Blue Jeans Momma

2012 Blue Jeans Week 6

2012-02-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Welcome! Hope you have had a good week! Here is what we have been up to . . .

Sunday: For Christmas Miss A got the Settlers of Catan Cities and Knights edition. It has taken us a while to figure it out and play it. Today Ben and Miss A were determined to figure out how to play it. Now they just need to teach everyone else :)

Monday: A Valentine's tradition at our house is the Family Valentine's box. Remember making a Valentine's box for school for your friends to put your Valentines in? Well, we do that as a family on the first Monday in February. Then everyone makes Valentines for each other and we open the box and distribute the cards on the evening of Valentine's Day. Everyone gets to decorate a side of the box. Miss O got to decorate the top this year. It is a tradition my kids love.

Tuesday: Snapshot from our lives--our job chart. This is probably one of the most important pieces of paper in the house. I had tried several different approaches to dinner dishes and kitchen helping over the years, but 2 years ago we visited my sister-in-law, and she had a system like this--one kid, and one kid only, was in charge of all the dishes for that day--empty dishwasher, set table, clear table, wipe it, sweep floor, and load dirty dishes. I thought it was a great idea, then there is only one kid in the kitchen, and usually fights about who is supposed to do what do not break out when only one child is responsible and one person in a room. It took a while for my kids to be converted. They didn't like having do to everything for the whole day, but I loved no one fighting and complaining about someone else not getting their stuff done so someone else can do their job :) The care and feeding of our chickens are separate from the dishes. I have another chart for Saturday house cleaning jobs. I just printed off the chart and put it in a page protector so we can write and erase it with dry erase markers.

Wednesday: In case you didn't know, we are getting a new power line installed down our country road. It has been a mess. Today I had 7 trucks and about a dozen guys in my front yard trying to get this huge new poll ready to go in the ground. So glad when this will be over with!

Thursday: A relaxing evening with nothing scheduled, so we watched Planet Earth--or at least Ben and Mr J took turns watching as they took turns playing Tiny Towers on Ben's i-touch :) Boys and their toys.

Friday: Usually for Valentine's Day at school my kids don't get to make their own boxes--the teacher will have the whole class make the same type of box/bag thing in class, so Mr J and I were excited when his teacher sent home the note that he was supposed to make his own--any way he wanted. Miss A was such a nice sister and helped him find this cool monster design in an old Family Fun magazine (yes, I keep all my old issues) and they made it together today.

Saturday: Mr J got his class Valentine's made today. We went with really traditional ones this year--red and white doilies with another heart glued on top with a mini-candy bar glued on that. Of course, we had to all try the candy bars to make sure they were good :)

Thanks for visiting and hope you all have a great Valentine's Day this week! Share the love!

Feeling ancient

2012-02-08T01:14:00.000-08:00

So on Sunday Mr J had to bring the story of where we got his name and bring a family picture. Well, Mr J was named after his great, great, great, great, great grandfather who was born in 1783. I wrote this on a paper with a family picture and had it ready for Mr J to take to church. Ben took all 3 girls earlier with him, so it was just Mr J and me in the car heading to church.
J asked me "Mom, did you know this grandpa?" (meaning his 5 times great grandpa)

"No, he was born a long time before me."

"Is he dead mom?"

"Yes, he died a long time ago too."

"So, Mom, were you born after him?"

"Yes,"

"So when were you born, Mom, 17. . .? (and his voice trails off)

I about ran off the road.

"No, J, I was born in the 1970's not the 1700's"

Talk about feeling ancient.

2012 Blue Jeans Week 5

2012-02-06T18:47:00.000-08:00

I love my approach to documenting our lives. I try to take a picture a day--of normal things, but as a friend pointed out this week, the snapshots usually don't show how busy or crazy things are. I don't have photos of my kids screaming at each other or me screaming at my kids :) I don't have pictures of the kids and Ben racing out the door 5 minutes late in the morning, or rushing to get dinner eaten before we run out the door for some other thing. Maybe that is a good thing :) I want to remember my days and the little things that made them special and make me happy--me yelling or my kids fighting really don't make me happy, but that does happen, and probably more than it should, but it is important to remember the smiles and the little things. So, I take pictures of things that will help me remember the smiles, the little things, and what makes me happy. Enjoy!

Sunday: We celebrate our state's birthday every year with a sunflower cake. This year we were rushed and frosting it didn't go as well as planned :), but it still tasted good! More details if you want on this post.

Monday: We have had spring weather in January, and today Ben and Mr J made a train track with the sidewalk chalk to run his trains outside

Tuesday: Laundry day. It has been my firm tradition since we got married that I only do laundry once a week--Tuesdays are my laundry days. If you want anything cleaned any other day of the week, you are more than welcome to do it yourself ;) my laundry mat is only open on Tuesdays.

Wednesday: Spelling words are a part of life right now. We try to come up with fun ways to study them. Spelling them with letter magnets on the fridge is something Mr J likes a lot. Anything that makes spelling more fun is worth it.

Thursday: So I have this yoga DVD that I never use. The kids found it and wanted to try it out. I think they laughed more than anything.

Friday: We got some rain, and Mr J went out in it to get the mail.

Saturday: Miss E has this fascination with cleaning out my fridge and organizing it. I have no problem with her doing it, but she does get kind of cold, so she wore her gloves and winter hat to clean it out and organize today.

Hope you have a good week and can capture the moments of happiness in your lives!

2012 Blue Jeans Week 4

2012-01-31T01:11:00.000-08:00

I am really beginning to think that winter might have skipped us this year? We have had a good week, and hope yours has been good too!

Sunday: We get home from church around 1, have lunch, and then I always take a nap. It is just programed into my system. Sunday afternoon nap-necessity for me :) Now my kids know this, and sometimes they catch me at a weak moment, like today just as I was falling asleep Mr J asked, "Mom, can I build a train track in your room?" "Huh? Yeah, just don't wake me up." Results from my weak moment above. I am really glad those tracks are wooden because if they were plastic with as much as they get stepped on we wouldn't have a track left!

Monday: She is official and legal--if I am in the front seat :) She is learning quick!

Tuesday: Piano lessons night--we have a 2 hour block of lessons for 4 kiddos. Our teacher gives them at a local church, and the kids know to bring their books as they wait for their turn in the church lobby.

Wednesday: The kids get out 30 minutes early on Wednesdays for teacher meetings, and since the weather has been so nice, we have been enjoying the park after school on Wednesdays. Today the kids wanted to roll down the hill. I happily watched from below and took pictures :)

Thursday: Free family bingo night at school. Our kids' elementary does a free family bingo night each year. They buy books for the kids' prizes and have themed baskets as prizes for the adults. They have an optional chili dinner for $1. It is a great, fun family night out. We love our schools!

Friday: Tonight we went to the big city to see our friend in his high schools' winter play. It was Thoroughly Modern Millie, and the kids loved it. An evening at the theater is always fun.

Saturday: Miss A had a church volleyball tournament today in the big city. It was a long day full of volleyball. They started at 8:30 a.m. and didn't finish until about 3:30 p.m. They came in 2nd place! Yeah!

Wishing you all a great week ahead!!

Cooking Tip #398

2012-01-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned before I am a "so easy and simple" cook, and I have learned a lot in the 16+ years I have been married and cooking, yet sadly I still have a lot to learn. New lesson learned this Sunday. . .

Do not frost a warm cake--only frost a completely cooled cake

Cooking tip: slightly warm does not equal completely cool

Sunday was Kansas Day, and we celebrate it at our house. We have the tradition of making a sunflower cake on Kansas Day.

Some years it looks better than others :) (circa 2005)

So yesterday for various reasons that I won't bore you with we didn't get the cake made and out of the oven until almost 7 p.m. We have scriptures, prayers, and the kids go to bed at 8, so there was no way the cake would be cool by 8. The kids were not negotiable on having the cake tomorrow. Sunday was Kansas Day, not Monday, so I said, okay, it is mostly cooled, just slightly warm, it shouldn't matter that much should it? Um, yes it does matter. My kids were standing, watching, and saying, "oh, dear Mom," but then followed it with, "don't worry Mom it will still taste good," as they piped on the flower and put all the chocolate chips on it. I love my kids. So at 8 p.m. we enjoyed a piece of slightly warm, badly frosted Kansas Sunflower cake, and everyone went to bed happy with visions of sunflower seeds dancing in their heads.

You are never alone

2012-01-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

Monday evenings are family nights at our house. We get together, sing songs, plan the week, eat treats, and have a (hopefully) spiritually uplifting lesson. This last Monday Ben was in charge of the lesson. He reviewed a talk by President Thomas S. Monson on standing alone, and how sometimes we may be standing alone to choose the right. We talked about different times when the kids might have to stand alone being the only one who doesn't smoke/drink/make fun of others, etc. Then we asked, "But are we ever really alone?" "No," the kids said.
"Who is always with us and watching over us?"
"God, our Heavenly Father, is always with us and watching over us," they said,

"And Santa" said Mr J, "he is always watching you."

Complete silence, and then everyone started laughing, "well, he is always watching," he said.

Yes, I am teaching my kids correct principles, and isn't it comforting to know that you are never alone because your Heavenly Father and Santa are always watching?

2012 Blue Jeans Week 3

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hope you have all had a wonderful week. Here is what we have been up to. . .

Sunday: Our family really enjoys playing games. Sunday evening we were playing Qwirkle--a shape/color matching type game that we all enjoy.

Monday: No school today, and the weather was nice and warm but very windy. Miss E and Mr J tried to fly a kite, but the wind was so strong it broke the string off--darn!

Tuesday: Mr J was home sick today from school--no fun, but luckily it was a short duration stomach flu, and so far no one else has gotten it, which is something to be very grateful for in a house with 4 kids!

Wednesday: My poor front yard--our water meter sprung a small leak, and they came to replace it and fix it today, but had to dig a huge, huge hole, so we know we will be planting new grass this spring after they level it :)

Thursday: Once a month during the school year I get together with some dear friends, and we go out to eat and shop to different little towns near where we live --GLO (girls lunch out). This is so fun and such a life saver for me. What would we do without friends? Sure love these ladies!

Friday: Snapshot of our life--piano bags--all 4 of my kids take piano lessons--Miss A is going on 8 years, Miss O 6 years, Miss E 4 years, and Mr J is just finishing his first year of lessons, so piano bags are a big part of our everyday lives--practice x 4 in our house each day.

Saturday: I am not and have never been a real "girly-girl," just not my thing, and my 3 girls have never really been into the princess "girly-girl" stuff either, but every once in a while it is fun to do their nails, and Saturday afternoon we had nothing else going on, so we broke out the nail polish and did toes and nails.

Hope your next week is a good one!

Easiest Roast Ever

2012-01-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

I am so a "simple and easy" cook. So a "hamburger and boneless, skinless chicken breast" cook. Anything else really kind of scares me :) My poor kids--I made spare ribs once, and they about fell over "What is this mom?" "How do you eat it Mom?" "Are you sure this is okay to eat, Mom?" So, I am pretty predictable in the kitchen. I try to branch out--pork chops, sausage, pork roast, and beef roast---occasionally. I had a hard time expanding to beef roasts. I was scared of them. I was really scared of them and didn't have a clue what to do with them until I discovered this recipe. . .

These 3 cans + a beef roast + your crock pot = roast divine

It is really, really good, and so, so easy! Just stick your roast in your crock pot (I usually sort of try to thaw mine, but it isn't always completely) then pour over

1 can beef broth

1 can Campbell's French Onion soup (or other brand if you can find it)

1 can Campbell's Beef Consomme soup (ditto to other brand, but my store only has Campbell's)

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or more if you need to (it won't burn or dry out), then you can slice it and have it with mashed potatoes, or put it on sourdough rolls and use the sauce in the crock pot as your dip for divine French dip sandwiches.

I am no longer afraid of beef roasts. Try this and you won't be either! :)

2012 Blue Jeans Week 2 and history

2012-01-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

2012 makes my 4th year in doing a picture-a-day type scrapbooking and documenting of our family's life.

2008 was the first year I tried it. I was lucky enough to get one of the Project 365 kits. Becky's first kit like this when she was with another company.

