Torn Away

Have you ever eavesdropped on a conversation at the office or in a public library? Sometimes the words people say alone tell an entire story! Sometimes they don't so much. In this writing exercise, take 20 minutes to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation. Jot down their conversation as best you can, keeping true to the dialogue of those speaking. Then write up the dialogue either exactly as you heard it or with a little fiction added. In my case, I sat in a classroom eavesdropping some of my peers so I changed their names and transported them out of the classroom and into the middle of a war torn land. The dialogue is pretty close to how the conversation went, although my hands were a little too slow to capture it all. Enjoy!

*******

“No one took me as a Southerner either,” Phil said, his voice a whisper among the blasts of bombs in the background.

Jackie and Phil squatted behind an embankment of earth, oddly arcing its way out of the ground, disturbed by the tumultuous explosions. Jackie held her rifle firm across her chest, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Phil let his weapon rest at his side. There was a war going on here, but Phil was tired of fighting, tired of his nerves being on edge every second of every day. It was time he took a break – after all, he’d been fighting this war for 3 ½ years already. Jackie was still a greenie.

“I’m the same way,” Jackie whispered back, glancing to the side to make sure she and Phil were still alone. “Growing up the cool place to hang out on a Friday night was Walmart. There were probably better things for a 15-year-old to do in Charlottesville, though.”

“I was already grown up by the time I reached Charlottesville,” Phil said, reflecting on his own past. “That was 15 years ago. I’d wanted a lot of property so I bought a farm in Virginia to be somewhere without Nascar.”

“Well you chose a good place. Charlottesville is definitely a bubble of interesting people,” Jackie said as she scratched the side of her nose, never taking her focused gaze off of the horizon.

“Interesting people,” Phil said repeating Jackie’s description quietly. “I used to live in Connecticut, then I worked in New York. I met a girl who was an upcoming actress. She and I took the trains everywhere, went to all of the restaurants. When I moved to Charlottesville I realized that my friends up in New York City were not going to be impressed by Charlottesville or Charlottesville food.”

“I don’t know, have you tried Christian’s or the dumpling place?” Jackie said, counting the restaurants on her fingers, her grip on her gun relaxing. “I had friends from the north who came to Charlottesville and were impressed that you get a whole meal for only five dollars!”

Phil laughed slightly, or what Jackie thought was a laugh. “Yeah, well after you’ve been in Charlottesville for a while your taste buds adjust themselves.”

Another wave of explosions hit the earth, the vibrations reaching Jackie and Phil, silencing their conversation for a moment. Jackie clutched her gun for life support again. Phil barely even bothered trying to balance himself. Once the world held to its original position again, Jackie picked the conversation back up, something to help her forget that she might die any second. Fighting a war was not what she had expected.

“What did you used to do?”

“I trained police dogs.” Phil loved talking about his time working in the station, although he didn’t often get the chance to. “I know a lot of cops and have worked with them for a long time.”

Another explosion erupted just on the other side of the embankment of earth protecting the two soldiers. Rubble rained down from the sky, Jackie and Phil both protecting their heads with their arms. The battle was getting closer to them.

“Hey,” Phil said, trying to distract Jackie whose eyes had grown wide in fear. “You know after working with so many cops, all of those cop shows drove me nuts! The main detectives, who only wore windbreakers, would lead the SWAT members, who are completely covered in armor, into battle!”

Jackie looked like she might laugh because she knows that’s true too, but all too soon the earth rocked again with another explosion. A quiet squeal came from where Jackie sat, her grip tightening around the gun she likely wouldn’t get the chance to use again.

“I have a feeling things I remember from my childhood never happened,” Phil said, grasping for any topic to help distract Jackie from what he knew to be their imminent fate. If the explosions were getting closer, then so was the enemy. And Jackie and Phil were out here completely alone, the only two who had escaped from the POW camp.

Jackie’s eyes were filled with tears, but she nodded in agreement. “It’s like the brownies from middle school. I used to love them, then like a decade later I had one again and it was awful!”

Jackie and Phil sat in silence for another few minutes. “I learned how to make those brownies, you know. My daughter is in love with them now and begged me to learn how to make them so she could have them all the time. If we make it back, I’ll probably be baking them for this platoon so I don’t end up with an entire pan for just her and me.”

