Life is a Picnic

Today we went on a picnic to a fun park with a river. It was a beautiful day.

I heard some memorable conversations. They were discussing Avatar, and Megan and Nathaniel conversations are always my favorite.

Megan: So do you know if they still have the like little figurines at McDonalds of like Aang?

Nathaniel: I don't think so. It's out of style and out of stores, but it's on the internet.

Sophia: Megan, do you like Barbies?

(She was getting sick of all the Avatar talk.)

Megan: Yea I do, Saniel do they have Avatar barbies?

Nathaniel: Well I don't know, but I haven't seen them. I am usually too busy looking at the boy aisles.

Later on- Nathaniel: Yea, in the last book Zuko turns good.

Megan: Yea I know, he went on a date and kissed a girl. The love episode is my favorite.

Nathaniel: There is not a love episode.

Megan: Yes there is I saw it! It's my favorite.

Nathaniel: It doesn't have a love one!! You are just having a mirage in your mind!!

(He was very upset haha.)

Nathaniel (shooting his stick) and Megan:

The classic Saniel pose:

Sophia bathing Megan's feet haha:

Haha Megan's pose:

I LOVE my new earrings:

Also my crimson glitter toes and trusty zebra sandals:

Sophia's pose- what a doll:

This is such a cute picture- what geese:

Scoping it out:

Souffle!

Everyone said "souffle!" in a French accent the whole night. It was great.

This was my first attempt at a souffle. It didn't fall! However I did overcook it and it was dark chocolate, which isn't my favorite. Next time I am going to try vanilla. Souffle attempt one: a moderate success.

I'm So Excited!

Confession. Whenever I say that (I'm so excited!!) in private or in my head it is with a British accent. Which is very fitting for this post.

Dobby is my favorite ever. I want to keep him as one of my children. Also Kreacher. They are just so cute and needing nurturing and I'm sad that they won't be in this movie (possibly Kreacher but probably not). But, I have a Dobby pin on my name tag at work and it makes me very happy.

Harry Potter is coming up quickly- it is less than twenty days away. I have a whole lot of treats I want to make and I may have to narrow the list because it is getting a little out of control. Here is what I have so far: butterbeer, pumpkin juice, pumpkin pasties, bread pudding, sugar mice, treacle fudge, ton tongue toffee, cauldron cakes, owl shaped sugar cookies (I am going to get that cookie cutter and I am very excited), and normal pop because it can't be a party without it. Nine dishes in all, and I will be lucky if I have twice that many guests. Plus I'm not even considering decorations yet. That could get crazy. Downsizing is basically inevitable, but I am not sure what I will cut. How often do I get to do this (totally geek out with a bunch of people who love the same things I do)? Not very often. I am already sad that half of my missionary friends and two of my roommates are going to miss this epic event. It's going to be so much fun.

If the movie sucks after all of this I might cry.

Sigh

Indoctrination

Yet another child fell victim to my Last Airbender indoctrination. On a whim I had my six-year-old cousin watch Avatar while I was babysitting her. She loved it and begs to watch it at every chance. I'm like a virus.

Strawberry Days!

Strawberry Days. A Pleasant Grove tradition. A Smith family tradition. Loving this week is as deeply rooted in my blood as pyromania. There is the parade, the rodeo, the carnival, strawberry pie making, a family party, and the wheel at Smith Drug. Even though the strawberries come from California I look forward to this week all year.

The Smith Drug Crew walking in the parade. My cousin Jeff dressed up as a pill bottle and it was so awesome. It was also awesome to just be a spectator this year:

Malori mid-dance move. I got several awesome videos of her in action but I can't upload them. If I ever figure it out I will post them because they are classic and hilarious:

Hahaha here is my mother heckling one of her former students who walked in the parade:

Fetching candy:

Braxton hugging Malori. I thought this was adorable and I am so glad I got a picture of it:

Malori loved waving to the floats:

So basically I am the biggest pushover ever and Malori really wanted this bunny. I bet you can figure out how the rest of the story goes. However, she did name the bunny Haydn, and I was the "best sister ever" and her "favorite" for two days. The bunny was worth it:

My mom and Brian:

This is my cousin's daughter Maci. She is very cute and has a soft head:

Malori is the cutest.

This is "baby Bailey" (as Malori refers to her) at the parade:

This is me and my cousin Bailey at the rodeo. She is a doll:

My cousin Braxton did the Mutton Bustin' again this year, and I caught his impact :) I wish it was closer, but we sit on the top row. For those of you who are not native to PG and don't know what Mutton Bustin' is I will explain. Basically we put small children in a helmet and on sheep and score them like they were riding a bucking horse or bull. It's really fun when you know the kids riding, but of course I was too much of a wuss child to ever do it:

Braxton turfed it really good, but he recovered and took lots of pictures of himself on my camera haha:

Ridiculous Book Feature

His butterfly tattoo is super attractive. I also like the line below the title- "He is ultimate darkness... and all consuming desire...."

Success!

This summer is a summer of many firsts for me. One first was planting my own garden. After a cucumber plant died and there were no signs of life for over two weeks I was getting a little concerned.... But, lo and behold, after a rainstorm I have sprouts! I was very excited.

Here are the cucumbers I planted from seed:

Peas:

Corn:

I have also determined that I am going to try getting my nails done. I just did today; I love them even though they do make typing very difficult. They are very cute and feminine.

Another thing I am trying this summer while I have a good kitchen is cooking and baking lots of new things that I have always wanted to attempt to make. This last week it was a pumpkin cheesecake. It was delicious and a huge success, and I was extremely proud that I managed it with no supervision.

Here it is (I was very excited and took many pictures):

Next on the agenda is a Chocolate Souffle.

Auri and Sprinkles

So I got a guitar. Ben gave me his and Lindsey gave her's to Isaac. I really really love it and I have decided to name her Auri. I had lots of sweet names for Issac's too, but he rejected them all. I think my guitar is so pretty though, it looks like me. It has reddish wood on the side (like my hair) and pale wood on the front and back (like my skin). I put new strings on all by myself. My goal is to learn how to play Caring Is Creepy by the Shins and News From Your Bed by Bishop Allen. It will be a miracle if I actually ever can, but I am looking forward to trying.

Lindsey also gave me lots of cool kitchen stuff and a ton of sprinkles. I love sprinkles and I am really excited about it all the awesome kitchen stuff.

Ridiculous Book Feature

I believe this title may actually be more ridiculous than the cover art. That is quite an accomplishment.