mommily

Romantic Dinner for Two

2012-02-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

For our Christmas gift this year the children gave us a coupon for a homemade dinner and a night on the town. This is a picture of the beautiful food they prepared. It was as delicious as it looks. They then treated us to the movies. We went to see Sherlock Holmes and when we came home the kitchen was immaculate!!! It was such a thoughtful sweet gift. I must admit my kids are great!!!

YEAH!!! I am BACK!!!

2012-01-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

I finally figured out what I changed the password to for this blog--ha ha. The email I have connected to this blog, I can't access for some reason. But, I finally cracked my password code(I always think I will remember them)--its going to be a great year!!

Bear Lake Reunion

2011-08-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Playing games
Making sandcastles
water sports
The Gang

John's family had a reunion at Bear Lake last weekend. We had a great time boating, playing on the beach, eating, and playing games. The kids had fun hanging out and playing with cousins. Cousin Aaron just returned from his mission in Ghana, Africa and it was so interesting hearing about his experiences and seeing some of his pictures.

24th Pioneer Celebration

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

Our Friend's tank pulling a covered wagon--ha ha :)
Natalie riding with the Art City Royalty
Jake and Natalie are a members of the city's youth council and I am one of the adult advisors of this group. I chose not to walk in the parade. :)

Every July 24th our little city has a pioneer day celebration. It starts with the fire trucks and police cars driving around at 6:30 am with their sirens on to wake up the city. There is a flag ceremony, fun run, pancake breakfast, parade, old fashion carnival, bike give away, free concert and fireworks. Suz and her kids joined us for the festivities and her kids even rode on Mike's church ward's float. In the evening we sat on the lawn and listen to Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band. It was a great concert and Suz's Timothy danced for 2 hours straight!!! The fireworks were incredible! I love the Small-Town America activities and feel of this day.

Bear Lake with Oma and Opa

2011-07-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

Last week I took the kids on an impromptu trip up to visit Oma and Opa at Bear Lake. Mike and his family were there also. On Monday we had a perfect day at the lake. Mike drove the boat and pulled kids on the tube. The rest of the adults just hung out on the beach. The highlight of the trip for my kids was the "sniper shooting" instruction Opa gave as they shot at soda cans 200 yards away. They all hit the targets. Bear Lake is so peaceful and was a great break--we head back there in a few weeks for John's family reunion.

Junior Miss

2011-07-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

Cousins and friends
Oma and Opa came to cheer her on. (John in background is not crying--he got something stuck in his eye--haha)
Natalie in her interview suit in front of her poster board.

Natalie participated in the Junior Miss program last Saturday night. It is a scholarship program for juniors in high school. They are judged on their scholastic (high school transcript, ACT), talent, interview skills, athletic, and self expression. Natalie went to workshops with the other girls a month before to learn the aerobic routine and opening number. This is something she has never done before and she felt like she learned a lot from the experience. She preformed a monologue from Shakespeare's play Much Ado about Nothing for her talent.

She did wonderfully and really shined on stage. She "sparkled" as she preformed the opening dance number, her aerobic routine, and monologue. She also was very confident and poised with the self expression question. We could not have been prouder!!! She was not one of the overall winners, but she won the 200 dollar Be Your Best Self scholarship award and $1700 scholarship to some random Alabama schools. Yeah Natalie!!!

Summer Jobs

2011-06-26T15:43:00.001-07:00

Caroline and Natalie have restarted the bagel business. They renamed the business, Bibbity Bobbity Bagels. They made samples and fliers and took them around a wealthier neighborhood. They went to about 10 houses. They ended up talking to 5 people and leaving fliers on the other houses. They had one success, but 4 rejections. They hated this and refused to go to any more. John and I were in the car laughing and thinking what a great experience this was for them. We told them this is what Josh does everyday. Which Natalie stated, "I am not going on a mission!" They plan on going around our neighborhood to people they know. They have about 6 returning costumers from when Caroline did the business and hope to get more.

Snow Cone Shack

Jake and Natalie work at the snow cone shack a few times a week. It does not pay well, but they have fun and usually their friends drop by to visit them.

Soccer Tournament--"Mud Pies, Anyone?"

2011-02-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

Natalie and I just got back from her soccer tournament. I was really looking forward to the warm weather of St. George and watching Natalie play, but on the first day it was only 37 degrees and rained all day. The tournament was held on a turf farm and the parking lot turned into solid mud. Cars were sliding and many became stuck. Natalie had two games on this day and was very cold and wet. She played 3 games on Monday and the fields were even muddier from two days of solid rain. Needless to say, instead of enjoying a lot of sun, I did many loads of laundry. It was a very memorable trip.

This was the parking lot!! ha it was crazy!!!

Natalie's team after winning one of their games and diving into the mud to celebrate (Natalie with red headband).
My cool rain boots my friend and I developed because we had already ruined one pair of shoes. Some guy told us, "great idea, but a little dorky." ha ha I didn't want to ruin my Dansko shoes!!

Natalie after her championship game. They came in 2nd place.
Everyone had checked out of the hotel by the time the team played their last game--so we took all the girls to the car wash and sprayed them off and they changed in the car before heading home. :)

Remodel

2011-02-16T14:11:00.001-08:00

We have been slowly remodeling our kitchen. We put in new counter top surrounding the island, new sink, new faucet, plumbed in a gas line for a new gas stove top and new double ovens. We also stained the floors a darker color and put a new banister to the stairs going downstairs. This week we had the cabinets painted white and the island painted black. I picked a little off white (Swiss coffee-behr)--but after it was done it looks very very white. Maybe I just need to get used to it. This is a picture of our house right before they painted. I had to empty everything from the cabinets and put them in the family room.

Going through that pile was the worse part of the remodel, but it forced me to get rid of, sort and organize everything in the kitchen. Now the insides of the cabinets look as good as the outside. I am going to be more careful what I pick up at yard sales this summer. :) I will post a after picture soon.

Catching up--Joseph turns 8 and Baptism

2010-12-12T17:22:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Joseph!!!
Joseph wanted to go to A1 chinese Buffet. This would not have been my first choice, but Joseph loved it. Aunt Suz had taken him here in the summer and he was exited for the family to try it. Joseph loved the all you can eat jello and shrimp. I have never been to a chinese buffet before and I do not think I will go to one again. :)
It was so nice to have the whole family together for this special day.
John and Joseph before the baptism.
Cousin Abby was baptized the same day with Joseph. It was such a special day. We love Joseph and his sweet spirit and the good boy he tries to be. We are proud of his decision to be baptized.

Catching up --Cathy and Pete's Halloween Party

2010-12-12T17:07:00.001-08:00

John, Doug and Nathan--Wow we have some great genes in our family--ha ha :)
Cathy scaring all the kids in the new spook alley.
Joseph loved "diving" for the apples.

Catching up--Fall

2010-12-12T16:59:00.001-08:00

Jake and Austin

Pumpkin Patch!!!! Now that John does not travel as much he was able to join us in our annual pumpkin hunt.

Caroline Varsity #1 doubles!!!

2010-10-19T09:50:00.001-07:00

Caroline just finished playing tennis for her junior high. This summer she decided she wanted to try out for the team in the fall. She took a couple of lessons and practiced with her friend, Rachel. Her goal was to make the jv team. She was put as the #1 seed doubles team for varsity with her friend. Yeah!!! They were undefeated during the season playing many 8th and 9th graders. Caroline is a natural and was fun to watch her in action at the net. In region they took third place among the 1st seed varsity double players. Way to go Caroline!!!!

Homecoming Dance 2010

2010-09-27T09:33:00.001-07:00

Natalie had a fabulous time at homecoming. She loves getting dressed up and feeling like a princess and she loved going with a cute boy she likes. :)

For this dance I told her she needed to be ready on time. In the past her poor dates are always waiting about 5 minutes for her to come out. Well, she was right on schedule and putting her make up on in her sweats and listening to music when I glanced out the window and noticed her date driving up 15 minutes early. She screamed and frantically tried to finish her make up and get dressed. I guess they had a miscommunication about the time. Porter, her date had to sit in the living room for a long time as she rushed to finish getting ready. I think I might leave a nintendo ds in there for future dates to pass the time, since Natalie never is on time!!!

