Dirt Cake

What is there not to love about dirt cake? This could quite possibly be one of my all time favorite desserts. Well that and better-than-sex-cake, I mean Four Layer Dessert. I needed to thank my Primary President for covering for me when I got sick on Sunday and so I decided to make dirt cake. I made it the fun way, in a beach pail with lots of gummy worms. I even added a plastic snake to the mix. They were sweet enough to invite us over for dinner and we brought dessert. I did have an extra pail and so I filled it will fun gadgets for the kids. It had squirt guns, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk. I needed an extra bucket for it's awesome shovel. This shovel was later put in the dirt cake. It was such a fun night and I enjoyed getting to know them better. I had forgotten what having kids around was like and it was a nice reminder. Marc got used as a personal jungle gym and was definitely ready for bed when we got home. We did get them riled up enough that they ended up in bed early and I felt super guilty about that. I am looking forward to our next adventure with them and the next time I make dirt cake :) Hopefully this time they will not end up in bed early.

Taylor’s Baptism

Being a grown-up with a grown-up job doesn’t always have its perks. One of those perks that I missed out on this year was the trip to Jerusalem. I was supposed to go with my parents and Mikkel but due to the new job, I couldn’t make it. I do plan to go this winter but that is still a little ways off. One thing that I am saddest about missing though was Taylor’s baptism. Melissa’s kids have been adopted as my own and I was sad that I couldn’t be there in person. Thankfully I was able to send over his baptism box and still be “there” through my letter to him. I am so proud of Taylor and his decision to be baptized. I am also so thankful for technology and the fact that I was able to see pictures and read about the events that happened through email. I love you buddy boy!

Copy Cat

I am not sure I have a creative bone in my body. I am able to copy people but I can’t come up with an original idea by myself. So this is the latest thing that I have copied. I decided that we needed to go meet some new neighbors and have an excuse to swing by some of our new friends. These are our brownie mice and cookie flowers that I copied from Melissa. Thanks Melis!











Not all of them were super cute:


Some even lost their eyeballs...


And some had very squished faces...

Kiara Getting Lost

The same night that we had the cats fixed it was really hot in the house. We needed to open some windows and doors and we had finally opened the sliding glass door in the bedroom, with the screen door shut. I had called home to check on the cats and Marc said they were both doing good and that Kiara was sleeping behind the futon and had been there all day. I came home to check on them both and quickly found that I couldn’t find Kiara. She wasn’t anywhere in the house and I began to panic that she had made it out the screen door because it doesn’t sit quite right. Marc went around and talked to neighbors and I searched and searched and searched the house. We were extra concerned because Kiara wasn’t even able to walk properly after the surgery and would fall over after every few steps. On top of that she was declawed and it was quickly getting dark. After five hours Kiara showed back up and we still have no idea where she was. We were just so grateful that she was home and safe.

Neuter/Spay

One of the reasons that we took Carmel in was because we wanted to have kittens. Kiara has been such a special part in our lives and we wanted to be able to raise her kittens. But Carmel and Kiara still weren’t getting along after a long time and I worried about Kiara having kittens because of the placement of her hips and so we decided that we would take everyone’s advice and have the cats fixed. We had heard that getting Carmel neutered would help mellow him out and allow the cats a better chance at getting along. We made the appointment and I have decided that I hate vet offices. I hate leaving my animals there and it really can’t be any fun for them either. Both cats came out of the surgery okay and by the next day you couldn’t even tell that Carmel had had any work done on him. Kiara it took a lot longer to heal and she was sore for quite a few days after. She still has her tummy shaved and slowly but surely the hair is growing back. Here is a picture of us hanging out after the surgery and her stomach all shaved.

Random? I think not.....

Today, work was filled with "random coincidences" that I just can't believe were that way. I was having a rough day and I kept dealing with crab buckets who were upset about silly computers or other such nonsense. By the time 3:00 came around, I was ready to go home but sadly I still had a few hours left. Then the perfect family came in the door. No, they weren't literally perfect, but they were perfect for me in that moment. They were cheerful and friendly and it was contagious. By the time their visit was over I couldn't remember why I was having a bad day in the first place and the time flew by. As the family was leaving they commented "that this was the BEST trip the Library EVER!" Hearing that comment totally made my day and I wish that I could have expressed to them that it was the best trip to the Library for me too. I hope that I can be that beacon of hope and happiness for someone else in the future as this family was for me. It was definitely needed and appreciated in that moment! Not only that but I learned about the local community theater and being able to participate in one has been my dream forever. So who knows, maybe I will be lucky enough to be part of a future production! Lights, camera, action....

