The Gold Family

Easter Photos 2013

I’ve decided I really shouldn’t torture the family with a photo shoot more than twice a year.

It’s pretty painful for them (and me) to have the required patience with my budding interest in photography.

I find solace in one thing:

I am being a great example

of diligent pursuit of hobbying.

I hope that all my girls

will have hobbies

that they love and enjoy

and don’t give up

for any reason.

(especially when they are moms)

The pictures may look good

but trust me

they took a good hour or two

and there were many many outtakes.

Thank

goodness

for

digital.

My favorite moment of the day:

making out with LG

while the kids watched

and/or

hammed it up for camera.

My second favorite moment:

watching the girls enjoy the shore.

Note to self:

no guardrails

Crazy Family.

I’m really bummed

we didn’t get a good one

of this set-up.

really bummed.

2013 goals or Going for the Gold

I’ve been trying to finalize my 2013 goals.

Even though I gave myself a C last year,

I am an absolute believer in the adage

“goals that are not written down are just wishes.”

While at Ikea on our date Saturday

LG and I came up with a winning idea

on how to motivate our family

towards betterment.

Money is a pure motivator

for all of us,

so we are going to reward ourselves

with GOLD.

We decided on family Olympics

for 2013.

Or as LG says,

“We’re having family hunger games.”

Everyone will get to put their names

in a pot in a once a week drawing

for 5 gold coins.

We will all earn chances in the pot

by accomplishing

our 5 personal and 5 family goals daily.

(That’s up to 70 shots a week)

Unlike hunger games,

we want our names in the pot.

The more we accomplish our goals,

the better chance we have to win a gold coin (or 5).

Our theme is

“Go for the Gold.”

Get it.

We’re the Gold’s.

We’re so funny.

I am super excited about

the 5 rings of improvement.

LG and I narrowed our desires for our kids into

5 categories:

spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, and financial.

(See the above photo)

Here are the goals

we came up with as a family

in each category.

Some of these goals are going to be easier than others.

Reading should be a cinch.

Believe it or not

I think sharing feelings

might be harder (especially for some)

than daily scripture study.

The kids are already up in arms

about the soda

but I love that they will still have the choice.

If they drink soda,

they lose a shot at a dollar.

If it were up to us

we’d take it away all together

but this way we make the point

without taking away their agency.

I am super excited about

seeing how this family challenge

will pan out.

I hope to win a few bucks along the way

and I think this may

have the “fun” factor

to keep us motivated all year.

Anyhow,

I am sure you have all been dying

to see what my goals are for

2013.

With no further ado,

by category

we go.

Financial

1.Save a $1 a day toward family vacation.

2.Stay under budget.

Emotional

1.Journal/study/meditate daily before doing anything else.

2.No phone in bed.

3.Give a meaningful inspired service weekly.

Physical

1.Use myfitnesspal every day until I weigh under 160 pounds.

2 Keep running 3x/week.

3.Run 2 half marathons (unless I get pregnant)
4. Add in a fourth workout every week. Something other than running.

Spiritual

1.Pray every day.

2.Temple once a month (take Abigail with 4x)

3.Organize family genealogy.

Mental

1.Learn a new word every day.

(I discovered a cool app for this)

2.Go back to school,

even if it’s just one class.

3.Write every day

(blog/outline of novel)

4.Read 100 books

(adding in 1 junior non-fiction

to regular reading goals)

Marital

1.Bond every night.

(Communicate regularly)

2.Go to bed and wake up together.

It’s lofty, I know,

but if I only get a C,

I will still have accomplished twice

as much as if I had never written anything down.

My OCD side really loves fresh starts.

Just think, we have one every day.

We will have a perfectly happy picture!

My mother-in-law requested family photos for Christmas.

In an effort to keep the Christmas budget,

we opted for my mad raw camera skills.

Yeah, I took one photography class

so that makes me qualified right?

Wrong.

So very wrong.

Add in
a dog on a leash,

a crappy crappy tri-pod

some cold weather

and a

“as stubborn as I’ll get out”

nine-year-old

and

wa-la

eventually

you have me screaming:

“We will get a perfectly happy picture.

Gosh danget.”

That got some smiles.