Also, her boutonniere was so thick that both Natalie and I could not get the pin through it. We finally got John to put it on after breaking a couple of pins in the process. I don't think Porter felt too comfortable with John putting the boutonniere on him. Ha-ha -- I should of got a picture of that!!!

Happy Birthday Johnny!!!

2010-09-21T12:37:00.001-07:00

22!!!
Johnny came home for his birthday along with his roommates and friends for dinner. We had a big oriental buffet and it was fun to meet his new roommates and catch up with his friends who also just returned from their missions. It is very weird for me to think that I was Johnny's age when I gave birth to him.

We are so proud of Johnny and the great young man he is. He is very self driven and always trying new things. He is in the chemical engineering program at BYU. He has a great part time job doing research for one of his professors. He is a great example to the rest of his siblings and they all look forward to the times when he is home. He is just an all around nice guy!!! We love you Johnny--Happy Birthday!!!!

Camping Staycation

2010-09-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

Josh carrying his sled down because he fell off the alpine slide--he didn't believe in using his brake.

This summer was so busy we were not able to go on a long camping trip, so the weekend before school started we took the family an hour away to camp in Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was absolutely beautiful. I loved all the beautiful wild flowers in bloom. We spent one day at Snowbird ski resort and bought an all inclusive pass to all of their activities. The kids loved the alpine slide, bungee trampoline, and the rock wall. John and I loved riding the ski lifts up the mountain and back--I think we did this 3 different times that day. We also took the tram to the top of the mountain and went on a hike through meadows of wild flowers. The next day we went on another beautiful hike to secret lake. At the top of the hike, Johnny cut open his leg on a jagged rock. Jake sacrificed his shirt for a make shift bandage. We all helped supporting him as he went back down the mountain. Luckily Doug lives close to this canyon and he stitched him up with 3 stitches. We went back up to snowbird for their Octoberfest with Oma, Opa, Doug and his 3 boys. We ate bratwurst and listen to some yodeling. ha ha. We camped in a beautiful campsite, steps away from a beautiful mountain stream. Of course we had a great time around the campfire and playing games. It was wonderful to get away even if it was only for a couple of days.

Joshua starts school---BYU Idaho!!

2010-09-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

Kids in front of Josh's apartment

On Labor day we took Josh to Rexburg, Idaho to get checked in and ready for college. He is living in a 6 man apartment. He knows one of the boys from our home town and the other boys seem really nice. We bought Josh the meal plan so he will not have to worry about cooking and will be able to focus on studying. He bought his books, got his ID card, and signed up for his freshman orientation. We are very proud of Josh. Josh was very excited and eager to get started. I shed a few tears as I hug him good-bye. I can't believe he is old enough to be on his own. :( I think it was harder for me to send Josh to college because he is 6 hours away compared to Johnny who is only 20 minutes away at BYU.

BYUI is a great campus, it reminds me of a mini BYU. Everyone was friendly and there were a lot of sharp students there. I know this is going to be a great experience for Josh. Our house feels very empty with just the four children left at home and my heart very heavy as I realize that now it will be rare to have all my children under the same roof together for long periods of time. Missing my 2 boys already!!!

The art of asking a girl to a dance. :)

2010-09-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Natalie came home to find chocolate kisses all over the floor of her room and roses with a note on her bed. She was so excited. She turned the kisses over to find the ones with letters on them to discover who her date was. She was extra happy because it was the boy she likes a lot, needless to say, she was all smiles the rest of the night. Now she is trying to figure out a cute way to answer. Any ideas?

First Day of School!!!

2010-09-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

Because we had such fun and busy summer that I have not blogged in a long time. Hopefully I can post some of the highlights in the next few weeks.

The house is getting quieter. Johnny moved into his apartment last week and Josh goes up to BYUI this weekend. The remaining children are excited to all have their own rooms now. ha ha Joseph started 2nd grade, Caroline started 7th grade and now attending the junior high. Jake and Natalie are in High School in 10th and 11th grade. Jake and Natalie even have Chemistry together which will be nice for studying.

Cooling off in the Summer--Locks of Love!

2010-07-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

Caroline decided to donate 10 1/2 inches of her hair to Locks of love, and organizations that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to medical reasons. I am very proud of her and thinks she looks all grown up with her new hairdo. Good Job Caroline!!!

Family Reunion

2010-07-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary during our family reunion over 4th of July weekend. I loved seeing all my siblings and their families and watch everyone have such a good time together. I am sure my parents did not realize that 50 years later there would be 104 people in their family. I feel very blessed to part of this amazing family.

Happy 50th anniversary MOM and DAD!!!!
Everyone danced at the party!!! It was the best party--being in a room celebrating with all the people you are comfortable around and love. :)

Saturday everyone wore their reunion T-shirts and enjoyed carnival games, crafts,ice blocking, soccer game, and pizza at the park!!!

Opa and Oma with all the grand kids. It was a very memorable weekend.

Pioneer trek

2010-07-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

AUGGGG!!! I couldn't get the movie to download-- to see a short video of this awesome trek I put it on my boys blog.

Last week I went on a pioneer trek with Josh, Natalie and Jake. It was a wonderful experience. It help us all gain a greater understanding of the faith and courage the pioneers had. I feel it helped my teenagers realize that they could do hard things too and that even though they do not have to pull handcarts across the country, that they have strength and courage to face their own challenges and trials. Before going, we read stories about a couple of our own pioneers ancestors-William Lobark Skidmore and Leopold Wirthlin.

Me trying a black powder rifle. :)
Natalie helping push
All dressed and ready to go----Natalie did not like the "grandma" clothes she had to wear.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho off to Topaz Mountain we Go!!!

2010-06-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day we went on a day trip to Topaz Mountain. Everyone had a great time searching for topaz. Joseph loved using his hammer and tools to break the rocks. We all came home with topaz. Josh broke open one large rock and found some really nice ones. This is a great family activity--better in the spring and fall when it is not so hot.

Girl's Camp--Moab

2010-06-12T22:33:00.001-07:00

I helped with our wards girls camp last week. Natalie was a "kool-aid" and helped prepare and plan the camp. She did a great job!!! This was Carolines first time at camp--it was so fun to be with both my girls in this beautiful place. We went to Arches and camped for 3 nights right on the Colorado river. We went on hikes, played games, sang songs, waded in the river and had a fabulous time. The theme was "Born to be a queen...be strong"---the scripture was Joshua 1:9. The theme was inspired by President Utchdof's talk and Sister Dalton's talk given at Young Womens conference. Caroline favorite thing was the fiery furnace hike and Natalie's was the glow stick war she had with the other "kool-aids". Next month I will take 27 4th year girls from our stake on a hike through the Narrows at Zions National Park.

Joshua's Graduation

2010-06-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

Picture of Joshua after graduating. We are so PROUD of him. He is heading to BYU Idaho in the fall and will be majoring in biology. He received a 4,000 scholarship. Way to go Josh!!!

Spring Break--California

2010-05-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

I am extremely behind on the blog. My kids have been asking me when I am going to update it with all the events and things we have done. I guess I have been too busy living life to record it.

We went to Disneyland for one day (give a day get a day). We arrived at 7:30am and left at 12:30am. We had a fabulous time and were ready to relax at the beach the next day. Rick and Gemina were so nice to let us stay with them for a couple of days. We felt very pampered with the delicious food and cozy beds. THANKS Gemina and Rick!!!!! Natalie loved spending time with her cousin Madeline.

Prom

2010-04-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday both Josh and Natalie went to Prom. Josh really liked wearing a tuxedo and he looked really handsome. Natalie looked beautiful too. I think her date was really nervous because he only said two words when he came to pick her up and continued to shake his head or laugh. Natalie said that she had never talked to him before at school so she decided to treat it like a blind date. hahaha She said that during all the slow dances she just taught him how to waltz so it wasn't awkward.

Her dress we bought at DI and I added the sleeves from the material of the slip underneath. They did not turn out exactly how I wanted them to and I envisioned her a little more covered, but she was thrilled with the dress. They both had a nice time and had fun getting all dressed up.

Happy BIRTHDAY Caroline!!!