This is a page out of that album--sorry it is sideways I could not get it turned. It had a little different layout with the pictures and cards.

This is my 2009 Project Life album.

And this is a page layout from it.

My 2010 Project Life album

And a page from it.

And now I am very happy to be starting my 2012 album, and these are the pictures which will go in this week's layout. . .

Sunday: We are Settlers of Catan fans at our house. Even my 6-year-old likes to play. Sunday evening we were finally able to all play because we bought the extension that allows 6 to play. Lots of fun!

Monday: Lately Miss O and Miss E have been into having their hair braided at night after they shower so it is all curly and poofy in the morning. Tonight after Miss O got out of the shower Miss A was nice enough to braid all her hair. Sadly, I forgot to get a picture of it in the morning, but it was cute, curly and poofy :) She said everyone at school wanted to touch her hair.

Tuesday: This white bowl with this turtle in it has been on my kitchen counter for the last week. Mr J bought one of those water expanding animals with some Christmas money and has had it in the kitchen to see how big it would get. Those are really not one of my favorite things, but he enjoyed looking each morning to see how much it had grown.

Wednesday: The day started out about 60 degrees, and the kids and a friend had fun playing outside, but then the wind picked up and dropped the temperature about 30 degrees, so the kids came in freezing and in desperate need of hot chocolate which is something we are never without at our house.

Thursday: End of quarter awards day at school today. Miss E and Mr J show off their school awards. I don't think Mr J was too excited to share :)

Friday: Wow, thank goodness it is Friday, and we can relax! What a little man with both remotes! Too funny!

Saturday: Sorry for the far away, blurry picture, but Miss A was in a regional honors choir this weekend and with how far away we were, this is the best I could get. They practiced all day and gave a performance in the afternoon. She is right above the conductor's head with a black hair band on. They were very good.

Hope you all had a great week!

My 2011 Reading List

2012-01-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

I posted my 2011 Reading List on my book blog. You can see it here

I think my favorites this year were

* The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tholan

* Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

* Dragonfly by Julia Golding

* The Sweetness at the bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

* The Youngest Templar series by Michael Spradlin

* The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan**if you read these, read book #7 after book #4, then go on with 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. He wrote that one out of order.

So check it out and let me know your favorites for the year!

2012 Blue Jeans Week 1

2012-01-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2012! Our first week was a good one. Our weather was divine! I will take sunny and 65 in January anytime :) Here is what we have been up to. . .

Sunday: Not exactly sure what we're are going for here. I took a nap after church and these 3 had fun with Dad, his suit coats, ties, and the camera. I just saw the evidence after :)

Monday: First Monday night in a new year we always make our goals sheets. Each of us chooses goals for the new year in different areas--physical, mental, spiritual, temporal. Everyone was working on their 2012 goal sheets at Family Night.

Tuesday: The dreaded day that we put all the Christmas stuff away. Lots of stuff and a big mess. Nice when everything is clean and back to normal :)

Wednesday: The kids were playing 'old fashioned' school today after school. Love their hats.

Thursday: I was working at the school today and got to snap a picture of Miss E working. It was fun to be at their school for the day.

Friday: This has been on our family room coffee table all week. Our Harry Potter Lego village. We love HP and Legos, so this has been extra fun.

Saturday: We got the kids' pictures hung today. They are so beautiful. I am so glad we got them done.

Happy New Year to all of you and hope you have a great week!

Last Blue Jeans Week of 2011

2012-01-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

The last week of 2011 pictures. . .

Monday: Santa left us with some pretty cool new bikes, and our weather has been nice enough that the kids have ridden them every day since.

Tuesday: Grandpa teaching Miss A how to drive--drive!!! I try not to think about that too often--14 year olds can drive legally in our state--crazy!

Wednesday: Mr J had two things he requested on his new bike from Santa--a basket and a bell. Santa found the cool black zipper "basket" and the silver bell. You can hear the bell all up and down the street when he goes riding. He loves that bell! He says when he rings it he is saying "Hi!"

Thursday: Mr J hanging out and playing with his Uncle. Love it when family is in town to play with!

Friday: Ben and I got away for our 16th anniversary. We went to one of those themed room hotels. We had the Presidential Suite where you walk into this library and then one of the shelves in the library is a door and opens to the room and jacuzzi tub. So fun!

Saturday: New Year's Eve was celebrated at our friends' house with yummy Chinese food and lots of Just Dance on the Wii. Ben, Miss A, Miss O, and our friends get into it. We were planning on staying until midnight, but about 10 everyone was about asleep, so we set off some fire works and were home by 10:30.

Happy New Year! Welcome 2012!

Last Daily December 31: Happy New Year's Eve!

2011-12-31T07:51:00.000-08:00

Wow, I didn't really know if I was going to be able to make it the whole month of December with daily blogging, but I did. Yeah! Thank heavens for the option to schedule your posts ahead of time :) I think December is kind of a crazy month to do that, but there is also lots to share. I hope you have enjoyed it. We are getting ready for our New Year's Eve get together with some friends tonight. It has sort of become a tradition that we have Chinese food for dinner, which I love!

One of my contributions is egg rolls. I make my mom's recipe which she got from some friends when I was about 8 who are from Africa. I know Africa and egg rolls don't really go together, but my African friend's egg rolls are the best! They are a process to make, but it makes tons and are so worth it. So, we are egg roll wrapping today so we can devour them tonight and ring in the New Year!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and here's to more blogging next year!!!

Daily December 30: Fun new games

2011-12-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

We love games at our house. We got some fun new ones for Christmas that I wanted to share.

*Ratuki is a fun, fast paced card game that Miss A got. Very quick to play and very addicting.

*LeftCenterRight is a dice game with chips that we played last year at a school family game night, and we loved it. I didn't know where to find it, but then Wal-mart had it advertised right before Christmas, so I ran out and got one for Miss E. It is really fun and simple.

*The Scrambled States of American Game is a fun US geography type card game based on the book by Laurie Keller.

*Rory's Story Cubes is an awesome imagination game. Anyone can come up with a cool story, no right or wrong answers, just roll the dice and think of a story.

New Year's Eve/Day is always a big game playing time at our house. We will be playing these and others. Hope you have fun playing games at your house too!

Daily December 29: House lights

2011-12-29T01:10:00.000-08:00

I thought I better post this before we take these down this weekend. Ben is our lights extraordinaire expert. I can't make it beyond the second rung of a ladder. I direct from the ground.

He put these up before Thanksgiving. Great job on the lights sweetie! Now you get to take them down :) Until next year. . .

Daily December 28: My gift to Ben

2011-12-28T01:52:00.000-08:00

Today my sweetie and I are celebrating our sweet 16. 16 years of marriage. 16 years of love, fun, sweat, tears, laughter, and everything in between. They have been the 16 best years of my life, and I wouldn't exchange them for anything. I am looking forward to another 50 plus to come :) Sure love you sweetie!

For Christmas I wanted to do something extra special for Ben. My dad is a professional artist and a retired college art professor. He does private commissions all the time, but he has never done my kids, so for Christmas this year I commissioned my Dad to draw my kids as my Christmas present for Ben. I loved the way they turned out! I cried when I saw them. They are amazing!!! The below pictures do not do them justice. I just took them before they were matted and framed with my point and shoot, but you get the general idea and can see how good they are.

Mr J

Miss O

Miss E--love how she has her head cocked

Miss A

My Dad took pictures of the kids and then drew from the pictures he took. He only works off his own photos that he takes. My dad is amazing. Needless to say Ben loved them. We are excited to hang and display them at home. Of my 16 years of wedded bliss, these 4 kids are my greatest treasures.

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-27T03:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day in the morning (like 6:30 in the morning :)

Stockings are always first at our house

It isn't Christmas without some kind of train for Mr J

Who would think you could get so excited about a book? Love it :)

Or pens and stationary? Miss A is a writer.

HP Legos are definitely something to get excited about.

I was super excited about my gifts--Project Life Cobalt edition for 2011--yeah!!

All ready for Church. Miss A played a piano solo and did wonderful, and Miss E's snap watch matches her dress so well, but it was a present from her sister, so what can you do? :) love it

After church we went to my parents for lunch and more presents. We all loved our new BYU shirts that Ben's parents gave us. They know us really well.

Hope you all had a blessed and wonderful Christmas!!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-27T02:18:00.000-08:00

Mr J played 5 Christmas songs that we sang to. I was impressed. He did a great job. Miss A, Miss O, and Miss E also all played Christmas songs that we sang to. We sing a lot on Christmas Eve :)

Miss O and my brother-in-law played guitars while we sang.

Then we do our Nativity re-enactment. Miss E was Mary. The 3 wise men are visiting the baby here. (yes, the baby was a teddy bear, can you believe we have no baby dolls in my house? The kids looked and looked. Not a one could be found. Where did they all go? Kind of made me sad.

The kids always open one present on Christmas Eve---new pajamas.

This year they got a bonus present to open Christmas Eve, and I think it was their favorite of all. Ben's dad always makes the kids some cool thing for Christmas. He is very creative. This year he made them all real wood, fancy, individualized (with their name and different designs and jewels) Harry Potter wands in boxes with labels from Olivander's in Hogsmeade and with labels that said, "This wand picked you, Mr J" The kids were so excited about their wands! Thank you Grandpa and Grandma! The spells are flying around my house! Huge HP fans here!

Daily December 27: Blue Jeans Week 49

2011-12-27T01:28:00.000-08:00

What a week, what a week--you prepare and prepare for this time of year and it goes so quickly, but we enjoyed it. I hope you did too.

Sunday: Before Church we had a little bit of quiet time, and Mr J read to Miss E. Yes, my kids fight like cats and dogs, but every once in a while they get a long, and we have some nice peace. I try to get pictures of those moments so I can remember them amidst the cat and dog fights :)

Monday: Christmas goodie plates--got them ready and delivered

Tuesday: School Christmas program. Miss E is in the middle black and white dress playing the alto recorder. I am so grateful that my kids go to a public school and they can sing "Silent Night," "Away in a manger," and talk about the real meaning of Christmas-- their classrooms have a nativity set in them. I count that a blessing of living in a small town.

Wednesday: We made big, soft gingerbread men cookies tonight--a favorite Christmas tradition

Thursday: Around Christmas we always like to go up to the big city for a night to see the lights and spend a night in a hotel with an indoor pool--another fun Christmas tradition

Friday: Miss A's birthday and her cake. It is a tradition at our house that the birthday kid gets to decorate their own cake. My kids love doing that. They get to do it with their Dad.

Friday picture #2: Another Christmas tradition is the kids always get to sleep by the Christmas tree the night of the 23rd.

Separate posts for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day--how can you possibly have only one picture for those days? :)

Daily December 26

2011-12-26T01:56:00.000-08:00

Pizza Hut Pizza is on my menu tonight, how about yours?

Santa found us, and we had a wonderful day. We are trying to dig out from the piles of boxes and wrapping paper. Hopefully we can clear a path and make it out of the house sometime today--at least in time to pick up the pizza for dinner :)

Daily December 25: Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T01:53:00.000-08:00

From our home to yours

Merry Christmas

And God bless us, every one.

Daily December 24: Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T01:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve at our house is all about lots of yummy food. The kids each get to pick one food to have--their favorite of anything--shrimp, cheesecake, bean dip and chips, etc. It is an interesting meal, and then we have lots and lots of music and singing.

We sing and play the hand bells.

We sing and Miss O plays the guitar.

We sing and each of the kids takes turns playing Christmas songs on the piano. This will be the first year that all 4 of them will be able to play. Mr J is really excited about that.

And then after all that singing we re-enact the Nativity story using lots of bathrobes, towels, and ties. Everyone loves it.

And then we end the night with the kids opening one present--new pajamas, then they are ready for bed, and we all say good-night and try to go to sleep so Santa will come. Sleep well!

Daily December 23

2011-12-23T01:15:00.000-08:00

This little one-year-old angel isn't so little anymore. (thanks for the picture Whitney B!)

She is now 14!!! And still an angel :)

Sure love you Miss A! Happy Birthday this week!

