9-11-11

Progress report to keep me motivated.
11 in 11

1. visit 11 temples this year and do the the temple work for at least 22 of our departed ancestors - COMPLETED July 2011

• 1. Provo, Utah temple-10 sealings for couples and sons
• 2. Provo, Utah temple - 5 initiatory
• 3. Albuquerque, New Mexico temple - 5 initiatory
• 4. Mesa, Arizona temple - 1 endowment
• 5. Laie, Hawaii temple - 1 endowment
• 6. St. George, Utah temple - 1 endowment
• 7. Provo, Utah temple - 8 sealings for couples, 4 sons (Rick), 3 daughters
• 8. San Diego temple - 1 sealing for couples, 3 daughters
• 9. Provo, Utah temple - 14 baptisms for women, 14 confirmations
• 10. Provo, Utah temple - 3 sealings for couples, five sons (Rick), five daughters
• 11. Provo, Utah temple - 1 endowment
• 12. Provo, Utah temple - 2 sealings for couples, 8 sons
• 13. Provo, Utah temple 2 sealings for couples, 4 sons
  

2. lose 11 pounds

• Southern cooking is not calorie free
  

3. read 11 books - COMPLETED September 2011

• 1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 2. Heidi (a childhood favorite - loved reading it again)
• 3. Same Kind of Different as Me
• 4. The Forgotten Garden
• 5. Jane Eyre
• 6. The Book Thief
• 7. Believing Christ
• 8. The Hunger Games
• 9. Catching Fire
  
• 10. Mockingjay
  
• 11. Rebel (book on tape while driving through the south, which lasted 16 hours!)
  

4. organize & label 11 of our family photo books

• completed 4 books, starting in 1976 through 1982
  

5. visit 11 elderly people - COMPLETED August 2011

• 1. G.G. 2. G.D.E. 3. M. Y. 4. L. B. 5. V. B. R. 6. D. F. 7. A. E. 8. U. R. 8. A. L. 9. U. V. 10. L. C. 11. S. C. 12. P. P. R.
  

6. sew 11 items and give them away

• 1 skirt for Skippy, 1 blanket for Skippy, 1 skirt of Lauren, 1 skirt for Ellie, 1 skirt for Ada, 2 aprons for Skippy, 1 skirt for Skippy, 1 jumper for Kindergarten Lauren

7. go with Rick to visit 11 new places - COMPLETED September 2011

• 1. drove around Utah Lake for the first time
• 2. North shore Oahu, Hawaii - including Waimea, Haleiwa & Sunset beach
  
• 3. Hike to Diamond head, Hawaii
• 4. West shore Oahu, Hawaii - including Waianae, Maili & Ko Olina bay
• 5. Legoland, California
• 6. PETCO stadium, San Diego California
• 7. Mississippi - Jackson, Oxford
• 8. Tennessee - Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville
• 9. Kentucky - Bowling Green
  
• 10. North Carolina - Great Smoky Mountains, Asheville
• 11. South Carolina - Spartanburg, Greenville
• 12. Georgia - Atlanta, Athens
• 13. Alabama - Birmingham
• 14. Arkansas - Little Rock
• 15. Texas - Keller, Austin

8. send birthday cards to 11 people I don't normally send to

• 1. A. K. 2. A. K. 3. D. A. 4. D. R. 5. D. S. 6. G. G. 7. T. S. 8. D. G. 9. M. J. 10. L. C. R.
  

9. watch 11 old movies that I love but haven't seen for awhile - COMPLETED September 2011

• 1. Dances with Wolves
• 2. First Knight
• 3. Mama Mia
• 4. Groundhog Day
• 5. A River Runs Through It
• 6. October Sky
• 7. The Little Princess with Shirley Temple
• 8. Father of the Bride
• 9. Emma
• 10. Wuthering Heights
• 11. Fried Green Tomatoes
  

10. make 11 new recipes

• 1. Lentil soup (won't be making this again - it wasn't a hit with the husband)
• 2. Ziti Primavera
• 3. Cinnamon rolls (new recipe)
• 4. Easter Dessert
• 5. oriental chicken in the crock pot
• 6. Grilled chicken southwestern salad (from Jordan)
• 7. Fast Easy Bread, cinnamon rolls, monkey bread, crescent rolls with Lindsey!!

11. invite 11 groups of people over for dinner - COMPLETED July 2011

• 1. Lacey & friends, Pat & Vern
• 2. Valentine dinner with the Mark & Colleen, Trent & Kelley
• 3. Cleofon group of women for luncheon
• 4. Ryan, Jill and Corbin C.
• 5. Dave's friends from college - Erick & Sam, Bryan & Kelly, Danny & Danielle, Kyle & Kayla
• 6. Cousin Margaret & family
• 7. Niece Syd & Adam, Danny & Danielle, Romney, Jesse
• 8. Ryan & Jill, Corbin & Loni (BBQ outside)
• 9. Denise, Lacey & family
• 10. Adam and Crissa
• 11. Lindsey R. and her four darling daughters, Corbin
• 12. 4th of July BBQ - 70 family and friends
• 13. Ben and Melissa
• 14. Mom, David, Diane, Syd, Adam, Bishop and Becca
• 15. Dustin, Daelynn, MacKinley, Lucy, Syd, Adam

A southern adventure

We headed out the door soon for a 10 day southern adventure, and this time it will be a REAL southern adventure, as in we're going to the DEEP south. We've been to Florida, Louisiana, Texas & Virginia before, but not to any of the other southern states. Rick, Andy & I are headed to Jackson, Mississippi and hooking up with Jordan and Jake for the Labor Day weekend. We'll stay in Jackson and see the sights and then drive up to Oxford, MS to see the Ole Miss-BYU game. It will be a sea of red and white (but at least these people will be much more civil and well behaved than the ones we're acquainted with who red and white, even allowing for lots of alcohol.) Before the game we'll head to a place called "The Grove" and participate in some southern hospitality. Our friend Keith made the comment that Ole Miss may have "The Grove" but we have "The Sacred Grove." Good point Keith! We're all so excited we can't stand it. Hopefully the Cougars will prevail.

