More Boston

The first day we spent at Lexington and Concord. The group picture is at the Minuteman statue in Lexington. The other two pictures were taken during the re-enactment of a part of the battle near Concord.
Later, we went to Walden Pond, the Concord North Bridge battle site, and the Old Manse, a home owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson and rented by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
It was very cold with rain the entire day.

Mom

Boston

We had a wonderful time in Boston. Here are a couple of pictures. The four of us are in Tom's living room. The other picture is of the crowd near the end of the marathon.

Mom

Happy Birthday NARB!

Mom is how old again?

GAO

Here is a little clip of the GAO in action. I have told Mom some of the crazy things they do, but this one is pretty funny. Tobin and I both got a little chuckle.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/energy-star-fraud-10215533

House

So it seems we have sold the house. There are still inspections, etc. to deal with, but we are happy things have gone smoothly so far. It is sort of sad to get the house looking really good, only to sell it. We will miss it.

Asphalt Ventures

For those who are interested, here's some video of me (and friend/instructor Ashraf sometimes in the passenger seat). I was "signed off" to drive without an instructor, meaning I have progressed from novice to intermediate to advanced to solo in only 6 track days. The new nicest thing anyone has said about me is: "for someone with your experience level, you're pretty damn fast."

Out of gas as GT-R screams by. (Yes, it is embarrassing to run out of gas on track, but in my defense, the gauge doesn't work with the fuel sloshing around violently. Also, you get about 6 mpg and it kinda sneaks up on you.)

I think I like the camera on my helmet better.

Check mirrors!

Segment from last session.

Department of hmm...

The mystery of sudden acceleration.

Update: More here.

Chili Champ

I thought everyone might like to know that Tobin is the new Norfolk 2nd Ward Chili Cook Off Champion. He won with a huge pot of Boz's Baked Beans, not Chili. However it was judged by 4 missionaries from Utah, so they probably thought it was some kind of Southern Chili.
And the fabulous prize? A new ladel. Sweet.

You're Welcome

California-Arizona trip

Now that we have been back from California and Arizona for a week, it's time to show you a couple of pictures! We had a good, but cold and wet time. It was geezerville everywhere! No kids or young families once we left Scott. In Tucson we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. One of the best parts there was the hummingbird house. Many of the birds just sat and let you take pictures of them.
The black line in the picture is the border fence with Mexico, about a mile away, near the Coronado Historical Monument.
We spent a morning at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson and took two very interesting tours, including a bus tour of a "boneyard" where over 4000 old planes and helicopters that have been retired are stored. They are now used for parts. All windows and electronic parts are covered to protect them from ultra violet rays.
Dennis is looking out at a very wet street in Tombstone.
Salla, Scott, Henkka, and Dennis are looking at fish in a pond at San Juan Capistrano. The water was right to the top of the pond and the fish would come right up and look at us. Henkka and Salla loved it.

BDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEATTA !!! WE LOVE YOU AND HOPE TO SEE YOU AND EVERYONE SOON!!!

Interesting Stuff

Scott has requested that we blog only on interesting stuff. I'll do my best, but interesting is in the eye of the beholder.

For Scott and Beatta. (Always brings tears to my eyes. Sniff. I still do that shopping cart thing.)

Nordic terror continues rampage.

Via Tyler Cowen (who I get to meet this week!): Rent seeking behavior.

How to show some class.

Hayek vs. Keynes. (Notice that the bartenders are Ben and Tim.)

Speedsource Mazda RX-8 wins GT class at 24 hours of Daytona. Again.

Foyled?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/10/itv-foyles-war-returns

Assorted links

World poverty is falling. Fast.

Chevy Volt Dance. Story here.

Tyler Cowen on health care and climate bills.

The Empire Laughs Back

Funny throughout, but the real magic is around 2:10.

Assorted links

About time: three blink only turn signals from Ford.

An unambiguous number 1 you can cheer for.

I'd be happy to give you some advice...

on Renting vs. Buying. For what it's worth, I think that Scott and Beatta are wise renting, Alison and Tobin are wise buying, and April and I probably should have rented for the past 3 years, but we should buy in the future.

Economists are cheapskates. I disagree--I'd just say they are rational.

Number 1

Hooray for Boise State! Number 1!!!

New Year's Eve

So, are you all partying tonight? Or are you, like your parents, doing nothing except going to bed at the usual 10 p.m.?
By the way, did you all notice that Idaho won its bowl game? Idaho in a bowl game - just the idea is crazy!

