The Battery Powered Motorcycle...aka possibly the most dangerous present we've ever given.

Whilst playing Santa's little helper with his father, Noah pointed out that Zach's present now allowed him a functional mode of transportation for when he runs away from home. It even has a storage container for the five shirts and one pair of shorts he always packs (notice no undies) when he gets ticked and heads for the hills. I'm not too worried though. Along with underwear he always fails to remember food in his satchel. He won't last 10 minutes until his tummy growls.

When He Has Therapy Later in Life He'll Refer Back To This Moment Alot....

An emotional canyon just opened up between Zach and I. He asked if Sponge Bob was my favorite show too, and when I answered in the negative he gave me a "you are dead to me" look and turned away.

More Things that Teenagers Post....

After perusing the crack cocaine that is Facebook for a bit (okay a half an hour) is afternoon, I was reminded of a few more things that I need to add to my "List of things teenagers post that make me want to claw my eyes out"....
 11) Pictures of themselves posing in front of their dimly lit bathroom mirror giving the peace sign.
12) Pictures of themselves with the title "oh my gosh I look so bad today" when they obviously spent the last five hours getting ready. Kids, it's okay to have self-esteem. You don't need to go fishing for compliments.
13) In reference to #12, it is equally annoying when their friends reply to these pictures with statements such as " you are so much prettier than I am" or " I wish I was skinny like you".  Hence an ugly circle of "who's fatter/cuter" debate ensues for the next 3 months.

Please teens, stop. Enough damage has been done. I need the bloody vein fragments that are left of my eyes if I ever hope to get a transplant after Facebook goes the way of MySpace.

Taylor's guitar concert solo

Zachie-isms....

About a classmate: "I didn't hurt her feelings mom. I fixed them!" About his Primary teacher: "teacher was not at church on Sunday. She got fired. Yeah, she got fired cause she used the wrong kind of chapped lips medicine." About his bad behavior: "But mom, you can't get mad at me. I'm your very most special boy!" About his favorite brother: "hey bro, you want to play Legos with me cause you love me?" About being told no: "No more kisses for you until you give me a treat!" About feeling the spirit of Christmas: "Santa has his own special night where he gets to bring me presents". Oh my Zach :)

Cella Family Circus

So I really need to know, does anyone else ever feel like this?????

We just got back from the Ward Christmas party, and I'm pretty sure the powers that be are trying to figure out a way to politely "forget" to invite us next year. While the other ward members were enjoying the lovely "stroll through Bethlehem" my little monsters were running in circles, spilling multiple cups of water, loudly proclaiming inappropriate feelings such as "when will this finally be over" and "I should be able to play with my iPod because this is sooooo boring", and the piece de resistance, screaming at the top of their lungs "I want more dog nut balls!!!!!!". Oh, and my teenager used the night to let everyone know how mean her parents are because they ruin her social life (aka make her babysit when people call and ask her) and lecture her for FOUR hours for holding a boy's hand. In other words, the very most appropriate place for her to bring the family's dirty laundry out for airing.

How did we punish such behavior? Well after counting to ten several times, we called for pizza from the parking lot, hit red box for some family friendly movies, and laughed our heads off as we recalled the train wreck that was our evening. Maybe not the best parenting- okay it's not even close to mediocre parenting- but I just couldn't bring myself to chastising. These are my kids, and they are pretty amazing in my eyes. Coming from two borderline insane parents, I'd say they are a freaking miracle. I'd like to think that we'll do things differently and better next time, but it probably won't happen. And I guess I'm okay with that. Welcome to the Cella family circus everyone!!!

What I'm Feeling on this Lovely Evening......

*Haters are no bueno. Let's show some love people, and respect each other's differences.

*This is the second greatest day of my life. The first was the day Taylor babysat for the first time. Tonight, Noah babysat Zach for the first time for three hours and the house was still intact when we got back.

*My husband would gladly give me over to the robbers and murders who would attack us in the middle of the night if we left even one stupid door unlocked, especially if it meant he could save himself. I think it's because I'm puerto rican and therefore more naturally inclined to knife fighting.

