What's wrong with this picture?

So, we're off on vacation to Chattanooga...yeah!!!! As you can see, we're all packed. So...what's wrong with this picture? What's wrong is that we are only going for ONE NIGHT!!!!!! So WHY does it appear that we are going on an African Safari??!!
Let me explain...




...there's the overnight bag for me and Russ with our pjs, socs, g's, swimsuits, scriptures & clothes for the next day. Then, there's the diaper bag with toys, diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, juice, baby cereal, medicines (we've all got colds) & extra clothes (in case of a blow-out). Then, there's Brooklynn & Isabelle's overnight bag with extra diapers and wipes, clothes, undies, socs, pjs, etc. Then, there's the stroller for the aquarium and the air bed for my brother & sister-in-law to use in our hotel room (ssshhh...don't tell the hotel). There's Brooklynn's puffy, floaty-swimsuit that is too big for any bag. And also the "fun bag" with books, crayons, movies, etc for the 3 hour ride there and 3 hour ride back. And finally...there's the toiletry bag = makeup, hair stuff, toothbrushes and pastes, etc. This bag would normally be consolidated to other bags, but since my family is insisting on me getting in the pool, I have to bring my industrial strength hair dryer, curling iron and straightener. Aaaaaahhhh!!! The 2 week trip to Utah this summer is starting to concern me. At this rate, we'll need to charter a personal plane just for my family and our "stuff"!!!!
Jami...I know you understand!!!

Sorry for the absence, but the most awful stomach virus recently ripped its way through our family, one by one (except for Isabelle, thank heavens) followed by sinus infections!!! Ewe!! We are all on the mend (I have never washed, scrubbed and sanitized so much in my whole life) so we should have some new posts soon. We are going to Chattanooga this weekend with Tara, Shawn and their boys, so we should get some pretty interesting pictures by next week. Until then, I love you all!!!!!

Sunday Supper

Several of my friends do this "Sunday Supper" post where they share a recipe so we all can get more dinner ideas. Up until now, I've been too lazy to do it but I'm feeling creative today so here goes...This is our variation of a Taco Casserole. First, cook 1 lb beef with a package of Taco Seasoning. Then, start layering with whatever you like. I use a deep, 8x9 Pyrex dish and start with

-1 (of 2) bags of microwaved Uncle Bens Spanish Rice (Russ prefers plain Minute Rice, but I like Spanish Rice)

-1/2 can of drained, black beans

-1/2 can of drained, corn

-1/2 off your taco flavored beef

-spread on a layer of sour cream

-sprinkle on 1/2 of a small (3.8 oz) can of sliced black olives

-sprinkle on 1/2 of a small (4 oz) can of green chiles

-2nd bag of microwaved Uncle Bens Spanish Rice

-last 1/2 of black beans

-last 1/2 of can corn

-last 1/2 of taco flavored beef

-Finally, top with mexican-blend cheese and the rest of the black olives and chiles

I pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or just until it's heated through and the cheese is nice and bubbly. We like to dress it up with diced tomatoes and more sour cream. Since most items come from a can or bag, the only prep you have to do is cook the beef with taco seasoning. From start to finish its around 45 minutes. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon!! Enjoy!!

Do you YouTube, too?

Okay, okay...I'm really not a computer junkie. I promise that I DO NOT sit around all day surfing YouTube for entertainment. However, I have enjoyed the recent trip down memory lane that it has provided for me; not to mention the fun it has been sharing something from my childhood with my own child. Brooklynn and I love watching these old skits from Sesame Street & The Muppets. (HeyTroy! Remember our Saturday night Muppet Show parties with Julie and Tyson?) Brooklynn's favorites are, of course, MaNaMaNa and also the Crayon Factory. Children of the 70s...unite!!!! (You'll need to pause my music first at the side of my page)

My Hubby...

What is his name? Russ
How long have you been together? 10 years (Married for almost 9)
How long did you date? 1 year
How old his he? 30
Who eats more? Me lately (I blame it on nursing)
Who said I love you first? Me!!!! It slipped out and I couldn't (didn't want to) take it back.
Who is taller? He is
Who can sing better? I better not say...
Who is smarter? Depends on the subject.
Who does the laundry? Me
Who pays the bills? Me
Who sleeps in the right side? When you're facing the bed, Russ does.
Who mows the lawn? Russ
Who cooks dinner? I do
Who is more stubborn? We're both stubborn but I think I have him beat.
Who kissed who first? I told him to kiss me!! I got tired of waiting!!
Who asked who out first? He asked me. If only he knew what he was getting into... :)
Who proposed? Russ. He put the ring on my toe!! Long story...
Who has more friends? Probably me. Russ is a little shy.
Who is more sensitive? Me.
Who has more siblings? Russ is the oldest of 5, and I'm the youngest of 2.
Who wears the pants? We both do...it's a tight fit, but we make it work.
Now "TAG" all you wives!!!

