We all live in a yellow submarine

Today was Miss Sophie's first day in nursery. She LOVED it! And so did I. I came home from church in the BEST mood and I know it's because for once I wasn't wrestling, chasing, and entertaining a tired 18-month old, while simultaneously trying to get Relief Society attendance rolls in three different places, ask two sisters to give the prayer, photocopy newsletters, and still be spiritually edified. It made such a difference!

When church is over, our whole building turns into a freaking zoo. For some reason, one side of the church is practically vacant, and the other side is jam-packed with a bottle-neck every five paces. It's all that a hungry and cranky Mom can do not to flop on the floor and throw a Franny-style tantrum, circa 2006. Okay, it's not that bad, but some of you who read my blog attend church in my building. Have you noticed this phenomenon? Well, like I said, I was in such a good mood today that I didn't even notice the mass hysteria that usually ensues after the third hour of church. Yahoo for nursery! Here are some cute shots I took of her after church today in her new dress from her Grandpa.




I think Sophie should have been born with naturally curly hair. It suits her. My mom loved our hair in curls. We slept in pink sponge curlers every Saturday night when we were kids. So when I decided to curl the girls' hair for Julia's wedding, I did it for her. Now every time I see their hair in curls, it makes me smile because I know how much my Mom would love it. When Franny was a brand-new baby, my mom tried so hard to "scrunch" her hair with a little product. It was pretty funny watching her try and style a newborn baby's hair.

This afternoon we played Duck, duck goose for like half an hour. Then we played London Bridges for a while, and then Ring Around the Rosy. I'm starting to see why having a lot of kids could be a lot of fun. I love watching my girls interact with each other. It is so much fun to watch them learn and grow and become friends. I feel like this week I've had so many of those "moments" that Elder Ballard described in his talk. Lately, when Sophie (who by the way is uber-clutzy) hurts herself, Franny runs to her side to give her comfort and ask if she is okay. Tonight I feel really happy. I often feel happy, but ever since my Mom died that happy feeling is kind of laced with a sadness that just doesn't go away. I think that's probably normal. It hasn't even been a year yet. But sometimes that layer of sadness is lifted for a little while, and for once it just doesn't hurt as much as it did the night before. I am grateful for nights like tonight.

Is Sophie flipping me off in this picture? What's up with that?

The temple!

Can I get you anything? Milk, water, rack of lamb?

My brother used to say that to me all the time. I think it was his way of making a fat joke. :)

It just occurred to me that I really did serve myself a whole rack of lamb! Bobby was REALLY sick last week and I needed to use this meat before it went back, so even though I didn't finish the whole thing off myself, I prepared the whole thing for MYSELF.

On our last trip to Whole Foods in Kansas City (on the way home from the airport), I picked up a few goodies, one of which was my first rack of lamb! I also picked up a fennel bulb. I've been seeing a lot of recipes with fennel, but I can't get it here where I live, so I thought I'd better grab one while I could.

Rack of Lamb Persillade (from Barefoot in Paris)

3 small or 2 large racks of lamb, frenched Good olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 cups loosely packed fresh parsley leaves 1 tablespoon chopped garlic cloves (3 cloves) 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons) 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, meltedPreheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the racks in a roasting pan, fat side up. Rub the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast the lamb for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place the parsley and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until they're both finely minced. Add the bread crumbs and lemon zest and process for a second until combined. Take the lamb out of the oven and quickly press the parsley mixture on top of the meat. Drizzle with the melted butter and return immediately to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes. Take the lamb out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, cut in double chops, and serve. Roasted Fennel 2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs sliced Olive oil Balsamic vinegar 1 Preheat oven to 400°F. 2 Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with silpat or aluminum foil. Lay out piece of fennel and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize. This was pretty tasty, but I think next time I'll try a fennel-potato gratin.

The day before the wedding and the day before that

Franny and I had our nails done together on Thursday for the wedding. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! She thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and so did I! I was so proud of her for sitting so still while she was getting pampered and after while I was getting pampered.

Friday we all met at the church building to help put together the flowers for the wedding party and the centerpieces at the reception. She wanted vases filled with small limes and pink roses. They were really cute! I'm not sure if I got a picture of the finished product, so you may just have to take my word for it. We were there for several hours and Sophie and Franny were both real troopers! Sophie poured her water bottle on herself three or four times, soaking ALL of her clothes, so she just ran around the building in just her diaper (sometimes less!) Most of the time I didn't even know where she was- thank goodness Grant was around to keep an eye on her. That's my Aunt Gayle, Grant's sister Heidi, and his mom Sheryl doing an awesome job on the bouquets. (Mine was terrible! I wouldn't be surprised if someone had to go back and fix mine afterwards.)