*The Colbert Report is 100 times funnier than John Stewart. I just learned that you can get a poop

transplant, cause sometimes you need to "eat crap in order to live".

*Walmart at Christmas time could be part of a "Lord of the Flies" themed reality show.

Things Teenagers Post in Facebook That Make Me Want To Stab My Eyes Out

1) Lyrics to Justin Beiber songs.

2) Lyrics to any song.

3) Recaps of their out-of-context conversations that are never funny.

4) Professions of their undying and forever love to their boy/girlfriend of 2 weeks.

5) Professions of total heartbreak when said boy/girlfriend breaks up with them at week 3.

6) Girls calling each other racial slurs, then fighting over who is the bigger "ho" and who is fatter.

7) Group bashing sessions on their sorely underpaid and unappreciated teachers because the teacher had the audacity to call them on their crap, or dared to enforce rules such as not letting them make up an assignment that was turned in 3 weeks late.

8) Boys who call girls "hot" and think that's a compliment.

9) Asinine and degrading "rate me" games.

10) Any game that allows one person to rip and tear apart another under the guise of a "status update".

From the Mouths of Babes

Zach just told me that he needed to turn his power off, so he went under the counter in the kitchen, turned his back to me, pulled up his shirt and started twisting something. I asked him if he'd show me his power button. He pulled up his shirt, pointed to a nip and said " see mom, that's where you turn me on and off. You just have to twist it". He didn't get why I thought it was so funny, so maybe when he's older I'll have to let him watch The Wedding Singer :)

Warning: verbal vomit to follow!

I know it's pretty crappy of me to do this after taking such a long summer hiatus, but I really need to vent and since I vowed to myself that I wouldn't spew my negative feelings to the HUGE audience of Facebook, I'm going to do it here where no one will see it :) Sometimes I just get so many thought rolling in my head and I need a way to express them or I'll combust.

The past three months have been really trying.  Not trying in a major catastrophe, trial or illness way, but in a personal, emotional way.  I have questioned my faith in humanity so many times it's ridiculous. I mean really, how are you supposed to see the good and beautiful in people when you are given so much evidence of how much they can suck sometimes?  Harsh, yes.  I'm sorry I even put that statement out there.  But I'm trying to be honest, and that's how I've honestly felt the last few months.  A person I really respect and admire, when talking to me a while ago about one of the demoralizing instances that they witnessed first hand (and harbored a lot of my same feelings because of it), asked me how I am able to stay so positive.  I was as truthful with him as I have ever been in my entire life.  I told him that what he saw on the outside was in no way a reflection of how I felt inside, but I didn't want to poison everyone around me by expressing it. (Irony alert: I'm doing that just now).  But now, in this moment, I've been able to reflect on all I've learned from these bad experiences and I must say, although some people really stink, there are also soooo many wonderful ones who support and love me.  I think I took them for granted because they are always there, constant and firm, and it wasn't until I placed them in comparison with all the negative people that I saw what true gems they are.  I have an amazing family that consists of brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews that I treasure.  My husband is a rock and true friend, and my kids are the joy of my life.  I have had the opportunity to work with some of the coolest, strongest and funnest women over the past three years in YW, and I treasure their friendship.  There are friends and neighbors who hide immense strength and resiliency behind simple, quiet exteriors. You could travel to the end of the earth and back and not find better people.  Looking at them, learning from them helps me remember that not everyone is cruel.  Not everyone says what they want without feeling or regard for others.  Not everyone treats those who can't defend themselves with disdain and prejudice.  I know now that I rely on these remarkable people and their example so much, more than I every thought possible.  I hope I get the opportunity to let each of them know how much I have relied on their kind words, their smile in passing, or off-the-wall talks until 4 in the morning to keep me going.  They've been my life-line, and I can only hope that one day I can be the same for someone else.

I'm sure this makes absolutely no sense, but thanks blogger for letting me get that out.

