WBFF Fox 45

As part of our whirlwind trip to Washington DC, we took a slight detour north (and to the east, I think) to Baltimore city. At first, Colton was put out because 3 days in DC is not enough. To share part of that precious time was hard for him to accept. He was right, but how could I turn down the opportunity to share my love of story telling with a news reporter on Fox TV?

Our plane landed at 11:30 pm. By the time we got to the hotel, unpacked and got ourselves tucked in, it was pushing 1:00 am. That's a normal day for me. But to turn around and have to get moving 4 1/2 hours later and ESPECIALLY to get a 13-year-old moving at that hour was nothing short of a miracle.

My moments with Megan Gilliland were delightful. Her energy was exactly what I needed to shake the cobwebs and wake up! She had just returned from covering a house fire and moments after introducing herself she was fully launched in reporting on ways to preserve family stories.

Here's the link to our news story. I feel like Julia Childs next to the tiny, petite Megan. We got to visit Julia's kitchen at the Smithsonian and I cracked up when I saw pictures of Julia towering over her kitchen guests. That's exactly how I felt standing next to Megan.

{Family 411 Report}

Colton was willing to share one of DC hours when Megan suggested that he be part of the interview. I wasn't so sure that was a good idea. My kids are amazingly supportive of this time-consuming, money-sucking adventure, but they also like to tell people what life is really like as their mom tries to portray the feeling of corporate America. The reality is that the boardroom table is my dining table and it's not unusual to have to eat in the backyard because every flat surface in the house is being used for Stories by Me creations. Gratefully, Megan didn't air the answer to one of her questions posed to the thirteen-year-old. She asked what he thought of his mom trying to start up her own business. His response? He thought I was just being lazy because I didn't want a REAL job? Huh? I don't think I've ever worked harder!

After our moment in the spot light we hit the ground running to see ALL of the sites of Washington DC (and Baltimore). I really think we covered every last inch of the city! Our feet are willing to back up that statement.

Last Call - Who Do You Think You Are?

Running hard at the National Genealogy Conference that is being held on my home turf in Salt Lake City this week. Have much to share, but will have to wait until next week as we're running out the door to get back to the conference.

In the meantime....

Don't forget to set your VCR, DVR, TIVO or whatever wonderful contraption that you use to record TV shows for your watching convenience. Tonight is the LAST episode for this season's "Who Do You Think You Are?" series. Spike Lee's will be sharing his family stories. Personally, my favorite episode was last week's journey with Susan Sarandon. It was a good lesson that every story has at least two sides to it. It was also a powerful reminder that we need to know our past to truly appreciate our future.

My kids are even hooked on the show!

Who Do You Think You Are? Week 2

To know who you are, you have to know where you have come from is the premise for NBC's weekly TV show, Who Do You Think You Are?

After the last snafu, I wasn't about to miss this week's episode. I made sure that the TIVO was properly set.

This week's segment featured football legend Emmitt Smith. Going into the show, he knew very little about his family's background. The journey not only uncovered his history but also his personal connection to the motherland Africa and the impact that it had on his life.

For me, finding records (like birth/marriage/death or census) of family members is a lot like opening a much anticipated gift, I was a little surprised to experience the same rush of emotions last week watching a complete stranger {Sarah Jessica Parker} discover her connections to the past. Guess what? It happened again! When Emmitt uncovered his family census and marriage records, it felt like it was Christmas morning. Kevin was watching the show with me. He felt the same exhilaration that I was feeling. I don't know if I'm grateful to know that I'm normal...or worried that we're both genealogy junkies!

Emmitt found what he was looking for. Towards the end of his journey, he said that he could hear his ancestors saying thanks for the closure that he was giving them... that all they wanted was to be remembered.

Me too, Emmitt. I've heard the voices too!

I loved Emmitt's final statement; History is not his story, it's MY story!

