Primary: I Can be a Missionary

Teaching Primary is a struggle. Recently, I have not been able to get to Primary because my headaches just don't lend well to a class of 9 five-year-olds. However, I do really enjoy planning the lessons with my husband. I think I enjoy it, in part, because the original lessons (written back in 1994) are so far outdated that I enjoy sprucing them up and adding more relevant material to each lesson in order to make them relatable. 

So, here is my lesson regarding missionary work:

Lesson 25: I Can be a Missionary

• Opening Prayer

• Review Classroom Rules

• Behavior Incentive: M&Ms
• We're trying something new. With a class of 9 five-year-olds, management is extremely important. We've tried several different tactics, however, after seeing the impact of this in class today, we may be sticking with this method. 
• "I want to reward each of you for following our class rules and helping us feel the Spirit. When we see that you are helping our class, you will get an M&M in your cup. At the end of Primary, you will be able to take home whatever amount of M&Ms you have earned."

• Attention Activity
• Ask for a child to help hand out a piece of paper to each person in the room, starting when you say "go." After each child has received a piece of paper, collect all the pieces. Ask the class if the child could do it faster with a helper. Ask for a second child to help hand out pieces of paper. Point out that they can accomplish their task much faster when they have help. 
• Show a picture of Jesus Christ (preferably one of him teaching people)
• "Jesus Christ has asked that we help teach the Gospel, that with the help of others, more people can learn His teachings."

• "There is a name for somebody who has been called of God to teach the Gospel. Do you know what these people are called?" (Missionaries)
• Have the class describe what a missionary looks like as you draw it on the board

• "There are other people who are also missionaries, but they don't have name tags. I will draw a picture of this type of missionary and you guess who it is."
• Draw a picture of a child, just like them

• Break
• "We are going to take a break, but when we come back, there is another important missionary we are going to talk about who also didn't wear a name tag or white shirt and tie."

• Show Picture of Jesus
• "Does Jesus look like the missionaries we have now with white shirts, ties, and name tags?"
• "Jesus was the best missionary on Earth and He looked like just a regular person. But what made him the best missionary was his example. How was Jesus a good example?"

• Rowdy to Reverent

• I am going to read you a story about a boy named Larry. While I read, listen for how Larry was a good example.
• Read the story Rowdy to Reverent in the July 2015 issue of The Friend
• "What happened when Larry chose to be a better example?"
• "Do you think people follow your example, like siblings and friends?"

• Bullied: Let Us be Kind
• "Now we are going to watch a video, and while you are watching, look for how the boy was a good missionary."
• Show the video Bullied: Let Us be Kind 
• "How was the boy a good missionary? How can you be good missionaries?"

• "We can all be good missionaries by being good examples. We don't have to be a missionary with a name tag to do that. Sometimes just being a friend is the best kind of missionary."

• Closing Prayer

• Hand out Earned M&Ms 

Lots of Food and a Very Supportive Husband

If you've ever been pregnant, or have had a pregnant wife, you know what it looks and feels like to just not be able to get out of bed.

This entire week was exactly like that. Now at 32 weeks of pregnancy (Woo!) I finally had to tell my mind what my body already figured out: I can't do everything. I had this insane thought process that I would be able to cook, clean, work, and prepare for this little baby all at one time. Well, for a little while, I tricked my body into thinking that I could do all of those things. However, this week was the end of that. By last Sunday evening, my body had given up and given in to the pangs of pregnancy. I guess it had to happen sometime. 

By Tuesday, I officially talked with my boss and arranged to leave my job a little earlier than I had hoped, but it was worth it and my body was so grateful. After 4 years of working for BYU Information Technology it was a little sad to say goodbye, but it was fun to celebrate the friends I had made and the exceptional boss and supervisors whom I had the honor to work with. I am more than grateful for that job opportunity that took me through all of my college life.

