Let it Snow or Rain

Last night the kids were so excited because it snowed and it was actually sticking! Zeke went out to play in it with his friend Brian and came in later soaking wet and crying because his hands and feet were so cold. It was really heavy and wet snow. When we went to bed last night there was about a 1/4 inch of snow on the ground. The kids were hoping so bad to have it be there this morning. No such luck! But we do have a nice rain going!

One of my favorite holiday recipes

I absolutely love this recipe. It is so easy to make and it makes great gifts to the people you visit teach or home teacher or even school teachers (do mini loafs). So, I thought I would share it with you.


Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
3 c. flour
1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
4 large eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. orange juice
1 c. sweetened dried, fresh or frozen cranberries

Heat oven to 350*F. Grease and flour two 9x5 loaf pans. Or 6 mini loaf pans. Combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil in a large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries. Spoon batter into loaf pans. Bake for 60-65 minutes (for mini loafs usually around 50-55 min.) or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 mins.; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

New wrestling video

Here is new wrestling video from Zac's 3rd wrestling match. He has another match this Friday...hopefully he feels better and can go. I will get video of that also and post it later. He loves to read your comments. This one is quite a bit shorter. Enjoy!

Soup!

Zac and Toni are both really sick today so I made some soup for dinner. As I was making dinner tonight, I remembered this story and it made me laugh, so I thought I would share it with you. Zeke's best friend Brian lives just 2 doors down. These two boys are “2 peas in a pod”. They are constantly together riding bikes playing in the dirt and just being boys. One night Zeke walked in the house and asked me what we were having for dinner. I told him I was planning on making soup. He flipped his lid and told me he hated soup. Then he informed me that he was going to Brian’s house for dinner. He left with Brian for about 30 minutes. When he came back home, I told him dinner was ready if he was interested in eating. He told me he wasn’t hungry because he ate dinner already at Brian’s house. I asked him what Brian’s mom made and he said, “Soup”! What a goofy kid….or maybe her soup is better than mine, who knows.

Needless to say when he saw I was making soup for dinner tonight he was not happy. He came home later with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich from Brian's house. At least someone is feeding him!

I am going to miss you....

Last night Zeke came to me as I was making dinner and had tears in his eyes. I asked him what was wrong and he said "When I grow up and am a daddy with my own wife and my own house, I am going to miss you". Then he started to cry so hard. I told him that I would see him all the time just like I visit my mom & dad. He responded "but you not know where my house is...and I am going to miss you". Then he cried even harder. Then I told him that he was probably going to work with daddy in the company and that he would live close by and that I will always see him. This seemed to do the trick. He gave me a hug and went upstairs to play. I love my kids and I am glad they want to stay close to their parents.

In the dog house

As you all know, these are our 2 dogs Sam & Eco. We love them so much but I swear we are always getting in trouble with them. So, I walk outside today to get the mail and the dogs went with me. No big deal right? Well, as I was getting the mail out of the box, my dogs went to the front of my (mean) neighbors yard when I hear their dog barking at the front window inside the house. I call my dogs to me but they both just started peeing on the lawn. Next thing I know I hear someone pounding on the window. I look around and don't see anybody. The dogs finish peeing and I call them to me to go back inside. Just then the door flew open and Rayleen flies out of her house looking really mad. I called out "hi, rayleen". She mumbled something under her breath (I heard the word "dog") and stormed back into the house and slammed the door. I know she would have yelled if it had been one of my kids like she always does but changed her mind when she saw it was me. My dogs didn't poop on her lawn just pee'd...I don't know but I think this was a bit of an over reaction, don't you? Considering this comes from the same woman who openly told me that for years she didn't have a fence and let her dog out every morning knowing it was going to the bathroom in other peoples yard. She told me that she never once cleaned it up. We are constantly doing "poop patrols" in her yard and cleaning up the mess if it was our dogs or not. Why are people so mean and grumpy?

Copying Kiora

I copied this from Kiki's blog...not literally but we did turn out to be the same color.

You Are a Blue Crayon

Your world is colored in calm, understated, deep colors.You are a loyal person, and the truest friend anyone could hope to find.On the inside, you tend to be emotional and even a bit moody.However, you know that people depend on you. So you put on a strong front.

Your color wheel opposite is orange. Orange people may be opinionated, but you feel they lack the depth to truly understand what they're saying.

What Color Crayon Are You?

This was fun...

Zac's Second Wrestling Meet and First Pin

So, I finally am able to download video from my video camera. So, the first one I will share with you is Zac's first wrestling pin. Enjoy!

I am thankful to be by myself?

