Christmas Utah

Last Friday we went to see "Christmas Utah". This has become a tradition in our family. There is a guy named Marty who creates this fantastic display every year. He decorates his lawn and home then arranges it so that a local radio station plays the songs that synchronize with his light display so that you can tune in and listen in front of their house. The wonderful thing is that it is so close to where we live. :D

A few of the songs are the same every year because they are favorites, but there is always something new to see. If you notice in the picture of the house, "Santa" makes several appearances at the window. I think they have a tv positioned right in front of the window with a video on loop.

Anyway, Jonathan was absolutely fascinated with "Santa's" appearances. He kept on waving wildly at him and asking him to come out. He insisted that he had something that he needed to tell him. So cute!

They have a few videos of the songs posted on their website. To see the videos or to get directions on how to go see it yourself, visit: http://www.christmasutah.com

One Word Tag

Rules: Answer the questions with one word only!

Were is your cell phone? purse
Were is your significant other? home
You're hair color? brown
You're favorite thing? hugs
You're dream last night? none
You're life dream/goal? happiness
The room your in? computer
You're hobby? reading
You're fear? snakes
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Hawaii
Where were you last night? home
What your not? short
One of you're wish list items? jacuzzi
Where you grew up? Nebraska
The last thing you did? laundry
What you are wearing: clothes
You're TV? old
You're pet? none
You're computer? faulty
You're mood? relaxed
Missing someone? brothers
Something your NOT wearing? shoes
Favorite store? Target
Your summer? relaxed
Love someone? absolutely
You're fave color? blue
When is the last time you laughed? today
When is the last time you cried? month
Your significant other's hair: missing
You're life in one word: Yicks!

Now it's you're turn!

Kayley Unplugged

Kayley's Christmas Preschool Program was today. This is the second year that she has attended this preschool. It was fun to compare it to the one that she was in last year. Last year she stood board straight and looked out at the audience to see what they were doing. She would sing a few words here or there, but she looked like she could think of several other places she would rather be.

This year she was singing right along and was trying hard to keep up with the "choreography". She even did some of it before anyone else, and you could tell that it reminded the teacher that she had forgotten that part. lol! Such a change! It is amazing what a difference a year can make.

She, of course, is the tallest one in the picture. Surprise, surprise. It doesn't help that she is the oldest either because her birthday is right after the cutoff for kindergarten here. Oh well. She loves her preschool, so that is all that matters.

Music Moves Me

I was just sitting here listening to the music that I chose for my blog today. Kayley came up and decided that she want to listen to music too, so she blasted classical music on her little radio. I had to keep kicking her out of the room so that I could enjoy and sing along to MY songs.

That got my mind going. I found myself pondering why I wanted so badly to listen to the songs that I chose ALONE. I realized that most of the songs have been fairly significant to me at different parts of my life. They move my soul in one way or another.

I also found that I was grateful that my five year old has already developed an affinity for classical music. I love that she loves it. I now need to work on how to get her to listen to it at appropriate times and not at the top of her radio's volume. :D

Two of My Favorite Things

I have a definite sweet tooth. One of my favorite things about the winter is that my favorite fruit shows up in stores every where. Have you tried the clementine Cuties? We love them in our home. Kayley and Jonathan would much rather eat one than have candy. Now that is good incentive to keep them around!

Last night we decided to make one of my favorite things. Apple Crisp a 'la mode!



I didn't think to take a picture of it before we dug in. Sorry about that. Here is the recipe that we used (We double it and put it in a 9x13 casserole dish). Enjoy!

Joan's Apple Crisp
(from Daily Meal Planner by Joan Day Brady)

1/3 cup sifted flour
2/3 cup instant powdered milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, cold
4 cups sliced pared tart apples
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Grease a shallow baking dish that can hold 6 cups. Mix flour, powdered mild, 3 tablespoons sugar, nutmeg, salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Add butter and blend with a fork (or pastry cutter) until crumbly. Combine apples with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a baking dish. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the apples. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until the apples are tender.

We ate the apple crisp with natural vanilla Breyer's ice cream. It was amazing!

Gone in Only Three Days

While I was checking my email today, my son was "cleaning out" his little paper advent calendar. His sister caught him. Days 11, 14, and 18 were the only ones that were not yet opened. The chocolate from all the rest had already disappeared into his stomach. How's that for a healthy breakfast.

