When you were a kid  . . .
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A mom and a teacher.  I made a school room in the basement, complete with a bulletin board.  I also made up worksheets for my siblings and made them do them (I think they wanted to, though. :))  I also wanted to be an archaeologist, a journalist, an author, and a translator at the UN.

What was your favorite song?
Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked 

What was your favorite TV show?
It was definitely Little House on the Prairie.  Are you noticing a theme?

What was your favorite game?
The dictionary game.  I loved looking through my huge old dictionary looking for obscure words.

What was your favorite meal?
Stroganoff (it still is my favorite, too).

What is your favorite season and why?
I like spring the best.  The final bit of winter is so hard to get through, spring just makes it all better.  I like that everything is green and the temperatures are just right.

What kind of weather do you prefer?
I love a warm spring day with a light breeze.  A good thunderstorm at the end of a hot day is also very satisfying!

What is your favorite thing to do outdoors?
I love to go camping.  I also dream of someday making a little outdoor nook in my yard that is private, but outdoors, where I can just sit and read.

What kind of scenery do you like to see on a drive?
I love to drive through mountains with lots of trees.  I also love to see the farmland down below.

What is your favorite treat on a hot summer day?
I love Rocky Road ice cream.  Another favorite is a sweet, ice-cold watermelon.

I answered the questions for this week on my own personal blog a few weeks ago, except for the first question.    If you would like to read my answers, click here.  Here's my answer to the first question:

What family pet do you have fond memories of?
It's hard to pick just one.  I loved Sam.  He was a good dog and we had a lot of fun with him.  I especially liked when we all slept outside in the backyard and he would sleep by us.  I always felt safer when he was around.  I also remember our cat Sylvester and Wade's rabbit Yosemite Sam, Jessica's rabbit, Hippity Hop, my rabbit, Bugs, and our cat, Callie (she was a calico cat).

What is your favorite . . .
Fast food restaurant?
Probably Subway.

Casual dining restaurant?
Red Robin.  I used to go there with Liesl when I lived in California.  I loved their strawberry lemonade (yum!) and they had an amazing BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado) sandwich.

Expensive restaurant?
I can't think of one right now.  I've always wanted to go to Outback Steakhouse.  I would also love to go to Medieval Times someday.

Family-friendly restaurant?
I used to go to a restaurant called Souper Salad with Liesl and her family when I lived in California.  It was kind of like Golden Corral, but it was all soups and salads.  They had an amazing variety and salad is one of my favorite foods!

Restaurant that you could go to every day?
There was a restaurant in Oceanside, California that Liesl and I used to go to all the time, called Wings 'n Things.  They sell buffalo wings and that's pretty much it.  The wings came with yummy bread sticks and celery and carrot sticks with ranch dressing.  Some of my fondest memories are from driving down to see Emily and her family and we'd all head over to Wings 'n Things. 

What is your favorite drink?  How often do you drink it?
I love Guarana, a drink from Paraguay.  I don't get to drink it very often because it's hard to find.

Who is your favorite team?
BYU and the Kansas City Royals.

How do you like your steak?
Well done with A1 sauce.

What is your favorite toothpaste?
I like Cinnamon Crest and Aquafresh.

Where is your favorite place to shop?
I used to love going to the Virgin Megastore when I lived in California.  They have an amazing selection of music.  I could usually find just about anything I was looking for.  My new favorite place is Hobby Lobby.  I've only been there once, but I think I could spend hours there.

What was the last movie you saw in the theater?
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
What was the last movie you saw at home?
North and South
Who is your favorite movie star?
Richard Armitage, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Kenneth Branagh, Christian Bale, Brendan Fraser
What movie can you watch over and over again and not get sick of it?
Any Jane Austen movie, North and South, Our Mutual Friend, Wives and Daughters, Jane Eyre, Strictly Ballroom, Daniel Deronda, Little Dorrit
What movie will you never watch again?
I can't think of anything right now.

Family Update--Amy

I almost forgot to update you on what I've been doing lately!  I've been pretty busy lately.  I think summer is more crazy for me than the school year.  Ashley and I have been working at the bed & breakfast.  It's been fun to meet so many people.  This is our third summer working there.  They recently added a family room, which has been pretty popular.  If you want to see what the rooms look like, go to this website. It has been updated recently with pictures of the new room and some more recent photos of some of the older rooms.  http://www.lionsgatemanor.com/  My favorite rooms are the Medieval Chamber and Secret Garden.

I've also been having a lot of fun getting my classroom ready for next year.  I'm doing a castle theme next year and I have lots of fun ideas.  Ashley has helped me a lot.  We made an enchanted forest for the kids to sit in when they read.  It turned out really cute.  I'll take pictures next time I go to the school and I'll post them.  I've also been making things for the kids to put their school supplies in.  I took clay pots that I found on sale for 25 cents each and I painted them jewel tones with gold rims.  I glued on fake jewels and they are really fun.  I'll have to take some pictures of those too.

The most exciting thing lately has been that I got a new car a couple of days ago.  The radiator in the van cracked and it was going to be more to fix it than it is worth.  It was costing way too much gas money to have just Dad's truck for transportation so we started looking at our options.  I got a really good deal on the car with low payments.  It's a 2001 Honda Civic.  It has been such a relief to have a reliable car that is in good condition and gets good gas mileage!  I'll post pictures soon.