Soooooo........

Holy crap where did the summer go? Between football and girls camp and youth conference, oh and getting released as YW pres. after 3 YEARS last week, I have no recollection of doing anything "summery". We haven't taken a family vacation in over 2 years because we suck as parents, but I think we're going to be forgiven because in march we're taking Tay and Noah to Italy!!!! Hallelujah, the last 5 years of hoarding frequent flyer miles has finally paid off. Those miles made every week-long business trip worth it. We are spending 6 days in Florence and 6 in Rome, and plan on using these cities as a base for visiting all the other cities and sites. The kids' passports came in the mail last week and we have our apartments set up in both cities. March can't come soon enough!!!

(Holy cow can you believe that hair????)

Guess who is turning 14 tomorrow??????

Yes, that would be my Tay. I sometimes wonder at the fact that Heavenly Father chose me to be this angel's mom. Since her first breath, Tay has been a ray of light in our home. She is brilliant, strong, outgoing, funny and beautiful. She is not afraid to speak her mind or have contrary opinions. Tay has such a tender heart and is so wary of hurting others. She's a great sister and is loved and idolized by her 2 younger brothers . She's not perfect, but she's just about as close as you can get. Happy birthday tomorrow my wonderful girl. I heart you forever and ever.

(I added this picture of Tay and her Abuelo because they had such a special relationship, and just a few weeks ago marked 11 years since he passed away. Tay remembers him so well, even though she was only 3 when he died. She'll always be his "Hollywood Girl". I ADORE this picture, and miss my grandpa so much)

Just Ridiculous

Question.....

Why are people taking one the greatest accomplishments of American military and intelligence efforts and turning it into a bipartisan battle? Who cares who gets more credit for it? Yes, Bush's administration got the ball rolling. Obama got the job done. One wouldn't be possible without the other, case closed. I am so sick of the negativity and pettiness of bipartisanship. Let's just enjoy the success and be thankful for brave soldiers and the brilliant minds that crafted the rescue. Congrats to Pres. Obama for strong leadership, and closing this chapter of America's fight on terrorism. His speech on Sunday night brought me to tears, and I was so proud of our country and what we can achieve. Shame on those who would take such a great moment in our history and deconstruct it until it means almost nothing.

Taylor's election video

Tay's Election Speech

Update Your Status!!!

My absence over the last few weeks can be accounted for by 3 words: Junior High Elections.

Holy freak, when did junior high elections become a high stakes, frenzied production of videos, speeches and my favorite, the carnival wrist band? I remember school elections being a popularity contest where you felt cool if you were asked to carry a campaign sign between classes. Long gone are those days. Now, you really have to campaign. It's a multi-step process: first you have to get names on a petition supporting your right to become a candidate; second comes the awfully complex process of deciding on a campaign slogan- the all-important mantra that will grace your posters, campaign t-shirts (only 2 shirts, one for the candidate and the other for the "campaign manager") and wristbands (The kids are not allowed to hand out any "bribes" like candy, so instead they can give out carnival wrist bands with your slogan emblazon on with black sharpie). Tay's slogan was all about Facebook: "Update Your Status- Vote Cella for 9th Grade Officer!! Then there's primary elections. Because there were 9 candidates for the 3 ninth grade offices, they decided at the last minute to cancel primaries, which was both good and bad. It was good because all the students running got an opportunity to move on to the finals, but bad because it made the election process from start to finish almost 4 weeks long. The week of Spring