Daily December 22

2011-12-22T01:13:00.000-08:00

So many things happening this week before the biggest thing that happens--Christmas! Where has the year gone? I remember 2 years ago my neighbor saying she took her tree down right after Christmas. I commented that it always made me sort of sad to do that, but she said, "Oh, don't worry in just a minute you will put it back up again." It does seem like that--just a minute ago I took it down last year, now a minute later I am putting it back up.

So the kids have been super busy. Miss O got to go to the big city for a field trip for kids who got good grades. They got to go ice skating--first time ever for Miss O, go to a cool science museum, and see a film at the IMAX. Awesome day. Then she had a major English assignment due and math test.

Miss A has a test every day this week. I didn't think that was a very nice Christmas present from her teachers. She also started driving lessons with Grandpa because she will be 14 this week and can get her learner's driving permit!!!! Ah! My daughter is learning to drive. I definitely feel old.

Mr J had his school Christmas program and got to go on the Polar Express today at school--with hot chocolate and a candy cane to stir it while they watched the movie. Love it. He has his class Christmas party and gift exchange which he is totally excited about.

Miss E also had her Christmas program. She got to play the alto recorder and was so excited about it. Her class sang "Do you hear what I hear" which is one of my favorite Christmas carols. She is super ready for Christmas.

The kids are always doing something fun. Hope your next few days are really fun!

Daily December 21: A long Winter's nap

2011-12-21T01:07:00.000-08:00

You know the line in The Night Before Christmas where it says, "had just settled down for a long winter's nap"? That is so me right now. By the way, Mary Engelbreit's version of that is my favorite. I love her stuff. So, back to the long winter's nap. I wrapped presents for 3 full hours!!! 3 hours! Normally Ben and I do this together, but time was getting away from us, and we did not want to be up until midnight Christmas Eve, so I did it--all by myself. I so deserve a long winter's nap for that! Then I did 7 loads of laundry, including all the sheets--that so definitely deserves a longer winter's nap, and then we made it through the preparations and hoop jumping of a school Christmas program, and that must constitute the longest winter's nap. This was all in the same day. Not that I am complaining. I love this season. I love the activities, sights, sounds and colors, and especially the treats, but it really does make me tired :) This in no way suggests that I am getting old-er, it can't, because I'm not. That just doesn't happen.

Happy December 21!

Daily December 20: Blue Jeans Week 48

2011-12-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Busy, busy week. I am sure yours has been too. Here is what we have been up to. . .

Sunday: Mr J and his friend he has known since she was born. Her older brother and I decided we would blow it up to an 8x10 at their wedding reception in 20 years :) They are so cute together

Monday: Miss A, Mr J and Miss E making gingerbread houses at Nana's. Mr J has his plan all ready for what he wants to do colored next to him.

Tuesday: One of our favorite Christmas traditions--our Christmas countdown candle that Ben's dad makes for us each year. Thanks Dad!

Wednesday: Before bed Jesse will read one of his library books to either Ben or I. Tonight we read by the Christmas tree.

Thursday: Went shopping and out to lunch with some dear girlfriends today. Don't know why the color is funny with this? Had a great time and so love my girlfriends!

Friday: Miss A had a Christmas Ball at school tonight. She looked so pretty in her dress that her Dad picked out for her. He does have good taste, he married me :)

Saturday: Christmas treat baking day. Ben helped me make some batches of an almond joy type candy. It was nice to have his help.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and hope your next week is a wonderful one!

Daily December 19: Being grateful

2011-12-19T01:34:00.000-08:00

In one of our Church magazines it talked about how we should focus on giving and not getting this season and on how God has given us so much. We have so much to be grateful for. It suggested taking a "Gratitude Challenge." Each member of my family has decided to do this, and I wanted to share. It said to write 100 things you are thankful for. To help you is suggested these. . .

1. Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for
2. Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for
3. Write 10 living people you are grateful for
4. Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for
5. Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for
6. Write 10 tings about today you are grateful for
7. Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for
8. Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for
9. Write 10 foods you are grateful for
10. Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for

And as we write this we realize this barely touches all that we have to be grateful for. You can read the article here. Take the Gratitude Challenge!

Daily December 18: The Christmas Candle

2011-12-18T01:42:00.000-08:00

One Christmas tradition we have from Ben's family is our Christmas Candle. Ben's dad made these every year Ben was growing up, and now he makes them every year for each family. He buys big white candles, melts red and green crayons, and then uses a toothpick to draw on the lines and dates. We burn the Christmas candle at dinner each night to countdown to Christmas. It is a wonderful, treasured family tradition. Thanks Dad! We love you!

Daily December 17: Making gingerbread houses

2011-12-17T01:26:00.000-08:00

My mom is the queen of gingerbread houses. Another family tradition that we had growing up is we would always make a gingerbread house to decorate--one for us and one to give to someone else. Over the years I have made my own gingerbread houses with my kids. We even did gingerbread trains a few years ago, but most recently my mom and I have discovered the ease and wonder of graham cracker gingerbread houses. No baking involved--way less time, so much easier! Love it! So we went with some friends to my parents for our annual (graham cracker) gingerbread decorating party. One for us and one to give away.

Miss A, Mr J and Miss E get ready to start their houses. Do you see the colored picture by Mr J? He made that and planned out exactly what he wanted his gingerbread house to look like weeks before we did this. That kid is a planner, let me tell ya :)

Miss O and her friends work on their house. Never a shortage of candy or help around here.

Miss E was getting into the spirit and sampling some of the decorations with her Santa hat on. Sweet stuff!

Daily December 16: Seeing Santa

2011-12-16T01:40:00.000-08:00

Our small town does the nicest Christmas things. They have a Santa house on the square where Santa comes once a week to see the kids. They have train and trolley rides to see the lights, and it is all free. So fun! So we all went to see Santa, ride the trolley, train, and walk around the square to see the window displays with gingerbread houses in them. I love my small town.

What do you want Mr J? An orange bike, cars, and train legos

Have you been good Miss E? Yes, I want a mountain bike and Ranger's Apprentice books.

What about you Miss O? Well. . . . let me think. . .Big Nate books, Harry Potter Legos, and a nerf gun.

And how about you Miss A? Have you been good? Yeah, and I don't really need anything (I wanted to get that written down in writing :)

How about you all? Have you been good too?

Daily December 15: Christmas Movies

2011-12-15T01:17:00.000-08:00

Love Christmas movies. This one is an older one :) I remember watching it as a kid. We had it recorded off TV on a video cassette--anybody still know what those are? It was an extremely grainy copy, but we watched it every year. One year for Christmas my sister got all of us siblings a copy on DVD. We watched it as a family on December first. It was our first link in our Christmas chain. Too fun!

This is a beautiful Christmas movie. We watch this the first Sunday after Thanksgiving every year to get us in the right mood for Christmas and to remind us of the real meaning. I love Mary and Joseph in this film.

And who doesn't love this movie? My kids have watched it 3 times already since Thanksgiving. My favorite scene is the hot chocolate one. I want hot chocolate like that! Love the book too.

This is the version of Scrooge that my family always watched growing up. It is a musical with Albert Finney. It is my favorite version of "A Christmas Carol." We usually watch it on Christmas Eve. What are some of your favorite Christmas movies?

Daily December 14

2011-12-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

Last night on the Christmas Chain link Miss A was supposed to pick her favorite Christmas story to read.

She picked this one. I love it!!! The illustrations are so beautiful, and the story makes me cry. Check this out if you haven't read it. A Christmas classic.

On our Christmas chain the night before we were supposed to watch this "Mr Krueger's Christmas." We didn't have time because we ended up doing gingerbread houses at Nana's, but we watched it last night. Jimmy Stewart is awesome. Love this.

Today Miss A and Miss O are home--no school--so we are finishing up final Christmas preparations. Today's Christmas chain link says to "make a Christmas card to send to a friend " so we will see what they come up with.

Daily December 13: Blue Jeans Week 47

2011-12-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Our past week in pictures. . .

Sunday: The live nativity that we got to see. It was amazing--simple and awe inspiring.

Monday: Ben was helping Mr J build a train track in his room, and love J's look of concentration and pose--he was thinking hard about that train track!

Tuesday: Several years ago for Christmas my mom gave us a set of hand bells and music. Tonight we were practicing some Christmas songs with them.

Wednesday: You may know this already, but if not, then my mom is the librarian at my kids' elementary school, and she is amazing and does decorating gingerbread (or graham cracker gingerbread) houses in the library in December. I happened to be in there when Miss E's class was decorating theirs. Lots of fun!

Thursday: no picture

Friday: We went to Branson to visit some friends. We had breakfast with Santa!

Saturday: We went to Silver Dollar City, and Ben (bless his heart) took these 4 kiddos on one of the roller coasters. I happily took pictures and watched :) Silver Dollar City was fun. The lights were amazing, but we learned from a friend who works there that they were expecting 15,000 that day, but had over 23,000 come. It was amazingly crowded!

Hope you have a great week, and check back for my daily December posts!

Daily December 12: A gift for Him

2011-12-12T01:02:00.000-08:00

What can I give him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb

If I were a wise man I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him? Give my heart.

by Christina Rossetti

One of the things we do in December to help our family remember the Savior is fill His manger. What gift can we give Him? We can do kind deeds for others. I make a paper "manger" out of card stock and cut some small pieces of yarn. We place this by the Christmas tree. Each time the kids, Ben, or I do a secret act of service or kindness for anyone, we get to put one piece of yarn or "straw" in the manger.

Our goal is on Christmas Day the baby Jesus will have a soft bed to lay in. Our secret acts of service and kindness are a gift we can give to Him.

Daily December 11: See a live nativity

2011-12-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

I had never seen a live nativity until this year. It was very small and simple, but wasn't the birth of the greatest man a small, simple, humble event? I was very moved. It was wonderful. I didn't think they would have a real baby since it was pretty cold, but they did. My heart swelled and tears came to my eyes as I saw that real little baby and of what it represented. It was beautiful. If you are able to see a live nativity, go. It is so worth the time, effort, and cold you may experience to see it. What a great reminder of the real reason for the season.

Daily December 10: Christmas pillowcases and poem

2011-12-10T01:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas pillowcases have been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. Every December 1st growing up we would get a package from my DeeDee (Grandma) and in it there would be Christmas cookies, a new Christmas pillowcase she had made for each of us, and this poem. . .

December the first starts a magical time,
With all sorts of color, rhythm and rhyme.
Sugar plum fairies will dance in your head
If you'll put this pillowcase on your bed.
The reason it's special, as you will soon see,
Is that it's been dusted with Christmas fantasy.
Visions of candy canes, Santa, and such
Will fill each dream with pleasure so much,
That when it comes the time for it to be washed,
Do it quickly so no magic is lost.

So I grew up getting these awesome pillowcases, and then my DeeDee has made them for my kids since they were little, and then I have been passing the tradition along to Ben's brothers and sisters and their families. I realize the poem says "the first," but you can change that to any date "the tenth," "the twentieth" etc. Get some dusted Christmas fantasy in your house! :)

Daily December 9: Christmas Music

2011-12-09T01:27:00.000-08:00

Love Christmas music. I could seriously listen to it all year long. We have lots of favorite at our house, and just wanted to share a few. We love any of the Mormon Tablernacle Choir Christams CD's. They are really good. My 14-year-old especially likes this year's because it has David Archuleta with them.

I have always loved Josh Groban. His voice is amazing. His Christmas album Noel is no exception.

I think Mannheim Steamroller's Christams CD's are also the best. My kids' favorite is their "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer." They just hit "repeat" when they comes on. Their music is great "clean the house" music.

But I think my most favorite Christmas song is a fairly new one and is called "Mary Did You Know." When my brother was in college he was in the choir, and we went to his Christmas concert, and that is the first time I heard this song, and I just fell in love with it. I love the pictures this video puts with the music. This version is done by Clay Aiken. Enjoy!

Daily December 8: Holiday drinks

2011-12-08T01:06:00.000-08:00

I think a yummy punch or drink makes things extra special. During the holidays there seems to be no end to yummy drinks you can have. Here are a few of our favorites.

