Long time, no Posts

Yes, it has been WAY too long since I have updated our blog. I have been thinking about updating since before Thanksgiving, well here we are.

So, the last thing that was really blogged about was Brigit's birthday. Going back through my pictures, I have a few things that I can comment on and fill you all in on what's been going on here....

Ben had a loose tooth and when I went to pick him up from school on the 13th (yes, Friday the 13th) it was no longer in his mouth. He said that his teacher helped him and wrapped it up and put it in a ziploc bag to bring home. The tooth fairy did visit him.




Next on our list was an awards assembly for Ben. Each month at the school in the classes they choose a child who shows development/talent for scholorship, citizenship, and one other that I can't remember now. Anyway, Ben got an award for Scholarship. Here are pictures of that event:





THANKSGIVING!!
I love Thanksgiving. This year was different for us because we ended up having Thanksgiving here at our house with Mike's brother Nick and his family and sister Samantha and her husband. It was fun to have them come down and share this holiday together. We had dinner and everyone helped with the food. We then played on the wii and later watched a movie. I'm glad that we could spend that time together. Nick ended up spending the night so he could do some Black Friday shopping with Mike. I think they both had a good time doing that as well.

Thank you Nick, Ellen, Samantha, and Nick for coming down and sharing with us. We are looking forward to spending time with all of the family (well those that are around) at Christmas!!







Time to decorate the house for Christmas. The first Monday after the house is decorated we take an FHE and all the kids get to pick out an ornament. Here are the kids with their ornaments.

Jacob seems more interested in Ben's ornament, but his is the little snowman that I'm pointing too.

You can't see Brigit's real well either, but it's a lollipop.

Charlie actually got a Grinch ornament last year as well. :)

Ben seems to like the BIGGER ornaments. :)

Now, I better say something about TODAY!! We are updated as best we can for now, I guess. I hit a milestone today as well. I sent Ben out the front to meet a friend and his mom to walk Ben to school. It was interesting (that's the best word I can come up with) to watch him walk away. After school I brought the friend home. It seemed to go well, so I think we will keep up with this for now. I have had a problem getting Ben to school on time and it's not his fault. I've just decided that getting 4 kids ready and out of the house doesn't always make us arrive to school on time.

Also today, I decided it was time to give Jacob a hair cut. It has gotten long and is into his eyes quite a bit, so I decided to just do it...NOW. So, I pulled out my trimmer and opted to use the 7/8 piece. His hair is more fine like Charlie. Here are some before and after pictures.








It's still crazy, just quite a bit shorter and not in his eyes anymore.

Dad hasn't seen the haircut yet, we'll see how he reacts. :)

Next up will be Brigit's haircut. I need to get her's taken care of, hopefully before Christmas. I will post pictures of that as well.

Bugs . . .

Another comedic episode from the life of a parent . . .

About a week ago Charlie came up to me with something between his fingers . . .

Charlie "Look Dad, a box elder bug."

Me "That's nice Charlie now go put it outside."

[Charlie walks into his room briefly and then runs back very excitedly]

Charlie [With great excitement] "Dad, Dad . . . Box Elder Bugs POP!"

And if that weren't enough . . .

Charlie [With even more excitement] "and guess what's inside . . . sticky stuff!"

Halloween Surprise

We finally got around to taking down our Halloween decorations today and found something that I thought was particularly funny. This year we decided to make Ghosts out of Suckers and Napkins. We then added these to our Halloween decorations outside our house. The kids really loved seeing something that they did decorate the house. When I went out to take them down I found one that, due to weather, had become even more appropriate for halloween.






Gotta love those red suckers!

Happy Birthday Brigit

It was 2 years ago that Brigit joined our family. She is always so happy and a joy to have around. We are so glad that she made it to our family. Last week sometime Ben told me that she needed a Castle Cake for her birthday. I wasn't too sure about that and did some looking to find some online. It turns out that most Castle Cakes require more cake than we are actually able to consume before it gets bad. We did a little modification and I think it turned out well. We'll save the full blown Castle Cake when there are more people around to help us eat it. :) It was a little different with it being a Sunday. She had said she wanted pizza, so we got a couple from Sam's club the day before so we could eat it Sunday. We took a ton of pictures and had a good time celebrating. Thank you for your birthday wishes. Here's our girl:

Happy Halloween

We had a different Halloween this year. It started very early as our 2 older boys decided that it was time to wake up at about 3:30 in the morning.... We had a few things that needed to be returned to a few different stores and had a few more things we needed to do before Brigit's birthday on Sunday. So, we had a earlier lunch and headed out the door. I think everyone was pretty much asleep before we backed out of our drive way. We got to do our running around and then the kids all woke up at about 3:00. We still had two more stops to make, but no big deal if kids are with us. We decided that we would try out trick-or-treating at the mall since it was close to where we were at the time.

