Thankful Thursday

Last year after Christmas I felt a little discouraged. Not by the holiday itself, because I LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it. It is definitely the most wonderful time of the year. But I was discourage by how I had gotten wrapped up in the commercial side of the holiday. Near the end as I was rushing to finish up getting presents for everyone, I realized I was just getting presents for the sake of getting them; not necessarily because my kids needed these things or really even wanted them, but so I could make sure everything was fair and even. I thought back to previous Christmases and wondered if my kids would even really remember what they got.

So, to try and make sure that did not happen again this year we had a family meeting early on in the year and all decided together that this instead of gifts, we wanted to give a memory. So we all decided to go on a family trip and the consensus was that this trip would be to Disney World and Universal Studios. The tricky part was picking out a time that would work with our busy schedule. We didn't want to go right at Christmas when it's really busy there, and we didn't want to go in the hot months. We left the family meeting with the idea that we would probably go sometime in early 2011.

Well, right away I knew that the kids had a long weekend over the Halloween holiday for teacher conferences so Dave and I booked everything for that time without telling the kids. We wanted it to be a surprise. Last night we set up a small Christmas tree and wrapped their park tickets in Christmas paper and make little travel packs for each of them. I made a yummy traditional Christmas breakfast and this morning we woke them up with Christmas music.

Sophie came down as we were finishing up things and in her sleepy stupor saw the Christmas tree and asked if it was Christmas. We told her that it was and to go wake everyone else up. She was so funny because as she was going back upstairs to get everyone she kept asking if she was dreaming. She was a little confused.

All of the kids were a little confused. They were excited to be opening presents, but didn't really understand what was going on. Finally they got it that would be leaving TODAY for the trip and then when they found out that we would actually be flying instead of driving, they acted like it was almost better than the trip itself. Needless to say we are all very excited and have a fun week to look forward to.

Here are a few things for which I am oh, so thankful:

1. Early Christmas

2. Surprises.
3. Yummy breakfast (Amish breakfast casserole and cinnamon pull-aparts).

4. Sheer joy (if you can't tell by the pic, Sophie and Maddie are jumping up and down after realizing that we would be flying instead of driving).
5. That my kids liked most of the things I had already packed for them.
6. Feeling a sincere gratitude from my kids. They have come up to me time and time again this morning saying how thankful they are for this opportunity.

It's Only Natural

What do you like to wear when you play outside?

Family Bike Ride

I'm so glad it didn't rain yesterday like it was supposed to. At 5:30 in the morning when I had to get up to go meet some friends to run, I really wished it were raining. I really wanted to go back to bed. That is one of the reasons that someone like me needs a group of friends to run with. Without them I would not run nearly as much, although I would get a lot more sleep. When it was over, I was really glad that I did get up to go running and that the rain stayed away. We ran on part of the Katy trail and it was so lovely that I decided to take my family back there in the afternoon for a bike ride.

After much grumbling from the peanut gallery, we finally convinced everyone that this might actually be fun. Yes, you can actually have fun without a video game strapped to your hands. Yes, you can actually have fun without spending a lot of money. Yes you can actually have fun being with your whole family.

We rode down the trail about three miles, ate a picnic lunch and had some yummy frozen treats from a bike shop along the trail, and then went back. The weather was beautiful. The trees were majestic. I loved the sound and feel of the breeze as it blew more leaves off of the trees and then the sound of them crunching under the bike's tires. We got to see some hawks overhead and a cool looking snake along the trail (only cool because I quickly rode past it). It was beautiful to ride through the trail as tree tops along either side stretched toward each other over head, forming a beautiful arch. I love the old bike shop building where we got our treats. It's an old house converted into a shop and has such charm. I hope we can do that again soon before the weather turns too cold.

Thankful Thursday

It's definitely one of those days where I REALLY need to sit back and think of my blessings because I'm so exhausted and quite frankly, cranky, that the silver lining isn't exactly staring me right in the face. My kids are even noticing it because earlier tonight Ryan kept trying to say something to me while we were in the car and I was in such a zombie state that Maddie finally said to him: "I don't think mom feels very good".

This week I am thankful for:

1. A good duet:

2. Finally finishing Maddie's Halloween costume (she is going to be "Jessie" from the Toy Story movies). If you look very closely you will be able to see blood, sweat, and tears:

3. Rolling down a good hill:

4. That the three older kids all wanted to participate in the "Turkey Trot" (1 mile race) this year, hosted by the local High School. Yes, I know it's not even Halloween yet, let alone Thanksgiving...maybe they wanted to take advantage of the good weather? Who knows, but I'm proud of them. All three of them were amazing. Way to set a goal and follow through!

5. The best "Turkey Trot" spectators you could ask for:

6. Seeing how much my parents love my kids!

I feel better already!

Pumpkin Spice Jack-o-Lantern Cake

Went to a Halloween party last weekend. Wanted to try something out of a new Halloween cookbook. This is what I got. A little time consuming because I only have one bundt pan and you have to make two cakes, but not too bad and the pumpkin spice flavor with the delicious cream cheese frosting was scrumptious! I want some more right now thinking about it.

