Makin' Ice Cream

Whoever thought that you could make rockin' ice cream in a bag? My sister, that's who! She's the 4-H county extension agent for Ravalli county here in Montana. The day we arrived, she had an after-school club to teach and invited the kids and me along. We made ice cream. And it was good. As it should be. You know the ingredients? Cream, sugar & vanilla. Ice cream in it's purest and most unadulterated state for sure. We put the ingredients in a quart size bag. Then we went and put ice and rock salt in a bigger, gallon size one. Put smaller bag in larger one; shake, toss, gyrate and shimmy (wait a minute, we're not talking about belly dance. ice cream, think ice cream) until frozen. Then scoop out of the bag with a spoon! Yum. I'll track down the specific recipe from my sister and post it soon. Promise.

Snow in May . . .

Really? It's May, but then again, it is Idaho/Montana. We drove over to visit my sister and her husband. They found out what the gender of their bundle of joy will be. (I can do this b/c she has already blogged about it.) Another bundle of pink! We have had a great time! And are thankfully not frozen. Jacqueline made too many snowballs and had white/pink little hands by the end of our pit stop. Below, you see her practicing the insane throwing skillz she learned from Sam. We even spotted a couple of big horns, too. I just wasn't fast enough with the camera.

Bonkers for BYU

The kids found these funky wigs at the BYU Bookstore. Also, the term 'bookstore' is used very loosely. There is the textbook area upstairs, and then an every day Barnes & Noble style level. The famous BYU fudge is always a temptation along with the rest of the candy counter. The knick knacks, regular clothing, shoes, cards, music, media and everything else you could think of take up the rest of the 3 levels. I would have lived in the bookstore if they had let me. We got the kids new BYU t-shirts. They get a new one every year or so. We try to return to our alma mater at every possible opportunity. Provo is full of such tender memories for us. It's where we met, fell in love, had babies and spent most of our 20's. (and I ain't talkin' 'bout dollar bills! ;) Reminiscing is so great!

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Happy Mother's Day!
I had a great Mother's Day. Flowers, cards and a nap. What more is needed? I am so grateful and blessed to be a Mother. Here are some flowers for my Mom and whoever didn't get flowers!

Happy Sad

So, being back in the land of awesomeness (a.k.a. the US of A) there are a few things that we have missed. One of them being fruit snacks. We could get said gem at the commissary, but they would

cost an arm and a leg. Maybe they were more reasonably priced for other people, but when I have 4 fruit snack inhalers in the house, a box of 8 bags only lasts a day, maybe. And at $2.50 a box, just not worth it to me. Well, we hit up the local Wal-Mart for a big box of them goodies as soon as we landed. (ok, maybe the next day) Jacqueline was the least acquainted with the fruity goodness and loves them the most. (to say the least) And I would dole them out one by one, to make the treat last longer. Jacqueline won't say "fruit snack", though. She calls them "Happy Sads".

"Mommy, I unna Happy Sads."
*translation* Mommy, I want a fruit snack.

And so now the term "Happy Sads" has entered the Penrod family vernacular. Forever to reside beside such hallowed terms as "show-show" (a shower) "nook" (look) and "noo-noos" (noodles). We promise we're not babbling idiots, we just sound like them.

Day at the Museum

Again, while we were in Utah earlier this week, we took the time to go see the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point where we were staying. This museum has the world's largest display of mounted dinosaurs. It blew my mind. To backtrack a bit, when I was between the ages of 7 and 13, I wanted to be an Archaeologist. I wanted to dig up dino bones, discover new species and be the female equivalent of Indiana Jones on the side. My parents encouraged this interest, and so while other little girls were playing with Barbies and Mapletown bunnies, I was pretending to dig up my triceratops and brachiosaurus. (my favorite dinosaur, btw. doesn't everyone have one of those?) Mind you, I did play with those other things, I just incorporated dino into every aspect.

Picture it: The Mapletown bunnies and bears are having a nice picnic when Molly discovers a weird looking lump. Wait, it's not a rock, it's the skull of a pachyceplalosaurus. And what did Bobby find? An astrodon femur?

I dig dinosaur museums, to say the least. (hee-hee) This was the coolest I've been to by far! Hands on is always great and more info than one can digest in one visit. If I lived closer, I'd have a membership.

A Sea Turtle, dude.

A Blast from the Past

Since we've been in Utah, we've been looking up some old friends. We got together a few nights ago with Pablo, a dear friend that I met my freshman year at BYU. Unbelievable, we said, how fast 12 years have passed.


We also looked up one of my Young Women from Cairo, Sandra. How is it possible that she is graduating in a year? She is such a great gal!


Then we swung on down to visit an even older friend (meaning I've know her longest of all). I've known Leslie since we moved to Nebraska when I was 13. We got to hang with her and her cute little daughter. No, no pictures. We popped in on her earlier than expected so she wasn't quite "picture ready". Although, really, when you're pregnant and have a toddler, just being up and going is enough to win you a gold medal. We've got a couple more friends and family lined up in the next few days and I can't wait!