Lipstick Jungle

It was a busy week this week. I went to a neighborhood cookie exchange--we each made six dozen cookies--with four dozen exchanged and two dozen given to a local charity for battered women and their children. After the cookie exchange, they served this awesome chocolate cake. Turns out it was the triple chocolate cake from Sam's club with fresh raspberries on top. I highly recommend it.

On Friday, I was asked to sub for the neighborhood Bunko group. Is it bad that I secretly hope someone in the group moves so I can join? Only if it will be a good move for them. Of course.

Enrichment was this week and the theme was "Errand of Angles." We talked about visiting teaching. The Enrichment was great, but as I sat at dinner and looked around, I was struck with some serious home (Jenks) sickness. They asked me to share a two minute presentation on a time that visiting teaching affected my life. I have had a lot of good visiting teachers and taught a lot of incredible women, it was hard to choose just one.

I decided to share about my great friend, Sharalyn Famuliner. She was my visiting teacher when we moved to Oklahoma. Then when things got changed around, I was hers. Things got changed again and she was mine again. Again, things were changed and I was hers. I feel so, so blessed that we got to know each other so well. One year for my birthday, she took me to lunch and we just chatted. I will never forget how she took her Saturday afternoon to spend with me. There are countless other examples of how she blessed my life and the life of my family and I will always look up to and appreciate her.


On Saturday we had a movie night with some friends from the ward. The adults watched Hancock while the kids slept. This is Brayden and Trevor getting ready for lights out. We could hear them chatting for a while and we heard Trevor telling Brayden something about his dad that really made us laugh. Then Brayden told Trevor that when Kylee hits him she definitely goes to time out. It was good to hear them so innocent and happy.



As I've mentioned several times now, Kylee is taking swim lessons and Brayden refuses to. Since Kylee's lessons are at a gym, we decided to sign Brayden up for a gymnastics class at the same time. He is surprisingly good at it. His teacher, Natasha, is from Russia and at first I thought a little over the top strict.

Brayden kept saying, "I can't do that." And she would say, "Yes, you can," and then he would do it. He was grinning from ear to ear. I think after he does this for a while, Karate will be next.

His class is the "Tumble bugs."

I thought this would get a huge "No Way" from Taylor-- Gymnastics being a more girl sport and all. I learned something new about my manly husband. He took gymnastics as a kid. I can't believe I didn't know that.

It finally happened. Kylee managed to get my lipstick without me knowing. These are the clothes she changed in to--she insisted she needed socks over her tights. After cleaning the lipstick off her and the couch, I was not in the mood to fight over socks, so I just let her wear them. At least I know she was warm.


Brayden is always building with blocks, legos, tinker toys, magnetos, whatever. He loves to have his picture taken with his creations.