Thanksgiving Feast

On Thursday we had our friends, Natalie, Sean Mia (2 years old) and Crew (2 month old), over for Thanksgiving. Everything turned out so well. Rob and I had originally planned on deep frying our turkey, but after finding a fryer we decided it wasn't worth the cost. So Natalie and split up the food assignments and got to work.

On Wednesday I started baking rolls. I had to call Jane, my mother-in-law, to get a roll recipe. They turned out so well. I did both orange rolls and regular rolls. Rob couldn't stop himself from snitching the orange rolls.

Thursday morning I mixed up a raspberry fruit salad and put the turkey in to bake. I put to turkey in at 10:30- much to the astonishment of my mother and sister- and had it out by 2:45. It was cooked, carved and on the table a little after 3:00. Natalie and I worked on the potatoes and green salad together. She did the gravy, yams and a couple of pies (banana cream and apple crisp). I bought a pumpkin pie (as it is so much easier than baking it!).

All the food turned out well. I believe we were all satisfied. We lounged around for a couple of hours afterwards and played Settlers of Catan (yes, Rob did win!). All and all Thanksgiving was a success!

*Notice the new table? It is our first "big" purchase since we moved to Texas!

Writing Workshop

Last SATURDAY (yes, I had to go in on the weekend), I had a writing workshop. Frisco ISD uses the 6-trait model for writing. We were asked to write during certain parts of it. I thought I would share a bit of what I wrote with you.

Prompt:
"Think of a place that is special to you. Use sensory language to write about the place."

As I sit in the scorching heat and soak in the afternoon rays, I look around me at the serene world I am in and I know I am in one of God's beautiful creations. All around me are majestic sheer rock cliffs. I can see the effects of weathering and time on their faces- layer after layer of red, brown, and rust colored rock can be seen. They stand powerfully in the midday sun, giving me hope to be strong through opposition. Down below is sparkling blue water, lapping quietly at the beach. The motion of the waves rocks the boat gently back and forth, back and forth. I zoom in on the sandy beach across the channel. Scrubby trees have found a way to burst through the opposing heat. Small lizards scamper around, searching for an unlucky bug to snatch up for lunch. There is such a peaceful feeling here in Lake Powell. All my qualms melt away with the noon day sun.

Car Trouble

As many of you know, Robert and I drive the same car. We both drive the Honda Accord. Mine is a 2002. Robert's is a 1992. Robert's car (aka Blue Lightening) has had a wonderful life. It has gone over an elk (ask Robert the story). It has 250,000 miles on it! Robert put a $70 sound system in it before the mission. Anyways, he loves Blue Lightening. He wants to drive it until the day he dies. Now Rob works downtown each day. He usually takes Blue Lightening to DART (the local train) into town each day. Well a few Fridays ago, when all his family was in town, he drove it to the train station that was closer to Dallas (i.e. not the nicest area of town). Now Friday night we (his familiy and I) drove downtown to see the city and pick Rob up for dinner. When we finally got back to the parking lot with Blue Lightening in it, around 8:30, we were surprised to see a cop car waiting in the parking lot. When we got out of the car (all 6 of us in my 5 passenger Honda), we saw that Blue Lightening had taken a beatin'. The driver's seat window had been broken and the stereo had been ripped out. DART security saw the thief and chased him. The faceplate fell off the stereo (making it pretty much worthless). As sad as this robbery is, we could not help but laugh as we looked around. First of all, did the thief realize how old the car was? It has dents and dings all over it. Second, there was a $200 tent in the backseat (brand new for Rob's scouting campout) that would have been easier to steal. Third, there was cash in the coin thing. Fourth, a CD case full of CD's that could be sold. The thief was obviously not in his right mind. Eventually we got the accident report from the cop, scooped out the glass, and headed off. Robert and Daniel ended up taking it to the gas station to vacuum out. Daniel commented about how although the thief stole Rob's radio, and broke his window, it all was for the best as Rob's car was vacuumed out and looked like a whole new car.

Happy Birthday...Robert?

A few Friday's ago Dan, Jane, Carol, and Daniel were here. I had taken work off so I could show them the sights and sounds of Texas. While sitting around the kitchen table, we started talking about what are plans were going to be for the day. I wanted to take the ladies to Sam Moon (a store every women needs to go to as it has so many accessories). The men didn't want to stay here, so they started talking about possibilities of things to do. Dan sat quietly for a few minutes before asking, "Isn't Robert's birthday coming up? We should get him a receiver." We all sat thinking about if Robert's birthday was coming up before realizing that Robert's birthday was not coming up, HIS was! Dan's birthday was the next week! We all laughed! Not to worry, Dan was given a lunch and dinner (from Carol and Daniel and Robert and me). We could take a hint. AND Dan decided that for Robert's Christmas present he would be getting a receiver. Daniel hooked it up to our sound system. It works great. Thanks Dan!

Painful...

Last Thursday night, BYU played TCU in football. I would imagine it was a painful game to watch on TV, but think of how painful it was to go to! Robert and I got tickets to the game a few months ago. We had been so excited. The Coogs had been playing so well. We knew TCU would be a challenge, but we did not know that it would be such impossible to keep it together. Daniel and Carol drove all the way from Tuscon to see the game- a 12 hour drive! Dan and Jane were supposed to fly in Thursday afternoon- but Dan's ticket apparently was cancelled and so they had to catch the next flight which put them at the stadium to see the end of the 3rd quarter and all of the 4th quarter! You will notice the forced smiles in the pictures. It was everything I could do- as the photographer- to get them to look at me! Although everyone came for the game, we had a nice weekend together.

Johnny Fishing

In July, the Madsen boys all went to Strawberry Reservoir to go fishing. This is a video of Johnny with a fish. It was a fun trip for the boys. They pulled in many more than Robert and I did when we went earlier in the summer.

Homecoming Mums

In Texas there a tradition to get (or make) mums for the homecoming football game. Both boys and girls were them. Girls pin their mums to their chest, while boys put their mum to their arm. Rob and I had seen these mums at the grocery store, and not knowing what they were inquired about them. We thought, at first, that they were used to put around a horses neck when they win a contest. Rob and I went to the homecoming game last Friday. I couldn't help snapping pictures of girls wearing their mums. They look so silly to me! The homecoming game was unreal. Football is huge here! The game was played at Pizza Hut Park (home of the FC Dallas MLS team). The football game has instant replay on the 2 big screens! The band at half time was really good. They displayed many different formations. The game was fun, even though our team lost. Maybe schools in Utah should start the mum tradition! :D