Mom

Happy Joseph Smith Jr. Birthday!

Here is the official LDS Joseph Smith site.

Here is Wikipedia
.
Here is my favorite picture of the Prophet.

Here is my favorite passage of revelation from Brother Joseph:

Doctrine and Covenants 121: 45-46
Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

Happy Birthday Scott!

Although I'm not sure your birthday is legal in this country if you are in Finland.

Christmas plans

Well, in keeping with Bosworth tradition, we are again not spending the holidays together. What is everyone doing>>>i assume that scott will be looking for his luggage? what about everyone else?

Other News

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled post about stuff I am interested in and nobody else is to bring you news of other stuff I am interested in that (probably) nobody else is:

Magnus Carlsen will be the number 1 rated chess player in the world when FIDE publishes their next Elo ratings list. Full report here.

A few questions you might ask:

Q: Why is this significant?
A: Magnus is only 19, by far the youngest to be ranked #1. He is also not Russian, another oddity in the world of chess. He's from Norway.

Q: If he is the number 1 player, why are Veselin Topalov (Boo! Hiss!) and Vishy Anand (Yay! Go Vishy!) playing for the World Championship next year?
A: Because Topalov earned the right to play for the world championship last year prior to Magnus becoming the best player. In chess, the only way to become "world champion" is to defeat the current world champion.

Q: I thought Garry Kasparov was the world champ.
A: You probably also think that Jack Nicklaus is the world's best golfer. Anand beat Vladimir Kramnik in 2007, Kramnik beat Kasparov in 2000. FYI, Kasparov beat Karpov in 1985, Karpov won by default in 1975 when Bobby Fischer went nuts, and Fisher beat Boris Spassky in 1972.

Q: Wait a minute, how do we know Magnus is the best player?
A: Chess uses an Elo rating system to rank the relative strength of players. I am interested in this because the underlying statistical model is very similar to the models that I use to model peoples' preferences in my academic work. Basically, the model uses your performance against other players to calculate how good you are. If you beat another player rated higher (lower) than you, your rating goes up (down) a lot. Beating an inferior opponent won't raise your rating much, if any. The nice thing about the model is that it is completely objective and updated monthly. Magnus' Elo will be 2810. You need to be about 2500 to be a grandmaster. My rating is about 1680. A complete novice is 1200.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
A: Yes. Aside from the Elo ratings, the chess world is completely dysfunctional. Because the only way to become world champion is to beat the world champion, the only way to lose the world championship is to get beaten. Thus, champions have the incentive to avoid playing except under favorable circumstances. There are no universally recognized organizing authorities, so players tend to break away and form new organizations continually. Sometimes years go by without world championship matches.

Imagine if the only way for the Lakers to lose their crown as world champions was to have a team beat them in a 7 game series. Then imagine that the Lakers did not recognize the NBA's authority to organize a playoff to determine a team to play them. Further imagine that the Lakers decide that they will only play on their home court, etc. etc. You get the idea.

Preference Ordering: Jolly Rancher Flavors

1. Apple
2. Watermelon
3. Blue Raspberry
4. Cherry

Not worth eating:

5. Grape
6. Strawberry

I remember Cinnamon Fire from when I was a kid, but I haven't seen those for ages.

Me again

About the 17 min mark:

VIR Nov 30 Asphalt Ventures - Inter / Advanced run Group from Jon Manhood on Vimeo.

Awesome Video for Mom & Dad

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

family pictures

Assorted Links

This is a feature that is popular at Marginal Revolution, and since I've been utterly lazy in posting here lately, I use it now to share some of the recent awesome I've come across.

1. Microsuede nails New Moon

2. Down, Set, Hut!!

3. Where to Eat

4. Two Great Classics, Together at Last

5. Zombie Reagan:

Zombie Reagan Raised From Grave To Lead GOP

November Happenings

November has been a busy month for the North Carolina Bosworths.

On the 8th and 9th we took a trip to Wilmington. We went to the USS North Carolina, Fort Fisher, and the beach.

On the 22 and 23, I went to the Southern Economic Association Conference in San Antonio where I presented a paper on class size, class composition, and student attainment. I also went to the Alamo and met one of my man-crushes.

On the 30th, I went to VIR for a day of driving fast (tempered somewhat by the rainy conditions) with a member of my stake presidency and a group of friends from my other religious organization. Below is some footage with a familiar white car in it.

