Christmas Present

New Year's Eve is a time for reflection on the accomplishments, triumphs, and tragedies of the past year, and to set goals and resolutions for the new. That is not this post. 

Christmas evening we went over to Russ's dad's for a Christmas party  and we all got...the flu. All, meaning all of Russ's sisters family, half of his brother's family and Abbie and Savannah....thankfully Russ and I have been spared, we hope that sticks.

 Savannah is on the upswing after two days of sitting on the bed listless except for a constant whine. We put her on Tamiflu, which she despises. Now twice a day for the next few days I get to trap my two year old in my arms, pulling her hands away from her mouth with one hand, while I syringe the medicine into her mouth with the other. Then she spits it all back in my face.  Sadly, because I have paid about $100 for the drugs between both girls I am even more insistent that they actually take the medicine. On the upside though, I think we are moving through the illness faster than we would otherwise, based on how the extended family is holding up.

 Abbie is in the thick of it now. Unfortunately, she has also added throwing-up to the list of symptoms which had made it even more fun around here. To top it off today she has been complaining that her neck (throat?) hurts. The complaint is becoming constant enough that I'm starting to worry about strep. Blah.

 So this week we have watched more TV than should be legal, especially when that consists of constant Disney cartoons. This has been all the more frustrating because we have been quarantined from family that is in town that we don't get to see that often. That is, we were quarantined after Abbie had spent the day at my mom's and exposed them all to it. (In my defense, at that point only Savannah had gotten sick and Abbie had kept her distance so I had thought she would be okay.)

 It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Christmas Morning

I will have to say that the highlight of my Christmas was Christmas Eve. We spend Christmas Eve with my family and spend the day skiing. As you locals will know the week before Christmas Eve was one snowy day after another and Christmas Even dawned, cloudy but no snow. Thankfully the clouds were limited to the city and the canyons were bright blue and fresh powder. The perfect conditions combined with the fact that most people are doing last minute Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve rather than skiing, meant that the longest I waited in line was five minutes.  To top it off Savannah stayed home with Grandma to "help" in making a wonderful Christmas Eve Dinner and Abbie was in a combination ski school/preschool class all day, leaving me to enjoy the mountain with Russ.

We did swing by and check on Abbie every few runs and I was impressed with her. She was laughing every time - quite an accomplishment when you fall almost every time you move. And on the very beginner incline (not yet a hill), she was able to go down by herself without falling. She still needed help in the actual hill but she had a blast and a four that is what matters.

Christmas Eve night was an incredible dinner, and time with family. Thankfully Santa wrapped our gifts earlier in the week so we were able to hit the sack early that night too. Which was a good thing because the girls, despite their sleep deprivation were up at 6:45 Christmas morning! Unfortunately I don't have any still shots of the morning and the video is too long but let me just say, they were pleased with their haul.

From there we rushed over to my parents to talk to my brother on his mission, and then rushed back home. The girls were allowed one gift that they could take to grandma's house to show people Savannah's choice - Little Mermaid Chapstick. If Santa had know she could be that easily pleased he would have saved a few bucks this year.

Unfortunately, that is when disaster struck.


I was doing some minor cleaning up from the Christmas hurricane and went to put some gift cards in "The Drawer". I was going to put them with a gift card Russ had given me for my birthday for a show at Hale Center Theater. The gift card was not in the drawer. I spent the next 4-6 hours with only a few interruptions cleaning the drawer, the other drawers, the dresser, the closet, under the bed, behind the dresser, my purse, the car, and the office desk in a desperate, but futile, search for the gift card. I would like to say that I am big enough to recognize that there are real problems in the world, that frankly I have more serious issues I'm concerned about, that in the big picture this matters not a bit. But sadly, it just really ticks me off.

Other than that Christmas was awesome!

Random Thoughts Thursday

Last year I was the most excited one for Christmas in our family. This year Abbie has been counting the days for the last two weeks, she has staked out her presents under the tree, and she has been trying to figure out some way for me to let her open them early. This year she has beat me out of the water.

Here you can have Santa send a personalized video message to your kids. The girls were in awe that he knew their names, had pictures of them, and knew what they had done throughout the year. It only takes a minute and the results are well worth it. Santa would make a comment like, "Savannah I need you to be a good girl." And she would immediately and obediently respond, "Yes!"

Today we are off to see Tangled, tomorrow we are going skiing. My life is very, very good.

