25 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME

This is a tag from Facebook, and since I had to write it I thought I would blog it too.

1. I love to read.

2. I have 5 kids (if you can't count) and I honestly love being a mom.

3. I have a wrought iron, 4-post bed that my kids treat as a jungle gym.

4. I am an orphan. (Both of my parents have passed away). 

5. My feet are always cold, so I wear slippers all the time (even in the summer).

6. I love almost every kind of music except country. I'm sorry, I have tried and tried, I just don't get it.

7.  The older I get the less I like winter.

8. I have skied since I was 4 years old, but I am a 'fair-weather skier' (my husband's words) and I am not as good as I should be.

9.  I used to be addicted to caffeine (Dr. Pepper specifically), but I have broken the habit. Yay!

10. I was adopted, as are the rest of the kids in my family.

11. I like the High School Musical movies. Yes, it is true. My kids are very embarrassed for me. I even went to the opening night of the third one. Maybe I just like to see what High School could have been... FUN.

12. I loved going to College way more than High School. I had SO much fun and got a degree too. Hmmm, you can have fun and learn at the same time- that's for my kids.

13. Christmas is my favorite holiday.

14. Green and red are my favorite colors and it has nothing to do with #13, honestly.

15. I am an artist and I love to scrapbook. So there.

16. I detest housework of any kind and have to 'reward' myself to get any done. (If you clean the bathrooms and mop the kitchen you can scrapbook the rest of the day).

17. I have kept a journal (still handwritten) since the 6th grade. My older sister was (and still is) my inspiration.

18. I love to blog. I do. It's fun.

19. I love the outdoors. It is very relaxing and rejuvenating for me to be outside.

20. I know I have already posted about this, but I hate fish of any kind.

21. I love, love, love chocolate. Mousse, cake, candy, ice cream, hot, ... I love it all.

22. President Howard W. Hunter slept at my house when I was a kid. (before he was prophet) And when my dad was killed, President James E Faust gave me a blessing.

23. I have a silicone band around my right eyeball. You thought I was going to say some other silicone thing, huh!

24. I almost died having my 3rd child and I still had two more. I am a nut.

25. I have been to Hawaii 7 times and loved it more every time!

I tag Alese, Amy, Jessi, and Charlynn.

COLD, SNOWY WEATHER= HOT, YUMMY SOUP

There is just something wonderful about soup when the weather is cold. My family loves it and so do I. And, since it has been quite a while since I gave out a recipe, I thought I 'd share one of our favorites.

POTATO CHEESE SOUP:

Peel, cube and boil 6 or 7 potatoes, 6 carrots (optional), and 1/2 cup chopped onion. When potatoes are tender, strain 1/2 the potatoes out and mash them in a separate bowl. Drain 1/2 the water out of the pan and stir in the mashed potatoes. Add 1/2 jar of Cheese Whiz, 1 cup milk (or more), and 2 cups of finely chopped broccoli (optional). Stir and heat on medium until warmed through.  Serve with parsley garnish, HA!  ; )

This is a recipe I make all the time and I never measure, so I hope I got all the approximations right. We always have scones and honey-butter with our soup too. Hope it works for you! 

YUMMY! I just made myself hungry.  

SNOW KITING- SPORT OF THE FUTURE

All of you who know my husband know that he is passionate about outdoor sports, especially extreme ones. Well, we have introduced a new one into the mix this last year. It is called Snow Kiting or Kite Boarding (except he skis, so that doesn't fit). It all started with Skyline Drive up Fairview Canyon. It is listed as one of the best places to kite board in the WORLD. We have been up there when there were over 30 kites going. It is very fun to watch, but that is never good enough for my honey, he has to DO! Thus, the kite desire was born. I gave him a 6 meter kite for his birthday last year and he just bought an 11 meter yesterday. Plus, my oldest daughter now wants to learn, so I guess it is going to become part of our life. Here are some photos for those of you who have no idea of what I am rambling about. (Also, I will give a big prize to the person who can tell me what 80's movie I got my title from).

2006 on Skyline Drive- Can you see all the kites in the background?

My honey and his kite on Saturday.

My oldest flying a trainer kite yesterday.

The rest of my industrious children take turns building a snow cave while they waited for Dad to be done.

QUIRKY TAG

Amy tagged me, so here goes...

Name 6 quirky things about you:

#1- I have to keep my toenails painted. Feet gross me out, and that is the way I deal with it.

#2- I absolutely and completely DETEST any kind of fish. There has never been so much as a can of tuna in my house since I got married.

#3- The toilet paper has to be on the holder the "right" way. (It has to come from the top).

#4- I have a serious romance going with Dr. Pepper. Even now that I have quit drinking caffeine, I still love the decaffeinated stuff! (I'm drinking it right now)...

#5- I cannot sit with my back to the door in a room without being very uncomfortable. I made the maintenance men come in and rearrange our office at the school because of it.

#6- I love to drink instant breakfast in the morning.

I don't know how quirky these things are- this was really hard, but I now tag: Charlynn, Alese, Julia and Jessi.

FAMILY TRIVIA NIGHT

Every other week all the Gordons that live in town get together for Family Home Evening. We rotate turns and last night it was mine. Because the theme in Primary this year is My Eternal Family, I had families on the brain and decided to do something about families for family night. I ended up making a trivia game and had some of my other family members help me make up questions. It turned out very fun, so I thought I would share the idea.

I started out using an object lesson by stapling a paper chain together. We talked about how love links us together as a family and different things we can do, as a family, to increase love. (Prayer, activities together, service, hugging, etc..) It was a good discussion.

Next, we played the game-

First, we rolled the die. It had 3 different options on it: Memory Share, Trivia Time and My Favorite Things. Then a card was chosen from the appropriate pile and that person either shared a memory, answered a question or shared one of their favorites. (The clues were on the card). If the question was too hard for the younger ones, they were able to ask for help from an adult. We all learned things about our heritage and each other that we didn't know before. For example, we learned that my father-in-law's mother made machine gun ammunition during WWII, and that my mother-in-law's favorite hymn is "Be Still My Soul." It really was fun. I read somewhere that one family keeps all the cards and plays it at Thanksgiving every year. Everyone brings 30 new questions every year. What a fun tradition.

Some ideas for Trivia:

• What was one of the things Great-Grandpa Gordon did for a living?
  
• Where did Grandma and Grandpa go on their honeymoon?
  
• Who went on a mission to Brazil?
  
• How many people have broken their leg?
  

Ideas for Favorites:

• What is your favorite candy bar?
  
• If you were an animal, what animal would it be?
  
• What is your favorite holiday and why?
  

Ideas for Memory Share:

• Tell a memory from a favorite family vacation?
  
• Tell an experience you have had with prayer.
  
• Tell a memory involving your grandfather.

I will email you the patterns I made for the die and cards, just let me know, but you can just make your own very easily.

ALSO:

Last year for Christmas I made a family memory board game for my sister and her family. It turned out great and I keep meaning to make one for my family too, I just haven't done it yet. It is a great thing to do with your family too. Here is the link to make one on your own.

Good luck and have FUN!

WHICH JANE AUSTEN CHARACTER ARE YOU?

Doesn't everyone want to be her? I think it might be fixed...