House

I thought I better post this before I don't have a computer for awhile. We closed on our house Saturday and Tobin, Doug, and I (and the girls), stripped and refinished 900 square feet of oak floors. Thursday is move in day. It is a 4 bedroom, 2 full bath Cape Cod style house. Great Yard. Garage (which isn't common out here). And it is going to be a lot of fun...aka a lot of work.

Christmas is Coming; or, What to Read?

Since the epic fail that was our attempt to use GoodReads as a family, it ocurred to me that I am not really aware of what everyone is reading these days, or interested in reading in coming days. For me, the list is more or less only two-deep at the moment, and I don't have either, yet.

1. Agassi's autobiography (which, I assume, everyone will want to read).
2. Bill Simmons' the Book of Basketball (which, I assume, no one will want to read, except maybe Ryan, and which I will get a signed copy of at the book signing in a couple of weeks.)

Of course, I am always willing to drool over the Joseph Smith Papers Project volumes 1 & 2, but they are a bit pricey and more of a long-term reading project.

How about you folks?

Bosworth Battlefield Found

Details

Pepper

Imagine our surprise when we saw Pepper on the front window sill the other day. Actually it was Oreo, Kindred's cat.

Pine Needles

I crossed one off my "things to do before I leave North Carolina" list yesterday: I played Pine Needles--a famous Donald Ross course. They regularly have the U.S. Women's Open there.

It was probably the best golf experience of my life, surpassing even the memory of building a fire to stay warm while waiting on the tee at the Montpelier Golf Course. (Idaho High School golf!) Weather was perfect, we were the first group off, and I played well (not essential to a good golf experience, but it helps).

General Conference Coverage

Beatta and I are tired of watching conference on a computer. So this year, instead, we're going to attend every session. Yes, that is right. Every. Last. One.

Through BCC, we got special media passes, and I will be doing Live-blogging during all the sessions, as well as running a Twitter feed for ByCommonConsent. Advance copies of the talks, etc...

Beatta will be doing the Live-Photo blogging for the sessions, which will also be continually updated throughout the sessions on BCC.

Booyah!

(and 1,000,000 Thank-Yous to Mom & Dad for taking Henkka and Salla for the two days. It would not be possible without you. We love you!)

More...

John Stockton Assists Hall Of Fame Officials In Setting Up Induction Ceremony

In case you missed it...

Mma Ramotswe has a cup of bush tea with World Chess Champion

At least that's the way I imagined it.

Candy Bar Triumvirate

1. Peanut Butter Twix
2. Snickers (Ice Cream Snickers are also fantabulous)
3. Peanut M&Ms

That is all.

Peaks vs lakes

In spite of my smile, the hike to Baker Peak was not easy. I have learned this summer that I much prefer trails and lakes to cross-country and peaks!

(Possible?) Bosworth family phobias

The fear of not enough salt
The fear of not being taken seriously
The fear of spending money
The fear of spiders
The fear of getting food on the upholstery
The fear of overcooked meat
The fear of the 8th/17th tee at PGCC in a high school golf tournament

What else?

Stake Conference: Hi-tech and Minor Miracles

This week was Stake Conference, and to address the constant problem of logistics (seating, parking, attendance, etc.) the decision was made to do a webcast to 4 buildings instead of the closed-circuit to only two. We spent around $4K for the equipment, and under the supervision of - who else - Lamont Harris, wired up Riverdale, Clifton, 3/7/10 and the Stake Center. A few trial runs broadcasting sacrament meetings, which went well, did little to keep Pres. Mumford from sweating a few bullets. Our visiting GA was Elder J. Roger Fluhman, secretary to the Twelve, and he helped out by dropping by the library command center, and telling us that, "This better work, or we're all dead."

The minor miracle part happened when Clifton lost electricity before the session started. People scrambled for generators, got the sound sytem and lights going, then realized they had no internet.
They had forgotten to power up the routers. The crisis was averted a whole one minute before the session started, running on auxiliary power.

Funny how things work out.

My Southern Girl

Dresses up like a princessand goes to the races!

Ian and Hallie

We had a fun time with Ryan, April, Ian and Molly last weekend. However, for some reason we only took a few pictures. Here is a cute one of Ian and Hallie!

Cousins Updates

[note: Beatta posted this at our own site, but in case you missed it, I wanted to re-post it here, too.]

While looking for the picture of Salla for the birthday post, I found so many good photos of the kids in the past few years, that I had to just share a few...starting with Henkka about 3 years ago:


Here's my little boy in November of 2007, during our little turn-around in Orem.
Here he is playing with his new friend a little after we moved back... I think either Jan or Feb of 2008.
Salla was born July 25, 2008.
Salla is about three months here.Henkka, Salla, and Hallie in December of last year.
January of 2009.

