WHAT'S ALL THE "BUZZ" ABOUT?

We are now the proud owner of honey bees!  We built our beehives this week and finally got our bees (and their queens) this morning.  It has been exciting so far.

Out hives!  :-)

I was really proud of my cute husband and youngest daughter as they did most of the hard work.  Scott was stung four or five times on his hands but didn't let on like it hurt at all.  He has complained a LITTLE of pain when someone shakes his hand, but otherwise he's amazing!  I think he is especially sexy when he works hard and learns knew skills and things so this whole bee keeping thing is awesome!

Kotten Kandy and Scott - It's hard to see in these two pics, but they are covered in bees....

My oldest daughter stayed as far away as possible but did hand the sugar water over before the bees were let out.  I'm pretty proud of myself too.  I was only a yard away during the whole ordeal in civilian clothing.  I was calm and collected... even when one of the bees decided to walk under my cheek for a moment.  :-)

This is as close as Key Lime Pie came to the bees. (They are still in their boxes.)

I picked up a box....  Can you believe it?

Here is what we have learned so far:
There are about 20,000 different species of bees in the world.  Bees live in colonies and there are three types of bees in each colony.  There is the queen bee, the worker bee and the drone.  The worker bee and the queen bee are both female, but only the queen bee can reproduce.  All drones are male.  Worker bees clean the hive, collecting pollen and nectar to feed the colony and they take care of the offspring.  The drone's only job is to mate with the queen.  The queen's only job is to lay eggs.

Building the boxes was half the fun....

Honeybees live in large "families" and are found all over the world.  The honeybee is the only social insect whose colony can survive many years.  That is because they huddle together and eat honey to keep themselves alive during the winter months.  They pollinate more than 100 crops in the US, and often fly up to three miles away from their hive.  They flap their wings 11,000 times per minute, which is why it sounds like they are "buzzing".  Honeybees can only sting once, because their stingers are barbed and tear off when they try to get away.

Kotten Kandy is using this for a Personal Progress project.

I guess we can call this a science fair project!  We are learning tons!

GIRL'S CAMP FUNDRAISER

Friday was sooooooooooo fun!  We had a spaghetti dinner and a silent auction.  The ward was so generous.  We made enough money to send all the girls to camp without supplementing.  And we also have a bit left over for matching shirts.

 YW:  Banana, Juicy Fruit, Kotten Kandy, Milk and Muffin

YW:  Egg Plant, Mars Candy and Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie and Kotten Kandy are both excited to go to camp.  Key Lime Pie will be a third year and Kotten Kandy will be a first year.  I get to go too - as a leader.

 Key Lime Pie's Peeta bread

Kotten Kandy's BYU brownies

Both girls donated some delicious baked goods.  Key Lime Pie donated Peeta's baked cinnamon bread.  Kotten Kandy donated BYU mint brownies.  YUM!  And the Peeta bread got the largest bid out of all the desserts!  The mint brownies tied for second.  The girls' were pleased!

It was really a lot of fun!

LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD

Well, I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award.  It's kinda cool.  I was nominated by Mrs. D at http://mrsdshomestead.blogspot.com/.  And I'm kinda excited to be noticed.  Part of being nominated means I get to play a sort of game.  So here goes:

11 facts about myself:
1.  I LOVE being a wife and mother!  Being a wife and mom is the BEST job EVER!
2.  I have been blessed to have LOTS of best friends:  my sister, my mother, Amy B., Joanne G. and Lori H.
3.  Cross stitching is my favorite past time/hobby.
4.  We don't have any TV in our home right now.  We do own a DVD player and watch movies sometimes, but no television.
5.  The only shows we watch (and have to watch them at a friend's house) is Once Upon a Time.
6.  Many people have told me I would love the show The Mentalist.  So I just bought the first season on DVD.
7.  I LOVE reading.  Thanks, dad, for encouraging that passion.
8.  I majored in music education, but sometimes wonder if it would have been better to major in computers or math since I have never been very musically talented.  (I have developed that talent better....)
9.  I only subscribe to two magazines:  The Ensign and All You.
10.  I used to weigh 350 lbs.  I had gastric-by-pass surgery.  And I'm glad I did.  I'm sooooo much healthier now.
11.  I LOVE my Savior, Jesus Christ, and am grateful for his sacrifice.

