Kamikaze Barbie

Our ward had a pinewood derby race the other night. The normal height and weight restrictions were lifted for this activity because they wanted to encourage creative entries. So, for family home evening last week, we all got pieces of paper and sketched several different ideas. There were some very interesting ideas for different cars including a toilet car as well as several different kinds of food cars. However, the winning design was the barbie car in the pictures. She wasn't very fast but then again she wasn't really built for speed. The winning car was a block of wood straight out of the box with some rocks taped to it. The "builder" of that car said that he used "Physics and stuff" in the construction process. Even though we didn't win the race, we had a good time.

"Doctor"

Audrey and Julia spent a couple of very happy hours yesterday playing doctor. This morning while cleaning, we found the following record of their adventure:

Patient's Name__________________Anistasia
Skin____________________________White
Phone Number____________________540-67
Fatness_________________________413
Last Name_______________________Herbert
Password________________________StateRoomor
Eye Color_______________________Blue
Doctor__________________________Dr. Dawn
Tongue Hole_____________________1/1
Age_____________________________4
Eye Stuff_______________________Blind
Teeth___________________________20
Code____________________________XOXOXOA
Hair Color______________________Blonde
Chest Growth____________________None
Scout___________________________White Dots
Nails___________________________Long
Middle Name_____________________Min

So, aside from blindness and the lack of chest growth, our patients seem to be healthy.

Virginia Hams

I don't want call my baby girl chubby but as we were walking by this sign in Fredericksburg tonight, we just had to get a picture. We're not the only ones who think that Natalie has some adorable meaty rolls. Last week for family home evening, Julia prepared a lesson on the importance of family. She drew a picture of a handsome dad, a beautiful mom, a lovely daughter and then she included the following picture of a baby. I wonder who her model was? (notice her rolls under the supporting arm)

Vegetables

A few weeks ago, we took the girls to Busch Gardens, VA and we had a great day. The girls were pretty brave on the kiddie rides and they wanted to try bigger and bigger rides as the day went on. About halfway though the day, we cut straight across the park which took us by the one spot in the park where the four big roller coasters cross paths with each other. We had a particularly good view of the big drop of the tallest roller coaster in the park, called the Griffon. A group of what sounded like terrified girls went flying by us, screaming bloody murder which stopped Julia dead in her tracks. She was ready to march up and hop on. We explained that she was 46 inches tall and the minimum height requirement was 53". She could not get the Griffon out of her mind and she later asked us how she could grow more quickly. We told her that she should start eating her vegetables because vegetable would make her grow big and strong.
Ever since that explanation, Julia has been eating plate after plate of vegetables. I consider this a miracle because before Busch Gardens, she wouldn't eat anything green if life depended on it. Any little piece of broccoli , a single pea or even a minuscule piece of herb would cause a twenty minute battle of wills at the dinner table. Now, she eats spinach, asparagus, broccoli and whatever else we throw at her without a single complaint. Sometimes she'll ask, "How many inches will this piece of broccoli make me grow?" before she puts it in her mouth. We tell her that it will make her grow so tall that it will make her crash though the ceiling. She will then look at it as if to study whether it's worth it or not, and then eat it. The change in attitude about food has been pretty dramatic. For example, the other day we were supposed to be at Julia's school for a kindergarten class concert at 6:30. We were pretty busy that day so I said, "Girls, why don't we go 5 Guys for some burgers?" Julia immediately responded, "No Dad...Fast food isn't healthy." So, I had to quickly cook a healthy dinner instead. Today, we went out to Firehouse Subs for lunch and she ordered a salad! After all of this, I think that I'm going to do what any parent would do-- buy her some high heels and take her back to Busch Gardens at the end of the summer.

Inn at Little Washington

Since we couldn't go on a fabulous trip for our 10th anniversary, we thought we would do the next best thing: EAT! The Inn at Little Washington is an old historic hotel located in Washington, VA, just next to the Blue Ridge Mountains and about 1.5 hours NW of Stafford. Inside is one of the top-rated restaurants in the nation with a 5 diamond ranking. Needless to say, it was food art. Incredibly detail-oriented, beautiful, perfectly cooked, perfect ingredients, etc. etc. Pictured is one of our desserts: the seven deadly sins. I wish we could have taken pictures of our entire dinner. An unforgettable experience with my sweetheart and best friend.

10 years

June 3, 2000 Temple of the Lord

June 3, 2010 Temple of food

It's been a wonderful 10 years!

lovely models

The girls had an impromptu fashion show today. Fashion designed by Julia and Audrey.
Makeup and Hair by Julia and Audrey. Fashion and makeup donated unknowingly and very generously by mom and dad. Natalie decided to go au natural.