Sunday Will Come

I shared the video with the kids in Senior Primary today and I loved it so much that I thought that I would post it here as well.

My lesson was on the Resurrection of Jesus and it went surprisingly well today. (MUCH better than when I taught a few weeks ago.)

Enjoy!

And now, Regan and I are off to make these  for a family he home teaches that recently had a baby. Here's a picture in case you don't like to click on links :)

bucket list

It only took me 14 months to find, order, and a pickup... but I finally have some buckets to go along with my gamma lids. 

 Let the food storage begin!

NYC- help!

Regan and I are using some left over delta vouchers to head to NYC in a couple of weeks. 

It has been years since either of us have been so I'm looking for suggestions. 

Any tips? (Places to go, things to see, food to eat?)

happy valentines day to me!!

I'm not really sure how you say it better than that...

Last night I had to work late (bummer) but had a surprise when I got home! Regan whipped up some batter to make some Valentine fortune cookies. Unfortunately, they were much harder than we expected. Like, we failed three batches in a row. Such a fun idea but not so easy to implement. So we gave up, cooked the rest of the batter into one huge fortune pancake, and watched 30 Rock. I love Thursdays. 

Too bad no one is going to get Regan's "Hearts will be broken" fortune. 

Have I mentioned that I'm married to a moon shooter?

a little update

I've been oh so neglectful of this dear blog. I'd like to blame it on the fact that I've been so busy... but we all know that would be a stretch. Mostly, I haven't really felt like I have had a whole lot to update you all on. You can only post "We went to Costco again last night" so many times before it starts to get embarrassing. Right, Clayton? (hahaha...I'm so funny.) But, enough time has passed that perhaps I can manage to scrounge up some sort of post.  That doesn't sound very promising now does it? This little blog of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let's go WAY back...

December.

After Regan finished acing his exams, we flew to Utah for Christmas... hoping the whole time we might get bumped again like last year (not to delay our arrival of course, but because I like to fly for free.) Despite my best attempts at sweet talking/stalking that Delta staff, none of our flights were oversold. Imagine that.

We had such a fun time hanging out with Regan's family and we even got to see some of my Utah clan while we were there (extended family on my dad's side,  Jordan Romans family, and of course Chrissi-who I still always refer to as "my roommate".)  I loved getting to see all of our cute cute cute nieces and nephews. We even got to finally meet Jessica and Jon's little baby, Parker. (See him playing the role of baby Jesus in our nativity below.) We had so much fun playing games. Ticket to ride, hearts (of course), mafia, etc. We went sledding, we ate way too much, oh and I definitely broke Ann's needle on her serger. Oops. I may or may not have woken Regan up to tell him and then started giggling uncontrollably when he made a joke which turned into random crying and then laughing again. I will neither confirm or deny. Did I mention that we were staying up really late to play hearts? Yes, I sew like a five year old but Ann was so so kind and patient with me while I worked on some Christmas gifts for my brother's family.

Left to Right: Jon, Parker, Jessica, Tori, Elsie, Alyssa, Kale, Me, Livvie, and Ben- the musically inclined roving donkey :) which of course was the best part in my opinion. Besides Jessica pulling Parker out of her wrap under her rob at the perfect cue. That still makes me chuckle.

And the whole family with the annual basement couch shot. 

Some day maybe I'll make a flip book of these.

Regan will be happy that we have documentation of him opening up a blanket from Kami.  

(As I have since claimed it as my own and started calling it MY warm fleece blanket.) 

Thanks, Kami... I sleep with it every night.