Who Do You Think You Are? Week 1

Ugh, I missed it! I was so wrapped up in preparing for our Family History Fair, that I completely forgot to set the TIVO for Friday night's premier of Who Do You Think You Are?

Thank goodness we live in the 21st century and I easily recovered with a simple visit to nbc.com website where they have posted the first week's episode featuring Sarah Jessica Parker.

My family will tell you that my happy place is anywhere that involves history. I'd choose a visit to our local Historical Society over Disneyland any day of the week and my top ten most favorite gifts include family pictures or family memories. I learned today that it doesn't have to be a personal family story to get my heart racing and stomach flip-flopping. I actually got goosebumps with Sarah Jessica Parker as she uncovered the stories of her gold-digging GGrandfather and bewitching GGrandmother.

Wanna know what would make the top of my MOST FAVORITE gift list? A solid month off from all of life's obligations, unlimited resources and access to the top genealogists in the world to help uncover my family stories! Ok, I know...not a realistic request...for me, or probably for anyone reading this blog. I have to be careful not to tell my hubby my wish; he always tries so darn hard to give me what I want.

It might take a lifetime to uncover all of my exciting family stories, but they are out there, and they are every bit as TV worthy as the stories that will be featured over the coming weeks on Who Do You Think You Are. BTW, the season pass is set on TIVO. I will NOT miss any more episodes!

Who Do You Think You Are?

I cannot wait for Friday. I LOVE Fridays in general, but tomorrow is extra special as it is the premiere of the series

Who Do You Think You Are?

They had me at the name.

The description to the show starts something like this; "There's no such thing as an ordinary family. Each one has its own story." I already know that. I'm hoping that the show will offer new sleuthing techniques. If nothing else, listening to stories of self-discovery are always interesting. I might seem the ordinary wife/mother/daughter... but peel away the layers of my heritage and who knows what you might find; heiress/adventurer/criminal.

I thought that the exclusives/family facts section of the website was pretty cool. You can type in your surname and learn all sorts of interesting facts about your last name.

The only problem with tomorrow's show is the fact that I have no time to watch it. We will be at the South Davis Family History Fair on Saturday and tomorrow is the set up. Then there's the carpools, kids play and friends wedding all standing between me and my hour of T.V. time.

Thank goodness for TIVO!

Love Those Family Faces, Give Away!

What's not to love about family faces? Ok, maybe some days are better than others to answer that question! Our Family Face project will help you preserve your special memories of those faces important in your life. Tomorrow we'll be sharing how easy it is to make the family face blocks on KSL, Studio 5. (Tune in at 11:00.)

Here's a sneak peak of what we're bringing...

1. Hanging Wall Decor - Scroll to the bottom of this posting for information on how to win your very own LOVE Those Family Faces kit.

For this project, I used 5 medium and 4 small block ornaments. All together, 36 pictures document those moments near and dear to my heart! I thought the metal hanger was perfect for completing the sentiment, but the blocks would look equally great hanging from a light fixture or curtain rod.

(We attached the metal plate to a floor easle for easy setup, but soon after the segment it'll be featured on a prominent wall in my family room.)

2. Wreaths and Garland -

We loved our holiday garland so much that we decided to continue the idea into the new year and create something Valentines'y'. Super easy and if you look carefully, you'll see just how verstile these ornaments are. Some of the decorative paper in this display say "Merry Christmas." Because the display space was minimal, I decided to use all black/white pictures. I changed out previously used green ribbon for red and voila ~ I'm now ready for Valentine's Day.

3. Say it with Blocks -

Let's not forget the stacking options. If there's time, we'll show off our Say it With blocks. Since we're so close to Valentines Day, we'll display the "All Because Two People Fell in Love" side.

4. Wire Family Tree -

This is the project that got Studio 5's attention. All together our wire tree holds 40 block ornaments...that's 160 pictures when the project is completed! We're not going to pretend that this tree is fast or easy on the wallet. Coming up with 160 pictures can seem daunting for some. Our kit costs 100 big ones, but it comes with everything ...you just come up with the pictures! Don't let our disclaimer discourage you from creating your own family tree. We think our tree branch version is just as meaningful and it's a great way to get your own family face ornament collection started.

