Abbyslemonadestand

We Wish you a Merry Christmas!

2011-12-31T14:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas comes but once a year! We had so much fun getting ready for the big day and celebrating it as much as we could this year. Kinley was out of school for a whole week before and I think the excitement of what was coming just about turned her into a basket case! Dolce got excited this year too and it was so much fun to see the way she interacted with her sister and did everything her sister did to get ready. She knew something was coming but she wasn't quite sure what.
For one of my work parties, we sponsored a Sub for Santa for a family and took the gifts to them at the end of the party. Kinley got to help give the gifts and she was so excited to give them to the little girl, which made me so happy.
Santa's workshop was very busy right up to Christmas Eve. We made a few of the gifts for the kids this year and there was so much to do! We made a play kitchen from a little desk, and I went and bought a bunch of play cookware at the thrift store. We also had a small bookshelf that David converted into a dollhouse. Dolce and Kinley and I are going to be painting it and decorating the rooms, beginning with a little rock fireplace. Perfect for the new Barbie wedding family set to move in to. I also made Baby Rome some Bow ties for Christmas including one that goes with his Christmas Sunday outfit. I don't have a picture of our family in our Christmas Sunday clothes yet, because Rome had a major blow out during church all over his white shirt. I was playing my violin for the Christmas program and was quite puzzled when I looked over and saw him wearing just his sweater vest, bowtie and diaper toward the end of the program. The revised outfit wouldn't do for a Christmas picture, so it will have to wait for New Years Sunday. Rome will be wearing a larger size of diaper than his big sister.
Christmas felt very different without my Grandma. I guess you have to notice how empty things feel when someone so special is gone. Merry Christmas Anyway!

And look who's sitting up!

St. Lucia's Day

2011-12-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

This year we wanted to learn a little more about some of the Christmas traditions celebrated in other countries. David has some Swedish ancestry on his side of the family, so we decided to celebrate St. Lucia's day. Celebrated on December 13, the shortest day of the year, Swedish families celebrate St. Lucia's Day. St. Lucia was a young girl who was martyred in 304 AD. The most common story told of her is that she brought food to persecuted Christians who were in hiding in the Catacombs underneath the city of Rome. She wore candles on her head so that she could carry more food. Lucy means light, so this is an appropriate name for her. Today for the celebration, a girl member in the family dresses in a white dress with a red sash, with Lingonberry garland in her hair which represents new life in winter. She wakes up very early, before the sun is up to go to each member of the household and invite them to a breakfast of Saffron buns and coffee.(We used wassail) This begins the Christmas celebration in Sweden. Kinley got to be our St. Lucia. She took cinnamon roles and wassail to some neighbors. We thought this was interesting to learn about and a fun way to share a gift.

A funny face and a Grebe

2011-12-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

This cute little face might be better explained by the fact that David always wears snowboarding goggles while chopping onions in the kitchen. Rome had apparently never noticed this little fact before and he was very shocked and bewildered about what had happened to Daddy. He normally has his jumpy seat all but flying to the moon, but when he saw David with the goggles on, he really seemed like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stopped jumping and just stared.
He is growing so fast! He's closer to being 7 months than being 6 months so here is a 7 month old update:

He seems to be getting ready to crawl. He always rolls from his back to his tummy and then pushes himself backwards.
He still gets stuck and can't roll from his tummy to his back.
He bounces like a crazy man in his johnny jump up.
He used to sleep really good at night, but he wakes up at least four times a night now.
He is still a really big kid. He's wearing 12 month clothes.
His temperament is very sweet. He's calm, like his Dad.
His red hair is finally coming in.
He doesn't seem to have a dominant hand. I wonder if he will be a lefty.
No teeth, yet!
He loves meal times, and eating baby food.
He's almost always happy.
He and Dolce wear the same size diapers and I think he will pass her up in weight soon.
He has been such a good baby, we've been spoiled.

On the way home from work yesterday, David noticed a bunch of these birds all over the place. Later, when he was shoveling snow in the driveway, he noticed this bird. He brought the bird inside because he thought that it must not be able to fly in this weather. We didn't know what type of bird it was. It's body looks like a duck, but it's beak is pointy rather than a bill like other ducks. It's feet are partly webbed and partly talon-ish. David called the Fish and Game office and they told him it's called a Grebe. A lot of these birds were migrating overhead when the storm came in and they couldn't fly through it. David took the bird to the fish and game office where they had a whole truck load of the birds and they took them to St. George to see if that would help them on their way to wherever they are trying to go. No duck soup for us.

Turning 6!

2011-12-14T19:28:00.000-08:00

Kinley had a very fun birthday this year! In lieu of a birthday party, she got to have her first real sleepover! (And it was on a school night!) Oh my goodness, you can only imagine the excitement and planning that has come about in preparation for "the next sleepover."
I made Kinley a birthday crown full of lots of fun things. Yes, it was bigger than her head, but only a queen could stand under such a thing. She got to take a treat to her class, (remember those days?) And she got to go pick out her birthday cake. The cut made in the cake that you can see is the piece she chose to be hers.

Favorite color: Pink
Favorite food: Macaroni and Cheese
Favorite thing to do: Go camping and go on a train.
Favorite treat: Snickers
Favorite toy: Rapunzel Barbie
What are you going to be when you grow up?: A Mom.
Favorite thing at school: Watch movies and play on the playground.
Best Buddy: Riley and Jonas.
Most proud of herself when: She turned 6!

I still can't believe we have a grown up 6 year old! She is such a sweetheart! Happy Birthday Little Jane!

More Elfing around!

2011-12-14T18:40:00.001-08:00

Jingles, the Elf has been up to more trouble at our house. Here are his latest escapades.

18 Days to go!
Wow Children! I never would have guessed that these Barbie movies could be so good! I especially loved the Nutcracker! Keep the good days comin'! Love Jingles.

17 Days left!
Happy Birthday little Miss! You have been such a good girl this whole year! No one knows how to help and share and be a perfectly wonderful little sweetheart quite like you! Somehow I got myself wrapped up in this gift while it was being wrapped! You're going to be great at being 6! Love, Jingles.

Only 16 days til Christmas!
Just out for a nice night of sailing on Bathtub Lake! The North Pole is all a bustle with getting ready for Christmas. You are all still on the "Nice" list, so keep up the good work.
Love, Jingles.

15 more Days!
Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum! I love candy! Anything sugary, chocolatey, carmelly, fruity...I love it all! Be sure to brush your teeth really well! Santa checks your teeth too!
Love, Jingles.

14 more Days to go! Only 2 weeks away!
Hey Kiddies, I turned this horse into a reindeer so that he could fly me to the North Pole and back! Keep Being good!
Love, Jingles.

13 more Days!
I found this Christmas CD and wanted to listen to it really loud! I've been jamming to it all night long! Have a listen!
Love, Jingles.

The Naughty Gong!

2011-12-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

Desperate times call for desperate measures. You know what I'm talking about. At our house we're implementing the highly sophisticated, intensely elaborate latest design of the Naughty Gong. Now, you may think that what you're looking at is little more than simply a hanging wire wisk and a platter. Little do you know you're gazing at Santa's rapid response unit, the one and only aid for defenseless parents with nowhere else to turn. Cordlessly wired into Santa's very own bluetooth headset, (which he wears ALL THE TIME by the way) one little bang of this magical gong directs Santa's full attention to your location and whatever current " situation" (incident) you may have on your hands. That's right, bang this little baby, and you become Incident Commander with the full capacity to dock presents and pass out coal as you please. Read it and weap kids! The parents are fighting back! Be afraid, be VERY afraid:)

And this is another component of decking the halls. I made this banner after seeing it on Pinterest.

The Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

We have started doing Elf on the Shelf this year. I had never heard of it before this year, and I love all the little ideas I have read about what the mischievous family elf does in other families. Our elf's name is Jingles and he has been very busy checking the list twice at our house. We decided to do an advent count down with our Elf on the Shelf beginning on December 1st. Here's what he's been up to so far:

24 Days left until Christmas: (Inside was a note that said) Hi Holmgren Children! Your dad was having so much fun putting the Christmas lights on the Christmas tree last night (yeah right) that I decided to go pick out a tree for myself. I stole this one from the village, just like the Grinch! Heeheehee! Keep being good! I'm watching! Love, Jingles!

23 days left of being good!
Hi Kids! I think Polly Pocket and I are just about ready for the big day! We put up the Christmas tree last night, and with all this snow, we're planning to stay inside and drink Hot Chocolate for the weekend. Here's some hot cocoa for you too! I'll be watching!
Love,
Jingles

22 days to go!
Help!!! I got tired of waiting for you to decorate your tree, so I decided to toilet paper it. Now I'm stuck! Be nice, not naughty! I can still see you!
Love,
Jingles

21 Days away!
Ahhhh... after a long flight back from the North Pole, there's nothing like a nice, hot, bubble bath to relax in. Remember, be your best!
Love,
Jingles

20 More Days!
Hello Big Elves! All the lights were out last night and I needed a place to read...Good thing you made this cozy Christmas Village. I even finished my book...And I don't even know how to read! haha! Keep being good!
Love,
Jingles

19 LONG days!
Brrr!!! The North Pole was chilly tonight! To warm up I thought I'd do a little ice skating. But the ice cracked and I fell right through! Be sure to mind your parents or you'll be skating on thin ice too! So far, so good though!
Love,
Jingles

That's all for now but I'm quite sure there will be more mischief on the way so stay tuned!

A Date! A WHAT?

2011-11-28T23:21:00.001-08:00

When you have 3 kids and opposite schedules, the kind of dates you might be familiar with are more likely to be the edible (but not reccommended..) ones. However, we did, in fact go out together a few days ago, after introducing ourselves, and had a very enjoyable time. We went to the festival of trees at the hospital here in town. It was put together as a benefit for the new Cancer wing that is being added on to the hospital. We decided that we would pick our favorite winning tree and take a picture by it. I loved the candyland type tree, (surprize) and David was a fan of the one he called the "Jesus Time" tree, because it looked like it was from Jesus's time. I also loved the tree with the lime green ribbons going up. After seeing the trees and listening to some of the music, David said that we couldn't call it a date unless we went and got a treat so we went out for a Starbucks hot cocoa. I think I'd say it was the best date we've been on since Baby Rome came to town...The only one too:)

The Perfect One!

2011-11-28T22:45:00.001-08:00

Over the river and through the woods to find the perfect Christmas tree! I love the way this feels like the beginning of an Old Fashioned Christmas. This hasn't been something that we've done each year and it really should be. I should make it clear that Dolce was only holding the saw for 1 second during the picture to prove that we brought a real hand saw to cut the tree down. Next year it will be a hatchet:)
I'm looking forward to some fun new Christmas Traditions this year including Elf on the Shelf which will be new to our family. Stay tuned to find out what mischief our family elf will be getting into starting December 1st.

Thankful

2011-11-28T21:43:00.000-08:00

I think that Turkey, mashed potatoes, butterscotch pie, Cranberry fluff salad, 1 sweet potato(they're growing on me a little each year that I force one down.) rolls, and being with all the people that make me me is the perfect petri dish for creating Thankfullness for me every year.
This year was no different, so here is the list:

My Fantastic Family
The Gospel
sweaters
Memories of my Grandma as this was the first Thanksgiving without her. I wore a ring of hers to keep her in my thoughts for the day.
Great friends
My Sister!
Butterscotch pie that I didn't make:)
Dolce's little mischief smile
Rome's easy going happy go lucky personality
Mckinley's kind little heart- I think she doesn't have a mean bone in her body.
David's expertise at having fun.