Gum

I am one of those people who absolutely hates when I get gum stuck on the bottom of my shoes. I think it is disgusting and so lazy of the person who left it there in the first place. I didn't think that I would ever find a more disgusting place for someone to leave gum, minus under desks and such, until someone left this little present on my car and yes that is gum. Marc was such a sweetheart and got rid of it for me. What kind of a person leaves gum on someone else's car!!!

I'm Stuck!!

Kiara loves to climb and explore new places. One day she fell in this whole behind the entertainment center and was really struggling to get out. I went to go help her but I wanted to take a picture so that I could show Marc. I also wanted to let her get herself out in case she ever got stuck in there while we were at work or something. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Flowers

There was a week this last month that Marc and I were really struggling and it just seemed like we weren't clicking like we normally do. Both of us, without the other one knowing, decided that one night we were going to do something extra special for the other person. I made Marc's favorite meal and surprised him with a yummy oreo pie and Marc brought home these gorgeous flowers for me. I absolutely love them and was so grateful for them. After we had thought about the other one and gone above and beyond for them we magically started clicking again. I love how that works!

Final Pictures of the Wall

Here is the final product of our living room wall. I absolutely love it and am so grateful that Marc and I got to work on it together. Our first project was a success and I love how it has made it our home that much more. I have officially decided it is the little things that make all of the difference.

Financial Aid Nightmare

I have decided that the worst things about schooling is dealing with the Financial Aid office. Don’t get me wrong I am so grateful for the financial assistance but the whole process can be a little bit of a nightmare. This year it was even more of a nightmare because I was selected to be one of the lucky 30% of students that has to send in extra paperwork before our things can even be processed. So this year I had to try to find our W2s and 1040 and all sorts of fun paperwork. Thankfully I have the most amazing accountant in the world who happened to have those on file for me otherwise, it would have been a real nightmare. All the paperwork has finally been turned in now and hopefully it will be processed soon. And we are really hoping that we won’t have to deal with the office again until we are in a graduate program!

Learning to Crochet

So after my mother tried to teach me in Young Womens for years how to crochet… I am finally ready to learn. She taught me some simple stitches this last weekend and I have spent this last week crocheting every chance I got. It is has been so much fun and my hands have never hurt more. I am so grateful to have such a talented Mom who can teach me such things at a moment’s notice. I will have to keep everyone updated when I finally am able to finish the current project but keep in mind that realistically that is months away from being finished!

Campout

When we lived in Tempe Marc and I decided that we wanted to go camping but we didn’t have the time available to take off from work nor did we have the means to make ends meet if we did that and so we came up with the brilliant idea of camping in our living room. We tried to set up a tent but any tent was bigger than our living room and so we made a fort out of blankets and pillows and chairs, just like a nine-year-old would. Well I can now announce that the second annual Marc Dennis family campout has officially begun once again and this year we do have a tent. We have enjoyed “camping” in our living room and being able to watch TV while in our tent and play our new Wii while in our tent. We try to eat camping type food and such things as well. It has been so much fun and I definitely hope this is a tradition that we continue on in the future.

Father's Day

I wanted to make sure that I was home this Father’s Day, especially since it would be the last time I would get to see my family before their big trip. It was such an awesome weekend filled with hiking and talking and walking and just hanging out. I love hiking with my family and as we have all aged it has become more fun. We walked and took pictures and visited and just enjoyed each other’s company. I got to see what a communal metat would have looked like and saw a real life cowboy. We got to teach Mikkel what a rattlesnake looked like after a cowboy so graciously shot it up for us and that was an eye opening experience. I hadn’t ever seen a rattlesnake in person and I am not sure I ever want to again. But it was an awesome trip.

The whole weekend was very relaxed and easy going and yet we did so much. I love going home to visit my family and I am so grateful that we live as close to them as we do. I am so grateful for such a wonderful Father and am grateful that I got to spend that time with him. Words cannot describe what that man means to me or how much he means to me and so I won’t even try to come up with them. Dad, just know that I love you so much and you will always be my hero and I don’t know what I would do without you! You always have the greatest advice and wisdom to share and I always treasure the things that you have taught me. Happy Father’s Day!!!