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Here it is Thanksgiving morning and I am literally by myself. No dogs, no husband and no kids. Toni went to a sleep over last night at a friends house, Zeke went to mom and dads and slept over last night and this morning Dan and Zac went pheasant hunting and took both dogs with them. It is really quiet and I am not really sure what to do. So far I have showered and dressed, made my bed, made spinach dip, jello salad, and put out the rolls. I painted my nails (they look yucky), read my scriptures and watched 2 conference talks. But, I am sure this is just the calm before the storm. Mom and Dad are staying home today so it is just us for Thanksgiving. I am sure missing our big, loud get togethers. Hopefully everybody will have a great day. I will update you on the results of the hunting trip. I am anxious to see how little Sam does on his first trip hunting.

Don’t Buy Your Kids Toys from China This Season

Don’t Buy Your Kids Toys from China This Season
November 21, 2007 on 12:00 am
As we head into Thanksgiving, and the beginning of the biggest shopping season of the year, it’s time to take a stand regarding the kind of toys we buy our kids. Case in point:
1. Mattell, Inc. recalled 675,000 Barbie® Accessory toys because the paint on the surface of the accessories contained excessive levels of lead. Lead can cause learning and behavior problems and even death.
2. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled roughly 4 million arts and crafts toys called Aqua Dots because several children in the United States and Australia were hospitalized after swallowing some of the toy’s beads. The beads had a chemical coating that evidently was related to GHB, the “date rape” drug.
3. An additional 175,000 Curious George plush dolls made by Marvel Toys were recalled because of lead on the toys’ plastic faces.
This past summer, the toy industry recalled more than 22 million toys because of serious danger issues. The common denominator seems to be that all these toys are made in China. China is the world’s number one producer of toys, due to cheap labor and manufacturing costs. While the world’s governments lazily deal with tougher controls to intercept dangerous toys before they hurt our children, how about we parents taking control and only purchasing toys made in the U.S.A. this holiday season? We should be supporting our own economy anyway.
If you don’t know how to find toys made in the USA, here’s a start - a parent single-handedly took up the charge and created a website that links to USA-made toys. toysmadeinamerica.com/.
If you want detailed information on toys that have been recalled by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, you can find a list of all the latest recalls at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html.

Our Gingerbread House

The kids are out of school and are already showing signs of boredom. Grandma Sandy sent home with Dan a gingerbread house kit so we built it today(thanks Grandma). Here is the result of our hard work....





So, thats 20 minutes of entertainment. What to do for the next 4 and a half days?

I am thankful for my husband

As you may or may not know, I am HUGE Dr. Laura fan. I even got tickets to her show coming to Portland in January. I think she is very insightful and has a lot of good to offer. Anyway, I got this off of Dr. Laura's newsletter. I think it is a nice reminder to us all to be appreciative and kind to our spouses. Something Dr. Laura always says and I try to live by everyday is to "be the kind of wife you would want to come home to."

Thoughts From a Soon-To-Be Ex-Husband
November 16, 2007 on 12:00 am
I got this eloquent email recently, and wanted to share it with all of you, as it addresses the consequences of some behaviors that often come up from callers to my radio show:

“Two months ago, I left my wife and children and moved into a condo about a mile from our home. This morning, I was moved to write the following, just to help me vent my frustration over the treatment from my wife that led to this painful and damaging decision, called “For Years:”
For years, you behaved as if it didn’t matter whether I came or went, so I went.
For years, you were unsatisfied with the income I brought in, even though it was way more than enough to allow you to stay home with the children. Now you have less, and you get to go to work.
For years, you behaved as if my touch meant nothing to you. Now, it’s gone.
For years, you never complimented me on the household repairs I made, keeping up the lawn and garden, cleaning and organizing the garage and the hundreds of things I did to keep our home balanced and running. Now, you can do them.
For years, you complained I didn’t do enough housework. Now it’s all yours.
For years, you chose not to attend community and social events that were important to me. Now they’re not an option.
For years, you expected me to read your mind when you were hurt or upset. Never could, never will.
For years, you punished me with your silence. Now you have plenty.
For years, you would not share information about our kids’ schedules, doctor’s appointments and so on. Now some attorneys will help you polish your communication skills.
For years, I chose to love you, protect you, provide for you, confide in you, and have fun with you. Now, I don’t.
For years, you behaved as a long-suffering martyr. Now you can be one.
For years, I chose to raise your son as my own. Now, he’s hurting.
For years, you treated me as the lesser parent. Now I am.
For years, our precious young daughter has watched this debacle. What do you think she’s learned?
For years….
P.S. I bought and read “The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage” months ago, and asked my wife to read it with me. She laughed.”
(Signed)
Still My Kids’ Dad in Southern California

By-the-way, I bought and read the book “The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage”. What a great book this is. It is a fast read, really entertaining and it will change your marriage for the better, even if you already have a great one!