The night before Thanksgiving, I decided to try my hand at making a Butterscotch Pie because last year, I had gone to my Grandma's house and she showed me how she makes all of her pies the day before Thanksgiving. David and I had such a blast making an absolute mess and probably coming uncomfortably close to burning the house down. I think the whole experience must have set David straight because He fears for his life in the kitchen now. And I will never forget his face when he said "Do you know what you're doing?" as milk was bubbling over for the second time and I was holding the pot high up in the air, creating burnt sugar milk rain. Haha! I'm Thankful for him!
Happy Thanksgiving.

A 2 year old princess

2011-11-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

Our lovely little Dolce is 2! When you turn 2, you have to have a "tu-tu" party, you know. And so for her special day this is what she wore. We had a birthday dinner for her where we served Gioza, and we also had family members over for Gingerbread and a "snowman soup" bar.(Sometimes referred to as hot cocoa.) Dolce loves marshmallows and so we thought it would be fun to have a hot chocolate bar with different cocoa flavors and toppings for her birthday.

At 2 years old Dolce is so much fun. Here are a few things about her:

She loves chocolate.
She loves to paint and she always drinks the paint water...no matter what color it is.
She likes to play dress up with her sister.
She loves being outside in any weather.
She always pushes a little doll stroller on walks around the block where she stores all sorts of interesting treasures she finds along the way.
She is an expert mess maker and I think I will still be cleaning up terrible 2 messes when she's terrific 25.
Her seizures are well controlled on Trileptal.
She likes to sing.
She loves watching "simba."
She loves going to nursery at church and doesn't get anxious about staying.
She's a very picky eater, but loves macaroni and cheese and yogurt.
Everyone comments on how pretty her eyes are. They are her most striking feature.
If the need arises for fit throwing, she lays facedown on the ground and throws the most impressive tantrums I've ever seen.
She loves being read to and looking at books. Her language is coming, although she isn't as verbal as her sister.
She gets up every morning and gets ready to take Kinley to kindergarten. She also wears a green backpack that we have to hide at night or she tries to sleep with it on.
She's very girly and loves make up.
She hates brushing her teeth and doesn't seem to realize that her wide mouth bawling actually helps the process.
She still bullies both her big sister and baby brother. But she loves them too, and she really misses Kinley while she's at school.
Her most prized possession is "big blank" a purple and yellow blanket she stole from Kinley.
We love her so much!

My Grandma Jackson

2011-11-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

My sweet, beautiful, almost perfect Grandma Jackson passed away on November 1st, and I have wanted so much to journal some of the many ways that she has been an influence in my life. I have been very overwhelmed by this task, and it seems very inadequate to dedicate just one chapter of journalling specifically to her when so much of who I am has a root (I hope) in the person that she was.
My Grandma never forgot a birthday of mine or of my children and as we celebrated Dolces birthday on November 3rd, just 2 days after she had passed, I really felt the emptiness and difference that not having her here would be.
She hadn't been feeling well for a couple of weeks when I went to see her on the 24th of October. She thought she had a bad flu bug that wouldn't go away. She had a persistent dry cough that she had had for about a month, and some shortness of breath. She also had nausea and couldn't keep food down. She had lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks. She wondered if I would mind taking her to her Doctors appointment when she could get it scheduled.(Because that very day my Grandpa was having a pacemaker placed.) So I called the Dr. and asked if he would be able to see her as soon as possible. She kept saying that she was so tired and just needed to get better.
The next morning, I picked her up for her appointment and thought that it might be more appropriate to take her to the ER because her shortness of breath seemed to have gotten worse. But she insisted that we go to her appointment with her Dr.
I was with her when the Dr. came in to tell her that she had Leukemia. This was so devastating and I didn't know how to comfort a person who had always been such a comforting influence for me. We were told that she needed to see an oncologist that day and so I got permission to transport her, with my Dad, in her own car to St. George. I called her children to tell them the news.
That evening, before leaving the hospital, My Grandma said the nicest, most sincere things to me. She told me that I was such a special, sweet girl, and that she loved me very much. I wonder if she somehow knew that these would be the last things she would say to me. I'm grateful that I had this day to spend with her where it was just her and me.
Two days later, her white blood cell count had risen so much that it was determined that she needed to be cared for at a specialty center and so she was flown to LDS hospital. The next time I was able to see her, her condition had deteriorated quite a bit.
As things progressively got worse, it came time to say good bye. I want to remember that I thought that she must have loved me most because she tried to talk to me and hug me while I was telling her good bye. (I think she had a way of making everyone believe they were her favorite.) Things happened so quickly with her Leukemia. She passed away exactly 1 week after her diagnosis.
I will always remember how kind my Grandma was, even in the hospital and throughout her end of life care, she remained patient and so kind. I'm so lucky to have known her. I'm looking forward to forever with her.

This picture is, I think, the last picture I have of my Grandma. It was taken at Baby Romes blessing bash on August 8, 2011. She loved babies and when I went to see her at LDS hospital I took Rome with me. When we first got there, she had just had a bone marrow biopsy done and she was in pain and upset. But when she saw Rome, a big smile came to her face and she said, "Hi Baby!" Back in August, at his blessing party, Rome had been awake for most of the day, but when she held him, he fell asleep and she held him for a long time. If I would have known that this would be the last family festivity where I would get to see her, I would have taken more pictures. I'll be cherishing this one.

Halloween!

2011-11-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

This Halloween was a difficult one because we were preparing to lose my Grandma Jackson to Leukemia. (I will share more thoughts on this soon.) However, Grandma loved children and she would have wanted them to have a Happy Halloween, even at a time when she was suffering, and so we dressed the kids up and had a little party with sloppy joes, trick or treating, pumpkin carving, and a scary movie.
We only got 1 good picture of everyone but we did get some cute pictures of Dolce in her clown costume from earlier in the day.
Dolly was a clown, Mckinley was Rapunzel, and Rome was a strong man.(That's not just fat:) Happy Halloween!

Staheli Farm!

2011-11-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, we started going to Staheli Farm corn maze for a fall family outing. This is such a fun place to take our kids, last year we ran out of time to do all the fun things that we would have liked, so we went earlier this year. We packed a picnic and made it to the farm just after it opened for family night. Our camera died before we actually made it to the corn maze so the pictures only show some of the farm activities. There are lots of swing set kind of things, rope swings onto mattresses, animals, a petting zoo, pig races, a slide that slides into corn kernels, a cow train ride, a pumpkin patch, and the air trampoline was new this year. There are so many things to do at the farm that it was hard work getting the kids to go to the corn maze. Once there, however, it's one of everyone's favorite memories of the year. We loved getting lost and finding our way out again. Can't wait for next year!

More Halloween Fun!

2011-11-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from a Halloween party on October 22nd. This was one thing that really made Halloween great for me this year. Look at this food table! Everything was so yummy. The way to my heart is definitely through my tummy. The couple in the above picture is actually the haunted Mullet couple, Wes and Necia Mullet. They lived in the house before Brooke and Chad and came back from the grave to host the party. (The really fun part about this is that I grew up across the street from them, and the costumes were so accurate, I knew exactly who they had dressed up as the moment I walked in!) Such a fun party! This took a lot of preparation! Great job, Michelle and Brooke!

Fright Night 2011

2011-10-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

Your renowned expertise is requested for an experiment at
Dr. Frankensteins Laboratory
To be conducted Sunday October 16th at 3 o clock post mortem.
Come prepared to operate

Specimens
_____________________

Poison IVY

Snipe Hearts in Formeldahyde

Abynormal Brain

Gravediggers Meat

Poisonous Iced Hemlock

Spot the Cat for Dessert

We had our annual Fright Night dinner on Sunday and it was very spooky. Dinner was served in the laboratory of Dr. Frankenstein. The menu items were more appropriately termed "Specimens." We had a secret spooky friend deliver some awesome packages on Saturday night.(I think I know who you are, and Thank you!) In the packages, there were some very cute mad scientists glasses that came in perfectly handy for our dinner!
You can see in the pictures that there was an abynormal brain for the centerpiece. We also had the ever mysterious Gravediggers meat that on normal days is referred to as Meatloaf. The Snipe hearts in Formeldahyde were Peach halves in lime jello that were prepared in mason jar "test tubes." The poison IVY was a Green Salad. We actually had 2 abynormal brains-one for the centerpiece sitting in food colored water and the other was steam and served with a cheese sauce. The poisonous Hemlock was Kool Aid dyed black. (one gulp could have been deadly.) And Spot the Cat was actually Brownies cut into a Cat shape with a cookie cutter topped with a "spot" of icing. Everything was served on a white surgical sheet table cloth, and we wore latex gloves while eating.
On the sideboard, was a spooky display of bubbling test tubes. (This involved some dry ice and more food coloring.)
We had a lot of fun as always. I love being married to David because he always knows the perfect touches to add to make things extra fun.

Halloween Festivities

2011-10-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

We went to a Pumpkin Festival last week and the girls got to do a bunch of fun things like decorate a cookie, pumpkin bowling, donuts on a string, making a wood craft, facepainting and a bunch of other stuff that we didn't do. (Children are not made for standing in lines, you might know.) They also got to pick out a Pumpkin and I thought it was so funny to see which pumpkins they decided to pick. They both saw the perfect one and couldn't be persuaded towards any others. Very cute.

Getting ready!

2011-10-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've ever had costumes for Halloween ready this early. Usually, we are usually still deciding what to dress up as on Halloween day. This year, I didn't want to spend much money on costumes and so I started early trying to see how inexpensively I could make the costumes for. We decided on circus costumes, although, Mckinley has thrown a wrench in the plan and you will have to wait and see what she is going to be. Dolce is going to be a very cute Clown, and Rome is going to be a Strong Man. Hopefully I remember how nice it is to have things ready beforehand and make it a habit.

Beached!

2011-10-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

This little boy is growing so fast! He's growing out, rather than up. He wears 6-9 month clothes right now, and at the moment, things are getting a bit tight. He may need some custom made, chubby boy clothes because we can only roll up the pant legs so many times on most things. Everywhere I take him, people ask, "how old is that baby?" At not quite 5 months old, he shouldn't be quite as gigantic as he is. (He should be wearing 12 month clothes.)That's ok. There's just lots to love. This post is titled "beached," because Rome has learned to roll over from his back to his tummy. But when he gets to his tummy, he's stuck. He doesn't know what to do and so he usually lays his head down on the ground and looks for something to eat. Like the floor. He hasn't missed too many meals, and with the help of his sisters he has sampled things like cheese it's, and sprinkles, he loves ice cream, but hates any type of baby food I try to give him. He only wants to nurse! It's getting to be hard work for me to feed this bottomless pit. Yesterday, I told him that he had to either eat carrots for lunch, or a sandwich. Carrots are a new UN- favorite.

A Book Pumpkin

2011-10-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun and easy project. I saw the idea from a Ucreate post. I'm such a sucker for any decoration that uses bookprint so I really couldn't resist this. To make this, find a pretty thick paperback book. You can thrift these for 50 cents usually. Remove the cover and back cover of the book. Now on the front page of the book. Draw a half circle or you could experiment with a different variation of a half circle. Now take some scissors and cut around the shape. (I was able to accurately cut out about 5 papers at a time.) Cut all the way through to the spine of the book. Now, you will have pieces above and below the pumpkin shape. Pull these off, leaving the middle pumpkin shape. (To pull them off, just pull them away from the spine of the book.) Now keep tracing your pumpkin shape and cutting around it through the book. When you've finished your cutting, you'll be ready to attach the front cover to the back cover, making the pages fan out. I used hot glue for this step. You may also need to use the glue to keep some of the pages fanned out.
Now you're ready to paint your pumpkin. You don't need a lot, just enough to ink the edges of the papers. Now find a short little stick and stick it in the hole at the top of the book. Glue it really well and then tie a ribbon around it and you're done!