2010-04-25T08:56:00.001-07:00

Caroline's birthday picnic lunch on the kitchen floor.
Caroline is 12!!!! Wow, my little girl is getting so old. Caroline is so excited to now be in the Young Women's program. She went with Natalie and I a few weeks ago to the Young Women's broadcast. It was so fun to go with both of my girls. We all loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk.

Caroline is such a darling girl and has so many talents and interests. She is always busy baking, singing, dancing, doing a craft or playing with friends. I really appreciate it when she helps me with dinner. It will be exciting to see what new interest or activities she will be involved in the future. Her birthday presents this year demonstrate some of her varied interests.

1. Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"

2. new ballet shoes and tights

3. piano music to the "Pride and Prejudice" soundtrack

4. Lyrics and piano music to Prince of Egypt "When you believe"

5. clothes

6. gum

7. Animal Crossing Wii game

WE LOVE YOU CAROLINE!!!!!

What Brothers Do on Sundays

2010-04-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

So my boys decided to make a brothers' summer blog. They plan on putting random things, ideas, pictures, jokes, and stories on it. Check it out here and you will see how random this blog will be. It was fun to watch them put this together today even though their movie really has no point. Joseph dance makes me laugh.

Jake--Forever Strong

2010-03-18T09:27:00.001-07:00

Jake and Friends--after their first rugby game

An example of how random this sport is.

Jake getting tackled illegally--that guy got a penalty for an upper body tackle.

Jake catching the ball

Jake and a few friends have joined the local Rugby team. They have been practicing since February and even went to a tournament in St. George. It is the most random sport. John andI still have not figured out all of the rules and terms of the game. To me it looks like they all make it up as they play. One minute they are passing the ball and kicking it and the next they tackling, scrumming, and jumping on top of each other. Jake absolutely loves it. I am still undecided how I feel about it because it looks so dangerous when the boys play and someone usually is scraped up or badly bruised each game. Jake position is wing.

Happy Birthday JOSH!!!

2010-03-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Josh turned 19 on Saturday. He invited a lot of his friends over for a party. Everyone had a great time and we had to eventually kick people out around 12:15 am. Josh is a great person and we are very proud of him. I can't believe he is this old--where does time go!?! We are going to miss him when he goes off to college next fall and on a mission in the winter. We love you Josh--HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

You Can't Take It With You

2010-03-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

This video is of a few clips of Natalie's part in the High School Play, You Can't Take it With You. She played Gay Wellington, the drunk actress. This was a huge stretch for her because she has never seen or been around anyone drunk. I thought she did great, even though, it did make me uncomfortable watching her be "drunk".

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day

2010-02-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the ticket vouchers I printed off for Disneyland. Our family did the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program. We made birthday bags for the juvenile justice Services and a quilt. The kids decorated each paper bag and put in a candy bar, drink, chips and a homemade card. We made 60 bags and Joseph tied a fleece quilt. We had a fun time doing this for family night. I was surprised at all the different opportunities for the children to serve as I browsed through the different options, I think I also found a Eagle project idea for Jake . This was a great way to serve as a family with the added perk of a free visit Disneyland.

Dresses for Less......formals on a Budget

2010-02-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

A stag dance.

Her other dresses

Last summer I was on a mission to find some formals for Natalie as I garage sale shopped. I ended up with finding 6. I then found 4 at a thrift store. A manufacturer had donated their old inventory and all the dresses still had the tags on them. Some of these had original price tags of $200. The thrift store sold each of them for $35.00. It was always a risk when I purchased these at the yard sale, because Natalie usually was not with me, but I figured I could always alter them or or resale them. I think only two of the dresses will not work. One, Natalie does not like and the other requires too many complicated alterations to make it work. Here is what I spent;

garage sales:

black dress 8.00

red dress with shawl 15.00

short green dress 5.00

light blue dress 8.00

light blue dress (one she doesn't like) 3.00

red dress (too many alterations) 40.00

thrift store

light blue sparkly 35.00

royal blue 35.00

magenta 35.00

princess blue one 35.00

TOTAL: 196.00

That seems like a lot, but I figured she has 8 dresses she will wear and it works out to be about $26 a dress. I told her earlier that I would buy her one dress a year, so this year for the price of one she has 8. I do need to work on my sewing ability, though. The top light blue dress, she is wearing above, I had to take in and altered the sleeves. When she gave her date a hug goodnight her right sleeve ripped off. hahahah :)

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

2010-02-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

On New Years day I shared this wonderful story with the children (it actually is about Natalie's friend's grandfather). I then also reminded them of President Monson's recent talk on service. After reading the story and talking about service, I gave each of them their own notebooks. I told them as a family we will try to do an extra service for someone else each day and record it.

Well, we have been doing this for over a month now and I must report that some children are better than others in recording their good deeds. I keep most the notebooks in a basket by the table and some of the kids have their notebooks by their beds. Tomorrow we may pull out these notebooks to review how we are doing after family night. This video below would be good to show if you are doing this for family night.

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

Josh--BYU Idaho!!!

2010-02-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Josh found out yesterday that he was accepted to BYU Idaho. He is really excited and looking forward to attending school there next fall. WAY TO GO JOSH!!!!

How many women does it take to make a Souffle?

2010-01-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

My book group just read My Life in France by Julia Childs. Last night we attempted one of Julia Child's recipes in her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. We were all a little apprehensive and intimidated to make her souffle recipe, but had a blast during the process. I think Stacey had Julia Child's accent down the best!! I realized this recipes and probably many others in the cookbook are not too practical and my children would like German pancakes just as well. Caroline, however said she wants this cookbook for her birthday. :)

Grandpa the next computer expert!

2010-01-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

John's dad has been staying with us for a few weeks and I have been giving him a few lessons on using his new laptop. This makes me laugh, considering I really don't know what I am doing half the time on my computer. I showed him how to load his pictures, set him up an email account, and even created a face book account for him. His favorite thing about the computer were the bookmarks that let him go to his favorite sites. It has been fun opening the "wonders" of computers and the Internet to him.

Let it SNOW!!!!

2010-01-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

Fun day sledding during the holiday break.

Holiday Games

2010-01-05T07:38:00.000-08:00

We played two games repeatedly over this winter break. The first one is a group game called "signs" (for the rules click here). We did it a little different from these rule, we touched the person instead of pointing at them and if wrong waited 5 seconds to touch someone again. We played this in the BYU lounge while waiting for our bowling lane and a few other times with family and friends.

The other game is a board game called "The Game of Things". It is a really simple game, which results in a lot of laughter. You can find it at Walmart and Target.

Time Capsule--New Years Day

2010-01-02T12:59:00.001-08:00

For ten years this time capsule has sat on the top shelf in our cold storage. The kids were really excited and curious to open it on New Years day. In it was a letter each child wrote or dictated to themselves 10 years in the future. They wrote goals, things they liked/disliked,their chores, friends, and anything else they wanted their future self to know. They each also had put in a few treasures and items in it like a newspaper, beanie baby, pokeman card, shell, pictures they painted, Christmas card, pictures of each of them and other random things. We all sat around reading our letters. Then we read each of them out loud and both laughed and cried (John and I). These letters truly captured what our life was like 10 years ago.

In my letter I wrote, "I recognize that I only have a few precious years while the children are young...". This was so true, time really does go by fast.We are now out of the baby and toddler stage and have mostly teenagers. In ten years only Joseph will still be at home. For family night we are going to put together another time capsule to open up in 2020.

In another part of the letter I wrote; "Today I washed and folded 8 loads of laundry. It is a challenge for me to keep up on the house work and organizing seems like a constant activity". I guess some things never change!!

Christmas

2009-12-30T07:57:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve at Opa and Oma's house. Visit Opa's blog for a short video clip. We all had a great time and felt the spirit of the season.
Christmas morning breakfast. We always have English Christmas Crackers and wear the crowns inside them. We had a wonderful day together. The highlight, of course was being all together with Johnny home. Christmas morning before we opened gifts, I asked the children to think of what kinds of gifts Jesus would want from us. We are grateful for this time of year when we celebrate our Savior's birth and life.

Some of our homemade gifts to each other were as follows:

Caroline to Josh--cookie of the month club. She gave him a paper listing the different cookies she will bake him each month.

