Magical Night!

This year has been eventful for us. I didn't get Christmas cards out this year, and I apologize for that. Every time I thought about what I would say in a Christmas letter, my heart filled with emotion and I wasn't sure I could express all the gratitude and love I feel. So, I didn't send them, and thought maybe I would write something here to express my love for the Savior and what his life and Atonement mean to us in our lives.

It is hard to be grateful for trials when in the midst of them. Especially the ones which come out of nowhere and are not a consequence of a decision anyone has made. However, having it behind us, I can say I am grateful we had the experiences we had this summer. We have grown closer as a family and have seen the Lord's hand blessing our lives in more ways than one, and who can't be grateful for that? It really opened our eyes to the loving concern of all our family and friends, wherever they are. My heart is overwhelmed with gratitude every time I think of all the prayers that were offered on our behalf during that time. My testimony of the power of prayer and fasting has been strengthened.

Today, Erik (14) is doing well. He had another MRI this past Monday, which showed no change from the last one, which is great news. They will do another in June and then yearly after that. (We wanted to get one more done, before the insurance year.) He had his wisdom teeth removed on Thursday and has been in little to no pain with that. (I don't remember mine being so painless!!!) He does well in school, when he applies himself, and has been enjoying his first year of seminary.

Maren (also 14) is always such a good student. She strives for A's and more often than not, achieves her goal! She is getting very good at the violin and piano, and has been playing the piano for her seminary class this year. She has loved seminary and tells us about the things they are doing there. They are studying the Old Testament this year, and she has made it a goal to read from the Old Testament every night for 15 minutes.

Kaden (11) is taking orchestra this year, and is playing the cello. He is really enjoying it, and can't wait to be able to play with Erik and Maren. In Kaden's 6th grade class this year he had a Harry Potter day, where he was sorted into a "house", participated in competitions (like Quidditch), and came home with a scar and wand. Ever since Maren had this teacher (way back when she was in 3rd grade), Kaden has looked forward to a Harry Potter day, so we were very excited that he had this teacher so he could experience this. Kaden has such a witty sense of humor, and often is the quite instigator of many of the quarrels at home. You'd never guess it, though, with as shy as he is in public!

Liam (7) is our tender-hearted child. He is always concerned about everyone else around him (especially Dallin...usually). This year he has really turned into a great little reader. He is always the one who reminds us to read the Book of Mormon every night, and he has started reading right along with us. He does very well, especially with the big, hard words like "iniquity" and "commandments". He is rather shy when around lots of people, or people he doesn't know well, but he loves to giggle and have fun. Many times during the day I am heard to say "Liam! Not so loud!"

Dallin (also 7) is the classic baby of the family. He loves attention, and loves to be funny. He has always been 7 going on 12 (or 3 going on 6, or 5 going on 10). He loves to act older than he is, imitate his older brothers, and generally try to be as witty and clever as a 7-year-old can. He is also turning into a good little reader, but he is stubborn about it.

The past few months, Ben started a part-time hospice job, and I think he is enjoying that (as much as one can enjoy hospice). He really has a way with the elderly, and he loves interacting with them. He has already made quite the impression on one of his patients, who called 911 and had the paramedics take her to the hospital, just so she could talk to Dr. McEntire. He says he would be flattered, but she has a bit of dementia.

I continue to hold things down at home. I have been creating with yarn a lot lately, and have enjoyed that, however there are always a list of other projects that I should be working on as well. Sometime in the next year I hope to remodel some parts of our house...like the kitchen, laundry, and upstairs flooring.

Again, we are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for this Christmas season where we can celebrate his birth and life, and what it means to us in our lives. We hope that everyone has been so blessed and felt of His love this year, as we have.

Orchestra concert

We went to the annual Christmas orchestra concert this year. It was Kaden's first time playing. He has been learning the cello since September. He is the face just to the right of the music stand, avove. Maren and Erik (below) have been in orchestra since they were in 6th grade, as well. It is amazing how much they learn in just a few short years.