Another Infinity Scarf

2011-10-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

I love, love scarves! Especially right now because I am still breastfeeding Rome and so when I feel like I may actually be turning into a cow, I feel better wearing a scarf. This scarf is made from about a yard of fabric sewn into a circle with the ragged ends sewn under. PS, it's cold enough today to actually wear a scarf. Brrr!

A lamp Revamp!

2011-10-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

Since I've already shared that secretly I'm a Thrift store HOARDER, I'm feeling comfortable enough to share that I dumpster dove this lamp. And it works. And David was embarrassed at the time. And whoever threw it away is going to be very sorry when they see how cute it is now. And..that's it. No wait. And, if you don't think it's cuter now, you better lie and tell me it is anyway.

In the Fall you have to eat soup!

2011-10-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

This is kind of funny. In the picture above, I made a soup called Broccoli velvet soup. However, after making it and taking the picture, I decided that a better fall-ish soup might be another favorite of ours called Zuchinni Bisque soup. I know, if you aren't a big squash fan, this might sound pretty sick. But to let you in on a little secret: I'm not a big squash fan myself. But I love this soup. And ....I especially love it when my Husband makes it so I don't have to. So here it is. Make your Husband cook some up tonight!

Zuchinni Bisque Soup

2 cups of diced onions
2 Tbs Butter
3 and 3/4 cups Squash (Zuchinni or you could try another squash if you'd like.) diced.
3 cups Chicken Broth
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup cream (Why do all of my recipes have cream?)
Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese (or cheddar if you prefer)

Cook onion in butter until soft. Add Zuchinni and cook for a few minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer together for 15 minutes or until squash is tender. Add seasonings to mixture. Using a blender, Puree the mixture and return to the pan. Add cream and heat through. Serve with grated cheese on top.

Another Fun and Easy Skirt!

2011-10-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

This started when my cute neighbor Brooke made a skirt very much like this one. I loved it and wanted to make one too. So I cut out the fabric and it was way too fluffy and not long enough. This is what I get for trying to figure it out on my own. My Mom told me to try a tutorial found on Simple Simon and Co for this skirt, which I did after I added the white border to the bottom of the fabric. (haha! It could have been okay without that right?) So, to make this, don't do anything I did. Go directly to Simple Simon and co and look for the Starboard Skirt tutorial.

Every emotion in the book.

2011-09-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, while we were out on a walk, McKinley noticed something. SHE HAD A LOOSE TOOTH! As soon as she realized it was loose, she started crying. Bawling her little eyes out actually. David wiggled it a little bit to see if it was really loose, and said, "Kinley! You have your very first loose tooth!" After hearing how excited Daddy was about it, she started jumping up and down and yelling "yay yay yay! My tooth is loose!"
When we got home, she immediately asked to call her Grandmas to tell them the news. She told them that we were going to have a party for her loose tooth!(news to me.)....what? You don't have parties for your loose teeth?
That was quite a while ago. It finally fell out on Saturday night, and we went through the same range of emotions that we had when the tooth was loose.
That night she refused to put the tooth under her pillow. She said the tooth fairy would never find it there. Our tooth fairy was a little unsure what the going rate for a tooth is these days. Does the tooth fairy put a dvd or an Ipod under pillows now or is a bright shiny quarter still good. We asked Mckinley about it, and she said that the Tooth Fairy brings MONEY! We settled on some coloring books, a 10 dollar bill and a silver dollar. Sprinkled her with glitter fairy dust in the night while she slept and fell asleep wondering how the time has flown by so fast. Oh yeah, and the tooth fairy kept the tooth, too. Guess what else? Another tooth has started to wiggle.

Fall Outdoor Film Festival

2011-09-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

Last year, in our family, we started a fun tradition that we hope we can maintain every year. We plan a Fall Film Festival where we pick 4 movies that we would like to watch together. Then we plan which 4 nights we would like to have as movie nights. When the night comes, we move our TV and DVD player outside, put our jammies on, and set up sleeping bags and blankies on the grass along with camp chairs. We also make our favorite Caramel Popcorn to eat. We might try some new treat recipes for a couple of our movie nights this year. We have especially loved this activity for some of our family nights or times when other activities are not in the budget. We decided to do this after finding out that watching family movies together is one of Mckinley's favorite things to do. Here is our Caramel Popcorn recipe:

Sea Salt Caramel Devil Popcorn

1 Cube Butter
1 Cube Margarine
1 Cup Brown Sugar
3 cups mini marshmallows ( I don't know why it makes any difference that they are the mini ones but it actually does.)
2-3 bags (3.5 oz) Butter Microwave Popcorn popped with kernels removed.
Dash of large grain sea salt

In a large saucepan, melt together butter, margarine and brown sugar. When melted (Brown sugar dissolved) add marshmallows and stir until they are melted and incorporated. (Doesn't need to be boiling) Pour mixture over bowl of popped popcorn and mix together. Add a dash of large kernel sea salt at the end of mixing. Enjoy!

legwarmers

2011-09-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

I thrifted some very cute sweaters specifically to make Mckinley some legwarmers because she has just started a dance class. While making them, I thought they would be cute for the girls to wear with leggings and dresses. This was a very easy project. I just cut off the sleeves of some sweaters and used a small stitch on my sewing machine to sew an elastic wasteband casing into the top of the legwarmer. I then measured around the girls legs and cut elastic wasteband to fit the measurement and threaded the wasteband through the casing. Dolce's outfit is actually a shirt of Mckinleys that I sewed some tulle bows to the upper left side of and added a belt. Aren't these girlies so cute?

Comforts of Fall!

2011-09-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

I love it when the weather cools down enough that I can pull out extra blankets and flannel sheets. I love the feeling of snuggling under a bunch of layers when I go to bed, especially if the layers feel a little bit heavy. The only drawback I can think of is that a cozy bed makes it a bit harder to get up and get going on crisp mornings. But I guess you can't have it all.

Burnt Custard Pear Pie

2011-09-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

I did try to take a picture of this pie that would make it look appetizing and lovely...Honestly I did. But then the smell of the pie took over and I don't know what happened from there. It's not much for lookin' at, that's for sure. But to taste this pie is heaven, I promise. I have even had some internal conflict about whether I should share the recipe or not. My generous self is winning out for now but I can't promise that I wont yield to my stingy side and delete this post tomorrow so copy it down today. That said, it's actually called Pear Pie, but I've found that when I've given this pie away as a gift, people have seen the ugly thing and thought "what did I do to deserve this? Am I going to die if I eat it?" So, I have officially changed the name to something that would suggest that, actually, this isn't a kitchen accident, it looks like this on purpose. It's not actually burnt at all. The burnt look comes from cinnamon carmelizing with sugar on the top of the pie. I can't imagine what fall would be like without this pie.

Burnt Custard Pear Pie
Makes 2 Pies

1/2 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp Nutmeg
2 tsp lemon juice
2 cups heavy whipping cream the old fashioned kind
2 frozen deep dish pie crusts (or make your own crust)
10-12 pears
Ground Cinnamon

Beginning by peeling and coring the pears and piling them into the pie crusts. Then in a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, nutmeg, lemon juice, and whipping cream. Pour over the top of the pears in the pies. Top each pie with a layer of cinnamon. This will form a thin crust when baked with the sugar and cream.
Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes or until top edges of pie crust are dark golden.
*Pie will bubble over when baking, so put pies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper while baking. You will be glad you did.

Stopping to smell the roses

2011-09-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

A while back, I made a flower pillow out of felt. This hair flower follows the same idea. To make this, I just traced 10 circles from the rim of a glass onto a piece of brown felt. I cut them out, and cut 5 of the circles in half. Then, using hot glue, I glued the half circles onto one of the full circles beginning at the outside and working in. The middle of the flower is just 2 of the circles folded in half, and then folded in half again. Glue it onto a hair clip and wear.

I always use to feel like I couldn't wear hair bows or flowers in my hair because it wasn't me for some reason. Now, although I still think that hair flowers are much cuter on my daughters than me, I've tried to wear them a little more often because they make me feel a little more young and carefree.

Welcoming Fall!

2011-09-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

Isn't Autumn such an enchanting time of year? I think I look forward all summer long to seeing the leaves change, eating harvest-ee food, wearing hoodies, and decorating for the season. Fall even has it's own smell! This fall, I've decided to put together a few blog posts about how I plan to celebrate fall. I want to share some autumn recipes, easy crafts, and fun ideas, and maybe it will help you feel a little more fallish too! So check back here every so often during the next couple of weeks and don't forget to leave me a note about how you celebrate the season.

Professor Pencil Skirt

Fall is back to school time.If you know me, you might be aware that I love thrift store shopping. (My husband calls this hoarding.) I also love refashioning to make old things new again. I made this skirt from a large men's sweater I found at the DI. If you would like to make yourself one, begin by looking for a large sweater that has a middle section large enough and long enough to fit as a skirt. Cut the sleeves and the collar off and try it on inside out. Pin the side seams at your hips and down the length of the skirt. Take the skirt off carefully to avoid skewering your self with the pins. Sew along the lines you made with the pins using a small stitch on your sewing machine. To make the waistband, measure around your waist and add 1 inch to the measurement. Then from the sleeves of the sweater, cut rectangles that are one half of your measurement x4 inches. Cut 4 rectangles. (2 for the waistband, 2 for a facing) Stitch the side seams of the waistband and facing. Then with right sides together stitch across the long edge of the waistband and facing. Then attach the waistband by sewing it to the top of your skirt. Make sense?

The best part is that this sweater skirt can do double duty as a scarf. Just ruche it up and hang it around your neck when things get chilly.

First Bites!

2011-09-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Baby Rome has entered the realm of real food! Like the girls, Rome isn't as excited about his rice cereal and applesauce as he is about drinking his milk. However, much different from the girls, Baby Rome is a chubby dubby and he will be needing the extra food to maintain his physique. These pictures, if you can believe it, are actual footage from his very first feeding! In the first picture he has donned his winnie the pooh bib and is excitedly taking his first bite, the next picture shows the "what are you doing to me?" face he made after every bite, next is the picture of why it takes so long to feed him-he spits every bite out 7 times before swallowing it, and last, a picture of Rome feeling so proud of himself that he at a whole 2 tablespoons of rice cereal! Yay!

Patriot Day

2011-09-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing 10 years ago today. Do you?

The Star Spangled Banner

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The third verse of the Star Spangled Banner is often forgotten and interestingly is left out of our hymn book. However, it does seem eerily applicable to this day, doesn't it?

World through her eyes

2011-09-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

We made the choice to try seizure medication with Dolce because she began to have seizures almost daily during the month of July. It was a very hard decision because so often anti convulsant drugs can change a person quite a bit. We didn't want to give up any part of our little girl except the seizures that were making each day such a worry. After a seizure free month, however, we're noticing something very wonderful. Dolce is different, but she's happier. She's healthier, she eats better. She's learning words. She's playing more. She's sweeter...more Dolce. We are so happy that we've finally been led to a solution that she has needed for quite a while.

Chubby cheeks

2011-09-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

Try to refrain from smooching your computer screen. It's hard. I know. I can't believe how fast this little boy is growing!

