Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Signs of Summer

As I've mentioned earlier, Carson has learned to ride his bike and now he rides it all the time. He also thinks it's real cool to skid his back tire and make black marks all over the sidewalks. What else happens when you constantly skid your tire? Yep, flat tire and flat tube. So, for FHE on Monday, Sam and Carson changed his tire. I'm sure it's the first of MANY...



Parker and I were happy and content to just watch the process. DANG my hair is gray! Aren't you guys embarrassed to be seen with me? Why doesn't anybody yell at me to get my hair colored?


I got the boys in swim lessons again this summer. They both did great and Parker was much more comfortable with putting his face in the water. They both have late afternoon lessons and it's surpringly really nice. Last year I did early morning...what was I thinking?


And now for something completely different (I think that's a Monty Python title):
Last night I ran to the grocery store to buy some Spaghetti. They had 16 oz. packages 10 for $10 so I bought 2. I came home and started making dinner. I picked up one package and thought "sheesh, this is a small package of spaghetti!" I looked at the back to see the serving size. According to the package, it serves 8. I just couldn't believe that. Then I picked up the second package I bought and it was so much heavier! I got out my handy dandy kitchen scale and look what I discovered!

1st package:


2nd package:


Isn't that crazy? I swear that there aren't any holes in the 1st package, it's just a packaging mistake I suppose. I could return it, but let's be honest, it only cost me $1 and I suck at returning things so I'll just take it in the tailpipe!

Monday, June 09, 2008

Playing Catch Up

Here we go...

Carson graduated from 1st grade. Kind of an afterthought (I know, I'm a lame mom) I said "Oh Carson, let me take your picture so we remember what you looked like in 1st grade!" Maybe I should have taken some effort to make the background of the picture a little nicer....but then again, maybe not. He seriously gave me this face and after I took the picture he said "yep, that's what I look like." At least he could have taken the sucker out of his mouth....


Cameron has discovered the joys of the Johnny Jumper, thanks to Sam. He seriously loves it! He bounces around until...


He falls asleep!


On Friday, after work, we found ourselves at the BMW dealership in Murray. After a few discussions, a new car was purchased. How ya like me now?



IN HIS DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to Fern and Russ for letting us hang out with them at the BMW dealership while they bought THEIR new car! She's a beauty, eh?

Sam has a serious obsession with cars, especially ones he can't afford. Last month there was a wedding near our house so tons of cars were parked all over the place and check out what was parked right in front of our house:


Sam was GIDDY, I kept finding him near the car taking pictures of it! He loved it so much he just HAD to lick it. Sheesh.... oh wait, he licked it because I double dog dared him!


Cameron gets tired of waiting for the binky so lately he has been improvising.


Sunday we ate dinner with my parents and Curtis and Shandy and then took the kids to Copperton Park. I love this picture of Dexter trying to get a drink!


Parker seems a bit excited, don't you think?


Gotta go, Carson is trying to "decorate" my house with jellyfish....don't ask.....

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

From Tonight

I took a few pictures, thought I'd share 'em.

First of all, if you haven't already, you have to check out The Pioneer Woman Cooks website because she puts the best recipes on there with lots of pictures and instructions for those of us who are domestically challenged!

Her latest recipe she talked about was "Crash Hot Potatoes" and I decided to give 'em a try and they are super good! My picture isn't as purdy as The Pioneer Woman's but who gives a rip?


They went really well with the steak I made in my cast iron skillet. Don't worry, I managed to cook the steak without actually touching the raw meat! Phew! If I make these potatoes again I will probably add some onion powder or season salt...or garlic. They were really good, but they needed a 'kick'. Ooooh, maybe some Emeril Essence! (I said that for my dad's benefit. He's a BIG fan.)


I promise I TRY to teach my family to have manners at the dinner table....



Cameron cracks me up, check out those cheeks! When we go on walks his cheeks are constantly bouncing up and down with every crack in the sidewalk I cross over. I seriously love his haircut. He's stylin'!