Oh well, next year I will make sure that the calendar's are well out of the reach of our little people.

Things I'm Thankful for This Pregnancy

This is me at about 6 1/2 months. Thanksgiving put me in the mood to really contemplate the things that I am thankful for. My pregnancy has not been perfect, but there is still a lot of things that have been good about the experience.

Here are a few of them:

1. I have been fairly healthy and according to the ultrasounds our daughter is also very healthy.

2. Our baby is very active. She especially gets excited when she hears her brother and sister playing.

3. My knee has been acting just about as well as can be expected under the circumstances. :D

4. I'm having a lot of fun planning and dreaming about what to do about the "girl's room" and Jonathan's room.

5. It is fun to watch Jonathan and Kayley get excited about our new baby. Jonathan especially seems to love "practicing" being a big brother to every baby that he sees.

6. I live very close to the hospital that I will be delivering at. My doctor's office is just 3 floors up from where I will deliver.

7. I have family nearby that are willing and able to step in to help when I'm feeling not up to the tasks of the day. It is comforting knowing that they are already excited to step in and help when little Emily arrives.

8. My dear friends who are pregnant with me. It has been comforting to be able to discuss how were are doing and to be able to relate to each other.

9. I love seeing Brad get excited about our new little daughter.

10. I love getting Emily's things ready. I'm enjoying washing her clothes and imaging what she will look like in them.

Where's the Unpause Button?

I know that I'm pregnant and all but I am really sick of having my brain be on "pause" today. I had to go back into my house THREE times before I ran my errands this morning because I couldn't manage to make it out the door with everything I needed the first time.

It would have been pretty funny to watch, if I wasn't the one experiencing it. Thankfully, my children have gotten used to "scattered brained" mom and it didn't phase them at all. Sigh. This too shall pass, right?!

Is Your "Hut on Fire"?

I received an email from a good friend lately. I thought I should share it in case if any of you are feeling discouraged and could use a little lift. :D

WHEN YOUR HUT'S ON FIRE!!!!

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story: It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

Just a Dreamin'

I love where I live. I love how close we are to freeway access, but how far we are from any dangerously busy streets. I love that we are near just about any store that I would like/need to go to. I love our neighbors! I love our backyard. I love almost everything about our house. However, I do find myself wishing that we could change some things and add other features.

Here is my list of "Dream Improvements":

1. Mudroom - Anyone with children will know why this would be a wonderful room to have.

2. Wider rooms- Our house is fairly narrow. I think that two feet added onto the front and back of the house would make a HUGE difference. There are only so many ways that you can rearrange furniture in a narrow home.

3. Top Floor Laundry Room- Our bedrooms are upstairs, our "laundry room" is downstairs. It didn't seem like a problem for awhile, but now that I am pregnant and I have a bum knee I find that the situation can be rather daunting.

4. A Dining Room- Our kitchen table barely fits in the kitchen. It would be nice to have a room just for eating so that the kids would be less inclined to sneak around the corner with their food and try to eat in the living room.

5. New Kitchen Cabinets- We have a dishwasher that is "portable" and hooks up to the sink. I dream of one day being able to build it into new cabinets (It is full sized and fairly new) and of having more cabinet storage than I know what to do with.

Those are my major dreams concerning the home. In the meantime, we will go on enjoying being in our home. After all it is the love that makes a house a home, not the actual structure.

Pumpkin Patch

Jonathan and the "not scary haunted house".


Our daughter the giant. She is almost 4' tall and only 5.


I can't believe how big he has gotten. He will be 3 next month.


Kayley, Jonathan, and my dad as "monsters".


Kayley and the "Haunted House". Jonathan wouldn't get anywhere near it.

Our Little Girl is 5!

It seems like just yesterday that I was holding her in my arms for the very first time. In some ways she is still very much my "little" girl, but in other ways she can be so grown up.

Recently Kayley watched me dealing with her little brother in the grocery store (Jonathan was in full blown stinker mode). She said to me, "Sometimes being a mother is really hard huh." I replied that it is, but that I love it. She then asked me if it was fun sometimes. I said it was, and she wanted some examples. She paused for a moment and then said, "You know. Sometimes it is hard to be a kid too." She was almost shocked when I agreed and mentioned several things that can be hard about childhood.