So that's what we're bringing tomorrow for our brief moment in the spotlight. Who knows what will actually make it onto the segement. Believe it or not, this is just a portion of the list of ideas that Erica came up with. We'll work on getting pictures on these other projects and get them posted at a later date.

Are you ready to start making family face blocks? Instructions for making your the ornaments start here. We've created a video that shows you each step of the process. Last time we checked, the file was 858MB. The file is SOOooo big that we can't get it off our computer and on to the internet. We'll keep trying, so check back!

As we mentioned earlier, one lucky reader will get a complete Love Those Family Faces kit. It comes with 9 wood blocks (assorted sizes), glue, foam brush, sand paper/sanding block, distress ink/chalk, decorative end papers and ribbon, metal eye screws and the fabulous LOVE metal wall hooks for displaying your finished project. Just remember, you can't win if you don't COMMENT! Leave a brief comment about this project and we'll pick a random name on Friday, January 22.

Mark your Calendars, 1-19-2010!

Out of the blue, we received a phone call from one of the producers at Studio 5, KSL inviting us to come on their show to share a project. Imagine our excitement! We've been trying to make the connection for over a year...and they call us! We figured that it's the perfect time to share our fun and easy block ornaments. (We didn't quite get time to share these when we were on Good Things Utah last month.)

We've heard from many of you that really, really wanted display a Family Christmas tree during the holiday season, but never found the time to get these made. Well, we're going to inspire you! Our dear friend Erica spent most of her day yesterday coming up with unique ways that we can display these ornaments 11 months of the year. THANK YOU Erica!!

Check back in the next couple of days. We plan to share our instructions for making the ornaments here on the blog, along with Erica's wonderful ideas for displaying them. Then tune in next Tuesday to Channel 5 at 11:00am. (We'll provide a link for those outside of our viewing area.) Our challenge is to NOT call these cute ornaments, ornaments. The producer thought that sounded too Christmas'y'. We're trying to train our brains to call them Family Face Blocks! Count how many times we mess us!!

Good Things Utah

Last week's three minutes of fame on Good Things Utah was WONDERFUL! We had a blast sharing our love of stories on the show. We've been a bit quiet on the blog front because we are so, SO busy trying to keep up with all the last minute Christmas orders, but we wanted to share our behind-the-scene view of our tv experience...

Here Suni is making sure she has all of her supplies before going on air.

The table is ready for its three minutes in the spotlight. What were we thinking? We thought we'd have enough time to share all of these projects...

Here's where the magic of TV kicks in. The table was prepped and waiting behind the studio audience. During one of the commercials, our table was magically propelled onto the stage.

Nicea claims that she's not very crafty...but Suni helped her finish a Face Button in the matter of seconds.

We had gone to the studio a few weeks ago to see the show in action. Roberts Crafts had planned to feature our Memory Puzzles, but there was a last minute change. Angie Larsen saw a brief preview of the puzzles and fell in love with them. We got her to send us a few pictures so we could make a set for her. I personally dropped off the finished puzzle, planning to give it to the receptionist at the front door. Unexpectedly, I was asked to wait and a few minutes later, Angie herself came strolling up to personally walk me back to her desk as she prepared for the day's taping. What a genuinely kind, bright, darling woman! We felt an extra connection when we learned that she is also the mother of all boys. No wonder Suni and I were drawn to her! Trust me, moms of all boys NEED to stick together!

Yesterday Angie sent us the following note:
"My boys flipped out over the puzzle. I couldn't wait until Christmas to give it to them. They play with it all the time. It is a priceless gift."

We LOVED making the puzzle for you Angie! We've just about finished one for Nicea. It is every bit as cute...even if all she has is girls to feature on it :-)