Like Mother; like Daughter

21 years ago, my parents had their first date; going to Cove, Oregon together to pick up someone for dads work. 21 years later, their oldest daughter traveled to the Salt Lake City airport to do the same thing! It's funny how much our relationships are the same. Except this wasn't mine and Sheldons first date. I had a lot of fun!!!!! I had never been to an airport before, so I was really excited to go. Sheldon was great and showed me some of the larger jets and we watched as they landed and took off. I love the sound they make! As you can tell, I am easily amused and it doesn't take much to make me happy, like watching jets take off! We ran another errand and then had to take a drive past the Salt Lake Temple! It is my favorite temple, and looked so pretty today! On the way home, we stopped at the Olive Garden, both of ours favorite restaurant! And boy was it yummy :) We had a great drive and quality time together!

A Day for the Guys

What a fun day!!! My friend Tianna and I decided to make dinner for two of our very close friends; Sheldon and Josh. These two have done so much for us. They have taken us snowmobiling, to the movies, snowboarding, dinner and so much more. So we decided to make dinner for them and then either go bowling or watch a movie. Tianna and I worked on making dinner. We made a pretzel/jello salad and I made some homemade rolls. Then my friend Sheldon Mallory came over. Mason wanted so badly for someone to go outside and play baseball with him. Well Sheldon was on top of things and took him outside to go play. They were so cute, and Mason really loves the male rolemodel Sheldon is. Then his cute nephew, Jackson, called him and said he wanted to play with him. So we went and picked him up. Of course we couldn't leave Kenlyn behind. She is so adorable and is really fun to play with. We brought them back to my house and we played on the trampoline, swings, and on the wii. Jackson is quite the professional and everyone has a challenge trying to beat this talented 3 year old, even Mason.

A few hours later Sheldon and Josh came over. Sheldon is quite the bar-b-quer, so we let him have the honors of cooking the steaks. And he did a fantastic job! Me and Tianna chose to have steaks, since this is both Sheldon and Josh's favorite food. We also had mashed potatoes, green salad, homemade rolls, peas, and pretzel/jello salad. It was a very tasty meal!!! We cleaned up and visited for a while. Then we went to Sheldon's house to watch the Blind Side! Overall, it was a FANTASTIC Day!!!! :)

The Traveling Violinists

Well, once again our Fandango group had another performance. This time we played at Declo High School for their Talent Show. It was pretty fun and went well. This time we did not have our showy costumes but we still had the RED ROSE!!! Our signiture. Man how I have enjoyed playing with my friends and the experiences we have had!

You want me to do WHAT?

Holy Crap.....what did I get myself into? When one of my best friends, Josh, said we should sing a duet together, what was I supposed to say? Especially with Sister Barlow, our music director for the ward and branch president's wife, was listening to this conversation, and of course volunteered us for a musical number. Now music has ALWAYS been a part of my life, but not signing. I can hit the notes and I know when I am off, and I know when others are off, but signing musically, especially when I have had no training...well lets just say this was definitely a new experience for me. But one that ended up being worth it.

Our first experience signing together was in the Singles Branch. We sang 'On Bended Knee.' And lets just say this is not my absolute favorite song. We had fun practicing together and following each other. When it came the Sunday of the musical number, I was extremely nervous. I either wanted to pass out or throw up. And I happened to complete one of those tasks. I hadn't been that nervous in a while. It was like I was 6 all over again, performing my violin at festival for the first time, or playing a piano solo. I was shaking and ready to hyperventilate. But hyperventilating has never been a problem when playing the violin or piano, but it does create a different story when it comes to signing. You see, you actually have to breath while you sing, or else, it just sounds bad or you pass out. But it all ended well, we sang the piece, sat down, and I breathed.

Then we sang in our home ward- 1st ward. This time I wanted to change songs. We sang one of our favorites, 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.' This was a fun song to sing, one I could put feeling into and sing with my heart. We blended really well, or at least that's what people say. I must admit I sounded better singing this song. Until they decided to make me practice with the microphone, and boy was that scary. Definitely out of my comfort zone. But you know what they say, you learn best when your out of your comfort zone. And this was definately a task out of my comfort zone. We even matched our wardrobe. I wore a black dress with a red headband, and he wore a black suit with a red tie. All in all, I had fun trying something new with a good friend encouraging me along!!! And we sounded good and that is always a plus!! Thanks Josh for this new experience!

