What Have You Been Up To?

I've been pretty busy myself.I've been hanging out with my cousin Mason while his parents swam in the "wawa" with dolphins,playing "boo" in our new house,
sharing some giggles on the Jazzy,
sneakin' in a little "na-night" while we go "bubye,"
eatin' some good "num nums,"

and gettin' in a little bit of "NO NO" for putting mascara all over my lips. Sorry, I thought it was lip gloss. They look the same to me.

Our Little Jazz Fan

Check Brooklyn out on TV by clicking here. She's at the 36 second mark.

Projects

Usually, at any given time I will have multiple projects going on to keep me busy. Here are some things we've been working on these past few months.

My dad made a china cabinet to give to my mom as a wedding gift. It was one of the staple pieces of furniture that I remember growing up. When my parents moved a couple of years ago the china cabinet didn't go with them. Instead it was stored and stranded in my grandparents garage.

While living with my grandparents, I would see it from time to time. I felt bad that such a wonderful piece with such a fantastic story sat dead collecting dust and cobwebs.

One day I decided that I was going to give it a face lift. I told Regan that what I wanted for Christmas was for us to give this china hutch a new look and a new home.

Check out Regan's mad crown and base molding skills.

My parents reaction was priceless. "Marsha, that is the same design as the china hutch I made for you." I even pulled out a piece of the old wood to show them what it looked like before. "Yeah, that's Ash wood. I made mom's cabinet out of the same stuff!" Oh really? Didya? "It IS the same one." Laughter and tears. They loved it.
This cost me $2 to make. I used a bunch of things I had laying around the house (a broken ceramic golf ball, glue gun, and a vase that had some bent fake plants in it). It looks kind of lonely in that alcove. Well, there's always next weekend.

For the next project, this was my inspiration.
Walah! My finished product. It's perfect for storing all of my salon supplies.
It used to be a cream color. When I was distressing it, some of the cream color decided to stick around. It was an unexpected surprise that adds so much to the look.
I also got myself an actual salon chair! It really makes my life so much easier. Brooklyn will climb up into it and start fixing her hair (or lack thereof). It makes me laugh so hard.

Duckworth Christmas Activity

For the Duckworth family Christmas activity this year we were instructed to dress warm for a timed competition. We zipped up our coats and laced our shoes tight; we were ready to win.

We were handed a backpack with a set of scriptures, envelopes with clues to guide us to our destinations, some snacks for our bellies, and twenty $1 bills.

Ready? Set? GO!

Rules: You must obey the law at all times, no speeding, you must take a picture at each location and everyone on your team must be in it.

The first scripture and clue led us to our first stop, which was H&R Block.

When we arrived there, we were trying to find out how to get us all in the picture. Luckily, there was a passerby who approached us for directions to Alta High School that was able to help us out. Thanks dude!

Our second clue led us to Fairfield Inn.

Don't worry, we are definitely all in the picture. Regan stuck his finger in the shot.

As we were piling back into the car, trying frantically to get all of the kids safely into their car seats and boosters, we noticed a lady who was having car trouble. She had run out of gas and couldn't get a hold of anyone to help her. She didn't have any money on her and didn't know what to do.

We obviously couldn't leave her stranded. But, all we had was the $20 for the game. Oh well! $20-$8 (gas can and a gallon of gas)=$12. We should be good.

Our third destination was Great Harvest. We were instructed to purchase two pieces of bread. On our way out we were approached by a transient who needed some money to go see his kids for the holidays. We gave him some cash and also hooked him up with some bread.

As we were leaving I noticed him asking some other people for money. It broke my heart when one of them rudely held his hand in his face and said "no."

Our fourth clue led us to the Dollar Tree where we were instructed to buy a gold star balloon.

Right after this picture was taken, we were approached by a guy who was late to work and needed a ride to Walmart. Seriously? We are in a TIMED COMPETITION PEOPLE! Oh well, hop in Steve. We've got room.

Our last clue led us to a stable.

