It's a Girl!

We found out yesterday that we're going to have a little girl in May. Yes, we're excited. I was a bit surprised thinking the whole time that it was going to be a boy, but we're all pretty OK with a healthy little girl too! So that's our news for now.

Isaac's Big Birthday

caption reads "This is what happens when you have a kid a camera and a lot of time to spend."

Today my Isaac turns 8. It's been a big birthday for him. He has been so excited to finally start scouts and got his uniform at the beginning of the month so he could wear it to his first official Pack Meeting.

We're spending the day at Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen's house. Mahonri & Melissa took the boys out sledding behind the 4-Wheeler driving "so crazy" in a big field going round and round in circles. Then later on, Dennis took the older kids to the pool and they had fun there finding it little warmer than the snow outside. We're holding out with the cake and ice cream party until Saturday when we'll have family and friends over after he gets baptised. We did get pizza though!

The best part about Isaac is that he is such a leader. He knows what he likes and goes for it. He's very self motivated. He has a special spot for his little sister and loves animals. His favorite color is, well, camouflage and he loves to learn about animals and dinosaurs. He likes to ride his bike and fish and built things with blocks. He spends a good bit of time in the bathroom doing his hair making it look just right. When he grows up he wants to be a Wildlife Biologist and study bears.

Love you so much Isaac!

Christmas Sunday

After years of suggesting, hinting and very kindly asking with batted eyes, Dennis won out and he and I played an organ/piano duet in our Sacrament meeting program Sunday. Dennis is such an amazing pianist that he's a bit intimidating to play with. I told him that this was going to be his Christmas present this year. I would much rather sing than play the piano. Since I'd been practicing this song every Christmas season for 4+ years I guess that did help a little. I was definitely blessed with steady hands though and even managed to enjoy it.

Per tradition at our house, we gathered all the children together by the Christmas tree before church and took their picture in their new Christmas outfits. It's a funny experience and the outtakes are hilarious! Here is one of our usable takes though.

Top Toys

Ok so this is list of top toys that have made it through 4 kids and still come out favorites year after year. It's a mom's list so if you ask my kids they'd tell you something different but they tend to go in phases.

For Boys
1. Simple 2X4 blocks. (We've never bought blocks just used scraps & sanded them and my boys still play with them.)
2. Little People Farm and Castle (We bought the castle when it was gray for our boys, but girls love it too.Boys have these changed over the years!)
3. Plastic animals and dinosaurs. (The bigger the better with these.)
4. Cars and Car Mat (We splurged and bought a rug mat from Home Depot one year. It looks great and stays down.)
5. Bikes (What would we ever do without bikes!!)

For Girls
1. Squishy baby doll - These I got at Walmart and they look like cabbage patch dolls but they're like 5 bucks - They don't make them the same anymore. Their clothes don't come off :(
2. Little People House and Castle
3. Doll stroller. I don't know how many of these we've been through, but my girls love them.
4. Snap & Style Dolls, Pets and Babies - Perfect for little hands to dress dolls, cuz they just snap on.
5. Stuffed animals - my boys like these too!

The Nutcracker

(This is not a picture the ballet we went to.)

This past weekend Afton, my mom and I went to a Children's ballet production of The Nutcracker. I thought it would be so much fun to share this with Afton. She loves the story and I though it would be neat since she started ballet last year. We all had so much fun and really enjoyed it. It was perfect for a 5 year old. Afton's favorite were the Snowflakes because their costumes were so pretty. I think this is such a fun tradition that I hope we can carry on.

My First Nativity Set

My whole married life I have wanted to get a Nativity set to display at Christmas time. Now that I have kids I've been a little leery about getting anything too fragile though. A couple years ago my mother in law bought a Little People Nativity set that is just adorable, and a big plus the kids can play with it! I've been looking all over for a set for our house but they have just been so expensive. This year I noticed that my not so favorite store, Malwart, had them on sale. So being the savvy shopper that I am, I looked around and found that this was an amazing deal. Even my very favorite spot Amazon had them listed for an outrageous $75+. So I went to the local store and.. . . to my great disappointment found out that the store only bought 30 of them and they sold out the first day. (See, my not so favorite store.) I was a little disappointed. Well last weekend I was visiting my mom and what was at her local store . . . 3 of them for the same price!! (No I didn't get all three.) Wahoo!!! I was so excited! Now we finally have something to display. It's just so cute! I love setting it up and the kids have been playing with it a lot. Fun times!!!

