Kelly Times Two

Jennie posted this political cartoon making fun of Obama's philosophy, and I thought it fit in with my candy post quite nicely. Since I'm trying to shed some pounds, I'm playing with my candy this year instead of eating it. I bought what I hope will be enough for tomorrow's trick-or-treaters, then artfully displayed it for a photo session. When I opened the big bag of individual skittles packages, there was one single green one that wasn't in a package. I ate it. But nothing more! I'm amazed at my determination. Fortunately, it will all be gone tomorrow night because we get a ton of children at the door for their annual sugar fix. What ever is left over, I'm sure will be devoured by the teens who will be coming over for a party afterwards.

Here's Elvis (in his later years) and a sock hop cutie pie! My hunka, hunka burnin' love, Christopher and darling poodle skirt Lindsey had a blast this Halloween as they always do.

I love this woman! Gabby, you should be in front of the camera more often. You look gorgeous. She's been through a lot with her health this past year, battling MS while parenting three small boys. I admire her strength tremendously.

Yesterday I spent my entire day with fifth grade boys. Yesterday Christopher's school had a field trip to the gem show at the Palmer Event Center and these were the three boys I was in charge of, from left to right, Nathan, Noah, and my son, Christopher. They had fun digging for shiny rocks, gems, and stones in the mining section. They also bought grab bags filled with treasures that included amethysts, shark's tooth fossils, pumice rock, crystals, and more. Later, the field trip went to the IMAX theater to see a 3-D movie, Grand Canyon, that showed rafting down the Colorado and some interesting, breathtaking views. Later that night, I took Christopher and three boys to see the University of Texas Longhorns take on the BYU Cougars volleyball. Either way would be a win for me since I'm a fan of both schools. The Longhorns won, and the boys were happy just to be there and have access to the concession stands. One of the boys kept calling it the confession stand by mistake. ...

Eleven years ago today, Christopher became the fourth member of our family, just eighteen days old. He adds so much life, personality, love, and humor to our home. For his birthday, he had two friends sleep over and for the first time ever, we put up a tent in our backyard that the boys slept in. They loved it! They filled it with sleeping bags, pillows, and junk food. Christopher got a new cell phone, so they could have communication with the house. They were a bit scared and had me keep all the outside lights on all night. These silly eleven year old boys know how to goof around, but they are good boys too. Christopher told me that before they all went to bed, he said a good-night prayer for the three of them out there in the dark. This is what I mean by goofy boys. Here is Brad. Here is Matthew. Then here's the birthday boy. It was a perfect fall evening to be camping in the backyard. I love my boy and am so thankful to be his mother. Happy Christopher Appreciation Day! ...

Look what I baked yesterday. Crust: 2 cups flour 1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup almonds, finely ground 1 teaspoon grated lime zest/peel 1/4 teaspoon salt (Wouldn't it make sense to use lightly salted butter instead of adding salt to unsalted? That's what I'll do next time around.) Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Generously butter 13x9 pan, combine crust ingredients to blend together in food processor until moist clumps form. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until edges are golden. Filling: 1/4 cup flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 4 large eggs 3/4 cup fresh lime juice 2 drops blue food coloring 1 teaspoon baking powder Whisk sugar, eggs, lime juice, baking powder and remaining flour in large bowl until well blended. Pour over hot crust. Bake until topping is set and slightly golden, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into squares. Garnish as you wish. I sprinkled a bit of powdered sugar on these, ...

Here's my one and only brother, Marc, a software engineer for the University of Utah, who is in Austin this week for a conference. He was starving when I picked him up from the airport, so we stopped at Rudy's just before closing. He loved the cutter's choice brisket, creamed corn, and buttery new potatoes. He is my first sibling to visit since we put in the pool and we enjoyed swimming on Saturday, even though the water was a bit chilly at 74 degrees. Kelly was in India and I couldn't figure out how to turn the heater on. The initial shock was cold, but not too bad after we moved around. Marc enjoyed taking mini breaks out on the deck and had a relaxing time with us over the weekend before his conference started today. The last time he was here, he loved the County Line, so we made a return trip there. Why not make it a Texas barbecue weekend? Live music out on the patio was pleasant and welcoming next to the lake, which is really a river. Lindsey and Christopher ...

Sometimes when my friend, Sherrie, who lives in our neighborhood, plays tennis to keep in shape, she often calls me to see if her cute little son, Scottie, can come over for a while. When he does, I get a kick out of his silly remarks and his sweet nature. Sometimes when he comes over, we have story time and he likes to get in the bucket and I read articles from the Friend magazine with him. Isn't he adorable?

Lindsey felt like she should invite her friend from school, Gus, to hang out with some of her church friends. She invited him to a mutual activity a week or so ago, but he had a conflict. So she took him to a Sunday School class party on the lake for some boating fun on Columbus day. They had a nice time, then went swimming at our house afterwards. Gus had a great time and so did Lindsey, and while neither felt very photogenic after just getting out of the pool, I made them smile for the camera anyway.

Lindsey's friend, Sam, invited her to their high school homecoming dance this year. It's tonight. This was her first time to get a corsage from and give a boutonnière to a date. Lindsey was hoping that Sam got her one for her wrist instead of to pin on her dress, and he did. "Mom, why are you making me pose to show my corsage? I feel silly." Here they are, just before heading first to the stake youth conference committee meeting, then on to homecoming. Such faithful and responsible kids, aren't they? I did her hair and make-up and Lindsey picked out the dress. Lindsey said that she and Sam laugh a lot together. They go to the same high school, but are in different wards at church. Sam is in ROTC and he has already asked Lindsey to the military ball in the spring. He's a senior and she's a junior. While getting ready for tonight, she got called from a guy in our ward to go on a date to go bowling on Monday during the day while they have Columbus day of...

On Tuesday, October 7, I was in Boston for the memorial of 31-year-old Dr. Allan Moore, who tragically died from an accident when he and his wife, Rebekah, were riding a motor scooter that collided with an SUV. Allan was an endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, the location where the memorial took place. The tributes by his colleagues and family were beautiful and touching. I have known his wife, Rebekah, since she was 12 years old when I was her Sunday School teacher when I was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where Kelly and I were newlyweds attending college. Her mom, Elizabeth, had just gone through a bout with breast cancer. She seemed to like me and the positive influence I had on her daughter, and later hired me as the manager for their home, which was the official university president's residence at CU. I worked there for a few years. Gordon left CU after about four years to become the president of The Ohio State University. Elizabeth's c...