Kindergarten Baby

2011-08-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

I knew it was coming. And after 2 years of Preschool, I should feel like a veteran. But sending this little princess off to her first day of Kindergarten was a little bittersweet. She is so excited to be growing up and she has looked forward to Kindergarten ever since her first day of preschool last year when we drove by her school to see where her friend Owen would be going.
She got really excited when we went to meet her new teacher Mrs. Wood. She explored the classroom without any apprehension at all. There was a perfectly wonderful puppet show stage to be played with, you know. And her teacher, who is also a red head, said that she has a special spot in her heart for red headed kindergartners.
She's so big. She woke up this morning at 7 and came and told me that she had already eaten a quick breakfast and so she was ready to go to afternoon kindergarten. Her Aunt Sunni made these beautiful clothes for her and she has told everyone. I know she feels as cute as she looks wearing these. They are absolutely perfect. When I took her to school, she walked right in, found her spot and blew me a kiss, as if to say, "Don't worry about me Mom. I'm a Kindergartner." She's at school now. Have a perfect day Kindergarten Baby.

Changing table make over

2011-08-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

I bought this changing table from the DI awhile ago. I didn't take a before picture of it, but it was just a sad little brown changing table with sagging shelves and no one to love it. I have always wanted a changing table but couldn't ever feel good about spending so much for one, so when I saw this second hand one, I knew it was my lucky day! I painted it and made little laundry bags to go inside the totes along with a pillow case for the pad on top. I love it, and I can't believe how nice it is to change diapers on a changing table. It's a dirty job, but having a cute changing table makes it 1000 times better.

Baby Rome's blessing day!

2011-08-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

We blessed Baby Rome on July 3rd, and I've been so excited to post the pictures but we didn't have the uploader figured out yet. My Aunt Vickie made Rome his adorable fancy bib overalls and he looked so dashing all dressed up. David gave such a nice blessing for his little boy, and Rome was so calm and nice for it.
After the blessing, we had a little party for the family to come to where we had sloppy joes, chips, salads, an Italian Soda bar, and cotton candy. It was a lot of fun and Rome was in Heaven being passed from one fan to another. I don't think he ever woke up during the whole party. We love our little boy and can't believe how fast he is growing. Thanks so much to everyone for the help in planning the day, and for helping with food and for being there, (even if we just had your thoughts with us.) I forgot how much goes into these special occasions and the help was much appreciated. Isn't Rome so cute?

And we're back!

2011-08-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

There's more than one way to keep our kids quiet at our house...Actually, there's 2. I'm trying to figure out how to download pictures from our new camera. So things will be a work in progress for a week or so. I have some catching up to do.

Still Here!

2011-07-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

I'm posting from work today because our computer is messed up again. I'm such a technologically impaired person haha! But I wanted to let everyone know that we're still here and having a fun summer! We got a new camera so as soon as the computer is working again you should see some nicer pictures around here! yay! Rome is growing so fast, he's getting nice and chubby and he's still being such a little sweatheart of a baby. I think I would say that even if he was a naughty one, but he really is an easy little guy to take care of. Dolce had seizures 2 days in a row over 4th of July weekend. We are in the process of bringing her iron levels up, but it takes several weeks so hopefully things will start getting better that way as time goes on. We're trying to avoid putting her on seizure medication, at the direction of the neurologist, because she has what they call Provoked, Partial seizures. If she is put on medication for them, she will have to be on the medication for at least 2 years even if she grows out of breath holding, which is what provokes the seizures. David and I are having quite a hard time with this because we sometimes feel like we are witholding medication that she might need because we don't want her to need it. It's very tough, but in every other way, Dolce is doing really well. Mckinley is getting so excited to start kindergarten in just a few weeks! Sometimes she is actually 13 years old rather than 5. Like yesterday when she told David and I that we were "sicking her out," because we kissed. Haha! Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Dolce update

2011-06-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Dolce had Seizure number 3 on June 14th. We took her to the Dr. right after and got a referral for a neurologist at Primary Childrens. We were able to get a fast track appointment for 2 days later and made a rushed trip to Salt Lake. She had several tests done and all of her results came back normal except for her Iron level, which was a little low. Because her seizures seem to always be provoked by breath holding spells, her Iron being low may be the problem. The plan for now is to try to increase her Iron levels over the next 3 months. If she still has seizures once her Iron levels are where they should be she will have to be put on seizure medication. We're really hoping for favorable results with the iron and especially hoping for no more seizures. Dolce is doing really good, as always, and we felt like it was very helpful to meet with Dr. Fuller and Dr. Sakonju. Hopefully we've found a solution to Dollys seizure problem. Thanks everyone for the concern and love for her!

A Royal Wedding Tea Party!

2011-06-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

I have a group of girl friends that we fondly call the "ya ya girls." Each month, we get together a few times to go to dinner to celebrate birthdays, have bbqs, do craft nights, or just whatever we come up with that sounds fun. Unfortunately (well, for us it's unfortunate), Kerin is moving to Salt Lake at the end of this month and so we planned a going away dinner for her. This was a special dinner, so prior to the night of the dinner, we got together for a craft night to make "Royal wedding" hats and hairpieces for the dinner. We had so much fun and there was so much good food! I love this group of girls! We'll miss you Kerin! Good Luck and come and visit us!

3 weeks old!

2011-06-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to post more pictures of our new little boy but there seems to be a problem with our camera lens. You can see these pictures look a bit unfocused but I hope you can still see how handsome and sweet he is. He is such a good boy! So far, he has been such a calm, pleasant baby. He loves to be held and be around people. He would rather sleep in someones arms in the middle of chaos than in his bassinet in a room by himself. He becomes very alert and interested especially when he hears his mommy's voice or sees his daddy. It seems like he can sleep through just about anything his sisters are doing. He is a binky baby which I'm so glad about, and he's starting to like his baths and going on walks. His sleeping at night is pretty hit and miss. Some nights he will sleep for 4-5 hours at a time while other nights he's up more often. The good sleep nights outnumber the up all nights though, so that's something to be really happy about. We love him so much! He's such a good little angel.

Visitors!

2011-06-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to have such supportive families! We know that it isn't convenient to make such a long drive from Arizona, but we really appreciate the effort that David's parents, Shannon and Alison went to to stop in and spend some time with us on the way to and from Salt Lake. We love you guys!

Dolly warms up to Rome!

2011-06-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

While Mckinley has been an adoring sister from the start, Dolce has been a little bit put out by the fact that she HAS to have a brother, relinquishing her crown as the only baby in the universe. And when I say she's been a "little" put out, what I mean is that she has stepped on her brother, refused to sleep unless she has been rocked, insisted on going back to bottles, drank Romes formula even though she didn't like it, she's punched him in the head and sat on him, hit him with her doll...all this while we have been trying to keep him safe from her. So with that background information, you can see how priceless (and rare) the situation above is. Glad we got a picture. See Davids arm in the bottom picture? We were ready in case Rome had to have an emergency rescue. I think Rome looks a little bit like a baby monkey in the middle picture. Haha! He'll fit in just fine with the rest of us! Forgive the picture quality, our camera has something wrong with it.

Yay for Johnny!

2011-06-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

My little brother Johnny graduated from High School last month! I'm pretty late in posting the news because I've been busy with the new baby. It was so fun to see Johnny walk through the C at his graduation and I loved that he actually allowed everyone to celebrate him (just a little bit) on his special day. I can't wait to see what will come next for Johnny and what things the world has in store for him. Congratulations Johnny! We love You!

Introducing!

2011-05-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

Baby Rome is finally here!(In fact he's a whole week old now!) He's such a wonderful little thing and each day with him makes me wonder how we ever managed without him.
On Tuesday, May 17, I went in for my 38 week appointment. The previous week I had been dilated to a 3 plus but my measurements had been small and so my Doctor thought it would be better to wait for another week to see if he could grow a little more before coming out. I had a baby shower on the 14th that I was so worried I would miss and I was also working Friday and Saturday on the ambulance. (this was pretty exciting especially on Friday when we got called to a chest pain in Parowan and I started having contractions on the way. I didn't tell my partner, Marc, because I thought he would leave me on the side of the road. Haha! The patient did good, which was fortunate for both of us because I think 1 round of CPR would have done the trick for me.) Every day that week, I thought he was definitely coming but I had planned with my cousin Annie who is the best labor and delivery nurse ever that she was going to be my nurse and I wanted her to for sure be there so I worked really hard at doing nothing all week to make it to Tuesday when she'd be working.
At my 38 week appointment, I had lost 2 pounds, the measurements weren't any better and I was dilated to a 4 plus so Dr. Gatherum sent me to labor and delivery to have the baby. They had already had a busy morning at labor and delivery and they didn't have a room available for about an hour so I sat in the waiting room and waited for David to come. When the room was ready, Annie took us back and told us the plan. She did an awesome job of taking care of any nervousness I had. The plan was to start the IV and get some fluids infusing, get my epidural, have the Doctor come to break my water, use some positioning to get the baby to turn so that he wasn't a posterior delivery like the girls were, then have the baby.
While the IV fluid was infusing, Dr. Gatherum called to ask Annie if she wanted him to come and break my water. She told him he was not allowed to do anything until I got the epidural because she thought I was going to progress fast. Thanks Annie! As soon as I had my epidural placed, Dr. Gatherum came in and broke my water. We never had to start pitocin or augment my labor at all because 10 minutes later, I had dilated to a 7. Annie had me lay sort of on my side leaning on my stomach to get Rome to turn, which he did without any problem in about 45 minutes.
Annie kept asking me if I felt like I needed to push. It seems like my epidural was pretty strong because I never felt that sensation this time and had to be told when to start pushing. I probably pushed for like 5 minutes or less before he was out and in our arms. The entire labor and delivery lasted about an hour and a half. It was so much fun to see him for the first time and to see his red fuzzy hair! He was 6pounds 15.8 oz so they round up to 7 lbs, and 19 inches long, which makes him shorter and fatter than his sisters were at birth. He was grunting a lot after he was born which raised some concern that he was having some breathing distress. He kept it up for several hours and everyone was saying that he was just singing. After unbundling him during a feeding, he stopped grunting and went right to sleep.
The girlies came to meet him not long after he was born and Mckinley was so sweet with him and excited that he was here. In the pictures above, she was singing songs to him. It was so cute. She asked the Doctor when we could feed him "some mashy baby food." Dolce was interested in her brother but had a less gentle approach and so her love had to be more restricted. She climbed into his hospital bassinet and layed down and has since been reminding us that she is still our baby too.
The days events weren't finished yet however. A couple of months before, Annie had asked us to participate in training for a code pink, or stolen baby at the hospital. So, after the pediatrician had been in to check Rome and make sure he was doing good, my cousin Lizzy came for a visit. We carefully placed Rome into a backpack and then Lizzy snuck him out of the hospital. The training seemed to go well, and the staff members acted appropriately and hopefully were able to practice the necessary steps that would need to be taken in a real code pink.
We are having so much fun with our new little boy. I think it's safe to say that boys are just as much fun as girls. We love our Baby Rome so much. We can't believe we are so lucky!

Thanks So Much!

2011-05-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

These beautiful girls threw the most wonderful baby shower for me a few days ago! Everything was so perfect! It was a blue elephant theme and brunch was served and games were played. The food was so good and fresh and I felt so lucky to have this support group of women who were there to show me that they already love my baby boy.
These aren't easy times for anyone that I know. And all during this pregnancy, it has really been a strength to me when friends and family have let me know in one way or another that they have been thinking about me and our family. Whether it has been through phone calls, messages, meals, treats left at the door or just your friendship. I have received quite a few gifts during this time that will always be special to me because they have been made with loving hands. Thank you so much! As I thought of these gifts and looked around the room at each person at the baby shower, it occurred to me that all of these ladies had made a sacrifice for me and my baby and I feel so grateful. None of these sacrifices have come with any expectation of repayment. How could I? I truly have been showered with love. Thank you all so much! Special thanks to Brooke, Kerin, and Michelle for providing the shower to help me realize how lucky I am!