We can always count on laughter

to see us through.

And laugh, we did.

Like always.

Here are some good outtakes.

I was trying to test the shot
and I had already set the timer
so they entertained themselves
through the 10 sequential shots.

We got a bunch of great shots
and in about 10 of them
Caroline was sticking out her tongue.

I like to call this one
“Don’t drop the dog.”

The funniest part was that
I had no idea this was even happening.

When we got home,

Sophia came into my room and said,

“Mom I learned something important today.

You can’t put a dog in the simba pose for a picture

like you can a cat.”

It wasn’t until I went in to edit the photos that

I understood what she was talking about.

Please, don’t eat my head.

These are the best that we got.

I really like how the scarf pose

turned out

minus Abigail’s expression

and the random blanket

on the grass.

Don’t even worry about the discarded

old fashioned sled.

Geez.

I really don’t know what I am doing.

We got our perfectly happy pictures.

Merry Christmas Faye.
These will be on their way to you
in your Christmas package
as I know you won’t be able to figure
out how to print them from here.

Oh and sorry,
I forgot to do a pose
with LG.

Maybe next year.

We’re so Utah, just ask the Cafe Rio Pork

Here is a recipe

that screams Utah.

It’s Cafe Rio Pork

and it’s so delicious.

I made up the recipe

because I couldn’t find one that was good enough.

Yeah, I’m an awesome cook.

What can I say?

I lived in the South for 10 years.

It gives me the advantage.

I also like to keep it simple in the kitchen.

Throw the following ingredients into a crock pot.

3 pounds pork roast

2 cans cola (you can use diet or regular. I prefer Dr. Pepper but Coke or Pepsi or Shasta or generic is fine.)

About 1 cup and a handful of brown sugar (just go with it, but you can omit this if you want pork less sweet)

3/4 cup water

2 cubes Chicken Boullion

3 Tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 cup dried onion

1/3 cup taco seasoning.

_____________________________________

Cook for 6 hours.

________________________________________

Shred the pork into the liquids right inside the crockpot.

Cook another 2 hours.

Serve over hot fresh tortillas from Costco.

______________________________________________

Try the recipe.

And come back and tell me how amazingly Utah I’ve become.

I didn’t want to do it.

I didn’t want to turn into one of them.

But I have to admit

it ain’t half that bad.

I’m a Utah Mormon blogger.

Well, if you can still call me a blogger.

Since I don’t really blog anymore.

I took the following photo yesterday.

It pretty much tells the story.

I set up the photo myself

on MANUAL settings

because I have just loved my photography class.

You can’t be a good Utah Mormon lady

unless you are are enrolled in some kind of class,

right?

And you definitely can’t be a good

Utah Mormon mommy blogger

unless you know how to photograph.

I took the photo after running into the shot.

My camera was supported by a boulder

on the opposite side of the trail.

And look at us.

We are so cute.

Notice my Utah fashionable hat.

And my frame 35 pounds lighter

because I run every other day.

My kids are perfection.

Even my dog is perfection.

My husband is the bomb.

I love him so much,

and he’s perfection too.

Just for me.

Now, I wonder how many people

I’ve managed to annoy?

What I don’t want to tell you is

I set up the picture to hide my fat butt.

We went to the canyon

on a Sunday

NOT in our Sunday clothes

just to get a picture of the leaves.

Notice the photo

is lack of any oranges or reds.

My kids have rebelled against

family bike rides in the same canyon because

I made them ride all the way

to Bridal Veil from our house once.

Apparently 20 miles round trip is a bit much.

O.k. I don’t think its that far,

but still,

I can’t get them to want to go.

I threw the hat on because I took a photo

earlier that day at church

and my hair was atrocious.

Is that the right spelling of

atrocious?

I guess I have a ways to go

to be the perceived perfect Utah Mormon.

I think they all probably have a ways to go too.

The Art Fart

I really hope Sophia doesn’t decide to read the blog today.

I do believe she’d die of embarrassment.

I must write though

because it’s stories like this that I don’t want to forget.

And I do forget.

I forget as early as next week if I don’t write it down.

LG’s been playing with new camera more than me. I love it.

We finally got Sophia into an art class.