Sam and Cameron: Strike a pose!

Monday, June 02, 2008

Tatem's Blessing

Saturday afternoon Nalani and I drove to the Twin Falls area so we could attend our friend's (Natalie Service) baby blessing on Sunday.

We hooked up with our other friend, Sarah, and a good time was had by all. To quote Sarah, we all ended up with a "laughing headache" so that equates to lots of laughing and not much sleeping. I would love to say the "nobody sleeps" rule applied because we were partying so hard, but really it was due to somebody's, who shall remain nameless, snoring! Ha Ha Ha!!! It was worth it though, sharing a hotel room with great friends is always fun no matter how much sleep you get!

A huge thanks to Sam and my parents for giving me a break from the kids. It was coolio.

Surpringly, I didn't take too many pictures...shocker.

I gave my camera to Natalie's sister, Lindsay, and she got lots of pictures of Natalie, me, Sarah, and Nalani together. We were laughing our guts out for some reason so I didn't get a normal picture, which suits us well. I'd like to thank Ricks College for bringing us all together and let's hope we remain close forever!



I didn't even get a good picture of Tatem. I'm such a loser! Here's a strange close up that shows off her sweet binky! ha ha ha! Thanks for being a wonderful host Natalie, we love you!


For an awesome slide show/story that Natalie put together click here.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Cameron's 1st Haircut

This morning we took Cameron to our friend, Natalie Jones, and she gave him his first haircut. He seriously looks so dang cute with his hair all trimmed and clean-cut. Thanks Nat!

Before, during, and after shots:




Friday, May 30, 2008

My World In 7 Minutes

I literally have about 7 minutes to update my blog before Sam gets home from the video store...

Yummers, 'all gone goodies'. I made them and now they are gone, just like the name says!


Watching "The Incredibles" can really wear a guy out!


He's king of the world!


Carson got the "distinguished cub" award from school. Each year the kids have a list of items they have to do and then you get this award. If you remember last year, Carson didn't get this award so he just made his own dang medal!


Today Carson had a program in his classrooom to show off their skillz. Parker was just happy to be in the school, he seriously cannot wait to start preschool this fall.


Carson's class sang songs, read a book together, and then showed us a book they had written and illustrated. Carson's book was called "The Big Hit". It was about a kid who always won his baseball games and it got so boring that he started to lose on purpose. Wow, he really has the "give up" reasoning down don't you think? I'm so proud.



Tonight we(Sam) hung new outdoor lights on our house. They are real purdy. Cameron just chilled on the grass the whole evening. Check out the old lights, the new lights, and my cute hubby who is doing the work!





Okay time to go watch a movie. Night!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a really nice memorial day weekend. The weather was awesome, it rained a lot (remember, I'm from Seattle!) and we were able to get a lot done around the house as well as have some fun outside the house.

Our neighbor, Peter, came over and removed Carson's stitches. That was super nice of Peter because he saved us a trip back to the instacare. One day I'll learn how to take out stitches because I'm sure I have only begun my experiences relating to stitches.

Do you remember those bacon and eggs bandaids I bought at Archie McPhees in Seattle a few years ago? I totally found some in the back of my linen closet the other day so I made sure Carson wore bacon to school on Friday, mostly for my entertainment!

Here he is right before Peter removed the stitches. He's wearing his bicycle helmet...oh man, he looks pretty awesome in this get-up....


We laid him on the countertop (I'm sure it was sterile) and Peter showed us his steady hand skills. Thanks Peter!


Saturday we went to Kangaroo Zoo with my parents and Curtis and Shandy. I've heard a lot about this place and I'm happy to report, I was NOT disappointed. Seriously I laughed my guts out for the 3 hours we were there. I think I had as much fun going down the big slides as my kids did, maybe more! There was this one contraption that was like a trampoline with a raised platform in the center that was hard to balance on. I got onto it and laughed until my cheeks hurt while Curtis tried to bounce me off. Totally brought me back to the good ol' days when Curtis and I were young-'uns and we would play "crack the egg" on our tramp!