As far as my weekly recipes go, I am back on the wagon. I think I missed two weeks. I hit a combination of wishing never to cook again (unusual for me, still had to though), with no new recipes that interested me, with a devil may care attitude toward my goal. Thankfully that all ended when my dear friend gave me MORE, yup that's right more, New Best Recipe books for an early Christmas gift. Their Perfect Vegetables, and Cover & Bake books. These are much smaller books and have a ton of new and excite recipes. This week was Moroccan Chicken Stew - in the Crockpot. Oh, hallelujah!!! How I love life.

We've spent much of this week at my mom's house because my brother and his family are in town from Oregon. On Tuesday, my sister-in-law Allison and I made two batches of cookies, at the same time, with the help of six, yup six, little girls. (Okay my niece Vicki is no longer little, which to be honest really stinks but she still helped.)

Random Christmas Activities

I love Christmas! I am one of those cheesey people who want their tree up the day after Thanksgiving and most of the time would be happy to leave it up through mid-January. I love baking gingerbread cookies, reading Christmas stories, and driving around and looking at Christmas lights while, of course listening to Christmas music. I have almost no fall decorations for my home, but never seem to have a problem justifying one, or two, or three new Christmas decorations out of the Christmas budget.

This year the new advent calender has helped us celebrate Christmas cheer. (Or in some cases helped me attempt to force Christmas cheer on my family.) I plan different activities into the Advent stockings and usually that magically makes the girls excited about whatever the activity, be it reading a story or visiting Santa.

One adventure was seeing the lights on temple square. It was a perfect night. It wasn't crowded, and it was unseasonably warm for a December night. We still needed coats however and therein came the problem. Abbie hates her coat. I got it on clearance a few years ago at 1/4th the price of retail. It is a 4/5 XS, so it is a little big on her but it is a very, very, nice coat, dang it. She refused to wear it. So she spent most of the evening in her jacket, complaining of the cold, saying she wanted to leave. Finally, (just before we were about to leave) I convinced her to wear the coat backward -- and then she loved it. Ugh.

Another adventure was our visit with Santa. Savannah was so excited to finally be able to talk to him. She waited in line patiently, with all the other kids. She kept repeating that she was so excited to meet him. Unfortunately for the jolly old elf when she actually was face to face with the man himself, it was too much, and she ran back and hid between mom's legs. Luckily Santa's assistant took pity and still gave her one of the bags of goodies that was being passed out.



Yesterday we had our most recent event filled with Christmas joy, Abbie's Christmas program at her preschool. She was an angel (much to her disgust, she waaaaaaaaaaanted to be Mary). The kids were adorable. They sang several songs, recited the message of the angels to the shepherds, and each had a line of their own to say. It was sweet. However, Abbie, in what is her now famous singing voice, did not fail to disappoint. I wish those teachers who asked the kids to sing loud really understood what they were asking, or what they would get. Once again, there were tears.

Special

In my earlier days as a parent of two, I decided that certain toys didn't need to be shared. Certain blankets, stuffed animals that were dearly loved, and brand new birthday presents held a "special" status. The theory was that there should be certain things that are yours, and you shouldn't have to part with things that really do hold a high sentimental value to you. New birthday presents hold this "special" status temporarily and then they become free game to whomever gets them first.

In my defense, I meant well.

Now everything in the house is "special," in a way that only a two or four-year-old can yell out as they are claiming something that their sister has/had/might have in the next week.

"It's my special!!!" Savannah will yell.

"This is really special to me." Abbie will try to explain about a toy she has ignored for months.

The "specialness" of any particular item is fairly random, held together only by the imagined fear knowledge,that their sister might want it. It has been applied to burp clothes, baby dolls, and random pens.

"Nothing is special!!!" I want to yell, but somehow I don't think that would fix things.

Hiding

She wanted to dress camouflaged this morning.

Random Thoughts Monday

I was trying to be so on the ball and get all of my Christmas shopping done before December so I could enjoy the holiday season. Now it seems the every time I turn around I'm remembering another gift I need to buy.


Today I replaced the batteries in some of the girls toys that have been out of commission for quite some time. They were thrilled for about 30 minutes, then went back to playing with the cardboard box that they had been playing in before. Why do I try?

