Halloween and stuff

This article in the Boise Statesman titled, "Emmett woman hopes to thank the heroes who pulled her from burning truck" made me laugh and cry....I must be pregnant. We're due May 14th and course they're all hoping for a boy but we'll see what we get.

In other news; Halloween seemed to sneak up on us and fly by this year with such a busy month. Boyd and I dressed up as tacky tourists and had fun at Halloween parties and a couples dance. We painted our pumpkins for Family Home Evening, had a Halloween party for the kids when it was our turn to babysit for date night, dressed the kids in their costumes and did their hair numerous times for their various Halloween parties and trick or treating, and ended up with plenty of candy. Makenna was a pirate, Jarom a ninja, Saryn a fairy from Tinkerbell, and Aubree was Sleeping Beauty. On Halloween day Jarom and Makenna finished their soccer season with great games. Makenna's team was small this year, only 7 players and 6 play at a time. But it had it's advantages and they really got to know each other well and learn how to read each other's movements and thoughts which made them a very successful team. We constantly switched them in positions and they could play any where and still make it work well. We worked a lot on dribbling skills, passing, and shooting which became a great strength to them and it showed in every game. Makenna has played for nearly 5 years now and plays very well and smart. Sometimes while playing defender she'd get the ball and have the whole side line open, so I'd have her break from her position and dribble up the side and score. She had some great moves and shots. Still she is wanting to take a break and try gymnastics for a bit as well as Jarom. Jarom has strong legs for such a little guy and packs a powerful shot and from quite a distance. He's an awesome little player.

Saryn is enjoying preschool and her ballet class. She is starting to pick up on her reading and is loving it. She is constantly looking for words all around her and recognizing some she can sound out.

Aubree loves to sing and is constantly singing around the house. I'm surprised how many songs she knows, every now and then I realize she is singing one I didn't know she knew that she picked up on in nursery at church. We finally gave her a little CD player for her room so she could listen to music whens he falls asleep at night like the other kids. She turned 2 years old and is really into puppies. She got a couple for her birthday and plays constantly with them.

Boyd rolled his ankle at early morning basketball this week and it is quite swollen. Luckily he's in the right profession to take great care of himself. He's been doing ultrasounds on it and icing lots.

I've been busy teaching preschool this week, teaching art class, having our end of the season soccer party, finishing up an art commission, and trying to get things ready for a big Young Women's activity next week. But I'm still making time for to make a few items I've been craving lately like white bean chili and broccoli salad. mmmmmmm. I've been a lot more tired and sick this pregnancy than I remember from the others.

Enjoy a few pictures, I haven't downloaded the kids Halloween pics yet. They'll come sooner or later.

Update

Here's a few pictures of the kids from the summer. I haven't downloaded the pics that we've taken lately. Life has been a little busy over here. I started checking some blogs today for the the first time in a while and it looks like a lot is going on in all of your lives too.

Makenna is in 4th grade. That sounds crazy that she is already that old. I still remember my 4th grade very well. She's in the cake decorating club on Fridays and loves it. I'm coaching her soccer team again this year but it has really been a challenge. We switched leagues this year and decided to try the league who's boundaries we live in and it has been quite different and frustrating. Still Kenna's team has been doing very well. She is a skilled player. Makenna also takes piano lessons and is excited to be able to play I am a Child of God, Jingle Bells, and Star Wars. I teach an art class on Tuesdays for kids her age that she attends as well. Most of the students are home schooled. It's been a lot of fun and makes me still keep a little bit of art in my life and review the basics.

Jarom is in 2nd grade and is doing very well. He's in the science club on Fridays and brings home all kinds of wierd stuff they created or experimented with. Boyd is coaching his soccer team. Jarom starting taking piano this year. Ever since he learned to do flips on our friend's trampoline he keeps asking us when he can take gymnastics.

Saryn is finally happy to be old enough to have her own extra curricular activities. She started ballet class this fall and loves it. I'm impressed with her teacher who actually knows all the terminology and how to teach ballet. Aubree wishes she could go too and when she sees Saryn getting dressed for class she runs and has to put on a "ballerina" costume too. Saryn also is Preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We went to the pumpkin patch last week. The girls got to pick out their pumpkin, find their way through a hay bail maze, pet a bunch of horses, cows, goats, sheep, go on a hay ride and enjoy a snack there. It was quite the place and lots of fun!

Aubree is almost 2! She talks a TON! She has quite the vocabulary for her age, no doubt thanks to her older siblings. She also has a one track mind. Last night, after seeing Jarom's hurt toe and the bandaid he received, she instantly insisted that her toe was hurt too and needed a bandaid. Long story short; she wanted the bandaid, then didn't want the bandaid, tantrum persued, tears, time for bed! The next morning at 6am, we hear her wake up and yell, "MOM! BANDAID!" She can open doors, help herself to nearly anything and want to do everything the older kids do.

