Come on already...it's June

Start praying for warm, sunny days in Northern Cali or we are going to be camping in the snow and spending long days indoors. (I'm only sort of kidding...).
Time to rally.

Cupcake Wars

I am so excited for the family reunion! It is going to be awesome! There are some really fun things planned. The last few nights Ryan and I have been experimenting with cupcakes and different flavors. This is turning out to be harder than I thought. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.
So, here are the rules and details on our Cupcake Wars:
1. Every family will receive 6 chocolate cupcakes and 6 vanilla cupcakes (I will be making a total of 48 chocolate and 48 vanilla, there will be tons).
2. I will have vanilla frosting available to everyone. You can use as much as you would like, or you can make your own frosting. I am making chocolate ganache for myself and Lisa, if anyone else needs some let me know so I can make enough.
3. You will need to supply your own flavors, toppings, mix-ins, etc. Other than cake and frosting there will not be anything else available, so plan accordingly.
4. To vote for your favorite in each category (chocolate and vanilla), your family will receive a card. On the card you will score every other families cupcake according to taste and presentation (so make it look good too). You will not be scoring your own cupcake. The highest score wins. There will be a prize for chocolate and vanilla.

Hopefully this is clear and we are all on the same page. I think this is going to be great! I can't wait to taste your creations!

Done

Alrighty....I ordered all the shirts yesterday and they should arrive here early next week. I am pretty excited!!!

Thanks for getting me sizes and colors so quickly (like there was ever a doubt that you wouldn't).

REUNION SHIRT INFO!!!!

Hello Family!

So it seems we are going with the pigment-dyed shirt. Sam suggested that we each pick our own shirt colors and then print the same logo on all of them. It is a great idea! The logo will be all black for simplicity in printing. Below are the links to the four different shirts; mens, womens, youth, and toddler. Go to those links, pick the color you want and then e-mail that info to me. DO NOT order it yourself; if we all order them together then we will get free shipping; plus then I will have all the shirts here to print on. You may notice that the women's shirt is a different brand than the other two...they are completely out of stock on the original one I looked at and plus this one is cheaper. I received the sample shirts in the mail today and I really like the feel of this women's shirt.

Here are the links:

Men's: http://www.jiffyshirts.com/authenticpigment-1969.html

Women's: http://www.jiffyshirts.com/comfortcolors-C4100.html

Youth: http://www.jiffyshirts.com/authenticpigment-1969Y.html

Toddler: http://www.jiffyshirts.com/bella-201.html

On sizing: I ordered a medium - it fits, but is a little snug through the shoulders and hips. I will probably order another one in large. I think a medium would fit Lisa, but anyone with any chest (Michelle and Jen), broad shoulders (all of us), or hips (me) would probably want a large. I would think the older girls like Katy and possibly Becca and Lizzy would fit into a women's small if they didn't want to go with the youth shirt. I will be up at Mom's on Friday evening if any of the locals want to come and see the shirts first hand to decide. (Lisa, let me know if you want a medium and if you want it in chili - don't feel obligated, I will still wear it, but if you want it, it is here)

I ordered Scott a medium in the men's shirt and although it looked big at first, once he tried it on it fit great.

I ordered Adam a youth small - it is way too big and fits Lily. In store sizes, Adam wears a 6/7, so my guess is that an XS would equal a 6/7 and a small would equal 8 or even a 10.

I didn't order a baby one, so those of us with babies will just have to guess. I will tell you though that the company that manufactures that shirt is a little higher end in the t-shirt printing world, so I am guessing that the sizing will be fairly accurate to the retail market.

Like I said; I will be at Mom's on Friday so feel free to come and look then to assess what sizes and colors you want. Also, Scott ordered a black one (it is kind of a faded black). We thought it might look cool because then the printing would be kind of subtle. We will try and make it soon and let you all know how it looks on a darker color. I think this will be fun.

Also, I wanted to let you know about pricing. Shirt pricing is based on market values and fluctuates a lot. So when you go to these links and see one price but then are charged a different price it is because the price of the shirt either went up or down at the time I placed the order (it will probably go up since the price of commodities in general are going up). But it won't be too much different than the price you see - it really only fluctuates by about 50 cents to a dollar.

One last thing; Lisa asked if for her older boys' shirts I not print the family names on the back. So I am not putting that part on the back of their shirts (which I can understand...they may not want to walk around with a shirt that says Lulu, Jimmer, and Gracie on it). If you or your child would also like to opt out of that feature then just let me know - it makes it no harder to not print that on the back of some shirts.

It would be great if everyone could let me as soon as possible which color shirts they want. That way I have time to see if it is in stock, get them ordered, shipped to us, and then printed. Let's say that everyone let me know no later than June 3rd. Let me know if you have any questions.

I am so excited for the reunion. I think it is going to be awesome!!!!

Thanks a million!

