Lil Missionary Arcade

Here's the latest from the world of Lil Missionary- he's been part of a shooting gallery. If you remember, I got a toy rifle- that really shoots!- for Mother's Day. Poor Lil Missionary became the logical choice for target practice, along with the plastic ducks that came with the set. He's been dodging ever since.

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! Here's a short list of what we won't be doing this Memorial Day:

-Swimming
-BBQ-ing
-Working in the yard
-Laying on the grass, looking up into the clear blue Early-Summer sky.

Why not? Because it's raining. And raining. And it won't stop raining. Wettest year ever.

What are we doing instead? Bruce decided last Friday that we should go to Yellowstone and see the wolves. (Sorry BIL.) This is supposed to be a good time to see them. It's going to be cold and I'm sure that at this moment we are probably freezing.

Maybe I'll get some good pictures. :)

So, whatever you are doing on this soggy Memorial Day, have a good time!

Stylin' High School Redemption

At last we come to the end of the photo journey through my monstrously awkward "ugly duckling" stage. You've seen the worse (see last Sunday's post!), so now you get to see that everything turned out alright in the end. Whew! I know it was a little dicey there. So, here are my high school pictures, scanned from my old yearbooks since I don't have the originals.

9th Grade: Shag-arific! I'm still stuck in "hair flip" mode, and check out the Aviator glasses! At least they are a far sight better than what I had going on in jr. high. The braces are gone, replaced with a retainer.

 10th Grade: Whoa! Now here's an improvement which can be summed up in one word- Barrettes!! Gone are the failed attempt at the flip!

11th Grade: C'mon girl! You were doing so well!! I went through a bang-less stage. SO not good. What do you suppose I'm looking at?

12th Grade: Ah. Finally. Something clicked and I figured it all out. Thank heavens! Yeah, I was fighting off those choir boys with a stick by this time. So, in the end, it all worked out.

I hope you've enjoyed this pictorial journey through the scarring years of my adolescence. You're probably so happy that it's finally over! Like I said, it's been wonderfully cathartic for me and has saved me the cost of seeing a psychotherapist. Have a wonderful Sunday!

Super Elder!

I've really got nothing to say about this missionary picture other than that phone booth was too good to resist:

 The latest photos from NZ:

 The tie!

 

Posh New Porch

I had decided last Fall that it was time to donate my old back porch furniture to the barn for it's show display because I needed (wanted) to upgrade my porch, dang it!

The old furniture looks pretty darn good with the addition of new cushions. Slinky has decided that the couch is hers. Such a bad dog.

Here's my new furniture!

 With potted flowers and few additions from Pier 1, it's looking pretty swanky. Xena likes the soft new cushions.

I love how the candles look at night.

Come sit with me!

Tortellini Carbonara

 It's a Sister Recipe Day! Here's an easy, quick and yummy dinner- with bacon! I think you'll like it! :)

Tortellini Carbonara- 4 servings
8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. minced fresh parsley
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 pkg. (9 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini
In a large saucepan, combine the bacon, cream and cheese. Cook until heated through. Meanwhile, prepare tortellini according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle cheese sauce over tortellini and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Mmm... Bacon.

Springtime At The Temple

 Now that those of us in Ogden are temple-less for a season, we get to go on temple field trips. So many beautiful temples! Our ward went to the Salt Lake temple last week and I had to bring my camera along to capture the budding trees.

This temple makes me appreciate the ingenuity and craftsmanship of the pioneers. How did they create such an amazing building with no money and no modern construction methods? Amazing. I loved going here.

 Bruce gets "patience points" for not complaining while I wandered for a while... :)

 I've been taking an online photo editing class- which I have been loving!- which helped me edit today's page header and this photo. Makes it look all olde tymie!

Grandma's Wedding Veil

At our latest wedding shower, Grandma got out her own wedding veil for us to see.

 Some of her granddaughters tried it on and it turned into kind of an "across the generations" moment for me. Pretty nice.

Happy Bridal Shower!

 

 When a lot of cousins are about the same age, they tend to get married at about the same time. Seems like there have been lots of showers in the Stratford family lately. My nephew is marrying an adorable girl from California in June, and we had a family bridal shower for her on Saturday. We always tie a picnic quilt for the new couple, eat good food and the bride-to-be gets to open presents.

This time, the quilt was about the same size as the room it was being quilted in so rolling it was a bit awkward, but the goal is to finish it, and that we did!

Camille has learned how to make salad look beautiful while working for USU catering. This should come in handy at Zone Conferences- she leaves in about 2 weeks on her mission!

Opening presents is always fun- we should all open more presents. This cute young thing is marrying Andrew- one of Nancy's twins. He's the one who buys most of his wardrobe at Savers or the Di, as far as I can tell, and came dressed as an Indian, as in India, to Thanksgiving. He keeps us laughing all the time and will be wearing a kilt at his wedding. She's in for lots of adventures.

I have a nice family.

I was obviously in a "vertical shooting mode" at this party. 
I love you Lisa, but it's really hard to get a picture of you when you're not talking. :)

Here, Nancy is describing how she was strip searched for weapons at an airport once.

Youngest cousin = cutest cousin.

Time To Put This Thing To Rest.

Ok, today is the day. All of the snickers that turn into belly laughs until tears leak from my family's eyes, today they end. I freely bare my soul before you and show you the worst that there is. School pictures from my junior high years. Here, for your viewing horror:

6th Grade: I obviously went through a long stage when I had no idea what to do with my hair, and believe me, my hair has a mind of it's own. To this day I don't call it hair styling, I call it hair taming. I rock the huge collar look.

7th Grade. Glasses + Braces + my attempts at "flipping" my hair. My tongue is sticking out. Hey kid, that ice cream cone on your shirt is dripping. Hideous.

8th Grade. This one is the worst, so look your fill, if you dare. I've ditched the glasses for picture day, but teenage hormones have kicked in and the skin has gone bad. Cowl neck under sweater- I'm probably burning up, but I remember that necklace. The flipped hair is now officially out of control. Someone, please pass the nearest pillowcase, so that I can put it over my head! Believe it or not, there were still boys that liked me at this stage and wouldn't leave me alone. Unbelievable. 

So there's the worst of it. Nothing left to hide. You've been through the Valley of Death and come out the other side. Probably not unscathed, but you made it. Next week, just to prove to you all that I did actually figure it all out in the end, we'll visit 9-12 grades. So, on the 29th, feel free to post high school pictures of yourselves. C'mon, it'll be fun!