The Birds

I doubt if any of you are old enough to remember the Hitchcock classic, "The Birds". It's about a group of birds that get angry enough to start attacking people, with a famous scene showing two people in a phone booth getting attacked by hordes of crazed crows.

We are, in a way, living this nightmare. Apparently the population of robins has reached a level where Mother Nature feels the herd needs to be thinned. The past three mornings I have been awakened around sunrise to a solid "klonk" as a robin crashes into one of our windows. Before I got up around eight this morning there were two more collisions. This goes on all day, with at least a half-dozen klonks. I have either buried or dumpstered three in the past week. No end is in sight. It makes no difference if teh shades are open or closed, and one window seems as good as another.

Please help.

hiking

Regarding hiking and mountains: I am so very blessed to have health and energy to do what I love. I have all the equipment I need (camera is not shown for obvious reasons) thanks especially to Tobin, Dennis, and Scott. And I have friends (both geezers and geezerettes)to hike with.
Thank you all for your encouragement. It really means a lot.

Harry Potter?

I'm amazed no one has posted about the new Harry Potter movie, "The Snogfest."

Mom & I really liked it, but I felt the snogging was excessive. Too much snogging, not enough story. And the one between Harry & Ginny was perhaps the worst snog in the history of film making.

USU Update

Family and Friends,

I have accepted USU's offer. I'll join the Applied Economics department in July 2010.

We look forward to moving to Cache Valley, but we are sad to be leaving NC. We'll keep you posted.

Awkward

I...can't....look...away...

Duct Tape

Our library is offering a class for teens called "What can you do with duct tape." The description...Express yourself with duct tape crafts and learn more uses for this miracle tape.

The Schedule

April is attending a workshop this weekend. I'll have the kids on my own.

What we'll do without supervision from April:

Friday Afternoon: Pullen Park!

Friday dinner: Bojangles!

Friday evening: Stock car racing at Wake County Speedway!

Saturday a.m.: Cold cereal and cartoons, what else?

Saturday p.m.: Crying, fighting, peeing.

Saturday evening: Really glad April is home!

New information on an old debate...

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

News that may interest some of you

I have an offer from Utah State's Applied Economics department.
Details forthcoming.

Trip to Fossil Butte

In keeping with a tradition established a few years ago, we took a 4th of July road trip. Previous excursions have found us stuck in the mud in Dayton Basin and at the Golden Spike re-enactment. We have passed Fossil Butte, WY may times on the way to Denver or Rifle, and always said to ourselves,"we'll stop there sometime", not believing it for a second. The thing is, we're running out of day-trip destinations we haven't seen, and I guess it was F.B.'s turn.

We packed a lunch and headed East, managing to negotiate Emigration Canyon without killing a single bicycler. We were amazed by several things:

1. There was no entrance fee.

2. The Visitors' Center was very interesting.

3. The hike to one of the working fossil quarries went through a lush forest of aspens and wildflowers.

4. Vicious mosquitoes were chewing us to pieces.


Once we got to the quarry, a Park Service paleontology intern offered us insect repellent and a fascinating description of the actual fossils - mostly fish- he was extracting. He said that you might find horses, crocodiles, turtles and bats in the area. Very interesting stuff.

We also took the opportunity to go to Evanston for the first time before heading home.

The pictures show the quarry worker and some fossils of various ages.

The things my husband does for me...

Ian says: Daddy putting the pizza on.

I talked Ryan into to grilling pizzas for me last night. They were delicious, if a bit involved. But, we now have a good way to make pizza in the summer without heating up the oven.

The Man in Black would be unbeatable...

Chessboxing!

Insect Wars

When Ryan called to wish me a Happy Father's Day, he related a story about stepping on a yellow jackets' nest while mowing his lawn, and got stung several times.

I claimed to be one-up on him, because when I put on my muddy garden sneakers last week, I discovered a family of wasps had built a nest in the right shoe and nailed me several times before I could extricate my foot. My toes and the balll of my foot were swollen and itched like mad.

Ryan retorted that HE, in fact was one-up because one or more wasps flew up his shorts.

Lacking photographic proof, and not really wanting any, I leave it to the family to settle this matter. Please vote in the associated poll.

A Preference Ranking of the States

Note: These rankings are “ceteris paribus”—holding income, family, friends and other attributes constant. Yes, California appears twice, once for weather and recreation, and once for being California.