Spontaneous Ski Lesson

Last night my next-door neighbor asked me to go to a ski lesson with her this morning at Snowbasin. It was her first time on skis, and it may as well have been my first time. I am always so afraid and timid when I get skis on. I thought for sure I would break something. I only fell once, though. And nothing broke, or even bruised (ok, maybe  the pride was a little bruised, but it was a beginner's ski class and everyone falls at least once, right?). 

The "Learn to Earn" programs at Snowbasin are really cool. I may or may not do another lesson. If I stick with it, I get a discounted season pass at the end of 3 lessons. In any event, it was fun, I learned a lot, and maybe I will be more confident on the slopes. As long as they are the bunny kind, anyway.

Middle of the Night Musings

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking about everything you need to do, would like to do, or didn't do...like let the cat in when it's freezing outside? Last night I wasn't feeling well, so I went to bed. When Ben asked where Jack was, I said, "Oh, I think he went outside. I should try to go find him." Well, I didn't try to find him...until 3 AM, at which time, I woke up thinking "I have let the cat freeze to death." I half-heartedly attempted to look for him. He wasn't on either porch, so I figured Maren had let him in before going to bed.

But, the damage was done. (Not to the cat...he was fine, although I do think he spent the night outside.) The sleep was interrupted. The brain was on and not to be turned off for at least an hour.

Here is where the "would-like-to-do" comes in. I have long wanted to write down some of the experiences we had when we lived in Mexico, before we had kids, and when Maren and Erik were young. "It wouldn't be very exciting, though," I thought, "without pictures to go along with it." So, I have resolved to find old pictures...the kind that aren't on the computer...and scan them and start sharing some of our past. The only problem is, it may take me a while to get organized enough to find them and start scanning. (Not to mention the time factor...it will take some time...probably lots of time. And I am not sure time is something I have in abundance before the year is over.)

So, I think that in the near future, I will try to bore you all with some of our adventures...mixed in with all my other boring posts. Stay tuned!

Cookies!

Dallin decorates a candy-cane cookie

Liam figuring out how to use the piping bag.

Cookies decorated by everyone

I love doing sugar cookies at Christmas. I love that Krusteze makes a mix that you only have to add butter and eggs to. And you don't have to refrigerate, either. I do not love making frosting...I love eating it, just not making it, otherwise I would have done it in five colors. I love piping, but I am horrible at it when it comes to anything other than stars or lettering. I love watching my kids try to pipe.

Wind storm

As many of you know, we had a "down-slope" wind storm on Thursday, to help issue December in with a bang. It started at about midnight and kept waking us all up. At 4am, Kaden came upstairs saying he couldn't sleep in his room any longer for the howling wind at his window. I don't blame him--I couldn't sleep either listening to it vibrate and whistle and howl. I was glad that Ben had brought the garbage cans into the garage, because we could hear the neighbors' slamming around. It was intense....and that is really saying something for South Weber--we are used to wind!

In the morning, when we turned the news on, the freeways were closed down due to overturned semis. Wind speeds in Centerville had been clocked at the least at 102 mph. I think we got up to 82. I drove M and E to their bus stop, and off they went to school. I debated whether or not to send the elementary kids. Ben tried to drive K to school, and there were downed power lines all the way there. Trees were also in the road, making it hard to get there, as well. I told Ben to just bring K back home, and I kept them all home from school. It was kind of ridiculous that the school district didn't cancel in the first place. With the spotty power coverage, I thought that as soon as the kids got there, power would go out, and the school would be calling to pick them up. It was safer to just stay put.

We rode it out, watching the neighbors' shingles and siding fly from their houses, praying that our house was holding tight. At about 1 or 2, it calmed enough to survey the damage. We lost one of the light fixtures on the side of the garage. Which is really ok by me...I have always hated those but never had a good enough excuse to replace them until now. I was really surprised that is all we lost.

