The Hutchings Family

Christmas Present Stage 1

2012-01-31T19:30:00.000-08:00

Over the Christmas break we did get the boys' rooms started. We began with a deep clean which involved taking a lot of things out of their rooms. Then, for the fun part. PAINT!!!!! The boys had a blast helping while wearing their aprons and hard hats! Super cute!

Jacob has his own room now which is yellow. Every time we pass his room we go to turn out the light but it is not on. The color is just so beautiful and bright! We have a few other things done, but they aren't completely done, so hopefully we can get stage 2 done soon!

Lost Photos

2012-01-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

I just downloaded photos from the camera and found some fun pictures that I meant to blog a long time ago. So, here they are!

Jacob wants to be like his big brothers, so he has taken to doing the dishes. He is not the most efficient but if you leave him alone he gets the job done!

This was just too cute. Jacob decided to eat dinner sitting in the chips box.

For Christmas James got a new chef's jacket and wanted to show it off in action. If only I could do cool tricks like that in the kitchen. I also love that you can see Jacob's reflection in the microwave. He is always around when something exciting is going on in the kitchen.

Another favorite is Michael using his new headlamp to read at night. At least this way he will never hurt his eyes reading in the dark! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Math Party

2012-01-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

I don't remember when we started this tradition, but about a year ago we decided to have a math party anytime one of the boys finished one of their math books. They have two per year, so we get to have about 6 parties a year now that Jacob is actively participating in school. Today, we were celebrating Jacob's successful completion! Unfortunately, Joshua and daddy had Secret Garden rehearsal, so they missed our party, but we had pizza, watched a Little House on the Prairie and had a super yummy treat! It was a fun party and fun to see Jacob get so excited about finishing his book. Way to go Jacob!

The Crazy Things Boys Do

2012-01-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been pretty fun and the boys have done some fun things that I just had to share. Joshua has been into making origami and paper airplanes (so any paper folding activity), and last week they realized they could take our huge paper (the big ones I got for art) and turn them into GIANT airplanes. They were pretty awesome! But then, they took those airplanes, attached string and tried to fly them outside like kites. It didn't work as well as one may have liked but still it was awesome!

The very next day it snowed, I think I am realizing now why so many people are getting sick. When the weather forecast looks like a roller coaster, no good thing can come. But the boys disagree with me and headed out to sled. The snow only stayed for a couple of days, so it was good that they wasted no time. So, yes, kite flying one day and sledding the next. . . go figure. But as far as they are concerned it was heaven on earth!

Yesterday we went to an event called 'music mornings' put on by the library and the Galesburg symphony. They usually focus on one instrument but this month they talked about 'found music'—making music with whatever you have on hand. Well, let me put it this way . . . my boys have FOUND it alright without any problem. They came home and made their own marimbas using cups or paper and black beans and pulled out the little kid drum and just made music all day long! It was pretty cute and hopefully one day we'll get all of those black beans picked up!

So, even though the weather has been crazy and we have been a little sick the boys have managed to find some fun and crazy things to do to keep themselves busy and entertained.

2012

2012-01-22T13:12:00.000-08:00

Liz and I have been especially impressed, of late, of the role of the family in our Father's plan, and the centrality of it in all our activities in this life. To that end, we changed up our family goal setting system this year, and in stead of getting together to set goals as individuals, with a few family-oriented ideas thrown in, we did everything as a family. We used the following scripture as our template, and although it applies specifically to the temple, we likened to the space in which we'd like to create the holiness of a temple: Our Home.

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God (Doctrine & Covenants 88:119).

We looked at the things we wanted to do, accomplish, learn, and be, and we assigned them categories on a giant colour-coded poster. We ended that family home evening with a list of small and simple things that we, as a family, will use as tools to accomplish the great goals listed in this scripture. Because this is not only a family sharing site, but also our family journal, it seems that our first entry of 2012 should outline our goals for the year. So, here they are:

Daily Scripture Study

Individuals: 10 minutes each
Family: Daily Reading

Daily Prayer

Individuals: 5 minutes, minimum, twice each day
Family: Kneeling as a family, morning & night

Read Primary, Sunday School, Priesthood, and Relief Society lessons before church each week.

Take appropriate manuals each week.

Meaningful Monthly Family Fast
NEVER Raise Voices
Prayerfully Watch for Opportunities to Serve
Weekly Family Home Evening
Follow Our Family Budget and Pay Off Consumer Debt
Keep Our House Clean

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T19:08:00.000-08:00

What a joy has been this Christmas! This year, the boys focused on making gifts for each other, and they weathered spectacularly. Of course, when we initially proposed the idea, they immediately began packaging up things they had already made, like snowflakes and drawings, wrapping and labeling them for giving under the tree. Those gifts were truly delightful to open up this morning. Once we finally caught up with them, however, we helped guide their enthusiasm, and they ended up with these things:

Jacob decorated aprons, Joshua made neck warmers, and Michael made hats. It's more fun to watch these boys give presents than it is to see them open them. I love to see that joy in their faces as they anticipate the great opening of their treasured offerings of time, energy, and love.

We did pajamas, of course. Here they are before bed:

And after waking up this morning:

Michael tried to get the morning rolling at 4 a.m., but we shot him down, mean parents that we are. He figured he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep, so he might as well try. Needless to say, he did get back to sleep.

For Christmas, this year, we decided to give the boys a bedroom makeover, so they opened up hard hats, Lowe's gift cards, and some very enthusiastic wall art (Thank you, Jodi!) to get that party started.

We missed having family here, but it's been a lovely, simple, service-oriented holiday season for us, and we can't trade that for anything.

If you are in the area, however, we won't turn you away.

Library Day

2011-12-21T16:57:00.001-08:00

The library is an essential part of our homeschool and as such we make a weekly trip to return and checkout new books. One of our goals as parents/teachers was to help our children to become life long learners. The boys showed me this last trip that we are being successful. Michael had a book on hold that he had requested from a different library because our library did not have the book. I was pretty impressed. Then, Joshua asked me to help him find some books that he had looked up using the computer. He was having such a difficult time because the books he wanted were in the adult section. What really impressed me was that he wanted to do some Christmas crafts, so he used the computer to find some books that would help him do so. What more can I ask for?

After we come home from the library the sight is usually the same, everyone is reading. Jacob is so excited to read that it is a challenge to get him all the way up the stairs with his books before he settles in to read. (This week he discovered comic books. I'm not sure that is a good thing. Hmmm. . . )

Yesterday was a special treat because we talked Michael into staying out in the living room with the rest of us to read instead of bunkering down in our room. It was really fun to see them all sitting together reading and I just had to share.

This week was also special because the library got the new edition of the World Book and were going to get rid of the old 2008 edition. I, of course, inquired and landed us a new(er) set of World Books for $20 (because the 5th book was missing). Score!! I don't have pictures of the books but thought the boys were pretty cute and just had to share! Happy reading to everyone over the break!

Christmas is in the Air

2011-12-20T11:31:00.001-08:00

We have had a pretty laid back holiday break so far and have slowly found time to put up our tree and decorate it. We did get a fake pre-lit tree this year but filled it with tons of ornaments. The boys are pretty excited that there isn't much room left.

We have been so relaxed that we set up the tree one night and then decorated it the next day. It is great to have plenty of time and not feel pressure to hurry and get things done.

Next, we focused on Christmas candy. We tried a few different things and some turned out better than others. We're not quite done but as I said before we're just taking our time and enjoying the journey. I think we'll be done tonight!

Then, we have to focus on presents. But we'll discuss that later. :)

The Secret Garden

2011-12-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

James is doing the college musical this year and selected The Secret Garden. As most of you know there are a couple of children in the musical, so I had been helping James advertise among the home schoolers. Later we wondered if Joshua would enjoy auditioning for the part of Collin. So, we talked to him and in his usual manner he said yes. Since Joshua tends to be a little more excited about things than most people we were very careful to talk to him about auditioning and what it would be like and that it didn't mean that he would get the role. He needed to prepare a song, so we worked with him on one of the songs from the musical, Round Shouldered Man, and he learned it quickly and easily. It always amazes me by how quickly he memorizes things!

Well, the auditions were this week and Joshua went on Monday (the picture above was from the audition). He sang his song and ran through some readings with the other girls who came to audition. He had a great time and was just beaming when he came home. Whether he was going to get the part or not it was a great experience for him and a success in my book.

Well, on Wednesday after the rest of auditions he was offered the role. He is, of course, beyond himself with joy and will play opposite a young lady with whom he is good friends. He has already planned to have her over to play and practice running lines. This will be a new and fun adventure in our lives and one we are looking forward to! So, Congrats Joshua and Good Luck!

Joshua's Baptism

2011-12-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

This would have been blogged earlier, but Liz let me get around to it instead of doing it herself. It was definitely kind of her, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do it. It was lovely, and small and wonderful. We just had a few friends and our home teachers there, and the Bishop even remembered, eventually, after someone called him to remind him. He's a busy man, and we're so glad he helped us get it done on Thanksgiving weekend.

Michael gave an excellent talk that he researched, wrote, and delivered all by himself. It was fun to watch him use his scripture tools to find scriptures that taught about baptism and talk with him about what they said and meant and taught. He then compiled and wrote that thing like a beast. Here it is, for your belated enjoyment:

Baptism is a commandment given to us by our Heavenly Father. If we follow the commandment of baptism we will be able to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.

Jesus sets a good example of baptism. He was baptized even though he was perfect. The reason he did that is because it was a commandment given by Heavenly Father.

Because he did that he received the Holy Ghost. If we get baptized we too will get the Holy Ghost, like Joshua.

When I was baptized, I received the Holy Ghost too. After it was given to me I felt it telling me that what I was doing was the right thing. Since then I have had lots of experiences with the Holy Ghost. There are lots of feelings that can represent the Holy Ghost. My most common representation of the Holy Ghost is a warm feeling in my heart. Sometimes it’s tears.

When I was baptized I promised to do lots of things. I’m just going to name a couple of them. One of them is to take the Sacrament on Sunday. Another one is to keep his commandments.

Baptism is a covenant between each of us and our Heavenly Father. Baptism is not the only commandment, there are lots of others, we have to follow all of those other commandments to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I had the honor of Baptizing Joshua, one I had not had previously, since Michael asked Grandpa to baptize him. It was a wonderful and humbling feeling to baptize my son and feel not only the workings of the Holy Ghost during the ceremony, but also the bond formed between us as a result of our participation together.

We sure missed having family there, but there was a sense of being enveloped and loved by our Ward family that we have hoped to feel for a long time. Our home teachers (YES! we have home teachers for the first time in almost 3 years!) came and our friends made the morning journey, even though we had kept them up late the night before. It was such a blessing for Joshua and for our family as a whole.

It's hard to think that anyone could have been more excited about being baptized that Joshua was. Fire in that one.

Thanksgiving and Leftovers!!!

2011-11-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

This year we got to enjoy Thanksgiving as just the five of us again ,and I must admit that it was quiet, calm, peaceful and practically perfect in every way. The boys each got to choose a favorite vegetable, so we had turkey, sweet potato/cranberry salad (the same as last year) and then lots of vegetables including carrots, peas, and cauliflower. It was nice to have the meal be mostly vegetables. While we ate we talked about what we were thankful for including the usual topics. This year as we have been studying the Book of Mormon I was particularly thankful for being raised in a home where the Gospel was both taught and lived and want to make sure my children can say the same.

After the meal we decided to have quiet/nap time before we tackled the cleanup. Both James and I crashed pretty hard and the boys read or played quietly. It was perfect! Then, we put the desert in the oven to cook while we cleaned up. The goal was to beat the timer and we easily won. I love how quickly cleanup goes with 5 people working together. Then, we played games and ate the pear and cranberry crisp that James already blogged. It was amazing! It was indeed a great day!

After a nice calm day we decided we wanted to do something fun with others. So, we planned what we called a 'Leftover Party.' This is the easiest party to plan because you just invite people over and ask them to bring some leftovers! It was fun to see random leftover turn into a fun meal. We did have fun making broth and soup out of turkey to go with the other leftovers. Now because James couldn't help himself he put together an amazing cheese plate to go with everything and make it into a real party!

Doesn't it look amazing! Well, it was! We invited a couple of families over from church and just had a great time eating and talking and well, eating some more! And in the end we all still had leftovers to get us through the rest of the weekend! This is definitely a party we will have to throw again! So, all in all our Thanksgiving weekend has been wonderful and full of gratitude because we have so many things to be grateful for!

Hand-Me-Downs

2011-11-17T19:30:00.001-08:00

Having been the oldest I was never the recipient of hand-me-downs. As a mother I love hand-me-downs but have been saddened lately by the fact that Michael wears through everything he wears. Also, he grows so quickly that sometimes we miss sizes. I am learning to teach Michael to tell us when his shoes are too small. He will literally wear his shoes until his toes poke out the front because they have nowhere else to go. So, we have no shoes in sizes 4 or 6 because we didn't know that he needed a bigger size. Oops! So, Joshua has been lucky enough to get some 'new clothes' because Michael left him nothing to wear.

Interestingly Michael has now been the recipient of a hand-me-down. Actually, he is pretty excited because the hand-me-down is from ME! Now I wish that I am small enough that he could use my clothes, but alas that will never happen (though he does borrow my sweat shirt sometimes). But I was able to give him my old running shoes. Surprisingly he wore his shoes out, AGAIN and I can't find any I like for him, so I pulled out my old running shoes and passed them along to him. Yes, he wears the same size shoes as myself. But because I still am attached to my old shoes I asked him very nicely to let me know when they start to feel tight, so we can get him new shoes without him ruining my old shoes, so I can still have them as backup shoes. We'll have to see how that goes! So, welcome to our new strange world of parent to child hand-me-downs. So, this is our fun new adventure that we are excited to traverse!

Tigers!

2011-11-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

The tigers were in town again, and with three big cat lovers it was a must see for us. We met some friends there and had a great time watching and playing with the tigers. They were pretty sleepy by the time we got to them, so we got to pet and play with them as much as we wanted and they just laid there and let us. It was great fun! But mostly I have some fun pictures, so enjoy! The cubs were about 8 or 9 weeks old and super cute!

Halloween Party!

2011-11-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Joshua really wanted a birthday party this year but I hadn't thrown a party for anyone else, so instead we threw a Halloween party! They were each able to invite a few friends and then help me plan the party. Joshua read a Geronimo Stilton book about Halloween parties that had lots of ideas, so we had fun researching and finding fun things to do.

Decorating was first, so we made bats and balloon ghosts to hang.

We started by letting our guests decorate their own goodie bags. It is amazing what kids will come up with (some glued candy corn to their bags)!

Then, we had a mummy making competition. It was really interesting to see how to two teams worked. One was speedy and creative while the other was slow and methodic. Fascinating!

Then, came lunch. Normally I wouldn't do lunch at a party but Joshua had many food ideas that I didn't mind, so we went for it. First, they made scary mouths out of apple slices and almost slivers. They were indeed scary. Then, they enjoyed carrot fingers! When you use real carrots and put them standing up in a bowl they really do look like scary fingers. And hey, who can pass up a scary carrot finger! YES, I served vegetables at a party and am unashamed! Then, they enjoyed the main course of pumpkin cut out peanut butter sandwiches and mummy English muffin pizzas (these were my favorite). By the way, using cheep white bread made spreading the peanut butter and honey very difficult--now I am ashamed for using white bread, but I thought it would be easier to use. Now I know that to be a falsehood.

After eating I set out a variety of craft supplies and asked them to make a spider. They could be scary, funny, creative, or just whatever they wanted. It was great! I was impressed by their creativity! At the end there were a few minutes left, so I let them go outside to play. Fortunately, we are stilling 50 and 60 degree weather here, so it was a lovely afternoon and they gladly went out to play.

We ended with these great cookies that James made. Yes, they look amazing and of course, they taste amazing. The ones with brown filling are Nutella! Mmmmmm. . . . He always amazes me with what he can do!