After that we're headed to Memphis, TN and then we're going to Nashville. Jord, Jake and Andy will leave us at that point and head back to reality while Rick and I continue on to see:
Bowling Green, KY
Charlotte, NC
Columbia, SC
Augusta, GA
Atlanta, GA
Birmingham, AL
back to Memphis in route to
Little Rock, AR
near Dallas, TX (where we're staying the night with the Fast Easy Bread queen Lindsey & her family)
and ending up in
Austin, TX for the BYU game there on September 10

It's going to be 2,376 miles through 8 southern states we've never seen before. Thanks to travel agent Claire who made all our arrangements. Also thanks to Delta Skymiles for finally accumulating enough miles to pay for the flights. AND thanks to my husband for teaching summer school to pay for the rest! Hooray!

If we live to tell, I'll do just that. See ya'll later.

How is your child smart?

Boost your child's success by understanding his learning style.

I came across this interesting article about learning styles. Parents and teachers have always intuitively known that children learn in different ways and that an activity that grabs one child may not be of interest to another. But many of our traditional ideas about teaching imply that there is a certain way to learn particular skills. As parents, we've all had times when we've become frustrated by our children's apparent inability to accomplish a task the way we were taught to do it. When we have a better understanding of their individual intelligences and learning styles, we can provide experiences that speak to how our children learn best.

There are many ways to learn. One of the benefits of the multiple intelligence theory is that it offers parents many options — if a child isn't responding to a particular activity, there are many other approaches to try. Rick and I have had an ongoing discussion about this truth. He learns in a certain way and I learn in another. I'm not good at memorizing facts and figures and regurgitating them. He is. I'm not good at taking multiple choice tests. He is. I'm good at remembering things if I can hear or see it first and then tell it back. This is why together we make a complete person! We do actually function well as a team because we both have strengths and weaknesses that compliment each other. Halleluiah!

I thought it would be interesting to think about our four kids and how they plug into these intelligences. Of course they have ability in most of the areas, but I think they excel in some more than others. What do you think?

The eight intelligences are:

1. Linguistic - Sensitivity to the meaning and order of words. These children use an expanded vocabulary and usually like to tell jokes, riddles or puns. They also like to read, write, tell stories and play word games. (this is Rick to a T. He is very smart linguistically. Claire and Jord has strong abilities in the learning style as well.)
2. Logical-mathematical - The ability to handle chains of reasoning and to recognize patterns and order. These learners enjoy working with numbers, want to know how things work, ask lots of questions, and collect items and keep track of their collections. (this is Dave to a T. He is AMAZING with numbers and math. Even though I'm not good at math, I do think I do well in logical chains of reasoning.)
3. Bodily-kinesthetic - The ability to use the body skillfully and to handle objects adroitly. Kinesthetic learners enjoy sports and love to be physically active. They tend to use body language, dance, act or engage in mime. (Andy, Dave, Claire and Jordan excel here, especially in mime!)
4. Musical - Sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm and tone. These children love to listen to and play music, sing, hum, move to the rhythm, and create and replicate tunes. (Jord does very well in this area.)
5. Spatial -The ability to perceive the world accurately and to re-create or transform aspects of that world. These learners doodle, paint, draw and build with blocks. They also enjoy looking at maps, doing puzzles and mazes, and taking things apart and putting them back together. (Claire and Dave for sure.)
6. Naturalist - Recognizing and classifying the numerous species, the flora and fauna, of an environment. These kids like to spend time outdoors observing plants, collecting rocks and catching insects, and are attuned to relationships in nature. (outdoor lover Andy.)
7. Interpersonal -Understanding people and relationships. These children have many friends and tend to mediate between them and be excellent team players. (Andy excels in this arena. He has more friends than anyone I know and he relates to many different groups of people. Jord is also very good in this area.)
8. Intrapersonal - The ability to use one's emotional life as a means to understand oneself and others. Children with this type of intelligence control their own feelings and moods and often observe and listen. They do best when working alone. (Dave and Claire have some of these learning tendencies.)

What do you think? Did I get them right?

the upcoming Mrs. Jimmer Fredette

There are a lot of broken hearts out there. Why?? Fredette announced to his 53,971 followers on Twitter that he proposed to his longtime friend, BYU cheerleader Whitney Wonnacott.

"I'm officially engaged everyone," Fredette wrote. "She said yes and she was completely surprised! It was perfect!"

Think about it carefully Whitney.

The guy doesn't even have a job.

Get ready for a taste sensation

COCONUT PINEAPPLE ZUCCHINI BREAD

2 eggs
1 c. canola or vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. coconut extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. grated zucchini
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple in its own juice, well drained (about 2/3 cup)
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 (4 serving size) box instant coconut cream pudding mix
1 HEAPING c. flaked sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (2) 8x4-inch loaf pans OR (4-5) 5x3-inch loaf pans; set aside.

Grate zucchini using the large holes on a box grater; place in a colander and press, letting excess liquid drain.

Place pineapple in a mesh strainer; let drain well. Press down to release any excess juice from the pineapple.

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add oil, sugar, coconut extract and vanilla extract; mix well. Stir in shredded zucchini and pineapple.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pudding mix until combined. Add to zucchini mixture; stir just until combined. Stir in coconut.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake @ 350 degrees 45-60 minutes for the large loaf pans, and 35-45 minutes for the small loaf pans, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 10-15 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack and cool completely. Makes 2 large or 4-5 small loaves.