“Where’s her dad?” Phil asked, unable to stop himself.

Jackie didn’t respond, but looked down slightly and shook her head.

Another explosion rocked the earth, the embankment crumbling away, exposing Jackie and Phil’s hiding spot. Before the earth even had a chance to stop shaking, another explosion erupted, and another. This was it. This was the end. Phil had never known that Jackie had a family, a life she was trying to get back to. His main goal was to just survive. Hers was to live.

“Get ready to run,” Phil shouted pointing behind Jackie to a wooded area filled with trees.

“What are you talking about?” she shouted back over the explosions.

“Find your family.”

Without another thought, Phil grabbed his gun and ran in the opposite direction that he’d told Jackie to go, making as much noise as possible.

Jackie sat frozen behind the disintegrating mound of dirt, shocked at Phil’s sacrifice for her. Her natural instinct was to chase after him, to throw her partner’s body to the ground so they could both escape alive. But escape was never really an option, not after they’d been captured as prisoners of war.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she got to her feet and began making her way to the forest Phil had pointed out to her. With the enemy’s attention on Phil, it was easy for Jackie to make it to safety. Just before she crossed the threshold into the woods, Jackie turned to see Phil shot down on the other side of the valley, just steps before he could have reached the forest too.

The Game of Life: Living within Your Means

Finances. Budgeting. BORING.

It doesn't have to be though!  I was asked this last week to teach the young women in the Charlottesville 2nd ward about budgeting. Immediately I was inspired with the idea to play, what I call, "The Game of Life".

The point of this activity was to just get the girls to practice budgeting and living within their means in a fun, interactive way. Budgeting is difficult. My husband and I have been practicing for almost three years now and still sometimes struggle to stay within the limited amount we have each month. The best way to learn how to budget is to just do it. To just practice.

We began the activity in the Relief Society room where the Young Women hold opening exercises each week. It was great to start the activity somewhere else where I didn't already have all of the tables set up so that I could keep the girls' attention while explaining what we were going to do.

First things first. I printed out "Career/Budget Cards" with different careers and their monthly incomes on them. Each of these monthly incomes is accurate (within degree) of what a person with the corresponding job would really make. I flipped the cards over and let each young woman draw which career she would have for the evening. These included jobs like waitress, animal trainer, crime scene cleaner, call center rep, and 16 others.

 Once the girls had their careers, I explained the game. They were going to go into the young women's room where I had set up tables with different costs the girls would need to pay in any given month. There would be a housing table, a utilities, table, a transportation table, an entertainment table, etc. I suggested the girls think about their own personal future plans. Did they want to go to college after high school, a mission, get married? Whatever there individual plans were, they should make their budgeting decisions off of that goal. So if one girl wanted to go to college, she might find a one bedroom apartment for rent, get a bike, and eat inexpensive groceries. But if she wanted to get married, a two bedroom place might be better, a car (maybe two), and healthy groceries.

The girls needed to stop at each table and select an item and subtract the cost from their budget cards. They also took with them whatever item they "purchased" since after they purchased it, it became off the market.

For example, if they wanted to lease the 2015 Honda Accord, they would subtract the monthly payment from their total monthly income on their career card. They would then take the Honda Accord representation with them so another girl could not purchase the same one (since it's already been purchased). 

The girls could begin at any table they wanted, but needed to be careful because if they started at the vehicle table they might get the least expensive vehicle but be left with the most expensive housing listing. If they began at the entertainment table, they might have lots of fun entertainment, but not enough money to purchase groceries. But ultimately it was up to them where they wanted to begin. 

After the intro we headed to the YW room and the girls were off! There was a surprise waiting for them though...

I gave each of the leaders a small pile of chance cards and instructed that they randomly hand out these cards to the girls. Some of the chance cards were good - you received a $400 bonus at work -- and others were not so good - you had to pay to unclog a sink drain, lose $150. Each time the girls received one of the chance cards they either had to subtract (bad) or add (good!) to their budget.

We had a lot of fun and the young women really got into it! We had seven stations for them to stop between and the leaders were each assigned to a station with some instructions for them to know how to man their fort.