Now for the goodie bag! We made bats straws (bats taped on straws-but they were pretty impressive), orange play-do (yes, I made this too and let me tell you, if you cook your play-do it doesn't get hard when the kids leave it out. I'm not too sure if I like this or not), little halloween notebooks, and of course, a little candy.

This was probably one of my finest creative moments, so hopefully the boys enjoyed it, well, I know they had a blast, so it was a success.

We were pretty wimpy with costumes this year, so if you are trying to figure out how they are dressed, they are wearing brown and camo, so they are army men. Yes, they were clearance clothes at Old Navy, but the boys love them and now they have new clothes for the colder months ahead!

Oh, and I am sorry for the horrible pictures, but the camera hadn't made it home from James' concert, so you got ipod photos. But hey, they are better than nothing!

Canning, Canning and More Canning!

2011-10-18T17:01:00.001-07:00

This year I learned to can. I know that James has canned jam in the past but I didn't realize you could can more than jam. So, this year I have learned to can peaches, tomatoes, salsa, chicken, chicken stock and am getting ready to learn to can pears (hopefully on Thursday).

Some may say that I have been a little out of control. I have a new canning buddy and we have gotten together on several occasions to can tomatoes, salsa, and dehydrate peaches. We borrowed a pressure canner, she had one and we bought one, so at times we have had three pressure canners going at the same time. It was AWESOME! At home I still have the borrowed pressure canner and have been known to run both canners all day. I have officially canned 100 quarts of tomatoes! The boys learned to blanch the tomatoes for me and did all of the blanching for the last 24 quarts. They are AMAZING! I also fell in love with canning chicken breast. Chicken has been on sale lately and I found that my freezer can only hold so much chicken. So, instead of buying another freezer I learned to can that chicken! It might be said that I canned about 100 lbs of chicken. Hmmm. . . maybe I am out of control!

I am now done with all of those item and am ready to do pears! I have my first 20 lbs and just need to figure out where to find more. We have run into some cold weather here, so gardening is quickly coming to an end. A local farm now has all of its produce on sale for $25 per bushel. I of course ran over and bought lots of apples, sweet potatoes and squash. Now I need to find uses for each of those things. Any great acorn squash recipes out there?

I think I have come to love canning so much because I feel like I am preserving food we will actually use. As much fun as it is to store wheat, oats and beans, one needs more variety in their life. So, now the goal is to go through the winter with a very low food budget. We'll see how it goes! Soup season here we come!

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

2011-10-10T05:21:00.000-07:00

We didn't end up with a ton of photos from his birthday, but Joshua did say it was "probably the best day of his entire life, so far."

So there you have it.

We had waffles for breakfast, and Joshua opened a new [to him] suit that he wore to church so proudly. He got to practice the primary program, which he loves, and eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. He helped me make ice cream and decorate his soccer ball cake, and we enjoyed garden pizza for dinner. The "garden" part was a specific facet of his request, so he walked through our fading garden with me looking for suitable vegetables. We ended up with garden tomatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and some store bought mushrooms, onions, and red peppers. Here he is with his ultimate creation.

After dinner he opened his presents: nano bug, robe, slippers (he is so his father's son) and probably his favourite, The Game of Life. We played a round as a family and had a grand evening. What a blessing Joshua is in our lives.

So Much Soccer!

2011-10-10T05:14:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we had what we consider to be a singular event in the history of community soccer. OK, it's probably not, but we were a bit overwhelmed.

You see, we have three boys playing this year, and they are all three in different age brackets. To add to the impact of this season, LIz and I are coaching Michael's team, which has been a wonderful learning experience for us. On Saturday, however, we felt a little stretched.

We had FIVE games on Saturday.

Five.

F I V E.

Yeah, we only have three children. Jacob started his game at 9 am, the same time as our double header with Michael's team. When he and Joshua didn't show up at our field after that game, we figured they were just playing soccer with some of their friends around the fields, and let it go. They've proven that they make good choices when they're together. As Jacob dragged himself over at the end of our second game, however, we learned that he had just finished his second game as well. Yes, they had a double header that overlapped our double header, and we didn't even know it. It was crazy, but we acknowledged the crazy, and packed up our stuff and headed over to watch Joshua.

Of the five games, we won four, and tied one. The tie, however, was against a team from a different area, who get to practice more than we do and have been playing together for five years. They've never lost in Galesburg. Saturday, however, these green coaches helped their team tie. We play them again next week. Maybe, just maybe we can pull off a win.

Pinewood Derby

2011-10-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

These things are so fun, except the wild children, the lack of order, and the noise. Other than that, though, pinewood derbies are, um, the bomb.

The boys had a great time, they raced that track at least a dozen times each, and as a group, we managed to make a 7-person bracket as complex and endless as possible.

All in all, though, it was a great time, especially for this Dad and his two, yes, TWO cub scouts. I'm getting old, and it's a delight to experience all the things that are slowly moving me from young to aged. The boys drew out plans of their cars, and I did my best to help them realize them, right down to their chosen numbers and the paint jobs. I think they both felt like they were able to plan, execute, and adjust in ways that made them both very happy.

Plus, I got to play with molten lead.

The boys made great cars, had a great time, and Michael brought home a 2nd place ribbon, Joshua was in 3rd. Having two kids in the derby is quite the change, I'll tell you that. They'll never win best of show, unfortunately, because we'll have to split our votes between them every time. I don't think they care much, though, because I'm pretty sure they each voted for someone else.

I can't lie—I'm a little proud that I had to do twice as much work with twice the sons as the others, and my boys still had cars that placed. I only did the things they really shouldn't, like unsafely operate a jigsaw and pour molten lead, so the glory definitely goes to them.

I'm a little proud of [glory in?] all of us.

Idleness vs Productivity

2011-09-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

I am sure that no one would think we are idle but this week we took that to a whole new level. With the anything goes garbage week we had set a goal to finish cleaning out the garage, so we began our week with a great work day for Family Home Evening. We were very productive and the garage looked so much better! On Wednesday we spent the afternoon helping a new friend unpack. We then went back on Thursday to preserve peaches and tomatoes with the same friend. James was even able to take a few hours to come and help us. We dehydrated peaches and roasted tomatoes. We had never done either of these and had a great time learning and getting to know our new friends better.

By Friday we were very excited to work on preserving more food but knew that we needed to finish getting shelves in our storage room, set up our shed and clean out the garage. So, we started on Friday by getting our shed set up. We were a little overwhelmed by the idea of setting up the shed but after we got started things went pretty smoothly and in about 4 hours we had a shed!

It was date night, so the boys came in and made their own dinner and we headed out for a nice evening out together. They are becoming very good cooks which is great for both us and them!

On Saturday we spent the morning at soccer-I'm sure this is a real surprise. We had a great time and all of the boys played well.

We then came home and worked on putting up some new shelves in the storage room. The first shelf is always the hardest, but once we got into a groove things went well. We didn't get all of the shelves filled but at least they are up and ready to go. Then, we found a great deal on some tomatoes which we couldn't pass up, so James spent the evening roasting tomatoes and making salsa. And now our kitchen smells yummy and we have some great salsa and roasted tomatoes. I am afraid they won't last very long because they are so good, but we will enjoy them while they last!

It is amazing how much you can get done in a week! It has been a lot of fun and it is great to see the product of our labors! Now to figure out what to accomplish this week!

GAME DAY 1

2011-09-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, Liz is off having a weekend of fun, and we're here batchin' it the way guys do when their pretty lady is out of town. I'd love to say we sat around watching television and eating pizza and chips and belching, but we didn't. We did, however, run three soccer practices in the rain at the same time last night, and ran ourselves through three soccer games today. Lucky for us, we lived. Sometimes you can't ask for more than that. We even won all three games, 6-1, 6-2, and 8-2.

It was my first time coaching, and I probably won't do it again. It reminded me why I don't teach public school . . .

THE PARENTS.

They actually sent an ambassador to advise me on proper technique. Apparently we were winning by too much, and they wanted me to pull back. Seriously, I can't win, even when I win. We were the 8-2, just in case you were wondering. I'm glad I stick religiously to my sports parent motto: let the coach do his job and cheer loud, no matter what, because I sure can't do it any better. I think next year I'll go back to just being a parent.

We made some jam, pear butter, and broke in my new dutch oven with one fine chili. The boys also enjoyed some time at the park, and watching the old biplanes do tricks over the city. It was a great day, but we'll be glad when our pretty lady is back.

Mommy and the Boys

2011-09-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

James was gone this weekend visiting family, so the boys and I partied all weekend! On Friday we met friends at the park and enjoyed soccer practice. Then, finished the day with ice cream and a movie.

Saturday was predicted to be the last hot day of the summer, so we spent the afternoon at the pool. The boys get free passes with the summer reading program, so I thought it best to give them an opportunity to use. Joshua loved going down the big slide over and over and even talked me into going down once. Michael sat and chatted with me a bit and we watched Jacob eying the smaller slide. I asked him whether or not he thought Jacob would go down and he pondered it for awhile. I told him that I didn't think that he would, so what did he do? He walked over and played with Jacob and talked him into going down. He even met him at the bottom! What a great brother! After going down a couple of times he was a pro and enjoyed going down the slide many more times. He even got faster which was super cute! Afterwards we enjoyed going to a baptism of one of Joshua's friends at church. It was a great baptism and I am glad we were able to go. Of course we ended the day with ice cream and finished Friday nights movie.

Sunday was calm and relaxing and we enjoyed a great day at church. In the afternoon we made cookies and took them to a new family from church. We ended up staying for quite awhile playing and talking! It is nice having a new family whose children play so well with mine!

Monday was Labor Day, of course, so we went to a pancake breakfast that our church puts on and the boys stuffed their faces-literally. Jacob sat and ate for over an hour. It was no surprise that they were not hungry at lunch time. After the breakfast we headed over to the parade, which we had never been to. Look at us moving out of our comfort zone . . . ok, well, my comfort zone. But we went with friends and that makes everything better. Now I must tell you that a friend told me that they don't hand out very much candy but I beg to differ. Here are the pictures of the boys sorting their candy. They were adamant that I not take any of their candy away (they have figured me out). So, I had to come up with the new plan . . . they each made small bags of candy and we labeled them with a date; one small bag for each day. It was a win-win because they don't eat too much candy in one day AND the candy lasts longer which they love!

The rest of the afternoon was just relaxing which is always nice. For Family Home Evening I had the boys work together to act out scripture stories and see if I could guess them. It was a blast!

So, we had a great weekend without James but missed him and are glad he is home!!! Next weekend is his turn to have boys weekend! I know they will have some great adventures!

Growing every day

2011-09-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

I thought we were past due on an update, so here we go! First, this summer has been super hot in case you haven't gathered that from previous blogs or by walking outside (if you live in the midwest). So, by the end of July we were getting stir crazy, so we chose August first as our first day back to school. I know it was early but why wait until the weather is nice to start school? And I just have to say that it made all of our lives much happier! We are trying a few new things this year. The first is school checklists. I don't know if it is because I am their mother but they are working fabulously! First, it helps me to not forget things and second, they have a sense of accomplishment when they get to mark something off. Second, we start school with scripture packet. A great friend of mine recommended this program which is great! For some reason when you start school by studying the scriptures things go so much better! Who knew? :)

As usual we choose a lot of our topics based on the boys' interests. So, what have they been interested in? Michael has been pretty interested in WWII. We talked about President Uchtdorf in Family Home Evening and ever since he has wanted to learn about Germany and WWII. So, we have studied WWI and WWII, and let me just say that I have learned a ton. It is amazing/sad how history really does repeat itself.

Michael has also been reading books on different countries. He has been doing this for quite some time, but has now just decided to start at the beginning of the alphabet and go from there. He is writing down recipes he finds in these books, so it is time for me to start making them. It is really fun to see the boys get excited about things, dive in and learn about them and then get to use the things they are learning!

Joshua has been having great fun reading a book that we found at Borders called "Earth". So, while I am sad that Borders is closing I am loving their great sales! This book is super huge and I'm pretty sure that I will take a picture of it before I post this blog, so you can see it. He was studying volcanoes the other day, so I asked him to teach a lesson on it for school. He was so excited that he jumped up, found a pen and paper and started taking notes on what he wanted to share. Then, for art we got to paint different volcanoes which was super fun. And Joshua was just thrilled that he got to teach us. I have to remember to watch for moments like these because they are always amazing!

Joshua is also in love with playing the piano. I don't know what happened but something has clicked and he is now playing the piano all day long. It was actually funny this morning when it came to almost 11 AM and he noticed that he hadn't played the piano yet. He couldn't believe it. Super cute. I also believe that his enthusiasm is rubbing off on the other boys. Michael was stuck in a rut because he didn't know his notes, so we played an online game and then in just three days he was back on track and loving the piano again. It is amazing that when we find the real problem and fix it that everything works again. Trying to fix the symptoms never seems to help.

The boys have also been having a blast learning German. I will admit that I am not very good at learning German but James is great at it and the boys love it when he talks to them in German.

Jacob, who would never allow himself to be left out, has been really excited about math. He was still finishing up his kindergarten math books when we began but then decided he wanted to get into a new book, so we had some super math days and he worked really hard and is now in his 1st grade math books which he is quite proud of. He also had a lot of fun today looking at pictures of tanks and airplanes used in WWII. Yes, he is a true boy who loves blowing things up!

So, school has been awesome! James is now back in school as well which is always bitter sweet. It is always nice to get back into the routine but sad to have him gone all day. And sad that I have to make dinner again which really I don't mind, but the meals just aren't as fun. :)

Then, today we had a super treat. It is always difficult for me to adjust my schedule but it paid off this morning. The circus was in town for the day and invited the public to come and watch them set up the tent. The elephants were supposed to help which is really why I wanted to go but apparently animal activists have protested this, so we got to watch a bunch of men do what one elephant could have done. Very sad. But also we got to see them bring out all of the animals including a couple of camels, llamas, 3 elephants, goats and much more! The kids got to pet them and feed them grass. They also got to see a trainer play with an elephant (I didn't get a picture of this because Jacob was on my shoulders trying to see. :(

And then they got to see a man walk across a wire above the tent. That was one of my favorite parts. It was a great morning! (And we got all of our school work done by lunch which made me even happier!)

This evening we even went back and were able to take a ride on some of the animals. We let the boys choose and Michael and Joshua chose the elephant and Jacob the pony. So, yes we are having parties with pony rides at our house and now you are all jealous. ;) I have to tell you that I decided to ride with Michael and Joshua and well, I don't regret it. It was pretty awesome! Epic, if you will.

Michael was a little nervous at first and it took a bit to get him on which is why I look like I am squeezing his arm off. But in the end I think he was glad he did it.

So, that is what we are up to and we are having a blast doing it!

Summer Update

2011-08-13T18:29:00.001-07:00

It has been too long since we have blogged, so I thought it was time to post an update! We have spent much of our time gardening, harvesting and have even done a little canning, but we look forward to lots more of each of those. There is just something amazing about eating food that you grew yourself!

James has worked on many projects this summer to make our home look nicer. He has found some great deals on Craigslist and even took some of those finds and made them even better. He found this buffet but after getting it home realized the bottom was rotted out. So, he put a new bottom and back on and painted it all pretty. It looks great in our dining room!

I have been having a great time teaching the Young Single Adults at church on Wednesday nights and decided to have an end of summer party with them. We had a super yummy dinner followed by a spiritual message. We then headed over the park to play soccer. They had a great time and even let the boys play with them. I was really impressed by how well they played with the boys.

It was really sweet when they let Jacob score a goal. They even had a small celebration for him. It was super cute!

After they were all dripping with sweat we headed back for cake and ice cream. Then, they showed the boys that even grown ups like playing with lincoln logs.

Michael even got a lesson on building roofs from someone who really builds houses. I thought that was pretty awesome!

Our most recent adventures happened today. We hired some friends to help us take out our pine trees in the backyard. When I mean help I mean they did the work and we made the food. :) Here is a great before picture.