So Saturday was a GREAT day! It was so fun to see everyone at Lily's baptism (Lisa we missed you guys) and it was especially fun to have everyone over for lunch.

Knowing the kids were eating everything down in the basement I had mentally prepared myself to find Hurricane Katrina down there. I figured I would find fruit salad and frosting smeared into the carpet and on the walls. Can I tell you how surprised I was when I went to down to the basement after everyone left and it almost looked like the little cleaning fairies had visited me! There was not a single stain!!! In fact the only trace of food I found were a couple of lingering paper plates and a few bread and cake crumbs! Not only that, but the majority of the toys had been put away and cushioned put back on the couches. It took me all of five minutes to get the place cleaned up, vacuuming and all. What GREAT nieces and nephews I have!!!!! And what great parents they have for training them to be so well-mannered in someone's home. THANK YOU!!!!! It made it all that much more fun to have you here in my little house!

Just in case you'd all like to become educated on our life with Zachy, check out this site:

http://www.hspsupport.org/main/afterdiagnosis.html

Jennifer's party

This was such a fun night. Thanks Roy! We love you Jen!

Just want to get this all to you before I misplace it AGAIN.

YOSEMITE DATES:
Arrive June 20 (Mon) - Leave June 24 (Fri)

CAMPGROUND:
Upper Pines (it's big. . .our noise will dissipate in a crowd)

RESERVATIONS for CAMPGROUND:
MUST be made on Feb 14 at 7 am PST
** There will be more info on this procedure at a later date**

PROPOSED SCHEDULE:
MONDAY- arrive, dinner/campfire together
TUESDAY- Bridal Veil Falls, Lower Yosemite Falls, etc. . .
WED- Sentinel Dome, Half-Domers depart from Glacier Trails
THUR- Half-Domers ascent & descent through Happy Isle; others enjoy exploring
FRIDAY- break camp, leave through Mariposa Grove (?)

COST:
$20/car to enter park (good for 7 days)
$20/night/family for the campground
$5/person for Half-Domers
food/shirts/crafts. . . TBD

OTHER:

• On January 5th I have to get a wilderness permit for our Half Dome group to stay at Little Yosemite Valley Campground. PLEASE let me know if you plan on doing this so that I can include the proper fee.
• Half-Domers - we will be hiking from Glacier Trails to Little Yosemite Valley Campground on Wednesday, summitting early Thursday and returning to the Valley Floor via Happy Isle. IF you would rather hike up and back in one day, plan on Thursday - ALL DAY.
  
• There is a $10 fee to cancel a campsite reservation (this is not per night - it is a flat fee).
• For great info on Yosmite go to: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/index.htm and just start clicking.
• PLEASE let me know what I've missed. I CANNOT WAIT!!!!
  

5th and 6th graders ski deal!

I have a great idea. Mom and Dad are now retired and may sign on to my awesome plan. SkiUtah.com has a 5th grade and a 6th grade ski passport that allows the holder to ski every resort in Utah free. 5th Graders get to ski each 3 times, I think. 6th graders just once each. There is a $25 processing fee. That is amazing! So, if Rebecca, Elisabeth, and Jane all have free ski lift passes, Mom and Dad could have a fun granddaughter ski day or 2 or 14. Or Sam, Michelle and I could take the girls some day. It would be super fun. I don't think Ryan can b/c I think you have to be a resident. Darn. Anyway, what do you think? - Jen

deceptive, maybe...delicious, well that's up for debate!

Hey Fam -

I have this cookbook that I am thinking of getting rid of. I asked for it for Christmas one year and Scott delivered on that wish (so nice of him). Unfortunately I haven't loved it. But I don't really want to give it to DI just yet. I am wondering if one of you want to borrow it and if you love it then you can have it...

Love, EM

Don't Eat Pinenuts from China!

The minute I swallowed my first bite of Cheerios this morning, I knew something was up. All day long I have had a very bitter, metalic-type taste in my mouth, especially when I eat. After hating my delicious left-overs, I looked it up on WebMD. Pine Mouth came up. So I clicked on that. It has an article about people who have an allergic reaction or the like after eating pine nuts a day or so before. I was shocked; I had the same symptoms and I made pesto the day before yesterday, of-course snacking on the pinenuts too. (I froze the pesto for later use, which I don't know what to do with now.) Anyway, it looks like pinenuts from China are the culprit. I do love pinenuts, so I really hope that I can still eat them without this horrible consequence. They say the yucky taste will last about 2 weeks. Oh my. Don't eat Chinese Pinenuts!

CHRISTMAS COUSIN SWAP

Okay, so that I don't lose this again. . .

JENKINS have: Isabel, Sammy, Grace, James, Will

HAMMONDS have: Clara, Elisabeth, Lucy, Adam

CLAYTONS and RASMUSSENS have: Joey, David, Ryan

DELONGS have: Andrew, Katy, Lulu, Davis

HILLS have: Jane, Quinn, Becca, Zachy

RICES have: Jack, Lily