You just can't beat good hot chocolate. We have it almost daily at our house in the winter (and in the summer if you are Mr J, he has a cup almost every morning for breakfast). We actually buy it in bulk in a 25 lb bag, and that lasts us about a year. I found this new kind at our Wal-mart recently. It is Stephens brand which I love, but can usually never find in my neck of the woods, so I was super excited when they had it. If you can find it in your neighborhood, get a can for a cold winter's evening treat.

Cranberry Tea (without the tea) is a drink a dear friend made for us a few Christmases back. It is nice and refreshing. It is good either hot or cold.

Cranberry Tea (without the tea)

1 quart cranberry juice

2 quarts water

1 (6 oz) can frozen lemonade (pink or regular)

1 (6 oz) can frozen orange juice

1 cup red hots

1/4-1/2 tes ground cloves

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until red hots are melted. Keep refrigerated. Shake well, pour into a mug or pan and heat to desired temperature. A bit of sugar can be added if you want a sweeter taste.

Love Egg Nog at our house too, but the calories and price are a little high if you go through it as fast as we do. I was excited a few years ago when I found this recipe for "Egg" Nog, and it is basically egg nog flavored milk, and really good--a lot less fat and calories and no eggs.

"Egg" Nog

3 oz box of vanilla instant pudding

1/3 cup sugar

8 cups milk (skim, whole, 2% whatever you want)

2 tes vanilla

1/2 tes nutmeg

In a large bowl mix the first 4 ingredients until combined. Stir in nutmeg. Serve chilled and mix well before serving.

Daily December 7: Fishing line

2011-12-07T01:52:00.000-08:00

I love fishing line, but not for fishing. I love it for decorating.

This beam is in my entry way, and I hang things on it with fishing line for different holidays. Pumpkins for Halloween and Thanksgiving. These ornaments for Christmas. Snowflakes in January, hearts in February, shamrocks for March, and Easter Eggs for April.

I have these gold ornaments up now.

And these red ones too. Fishing line has endless possibilities. Try it out :)

Daily December 6: Blue Jeans Week 46

2011-12-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

For my Daily December today I am posting my photos of the week. I normally do this every Tuesday. Enjoy!

Sunday: We got the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving, but because of company and such we didn't get it decorated until today. Everyone likes to help, and it looks really good.

Monday: Rarely do I get a shot like this--the whole family at Wal-mart? Yes, it is crazy, but tonight we were shopping for Sub-4-Santa adopt-a-child, so everyone needed to come and help. It was crazy, and fun, and I am glad that is a tradition we have to help the kids think of others and realize how blessed they are.

Tuesday: Miss O on her own decided she wanted to string popcorn for the Christmas tree that Ben and I have in our room. It is a smaller one, so it shouldn't take her too long. I was impressed with her desire and diligence in doing it. It also made the house smell so good making popcorn in the popcorn maker versus the microwave.

Wednesday: The fruit of Christmas is a pomegranate my girls tell me, and they love them. I always thought oranges were the fruit of Christmas. I don't think I knew what a pomegranate was until college or later :)

Thursday: I got the Christmas countdown chain up and ready to go. My kids love that tradition. Everyday they take off a link and it has something to do--sing carols, read a favorite Christmas story, etc. See Daily December 5 post for more on that.

Friday: This nativity set is our newest Christmas decoration this year. I love it. It is very detailed with jewels on the wise men and such. I got it as Costco. My kids are finally old enough I felt confident in buying a really nice nativity set to have out.

Saturday: It has been tradition for the last 11 years that the first Saturday in December my parents watch the kids all day so Ben and I can head to the city and (hopefully) finish all our Christmas shopping. So we enjoyed a full day together Saturday and actually did finish all the shopping. Ben had to try out a few of the things we got just to make sure they worked :)

Hope you are all enjoying the season and be sure and check back often for my Daily December blog posts! Have a great week!

Daily December 5: Sinterklass Eve

2011-12-05T01:06:00.000-08:00

I am a huge Family Fun magazine fan. I have been a subscriber almost since the first issue, and about 8 years ago (I think?) I saw this idea for The Christmas Chain in their "Idea of the Month" article. It is a Christmas countdown chain, but on each link is a different activity that you do that day. For example: go look at Christmas lights, sing carols, make a Christmas card for a friend, visit and sing at a nursing home, make gingerbread cookies, etc. I try to do a mix of fun, service, and ideas that remind us of the real meaning of Christmas. Today's link says "Sinterklass Eve," and my kids jump for joy because they love this one. We do it every year. Sinterklass Day is a Dutch Christmas tradition, and it is celebrated on December 6th. On the eve before under a winter star lite sky, it is tradition to deliver chocolates anonymously to your friends. Ring the doorbell and run or "door bell ditching" fun here that my kids love. We make up about 6 bags of chocolate, and then each family member gets to decide who to take their bag too. I just usually buy a few bags of Hershey's kisses, and we put them in cellophane bags with a ribbon and tag that says "Happy Sinterklass Eve! Sinterklass Day is a Dutch tradition celebrated on Dec 6th. On the eve before it is tradition to deliver chocolates to your friends anonymously. Enjoy!" The kids love delivering their bags, ringing the door bell, and then sprinting back to the car and speeding off (hopefully) before the door is answered. A fun, very well-loved tradition at our house. Try it at yours this year.

Daily December 4: Finding strength in these trying times

2011-12-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

Loved this and the encouragement to improve, remember who we are, and go forward with faith. Enjoy!

Daily December 3: My favorite yummy cooking sites!

2011-12-03T01:15:00.000-08:00

These are a few of my favorite yummy food blog sites. If you haven't heard of them or checked them out, please do! I have made several recipes from each, and they are all good!! These are in no particular order. . .

1. Barefoot and Baking

2. Mel's Kitchen Cafe

3. Love Becky Higgin's Recipes

4. Our Best Bites

5. Sophistimom

6. And last but not least, you can't beat The Pioneer Woman!

So that gives you some good inspiration for your upcoming holiday cooking. What are some of your favorite yummy cooking sites?

Daily December 2: 4th grade economics

2011-12-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

Miss E is in 4th grade and had a test in social studies this week. It was on economics--really? I thought, in 4th grade? It was very basic, but I thought a lot of people in this country could use this basic economics lesson. We have a free enterprise economic system that is run by supply and demand. Profit is only made after you subtract all your operating costs, and there is an opportunity cost for every decision you make. We need to be wise producers and consumers. The lesson also talked about the early U.S. economy which was just based on bartering, like trading fur pelts for food. After studying Miss E said, "I think I would just like to go back to bartering." Maybe that is the answer to our economic crisis and all the debates. Lessons to learn from the textbook and thoughts of a 9-year-old.

Daily December 1: Moments that Matter Most

2011-12-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

I have seen this a few times on some friends' blogs and loved it. It is very appropriate as we start this season of giving and sharing and of crazy at times. It is so important to remember what matters most. Enjoy!

And the spaghetti bowl dropping and crashing to the floor? That was so our house last night at dinner :)

Blue Jeans Week 45

2011-11-29T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving week! Ours was good, crazy and filled, but good! Here is a look at our past week with so many things to be thankful for!!

Sunday: I am thankful that I have a little boy. We didn't ever find out the sex of our kids before they were born (except the first Miss A) and after 3 girls I told Ben he had one more chance to get a boy. When he was born and the Dr. said, "It's a boy!" I cried, Ben cried, even the nurses cried! We got a boy! Finally! And what a fun boy he is! He is addicted to his Dad's I-Touch and will sit down anywhere to play it. Love my boy!

Monday: I am thankful for good books! You can see the previous post to find out more about this picture, but we love books in our family and reading, and today we got to meet and listen to author Christopher Paolini. Miss E was so excited! He is signing her new Inheritance book for her.

Tuesday: I am thankful for the beauty of the earth and that we can enjoy the beauties of it. There are so many large and small that we need to take the time and notice. Today Miss A and my mom enjoyed the beauties of the earth as they walked a local trail near our town.

Wednesday: I am thankful for a thoughtful daughter. Today Miss A got over 10 inches cut off her hair to donate to Locks of Love. I was very proud of her, and her new cut looks super cute on her!

Thursday: I am thankful for the "youngest" table members at our feast.

Thursday #2: I am thankful for the "younger" table members at our feast.

Thursday #3: And last but not least I am so thankful for the "young" table members at our feast. We had 30 for Thanksgiving dinner at our house. It was lots of fun. Had lots of food--more pies that I have ever seen before, played lots of football after to run off all that pie, then enjoyed Cars 2 to re-cooperate from all that football. It was a blessed day!

Friday: We are thankful for many things, and one Thanksgiving tradition we have is our "Thankful Tree" which Miss O, Miss E, and a friend helped make. Everyone at our feast was to take a leaf and write on it some things they were thankful for. Mr J and his friend helped show it off Friday morning. We have much to be thankful for.

Saturday: I am so thankful for friends! We had some of our dear friends who used to live in our town, but sadly moved away, with us over the Thanksgiving weekend. The kids had so much fun! Got no sleep, and played all day long. Life is good when you have friends!

Hope you had a great week. I decided I am going to try the "Daily December" blogging, so be sure and stop by daily each day in December for something new!

We met Christopher Paolini!

2011-11-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

I don't normally do more than one post a day, but I just had to share what we did last night. . .

Way back in August, we heard that Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon and the Inheritance Saga, would be coming out with the last book in the series in November and would also be doing a book tour. We found out he would be presenting in the city 2 hours from us. Now you have to understand how much my 9 year old daughter Miss E loves this series. She has read all the books, but most importantly she has listed to the audio books like 4 times each--seriously. So, when she heard he was coming, we decided we had to go, and she was ecstatic! So last night Miss A, my mom, Miss E, Miss O, Ben, and I all went up to the city. Mr J stayed home with Grandpa :)

Christopher was presenting at a church. He talked, fenced, did a cartwheel, and read a short excerpt from each of the four books. He was very good, entertaining, and lots of fun to listen to.

He took questions, and then you got to have your books signed. Here he is with Miss E. I think he was surprised someone that young was there. He asked her if she had read the books. She said yes. He said, "All of them?" in a surprised voice, "yes" she replied. Then he questioned her, "How old are you?" "Nine," she said. "Wow," he said, "I am very impressed." Miss E felt very special, let me tell you.

My mom and Christopher with Miss A behind her

And Christopher signing Miss O's book. It was a really fun night that we will all remember. It always means so much when you can read a book and say, "I met this author." Makes it so much more personal. If you haven't read his books yet, you should check them out. Great fantasy reads! And if his book tour is stopping near you, go hear him and buy a book!

Blue Jeans Week 44

2011-11-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

Giving thanks this past week and coming week for all our many blessings.

Sunday: I am thankful for my mom and that she lives close so she can teach and share with my kids her joy and love of reading. She is my kids' librarian at their elementary school. Mr J is reading to her after Sunday dinner.

Monday: I am thankful for my kids' schools and their teachers. What does a popcorn machine have to do with that? This popcorn machine is at the kids' school, and I got to make popcorn for Mr J's class at school today (and I got a bag for myself--yum!)

Tuesday: I am thankful for laundry and my mountains of mis-matched socks because it means I have people I love in my house that get clothes and socks dirty.

Wednesday: I am thankful for good food! Today Miss E and I made some pumpkin whoopie pies (Thanks for the recipe Patty H!) I am thankful for kids that like to help. I am thankful to be able to teach my kids how to cook and the joy of good food!

Thursday: I am thankful for good kids. Today I went and had lunch with Miss O at the middle school. It was fun to be able to eat outside with her and her friends. She is a good girl.

Friday: I am thankful I have a home, a roof over my head, A/C in the summer, heat in the winter, indoor plumbing, a warm bed, and a kitchen so when I want to cook and make a mess I can.

Saturday: I am thankful for friends. I went to a craft fair about an hour way with friends today and had a wonderful time. I am thankful I live in a country where I can go wherever I want whenever I want with whomever I choose. I am thankful for my free country, my liberties, and I am especially grateful for the men and women (and their families) who serve each day in harm's way to keep it that way for me and my family.