Abbie has developed a new strategy at story time. At story time we read three books, each of the girls get to pick one and then mom gets to pick one. Abbie will now preempt Savannah going through the stack of books, by finding a book she (Abbie) wants and then asking, "Savannah, do you want to read (insert book)?" Savannah who worships her older sister always says yes. Then Abbie gets to pick out a second book that is her choice thus getting two books she really wants.  Part of me thinks I should stop this manipulation, part of me thinks if Savannah is happy no problem, and part of me is proud at the analysis that went in to such nefariousness.

I didn't do Christmas cards this year. I was defiant in November when I needed to be working on it, and now I just feel bad.

Over the last weekend we had Russ's mom, grandma and sister in town. It is so much fun to see so much family loving my kids.

I just finished The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. It is one of the most enjoyable children's books I've read in a very long time. Also a Newbury Award winner, I guess they know what they're doing.

Yesterday Savannah wandered around the house singing, "Jesus wants a Sunbeam..." for about twenty minutes in a high breathy voice. Killer!

Advent Calender

This is my advent calender, which apparently originated in the mind of Martha Stewart (or her staffers). Clearly mine doesn't have the 24 high end brand new socks that hers does, but I love it anyway! Let the Christmas season begin!!

 

Thankful Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we switched it up and moved the feast to Wednesday night and Thursday drove down  to St. George. Let me tell you...I was thankful.

The feast was all that a Thanksgiving dinner should be with all the traditional and a few non-traditional items on board. I was in charge of pies this year, which having never made pies before, made me a bit nervous. I made two chocolate cream that ended up being big hits, and two lemon meringue, which were a bit runny but still tasted good. Thankfully at the last minute my cousin took over the pumpkin so I only ended up making four pies. I will give out the recipes if you want them but let me just warn you, for the four pies I made, I used two dozen eggs. They are once a year recipes, for sure!

Then it was off to St. George for the balmy 30s -40s. One of the many, many things I love about visiting St. George is that we are always able to find new and beautiful places to visit while we are there. Thursday afternoon we hiked Johnson's Arch in Snow Canyon. The arch is off limits most of the year because of nesting turtles, birds, animals, but well worth a visit when the trail is open. It is perfect for a four-year-old hiker, her crazy uncles, and the rest of her entourage. Abbie spent the way up running ahead with Uncle Britton and hiding and scaring the rest of us, and the way back on her Aunt Erica's shoulders.  (I really need to give props to my awesome siblings who provided almost non-stop entertainment for my kids....so I didn't have to.) Savannah rode the whole way in, giving her plenty of rock climbing energy once we reached the end of the slot canyon. She took Grandma and Britton up to the top of a very high rock pile and kept telling her to be careful and have fun.

Black Friday was spent shopping by some, golfing by others, and napping by me. Russ and I did make a quick Best Buy run but sadly nothing came of it. :(. 

Saturday we went on another stereotypical family hike. We hiked the Cinder Cone trail at Snow Canyon. It is a short but steep hike up an ancient volcano to wonderful view of the canyon. The weather was freezing. My dad kept commenting on how much fun we were having and how beautiful the senery would be when we reached the top. (He was right.) Blaine adding rocks to Russ's kid pack so he is carrying more weight. Britton kept teasing Erica and helping Abbie. Erica kept saying that is would be better if we had gotten massages. Very standard.

Thankfully we left Saturday night after watching the Utes reign victorious (not that they played that great....) and avoid the massive snow storm that is plaguing us today. I am truly grateful for my family. I have wonderful parents that I greatly admire. My siblings all hang together come what may. And my husband and girls give me endless joy. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

The Internet Saves the Day

I realize that we have all become highly dependent on the internet. Last night when my husband needed to look up an address he grabbed the yellow pages and it honestly took me a minute to realize what he was doing. Sad I know. However in the last little bit I've found three amazing fixes online that saved my bacon (and my wallet) so I thought I'd pass them on to you.

The Brown Shirt Incident

A few weeks ago I got some money for my birthday and  I went shopping for a much needed wardrobe update. This was especially satisfying because I had my fashion guru friend Lisa and her fashion genius sister Julie along and they helped me buy things I never would have even tried on, but which I absolutely love. This is when the brown shirt was purchased. After shopping, I donned said shirt and raced to my Grandma's 90th birthday party. (If I can be half as sharp and witty as she is at 90 I will be a success.)


After the party I came home and poured myself a bowl of home-made chicken noodle soup. MMMMmmmmm. Then from out of nowhere a bowl fell out of the cupboard and into my bowl of soup splashing delicious homemade chicken stock all over my new shirt. The shirt had been worn for less than three hours when it was covered in grease. AAAuuughh!!