We made it back to Richmond just in time to get to go to Maggiano's with my family. We flew in to Raleigh, NC at midnight, drove in some sketchy weather, stopped to see my dad at work and then went right to sleep in a NEW mattress that my parents got for my old room. My mom was even awake at 4 am to greet us. Is anyone surprised? [wink] 

Between staying up so late in UT and driving all night we almost didn't make it to our 11:30 lunch appointment with my family. My dad called to me upstairs at 11am to ask if we were about ready and I had some sort of panicked flashback to high school and over-sleeping. I yelled back, "YEP!" and have never gotten ready so fast (shower, blow dry, makeup and all!) Our Richmond leg of the trip was short and sweet (yet, we still found time to go to Ukrops and we even met my cute friend Rach and her husband there) and left me dreading going back to real life. 

January. 

In January I started serving in the Primary as the Second Counselor which has been a lot of fun and has helped me to stretch myself in ways I didn't anticipate. I'm much busier but I'm grateful for the experience. And every week something in Jr. Primary has me cracking up. Oh, and I've got lots to learn when if comes to Jr. Primary sharing time. Tips? Anyone?

We've had a little bit of snow this year which has been awesome. I get paid on snow days so of course, I'm praying for snow and then more snow. (But, I guess I just must not be as righteous as whoever is praying for snow up in DC...) On top of missing church and a few church meetings, I went in to work late three days in a row and then had one full day off. Unfortunately, now that I think about it I realize that I used very little of all that time to do anything productive. Hmm....

Because, with all of this being trapped at home business, we have had lots of time to perfect our pizza making skills. Seriously guys, Regan is becoming quite the sauce maker and "pizza artist". However, word to the wise, he doesn't really like it when I say, "SAUCEY!" We've watched a ton of movies and played lots of scrabble. Do you feel sad for us? No really, I realize that it doesn't sound like our lives are very exciting and you're thinking, "Scrabble? Really?" But, we've been fortunate to get to spend lots of time together  so far this semester and have only gotten a little sick of each other :) And I beat Regan at least twice. So there.

Despite the usual worries and stress, 2010 has been good to us so far. 3L year is quickly becoming my favorite so far and I am optimistic that life after law school will in fact be a reality before we know it. Here's to hoping that it is less stressful :)

Sacrifice (and another reason to love serving in Primary)

While teaching a lesson at a primary activity last week I asked the children what they could do to show Heavenly Father that they love Him. One of the Sunbeams raised her hand excitedly and when I called on her she said, "We can sacrifice!"

Clearly, I was blown away by this response. So, mimicking her enthusiasm I said,
"That's great! And what can we sacrifice?"

Her response, "Our bodies!"

(I'm still not sure how I got through the rest of the lesson. )

"I like pie"... AKA, my foray into instructional cooking

I have a boy in my primary class who says "I like Pie" in a funny voice at some point of Sunday School every single week. Apparently, other kids in our primary say it too. I don't really get it but he's a cute kid so it just makes me laugh. (But have I mentioned that I've been teaching him since January? And that this part of our conversation every week?) I swear, I can't think or talk about pie without quoting "I like pie!" But I guess what? I do like pie!

So anyway, that was just a long winded introduction to what we've been up to.

Tonight Regan and I attempted our first homemade apple pie- a caramel apple with a lattice top.

It looks so so beautiful. We can't wait for the fruit of our labors. (Ha!)

We used a Real Simple pie crust recipe from the November issue (found here) and adapted this apple pie recipe (from Our Best Bites) by adding the caramel, which was really Regan's brainchild.

(fyi, I LOVE everything on Our Best Bites . Everything.)

We were so excited about this pie that I even took some video footage. (It is very short- I also made 3 doz rolls and at this point I was only about halfway done making them at nearly 11pm.) I really think we are ready for our own cooking show, don't you? Watch out Paula and Giada!

On the first video at around 4 seconds I start to get really excited but then I reign it in really quickly. Can you hear it in my voice? The second video is pretty much the same thing but it makes me laugh that Regan doesn't talk. Maybe next time I'll actually record something exciting. Like Regan actually saying something perhaps! (But don't count on it).

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

oh yeah, i forgot to mention...