Other than leaving my job, Kaleb and I had a fun week of adventures:

1. Lemon Chicken Skillet

Kaleb and I cranked out one of our very favorite recipes this week and fired up the skillet (or the wok, in our case). This lemon chicken recipe is super easy and easily one of the tastiest recipes we have in our family cookbook. Pair it with a delicious spinach salad and some watermelon and you've got a great meal!

2. Cousin Dinner

We had the added pleasure of enjoying a cousin dinner this week at Brick Oven with some cousins from my husband's side of the family. We enjoyed salads, pasta, and pizza as well as some fancy drinks. I got a tall glass of frozen mango-raspberry lemonade while Kaleb got a mango slush inside of a pineapple. I'm pretty sure the only reason he got it was to see if the drink really came inside a pineapple of not. Hehe. 

3. Pioneer Day Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert

We were happily surprised to get a phone call from my grandma who happened to have 2 extra tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Pioneer Day concert. Even with several other things going on, we rearranged our plans and successfully made it to the concert (a little late) to enjoy broadway musical tunes including those from Carousel, State Fair, Cinderella, The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, and numerous others while celebrating the pioneers who came into and settled the Utah Valley. It was absolutely spectacular and we loved every second of it.

4. Free Food?!

This week we discovered that if you arrive at the Farmer's Market late enough, you just may be given the extra food that vendors weren't able to sell for free! We literally did a double-take when we were passing by and the lady told us the remaining zucchini and squash were free. But of course, we returned to the vendor and retrieved a few zucchini and squash for ourselves as well as one for Kaleb's two brothers. We were very appreciative and so grateful for those who are willing to give.

5. Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

We had some leftover peanut butter M&M cookies from last week, so we got out our handy ice cream sandwich press (thank you Mom and Dad :) and we sandwiched two delicious cookies with vanilla ice cream in the middle. The result? Perfect ice cream sandwiches! We are definitely doing that again for sure.

6. Homemade Chips and Dip

Every once and a while we find that we have food that will clearly go to waste before we have a chance to eat all of it. In this case, we had a package of corn tortillas that weren't going to be eaten (thank you 150-packs from Costco!). However, we never like food to go to waste, so we came up with a better idea: homemade tortilla chips! These are a little healthier than their store-bought counterparts and fun to make. And what's better than making your own layered dip and munching on chips and dip together? :)

Although I felt sicker than I've been in a while this week, I am so grateful for my patient and supportive husband who stood by me every step of the way. I am so grateful for the many experiences I had this week am grateful that I was able to share each of them with the love of my life!

Lemon Chicken Skillet

This is definitely one of our family favorites. The best part is that it is so easy!

Ingredients:

Lemon Rub:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Mustard
• 1 tsp Lemon Zest
• 1 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
• 1/4 tsp Salt

• 8 Chicken Thighs (w/Bone and Skin)
• 1 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 tsp Lemon Zest
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine olive oil and spices for lemon rub in a small bowl. Brush lemon rub on both sides of chicken and set chicken aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk chicken stock, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Set aside.
4. Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet (or regular skillet) oven medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown on each side.
5. If using a regular skillet, transfer chicken to 9x13 baking dish and add chicken stock mixture. Place skillet or dish into oven and roast until cooked through, about 25-30 minutes (or chicken is at 175 degrees). 
6. Serve immediately with your favorite sides and enjoy!

Well...At Least We're Clean

This week was a little bit of a different one.

We got a call from the manager of our apartment complex and he explained that he was in a bit of a pickle. The owner was planning to sell the complex to another buyer and needed a model apartment to take the potential buyers through. Our manager, however, expressed that his apartment was anything but clean, so seeing our apartment on previous visits, he asked us if we could be the model apartment. Of course, we agreed. 

Because of this agreement, we have had to clean our apartment to perfection after nearly each day in order to accommodate for apartment viewings this last week. This was especially "fun" after some of the activities we decided to do...

1. Tie Dying

When was the last time you tie-dyed something? For us, it had been way too long. So, for our Family Home Evening activity, we decided to wrap up our kitchen table and hop to it. We just bought a small tie-dying kit and two shirts from Walmart, spending about $15 for everything. Totally worth it since we had so much fun doing it!