This is after the biggest tree fell. That was one big tree!

I just loved this picture. It is amazing to watch such a large tree come crashing to the ground.

Two down and three to go. Now the first two were the biggest but it was the third that gave them the most trouble. After taking out a wedge to make getting it to fall forward easier the tree decided it was done standing and wanted to fall the other way. The boys describe the next stage as a great tug of war between the tree and well, everyone else! Our neighbors even jumped the fence to help. After tying the rope to one of the cars and pulling with another rope the tree lost and came the way we wanted. It was a close one but in the end we won and all of the trees fell without hitting the garden, fence or house. It was great!

And here is the end product. It is strange to be able to see the house behind us but it is nice not having dying trees dropping pine needles all over the backyard. Now we need to figure out what to do back there. All ideas are welcome. :)

The boys did a great job helping. I'm pretty sure that Jacob spent 80% of the day out back helping. We are grateful for wonderful friends who did a great job and let the boys help. They even played with them and let them feel helpful.

It has been a productive summer and a lot of fun. Hopefully we will still have plenty of fun adventures as we head into fall!

Watering the Lawn

2011-07-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who do not live in the midwest, we have not had rain for weeks now. Actually I do not remember it really raining since we have been home from our vacation. We have worked hard to water the garden and it seems to have paid off, but the lawn is simply dreadful. So, today we decided to kill two birds with one stone. Jacob has been home alone with mom and dad all week while his older brothers are off at basketball camp, and while we love him we all needed a break. So, we put out the sprinkler to water the lawn and plants by the house and sent him out.

Here he is headed out.

Then, bracing for impact. . . .

IMPACT . . .
Followed quickly by pure joy!

And the moment wouldn't be complete without a victory pose.

After such a successful afternoon we decided to send them all out later to water the backyard, but they had to start with a little trampoline time first.

But then we had to move it to water the pumpkins and other squashes. But it didn't seem to be too miserable of a change.

Overall it was a super fun watering day for the plants and grass as well as the boys. Hopefully we will get some rain . . . SOON!

Day Camp

2011-07-18T11:28:00.001-07:00

This past week was Cub Scout Day Camp for Michael and in extension for the rest of us as well. Since we have the flexibility to do so we took a couple of days and joined him as a family. The first day we went we got to watch Michael make a leather notebook holder, learn about trees and plants, fish and shoot a BB Gun. Michael got to fish with his own rod which was very exciting for him.

I was impressed by the fun and educational activities that they have for the boys. I was also impressed by how well the boys did them.

We then returned on Friday for family day in which we got to choose what activities to do. Joshua was excited to do the archery and did really well-much better than I would have.

Michael wanted to shoot BBs again. He is getting quite good. I did learn that shooting a BB gun is much easier than archery. But who doesn't want feel a little like Robin Hood every once in awhile. :)

As I look at these pictures I realize how quickly they are growing up! It amazes me how time flies and how quickly they grow. After shooting they wanted to go in the dunk tank but Jacob was content to sit with his daddy. Jacob loves his daddy time!

After playing we got to join in for the fishing derby. We didn't catch anything but had fun doing it! Then, we enjoyed lunch, skits and awards. Then, to end the week at camp they have a huge water fight which the boys love. And it was a nice end on a super hot day. In the picture below I managed to get Michael and Joshua but it is kind of like 'Where's Waldo.' So, good luck finding them but while you do so note the huge vat of water that pumped water out for the boys to use to soak everyone and everything. There were two of those full of water. It was a lot of water and a lot of fun.

It was a great week and the boys are already looking forward to going back next year. Joshua, in particular, is excited as he gets to go as a scout next year. Hopefully they can wait that long!

2011-07-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Liz took the boys to the library the other day for some free fun. Joshua made the paper for it. I think it's because he jumps up and down so violently when he's having fun. :)

Helper Boy

2011-07-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Jacob said something the other day that just made me laugh and made me change the way I treat him. While the older boys were off riding their bikes I asked Jacob to help me with a few things while I cleaned up. It is pretty normal that while I clean I assign little jobs to whomever is around. In this case it was just Jacob and myself, so I asked for Jacob to help me with a few things I knew he could do. Instead of just doing it he stamped his foot and said, "I am not your helper boy." He then proceeded to tell me that Michael and Joshua are my helper boys and that he is not. So, today I declared Jacob my helper boy and have made sure that anytime I need help he is the one I go to. I don't think he likes his new title but I think it will do good things for him now and in the future. Now I have three helper boys, and life is good!

Rearranging Furniture

2011-07-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows us expects to find something different every time they come to visit. I don't know why but you just have to change things up every once in awhile. Well, this time it was the boys room. They have all three been in the same room for quite some time while we left a spare room for guests. Well, we just don't have guests that often and Michael had pretty much moved into the spare room anyway. We felt that it might be good to change the room to "Michael's room" instead of sending him to the "Spare room". It just felt right. :)

As we looked at the furniture and discussed the boys needs we decided to make some pretty fun changes. For the younger boys we decided to pull out both bottom bunks and give them each a loft with reading and playing space underneath. They also have a bigger dresser that fits most of their clothes!!! They love it!

Michael just wanted a bed, dresser, book shelf and desk and we were excited to be able to give him all three without getting any new furniture! He has already worked to decorate and make everything his own as you can see.

Our room is next on the list but it isn't quite finished, so you'll have to wait just a little longer to see how it turns out. Everyone is thrilled with the new arrangements, has plenty of room to call their own and they are all working hard to keep their own spaces clean which makes for a happy mommy and happy boys. It was a long afternoon of hard work which seems to have paid off! Hopefully this arrangement will last for some time with lots of happy boys!

Jekyll Island Day 2

2011-06-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

It's possible that we did not sleep well, but I won't say much more about that. We spent the morning doing awesome things, despite our fatigue.

We first visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on the Island and learned about the endangered creatures and what the center is doing to help turtles. At our visit, there were 75 confirmed nests on the Island, and 476 in all the state of Georgia. The greatest part of the visit, though, was not the learning about turtles, but seeing the turtles. They also run a rehabilitation center in which they care for injured and ill turtles, hopefully helping them to return to the wild. They had large and small turtles of all ages and situations swimming in tanks with placards to tell us about them and their injuries and their healing progress. It was fascinating to see them, so large and beautiful, as well as sad to see many with scars or bandages on them. There was one being released back into the wild only 2 days later; I kind of wish we would have stayed to be a part of that, if possible.

We also enjoyed some animals at the Tidelands Nature Center, including a pair of baby alligators. It was a relief to finally see live alligators, because the boys had been hoping and dreaming and praying to see them our entire trip.

We struck camp at lunch, then Michael and I went for a bike ride before hauling our over-full car to the wharf where we caught a boat to go dolphin spotting. We saw a dolphin before we left the dock, but we continued on, nonetheless, and enjoyed 90 minutes of fresh ocean breezes and dolphins aplenty. We actually went down around the South end of the island and there encountered a pod of dolphins the captain estimated to be 30-40 dolphins. There were groups of them everywhere, including several calves, always swimming in sync with an adult on either side of them. It was awesome.

If you're a scholar of the blog, or nature in general, you'll remember that the north end of the island erodes. Well, of course, all that sediment needs somewhere to go, so it's deposited on the South end of the island to the north. This is a photo of Jekyll's South end, and that is a shrimp boat that ran aground several years ago as it was trying to take a close pass during a storm. The sand from the neighboring island has slowly built up and buried it so now all you see is the masts.

On the way back, the boys got a special treat:

They didn't even crash the boat. We overnighted safely, although not without weathering a battering downpour, in Columbia, SC.

Jekyll Island Day 1

2011-06-21T05:03:00.000-07:00

We only made one big mistake on this leg of our journey: camping. Normally, I don't really mind camping as long as there is a comfortable place to sleep and there are things to do. This much-anticipated detour, however, added one more thing to my camping list: It must cool off at night. Therefore, I think I will never camp in the South in the Summer during a raging wildfire ever again. We had planned to spend a full week engaged in fun activities, playing on the beach, looking for ocean life, and generally relaxing, but because all of our general relaxing time was so miserable and disgusting, we opted to cram everything in to two great days and be on our way with the promise to return when the weather is more temperate, the Okefenokee isn't on fire, and when we have a house in which to stay.

We set up camp on Monday, then Tuesday dawned beautiful with a morning walk for the boys while Liz slept in a bit and prepared for the day. We walked down to the fishing pier and enjoyed the high tide filling the inlets. It was a beautiful walk, although a little on the pestered-incessantly-by-bugs side of things.

We enjoyed some time at the beach looking for creatures and enjoyed lunch in the sand. We learned that low tide is abysmal for swimming, but great for exploring. We saw horseshoe crabs and jellyfish and hermit crabs and sea slugs and whelks and all kinds of other things we couldn't identify as we strolled the shores. We made our way out to the sandbar, only visible during the lowest of tides, and saw some interesting plant life exposed in the sand there.

We ran over to Driftwood Beach, named because the North part of the islands, and all the island in the area, is eroding and pulling the natural flora into the sea, the washing it to an aged beauty.

After dinner we opted for some real adventure—horseback riding! Jacob wasn't old enough, so he and mom had time together while the oldest boys rode forward. After mounting his horse and feeling the power there, Michael wanted nothing to do with that misadventure. He stuck it out, however, and soon he emerged as a natural horse rider—confident, calm, and commanding. He took to it beautifully, and I'm sure proud of him for conquering a fear.

Here's Joshua and Freckles:

Michael and Doc:

Dad and Prince:

We rode through the forest, along the beach, and even got to see a few dolphins playing in the waves off Driftwood Beach. It was a grand time, and our guide, Tay, was friendly, informative, talkative, and delighted in the way Joshua sang and chatted almost the entire time. He was even able to sing his horseback riding song later for me when I asked. It was quite spirited and had few words.

After our long, hot ride, we decided we needed to go to the beach again, especially since the tide was coming in, and we've become true lovers of ocean waves. We got ice cream and walked down a boardwalk through the dunes, and by the time the boardwalk ended, we were already in the ocean! There was no one else around that area, so we romped and played and crashed waves and had a grand time. We saw two of the 74 or so sea turtle nests on the island, and returned to camp throughly exhausted.

Farewell to Florida

2011-06-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

Moving through the stages of vacation is a bittersweet experience; the memories are spectacular, but the farewells are heartbreaking. We spent a spectacular week with the Petersens and Marquie, which culminated in a great adult night out on Friday. I enjoyed Dungeness Crab, a first me, and we had a grand time laughing, talking, complaining, and swatting bugs. On Saturday our hearts broke just a little as we bid farewell to our loved ones. Once they lived so close that we could weekend together, but as we drove away, our new separation felt even greater.

As it is Sunday evening, it is an excellent opportunity for reflection. We arrive for lunch yesterday, enjoying it with Grandma and Grandpa Turner at their new home on the other side of Florida. It has been several years since I have seen them, although Liz and the boys were able to spend time with them earlier this spring at Rachel's wedding in Utah. Before dinner, we grabbed Great Grandma and Grandpa Liscom and we all went to the beach, this time enjoying the completely different attitude of the Atlantic Ocean. While the Gulf was calm, warm, and serene, the ocean, on this day was cool, churning, and sported the best waves I can recall ever having the privilege to crash. Some of them came rolling ashore over my head, and I estimate there were at least a few good eight-footers in the batch.

Joshua was hesitant about the waves from the beginning, but Michael and Joshua approached headfirst and with fire. The warning flags were up and the currents were strong, so we stayed right along the shoreline, but our proximity to the sand did not diminish our enjoyment one bit. Great Grandma and Grandpa soon took up residence in chairs and enjoyed reading together, and Jacob warmed quickly to Grandma Turner who played with him in the sand, building castles and mud-fish who were swept out to see when the surf crashed particularly far in. I regret not having photos, for it was a spectacular experience. The raw power of the ocean, the forces of nature at work were wondrous and humbling as we stood looking at across the seemingly endless, churning, cresting expanse. Michael and I, alone, lasted the entire visit in the surf, many times being knocked right over and pushed several yards as the waves crashed in up on us. Michael quickly learned how to brace himself against the riptide as it returned from off the beach, and only once or twice did his Dad lunge forward to ensure he was not pulled farther than was safe.

It was truly inspiring for this Dad to feel the blast of the water and the freshness of the spray and to ponder on the awesome creations of our God. While I truly believe that man is His supreme creation, I marvel in the creations to whose power we must bend, even at our mightiest. As I surged into cresting waves and battled forces that rocked my being, I understood, in an instant, how the ancients anthropomorphized the behaviour of nature, how they assigned personalities to the times and seasons, and how they respected and honored the Gods that, in their beliefs, controlled the movements of the earth. Do we, in our belief system(s), continue to honor our God for his creations outside our own immediate realm, and respect them as awesome and mighty powers?

We returned home with happy faces, incredible memories, and sand in every last little nook and cranny on our bodies. We enjoyed an evening of relaxed family fun and conversation. It was joy to hear of Mom and Dads life as it has unfolded here in Florida; a new chapter is always exciting. The boys planted a new pineapple plant with Grandma in the yard, and they're hoping to be able to come back and see it fruit in another couple of years.

The Sabbath was beautiful. As we enjoyed the invocation in Sacrament Meeting, I felt overcome by the Spirit; it was rather unprompted, and I'm still not sure why it came, but I cherish the thought that my Father was allowing me a moment of peace and repose. I don't think I'm the only one who felt it either, for as I began to ponder on it, the man offering the invocation paused, then continued in a voice obviously touched in the same way that I had been. What connected us in that instant I know not, but I will not question; I will merely cherish and treasure a moment of clarity and truth.

Because it's the second week of June, and we won't be here next week, we created a bit of an early Father's Day celebration with Grandpa Turner and Great Grandpa Liscom. We were four generations gathered together in good food, laughter, and the return of an old Turner Family tradition: Dad's giant ice cream sundae. The boys enjoyed a little scripture movie, and the six adults settled in for some good, old-fashioned game time. Interestingly, this is the first time Liz and I have enjoyed the company of Grandma and Grandpa Liscom, socially, since we married. Once, they stopped by our house in Indiana, unannounced, and we were so surprised and our house was in the middle of being painted, that I'm afraid it was not one for the record books. It was so wonderful for this in-law to be among the family of his wife, to see the adults interact, to get to know them in ways that we've never before been afforded.

Because we've spent most of our married life far away from family, our own family has not had the privilege of getting to know the Turners but in glimpses, quick notes, and too-soon-ended vacations. While this weekend has been another of those quick and soon gone experiences, it seems to me that so much experience has been packed into so little time, as though the passage of that time were not proportionate to the fellowship and love shared among us. It has been a delight to work alongside Mom as we washed dishes, and chat with Dad before bedtime and be in their home and feel of their love for us. I regret that so many miles and such busy lives have created such distance among family members, but my heart leaps with joy at how a few short hours can fill so many missed moments so efficiently.

Tomorrow we begin the part of our vacation that is just for us; no family visits, no preplanned adventures, just the five of us, together. So far it looks like a week of scattered thunderstorms and 90+˚ weather. And we're staying in a tent. So, should you get a chance, say a little prayer for us, and we'll keep our heads up and our hearts open.

Florida Photos

2011-06-08T19:41:00.001-07:00

SUMMER VACATION Day 1

2011-06-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

We made it to Atlanta. Had it not been for the unrelenting road construction in nowhereville, Illinois, we would have made it much earlier than scheduled, but we're grateful to be resting, nonetheless. We saw amazing places like Metropolis, IL, the home of Superman, Nashville, TN, and some aimless stretch of Kentucky. The South is so beautiful—perhaps we'll relocate here someday. Perhaps we should see it by daylight before deciding . . .

GARDEN VICTORY!