Later that night we went to a dinner in honor of Julia and Grant and hosted by the Holmes. It was a really fun night with delicious food and great company. The highlight of the evening for me had to be when the fathers of the couple were getting ready to say a few words and Sophie lost her grasp on her balloon. The string was just out of my reach and Sophie was on the verge of a meltdown; I thought I could gracefully jump and grab the string but I was wrong. Instead a room of full of Julia and Grant's relatives saw me jumping and grabbing at air. That must have looked cool.



Clock-wise: The happy couple- aren't they cute together? Grant cracks me up when he makes that face. Richard and Kristy pretending they just met. Poor Franny, asleep and face-down on the couch. My Dad and Grant's dad saying a few words. (Which I barely heard any of, thanks to Sophie and her incessant whining over a certain balloon. It took my kids a little too long to adjust to the time change.)

My time in the clink

I realized I sort of closed up shop on the embarrassing moment stuff, but I reserve the right to report such moments as they occur going forward.

Do you remember me telling you about my speeding ticket less than a month ago? Well, with my sister's wedding, a trip to visit family in Pittsburg, and a four-day autism conference, I had not even thought that the deadline for paying my ticket might even be approaching. Apparently I had a court date Thursday of last week and Friday night while I was at the conference, Bobby and the girls received a knock on the door. It was a police officer and he said that he had a warrant out for Mommy's arrest. WHAT THE CRAP?!

Bobby told him I wasn't there but we would take care of it first thing on Monday. Monday morning we drove together to the police department. I walk up to the receptionist, fully expecting to pay the ticket and have that be it. Oh, Katherine, you're so naive... She calls someone from the back and the sergeant comes out telling me I need to come with him to take care of it and that I'll be there for 20 minutes at least. I told him I didn't think I could wait that long and could I come back later? He kind of laughed at that and asked, "When are you going to come back?" I wondered why he was laughing and then later I realized what I was really doing in that police department. I was turning myself in!

What ensued after that can definitely be considered for my embarrassing moment portfolio. The sergeant was very kind and talkative as he took my fingerprints and took my money so I could post my bond. (Is that the right phrasing?) He asked why I was in such a hurry, and I told him my friend was coming over to help me figure out my sewing machine. I guessed that he didn't hear that very often when he was taking fingerprints. Then when he said he needed to take my picture, I could not stifle my laughter.

"You mean like, mug shots?"
He laughed and said, "Yeah, basically."
Me: "So I've just been arrested?"
Him: "Yes."
Me: "So I have a record now?"
Him: "You sure do."

Awesome.

Today I called the B.F.E.P.D. and asked if I could get a copy of the mug shot. The man who answered was totally rude. He was like, "no we don't do that." I asked if there was any other way I could go about getting a copy. Then he asked what I was afraid he would ask, "well what do you need it for?" Embarrassed, I answered: "I want to post it on my blog." Him: "No we don't do that."

Okay fine. So I just took my own. I thought I needed a visual.

What if Jurassic Park were real and...

Julia's best friend Tara- who, as my mom would say is "top of the charts" as far as best friends go- threw a Bachelorette Party for Julia at her and Grant's new apartment in Rancho San something-or-other. We had a great time and laughed our heads off.
Tara made delicious food and had some hilarious little surprises planned and it made for a great night. And just by the way, her surprises included but were not limited to a very tiny replica of a certain male anatomy part that can potentially grow to 1200 times it's original size simply by adding water. Impressive. I am too embarrassed to share any details about the rest of the surprises!

Tara had us play a game called "What if?" We each had to write a question and an answer on two separate pieces of paper. Example: "What if Julia got pregnant on her honeymoon?" Tara would draw a question at random along with an answer and read them together. I could not come up with a good question, and the only idea that came to me was this: "What if Jurassic Park were real and Grant and Julia went there on their honeymoon and got lost in the jungle with all the dinosaurs?" I was embarrassed about it and my plan was to pretend it wasn't me when it was read, but as soon as Tara read it I burst out laughing, but it didn't matter because Julia knew exactly who it was anyway. I am such a nerd.

Julia married into a great family. It was so fun to meet them all. I've been blogging friends with his sister Heidi for a while now, so it was to meet her in person and I was so glad she and Randi could come to the bachelorette party. They are both a lot of fun!

Here's a group shot we were able to pull off using the self-timer function. Not bad. (From left to right: Sloane (Maggie's b.f.), our cousins Jessica, Vanessa, and Chrissy, Heidi, Julia, Annie, Randi, Tara, Maggie, and me. (My sister-in-law Kristy couldn't make it because her work schedule was so crazy, but we missed her!)
And my sisters and I. It occurs to me now that we should have gotten a good cousins shot, but I think Jessica, Chrissy, and Vanessa left before we got picture happy.

"Pretty Julia"

I want the posts about Julia's wedding to be AWESOME and that is going to take me some time, so I thought I'd post this one of Julia in her dress. It's one of my favorites. Doesn't she look gorgeous? I'm so glad I could be there with her. It was a very special day. Franny kept calling her "pretty Julia."