Many of our neighbors lost trees, in addition to their shingles and siding. On Friday, I was in Bountiful and drove past the cemetery there. Many huge, old trees were down. I took some pictures.

"Cheater" coconut cream pie

Store-bought graham cracker crust

1 box of cooked-type Jell-o coconut cream pudding/pie filling

Whipped cream

Toasted shredded coconut

(Thought maybe you would see it easier here, Kim. Enjoy!)

Audiobooks

Maren keeps making fun of me because I keep calling audiobooks "books on tape." She says I date myself when I say that, and I need to get with the times.

 In any event, I downloaded a free app for my iPad that lets you download audiobooks that are in the public domain, so they are free. Old classics...like "Treasure Island" that I had to read in 7th grade Honors English with Mrs. Johnson. And "Return of the Native," that I read in Mrs. Brown's class in 10th or 11th grade. I have read "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy several times and love it every time, and turns out, I am really liking "Return of the Native" a lot, too. Except that Eustacia Vie is a selfish little witch. But what would a novel be without an antagonist?

 I made it through "A Tale of Two Cities" for the first time and really liked it. I would like to listen to "Great Expectations," too; another required reading from 7th grade. Maybe I will throw in "Oliver Twist" soon, too. It is awesome to be able to "read" and get so much around the house accomplished at the same time!

If you enjoy the classics, definitely check out the app!

Twins!

 Yesterday, at school, my twins realized they had dressed like twins.

 Even down to the canvas shoes.

I don't think they've been dressed this similar to each other since they were about 9 months old!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 

The South Davis Rec Center in Bountiful has a turkey trot every Thanksgiving. This year was the first year we participated. The whole family ran. Ben did the 10k; Maren, Erik, and I did the 5k (along with my sister, her friend, and husband); and Kade, Liam, and Dallin did the 1k.

Maren coming in for a strong finish.

Ben kicking it to try to catch his friend (in the white shirt on the left)

Kory and his son Zach, Ben, Dallin, Liam and Kaden ready to run the Gobbler 1k.

Kaden coming in.

Liam ran the whole way and didn't even say his "whole body hurt" (like he has in the past!).

Ready to dig in! (left to right) Kaden, Liam, Kristin, Ian, Ben, Erik Maren, and Dallin.

He doesn't look it, but Liam was very excited to have the drumstick of the turkey!

I made several pies. The coconut cream one was by far the biggest hit, and one of the easiest. I'll be doing 2 of these in the future!

Another pair of fingerless gloves.

 My youngest sister, Kim, asked for a pair of these. The more I do, the better they turn out. This yarn is polyester, 100% recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. Cool recycled project!

Missing Teeth

Last week, Dallin came home with a tooth in a baggie. His front tooth had been hanging for days, but he would not let me get near it with a 10-foot-pole, so off he went to school with it hanging precariously out of his mouth. He claims that it "got really loose" at lunch, so he had the playground duty pull it for him during lunch recess. Little turkey! Anyway, when he came home telling of his experiences, Liam crawled under his bed in tears, saying "Dallin always looses teeth before me!" I tried to console him by explaining that he will lose the exact same number of teeth that Dallin does...it just may not happen at the same time. Two of Liams teeth were loose, however, so I told him to work on one of them and not to worry about it--they would come out when they were ready.

Well, that night the Tooth Fairy forgot to come. She often forgets this task at our house. So, we texted her and told her to please come the next night. We tucked them in bed for the night, threatened to turn the hall light off if they didn't settle down, and thought all was good for the night...when all of a sudden Liam shouts out "I just lost a tooth!" Sure enough, he had pushed out his bottom tooth with his tongue, but then promptly lost it on the floor. So, we put a note in the baggie with Dallin's tooth, and asked the Tooth Fairy to use her "tooth vision" (i.e. vacuum) to find the missing tooth. So, the Tooth Fairy remembered the 2nd night and they were both rewarded for their teeth. And Liam's competitive nature will teach Dallin what happens when he goes losing teeth before him!

