Tie-Dye Fun

Last Friday we had a Relief Society activity, we were tie-dying...with onions as our coloring! Crazy! When they told me that I didn't really know how it was going to work, still not quite sure how but it did and I have some really awesome silk material to make into a skirt with the help of my Mom when I get home.

It was a super fun relaxed night, I didn't even do that bad considering that there wasn't really anyone around that spoke English, Sis. Goa was in charge of babysitting, Stephanie was at the other end of the room we working hard on her project and Yuling didn't come later and had Daniel to take care of.

One of the Sister's helped me tie chopsticks and other knots in my material to make cool stars and circle designs in my material.

Oops! I almost forgot to add my finished product, but for some reason Google Chrome won't let you move the pictures around, so they get to stay at the top :D

The Relief Society presidency (at least for the week--Sis Goa left to return to the states this week and so wont be in the presidency any longer)

This is going to sound really weird but I think that I really have my Dad's side of the family nose in this picture, I haven't ever really noticed before, but it's really obvious here.

I asked one of the Sister's daughters to take some pictures for me, I hardly ever get pictures of myself and I wanted some of me doing my tie dye (to prove that I actually did it this time :D)

Someone's completed project (well the tying part anyway)

Working, working, working, and don't forget talking :D

In this project we needed two or even three hands sometimes, some of us resorted to using our teeth (it worked quite well if I do say myself)

The beginning stages of the dying, we soaked it in the onion dye from Friday night to Sunday afternoon after church.

Part of the group that was there, not bad for a branch on Friday night.

Stephanie working until the very last minute (and she had been working all week on her's), her's came out really cool with butterflies and flowers--beautiful!

After everyone got their material in the dye we had a lesson about dressing modestly, no one was there to translate it for me, so I got distracted by these two (they are chasing each others fingers)

What the pot looked like right before I went home.

Fireflies

Last week (was it only last week--it seems so long ago!) Teacher Stephanie invited Andrea and I come with her, Allie, and Eliza to see fireflies. We are always for any adventure but as neither of us had seen fireflies before we were more than excited and willing to come. We would be going to Liyu or Carp Lake, which I went to a couple of times last time I was here.

On the way out of town we stopped for dinner, we started with drinks- I got a passion fruit and Stephanie got plum.

The best fried chicken you will ever eat...I wish that I could push it through the computer for you all to try- YUM!!!

When we got to the lake and were asking where we needed to go to see the fireflies they told us that there was an English professor there and that if we wanted to she could tell us a little bit about fireflies before we went out. These aren't actually the eggs, but they are similar to the size and one firefly carries 8-12 eggs in their stomach.

This is the nice professor telling us about the cycle of the fireflies life- it takes a year from when they are laid in the eggs to when they lay their own eggs and die.

I also learned that females have one stripe and males have two. Females have a little bit longer torso as they are the ones that have to carry the eggs.

There are over 200 different species and I guess if we knew what we were doing we could have seen about 20 different species at the lake.

As we were walking down the stairs I looked in the shadows and saw this, if you can't tell there are two frogs, one on top of the other. Stephanie said that means that they are "married."

For some reason they had all the lights covered with red film, I don't know if it was to lighten the lights for the fireflies or for pretty- it created a cool light on the ground though.

Allie and Eliza started catching the fireflies in their drink cups, I think that at one point Eliza had 14+ in her cup. It was so cool, it reminded me of all those stories where they catch fireflies in mason jars and use them as a lantern.

One of the cups with a couple of fireflies in it.

It was so beautiful to look around and see the little lights flickering everywhere, they weren't afraid of us- at one point we had one of them walking on our hands! You couldn't even feel it.

She

For all those wonderful Mothers out there, but particularly for my Mom and wonderful Sisters. Happy Mothers Day, I Love You and am extremely grateful for your example- I look forward to the day that I can use the lessons that I have learned from you with my own children.

Song "She" by Cherie Call

My Mom's On Facebook!!