August Rush

I was lucky enough to get 2 free passes to go to the "sneak preview" of August Rush. I found a babysitter and invited mom to go with me. I was so excited to go because it was free. This looked like a good movie from the previews but sometimes you never know. I am happy to report that this not only was a good movie but it was an AMAZING movie. I loved every moment. It was so full of hope and the wonders of music that we miss everyday. Not only that but there was a wonderful love story that melted your heart. The acting was fantastic and so was the music. Definitely a movie your whole family could see. It actually releases on November 21st. Click here to see the trailer:http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//title/tt0426931/trailers-screenplay-E33986-314

Today

Today I got my kids out the door to school with lunches packed. Then I headed off to Kaiser for Zeke's speech therepy appt. When we came home Zeke had his friend Blake come play. I cleaned up around the house. We had lunch and then at 12:30 I took them to school and volunteered in both Zeke and Toni's classrooms until 2:30. I came home and rested for about 20 min. I then remembered that the Utah quarters were supposed to be released today so, I went to 2 different banks to try and get one for Zac's collection. They did not come out today. Then it was 3:50 and Zeke and Toni came home. I started to make dinner when Dan called me at 4:20 and told me he was catching the 5:40 flight to Utah tonight. This was news to me. So I packed his bags and tried to keep making dinner until I had to take Dan. Zeke came in and asked if he could have this bottle of juice to drink. I said no because there was OJ in the fridge. He got mad threw the bottle on the ground where it promptly bust open and flew everywhere. I screamed at him and sent him to his room. Dan was ready to go and my sweet Toni was helping me clean up the juice. It was 4:40 and I was on my way to drop off Dan at the airport while making arrangments for Zac to be picked up at school at 5:00 from wrestling practice. I called Calixta to tell her why Cathy was calling me Susan. I arrived at home from dropping Dan off at 5:45. I finished making dinner. We ate at 6:30 and I left with Zeke at 6:55 to Enrichment that I HAD to go to. I got home at 8:30 with an extra kid whose mom needed help because she was attending a meeting and I took the dogs potty. Then I hooked up my video camera and made sure I had empty video tapes and a full battery for Zac's wrestling match tomorrow night. I watched some old movies of our kids we had recorded 4 yrs ago(my favorite part of my whole day) and finally the extra kid went home at 9:40. Dan called to say family prayer with us and kids went to bed at 10 pm. They are going to be tired tomorrow. Then I read blogs for about 20 min. Cathy has 15 comments on her last post. I think half are from Stacy. Now it is 11:00 and I am finishing writing this boring post. I am tired and I am going to bed but, I might just go down stairs to watch Grey's Anatomy.

Christmas drawing results

I called Zeke and Toni in to help me with the drawing and Zeke saw the pieces of paper with the numbers on them and said "Mom who are you making this for?" I told him that is was for my brothers and sisters and he said "ooohhh, how cute"! What a nut he is.
Ok, like I said, today I had Toni and Zeke assist me in the drawing of the numbers. (Please direct any and all complaints to Zeke & Toni)

Here are the results of our drawing exactly how they were drawn out of the bag:
1-2 Blackburns give to Prows'
5-1 Andrew's Family gives to Blackburns
6-3 Ashby's give to Knightons
2-6 Prows' give to Ashby's
3-4 Knighton's give to Alex's family
4-5 Alex's family gives to Andrew's family

Hopefully this makes sense. I talked to Cathy last night and we got to thinking that doing a theme would be fun. So, I think that this year we will do a game theme. These are the parameters to the gift giving:
First, let's try and stay around a $25 gift limit for each family.
Second, send (1) your favorite game you like to play with (2) either the recipe for or your favorite game time snack. I think we all have the basic games like Twister and CandyLand probably even UNO so try to make it something fun that we all probably don't have. It can be either be for the kids or the adults or for the whole family. Hopefully this sounds good for everyone. Lets have fun with this! Merry Christmas!

Blah Blog

Don't really have much to say. I have been busy doing RS secretary stuff and laundry today. I was also able to talk to Andrew today. He said that he was in for the gift exchange and group gift to mom and dad. We went fishing yesterday and it rained and rained for hours. I ended up going back to the truck with Zeke. Dan & the other 2 kids stayed for another hour and they still didn't catch anything. But we did see some huge Chinook Salmons jumping out of the water 4-5 feet in front of us. That was cool. See you tomorrow.

Zeke's face

This is what happens when you attempt to try and stop yourself on a run away skateboard with your face. Not a pretty sight! This happened in September and all is well now. This picture was actually taken several days after it happened...it was worse than this. I kept him home a couple of days from school. Zeke is a WILD MAN!