Amelia Bedelia would be so proud!

2011-05-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite books from around the 2nd grade era were the books about Amelia Bedelia. Everything she did was so ridiculous and funny, and amazingly, no matter how much of a mess she got herself into, everything magically worked out for her. She was also a wonderful cook, and could always patch things up with just about anyone or anything with her culinary treats.
Almost every year around Easter, I have memories of going on a picnic. It's always fun to pick a fun location and pack the food. My Mother has always tried to bring something homemade for the picnic and this reminds me of Amelia Bedelia because in one of her books, she pulls a lemon meringue pie out of a picnic basket while camping. Haha!
This year, Mckinley was so excited for us to go on a picnic, but the weather has been so cold that I thought the right day would never come. It caught us off guard when it did. I made some tuna fish sandwiches, we mixed up kool aid, and brought some cookies and chips to the park. We ate on a blanket and enjoyed the day and the sunshine.
I made these folding picnic placemats for Easter, and really like how they turned out. You can pack all your utensils and a plate and roll it up into a cute little bundle. There is even a little slot for a napkin and a straw. Amelia Bedelia, these are for you.

Thinking Blue Thoughts

2011-05-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

If it's possible for 9 months to sneak up on anyone, I'd say it definitely has on me. I can't believe it's almost time for our little boy to come! I'm so excited. I still need to pack a hospital bag but... At the back of my mind for the whole pregnancy have been little flickers of thought about this new little person that I'll get to meet soon. I wonder all the time what he will be like, his temperament and personality, will he have red hair like his dad(or no hair, like the girls) I can't wait to see him for the first time after we have been together already for 9 months. It feels like this will be almost like having my first baby because he is a boy and I've been thinking about how different boys are from girls. Today as I'm at work away from everything at home, I'm taking the time to bring some of these little thoughts forward. I love him already. Come soon, Little Boy!

Easter Parade!

2011-05-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm posting this late. Happy Easter! I have been wanting to post pictures of these cute little princesses wearing their Easter bests. However, on Easter Sunday, Dolce woke up with the throw up flu...again! And so she stayed home from church that day and didn't get to wear her new dress. Then, last Friday, she had another seizure and we were worried about tiring her out too much and so I still don't have a picture of my beautiful Easter girls in their dresses. I loved the cheeriness of yellow for both dresses this year, and after watching the royal wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate, I think it was a lovely choice. If yellow is good enough for the Queen of England, it should be perfect for my little Angels too! Haha! I am at the end of my pregnancy, and wanted a cute skirt to wear on Easter Sunday. I knew just the one I wanted and was so excited. But then when I tried on the cute skirt, I felt so ugly and huge, that I decided against buying it, and opted to make this one instead. We also had an Easter Egg hunt and the girls loved finding all the little surprises. Dolce was so funny, eating as she went from treat to treat. We love this tradition. There will still be some pictures coming of Dolce wearing her pretty Easter Dress. She's been a sick girl and we haven't had her outside much after her seizure, but things are warming up and she is finally beginning to get better and put on some much needed weight. We will keep you posted.

April!

2011-04-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

Winter seems to be losing the battle. Isn't April an interesting and changing month? I read in a new book I received for my birthday that April's Theme is resurrection and the reminders for us are everywhere this month as the world reawakens from winters sleep. I plan to take a little walk outside every day this month in hopes of keeping this idea in mind. Every day of April is different. Yesterday it was so warm, we should have been wearing sunscreen and today it has been raining and overcast all day. But, the world is awakening, and winter is losing. What beautiful reminders.

Mullet Piggies!

2011-04-06T17:10:00.001-07:00

On General Conference Sunday we had such a lazy, but fulfilling day. When the broadcasts were over, Mckinley fixed my hair. (And told me that Daddy wouldn't marry me if my hair wasn't fixed. Ha! Too Late!) And I put Dolces hair into pigtails. Her hair is longer in the back than on top and so when we showed Daddy, he said they were Mullet Piggies. We laughed and of course couldn't resist snapping a picture. She's onto the game now though and she is not falling for getting her hair fixed without a fight anytime soon, so we have to be content with her lovely hair that has a strong resemblance to velcro in the morning. We love these little girls!

A chef in the making

2011-04-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

After a long break from the movie Ratatouille, Kinley watched it one day and her need to create was given a new venue. She watched it several times in one day and after she had had her fill, she turned it off and told me two things:
1) That's it's really OK to have Rats in your house. (Which I adamantly disagreed with.) and
2) That she is a chef and was going to make some things.
Since that day, she has made breakfast in bed for David and me several times. The first time was such a surprise. She had mixed 2 different types of cereal together, and had clearly stirred it to perfection, and brought it to us on a serving tray that we have no idea how she got a hold of because it was in a very high cupboard. She said she didn't know how to pour the milk, so she gave it to us dry. It was very delicious, nonetheless, and she was so proud as we were eating it. The moment was short lived, however, when we heard the little sister waking up and Kinley frantically ran downstairs to put Dolces breakfast together. She came back with a roll she had found and Dolce very happily snarfed it up. The sweetest part was that Mckinley had completely forgotten to make anything for herself. When I asked her what she was going to have for breakfast, she smiled shyly and said, "I'll just have some of yours, Mommy."
The discoveries continued in the playroom when Mckinley began making 5 star dishes out of socks from the sock matching box. She was absolutely thrilled when her Daddy stuffed an entire sock into his mouth and told her how yummy it was.
As I've been reading a book called Simple Abundance, one recommendation has been to implement a weekly soup night throughout the winter. The idea is to enjoy the entire process of making different comforting soups. I must say that with my little girls help, I have enjoyed this cooking ritual so much. I have paid closer attention to the bright colors of vegetables, the smells as the flavors blend together, even the warmth of standing by the stove cooking, when the weather outside has been so chilly. Our next venture for the month of April is going to be implementing a bread making day once a week together. Banana bread first!

Shorty

2011-03-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

At 16 months old, she's caught on to the fact that she's not extremely tall. But she hasn't let that get her down. She's just come up with a solution. Pushing furniture to the location she wants it to be and climbing on top of it. This gives her full and complete access to countertops, sinks, cupboards, you name it. I'm not kidding when I say that she's been caught swinging from a chandelier. Babyproofing has literally risen to higher levels. For now, if you put something on top of the fridge, it should be safe...but anywhere else is a gamble. She has a few trusty stepping stones. Kitchen chairs with felt on the bottom of the legs are pretty easy to move on wood floors. Her sisters folding chairs can go just about anywhere. And my personal favorite: a very old makeup case. When she gets this going, you better get out of the way because she'll take your leg off with it.
Babyproofing. I guess we'll have to try harder. She'd love a challenge.

Family night Puppy Adoption

2011-03-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

After our week of being sick, we were all getting pretty bored being cooped up in the house. I had read about an idea for a little boys birthday party that involved doing a puppy adoption and thought it would be a lot of fun for a family night. So we set up a "Pet Shop" with little toy puppies that Grandma H sent for a birthday surprise. We each picked a puppy to adopt.(Don't worry, the extra puppies had families coming just a few minutes later, so no puppies got left out.) Then, we put a collar and a dog tag on our puppy.(we made them out of felt.) And we signed very official adoption documents. We even had them notarized with a valentine stamp. Then we had a picture taken with our new puppies and were off to the supply shop for puppy supplies.
At the supply shop, we used the very handy shopping cart and basket to shop for puppy chow (cereal in a plastic bag and canned food with the wrapper peeled off.) a puppy blanket, scooby snacks and a puppy dish. The supply shop was very expensive and the totals amounted to about 800.00 for everything but luckily we had membership credit cards from Costa Vida and a lot of pennies.
Next, we were off to the vet for the puppies to have a check up and shots. Kinley was very distressed that her puppy was going to have to have shots. She almost cried but then she became a very helpful veterinary assistant and gave all the other puppies their shots. The puppies also had their temperature taken and their ears cleaned with Qtips at the vet. The vet then gave each puppy a little container of puppy vitamins that looked suspiciously like conversation hearts. (Thanks Jj and Valeena!)
Off to the groomer next to get all scrubbed and brushed and combed. These puppies have already been very loved and so they did get a very real Lysol wipe down before they got to leave with their owners. They also were blow dried and had their nails clipped which they were all very nice for.
Last but not least, we made puppy homes out of boxes by putting the puppy blankets and dog dishes inside. After working so hard loving the little puppies, hot dogs for dinner were a must.

Play More! When was the last time you ate snow?

2011-03-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

I have been slow to post because my little family has been sick. All. Week. Long. During this sick week, we stayed inside, had several soup nights including a homemade chicken noodle soup night, and on one of the days there was a big storm that brought a ton of snow. We all wanted to go out and play in it, but instead, I was reminded of the snow cone kits I gave to my neighbors this year for Christmas. We had a lot of fun making these kits and they were very budget friendly too. We began by making the snow cone syrup. We followed this very easy recipe:

Snow Cone Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 packet of unsweetened Kool-aid mix

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Pour into a water bottle or snow cone dispenser bottle.Pour over fresh packed snow for snowcones. (only use fresh, clean snow.)

While the snow cone syrup was cooling, we decorated our snow cone cups. These were just clear plastic cups that we decorated with scrapbook paper. We also clipped colored straws to fit better into the cups. Then we sent Daddy out to make perfectly rounded packed snow cones from the snow outside. We poured the topping on (And drizzled some cream on top to mimic snowasis snowcones.) and we all felt magically better for the rest of the day.

Play More!

2011-02-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

I read on a very cute girls blog a new years resolution to play more with her kids. She has been making a special effort to do something fun and youthful each week with them. I loved this idea so much because I sometimes tend to be the kind of parent that thinks that what I think is fun should automatically be fun for my girls. Not always the case. So, it has been very fun to talk to Mckinley and watch Dolce to try to uncover what they think would be fun to do. One day, we went on a Doll walk with Dolls in strollers.(My doll was better.) Another day Mckinley told me that she wanted to make a "bunny house." Isn't it funny how we forget how easy it is to have fun? I can't wait to see what my little girls will come up with next.

My Valentine dress!

2011-02-16T17:20:00.000-08:00

I know it's a bit late to be posting a Valentine dress picture. We got some upsetting news on Valentines day and I haven't felt motivated to post my dress pictures. But, here it is. I finished it in time to wear it to church on Sunday and I felt so handy to have made my own dress. I'm happy that it is a wrap dress. I'll be able to wear it throughout my pregnancy and also after. It was pretty challenging, there was a bit of unpicking required, but I'm happy with the result.

Back to Normal

2011-02-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

In case any of you are still concerned that Dolce isn't back to her usual self after her seizure, perhaps this picture will set your mind at ease. (or concern you more? haha! She actually gets the rocking chair rocking before she does this. YIKES!) Sorry, the picture is a bit blurry.