The Price is Right: Housing

At this station I had created a bunch of different housing listings that I had spread out across the table. Everything was for rent and were real properties and prices I'd found online. Each listing included the address, monthly cost, and additional items included (garage, pets OK, washer/dryer, etc.). The girls could pick their housing options here.

You can find the template and instructions for the table here.

Luck of the Draw: Utilities

This table was full of paper bags stapled shut and labeled in bright colors "Utilities". Since a lot of times you don't really get a say in what utilities are included in your apartment or home for rent, this station made the girls blindly choose a bag which listed their utilities. They were not allowed to return these. Each bag contained four strips of paper labeled "Water/Sewer", "Electric", "Gas", and "Internet". Next to each one of these titles was a price. In some bags, there was a price next to each utility. Others had everything "included". The rest were a mix.

You can find the template and instructions for this table here.

Pick a Car any Car!: Transportation
This station was really fun! I researched different cars for either lease or sell on dealer websites and local ads. I found the monthly cost of each of these vehicles, estimated insurance, and put an average gas price on each one and then created these beauties:

Each car photo was hooked onto a toilet paper tube (I've been saving them knowing they'd come in handy at some point!). On the back of each tube was a description including the year, make, and model of the car along with monthly payment, monthly insurance payment, and monthly gas spent. The girls could lease or buy whichever one they wanted but they had to include the additional insurance and gas payments to their budget too.

The cars that came from local ads and were "used" cars had a special surprise in them too. Not all of them, but some had a note taped inside the tube. After the girls chose a used car to purchase, the leader manning the booth would tell her to look inside for an incidental charge. Inside was a "Repair" sticker with a cost next to it because although used cars are cheaper, you often have to pay for more in repairs.

Once the girls purchased a car, they took it with them. You can find the template and instructions for this table here.

Food, Glorious Food!: Groceries
The grocery tables only had two papers on it- two grocery lists. One included healthier alternatives (fresh fruit, Special K cereal, etc.) and was more expensive, the other included not so healthy items (top ramen, freezer pizzas, etc.) and was cheaper. Most of our girls had enough money to buy the healthy groceries, but some either chose not to so they could save more money for entertainment or because their monthly income was getting a little low.

The girls just subtracted the cost from their budget but left the lists on the table for others to use. In the end, I had all of the girls who had purchased the cheaper list subtract another $50 from their budget because what you save when buying unhealthy groceries, you pay for in doctor bills.

You can find the template and instructions for this table here.

A Night Out on Town: Entertainment
Most of our girls left this as the last table... smart girls! And they would spend their extra income on fun adventures. We had a lot of options for them to choose fun and they were all set up as "tickets" or "vouchers" for the girls to take. I didn't think they'd sit and try to decide what they wanted more as long as they did.

You can find the entertainment tickets and ideas here.

Shop 'til You Drop: Shopping Centers

The girls do not have to stop at this table but it was a fun one to have out, especially for those girls going on a mission and needed to get more skirts and stuff. I had four storefronts that I had scrapbooked together in varying degrees of priciness: Goodwill, Target, Sister Missionary Mall, and Nordstroms.

If the young women wanted to shop, they could choose their store, but not their receipt. Once they choose their store, the leader watching the table, would pull a receipt out from under the store (held in a little envelope attached to the back) and give to the girl. This was how much she spent while shopping. Sometimes it was a lot more than she was expecting! But then again, that happens to the best of us!

You can find the template for the receipts here. Each of the receipts includes real items and prices and tax as per the store's websites.

Building the Lord's Kingdom: Tithing
The last table in the room was the tithing table. It was very simple next to all of the other extravagantly displayed tables and had one piece of paper on it:

The first six girls who came to this table absolutely first before spending their money on anything received a Blessing Chance Card that read, "Blessing for paying your tithing: Save $50." because when we pay our tithing first, we are always blessed.

I'd made the mistake, however, to not tell the girls there was a tithing table. I would recommend at least mentioning that there's a tithing table (but saying nothing about the blessing) at the beginning so the girls know it's included.

Once the girls were all finished, we gathered together to talk about what we had just done. I asked how many of the girls stayed above budget and most of them did! I explained how every single cost they add to their budgets was real. I didn't make up numbers, I researched them all. All of the good and bad things that happened in the chance cards were also real. Every single one of them have happened to my husband and I since we moved out here last Fall.