Least Favorite Things

1. Natalie Cole
Nothing against her personally just don't really care for her singing, and it just kind of annoys me when I hear her singing Christmas songs. I like Nat Cole though.

2. Divinity
Hate the taste and texture and hate making it even more. I just get so frustrated. I've attempted it a couple times for the sake of the members in my family who like it, but I fail more than I succeed with it and have just taken to asking the in-laws to make it for Dennis and Jacob.

3. Holiday Shopping
The past couple years I've been a cyber shopper simply becuase I hate the gimics, long lines and gimmie-gimmie attitudes in the stores. I like to stick to my list, buy online if I can and enjoy the season.

Few of My Favorite Things

1. Little Cuties
I don't know why I haven't discovered the sheer pleasure of clementines until this year, but I am totally addicted! I love these tasty little treats. I think we've gone through like 5 bags in the last couple weeks. I just can't get enough. They are so sweet and so easy to peal it's just a win, win!!






2. Hot Chocolate
Can't beat sitting on the couch reading a book sipping a cup of hot cocoa! Chocolate in liquid form is lovely.








3. Cinnamon Pine Cones
I love walking down the isle in the stores and smelling these before I even see them. Cinnamon is a seasonal smell to me. And what's better than combining them with pine cones!








4. White Christmas
I'm a sucker for old Christmas movies. I usually watch a couple of them every year. White Christmas, The Lemon Drop Kid, The Holiday Inn and some version of a Christmas Carol. I just love old movies!





5. Snowflakes
I mean if it's going to be cold outside there might as well be snow. I love soft winter snowfalls. You know the kind. The quiet snow with the big snowflakes that you can follow down to the ground. I love the peace that settles over the house when it's snowing outside.It just mutes out all the noise and hustle and bustle and slows things down enough to just sit and enjoy. I love the excitement a night time snowstorm brings. The kids just get so excited to wake up to a clean white world outside.

It Makes Me Grin

It's probably because it's Christmas time and that warm fuzzy feeling is settling over me but I just can't help think of those little things that make me grin. For instance.. . right now Isaac is playing me Christmas songs on the piano. It makes me grin when I hear him click his tongue to keep time. It makes me grin when Khora eats yogurt and then runs to look at her mustache in the mirror. It makes me grin when I see Jacob sitting on the couch reading a book like he so often does. It makes me grin when the girls are playing in their bedroom and I hear Afton directing Khora to "be the baby puppy and I'll be the princess." It makes me grin when Dennis calls me from work just to check in and see how I'm doing.

(Me grinning!)

Busy Weekend

This weekend Dennis and I found that we had almost two days with just us and Khora. So what did we do? I dragged Dennis around shopping and to see the New Moon movie. (He was so good to sit through all the cat calling and whistling going on around us, crazy girls!! :)

And now, we have almost all our Christmas shopping done!! Whaaaahoo!!! And it's not even Thanksgiving. I'm hoping that it will leave me more space in my brain to focus on other fun activities instead of worrying about getting gifts done.

Nothing New

A couple weeks ago we were ready about an hour early for church, so I got out the old tripod and took a couple pictures of my cute family. I just finished this scrap page. Just loving life and enjoying my family. I'm so grateful for them. They are great!!

We Did It

Last night Isaac was asking what "fun thing" we were going to do, it being Sunday and all. I just slipped out, why don't we put up the Christmas tree. Well, we did it. The Christmas tree is up and even before Thanksgiving. This has never been done before in the history of . . . well our history anyway and I'm trying to think of ways we can Thanksgivingize it. I'm sure we can do some leaves or turkey gratitude chains or something. It is giving me so much joy though. I love it! Maybe I just need it this year.

Jacob's Piano Recital

Tonight was Jacob's first ever piano recital. He didn't look at all nervous but said he was. He's been practicing really hard for it. I think he about had it all memorized but was too nervous to do it with out the music. He did a fabulous job. I managed to take a video of it, but he got up there and started before I was ready so I didn't get his introduction or the very first part and don't mind the shot of the floor when he gets done. That's just me. So here is Jacob playing "The Crystal Cavern".