2011-06-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

We've waited and waited and waited for our dirt to be delivered, and yesterday we had 15 tons dumped in our back yard with a threat of overnight rain. So, what did we do? We started shoveling, and by the time night gently fell, we had filled all our boxes except the little one I hadn't built yet. We woke up sore and exhausted, especially since Jacob cried all night with an earache, but the job wasn't finished. It still hadn't rained, but Liz had to run the car to Davenport, and I had to give a final.

Well, by the time I got done with my class, it had poured and was continuing down. Michael and I hit the shovels and did another couple tons, but this time it was wet and muddy. We broke for lunch, gave the rain time to move on, and during a clear moment we all headed out to put plants and seeds into the beautiful ground we so lovingly prepared. The only problem in this lovely situation was that the ground certainly wasn't loving us back. It was wet, sloshy, thick, muddy, puddly, and altogether disagreeable.

We did, however, conquer, and now all our little plants are, hopefully, working for us at this very moment. We learned new skills, like tomato-teepee-making, and walking with an inch of mud on our shoes. Not a single person took a splat in the mud, although we definitely had plenty all over us. We didn't beat the return of the liquid downfall, but we were close, and we even got our garbage cleaned up.

We had Papa Johns for dinner and watch some excellent Little House; spoiler alert—it was fool's gold. Here are some photos of our adventure today.

These are my "front porch" flowers:

Winter Squash, Pumpkins, and Currants:

Top to bottom: Potatoes, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Red Onions, Yellow Onions, Carrots, Parsnips, Red and Yellow Bell Peppers, Jalapeños, Poblanos, Anaheim Peppers, Concord Grapes, at least six types of Tomatoes, Eggplants, Tomatillos, Purple Basil, Various Herb pots, Fava Beans, Kentucky Pole Beans, Yellow Beans, Radicchio, Cabbage, Peas, Cauliflower, Garlic, Black Beans, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Lettuces, Bok Choi, Radishes, and more Herbs:

Joshua, messy and tired:

Michael and I, soaked to the bone, good and muddy, and happy to be working together:

Tomorrow's task? Get to Atlanta!

Jacob's talk

2011-05-22T15:14:00.001-07:00

Jacob wowed the entire primary today by reading this talk without any help. I'm pretty sure that one day we'll wake up to find that our boys have declared coup and taken over our house, the city, or maybe even the world. We're pretty lucky parents to have kids who came to us bursting with so much ability.

The talk:

One Spring day, Joseph Smith went into the forest to pray to Heavenly Father. He wanted to know which church was the true church so he could go to that one. Heavenly Father and Jesus appeared to him and told him not to join any church. They also taught him important things. When they appeared, they were separate beings, and from this Joseph Smith learned that Heavenly Father and Jesus each have a body of their own that look like our bodies. He also learned that he would be important in helping many people return to live with our Heavenly Father again. I am grateful for Joseph Smith, the prophet, and for the Gospel plan that was restored through him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

2011-05-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

The Things Kids Say

2011-05-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not very good at writing down all of the funny things my kids say, so I will have to work on that, but last night Michael said something I just had to share. We were talking about our vacation in June and what we would do if it rained while we were camping. So, Michael comments, "Every time I look at the weather in Malaysia it is raining and stormy." Who says that? For that matter, who checks the weather in Malaysia or even knows where Malaysia is? He is definitely his father's son. :)

When the cat's away . . .

2011-05-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

James is away this weekend with the choir, so we are home alone. The funny thing is that it is just like every other day, except at night. So, what is different when James isn't here? Maybe I shouldn't admit the following?

1. Breakfast is usually closer to 9 AM than 8 AM. The boys are so patient with me.

2. Everything is just a little bit more flexible. Bedtime was later, we didn't really have lunch today but a couple of snacks instead, I really just don't pay much attention to the time in general. The boys don't care when we do things and so they just happen when they happen.

3. Pizza movie night is every night. Well, not the pizza part but we definitely eat more carbs while watching movies or playing games. Oh, did I mention that we eat more carbs. I'll have to work that off on Monday. :)

4. I get to watch the movies I want to watch. I am going to watch Salt tonight and I'm super excited. I hope it is as good as everyone says!

Well, that is about it. It has been a fun weekend so far. We were sad that our soccer game was canceled and that it rained ALL day. We had to be creative to entertain ourselves but I think we'll make it.

Joshua is having a pain in his mouth-I'm not sure from what-but it makes chewing painful, so we have been having some creative food for him. Ok, not that creative but different from the norm. He eats mostly yogurt and oatmeal. So, we went shopping and found a few more options for him. Hopefully we can get into the dentist on Monday and figure out what is going on, so he can be happier and so we can all sleep a little better at night.

Well, that was a random little update but hopefully a little entertaining. We look forward to James' return tomorrow. I'll even be sure to make some chicken for him and cut back on the carbs. :)

Crazy Pants Weight Loss

2011-05-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Liz and I have been crazy these last few months trying to get ourselves slimmed back down, but as our Florida vacation approaches, we're feeling the pressure. Apparently, it's not enough that we stake cash on our outcomes and have to plan the date if we don't exercise enough, because we've both been in a bit of a lull the last few weeks. So, this week we hit high gear and pushed ourselves, ate well, and made good, healthy decisions in all areas. The results? 11.1 pounds combined loss! I lost more, but her percentage was higher, but only just barely. I thought our sweet victory was worth mentioning for the annals of history. In other related news, I also won the at work weight loss challenge last week, being the employee who maintained the greatest level of weight loss over the course of the semester—11.22%! Honestly, losing weight is super fun, but re-losing weight is a soul-sucking monster. We'll not be re-losing again.

Luckily we still have a month before we hit the hot Floridian jungle, but beach—here we come!

Ready!

2011-05-03T05:03:00.000-07:00

This is what we did last week during a lull between storms. We're hoping our dirt is delivered soon so we can get this show on the road! We're rather fond of these things, but we're even more fond of the vegetables that will come from them. Yum!

Family Date

2011-05-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

The boys see us go out every week and often want to join us, so we have tried to do family dates. Some months have been better than others but we had a great day together yesterday that I thought was worth sharing. The day started with a great soccer game. Michael scored within seconds of the game starting and Joshua did a great job on defense.

After Marquie finished packing we headed up to the airport. After dropping her off we headed over to the mall for a bite as we would need the calories to prepare us for the task ahead. We then tried to find some new pants for the boys. We didn't realize how difficult it would be to find a nice pair of khakis for Michael, but apparently he is too skinny for his height according to the clothing industry. We were able to get him some jeans (size 14-ahhhhh) and nice corduroys, so that will have to do. I just have to include the fact that the jeans were $10 and the corduroys were only $5. There is something about being a girl and just having to share those facts. :) Also, it is awesome shopping in a place where you have choices and sales!!!

After dragging them around shopping, because well, we have been shopping deprived for just a little too long, we headed over to Borders. I did not realize the riot this would cause. The boys were so excited and asked very kindly if they could come in. The question made me smile because we made them come into every store including the ones they wouldn't enjoy but were then afraid they would miss Borders. The real challenge at Borders is getting them past the vestibule. I am grateful that my boys like books, and boy do they love books! We spent plenty of time just looking around. I did buy a couple of books for the boys for school including a super huge book on animals from the Smithsonian which we just had to have. Funny enough every book we bought was found in the vestibule. Oh the irony.

By then it was after 5 and we decided we should feed the boys, so we looked around for a place to eat. It was a challenge, though, because the first place we stopped had plumbing issues and would not be opening. Then, the next place had a 30 minute wait-with three hungry boys that was not an option. Finally, we opted to eat at the Hy-Vee buffet. I know, you are thinking that is a pretty lame dinner, but it was a pretty impressive buffet. The boys ate everything from sesame chicken to pizza to fruit and everything in between. I'm pretty sure they overate which doesn't happen often. And they loved it which is what was really important.

It was a great day of fun and shopping (and yes we even squeezed in our grocery shopping) as a family and super fun to spend it together!

Happy Birthday Michael!

2011-04-17T18:11:00.001-07:00

Michael had his 9th birthday and it was a really fun one. He was supposed to have his first soccer game of the season, but the weather was not interested in cooperating with that idea. So, instead we headed over to the YMCA for a safety party. There were stations by the first dept, police, martial arts, Hy-vee (free healthy food; well, semi-healthy) and much more. We got to watch a martial arts demonstration including boys breaking boards with their hands and feet. The boys loved that part! They also had some bouncy houses which are every boys dream come true. I forgot the camera, so you get pictures from my i-pod only but they are better than nothing. The boys had a blast as I'm sure you can see.

After lunch the boys were able to have their friends come over and as a little birthday treat I taught them all how to play Ticket to Ride. I have learned that the boys are no longer satisfied with children's games. :( But it was a blast and they all did really well.

We finally made it to birthday dinner which consisted of pizza and black beans. Michael was kind enough to let us have a salad with it. I just have to let you know that Michael had black beans with every meal on his birthday. I had no idea he liked them so much. After dinner he got to open presents which is always their favorite part, well, maybe cake is their favorite? We finally got Michael a fishing pole which he was very excited to get. Now we need to get a couple more, so we can go fishing together!

And here is the great snow leopard cake. I looked great and tasted great! After cake the boys got to watch 'The Lightning Thief" which they seem to really enjoy. It is fun to hear them compare the movie to the book. It sounds like they changed quite a bit. I sure wish they would quit doing that! Ugh! It was a great day and now I have a 9 year old who wears the same size shoes I do. I know people warned me that kids grow quickly but Michael has taken that a bit far I think. But we love him and are happy to have him as a part of our family. Happy Birthday Michael!

Our Latelys

2011-04-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

Lately, we've been busy.

Lately, we've had cold weather and huge, nearly-tornadic thunderstorms.

Lately, we've avoided any actual tornadoes in our area.

Lately, we are grateful.

Lately, our children have become restless with this stagnation of Spring's arrival.

Lately, they've been beating each other a little more earnestly than usual.

Lately, James has been putting up with crap at work while trying to keep this year's program from collapsing.

Lately, James has been desperately trying to plan next year to avoid any major pitfalls in his program.

Lately, Liz has tolerated James as he's digested those stresses.

Lately, Liz has grown weary of tolerating James as he continues to digest those stresses.

Lately, we've been watching our little seedlings emerge and grow on their little lit shelf in the dining room.

Lately, we've been cursing our poblanos for their obvious lack of motivation and clear inability to keep up with everything around them.

Lately, we took delivery of the cedar for our garden boxes that will house our seedlings as they grow into fine and mature citizens of their new home.

Lately, we are ecstatic about this year's garden and the promise of vegetable abundance.

Lately, we are ready for summer weather, summer vacation, and summer joys.

Lately, we are missing family; too many good visits in so few short months spoiled us and we grew accustomed. We should have known this would happen.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2011-04-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

We are always told that our children will do what we do over what we say and every day this is reaffirmed in my mind. Today I had a very yummy salad for lunch, I know you are all jealous, but apparently my children were. They all wanted my salad and begged that they get to have a salad for lunch tomorrow. So, we will be having salad for lunch from here on out. Who would have guessed! But really they would never want salad for lunch if I wasn't having it. It makes me wonder what else I could be doing that they would imitate just because I am doing it. Hmmm. . .

Notable Accomplishments

2011-04-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

In family council today, we gave out some awards to our boys, each of whom did something spectacular today and deserved to be acknowledged.

One guess what Joshua told the truth about . . .

A Much Delayed Update

2011-04-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

As most have noticed the boys and I have been out and about having some little adventures while James stayed home and worked. It is amazing how much more time one has when they don't have their children to take care of. But he did get our indoor garden started and kept the house clean. My hero! And the indoor garden is flourishing which is always exciting!

So, what have we been up to? Well, we went to Utah, of course. Now to be honest, I have never made the drive to Utah alone before but wasn't worried. So, we stayed for the boys basketball game and headed out right after. Amazingly we only had to go home for two quick items after the game, then drive over to the college to say good bye to James who was hosting a piano competition and head out. We made it to our hotel in Cheyenne around 10 PM MDT and crashed pretty quickly after I did a quick e-mail check. The boys were really tired and a little crabby, but I came up with a brilliant idea. I told Joshua to count how many times Michael touched him, breathed on him, or whatever it was that was bothering him so much. So, instead of whining and squirming and complaining he counted, and that was the last I heard of him. Score! The next day we arrived and spent time with my family and then headed to Justin and Jodi's where we were staying. Of course, I-15 was closed that evening for construction (has anyone ever seen I-15 not under construction), so that was a pain but we made it!

The week was full of family events and, of course, my sister's wedding. The wedding was one of the highlights of the week. It was just beautiful, though, I must admit it is still hard for me to think of my baby sister as a grown up. :) I guess I'll have to work on that. It was fun to see siblings and let the boys play with cousins. They even got to stop in and see their great grandparents which is always neat. This time Jacob didn't even head butt (for lack of a better term) his great grandpa. Though, he did jump on his back. We'll work on that.

It was interesting to see my siblings and their new families that they have formed. And fun to see cousins play. I do feel bad for Michael that he only has one cousin as old as him, but she lives in Florida, but he found games to play with and other things to do to entertain himself. We decided to stay an extra day to see Michelle and her family, who had to go to Colorado for the rest of the time we were there. But to make up for that extra day I decided to try and drive home in one day. I realized that if I left early and stopped around 10 (my usual stopping time) that I would be 3 hours from home. Hmmm. . . so driving til 1 would let me sleep in my own bed. So, we got up and were out by 4:30 AM, yes, I know I am crazy. We got out of Salt Lake before rush hour started-thank goodness! But then we found some lovely snow in the Wyoming mountains. They even lowered the speed limit for me, very kind of them-argh. Other than that we just drove, ate, went to the bathroom and drove some more. It was a long drive, but we made it! So, now at least I know it can be done, but I must admit that I will not be volunteering to do it again anytime soon.

After returning home it took a few days to settle back in but we are now back in the groove and loving this amazing weather! The boys have been playing outside and have even started soccer, which they LOVE!

Between our trip and other things I have had a few observations that I thought I would share.

1. Michael is very difficult to punish. He does something wrong, so I take something away and he says, ok, I'll just wait until tomorrow. Hmmm. . . We'll have to work on that.

2. Jacob hates going off the diving board. The first time he did it he went under and wouldn't go again. But what I really learned was that he is a worrier. He didn't want to go to swimming lessons because he was so worried about it. Fortunately, I listened today and told his teacher that he doesn't want to go off the diving board. The moment I told her Jacob perked up and had the best lesson he has had yet. He was happier, more active and had more fun jumping off the side. Now I know that if there is something bugging him we need to deal with it, so it doesn't affect everything else in his life.

3. Joshua just needs a hug. Joshua has been getting more extreme in his emotions and starting hitting things, so I talked to him about just giving me a hug when he gets upset. It is amazing what difference a hug can make to him. He just calms back down and then we can talk about it.

4. Good friends are great! While in Utah we were able to visit with some of my high school/college friends and it was really neat that after so many years we were able to get together and talk for hours while our kids play. I've learned that good friends become family and I love that!

5. I am not very good at taking photos while traveling. So, here are a few that I took on my ipod. The quality isn't great but they were taken at my friend Bryce's house and at Cabella's (I love free fun places).

A little Spring

2011-04-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

A colleague of mine brought these over yesterday and I thought I would share them. Ah, Forsythia!

-- Post From My iPhone

Conference Memories

2011-04-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

As I'm enjoying conference (yes, I'm multitasking) I feel inclined to share on here why I love conference so much. It's a pain to set aside an entire weekend, and boy, I tell you, I had some great plans for this gorgeous 70˚+ spring weekend, but I've never regretted it, not once in my entire life. As I've listened, enjoyed, and pondered the messages of the prophets this weekend, I remembered the moment that converted me from a conference attender to a conference partaker.

While serving in Toronto, I enjoyed the November 1999 conference from the Toronto Stake Center. At the time I was serving in the mission office, making the transition from mission secretary to some other responsibilities in there. It was a nontraditional mission assignment, and we spent a great deal of time attending to little mission "fires" that erupted all too frequently with cars, apartments, and companionships. That cool Saturday afternoon, however, I must have been ready to be taught, because I have never forgotten that conference session, even more than a decade later.