Josh to Natalie--He set her up on a double date. They went out last night and Johnny joined them for a triple date--his first date in 2 years. :)

Joe to Johnny--tied a fleece blanket for him

Jake to Joe--made a Lego kit. He created a model and then took pictures for Joseph to follow to reassemble it.

Natalie to Caroline--made some music mix CDs.

Johnny to Jake--gave him a little Greek hand toy and taught him tricks

Johnny's homecoming

2009-12-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

Johnny came home from Greece last night. His flight was 4 hours late so many of the extended family members were unable to come. Opa and Oma stayed up late with us to welcome him home. Caroline took the video and Jake the pictures. Words can not express how wonderful it is to have him home.

Christmas Cake

2009-12-20T08:33:00.000-08:00

**This is the cake Caroline decorated last year.
John's mom was English and often made the traditional English Christmas cake with marzipan frosting and all the dried fruits and currants in it. We were not big fans of this cake, but wanted to try and keep up the tradition. This wonderful apple cake looks similar to it with it's white cream cheese frosting. The warm butter sauce is so delicious served on it. We also put a silver dollar covered with tin foil between the layers and the lucky person who gets it in their piece receives a present(another English tradition). The other great thing about this cake is that you make the cake ahead of time and freeze. Here is the recipe Al:

Apple Cake:

2 eggs

2 C sugar

2 tsp Soda

1/2 salt

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C oil

4 C apples (peeled and shredded)

2 C flour

1 C pecans or Walnuts chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 9" round pans (floured and greased). Cream together eggs and sugar. Add vanilla and oil. In a Separate bowl combine soda, salt, cinnamon and flour. Mix into egg mixture. Add apples and nuts. Beat for 2 min. Bake 45 minutes. When done cool on counter. When cool, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. Frost as desired while cakes are frozen.

Frosting:

1 80z cream cheese

3 T softened butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

dash of salt

1 1/2 C powdered sugar

Butter sauce:

1 C sugar

1/2 C butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 C cream

heat on low. Don't boil. Serve warm over individual slices of cake and with a dollop of whipped cream on top if desired.

Winter Recitals/Concerts

2009-12-19T20:30:00.001-08:00

The past few weeks have been filled with concerts and recitals. Jake also played in a winter orchestra concert. He did a great job and I feel bad I forgot my camera and did not get a picture.

Caroline singing a solo in her Christmas choir concert. She did great!! She sang a Ghana song with just drums to accompany her.
Natalie and Caroline playing "Let it Snow" duet.
Caroline dancing for the nursing home.

Caroline's Cooking Blog

2009-12-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

Caroline has started a cooking blog. This is where she trys and shares recipes. She has always loved to cook and lately I find her reading cookbooks when she goes to bed. She only has 2 posts on it now, but wants to put a new recipe each week. The above picture is of her helping to cook when just a toddler---she always was on the counter as I cooked. Here is the link to her blog.

Winter Dance

2009-12-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

Josh and Natalie both went to the high school winter dance last weekend. They went in different groups. Josh's had a group of 28 kids. One very energetic mother made a sit down turkey dinner for them all. All the other mothers brought side dishes to share. Natalie's group went to Olive Garden, which Natalie reported she out ate her date. :) Natalie had a nice time, but admits that there were some really awkward moments and would rather go on a more casual date.

SURPRISE!!!

2009-12-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday I had a surprise party for Natalie. It was really hard to keep it a secret, especially on her real birthday when I had not planned too much to celebrate. In the future I will always do surprise parties before the real birthday. Her girl friends came over first and surprised her and we had dinner and games. Later a bunch of her guy friends showed up. I think at one point we had at least 50 kids here. Everyone seemed to have a fun time. Joseph said the next day, "Our house was a rock-in everywhere."

Happy SWEET sixteen Natalie!!!

2009-12-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Natalie has been counting down the days till she turned 16--the time she could both drive and date. She got her drivers license yesterday and her friends surprised her by decorating her room. As you see in the picture they put a life size "Jacob" from the Twilight movie in there too. Late last night when checking on something in her room, I about had a heart attack when I turned the lights on and there was this "man" standing there. I told her when she is not home he has to go in the closet.(--a little creepy) We love Natalie's zest for life and her passion for things she is involved in and her ideas. Most importantly we appreciate that she is kind and sensitive to those around her. WE LOVE YOU NAT!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

14 DAYS TILL JOHNNY COMES HOME!!!!

2009-12-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been two years since Johnny left for his mission. Time has flown, except for the last few months as I anticipate all my children in my home again. We are all so excited and can't wait to see, hug, talk to, hang out with, play with, and be with him. I feel like I did when I was nesting for a new baby. I have been deep cleaning the house, making up menu plans and cooking. I guess thats what moms do when they are excited. I know he will be surprised to see how some of the kids have grown, especially Natalie, Jake and Caroline. Jake's goal was to be taller than Johnny when he came home. :) I will post a before picture and after picture once he is here. This is a little excerpt from his letter today. I guess he is starting to think of coming home too.

"This week while in church i realized that I don' t really know what I have been used to do in this country, but God knows. Only He knows how many people I have been used to influence. I hope that this last few weeks I can influence as many people as I can. I am grateful for the experiences that I have had here and for the people that I have got to know here. It has been an amazing two years, that won't compare with any to come, but hopefully not the best (in other words I hope it only gets better:) full of happy and difficult times. I love this country and the language, and the poeple who live here. I will miss them.

But I love you and I can't believe that I will see you soon. I am very very excited."

Dating, Dances, and DRAMA!

2009-12-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

Natalie turns 16 next week. There is a Christmas Dance 2 days after her birthday and she has been really hoping to get asked to it. Well, tonight at 7:00 pm just as I was leaving for Jake's concert the doorbell rang and there was a Christmas tree sitting there. I hurried and put it in Natalie's room. Later, when Natalie came home there was wrapping paper all rolled up and a candy cane with Natalie name on it sitting at the front steps. Two boys asked her within 1 hour of each other!!!!! Then the drama began..... Natalie was so excited to be asked but very traumatized at the same time to turn one of the boys down. They are both nice boys and she is friends with both. She could not focus or function for about 2 hours because she was so indecisive as what to do. She finally decided the best thing to do was accept the invitation of the first. She still really wants to go out with the other boy too and she hopes he will ask her out again. John and I told her if she doesn't date at all it would solve everything. She didn't like that answer. Above are pictures of how she was asked and how she responded.

Cranberry Salsa

2009-11-30T21:34:00.000-08:00

I made this for an appetizer for Thanksgiving. It is very easy to make and unique. Everyone loved it and wanted me to blog it.

2-3 cups dried cranberries (I got craisens from Costco) chopped

1 bunch of cilantro (chopped)

1-2 jalapenos (seeded and chopped)--I used one

1 purple onion (chopped)--if large just use half

Cover with the following mixture:

1/4 C honey (mixes best if warm)

1/4 C orange juice

juice from 2 limes

The recipe will easily cover 2-3 8 oz. cream cheese. Serve with club crackers or tortilla chips. Tastes best if made the night before so that flavors can blend.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

I made another video clip of the pictures we took over this Thanksgiving break to send to Johnny. It was a fun filled weekend full of complicated plans, events and traveling back and forth to cousin's houses.

Grandma also took all the girls to the nutcracker to watch 3 cousins preform. We feel so blessed and are truly grateful for our faith, health, food, friends and family. When looking at the "black" Friday deals in the newspaper, we quickly realized we didn't really need anything, that we already have everything we could want. :)

Modest is Hottest

2009-11-23T19:57:00.001-08:00

Natalie thought up the post title. Hmmmm :)
Caroline and Natalie are modeling the dresses I bought for 7 dollars on clearance at American Eagle. The only problem was that they were too short. Here is how I refashioned them. On Caroline's dress, I let out the hem and added some eyelet. For Natalie's, I added a 2 1/2 inch trim to the bottom. They both were happy with the results.
Funny story about Natalie's dress. Natalie wore this to school the other day. While practicing in social dance she notice her partner had a funny look on his face. She followed where his eyes were staring and realized her dress had slipped down past her chest!! (good thing she had a shade t-shirt on). For the test, he told her he would hold it up. hahahaha---I guess I need add some ribbon or straps.