We talked about the importance of budgeting and then I gave them the following handout:

First, there's a 100 Grand because the more you save, the more you get along with the quote, "Do today what other's won't so you can do tomorrow what other's can't."

This had two ideas for how I saved my money growing up - taking out a portion in cash each paycheck and only spent cash. Anything not cash was saved. And another idea for how my husband saved money - 10% to God, 50% to self, 40% to everything else. We love budgeting and have a huge testimony of living within your means.

We had lived very frugally our first year and a half of marriage (and all through our teens) and so when my husband was accepted into UVA's grad program, we were able to uproot our lives in Utah and move across the country to Virginia where we suddenly had double the rent, a car payment, a car insurance payment, more gas than we'd thought, health insurance, huge student loans, and on top of all that, no income! Because we had lived frugally and within our means, we were able to feel safe and secure out here for a month while I found a job. But had it taken me longer to find one, we still would have been fine because we had prepared.

We had so much fun with this activity and I know your girls will too! To make it easier on you, I've compiled all of my templates here so hopefully you can use these.

Let me know your thoughts!

The Game of Life: Living within Your Means Templates

Finances. Budgeting. BORING.

It doesn't have to be though! Use these templates to help you play the Game of Life with the youth in your ward to help them practice budgeting and living within their means. Full instructions can be found at "The Game of Life: Living within Your Means".

Career/Budget Cards:

I had about 21 different careers and incomes printed out on colorful paper. The monthly incomes are reflections of average monthly incomes for people in these positions. Most are entry level jobs since the youth won't have any degree but a GED (most likely) after high school but have high incomes so that the youth actually have some numbers to work with. Here are the other careers I had used:

• Photography Studio Associate           $2,050.00
• Television Program Editor                 $1,150.00
• Baker                                             $1,623.00
• Library Assistant                             $1,906.00
• Chili's Waitress/Waiter                      $1,920.00
• Retail Salesperson                           $1,250.00
• Car Saleswoman                              $2,332.00
• Actress                                            $2,190.00
• Lifeguard                                         $1,284.00
• Call Center Rep                               $2,262.00
• Animal Trainer                                $2,048.00
• Truck Driver                                    $2,402.00
• Nanny                                             $2,100.00
• Copy Writer                                     $2,288.00
• Registered Nurse                             $2,050.00
• Crime Scene Cleaner                       $2,400.00
• Mail Carrier                                     $2,190.00
• Toll Booth Collector                          $1,694.00
• Construction Worker                         $1,694.00
• Plumber                                            $1,800.00

"The Price is Right": Housing

Instructions for the Table: Girls can choose what type of housing they would like based on their needs. Once a girl chooses her living quarters, let her take the “rent listing” with her because it’s now off of the market for the other girls.

Towards the end, if it comes down to one girl with no real income and only expensive properties, suggest that she find one or two other girls to go in on the property with her (you can only have as many roommates as you have beds for - listed on the rental listing). Only do this at the end, if needed. Otherwise, follow what the listings say and each girl will be responsible for the total cost listed on the card.

"Luck of the Draw": Utilities

Instructions for the Table: Girls choose their “package” of utilities at random since often time you get what you get with a certain apartment, etc. Once chosen, the girls can open their utilities package and add the cost of each utility to their budget. Once chosen, the girls cannot re-choose a package. This is a fixed cost.

"Pick a Car, Any Car!": Transportation

Instructions for the Table: Choose any one of the modes of transportation here to be your primary means of travel! Each “vehicle” has a list of additional expenses that follow – car payment, insurance, gas cost. After the girls have looked through the choices and make a selection, give them the roll and make sure they include the additional charges on the back of the vehicle to their budget. Each of the costs have been divided by 12 to equal a monthly cost (even the bikes J)

• If a “USED” vehicle is chosen (the card on the back says “USED”) tell the girls after they’ve selected the vehicle to look inside of the roll for any hidden charges that may come later when purchasing a used vehicle. Make sure to do this after she’s chosen the car and have her add this charge to her budget. (Some of the USED vehicles have $0 in repairs since you can find good ones)
•  If a girl would like to return her vehicle, she can do so after she’s visited at least one other table. 