The last two talks of that session were by the then junior members of the Quorum of the 12, Elders Eyring and Holland. It was during these power house moments that I was taught the truths of the plan of salvation, and received the witness of the Holy Ghost of their verity. Elder Eyring talked about repentance, its cleansing power, and its inability to wipe away consequences, and Elder Holland followed immediately with the promise of eternity that is given to the righteous followers of Christ. It was a near all-encompassing encounter with the Great Plan of Happiness. I often reflect on those talks and the experiences I treasure in relation to them.

After conference yesterday, the following message came on as our stream continued after the conclusion of the session. It is an autobiographical story from Elder Holland's talk from that day so many years ago, and it is one that continues to inspire and impress me. The last few years have been pivotal in our family in so many ways, and as I reflect on my life and the message of His Apostle, I know the promises of a loving Saviour are real and can and should shape every moment of my life.

Indeed, "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."

Last day!

2011-03-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited because my family is coming home tonight!!

They have a lot of adventures without me, but 'm okay with that as long as they come back home when they're finished. I think I'll celebrate by doing the laundry and making sure the kitchen is clean. If it's warm this afternoon, I might even pick up the yard a little.

THEY'RE COMING HOME!!

I'm All Alone . . .

2011-03-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

I, like most men I know, have mixed feelings about spending time alone. We like to have a little quiet time without having to be a Dad, husband, provider, calling fulfiller, bedroom pickerupper, yard maintainer, or dish doer.

A few days, though, is plenty for me, and I'm gearing up for next week's big hugs. Until I can get them, I have this, my computer desktop. Thanks again, Jodi, for the beautiful photos.

I kind of feel like Joshua's questioning my every keystroke, but I'll let him stay. I think he and I share a mischievous gene, and I need a partner in crime.

A few more

2011-03-14T18:43:00.001-07:00

Because I can't really bring myself to come home from vacation, and because I rediscovered photobucket, here's a few more good shots from Paris.

The Journey Home

2011-03-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end, and so did our trip to Paris. We awoke at 5:30 AM to get ready and clean the apartment. That is the only disadvantage to renting an apartment, but it only took about 30 minutes and was worth not being in a hotel. We then headed out and took the train to the airport. I must admit that a train ride is much nicer than driving to the airport. The only drawback was the drunk man running around trying to keep his pants on. It is in times like these that I appreciate even more having a big strong husband to take care of me. :)

Everything at the airport went smoothly and before we knew it we were on our way. The first flight was quite pleasant, but what 45 minute flight isn't? We even got a little nap which is impressive for such a short flight. We then enjoyed a little time in Zurich, Switzerland and well, it is just awesome that we have now been to Switzerland as well, even if we didn't ever leave the airport. And the best part about Switzerland is that they served Swiss chocolate on the flights . . . mmmm . . . yummy! Security was a bit of a pain as we had to go through several checkpoints and even take our shoes off again. Ugh! But by the time you got through the final checkpoint, which was right in front of our gate, we were able to just board which was nice.

The flight to Chicago is about 10 hours which is definitely not something one looks forward to but is all apart of the experience. As we boarded, a couple was being helped out of wheel chairs and onto the plane. They were an older, eastern European couple that seemed to be the couple that no one would want to sit next to. So, of course when they were asked where they were sitting our ears perked up to make sure they were no where near us. To our dismay they were going to be sitting right next to us--to be more specific right next to ME! I'm a pretty tolerant person, but they (mostly she) pushed just about every button I had. I'm pretty sure if James had been sitting next to her the next 10 hours would have passed very differently. It is good that I was the buffer. She began by asking the flight attendants for cooling gel and something to drink. It only took those first few minutes for the flight attendants to learn to avoid our row. She finally sat down and settled in and it seemed that she would sleep through the flight. If only I were that lucky. I'm not sure if she was claustrophobic but she seemed to be having a hard time with the amount of room afforded her in her seat (and about 1/3 of the room in my seat as well). Then, the worst thing imaginable happened . . . the lady in front of her put her seat all the way back. Now we all know that this is something we hope doesn't happen to us but it pushed her (I will now refer to her as crazy lady) over the edge and she started hitting the seat in front of her telling the lady to put her seat back up. And I thought sitting next to her was bad! So, the lady actually put her seat back up. I was a little surprised but very grateful. I was not surprised, however, when the lady put her seat back again while the crazy lady was in the bathroom. At this point I wanted to laugh but used every ounce of control I had to focus on my movie. When crazy lady returned she managed to get back in her seat but began hitting the seat in front of her again. The lady in front, however, had decided to ignore her. The joy of head phones . . . you can pretend not to hear. But then when crazy lady's husband got up and went around she had no choice but to acknowledge them. She was not happy about it all but moved her seat up a little. I know you can't imagine this being a true story but I promise it is! Shortly after this one of the flight attendants became involved--thankfully! Crazy lady wanted her remote turned off (the one in the seats that controls the TV) which he, of course, couldn't do. Then, she wanted to complain that the lady in front of her because she keeps putting her seat back. He then tried to explain that she could put her seat back to compensate. Unfortunately, her legs were too short for her to feel comfortable this way, so she kept her seat up and the flight attendant told the lady in front of her that she could put her seat however she wanted. And she did. It was pretty fun to hear the flight attendant tell the lady that she was in coach on an airplane and that this is how it is. If she doesn't like it, she shouldn't fly. Sadly, I fell asleep shortly thereafter and by the time I awoke crazy lady had moved to a different seat as did her husband. There were not many empty seats, so they were no longer able to sit together, but I now had an empty seat next to me. I felt that was my reward for not telling her what I really thought. You should all be proud. It was crazy but with a few movies, a couple of short naps and a little Sudoku and even a little Tetris (technology on planes is amazing) we made it home!!!

We had decided to check luggage, so we could bring fun things home, so we then went to wait for our luggage. After a few bags had come through an airline employee called out for a few passengers. It is times like these that you do not want to hear your name, but alas, as the day has shown it was not my day and I was called. My suitcase was still in Switzerland. :( It took about an hour to get James' suitcase and then file the paperwork to have my suitcase mailed to me-hopefully Monday? By this point we were ready to be home. Unfortunately, we still had a 3 hour drive home. The drive wasn't bad but by the end we were very tired as we had now been up for about 21 hours. Then, about 10 miles before the Galesburg exit a car full of young people decided to play tag with us making inappropriate gestures every time we passed them. Did we do something wrong? If we did we did not know what it was. But I was just too tired, so I left my cruise on and ignored them. By the time we got home we were so happy to be there!

Michael and Joshua were still up, so we got to enjoy a few minutes with them. We were glad to hear that all had gone well. It is not easy leaving your children for a week, but I was glad to see that we could do it and all was well. Even though it was a long, crazy trip home we survived and are glad to be home with our boys. It was a successful trip and one I would be willing to take again-maybe even with the boys. But for now I plan to enjoy a normal week and then head out to Utah on Saturday!

Paris—Day 6

2011-03-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

Six days are not enough in Paris. Today, our story dawns on two tired travelers, ready to squeeze the most out of their last day, but realizing that they've done everything on "the list," and their feet might be too tired for general aroundtownment. Yes, that's a word.

We returned to some our favourite places to grab a little piece of this or that, or pick up a souvenir or gift. We spent several days learning the best places for all these things, and we enjoyed getting back to them with some considerable ease. We're finally starting to know our way around the metro and the immediate neighbourhood—so much so that it would seem a tragedy to visit again and have to learn a new area. We'll keep this one bookmarked, just in case life brings us this way again.

We've learned a lot about Paris and it's people in the last week. Here are a few tidbits:

The clean the streets in the early hours of the morning, and they're always wet when we leave in the morning. This clean, shining pavement gives the impression that a light, clean rain sweeps through each morning to freshen things and help greet the morning.
There is bread everywhere, and these people love it. We found a place nearby with a killer baguette (and pain au chocolat, and palmier . . .) that we've enjoyed these many days. Our first try was actually only acceptable, so we were glad to find a replacement.
For food in general, you'll rarely find something bad, but there are levels to everything. If you do a little research, you'll find stuff that's just that much better, and rarely costs much more than it's also-ran counterparts.
Contrary to what I've heard, the French really do like it when you try to speak French. Of course, they'll often rattle off a French response, but some will smile when you speak in broken, anglo-tinted French, then respond to your querie in English because they know that even though you can speak it, you likely won't understand it when zipped through in response.
There's a common notion that the French are rude and intolerant, but I've permanently placed my opinion in the opposite camp. My observations this week lead me to believe that the French are patient, accommodating, and kind, and that Americans are rude, intolerant, and impose their ideas universally on the world at large and the individuals around them.
Parisians tend to run into you if you're in the way. It generally only happens in large crowds at busy times, but when someone needs to move forward, get out of the way. Sometimes you'll get a muffled, "pardon," but normally not.
Personal interaction is important to the people here. Only in the largest stores will you ever walk in and not be greeted with a kind "bonjour" or "bon soir." And they always, always, always tell you "merci, au revoir" when you leave. There are always opportunities to talk with people, and I've regretted my lack of language skills when presented with such opportunities.
Big cities are awesome and varied, and Paris is no exception. I learned, for example, that I love Lebanese cuisine, and I learned that while on vacation in Paris. I wish I lived closer to a big city so I could enjoy the variety of life and world culture that exists in such places.

Maybe I'll add more later, but reflecting on the week really makes we wish we weren't leaving in the morning.

Paris—Day 5

2011-03-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

Today was a Parisian day, plain and simple. We didn't go anywhere tourist-y, we shopped at normal stores, and we had an incredible time doing it. No fun photos, just great memories and great weather and tons of fun. We slept in, ate last night's leftover baguette smeared with crème fraîche with eggs for breakfast, and wandered down Rue Rivoli looking for fun places to explore and enjoy. We found them, and even tried on some clothes, which we were both afraid to do because let me tell you—these Parisians are skinny. Like SKINNY skinny. And they wear tight clothes.

We were, however, able to find some fun things that looked great on us and had some good laughs as we grew steadily more hungry. We found a place with linen on sale and a great place to buy the world's best chocolate in bulk, which we did not buy, despite my great hankering to do so. Liz asked for a bottle of water all by herself at a shop, and I was so proud of her! It was a double win—Liz gains independence, and I don't have to order everything for her!

She had panini, and I got something at the Lebanese place again, which might be my new favourite thing in the whole wide world. We found L'Atelier au Chocolat, one of the finest candy makers in the city, and let me tell you something about Rocher—amazing. Those little Ferrerro things you get in the grocery store and nothing compared to the real thing, which are at least twice as large, and 143,721 times more delicious. I will learn to make them. soon.

We stopped home for a potty break, and I realized that we were about to miss the last chance at a market I wanted to visit, so we ran like mad for the Eiffel Tower area, and made it with 1/2 hour to spare. Unfortunately, markets close up early in Paris, so we missed it, so we sat on a park bench nearby and planned our next move. We decided to return to the area near our hotel from earlier in the week, and wandered through the antique shops, although I think they were less vibrant than usual because of the colder afternoon. We enjoyed time and talk as we wandered through the streets on the way home, although one of the stores I wanted to visit was closed.

We're learning that we like living here, at least for a week, but we're going to need better shoes next time. Our bodies are starting to wear out a bit, but we've enjoyed the tiny luxury of our relaxing apartment to help stave off holiday exhaustion. Tonight was Liz chat night, so while she taught, I ran a few errands, and was even stopped to sign a petition by a man who just rambled at me in French; he didn't assume I was a tourist! It was so great; I love that feeling.

After Liz's chats tonights, we ventured out for our single French restaurant meal. I made the reservations yesterday, and we ventured over just in time for our 8 pm spot tonight, plenty hungry, and ready for some good eatin'. In France, the menu is a fixed set of dishes that sometimes has options for each course, but that charges a flat rate for the meal. Your option is to order from the carte (or card menu) at a separate price for each dish. That, of course, is where we get the term a la carte (from the card.) We enjoyed the prix fixe menu, and were able to choose from those things listed to make the meal we wanted most. We had amazing things like braised asparagus (the fattest I've ever seen) and slow roasted lamb shoulder, white fish over leeks, and vanilla custard and rice pudding for dessert.

Better than everything, however, was the third course—the cheese plate. Think of the largest serving tray you own, then expand it just a little. Then pile it high with cheeses of many sizes, shapes, and colours, soft and hard, mild and strong. They just left it at our table, and we helped ourselves, using knives and our fingers to gather slices and slabs that suited us just so. When it was time for another guest to enjoy it, the waitress came and asked if we were finished, and encouraged us to take just a little more. We decided it's the perfect way to run a restaurant: one waiter, one bartender, who was also the owner, and one other man to take our coats, interact with guests, and help around as necessary. I'm sure there was a full staff in the kitchen working brilliantly to keep us all fed, but we only ever saw three people.

One of the fun things about the meal is that our tiny table was up against a wall, and there was another tiny table butted right up against it. Shortly after we arrived, an older French couple was escorted to the other half of our table, and we shared the evening together, each on a different course at a different time. We chatted just a bit with them, but mostly we each kept to our own conversations on our own halves. It was natural, fun, and different than what we'd accept or expect in the states. It was a great cultural exploration, and with a dining room the size of our living and dining rooms combined, there wasn't much choice. I bet there weren't more than 20 of those small tables for two in the whole place. It was different, intimate, and a grand adventure. We were there for over two hours, and enjoyed every relaxed, beautiful minute of it. I can't remember the last time I went out to eat and wasn't ready to go within 40 minutes and wondering what to do with the rest of the evening. This was so much better.

Tomorrow's our last day in Paris, and it looks like we've done everything we came to do. Tomorrow should be a great day of fun doing a few things again, eating a few snacks, and having a dynamite day in the city.

Paris—Day 4

2011-03-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

We actually arose on time this morning, despite our late night last night entertaining our washing machine. We are confident that no washing machine has ever washed clothes with the ferocity seen in our washing machine last night. Our tiny load in that tiny machine took almost two hours to wash, rinse, and spin, and to cap it off, we had to hang them to dry. Oh well, we're still grateful for the machine.

We got up early so we could get to the Louvre before the real crowds started, and we were glad we did. We still waited in a long, bust fast line with the entire Parisian population of visiting Asians, but it was worth the early morning get go. Apparently Asians are prompt morning people, yes? Seriously, we've only seen six of them in the last four days, but today we saw hundreds all queued up and ready for their time with the art.

The Louvre is, indeed, a spectacular palace, museum, and general crazy place. Visitors be warned: the map looks like, tells you, and does everything in its power to convince you everything on floor one is on the same plane. Don't be fooled, however, because stairs.

STAIRS.

STAIRS!!!!

My thighs'll be burnin' tomorrow!

Despite the exercise, we enjoyed some time with famous works such as Dear Mona, the Jocund:

Venus de Milo:A guarding sphinx:
A room full of hieroglyphs that you can actually enter:
and Hammurabi's code:
My favourite two however, were the boxing/unboxing room we spied on our way up to the exhibits:

and the Medieval Louvre, the foundations of the original defense fortress found at the lowest level:

We also spied the Opera Garnier on our walk around.
We shopped, ran up and down our favourite street, Rue Montorgueil, and did something I've always wanted to do: we enjoyed lunch at a sidewalk café as we watched passersby and enjoyed our Lebanese meal. I seriously need to identify the spice used in my chicken, because it made my very heart sing. Liz's falafel wasn't as good as yesterday, but it satisfied her (at that moment) unconquerable need for a little nourishment.

We also stopped to get some gelato and had an interesting experience that happens all the time, but not quite in this way. The shop's proprietors were Italian, and jabbered to each other as they worked, and as non-Italian speakers, we opted for the best method of communication: speaking in French. Usually people opt for English as the neutral third language, but this time it was French. It's good we weren't haggling or trading stocks, because my French could not have accomplished much more than ordering two gelato whose flavours were posted on them. Phew!