Made with Love--gift exchange

2009-11-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

We used to take all the children to the dollar store in December and let them pick out a gifts for each other. They loved it, but I hated the 36 items of junk that came into the house each year. These things always ended up in the garbage within a week.

3 years ago we started a new tradition and the kids picked names for a their gift exchange. The only catch was it had to be made by the giver. This takes a lot more thought and effort. In the above picture, Joseph had been working for 2 hours on Johnny's present, when I said to him,"why don't you to take a break?" He replied, "Mom, a boy does not give up on his brother!" Haha He has been really excited as he works on his gift. Caroline has a great idea for Josh and I wish she picked me. Here are some of the past gifts.

Johnny---Natalie---made her a special music mix cds
Natalie---Caroline----typed her up a cookbook of favorite family recipes
Jake------Joseph------decoupaged a wooden treasure chest with super hero stickers
Joseph---Josh------painted wood letters of Josh's name for his room
Josh-----Joseph-----took photos of Joseph's favorite toys, books, and him playing and combined with some random pictures of him and made a little video of him with the background music "you've got a friend in me"--so cute one of my favorites!!!
Caroline-----Jake----freezer stencil Chinese characters saying "big brother" on a T-shirt
Caroline----Johnny---took all his comics strips he had collected for 5 years and compiled them into a scrapbook and sheet protectors
Josh------Jake----homemade bookmark and a book of his own that he knew Jake would love.

I love this new system, because the children actually feel the joy and excitement that accompanies giving instead of receiving.

Christmas Binder

2009-11-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

This year I am following the advice/idea of my friend, Chris and created a Christmas Binder. I don't know why I have not done or thought of this earlier. It has taken a lot of the stress out of the Holiday planning and preparing. In my binder I have included gift lists, things to buy, Christmas card lists and addresses, menu plans and recipes for the holidays, traditions, activities to do as a family, and a master to do list. Having it all in one place and written down makes it seem manageable. This is the first year I am done shopping before Thanksgiving. Yeah!!! I also have a zipper pouch where I have put all the gift receipts. I still have plenty to do, but it doesn't seem as overwhelming. Now I just need to find a good place to hide it from my children's curious eyes. :)

Josh joins the FFA

2009-11-15T19:35:00.000-08:00

Josh joined the FFA(future farmers of America) at his school. It is a great program. He has had a fun time being involved in this school club. He helped judge cows with his group and he is going to a leadership conference in December. Josh and 6 other students are raising a pig that they will sell in the spring. They are each in charge of one day. He has learn new skills and made some new friends. I am always proud of my kids when they try new things. Good job Josh!!!

Halloween Party

2009-10-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

Cathy had an early Halloween party. She went all out with cotton candy, donuts on a string, bobbing for apples, cookie decorating, and the famous light show. We all had a great time. It was fun to dress up early. Josh was spider-man, Joe was a pirate skeleton, and John a Hawaiian tourist.

Caroline as a Fairy Princess

Me as Princess Leah-haha--Natalie as a Bratz Doll. Her boots make her 6 ft tall. She decided she will dress up as something different for their school masquerade dance--she doesn't want to tower over everyone,

Jake as pointless. :)

Oma and Opa Wirthlin--deck out in Austrian wear.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-24T00:39:00.000-07:00

In search of the perfect pumpkin..........

A "cursed" Dinner

2009-10-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

For Dinner I put a "curse" under each person's plate. Each person had to follow the directions of the curse throughout the meal. Everyone also had to try to figure out what curse each person had. The curses under our plates were:

John: spank anyone being mean

Me: flick water from your glass when someone says someone's name

Josh: answer the telephone whenever Joseph uses his hands to eat.

Natalie: Snort like a pig when anyone takes seconds

Jacob: Say "Oh My" anytime someone puts their elbows on the table

Caroline: Do a curtsey when Dad eats a shrimp.

Joseph: run around the table like a gorilla when Mom takes a drink.

This produced a lot of laughs. I realized I need to go over manners, because Jake never ceased to say "Oh My" and Josh got tired of answering the phone. John kept spanking me because I was flicking water at people. ha-ha I will have to change the curses next time. Also, it almost ended in a water fight because at the end I flick a little too much water at John who then dump the entire glass on me--Luckily most the water was gone from the table. The kids want me to surprise them with this one again.

John's new obsession

2009-10-22T00:24:00.000-07:00

Caroline brought home a gourmet caramel apple from achievement day and started John on his new obsession. After purchasing all the necessary supplies and apples (green apples a must) we all made our own custom apple. I think John put so much on his that it wouldn't stick.

Homemade masquerade halloween masks

2009-10-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

This fall break a few were house bound--Natalie was recovering from pneumonia and Josh did not want to go in public with his "baby". Caroline and I went to the craft store in search of something fun to make. We came home with plaster gauze used to make masks. The gauze(looks like an ace bandage) was very easy to use--just cut and dip in warm water and lay on the face. (make sure you cover the area of face with Vaseline or you will may have an unwanted eyebrow wax.)

Jake trying to avoid me taking his picture and playing cards to pass the 15 min drying time.
Natalie wanted hers a little smaller so we drew with eyeliner on her face as a guide as we laid down the strips.

Caroline hot gluing embellishments on her mask.
Joseph painting his mask. He painted one side with glow in the dark paint and the other with black and sparkles. Jake decided to do a similar mask, but on opposite sides Joseph. They have fun going in the dark bathroom and watching half of their "face" float around. Josh wanted to make a golden eagle (their school's mascot) but I did not feel like going to the craft store again to buy brown feathers, so he ended up using feathers from the bag of feathers I already had. He formed a beak with the plaster gauze strips and then added it to his mask. This was a fun and creative project. It may bother young children because as it dries on the faces it kind of itches.

Josh's "baby"

2009-10-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Josh drop one of his classes on the last day and the only class left that fit in his schedule was child development. Josh was not too excited about this, but happy when he saw all the girls in it. One of the requirements of the class is to care for a "baby" for two days. Josh brought this robot baby home yesterday. The teacher put on a mechanical ID bracelet on Josh (which he can not take off) that goes with the baby. The baby cries, fusses, laughs and breathing noises. It keeps track and deducts points if it cries too long, dropped, left unattended, etc. Last night I think it woke up 3 times in the night. hahaha Josh is the only one that can meet the babies needs if crying and will cry if Josh (the one with the bracelet) is too far away for too long. I laughed when Josh took "care" of it this morning and then went back to bed immediately afterwards. When he complains about it, I say a real baby is a lot harder. Johnny had colic for 3 months!!! Natalie and the girls fight over the "baby" when it is laughing or just cooing. The minute it cries they hand it off to Josh. Hahaha--This has been so funny to watch and a great learning experience for Josh.

Happy Birthday Joseph!!!

2009-10-12T08:13:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Joseph!! Joseph is definitely a ray of sunshine in our home. He usually is the first one up in the morning and greets me with a smile and "good morning". He is always happy and can put a positive spin on almost everything. He is very social and loves to play with cousins, friends, and new friends he makes where ever he goes. He keeps us laughing with all the funny things he says. He had a halloween birthday party with all his friends dressing up. We also celebrated on his birthday up at Oma and Opa's house with cousins.
Garage sale Presents:

Since Joseph is my last child, I have a really hard time buying new toys when I know I will get rid of them soon. Also, Joseph already has toys from his older brothers (legos, brio train, action figures, etc). For his presents this year I found all these great things at garage sales. I think the total I spent was 13.50. $5 for 28 chevron car collection. $7 dollars for a playmobile pirate treasure set and viking ship and 50 cents for 2 robots and 50 cents for a beanie baby. Joseph was thrilled will all his gifts and I don't get mad when he loses all the teeny tiny playmobile pieces.:)

Josh joins the Eagle's Nest

2009-09-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Josh received his eagle scout award on Sunday. We are proud of his diligence and work it took for him to accomplish this. During the ceremony they ask any eagle scouts to come forward and sit in the front in the "eagle's nest". Josh enjoyed watching the live eagle show from the "eagle's nest" with the many other eagle scouts that were present. Way to go Josh!!!!