Oops. I was going to post this like a month ago. I'm so over Halloween... and on to bigger and better things now (Thanksgiving!) (Christmas!) but I figured someone out there is probably sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for this...

The resemblance is uncanny, right?

Sneak Peek

Here is a preview of my halloween costume. I went to the Goodwill to try to find a blue dress that I could make work and this (partially) wool one seemed like it would be the easiest to alter. This is my first clothing project so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out remotely close to how I imagined it. I'm definitely inexperienced when it comes to sewing (I can't even get my bobbin to to wind... so I had to sew it all by hand!) but at least I had fun, right? (Except for now I've got all of these little scratches on my arms from trying it on over and over again while it was all still pinned.) Now let's just hope that people can actually tell what we are trying to be. Have a Happy Halloween!

Before:

After:

Migas with my amigos

Found this post in my drafts... guess I never hit publish. Oops. We are really catching up, aren' we? Looking at these pictures again made me excited for DC with my family in a few weeks!

We had a FUN siblings reunion in DC last weekend. Here is the proof:

(Heh, just kidding. Not sure what I was looking at...)

the highlights (in no particular order):

matchbox mini burgers
walking the monuments at night
getting uber-sore from the "pizza box" with chels
running to get out of arlington natn'l cemetary in the POURING rain
a three hour long debate on... (what exactily was that about?)
sharing a room (and bathroom!) with all four siblings
denton's migas and cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning

These are the mini burgers:

Here I am pretending to listen (I really coudn't hear a thing he was saying...)

Migas. Regan has been telling me everyday since I got back that he wants to have Migas.

We finished the trip off with a trip to the top of the Washington Monument. Here we are at the bottom.

It was such a perfect time to go to DC. The weather was BEAUTIFUL.

"Do not post that picture on your blog"

That is what Regan told me when I took this picture. But I tend to think there is a statute of limitations on those sort of requests. (I don't work at a law school for nothing!) I'll agree, it is a little embarrassing... but its only been about four months and I'm already looking back on those times with fondness.

When we moved to NC we decided to forgo cable. Thanks to our digital TV and a sturdy antenna we figured we'd try our luck with the HD channels that come over the air. That added up to about 8 channels on a good day (4 of which are the local public access channels). Of course, getting that many channels is not a lock. We're only graced with Fox, CBS, ABC, and the CW when it is not too windy or stormy and we put the antenna across the room by the window with the perfect angle/rotation and the blinds are open (etc etc etc).

But sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. And I got REALLY desperate a few months back during the season finally of LOST. And this is what I had to rig up:

(Yes, that would be our antenna on top of a food storage bucket, on top of a laundry basket, on top of the ironing board, in front of open blinds.)

3 years ago today we were on our honeymoon in Boston

AND we were also celebrating Regan's birthday.

This is such a good week, right?

isn't it about...

Time?

So, remember how I've been thinking about getting bangs for like forever? For the past few months I've been talking about it and then chickening out. I would pin my hair to kind of fake the look and then ask Regan what he thought. Let's just say, I wasn't that great at creating the faux-bang look. And, I can be slightly dramatic so I think Regan was afraid that I'd regret it and then be crying over it... I was afraid that he was right. So I kept having Tiff cut my hair and leave out the bangs.

Finally, a few Saturdays ago Regan and I popped into her salon for haircuts. (This was Regan's first Tiffany hair cut.) And while we were waiting I was still practically hyperventilating to Regan about what to do. I really wanted a change but you guys know how I am about making decisions (Or if you didn't I'll clear it up for you: I have problems.) Anyway, I finally decided that I wasn't going to do it... [Yes, I realize that I sound like a freak. Just trying to keep it real. Now you understand how hard my life is.]

Anyway, then while Tiff was washing Regan's hair he told here that I really wanted them but was fear stricken. (Or something to that effect). And I said that maybe I should just do it so I won't keep debating. And she said we were doing it.