So, we made it through and got back home and had a bite to eat before heading out for some trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Captain Hook took Dash, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell out and I stayed home with our little army man.

They made it back with plenty of candy and we ended up having about 18 trick-or-treaters here at our own house. I think that's the most we have ever had and that does include the 3 that live here. Well, here are pictures of them all, they didn't turn out as good as I hoped. Hope you enjoy.

New Recipes

I have been meaning to post these for a couple of days now. Since I got my bountiful basket full of produce, I have had to come up with different ways of useing a few things. With my Mexican Mix that I got I found a recipe for Chalupas that turned out to use a lot of what I had gotten. You use a green salsa which base would be tomatillos. It turned out to be quite a bit spicier than first intended. Very little is needed to feel it. :) You blend the salsa all together then cook it. You also heat corn tortillas and then you add a LITTLE salsa then sour cream, chicken pieces, and cheese on top. You can find the recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Soft-Fried-Tortillas-with-Tomatillo-Salsa-and-Chicken-109433







You blend the salsa all together then cook it. You also heat corn tortillas and then you add a LITTLE salsa then sour cream, chicken pieces, and cheese on top.

We also had some Bok Choy to use. I have heard of it, but never used it. So, I found a recipe that uses it as a stir-fry. I missed taking pictures of it, but here is the recipe if anyone wants to try it: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Broccoli-Ca---Uniengs-Style/Detail.aspx

We ommitted the oyster sauce, because I don't have that on hand, but it still turned out really well. If you've never eaten Bok Choy, but you eat oriental food, then you probably have tried it and just didn't know it. While I was eating I recognized the flavor and taste. The leaves almost have a spinich look to them.

Anyway, It's been fun trying new recipes. We'll see if we come up with anything else this week.

Sorry, I can't get the links to work. I'll see if I can get them fixed.

Bountiful Baskets

I just had a wonderful experience this morning. I have been hearing about Bountiful Baskets for a little while now, but there hasn't been a distribution point close enough to me for it to work out for me. For a basic overview: It is a produce co-op. So a bunch of people purchase into this so you get a better price (take out the middle man). So, for a first timer it is $18 for the basket. After you're first time it is $15/basket and there is a fee of $1.50 for handling. Besides just the basket you can add other items as well. Other items such as bread, pumpkin, box of apples, a Mexican mix. Each week is different, so you get online and order through the website.

The Springville site is new. Today was the second time that it's been here. I wasn't able to participate the first time, but I went today. So, I ordered just a regular basket and then added on the Mexican mix. The total price was $27. I also was able to go a little early to help them set the produce out. 50% is fruit and 50% vegetables. Here is a list and pictures of what I came home with. A pineapple, a bunch of bananas, a bunch of apples, a bunch of plums, 2 tomatoes, a bunch of broccoli, bock choy, 2 cucumbers, a bag of grapes, 2 heads of lettuce, 4 artichokes, and some sort of fruit that looks like a lemon only smaller...not sure exactly what it is and a bunch of them. In the Mexican mix I got 3 avocados, 3 different types of peppers, corn tortillas, cilantro, green onion, yellow onion, and tomatillos.






Mexican Mix and a tomato

Anyway, I was very happy with what I came home with. Now if I can learn to use it all and eat it before it goes bad, I think I got a great deal.

You can find more about it at

Feeling Accomplished

WOW, what a day we have had today. We decided it was time to take care of some things outside today. I forgot to take pictures today of what it looked like before, but I did take plenty of during and after clean-up. I will see if I can find an older one of the outside. We worked on the "Devil's Strip" getting it cleared out and then we put some carpet down and are now in the process of getting rocks to cover the area. If anyone has some rocks that they want to get rid of, let us know. :)

We also took out all the bushes that were in front of the house. We are thinking that we will put rose bushes around the house to cover up the ugly cement.