I stripped down and washed it immediately. No good. After consulting, the internet I found out that Dawn can get grease stains out. So I hand washed the shirt in Dawn, soaked it for 30 minutes and put it through the wash cycle. No good. I did the whole thing again, and bingo the shirt is as good as new! Better still the website said that this will work for set in stains so I added a shirt that had a dried in stain to the batch and BINGO! Two shirts recovered.

The Sweater

I have a sweater that I really like. It isn't amazing but it is really warm and still in style (I think?). I haven't been able to wear it for the last few years though because it has been cover in pill balls and fuzz. I couldn't ever get rid of it though so I just kept it at the bottom of my drawer thinking I would wear it someday.

Enter the internet.

Besides telling me there are electric sweater shavers (which for some reason I find hilarious), one person said that disposable razors work just as well to clean off sweaters. It took some time, as the shirt was in BAD shape, but now, while not as good as new it is at least wearable again!

Advent Calender

After deciding that making my own advent calender wasn't the end of the world and scouring the internet for ideas, I found one that a craft-inept person like myself could handle. It even has Martha's seal of approval. I will unveil it once I get it put up in my house!

Sing Out Loud, Sing Out Strong

Yesterday was our Primary Program. We couldn't have been more proud. Our primary has grown in the last few months because of some new apartments that have been built in our ward. It filled over half the choir seats. The children were well behaved and mostly stood and sat on cue. Abbie had studied her two lines and while she still asked for help, it was clear - at least to me - that she knew them well. One other thing was clear. The choir director had asked the children to sing loudly so their parents could hear them. They all did quite well.

One, did exceptionally well. She later said that she was trying to sing louder than all the other children.

She - at four - succeeded.

Her cheeks were bright pink at the end of each song with the effort.   From the stand, Russ looked and could see that everyone was very keyed in to listening to her. From the congregation, we could all hear one lone voice above the fray.  There was a distinct difference between when she was singing and when she wasn't.

There is always one in every primary.

She was at least a half a note flat the entire time she yelled sang.

Many were wiping away tears at the end of each song.

Chicken Stock -- In an HOUR!

Yup! I made homemade chicken stock and I am darn proud of myself. For me homemade chicken stock is something only really high end cooks bother with... and I actually did it! Unfortunately, I'm afraid that there is no going back. The aroma in my house was so wonderful and if the soup that I'm making for my Grandma's 90th birthday tastes half as good as it smelled, I think this will become a staple in my house.

I do however have a secret that made the entire process completely painless. It started with a lack of chicken bones in the house (Sorry, I'm a boneless skinless cook) and a need to make soup for my grandma. After desperately trying to find a base, bouillon, or stock, that would substitute for homemade, it seemed that for super high quality I was out of luck. And most stock recipes take 3 - 4 hours.  Then I found the recipe below (New Best Recipes) The only problem - the recipe states, "4 pounds chicken backs and wing tips or whole legs hacked with a meat cleaver into 2 inch pieces." (My emphasis, of course).

I was immediately looking back at the 3-4 hour recipes just to avoid hacking anything.

Then on Simply Recipes, she posted the same recipe with this beautiful addition ...."You can ask your butcher to prepare the chicken pieces this way." Saved!


Turns out that Harmon's butchers sell chicken backs and meat for super cheap! And I mean super cheap. I got four pounds for 3 dollars. (This helps when, like me, you don't just happen to have a chicken carcass sitting around.) Second,  I will forever praise the Harmon's butcher,she chopped it all up for me! All I did was dump it in the pot. 


So here you go!


Chicken Stock


1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
 4 lbs chicken backs, wingtips, or whole legs hacked into 2 inch pieces (remember what I said!)
2 quarts boiling water
2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves




1 - Cook onion in oil then remove from stockpot.
2 - In two batches saute chicken pieces until no longer pink; 4-5 minutes
3 - Return onion and chicken pieces to pot, cover and turn heat to low and sweat for 20 minutes.
4 - Increase heat to high add boiling water, slat and bay leaves. Return to a simmer then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. 
5 - Strain the stock through a mesh sieve. Cool skim fat. Either freeze or use in soups!

