Our Future Olympic Gold Medalist

Garrett has been on a swim team for about a year now and he loves it.
He swims 4 days a week for 2 hours each time.
He never complains about going.
The swim team recently had a swimathon
and Garrett swam 200 lengths of the pool
in 1 hour 50 min.
What a trooper.
Watch for him in the future olympics.

Where does time go?

I was going through some pictures tonight that we had taken at christmas time, trying to decide which ones to put in the twins graduation announcements. I was kind of taken aback. Looking at these beautiful amazing children, ( I'm a little prejudice). It all seems a little surreal that they are graduating this year and leaving us. Half my family is leaving my home this year. Some days it can"t happen fast enough, but only because the pressure of future decisions causes much stress. Zannie sometimes tells me I'm pushing her out, but only because we see her unhappy and needing a change. When we talk about it she agrees but is very afraid of leaving the nest. Andrew not so hard, he is planning on serving a mission and happily preparing for it. I know I've said this before, but time flies. hang on to your little ones while you can, and start saving money now!

I Love General Conference

I love that my whole family is spending four hours in the same room in our house. (this is very rare.)

I love the spirit that fills our whole house.

I love listening and receiving guidance from our church leaders.

I love watching zannie take notes. I know she is doing this for a seminary grade, but I am thankful for teachers who require it.

I love glancing at her when our prophet is speaking and seeing tears in her eyes.

I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

I love that Garrett sings very loudly with the choir and knows most of the songs because he has learned them in Primary.

I love it when he leans over to zannie and says, "I love it when these people sing."

I try to love it when my boys are sleeping through it and I'm praying that subconciously they will retain some of the message.

I love my DVR so that I could record President Monsons last message on Pornography and make my boys watch it when they are awake.

I love that our puppy Gunner wandered from family member to family member snoozing in each persons lap.

I love the spring weather on conference weekend.

I love that I am reminded of the many blessings I am grateful for.

I have a tendency to get weighed down by life quite easily. Conference gives me a boost and makes me grateful. I remembered a cross stitch hanging my aunt Michelle had in her laundry room in Wyoming, it said, "if all of our trials were hung on a line, you'd choose yours and I'd choose mine." Heavenly Father does not give us more than we can handle.

I love General Conference!!!

18th Birthday and an Eagle

SUCCESS ! Our journey to an Eagle with Andrew is done. Ironically it ended on the last day possible, his 18th b-day. Better late than never. The board told us that only 3% of registered scouts ever become an Eagle. I found that amazing and Andrew felt even more accomplishment.
Poor guy had to have his mother in there crying with them. I really wanted to bust out the camera when he was shaking the boards hands, but I didn't want to humiliate him completely. he refused to let me take a picture of him next to the sign on the door. I told him that someday his kids would be really grateful that I took pictures of these momentous occasions.



Much to zan and Andrews dismay there was no sleeping in on their 18th birthday. Zan's friend Jared came over bright and early at 6:oo to help me make breakfast. We all had a busy day and I knew if we were going to party it had to be early. We had french toast w/ strawberries and cream,(courtesy of Jared) eggs, and bacon. I was out the door at 7:20 for work, Zan was on her way to Vegas for shopping, and Andrew was preparing for his Eagle Board of Review.(in between games on the xbox). I can't believe my babies are grown up.

TAGGED

I swore I'd never do one of these but after much harrasment for my lack of blogging I will try to reenter the blogging world by doing this one. Be warned if i get another tag chances are it won"t get done. Things are crazy as always at the grossman house. I started a new job in august as a lunch lady. Not something I dreamed of being as a child but it works with the kids school schedule.
I have also been working at a quilt store a couple of days a week. As you see my lack of blogging is for a good reason. I have been trying to get used to working 40 hours outside the home and another 40 inside. I have decided that is not something you get used too. Don"t be upset if i don"t blog everyday! Here Goes.

8 shows i like to watch
1. Greys Anatomy
2. Amazing Race
3.Project Runway
4. Biggest Loser
5.Jon and Kate
6.The Hills ( i know so juvenile)
7.Lost
8.The Office


8 restaurants i like
1. Cafe Rio
2.Texas Roadhouse
3. Macaroni Grill
4. Cheescake Factory
5.Great Harvest (try the california cobb sandwich)
6.Did i say Cafe Rio
7.Samurai 21
8.Cafe Rio (we don't have a lot of options here)


8 things that happened today
1. woke up at 6:45
2. showered
3. did garretts hair
4. made orange chicken and rice for 400 children
5. blogged
6.visited with my neighbor
7.made meatloaf and potatoes for dinner
8.went to the gym for fhe


8 things on my wish list
1. a Maid
2. to be a stay at home mom
3.good scores on twins act test
4.a cook
5.Fall weather all year
6.Candice has a healthy pregnancy
7.lose 70 lbs
8.Andrew finishes his eagle by nov 5 his 18th b-day (way to procrastinate)


8 things i am looking forward to
1. Thanksgiving with family
2.Christmas Break
3.two new nieces or nephews ( thanks candice )
4.Andrew finishing his eagle
5.a day when i have eight things to look forward to
6.
7.
8.

8 people i am tagging
1. noone so don't tag me back. lol

Deja Vu

Can you do the Hokey Pokey or YMCA or even Disco duck? I took the kids to family night at Crystal Palace skating rink. The same rink I went to growing up and it seemed as though nothing had changed except the music. Our music was Thriller and Beat It. I didn't hear any of that but the classics were still there. Hayden and Stewart weren't really into YMCA, even after I demonstrated the moves. I can't imagine why. This was Garrett's first experience with a skating rink and he loved it. Stewart got third place in the races, but they disqualified him for hitting a cone. How Rude. Your still a winner in mt book Stewart. Kenady pretty much skated hanging onto the wall. It typically took her about 30 min. to get around the rink once. When she heard the announcement for hokey pokey I could see the fear in her eyes thinking she might miss it. I walked her out to the circle for the dance and they didn't notice I wasn't wearing skates untill about halfway through. The DJ asked all those not wearing skates to leave the rink. I was the only one.
Hayden helped Kenady finish the Hokey Pokey.
It was a fun night!

Friendship Bread Take 2

Hayden's first round of friendship bread went something like this:

Hayden spent 10 days cultivating his bread starter each day adding another special ingredient.

At the end of ten days uses 1 cup of special starter and multiple other ingredients to make the bread.

uses 1 1/4 cups of baking powder instead of 1 1/4 tsp. (you can see where this is going).

Puts bread in the oven. Within 10 min. bread is overflowing out of pans.

Hayden pulls pans out of oven and immediately turns oven on to self clean. (I am gone at this time)

Luckily I come home shortly thereafter and smoke is billowing out of the oven.

I instantly start yelling and questioning Hayden and tell him he can"t cook without me anymore. He typically leaves a huge mess for me to clean up when he is cooking.

We get the self clean turned off and I can tell Hayden is very upset.

I instantly feel very guilty. What kind of mother am I. I shouldn't have yelled and I should have been helping him make the bread. We hug and both cry and spend the next two days cleaning out the oven.

You can see our first attempt wasn't so hot. Take 2 went much better. We went over measurements of each ingredient. Had a lesson on how to be a clean cook, putting things away after we used them. It was actually fun and the bread looks yummy.

Hayden wants to be a chef. He has a long road ahead of him!