Cookies!

Mom and I took a cookie decorating class that was 2 nights for 2 hours. It was fun! We learned how to make no fail sugar cookies, fondant, and royal icing. The teacher gave us the tip to use bamboo dowels when rolling the dough so that it will be the same thickness...ingenious! Here are the cookies that I decorated in class. I think I did a pretty good job for it being the first time. If we get the time, Mom and I are going to make fondant to put on all the other cookies that aren't decorated with the royal frosting. We will now need to buy some gel food coloring and meringue powder in order to make our own royal icing so that we can practice our new-found cookie decorating skills.

Chocolate Chip Candy Christmas Trees

 This week for Activity Days we decorated sugar cones to look like Christmas Trees. I got the idea from CouponClippingCook. The girls were very creative and loved the activity, in fact they love any activity that involves food.

A couple of weeks ago Kari Fredrickson was called to be the assistant activity days leader, I am so excited to be working with her! We have already planned out the activities for next year and I know that the girls will be having a blast in the year to come.

Halloween

So I know this is late in coming, but I finally remembered to write this post. Trick-or-treating was cancelled on Halloween day because of the weather and was rescheduled for Saturday, it was cold but not as cold as Wednesday would have been. Dad pulled the truck into the driveway and we put down the tailgate and sat on it as we passed out candy. The extent of my dressing up was to wear a Halloween shirt. We had 22 kids stop by for candy, it's the most that have ever stopped at the house. Four students from Jayenne, the elementary where I teach, came by the house. I have been asked if I think it is weird to see my students out of school. I don't find it weird at all, in fact I enjoy seeing them around town.

For Landon

On Saturday my sister Jocelyn had a baby shower for her little boy Landon who will be here in a couple of months. I was not able to make the trip to Michigan to attend so I sent my gift up with my parents. I decided that I would branch out and make a quilt for Landon. It was my very first time making a quilt and I made it as simple as possible. It wasn't perfect, but I am very proud of how it turned out. I think it is super cute and the great thing is that all the material (except for the backing) was material that we already had at the house!

Craftiness

Thank you Pinterest for this fun Halloween wreath idea. It cost me just about $12 to make, more than I planned on, but I am very happy with the outcome!

Spoon Party!

Last month for activity days we had a Spoon Party. The only information the girls were given was to bring any type of spoon with them. We started off by talking about the importance of reading and "feasting" on the scriptures. We then read a chapter from The Book of Mormon and played Fishing for Nephites. And at the end we did some physical feasting of our own. The girls had to eat their ice cream with the spoon that they brought, no matter the size.

My 2 activity day girls. Oh how I love them!

Kirtland Trip

On Saturday, July 15th I and 6 other women from church left Fairmont at 5:45 am and went to Kirtland, Ohio to visit church sites. The last time I had been to Kirtland was in 2001 so I was excited to go again, but not at all excited about getting up so early in the morning. I was able to enjoy myself and to build stronger relationships/friendships with those that attended. We were lucky enough to have nice weather, it was partly cloudy with comfortable temperatures and a nice breeze.

The Kirtland Temple

Mom and I in front of the doors of the Kirland temple

At the Newel K. Whitney store we were shown a room were a man slept to watch over the store inventory. Seeing this bed made me extremely grateful for the queen sized bed that I have.

I took this picture of the Newel K. and Elizabeth Ann Whitney home because I absolutely love the garden that is in front. It was a very quaint garden and I wouldn't mind having something like this at my home one day. 

 After visiting Kirtland we drove south to the John Johnson farm. I really enjoyed the Johnson farm and the colors that were used in the home. They were able to scrape down the cupboards to see the original paint color and designs. I love the way these doors look and thought it was such a cool design (they were originally painted by using feathers).

I LOVE this couch and if I had a fancy parlor I would put this couch in it.

Back Row: Juanita Church, Jennifer Hansen, Amy Thompson, Mary Jane Carmen Front Row: Me, Catherine Cox, Mom

In front of the Johnson home

We ran into rain on the way to and from Kirtland, and luckily none while we were there. On the way home we saw a beautiful, bright, and wide rainbow, this picture does it no justice.

Michigan Visit

I was able to spend 2 1/2 weeks in Michigan house-sitting/taking care of animals and spending time with family. While Charlie and family were out of town I stayed at their home to take care of their animals. During this time I was able to get a lot of books read and to simply relax and not do much. The down side is that it was incredibly hot while I was there, so I pretty much stayed holed up in the one area of the house that had air conditioning. Beside taking care of the goats and rabbit, I was tasked with taking care of and spending time every day with these adorable kittens. So cute!!!

 While in Michigan we also had our Hicks family reunion. I love spending time with family! I was so very excited to be able to see Beth (my best friend and cousin) for a short visit.

The day before I left to go back home to West Virginia I was able to meet up with my other best friend, Jen, for lunch.

 I love these two women so much and grateful to have them as friends. I wish that we lived closer together so that we could spend more time together, and look forward to being able to hang out together again one day.