The only caveat to tie-dying is that you are dealing with dyes. These are the kinds of dyes that turn your skin that color and then STAY like that for days afterwards. In our tie-dying pack it came with two sets of gloves. This was perfect. I highly recommend using them... unless you have a husband who prefers not to...
After I took this picture, Kaleb tie-dyed some other things as well and both hands were completely dyed a greenish-blue color for 2-3 days. Believe me. The gloves are worth it.

 2. Soft Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

Our Beautiful (and colorful) Cookies!

Kaleb's brother celebrated his 19th birthday this last week and his sister-in-law is celebrating her 23rd birthday this upcoming week so we decided to make some cookies! Now, these aren't just any cookies. These are softest and most colorful cookies that taste so good! Especially if you like peanut butter, these cookies are for you. 

They combine the yummy goodness of peanut butter and peanut butter chips with M&Ms and chocolate chips with an oatmeal cookie base.

3. Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

The guys at 4:45am waiting for the bus

Being from California and spending most of my time in Central Utah, I have not had many trips down to the Southern Utah area. I've had maybe 2 trips to St. George and that's it. This was kind of a fun trip for me and my husband as we got to see the beautiful red rocks of Bryce Canyon while preparing for the Half Marathon (when I say "we" I mean Kaleb, since I am 31 weeks pregnant and obviously not running 13.1 miles...). We also had a blast sharing this adventure with my two brothers-in-law, my sister-in-law, and our friend. 

Me and Kaleb at the Finish Line

The Runners' View

The bus came at 5:15am to pick the guys up for the run. So we were up at 4:30am and getting everything together and ready. The race began by 6am and they were off! About halfway through the race came the rain. But these guys were strong! They all held through until the end of the race and each finished in spite of challenges ranging from not "really" training to knee injuries. 

My sister-in-law and I were at the finish line to cheer them on and enjoyed sharing the triumphant moment with them. 

After a hot shower, a nap, and some food, we left the beautiful Bryce Canyon and headed home. It was the perfect weekend :)

These Hot Days

As a California native, I never really anticipated just how hot it could really get in Utah.

I had experienced a few days of temperatures over 100 degrees here and there, but this last week was a consistent string of endless heat. Every day reached at least the high 90's and a few days even surpassed 100 degrees! Now, this really wouldn't bother me normally. I usually have fairly decent regulation of my body temperature. However, now being 30 weeks pregnant, my body does whatever it feels like. Basically, I've been sweating like a large pig the last handful of days and IT IS NOT pretty. 

Enough complaining. This week was a pretty great one, in spite of the heat :)

As I near the end of my working at Information Technology, I have decreased my hours to accommodate my ever-growing belly and the difficulties that come with it. Both my husband and I get off of work at noon, leaving us to spend the rest of the day together. I love that :) Money is scarce nowadays, but time with my husband is priceless and worth every second.

We decided to try a new recipe for granola bars this last week. These bars are delicious! They definitely aren't the healthiest that you can find, but they do have natural ingredients and are very tasty. I suggest you give them a try :)

Chewy No-Bake Granola Bars with Coconut Oil

Friday and Saturday were spent with my husband's family. We had a great time visiting and celebrating my mother-in-law's and brother-in-law's birthdays that are coming this next week. We enjoyed lots of laughter and stories as well as tender moments of love and appreciation. I'd call that a fantastic way to spend the holiday weekend.

The Fourth of July brought a lot of firsts this year since it was the first time I'd celebrated normally in a few years. We attended a parade in the morning and enjoyed a fantastic lunch in the afternoon accompanied by a trip to the movies to see the new Disney release, "Inside Out." This was such a great movie with so many important lessons. I totally recommend it :)

We ended the evening with The Stadium of Fire, featuring Journey. Kaleb and I had a great time while we were there, even though we headed out before the firework finale due to my growing headache (thank you, pregnancy hormones ;). All in all, however, I couldn't have asked for a better week with new adventures, family, and my sweet husband.