Idaho Roots...

Mom and Dad are moving into their new house. A benefit of living in Colorado is having first dibs on some of the stuff they are giving away. Maxene and I were at the house today, and found some "towels" that my Aunt Jan made. I put them in quotes because they aren't just towels, they're better! Mom said we could have them, so we brought them to lunch to determine who would take which ones! When we got to Little Rickies, we laid them out...

Maxi and I both wanted the same ones, so we devised a plan. A mini tournament of "Paper Rock Scissors" was the only fair way. After a fierce game, accompanied with sweat and tears, Maxi pulled through with the win. She had first choice.

Maxi made her first choice, I made mine. Maxi made her second choice, I made mine. We were laughing the whole time because we were nervous about the other person taking the towels we wanted! When there were 3 left, another big decision was made. We each have two; maybe we should save one for Brook and Macy? After careful consideration, we decided it was the right thing to do. But what would we do with the extra one? Another mini tournament was scheduled!

All the people in the restaurant gathered around our table as the excitement for who would get the third towel thickened. Actually, no one cared, but Maxene and I had tournament #2 and I WON!!! I received the third towel.

Final count...

Maxi: 2 towels (bear and bunny)

Kelly: 3 towels (donkey, cat, and elephant)

Macy: 1 towel (dog)

Brook: 1 towel (lamb)

Lauren Brea: 0 towels (just happy to be apart of the excitement)

We all walked away winners today. It's not about how many of Aunt Jan's home crafted, made with love "towels" you walked away with, it's about having a piece of Idaho in your kitchen, it's about holding strong to your Idaho roots...

I think it'll just be a little bit easier for me since I have three towels :)

Always on my mind...

I miss these little ones horribly...

No different from little girls here in America. They pretend to be mommies... she's holding a bear in her sarong, just like her mommy holds a baby.


Blessing and Abby, watching the bus pull away.

Alice, hanging out by herself. SHEEMA!!!!


A few preschoolers... they were my favorite age group!

The first grade classroom.

Abby and Joseph, best-buds.

I'll go back someday... someday soon.

Blog Purposes...

Annie's Eats is a blog with great recipes. Bakerella is a blog about delicious treats. Singing with Birds is a blog where you will find recipes AND cute, fun crafts. All blogs have a purpose! I used to say that someday, people will come to my blog to get ideas for food, crafts, and daily activities. But that dream is come and gone. I've decided the purpose of my blog.

The purpose of my blog is to steal other blog's ideas, and claim them as my own. Then at the very end, I'll tell the truth. Here goes!


I was experimenting in the kitchen this week, and created a really great recipe! I think I'll call it Honey Garlic Grilled Chicken. It was super easy, and delicious :) Here's what you need...

2 T. vegetable oil

1 T. honey

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t. pepper

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

1 T. lime juice

1 t. salt

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

In shallow baking dish combine all ingredients but breasts. Add chicken breasts, turning to coat. Cover; let stand at room temp. no longer than 30 min., turning once. Grill or broil 6" from heat 10 minutes or until cooked through. Makes 4 servings.

Truth: This recipe came from A Dash of Thyme. One of my new favorite blogs to get recipes!

Okay, it's not as much fun to steal other people's ideas and make them sound like my own. I think I'll stick to the original purpose for my blog... complete randomness and occasional importance, all done with love and a guaranteed smile.

A proud moment...

Today a student brought me one of these...

... and I said NO!

(Well, I took it to be nice, but then put it in the teacher's lounge.)

One small step for man... one giant step for mankind.

I won...

"Go to the four 'Safety Stations' to learn some things about safety, and then come back here with this card. Then I'll give you a ticket to put into a raffle drawing!" said the nice lady. So off we went... to all 4 stations.
Did you know that you should point the fire extinguisher at the bottom of a fire? Have you ever heard that you should always hike and ski with a whistle, in case you get lost? Did you know that if you get caught in an avalanche, you really only have a 30 minute window of survival?

After learning the essentials, we each got a raffle ticket, and returned to the center of Copper Mountain at 1:00 pm promptly for the drawing! Nate and I were getting restless as other people were winning all the prizes. Time kept passing, and we weren't even close! Then the GRAND PRIZE was up... a two night stay at the Copper Mountain Resort.


The announcer guy slowly announced, "3... 2... 8." Not me. "Ugh." I thought to myself, "I never win anything!" He came on the microphone again, "328? 328, are you here? Going once, going twice, must be present to win!"

The anticipation in the crowd was as thick as home-churned butter! The announcer gently drew another number... "7... 2... 5..." ME! THAT'S MY NUMBER! I WON!!! I was beyond excited, and still don't fully believe it!

Arizona Highlights...

For Christmas, Nate flew me out to Arizona for a week to play, and play we did! The week was full of fun and exciting activities, it would be impossible to talk about each one. Here are a few highlights...

A surprise trip to the lake. We packed a picnic, and went exploring on Saguaro Lake!


A tour of MacArthur Elementary School in the rain! I loved seeing where Nate lined up for class, played games at recess, and ate lunch. Elementary schools are priceless...

Playing cards almost everyday. Sometimes Wackee Six, sometimes Rummy...either way, always fun!

Meeting family and friends kept us busy, but Nate snuck us away to have dinner at Maggiano's for some delicious Italian food.

We got a huge group together to play volleyball! Sooo much fun!

Experiencing "Happy Hour" at Sonic! We all got a Route 44 drink for $1.05. Two words to describe this experience: Huge and Yummy!

Setting up a comfy spot for a movie. No surprises here... I fell asleep :(

The Mesa Temple Lights! My favorite part was the wise men and their camels :)

The whole week was a blast. Nate and I got to fly home together, which was fun. Back to the real world we went, but with a refreshed attitude for the new year!

Bean Boozled...

After the Hunger Games Series (which is amazing, by the way!), I decided to start the Harry Potter Series. In the first book, Harry and his friend Ron play this jelly bean game that sounded beyond fun! I was so fascinated by the game, I found it online, and immediately bought it. The game includes a pile of assorted jelly beans, full of delicious and surprising flavors, and a spinner. You spin the wheel, and you have to eat a jelly bean that corresponds with the color that you landed on. Sounds simple, right?! Well, the catch is the flavor of the jelly beans. There are 10 different colors, and you have a 50-50 chance of picking a good flavor, or a bad flavor. Here are your options...

• Caramel Corn or Moldy Cheese
• Berry Blue or Toothpaste
• Buttered Popcorn or Rotten Egg
• Top Banana or Pencil Shavings
• Chocolate Pudding or Canned Dog Food
• Coconut or Baby Wipes
• Juicy Pear or Booger
• Licorice or Skunk Spray
• Peach or Barf
• Strawberry Jam or Centipede

You have no way of knowing which flavor you're going to get, but you wait with anticipation as the juices hit your taste buds! We had our little dinner group the other night, so naturally Nate and I brought over the game. Jeff, Maxi, Nate and I played a couple rounds, and then quit after our breath was out of control. This is literally what our faces looked like as we played...


Sidenote: Do not play this game if you want to kiss your boyfriend at the end of the night. I guess having breath like canned dog food or moldy cheese is a turn-off...