Dang Quesadilla

Did you ever watch, "Napolean Dynamite"?

It is a very funny flick that is funnier to talk about than to actually sit down and watch, but little things remind me of the show all the time.

The other day (Christmas), we had Breakfast Quesadillas, I mean the kids got them in their stocking (long story short -- our one Christmas-day tradition is to get breakfast in the stocking; this is a compromise between the two parental figures int he home).  Laster that day, my daughter came up to me and told me how much she loved that "Quadilla" and she definitely said the /l/ sound. It made me smile and remember Napolean. It also reminded me of my dear family relation who still pronounces tortilla like this -- tor-till--uh.

Ours didn't look quite like this - remember, it had to fit in a stocking (luckily Santa's elves know about the refrigerator and can sneak it in the stocking in a nick of time Christmas Morning)

I love dear family relations.

I also love funny things that make me smile even days later, when remembering them.

I've Got All the Numbers

Games

One day my girls pulled out Bingo and began playing. I was working in the kitchen but could hear their chatter.

They were playing contentedly (the boy didn't join till picture-time) when my older daughter excitedly claimed she was doing so well. She went on to say that she was "getting every single number" on her card. It turns out that the younger sister was playing at a great disadvantage because the older sister was actually playing with the master card (which their brother so kindly pointed out when he sat down).

It made me smile. First, I adore when my children play well together and have fun. Can't it always be like this?

Second, memories of game-playing flooded back to me of times when my mom would cheat "just a little" in Pounce (I think that was what the game was called - where you play with a whole bunch of decks of cards and you try to go through your pile the fastest).

Of course I remembered playing Rook with my cousins and Nathan that put five "naked" 14s in the kitty. Ha ha ha, what a memory. We were all playing and those of use in the younger generation really trying to prove our mettle or spot by playing "well" with the Uncles. When Nathan took the bid, he must have decided to put all of his best cards in the kitty, which really messed the game up. I really don't think he'll ever live down those "naked 14s". It was all done in innocence, which is the best part of the memory.

Everything!

As I did my little girl's hair this morning, I told her, "I'm glad I'm your mom".

She then went on to tell me the following:

"Well Mom, kids do everything. We do the dishes, we do our music, we make beds. Everything."



This is one of those outfits my girls will look back on with nostalgia. She wears this just about every day. She's worn it four of the past five. Yes, it is dirty. I need to sneak it into the wash. Oh, yes -- I do the laundry, that is something I do.

Get Well Soon

This is a good "smile" for Sunday.

Last week, my church had stake conference. Fortunately, my family sat in the very front :-). We got there about fifteen minutes before the start and my son marched right up to the front of the chapel and found half of a row open. So, we got to sit on "soft" seats for two hours.

Our stake president was unable to participate or attend because of illness. Afterward, when my daughter expressed concern, I suggested she write a card for him. I didn't think she would remember, but sure enough that was the first thing she wanted to do the next morning.

Here she is writing a card with her sister:

Again:

I snuck a look before sealing the envelope. I thought it was the sweetest card ever.

I marked out my daughter's names
 

Merry-Go-Round

I really love a carousel. I always have been drawn to them. My favorite is one up in Victoria, B.C. Canada -- Butchart Gardens. The creatures were beautiful:

One year we were in Idaho at a fun splash park and my daughter was drawn to the carousel like a magnet. I kept finding her, having wandered back over there - standing in line.

Tonight, we got to ride on a carousel in our city, celebrating our centennial year -- pretty cool eh? It was even free of charge. My "laugh" of the day was when I turned around to look at my seven year old on her horse. She was acting as though the horse were real and bucking her a little bit, she kept kicking at it with the "stirrups" -- it all looked so awkward and funny. She has such a cute little sly smile. I love that innocence of playing "pretend" but not really wanting anyone to see you pretending.

I played pretend till I was in 8th grade. I remember thinking, "How could anyone ever give this up?"