We took an early evening trip to Sacre Coeur, up on Montmartre, the artistic center of Paris for the last 150 years or so. It's not the nicest part of town, but it was interesting to ride the train out and enjoy the area on the mount. The sudden hill is so high that the top of Sacre Coeur is the second highest point in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower, of course. We snuck in to look around, and enjoyed some chant by the resident nuns there, but slipped out before the Ash Wednesday service began. We didn't want to leave in the middle, and didn't want to stay for the whole thing, so we opted out. The church, however, was beautiful, and it steadily filled with people as we sat for a few minutes. It was nice to finally see a church with people in it to worship rather than just ogle.

We wandered back home, enjoyed the beautiful evening, and made sure Liz had a pain au chocolate with which she could finish her evening before heading in for a relaxing night. We've been out and about a lot, and we've done most of the things we knew we wanted to do, so we had another moment of gratitude for the apartment, and have settled in for the evening. We've decided that one of the reasons people need vacations after their vacations is that they feel the need to spend the entire time doing things, especially when they don't want to just sit in the hotel room. Having a tiny apartment, even one that's not much bigger than a hotel room, makes a vacation much more like what I think a vacation should be. We'll definitely do it this way again.

This is a shot from our apartment's stairwell. We're on floor 2, which of course means the second floor above the ground floor, but looking at this reminds me how grateful I am to be not on the sixth floor in a place where the apartments have 16 foot ceilings. :)

Paris—Day 3

2011-03-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today was/is Mardi Gras, and in Paris that means only two things: One, children in costume like it's American Halloween, and Two, tomorrow will be busy at the huge cathedrals. Needless to say, I'm glad we've hit the churches we really wanted to see before Ash Wednesday changes the simplicity and beauty of the Parisian churches. We hit St. Germain-des-Pres, where Descartes is buried, and St. Sulpice with its Fountain of the Four Bishops, which has beautiful Delacroix murals and which Dan Brown popularized in The Da Vinci Code. Most of what he wrote was false, by the way.

We also explored a little while at the Musée D'Orsay, which specializes in Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. We reveled in the works of Degas, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Rodin, and so many others. It was a spectacular stroll through the transformed train station, and there was even a special artifact-based display on Gustav Mahler, the famed conductor.

We enjoyed a little Pierre Hermé in Luxembourg Gardens and had our photo taken at the Medici Fountain which was serene and beautiful, and surrounded by couples, including a little duck family around the back of the fountain in their own private pool. If you've never heard of Pierre Hermé, by the way, it's a good little Google moment wherein you can perhaps appreciate what amazing little pastries we experienced there. They are, perhaps, the best in Paris, and therefore the world. The best part is that we didn't have to wait in line as I'd feared.

The gardens were peaceful and full of real Parisians basking in today's warm rays, enjoying picnics, jogging, and leisurely strolling through. It is the largest Park in Paris, and truly a treat to wander through. There are so few tourists, and people all looked relaxed; we appreciated it very much. We did a little shopping at La Grand Epicerie, saw the haute couture boutiques on the South Bank of the River, and headed home for some afternoon rest. We got lost coming out of the metro station, but with a little brave exploration, we found that it was a great station exit, quite close to our apartment.

We ran out for some falafel at the famous L'As du Falafel, and it was Liz's first. We both enjoyed it immensely, and wandered over to the Picasso museum which was, of course, closed until next year for renovations. On the plus side, however, much of its contents is on tour around the world, so look for it visiting at a museum near you.

We made some nice mushroom three cheese pasta with tomato and roquette and enjoyed it with what was one year voted the best baguette in Paris. They hold a competition every year, so the prize constantly changes. I tell you what—that was an amazing baguette; I'm glad we got another for breakfast.

Today was a fresh 60˚, so we planned to return to the Eiffel Tower tonight. A friend of mine suggested that going up the tower often seems a let-down because when you look out at Paris, you can't see the Eiffel Tower. To counteract that tentative disappointment, we planned an evening trip so we could see the city lights at their best. It was spectacular, and I highly suggest it to anyone who might consider it! It was so glorious to gaze upon the city of lights from the highest point in the city, and sneak a kiss or two with the love of my life.

Paris—Day 2

2011-03-07T10:16:00.001-08:00

And what a day it has been! We started the day with a croissant and pain au chocolat while Liz checked email and I blogged about yesterday. We checked out of our hotel, then began our leisurely walk toward our apartment to meet our landlord. We lugged our rolling suitcases behind us, and we didn't mind one bit as they clattered along, sometimes on concrete, sometimes on brick, sometimes on cobbles. It reminded me of a year ago as Justin, Jodi, Jaime, Liz and I wandered aimlessly through the streets of Shanghai hoping to find a hotel that would allow 5 foreigners for the night. We were glad to know where we were going and that a nice warm space would be there for us when we arrived.

We needed to buy a new flat iron for Liz after our faith in our voltage converter was rewarded with popping, crackling, melting, a little fear on my part, and some angry tears on Liz's part, so we stopped at BHV, one of the most unique megastores I've ever experienced, and marveled at seven floors of designer brands, clothing, parfum, art supplies, cookware, home electrics, electronics, and just about everything else you can imagine, including off-brands, store brands, and the best names in just about everything. It's what I think Saks Fifth Avenue would look like if it was acquired by WalMart, which , of course, it might be some day, which would be great, because I'd love to have a neighbourhood BHV.

We met our landlord, a wonderful woman named Laurence, and settled into our beautiful little apartment. You can see the interior and the courtyard here.

We then set out for a day of adventure. This was the coldest day of the week, which we had initially planned to spend at the Louvre, but we got a late start, so we'll plan that for another cold(-ish) day.

Instead of spending the day wandering leisurely through the great art of the world, we huddled together in a line along the North face of Notre Dame praying that the wind and the cold would not steal away our very souls. An hour and a half later, we ascended the spiral staircase of the North tower. It was narrow, and hundreds of steps, but we got not only exercise, but also beautiful views of the city in all directions. It was fun to see Paris laid out in every direction without the hindrance of six-story buildings. We could Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, The Eiffel Tower, and the Pantheon, and it made Paris feel rather small.

We also gazed upon the gargoyles that guard the Cathedral and had a nice private moment with the Grand Bell of the tower. We descended the opposite tower, and were relieved to feel the sun on our faces as we finally emerged at the bottom. We took a quick turn inside the great gothic cathedral, then set off for more adventure.

We headed South off the island and found ourselves at the Pantheon. We didn't pay the 8€ each admission to wander around inside, but we understand that it's the place where M. Foucault proved that the earth was revolving using his now famous pendulum, which is still there. We wandered toward Rue St. Michel, Liz bought a scarf that makes her look like a movie star, took some photos, wandered through the flower market, and checked out the Palace of Justice and L'Église-Saint Chappelle within its walls. We paused for photos on Pont St. Michel, then headed for home.

We stopped for a moment because we saw this awesome structure, Le Tour-St. Jacques, which is the remnants of a church that used to be on this site. It was a meeting place for pilgrims of all nationalities since the tenth century, and it has a statue of Pascal at the base. It was cool.

We popped home for a quick rest and foot rub, then headed to MORA, a cooking supply store not far from here to see about finding a crepe pan. Well, the good crepe pans are worth the €, but they are heavy, so I'll have to determine whether I'm able to get one home. I did grab a few little kitchen goodies, though. Interestingly, at the store, you go to one counter where they ring up your purchases, then hand you a receipt. You take the receipt to the register where you pay, then when you return to the first counter, your items are wrapped, bagged, and ready to go. Very efficient, and a great service, in my opinion.

We enjoyed dinner in, just a baguette with roast pork from the charcuterie, some stinky cheese, and roquette, which I think is similar to/the same as arugula. It was a good dinner, but definitely some new flavours for us; we were glad to have bread and pork to fall back on. Liz has a little work to do tonight, so we're in for the evening, and glad to be resting. Vacation should involve rest, no?

Paris—Nous sommes arrivés!

2011-03-07T01:27:00.000-08:00

We made it! The day was extra long, with a leisurely afternoon at the Montreal airport, but if I’m going to be stuck in an International terminal, that’s a pretty good one to choose. The flight was full, uneventful, and we arrived in Paris around 8:30 in the morning. By the time we got our luggage and found our way into the city, it was coming on 11, so we dropped our luggage at the hotel, then set out so as not to miss a thing on our first day in Paris.

Our first purchase in Paris was our train tickets, of course, but our second was les macarons, a little meringue sandwich cookie that’s all the rage here and, well, everywhere else too. We both tried chocolate, and I ventured bravely with a rose flavoured one. Initial reaction? It tastes like perfume, but I think I could get used to it. They were like nothing I’ve ever had before, both taste and texture, and were an excellent introduction to culinary France. Liz tried to capture my “this is so good I could die” face, but every shot ended up looking like “this tastes like a toddler’s diaper,” so I’m not including them here. Apparently I need to work on my expressive faces.

Because we couldn’t check into our hotel until after 1, we wandered down Rue de Rivoli, and watched thousands of people running the Paris half-marathon. This is the third time I’ve been on vacation and run into a marathon: Rome, Madison, and now Paris. Perhaps I should stop watching and starting running the first mile and collapsing on the ladies serving water and bananas. We’ll see.

We hopped on the metro and headed for the Louvre, because we thought it would be a great way to spend a Sunday that wouldn’t require too much mental exertion on our part. Unfortunately, the first Sunday of the month is Free Admission to the Louvre day, and the half-kilometer line was not moving at an inviting pace. So, we took some photos, then headed to the Eiffel Tower.

By this time we were exhausted and realized that we didn’t really want to do anything but take a nap, so we opted not to go up the tower today, but we’ll definitely do it another day this week, perhaps even at night so we can see the City of Lights in all its splendor. I don’t think we’ll be taking the stairs, but you never know what might happen when you combine my thirst for adventure with Liz’s ever-present thrift.

Because we were on that side of town, we popped over to the Arc de Triomphe, then got on the train back to the hotel. We split a baguette sandwich with chicken, then settled in for a one hour power nap that turned into a glorious three hour (or more!) siesta and awoke refreshed and ready for evening adventure.

Of course, evening adventure consisted mostly of a leisurely dinner of les sandwichs at the same café where we bought our lunch, and a stroll down to Le Bastille, where there is no prison, because it was torn down in the revolution, but there is shiny new opera house and a monument to the citizens who died in the later revolts of 1830. Many of them are buried in a crypt below the monument, which now sits center in one of Paris’s massive traffic roundabouts.

So, there's day one. More tomorrow!

Swimming Lesson

2011-03-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

Michael and Joshua have been taking swimming lessons for over a year now and love it. But poor Jacob has been left out because the homeschool class is for 6 and older. Some of the moms have talked about trying to put together a class for the younger kids but we haven't had enough interested to get the class going until now. So, now Jacob gets to take lessons right before the older boys' class. It is perfect timing and he gets to enjoy swimming with his friends. Here are some fun pics that I just had to post! Oh, and in case you didn't notice he looks just like all of his friends. It is the cutest thing ever!

On the first day Jacob jumped right off the diving board but went under pretty far, so he was a little more hesitant this time. Other than that he has loved it and will hopefully be a swimmer before we know it!

Garden Planning!

2011-02-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's that time already! Hope springs eternal, I suppose, and my hope is in a rich vegetable crop. We've ordered clean, manured fill and seeds, and I just have to pick up some local potatoes and onions when the time is right. Within a couple weeks, there will be seeds growing on shelves in my dining room, starting themselves toward a promising future in our fantastic garden! I used an online planner to plan out our space, and I loved it. It lets you drag to fill a space with vegetables, and then tells you how many of the plants will grow in that much space so you know exactly what yield to expect and how many seeds to buy. Then it compiles a seed list for you. It's a free trial, but I might spring for the yearly fee ($25) so it will save my plans from year to year and advise me on planting for next year (it will tell me how to rotate my crops to keep my soil healthy.) It also sends me emails about what should be planted when, so I got an email today telling me that my garlic chives can be started indoors within the next two weeks. Score! You can find it at GrowVeg. If you're a garden novice like me, you might just love it. Here's my spring garden plan. You can't really see them all, but there are small boxes of herbs on the left (14 types—YUM!) plus a box of leafy greens and radishes that will become broccoli, kale, and brussels sprouts in the fall, cabbages, cauliflower and tomatillos along the fence, eggplant, pole beans, peas, fennel, garlic, echinacea, TOMATOES!, peppers, carrots, parsnips, onions, zucchini, and potatoes. We're still on the fence (pun intended) about the strawberries along the front, but we'll see what happens.

It makes me feel so prepared. Now, all I have to do is build those 20 boxes . . .

All done!

2011-02-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

So, Michael and I did the lasts of this today, and we're happy to not be shoveling right now and for the next few days. I have to record here that Michael was the true titan of snow removal for this storm. He shoveled Tuesday before we left for Peoria, helped me that afternoon, got us first thing Wednesday to tackle it, and was out again this morning before I was even out of bed to clear out what the plows left behind. On Tuesday he told the neighbour that, on a scale of 1 to 10, he likes shoveling about a 7. This morning he informed me that it's now more like a 4. I suppose too much of a good thing can influence your excitement.

Despite his waning affection, he never yielded. He started first, worked until he was exhausted, then asked for help to finish. He and I discussed this morning how difficult it was getting for him to get the snow over the mountainous drifts that only grew as we shoveled. Still, he shoveled on, carrying the icy blocks to the edge and lifting them over. How can a Dad hope for any more than that from or for his children in the work arena? I predict this one will be quite successful in whatever he chooses because he has learned to work hard and long.

Here's the evidence of his efforts.

Snowstorms, shovels, and neighbourhoods

2011-02-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

Just for the record, it's not shoveling.

at all.

Shoveling is when you take your shiny shovel and push snow to the edge of the driveway, toss it up over the edge, and repeat until your cracked concrete shows its smiling face once again from house to street.

This was not like that.

at all.

This was using the world's largest spatula and carefully carving gigantic masses of snow cake that you carefully carry to the edge of the yard and feed to the constantly bloating, ever so ungrateful lawn and then turning around to grab the lower layer left behind because the spatula wasn't big enough and you weren't strong enough to get it all at once. I can now, with certainty, testify that our lawn has enjoyed its fill of snow cake.

Despite the inclement and unpleasant weather, I saw something in our neighbourhood I've never before observed: Our neighbours spoke to one another and to us! Michael helped Tim and Jill with their driveway yesterday so they could get their cars to the garage, and this afternoon I was able to help our new neighbour (NEW NEIGHBOURS!) Josh finish off his. I watched as Jill helped our across the street neighbour finish his drive, and marveled at the way this storm got us all out at the same time in a place where we could talk and laugh about the monumental task set before each of us.

After a few hours we're now all safe and warm and back inside where we should be, and according to the unplowed roads we'll be here for a good while yet.

Doing Fine

2011-01-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

Liz had surgery yesterday, and except for the "kidnapped by aliens" feeling, all went well. She's recovering nicely, and now only has to wear these at night.

Yup, enjoy that; I know I am. :)

Games, games and more games

2011-01-02T17:26:00.001-08:00

For Christmas this year the boys basically got books, puzzles and GAMES!!! There were a few other things in the mix but not much. We had some friends over a couple of weeks ago and they brought a few card games with them and we fell in love! We found that we could play fun, simple games in 15 minutes or less. So, I thought I would share some of the ones we found and loved ! (most were about $5 or less)

Monopoly Deal-I'm sure you love to sit down and play Monopoly for 2 hours, but I just don't have that kind of time. It is simple fun and always lasts less than 15 minutes. (Even James likes it!)

Scrabble Slam-For you home schoolers out there or well anyone who likes a good game of scrabble I think you will like this. You basically hand out all of the cards (which are just letters), start with a 4 letter word and then change the word one letter at a time. When all of your cards are gone, you win. Simple, fun and fast!

