Our Happy Independence Day!

First, we started off the day by seeing Despicable Me 2.  We didn't want to bring the baby so John and little sis went first then big sis and me went last. It was a very funny movie! I absolutely love the minion's quirky personalities!  Next, we took a nap for a few hours after the movie. Then that evening we went to a BBQ with some family and friends at a near by school.  Lastly, we ended the night watching the Pleasant Grove fireworks! It was a lazy and fun fourth of July! No stress and hassle free!  That is how we roll on Independence Day!

The Help Book and Movie Review

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My thoughts: The Help is an incredible book definitively one of my favorite books in my top ten book list! There were a couple times when I laughed out loud while reading this story! It broke my heart how cruel some white people in the South treated the African American people in the early 1960s!  If you are a fan of the classic novel To Kill of a Mockingbird then you would enjoy The Help!  It is a witty, humorous, and well written book.  I loved all the characters in the book especially Skeeter's courage to write a book about African American experiences working as maids for white families in the South, Aibileen's precious relationship with a white child Mae Mobley, and Minny's fearless spunky personality! You would never regret reading this book!

As for The Help movie, I finally bought the DVD in December. Surprisingly, the movie measured up to the book in every way!  I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film and even my hubby liked it. If I watched it in a movie theater, I would have stood up and applauded once it started rolling the credits!  It was one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time!  I love the message from it, which we all can appreciate.

Easter Weekend Highlights

We had a fun Easter Weekend!  John's parents came to visit us for the weekend.  They stayed on an air mattress in our living room.   John was able to to finish our box garden.  I will be blogging more later on that subject!

Saturday afternoon, we ate lunch at Olive Garden with G&G Free, Mike, Rachel, and Jessica Free.  My nephew Justin Silva was our waiter. We had a great time visiting with everyone as well as indulged on some amazing Italian food!  We even got to sample some delicious desserts  free of charge!  Thank you, Justin!

Granny and I enjoyed watching the mini series of North and South based on the book by Elizabeth Gaskell while the guys went to buy some raspberry plants.  The kids dyed some Easter eggs.  We absolutely loved the movie and cannot wait to get our hands on the book!  If you haven't read or seen this beautiful masterpiece please do!  We highly recommend them!

On Sunday morning, we enjoyed attending church with G&G!  I made some cinnamon rolls with a zesty lemon frosting for an afternoon treat while the girls played games with Granny and the men were taking naps. 

They played Pretty Pretty Princess and Apples to Apples Junior!

The winner was....  GRANDMA!   She had the most bling!

For Easter dinner, we went to Marilee's house (my sister in-law).  We had ham, cheesy potatoes, vegetables, fresh fruit, home-made rolls and salad.  It was a lovely meal and the best was dessert!  Marilee made a scrumptious strawberry shortcake!

 Strawberry Shortcake by Betty Crocker

Strawberry Shortcake

4 cups of strawberries

1/4 c. sugar

2  1/3 c. Bisquick mix

1/2 c milk

3 T. butter, melted

1/2 c. whipping cream

Preheat oven 475 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix strawberries and 1/4 c sugar, set aside.  In a medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, 3 T. of sugar and the butter until soft dough forms. On a ungreased cookie sheet drop dough by spoonfuls or in a round cake pan.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Meanwhile in a small bowl, beat whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.  Split warm shortcakes or large cake, fill and top with strawberries and whipped cream.

After dinner, my father in-law talked about the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He always does a wonderful job in sharing his experiences and testimony!  Next, we played some games such as Do You Love Your Neighbor, Boggle, and Book of Mormon Trivia.  The kids jumped on the trampoline and played baseball in the back yard.  Some people went for a walk while others just talked with each other.  Afterwards we came home and the kids wanted G&G to see Tangled.  They absolutely loved Tangled especially the silly horse!  Overall, it was an enjoyable weekend with John's parents that went by so quickly!

Eggciting Weekend and Spring Break Monday

We had a terrific time this past weekend. We enjoyed General Conference with my in-laws, niece, and nephew. Saturday was extremely busy day! My first grader woke us up around six o'clock in the morning. Grrrr! We watched conference, my girls went four wheeling with their cousins, we dyed easter eggs, made a birthday cake for Manoel, we had lunch with Matt and Chiaki's family and went shopping. We ate the traditional easter weekend lunch: ham, cheesy funeral potatoes, green beans, bread, and a Waldorf salad. My mother in-law made an amazing cheese cake for dessert! While the guys were at priesthood session, we went to Cedar City to Walmart. Audrey and Savannah got to pick out their birthday presents from Granny. Nani got Manoel some missionary essentials for his birthday. Then we went to Ladies Night at Desert Book. We were all entered in a drawing to win books. We all got a free stationary set for coming to the store that night as well as some light refreshments. My mother in-law had us pick out some books since there was a major sale. I got The Remarkable Soul of a Woman by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. The other book was a Jack Wayland book which I read over the weekend. Days later my niece found out that she won a free book from the drawing during Ladies night! After priesthood session, we celebrated Manoel's birthday. We are eagerly waiting for his mission call to show up in the mailbox any day now!







On Easter morning, we went across the street to the park for the Easter Egg Hunt. The girls found a lot of goodies and met the Easter Bunny. Audrey was hesitant to sit on the Easter bunny's lap. She rolled her eyes at me when I told her to do it, lol! I suppose she is too big for the Easter bunny's lap! We continued our spritual feast by listening/watching general conference. I made Audrey's fruit pizza which is a sugar cookie base, cream cheese frosting/cool whip for frosting, and fruit toppings. We had lunch and celebrated Audrey's birthday. She opened her presents and ate her cake! After conference, John requested a father's blessing and I got one as well from John. We both have been discouraged lately and was glad we decided to receive a blessing.











As for the first day of Spring break, it was a dark rainy day on Monday. Mother nature is not ready for spring yet. It was my oldest daughter's birthday on Monday. She was disappointed that we had no plans since we celebrated it a day early. So her Aunt Karen (my sister) called me and we all decided to do a "girly" movie together. Karen surprised Audrey with some Sweet Pea Bath and Body lotion and body wash for her birthday present! Since Audrey and I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, we decided that would be the perfect chick movie. So I stuffed my big purse with water bottles and candy. We bought a huge popcorn to share among us. The movie was amazing! We absolutely loved it. Both of my daughters were crying during it as well as Karen. I was touched by it too but I didn't cry even though I wanted to due to the fact I hate showing emotions in a public place. I was impressed how it touched my daughters though. It is an example how sensitive my girls are and they are not afraid to show it. I would have to say The Last Song is one of Nicholas Sparks best book of all time. It is a beautiful story about love, forgiveness, and heartbreaks. My daughter and I totally recommend the book and movie.

The Book and DVD