"Old fashion" Photos

2009-09-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

We went up to Grandpa's Bear Lake Farm House for Labor Day weekend. On Sunday we had some time to spare before church and I convinced a few of the children to come outside to take pictures around the property. I put the pictures in Sepia, because the kids had on really random colors. When Joseph saw them in Sepia format, he said, "wait I don't remember being old." I told him, no I made it look that way and he said, "a yeah old fashion like you." ha ha :) I think next time we are up there I will try to do a "real" photo shoot and coordinate the outfits and talk the older boys into participating.

Missionary update/news

2009-09-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here is just a little excerpt from Johnny's letter today. He is an AP and has been traveling to different parts of the mission lately. He comes home December 21. For Christmas we are giving Johnny a trip back to Greece with us so he can show us the sites he been to and people he has met while over there. His mission president's wife has a blog about the mission, it is greeceathensmission.blogspot.com.

"Well this week went well. First off we went to Cyprus, and it was amazing there. Very hot, but amazing. There was a different spirit there. The zone conference went great, and then we had the opportunity to do exchanges with the missionaries. In Cyprus they teach a lot of foreigners who come there to study at foreign colleges. Most of them are from Nepal, India, and China. They are really humble, and about seventy percent of the members whom are in Nicosia are foreigners, there is not a single Cypriot member in the branch (similar stories in the other cities of Cyprus).

The first exchange was with the zone leaders there, and we taught a few lessons, one to a nepalese man, who was really humble, they had taught him the word of wisdom from before, and asked if he had started following this, and he said, “We must follow.”, and then we continued to teach him the law of chastity and tithing, and when we asked him if he would follow, it was the same answer, “Of course. We must follow.” It was amazing to teach someone so humble and so ready. Also, a Chinese girl, and she was very accepting, but also in a different way –so very childlike, but not childish if you understand what I mean. these people are so different than anything that I have encountered in my mission, it was amazing to teach, and really easy to talk to them. I loved it.

The next exchange I did with a german elder who is struggling because his companion is not wanting to work so much, and so we did a lot of contacting on our exchange. It was good for me too. We did street contacting during the night and our goal was to get ten names. We ended up with nine names in one night, and gave out a Book of Mormon. I almost beat my record for amount of names. Also, while contacting I talked to a few young Cypriot young people. And the language Cypriot is so different from Greek it is absolutely amazing. Sure I could understand a little, but I had to have him repeat it a few times, because they use different accent, words, and word order. It was fun though, I learned a few phrases while I was there."

Enrichment Meeting: Mother/Daughter Luau-Camp-out

2009-08-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Every August our ward has a mother-daughter camp out. I never get much sleep but this is one event that we never miss. This year I was in charge of the event and we did a Luau theme. My Samoan friend, Sharon, taught some of the girls traditional Hawaiian dances for an authentic Luau show. It was fabulous!! I did tell Natalie after the performance that she was not allowed to move her hips like that at her school dances. :) Caroline loved playing night games with all the other girls around the property. Natalie loved learning the hula and slap dance. I was thrilled that everything went relatively smoothly. I think we had about 150 people attend. I discovered a yummy roasted marshmallow treat.

Camp fire lemon meringue "pie" treat:

1 Sandie brand shortbread cookie

dollop of lemon curd (buy at store--looks like pudding)

1 roasted marshmallow.

First Day of School!

2009-08-25T13:25:00.001-07:00

Josh-Senior, Natalie-Sophomore, Jake--Freshman
Caroline--6th grade
Joseph --1st grade

School started last week with mixed reviews. After the first day of school only Joseph was still excited about school. This is the first time in 21 years I will be home alone for 6 hours. I am a little sad that the young children stage is over, but excited to finally have time to get some things accomplished that I put on the "shelf" for awhile.

Deep Cleaning

2009-08-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

The summer's busy activities, fun trips and the kids home all day has taken it's toll on our house . I realized how messy and disorganized the house has become. So for the last week of summer we have been trying to deep clean. I told the kids to find something to clean/organized and do it. There was less complaining since they chose their own chores. Some picked cupboards to organize, others washed walls, dusted, and Jake decided to clean the top of the cabinets. It was amazing how much was accomplished with everyone working together. We still are not done and I think the kids are excited to finally start school tomorrow.

High School Soccer Team!!!

2009-08-14T22:23:00.001-07:00

Natalie made the High School Soccer team. She is on Varsity, but also plays with the Junior Varsity. It is a brand new High School so the teams are made up of mostly Sophomores and Freshman with a few Juniors and Seniors. Even-though their team is young they have won their two preseason games. Natalie loves the sweats, uniforms, bus ride to games, cool girls and coaches, and seeing the football guys practicing on the field next to them.

Jake's new look

2009-08-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Before

After

I was actually sad when Jake had his signature mole removed this week. He has had this mole since birth and was his little beauty mark. It was starting to grow so the Doctor advised having it removed. Jake loves having a "cool" scar on his cheek instead (14 stitches). He has been making up all sorts of stories to go with it. His latest is that he got caught on a barb wire fence. The Dr. actually said that in about 6 months it will not be noticeable at all. With or without the "beauty" mark, we think Jake is handsome young man. (Top picture--we thought the store sign was great and made Jake take a picture under it)

Great things for families to do at Grand Teton National Park

2009-08-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

1. Take the ferry ride to Hidden Falls and then hike the 2 1/2 miles back(make sure your six year old does not wear flip flops).

2. Camp at Colter Bay--roast Starbursts over the campfire

3. Swim and hang out at Jackson Lake

4. Canoe down the snake river from Jackson Dam to first take out point--you will see a lot of beavers, otters, and eagles. This is where we saw a moose and deer.

5. Junior Ranger Program

6. Hike and swim at String Lake

7. Go to Jackson Hole--Go to Yippee-i-o Candy Co. and to a musical at the cute western theater.

8. Get a chocolate ice cream to go at Jackson lake lodge and enjoy the big picture window view.

9. Picnic and Fish

10. Bring games to play (Ticket to Ride, Goblet, Apples to Apples, Blink, and Racko were favorites)

11. Play charades around the campfire.

12 Enjoy the beautiful amazing scenery!!!! :D

Lake Powell

2009-07-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

Lake Powell top 10

10 beautiful scenery

9 stars

8 night time "spa time"

7 fire work show

6 boat ride to rainbow bridge

5 great food

4 slide and floating

3 hikes--especially slot canyon hike

2 swimming/water sports

1 family

Freezer Stencil T-Shirts

2009-07-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

We went up to Al's house last week and did some more stencil T shirts. Caroline just painted with the soft scrub bleach like Natalie did last year. Natalie and Joseph were both done with the freezer paper stencil method. Joseph wants to do another with a drummer. This is fast fun project and a great way to refurbish a T-shirt.

2nd generation garage saler

2009-07-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Natalie decided she wanted to go with me garage saling today(she even woke up at 6:00 am). This is what she found for $19.75. She was so excited about what she bought and how cheap it was and would repeatedly say, "I love my stuff!" I don't think she will come with me every week, but has definitely caught the garage sale "bug". I also bought some great things which I will not list or photograph--I think I need to go to yard sale anonymous. :) Here is a break down of what Natalie bought:

shorts-------------------------------------------.50

lucky jeans------------------------------------1.00

perfume and make up samples-------------1.25

pink bag---------------------------------------1.00

jeans (7 brand)-------------------------------4.00

American eagle jean jacket------------------8.00

3 pairs of earrings---------------------------1.00

Jazz baseball hat-----------------------------1.00

vintage box (will use as a lunch box)------1.00

groovy black boots*-------------------------1.00

(*she wants to wear these on crazy _________

dress day or for Halloween-not 19.75

every day use)

Bear Lake Family Reunion

2009-07-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

Bear Lake Reunion Highs:

Great weather

Great company

Great food

Great fireworks

Great Napolean Dynamite tour (Josh with some of the cousins and uncles went to Preston ID to check out all the sites from the movie)

Great four wheeling--Natalie's favorite

Great Boating/tubing/swimming

Great Movie nights

Great Raspberry Shakes

Bear Lake Lows:

Caroline splitting her toe open on first morning and unable to swim the entire time (Uncle Doug glued it back together with surgical super glue)

Family stomach flu bug circulating

Not seeing the families who could not attend.