Break was spent filming the 3 minute election video, and writing the election speech. Then it was one more agonizing week of campaigning before Taylor was finally able to give her speech and video at the election assembly last Friday. The assembly was a mess. Every year they have horrible technological issues. This year was worse than most. I felt so bad for the kids running for 8th grade officers; their videos were first and so the teachers had to work out all the computer glitches on their videos. It took an hour longer than anticipated, and by the time they were finished I think the kids were just sick of the whole thing. Then they still had the SBO & 9th grade electorates to go. Tay decided to run for 9th grade officer because 2 of her best friends were running for SBO, and she didn't want to have any bad feelings between them from competing against each other. It was a good decision because she could support both of them, as they could her. Tay's speech was great. She tied in her "Update Your Status" slogan, and she even sang/played guitar. She really stood out with her originality. Her video was hilarious. I'll try to post her video and the speech on the blog later. After the assembly, they were supposed to go back to class and vote but the ballots got all messed up so they had to wait until Monday to vote. It was a looooong weekend. Again, I felt bad for the kids. They have spent so much time and energy in this process, only to have mistakes make the results agonizingly longer. But it all turned out well in the end, as Tay found out at the end of the school day on Monday that she had won. Her two friends also won, so they'll have a blast next year in Student Gov. Tay is really excited to plan great activities next year, and get the students more involved. We are so proud of her for running a great campaign, and are really, really glad it's over and done with!!

Our candidate, showing off her shrine on Grandma's fridge.

Proud Grandma and Grandpa came over for a post-election celebration. Tay had so much support from her family and friends.

Whatever Happened to Civil Discourse?

I know I should be updating our adventures for the last few weeks instead of going on a rant, but this is my blog and I just need to get some feelings out. So please don't be offended- in fact, feel free to bypass the rest of this and catch me next time when I'm in a better mood.

If you're still reading, I warned you.....

So I have never been the type of person who is comfortable talking/debating politics with friends, associates, people at church,......you get my drift I'm sure. Part of the reason is based on my political beliefs, and the other is that I've seen too many people get into unnecessary and heated arguments on what boils down to a matter or opinion. So I'll just come out of the closet and say I'm a democrat, and have been since I entered my first poly sci class in high school. Now, for clarification, I consider myself a DEMOCRAT, not a LIBERAL. They are two very different things, and too often the party is defined by that one adjective. I'm not going to go into all the reasons why I am a democrat, but please know that I have examined both parties and their platforms, I am well educated, and feel that the democratic party aligns best with my opinions and politics. It's such a weird dichotomy being a democrat in a mostly republican state. When I have, on rare occasions over the years, expressed my view points on issues, I have been berated and ridiculed, and my dedication to and belief in my church has been questioned and doubted (not by any church leaders, but by mean spirited associates). I had to let go of a long friendship because the friend kept badgering me and berating me, trying to set me up for contentious debates. I decided that I don't need that kind of spirit in my life. It drives me nuts when fellow members go on the attack because our church is politically neutral; the leaders stay out of politics unless an issue directly affects the church. I love the stand our leaders have taken. It tells us that the Lord trusts us to make personal, prayerful and guided decisions on who we want to lead us. They do not endorse one party over the other, but far too often the members do. They draw a line of good vs. evil, and insist that one must "right" and "true". For these reasons, I never discuss my beliefs publicly. I just go to the voting booth and let the punch card do the talking. But the more I think about it, the more ridiculous I think these judgments are. If I lived on the west or east coasts, I would be considered too moderate or "not democrat enough". See the stupidity of it all? So I've decided that I'm done with labels. I am nothing. I am Mindi. I believe the government is there to serve and aid the people. I will vote for those who hold the same values. When my church comes out and asks me to support a measure, I will because I believe our church leaders are Apostles of the Lord and are guided by Him. I will respect the President whether he be republican, democrat, independent, white, black, male, female, because that's what having the office of President of the United States deserves, respect. How can he succeed without our support and prayers? It doesn't mean we have to agree with him all the time, but we have to let the world know that the office of president is important, valued, and one we trust in. Teasing in good fun is always okay, but mean spirited and cruel attacks are never appropriate.

Anyway, that's my opinion. I've been holding it in for a while. Hopefully you all still love me after this, but I suspect that if you know me well in "real life" this comes as no surprise and you already decided long ago to stick by me in spite of my crazy ideas :)

Oh, and as clarification, I did not become a democrat because I attended that bastion of free thinking known as the U. As already stated, I knew which way I leaned before I could even vote. But I did find at the U a lot more openness and willingness to accept differing and even contrary opinions than I ever had before. That just one of 1,000,000 reasons I love my Utes :)

Deep Thought By Loma.......