Orange Spice Banana Bread

When bananas are on sale for $.18 a pound you buy a lot of them. And then they go bad. And then you make Banana Bread. And the world is a beautiful place. The original plan was standard Banana Bread but when I saw the Orange Spice variation I was intrigued. And then when it was baking my kitchen smelled like Christmas, minus the smell of pine. I really think I will be making this a lot throughout December just to have that smell in my house. I wanted to cry it smelled so good. I so wish I were exaggerating. Um, oh, yeah it tastes like heaven too. Just. like. heaven. (Thank you New Best Recipes)

Orange Spice Banana Bread

2 cups flour
1 1/4  cups walnuts (Unfortunately this is banned at our house, I can only imagine how good it would be with it.)
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3 very ripe bananas, well mashed
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I subed sour cream with it said would make for a heavy texture but I didn't notice a problem.)
2 eggs beaten lightly
6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla

1 - Preheat oven to 350. Adjust rack to lower-middle position. Grease AND flour bottom and sides of loaf pan.
2 - Toast walnuts on a baking sheet until fragrant 5-10 minutes.
3 - Whisk the dry ingredients and orange zest in large bowl. Set aside.
4 - Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs butter and vanilla. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky. Put in loaf pan.
5 - Bake until golden brown, about 55 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Eat it fast, because if you don't, someone around you will!

Hardly the Point

Loving the little bit of snow

The fact that it will be snowing harder in the next few days, and for the next few months, and there is barely a skiff on the ground is irrelevant. What matters is that there is snow on the ground. This requires immediate donning of snow clothes and going out to have a..."I can't remember what it is called  a ......pillow fight....a fight.... I don't know."

"Snowball fight?"

"Yes, that."

The event lasted less than twenty minutes. The first ten was a struggle being reintroduced to the maneuverability of mittens. Then once you've taken your sister's gloves (because she is already back inside and removed all her snow clothes) it is realizing that your mother is in fact right. Knit gloves are not warm enough to make snowballs.

Can you guess who headed inside first?

Welcome to winter!

Random Thoughts Saturday

My recipe of the week is a Sponge Cake that will turn into Blackberry Jam Cake tomorrow for my birthday party with my family. It is sad that I made a special request to make my own birthday cake. But, hey it was fun. I got to whip egg whites and everything.

This last week we've had beautiful fall weather and spent almost every day outside. Today it was a bike ride to the park through beautiful fall leaves. Sadly that ends on Monday with a massive storm.

I am just starting to think about Christmas shopping and I want to run the other way. I never truly appreciated the task my mother undertook each year to buy presents for six kids that all appeared perfectly fair, and were exactly what would fulfill the wildest Christmas dreams of each and every one. If you don't already know it, my mother is a saint.

I just finished reading the book Born to Run. If you like to run you will love this book. I hate running and was still amazed, impressed, and am contemplating, thinking about the possibility of running. If you know me that is saying a lot.

My next book is Educating Esme. It is a memoir of a first year teacher in inner-city Chicago. Should be interesting.

Any ideas what to get my kids for Christmas?

My kids are singing "A Spoonful of Sugar" in the bathtub and it makes me laugh.

I have become addicted to the internet radio Pandora.

Wait...What?

I've been looking at getting a nice advent calender, as I think my kids are at the perfect age to start the tradition. However, this is what I found while browsing though advent calenders on Amazon.

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this item with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by 

Activision Inc  Xbox 360 $50.36

+

Price For Both: $92.35

These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers.
 Show details

The Weird Sisters

Happy Halloween from the Grays! We hope you have a fun, safe and happy, Halloween!

Classic Irish Soda Bread

Let me start off by saying that I have baked bread before, and I don't mind it. But I don't love it. Now don't get me wrong there is nothing like fresh homemade bread, but the time and mostly the timing that it takes can rearrange your whole day. I even have a fabulous recipe for no-Knead bread that is almost fail safe. (I've never had problems but my sister-in-law who is a fabulous cook can't ever get it to work. I've chalked it up to altitude and humility differences in our respective states.) But even this bread requires being home at certain hours, waiting and being home again. Clearly this isn't crisis material, but it definitely takes planning.

Enter Irish Soda Bread.

The recipe claims classic status, but I had never heard of it before. It is not a yeast bread, requires almost no kneading, and can be done start to finish in an hour, with 40 minutes of that as cooking time. The bread is delish especially alongside soup.(Which, by the way, is helpful if you children still. will. not. eat. soup. and need to fill up on bread.) It has a distinct flavor that vaguely reminded me of soda crackers, but not in a bad way.  Clearly the soda as the leavening agent is what gives the flavor. Dinner is made nice and easy if the soup has been bubbling away in the crock pot for hours. Just for the record, the entire loaf was eaten before bedtime.