Well done Jacob! We are so proud of you.

Halloween 2009

Here is our family Halloween photo. The children were all true to form this year. Jacob had his costume settled weeks ago and didn't stray from it. He went with the traditional vampire ensemble. Isaac, who changes his mind from day to day finally put together his own costume the day of and thought it was fabulous. Afton went with a ghost, but couldn't help but throw in a little something special so she put on my bridal veil and called it a ghost bride, which is must better! Khora was our cute little honey bee, which she liked to say over and over. Dennis had trick or treat duty alone this year and very artistically made a jack-o-lantern on his orange t-shirt with electric tape. It was a fabulous day and just warm enough to make it very enjoyable. I, of course, stayed home and manned the house and finished making dinner. After a trip around the block they came home to eat. Khora had enough at that point and was ready for bed. After we ran out of candy, yes we actually ran out this year, I went down stairs and watched "Mysterious Island". The family made it home safe and sound with lots of stories to tell and we all gathered round and finished the movie.

Chili and Corn Bread

One of our family traditions on Halloween has been to have Chili and cornbread for dinner. This year I found a really good corn bread recipe. I used a little smaller pan than 9X13 and it came out great! I think I'll put this one away to use every year.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

Christmas Tree Time?

I'm also very willing to skip Halloween altogether this year. I'm not excited to outfit my children in the costumes they want. I dread the fight with the candy that it brings, and also. . . I'm sick of getting sick when I sneak into our stash. It's soooo not worth it.

This morning I told Dennis that I was fighting this huge urge to set up our Christmas tree. I've been cleaning out our storage room anyway and everything is out. My children have also been watching "The Grinch" all week so with that and our first snow fall of the season, well I think it's a loosing battle. Dennis graciously said that he would support my veto of the "no Christmas before Thanksgiving" rule. I think I can wait one more day and not put it up until November at least.

The Microwave is in the Garage

Last week Khora decided that she wanted to warm up her bread stick by putting it in the microwave. I don't know how many minutes she set it for but it was long enough that there was black smoke billowing from it just like in the movies. We had to open everything just to clear things out enough to breath. Well, ever since then, the microwave has had a very intense burned smell every time we open it and anything we put in it is tained with the sick smell. I finally had enough of the dry heaves that I put it in the garage. I just can't handle the smell anymore.

We've had this microwave since Dennis and I were first married, so it's over ten years old, which in my mind means "update" anyway right. It was the first appliance that we bought together. Maybe this will be it's last day, since the garbage truck comes tomorrow and it might just find it's way into it.

Pumpkin Walk

We sure had a busy weekend. Friday morning we drove to Ogden so Dennis could go to a work conference. The children and I had lunch and stopped by grandma and grandpa Markers house. Grandpa happened to be home and he suggested a walk down by the dinosaur park to see all the Halloween decorations, and a stop by the play ground. Friday night we went to our Marker Family Halloween party. My kids were kind of party poopers this year because they said they just wanted to dress up like a normal person. It was fun playing together though.




Saturday we made it to Logan for the pumpkin walk with some friends that live there, Ben and Sheri Brown. Dennis took Isaac and Afton to the USU football game and I took Jacob and Khora to Pepperage Farms and around shopping. We all had a great time. It sprinkled on us a little bit, but it was a great day!

Recipe Share: Butternut Squash Soup

I like squash, but struggle to find ways to cook it. I bought a butternut squash at the fruit stand last week and thought I would try this one out tonight. I love soups this time of year so this sounded sooo good. It has the consistency of tomato soup and is pretty light. We ate ours with home made bread sticks. I thought it was worth sharing!

Butternut Squash Soup
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 T olive oil
1 T butter
1/2 C sliced carrots (abt 1 med carrot or 12 baby ones)
2 stalks celery, diced
1 C diced onion
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 medium butternut squash, (abt 4 cups diced)
1 medium potato, diced (about 2 C diced)
32 oz chicken broth (that's one box/carton)
1 T brown sugar
1 1/2 t kosher salt
3/4 t dried sage
1 pinch cayenne pepper or a douse of hot sauce

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil and butter. When butter is melted add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic

Saute for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add the squash.