If mom is thE barometer of the house, then the kids are the mercury!

(This may or may not have come to me as I was reflecting on the fact that 66% of my children are grounded right now from their favorite things, and the 34% that aren't are too young to be rehabilitated by the return of valuable property).

Side question: Does anyone else find themselves watching PBS daytime programming even when there isn't a child around? What kind of mind control do these little people use on us??

Hey Family- Here's Another Oldie But Goodie.....

Birthday gone wild(er)

Our Families Special Birthday Song (Don't be jealous if you can't sound this good. It takes years of practice)

So What You're Saying Is That Not Everyone Celebrates Birthdays Like This???

It started out with good intentions. A celebration for my mom's 60th birthday. Just the family, some food, maybe a little teasing and humor. All in good taste of course.

Obviously it spiraled out of control quickly. I blame it on my dad. He's the one who suggested we hold a mockeral (mock=funeral. Yeah, feel free to make it a new "thing") for our aging mother so she could hear the eulogies we'd give someday at the real deal.

He really wanted to fashion a coffin of sorts, and hold the wake at the cemetery where they have already purchased their plots (uhm, I know it's good planning but can I just say EWWWW! If I wanted I could visit my parent's graves every year on Memorial Day and then have a barbecue with them an hour later). That plan was scrapped at the last minute because she might just think we were taking it a teeny-tiny bit too far. Hence, the mockeral took place in the parlor, which is kind of appropriate as it's a room reserved only for important visiting guests and dignitaries, like the Home Teachers.

Mom posed as if comfortably resting in her casket, her eyes closed and waiting to hear all the wonderful things her family has to say about her on her demise.

Little did she know......

For our "eulogies" we were given 2 guidelines:

1) You had to say the thing you'd miss/remember about her most

2) You had to provide a prop that represented that memory to leave with her in the "coffin"

I was first giving my remembrance. I left her a can of Diet Coke to thank her for setting me on the path of addiction, as well as to make sure she had a "fix" while she waited to be resurrected, and a diaper because for as long as I can remember my mom hasn't been able to cough/run/jump/walk/laugh/breath without wetting her pants. Yes, I take after her. Thank you mom for all you've given me.

For James' gift he left a threadbare towel, because my mom is notorious for not throwing anything (and I do seriously mean anything) away until it falls apart stitch by stitch. He also gave her an eyebrow pencil so she could make sure her brows were on when she went to the next world (I'm not sure if I've shared this story before, but it involves James and mom sitting together in a booth at Iceberg and James deciding to see if he could wipe off mom's eyebrows with his finger. As he found out to her chagrin, yes he could. The story now lives in infamy in family folklore)

My sister Amanda gave her a pair of giant granny undies to thank her for teaching her to be pure and modest

Then she gave her a G-string to thank her for also teaching her to be a little bit naughty.

(Back story: for the last 10 years my mom has given my sister a thong for every Christmas and Easter. They are usually pretty scanty and fugly. It's hilarious. And in case you are wondering, no she doesn't really wear them.)

My brother Chris, the newly returned RM, gave mom a pillow so that she could always remember that he refused to sleep in his own bed, thus sharing hers, for the first 12 years of his life. I'm not sure if he's overcome that yet.- I'll get back to you.

Noah's gift was a remote, because Grandma is always telling him to turn the volume down. I don't have a picture of Tay's gift, and she'd kill me if I disclosed what it was, but let's just say that she did something to my dad in Grandma's honor.

Here's the final picture of all her offerings. They include a plate of unfinished dinner from my niece Shelby (nothing drives my mom more nuts than wasted food), a jacket from my niece Sydnee (because Grandma always gets after her for not wearing one), a fart machine from my sis-in-law Rebekah, a copy of "Silence of the Lambs" from my brother Ben (goes back to a month-long grounding incident in high school), and a double ended key from my dad- one end is the key to his brain, and the other the key to his heart. She was such a good sport, and I'm pretty sure she was glad she had a diaper on because she was laughing so hard something definitely sneaked out :)

After the mockeral, Chris decided to try on the thong.