*21st Anniversary*

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!!! What on earth would we do without the two best parents....EVER!!!!!! Well, I for sure would be completely lost and stupid. Can you believe it has been 21 years, but that doesn't even put a dent into the eternity we will spend together as a family! It is amazing to think that I have been apart of 19 of your 21 years. We have had our ups and our downs, our laughs and our tears, our fights and our loves, and most of all....we have our MEMORIES!!!! This year, mom and dad took a couple of days off and went to Utah. I was once again, mother Em. I enjoy having the responsibility and being able to practice at caring for a family. However, I will not be having a family for a long time. After this week, I was frazzled. I have great siblings, but sometimes, they feel like they don't have to listen to what their older sister has to say. But in the end it was all worth it. I had fun running errands, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, taking and picking up the kids from school, taking them all a Gonzo sandwich for lunch and eating with them, taking them to lessons, helping them with homework, buying gifts and decorations, making them dinner, tucking them in bed at night, and having family prayer with them. It was a busy 3 days, but I enjoyed being busy. The kids and I decided to decorate mom and dad's room before they came back from their vacation. We hung pink and red streamers from the ceiling, blew up 50 red and pink balloons, and decorated their bed with rose petals accentuated with a gift certificate for dinner at STEVO'S!!! The kids and I love doing surprises for others and sneaking around. We love the look on people's faces when they see their surprises. It is such a good feeling to see someone smile!! :) Happy Anniversary mom and dad!!! Thank you for all that you do, have done, and continue to do!!! We love you so much and don't know what we would do without you guys. Thanks for all of the lessons, advice, punishments, memories, laughs, fights and everything that has grown us closer as a family and has helped me learn life lessons.

`Final Swim`

Teddy, our last surviving fish, passed away. I was rather sad, considering a fish is the closest thing our family gets to having pets. I was surprised when I realized that we have had them for over a year. That is a record for the Rasmussen Family and pets; especially fish. Their expiration date usually lasts between a few days, to weeks, or possibly a couple of months. Its sad not being able to feed them or watch them swim around. They were rather entertaining to watch. They we both very hyper and active fish. But once Sheri died, Teddy started to slow down and seemed rather lonely. I told mom we needed to get another friend for Teddy, but she didn't listen. And guess what?...he died. I say it was from loneliness and a broken heart. At least if they ever start filling out death certificates for fish, thats what I will tell them the cause of death was.

Valentines Day

What another wonderful Valentine's Day! It seems just like yesterday it was Thanksgiving and Christmas. On Sunday we were able to spend Valentines Day with my family on my mom's side, the 'Beck' side. We had a delicious soup, salad, veggie, dessert bar. It was fun to get together with my family and enjoy each others company. The evening included talking and catching up on times, and of course the girls tumbling act they performed for us!

On Monday we had our traditional Valentines Dinner. We waited for Camille to come home to celebrate with us. She was in Boise at KYG. Our Traditional Dinner is Lasagna. This is the first meal my mom ever cooked for my dad while they were dating. It's a great memory for them to have. Mom and I had fun getting decorations and coming up with ideas for the table. We got a red tablecloth, heart plates and napkins, and we found these cute glasses with red and pink polka dots on them. We also found these cute heart frames for each of us to put a picture in. Masons picture was of him shooting an arrow. It was so cute, he looked like cupid shooting his arrow of love! We found a Valentines/Love CD of favorite love songs that we played while eating. Dinner consisted of Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Green Salad, Brownie in the shape of a heart, Pink jello in the shape of a heart, and Root beer floats for dessert!! Mom and I had so much fun Surprising everyone with our Valentine Dinner!

On Valentines Day, I got to skype with my new family from Rexburg. They are Kinzi and Kenzie's Cousins that live in Plaino. I spent quite a bit of time at their home of the semester; doing laundry, eating dinner, and getting to know the kids. They are a wonderful family and I miss them so much. It was so much fun to be able to see and talk to Ali, Brady, Kennedy, Spencer, Whitney, and Dax on skype. When they got on they said how much they missed me. Little Dax was so cute. He kept saying, "miss you, miss you." It made me want to cry. But it totally made my day to be able to see them!!! What a Wonderful Valentines Day we had!!!