Boyd and I have been super busy keeping up with everything. This last weekend we were able to have my brother Brad and his wife watch the kids for 3 days while we traveled with our youth group to Salt Lake City for General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. It was blast and amazingly enough we were able to get all 48 of our youth into the Conference center for at least one session of conference. It was an awesome experience for them since most of them had never been to Salt Lake before. We spent Friday touring the Humanitarian Center, Welfare Square, The Church Art History Museum, and Temple Square. We had rented two homes down there, one for the boys, one for the girls. On Saturday we caught a special showing of the movie Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and then stayed in that theatre and got to watch the first session of conference there. Everything worked out great but I don't think we slept for 3 days straight! I loved conference, the talks were amazing and so inspiring. There are so many good ones that I want to reread. I truly believe that they are inspired words that come from a loving Heavenly Father that help us guide our lives and find success and happiness in our challenges and every day life. I believe with all my heart that this church is true and lead by the Savior, Jesus Christ, who truly lives and guides a prophet today, President Monson. Because of the Holy Ghost who has testified through the most noticeable feelings of warmth, love, peace, and assurance, countless times to my heart and mind, I couldn't ever deny it.

recipes and kid doings

My two littlest girls have some great stories that I'd like to remember. Some of you have heard them already, some haven't. But I want to write them down somewhere. Saryn likes to climb our wooden, splinter infested fence. She always has a festering slinter or more but usually has a major violent tantrum if we try to work them out with tweezers. So after another fence climbing incident and feet full of splinters I put her in the bath tub to try and soften up the skin before I attempted to dig them out. While I let her soak I worked on the computer in the office next to the bathroom. After awhile it registered what the "squirting" noise was and I raced into the bathroom to find the bathtub filled with slimy suds and bubbles galore! Saryn had emptied 3 bottles of shampoo, body wash and conditioner into the water! Argh! It wasn't too long after ward that I noticed a pair of scissors sliding ever so quietly back onto to the counter where I was looking at coupons. I knew in an instant Saryn was up to something again. I don't know how many inches she cut off but it was a significant amount which moved her from the "long hair" category to the definate "short hair" category....and with bangs! She actually got the length of the bangs just right and with all the compliments she's gotten with how cute it turned out, I don't think she learned the lesson that you shouldn't cut your own hair, especially with out asking mom! I just hope she doesn't try her hand on Aubree's hair next. Not too long after that as I was running out the door to the garage I couldn't help but notice a small lake of water, half in the bathroom and half right outside the door. Maybe it was only an inch deep but it seemed like 5 inches deep to me. As I opened the bathroom door I found all 8 of my hand towels and the rug soaking up what they could with a plastic grocery bag full of water in the sink. What in the world??? After questioning all the suspects the truth was finally revealed; Saryn thought the best way to transport water to where ever she was going was to fill up a grocery bag and carry it to her destination. "But mom the bag kept leaking so I had to keep filling it up and carry it again." The next incident involved water and the upstairs bathroom. We had my brother Brad and his wife Lindley over for Sunday dinner. As we were cleaning up, Aubree (20 mo.) came running up to me and said, "mom, I soakin' wet!" And she really was soaking wet. Then we heard the water. Makenna was the first up the stairs and in her words she said, "Mom! It's a waterfall!" Aubree had plugged the sink and had the water going full blast. It was pouring over the counter onto the bathroom floor, soaking the vanity and everything in the cupboards underneath and starting on the carpet in the hallway. We kept the fans blowing on the affected areas all night. At Target yesterday Aubree saw a baby and yelled, "Mom! BABY!" and then like she does when ever she sees a dog or a cat she started to make the sound it makes,"Waaa Waa!" The baby's mom heard her and said, "Yep, that's what the baby says." Aubree makes us laugh every day. She is so cute and says and does the funniest things that we don't expect someone that small to even think of. I've never had a kid this young pretend so well. Aubree frequently, every day!, pretends she is a cat or a dog. She'll scratch up our arms and meow and try to cuddle like a kitten or pant like a dog and bark and try to lick us. So funny!

Now for the recipes. What to do with all those tomatoes from those gardens?
This is a spaghetti sauce recipe that I've been making for the past 3 years and we think it's pretty yummy. I use it for spaghetti, lasagna, and even pizza sauce. I think I play with the spices every time and add a little more of this and that and probably through in some others too so it turns out a little different every time but here is the basic recipe:

Spaghetti Sauce:
3 onions chopped
12 cup peeled chopped tomatoes
2 T sugar (sometimes I add this, sometimes I don't)
1 T sweet basil (I use regular basil)
3 tsp oregano
2 T salt
2-3 tsp black pepper
1 tsp. garlic salt
3 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste (when I make huge batches of this I use the big Costco cans of tomato paste

Combine and cook for 2 hours. Put into pints (I do quarts) and add 1 tsp lemon juice to each pint (2 tsp for quarts). Process 35 min. in a boiling water bath or 40 min. for quarts, or 15 minutes at 13 lbs pressure. A triple batch usually makes around 11 quarts for me.