I will definitely be making this again as it is by far the easiest bread I've ever made and since the loaf is round with a big cross in the middle it looks like I actually know what I'm doing.

Irish Soda Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plain cake flour (I know it is a pain because you probably don't have it in your pantry. I made a special store run for that and the buttermilk but now it is in the pantry and all is well.)
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon butter melted to brush on crust
1 1/2 cups butter milk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together dry ingredients. Work in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbles. (I swear figures are the best, fastest and most thorough method for this, but that's just me.)

2. Add buttermilk. Stir just until it comes together. Knead 12-14 times just until cohesive and bumpy.

3. Pat the dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; put on greased cookie sheet or cooking stone. Score the dough but cutting a cross shape in the top of the loaf with a serrated knife about 3/4 inch deep.

4. Bake until golden brown 40-45 minutes. Brush the surface with melted butter; cool to room temperature before serving 30-40 minutes.

St. George Trip Forgotten, Lost, it is all the Same

Day One: Item(s) Forgotten: Keys to the St. George House, Keys to the Car, Garage Door Opener.

We spent an hour looking for the keys to the St. George house only to discover once we went to my mother for a spare that... they were on the key ring... unmarked the whole time. This would have been an amusing episode if it didn't signal problems for the rest of the trip. The keys to the car were lost in the search for the keys to the house and found about 15 minutes after searching. (Remember though that is after the previous hour of searching.)

The drive south was fine, minus the road construction through Utah County...ugh. After a quick unload we ran to the park and used the pent up energy from the car ride. Upon arriving home we realized the garage door opener was missing. After a half hour search it was discovered wedged between seat cushions in the car. The search was made the more difficult because it was done in the dark of night.

Day Two: Item Forgotten: Wallet to Pay for Park Entrance. Just before completing the 15 minute drive to Snow Canyon the wallet was discovered missing. Add a half hour to return to the house.

Thankfully that was the only hang up on day two. The rest of the day was spent biking through Snow Canyon and playing at the sand dunes there. We could have spent the entire trip to St. George at the Sand Dunes and the girls would have been just fine. The two activities that were the highlights were digging holes big enough to climb into and having mom or dad go hide buried treasure and then finding and digging it up. After a short cloud burst we decided to try the "White Sand Dunes" only to realize half way to the hike the that short cloud burst was not so short and we returned to the car soaking wet. Thankfully we enjoyed the water so much that it was off to the pool for the rest of the afternoon.

Day Three: Item Forgotten: The Kid Pack. Thankfully this was discovered missing after only ten minutes of driving.

Saturday was a trip to Zions. The original plan had been to bike though the canyon that day but the large storm clouds put a kibosh on that plan. Instead we put on ponchos and hiked to the Emerald Pools. I was so proud of Abbie who hiked the entire 2.5 miles and didn't complain (much). The hiked was beautiful. It has been a long time since I've gone to the third pool and it was well worth the hike.

After the pools we walked to Weeping Rock. While at the canyon I remembered a show about the establishment of the National Park System.   Teddy Roosevelt said that the parks were America's cathedrals and should be protected as such. I always feel that way in Zions.

Day Four: Item Forgotten: Russ's church shoes were left back home. He wore my Sketchers to church. Too bad they are girly and too small!

Sunday we went to church, played "golf" in the backyard (see above), played hide and seek at the Red Rock Nature Reserve and went to the St. George Temple. It was a perfect day of rest.

  Day Five: Item(s) Forgotten: The girls' jackets. Thankfully it did warm up nicely throughout the day so they only wore our jackets for about an hour or so in the morning.

Monday was back to Snow Canyon. The hope was to reattempt the White Sand dunes but a nasty wind ended that trip early as well. We ended up hiking on Petrified Dunes and found a little gully free from wind in which the girls played with their sand toys. Day saved!

Day Six: Item Forgotten: Mary Poppins was left in the DVD player when we left for home. (Sorry Brenda, we will get it back to you in two weeks after my grandparents go down. Clearly, we have issues.)

Tuesday we went back to Zions for the bike ride. Bliss. Bliss. Cold. Bliss. Every time I go to Zions I find more hikes I want to do, spots I want to see, and time I want to spend there.