May we realize how blessed we are and be more grateful! Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Our favortie Pumpkin recipes

2011-11-18T10:23:00.000-08:00

Making a huge mess in my kitchen today. I wanted to get some baking done before next week when cooking and baking are not optional activities. About once a month I like to make big batches of pancakes, waffles, and muffins to put in the freezer for breakfasts during the weekdays because with getting 4 kids and a husband out the door on time, there is not a lot of time for breakfast. It is so nice and easy to grab a pancake, waffle, or muffin out of the freezer and quickly heat it up. What would we ever do without microwaves?? Anyone, some of our favorite breakfast foods have pumpkin in them.

Oh my. Pumpkin. Love it! Love pumpkin pies, cake, bread, pumpkin pie blizzards, ice cream, waffles, pancakes, etc. So, obviously I am a big pumpkin fan. I love the following recipes because when I open up a big can of pumpkin (the 29 oz) I can make a double batch of chocolate chip muffins, a double batch of pancakes and one batch of waffles with no pumpkin left over. That is nice. Having little bits of leftovers in my fridge is just a recipe for being thrown out in a week, so I like no left overs.

So here we have pumpkin waffles, pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. I have had these recipes for years. My mom sent me the waffle one in college even though I had no waffle iron to make them until I was married. My pancake one came from a Family Fun magazine years ago, and the muffin one I found somewhere also years ago. They all freeze really well as I mentioned before. Enjoy! We hope your family likes them as much as our family!!!

Pumpkin Waffles

2 cups flour (the recipe specifically says don't use whole wheat flour, why? don't know)

2 tes baking powder

1/4 tes cinnamon

1/4 tes ground ginger

1/4 tes nutmeg

1/2 tes salt

1 Tbl sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 3/4 cups milk

3/4 cup canned mashed pumpkin

1/2 cup oil

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and sugar.

In another bowl mix the eggs, milk, pumpkin and cooking oil. Combine the egg mix with the flour and mix well. Cook in a hot waffle iron. Yum!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned mashed pumpkin

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups flour (I use half whole wheat, half white)

3/4 tes baking powder

1/2 tes baking soda

1/4 tes ground cloves

1/2 tes cinnamon

1/4 tes salt

1/4 tes ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I always use mini because I make them mini-muffins)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin pan with Pam or paper liners.

Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water and mix well. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. Add wet mix to dry, mix well, and stir in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes for regular sized muffins, 11-13 minutes for mini-muffins.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups flour (I use half whole wheat, half white)

2 Tbl packed brown sugar

1 Tbl baking powder

1 1/4 tes pumpkin pie spice

1 tes salt

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 large egg

2 Tbl oil

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in large bowl. Next, combine milk, pumpkin, egg and oil in a medium bowl mixing well. Add the wet ingredients to dry and stir just until moistened. The batter will be lumpy and if you prefer a thinner batter, add more milk. Pour batter using 1/4 cup onto hot griddle. Turn when bubbles being to burst. Turn and cook on other side until done.

Happy Pumpkin cooking!

Blue Jeans Week 43

2011-11-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

Sunday: This was actually from Sunday a few weeks ago, but the picture got "lost" somewhere between the computer and camera. Does that every happen to you? Anyway, once a year the kids in our church do the program at church. The kids sing, do all the talks, and it is always a highlight for everyone. It is the Primary Sacrament Meeting program. This was Miss O's last year, and she wasn't too excited about doing it. She wishes she didn't have to do it at all :) Miss E and Mr J had no problem, though, and they all 3 did a good job.

Monday: Miss E and Mr J wanted to play Candy Land, but, believe it or not, we didn't have the game. I must have gotten rid of it accidentally several years ago :), but that didn't detour them. They just made their own game board and cards. It is really cute. We played it tonight.

Tuesday: We were singing some songs and Mr J and Miss E decided they wanted to play the drums along with us while we sang. The kids made these drums at a workshop several years ago, and we have used them a lot over the years.

Wednesday: Working on my Countdown to Christmas stuff, and today I started on getting our Christmas letters done. Doing a little bit at a time each week gets them done easily, and my hands don't hurt from all that writing at one time :)

Thursday: We have some really good friends that moved here a year ago from Mexico. She makes the most delicious food, and we have been over several times to eat it. One of the best things she makes is black beans, and so today I went over, and she taught me how to make her black beans. So yum! Mine don't taste quite as good as hers, but I am learning.

Friday: Took a picture of a receipt from today. Won't see this date again in my lifetime :)

Saturday: We went to the city today and got to go to Trader's Joe's with a friend and her family. We had 8 kids between the two of us ages 2 to 13. It was kind of crazy! But the store was cool, and we got some yummy stuff. Know I know what everyone is talking about when they say Trader Joe's! Can't wait to go back!

Hope you all have a great week and a wonderful Thanksgiving! Remember your blessings!

Blue Jeans Week 42

2011-11-08T18:57:00.000-08:00

Slowly getting caught up. Made it through Halloween parties and dances and projects. Looking forward to a slower (hopefully) November. Here is last week's pictures.

Sunday: The results of our pumpkin carving party. From left to right Mr J's, Miss A's Miss E (she decided to do a face on both sides?) and Miss O's (which also has faces on both sides)

Monday: Happy Halloween! Miss E is a detective, Miss A a Hawaiian girl, Mr J Darth Vader, and Miss O is Amelia Earhart. Miss A only went to one house dressed up, then she decided a 13 year old didn't need to go trick-or-treating---sigh, she could have at least gone and given her candy to her dad and me. Kids grow up too fast.

Tuesday: I was the elementary school secretary today. It was kind of fun except for the girl that threw up and the boy who got a goose egg bump on his head and 2 kids with fevers and the phone that rang 100 times. I was very happy to go home to my quiet house with only 4 kids instead of a school of 200. I have so much more respect for the school secretary now, and I hope she never gets sick or has to be gone again!

Wednesday: This is our "before" picture of our trees.

Thursday: This is the sad "after." When I brought the kids home from school and Mr J saw it he just cried and cried. I held him while he cried for a while and then he got up and went in the front yard and walked around where the trees were and started crying again. Made my heart just ache.

Friday: But when life gives you lemons, made lemonade, so the kids made a tree fort in the front yard from the wood, and they have enjoyed it--Mr J doesn't cry every time he sees the front yard now. They will get to keep the tree fort for a few weeks until they come back to split the wood and stack it in the back.

Saturday: One of the kids took this picture of Ben. It is always interesting to see the pictures on the camera that I didn't take :) I think he was sorting cards for a game to play tonight.

Hope you all had a fun Halloween and that you have a great week!

Blue Jeans Week 41

2011-11-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Our computer is fixed. Our house is whole again :) Sad how dependent we are upon technology, huh? So I am catching up--these are from our week of Oct 23-Oct 29. Enjoy!

Sunday: This is detective E. It was for part of her Halloween costume, and she needed a picture for her wallet with her badge. She looks pretty authentic to me.

Monday: Had some friends over for a make-your-own pizza party. Yum! For an adult pizza :) (my kids wouldn't touch it) my friend used the Philadelphia Cooking Creme Italian cheese and herb for the sauce, then put bacon pieces, sauteed mushrooms and cheese on it--divine!

Tuesday: A Halloween tradition at our house--decorating pumpkin shaped sugar cookies. Mr J does a good job with those sprinkles, but when he is done there are more sprinkles than cookie :) When mine is done there is more frosting than cookie--to each their own :)

Wednesday: Our church had a fun Halloween activity night for the kids. They had some carnival type games, and one of them was a "Chicken fling." That was so awesome! The kids loved it! Here Mr J (aka Dragon) gets read to fling his rubber chicken--too much fun!

Thursday: I had lunch with Miss E today at school. It was crazy hat/twin day, so she and her friends wore these awesome matching viking hats :) We enjoyed chicken and noodles for school lunch--yum!

Friday: Awards assembly at school for 1st nine weeks. Miss E got all A's and Mr J got the STAR award which is the top award in 1st grade! Way to go!!

Saturday: Ben and Mr J work on carving his Halloween pumpkin. My sister and brother-in-law were in town and came to help us carve. Lots of fun!

Computer-less

2011-11-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Our computer crashed late last week. Right after my last blog post, I think. Having a guy come look at it tonight, and praying he can fix it. It is amazing how much you rely on, count on, and use your computer. You take it for granted, but then it is sort of nice in a way--we don't have that distraction, no fighting over the computer--no need to waste time :) but I think we will be glad when it is fixed. I can't make it to the library too often to check e-mail or blog, so if you e-mail me and get no response, you know why. So pictures and more updates hopefully later in the week when the computer is fixed :)

Blue Jeans Week 40

2011-10-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

Fall is well upon us. Parts of Halloween costumes are all over my house. Candy corn fills the candy jar, and life is good. Here is our week. . .

Sunday: A sweet moment of family love. We were singing some songs tonight, and they were nicely sharing a book. And then about 10 minutes later they were fighting over it (didn't get a picture of that), but we will take what we can get :)

Monday: Miss E is in an African drumming circle group at school. She loves it. Miss A and Miss O were also in the same group during elementary. They performed on the town square tonight. They did a great job.

Tuesday: A restaurant about 30 minutes away does a "talk show" some evenings. They interviewed my dad and talked about his art. It was fun to see.

Wednesday: The kids get out of school early each Wednesday, and with that extra playtime Miss E and Mr J decided they were going to be explorers today. They drew a map that Mr J has on his clipboard, filled backpacks with supplies (crackers, blankets, gloves) and Miss E grabbed her walking stick and they explored the yard for hours. Too fun! Love kids' imaginations!

Thursday: Had my parents over to celebrate my Dad and Ben's birthdays. Love having them close.

Friday: Today was Ben's birthday. His cake was a coconut cream pie--so yum and his favorite. Happy Birthday sweetie! Sure love you!!!

Saturday: As mentioned in an earlier post, this was the end of the season, put the lawnmower away day. Mowed the lawn for the last time, then Ben changed the oil, got it ready for winter, etc, but there was still gas in it, so Mr J and Miss E had lots of fun driving the lawnmower all around going about 1.5 mph to run the gas out. Good-bye lawnmower!!! See you in the spring!

Hope you all have had a good week and that you have a spooky Halloween!!! I think we will have a private investigator, Amelia Earhart, either a dinosaur or Darth Vader, and a just plain teenager at our house Monday night. Stay tuned to find out. . . :)

Organized Christmas countdown starts today!

2011-10-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am such a fan of Organized Christmas! It is a free website that has several different countdown to Christmas/get ready for Christmas plans. The one that I love and have been doing for about 5 years (big thanks to my friend Cathy!) is the 6 weeks Countdown to Christmas Plan. It starts today and has you do little things every day and has themes for each week so by December 3rd you will be ready for Christmas--cards out, gifts bought and wrapped, meals planned, etc . Yes, I am a Christmas geek, one of those people that thinks about Christmas all year, buys gifts all year, and gets sooo excited about it all year :) but I truly love this site--it helps me keep myself in check, get things planned and organized so Christmas at my house is much more calm than chaotic so everyone can enjoy it--because it is supposed to be enjoyed, right? By everyone, not just the kids!! :) Check it out! Join me on the Countdown to Christmas plan!

End of the season, good bye lawnmower!

2011-10-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

So today we retired the lawnmower for the season. Ben weed-eated and I moved the lawn for the last time until next spring this morning, then Ben did the end of season maintenance--oil change, etc, and then it still had gas in it. What to do?

Miss E had a great time running out the gas. I think she was going 1.5 mph.

Then it was Mr J's turn (sorry about the color on this photo, I retried downloading it 3 times, and still the color went funny???) Everyone had to make sure he knew what he was doing.

He got an escort everywhere he went.

That boy is loved. A blessing and a curse of having 3 older sisters.

But he seems to handle it well.

Bye-bye lawnmower! We will miss you until spring!

Blue Jeans Week 39

2011-10-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful week with grandparents, hugging them, loving them, mourning one, and remembering them. So grateful for family!

Sunday: We had my dad over for dinner because my mom was out of town, and he was giving Miss O some Lego building advice. Love that my kids get to grow up with at least one set of grandparents close!