Tigers Baseball

The view from our seats

On June 22nd and 23rd Mom, Dad, and I headed to Pittsburgh for the weekend because the Detroit Tigers were going to be in town for 3 games against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately the Tigers lost 4 to 1 both on Friday and Saturday, despite this, I was still able to have a good time. 

Justin Verlander on the far left who we didn't get to see pitch *sad*

Pitcher Doug Fister (6/22)

Catcher Alex Avila (6/22)

Waiting for the game to start (6/22)

Catcher Alex Avila and Pitcher Max Scherzer (6/23)

Waiting for the game (6/23)

Before the game on Saturday we went to Subway for lunch and the worker there commented on how we were hungry Tigers because we all got foot long subs. I had ordered a sweet onion chicken teriyaki sub and my sub was the last to be wrapped up. While the man wrapped my sub he said with a flirtatious smile on his face, "Sweet onion for a sweet tiger." It made me feel good but all I could do was smile, say thank you, and walk away to the table.

Before Saturday's game, hoping for a win (6/23)

Sewing Skills

So I have wanted to learn how to sew and finally had Mom show me how to. We went to Joann Fabric and picked out a skirt pattern. For the fabric I just chose some material that Mom already had. So...I sewed a skirt, with much help from Mom. If I had to do it again all by myself, I couldn't, but I know more now than I did when I started. Here is the finished product. I am pleased with how it turned out and already have fabric picked out for the next one (white with small black dots).

And a close up so you can really see the fabric.

Sweet Things

Over Memorial weekend my parents and I went to Michigan for the blessing of my nephew. I was so excited to meet my sweet nephew Wyatt Leslie Hicks born May 17th at 8lbs 14oz and 21 inches long. I LOVED holding and loving on Wyatt. He is such a good baby, only crying when hungry and when getting a diaper change. I look forward to being able to hold him again in July.

Another sweet thing is my nephew Logan. While in Michigan we stayed at my brother Leslie's house and I slept on an air mattress in their family room. One morning as I was waking up I heard Logan talking to his brothers and this is what he said in a very serious and sincere voice, "Hannah is sleeping. Doesn't she look like an angel?" That statement absolutely made my day and I still smile every time I think about it.   

Buddies

Over Mother's Day Weekend Jocelyn and family came for a visit. It was nice to be able to visit with the family and have fun with the kids. During the visit Caroline and I became good buddies. She is such a happy baby. I enjoyed holding her as she fell asleep each night and playing with her, and she enjoyed playing Uno with me. What a sweet little girl she is!

Bananagrams

This week I went to my friend Mary's to visit and spend time with her and her little girl Ellie. While there we played the amazingly fun game Bananagrams. While working on my crossword grid I was able to spell spoons and then unintentionally connected forks through the "s", and I found it to be rather funny and ironic. I then made the goal to use the "k" to spell knife. I was very excited when I was able to spell these three words and to have them all be connected. I realize this might not be all that amazing or thrilling to those of you who aren't familiar with Bananagrams, but trust me, it was amazing. For those of you who don't know the game and would like to learn more you may click here. Thanks Mary for a wonderful visit and a fun time playing games!

Proof of my cleverness!

Three

A couple of weeks ago I was given my third calling at church. My newest calling is that of a ward missionary with emphasis on certain investigators. I'm not exactly sure what is I'm suppose to do because the ward mission leader hasn't talked to me. I do know that the ward missionaries are supposed to have regular meetings with the ward mission leader and the full-time missionaries, but it doesn't happen. So I will just have to wait and see what this calling will be like.

I am also a Sunday school teacher for the 14-15 years old youth. This can be a challenging calling. I actually teared up about a month ago after class was over because I practically had to pull teeth to get the kids to participate in class. I was just so frustrated because the gospel is so important to me and I want it to be important to the kids too. They could at least act like they care. It isn't bad all the time and I try to be excited every week to teach them so that hopefully they too will be excited.

My favorite calling that I have at this time is that of activity days leader. I love planning the different activities for the girls to do and seeing their enthusiasm and excitement to be at church every first and third Wednesday of the month. I am also excited that last month we had a recent convert move into the ward and that her daughter turned 8, so I now have three girls. The girls are loud and rambunctious, and thankfully they get along very well. I love working with my three girls and the relationships that we are all building together. This past Wednesday I had the girls come to the house to make cookies for activities since we aren't supposed to cook in the church kitchen. While the cookies we baking we played Pretty, Pretty Princess, and I told the girls that I played this game when I was in elementary school and one of the girls responded, "That means this game is really old." Hahaha. Activity Days is always a fun adventure.

On a side note that has nothing to do with this post: Today marks my 6th year anniversary of returning home from my mission.

133

From the beginning of March to the end of December 2011, I have read 133 books. I probably read about 20 books before I even started keeping track of what I had read. The obvious conclusion...I LOVE TO READ!!!! I look forward to reading many more entertaining, enjoyable, and thrilling books in 2012.