What an appropriate way to end the competition. In a cold stable. Nothin' fancy. Just the animals and all of the smells associated with them. While inside the stable Regan's mother read a poem entitled The Collector's Son. It was great. Check it out if you haven't read it yet.

Brooklyn thought the horses were pretty neat, but didn't want anything to do with feeding them. She sure tried to be brave, but would pull away and squeal every time the horse got remotely close to her tempting carrot.

She is so cool.

Oh yeah! Guess who showed up to mingle with us in the stable? The guy at H&R Block who needed directions, the nice lady who ran out of gas, the beggar at great harvest, and good ol' Steve who needed a ride to work.

This was a great lesson taught. No matter what is going on in our lives, no matter how much of a hurry we are in, no matter how short we are on cash, we can always stop to help someone in need.

Thanks Brad and Marianne!

Uncle Zack

Brooklyn loves Uncle Zack. Every time she would see him she would reach out her arms for him to hold her, and she would also run to him when he walked in a room. I loved it because I knew she wouldn't be able to do it for very much longer.

Zack went into the MTC last week. He is going to the Philippines.

Before we dropped him off I made him crepes. It is his favorite dish ever. As you can see, he was busy saying his farewells to all of his friends via text before he had to give up his phone.
He also got in his last smooches in before having no physical contact with a girl for 2 years. What is that thing coming out of Brooklyn's nape area? Oh that? It's just a red rattail ringlet that I can't bring myself to cut off. That's all.
Brooklyn was standing on the counter and went back and forth between Uncle Zack and Grandma Sharp. She would lay a wet one on Grandma, run to Zack and lay one on him, then run back to Grandma to kiss her some more.
They are certainly serious about this whole curbside drop off. Grab you stuff...
...say your last goodbye's...
...humor your family with yet another photo and GET TO CLASS!

Spoiled Rotten

Brooklyn really enjoys pushing things. At church her favorite thing to do is squat down low enough so she can reach the lowest bar on the folding chairs and push them around the gym in cutest little stink bug position.

We decided it was time for a stroller and baby. See how she can wave now? I love it.

She goes all around the house with this thing. Unfortunately, she has already ripped off the cloth part of it. She doesn't mind. It still goes, for now that is. She likes to send it souring down the stairs.

Brooklyn had a lot of presents to open (thanks to her fan club of a family) but she wasn't sure how to go about doing it.

Good thing she had some cousins there to help her out.

Christmas Eve

We had my lovely family (-3.5) over for Dinner on Christmas Eve.

After some yummy soup, the adults played some fun games...
...while the children watched Elf. Unfortunately, these are the only pictures I have of my family while they were all here.

Brooklyn snatched a stomach bug from someone. She was kind enough to give it to me. I couldn't keep such a wonderful thing to myself, so I decided that everyone should have the same opportunity to see 5lbs. less when they step on the scale during the holiday season. There were only 3 lucky souls who did not get sick. So, needless to say, I wasn't really feeling up to taking pictures. I am regretting it now.

I Will Do My Best

For those of you who have younger siblings, do you look at them and feel really old? I do.

My baby brother Ashton recently earned his Eagle.

The rule in our house was you had to earn your Eagle (or YW medallion) before you could get your drivers licence. Ashton had perfect timing because he turns 16 in a couple of months.

Here are my six brothers, my father, and Regan singing the National Anthem. To listen to it on youtube click here. It is definitely worth 1.5 minutes of your time.

Here is Grandpa Copier telling a story about when he was able to go to a jamboree in the Netherlands where he grew up. At the jamboree he was surrounded by royalty, Boy Scout founders, and some of the First Presidency. Pretty cool experience for a young boy from Holland. "UTRECHT, UTRECHT, UTRECHT!"

All six of my brothers have earned their eagle, and I received my YW medallion. To celebrate our individual accomplishments, my dad carved our names onto his bo staff. And yes, he's got mad bo staff skills.

My favorite parts of scout meetings were the cheesy "round of applause" jokes and when they would lift the deserving scout upside down to pin him.

Good job Ashton! We love you. Oh, and please let us know when you get your license so we can steer clear of your neighborhood.

Armstrong

April