Pretty hot huh? He's single ladies.

Somehow after having cake and ice cream, Tay decided that Grandpa's lack of eyebrows needed to be remedied (are you seeing a trend here? It's not by chance that my parents are so perfectly matched for each other? Please, please let me keep my eyebrows though).

For some reason, Tay decided that if Grandpa really still had brows they'd be red, so out came the red lip liner.

He was a good sport when she said, "Grandpa, if you have eyebrows again that has to mean that you have hair again" Since we all remembered his black fro from the 70's, she decided to recreate it.

From there it just got out of control

Ben came to help with the beautification

Can you tell just how much this man loves his grand kids? What else would convince him to let this happen???

Can I just say that my family ROCKS? They are so much fun- we laugh so much it hurts (and more than one of us pees). But we are also fiercely protective of each other, and we'd go to the ends of the earth to help each other. I am so blessed to be apart of this crazy clan!

Photo Vomit.....

I thought you might enjoy (okay, tolerate) these random photos I just downloaded from my itouch. There is no rhyme or reason- most I can't even remember taking. Oh well, posterity won't care how they got here anyway, just that they can mock us for what we wore.

I'm getting old.

Zach and Dad hit the Jazz Game:

Dad was impressed the Zach lasted the first half sitting upright. After that, it was "whatever keeps him happy".

Cute one of Dad. I'm not sure what Zach was going for.

Cheese!!!!!

Best Friends :)

Zach and his other BFF, "his" Oakey Dokey

Tay at her fall guitar concert.

The next cast of Teen Mom

(notice how dejected my niece Sydnee looks? She really feels the weight of her choice)

Hmmm, we need to work on facial expressions and posing.

That's my cutie boy...

Smexy boy in a smexy outfit.

When he saw this picture, Zach said "Mom look at my muscles!"

Football shirt+plaid shorts+your sister's boots=AWESOME!!!!

House Guest....

RM brother is staying at my house allllllll weeeeeek!!!

Can you tell I'm a teensy, weensy bit excited ;)

I love my little brother Chris. I missed him so much when he was away for 2 years in Australia. It was like a huge piece was missing from our lives. Now he's back, and he's found a great job and is starting college in May. He's at my house this week because he's going through training for his new job, and the training center just happens to be up my way. It has been so wonderful having him in our home. He brings so much fun and laughter. The kids adore their uncle, and love every minute they get playing with him. I really don't want him to go back home at the end of the week :(

I think we need to get our basement finished so my siblings have more reasons to come and stay with us. I'll have to hurry though, because my sister is dating a new guy and they are getting pretty serious. He's a great man and appears to adore and worship her (like all women deserve to be!). I'll keep you posted as things progress!

On A Positive Note.....

Today we had a great combined YM/YW lesson on the dangers- both physically and spiritually- of the Internet and more specifically social media. It is a topic that has weighed heavily on my mind over the last few months, but especially in the last week as we have been dealing with Tay's harassment at school. The Internet is such a powerful tool, for good and bad, and it's so important that children know how to use is correctly and wisely. We had a police detective from our ward speak to the youth about the criminal dangers, and he spoke a lot to the fact that you never really know who you are connecting with when you open yourself up to "friends" on places like Facebook. He showed a picture of a popular male singer, and explained that just this week they caught a 78 year old man was posing as the pop star and messaging teenage girls on FB. He also talked about how kids think that when they post or text inappropriate content or pictures they can just erase it and it's gone. He said that in 24 hours he could pull everything they'd ever done or sent off their phones or computers, and that there was no way to "erase" once you send something out. I think the kids were very shocked, and even scared. He asked them if they would feel comfortable having him go through their phones and computers today. If not, they need to make drastic changes to what they are doing and sharing.

