Saturday Happenings:

:::::::::::::A Nice Walk and Talk::::::

Michael and I took a 4 mile walk to the park, around, and home again. It was nice to talk and watch the bird fly around.

:::::::::::::Cuban Food::::::::::::::::
For lunch we took Aaron to our favorite Cuban restaurant called, "Little Cuba". Aaron and I had the Pan Con Bistek Pallomilla (steak sandwich) and I added the black beans and yellow rice. Michael ordered the vaca frita. Yummy stuff!


:::::::::::::More Lawn Mowing::::::::::

Aaron mowed Granny and Granpa's yard, today. He is keeping track of the finances to help earn his Personal Management Merit Badge for scouts.

:::::::::::::Alice In Wonderland:::::::

Noah and Eve decided they wanted to go to the play today, as well. Rachel's Girl Scout troop got front row seats, and one of the girls sat by Eve and was really sweet to her the entire night. Noah was squirmy, but liked the play. One of the girls from his class played a hedgehog for one of the scenes and he was so proud of her. Eve was excited to see her friend, Jayla, from preschool. They hugged before the play, at intermission and at the end of the performance. Cute stuff.


:::::::::::::::::::::Dawn Inskip C.T.::::::

I'm a Mercurial Girl:


Take care!

Rain or Shine

I must give props where props are due. My husband is often asked to critique my layouts, which is brave, indeed. I know I ask, but that can be a slippery slope for a husband caught unawares. Luckily, Michael set ground rules for offering his, constructive, critism. Yesterday, I asked him a few times what he thought. His observations were very helpful. He also helped me use the smudge tool to get the reflections in the water the way I wanted. Just add this to the list of reasons he is "The Best Wife I Ever Had"!


<sub>My daughter, Rachel, playing in the huge puddles after a brief rainstorm at Niagara Falls.


Brand new kit by Dawn Inskip "WEATHER STATION" available in the following stores Friday, April 18th.

Also her Type Cast Alpha, and Midnight Clear alpha,

NDISB http://www.ndisb.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=58

Treasures to Scrap http://digistore.treasurestoscrap.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=20

ScrapScandiStyle http://shop.scrapscandistyle.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=43

also: Kate Hadfield: Skinny and Tall alpha,
with Tiff Brady: Wordy Bits Basics, Vacation Wordy Bits,</sub>

::::::::::::::::::Book Club:::::::::::

I was invited by my friend, Kim, to join the book club with some ladies in our ward. We discussed the book Austenland by Shannon Hale. This was my first meeting and I was told this was considered very light reading from some of their past works. I, thoroughly, enjoyed this book and we had a lively discussion with prompts prepared, by Kim, on slips of paper. There were 12 of us and everyone got a chance to comment. There was a range of liked a lot to didn't like and it was fun to hear everyones' take on the book. At one point I got a moment to defend Mr. Darcy's character. That was fun...do you think Jane Austen we be smiling? They are a great bunch and I look forward to our next book and meeting!

:::::::::::::::::Introduction to Lawn Mowing:::::::

Grandpa Jim picked Aaron up, yesterday, to take him to mow the lawn of one of our friends. She plans to pay Aaron sometimes and other times he will use the lawn mowing as service hours for Scouts. Grandpa Jim showed him how the mower worked and how to be safe, then how to make even rows. Michael showed up to pick Aaron up and gave him pointers, as needed. Aaron did a great job from Grandpa's report. Unfortunately, the cold he has is kicking his, proverbial, rear end and he felt yucky when he got home and he skipped bowling league today. He asked to get a reading assignment so he could lay down. He is upstairs reading a kid's version of Julius Ceasar. Since we have watched the BBC version he should follow the play without a problem. I hope he gets well soon. He has to take the CRCT, starting Monday.

:::::::::::::::::Looking Forward To::::::

"Alice in Wonderland" this weekend put on by the local high school. Rachel and I are going with her Girl Scout troop. Fun girls, so I'm looking forward to the performance.

Take care!

Miscellanous Stuff and Things

:::::::::::::::Enchanting "Enchanted"::::::::


We skipped all of the "Black Friday" frenzy and went to the 11:50am showing of "Enchanted". The story was fun and the little running gags were great. I loved that Giselle would always make her new clothes from the drapes or sheets and she would leave the remnants in place. The animation of the chipmunk, Pip, was hilarious. James Marsden was delightful in his handsome, vacuous way. Patrick Dempsey did a great job as a nice guy and father who is disenchanted with the idea of true love. This is an all-around fun film. I recommend it to all ages!

:::::::::::::::Just Thought This Was Cool::::::

Statue of Liberty created by troops.

To check out some other amazing people pictures check out Carl Hammer's gallery.

:::::::::::::::::Camping:::::::::::

Michael and Aaron went camping right after the movie "Enchanted" was over. They were invited to celebrate our nephew, Gabriel's birthday. Gabriel wanted to celebrate by fishing and hanging out with the guys in the family.


:::::::::::::::::Inherit The Wind

I finished the play "Inherit The Wind" by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The letter that introduces the play by the writers states, "Inherit the Wind is not history.
...Only a handful of phrases have been taken from the actual transcript of the famous Scopes Trial." The play was easy to follow and several interesting lines.