A different day, she insisted that I write down the phone number of the police (She has already memorized our phone number and grandma and grandpa's. She likes to dial the numbers herself). I thought that maybe it would be good for her to learn about 911, but then I had a feeling that she had an ulterior motive. I decided to put her off for the time being.

As we were driving to the store, we passed a police car. She said that she would like the police officer to take away her brother because he would not listen to HER. I asked her if she thought the police should come and pick her up when she doesn't listen to me. She didn't like that idea. We then talked about what police officers actually do. I still don't trust her with that number yet.

Well, Happy Birthday my sweet daughter. I love you!

Lake Powell Trip

We leave for Lake Powell next Tuesday. My husband had won a houseboat trip in May and now we are finally going to take it. I'm a little nervous because I'm not in the best shape right now. My knee still is working at about 85% of what it can normally do, and well as most of you know I'm quickly approaching being very pregnant. It should still be really fun. I may just have to cut back on all of the hiking that I want to do.

If you've been to Lake Powell, where was your favorite place to go?

Neal E. Boyd Has Real Heart

This young man sings with his whole soul. How could you not love him? I adore him.

Nuttin But Strinz Rocks

These guys are incredible! I'm so amazed at how they have developed their talents in such a unique and entertaining way. I would be thrilled if they won. I really like Neal too. Their stories are just so compelling.

Utah State Fair

My camera was having an identity crisis (I think it wanted to be an iPhone), so it wasn't working yesterday. These pictures are actually from last year's trip to the fair.

This is K and J standing next to the "Little Hands on the Farm" exhibit. It was really cool. They take a basket and and apron and proceed through different parts of the "farm" doing chores. They put the "products" of their labor into the basket. At the end, they sort the things in their basket into their designated areas.




They are then "paid" for their labors with a paper $1 coupon to be used in the "Farmer's Market". They could chose from cereal, chips, apples, milk, cheese, and other food. K chose strawberry milk and J chose chocolate milk. They loved it! The whole experience didn't even cost us any money. The exhibit was totally free. Cool huh?!




They also loved riding the ponies. I wish that I had been able to take a picture this year because K looked like a total natural while she was riding. She still says that she wants to be a cowgirl and a vet when she grows up.

It's a .....

GIRL! We had our ultrasound today. Everything looks great except that the placenta is lying a little lower than they would like. Also, they pushed back my due date to February 5th (It was January 29th.). Oh well. We actually expected that because my due date was also pushed back with our other two children too.

Our daughter is SUPER excited that she will have a sister. :D Her little brother is just happy about the idea of not being the littlest anymore.

How Many Flashlights Does It Take?

How many flashlights do you think a family of four (soon to be five) needs. Four? Five? Ten at the most? Well according to my husband, we do not have nearly enough.

Please don't be too concerned though. He counted them recently and we currently have 56 flashlights (not including our little LED keychains) spread through our our home and vehicles. Oh, and we also have four lanterns.

Now you are probably asking yourself, yes they have plenty of flashlights; but do they have the batteries to go with them. Mr. Emergency Preparedness (aka my husband) has also made sure that they all have fresh batteries plus he has enough batteries on hand at all times so that the majority of them have back up batteries.

If your power goes out, your welcome to borrow a flashlight or two, or ten. My husband will be happy to lend them out, but he may be a little disappointed if your power is out and his is not. He'd hate to be missing out on the adventure.

Our Dog Ate Our Fiberoptic Cable

.... no really he did. It's ok, you can laugh. We laugh about it too now that it is over.

Max ate a section of the cable sometime on Monday. The result was that we were without a phone and the internet until about 1:30PM Wednesday. Thankfully, Max seems to be fine after eating it, and they didn't charge us for the repair.

Swing Vote

We were able to see a special screening of Swing Vote last night. I actually liked the movie a lot more than I thought I would. My big complaint about the movie is that Kevin Costner's character swears a lot. It is part of who his character is, but still could be very offensive to a lot of people.

The girl who plays his daughter was absolutely brilliant! She was completely believable and absolutely adorable.

The movie did have some very poignant moments and you may even find a tear or two sliding down you cheek as you watch it. If you can stomach the profanity, I would definitely recommend that you go see it.