Next James spoke to them about the spiritual dangers of technology. They discussed very briefly the problem of pornography as it is covered a lot. He asked them about the time they spent on the internet, and how it changed the dynamics of their family when they were on. Did they eat dinner together without texting interruptions? What activities have they stopped doing becuase they are on FB all the time? Social media can become a huge time sucker and time waster if not regulated and kept under control. He also talked to them about the importance of remembering that what they say and do on FB represents who they are. For instance, when you "like" something on FB what you are saying is "I approve of this" or "I like this". Should we really be "liking" a song with inappropriate lyrics, or a friend's comment that is off color, or a group/activity that conflicts with our beliefs? I thought this was a most poignant point. So often we forget that what we say and do on the Internet allows the world to interpret and make assumptions about who we are. I closed by reminding the kids that even if they aren't texting right now or aren't on FB, they will be someday and the world revolves more and more around social media outlets. So even if it doesn't apply today, it will someday and they need to be prepared. I challenged them to spend a "negative free" week on the Internet and their phones- that every day this week they would only send out positive messages, texts and comments. If they aren't texting or FBing, they can be positive in the interactions with their friends, avoiding gossip and contention.

All in all, I think it went really well. The kids were very reverent but offered up lots of comments. When youth do that you know something is sticking :) I'd love it if the adult groups did their own lesson or meeting on the subject, but geared to how parents can teach their children to use technology in a responsible way. The biggest thing they can do is be aware. Be aware of what their kids are texting and posting. Be aware of what their peers are saying, especially to them. Know their passwords and control their access to the internet. It is so, so important and, in my opinion, the greatest challenge to the youth of today is the free and unsolicited access to everything the world has to offered at the touch of a button. Where they are stronger, more valiant and more prepares, Satan only has to become craftier and more subtle in his attempts to drag them down. He's using the same tools that the Church uses to spread the message of the Gospel and love, but to drag us down and tempt us into sinful acts and behaviors.

We're going to try to tie this lesson into our upcoming Youth Conference this summer. One of the girls suggested taping videos to submit to the Mormon Messages channel on YouTube. Hopefully we can find some fun ways to incorporate the lesson into our weekly activities as well.

All That Church is Paying Off...

Last night the kids were fighting in the truck (as usual) on our way to Tay's basketball game, and apparently I wasn't the only one who was fed up with the constant bickering. From the back seat we heard Zach yell,

"Choose the Right everyone! Choose the Right!"

Good thing I was driving or I might have passed out from shock.

This kid might just turn out alright :)

How We Roll......

Rather than write about just how much our family loves football, I thought I'd post our game pictures from the '10 season. We've had University of Utah season tickets for 10 years now, and it's so much fun sitting my my brother and his kids, my dad, and my sisters. We've also taken up tailgating which is a blast! We can't wait for the '11 season- we're Pac 12 now baby!!

This last fall was also Noah's first playing football. It was a huge time commitment, but totally worth it. Noah learned so much and did so well on the offense and defense lines. I was surprised to see how tall he is compared to the other boys his age. He loved hanging out with all his pals on the team, and (as an added bonus for all the ladies) he got pretty buff- unlike his normal stick thin physique :)

Noah at the Halloween Carnival

Not a lot of love for that "other" Utah team :)

Tay and Noah

My Favorite picture of all time!

Tay sitting in the endzone after a win!

Tay and her cousin/BFF Sydnee

Storming the field after the BYU win!

Tay and James at the Utah/BYU game

Noah's '10 Syracuse Storm poster

Post game exhaustion

Cheering on his cousin Jackson's team

Noah and his awesome grandpa (who was a U of U football player! See, it's in the genes!!)

Noah and his wonderful grandma (isn't my momma lovely?)

My studly guy

Loma, Tay and Noah

Loma and James at the away game in Wyoming

With the other U fans at the Wyoming game

Loma with Zach at a rare game he attended (he's not quite ready for 3 hours of football)