cake in a mug

cake in a mug.

I REPEAT:

CAKE 

IN 

A

MUG!!!!

go forth and make them.

you're welcome. 

1. make your box of cake mix.

2. spray your mugs with pam.

3. 1/2 cup cake mix in each mug.

4. cook for 1 min. in microwave.

5. add your frosting.

{god bless susie swensen and her genius FHE treats.}

the end.

a slab of gingerbread house {FHE: feasts}

do not let this house fool you.

for tonight,

we gibson's learned,

we are NOT architects.

we are eaters.

no shame in that.

.....

builder: sean

froster: emily

decorators: max & brennan

manager: chase ray

while we built our annual gingerbread houses tonight,

sean led our family in a discussion about feasts.

brennan wanted "everything" for his feast.

max copied his answer.

typical.

i said rolls.

i have to have my rolls.

chase played with kix on his tray.

grandma carol wanted steaks.

and

sean wanted grandma max's sweet potatoes.

we talked about how at a feast we indulge a plenty.

feast ourselves upon the grandeur of the meal.

then sean asked the kids how they can feast on the words of the savior 

during this christmas season and all year round.

it was a beautiful talk we had with our kids while we built a candy house.

i am so grateful for this beautiful time of year.

where i feel the joy of giving more than ever before.

and care less about the receiving.

when for the first time i find myself saying merry christmas instead of goodbye before i close my front door.

and it leaves a smile on my face,

no matter what else is going on.

at first there was a small gap in the roof.

then more of a gaping hole.

then we lost an entire section.

and then we decided we might as well just go with it.

so brennan yanked off the falling piece,

and served himself a slab of gingerbread house.

my favorite are the red gum drops.

but only on the first night.

b/c hard gum drops the next day are just not my thing.

this can't possibly be user error.

it must be a faulty house.

whichever.

....

P.S.

it should be ILLEGAL to rain in december the week before christmas.

all of the pretty snow is melting away.

sob!

title of liberty {family home evening}

{family home evening skit}

there's a story in the book of mormon about a captain of an army.
his name was moroni.
the story goes that a wicked man, Amalickiah, wanted to be king over a group of people.
he persuaded many rich and power-hungry people to support him in his wickedness.
many people were deceived and corrupted by Amalickiah, and he was made king.
Captain Moroni refused to be persuaded by Amalickiah, and was angry with what the wicked king was doing.
in this famous book of mormon story Moroni {chief commander},
is said to have torn his coat {very savage and manly like i'm sure} to make a flag.
on the flag he wrote:
"In memory of our god, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives and children."
he fastened the flag to a pole and called it THE TITLE OF LIBERTY.
then Moroni prayed to god, asking him to allow the people the freedom they had.
when he finished praying, Moroni went among the people waving the title of liberty in the air crying out,
"Whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them." {Alma 46:20 and 46:19}
i'm so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy living in america,
and i can't wait to vote this november:)
and last,
but definitely not least...

i give you,

the

wicked

KING AMALICKIAH:

 so ferocious.

s'mores in the summer 101

MONKEY SEE,

monkey do.

:):):)

it's hot.

REAL

hot.

so i spent 5 hours in the pool with my kids.

{i don't think i've spent that much time in a pool myself since i was a kid.}

floating might be the best feeling on the planet.

i'm beginning to love our mondays:)

note to self:

s'mores in the summer are not fun UNTIL the sun goes down.

if the sun is still up it's just too hot.

TOO HOT!

{it does however melt your chocolate for you. very helpful.}

snorkeling in an over sized mask

reasons why i love this picture of brennan:

1. bright orange floaties around his chubby arms

2. his serious "it's time to swim" face

3. the snorkel in his mouth, duh!

4. the dimples on his hands

{my cabbage patch kid}

5. the over sized mask

.......

last night we bbq'd cheeseburgers,

sliced a pineapple

{ok, it was already pre-cut from costco},

ate uncle dave's crispy cookies with chocolate chunks,

and spent the evening swimming with the fam.

i drank strawberry lemonade in a lawn chair with chase.

sean went between the hot tub and the pool with max.

she loves to jump off the side and belly flop every time.

brennan is terrified of being thrown in the air.

and learned the art of snorkeling.

we may never get him out of the water for the rest of the summer.

breathing under water=magic.

i still love it myself for the same reason.

no need for fish.

the act of breathing with a face fully submerged is entertainment enough.

although, when i finally did snorkel with real fish it was pretty great too.

but man, there's just something wonderful about a snorkel in a swimming pool.

i don't make the rules,

i just know they're true.

snorkels people,

we're talking about snorkels!

chase loves audrey.

i've titled her

"the baby whisperer."

really,

she is.

happy family night.

:):):)

the baby jesus and oreos

for family night tonight we learned about the birth of the baby jesus.
followed by a serious lesson on the art of dunking oreos.
brennan even mastered sean's "sinker" rule.
wait for it,
wait for it,
NOW!
max just overly dunked.
it was complete with singing and signing (did you read that right?) "away in a manger."
it was my favorite 20 minutes of the entire day.
yep,
we're on this week.
so on:)
except for the part where in my 29 years i somehow missed the part about WHY mary and jospeph were going from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
i don't know what i thought they were doing.
going there b/c an angel told them to???
or they were just moving???
or something directed them there???
my brain had just never wondered about that itsy bitsy little detail.
NOW i do.
NOW i know.
hallelujah,
to pay their taxes.
have mercy.
it's just plain embarrassing.
and enlightening all at once.
good grief.

"no meat. no whining."

family night.
swimming.
then some shredded pork taco salads.
after which we sat down for a spiritual lesson.
on daniel and king nebakaneezer from the old testament in the bible.
the part where daniel refuses the meat and wine from the king b/c he knows it's bad for him.
only vegetables and grains for daniel.
all hail daniel.
all i could think about was the amazing shredded pork soaked in coca cola we had at dinner.
so at the end of the story we asked brennan what the story was about.
and do you know what he said?
"no meat. no whining."

                     i particularly like the "no whining" part.

                          but the meat is another story...

                           for now, we'll just stick with

                                        "sparingly."

                               whatever that means.

tomorrow: you'll find us in FRANCE

 good night.

for tomorrow we will be

in france.

bonjour!

...

my kids have colds.

in june.

i am ignoring the issue.

the show must go on.

and i thought about wiping the cart down after their sick little germs touched everything.

but then i forgot.

i wonder if the "thought counts" in this situation?

probably not.

about halfway through the store,

the show was over.

but i still had half of the list to get through.

and half a cart already full.

then it hit.

the moment where we had to just plow through,

despite the train wreck that would ensue.

we survived.

and i only had to carry one out on my hip.

my friend keri has the funniest analogy about this:

"being in the grocery store with a toddler is like being pregnant.

you don't think it is really going to be that bad.

b/c you forget how awful it is until you're in it,

and then there's just no getting out of it until it's over."

HA!

not that the entire thing is awful.

there's just that moment.

you know the moment.

where the only thing you want to do is flee.

now i go with two toddlers.

and definitely want to be pregnant again at some point in my life.

but really,

it's can't be THAT bad;)

  thank goodness for family night:)

germs and all.

the family yard hosted foods from around the world.

i brought enchiladas.

and ate Korean meat.

and Egyptian rice wraps.

amazing.

with two helpings of troy's slushie homemade root beer.

brennan loves his "uncle" troy.

b/c really,

only great aunt carol cares that he's brennan's

1st cousin once removed.

or 2nd cousin.

or something.

whichever.

 i just can't get over how much she reminds me of ET.

it's the walk.

you just have to see her walk.