abandoned cereal

Ryanna left her cereal on the table this morning and Carter found it. I kept hearing this "MMMMMMMM!!!" coming from the kitchen. Not realizing what he was getting into, I walked around the corner and this is the sight I beheld. Now I have a gigantic mess to clean up!

sing to me kevin

If the Book of Mormon were in 'People Magazine' form, I'd be a scholar. I know it doesn't matter, but I would have loved seeing the pictures of the gowns worn by the daughters of Ishmael when they were taken "to wife" by Zoram and the sons of Lehi.

Not sure why....but I like knowing useless pieces of information about celebrities. They live on other planets and can be out of touch with reality, but I still follow them. I don't care about the dippy, bratty ones, but rather the respected ones. I enjoy knowing about the couples that have stayed together and fought for their marriages and families. I also appreciate the ones that are highly talented.




I'm one of those dorks that first research a movie before I watch it, just to learn the "behind the scenes" info. For example, one of my favorites is Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown that met and filmed "The Thornbirds" back in 1982-1983 and have been married since. Another is Rhea Perlman and Danny Devito--they've been married since 1982 and have had successful careers and a family. These are just a couple.

I've always been impressed with Henry Winkler. He's got to be one of my most favorite people in Hollywood. He married his wife in 1978 and has stayed together with her, He has a master's degree from Yale and is highly involved with children's charities. (often behind the scenes and unaccredited) I love how he doesn't do it as publicity stunts. He's amazing. I love any movie he is in or apart of.

I also enjoy watching and listening to musical performances.

We even bought Kevin Costner's first album and gave it to my mom for her birthday.

I enjoy listening to Steve Martin play the banjo.

I love Kevin Spacey's voice! It's heaven!! Now HE'S an amazing guy. The music you're listening to right now is his, actually. Enjoy.



I've ranted about my favorites. Who are YOURS?

coconut-scented torture time

I started to fill up the bathtub and reached for the big cup. (to wash hair, rinse off sudsy toys, etc.) He knows what the big cup is for and he stopped playing long enough to give me this look. I was in giggles when I snapped it.

He certainly was not happy with me as I washed him with our coconut scented shampoo!

He was happier after the torture was over, and proceeded to wrestle with the big duckie.

He's so sweet, look at that sweet face! No wonder I can't get enough of him!

sweet superhero

Even Supers need help from time to time.

beautiful nesosilicates

Guess what we did over the weekend?

Here's a couple hints...

*It has crystal structure of X3Y2(SiO4)3

*It is only found in IDAHO and INDIA

*It is Idaho's Gemstone

As you probably guessed, it's the

STAR GARNET!

It's given this name because these almandite garnets are translucent, purplish-red stones that show four or six-ray stars when cabochon cut. The above picture of our garnets haven't been polished yet. We are researching how to get them so.



It was amazing! I didn't freak out ONCE that my kids were filthier than I have ever seen them! It was fun to get down and get dirty. I'm also thrilled that nothing got stained, all of the clothes came out of the washer clean. (okay, I had to wash them TWICE)

So glad that we were able to go up to Emerald Creek with the Smith Family! Here's how to have success when you go Garnet Mining:

1) Get your dirt and start sifting through it.







2) In order to get familiar with the dirt and clay, you MUST make sandcastles, lay down on the sand or simply eat it.







3) After you have gathered a bucketful of rocks, you clean them off in the trough. I use CLEAN loosely, as you see the water was pure and clean. (not!)

She's got a big rock!

It was a fun day!

They're really quite remarkable. I have done some research on garnets and have found them to be fascinating! I think I may have a new favorite gemstone.