Clue Suspect-I played this for the first time tonight and absolutely LOVED it! You play Clue but without game board and the need to move from room to room. Awesome!

Blink-This is just silly, simple and fast but great for two players (Michael and Joshua to be exact).

Ruckus-I don't know what to say except that it is just fun, simple and again a bit silly. This one is a bit harder to find. Usually a good teacher store has one or you can always find it on Amazon.

There are of course the basics that we've had for a long time but UNO definitely makes our list of favorites. It is also a great game for teaching matching to youngsters if your into that educational game thing. :)

Oh, I just thought of one more but it isn't a card game but I really like it. Connect 4 x 4. If you think you are good at Connect 4 you should give this a go. All of your usually strategies go out the window. Again it is fun but gets you thinking!

And the best thing is that each is now contained in a bag which fits nicely in our card game box. Easy cleanup and little storage space. We have had a lot of fun playing games this holiday and enjoy watching the boys play on their own and with friends that they play with. It is also a fun way to spend time with friends which we have been trying to do more of! So, happy gaming and enjoy the rest of Christmas Break (if you have any left)!

The Boys and the Holidays

2010-12-27T19:04:00.001-08:00

Holidays are very different when you have children and it has been a delight to see their responses to the festivities. They are pretty easy going and enjoy just about everything which is AWESOME! We did quite a bit of cookie decorating which was really a lot of fun because James learned some new great techniques. For some reason I can't find any pictures of them finished, so hopefully you got to see and/or eat a few. The boys even did some decorating themselves for their own friends (more made it into their tummies than onto the plates, but at least they gave a few away).

Now as for the weather it has been snowy and freezing! I have been pretty worried about the boys getting stir crazy, so we planned some play dates. It has been a lot of fun getting together with friends. Then, as a backup plan we splurged and bought snow pants and good gloves for the boys. Add that to their boots, coats and scarves they have actually been able to go out and play which has been awesome! They go sledding at the park, jump on the trampoline, shovel the driveway and even throw some snowballs! They have a blast and they don't even track mud through the house!

Gift giving has been a joy to observe this year. Michael earned some money this summer mowing lawns, so he had some real cash to spend and let me tell you, he has inherited his Uncle Justin's ability to give gifts. He gets to know people and what they like and makes sure he gets something they would love! Joshua is fun to shop with as everything is exciting-super exciting! You also learn real quickly what he wants because he likes to buy others what he likes. Because if he would love something everyone else would love it as well!

The boys did one of the cutest things ever this year. They have a couple of friends in the neighborhood that they play with most days. They usually buy each other gifts but this year they decided to do a gift exchange where they drew names and bought a gift for that person (or something like that). It was so cute! And then they got together and did their exchange. It was fun to see them interact and act in a very mature way and was impressed at how well they know each other and what they would like.

Taking Jacob shopping is always interesting. It always involves a trip to the look at the cars because well, he doesn't have much money and cars are fun and cheap. But I was really proud of his gift to James this year that I just had to share it. He bought those little color your own picture frames and got three of them and had all of the boys color one and put their picture in it. It was awesome and it was fun to find him a gift to give that he could really enjoy.

Christmas morning was a blast. We apparently put too much in their stockings because they never even asked to open presents after they looked at their stockings. It may have had more to do with the food in the stocking than anything else. The boys haven't had cereal, so when they got their own box of cereal they were in heaven! So, we had to stop and have a bowl of cereal before opening any gifts. It made me smile. :)

This year was our first in awhile not to spend with extended family. So, the two days before Christmas we decided to have friends over. It was really fun to get to spend times with grownups while the kids play. It was also nice for James to get to meet my friends who he keeps hearing about. It is always nice to put a face with a name. :) It was also fun to have the husbands over. Daddies rarely get to spend time with other daddies as they are too busy being daddies, so it was really great to have this opportunity.

But now we do get to have James' parents and Marquie over for the week. Fortunately their Christmas package arrived today as well-the USPS has been really behind this year. Very disappointing! So, tonight we opened it and decorated the gingerbread men inside. It was great fun!

This has a been a great Christmas for us and while we enjoyed the cookies, snow and presents we also enjoyed celebrating the birth and life of our Savior. Since we didn't send out cards this year we would just like to thank all of you for your friendship and love and pass along our love and appreciation to you as well. Merry Christmas!

Some Christmas

2010-12-26T16:09:00.000-08:00

Snow day Sunday

2010-12-13T16:58:00.000-08:00

Well, church yesterday was cancelled, although I still don't understand why. I mean, we were under a Blizzard Warning, but it maybe should have downgraded to a "Blizzard Suggestion." Oh well. We passed the time well, making some peanut brittle for Grandpa Turner and playing games. We also learned some important and timeless lessons from a little family movie time:

Chris Columbus is a terrible, terrible director.
John Williams can generally redeem the emotional impact of any movie, even one directed by Chris Columbus.
When the previous two elements are combined with the out of control screaming of a near infant Macaulay Caulkin, Home Alone becomes one great movie. The same cannot be said of the first Harry Potter movie. I think it's the lack of young Mr. Caulkin that ruins it.

This Christmas season marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Home Alone, and while that makes me just a little old, I still found great joy in sharing its complete absurdity with my own boys, who, incidentally, would likely defend their home against invasion in much the same way Kevin MacAllister did.

I also remembered seeing it in the theater the first time. If I'm not mistaken, Dad took us all to see it at the Falls theatre in 1990. How that theatre stayed open, I will never understand, but I know it was $5 for our whole family to see a film there. What a great memory to dig up on a blustery day in 2010. Thanks, Dad!

More Chanukah

2010-12-07T13:58:00.001-08:00

I've not kept up blogging individual days of our celebration, but we've persevered, lighting our candles and enjoying our learning and growth. Here's some shots of our celebrations:

Night 4 with Star of David cookies:

Night 5, on which the boys taught Dreidel games to their friends and we enjoyed Challah:

On the 6th night of Chanukah, Jacob lit our candles, and we made ornaments to help us remember the joys and miracles of the year:

2010-12-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight we learned a simple dreidel game as part of our Chanukah celebration. First, of course, we each shared a way that we felt the Lord has blessed our family, and included those things in our family prayer. There are some great photos here of the learning, playing, celebrating, and eating of the loot. There's even a gelt graveyard for your enjoyment. Here's to gimel (when it lands on gimel, you get the pot!)

Chanukah

2010-12-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah, the festival of lights. We celebrated it by lighting the first candle of the Chanukiah (Chanukah menorah, which has nine branches instead of the traditional seven,) then our thanks in prayer for the miracles in our lives, and finally read the story of the Maccabee victory in Jerusalem and the miracle of the oil in the temple. We're learning and enjoying the history and the spirit of the holiday. As we've studied the Old Testament in Sunday School this year, I've become more aware and appreciative of the heritage of Abraham that we share with most of the world, and the privilege of Israel that we share with the Jewish nation. While Chanukah is actually one of the less important Jewish holidays, it's one of the easiest for our kids to understand, so we plan to learn and enjoy for eight nights. Tomorrow I hope we learn to play games with the dreidels. We might even wager a little gelt.

Some Thanksgiving Moments

2010-11-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

Curtains!

2010-11-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

My only real project while my family was galavanting all over the East coast was to make curtains for our living and dining room windows. I found some fabric I liked on super clearance at JoAnn, and off I went! Now they're done and they really add a lot to our home. As you might notice on the dining room table, I'm also nuts for those skinny little red dogwood branches. Luckily I have a giant dogwood or two that I had to prune to nearly nothing, so now my home has these rustic, beautiful hints of red nature.

There you go, Mom. I hope you're happy! You still have have to come visit.

And the answer is . . . Mount Vernon

2010-11-06T18:40:00.001-07:00

Our final destination for this journey was Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. I will admit that I have gained a lot of respect for George Washington as I have studied his life and the founding of our great nation. George Washington started out as a British soldier because well, almost everyone who lived in the 13 colonies was British. He proved himself a great leader in the British army, so after we decided to break free from the British he then became the obvious choice for commander of the American troops. He started with basically no army, so he not only had to win a war but he had to find some men to help him do it!

So, here is the home he lived in during the Revolutionary War. We use the word lived in very loosely as he only visited once during the entire war but his wife Martha lived there with the children. I did learn that they were her children and after her husband died she met and married George Washington. Fascinating what you can learn! So, here is the house (the boys are pretty tired of my taking their pictures, so enjoy their funny/impatient faces). It is beautiful and almost everything in the home is original which is pretty incredible.

We couldn't take pictures inside most of the house but we did get to snap a few photos in the kitchen.

Joshua in particular loved seeing dead animals and meat hanging to dry. Gotta love boys!

We also got to enjoy the view of the Potomac which is breath taking. I don't think I did it justice with my mediocre photography skills but hopefully you get the idea.

We then wandered around to see the slave quarters and other buildings. The boys, in particular, enjoyed the blacksmith shop where the man was really working on a project. He is making book ends for the estate. Pretty awesome that they keep everything home made!

And what trip would not be complete without seeing some animals. There were pigs, sheep, cows/bulls and even a rooster! I also took a minute to look at the gardens and saw a garden that even James would approve of. It was beautiful and still full of vegetables. I really liked that the plantation is still up and running. Pretty awesome!

And as promised yesterday we got to see where George Washington was buried. After the war he wanted to go home to his family and live out his days in peace but after much pleading he agreed to be the first president of the nation. Then, after serving two terms he said he was done and resigned. So many people would have loved for him to remain on but he knew that it was not good for the country. It is amazing to me that after all of that work to become free most people would have gladly crowned him king but he was such a humble man who knew that democracy was the best choice that he was able to give up the power (that he really didn't want in the first place) and give it back to the people. I am very grateful to him and the service he rendered to the nation and for his ability to help make this nation what it is today. I felt throughout the day that he was truly a man of God who was sent at that time to do exactly what he did.

After our great tour of the grounds we were able to go through a museum and watch a few movies. They even had a children's room where the kids could do puzzles, color, build with blocks, dress up and much more. The kids loved it and it was fun to see them all dressed up!

It was really a fun trip and a great end to a great tour through early American History. I always wondered in the planning stages if it would be worth the time and effort and decided that the answer was yes. So, I hope you enjoyed hearing about our adventures because I know that we enjoyed living them!

Washington DC was next, of course!

2010-11-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you are just exhausted by watching our adventures but we are still going strong. The boys were a little hesitant to leave this morning but that was because they wanted to play with their cousins and not because they didn't want to go. But with the mention of a train ride I had them hooked. We left this morning and drove to the metro station. You will notice below that we grew in size. April (one of the before mentioned cousins) really wanted to see the Library of Congress and since it was in the plan for the day we invited her to join us!
So, our first stop was the metro station, because honestly, who wants to drive into Washington DC? No one, I hope! They loved the train and spent their time reading the maps, swinging on the poles and well, just being boys! Our first stop was the Washington Monument where we hoped to get tickets for a ride up but we were too late. Oh, well, maybe next time!

After that disappointment we headed to the Capitol Building. Now I had it all planned out to get back on the metro and take it down further but when I asked someone which way to go on the metro they told me not to take the metro because the Capitol Building was at that stop. Now I should have gone with my research but I didn't and we ended up walking/running much further than I intended. It was rough and we were all sweating by the end but we made it! Our tour time was 11:10 and we got there exactly at 11:10 to find a security line. ARG! Then, we learned that you couldn't take food or drink in. And, of course, we had packed our lunch. ARG again! So, we got out of line and ate as much food as we could before throwing the rest away. What a waste! I was quite appalled. Someone who lives near DC should create a food drop off, so all of that food doesn't just get thrown away. Eventually we made it in and got tickets for the 12:10 tour instead. Not bad. While waiting the boys played on some computers and took quizzes to test their knowledge on the government, the buildings and the documents. I thought it was great to see what they remembered and help them learn new things!

Then, the tour began! It started with a movie which was enjoyable. Afterwards we split into smaller groups and got these cool headphones. These were great because our tour guide could talk to us and we could hear her over the many other tour guides who were talking around us at the same time. Now as a side note the headphones are only for those ages 6 and up. Imagine, if you will, how a 4 or 5 year old would respond to this. EVERYONE else gets a cool headphone except YOU. Well, in Jacob's case it involved tears. I was very grateful to an understanding tour guide who got him headphones to use.
The tour took us into the dome room which was beautiful. I cannot adequately describe all of the beautiful pictures, sculptures, etc, but know that it was as amazing as they say it is! It was interesting to learn that all of the dead presidents are buried in the crypt below the dome room. All except one, that is. Can you guess? I'm tempted not to tell you because that is where we are going tomorrow! I think I will make you wait. :)I also loved the whisper room and wish we could have played around with it. I think it would be awesome to create that kind of room everywhere! It was fun to learn that they tried everything to make it not work but failed, so they eventually changed rooms (they did outgrow it as well).

Of course the kids loved the tunnel to the Library of Congress. I liked that they were tricked into walking a good distance without knowing it!
The library was definitely one of the favorites of the day. There was even a children's room. It was beautiful and functional! Awesome! The kids would have stayed here all day if I would have let them. Michael even started to do some reseach! Who's kids are these?
After I pried them away we went to find the balcony where we could see in the main part of the library. There was a lovely sign telling us not to go up because there were tours going on but well, after driving so far I was not going to just turn around, so I told the boys to follow me quickly and quietly and we snuck up. What did we see? NO ONE! But we did get to see the library and it was incredible! It said no photos, so you will just have to watch National Treasure again but it was worth sneaking up to see, especially since there was NO ONE there!

Then, we did some fun outdoor picture taking. We took photos of the Library of Congress, Supreme Court Building (I'm sure it has a name), the Capitol Building, and last but not least . . .
The White House! I had actually never seen it from the front but it was beautiful. It was so calm and still that it was hard to remember what really goes on inside that building!

So, our goal for the day was to see where the three branches of government are housed and we did it! It was a great day and we even made it out of DC and back home before dinner! Yes, we are amazing, and we had an amazing day!

On To Philadelphia

2010-11-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

I was quite glad to wake up this morning to only a 30 minute drive into Philadelphia! On the down side it was raining, but did the rain deter us? NEVER! So, we drove in and started at the visitors center to get tickets to take the tour of Independence Hall. While there the boys signed up for the Jr Ranger program and got workbooks to fill out. AWESOME! They also had trading cards for the boys to collect. They are great as well and even educational which we all know I love!

Next we journeyed to the Liberty Bell which is beautiful!
Then, we had to wait a bit for our tour time, so we found a cozy room with some documents to sit in and work on our workbooks. It was really fun and dry and warm! Then, we started our tour which was great except for the part where Jacob almost broke my nose. Hmmm. . .
After a little informational lecture we went into Independence Hall. The first room was the court room. It was really cool to see that people used to 'stand' trial by literally standing in box made of bars (right behind the boys).

Then, we got to go into the room where the really important things happened like the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution. The big chair at the front is called the Sun Chair and it is where they had George Washington sit once they decided to have him be the first President. It is an amazing room. Most of the room is done using period pieces but the Sun Chair is the original!
To keep the boys entertained they took lots of pictures. Jacob took this pretty cute one, so I had to share it. After our tour we went to Benjamin Franklin's print shop where they actually printed some pages for us. It was pretty fun to see the process and we got to take a copy home of a page printed in the shop that day right off the drying rack. It was a great day!

Oh, it was also nice to end the day at grandma's house and not some random hotel. The boys got to go to bed before 10 PM! Yippee! And I got to do some much needed laundry, so the boys would have clothes to wear for our adventures tomorrow!

Day in Boston

2010-11-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

We left our hotel right at 9 AM as I wanted and we drove into Boston. Apparently Boston is not a town that accommodates driving, so we quickly parked in an underground parking lot and found our way to the visitor's center on the Boston Commons. We signed up for a tour and began our journey. Our tour guide was perfect for the boys as he was full of life and energy. We spent quite a bit of time in a very old cemetery. It literally felt like we stepped back in time as we walked through modern Boston but found all of the old buildings that were there during the time of the revolution. Our guide did a great job talking about the people and even used chess pieces to describe some of the events (I think this was the boys favorite parts). Some of our favorite things that we learned were as follows:

1. Only 5 people died in the Boston Massacre which was then blown out of proportion by propaganda to convince others to start a war.