Monday: Mr. J doing homework after school. We were practicing his spelling words. What a difference a chalkboard and chalk or a white board and marker make. It is much more fun to do spelling words on those than with regular paper and pencil, and popcorn always helps too :)

Tuesday: I don't have a picture for today because we went to an amazing Flamenco Guitar concert by Ronald Radford, and I put the concert program in for my picture of the day. The kids were especially impressed with how his fingers just flew all over the guitar. Amazing! If you ever get a chance to see a Flamenco Guitarist, go!

Wednesday: I had lunch at school with Mr. J. Love that boy, the lunch, not so much :) but it was fun to be there with him and his classmates. Cute kids!

Thursday: Took the kids to the park after school today. The leaves were beautiful and so fun to play in!

Friday: We had a super fun surprise this week---my grandparents, my kids great-grandparents, drove 1,150 miles to spend the weekend with us. It was so nice to have them, but also today we got the sad news that Ben's grandpa passed away. He was 96 and had lived an amazing life full of service and love for his family. Now all Ben's grandparents are gone, but we are very blessed to still have both sets of mine with us and healthy, so we were especially glad to have them visit this weekend. So grateful for the wonderful examples in both Ben's and my family.

Saturday: It was our town's annual celebration this weekend. We all went to the parade. My grandparents enjoy being here for this weekend and the parade. The kids get so much candy! They love it!

Hope you all have a great week!

Blue Jeans Week 38

2011-10-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to blog for the last 2 days, but my computer has not been cooperating. Love modern technology :) So (finally) here was our last week. . .

Sunday: This was our scene in the library as we listened to General Conference--legos, legos everywhere--do not step-beware!

Monday: Mr J and Miss O put some finishing touches on their lego house this afternoon. We love legos at our house.

Tuesday: Our roof is done, I got some pumpkins for the front porch, and we had some rain. Life is good!

Wednesday: We had some dear friends visiting, and they have a 1 year-old that my kids just adore, but I forgot how toddlers that age will not sit still for a second--especially for a picture :) Too cute! Mr J especially wanted a picture because our little friend is wearing the outfit Mr J bought for him when he was born--Thomas the train, of course.

Thursday: Ben and the kids (but mostly Ben) have been working on a new chicken coop. We are so lucky to have a neighbor that has a huge wood shop and will let us build anything there and use anything he has. Love our neighbors! He helped Ben and the kids bring over the new coop today so we could move the chickens in.

Friday: The new coop with the chickens all moved in. It is nice! Way to go Ben and kiddos!!

Saturday: Ben and the girls coming back from a bike ride this afternoon. The weather has been so beautiful!

Hope you all have a great week!

Blue Jeans Week 37

2011-10-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying the cooler fall which, after this horrible, hot summer, we just love!!! Hope fall is in your neighborhood too!

Sunday: I haven't taken a recent picture of the chickens lately, so I got one today. They are laying now, so we are loving the fresh brown eggs. We have 6 laying hens. 5 sort-of brown ones in this shot, and then one black and white, but she is her own person/hen and doesn't like to be with the group, so I had to get a picture of her later this week.

Monday: Miss A's last volleyball game was today, so I caught a picture of her with her awesome coach, who also happens to be one of my best friends. She is the best coach!! Love you T! Thanks for all you do!

Tuesday: Got a picture of Miss Black and White Hen today. I think she is the prettiest of the flock.

Wednesday: I surprised the kids by picking them up from school today and heading to the Dr. office for flu shots. They didn't figure out what we were doing until we pulled into the Dr. parking lot. They were not amused, but we were all brave and survived--even me, although our arms were pretty sore the next day.

Thursday: After the previous day of traumatic flu shots, I needed a Girls Lunch Out. So we headed out of town to a greenhouse for mums, pumpkins, and pizza for lunch. Nothing beats great friends. What a blessing!

Friday: Miss E got into the 100 point AR reading club at school and got her t-shirt today. She was very proud. She has turned into a super-reader this year!!!

Saturday: This weekend was our Church's--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--semi-annual General Conference. We don't have local meetings, but we watch our services on TV or the internet Saturday and Sunday from our church wide General leaders and our Prophet and President. It is such an amazing experience. Unlike the unpleasant flu shots earlier in the week, these meetings have been a wonderful spiritual "shot" or boost that I really needed. I so love my Savior Jesus Christ and all that He does for me. So grateful for my family, my faith, and my church. It was a great weekend, and to keep the kids entertained and sort of listening we play conference bingo with Reese's Pieces. They listen to what the speaker says and find that topic on their bingo card (like faith, Christ, love, etc), and when they get bingo they get to eat their pieces (plus extra too:)

Hope you all have a wonderful week! God bless!

Blue Jeans Week 36

2011-09-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

A busy week this week--we had 3 volleyballs games, and, for one week, that is a little too much. Thankfully the season is now over, and we can all catch our breathe and stay home more :) Here is what else be have been doing (besides going to volleyball games)

Sunday: My sister was in town and came over Sunday afternoon to make bread with the kids. She is the gourmet of the family, and we got to eat their yummy creations--nothing beats homemade bread--YUM!

Monday: This was our meet-the-famous-author-day. New York Times Bestselling author Brandon Mull (of Fablehaven and Beyonders fame) was in our small town, and we had him over for dinner. Awesome, awesome guy. The kids loved him.

Tuesday: This was my major headache day because they started replacing our roof and the pounding gave me a huge headache. The old roof is brown--the new is dark grey. I was so glad when they cleaned up, left, and my Tylenol kicked in!

Wednesday: This is my day to volunteer at the elementary schools. I am there first thing in the morning in Miss E's class, and I love being there when they say the flag salute. I haven't said that in a long time, and it was fun to see the kids do it and hear it echo down the halls as all the classes do it.

Thursday: One of our 3 volleyball games this week. This is Mr J, #12 is a friend, and Miss E in blue watching Miss A play. She did a great job, and those 3 are really good at cheering.

Friday: Our elementary school carnival was tonight. Being on the PTO, it is always tons of work, but the kids love it, and we had a great turn out. The kids got tickets at the little games--pop toss, duck pond, bean bag toss, etc and then they could exchange their tickets for prizes. Mr J and Miss E combined their tickets and got this movie, and they were so excited!!! Love Mr J's eyes--they are so expressive.

Saturday: People in big cities complain about traffic. This is traffic in my neck of the woods. I got stuck behind Mr Tractor on the way home from town today, and there were about 10 cars behind me. This is our kind of traffic jam.

Hope you are all getting some good, cooler fall weather. I am ready to hang my pumpkins up. Happy fall and have a good week!

Our trees

2011-09-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

So as I mentioned in my last post, the power company is putting in a new power line down our street--a transmitter line that goes through the country where we live and then weaves its way into the town to provide them with their energy. Now, I have no problem with energy, power lines, and power companies--besides the fact we need to conserve more and use less, but I will be the first to admit that I love my A/C, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, computer and lights to just name a few, but I love my trees too!

They are telling us that the new poles will be 5 feet closer to the house than the existing one and that these 2 trees have to go. These trees are not in their current eastment/right of way, so they want to buy a bigger easement/right of way, and then the trees will be in it, and "company policy" is no trees allowed in the easement/right of way. We are not happy about it, but I don't know that we have much choice.

Of course they have to pay us for the land and trees. They had the trees appraised and offered us what they are worth--and, again, how do you appraise the value of a tree??? How do you appraise the shade they provide? The swing in them? The climbing in them my kids do daily? The blocking of the house from the road, the privacy they provide? and we aren't even scratching the surface of the environment aspect of the trees--the oxygen, the bird's nests,--I mean how do you appraise that?? We have gone back and forth and back and forth with the company over the last 2 months trying to come up with a compromise to keep our trees, but I have to admit the company is not very easy to work with and has rejected everything we come up with. I think we are to the point where we either accept it or go to court and be forced to accept it. Neither sounds good to me. Historically and legally utilities are given the right of way. Not fair, but we all like our modern conveniences, and so do I, but can't we still have them and keep my trees??

Blue Jeans Week 35

2011-09-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

A week to remember. . .

Sunday: This is one of my favorite of the thousands of images from the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I think the memorial is beautiful. I went to NYC as a teen and went in and ate in the basement of one of the Twin Towers. I would like to go back now and see it again. It is so important to remember.

Monday: We have a big garden 50' x 50' and we planted over 24 tomato plants and none of those plants are dead, but we have not seen a single tomato yet either, but we have had a huge harvest of zucchini and yellow squash. We can never get sick of zucchini, but I think my family has had their fill of yellow squash. Miss O chops some up for dinner.

Tuesday: Over 2 months ago in July, before we left on vacation, we had a strong storm, and it blew some shingles off. Ben hurried and bought a tarp to cover the part of the roof that was bare, and we left on vacation hoping for no rain. Well, waiting on insurance and contractors we have had this lovely blue roof now for over 2 months, and finally this week we are getting a new roof and getting rid of the blue tarp. Thank heavens this was on the back of the house :)

Wednesday: Homework, homework, homework is a constant thing at my house "Did you get your homework done?" is probably the most common question asked after "Did you practice your piano?" and "Did you clean your room?" Miss A is quite comfortable doing her homework on the floor.

Thursday: I snap pictures all the time, all the time, and my kids are used to it and just ignore me. Ben is not so used to it :) Gosh, I love that cute boy. Today he was helping Mr J with his piano.

Friday: I actually worked and got paid for my work today--first time in almost 14 years :) Being a stay-at-home mom is the best job in the world, but the monetary pay isn't so good :). My mom is the librarain at my kids' elementary school, and today she had to be gone and her para also had to be gone, so she begged me to come work for her that day in the library. Little did I know the paperwork and hoops I would have to jump through to help out my mom for 7 hours. I had to get a TB test done and a drug test. I thought--serioursly? Oh my, but I had a fun day at the school library. I checked out 186 books and shelved about that many. I got to check out books to this cute little guy too--it was fun seeing Mr J and Miss E at school.

Saturday: This is one of the big trees in our front yard. The kids love to play in it and under it and around it. It has a tree swing in it. We were so sad to find out that the power company is putting in a new powerline down our street, and it looks like our trees are going to have to be cut down. We are so sad and just sick about it. Makes me want to cry. Of course they say they will pay us for it, but how do you appraise the value of a tree? I love trees.

Who came to dinner

2011-09-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

Did you guess who came to dinner? It was author Brandon Mull. He has written the bestselling Fablehaven series and then his #1 New York Times Bestseller is Beyonders. Beyonders is his new trilogy, and he told us he just finished the 3rd book in the series (but it won't be out until 2013) and he says it is the best he has written. Book 2 in Beyonders will be out March of 2012.

He talked at Miss E's school and did a great job, and she loved meeting him and sat by him at dinner.

Miss O was the one beyond excited to meet him. She had a whole stack of books for him to sign since she owns everything he has written. She is a big fan!

And Mr J was excited to get his own book signed--he got his The Candy Shop War book and wanted his Dad to start reading it to him as soon as he got home. Sadly Miss A missed the dinner because of an out of town volleyball game, but she was able to listen to his presentation at school and meet him then.

We had a great time with Brandon. He is very funny, easy going, great to talk to, and extremely talented and down to earth. If you live in the Utah area I would recommend checking his website and attending some of his events, and if you don't live in the Utah area (or even if you do) then I would recommend checking his books out from your local library. They are good! Happy reading!

Guess who is coming to dinner???

2011-09-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Guess who is coming to dinner and who I went to lunch with today?

He is a New York Times Bestselling author.

He has written one picture book, and 7 other YA/juvenile books.

Just finished the 5th in his bestselling series that starts with an "F"

He is on tour across the US promoting his newest NYT bestseller.

He is from Utah.

He is an awesome guy and my 11 year old is beyond (big hint there) excited to have him over tonight.

Any guesses?

I will post pictures tomorrow of the Fabled (another hint) author.

