Happy Day

Yesterday was Leah's 9th birthday and it was such a busy and good day. And today is David's birthday so we celebrated him as well since he has to work all day today. We like Uncle D. So Leah asked for a turtle cake, partly I think because her cake last year that was a "watermelon with ladybugs" looked kind of like a turtle cake and it got her thinking. . .

So I made fondant which was a lot easier and funner than I thought it would be, all it took was marshmallows and powdered sugar and crisco. Super healthy for you. . . Leah helped decorate it, she liked playing with the fondant which is kind of like play-doh and "accidentally" popping it in her mouth which you shouldn't do with real play-doh, but we all did anyway.

We had a turkey dinner with all the family we could muster on kind of short notice. There were nineteen of us, Leah made place cards for everyone and we all managed to fit around two tables. It reminded me of when we were kids and had people over for dinner, we always made place cards and we'd set the table all "fancy". It makes me smile.

The food was yummy.

Thankfully we've got Aunt Jessi to take care of the kids and make sure they are fed.

And that they get birthday presents, Aunt Jessi and Uncle Mitch gave Leah this new fancy bike which she took for a spin in the darkness and came back in one piece. Bonus.

We also got her presents, she got the guitar Jeff is playing in the picture so now we've got a full band - woo hoo. They've had fun playing and, yes, the drumstick Leah is holding has been taped together because Ringo Starr aka Ryan got a little too enthusiastic during one of our jam sessions.

And now to make this post extra long I will share some thoughts. Yesterday was a big growing day for not just our Leah Bug, I had an assignment to speak in Sacrament Meeting about "Being Temperate in All Things". Speaking in church terrifies me, seriously. But I knew it would be "good for me" so I wrote my little talk and I practiced and I prayed and my stomach turned over and over just thinking about it. Sunday morning I practiced and prayed more and my stomach turned, it even did it just now thinking about it and it is all over - yikes. But I stood up there shaking knees and all and I made it thru and only got a little bit choked up once or twice. I did it. And doggone it, I did kind of a good job. President Miller spoke after me and he was fantastic as always but when he sat back down his hands were shaking too which made me feel better but also a little trepidatious because he's been doing it for like thirty years and if he still gets nervous. . .

But anyways, I did it. And then I went home and fixed a turkey dinner and homemade rolls for many people and everything turned out nicely. Even though I'm 32 and should be a grown-up and be used to days like this and take it all in stride, it still kind of surprises me that I can do this stuff, I feel like I'm still 15 and awkward. But I've watched my Mom do that kind of stuff my whole life and her example gives me confidence to try things that I'm not completely comfy with. And that makes it a Happy frightening Day.