2015 Honda Accord: Leased $200.00/month
Insurance: $65.00

Gas: $70.00

2015 Honda Crosstour: Leased $270.00/month
Insurance: $70.00

Gas: $80.00

2015 Honda SUV: Leased $285.00/month
Insurance: $75.00

Gas:$80.00

2015 Subaru BRZ: Leased $390.00/month
Insurance: $90.00

Gas: $70.00

2015 Subaru Crosstrek Leased $327.00/month
Insurance: $90.00

Gas:$80.00

Yamaha Bullet Bike: Leased $99.00/month
Insurance: $50

Gas: $40.00

Helmet: $2.25

2015 Scion XB: Leased $275.00/month
Insurance: $100.00

Gas: $80.00

2015 Jeep Wrangler: Leased $266.00/month
Insurance: $100.00

Gas: $100.00

2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4: Leased $409.00/month
Insurance: $100.00

Gas: $90.00

USED 2009 GMC Acadia: 112,000 miles = $190.00/month
Insurance: $70

Gas: $60.00

Repairs: $0.00

2009 Chumba Racing F5 Downhill Bike: $35.00/month
Helmet Cost: $1.25

USED 2000 Ford Taurus: 165,000 miles = $16.00/month
Insurance: $18.00

Gas: $50.00

Repairs: $150.00

USED 1988 Volvo 240: 180,000 miles =  $20.00/month
Insurance: $30.00

Gas: $40.00

Repairs: $50.00

USED 1274 Trek Bike: $20.00/month
Helmet Cost: $1.25

911 Carrera Porsche: Leased $1000.00/month
Insurance: $150.00

Gas: $100.00

     "Food, Glorious Food!": Groceries

      Instructions for the Table: There are two shopping lists the girls can choose from here. One is longer with healthier foods, the other is shorter with packaged, unhealthy foods. The girls can choose one or the other, but they do not take the shopping list with them. Make sure they deduct the grocery list bill from their budget.

•        If girls would like to come back and exchange the grocery list, they may do so with no penalty.

   Grocery List Choices:

  

    "A Night Out on the Town": Entertainment

      We all love a night out on the town! The girls are welcome to buy any and all of the different activity vouchers here! Prices are listed on the vouchers for the activities. Once purchased, the girls can take the ticket with them, but are NOT allowed to return their entertainment vouchers. Make sure they deduct their entertainment from their budgets!

     We offered a lot of other vouchers as well. Some of the additional vouchers included the following:

      - $10: Redeem for an afternoon picnic for you and four friends. Includes cost of food for 5 people

      - $70: Weekend camping getaway. Includes tent, cooler, food, and other camping gear

      - $20: Day trip hiking in Shenandoah Mountains. Includes entry to national park

      - $30: Fun day at the Virginia Safari. Includes tickets and feed for 2.

      "Shop 'til you Drop": Shopping Centers

      The girls do not have to visit the stores but some, especially those going on missions or shopaholics may want to stop by! They have the option of shopping from one of four stores: Goodwill, Target, Sister Missionary Mall, and Nordstroms. Once they choose the store(s) they’d like to shop at, you randomly draw a receipt from the pocket of receipts attached to the back of the store.

-        Girls can shop at multiple stores or shop multiple times at one store

•           If a girl would like to return her purchase, she may do so after having purchased at least one other item off of her budgeting sheet.

       Nordstroms:

       Target:

       

     Sister Missionary Mall:

    

     Goodwill:

      Chance Cards:

      Leaders are to hand these out randomly to the girls. Some "chances" are good and some not so good. Each one of these chance cards has something that really happened to Justin and I throughout the last year since we moved to Virginia - good and bad. I'd recommend changing up some of these to match financial "chances" you've had over the last year to help bring in to perspective the importance of preparing for the unexpected. 

     Tithing: We didn't mention that there would be a tithing table to the girls at the beginning. I would recommend just mentioning it before they start. Mostly because the first six girls to choose to pay their tithing absolutely first will get one of six "Blessing for Paying Tithing First: Save $50" chance cards. The table was decorated very simply compared to the others with only this taped to it's surface:

      And that's it - all you need to create your very own "Game of Life". Check out more details about how to pull off teaching budgeting to teenagers in the original post, "The Game of Life: Living Within Your Means."