It's fun to do something and really see the results of the work. We may be feeling it more in our bodies tomorrow, but for now, it just plain feels good. :)







I couldn't find a picture before with the bushes out front, but just imagine them way to big for the space and wanting to climb over the porch. That should give you an idea.

Welcome Home Niels!!

This past week Mike's brother came home from his mission. We weren't able to go up the day he came home, but this weekend we got to see him and spend time with those that are around. We also got to go to a baby blessing for our newest nephew Oliver. I waited to post, so I could add pictures. Of course, I really didn't take enough, but here are a few.

Conference Weekend

I just wanted to say that I loved Conference. I always look forward to hearing from the leaders of the church. I am so glad that we live in an age and time where anyone who wants to can hear/participate in it. What an amazing time we live in. I am glad for guidance in this truly interesting time in which we live. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that helps me as I go about my activities and helps me become a better me. I am grateful for Temples and the excitement that I feel in hearing about new Temples that are going up around the world. What a blessing it will be to those that will now have a temple close to them. I am also very grateful for a wonderful family. My husband is wonderful and helps me in so many ways. At the close of this conference session, I succumb to a physical illness and I was grateful to have an extra pair of hands as I do the things that I need to. I am also very grateful for my children. They do provide a lot of joy to me. Since being sick myself and others having been sick this weekend, Ben stayed home from school. As Brigit decided it was time to take her nap; Ben has a bunch of books next to Brigit on her bed as he reads to her and Charlie. They are great and recognize some things that I never would have thought possible.

Life is wonderful and I am grateful to be a part of it at this time. My family is forever and I am excited to share forever with them.

I did it!!

Wow, what a morning. I have been doing my run/walk 5k training and it's going ok. I have missed a bunch of days here and there, but today I made it 2 miles.

If I never mentioned it before, maybe I should now. I am NOT a runner. Never have been, but maybe I may become more of one anyway. I am definitely not fast, but it's fun. My motivation some mornings is low and makes it hard for me to leave (assuming I actually make it), but this morning I was definitely glad I did.

I just wanted to share this with all of you. I also tried out a new recipe for breakfast and I think it turned out well as well. So, it's been a good morning!!

Long time no post...

It's been a long time. I think I must be busy with four kids. What do you think?

A few weeks ago when they had the Temple Dedication and so we didn't have church, we decided to take the kids and visit the temple. That same week Walgreens had a free collage print. I decided to take the pictures we took at the temple and put them in a collage. I've been wanting to share it, but I haven't really had a chance to do much with it other than put it in a frame. So, I will post it here so you can see what cute kids we have.



Not too much else is going on right now. We just keep doing our thing.

We did it!

We have officially made it through our first day of Kindergarten. I had to hold back tears as I dropped him off, other than that, no incidents. We met one of the kids from his class that lives about a block away from our house. I think that will prove to be nice as this year goes on. When we were leaving from dropping off Ben, Charlie asked me about when he will go to school. This may be interesting for him. While Ben was gone, Brigit and Charlie played together and that was nice. It'll be interesting to have him gone EVERY day and not just a couple of days a week like it was with pre-school.

First Day:

Lined up and ready to go to class:

Charlie and Brigit playing:

His first day done:




Anyway, it was good and I think it'll be a great year for him. On a brief side note. I never updated with the haircuts. I took Brigit in to see what we should do and they suggested just leaving it alone and just let it grow in again. So, that's what we are doing. I think we may go back in a few months and get it evened up a bit, but until then, we're dealing with it. Here is also another picture of her hair where it shows more of where it was cut off.

This would never happen to me....

Boy, was I wrong. I have had a couple of things happen in the last couple of days. One was a wonderful surprise. The other...I'm still trying to calm down about (it happened less than an hour ago). Here are pictures of both events.

The boys washing dishes:



Ben after his own haircut:


Ben after his buzz:


Charlie after his own haircut:


Charlie after his buzz:


Brigit wet and dry after her brothers cut her hair:


After I go and get her hair fixed I will post another picture.