I don't think Curtis' son, Dexter, thought it was so funny.


Parker was fearless. I've never seen him so independent before! He loved the slide that was 3 stories tall. He would go down, head first, on his back. Right before he would slide down, he would say "To infinity and BEYOND!" Gotta love Parker!


So after 3 hours the kids were very giddy and red in the face. I don't know why Parker looks mad here, probably because it was time to go. For sure we will go back. I understand there is a Kangaroo Zoo in North Salt Lake as well. That location has a black light miniature golf course...fun!


On Sunday we had our monthly "cousins dinner". This month it was Cody and Meridith's turn to host. We had a grubbin' BBQ and great company! While we were hanging out I was telling everybody how Carson likes to take our empty Mountain Dew cans to the recycle bin because he always sips out the last few drops of Dew before throwing the can away. My mom and Jed both said "you should put something else in the can before asking him to throw it away" and of course my mind instantly started to go crazy with ideas. So, today, I emptied a can and put some salt water in the bottom. Then I asked Carson to take it out to the recycle bin in the garage. Sam had the video camera ready, but Carson was tricky. He didn't sip anything until he was in the garage and out of our view. I was disappointed for a second, but was instantly rewarded when he came running back in the house with a gross look on his face and into the bathroom he went to spit and rinse out his mouth! Unfortunatly, Sam didn't capture the video, but I took this picture as Carson came out of the bathroom:


You might think I'm mean, but I figure if I'm the only chick in a household of boys, I'm going to make it worthwhile and laugh every day!

And just for fun, here are some cute pics I took of Cameron tonight. Hopefully this week he'll lose the faux hawk because I'm going to see if my friend, Natalie, can cut his hair. It's really scraggely on the sides and back and I'm tired of messing with it. I may not completely get rid of his signature look, but I'll get it "cleaned up" a bit.




That first picture of him looks like he's practicing to be a cheerleader...uh-oh.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Strawberry Lemonade Recipe

Here is the recipe for the Strawberry Lemonade that I made last Saturday:

6 cups whole and hulled strawberries
4 cups lemon juice (If you were amazing, you could squeeze your own lemons. Otherwise, just buy the 32 oz. bottles of lemon juice at the store)
6 cups granulated sugar

In a blender, puree strawberries until smooth. Transfer strawberries to a large stainless steel saucepan as completed. Add lemon juice and sugar and stir to combine. Heat to 190 degrees over medium/high heat, stirring occassionally. Do not boil. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Ladle hot concentrate into pint jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rim and screw on lids.

Place jars in canner and process for 35 minutes.

Makes approximately 7 pint jars.

To reconstitute, mix one part concentrate with 2-3 parts water. Adjust according to taste.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Peregrine Falcons


For the past several years, there have been peregrine falcons that nest on top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. There is a camera and microphone installed in their nesting box so you can watch live feeds of their daily happenings. My mom emailed me the link to the camera and basically my whole family has become obsessed with watching it. This year the female laid 4 eggs. Two have hatched and the chicks died. One hatched a few days ago and is alive and well. There is still one egg that needs to hatch. I just watched the female feed her chick and it was very cool! Check it out!!

Watch Live Feed of Peregrine Falcons

click on "view from camera 2" on the right side of the page.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed

Well, maybe Bright Eyed and Bushy Head is more like it!


It looks like I just scared him but that's his normal look. :)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Now I Think It's Funny

Now I think my crazy week is funny.

Here is the honest to goodness update on the pas 24 hours:

I have lost my voice.

Parker woke up today crying because his ear hurt. I took him to the pediatrician and he has ear infections in both of his ears. NICE!

You want to know how much I've spent on co-pays in one week??
$85
You want to know how much it cost me to fill up my gas tank today so I could make it to the doctor's office without running out of gas?
$66

Everybody should stay away from me and my family, I think we are jinxed!

I'll post the Strawberry Lemonade recipe soon, I promise!