Easter Adventure

Ah, the spoils of war!



Here's Lu striking a pose. I think it's all the sugar she'd been eating.



Here's a little Easter tradition my hubby's family does, the annual Easter egg competition. Each player gets two eggs (hard boiled of course), we draw numbers to determine our competitors and then each player faces off against his/her opponent. The object, crack the other person's egg. (This is very serious folks, my father in law prints brackets and keeps track of who progresses to the next rounds.) It's very fun and just a little taunt to the Bomstas and Smiths- the Olds' reign supreme! We've won every year!

Across The Sea

We have applied to host an exchange student in the fall. It will be a five month stay and he will attend the local High School. Assuming everything comes out clean on our background checks (I will be shocked and horrified if it doesn't) we will be hosting a 15 year old young man from Germany we chose from several student profiles that were given to us.
I am very excited and anxious about this new endeavor. On one hand I am excited to learn about parenting an older child, one in high school. On the other hand, I'm anxious about parenting an older child in high school. We have talked about this in family council and as a family we are looking forward to his arrival in August.

If anyone else is looking for this type of experience, they (DM Discoveries) are trying to place several students for the upcoming year. Each student is required to have $300 a month of their own money, speak English and abide by rules set by the host family. They must complete background checks in their countries and be responsible for their schooling here in the U.S. They are fully insured and tested for their ability to communicate. You can contact Kristene at 801.822.2590 or UT.KBaldwin@gmail.com

Artisan Bread

I've been experimenting with a bread recipe I recently learned to make. Here is an Italian loaf I made this morning, the recipe was given to me by a friend who taught me how to make it. It was sooo yummy.

Thank You, Mr. Bucket

It was opening night of "Willie Wonka Junior" tonight and my Camo had the role of Mr. Bucket, Charlie's dad. He did an awesome job! It was so much fun to see him, he seems very comfortable on stage. Maybe I have a star in the making.

He's seen in the first photo with Willie Wonka and Mr. Salt (our cute neighbor, Jason)
In the second pic he's with two of his teachers (Mrs. Elison and Miss Gill) who were so great to come and see him.
In the third there is Veruca Salt, a couple of Oompa Loompas and Mrs. Bucket
The last is Veruca, Mrs. Beauregarde, Mrs. Bucket, some Oopma Loompas and the reporter!
It was so fun!

I love, love, LOVE these Easter candies! Seriously, I can eat half a bag in one sitting! Here's to Easter, the best candy holiday!

Got a fav candy?

My kiddos have been ill the past few weeks and we can't seem to shake all the bugs we're passing back and forth. Yesterday my oldest had Strep, I felt bad for him he was pretty sick. Thank heaven for telephones, mini-vans, doctors, antibiotics and a warm house. Every time I have to go to the doctor I'm grateful for all the things that go into getting a child healthy.

All Hail Visa

It's finally happened! I got a call from Visa Fraud Protection last week telling me that they had some questions on my account. I didn't think too much of it because I had just purchased some magazine subscriptions online and I thought that's probably what they were concerned about. Flash forward 3 days....I finally get around to checking my account online and guess what, I have $148.21 worth of unauthorized charges. Someone got a hold of my card number and used it online. Things they bought- weight loss products, money making literature and a "My Life Reunion Search" membership.
I've got to admit, I am impressed that Visa could tell that I didn't make those purchases and contacted me. I am able to dispute the charges and get a refund on the items.
I've purchased LifeLock identity protection and will be loading all my information into that. It will monitor my credit, alert the credit bureaus, protect my SS# and a few other things. It costs $200 a year but I figure someone just stole $148.21 from me last week so it's worth it.
I have no idea how someone got my card number but it must have been pretty easy because they used the information without a whole lot of problem. I'm just grateful that Visa caught it fast and without a lot of money at stake.

Watch out!