Yummy Pork Roast:
This is another of my favorite recipes. I canned apricot jam for the first time this year. I didn't know how easy it was! You don't have to peel apricots!!
This is for a pot roast in a slow cooker. I put my slow cooker on high and for the sauce I mix one package onion soup mix and 12 oz. apricot jam/syrup with 1/4 c. water. Pour sauce over pot roast in slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours (my pot roast is usually frozen). Break apart pieces and let them all soak up the flavor. I often add a little ground rosemary in the sauce too! I love the taste of rosemary.

Fun times and inpiring talk

AAAAHHHHH!!! Life has flown by. Sorry for not posting pics again, I'll get to it one of these days! We had to get a new camera and with that we got us a 4 G card so we never run out of room and consequently never HAVE to download the pics. Life in a nutshell for the past couple weeks: Last weekend we spent up in McCall. Boyd's boss has a timeshare up there that worked out perfectly for us. The kids and I spent most of Saturday swimming, hiking, huckleberry picking, and enjoying the Disney channel while Boyd had his field day to get his hunting liscence. Boyd's new hobby is bow hunting. It was tons of fun and actually a very relaxing mini vacation. Last night we just got back from Utah. We attended a Ricks family reunion up at a campground in North Ogden. Little bit of rain, but the family relays, marshmallow catapult contests, soccer matches, and good visits outweighed it and we had lots of fun catching up with family. We stayed one night with my brother Tyler in SLC and toured a little of Temple Square and watched the movie at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. School starts this Wednesday! Back to life!

My friend just emailed me this amazing speech given by Sheri Dew at the World Congress of Families in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Aug. 10, 2009. You MUST read it. I felt like doing cartwheels I felt so inspired by it. I believe every word of it with all my heart!! I only wish more people did and fought for it too!
Read it HERE!

The President has my respect, but not my vote!

This has been a whilwind of a summer to say the least! We've done tons and have had lots of fun but can't seem to keep up with everything and blogging is one of them. But when I recieved this email I HAD to make time to post it. I loved it! I haven't been too outspoken in the past when it comes to politics but things are definately changing in the land we love! Here it is plain and simple:

"This Professor is a Genius

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class.

--------------------------------------------

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK,
we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.
The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that."

We're in our first week of 3 weeks of swim lessons. It's great, we all have a class at the same time, even Aubree and me in a Mommy and Me class. We love the water and still dream of the life we once lived on the beach. In my bathroom downstairs I posted the same quote found in the beach house we rented in Florida during grad school. "If you're lucky enough to live on the beach, you're lucky enough!"

Have a great day!

Okay! So somehow, according to my blog life has not progressed past the middle of May. Yes, we are still here, it's just that life got super busy and hasn't really let up. But today I am pausing to take a break and fill you in (hopefully as briefly and quickly as possible)on all that has taken place since then. Of course it's all better with pic's so here it goes: Saryn graduated from her first year of preschool. It was a co-op preschool where 6 moms got together with kids the same age and rotated weeks teaching the kids preschool in our own homes. Saryn loved it and is looking forward to it again in the fall.


Next we took off towards Rexburg for Memorial Day weekend and stopped by Shoshone Falls on the way there. It was pretty but man was I worried I was going to lose a kid through those rails!

Up in Rexburg we stayed at a cabin with my family and went fishing and visited Yellowstone Park. On Memorial Day we visited Boyd's Dad's grave.









All the Young Women leaders that I work with and I hiked up to "Tablerock" in Boise to plan out our "Return to Virtue" hike. Soon afterward my camera of 8 years died so I don't have pictures of when we later did this hike with the YW but it was a great experience and a lot of fun. I've missed hiking!

Makenna had her first piano recital!
We had a ward campout at Givens Hot Springs. Luckily we were swimming in the indoor hot springs pool while it rained the hardest and for the rest of the time the weather was pretty good. This is a picture of Saryn at the campout with her new haircut. The first time she tried cutting her hair herself it wasn't a big deal, she cut some off both the side giving it a "feathered" look, nothing drastic so I didn't fix it or anything. This second time she was more daring and chopped bangs and the rest of her hair to the length you see here. I was not happy at first but after I cleaned it up and evened it out it looked pretty cute afterall.

Jarom's birthday was the Saturday of the ward campout. After we got home we went miniture golfing at Wahooz and had my brother Brad and his wife Lindley over for a BBQ and cake and ice cream afterward.