Seizure

2011-02-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

Although, I usually try to post positive things on my blog, I realize that a lot of our friends and family check on us through our blog and I wanted to reassure everyone that Dolce is doing just fine after her seizure. Thank you to everyone for your concern and kindness. We have felt a lot of love and care in the past few days.
This past Sunday while we were at church, David had taken Dolce out and after a few minutes, she was wanting to come back in and David stood in her way. She got really upset and layed down on the floor and the next thing David noticed was that her eyes had rolled back into her head, she was shaking and turning blue, she was having some weird breathing patterns, and her jaw was moving up and down like she was chewing something. David came and got me and I sent him down the street to get our car to take her to the hospital. By the time he got back, about 5 minutes later, she was still seizing and didn't stop until we were in the car. During the car ride she seemed to be in a postictal state and was unresponsive, although she was breathing.
At the Emergency room, an IV was started and Dolce was given Ativan while the Doctors and Nurses began their seizure protocol. This involved a lot of tests, beginning with a temperature check. Because febrile seizures are quite common and harmless in babies, it would have been good news to see a fever after a seizure. Dolce didn't have a fever so other tests had to be done including a chest x-ray and CT scan, blood and urine tests, and a lumbar puncture and culture. Dolce was also given Rocephen in case this could have been caused by Meningitis,( the Lumbar culture takes 72 hours,which would be a long time to let Meningitis go if it was present.)
Each of the tests came back normal, which felt very frightening because they weren't able to find the cause of the seizure. She was admitted to the hospital for more observation and our hope was to be able to have an MRI done that day. However, we found that Valley View doesn't do MRI's for babies under 3 years old and that we would have to go to ST. George to have it done and that it would be unlikely to be able to schedule it sooner than 2 weeks away. This was also the case with an EEG. (These tests most likely wont be recommended unless she has another seizure.)
We are home now, still without any diagnoses for what exactly happened. This has been very scary for us and we are watching her very closely at home. The good news is that she is acting very normally and has returned to her usual self. We're hoping to keep things pretty calm in our house for a while in case this may have been some sort of stimulus overload for her. She's also taking an antibiotic that will hopefully eliminate any sickness she might be fighting. (although her blood work didn't show any sign of infection.)
Thank you to everyone! We appreciate every prayer and gift of support that you have given. She's doing fine, and recovering back to the happy girl she is.

Another January craft!

2011-01-31T20:27:00.001-08:00

I have been keeping busy staying in this month. When it's cold outside, there's nothing better than enjoying being snowed in. We had a deep freeze a few days ago, and man, was it freezing cold. So, the girls and I stayed inside (while David braved the arctic to go to school) and I made this warm hand muff. I got this cute new coat for Christmas and have been trying to think of some ways to accessorize it. I have been loving the beautiful scarves I've been seeing, but I didn't want to cover up the cute ruffle already up the middle of the coat.
I had seen a pattern tutorial for this muff on Grosgrain, but when I tried to print it, I couldn't get it to work. I really wanted to make it and so I made it without a pattern and surprisingly, it turned out quite cute I think. I'm trying to create a wardrobe item each month.(Especially because being pregnant, I don't feel like anything fits right or looks cute.) Next up, a valentine dress!

10 things we are loving about Dolce right now!

2011-01-31T20:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how much Dolce is growing and changing in these past few weeks. I want to hold on to all the little details that make her and it seems like they change every few days. Here are 10 things that we can't get enough of lately.

1) She loves being held to read stories, or look at things, or just because. When she decides it's time for you to hold her she stands right in front of you and backs up until she's either sitting on you or you pick her up. It's so cute. She even does it with her sister.

2) She loves shoes. She wont leave her own shoes on but any time she sees a shoe around the house, she has to try it on.

3) She has learned to say "no," and shake her head or nod. She also knows the appropriate times for using these new tricks. Her "no" is usually very dramatic and at least three seconds long, often followed by laying on the floor crying.

4) She knows how to wave "good bye."

5) She's very curious and full of mischief. I am in constant amazement at the messes she can make in no time at all.

6) She climbs on everything right now. Her favorite roost is sitting on top of the kitchen table.

7) She loves doing everything her sister is doing. They play very cute together. I'm so glad.

8) She has the best smile, especially in the morning and when she has a messy diaper. She thinks it is so funny.

9) When I tell her it's time to go somewhere, (aka getting Mckinley to pre school in the morning.) she climbs into her rocking chair and holds her feet out to have shoes put on.

10) She points at things that she wants. She has such a sweet tooth that usually what she wants is a treat and you can't fool her on where the treats are hiding.

Stay little, princess, for a little longer. We love her!

Wall haberdashery and a felt pillow!

2011-01-22T15:22:00.001-08:00

I love it when things that I see turn out the way I thought they would! This is so often not the case for me. I usually have a completely different vision from what I end up with. However, these projects turned out just as I hoped and I'm excited to display them in my house.

You could make this big wall mirror for less than 10 dollars! This is one of those cheap over the door mirrors that you can buy at Wal mart for $6.50. The embellishment is paper that came from a mass market paperback. You know, any book you aren't every going to read again.(Don't look too closely, the F word could be on some of those pages. So much better cut up and made pretty...)
My over the door mirror was falling apart a bit so I thought this would be a good way to re vamp it. I used some pinking shears to cut the edges of the paper and then wrapped the paper around the eraser end of a pencil to make it bunch together. Then hot glued the paper to the mirror. It was done in a couple of hours. Then I hung it on some grosgrain ribbon and put it up on the wall.

This felt pillow was just as easy, and actually cheaper. You can make this with 1/2 yard of felt. Cut two squares of felt 16''x16". Sew around the edges of the pillow leaving an opening to stuff it through. Turn right side out.Then for the petals trace around the rim of a large glass, a regular size canning ring, and a baby bottle top.(You can adjust your sizes to your own liking.) Then cut out 15 circles of each size and cut them in half. Starting at the outer edge with your large half circles, hot glue each petal in place. Layer the petals how you'd like them to be and when you get to the center, cut out 6 circles of your largest size. glue one flat in the center. Then fold the others in half then in half again and hot glue. Stuff the pillow and stitch the opening closed and you're done!

How to make a shoe new!

2011-01-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

I have been seeing some very cute shoe clips online. These ones I made out of felt for probably less than a dollar. If you want to make your own, just trace a pringles can, the bottom of a bottled water bottle and a lid from a water bottle in the colors of your choice. Cut out and make slits one inch apart into almost the center of the circle with the two largest circles. Then glue them all together and attach to an alligator clip. Easy as pie.

Hello 2011

2011-01-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

It's a bit late to be posting New Years resolutions, but it seems that this month has already caught me off guard! (And I think that 1/11/11 is a pretty good day to get things back in order, don't you?)
So, as we have done for a few years, we kept our tradition of having a New Years Resolution breakfast where we make a big stack of pancakes for everyone and plan our year. We also write down several fun things we would like to do as a family and draw out 4 of them.
As I have been browsing through and reading others resolutions, I've been very impressed with how motivated some of the people I look up to are.(If you notice that I've copied your resolution, please accept the compliment that I want to become a little more like you this year!)
Cheers to a new year with a whole world of "brand new!"

1)Pay off David's eye surgery.
2) Pay off Zion credit Card.
3) Go to the temple 4 times this year. (Our attendance was really down last year. NO good excuses.)
4)Finish the Book of Mormon.
5)Decorate 1 room each month without breaking the bank.
6) 1 sewing project/ craft project completed each month.
7) Exercise once a week. (This is an alteration from last year when I was going to exercise 3 times a week, which I did for the first week and then never again. Hahaha)
8) Healthier cooking by making better use of a really good weight watchers cookbook I have.
9) Fun Family event once a month. We started doing this last year and have had so much fun planning fun family outings.
10)Read one book per month. (Continue nightly reading with Mckinley, and Dolce when she's ready.)
11) Daily face washing. (Working night shifts is sometimes really hard on my skin. I need to be better about it.)

2011 Fun Things!
1)Sledding followed by hot cocoa and warm soup.
2)Go to the New Aquatic Center for a day.
3) Picnic at Sand Hollow.
4) Make an outdoor Pizza Oven and have a Pizza Party.

Lots to do! I love new beginnings!

2010 award Ceremony!

2010-12-31T17:47:00.000-08:00

I saw a cute idea for an awards ceremony on another blog, so stay tuned for this years Bests!

Best Vacation: VEYO! Best Night under the Stars:

Best Day at the Park: Discovery Park. Mckinley took this picture. Best Arm Breaker:
Best Muscles: Best Hiker: Best Anniversary: 5 years!!! Best Baby: Best Buddies:
Best Hair: David Parted and slicked his hair down for a white elephant Christmas party. Hot!!
Best Christmas lights: Yes, there are reindeer atop the stable. That's not our house.
Best kept secret: We are 19 weeks along with a baby boy!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

2010-12-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope your Holidays have been as wonderful as ours!

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. It's funny to me when people ask if we went somewhere else for Christmas or "Just stayed home." There is no just staying home for me. I think it's the perfect place to be for Christmas.
On Christmas Eve we went to the traditional family party at my Aunt Vickies for the first couple of hours of the evening. Then we went to my Grandma and Grandpa Jackson's for the annual Christmas dinner party. It was fun to see so many of my cousins and family members on both sides for Christmas. My Grandparents always have a story and a gift for all the grandkids, and we all got spoiled. McKinley got some lip gloss and treats, such a fun gift for a 5 year old makeup diva. And Dolce received her favorite gift from Christmas, a soft baby alive doll that makes little noises and sucks a bottle that's hooked to it's hand. She will not share this toy. Not even with Mommy.
Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's to read the Gift of the Magi, followed by opening up jammies at home. (we forgot to put out cookies for Santa this time. Hopefully he wont remember for next year and bring us all a lump of coal.) The girls were very ready for bed after all this wildness and so we put them to bed, with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads.

We woke up to David's beautiful Christmas song singing of Silent Night at 6 am. It was the kind of singing that made you wish it was a little more of a silent night...haha. Just kidding.I really don't know what got into him. He was the first one up and seemed most excited to go downstairs to see if Santa had really come. Christmas morning was very different this year. I don't remember ever having a White Christmas because of fog, but that's what we saw outside. Rudolph must have been earning his keep in the night because there was thick wispy fog everywhere. I took a picture of our house in the fog to remember this "no snow" year.
Mckinley was so excited to see her surprises and Dolce went right to the shopping cart play food, and was pretty much uninterested in anything but that one thing. (We could have made her happy by spending just 5 dollars, rather than spoiling the heck out of her. Funny how almost all kids begin that way and we try to "fix" them by making them want so much more than the few little things they really want.) The other unexpected big hit that both my girls loved was their own cute little water bottles that I found at old navy on clearance for 2 dollars each. They both wanted water in them right away.
Mckinley was very consistent every time she saw Santa Clause with asking him very politely for a baby doll that bounces up and down. (One time visiting Santa at one of my work parties, Mckinley made sure that Santa knew that Dolce was not "a really bad girl, just kind of naughty" and that she needed some toys too, because Dolce wouldn't sit on Santa's lap.)
So she got her baby that bounces up and down, and she was so protective and caring of her.
After unwrapping everything, we went over to my parent's to see if Santa had made it to their house too. There was a lot of unwrapping to do there also, and as usual, everyone was spoiled with several surprises.

My Grandma and Grandpa Riddle have a Christmas morning breakfast each year and so we made our way over there to see everyone and have breakfast.
After having so many dreams come true, it was time for a nap....Except for Mckinley. She couldn't possibly take a nap with so many fun new treasures to play with and so many new clothes to try on. She stayed up until after I went to work that evening at 6 and finally crashed in Dolce's car seat with her head on her pillow pet. Perfectly happy.
Merry Christmas!