She has shown a real propensity for art since she was a toddler,

and I am so grateful we finally have the means to help her along.

Check out her very first project.

I dare you to say she’s anything less than a prodigy.

And now, here’s a little art fart funny from Friday.
I went into the studio to tell Sophia that I was there to take her home.
She was happily working on a picture of SpongeBobSquarePants in colored pencil.
Next to her was the cutest boy about the same exact age
working on what looked like a tribal tattoo.
They were both having a blast doing the art thing while bantering back and forth.
It made this mom very happy to see Sophia in her element.
When you know something about your kid, you just know.
And I have always known that Sophia has the soul of an artist.

Minutes later Sophia bounds out to the car and we head home.
I zone out thinking about all I have to do
to get out the door that evening in time for
a friend’s birthday party and a choral concert of my nephew at BYU.
All of the sudden Bella and Sophia are cracking up.
I ask them what was so funny.
Through fits of laughter they tell me.

Sophia – Nooooooo, don’t tell her.
Bella – I have to. Sophia likes __________!! (I can’t remember his name)
Me – (Not surprised in the least.) What’ so funny about that?
Sophia – Nothing. Nothing.
Bella – Well, Sophia and _______ were messing around hitting each other and being silly.
Sophia – STOP! Bella don’t tell her.
Bella – And then Sophia…
Sophia – (butting in because if the story is going to be told, she’s going to tell it) We were just playing around, and all of the sudden I farted. It just came out. I couldn’t help it.
Me – Oh my gosh, how embarrassing. Did you just die?
Bella – It gets worse mom.
Sophia – So then the teacher comes in and asks us if we need anything.
Bella – And _____________ says, “Do you have a clothespin?”
Me – Did it stink?
Sophia as red as a beat – “I guess so.”

This may not seem funny to any of you, but it’s moments like this when I just love being a mom. It is so fun to watch your kids grow up and become adults who are embarrassed by bodily functions.

Now, here is something to make it up to Sophia whenever she reads this story.
Sophia brought this home last year from school after the class all wrote down anonymous compliments.
She is one cool kid, even with the gassy gas.

And me, you ask?

How’s the photography going?

Well, it’s going when I squeeze in the time.

Here is one of my practice shots

while I was outside the art studio waiting on Sophia.

We are learning about aperture.

Photography is art.

Maybe I should leave it up to Sophia.

It’s a lot more complicated then I expected.

(That’s why I’ve dragged LG into the hobby,

he’s my scientific go-to man.)

Check out my the website of my super cool teacher.

Here’s a photo of another one of my cool kids.

She’s taking a cooking class right now.

I’ve always known that Bella would grow up to be a beautiful cook.

Shooting action is more difficult

especially without the right lens

but here is our Abigail.

I always knew she’d grow up to be a soccer star.

Caroline.

Notice that she’s reading dad a bed-time story.

At 6 pm.

That’s how it goes around here.

Isn’t he cute?

I do believe my car is in need of a wash.

And here is LG’s latest project.

An expose about the life of a housewife.

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

All the time.

Even on Sunday.

Race #2

The whole family participated in a 5k together.

I would say it was our first, but LG did one last year with all the girls.

Caroline didn’t join us this time.

We got a sitter.

It was a great time

and we appreciated the chance to have some family fun

while exercising AND helping raise money for the kids school.

Have I ever told you how much I love my man?

Thanks LG for supporting me in my crazy adventures.

It was a small race,

but Abigail was 14th overall.

If she would have passed one female

she would have won a top 3 prize.

Funny she doesn’t really “run” persay,

but soccer really is a great sport for overall athleticism.

Next year Abigail’s goal will be to beat Ms. Shepherd

who was 2 minutes faster than her.

I was happy with my time.

32:35.

That is almost a two minute improvement

from my first race in January.

I’ll take it!

Little Miss Sophia came in 6 places behind me.

At the beginning of the race she was sticking right with me,

I thought she would beat me,

but all my training brought me in 5 minutes ahead of her.

LG was the best dad and stayed with Bella the whole way.

At the end I ran back to them

and offered to carry Bella up the hill

but LG said “NO WAY ALICE –

She has to finish by herself.”