(This picture was taken before Liam pushed out his tooth on the bottom...he has 2 missing on the bottom now.)

Fresh off the needles...

 In addition to crocheting useless articles of clothing for a cat, I have made these cute fingerless gloves. These are knitted, though. Specifically, knitted-in-the-round on double-point needles, which is still a rather new technique for me. There are several YouTube tutorials, if you are dying to know what this entails. Here is the pattern for these easy gauntlets.

Next up, a cute backpack! I had to order this yarn online. I could easily become addicted to ordering yarn. So many more (natural) fibers and weights to choose from than at the local craft/fabric store! Something other than worsted acrylic! This beauty is 100% organic cotton in a sport weight. Size D hook...which is smaller than I have ever used before. The fabric it is turning out has such a beautiful hand and drape and feel. I am in love with this yarn! 

Last of all, I need to rave about where I am finding these cute patterns. Crochet Pattern Central has a pattern for everything you could imagine. (There is a knit one, too, which is where I found the fingerless glove pattern.) 

As I was looking through the available categories, one that piqued my curiosity was called "Plarn". What is plarn? you may ask. It is "yarn" that is made from plastic bags. Plastic grocery bags...plastic bread bags...any type of plastic bags. I was surprised at how creative people can be. Take a look at all the things you can make out of a plastic bag or two. Someday I may decide to crochet something out of plarn. 

Happy yarning!!!

7-Years-Old

Yesterday my babies turned 7-years-old. It's hard to believe that when we moved to South Weber, they weren't even born, yet. And now they are big 7-year-olds, losing teeth, and going to 1st grade, and growing tall.

We had an eventful day. First, they opened presents. Then we met a friend and his family and went to McDonald's for lunch. After that, it was off to the movie theater, where we saw Puss in Boots 3D. Then back home to have cake and ice cream.

Here are the pictures...in the order that they uploaded to blogger. (I still can't figure out an easy way to get them in the order I want them.)

Dallin chose an ice cream cake. Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream in the middle.

The twins open one of their shared gifts, while Kaden watches in anticipation. I love this age that Kaden is right now. He wants so badly to be one of the "big kids", but is still excited about the "little kid" things like opening presents, etc.

New ties that are real ties...not clip-ons or zip-ups.

One of their favorites, even though they didn't ask for it. Sometimes those gifts that are cheap that mom and dad see at the last minute are the perfect hit! This was a little kit full of wooden pieces for them to make into a birdhouse, plane, car, etc, and paint. (I neglected to fix the red-eye that Dallin always has so badly in this pic. Sorry!)

Liam chose to have funfetti cupcakes baked in ice cream cones. It turned out very cute. There were a couple of different techniques for doing this kind of cup cake, and I learned that this is not my favorite. It had you fill the cupcake liners with batter, then place the ice cream cone upside down in the batter. Well, they kind of slid off to the side as the cupcake baked. Then you peel off the cupcake paper and frost the cupcake, mounding the icing up. They were too top-heavy, and not very well lodged in the cone, so, in hindsight, it probably wasn't the best method. Filling the cones would be better, I think.

Would you ever...

...go skydiving? How about paragliding? This past May, for our 16th anniversary, I bought a paragliding package for Ben and me. We finally were able to go in September. It wasn't the best day for paragliding, and Ben's flight wasn't very long, but I was up for about 10 minutes. We were suckered into paying for the little video the guy makes to promote his tandem paragliding business. Here I am, flying above the hills of Draper, UT. It was so much fun, and I wasn't scared one bit. I thought I might be, but somehow the way the kite took to the air, I felt completely safe. I would love to do it again sometime.