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Cloth Diapers

We are contemplating using cloth diapers on our next baby. The baby is due January 29, 2009. In our research we have found a diaper that we would really like to try. It is made by Bum Genius.

My Little Runaway

My daughter threatens to runaway every month or so. She is only 4, but she has thought it through way too much for my liking. Last night she said that she was going to runaway to her grandma and grandpa's house because my husband spanked her and sent her to her room for slamming her little brother's toes in the bathroom door. She already had her suitcase packed.

I told her that it wouldn't be a good idea to try to walk to their house because a stranger might pick her up. She said, "Oh, that's OK; I'll just take a taxi!".

At bedtime, I asked her how she would feel if I said that I would like to trade her in for a different kid. She said, "Not very good." I then asked her how she thought I felt when she told me that she wanted someone else to raise her. She again said, "Not very good." She decided that she would not talk about running away again (We'll see how long that lasts). Sigh. I thought running away was an older child ploy. I think that I am really in for it when she is a teenager.

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity


I was pretty happy to find out who I would "morph" into. I've always thought that she is beautiful. Come on try it. You know you want to. LOL!

Guess What?

Our son's favorite thing to say starts with, "Guess What?!"

He then pauses for a moment to make sure that you are paying complete attention to him and then he says, "I love you!"

It makes me melt every time. :D

Beautiful Lenths Donation

I read about beautiful lengths in a magazine. They make wigs for women who have lost their hair like Locks of Love, but they only require 8 inches of hair instead of 10.

I was ready for a change. I always love to have my hair shorter in the summer. Now I have short hair, and I get to help some one else. How cool is that?!

No Polar Bear Club for Me

Last week I got a nasty surprise. Our hot water heater was not working, so I had to think of some way to make my bath warmer. I boiled several pots of water. I succeeded in making the water slightly above frigid.

Thankfully, the pilot light had only blown out and the hot water heater has been working well ever since. Hot water has now been added to my list of things to be thankful for. :D

David Archuleta

Ok, I'm really excited that David Archuleta is now in the final two for American Idol. I normally do not get into "reality shows", but who couldn't help but love this humble guy. :D

Labyrinth Obsessed

You probably know by now that I love the movie Labyrinth. I told my husband that I wanted the new addition of the movie for Mother's Day. I opened it on Saturday, and we have already watched it at least 5 times. My kids love it! HeHe. My husband thinks that we are all weird for liking it so much. He teased us about it and then he sat down and watched the rest of it. LOL!

My son gets excited every time he sees Toby (the baby). He keeps pointing out babies everywhere that we go. His hints about how he would like to have one in the house are becoming more persistent. I guess he's tired of being the littlest one.

Baking Product or Shampoo?

Leaving two little boys alone for five minutes can lead to a very interesting adventure. This is the lesson that I learned yesterday.

I was watching my friend's son who is almost two years old for a couple of hours. He had been playing fairly well with my 2 1/2 year old son. I was looking up something on my computer and the boys had shut the door closest to me so that I could not watch them play in the playroom.

I heard the door open to the other side of the basement and I looked over to see my son completely covered in flour. Not a good sign! I opened the door completely and found flour all over the floor, the mats, the vacuum, and a very casper looking little boy. Sigh. There is no use crying over spilled flour right.

Well, I decided that the little boys were in desperate need of a bath. My friend's child had so much flour in his hair that you could not tell that his hair is brown and his scalp was completely caked in white flour. I'm pretty sure that my son had poured a lot of it onto his head using the cup that we use to scoop the floor out of the storage bucket.

The little boy did not take very kindly to get an impromptu bath. After my son joined him, he decided that maybe playing in the water was a better option than crying. My son, came clean immediately. I shampooed the other little guy's hair four times and then gave up trying to get all the flour out of his hair. The remnants had turned into paste. Grrrr!

I put them both in fresh clothes just in time for my friend to arrive. We decided that laughing was a much better option than crying. The moral of this story is, never leave two something year olds alone in the vicinity of a container of flour. It is not a good thing.

The Shed

We have been talking about building this shed for as long as we have been married (a little over 7 years). We've had a garage door without the hardware for it for about 5 years. Now we are actually starting to see it take shape.

This is what our back porch looks like right now. I discovered this picture this morning along with about 15 other interesting shots that our amateur resident photographer (AKA our four year old daughter) secretly took with our digital camera. By the end of June we are hoping to be able to use the back porch as an official back porch.