Then add potato, sage, salt, red pepper, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer with the lid on for 30-40 minutes or until everything is tender. Check a piece of squash and also a piece of celery and potato to make sure they area fork tender. Stir in 1 T brown sugar.

Use an immersion blender, or transfer soup to a regular blender and puree until smooth.

I topped mine with a little parsley so it didn't look so plain! A small drizzle of heavy cream or sour cream is also tasty.

Our Best Bites is one of my favorites sites! There are a lot of other goodies on there too.

Yellowstone Trip

Last week we took a family road trip to visit Yellowstone. We followed my in-laws with the Korean caravan up through Idaho into West Yellowstone. My father-in-law was the tour guide to a group of 6 Koreans who are studying in Ogden for a semester. We had a lovely time and saw lots and lots of beautiful scenery and wildlife including bears, wolves, elk, cranes, buffalo, a coyote, deer and lots of small rodent types and birds.

(Isaac trying to blow a bubble.)

Two thoughts though, Wild life is wild, it deserves a little respect. Thus, please, Dennis, do not roll the window down when a huge wild buffalo bull is walking down my side of the road. Those things are big and hairy and a van has very thin walls I'm sure of it!!! Also, it boggles the mind to think that large groups of people will congregate from all over the country just to googgle over sulfer pots that reak to high heaven!!! PEEEUUUUUWWWWW!!!(Smoke in the background is smoke from the wildfire.)

Because of a wild fire that decided to cross one of the main road roads, we were detoured a couple hundred miles up into Montana in order to get home. It made for a very loooong road trip and we were so grateful to finally be home. I actually lost my camera at one of the stops we made and was so devastated, however after we got home, we got a call from my mother-in-law saying that they stopped on their way down through the park and found it. I was soooo happy! What in the world would I do without a camera for three months . . . (it's on my wish list for Christmas.) So I don't have any pictures to post with this because my camera is in Ogden at the time, but sometime soon.

Fall vs Autumn

Afton and I were having a discussion on Fall vs Autumn. I was telling her that I prefer to call this season Autumn because I like to think of all the beautiful colors. Gold, yellow and rust colored leaves. I picture sunflowers and mums, dried corn stalks and straw bales tied with ribbon and big orange pumpkins on the porch.
. . . Fall just reminds me that the trees will be bare and ugly when their leaves fall off and that winter is on it's way. She said that she likes to call it Fall because she likes we get to rake up the leaves and jump in them. I am so grateful for her perspective!

Ummm ... Let Me Think

Where do you think we should go Khora? "Ummm . . . let me think!!!"

Over Labor Day weekend we up the canyon to spend the night in grandpa and grandma's trailer. It was also fun to spend some time with Omner, Jessie and Haven as well. We had dinner and then sat around the campfire roasting marshmellows, making s'mores and just talking. Finally the boys talked Dennis and Omner into taking them on a 4-Wheeler ride. They were having all sorts of wars with each other with the tops of the "Brown-eyed Susans".

It rained on us off and on up there, but we managed to get in some fishing and brought home 3 pan sized trout. I don't think I've been up there too often this late in the season, but it was so nice and cool and despite the holiday weekend not really that busy. That's my kind of holiday!!

Kind of sad, though, that this weekend marks the end of summer. I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to it yet. We didn't see too many fall leaves yet so maybe there's a little more time before I settle in.







We did a little bit of labor on Monday. We helped my dad in his yard as he's trying to get things ready to plant grass around the back and side of their house. It will be so nice to have grass there. I think Dennis got in a little tennis time and he even took the girls so I could have some quiet time to myself. What a sweetie!!

$$$4Dirt

Until I moved here I would never have thought about actually paying money for . . . well, for dirt. I grew up in a small town and dirt was everywhere, so who would want to pay for it? Well we did. Dennis has been working more on our landscaping and that required bringing in a big load of "top soil", which I guess is the city word for dirt that you pay for. . . I still laugh in side. So for about a week we had a big pile of dirt...oh excuse me, topsoil, in our driveway and in the children's shoes and ears and hair. Dennis and the boys loaded it into wheelbarrows and took it around our yard. He's also been bringing in stones to line the flowerbeds, for free, glad to see it stops somewhere. It's coming together so well and looks great. We're going to be bringing in some mulch next. I'm so excited. It's all coming together so well.