Act 2, Scene 1, The prosecuting and defense attorney, (who are past acquaintances and former friends)discuss the current rift between them as friends:

Brady: "I was always glad for your support. What happened between us? There used to be a mutuality of understanding and admiration. Why is it, my old friend, that you have moved so far away from me?"

Drummond: "All motion is relative. Perhaps it is you who have moved away-- by standing still.

Act 2, Scene 2

Drummond: "It frightens me to imagine the state of learning in the world if everyone had your driving curiosity."

Act 2, Scene 2

Drummond: "...Gentlemen, progress has never been a bargain. You've got to pay for it. Sometimes I think there's a man behind a counter who says, 'All right, you can have a telephone; but you'll have to give up privacy, the charm of distance. Madam, you may vote; but at a price; you lose the right to retreat behind a powder-puff or a petticoat. Mister, you may conquer the air; but the birds will lose their wonder, and the clouds will smell of gasoline!'..."

Act 3, Scene 1

In an exchange with the reporter, Hornbeck, after the trial Bertram Cates and the death of Brady:

Hornbeck: : "I charge you with contempt of conscience! Self-perjury. Kindness aforethought. Sentimentality in the first degree."

Drummond: "Why? Because I refuse to erase a man's lifetime? I tell you Brady had the same right as Cates: the right to be wrong!"

The entire book deals with the concepts of being able to look at information from all sources so that you can form an opinion. Darwin is vilified by the most of the town viewing his theories as taking God out of the picture. The play ends with the defense lawyer, Drummond, taking the "evidence" in the trail, which was the Bible and a copy of Darwin's book, picking the two up and weighing them up. Then, he shrugs and puts them both together in his briefcase and walks out of the courtroom.

I enjoyed reading the book and realize that many people are very uncomfortable, if not, downright angry when the discussion of Darwin comes up. What ever side you find yourself I think this play is a good food for thought.

:::::::::::::::::::Photos from the Past Week:::::

Aaron reading to Eve's Pre-School Class (He is now on the permanent visiting reader list):


Noah as Villager #8 in "Stone Soup":


Eve as one of the "First People":


::::::::::::Baklava:::::::


I hope your weekend is Enchanted!

Smiles!

Celebration Time is Here! Weekend...

If the day doesn't bring you a rainbow see if you can find a six-year old to create one for you.



_{Background paper from Canvas of Color by Gina Miller, Glitter Scalloped edge by Gina Miller, Rainbow Felt by Tiff Brady, Green arrow doodle from Dear Diary by Erica Hite, Nessa Alpha by Erica Hite, Doodle Frame with green by Kate Hadfield, Doodle Frame from Chalked Full of Fun by Lisa Whitney, Say It journaling blocks by Dani Mogstad, Font: Jane Austen/ Sketchy}

This is the last of Noah's Mother's Day Art Collection.

::::::::::::::::::So, What Happened to the Chicken? ::::::::



_{Chicken is from Happy Easter by Studio Sausan at Scrapbookgraphics}


This infamous question is asked by Michael before family reading time. The question is always directed at Noah who has biblionarcolepsy (falls asleep when a book is being read to him). Noah hasn't fallen for it yet. I filled him in on the last two chapters he missed in our current book, The Sisters Grimm, The Fairy Tale Detectives, because he had fallen asleep and the others begged to forge ahead without him. Noah was actually awake last night and working on his current Bionicle creation, when Michael asked one of his silly chicken questions. Noah rolled his eyes and said "There was no chicken!" The older kids are beginning to add an entire sub plot to the story about this chicken. There is something really great about families and their inside jokes.

:::::::::::::::Inventor Day::::::::

Aaron and I watched shows on Inventors as a part of our day. We learned about: Leonardo Da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, James Watt, Louis Pasteur, The Wright Brothers and Eli Whitney. Aaron was fascinated that all of these men were proficient at things at his age. I wonder if that message will sink in?


::::::::::::::Acting Debut:::::::::

Noah is a swordfish guard in his first grade production of "Go Fish". He has one line and he is sooooo excited.

::::::::::::::Vacation Plans:::::::

There are so many things to see on our route to Niagara Falls. Our planned detours should be a lot of fun. We are using Frommer's Guide and Fodor's to get the information about local spots and suggestions from ladies at Digishoptalk. When we stop in New York City I considered finding the kids an inexpensive Broadway show and Blue Man Group: Tubes looked really cool, but the ticket prices I found were $78.00 each. I wonder if they come cheaper than that? The guide gives approximate hotdog stand and pizza by the slice prices that seem reasonable. The ladies at Digishoptalk said we need to go to Serendipity's for a Frozen Hot Chocolate. I looked it up and boy that place made me gain five pounds from reading the menu.
Our current goal is finding a good value motel that we can park our car, grab a shower and easy access to Manhattan.
I'm enjoying reading about the myriad of sites going North. I hope we can structure our itinerary enough that when we want to be spontaneous we can. (This really does make sense!)