Mosquitoes at the house

Flat Tire at beach

Sandy Babies at Beach

Discovering suntan lotion on my camera lens

All and all a wonderful and memorable time at Bear Lake. This video is a collection of photos--I will try to put it on again in a higher quality later.

Desolation Canyon River Trip by Josh

2009-07-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

My scout group rafted 90 miles down the hot Desolation/Grey Canyon. The first day we just set up camp. There were so many mosquitos it felt like an angry bee hive was attacking that did not stop attacking. The food tasted really good. The second day we rafted 30 miles down the river. The river was calm that day. We would jump in the river every once in awhile because we were baking in the hot sun. The river was so refreshing- we swam about a mile and then would get back in the raft and paddle. When we arrived at camp there were more swarming mosquitos. We set up camp and had a fireside in the cool clear night with the stars and the full moon glowing. We roasted star-bursts in the crackling fire. The next day we rafted 30 miles down the river. We stopped at different places to hike. We hiked to a indian stone house and to some petroglyphs. Then we saw a old ranch with log houses.

On the 2nd to last day we went over this towering rapid that were twelve to fourteen feet high. There were a few rocks but we made it safely. When we got to camp, me and a few boys went hiking up the mountain, but one boy cut his knee pretty bad. When we got to the top we could see the river and the canyons in the beautiful orange sunset. The last day we went the rest of the way and hit another gushing mad rapid. Only two boys fell out, but they where fine. That was my exciting adventure on the river.

Coolest Joe swimming lessons by Joseph

2009-07-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

I had a fun and it was really hard. I learned back stroke. My favorite thing to do was dive for rings. I loved going on the slide on the last day.

Shadow Mountain Camp by Caroline

2009-07-08T10:29:00.001-07:00

I went to Shadow Mountain camp for three days with a friend. It was very fun. I went on a hikes, panned for gold, made s'mores, drank from a spring, did archery, and saw Saturn's rings with a telescope. My favorite thing of all was making new friends.

Cool Dad T-shirt

2009-06-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

For father's day Joseph drew a picture of John with the label, Cool Dad. I used a paint brush and soft scrub bleach and copied his picture onto a T-shirt I bought at a garage sale. I thought it turned out great. Joseph was so proud to see his art work on the T-shirt. I thought this picture was funny because John had just woken from a nap and his hair match Joseph's picture. :)

Happy Birthday Jake!!!

2009-06-22T14:21:00.001-07:00

I am a little late posting this--his real birthday was June 3rd. He had some friends over for a air-soft gun war. He received a new gun for his birthday and lots of ammo. They went up to a meadow on the mountain nearby and they had a great time. The hardest part of the birthday party was that I had to climb the mountain and find them to bring them down for cake and ice cream. :)

Things we love about Jake:

1. Kind

2. peacemaker

3. still likes to give his mom hugs and kisses

4. smart--did great in his hard Chinese class this year.

5. loves to read (I sometimes have to ground him from reading)

6. likes to take things apart and figure out how they work.

7. very athletic--has learned to play tennis this summer left handed because of his fractured right collar bone.

8. love little children and truly enjoys playing with them. All the younger cousins love him.

9. A great example to all those around him

10. a diligent scripture reader

11. great memory--he actually remembers the things he learns

12 loves to watch the nature and science programs on t.v.

13 reads the comics first and has a great sense of humor.

14 loves the outdoors and a great fire maker.

15 has a natural musical ear and plays the violin

16 loves peachos and chocolate crunch brownies(his birthday "cake" this year)

We love Jake for all these reasons and many more that make him the great person he is!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE!!!! 14 YEARS OLD :)

Father's Day Gifts!!!

2009-06-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

2 traditional gifts we give John each year are deep cleaning the garage and washing the cars inside and out. I thought it was wonderful to watch the kids happily work together and not complain. I think the reason for the absence of whining and complaining this morning is because they all realize how hard their Dad works for them and were glad to do something to lighten his load. :)

Girl's Camp

2009-06-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

This past week I have been up at the beautiful Heber Valley camp with Natalie. My friend, Wendy and I were in charge of the food for breakfast and dinner for 300 people and lunch for 30. We had a great committee, but were all crazy busy. I did have moments where I was able to spend time with Natalie and also enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery. The girls did cooked their own lunches on their levels. The favorite meals were the "cafe rio" pork salads, pasta bar, and the breakfast burritos. It was great to see all the weeks of planning turn out so great.

Benefits of having your mother in charge of food at camp---midnight snack!!!

A Tweeny Bit of Fun

2009-05-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Playing dress up and having tea parties one day......
and learning the Hannah Montana line dance, shopping, and doing nails the next.
Caroline is definitely a tween as she switches back and forth from little girl to big girl activities and interest. I just wish she would stay my little girl forever!!!

Family Home Evening--The "bummer" Soccer Game

2009-05-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

Jake enthusiastically listening to the game as he reads his book. :)
Josh and Joseph were on the blanket playing cards as they "watched"
Natalie all ready for the second half of game.
Natalie getting plowed into and fouled.

She fell very hard on her back and tail bone. She was in such terrible pain that I dropped her and John at the ER for X-rays and took the rest of the family home. I returned to the ER and 2 1/2 hours later found out that she had no broken bones but a badly bruised tail bone. When we returned home I was happy to see the kids had cleaned the house and made cards for Natalie.

It is very painful for her to sit, so the doctor gave her a "donut" pillow to use. She is not very thrilled to bring this "donut" to school for the next few week, but she covered it with a cute pillow case when she left this morning. I told her it makes a great conversation piece. :)

In Pursuit of Modesty

2009-04-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

Natalie's criteria: a new spring dress

cute and fashionable

My criteria: comes to the knee

the shoulders covered

Natalie and I spent 4 1/2 hours shopping 2 malls to try to find her a modest spring dress for the church dance last Saturday. After the long ordeal of trying too many ill fitting and immodest dresses on, we finally found this dress at a little shop close to our home. I spent 20.00 dollars more than budgeted in order to buy the t-shirt that matched to go under, but it was worth it in order fit both our criteria. I think this summer I may have Alison, the master sewer, help me make a few custom dresses. I would rather spend all day sewing than shopping all day at the mall!!!

Camp-outs!

2009-04-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

All clean before the camp-out
After 24 hours on a camp-out

Whenever Jake goes on a camp-out with the scouts this is pretty much how he looks when I pick him up. He is usually wearing all his clothes (notice his pjs under his jeans) and he is cover with dirt and soot. This weekend his scout troop went repelling and Jake tried commando style (repelling head first) and wanted his face to look the part. I can always tell the degree of fun Jake has had with the amount of dirt on him. I am grateful for patient scout leaders. :)

Happy Birthday Caroline!!!

2009-04-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

Caroline wanted me to wait to post her birthday because she wanted to put a picture of her birthday cake that she made at her cake decorating class. She has been very excited to use fondant and is what gives the cake such a smooth look.

Things we love about Caroline:

1. Her voice as she constantly sings around the house

2. Her tasty bagels and treats she bakes for everyone--she is a very talented cook.

3. She is very smart and understands things easily.

4. She is a good friend.

5. She loves to dance.

6. She makes good choices and an example to those around her.

7. Her cute fashion sense.

8. Her bedtime ritual of repeated hugs and kisses.

9. She a hard worker and good at detailed work.

10. We love hearing her play the piano and making up songs.

11. She is very independent and will figure out and try things out on her own.

12. She gives great manicures, head scratches and back massages.

13. She is kind and respectful.

AND many many more things make Caroline so special!!!! We love that she is in our family and blesses all of our lives with the her cute personality.

***The other picture is of the cake she made for Grandpa Wirthlin. She did a great job on it!!!

She Can Do It!!!

2009-04-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

Natalie is running for Student Government for the high school. She was in it this year and loved being so involved. This will be a lot harder because there are only 2 spots elected for her grade from her junior high and about 16-18 other students running for them. This is Natalie's poster. Natalie can do it!!! She is very determined and does not give up too easily. I am proud of her trying with the odds against her.