Blue Jeans Week 34

2011-09-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I am amazed at how slow the days seem to go, but then I am equally amazed at how fast the weeks go by. Why is that? How can that work? So here is our week of slow days that flew by :)

Sunday: Sunday dinners don't have to be fancy. We had chicken chip soup which is hands down probably the most favorite recipe of our whole family, and it is so easy! I think it was originally called "six can chicken soup" and I think I found in on allrecipes.com, but we call it chicken chip soup. All you need are the above 6 cans, then grated cheese and tortilla chips to garnish when heated. So easy! So, grab a pot and get ready--mix one can chicken broth with 1 can cream of chicken soup until smooth. Then add 1 can black beans (do not drain), 1 can cooked chicken, 1 can corn (drain) and 1 can diced tomatoes (we blend them up first so no one can actually see they are eating tomatoes :) Heat and serve with cheese and chips. You don't have to use canned chicken, you can cook your own and put it in about 1 1/2 cups. I am so glad it is getting to be soup weather!

Monday: For Labor day we got a big surprise--our chickens, which were born in April, laid their first eggs! Miss E was the lucky one to find 2!!! So looking forward to fresh eggs!

Tuesday: I picked up Miss E and Mr J from school today. They usually ride the bus, and I got this picture of them carefully looking both ways before they crossed the street to get in the car.

Wednesday: Grandpa was out of town today, so Nana needed a buddy to spend the night with her so she wouldn't be lonely. It is very convenient that she works at Mr J's school as his librarian, so Mr J got to be Nana's date and go out to eat with her and then spend the night and go to school with her. He was super excited and they had a great time! A school night sleepover, doesn't get any better than that!

Thursday: Miss A #3 at the net ready to go for her volleyball game. She is awesome at serve receive--gets the ball exactly where it needs to be.

Friday: We have some friends that moved to our town from Mexico, and her mom (who speaks no English) was visiting from Mexico, so they had us over for dinner for Mole (chocolate chicken) and it was very good. Here I am with my friend and her mom--now normally in any picture that I am in, I am the shortest, but I sure felt tall compared to these friends--that is rare :)

Saturday: Mr J and Miss E disappeared this afternoon, and I found them in the front yard. When I asked what they were making they said, "A fairy house." Ah, love it! Making fairy houses is the best!

Hope you all had a good week!

9/11 . . . I remember

2011-09-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

The events of 9/11 will be forever etched in my mind--as I am sure they are in yours. You probably remember exactly where you were when you first heard or saw what happened. I had a 3 year old and a one year old then. I had just gotten out of the shower and was running late to get to a play day at the park when the phone rang. It was Ben. It was about 9 a.m. our time, so about 10 a.m. in New York. He said, "Have you heard about the plane that crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City?" No, we didn't (and still don't) have TV, so I hadn't heard or seen anything. He said, "Turn on the radio." and then he had to go. So, I turned on the radio. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor and just being shocked by what I heard. They just got the report of the 2nd plane about the time I turned on the radio. When Ben first called I was thinking--how horrible--did the pilot fell asleep or the plane malfunctioned, but then I head there was a 2nd and that this was not an accident. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor and trying to process this as my 1 year old toddled in and my 3 year old asked what was wrong as tears fell down my cheeks. What do I say? "A plane crashed, sweetie, and lots of people were hurt." Then she asked me "Where there any kids on the plane?" And I cried more and hugged her and said, 'Yes, honey, there were probably kids on the plane." I called my Mom at work. She is a librarian at an elementary school. She had the TV on in the library, and we both cried on the phone. What was happening? This seemed unreal. Somehow I got the 2 kids in the car and headed to the park where I was late for our play date. I remember walking up to my 4 friends at the park and asking them if they had heard the news. They hadn't. I remember feeling so distant as I told my 4 friends about planes purposely hitting buildings and the Pentagon at this point on a beautiful sunny, cool September morning. There was a slight breeze as I looked up into the trees and at the blue sky and said thought to myself--how can this be happening? I am in a beautiful, calm, peaceful place--I was pushing my kids on the swings, my kids are happy and playing, but all this senseless death and destruction are occurring this minute, what can I do? We played at the park, came home, had lunch, the girls went down for a nap, and I listened to the radio some more. It was mind boggling. We were being attached? How could that be? How could this happen? We were invincible. I remember when Ben got home that night we just hugged and held each other close for a long time, and I cried and cried. We went over to my parents that night and for the first time I saw the images of what had happened. I was physically sick. I had always felt safe my whole life. I had never, ever felt threatened or in danger. I thought we had the best and strongest country in the world. Nothing could ever attack us--no one was dumb enough to threaten us. What had happened? We had some friends in New York state, and even though they didn't live near the Twin Towers, we knew he worked near them. I e-mailed them, and it took several days before we heard all was well. That was a blessing. What a day I will never forget, and I was thousands of miles away from the event--didn't know anyone personally killed or directly involved, but I was affected--my life was affected as every American's was by the events of that day. The month before we had taken our 3 year old and 1 year old on a plane to California to Disneyland. I remember thinking how glad I was we had done that before 9/11 because I didn't think I could take my kids on a plane again for a long, long time. It is important to remember. It is important to remember we still have a great country made great by the people who have lived and do live here--the people who work and serve others here--the people who care. Today I honor and remember those people who cared and served and who continue to care and serve so I can live free and enjoy my life and family. God bless America, and may we always remember and teach our children to do so also.

Blue Jeans Week 33

2011-09-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

It is finally beginning to feel like fall here this past week. I love fall. School is in full swing. Life is good. I love my quiet days, love them, and we are all adjusting to the crazy busy nights and weekends of having a family of 4 active, growing kids. So here is our week. . .

Sunday: In trying to force the weather into what we wanted (fall type weather, not 106 which it was 2 days before this picture) we bought a pumpkin pie at Costco on Saturday and had it for our Sunday evening dessert. Sunday evening desserts are a tradition at our house--not to say we don't have dessert other days. Some days we do and others we don't, but you can count on Sunday evening desserts--those are a constant. So tonight we loved our pumpkin pie from Costco. If you haven't ever tried their pumpkin pies, I would highly recommend them. I can't make anything near that good--so yummy! Miss E is cutting it for us with her crazy wild just-out-of-the-shower hair.

Monday: It was purse switching day. I have loved my pink and brown one, but it is getting a bit worn, so I cleaned it out and moved to the green and brown one. Look at all that junk in my purse--my, oh my. . . good thing I cleaned it out, found some treasures :)

Tuesday: Before bed tonight we played Outburst which is a classic. We have the travel edition. Miss A was marking off for Ben and Miss O. One of the lists it had was "Goldie Hawn movies," and Miss A and Miss O both said, "Huh? Who in the heck is that?" So we passed on that one. Kind of dates the game, and Ben and I couldn't even name one. I guess we aren't Goldie Hawn fans here, but we are Outburst fans.

Wednesday: Miss O making some cookies. It has finally cooled down enough to actually want to turn on the oven to make cookies :)

Thursday: Volleyball begins! Miss A had her first game today. So fun! She did great! Love her socks, too :)

Friday: After a long week, this is how I play checkers :) Mr J is pretty good, and we had a nice relaxing evening playing games.

Saturday: The kids have asked and asked to spend the night on the trampoline all summer, but it has either been way too hot, or chance of rain or something. Well, all the stars aligned tonight, and they headed out. Ben and I were taking bets on if they would stay out all night, because it was actually cold--50 degrees, and after 106, that is definitely artic weather. So, Miss A came in around 3 a.m. Miss O and Mr J came in around 5 a.m., and Miss E won the prize and actually slept out there all night and came in at 8 a.m. I was impressed. I don't think any of them were too overly excited about doing it again, but we shall see when and if the stars all align right they might do it again.

Hope you all have had a great week! Have you seen the new Project Life kits??? Oh. my. Talk about eye candy. I am thinking the Cobalt is the one for me next year.

A little mixed up

2011-09-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday mornings are sleep in days for me and Ben. The kids know that as long as they let mom and dad sleep in they can watch a movie, but as soon as mom and dad are up, the TV is off and it is time to clean the house, so usually they are really quiet and don't disturb us. We don't have "TV" at our house, so Saturday morning cartoons are not available, so they just choose a movie. Usually it is a Harry Potter movie. One Saturday morning I was sleeping in, and Mr J came into talk to me and snuggle. He said he had watched a movie. I asked him which one. He said, "The one where Darth Vader goes to Dumbledore's cemetery." Um, which movie was that? It took me a while to figure out which movie he had actually watched, but I thought the one he had described would make a good movie, what do you think? Star Wars meets Harry Potter. Darth Vader vs. Dumbledore. Sounds good to me.

Blue Jeans Week 32

2011-08-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

We are getting into the school routine here. Getting to bed earlier, getting homework done, getting up earlier. Not all of this is to everyone's liking, but such is life. We live and adjust and find joy in our journey together. Some shots from our week. . .

Sunday: We try to really make this a relaxed day. Miss E and Miss O tackle a puzzle Sunday evening. All my kids like puzzles.

Monday: Mr J is in a silly stage right now. He loves to be silly and make everyone laugh at his antics. He is always telling me "Mom, take a picture of me!" and then he makes a silly face, then he instantly wants to look and see the picture I took, then he laughs and says, "Take another one!" So this is just one silly shot of many of my boy.

Tuesday: Got a picture of Mr J with his 1st grade teacher. Luckily his silliness just seems to stay at home and doesn't manifest itself at school--yet. That is one thing I hope doesn't change :)

Wednesday: Mr J was laughing at one of his sister's today about something. What a cutie!

Thursday: Miss E with her 4th grade teacher. She doesn't look so sure about herself here, but the school year seems to be going well for her. She says her teacher is 'Awesome!'

Friday: After school Miss E takes some time to read some books to Mr J as they relax at the beginning of the weekend. Weekends become much more special during the school year.

Saturday: Went up to the city today to do some shopping. Hit Costco, which is our favorite store, and Ben was trying to fit everything we bought plus the 4 kids into the van before we headed home. It was a tight fit. I was glad I was driving and not in the back :) That is our stock-up store.

Confident

2011-08-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

In May my newly turned 6 year-old started piano lessons. His teacher is the same one I had lessons from in junior high and high school. She is awesome. When new little kids start she likes to have a parent there for the lessons so they know what the kid is supposed to be doing, and she will make specific suggestions to help them with their technique and such. It has been fun to go with him. But a few weeks ago I couldn't stay, and Ben was still at work, so I told Mr J that he would have to have his lessons alone today. He looked at me very calmly and said, "It's okay Mom. I can handle it." Then he hopped out the van and ran to his lesson. I had to laugh, but luckily he was out of the car so he couldn't hear me.

I am glad he can handle it, and I hope that confidence stays with my boy.

Blue Jeans Week 31

2011-08-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Let it begin. . . school started this week. I have very quiet days, but we have crazy busy evenings and weekends. That is life right now, and I am grateful for it. I love my life. Hope the beginning of school goes well for all of you.

Sunday: afternoon relaxing and listening to Dad read in the front yard.

Monday: The girls have been on a God's Eye making kick. They decorated my kitchen light with their awesome creations.

Tuesday: Miss E relaxing and reading--enjoying one of her last days of summer. I think she was too absorbed in her book Dealing with Dragons to notice the blanket had fallen on her head. As long as it wasn't over her eyes so she couldnt' read, it didn't bother her :)

Wednesday: Back to school party #1. Miss O had her back to school party today. They had a relay race and this was their "school" work station where they had to quickly finish a math worksheet. The girls had fun.

Thursday: First day of school for Miss O, Miss E, and Mr J. Miss O has her bag of Kleenex ready to go. Who would have thought that Kleenex was such an essential school supply :)

Friday: Miss A has her first day of school.

Saturday: Our 2nd and final back to school party this week. This was Miss A's party. They had fun playing volleyball in the backyard.

Well, I am happy to have back to school parties over and school actually started so we can get back in to a "normal" (whatever that means) routine. I am a schedule and routine person, and school lends itself to that. Spelling tests, research papers, and math quizzes here we come!

Blue Jeans Week 30

2011-08-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

So we are getting caught up with things here. Re-entry was a little rough, and school starts this Thursday! So we are going crazy trying to get 4 sets of everything needed for school and names on everything--what would we do without sharpies?? But life is good, crazy, chaotic, loud, tearful, and insane at times, but still good. Hope yours is too.