Charges that I suffer from Confirmation Bias and Choice-Supportive Bias are obviously ridiculous.

Great places to live:
1. Idaho
2. Montana
3. Oregon
4. New Mexico
5. North Carolina
6. Colorado
7. California

Wouldn’t hate it there:
8. Washington
9. Utah
10. Wyoming
11. Maine
12. Massachusetts
13. Arizona
14. Tennessee
15. Virginia
16. Texas

Looking hard for a new job:
17. Georgia
18. Nevada
19. Delaware
20. Vermont
21. Connecticut
22. Rhode Island
23. Hawaii
24. Alaska
25. New Hampshire
26. South Carolina
27. South Dakota
28. North Dakota
29. West Virginia

Please get me out of here!
30. Wisconsin
31. California
32. Florida
33. Illinois
34. Michigan
35. Pennsylvania
36. Indiana
37. Kansas
38. Maryland
39. Iowa
40. Minnesota
41. Missouri
42. Nebraska
43. New York
44. Ohio
45. Oklahoma
46. Louisiana
47. Alabama
48. Kentucky
49. Mississippi
50. New Jersey
51. Arkansas

Miscellaneous thoughts on girls' camp

1. I can hike just as fast and easily as 15 year olds

2. Nasty, cold store-bought (Western Family no less) syrup is no better on French toast than on pancakes.

3. There's no point in trying to explain No. 2 to anyone

4. 5 inches of rain in a week does not ruin a camp; in fact, we had no flies, bees, wasps, or mosquitos. However, we did have 10-12 inch long night crawlers in abundance.

5. I wished that I remembered the funny song Rosann Stanko used to teach fourth graders about mud - Mud, mud, mud, what a glorious thing is mud. It ------ between your toes, it gooshes, --- we could have all sung it and laughed!

6. 23 girls and five adults had a great time!

Preference Rankings: Family Members

Best:
Scott

More or Less Awesome:
Mom
Dad

No Strong Feelings:
Alison
Ryan

GAO

Here is a look at what Tobin does.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/06/12/ldt.sylvester.gao.good.job.cnn?iref=videosearch

Preference Rankings: First in a Series--NBA

Preference Ranking of NBA teams:

Like:
1. Utah Jazz

Kinda like:
2. Memphis Grizzlies
3. Charlotte Bobcats
4. San Antonio Spurs

No strong feelings about:
5. Boston Celtics
6. Indiana Pacers
7. Milwaukee Bucks
8. Atlanta Hawks
9. Phoenix Suns
10. Minnesota Timberwolves

Hate:
11. Oklahoma City Thunder
12. Sacramento Kings
13. Los Angeles Clippers
14. Golden State Warriors
15. New Jersey Nets
16. New Orleans Hornets
17. Washington Wizards
18. Orlando Magic
19. Miami Heat
20. Toronto Raptors
21. New York Knicks
22. Philadelphia 76ers
23. Portland Trail Blazers
24. Detroit Pistons
25. Cleveland Cavaliers
26. Chicago Bulls
27. Dallas Mavericks
28. Houston Rockets
29. Denver Nuggets

Really Hate:
30. Los Angeles Lakers

Greatest Thing EVAR!

In the event that you haven't seen it yet.

The mountains of North Carolina

Here are a couple of pictures of the western part of North Carolina. The pictures don't really show how beautiful the mountains are. It really is mountainous, something this westerner never thought she would admit. The picture of Dennis and I is at a place called Blowing Rock. The other three are at Grandfather Mountain. Dennis, Ryan, and Ian are three of the people already at the top of the mountain while April and Molly are climbing over the rocks.

Graduation

Congrats Tobin!! Thanks to everyone who came to Norfolk for our special day.

Happy Mother's Day

Mom, we love you, we are grateful for you, we appreciate all you've done for us.

Even Especially when you made us run down to the stop sign and back because we were misbehaving.

We are so grateful for your loving, kind, and gentle influence on us as children, and now also on our own children.

Happy Mother's Day!

Love,

Ryan, Alison, & Scott


(Ian, Molly, Hallie, Adelaide, Henkka, & Salla, too)

A Southern Friday Night

So, this is a little out of date now, but it's hard to fight off two kids who want to type. (And there is nothing legible that comes out of their help.)