That next Monday I took off for girls camp for 3 days and then a mini-moon with Boyd. When we returned we went to Roaring Springs water park with the kids and attended our niece's baptism. Then it was back up to Rexburg for the 4th of July. Boyd stayed for the weekend but then returned to work while I stayed another week with the kids. Our most exciting news yet is the addition of a 2nd CAR to our family!!!! WAHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! We are ssoooooooooo excited. It has been 2 1/2 years of surviving (very creatively) with only one car. It can be done but it's not all that easy! I'll have to post more pics later, I'm out of time!

Yesterday we left the house at 7:30am and returned at 6pm. We spent the day at the park at the Nampa Kid's Cup. Jarom and Makenna each had two games to play so we packed a lunch and lots of snacks and spent the day playing at the park, jumping on the blow up toys, and touring the booths in between games. Makenna's team had a tough day of games. We were undefeated until last week. They matched up all the teams of the same playing ability for this tournament and we met our match a couple of times. We tied the first game. Makenna played hard and really saved us. She was all over the field and scored us two goals. By the second game we played 2 hours later our team was still tired and the heat didn't help either. The team we played against is a very well coached team that has been playing together for 5 years now. We've wanted to beat this team all season. Kenna's team certainly has the skills and talents to do so but this other team hadn't even played yet that day and were fresh and ready to play hard which resulted in a 2-0 loss for us. Oh well! I was so proud of Kenna's team though, they played hard and gave it their all and it was a lot of fun to coach them. Makenna finished another strong season.

Jarom had a great day of games. Jarom scored three goals his first game and he kicked one shot so hard it blew through the net in the goal after zooming through a web of 5 players that were in front of him! Man I wish I had it on video. We were worried how Jarom would play for his second game because he was tired and not feeling so well by then. But he played his little heart out and was all over the field again. His team won both their games and even defeated a team that was undefeated. Afterward we went to Primos for a Pizza party and trophies for his team. Boyd has had a lot of fun coaching his team and did an awesome job.

We all came back a little sunburned a worn out, happy to have played, but ready for a summer break from soccer.


This is our engagement picture taken nearly 11 years ago. Boyd and I continued to celebrate our 10 year anniversary this week. Tuesday was the official day, May 12, 1999, so we went out to lunch at the local airport cafe. A bunch of Boyd's patients have been talking about it for awhile now so we wanted to try it out for our self. Small town place but with the BEST food! We've been recommending it to everyone! And they have very reasonable prices from $4 to $6.50 which includes tax and for a LOT of food!

On Friday for date night we got to put some gift certificates from another of Boyd's patients (he has the nicest patients!) to use at Tacono's Brazilian Grill. What a fun place! It's an all you can eat buffet and they just walk around with skewers of 13 different types of meat, pineapple, and veggies. They come to your table and they cut it off for you. It was so YUMMY! The pineapple and the fish were my favorite!

I just finished an art project that I posted on my art blog. I've enjoyed working in watercolor lately but I'm planning on starting a new piece and moving back to oil. We'll see how it goes. I'll write more later.

Happy Mother's Day!

We hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day! I did! My cute kids created numerous cards for me, Saryn made me a bouquet of cookies and paper flowers (one of her face), Makenna made me a clay jelly fish, and Jarom gave me a plant in a dixie cup. We are so grateful for our mothers and grandmas. They have blessed our lives in countless ways. We love you! It is our ten year anniversary this Tuesday so Boyd has taken a couple days off to be home with me and the girls. He scheduled a hair appointment for me on Friday when he could watch the kids. I got it cut the shortest I've ever had it and highlighted! It feels like my hair is constantly in a ponytail, off my neck! Maybe I'll post a picture later. Boyd and I have a few little things planned for the anniversary but our real celebration will take place in June when my mom can watch the kids for a few days. I have no idea what it is! Boyd is in charge! The school year is coming to a close and we are looking forward to summer!

I just got kicked by a horse (upper thigh) so I have to sit down and take it easy for a bit. Darn, I guess I might as well blog and miss out on the "cleaning party" in the garage with Boyd and the kids. I should be reading the Idaho Drivers manual so I can feel confident taking the test to get my Idaho Driver's license. Boyd just got his Friday. We've been here how long now? It's definitely over due to become official Idahoans again and surrender any claim to Florida:( We didn't have to take a test to become Floridians and the license got us all sorts of awesome resident discounts at the tourists attractions and theme parks. We sure miss Florida, but yes, we are loving it here to, just wishing we could somehow have the beach a few yards down the street again.

Today Jarom and Kenna had their soccer games on muddy fields under scattered showers. They both did great again! Both picked up a couple goals and played hard! We love soccer! For some reason it seems even more fun in the rain, especially when they win! Jarom's and Makenna's games were within a half hour of each other so we had to juggle the little girls a bit. I had Aubree the first part of Kenna's game and she quickly figured out a fun game of running onto the field or down the sideline towards the goal laughing the whole way until I caught her. Such a tease!