The last leg of our trip was definitely very relaxing. We were at my grandparents' cabin in the mountains. This was the glorious place where our van temperature read 43 degrees the morning we left. We were sad to leave. This is Mr J with his great-Grandpa "Grum" putting peanuts out for the birds to eat.

And then Mr J watched and watched and waited for those birds to eat those peanuts! It took them awhile, the birds must have been very busy else where that morning, but they eventually did come, and that made my little boy very happy :) The joy of little things like peanuts and birds!

We all enjoyed lots of rides on the 4-wheeler through the mountains. Ben and Miss O head off.

And sadly all good things must come to an end, so here we are happily (ha, ha, yeah right) heading home. If I had a quarter for every time someone asked "how much longer?" or "Are we there yet?" we could retire next week. It is probably a miracle my children are still alive at this point. . .

Wednesday, August 10: But they are, thankfully, still alive, and even more amazing than that fact is that we actually had a garden that was still alive when we got home. Miss O picked this monster of a watermelon when we got home today.

Thursday: And Mr J really missed his train tracks while we were away, so today he covered my living room with an awesome train track, and even better he cleaned it up by himself without complaining (and that is not an extremely common occurrence at our house, is it at yours?). Love that boy!

Friday: Mr J loving the tree swing!

Saturday: I am loving my surprise lilies! So fun when they pop up!

So hope you all are well and that beginning of school goes well for all! My kids are ready and excited to go back, and I, for one, am very excited school is starting--my to do list gets longer and longer every day. Monday through Friday 7:45 to 3:45 with no kids--bring it on :)

Catch up--Blue Jeans Week 29

2011-08-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

2nd week of vacation, and apologies to our dear friends in Utah that we weren't able to see--with all Ben's family (7 siblings) and all my family and activities we just didn't have the time to see everyone we wanted to. I hate not being able to see friends, but you can only do so much in the time you have, so forgive us friends, just come see us! :)

At Ben's parents one of the favorite activities was racing balls down the stream.

One of Mr J's highlights was riding on the Frontrunner train and seeing a freight train or "real train" as he told me "Mom, that is my first time seeing a real train outside a car!"

"And they are really loud!" he yelled at me as it went right by and he covered his ears.

Loved riding on the train with his cousins!

The Frontrunner was really run! It is a commuter train, and we were able to go "on the top story" as the kids told everyone after.

Did some hiking in the beautiful mountains!

So fun to go hiking with Grandpa and cousins! We don't get that opportunity often in the flat lands!

So loved being with Ben's parents--they are amazing! We love and miss you so much Grandpa and Grandma! Come see us soon!

We made it a priority to get to our Alma-mater--haven't been there in years. Ben was super excited to see the football stadium, he just really wished we could come back in a few more weeks to see a game--that would be fun. We told Miss A when she gets there to school (in 5 years!) that we would come see a game with her. Love BYU football--can't wait until they start! Rise and Shout!

The "Y" on the mountain. We were planning on hiking up to it, but it was too hot--we were wimps, so we went to the Art Museum and got ice cream at the creamery instead :)

The kids at Bridalveil falls.

Got to spend some time with my younger sister and her family. They had to dig up some of their yard for an addition, and this sand is their soil! I couldn't believe it. They made a ready made sandbox by just digging up their yard! That was mind boggling to us from the clay soil capital of the world! Miss E had fun being buried in the sand by her cousins.

Miss E got to play some pool with her great-Grandpa!

Loved spending time with my grandparents--my kids great-grandparents. I am so blessed they are healthy and happy and still around for my kids to treasure for a while! What a blessing to see them!!

Relaxing at the pool--a vacation is supposed to be about relaxing, right? Sometimes I wonder. . . :) Mr J was perfecting he "cannonball dive" as he calls it. "Mom!" he calls, "take a picture of my cannonball dive!" Got it--that is my job :)

Stay tuned, more to come. . .

Catch up--Blue Jeans week 28

2011-08-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to catch up after being gone and digging myself out of our laundry mountain and back-to-school supplies, so here goes. . .

Sunday July 24: This was pioneer day and as an activity Miss A figured out the dimensions of a wagon and then the kids filled it. Of course the requirement before this activity even began was they had to put everything away they got out :) Not really a lot of room to put all your possessions in, they figured out they would have to leave a lot of things behind. A good lesson.

Monday July 25: Went to the city today and Miss O found online where an Orange Leaf self-serve yogurt was before we left. If you haven't been to one of those, they are really good, but expensive, you pay by the ounce, and they have so many cool flavors you have to get a little of each. . . $12 for 2 yogurts, ouch!

Started our trip--we stopped at my youngest sisters house along the long drive. It was good to see them and their cute house in Russell right before they sold it and moved to Dodge City.

How we kept ourselves (semi)sane on the long drive to Utah--volleyball at the rest areas :)

One of the biggest highlights of our trip was seeing my brother and his family. He has 4 boys, and triplets in those four. They are so cute! On the way home we asked the kids what was their favorite part of our vacation, and all of them said "playing with the triplets" or "trip-pel-lets" as Mr J says it :)

Another highlight was getting to hear Music and the Spoken word by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir live with Ben's dad.

So awesome live--better than any TV or CD--amazing!

Keep tuned more to come!

Home again, home again . . .

2011-08-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been MIA. We went on vacation. I didn't touch a computer for almost 2 weeks. It was kind of nice. We escaped the 108 degree temperatures and yesterday as we were leaving for home the temperature on the van said 43 degrees. I told everyone to look and take note because we probably wouldn't be seeing that kind of temperature for a long, long time back home. Amazingly when we got home it was only 75, so I am hoping we are over the horrible hot because I kept telling Ben that I loved him so much, but if it was still 108 back home I would just put him on a plane and we would stay on vacation until the heat was over. I am glad it is cooler because I would sure miss him. So, we are in what I call "re-entry" or adjusting to life after vacation--loads of laundry, cooking again, cleaning, wading through e-mails, mail, papers, and gearing up for school to start--next week!! Haven't gotten any back to school shopping done, so I think it will be a pretty busy week to come. My "to do" list keeps getting longer and longer. . .sigh. . . I think I want to go back on vacation again.
Stay tuned, lots of pictures to come if I can ever find my camera in all the laundry! Love ya!

Blue Jeans Week 27

2011-07-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

Finally got a little rain and some cooler-only 99 instead of 104-temperatures :) so we are doing good!

Sunday: Miss E reads to Mr J. Love it when the older girls read to their younger brother. So sweet! Of course 5 minutes after they are done they are fighting with each other, but at least we have a few minutes of peace when they read to each other :) We will take what we can get.

Monday: Went to the city today, and whenever we go we hit Costco--our favorite store. They always have such pretty flowers, and today they had these awesome pinecone type flowers--don't know the name--the girls were so impressed with so Miss A took a picture. Anyone know what they are called?

Tuesday: The library was having a Spiderwick mini-camp this week. Miss E is making her fairy/sprite house. Love the library. Love that the mess is there and not at my house :)

Wednesday: Summer fun--swim in the pool to keep ourselves cool

Thursday: It seems like in our house someone is always on the piano--with 4 taking lessons. Got a shot of Miss O getting her practicing done today.

Friday: Had a church camp out this weekend. Mr J and his friend enjoying their meal in between their swimming in the lake they camped by.

Saturday: Ben and Miss A enjoy the lake on the camp out.

Hope you all have a great week!

Blue Jeans Week 26

2011-07-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, we are about dying of heat here, with no rain and only over 100 degree days in sight, ugh, but we made it through another week and lived to tell about it :) Hope you did too. Blogger was not cooperating when I put my pictures in, and so they aren't all in the right order, but you get the idea. . .

Sunday: I feel very blessed that my kids are able to live close to one of their sets of grandparents. We wish we lived close to both, but things just don't work that way. Miss O spent a special day with Nana, and they made this beautiful quilt runner to go on Miss O's dresser. I was impressed--quite a lot of work for just one afternoon!

Tuesday: Miss O was lucky enough to head with some girlfriends down to Oklahoma and see a friend of theirs that moved away last year. The girls had too much fun!

Wednesday: Made some strawberry freezer jam today. I make about 6 batches, and that lasts us a year. My kids are spoiled and refuse to eat store bought jam. They are strawberry freezer jam snobs :) and I admit I am too. That stuff is so easy and so good!

This is Friday's shot. We all love Harry Potter at our house and everyone but Mr J went to the first showing they had on the 15th. We loved the glasses. Miss E was sad it was over :)We couldn't do the midnight on Thursday because Miss A was at church girls camp, and she would have never forgiven us if we went without her.

This is Monday's shot and the girls from our church as they were leaving for girl's camp. I felt so sorry for them because it has been so hot! They all survived, though, and even had a little fun, I think :) but Miss A was glad to be home to her clean house, her clean bed, and her house that had the AC on high :)

This is Saturday's shot, remember the picture from last week showing the Poptropica toys? This is where they ended up today--my flower arrangement in the bathroom :)

This is Thursday's shot. My mom was out of town for a few days, and I had my dad over for dinner because I want him to eat something besides chocolate ice cream and cereal while my mom is gone, so he was over for dinner tonight and Miss E and Mr J love to hear him tell stories about his life. "Grandpa, tell us a funny story" they always say as soon as they see him, and my dad loves it :)

Hope your week wasn't as mixed up as ours :) but was a good one! Praying for cooler weather and rain here this next week!

Blue Jeans Week 25

2011-07-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Didn't do too much, kept it low key, watched fireworks from our back yard, went swimming, BBQ, Ben slept with the kids in a tent in the backyard, and enjoyed being together as a family. Hope you all had a good one!

Sunday: Our kids really like paying games--board games, card games, etc. This afternoon they played PayDay with Ben.

Monday: For part of our 4th of July dinner Miss E made patriotic strawberries dipped in white chocolate with blue sprinkles. They were yummy! She saw them in Family Fun. Ben was her helper :)

Tuesday: I love to fly our flag. So grateful for our country, freedom, and the men and women that work so hard to keep it that way! God bless them and their families!

Wednesday: Nana taught Mr J a duet that they can do together. Having a sucker in his mouth must have helped him play better :)

Thursday: Like I have said before, we love the library and are there lots in the summer. For each pound of books the kids read they get to donate a penny to the library for new books. Mr J adds his 10 pennies for reading 10 lbs this week. He is up to 100 lbs for the summer so far--super reader!

Friday: Classic summer shot, I am watching the kids in the pool--love summer time!

Saturday: Got up to a city and a Toys-R-Us to get these Poptropica toys. My brother is a web designer for the kids' online game (he does the people and scenery), and they just came out with some toys from it. My brother designed these toys. The kids were so excited to get their Uncle's toys! If your kids aren't Poptropica fans, they should be, it is a safe, fun online kids game, and so much fun! All of my kids ages 6-13 play it. Check it out http://www.poptropica.com/

Hope you all have a great week! I am getting caught up on my paper Project Life this week. Catching up on my journal cards and putting photos in. Love it!

Blue Jeans Week 24

2011-07-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

We are hitting the hot dog days of summer here, and they just seem to fly by, can anyone else relate to that? :) Hope you all have had a good week! Here is what we have been up to. . .

Sunday: Ben is so good to read aloud to the kids. They are finishing up #5 in Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series which they have all loved. Good summer reads if you are looking for some.

Monday: Ben, Miss O, Miss E and Mr J finish up their new bookshelves. They are super excited to get them filled with stuff which I am sure won't take long. They did a great job and look great!

Tuesday: Swimming lessons week! Miss E has fun jumping off the diving board.

Wednesday: Mr J with his cute swimming teacher. He loved going to lessons this week!

Thursday: The girls checking out one of the Harry Potter 7 part 2 previews. . .with just a few days left in the countdown until the movie is out!

Friday: Mr J and one of the most classic of childhood entertainments--a pot and pan band--he entertained us with some pretty good music this afternoon.

Saturday: Mr J and another classic entertainment--dominoes. He was showing me his favorite dominoes :) It has been too hot to be outside, so we have been playing lots of games and doing projects inside in the nice A/C.

Hope you all are keeping cool and enjoying your summer! Have a good week!