Now I get to answer Mrs. D's 11 questions:
1.  What is your favorite hobby?
     Oops.  I already answered this one above...  I LOVE cross-stitching.
2.  What is your favorite dinner to make for your family?
     Hands down:  Taco Salad!  It's easy and my favorite!
3.  What is one thing you do to keep your sanity during your busy day?
     I pray.  And I call my sister.
4.  What is your favorite book?
     My first answer:  The Scriptures!  But I also love TONS of other books and it is hard to pick just one.  I love "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and "Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury and "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card and "The Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson and "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott and "The Help" by Katheryn Stockett and...  OK, I'll stop there.
5.  If you could go anywhere in the world for 2 weeks, where would it be, and why?
     I have always wanted to go to Europe.  My parents were married there (Germany), so I would love to see what they saw.  Also, my ancestors are from Scotland and my husband's family comes from Holland so visiting those places would be wonderful too!
6.  Who is your favorite musician, and what is your favorite type of music?
     This is a hard question.  My favorite musicians are:  my dad (One Man Mormon Blues Band), Donny Osmond and Jack Johnson.  My favorite type of music is Broadway musicals, but I truly love all genres except heavy metal or music with terrible lyrics.
7.  What is the big thing you want to do "when you retire"/"when the kids are grown"/"whenever"?
     I want to travel with my husband!
8.  How do you relax at the end of the day?
     I read books or watch Glenn Beck on the computer while cross-stitching.
9.  What is the most important thing you try to teach your children?
     I try to teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ.
10.   Are you going to follow all the award nominees?
        You bet, I already do.
11.  Why do you blog?
       I mostly blog so that my family and friends who live far away can keep up with our family.  Plus, it's a fun hobby too!

My 11 nominees:
A Bucket Full of Charity

Aiming to be a well rounded...
Busy B's Piano Studio
everyday notes
Jeanius Ideas for YW
Little LDS Ideas
Mothers Who Know
My Soul Delighteth
Our Busy Homeschool
Pinch A Little Save-A-Lot 
The Creative Homemaker

And so, my nominees, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is:
Post 11 facts about yourself.
Answer my 11 questions to you.
Choose 11 of your favorite blogs under 200 followers and nominate them.
Share the love by following my other nominees.

My 11 questions for you are:
1.  If you were going to write a book, what would you name it and what would it be about?
2.  What is one of the scariest things you have ever done?
3.  If you could go back in history, who would you want to meet?  Why?
4.  How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend?
5.  What are some things that make you really happy?
6.  If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
7.  What is the first thing that you notice about people?
8.  If someone were to make a movie about your life, which actor/actress would you want to play you?
9.  How do you feel about public speaking?
10.  What are some of your major goals in life?
11.  What were you like in high school?

I hope my nominees enjoy doing this as much as I have.  Link back here when you're done, so I can follow your answers.  :-)

THUNDER OVER LOUISVILLE

Kentucky is famous for the Derby and all the festivities that surround the event.  Two weeks before the horse race is the annual kickoff event: an airshow and fireworks display held on the banks of the Ohio River.  Thunder Over Louisville, which is what the fireworks display is called, is the largest annual fireworks display in North America since 1990.  The fireworks display lasts for around half an hour, along with a synchronized soundtrack.  It is truly amazing!

Saturday we spent the day on the banks of the Ohio River.  We BBQed, read books, visited, people watched, enjoyed the airshow and anxiously awaited the fireworks.  We were not disappointed.  Although it was cold, we would do it again!  And probably will.

APRIL GENERAL CONFERENCE 2013

We LOVE General Conference.  We especially love it now that our daughters seem to look forward to it and enjoy it as much as we do.  This year we made (decorated the front) of spirals for taking notes during the incredible talks.  I think the books turned out great.

And the spirit was so strong.  My favorite part?  When, as a family, we discussed each of our favorite talks and what inspiration we each received.  Key Lime Pie and Kotten Kandy were excited to share their insights with us.  They each focused on one of the young women values and took notes with that specific value in mind.  Key Lime Pie focused on Individual Worth and Kotten Kandy chose Choice and Accountability.  I really couldn't be prouder of my beautiful daughters!

BRACES

My daughter looks absolutely beautiful in her new braces.  She has been super about it.  She is in a bit of pain, but hardly complains.  She got them on Friday.  She choose green and blue bands because blue is her favorite color and green is her sister's favorite color.

Thanks mom for making this happen.  I'm sooooooooo excited for her!

EASTER 2013

Easter is always a wonderful day! We love celebrating the life, atonement and resurrection of our Savior.  We celebrated this year by watching Ben Hur and eating chocolate as a family.  It was a relaxing, and fulfilling day.  The girls' favorite Easter "gift" was the book The Way of Kings and the third book in The Beyonders series.