Afterwards we headed over to one of our church houses by the Idaho Center for the Dia de la Familia (Hispanic family day open house). It was tons of fun; free lunch, cotton candy, jumpy things, horse rides (yes, that's where I got kicked -just glad it wasn't one of the kids), music and dancing performances and all the open house displays inside the church house.

This week has been a little crazy for us all and it seems like we've run from one thing to the next so maybe I'm glad I have to sit down for a little. In a nut shell there have been soccer practices, church meetings, big Young Women's activity, spanish translations, art classes, piano lessons, family home evening trip to Coldstone (we HAD to use our 4 coupons for free child's ice cream!), art project of mine, dentist appointments, visiting teaching, girls night jog, date night babysitting, planting our tomatoes, preschool field trip to the fish hatchery, finally de-cluttering the kids rooms(long overdue!), and hanging a beautiful new painting of the Idaho Falls Temple in my bedroom!-my early mother's day gift to myself :)(Have you seen the prints at culturalhall.com? Wait 'till they come to your nearby Costco to get it up to 50% off!). I decided I needed to support other artists too, other than myself. I only have my paintings on our walls because they are always "free." - kinda, if you don't count all the hours of personal toil, sweat, and frustrated tears over them.
We've accomplished a lot, had a lot of fun, and we're ready for a day of rest tomorrow on the Sabbath. Hope you all had a good week! Only 20 days of school left for us!!! We are so excited for summer! Already 2 camping trips scheduled on the calendar!
Here's the kids in their Easter dress:

Photos of the Climbing Wall.

3 Things That Made Me Smile Today!

1.) Cute spring outfits with matching shoes! The shoes didn't last too long though, she preferred the Elmo one's instead...WHY?! :) Today is going to get up into the 80's! It's beautiful outside right now! Hottest day so far this year!


2.) My morning coupon shopping trip to Albertson's! (I know I'm a dork, I took a picture of it.) 13 boxes of granola bars, 3 boxes of Capri Sun's, 1 box Nabisco snack crackers (12 count), 1 pkg. of Scott TP: all for $4.63! Then I got .15 off every gallon of Gas that I filled up on at their gas station. I'm sure lots of other people got even better deals than this because many get even more Sunday papers (more coupons) than I do! If you haven't learned how to coupon yet, you're missin' out! Lovin' Albertson's!

3.) I thought pansies were annuals and planted these LAST spring. I was lazy come last fall and never dug them up to get ready for winter. They started blooming again all by themselves! WAHOOO! Some one said they send up "babies" so that's how it works.

Life as of Late

What have we been up to?!?!? Jarom and Makenna are in soccer season right now which means practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays and games that seem to take up most of our Saturdays. We love it though and this last Saturday they both had awesome games. Jarom's team was dominating so much that they allowed the other team to place an extra player on the field and Boyd and his assistant started making the kids on our team pass a certain number of times before they scored another goal, each time increasing the number of times they had to pass. They were spreading out, passing, and making some incredible goals. Jarom made two and along with the 8 goals the other kids made collectively they won their bet they had made with their assistant coach that if they scored 10 he'd have to bring them candy to the next practice. They were pretty excited.

Makenna played hard yesterday and was always were she needed to be at the right time. The other team they played was challenging and the game was still 0 to 0 with only 2 minutes to go. Our team was constantly on their side of the field but the other team had a great goalie and sweeper that saved a ton of shots on goal. Still Makenna and her two sidekicks didn't give up and fought and fought and finally were rewarded with 2 minutes to go. Kenna scored! It was so awesome! We were so excited and proud of her for not giving up!

Yesterday we also found out that they YMCA was free so we squeezed in a quick trip and all of us but Aubree tested our muscles on thier climbing wall. Last time we went there the kids couldn't stop talking about doing the climbing wall and were so excited for it. However, when we got there and were ready to get on the harnesses we realized that we had only brought flip flops (we were swimming too) and we needed socks and shoes to climb! We HAD to take advantage of the "free" day to conquer the rock wall! So fun and what a work out! My forearms were burning and could hardly hold a grip for quite awhile afterwards!