This trip I was reminded once again how much blasted fun I have with my family, even when we can't remember a thing!

Applesauce Chicken

If you haven't noticed by my previous blog posts or you haven't heard me complain about it let me fill you in on something - my kids are picky eaters. They are not just ordinary picky eaters - they are extreme in their choosey-ness. Abbie wont eat mashed potatoes, who ever heard of a kid who didn't love mashed potatoes. Savannah will eat hot dogs and mac and cheese. They don't like most meats, any sauce of any kind color, taste or variety. We are a long way off from salad.

  Now please understand I don't encourage or tolerate this behavior but it is not something I can change. How naive I was before I had kids when I was determined that I would have no picky eaters amongst my brood. They would eat it or not eat. I wasn't too worried.


 We have tried everything. They have to eat a certain number of bites to leave the table. They can eat or not eat what is served, but can't eat anything later. They have to try at least one bite of everything. There is not a method that doesn't elicit weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth (not always just the girls). Currently we are doing a weird smashup of all three. Unless they are eating boxed mac and cheese I can almost always expect a tears at the dinner table.

So when a meal comes a long that all four of us like it is a miracle akin to the loaves and fishes.


That is Applesauce Chicken.


I found the meal on A Year of Slow Cooking, wherein Stephanie cooked everyday for a year in using her Crockpot. Baby that is dedication. I don't know where she got this recipe but when she said her kids loved it and requested it again I was game. Especially because it was a Saturday night I realized that I had all the ingredients in my pantry and wouldn't need  to make a run to the store for our Sunday dinner. This dinner is super easy. I served it with mashed potatoes (that Russ and I ate) and green salad (that I ate). I put the sauce in a pan and made a gravy (Applesauce Chicken Gravy...OOOoooobaby!). Although it took some convincing to get the girls to try the chicken once they did they ate a ton - with no coaxing.


It was only when I started to clean the big pile of dishes that were the remains of Sunday dinner that we noticed our sink was leaking....You can't win them all, my friend.

"I don't leak, you leak!"

Anyone who can name that quote is truly a child of the 80s.....like yours truly. (Note: not born in the 80s but was a child during them.)

Leeks. I've never cooked with them before. Clearly this has been a serious over-site on my part.

But tonight that changed. Roasted Potato and Leek Soup.


Doesn't it bring to mind all sorts of creaming, hearty, deliciousness?

Well Ina Garten did not disappoint. I used her recipe here. And am not going back .

For those of you who don't know leeks are the veggies in the produce section that look like green onions on steriods. And they smell like them too. And when you put Yukon gold potatoes and leeks in your oven to roast for 40 minutes your home smells like you live in a five star restaurant. Now a warning this recipe calls for heavy cream and creme fraishe. I didn't use the creme fraishe and substituted sour cream. I'm sure this was a loss but I didn't have the time or the energy to go across town to a store that would carry such a specialty item. Also I was out of Parmesan. This was a disappointment but the soup was still A.MAZ.ING!

I love soups in general. And in the fall they are a almost a requirement for me.  I am still trying to convince the rest of my family that this is the case but I don't really care - they are just going to come a long because it is a must it when the leaves are changing. This soup has instantly moved to the front of the pack, and has done its job well in the convincing process.


Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas

I don't think that there is a lot I need to say to try to convince someone that BBQ chicken and Pineapple Queadillas are a good idea. I mean, BBQ chicken and pineapple. 'Nuff said.  If I tell you that it is super easy it is only to be nice because I know you are already trying to figure out how to fit this into this week's menu.

The recipe is from good ol' Ree the Pioneer Woman.  Now she uses fresh pineapple while I seriously downgraded and went with canned - although I still did put it on the grill to bring out the flavor, which worked surprisingly well. I will say the secret,  is Sweet Baby Ray's the best BBQ sauce in the freakin' world - but that is just my opinion.

I'm fixing it again this week and think the results will be just as positive as the first time. This will become a staple at our house.


Apricot Pork Chops

I've already made these twice since I first made them and they are SO good.We had my brother and his girlfriend over for dinner. Before they came I asked them if pork chops were okay. Like the polite person my brother is he said yes. After he came over he said. These look better than I expected. It turns out he is not a big pork chop fan. After he ate them......he is.