Last Friday night we went golfing with Ryan. He played and the rest of us rode in the buggy—much to Molly's delight. We stopped in at the snack bar for something to tide the kids over. (We reached the course at 5 pm, when the twilight rates started and hadn't had anything to eat yet.) When we came out, Ryan noticed that his driver was missing. It seems that someone stole it out of his bag right in front of the door to the pro shop/snack bar building. Audaucious.  

Six holes later as we were enjoying the view of Ian's favorite hole—a little lake where a heron is often seen—Molly stepped in a fire ant's nest. Oh the agony! She had on her Mary Jane crocs and it took me a second to get her shoe off her foot.  Her poor foot was swollen so big she had to wear shoes several sizes too big. I felt so sorry for her that I finally broke down and asked my friend who has all sorts of home remedies if she knew of anything, and for the record, I am absolutely convinced that her baking soda paste worked. As soon as I put it on Molly's foot she giggled—very good sign since just a little while earlier she had flinched at the hydrocortisone. Then she asked for some and rubbed it on the bites scattered up her leg and more on her foot. It took the red out immediately and by the next morning she could wear her own shoe. 

Ryan played a couple more holes and we bailed on the eighth when it became aparent we were going to have to wait on the foursome ahead of us who were waiting on the people ahead of them.

So we went to our favorite snowcone place, which happens to be across the highway from the turn off to the little race track that they have here. We happened to follow a couple of cars on trailers and decided to check it out, since the kids had both had good long, late naps and would be up anyway. So, we took our snow cones to go and grabbed a plate of barbcue from the fund raising group in the parking lot and headed over to the race track. We had a great time watching the practicing. Ian loved it of course, but Molly did too. She kept laughing and pointing at the cars and pretending like she was driving. We even saw one wreck happen right in front of us. And we saw the tiny version of a stock car that sounded like it runs on a lawn mower engine and was driven by a little kid. We didn't make it to the race...but an hour of practicing was fine. 

When we got home Ian had a sharp eye out for lightening bugs while Molly and I listened to the crickets sing. It's been a long time since I noticed them. It may have been the first time they were out for the summer. Wish ya'll coulda been here with us!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

There has been some unusual disagreement over the best chocolate chip cookies in the Bosworth kingdom of late. No less than a month ago, Mom and Dad showed up on our doorstep in Irvine touting what they claimed was the new replacement to my special variation of the Bosworth chocolate chip cookie.

Now, our own uncle and brother--one Tom Rich--has offered this recipe as a possibility. I was skeptical at first, but any recipe with sea salt sprinkled on top deserves consideration.

I suggest we all put forth our best efforts and put this game to bed: What is the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies?

Our Turn

Here is what we have been up to.
Tobin-Putting off every possible paper until the last second. He is SOOOO done with school. He starts his new job on May 27th. Graduation is this Saturday....YEAH!!
Me- Playing for Stake Choir again. Trying to read books. Enjoying lots of sleep...Adelaide sleeps about 8-10 hours at nigh, although that will probably stop now that I said it. I am actually enjoying having two kids....didn't think that would happen.
Hallie- Miss Drama Queen. She only will answer to Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White...depending on the day. Tobin is always the handsome prince, and I am Ursula, or the wicked queen. NICE. She is busy with swimming/pre-school/ and playgroups.
Adelaide-seems to have found her voice and enjoys screeching just to hear herself. She has a very pleased look on her face all the time when trying to sneak her fingers into her mouth. We love our little chunk.
We are excited to see most of you this weekend. We will be thinking of the California folks!!

What we've been doing of late

I had planned to up my blogging on this site after stopping my old one, but that has not really been the outcome. Reasons for this:

-Lots of overtime. My company is expanding and adding new employees this week because we're just too busy. Not many people in the business world can say that of late. We're really fortunate to be in the position we are.

-Kids. Salla has been in and out of teething/sniffles for weeks now, and has been a terror with regards to sleeping. Of course, this makes everyone at home cranky. Also, Henkka has truly come into his own in the past two months or so as far as will-power is concerned. I am beginning to wonder how Mom & Dad ever survived me as a child without packing me in a box and shipping return-to-sender.

-B's photography. B has been getting just enough photo gigs to keep her (and us) slightly more busy and exhausted than is deemed optimal. However, it's been fun (for me at least) to see her developing a bit more reputation for photography and to see a rebirth in her interest (after pregnancy, etc...) toward photography in general--she's carrying a camera around much more frequently lately. Check out her flickr photostream here. I think you have to be a registered user/contact for B to see some of the images, so let me know if nothing is visible.

I went first, now it's your turn: What have you been up to?