I have been in "stock up" mode lately. I had a friend that showed me how to really use coupons. Did you know you can use a store coupon AND a manufacturer coupon for ONE item and if it's on sale, especially if it's a double coupon day, you can get awesome stuff for a few cents or FREE! SO AWESOME! SO the more coupons you get, the more you get for that great price! So we get 4 Sunday newspapers, cut out and organize the coupons, watch the adds and wait for just the right time. Call me crazy, some people say it takes too much time and effort but I LOVE it! I make sure I only spend part of Monday figuring and shopping with coupons so it doesn't take over my life, because it can be addicting! I don't every deal out there but I definately take advantage of the GREAT ones! Cereal, soaps, shampoos/conditioners, toothpastes, razors, DIAPERS and WIPES, granola bars, fruit snacks, soup, TP, popcorn, potato chips (for summer BBQs!), spaghetti sauce, chicken, refried beans, and more! I also had a friend show me how she makes yogurt (see side for details) and it is so easy and so yummy! We double the batch and make it every 2 weeks. Winco had strawberries on sale for so cheap last week so I got a bunch and restocked our jam supply (we use a lot of it to mix in with our yogurt). My mom showed me how easy it was and it is so much yummier and better for you than the stuff you buy in the store! I also took advantage of a burst of energy and an idea to get some freezer dinners made up last week. They come in handy on soccer practice nights. My refrigerator and deep freezer are packed full!

Aubree is so cute and learning so many words! When we yell, "Where's Aubree?" She'll yell back, "Right here!" When we ask what she wants she'll say, "Play outside!" or "color" (I want to color), or "baby!" (She loves her baby dolls), or "SEE!" (she wants to see everything!). She went to nursery for the first time last week and loved it! WE DID TOO!:) She loves her "shovel" to dig with outside, her "marker" to color with (boy can she make a mess!) and her "shoes" to wear in hopes that it means she gets to go outside.

Easter! We had a fun Easter. We hid candy filled eggs and Easter baskets for the kids. All were found except one of Jarom's eggs that Aubree found a week later. She stuffed her cheeks with as many M&M's as possible before we got to her. We went to church and had Jared and Emily over for dinner afterwards. There were a couple of egg hunts this year. One we had for our date night kids when it was our turn to babysit and the other was at our church. They got tons of eggs and probably a year supply of jelly beans (I had just had to throw them away!) The only thing I regret about Easter was that we forgot to take a photo of the kids in their Easter clothes!

We had Saryn's Co-op preschool at our house this week. The theme was RAINFOREST! We went on a rainforest walk (kind of like "goin' on a bear hunt"), learned about the rain forest animals, colored pictures about them, learned to move like them and had a rainforest animal parade, and other stuff with letters and numbers. We love our co-op groups! Saryn has been acting like a different rain forest animal every day!

My Brother - THE IRONMAN!

CONGRATULATIONS TYLER! He just completed the IRON MAN (#2447)race in Oceanside, California today! We watched what we could online and got repeated updates over the phone from my dad and were even able to hear his name read over the phone when he crossed the finish line. AWESOME JOB TYLER! Man, we wish we could have been there!

In other news; Jarom and Makenna had their first soccer games of the season today and did an awesome job. They both tied their games. Makenna's team dribbled and passed so well and dominated the other team always keeping them on their side of the field. They took numerous shots on goal but in the words of my assistant coach, "are they using a college goalie?" says it all. Their goalie was a foot and a 1/2 taller than anyone else (and the goal nets are smaller for this age group) and blocked like crazy. She stopped them all but we picked up a couple goals when they switched her out. On the field she was fast but our girls out ran her and kept stopping her. One of her goals was well deserved, the other was a shot right to our goalie's stomach (Makenna's!) and while she was doubled over a quick follow up shot was scored on an open net. Good thing Kenna is tough! Jarom's team came from behind. Jarom was all over the field and played great! WAHOO it's SOCCER TIME!

We are looking forward to General Conference (of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) this weekend (Saturday and Sunday). A new apostle will be called to replace Elder Wirthlin who has passed away since our last conference. We'll be juggling our first soccer games of the season on Saturday as well. I was able to get a small taste of conference last weekend when I attended the Young Womens General Broadcast. I thought it was so good! You can find the talks in video and written form HERE I especially enjoyed our prophet's talk on "courage." Although he was speaking to the young women it was a talk that I think applies to all and I just had to include a few of President's Monsons quotes here:

"My earnest prayer is that you will have the courage required to refrain from judging others, the courage to be chaste and virtuous, and the courage to stand firm for truth and righteousness.

Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who worked among the poor in India most of her life, spoke this truth: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

Powerful is this quote from news commentator Ted Koppel, host of ABC’s Nightline program for many years. Said he:
“We have actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. ‘Shoot up if you must; but use a clean needle.’ ‘Enjoy sex whenever with whomever you wish; but [protect yourself].’
“No. The answer is no. Not no because it isn’t cool or smart or because you might end up in jail or dying in an AIDS ward—but no, because it’s wrong. . . .
“What Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai were not the Ten Suggestions, they are Commandments. Are, not were.”