Also, you can't double the recipe. You have to make each batch separately. Not sure why. I just followed what the recipe said. I know, a pain, but worth it in the end.

For each cake:
3 c flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c butter, room temp.
1 c sugar
1 c packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
1/2 c sour cream
1-15 oz. can pumpkin puree

Frosting:
1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temp.
1/2 c butter, room temp.
5 c powdered sugar
2-4 Tbs. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
green, red, and yellow food coloring gels

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Combine dry ingredients (flour baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pp spice into bowl). Set aside
3. Cream butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Blend in vanilla, sour cream, and pumpkin puree.
4. Add flour mixture in halves.
5. Scoop out 1/3 of batter and pour into paper-lined ramekin (you only need to do this for one of the batches). Pour remaining batter into greased bundt pan. Bake both pans for 15 minutes. Remove ramekin. Continue baking bundt pan for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool slightly. Remove cake from pan and cool on wire rack.
6. Make second cake. Bake 45-50 minutes.
7. Make frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter. Slowly blend in powdered sugar. Add milk 1 Tbs. at a time until frosting is at spreadable consistency.
8. Remove a small amount of frosting into separate bowl for green (top). Add food coloring to other bowl to desired orange.
9. When both bundt cakes are entirely cool, assemble cakes, one on top of the other, using a good layer of frosting to adhere cakes together. Continue frosting until it's how you like.
10. Add chocolate chips to make jack-o-lantern face and voila!

Sissy

Living in Missouri, we're kind of in the middle of nowhere as far as family goes. We're not really close to anyone. And as cool as the Arch is, it doesn't seem to be a must see on any of my family's bucket lists. So generally, the only times we get to see my family are when we go to them (patting myself on the back). Well, this past week was an exception. There was a conference here that my sister, Kristin wanted to attend, so she got to come stay with us for the weekend. It was so much fun and my kids loved it. They made sure that she didn't miss her kids too badly by making her do LOTS with them.

Cases in point:

Playing a card game with Maddie, Ryan, and Sophie (one of MANY):

Building Lego's with Phillip (or as she calls him, and he seems to like coming from her: P.J.)

I love my sister. I love both of my sisters and even though we might not be very close logistically speaking, they are my best friends. I tell my girls that all the time, especially when they're not getting along very well, or their competitive edge with each other is surfacing. You will never be able to duplicate a sister, so cherish her. Build that bond, because it will be there forever and it will be a source of much joy in your life.

I didn't always cherish my sister growing up. Not that I didn't want to, it just seemed like we were worlds apart. She is 4 years older than I am and so we didn't have a lot in common and our interests weren't always in sync. I remember one time being so excited that she would actually play "house" with me. She was clearly out of that stage by then, but she had mercy on me and did it anyway and I still remember to this day how happy it made me.

WARNING!!!!-DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME:

When we did actually all play together, one of our favorite "games" was folding each other up in the couch bed, then sitting on the couch until the folded up person screamed that they couldn't take it anymore....Good times...where was our mother? Thankfully we're all still alive to be able to laugh about that one.

I remember getting a letter from her when she first went away to college. I don't know if she was lonely, or just had a lesson at church about family or what prompted this letter, but it was really cute (lots of swirls and bright colors and cute lettering) and it made me feel like a million bucks to be thought of by her. I think that was really the start of our growing closer together and moving from more of an older/younger sister relationship, to a friendship. I'll be forever grateful for that letter.

The summer after her first year of college I took her to Cedar Point for her birthday. It was quite the day. We had to drive 4 hours to get there, so we left really early. As soon as we got there she shut her finger in the car door. Not only that but the doors were locked! In her pain and panic she managed to throw me the keys over the car so I could unlock the doors and she could get her finger out. Her finger was smushed pretty badly. Instead of wanting to turn around and go back home, she simply went to the first aid station, got some Ibuprofen and off to the rides we went. I think we shut down the park that night and still had the 4 hours back home. To this day she still has an indent in her fingernail. What a trooper.

After I graduated from High school, she asked me to come out and stay with her and Jason in California. They hadn't been married long and were expecting their first child (Kacey) and they thought it would be nice if I could come out there and "help" her. I put that word in quotes because as I'm looking back I remember one incident in particular where I was making popcorn over the stove and as it started popping up over the pan I freaked out and got popcorn all over the place. What a helper! I'm sure they helped me that summer more than I could ever have helped them.

She always lamented growing up that we never referred to her as "sissy". She wanted that to be her nickname, but it never really caught on. Well, as the nieces and nephews started coming along she made sure that the nickname she always wanted was solidified and to this day, my kids all call her "Sissy". That's another thing I love about her---she's so good at putting her mind to something until it becomes a reality. She has so much determination and drive and I really admire that. I love you, sissy!