What a smart dad.

This is what we all looked like at the finish.

Go Gold family.

Go here for official race results.

Redneck Caroline

We’ve been having all kinds of fun with our four new idevices.

We are so grateful to LG for spoiling us rotten this Christmas.

Abigail and I got i phones

and

Sophia and Bella got i pod touches.

The girls now sit right across from each other

facetiming one another

like they no longer know how to have a conversation without a device in between them.

We are all glued to our screens.

We have everything at our fingertips at all times:

free music, games, books, notepads, cameras, dictionary, google.

You name it, it’s in there.

It has been absolutely ridiculous how much we already rely on these things.

We have even adjusted our family scripture study around them.

We now have the kids read a chapter ahead of time,

on their i device, of course,

because that somehow makes it much more fun than the regular paper Bible.

They make notes on their gospel library app as they read.

We then get together and discuss what everyone learned.

It is awesome.

Totally awesome.

Our scripture study has never been better.

We are truly likening the scriptures to our own lives.

I have been floored at the insight our kids have gained.

If I would have known what would have transformed from getting

i stuff, I would have done it a long time ago.

Of course, we have also been having a lot of fun.

Check out the juicyfruit sweet talk app.

Hilarious.

Absolutely hilarious.

Please disregard my overly obnoxious laugh at the end.

Halloween

I guess I better get these Halloween photos up
before Thanksgiving gets here.

Our girls got some killer deals
at K-mart on their costumes.
Sometimes it pays to be late.
50% off plus another 20% off coupon.
Then I got another discount on Abigail’s
because we had to sew a strap on.
I told the girls that we would only spend $5 on each of them.
They gladly subsidized with their own money
so they didn’t have to make their own costumes.
I think we spent a total combined of $30.

I can’t say that I was disappointed
since making our own costumes
would require my help.

I was going to dress Caroline up

as Shirley Temple

but she barely cooperated

for wings,

so what would have been the point?

Have I told you how much of a handful this kid is?

I wonder where she gets it from?

We dumped Caroline back at home with dad

after knocking on the condos

close to home.

Here are the girls out about in the neighborhood

with our two friends Natassja and India.

It seems we should live somewhere more exotic

than Utah

when we have friends with names like that.

I just loved this shot with the pumpkin.

Notice that we use pillowcases

for carrying Halloween candy.

It’s what my mom used to make us do

when we were kids

and the tradition has stuck.

Best costume of the evening.

Obama and his Secret Service agents.

These boys are awesome.

My girls enjoyed following them around the neighborhood

on our perfect weathered evening.

We got a whole lot of candy.

I enjoyed taunting Obama at every door

that us Utahns only give our candy to Republicans

who work for their own stuff.

I’m silly like that.

Squashed Dinner Plans

Experts say that eating meals together as families have all kinds of benefits for everyone.
This article on CNN recently sited some of the best reason to eat dinner together.

1- Supper can be a stress reliever.
2- Kids might learn to love their veggies.
3- It’s the perfect settings for new foods.
4- You control the portions.
5- Healthy meals mean healthy kids.
6- Family dinners help kids “just say no”
7- Better food, better report card.
8- Put a little cash in your pocket.

Recently, I tried out a new recipe for butternut squash soup. Shannon had served it at lunch and I enjoyed it so much I decided to make some for the family. You can find a close recipe here.

It was delicious. I slaved over it for hours. We sat down to dinner and everyone was instantly opposed to eating orange soup. Even my hubby wasn’t too keen on the idea. He spooned it away and tried to pretend he loved it, but he wasn’t fooling anyone.

So much for dinner being the perfect setting for trying new foods. CNN, you lie! My kids weren’t learning to love their veggies that night. Everyone was more stressed. I hope it won’t cause the girls to come home with bad report cards too.

I sat and enjoyed the soup while everyone else helped themselves to cereal. I gave a good sized take-home portion to our handyman who just happened to stop in at dinner to come to look at the furnace. He’s a healthy kind of guy and was gracious. So gracious I thought about trading my family in for a second.

CNN, I would like to take this moment to give you a true benefit of butternut squash soup.
It’s called “mom’s gourmet lunch all to herself the next day.”