Zac's First wrestling meet

Zac had his first wrestling meet this past Friday. It turns out that he was competing against his rival middle school in Camas called Liberty. When it came his time to wrestle in his weight class we heard "the next up will be Prows and Tobey". I couldn't believe it, he had to wrestle Seth! Seth is in the 8th grade, is almost 2 years older, weighs 5 lbs more and is a couple inches taller not to mention that he considers him his cousin. But Zac went out there and fought/wrestled hard. He eventually got pinned but he put up one heck of a fight and hung in there for a while.

Toni's Organic Milk

Today we were all in the truck on our way to Costco. Zac brought a bag full of goodies someone donated to all the wrestlers last night. In that bag was a "juice box" of organic milk. Toni loves milk so she volunteered to try it. After she tried it she tried to get the rest of us to try it, when all of us refused she said, "Come on, try it. It's good. It's so organic you can't even taste it"! She is a funny girl!

Hunting & Fishing

Dan has taken all 3 kids out fishing and Zac hunting these last couple of weeks. Dan has had a great interest in fishing lately, although I am still trying to wrap my brain around this because we don't even eat fish! We end up giving it to mom & dad. The kids have a great time. Zac went pheasant hunting this week and was able to shoot a rooster. He was so pumped. He even took his hunting dog Eco with him. I still think Sam would be a better hunter but it might take him longer to bring back the game!

Family Christmas Gift Exchange??

Just thought I would put this out there for some feed back....so tell me what you think.

Because our family is so big it is pretty hard for us to exchange christmas gifts with everyone so I thought maybe this year we would do an exchange like we did when we were kids. I was thinking that we would be assigned numbers in the order we were born then I could randomly select numbers out of a hat or something to match us up. This way we would just get one family gift and it could be more econmical. I was also thinking that maybe we all put in some money (amount could be discussed) for a group gift for mom & dad??? Just some ideas so tell me what you think or give me some different ones if you have any.

Soccer

So I am going to shock everyone with two post in a row.

We are coming to the end of our soccer season here at the C/W Soccer Club. Zeke and Toni have already had their last game and Zac has his last one this Saturday. This was Zeke's first year playing outdoor soccer. Dan was his coach and the team name was the "Junk Yard Dawgs!" He loved every minute of it. He just ran chasing the ball up and down the field with a huge smile on his face the whole time! He loved to yell "Go Dawgs"! Believe it or not, Zeke was not the smallest boy out there.

Toni is a great soccer player. She likes to be aggressive and to be in the middle of all the action. She and her friend Ali were the "power houses" of the team. She loved getting all that attention. Toni's favorite position to play is forward. This year she even tried being goalie a couple of times. Her cheeks were always so flushed from playing so hard. She loves to play and she is good at it too.

Zac played up a year this year. He had a great year as a goalie and as a forward even though his team has only won one game this season. He was one of the few players to ever make a goal! He was so pumped when he did it. He was exceptional as a goalie. He made some great saves...especially when the majority of the game was played in front of his goal. He is such a diligent kid. Zac has also started wrestling this year in middle school. This Friday will be his first match. I'll take pictures and try to post soon.

As for this fall soccer season, All 3 kids went out and gave it their all this year. We are so happy to be back here. The kids are all doing so well.

May 11, 2007 A day that will NOT last forever!

OK, all of you smarties out there...Cathy and Calixta...I thought about only doing a new post every May 11 just to bug you! But I have taken mercy on all of those who still occasionally check my blog to see if maybe I might have done a new post. Now the new date that you will see for the next 6 months is November 4, 2007!

Seriously, I didn't think I would ever remember my password to get back on!

Anyway, this post is really about Halloween. We had a great time this year. We had perfect weather and the kids trick-or-treated their hearts outs to the tune of almost 8 lbs. of candy! I let them go crazy on it for one day then I took it away!! I am releasing it a couple of pieces at at time. I am such a mean mom...at least that is what I have been told. One of the things that made this year so fun was Zac's costume. He let me talk him into dressing up as a nerd! He looked GREAT! Toni wanted to be something other than a witch again this year...but she had some crazy idea about running around with an air rifle! When I gave her a solid "NO!" on this idea, she called Dan and cried, saying "Mom won't let me creative!" (Imagine this with some great drama sobs attached to it) Zeke decided 45 minutes before we left that he no longer wanted to be a Jedi Knight but rather a pirate! As you can see by the pictures, I also won this battle. Did I mention, I am a mean mom? Speaking of moms, MY Mom came over to my house with Aden & Jocelyn and hung out there trick or treating with us for a while. Jocelyn was mad at Toni because she couldn't keep up with her while Aden was busy telling all the candy givers how disappointed he was with their candy selection. But all in all it was a fun night and we were soooooo grateful for the dry, windless Halloween night!