And so we did:

Here is a picture after just coming home from the salon. I don't know if its a lacking skill, using different product, or having a cheap walmart straightener, but I can't achieve quite that same sleekness as she can. But, I'm okay with that because I like my hair to have a little more body anyway.

But I am loving the bangs. (And so is Regan!) It took a few days to get used to having something on my forehead but now its no big deal. Not sure why I was such a sissy. Tiff told me they would work well with my hair and now I finally believe her.

Arr Arr 09

We went to Duck, NC again a few weeks ago for the annual Romans Reunion. This year Regan and I were in charge. I was a little worried about the weather but after the first two days the sun came out and it was beautiful. We had a loose pirate theme... hence the title of this post. (Get it? Arr Arr 09 = RR 09 = Romans Reunion o9. ) I think it was really fun all in all but I'm glad I don't have to do it again for a while:)

A few things I discovered:

Going from planning food for two to worrying about food for 21 people for 6 days = not so easy!

Having the kids gather in the basement first thing in the morning (instead of the living room on the top floor above where I slept)= genius.

Hearts= the best card game; Shooting the moon= Regan's new favorite past time.

And now, for the part you really came to see:

The Planners

(before I got my hair cut... with side bangs! Pics to come.)

The whole family:

Just the kids:

The Siblings:

Each family was in charge of an activity. Denton & Marissa planned some water games and got Regan in on the action. First the kids got to stand five feet away and pelt Regan with water balloons... and then madness ensued. Here is Regan with a little too accurate of aim. I feel like its okay to post this picture because despite this he and Ellie could remain friends.

Yep, it hit her. He felt bad. I think she felt worse.

I got hit square in the nose by Felix so I know that had to hurt.

On Friday we hit the beach and had a sand castle building contest + picnic.

Our team made a huge turtle. Unfortunately, all of the kids on our team wanted to be on Uncle Dana, Uncle Denton, and Uncle Regan's team. You can see them in the back ground. They made a huge pyramid (but I can't seem to find a picture of the final product.) We used the buckets that the kids all decorated for Jordan & Melissa's craft time (and once again I didn't get a good picture of the action.)

Chels & Dana did a treasure hunt. I'm pretty sure at least a few of the kids

(and maybe Marissa?) wet their pants when Dana jumped out as a quasi- jack sparrow.

One of my favorite parts of the Reunion I don't have pictures to document but I really had fun with Adult Kids Time. We hung out on the patio listening some cuban music while having orange julius and chips & guacamole. We got to spend about and hour and a half just talking. Meanwhile, the kids had some Grandparents time upstairs.

Also, I really really loved riding around on the beach cruisers everyday. I might just have to dust off my bike and bring it out of retirement in my parents' garage.

So that is the week in a nut shell. Can't wait for the next one!

What the what?!

Any one else having bad flashbacks from this picture? (Don't tell me that the rest of you never went into exams less than prepared...)

All I can say is I'm SO glad that time in my life is OVER. And now I can only hope for the same thing for Regan. He is in the middle of his last final of the year as I type this. YAY! Two down and one to go. (Years that is.) And now: it's time to celebrate!

Now that the dreaded tests are done can some one please slow this aircraft down? Is it always going to be like this? You know what turbulence does to me...

RIP, little friend

My cell phone finally met its demise these week. It only took me dropping it 5 times within three days for it to happen. I didn't do it on purpose... it was like once I dropped it the first time I just couldn't keep it off the ground. It tasted freedom and couldn't go back... or something. This little guy has been with me everyday for the past 2.5 years. I am truly lost with out it. Don't you feel so sorry for me? I'm hoping that when I take it into the Sprint store tomorrow morning they tell me they can pull of all of my contacts and info. Fingers crossed!

we heard rumors of its return. and then the most wonderful thing happened: they came true.

A few weeks ago I heard Regan whisper 'I love you' while we were at Costco. I glanced sweetly up at him only to realize he wasn't talking to me but to this:

Not that I blame him. I feel the same way. Its so so good. (Even if it is soooo bad.)

black or pinto beans...