Smiles!

Spamalot.....T'was Such A...

SILLY PLACE!

A big shout out to my sister-in-law, Missy, for getting me tickets to Spamalot. My mother and Jim were super fabulous for watching the kids for us. Grandpa Jim even took Noah to the pool party for one of his classmates. Since there was a Perfect Storm of activites brewing in downtown Atlanta Michael and I took MARTA to the North Avenue station, which drops you very close to the Fox Theatre where the performance was showing. The wind whipped through the buildings and I was sporting a mild sinus headache, but by the time we took our seats the Aleve Michael gave me had kicked in and I felt great. Michael and I were joking that the crowd drawn to Spamalot would be equally comfortable at DragonCon, which draws all the sci-fi geeks. We are happy in or geekdom, and the crowd was fun.


_{Weird and Wonderful by Maya, Background paper from Janel Kretshman's Alexander Kit, Doodle Border by Sande Krieger}

The Lady of the Lake really stole the show with some hilarious songs and her great delivery. There was enough new material that you didn't know everything that was coming, which was great. The Black Knight scene where he gets his arms and legs cut off is great, and I laughed the hardest at the section with Herbert's father telling the guards to keep Herbert in his room and for the orchestra to stop playing.

The pace of the play was bright and quick with a 15 minute intermission between the acts. The play lasted about 2 hours, which was perfect. They also involved an audience member by hiding "The Grail" under her chair. The play was fantastic and a great day out with my sweetheart!


_{Stitches from Joined at the Hip by Tia Bennett, Doodle Arrows, Doodle Hardware, Doodle Alpha, Doodle flowers and Doodle Frames by Kate Hadfield, Cardboard Overlay by Linda Gil Bildal, Doodle Border by Sande Krieger, background paper from Alexander kit by Janel Kretshman,Frame by Rhonna Farrer, Font: Pea Stacy Doodle Script, Marcelle Script, door keeper 41}
Text: Evey got very chilly on our campout at Cloudland Canyon. She spent her time eating Nilla Wafers, sitting in mom's lap and pretending to be a scary animal that growls a lot. Luckily, she kept her hat on during the day and night to help keep in her body heat.

What Lola Wants...

Lola gets! Is that a familiar song to anyone? I remember hearing it every once in awhile. It is the very seductive and sultry song from "Damn Yankees". Here is the synopsis on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_Yankees .
My mother was generous enough to invite me to attend the play along with her neighbor, Melinda, and some friends from work, the Burns and the Coopers, and two other friends, Suzanne and Stephanie. We went during dinner theatre and enjoyed eating spaghetti and chatting.
The cast and crew that preformed this most recent rendition of this play are from Holy Cross Catholic Church in Tucker, Georgia. This amateur group of thespians is professional in every way! Their director does an amazing job with every show. They call their group "Miracle Productions" and their goal is to raise many for Friends of Saint Martin de Porres. The money raised goes to feeding the poor.


:::::::::::::Earlier::::::::::::::

in the afternoon I was surprised to see my childhood friend Althea's car in my parents' driveway. She was returning the trailer she had borrowed from Jim. Happily, she stayed for a few more hours and we caught up on her most recent flight to Rome, Italy. Her next possible flight would be to South Africa. She really enjoys her job with Delta. We discussed old friends and new things going on in her life. We also discussed home renovations. She has been working on her home for a few years and we discussed Hardiplank as an option for the siding she wants to replace. She laughed when I told her we used Universal Khaki for the exterior because that is a color she picked for her interior hall. If you ever have Althea as your flight attendant you will feel very safe, because she is efficent, caring, and doesn't let anyone mess with her, or anyone else.

::::::::::::Benefits of Service::::::

Sister Patterson, one of our ward missionaries, called with a request at the first part of the week. One of the ladies in our ward was unable to pick up her children from pre school due to her husband's car breaking down. At first I hesitated because Aaron gets off track with his assignments when I have to run an errand, so I keep those to a minimum. Aaron was listening to the conversation and was quick to insist I go and help her and he would watch Eve. I agreed to go get this sister. Eve wanted to go, but I needed her car seat to help carry the children.
A few moments after I pulled up in front of the apartment this sister came out bringing car seats for the different children. I got out of the car and told her she could use mine and avoid having to take an additional seat. Her youngest daughter came out and stood in front of me and smiled. I put my arms out in an effort to see if she would come to me. She immediately put her arms in reciprocation and came right into my arms. If you have had a hug like this you know it is so sincere, trusting and moves you to the soul in its sweetness. We were instant pals. Her mother was very appreciative for the ride and we had a wonderful conversation on the way to the pre school, then she went in to pick up her children and their little cousin. When they came out her daughter remembered me from primary and realized I was Evey's mommy. She spoke to me as she got in the car and when we unloaded at her house. The most heart warming part of this to me was Janis speaking to me like someone she knew and liked. I have been trying to get Janis to talk to me since she and Eve were in the Nursery together 2 years ago. I smiled all the way home realizing she knew I really liked her and we were friends. Her mom is a sweet heart, too!

:::::::::Going off to photograph the house......