A perfectly Princess Day

2010-12-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Mckinley's 5 year old birthday last week. I cannot believe that we have a 5 year old! Where has the time gone? We started out the morning wishing her a happy birthday by singing to her. Sitting in bed, she could not stop laughing while we were singing. She had been waiting for her birthday for so long (and maybe the singing was pretty hilarious too?) She got ready for preschool and when it's your birthday at preschool, you get to be the special helper the whole day! The last time it was Mckinley's turn to be the special helper she was so excited she had trouble sleeping the night before, so I can only imagine how wonderful this made her special day. She also took treats for her classmates. Remember those days?
When she came home from school, we were getting everything ready for her birthday party later in the day. For several weeks, she has been planning how her party would be. She wanted to have all of her friends wear dress ups and have a royal princess tea party. So we decorated, set out teacups and little plates, made pink cupcakes, served pink milk in lieu of tea, Ice cream with sprinkles and opened presents. All of our special guests were absolute princesses and made Mckinleys day so wonderful. Thank you little ladies of the court for coming! And thank you everyone for the sweet gifts! This little 5 year old has been in heaven the past few days with all the new surprises! (our only regret was that the camera ran out of batteries before we could get pictures of all the little girls outfits.)

Storybook Cavalcade Parade

2010-12-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

Every year, to kick off the Christmas season there is a Storybook Cavalcade Parade in Cedar. It's a lot of fun and the floats and characters are so colorful and fun. Dolce went with her Daddy and Mckinley wanted to go with Grandpa. (I had to work and so I didn't get to go) I told David to take a lot of pictures so that I would feel like I was there. All of Mckinley's favorite princesses were there and Dolce's favorite character Pooh bear also made it. Both of the girls were so excited for this and were little ice cubes when they got home. Definately worth it though.

Christmas movie night!

2010-12-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

We have a fun month of family nights planned for December and we had our first one on Monday. We did a movie night and watched "THE Christmas movie." This is a home recorded compilation of several Christmas Greats including: Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch, Emmet Otters Jugband Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Haha, it even includes the commercials and some news reports from the 80s that came on during the TV airing of the shows. No movie night would be complete without a treat of some sort, so of course we served peppermint Ice Cream with Hot Fudge. I'm sorry I have no pictures of the event, but stay tuned for pictures of an adorable new five year olds birthday party!

Counting Down

2010-12-02T17:46:00.001-08:00

We have one very excited for Christmas girl.(and another one that wonders what all this craziness is about.) Get ready! 23 days to go!

Journey to the NORTH POLE!

2010-12-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, we packed up some leftover turkey sandwiches and set out for a trip to the North Pole! Mckinley, like always was so excited that she was sitting in her spot in the car at least an hour before we were ready to go, but we finally got everything packed and began the 3 hour drive to the North Pole. (You didn't know it was so close did you?....Oh yes, not much trouble at all for Santa to be checking twice when you only live 3 and a half hours away from the North Pole. My girls should be very worried.)

On the way, we saw tall, snow capped mountains, frozen waterfalls, rivers and we drove through a tunnel! When we got almost to the top of the mountain, aka Heber, Utah...cold enough to play the part of the North Pole, we checked in to our hotel. (What? Hotels at the North Pole? No no no, you have to take a train, or a reindeer, the rest of the way.)

As soon as we got to our hotel, we brought our things in and Mckinley kept saying, "this is so much cool!!!" Dolce made herself right at home by promptly throwing Pooh bear and her Lovee in the garbage. We ate our turkey sandwiches and then went for a swim in the pool that was very reminiscent of glacial North Pole water and probably had ice chunks floating in it. Mckinley even swam with her broken arm held up out of the water.

Then we all took hot baths and showers and got dressed in our jammies for the magical train ride to the North Pole. On the train we got hot chocolate and Mrs. Clauses cookies brought around by Mrs. Clause herself. We had to pick up Santa at the North Pole so that the kids could let him know what they were wishing for for Christmas. Mckinley has consistently said that she wants a baby that jumps up and down. However, she surprized all of us by telling Santa that she wants a wagon. Dolce was very fascinated with the lights on the train, and the hot chocolate.

When we made it back to our hotel, we were quite amazed to see that Santa had already been there. He had left a little gift for the girls on their beds. They opened them to find slippers to keep their little piggies warm!

Then we read some Christmas stories. We always read the story about Jake and the Christmas Orange. David always gets the job of peeling the oranges and he has to get faster at it everytime we have another baby so that everyone but him can have an orange. Then we all practice feeling charitable and make him a Christmas Orange. Like Jake in the story. (If you notice the picture of Dolce eating her orange, she looks like she was in a very charitable mood.)

The next morning, we ate breakfast in the hotel and then drove down into Salt Lake. We met up with Sunni and Shawn for lunch and catching up. Mckinley would not let Sunni get very far out of her sight. She insisted on sitting by her and had so many things to tell her, including that she and Sunni have the same color of hair! If you compare, you can see it's true. She has the same color as Sunni. David's is quite a bit darker.

That evening, we went to Bonsai for dinner which is just like Benihana. We love watching the chefs prepare the food and it was so fun to see the kids response to it. Not one to let any opportunity pass her by, Mckinley even tried to catch some shrimp in her mouth. She jumped out of her chair and ate it off the floor when she didn't catch it.

Then we spent the rest of the evening at Temple Square enjoying the lights and company of friends.

What a fun trip!

Thanksgiving at the Kid Table.

2010-12-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my Grandma and Grandpa Riddle's house this year. I got to go over the day before and watch my Grandma make her famous, (at least famous to us) butterscotch pie. The next day, Mckinley was so excited to wake up and watch the Macy's parade that she was up at 6:30.(She may have thought we were actually going to a parade...) I made mashed potatoes for the occasion. Everything was so yummy and very traditional. I sat
at the kid table so I could help Dolce eat. She felt like such a big girl sitting on a big girl stool. (She was, in fact, tied in place with a dish towel. But that didn't make her feel any less mature.) Mckinley was so excited because she got to stay after dinner with my Grandma and play.

It was a very Happy, Yummy, Thanksgiving.

Broken Dishwasher?

2010-12-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

No, we don't have a broken dishwasher. But how are we supposed to use it for what it's for, when it's so much fun to do this with? Haha! We love this crazy lady!

What's That, What's That, What's That?

2010-12-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

Dolce was too little to remember the last time when she saw snow. So the first snow of this winter season Dolce woke up very early and was in awe of all of the white mystery stuff outside. She kept pointing out the window saying the only words she know how to say, "what's that, What's that, What's that?" (When she says it, it sounds more like "what's at, what's at?") When we took her sister to preschool, she couldn't wait to touch it and taste it. It was definately not what she was expecting and she cried when her little fat hand got cold. Just one of many discoveries that comprise every day, of a 1 year olds life.

Happy Birthday Dolly!

2010-11-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

Dolly had her one year old birthday today! I can't believe that it's already been a year with this little angel. She has developed such a personality. At one year old:
She walks all over the place. She's still very bowlegged and pigeon toed, but that doesn't stop her.
She gets in to everything she can. We have had to put child locks on cupboards to keep her from pulling everything out.
She loves bath time. I can hardly get her to sit down in the bath tub. She is always standing up playing with the toys.
She's still very attached to her mommy.
She has a very big smile, with 5 teeth.
She wont sit in her stroller very long. She wants to be held by mommy.
She hates her high chair and wants to be fed while mommy holds her.
She dances whenever she hears music. She bounces up and down.
She has a favorite winnie the pooh stuffed animal that she loves. Any toy her sister is currently playing with is also her favorite. Mckinley is learning a lot about sharing.
She still wakes up at least once and usually twice at night. But she goes to bed right at 9pm.
Most days, she just takes one nap.
She is a very picky eater. She spits things out if they aren't the perfect temperature or what she is expecting.
She knows that her Daddy is wrapped around her finger and she always smiles so big for him. Most men she is very shy with, but not her Daddy.
She likes to sleep with her "lovee" which is a pair of silky pajama pants that at one point belonged to me, but have since been commandeered by her.
She loves playing with Mckinley. She waits very anxiously in the mornings for her sister to wake up and play with her. They chase each other around the house all day long, making me crazy!
She loves to have stories read to her. She spends a lot of time looking at books on her own too.
She has such a feisty personality. She makes the most fearsome noises at us sometimes.
She can go up stairs, but coming down is a bit frightening as she thinks she can just take a step down without looking. So we have to barricade the stairs.

We love her so much! What a wonderful year we have had with this baby girl. I can't believe it has gone by so fast!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Halloween even though Mckinley had a hurt arm. We started the night out with a sloppy joe and home made root beer at my parents house of horror. My mom always has the most haunted house in the neighborhood, complete with spooky music and dry ice fog.
Mckinley went with my dad to the ward Halloween party next. After she got back, we took the girls trick or treating around the neighborhood. We also made a few family visits. Dolce had no idea what to think about all of this craziness. The picture at the top really about sums up what she was thinking the whole night.
David and I finished off the night by watching a scary movie snuggled up on the couch. I love Halloween. Hope it was a great night for everyone!

You guessed it!!

2010-11-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

I guess that the third time is the charm when it comes to broken arms. After waiting overnight to find out about Mckinley's hurt arm, we got a call the next day telling us that the radiology Dr. did think there was a break somewhere near her elbow joint. Unfortunately, it was Friday and we couldn't get into the Orthopedic Dr. until Monday evening and so poor Mckinley was in quite a bit of pain for a lot of the weekend. (Halloween weekend even!)
When we did have her appointment with Dr. Delcore, he wasn't fully convinced that she had a fracture because they never were able to see it on the x-ray. I just kept hoping that it would just be a bad bruise or something, but after checking her arm out very carefully, he found that she had broken the bottom part of her Humerus. He also told me that 19 out of 20 times they have to place a pin in the bone because gravity pulls the injured part of the bone into the elbow joint. However, he said that we might be the lucky 1 out of 20 because hers was looking very stable, so please cross your fingers for us. She has to have it checked again in a couple of weeks to make sure we don't have to have a pin put in.
She now has a bright pink cast, and she is feeling so much better with it stabilized. She's just about back to her normal self.

It turns out that Butterflies don't really fly

2010-10-28T19:15:00.003-07:00

Today after Mckinley's Halloween party at preschool, Mckinley didn't want to come in the house at all. She spent most of the day out playing in her new castle that Grandpa made her out of a washer box, and flying off of things...you know, the way a butterfly does. Well, at some point she decided she could fly off of her toy car and fell on the ground on her arm. She came running up to the house crying that she had broken her arm. After looking it over and I must confess, a bit of yelling at her, (my sympathy stores are a little low after she has already had 2 broken arms at 4 years old.) we gave her some Tylenol and took her to the instacare. She fell asleep while we were waiting for her to get x-rays and while she was having the x-rays taken, she was in so much pain that I was sure it must be broken. However, the Dr. wasn't able to see an obvious break, but because the pain is in her elbow, sometimes fractures can be hard to see. So the Dr. sent the x-rays to a radiologist and we wont know until tomorrow if it's broken or not. Until then, this little butterfly has a broken wing:(

Mckinley's preschool Halloween party

2010-10-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Mckinley had a Halloween party at preschool today. She has been so excited about it and when we woke her up this morning to tell her that she could put her costume on, she just smiled really big and closed her eyes and fell back asleep. She dressed up as a butterfly and everything had to be just the way she wanted it. This is what we ended up with. We were a little late getting her to school, and as soon as she walked in, all the other kids were so excited to see her and her costume. Preschoolers are so cute. She had so much fun. We got a picture of all the kids coming out after their party, and as soon as she saw that her dad was taking a picture she stopped and held up her treat bag. How did she know we wanted a picture of her treat bag? haha!

Halloween Fun!

2010-10-28T18:39:00.001-07:00

We have had a fun filled month getting ready for Halloween. Now that it's almost here I have decided to post a few of the things we have done.
We made this Halloween gingerbread house for a family home evening. There is even a pumpkin patch with worms and a few rows of corn in it. (a lot more productive than my garden this year.)