Ouch!

On Sunday, our little family went for a walk. I was walking our dog, Max. There were some dogs across the street that he wanted to go visit. I hanked on his leash to get him to heel again and then something happened. Somehow during all of the excitement, I dislocated my knee.

This is not the first time that it has happened. This is more like the seventh time. Thankfully my knee cap has always gone immediately back into place. I'm a little worried this time because it has rubbed more and it hurts more than it ever has before.

The knee brace in the picture is very similar to the one that I am wearing now. My daughter thinks that it would be fun to wear. Personally, I am excited for the time to come that I can put it back in my drawer and not use it again for a LONG time.

Gone to the Worms

Today we were working in our flower beds. I discovered a worm and showed it to my children. My daughter wanted to hold it and then my son wanted one of his own. Soon I was hunting all over the place for worm after worm. We talked about how important it was for the worms to not dry out, so we made sure that they were only out for a little while before we returned them to the dirt.

My son placed his last worm gently in the dirt and then said, "Bye, bye worm. I love you!" It was so sincere and sweet.

This whole episode got me thinking about worms and looking for a picture of one. This took my in a direction that I did not expect to go. Take a look at this clip and see if it brings back memories for you. I give you the worm from Labyrinth.

The Beauty of Bread

I learned how to make homemade bread a year ago. I had made several loaves previously in a breadmaker, but this was the first time that I had made it from scratch and baked it in the oven.

I am now hooked on making bread and eating it when it is still warm. There is something almost sacred about the process. No two batches ever turn out exactly the same, and you have to remember that you are dealing with a living thing. It can be harmed if you neglect it.

The smell of the bread bread baking will soon be permeating my home. I look forward to slicing it and enjoying a piece. I always make 4 loaves. Bread is always best when you have the ability to share it.

Piano in Time Out

First of all, this is not a picture of our piano. Ours is an upright, but sometimes I like to pretend that it is a baby grand. ;)

My children were playing the piano yesterday. At first it was rather pleasant, but progressively it became louder, and then it escalated to pure torture. I was in the kitchen when it happened, so I was not sure which child was to blame (most likely both). I decided that the only reasonable thing was to put the piano in time out.

This was the most recent of many inanimate objects that have received this "punishment". Neither child was singled out as the guilty one yet order was restored. Thank goodness the objects cannot yell, "Unfair!".

Painful to Watch

This little guy is my son. He is vibrant, fun loving, and my little cuddler.

Today his leg does not seem to be cooperating. Several times today he has been running and then his legs just give out on him and he falls. He fell down our little steps (3 steps) by our back door twice. He is not a clumsy child. Finally tonight he started clutching one leg and complaining that it hurts. There are no bruises or obvious scrapes. We gave him some tylenol before he went to bed. Hopefully his leg will be back to normal tomorrow. For some reason, I am really worried about it. :(

Sunset

I was driving with my children and father today. I spotted a sunset that was very low in the sky. We then started a game to see how often we could spot the sunset through the buildings and trees. It struck me how simple yet memorable that little moment was. There is beauty all around us. We just need to slow down long enough to see it.

Playground Wisdom

I once heard a book on tape called "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I learned in Kingergarten". I thought I would share a little bit of it with you.

"All I Ever Really Needed to Know
I Learned in Kindergarten"
Robert Fulgham

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned..

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life.

Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you to out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

The Value of a Memory

My computer was down for a few days. I ended up talking to technical support to see what I could do to bring my computer back to like. After trying several things, the tech told me that he thought that my hard drive might be ruined and that my files and photo were most likely lost.

I was devastated. I have been scanning in my families photos and putting them on family websites and CDs. There were a lot of photos that were on my computer that had not been backed up anywhere. I did not realize how much value those photos held for me until I thought that they were gone for ever. Thankfully, we had a good friend that was able to help us fix our computer. Nothing was lost. Everything is now backed up in several places, but I am grateful for the experience because now I know how precious those photos truly are.

A Day at the Playground

The weather has finally started to get warmer. Yea! Yesterday I took my two little ones and their friends to the park. After smearing the who lot with sunscreen, I sat back soaked in the warmth of the sun and enjoyed the sound of children's laughter. It doesn't get much better than this. :D