Santaquin Carnival

Last week our family went to the first ever Santaquin City Carnival. The children had so much fun on all the rides I think it might have made up for the stream of "disappointed hopes" this summer, (long story).
We got in just after 5pm and were about the first people there. It was just the sort of crowd I like. I like that there were so many rides that the girls could ride and yet the boys had their fill of excitement. Dennis ended up getting sick, but by that time the boys were fear free and able to go on the rides by themselves. The carnival is scheduled to come every year from now on. Mark your calendars!

Week #1

Wow! I mean it wow!! What a week it has been. We started school head on Monday morning. I'm so tired and it went by so fast. We've been so busy and the children were pretty good considering they had to do school work two days before most of their friends. I love the school time routine though. I feel more put together during this time and oddly enough my house has actually been cleaner this week than most of the summer.
My brain has been going full board too. It felt so good today to go out in the yard and pull weeds and water my garden. I love having a yard. It has become one of my greatest release times. I also enjoy it because it is one of the things that my husband and I like to do together. My husband is a fabulous landscape designer considering he has to incorporate all of my "wants" into the picture. The weeds are never ending but so is my stress so it's probably a good thing . . . in the greater scheme of things.
My other great stress re leaver is scrap booking. Crystal was so nice to come over until 1:30am last night to "play", and my ever amazing husband was good to take care of the kiddos while we worked. (Kids night out and City Hall was a great idea!)
Well, one week down and 35 to go! It's going to be fabulous!!

Year #4, Here We Go!

Today was the first day of our 4th year homeschooling and I must say that I'm so excited! I love the routine and the time with my children. Of course the only glitch today was that I ran out of ink in my printer! (yea, disaster!) It turned out great judging by how quickly the day flew by!

Afton's Kindergarten Books

These are books that I made for Afton that we'll be working on this year. Glad I finally put that binding machine to use that I bought last year. It's been a lot of fun and I'm really getting excited for the school year to start again. I just have a few more books to buy, but then there are always more books that I could buy.

Summiteer

As part of the Santaquin Days activities, Dennis put together the first ever Santaquin City Summiteer Mountain Bike Race. Dennis put a lot of time and effort into getting this thing going. He designed the T-shirts, found sponsors and donations, mapped out the race, and got every thing going, even rode the course 2 or 3 times over the past weeks. There were 20 participants this year from ages 5 to 51. Both Jacob and Isaac participated in the beginners course. It was very hot but they did a great job!!
We had a little drama just 1.5 hours before we had to be there when Jacob's bike got another flat. The night before Dennis fixed Jacob's tire(for the 3rd time this year, darn sticker weeds). Well I ran up to Stringhams and bought a tubeless tire and our neighbor put it on for him. We made it in plenty of time and everything went well.

These are just a few pictures from our trip to the Moyle Park in Alta Utah. Every Tuesday during the summer, a local family has been putting together tours and activities at the park for free. A few of us from Dennis' family, met at the historical Moyle Park in Alta, UT for lunch, since it is part of our family history it made the visit extra special. We were able to tour the old family house. They shared with us a short history of the Moyle family and had the new DVD "The Stonecutter" playing as well. They had a list of items for the children to try to find while looking around inside the old homestead which kept them looking instead of touching! It was also fun looking for great-granddad Cluff's baby picture along with his baby shoes.

Some of the other activities they had going on around the park were, churning butter to eat with homemade bread, jump rope, checkers, a ring game, doing the laundry by hand, stilts and candle making. The old lookout tower was also open so we could look inside. Kind of a fun day enjoying a little family history together.

S'mores

This happened a couple weeks ago but I'm still posting it. We were going to go up the canyon and have dinner with some friends of ours but the trip got rained out, so we made due with our grill on the deck and still had plenty of fun and didn't even miss out on the s'mores. We didn't have enough roasting sticks to go around so instead of taking turns, the kids simply took a couple sticks from the neighbors willow tree and used them instead. I wasn't quick enough to man the marshmallow bag and I think a couple of the kids came out of the house with 8 or 9 on their stick. Classic!! It was a lot of fun. We don't make our S'mores with the traditional grams, marshmallows, and chocolate, we skip a step and just use striped cookies with marshmallows. I personally just like one cookie with one mellow, but that's just my preferred cookie mellow ratio.