As you know, I'm ALWAYS on the hunt for new quick recipes. And I think I hit the jack pot on this one from the March Real Simple. It is super easy, delicious, and best of all: CHEAP. Always a recipe for success, if you ask me. You should make it... and then report back!



ps- I left out the radishes/cilantro (because I didn't have them on hand) and didn't miss them.

our claycation in the district

Last week was spring break for Regan. Lucky for us my boss sent me home early a few of the days and we got to enjoy the beautiful weather seeing some of best that Winston-Salem has to offer... which actually didn't take that long... so we decided that I should take a few days off and get outta dodge before the 'finals stretch' approaches. We road tripped it to DC with our friends Tiff & Andrew. We made a brief stop in Richmond for a night to introduce them to my family, show off our favorite places, and of course over-hype Ukrops' (which our friends assured us did not disappoint.)

Regan and I stayed with Clayton once we made it to DC (and he was a most excellent host.) Our trip had a theme: burgers. Clayton treated us to our favorite stop in the district: Matchbox. Man, we love those mini burgers. And Regan fell in love with a new place that Clayton introduced us to called Ray's Hell Burgers. And in case you are too lazy to click the link: (I know you so well...) they are "made from a blend of hand-trimmed prime beef, charred over an open flame and cooked to order". So so awesome.


The weather was pretty dreary most of the time we were there but we didn't let it stop us. I think one of my favorite parts of the trip (besides beating Clayton, Heather, and Regan at Hearts... despite the fact that I was having a really hard time grasping the rules to the game) was going back to where it all began:


This was our first time going back to the Washington DC Temple since we were married and it was really really neat. (And I was a LOT less nervous this time :) I am so glad that we had the chance to go (and that we actually found our way there... eventually.)

In summary, our Claycation (to borrow a term coined by Regan over the weekend) gets two thumbs up. From each of us.

happy day-before-my-favorite-holiday

I just love hearts, pink + red, love notes, {and treats, obviously}. So naturally, Valentines day ranks pretty high up there on my list. I don't care if it is a made-up holiday. If you ask me, its one of the best made-up holidays around.

We are starting the celebrations today. (You gotta spread it out, you know?) Except, I didn't wear any pink or red today. Well, I am wearing my red shoes but I wear those all the time so I don't know that that counts.

And now, for your reading pleasure, a special Valentines Day memory from yours truly:

When I was in sixth grade I had a HUGE crush (as in, like a 4 year crush) on my old neighbor Patrick Judy. My new neighbor, Melissa, was best friends with Patrick and found out about my undying love and she figured I really needed to do something about it. Somehow she convinced me that we needed to walk up to Food Lion across the street and buy some gifts so I could be a secret admirer. She even pitched in and bought half of the loot: cards, candy, probably a stuffed animal... you know how it is.

I teetered on the fence for a while. It didn't really seem like the best idea. Cue her sales brilliant sales pitch: "We'll never tell him, Lindsay. We'll just put the stuff in his locker and he will never know who it was from." Really, what could be the harm in that? (What I saw as the point to doing it still alludes me... )

So anyway, I did it. Each day a new gift, for about a week. And I would hear him talk about it in the halls. And I would hear him ask Melissa over and over again who it was. And I would die a thousand deaths before realizing that it was ok... my secret was safe with Melissa.

Until it wasn't. You know where this story is going, right? Of course.

Melissa called me one afternoon, very upset. Patrick wanted to know. (I guess not telling him was ruining their friendship. Or something lame like that.) What was I to do? I couldn't break up a friendship over it. So, I did what any mature sixth grade girl would do. I said it was okay (though, clearly it was definitely not okay). And then I tried to ignore him for the rest of middle school...but really I just blushed a lot.

Anyway, I love you all (but I love Regan best.)

Muah.