Sannah Banana

Savannah has become a very dedicated mother. Her baby does not leave her side -- FOR ANYTHING. Yesterday the baby accompanied us on a hike, to a restaurant, and was finally forced to stay in the car for a nap while we went to see Toy Story 3.

Least you think that we are harsh in forcing said doll to remain in the car for a movie that in theory she would enjoy-- remember, that this doll has been dragged, smushed, and carried everywhere that her two-year-old mother goes for the last several weeks. Even when Savannah does her standard animal impressions of standing, putting her head on the ground and bum in the air and yells out repeatedly "I'm a bat, I'm a bat!" until all in the vicinity respond, or slides down the slide on her belly yelling - "I'm a snake," the baby is right there siting with the same frozen expression. The poor baby needs a break.

Now Savannah does her best, the best any two-year-old could do, really. Although the baby remains unnamed, Savannah makes sure that she has her binki most of the time, makes sure she is strapped in her stroller - all. the. time. even though it requires her mother's help. Other than when she is forced to abandon her baby by the doll's grandmother, the doll stays with her every waking and sleeping minute. It really is quite adorable.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

Abbie -isms

"Scar likes to get Simba  just like I like to get butterflies."

To be honest, as far as I know she doesn't want to catch butterflies so she can kill them and become queen so I don't think the simile is quite right but it is an interesting thought.


"Animals run away from the creditors."

And once again we learn that we are not at all removed from the animal kingdom.

The Mountains in the Fall

Like most people that live near the mountains, come mid-September there is an almost irrepressible pull to visit them and see the leaves changing colors. I took the girls up to Silver Lake with a friend a few weeks ago and it was so beautiful that Russ and I went up again that night. The leaves, however, were not at peak color change. They had a few more weeks to get perfect. Everyday when I am out and about doing my errands I look up at the mountains and just ached to go up there. Today we finally made it.

With a last minute call to my sister-in-law we took the kids up the canyon to what has become our family's favorite spot. There is a small stream that runs right though the picnic area and there is a bridge that crosses it over to "Fairy Hideout Territory. Could it get any better? Of course not. The only down side is that while up the canyon you could see splashes of color everywhere, the yellows and reds hadn't quite reached the camp ground. No matter. It was still so incredibly refreshing.  Hot cocoa and running around out doors seem to solve just about everything. Both Nicki and I had the same idea and brought stuff for a leaf craft project - that wasn't deterred despite the fact that most of the leaves were green. The girls had a lot of fun!

Life has been rather stressful in our house lately as we have been trying to figure out the next steps in our lives. Going to the mountains this  fall has been the greatest stress reliever I know.  

What Fun Is

Last weekend my dad's company had what has turned into their annual Lagoon Day. (My dad assures me that Abbie is a big factor in the decision making process each year as she begins asking in May when we can go to Lagoon.) This year did not disappoint. Abbie is old enough to go on the "older" kid rides, most of which were not around when I was a kid. Savannah is old enough to go on the rides herself, although she definitely loves to go with her sister.

Last year Abbie was a big fan of the Puff the Magic Dragon ride. The ride is a tiny roller coaster that circles over minor hills three times and then is done. Little did we know that this enjoyment was only a precursor of bigger and more exciting interests. Cautious, sensitive Abbie LOVES fast roller coasters. Her favorite ride this year was  the Jumping Dragon ride in which you go very, very, fast around a short oval track and then go in reverse (similar to the Music Express ride.) Unfortunately for her no adult was able to go on the ride more than one time with her without getting slightly ill. Thankfully she had parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles that were willing to help her out.

Savannah last year was just content to go along for the ride but this year she definitely had an opinion on what she wanted to do. She loved the new Odysea ride in which you circle a giant squid in a flying fish and try to avoid being squirted -- or in Savannah's case try to get squirted. The fast rides were a little much for her, but she loved rides where she got to imitate that she was driving a vehicle so all of the classic kiddie rides were fun. Although like her older sister, driving the cars was one of the big winners.

A surprising hit was the hay bale maze that was set up for little kids as part of Frightmares. About two-thirds of the way through the day both girls wanted to return to the maze's coloring table. When it was time to head to dinner they both completely ignored their grandpa and went right on coloring until they decided they were done. (It doesn't help matters that which it comes to all things granddaughters my dad is wrapped around their fingers.)

All in all it was a great day, despite periodic phases of complete exhaustion. Thanks dad for another wonderful year. We all -- but especially Abbie and Savannah -- are very, very grateful.