 right now. LOL I'm still reeling from the possibility of buying a CD just for my listening pleasures.
9. What kind of car do you drive? KIA Sadona
10. Favorite sandwich? toasted wheat with roast beef and provolone, pickles, lettuce, and olives
11. What characteristic do you dislike? Dishonest and two-faced
12. Favorite item of clothing? my cycling shorts. Matt says they give me a J-Lo butt
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would go? Anyplace tropical. beach, sunny, warm water, can you tell its the end of a cold Alaska Winter?
14. What color is your bathroom? Which one? My master is green, white, and other neutrals, my guest bath is blue and whites with a nautical theme, and the boy's bathroom is blue and white with little goldfish all over. That reminds me, I need to redecorate.
15. Favorite brand of clothing? Old Navy
16. Where would you retire to? Me? Northern Utah, or Idaho. Matt? Here baby, here.
17. What was your most memorable birthday? Probably my 23rd. I cried the whole day before, because I hadn't gone into labor yet, then my husband threw me a party, and I went into labor the next day.
19. Farthest place you are sending this? Arizona
20. What is your best quality? Creative... Physically? my abs...thanks Alina:) (jk of course, I have a ways to go still)
21. When is your birthday? May 15, 1978
22. Are you a morning person or a night person? Used to be a night person, then a morning person, now I'm more of a mid day person.
23. What is your shoe size? 8 to 8 1/2, depending on the shoe.
24. Pets? Black Lab and white cat.
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I just broke in a new pair of running shoes! LOL no, no real news.
26. What did you want to be when you were little? When I was little? Either a mommy or a teacher. When I was in JR High, HS? A Lawyer
27. What are you now? Mother, Wife, taxi driver, judge and jury, head chef, trauma nurse, librarian, dry cleaner, math teacher, English teacher, chemist, artist, accountant, and CEO. (well, co- on a few of those maybe.:)
28. What is your favorite candy? Recently, its Recess Peanut butter cups.
29. What is your favorite flower? Daffodils
30. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? The day my family gets to go on a real vacation. (live in Alaska, remember...flying is expensive.) I envy all you "lower 48"ers who can just get in a car and drive a couple of hours to a theme park or beach!

HEART AND SOUL...

...I fell in love with you! Matt and I sat down last night to practice a song that we'll be singing for my RS Birthday Dinner. We were composing new parts for Matt. (he hates unison) Afterwards, we just started fooling around, playing heart and soul, and improvising with with fun songs. I loved it. We used to play the piano together more, and I have missed it lately. Thanks hun, for a fun evening, of music, and much needed laughter at the end of a crazy day. Wait, I just realised he got out of doing his push-ups and crunches...I think I've been duped!

Penelope

We recently had a girls night out where we went and saw the movie "Penelope". Loved it! mom, Renae, and I went (with Morgan in tow) and we sent the boys with dad to see "Spiderwick". everybody had fun. And bonus, Dad didn't have to see another chick-flick. And I'm not normally a big James McAvoy fan, but the ending, where he grabs her and kisses her before he knows her nose is gone? Very hot. (sorry mom and Ellen, but it was)

Recent pictures of Miss Morgan

Just a few pictures of Morgan from the last month.



Morgan and "Claykon" are the best of buddies. If they go more than a few days without seeing each other, Morgan is calling Clayton to see how he's doing, and if he wants to come play with her, and get married. (to Morgan, married, is the same as dancing, twirling, and dipping)

Morgan is all girl, and enjoys getting all gussied up. I rarely sit down to do my makeup that she's not right next to me, asking if she can do makeup too. Her favorites, are powder, lipstick, and mascara. She's surprisingly good at this application.

Wednesday was a day filled with lots of back and forthing. It started early, when I had to answer the call of a friend at 6:30am because she had slid into a ditch at the end of my road. We dug, and dug, then decided it was too big a job, and called my HT in for assistance. (Thank you Jeff and Brandy!) Then I took the kids to school, preschool, and I headed over to my mom's for a personal training session. (she refuses to go to the gym because its become quite popular, and very intimidating). So I go over, and make her do all kinds of painful exercises. She loves it though. She's using muscles she never knew she had. When we were done, I headed to the gym for my own workout. Morgan came home, and she had a friend over to play for the afternoon, then we picked the boys up from school. Homework, reading, and back to the gym for mom's Taebo class. Oh, and did I mention that in the middle of all this, Matt slid into the ditch at the end of our driveway, ran out of gas before we got it out, then once it was out, the car wouldn't start again? Yeah, so its been towed, and we just heard today, that the engine is dead, and needs to be replaced. Nice hu? (if your not aware, we have THE worst luck with cars.... I mean, really bad luck...and neither Matt, nor my dad really know a lot about cars. Not that that would help with a broken engine.

Good bye to a dear friend

Thursday, I attended my dear friend's funeral. I worked quite a lot with Jen Van Ausdal to coordinate several stake activities during the last few years. The big one being the communitee choir's presentation of The Messiah. Jenn and I also went to the same gym. In fact, Jenn was my inspiration to join and keep with it for over a year now. She was always such a a bubbly, funloving individual, who, even after a bad day personally, had nothing but smiles, and positive things to say. Jenn was in a car accident Saturday night, and passed away Sunday morning after being life lined to Anchorage. They did everything, but there was too much head trama, and she never came out of the coma. Her two boys Tim and Zach were with her. Tim sustained a tearing of his bowel, and had to have part of it removed. Their father, Dennis, believes that Tim was actually choking before the crash and that Jenn was trying to help him, and this is why Jenn crossed the line into oncoming traffic. The paramedics were able to remove the obstruction and save Tim. Zach's injuries were more severe. He broke his leg, and fractured his scull, so swelling of the brain has been a great concern. But we are very encouraged by his progress. He has woken up several times, and can write yes and no to answers. Our prayers are with this family, and the long struggle they have ahead of them.

What a Week!

We end the week with a hair cut for the boys. This is where we insert the phrase, "you might be a redneck if..." Let me back up. I HATE giving the boys haircuts. I have now been banned from giving Matt haircuts...he has to call madam Laurie for appointments lately (my mom). I'm also too cheep to pay that much money for little boys to have their hair cut. Especially my boys, who are like their father, and their hair grows out faster than anything I've ever seen. So, I decided that the boys were way too shaggy for church this Sunday. It started out well. I handed the clippers to Chandler for a second, while I moved some towels, and that was enough time for him to remove the comb, and run a stripe down the middle of his head.

me: Well, Chandler, I guess your going bald now.

Chandler: really? can I do it?

me: I guess you can't get anymore bald than you already are, so sure! Have a ball.

Chandler: Wicked cool! (yes, he actually said wicked)

me: Did you just say wicked cool?

Chandler: Ya, this it totally awesome!

no, I have not been letting him watch Wayne's World, Bill and Ted's, or any other dumb 80's movie. The sweet thing, is when it came time for Gabe to get his haircut, he wanted to be just like Chandler, so Chandler wouldn't be bald by himself.