I was looking at a couple of websites for ideas of what to blog about, you know for those days that Beth's brain goes blank and her world is wiped clean (I'm sure it will happen someday!). One blog had a list of 100 topics that you could write about, most of them were either boring or didn't really apply to me and my blog (such as Branding Strategies I Use), but one that just made me laugh was "My Mom's On Facebook." Yes, my Mom is on Facebook, but I have to admit, I'm the one that set-up the account for her and she hardly ever uses it.

This is the first time that I have heard/read something about concern/happiness with parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles/etc. being on Facebook. Some people have some very strong opinions against it, they think that it's weird and they don't like having the adults in their lives watching over every move that they are making.

Now I have a slightly different opinion about this, and maybe it's because I'm not a 13 year old girl who really likes a cute boy or 15 year old boy that is drinking every night, or because of the parents that I have had but I'm ok with adults being on facebook...

BUT! (yep there's a but) I think that there needs to be some rules and the adults need to have some certain understandings before they join Facebook or any other social website. These websites were created for the younger generation and as such have certain ways things are done, it is the responsibility of the adult to understand how things are done and follow those social unwritten "rules." If they are not willing to follow those I can understand how a teenager would have a problem with Mom being on Facebook.

So, yes, my Mom's on Facebook, and I'm ok with it as long as she follows the social "rules," if she doesn't she will most certainly hear from me (but with her maybe getting on once a month I'm not too concerned :D).

PhotoHunt: Mother/Mom

A year ago in accordance with what was going on in my life I wrote several posts about my Dad, the memories that I had with him and how grateful I was to have him. I haven't always been so forthcoming with positive things to say about my Mom. When I was younger we had a terrible relationship, I was down right mean to my Mom, causing problems between her and my Dad and between others in the family.

When my Dad fell down the stairs two of my brothers were home for Christmas but they soon had to return to school and it was only my Mom and I home. Our relationship changed drastically, we became each others support, crying, laughing, hugging, listening, and just sitting with each other. My Mom became one of my best friends, though she wasn't always with me I talked with her each day, I still do, even with us being thousands of miles away.

I love this picture of her with Erick's sisters Madelaine and Lily, it shows the love that my Mom has: for her children and for her "adopted children" (of which there are many).

My Mom continually volunteers for things, even if she doesn't have the time or energy. Almost daily when I call her she will say that we can't talk for very long because she has 7 or 8 things that need to be done before she goes to bed (and it's already 9 o'clock). She opens her arms, heart, and home to everyone that she meets.

I am so lucky to have my Mom, I know that Heavenly Father chose for me to have her and her to have me for a very specific reason and I am so grateful for his decision. I love her and am grateful for her example in my life.

I Love You Mommy! Happy Mothers Day!

Glamour

Friday afternoon the 5 year olds did not come to class, instead they got to hang out in the green class and take glamour shots. Each person had 4 different outfits, their hair and make-up done and many, many pictures taken.

After lunch I quickly got my lesson stuff all together and then grabbed my camera and headed to the green class. I took pictures of them getting ready (they were going to get the professional photos but I always like having the before parts too) and just enjoyed watching them get ready. There was lots of hairspray and material.

I have uploaded a sample (just a sample as there is over 300 pictures professional and I look over 200 pictures also) of what was taken...can you believe that I get to work with these beautiful/handsome (the boys did not like being called beautiful or told that they had to wear lipstick :D) kids everyday? Remember that there is also one more outfit for each of them and two more different picture styles!!

PhotoHunt: Black

This might seem like a different picture to some to post under the category. This picture was taken at the luncheon after my Dad's burial, a time when most people would all be wearing black, crying and not a smile to be found. Instead in LDS cultural a funeral is filled with smiles, laughter, colors and celebration of the person that lived; yes there are tears, we do miss the person. But it's more than that, though me miss the person greatly we know that we will be together with them again and would rather appreciate the things that we loved about that person.

So I have chosen this picture, because we push out the black and pulling the color with happy thoughts.