Baby in the House

There is not currently a baby in my house. Nor is there one expected. But last weekend, there was a sweet, little baby boy in my house. My dear friend, from Ricks College (from way back before it was BYU Idaho) had planned a weekend with her husband for their anniversary. I had the privilege of watching her youngest, who is 3 months old. He was so much fun to have in the house! Three days ago, Maren said, "Oh, I miss baby J!" We only had him for 3 nights, but he was a delight and made an impression on us all! There is definitely a heavenly spirit in the house with a baby around!

Here he is on Maren's lap, with Cinders, the cat.

We thought about keeping him, since he could be part of our family with those big blue eyes and very little hair. I don't think his mom and dad would have been too pleased, though, so we gave him back.

Thanks, Beth, for letting us play with your baby for a weekend!

Two totally random things:

1.
My cat excessively grooms all the hair out of her belly. I think she has arthritis, and so to relieve her achy joints, she obsessively grooms. It drives me nuts...not just because it makes her look silly, but because she is so loud about it.

2.
I have been crocheting a lot lately. Everything from slippers to scarves...from little flowers accents, to baby caps.

The result:

Yes, this is a sweater on a cat. Yes, it is the wrong cat it is on. Yes, this is the male cat wearing a pink sweater. And, yes, I crocheted this pink sweater on the male cat. The cat it was intended for is awfully ornery when I try to put it on her. And she is rather overweight, so I should have made it a bit larger. Maren is the one who put this lovely pink sweater on this man-cat. I have proven myself as "an old cat lady" in my children's eyes...crocheting garments for my cats.

Snow!

We had a pretty big snowstorm on Saturday. It started Friday night, making the kids exited to see the first snow falling. By Saturday morning, it was at least 4 inches deep on the grass. The trees were taken by surprise, since they had not lost all their leaves yet. The birch trees in my front yard looked like weeping willows. I'm surprised none of the branches snapped. Most of it has melted now, which is a good thing, since I had not raked the leaves that had fallen yet. However, the snowball remains!

The kids had a blast rolling a huge snowball in the back yard.

Erik pushes the start of the snowball, while Liam and a neighbor-boy look on, tramping in the path.

They pause for a picture.

It starts to grow.

Final product, with Maren perched on top.

Even Jack, our Siamese cat, joined in, frolicking in the new-fallen snow. Here he intently stares into the tree where some birds were seeking refuge.

Butternut Squash Soup

My next-door neighbor was nice enough to share some of the squash from her garden with us. (Thanks, Melissa!) I made this delicious butternut squash soup for dinner tonight. I was skeptical, and didn't think the kids would try it, but they did and it was a hit! It is a Betty Crocker recipe.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 butternut squash (2 lb), peeled, cubed
2 cups water
1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaves
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
4 chicken bullion cubes
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed

In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. In a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix onion, and remaining ingredients except cream cheese. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

In a blender or food processor, blend 1/3 to 1/2 of the mixture at a time, until smooth. Return blended mixture to slow cooker. Add cream cheese. Cover and cook on Low for another 30 minutes until cheese is melted. Stir with a wire whisk until smooth.

Enjoy!

Halloween

Mario and Luigi trick-or-treating

Kade decided to be a convict.

At the very last moment, Erik decided to pull out Ben's Santa suit that he uses at Christmas and go trick-or-treating as jolly old St. Nick.

Maren went as a cat.

There is a house in our neighborhood who decorates like crazy for Halloween. The themes are usually different each year. This year they had a pirate theme, complete with music from Pirates of the Caribbean, mist, and lots of pirates.

I fit right in.

This year, Ben's friend Randy had a costume party at Classic Skating. This place always reminds me of elementary school when we would go skating for field trips, etc. Even though this one is in Layton, and the one of my youth was in Orem...they are nearly exactly the same.

Ben skated, but I could not find my rollerblades. Last time I rented skates, it was so much work just trying to keep them going in the same direction, I decided to pass.