Happy 80th birthday Granny Mae-Mae!

Her royal highness...Queen Mavis!

What a suspicious-looking brood.


Russ' Grandma, Mavis Gibson, turned 80 years old on January 20th and what a birthday it was!!! She was suprised at church when the missionaries asked to introduce her to a couple of investigators...which turned out to be her very sneaky daughters from Utah, Judy and Celia...who secretly flew out here to help celebrate this grand occasion. We all got together at Grandma's house for food, family, friends and fun...where Grandma took her rightful place in the "throne" where she was "crowned"

Queen Matriarch of the Gibson Clan.
Happy Birthday Granny Mae...and may you have many more!!

Here is Brooklynn learning a cart-wheel at her tumbling class. This class has alot less kids than the dance class did so she gets more one-on-one attention. After trying both classes, I asked Brooklynn which one she prefers and she has decided on the tumbling class. Even though I did tumbling for years when I was younger and will enjoy watching her learn, I was kind of disappointed. Brooklynn "has the music in her" and has been dancing around the house since she was a baby. She LOVES dance and anything to do with music so I was surprised at her choice. When I asked her "why" she said that the dance class was "too pushy". I inquired some more and discovered that it was the large size of the dance class that she didn't care for. Granted, it really was too big. There were so many girls that they were literally chest-to-back, with no room to stretch or practice when they were on the "bar". Brooklynn is a little younger and shorter than most of the other girls in that class so she caught a few elbows to the face and got a few toes stepped on since she didn't have any shoes on. I told her it was her choice, so we will be having fun doing tumbling this year, but I think I'll let her give dance another try next year when she's in the older class that has fewer girls. My parents always had me and Troy try everything at least once so we could decide what suited us best. I'm thankful they did and I'm thankful they supported us in out choices.

Thanks Mom & Dad!

So, I decided to take get Brooklynn involved in either dance or tumbling. "Twist-n-Shout" is the only place in the surrounding 3 counties that teaches dance so you can imagine how crowded and expensive it is...but I though we'd give it a shot. This video is from my digital camera and shows Brooklynn in the middle with a black shirt and red pants. They are doing tap dance right now and Brooklynn LOVES doing tap here at home so I thought she'd love it. She seemed to have alot of fun.

Are they made of sugar???

As I was cleaning tonight, I overheard Russ reading Brooklynn her scripture stories when they came to the storey on Noah's Ark.
Russ: "Noah was a great prophet who tried to call the people to repentance, but they would not repent and continued in their evil ways. So the Lord told Noah to build an Ark and gather his family and the animals together. Once the Ark was built, the Lord sent a great flood that covered the whole earth and the wicked people were washed away".
With a quizzicle look on her face Brooklynn said: "Were the wicked people made of sugar?"
It took me a couple seconds before I remembered the many rainy days that she's been ushered quickly into a car or a house with the admonition, "Hurry up! You're made of sugar and sugar melts in the rain!" Russ and I got quite a kick out of her innocence and how she takes things so literal. Although it was a funny moment, it made me think about how grateful I am for our Savior who allows all our wickedness to be "washed away" like sugar in the rain.

I can read!!!

Brooklynn has known her alphabet since before she was 2 years old and soon after that she learned the accompanying sounds. Just this past year we've been working on her writing but I wasn't going to start into reading until she was better at writing. But being the curious little thing that she is, she's always asking what certain words are and how they're spelled, etc...so I guess we inadvertently taught her how to sound things out. She came to me last night holding a Christmas card with pictures of my friend's family on the front and, as usual, was asking who all these people were. She was spelling out all their names and then just started sounding them out and saying all of their names. At first, I thought maybe I had told her their names on a previous occasion, so I picked up her "Friend" magazine and started asking her to read other short words. She sounded them all out and was able to tell me all of the words!!! I beamed with delight and made such a fuss...so you can guess she wanted to do the REST of the evening! We read all the words we could find around the house (as long as they weren't too complicated). I know that many kids read at this age, but I am just particularly impressed with the fact that we haven't really even started working on it. I know, I know...EVERY mother thinks their kid is a genius, right? Even so...I was VERY PROUD of my little Shnooky!!!