Well this is going to be fast. I've already spent too long on the computer this morning as evidenced by my screaming kids, house torn apart, and cookie dough flying out of the mixing bowl (Makenna decided to make cookies by herself for the first time today). Boyd is in Payette and then Emmett today for a litle PRN. Yesterday we spent most the day as a family at the YMCA at their cool pool. Aubree was a little nervous and shy and wouldn't leave my arms. But I warmed her up on the big waterslide over and over and eventually got a smile out of her. Saryn was a die hard when it came to the waterslide and couldn't get enough. Makenna and Jarom did lap after lap in the lazy river and whirl pool and loved the hot tub too. Main reason for blogging today was to find a new background for my blog and to update my art blog. I got the art blog done but it looks like the background will have to wait until another day.

Life Today

It is a beautiful day outside today. I think it’s around 60 degrees but since we have been so used to the cold it feels like it’s 75. We’re all out in the back yard enjoying the weather. Aubree found a ladybug and was so excited. She’s at such a fun age of discovering everything and being fascinated by it all. Today is another landmark; Aubree had enough hair (barely) to put it up into 2 little pig tails. She’s so cute and most likely no longer considered a baby, but a toddler, but I just don’t want to admit it yet. Today Makenna’s class performed their program of songs and dances they have been working on for the past few weeks. I was impressed, their music teacher is so great. Makenna had to “try out” to be one of the dancers and was excited to be chosen.

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s day so we made our traditional green pancakes and eggs and the kids took charge of making sure the milk was green too. We have been using spinach puree to make our pancakes green and have even tried it in our breadsticks and breakfast cakes too. We can’t taste the difference but I like feeling a little healthier.

Jarom’s Basketball season ended and now we are gearing up for soccer practices that start next week. I’m excited! And the kids are looking forward to it too 

A couple of weeks ago we had most of Boyd’s family in town for the High School State Championship. I’m bummed I forgot to take any photos! It was tons of fun to see everyone and chat a bit, but even more fun was that Boyd’s youngest brother’s team (Madison) kept winning and ended up in the championship game! They were exciting, close games and Trent played great. They were defeated in the end but well worth the journey.

Boyd has been doing some PRN work for a company in the area and has traveled to Boise, Emmett and soon Payette to help them out. He enjoys his job and seeing the progress people make in recovering from their surgeries, accidents, etc. Last night while helping out the assisted living center in Emmett, he discovered they had a Wii. Perfect physical/occupational therapy for those, 80 and 90 year old patients who need to do something but not too much. So they all got to go bowling last night. Boyd said his 97 year old patient was excited and said, “I haven’t bowled in years!”

I had to laugh today at our bank’s new promo. I was depositing a check and noticed a little jar (maybe 10 oz. size) that had a few of those hershey’s chocolate nuggets inside. I asked, “Are these for the taking?” thinking it was the new free candy they were handing out now, in place of suckers. The teller said, “No, those are for people who get a new mortgage with us.” I started laughing, “Oh! Is that all you have to do? An entire piece of chocolate for just a mortgage!” She was laughing too and replied, “Actually, you get the entire jar!” “Ohhhhhh! Even better! But I think I’d rather go to Walgreens and just pay $3 for an entire bag of my own.” These marketing strategies are beyond desperate, they are just flat out dumb founded, out of ideas, and probably out of money. If any one was hoping the “freebie” was going to get better, they held out too long! It still makes me laugh!

Well I have been trying to re-think my schedule again. Something I frequently have to do whenever a nap time changes, a nap time is grown out of, school schedule changes, work schedule changes, etc. So this time it is due to Aubree no longer taking a morning nap which means my morning time to exercise and get ready for the day was being moved back until noon which wasn’t working. So now I’ve been waking up at 6am and exercising first and showering before Boyd leaves. It works great even though my eyes still feel very heavy even while my legs are running on the treadmill. I definitely have to hold on to the railings those first 5 minutes!

I’m sooooooooooooooooo ready for spring!

Wahoo! Free Night At the Rollerdrome!

It has been forever since we've been rollerskating. I think maybe I went a couple of times at Ricks College (nearly 14 years ago!) but my most vivid rollerskating memories were of youth activities at the rollerskating rink in Morro Bay back in California where I grew up. That and rollerskating with childhood friends on the concrete foundations of the condos (before they were framed)that went up next to our neighborhood back in grade school. I remember we'd make up Spanish dances with our skates on and always have a grand finish with "Ole!" It was so much fun. It was a little different being a mom and taking 4 kids rollerskating that have not really had any experience with it before. They were surprisingly pretty anxious about the whole thing and repeatedly expressed their concerns (which actually is so unlike them, they're usually up for trying anything, except new foods), but it was "free skating night" (if you brought a can of food for the food drive)so we were definitely going! I couldn't stop laughing it was so much fun. There were bumps and bruises and many falls but overall by the end of the night we had all improved and wanted to go back for more. Saryn was a die hard and kept Boyd and I busy taking turns to skate with her around the rink (what a work out for our arms, backs, and abs! I was sore!) It was fun to have our friends there too, the Flints.