We also went to the Staheli farm corn maze in St. George. We had so much fun last year that we couldn't wait to go again this year. We weren't disappointed. It was just as much fun as last year, and there were even some new attractions this year like a redneck trampoline which was a bunch of mattresses piled really high and lined with hay bales, and pig races. We got lost in the maze and it was very "corny" but oh so much fun too. haha! Mckinley could not wait to get done with the corn maze because she wanted to go back to the farm and get a popcorn ball. (that was her favorite part about last year.) My favorite part this time was a tie between the pig races where my favorite pig kept winning, and being goosed in the corn maze whenever my husband could get away with it. Quite a toss up.

Cute Pictures!

2010-10-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

These were some pictures we took quite a while ago and I am just now getting around to posting them. Don't I have a cute family? We were looking at leaves up the canyon and I was so happy that I remembered the camera to get these cute pictures.
Totally not related, but today we went to the SUU Homecoming parade and one of the sexy SUU dancers kept winking at David while they were dancing. He got so self conscious, he hid his face and turned bright red. "She keeps winking at me, Love!" he said. I could not stop laughing because it reminded me of when we were dating and he was always so shy about me flirting with him. I love him.

New Dress, 3 ways!

2010-09-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

My amazing sister is doing something called self stitched September, where you where something that you have made each day of the month. I thought this was a neat idea but I have nowhere near enough clothing to make it through a whole month. Indeed, I would be naked most days of September if I were playing along with this game.

So, instead, I made a dress and decided to wear it 3 different ways. These are what I came up with. You'll have to tell me which one you like best.

My cute husband even took me on a date while I was wearing the bottom 2. We went to a play and then up the canyon for dinner. Darling, you spoil me so!

First day of school pictures!

2010-09-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

I know it's a little late, but I wanted to post pictures of Mckinley's first day back at preschool. David thought that I was being a crazy mom and asked me if I was going to take a picture of our kids on their first day of high school too. I told him that of course that was my plan, and that it wouldn't stop there either. My kids better get full ride scholarships to far away schools if they don't want to have a snap shot taken on their first day of college. To prove it, I made David pose for a picture while walking into one of his classes. I was wearing pajamas, and David was very embarrassed, but we got the picture.

Cousins!

2010-09-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Do you remember playing with your cousins when you were younger. That was the life, huh? We have had some really fun visits from family members this past week. First we had Steph and Shan, Brandon and Jack, coming through on their way to Arizona. We love being here because we get to get visitors all to ourselves when they are traveling through. We love it when you stop by!

Then, yesterday, we got to see Josh and Alecia and their sweet girls. As you can see, Mckinley was in Heaven with these girls. She looks up to them so much and loves everything about them. Dolce was taking a little nap after being a little bit grumpy, so she isn't in the picture. (The adorable baby is Baby Brooke.) You better believe that when you get five little girls together, it is certain to be exciting. We continued our "Fall Film Festival" for family night, and it was so much fun to get all the girlies snuggled up in sleeping bags on the grass and watch a movie together. When the movie was over, Mckinley and Grace made us laugh so hard with their crazy dancing. What funny girls.

We can't wait to see everyone again. Come soon Please!

Big News!!!

2010-09-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

This is what an overly proud Mom looks like.

Making Headlines today, Mckinley has just learned how to write her name! Oh my, I am actually bursting at the seams with proudness! She brought a magazine upstairs to show me something that she had been working on while watching a movie. It was a crossword puzzle where she had written some letters in the boxes. She was so proud, and I didn't actually believe that she had done it. I have tried to get her to practice letters so many times and she would never do it, so it really was quite a surprize to see that she knows so many.(And to see her interpretive doodles for some of the letters she doesn't know. )

Other news, Our little Dolce is growing so fast and is not only walking (as of the end of July) but is running everywhere she goes. She especially loves to run towards stairs which is a little frightening because she knows how to go up, but not down. She is extremely pigeon toed and bow legged if you can imagine such a thing.(Her walk has something of a "planet of the Apes," flavor to it.) She has absolutely no interest in stroller rides anymore and wants to be walking and exploring on her own. Whenever we put her down for a walk she claps her hands and laughs hysterically. We love it!

Both of these little ladies are so much fun! What a handful!

Our Fall Film Festival!

2010-09-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

It was nothin but fun last weekend at our house when we had the first night of our "Fall Film Festival." We got an idea for a family night film festival from a book. It sounds like a much bigger deal than it actually is. If you want to do your own version of a fall film festival, here's some ideas to get you goin'. Our Book suggested that you pick 4 movies to watch. If you were to do your Film festival in October you might pick some of the old spooky ones like Dracula, and Frankenstein.(Look at the library to be extra savy!) Then pick four nights to watch your films. You could do them all in a row like a real festival, or you could get some pretty good mileage for family home evenings for a whole month! We are going to spread ours out over September and October with the last one being on Halloween night.(Because it happens to be on a Sunday night this year and we are planning to trick or treat on Saturday.)
Then, pick 4 treats or foods to serve. Our book gave reccomendations for 4 different types of Caramel Corn. But you could coordinate your treat to go along with your movie for the night if you wanted to.
Setting up for the party just involves using an extension cord to take your TV outside.(With our little girls, everything is much more fun outside.) Bring out blankets and stake your spot. Invite friends over and tell them to come in their jammies. We had so much fun on our first night! We watched Diary of a wimpy kid which was pretty funny. We are planning to do a couple of kid friendly scary ones next like Casper and Hocus Pocus. Share some of your ideas! I would love to know what you would do with your Fall Film Festival!

W is for Watermellon Carving!

2010-09-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

If you have kids like ours, you might know how much kids love to carve things such as pumpkins, soap and....watermellons! We carved this watermellon into a

"Watermellon Fairy House" for family home evening. We even put it out on our front step lit with a candle for the evening. It got us very excited for upcoming pumkin carving and was a very fun activity. We also used some of the watermellon to make watermellon lemonade for our family night treat.

H is for Hobo Dinners!

2010-09-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

H is for Hobo Dinners on the Mountain! A few weeks ago, we went up to our family property on the mountain and made a campfire and hobo dinners. We also took up things for S'mores and put ice cream on top. Mmmm! Afterwards we went on a long walk with the girls. We walked all the way to a spooky cabin called Stubbs Cabin. (We told Mckinley the ghost story on the way.) As soon as we got to the cabin David screamed really loud and started running away to scare Mckinley, but she was too smart. She didn't fall for any of his nonsense.

We also saw this old tree with my brothers name carved into it. The funny part about it is that the same tree also has Allen Brattons name carved into it. David worked for Allen Bratton Electric when we first moved here. Small world.

Cupcakes in a Jar

2010-09-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

We made these cupcakes in a jar for some gifts and couldn't resist eating a few ourselves. You make cupcakes without the paper wrapper and when they are done you layer them inside a mason jar with your favorite frosting and sprinkles. Tie a plastic spoon around the lid and you have a party in a jar. MMMM!

Our cute little house

2010-09-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, we moved! It was a little sad to leave our cute little cottage but we are now happy in a new place. I wanted to post some pictures of the house so that we would always remember. We have a lot of fun memories there. Bye little house!

A cool Thrift store Find!

2010-09-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

I don't always find such cool thrift store treasures, but look at this cute candy striped dress I found! I love it when the thrift store gods smile. I wore this to church and got a bunch of compliments and proudly announced that I found it at the DI.(I made the announcement during the good news minute, no less!) This is cool but it still doesn't beat my favorite thrift store shopping experience at the Sugarhouse DI when Mellissa and I were looking specifically for an Eibelskiver pan and walked right up to one, cast iron and everything, for 2 bucks! That day was the all time best!

K is for Kitten Saving

2010-09-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

My parents found this baby kitten after he had been abandoned by his mother. My dad actually took care of the kitty until it could eat out of a bowl without crawling into it. For a few weeks the kitty had to drink kitten milk from a tiny kitty bottle. Mckinley was in heaven mothering and caring for him. Then about 3 weeks later, Mckinley came running into the back yard with another baby kitten! They worked so hard with the second baby kitty too but it had been malnourished for so long that it didn't make it:( The surviving baby kitty is named OC which is short for "Orphan Cat."

Corsage Embellished tee!

2010-09-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

This was so easy and fun to do! Great for all of us on a budget too! I got the idea from an online tutorial. At Downeast Basics they were having a clearance sale on t shirts so I bought 2 shirts in the same color. Then, out of one of the shirts I cut out 2 different sizes of flower shapes. Any flower shape would work and different sizes and shapes would make a unique finished product. I cut out probably 20 of each size. Then, taking two of the flowers of the same size, I folded them in half and then in half again and stitched the middle of the flower to the collar of the shirt. What do you think? Not bad for a final price of about 6 dollars.

R is for Reservoir

2010-09-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

It's going to take forever for us to catch up on our blogging, but we will get there. Just five minutes away from our house is a new little reservoir that we went wading in. Mckinley had so much fun playing with some little friends there. She rode around in a little raft toted around by our neighbors. Dolce wasn't sure what to think about it all, but it cooled her off and she wanted to be sitting down playing in it. Ahhh, that was a fun day. Where did summer go?

computer trouble

2010-08-07T14:12:00.001-07:00

Oh my. Our computer has a virus and so I'm posting this little message at work. A great time to have the computer down too. I have a bunch of things I want to share with you. Look for my second July sewing project as well as my first August project. I also have a yummy treat idea that I saw online and made my own. We are still working our way through alphabet summer and last but not least, we are MOVING! Check back soon and I'll show you where we will be and the cute little house we are leaving behind. See you soon!

A is for Apricot Gleaning

2010-07-26T15:26:00.001-07:00

We went to the Church Orchard and picked apricots last week. It was SO HOT. The orchard is in Hurricane and it must have been 110 degrees outside. We were all sweating and cooked by the time we were done but it was so much fun to get free apricots! Since then, I have been bottling as many as I can for baby food and for this amazing cake recipe that has penuche frosting! Today I made apricot leather. I'm going to do a post about it because it is really so easy and cheap to make. I never knew! And if you are like me, and don't have a fruit dryer, no worries! You can put it in your car for a day in the sun!

G is for Green Show!

2010-07-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Cedar City hosts the Shakespearean Festival every summer and one of the fun things to go see is the Green Show. It's a free show that they do every day except Sunday where you sit on the grass and Minstrels entertain with music and stories and dancing. It is really a lot of fun. Another fun part is the treats they have there. My favorite treats from the Greenshow are tarts and Humbugs. Humbugs are little hard candies that taste like a mixture of peppermint and butter. They are so yummy. When I was 14, my sister and I worked at a restaurant that had a bakery in it and we made the tarts. I still have the very top secret recipe!
We went to the Green Show with my cousin Brandi and her daughter Kenzie Lynn. Have you ever seen such a pretty little girl? Mckinley started dancing and at first Kenzie wasn't so sure, but after a little coaxing from Mckinley, they wanted to dance to all of the music. Such beautiful girls!

A fabulous fun summer treat!

2010-07-23T07:49:00.001-07:00

Do you have popsicle molds? Try making these" better for you" popsicles that are really so easy. You will need:

Popsicle molds (or Dixie Cups and Popsicle sticks)
3 or 4 different kinds of fruit juice (I used Pink Lemonade, Grape Juice and Mango Nectar)
1 cup of thick greek yogurt( add 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 tsp vanilla for a sweeter tasting yogurt.)
Scotch tape

All that you do is fill the popsicle molds with a small amount of fruit juice. Then freeze for one hour in between layers. Insert the Popsicle sticks after a couple of layers. You can keep the popsicle sticks straight by running a piece of scotch tape across the top of the mold. You can see that mine came out crooked and so next time I will just use wooden popsicle sticks. They will stay good in the freezer for 1 week. Enjoy!