2. When Paul Revere rode to warn of an attack he did not say that 'the British are coming' because well, they were all British at the time. Instead he said that the 'Regulars are out.' Weird but true.

3. Also, Paul Revere was captured later on this trip but he was let go when the British were worried about the fight. They just let him go but did keep his horse.

4. John Hancock, whom we all remember for his signature, wanted to be the first emperor of the US and then when they said that he missed the point on that idea he wanted to be the first president. But when choosing the first president later they needed someone from the South to unite the north and south. Interesting that this trend of electing someone from the South still happens on most occasions (excluding this past election, of course).

I could keep going but those were the ones that stood out to the boys. After the tour we ate lunch and then took a boat to see the USS Constitution. This ship was put into service in 1779 and is still beautiful. It was closed today but we did get to look at it and the boys loved the boat ride. Apparently with little driving in town public transportation is huge and why not include boat rides when the water is right there! It was pretty awesome!

Overall it was a great educational experience and the boys did pretty well. Joshua had the hardest time as he just has so much energy. They loved the pigeons as well and wanted to chase them all afternoon long. Unfortunately this almost cost Joshua his life. On our way back he saw a pigeon in the road and ran after it. I called him back and he came running after us and then right past us into the road in front of a bus. This was then the third time (at least) that I told him quickly to stop and fortunately he did just in time for the bus to be able to go around him. Even if it is hard for him to see the world around him at least he listens when I say stop. We were all pretty shaken up and I am sure that Joshua will stay close to me from here on out. But now we are safe and sound in New Jersey close to Philadelphia where our next adventure lies.

I will admit that the drive through NY/NJ were not my favorite but with that in the past we look forward to tomorrow!

On a side note I grew up in New Jersey, so it is kinda fun to be back. I do wish that we had time for me to show the boys where I grew up but we will have to save that trip for another time. I promise to upload pictures tomorrow, but for now you will just have to wait. :)

The Journey Begins

2010-11-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

The boys and I have now been on the road for 1 1/2 days and well, we have seen a lot of freeway and visited many bathrooms (way too many in my opinion). We are now about 1 1/2 outside of Boston, MA and are very excited to actually go do and see things tomorrow! Yippee! The boys have been really good about the trip so far and have listened to audio books non-stop! We finished the Thief Lord first and enjoyed it but it wasn't our favorite. It is by Cornelia Funke and we really enjoyed the Dragon Rider much better and recommend it to all! We listened to a lot of Magic Treehouse and I must admit that I don't hate them which is good because I brought a lot of them (almost all that the library had).

One thing that did make me sad today was that we just missed the fall leaves. We drove through upstate NY today and I was so hoping to see some beautiful scenes but while there was some orange there was not much else. :(

Well, now it is time to sleep, so I will have the energy to see the historical sites in Boston with the boys and hopefully be to our next stop (Philadelphia) before bedtime tomorrow night! Our blog for tomorrow should be much more interesting!

Trip to Columbia

2010-10-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

As an online teacher for Columbia College, I sometimes get to attend conferences in Columbia. This is a perfect chance for us to take a little vacation and visit our Columbia friends! So, the boys and I took off Thursday to head down. We actually left 45 minutes early because the boys were so excited to leave. We spent Thursday night with the Lough's and enjoyed a lovely evening with them. We even played around and made this great Halloween Video of the kids.

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/HrcWNAcOrMyFqtfsnGb

The next day we spent the morning, afternoon and evening with three different families. It was hard to say good bye at each but fun to arrive at the next. The boys spent spent the night with the last family while I went to my conference. I guess I can't just play the whole time. They had a ton of fun and even got to go to the ward trunk or treat and see all of their friends again.

My conference went really well and we really did have fun. I don't know if you can imagine what it would be like to put a bunch of female online math teachers together but let me just say it is pretty fun. We're definitely not what you would think of when you think of college math teachers. I even got to stay in a hotel room all by myself. Honestly, I just slept there but it was awesome to know that no one was going to come in and wake me up in the middle of the night!

The next day I had more meetings. I then had to find all the boys and relax a bit before we headed home. Overall it was a great trip and we had a blast seeing our old friends. I decided we need to do it more often, though, so now I need to start planning the next trip . . . maybe in the spring?

What I always love, though, is the recovery from your vacation. In order to recover (and in my defense I have been a little sick) I slept for 12 hours last night. I feel better and now have to sleep some more in preparation for our next trip! US History tour here we come!

Happy Birthday Joshua

2010-10-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we are a little behind, but better late than never! Joshua had a great birthday and is now 7. These kids just grow so quickly! He started the day with some yummy waffles and a great soccer game. He even got to play goalie which he always loves.

Then, he got to spend the afternoon playing with friends and eating mac'n cheese with hot dogs for lunch. He was definitely spoiled with some really fun presents from his brothers and friends. He got a little nano bug from Michael and if you don't know what that is you should check it out because it is simple, inexpensive but super fun!

For dinner he had mini pizzas on English muffins and an amazing cake. The cake is decorated to look like a poison dart frog and I must admit that I was pretty impressed! James did a great job and even put peanut butter and jelly between the layers to look like frog guts. Gotta love boys!

After dinner they played soccer out back using his new soccer goals. They aren't super big but fun enough. It was a fun day and Joshua, as always, was very grateful for every last bit of it. He was so excited that he was hugging Jacob before he even got his present open! I have learned that Joshua is one of those people that gets really excited about everything and expresses his excitement physically. Needless to say we received many hugs this day for everything that made him happy! He is a joy and we look forward to many more years full of excitement with him! (written by Liz)

Homeschooling

2010-10-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that I couldn't imagine not homeschooling my children. This seemed funny to me because I had never considered homeschooling until I already had two children. I just have to say that I love homeschooling for so many reasons which I will not bore you with, but I will say that I am grateful that I not only do homeschool but can homeschool. I feel blessed to have the ability to teach them, the time to do it and a patient husband who supports me in doing so.

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago and did a photo scavenger hunt. The kids had a blast! Then, some of the kids did oral reports on an animal at the zoo. Michael decided to do one as well and did a great job! Our next adventure will be an early US History tour to Philadelphia, DC and Gettysburg. We are excited and will definitely blog our adventures!

Post renovation

2010-10-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize that we had made so many changes since our last posting until Heather showed up and chastised us. So, here is our finished paint job and new dining room table--love Craig's list! We still haven't finished the molding because we want to buy new molding, but we will get around to it some time. :)

Oh, and I found this awesome picture of Michael feeding a deer in Utah last August. All of the kids got a chance to do it but this was my best picture. Enjoy the pictures!

Family Home Evening!

2010-09-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

We have a new Family Home Evening chart. It's practically a piece of art in our home, and I think we're about 10 years late on adding it to our Home

Just a general update

2010-09-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

I realized that we haven't blogged in quite a while, so I thought it was time to fix that. Ever since we returned from our summer of travels we have just been happy to get back to normal. The school year started and it has been great! I learned how much we all enjoy a little structure in our lives.

This school year has been a fun one so far. The boys are playing soccer for the Y again and loving it! I am amazed by how well they are doing. I decided to say Joshua is in 2nd grade, os they can play on the same team and do not regret my decision. It is nice to only go to one practice and one game each week. And they seem to do well together. They are also doing swimming lessons and I would be in trouble with Michael if I didn't tell you that he is now working with the big boys. They grow up so quickly!

Also, during this school year I have learned that I know very little. We have been studying anatomy and some US history. I'm hoping to find some time to take the boys to Philadelphia and Washington DC to see the places where our country was founded.

Michael is learning how to add fractions which is very exciting--I know you are all jealous that you don't get to do fractions with us.

I guess I haven't said anything about Jacob . . . Jacob really wants to learn to read, so we are working on learning the last few letters along with the sounds that go with him. After I get my Hooked on Phonics back next month we should be ready to put those sounds together and learn to read! I am excited that his is ready. It is funny that while he is only 4 his brothers all learned to read at the age of 3, so he seems behind but isn't really. It is all very strange in my mind. He also loves doing his math and gets very frustrated if we are doing school time and I cannot just work one on one with him or if he feels left out from what we are doing. He is just the cutest!

Oh, I just remembered that Michael had his first Pinewood Derby. I am afraid that we didn't take any pictures but if I find one I will post it. He came in second place--I was very impressed with him and his dad! Michael had a blast running his car down the track over and over again. It was a fun night.

While we haven't gone on any trips in awhile--no complaints--we did get to go to the zoo yesterday. We met several other homeschool families there and had a great time. We did a photo scavenger hunt which was a blast! We had to be a little creative with a couple of them but we did manage to find them all. We also had some of the kids do presentations on animals that could be found at the zoo. Michael did one on the Red Wolf and did a pretty good job. I was proud of him. We have been learning to write reports this year and it has been fun. Any time we learn about something new they ask if they can do a report on it. I think they just like to do research online but I can't complain about that either. :)

Well, I guess all I can say is that life is good and we are just enjoying every day of it!

Raingutter Regatta

2010-08-26T05:42:00.001-07:00

Michael built a great boat over the last few days, and Joshua even made a cardboard boat to sail. Jacob made one as well, but he broke it before we left home. Too bad.

Vacation in Utah!

2010-08-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

We've been in Utah for over a week now and have had lots of fun visiting family. While playing at a park the boys saw some tumble weed and though it was the best thing ever. Joshua and Jacob even caught some!

On Saturday we enjoyed the Santaquin Orchard Days Parade. It is amazing how much candy was thrown and even more amazing how much candy Joshua was able to collect. We had to collect in one bag, so the little kids didn't feel bad for not getting as much. And what is even better . . . we still have plenty of candy to bribe the kids with!

Then, on Tuesday we played at Thanksgiving Point! They had $2 Tuesdays which meant that all of Utah County was there but fortunately they were going to the Dinosaur Musum, so we headed over to farm where a baby calf was born just that morning! It was really cute and still had the umbilical cord attached. They loved all of the animals and Jacob pet every animal he could! Then, we waited in an hour line to go on a horse ride. It was quite a wait but well worth it!

Today we did something pretty daring but awesome! We hiked up to the Timp Caves and took the tour. Bryce, my friend from HS/BYU, gives tours and hiked up with us and his family. It was great to see him and fun to hike up! The boys did a great job! We actually had a hard time keeping up with Joshua--so much energy in that one. The cave tour was incredible. It was great to see a cave in its natural state. The formations were incredible, the stories fun and the ducking and squishing through small crevices fabulous! It was interesting to think of what it would be like to discover and explore a cave.

The boys even worked hard to become jr rangers! And it filled the time before the tour!

Then, we had to race down the mountain because Jacob had to go to the bathroom. He even beat us all down! When it is time to go, it is time!

So, thanks everyone for hanging out with us, playing with us and helping us to have a fun vacation. Now onto the family reunion!

Near Timp Cave

2010-08-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Faces of Jacob

2010-07-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

The Kitchen

2010-06-30T11:43:00.001-07:00

I know I've been terribly mysterious about the whole kitchen, but I wanted it done before I revealed. Unforunately I still have some decisions to make before it's done, so I decided we all couldn't wait any longer. I need to put in the cabinet spacers, and I think I'm going to change out the over-sink light, put some knobs/handles on the pantry doors, and put some sort of lights over the island. Here it is in all of its almost-complete glory. Again, thank you thank you for all your help.

And just because you were patient enough to last through those little teasers, here's the full tour, complete with Joshua trying to show off as much as possible.

Tigers at the Mall

2010-06-27T17:24:00.001-07:00

We may live in a small town in the middle of nowhere but our small little mall had Tigers visiting this past week. Yes, real live tigers! And since our boys LOVE wild animals we thought we'd better go.

So, we drove over and had fun looking and then decided it would be worth the money to let the boys go in and play with the tigers. Yes, they let them go in and play with the live BABY tigers! It was awesome! Joshua liked it as long as they didn't get on his lap, so I tried to keep them on my lap for him to play with.

Michael and Jacob, however were unstoppable. I could tell Michael was a little nervous but Jacob did not hesitate one bit and played with them like they were his own pets. By the time we were done he had the cubs all riled up. Oops!

It was an incredible experience that I highly recommend to families of all ages!

A teaser

2010-06-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

My Father's Day

2010-06-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long week, and I've been blessed by so many people who, together, made this one incredible Father's Day. A special thanks to Bryce, who took time off work, flew out here, and headed up a major construction project under the supervision of a neurotic and often undecided contractor. I know it wasn't my idea of a vacation, and we couldn't have done it without him, so again and again, my sincerest thanks. Of course I can't neglect the invaluable assistance of the true and ultimate supervisor, Michelle. You should have seen her supervise; sometimes she did it so voraciously that she had to take a nap just to recover so she could start supervising again. She was a trooper, and she earned the right to roll her breadsticks in garlicky, buttery goodness late Friday night. Dad even made it out for about 18 hours during our most critical period of construction: the cabinets, and we're all so glad he did. Thank you all, from all of us, for your amazing efforts in our behalf. We are truly blessed to have family who would rally their time, energy, and talent in our behalf. And I should definitely mention last night's visit by Ron Sevigny, a member of our ward. He graciously stopped by at a moment's notice to help me solve the leak issues under the cabinet and prep the gas line for the stove. His aid was a perfect bookend to our hectic week, and I'm grateful for his service.

So, for Father's Day I got to cook a meal in my new kitchen using onions, radishes and basil from our garden, do the dishes in my new sink, and enjoy a meal under my new chandelier in my dining room. Liz and I were up until 4:30 this morning cleaning, organizing, installing, and otherwise working like the maniacs we are to get our home in shape for the sabbath. It's amazing that only 7 days ago we were enjoying the crumbs of strawberry Nutella cake and singing Come Thou Fount over and over and over.

The long week seems to have paid off, however, and the kitchen is in final stages. I have to fix the island lights (same box, different lights—who does that?), install the light over the sink, touch up the paint, and do some trim work. Oh yes, and we're running back to IKEA this week to pick up new countertops and that elusive 12" wall cabinet. Dan and I are finishing the floors tomorrow, and hopefully getting the toekicks and side trim in so things are basically done. Did I mention I installed the island all by myself? Well, I did, and it was scary business. Virtually everything up to that point was fixable, fillable, or otherwise adjustable, but once I drilled a hole through that floor, mind-changing was no longer an option without a major tear-out-the-cabinets-and-half-the-floor redo. I'm relieved to say that everything worked out just fine. We were even able to use the not long enough countertops to cover the island—they were perfect. Sweet victory.

I'm not going to give a full reveal until it's all done, but here are a few teasers. We love you all and look forward to giving you a personal tour in our new space.

The chandelier

2010-06-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Pipes

2010-06-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

Just so we're clear, those are my pipes that don't leak.

-- Post From My iPhone

The floor

2010-06-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

We will get this done yet! We took a little time tonight to have a grown up night out. It wasn't long but it was fun to play just a little in this hectic week.

-- Post From My iPhone

For mom

2010-06-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

We're in the throes of the chaos, but the electric is done and we're on to the drywall. Here's photo evidence.

-- Post From My iPhone

In my car right now

2010-06-14T15:36:00.001-07:00

I'm glad Bryce is driving while we get a little nap in.

-- Post From My iPhone

Baptism

2010-06-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

I know I am one month late, but better late than never! Michael was baptized last month after turning 8. I can't believe my baby is 8! Several months ago Michael decided he wanted to be baptized by his Grandpa Hutchings, so we made plans to help make that a reality for him. Michael also decided to read the entire Book of Mormon before he was baptized. He finished a few days before. I was very impressed by his goal and his determination to finish. He is growing up so quickly! It was a great experience and a day we will always remember. We're very proud of Michael and the decision he made.