Thankful Thursday

Oops, it's Friday now, but we'll have to make do. Here are a few things for which I'm very grateful this week:

1. That the conference my sister wanted to attend is by us and she got to come visit me last minute. We love company and I love my sister!

2. The cool crisp fall air, leaves changing color, the smell of fires burning in houses, getting to break out my fall wardrobe.

3. Ebay. Thank you for helping me pull Ryan's Woody costume together for Halloween. Now please get here before his class party next Friday....

4. Good friends to go walking with in the morning, and being able to drag my tired butt out of bed.

5. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and knowing that we have a living prophet to guide us in these troubled days.

Pumpkin Patch

Today Phillip's class went on a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. These places are not just for pumpkins anymore. There's all kinds of stuff to entertain the kiddos at these now.


Playing on the slides
swinging on the "horsey" tire swing

graduating to the BIG tire swing
riding the pony express

Phillip's preschool class

Keep on truckin'

hangin' out in the corn box (much like a sand box, but not as messy)

visiting the animals

getting chased by "the monster" at the hay mazes

picking out his pumpkin

Duh!!!

Not only did Phillip take a nap today (much to my chagrin), but he's battling a little bit of a cough. Therefore, not only is it almost midnight and he is wide awake, but he's also concurrently trying to hack up a lung.

As I was down in the kitchen wrapping things up so I could go to bed he came down the stairs and this is our conversation:

Phillip: Mom, I'm pretty sick, I keep coughing

Me: I know, it's so sad! Will you please tell your cough to go away?

Phillip: Um, I can't...coughs don't talk

P.S. Let it be known that as I am posting this, Phillip is sitting up on the counter next to me (still not tired). He keeps talking to me and pointing out letters on this screen (and making sure that I have acknowledged his recognition of said letter). Either that or he just goes ahead and pushes keys to see what they will do. He also asks about every 3.5 seconds (I've clocked it) if I'm done yet. Do they make sleep aids for 4-year olds?

Proof That They Were Really Here

I always mean well, I really do. I take my camera with me with full intentions of capturing the moments and then I get into the moment, I enjoy the moment, the moment is gone and I realize my camera is still sitting in my purse waiting to be put to good use.

That's pretty much how it happened this weekend. It was a fast and furious visit from Gramma Joan and Papa Doug and we were on the go, go, go. Between visits to Costco, the zoo, fishing at a pond (Phillip caught one, Ryan caught two), a swim meet, a little fabric shopping and LOTS of eating out, I hardly captured any of it on film. But, it did happen and we enjoyed every last minute of it.

Thanks for the great visit Doug and Joan! We are always better for having you around. Thanks for your endless enthusiasm, support, and love! Thanks for teaching me how to properly defrost meat. Thanks for the compliments on my cooking, when I actually cook. Thanks for going to the zoo, yet again even though you've been to more zoos than you can probably count. Thanks for sitting in uncomfortable bleacher seats in a humid natatorium. Thanks for not saying anything about my messy house. Thanks for saying family prayers with us. Thanks for playing games with my kids that probably bore you, but never letting on. Thanks, thanks, a million thanks!

Bananas in Need Make Great Bread Indeed!

I'm really good at buying bananas for my family to eat (probably because they're always quite cheap at Costco), and in turn we're really good at letting them sit and sit and ripen to the point of not wanting to eat them anymore. We really do eat most fruits quite well, but for some reason this happens more often than not with bananas. I don't think my family enjoys eating them as much as Dave and I enjoy buying them.

Instead of throwing them out, I've found the BEST BANANA BREAD recipe EVER. If you like banana bread, you're going to love this. It is so moist and melts in your mouth. The only down side is that it's so good, it doesn't ever last very long.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

1/2 c butter, at room temp.
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c mashed bananas
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
choc. chips

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar; add eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients in order (except for chocolate chips) in mixer. Pour into greased mini bread pans--about 3-4 (or two regular-sized). Sprinkle chips on top and slightly push down until mildly covered with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover with foil and bake an additional 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Thankful Thursday

Last weekend Dave and I got to go out to Utah for a few days so he could run the St. George Marathon (3rd time) and we also got to visit with family. Here are a few things from that trip for which I am so grateful:

1. My sister, Nenn (o.k. so her name is really Jen, but thanks to nieces and nephews, it has morphed) and her sweet girls (I, of course am also grateful for her awesome husband, Joe and their studly son, Carter, but alas, no photos):

Livvy and Leah:

Meg and Emily:

2. Getting to visit with Madelynn Gallagher and Aubree Remund, two of my old young women from church, who are now attending BYU:
3. Being with my amazing parents:

4. My sister, Kristin and her fabulous family (we miss you, Jordan):
5. Getting to eat at Pizza Factory. Get a load of those BREADSTICKS!!!
6. The beautiful St. George temple. We parked right by it on our way to watch Dave at the finish line on race day:
7. Unexpectedly running into my very dear friend Lareen and then getting to have breakfast with her and her husband, Mitch and catch up:
8. My marathon man. You are rockin' those tights! I'm so, so, so proud of you.