Volleyball Night: Taking responsibility for your own physical well-being

We had so much fun playing volleyball tonight with the 8-11 year old girls in our ward for Activity Days. For those of you who don't know, Activity Days is a wonderful organization set up by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where girls 8-11 years old meet twice a month to learn about the gospel, develop talents, serve others, and come closer to one another and God. 

Tonight we set up the volleyball net, bought a brand-spanking new ball (pretty tough on our tender arms!) and let the game begin! Our girls have been dying to play volleyball so we finally decided we should go for it and what a success. We spent the first few minutes just warming up, passing the ball back and forth while waiting for all the girls to show up. Once we had everyone we began with a small lesson and a BIG challenge!

"Developing Talents Activity #9":

"Plan a physical fitness program for yourself that may include learning to play a sport or game. Participate in the program for one month." Even adults have a hard time with this! 

I gave the girls about 5 minutes to think of their own personal exercise routine goal that they would like to work on for at least 30 minutes every day for a month. Some of the girls chose badminton, swimming, jogging, or other activities. When they'd thought of their ideas, and a few of them had shared, I passed out these butterfly trackers (idea altered from GospelGrabBag.com) to help them record their progress since a month is a long time:

Every day they exercise, they can cross off one of the spots. My partner and I will help remind the girls at our next activity of their goal and we've asked the parents to be supportive, encouraging, and good reminders at home too... because really a month can be a long time. In 4 weeks, we'll have the girls bring back their completed butterflies with them to our activity and get their Faith in God booklet signed off. 

Here's the kicker... I'm doing it too. In 4 weeks, I will bring back my Faith in God book and have the girls sign it off for me :) Hello, lots and lots of pilates. 

Keeping our bodies healthy and active is very important. Elder Jorg Klebingat gave a wonderful talk in General Conference April 2015 titled "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence". He shared this message which I, in turn, shared with the girls, focusing on #2:

6 Practices to Get Rid of Evil Voices:

1) Take responsibility for your own spiritual well-being

2) Take responsibility for your own physical well-being

3) Embrace voluntary, whole-hearted obedience

4) Become really, really good at repenting thoroughly and quickly

5) Become really, really good at forgiving others

6) Accept trials as a part of this mortal journey

After the girls finished with the butterflies, we took them onto the court and I had two of our more experienced volleyball players teach the others how to serve, bump, set, and spike. We spent the rest of the evening playing volleyball and finishing it off with some very yummy and healthy smoothies. 

What active sport do you love to do? I challenge you, too, to plan a physical fitness routine around that activity and to do it for at least 30 minutes every day for a month. Tell us about your experience in the comments!

Activity Days: Service through the Sacrament Bread

     This week we decided to do an activity that would fit into any of the Faith in God categories: Learning and Living the Gospel, Service, and Building Talents. We decided to make homemade bread and use it for the Sacrament on Sunday: Service, learning a new talent, and learning more about the gospel through the Sacrament.

      I love having guests come and teach their unique individual skills and talents to our girls because we all have something very different to offer. This week Emily Flanigan was sweet enough to come and share her talent with our girls. She taught us how to make yummy French bread from scratch. She had prepared her bread recipe and had let it rise before the activity began.

      We began our activity by talking about how we have such a great opportunity to serve by making Sacrament bread. Emily had the girls help her with every step of the process: pre-heating the oven, oiling the pan, separating the dough, twisting it into French bread, and putting it into the oven. The girls had a blast taking turns to do their part in making the bread.

       While the oven preheated and the bread baked, we had a short lesson about the Sacrament. We started off by separating the girls into two teams, giving each a paper and a pencil. We talked about what ingredients go into bread and what those ingredients do. Each team spent 5-10 minutes coming up with their own comparisons for how what the ingredients do in the bread can be likened to the gospel:

Yeast .....................Makes the bread rise................. Christ rose from the dead and has made it possible for us to all rise from the dead one day.
Warm water/milk ...................Bonds the bread/ingredients ................... when we partake of the sacrament each Sunday, we are bonded with Christ
Oil................... Keeps the bread from sticking to the pan ..................... the gospel keeps us from falling to temptation.
Salt................ Adds flavor.......... The Gospel adds flavor to our lives
Sugar...............Makes the yeast work.....................we make the Atonement work when we repent
Flour..................Gives body and substance to the bread ........... Christ sacrificed his body so we could be made whole.