Sunday Driver

2009-04-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

Natalie got her driver's permit last week and has been pestering me each day to take her on long drives. Today I told her I she could drive for an hour. She did pretty good, but still not ready to drive on any road over 45 mph. In our state, I do not understand why they give the kids their permit before going to driver's ed. Natalie's first ever driving experience was when I let her drive to school. I backed up and then let her in the driver's seat. She put it in drive and then floored it(I think the only experience driving before this was in bumper cars), I screamed stop which she then preceded to slam on the break!--whiplash. She quickly figured out how much pressure to apply and we arrived at her school safely. I can't complain to much because once when I was in driver's ed I mixed up the break and gas and drove over a 2 ft snowbank. Mr. Jonson grabbed the wheel and jammed his finger at the same time. He refused to drive with me again and good ole Mr. Michaleck (sp?) patiently taught me to drive. :)

Spring Easter Grass

2009-04-03T03:35:00.000-07:00

Last week was our Relief Society Birthday dinner. It was a little intimidating being in charge of this, but I had a great committee and it turned out great. I particularly liked how the buffet table looked. My friend Shannon grew all the wheat grass and I made the fruit "flower" basket. Here is how to grow the grass for Easter or a spring decoration. Takes about 8-10 days to grow.

Grass How to:

basket lined with plastic

at least 1 1/2 inches of soil

wheat berries soaked over night in warm water

put soaked berries on soil and cover lightly with more soil

gently water soil

keep in warm spot and keep moist

April Fools

2009-03-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

Every year my children expect me to "fool" them in some way. Here is a list of a few of past pranks:

1. after school snack--Oreos with toothpaste for the filling--This one was funny!! :)

2. plastic bugs in cereal box

3. red jello in clear plastic cup with straws. (this one they like me to do every year for dinner even though they know it is not juice)

4. super glued quarters on the sidewalk. We live next to the elementary school and the kids liked watching kids try to pick up the money when they walk by. :)

5. We once woke up the kids at 11:00 pm and turned the clocks forward and said it was time for school. After "breakfast" we told them to open the blinds and there was a sign "April Fools" on the window.

6. tape forks/spoons to table with clear tape.

7. meatloaf cupcake with mash potato frosting.

8. paper in sandwich that says April Fools.

9. sewed the bottom of my husbands pj pants close.

Today I will freeze some milk in bowls and then add a little cereal to it in the morning with an additional milk. I also may seran wrap some of my children's doors tonight. The only problem now is that my kids are all getting old enough to trick me back. My one daughter called from school last year and told me she was in the nurses office and they found lice. I was horrified and sort of freaked out until she said April Fools!!! I guess I have it coming to me!

More wordfull Wednesday here.

Teenage jobs

2009-03-25T17:57:00.001-07:00

This is Jake's first year to ref FEFA soccer. Natalie has done it for the past 2 years. Each year they must re-certify by going to 12 hours of class and then take a hard test and score over 75%. They refereed their first game tonight. Natalie has always hated it, especially if a parent or coach yells about a call, but getting paid 16 dollars a game outweighs the negative. Not too bad for 1 1/2 hours of work. Natalie is trying to get the courage up to be a center ref where she would get paid thirty dollars a game. I am very proud of them--I just need to find someone to referee their tickle and poking fights!

Favorite Granola

2009-03-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

RayAnne gave me this recipe and we love it. I make a batch at the beginning of the week and it is gone by Sunday. John takes some on the road for a snack. I have recently substituted the canola oil it calls for with coconut oil, which I have learn is healthier. This has replaced any cold cereal I used to purchase.

Granola

Combine:

6 Cups rolled oats

1/2 C sunflower seeds

1/4 C sesame seeds

1 C unsweetned coconut

1/2 C. wheat Germ

1 Cups chopped nuts ( we like almonds)

1/3 cup canola oil ( I use a glass measuring cup and add oil first then honey and then the honey comes out easier)

2/3 cup warm honey (or more if you like, original recipe had 1 cup)

Mix well and spread on two oiled cookie sheets. Cook for 30 min at 275-- Do not over bake.

Mix in:

an additional 1/3 honey (warm in microwave) --adjust this to more or less depending on the sweetness you prefer--I think the original recipe had up to 1/2 of cup.

add 1-2 Tlbs Vanilla

1/4-1/2 tsp almond extract (opt)

1/2 C ground flax seed (opt)

Let cool and store in sealed container. Refrigerate if storing for long periods.

You may add raisins, craisins, other dried fruits, cinnamon, or other spices.

* I sometimes add a cup of 6 grain flakes also. I purchase most of the items in bulk at the health food store.

Happy Birthday Josh!!!

2009-03-18T18:40:00.001-07:00

Josh just turned 18. I now have 2 adult children!!

Great things about Josh:

He is a happy person

He works hard and doesn't give up

He is kind to all those around him

He is great at reading directions and manuals and following their directions

He is good with electronics and computers

He likes the outdoors

He is great big brother

He is responsible and respectful

He is a good listener

He is smart

He keeps his room more presentable than most teens

He is good with kids

He has a hole in his toe and is always hungry!

WE LOVE HIM AND SO GLAD HE IS PART OF OUR FAMILY!!! :)

Mid Summer Night's Dream

2009-03-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

Natalie and Joseph have been very busy this week performing 8 times in Shakespeare's Mid Summer Night's Dream at the junior high. This is just a few short clips from the play. They both had a great time and we are very proud of both of them. Joseph favorite part was bowing at the end.

Hawaiian Retreat

2009-03-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a wonderful short vacation to Hawaii. John was there on business and busy most of the 41/2 days, but it was nice to see him at night and relax on the beach during the day. One of my favorite things was waking up whenever I wanted to and running along the ocean each morning. I also love the day when John and I kayaked to a small island and then to a secluded beach and went snorkeling. While kayaking a turtle came right up to us and took a breath. The water was so clear and beautiful. The kids did great at home, in fact Joseph said, "Mom I like it when you are gone because I get to play with friends everyday." It is nice to know I was missed--ha-ha.

Pizza --economics

2009-02-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

Almost every Friday we make homemade pizza. John was gone and I was a little bored, so I was curious to see how much we save making our own pizza. I figured this out from my recipe that follows, which makes 3 large (12-14 inch) pizzas.

flour .65

yeast .10

sugar .08

pepperoni .22

cheese (5 oz per pizza) 1.72

pizza seasonings .24

tomato paste .41

salt

Total $3.42 for 3 large pizzas

I usually make the crust with 1/2 ground wheat flour which would bring the cost down even more. More importantly, I am happy I am serving my family pizza which is healthier (a little wheat,less grease and no preservatives, etc). I also usually zap the pepperoni in the microwave for 40 seconds to dab off most of the grease.

Here is my Pizza Crust Recipe(turns out great every time!!!)

2 Cups warm water

1 T Yeast saf instant yeast

5 C. Flour

3 T brown sugar

1 tsp salt

cornmeal

In mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add flour, salt, and sugar. mix well and knead for 3 minutes. Divide into 3 sections put olive oil on hands and shape into balls. Set on baking sheet with seran wrap over and let rise 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 500 (we heat a pizza stone). Roll out pizza on pizza board sprinkled liberally with corn meal. Brush with olive oil and spread with sauce and toppings. Slide onto hot pizza stone. Bake for 6-7 minutes. If you don't have a pizza stone or board, just roll out on counter and put in your regular pizza pan.

Variations:

Wheat--add 2-3 cups

Honey Pizza-- (my kids love this--had some at a restaurant in Moab) spread with honey and sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese. When done you may put a little more honey on top.

BBQ Chicken pizza: brush dough with olive oil, and top with about 1/3 cup BBQ sauce. I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's. Sprinkle with cheese, sliced red onions and cooked BBQ chicken. Bake 6 minutes and sprinkle with chopped cilantro when done.

I make this recipe in my 14 C cuisinart and put dry ingredients in first then pulse and then add water and let knead for 45 seconds once in a ball. So FAST!!!

It's Greek to me!!

2009-02-25T15:33:00.001-08:00

Johnny's mission president sent a dvd of the interview and training he did with Johnny and his companion. This is a little clip from that dvd. It was fun and a little strange to hear Johnny speak Greek so fluently. I really enjoyed watching this even though I have no idea what he is saying. Its Greek to me!!! ha ha