My Art Blog is Up!

I still have much more to do with it and recent artwork to add to this site but you can check out what I have now and revisit it another day! Check out the link to artbymelissaricks.blogspot.com found in my margin. All this has made me realize that I haven't painted many new things for awhile and I feel like I'm loosing some skills! Time to brush up!

Fun Valentine Memories '09

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Now that the computer is back up and running I can fill in all who care about our fun Valentine weekend. The kids had Friday off so we invited a few of their freinds over. Makenna and her friend used some of the fabric I had left over from a Young Women's activity to make some cute heart pillows. They along with Saryn and her friend cut out and created some heart buddies. Jarom and his friend kept busy with the legos, basketball hoop, and the Geo train track. For lunch I mixed up a batch of our favorite pizza/bread stick dough and added some red dye so the kids could create some pink bread creatures. They cut out lunch meat and cheese with heart cookie cuters and also had some pink strawberry applesauce.


Friday Night Boyd and I went to the "Sweetheart Ball" at our church for dinner and a dance for our Valentine's Date. We had a blast. I sure wish I had a video of all the guys in their karioke performance singing "You've lost that lovin' feelin'" to put on the blog.

Valentine's Day was filled with Saryn's last soccer game, Jarom's basketball game, and getting ready for our traditional Valentine's dinner. Since we spent our first 8 years of marriage going to school while having kids at the same time it was a little difficult to find the finances and a babysitter to celebrate Valentine's Day at a fancy restaurant. So this tradition evolved. We decorate and plan a fancy dinner for our family. We've enjoyed it so much that we look forward to it and the kids get all excited thinking we are preparing such a fancy feast for just us. This year Makenna enlisted some neighborhood girlfriends to help withe decorating. Before we knew it the whole package of pink balloons and half the package of the red balloons were all blown up and the streamers were flying from what we refer to as our chandalier. We use the fine china, goblets, pretty silverware and nice red "silky" tablecloth. This years bouquet was a beautiful array of red and pink ballons. We ate pink salmon, heart shaped cornbread, red heart jello jigglers, pink potatoes, cauliflower and cheese, and for dessert; stawberry danish dessert. It was yummy! We always make homemade valentines and set them on eat other's plates and read them before we begin to chow. Always tons of fun and too much food.

Stop everything! The computer is broken!

I don't know what is worse, the car breaking down or the computer! It's only been down for 4 days but it seems like a month! We had a virus that arrived when we downloaded a virus protecting/detecting/eliminating program called spyware doc. (isn't that ironic; IT HAD A VIRUS! and an ugly one at that!) We were thinking for sure we were going to have to call in the experts at geek squad or something, but with my mom's help I was able to locate the right customer support phone number and he was able to walk me through the fixing process, free of charge! HOORAY! It works! We're so relieved! I can blog again!

Aubree is a Climber!

While working on the computer yesterday I turned around and found Aubree cleaning out our silverware drawer, while IN the drawer. Part of my morning routine is folding up all our folding chairs around our table to help keep her grounded to the floor.

She loves to quickly climb on our table and take off running it's length back and forth (as many times as possible before we catch her), laughing the whole time, and usually taking a moment to spin the light above. The smart gal has learned to duck while running underneath the light.

A friend of mine posted this recipe on her blog and I just had to pass it along. We tried it this morning for breakfast and loved them (especially the part that we had left over mix and can quickly make up another batch another day!). I even added a little bit of flax seed meal to my dry batter.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes
4 cups cooking oats
2 cups flour
2 cups whole wheat flour (If you don't have whole wheat you can do all white or even some oat flour)
1 cup non-fat dry milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 T cinnamom
2 t. salt
5 T Baking powder
1/2 t cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda.

Combine ingredients and stir to mix well. Put in a large airtight container. Store in a cool dry place. Use within 6 months

Mixing directions:
In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs. Beat in 3 T oil gradually. Alternately stir in 2 cups of pancake mix and 1 cup of water. Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly greased skillet. When the batter shows broken bubbles, turn the pancakes over. Cook about 2-3 minutes.

Home Happenings

I have the cutest co-workers, don't you think? It's just usually us 3 that carry on the affairs here at home. Sometimes we work together very effectively and other days it seems like it takes all day to accomplish one simple thing. We've been enjoying pbskid.org a lot lately and using it for school time to review letters and sounds. These cute crowns are from Princess Pea's Spelling activity. Today, as I was busy cutting fabric to make heart pillows for our YOung Women activity tonight, I was happy to notice Saryn at the kitchen counter busy with her own project. I didn't take a minute to see what she found to entertain herself with until after my job was done. Pictures say a thousands words so I posted one below. That WAS my measuring tape, before Aubree scattered it all over the floor. Oh well, I needed to sweep anyways. Hope your having a great day too! :)