       The girls then shared what they had come up with with each other and some of their ideas were really good! They are very smart. While the bread baked, we went into the hall and talked about the Last Supper when Christ instituted the Sacrament and how one of his last commandments to his apostles before Judas betrayed Him was to love one another. That's obviously a pretty important commandment for Christ to remind His apostles of it at the Last Supper.
        We can show our love by the service we are giving by making the bread for the Sacrament. And just like each ingredient affects the outcome of the bread, so do the promises we make when we partake of the Sacrament make a change/affect in the outcome of who we are.
        We made two loaves of bread so when it finished cooking, we all got to eat a piece of our creation and then save one loaf to take with us on Sunday to use for the Sacrament bread.

         It was a great activity and thanks to our guest teacher, Emily Flanigan, for her expertise and yummy recipe!

Activity Days: Mother Daughter Tea Party Etiquette Night

      

       Twice a year we try to do a Mother/Daughter and Daddy/Daughter activity. We had a really fun 50's night back in October so June was prime time for the Mother/Daughter activity. We threw a Tea Party for the girls and their moms (or sisters, aunts, and even dads) and had a Tea Party/Etiquette Night.

       It was something different that let the girls play, eat yummy food, and learn something about becoming a lady since 11 - 16 years old is the time to learn those things! Anyway here's what we did:

Decorations:
       We really wanted to change the Primary Room into a fancy tea party or maybe even travel to Alice in Wonderland for a bit. Outside of the Primary Room door we had this sign posted so that all of the girls knew which room to go to. In our ward, we split the activity day girls into two groups so it was helpful to have this and let everyone know where the combined class was at.

      When the girls walked in we had a Welcome sign hanging from the chalkboard made out of doilies, ribbon, and scrapbook paper. You can't see the letters as easily in this photo, but it was super cute in real life.

      We decorated each table with a colored table cloth, a doily made table runner, and tissue paper flowers. The tissue paper flowers added a TON to the tables and were super easy to make. We found the idea and directions here at Fiskars.com.

Activity:

       When the girls and their moms all arrived, we started our activity by testing everyone's (girls' and moms') knowledge of etiquette. I asked everyone to rearrange the place setting in front of them to match what they thought was an appropriate and technically "etiquette" or "proper" place setting. It was really fun to watch the girls move their cups to the top left of their plates, and fidget with the utensils, etc. Even some of the moms didn't know! 

        After everyone had their place settings scrambled, I showed them a copy of what is considered a "proper"place setting (found on The Hill Family blog) and had them try to match their place settings to the photo below. Make sure to let the girls know that there are different ways of setting a table nicely, but this is considered the "etiquette/proper" way to do it. 

       We talked about why it's important to have etiquette to show others that we love, respect, and are grateful for them. Next I had one of our girls read the below handout to give the girls an idea of how they should act when at the dinner table. After reading about proper etiquette, we divided the girls and their moms into two groups. Group #1 took Manners 1-9 off of the handout and Group #2 took Manners 10-18. Each group had 7-10 minutes to come up with a skit to teach their assigned manners to the other girls. When they were ready, we had them perform their skits for the rest of the class. The girls had so much fun coming up with funny skits!

       When the skits were over, we let the girls know that now that they knew how to eat properly, we were going to have them "practice". (While they came up with their skits, we'd set up one long table and decorated it with all of the food.) The girls practiced their etiquette and being polite while they gathered their food and ate their snacks. It was a super fun activity!

For food ideas, check out below: 

Food:

We ended up having a ton of food to eat too. Even though we didn't turn this into a "dinner", the girls still ate a lot and this would be a really fun activity to have around dinner time. 

• Cucumber Sandwiches - I absolutely LOVE this recipe I found from Kitchen Joy blog. It's super easy and super delicious!
• Fruit Kabobs - great dish to prepare ahead of time and bring
• Cookies of all sorts!
• Sparkling Lemonade
• Vegetable dishes are nice to have too. 

What's your favorite food to eat at a Tea Party?