Fancy Dancers

Annika and Adrienne had their Christmas dance program a couple of weeks ago. They did a great job and looked so cute.
Of course they loved wearing makeup.

Adrienne saw me with the camera to video before her dance started and gave me a little wave. Her teacher didn't like that much, but the audience (and Adrienne's mom) went "Awwwwww".
I am having some trouble getting it to load, so that will hopefully come later.

A Christmas Party

We had a ward Christmas party. It was a breakfast and turned out to be a lot of fun, and not just for the kids.

Burke had his fun as well...

It's Great to be 8!

My number two son is 8. He couldn't be more thrilled.
Nor could I.
8 is a very important birthday.
He gets to be baptized.
We have the date scheduled: January 2, 2010.
He's already had his interview with the bishop,

Here's his interview with mom:
Favorite Color: Yellow (despite currently being a brown belt)
Favorite Food: Macaroni and Cheese. From the box. (It was his request for his birthday dinner. I didn't complain, but wondered exactly how bad my cooking really is.)
What he wants to be when he grows up: A school teacher
Requested Birthday gifts: Tools, to be able to make gifts for his loved ones.
(Burke was privately pounding his chest about that one.) Tools were all that he asked for. Really. I had to get creative and we got him a camera as well. He was so surprised. He loved it.
Favorite Activity: Art projects
Favorite Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks
Favorite Book: Magic Treehouse series.
Favorite Family Vacation: Disneyland. (I personally think the best vacations we took were when we lived in Michigan, but he probably doesn't remember them.)

We are so happy he is in our family. He is a sweet little guy and so easy to get along with...
A HUGE change from how he was 8 years ago. His Aunt Kellie used to say he gave everyone the stink eye. Which was true, when he wasn't busy crying at the time. So glad he is the easygoing, intelligent, and thoughtful boy he has grown to be. I am so proud of him.

Happy Birthday, Kaders!

Christmas Cookies

Or a burnt offering?
Yep, I've been baking.
While sleeping.
Didn't work out so well.

A Fair Question

As we were leaving the Priesthood Preview/Great to Be 8 programs at the church last night, Adrienne asked the Bishop why he lives at the church.
Poor guy.

By the way, I am thrilled to have those particular things over with for this year!
I slept very well last night.

Santa and Hammers

My kids' school has a Breakfast With Santa every December. We get to have doughnuts and juice and share our greatest wishes with Santa. The kids are always excited before we go, but then act a little shy when we get there.
This year, Nathan decided he was a little old to sit on Santa's lap. But he did it.
And there was a classmate there who took his picture when he did it. And she was a girl. She giggled. He was embarrassed.
Can you tell?


Adrienne got to see Santa too. She wasn't sure about sitting on his lap though.Do you love the body language there?

After we saw Santa we went to Home Depot to do a project. They made wagons that were just right for putting present in--at least that is what Adrienne said.
There were hammers, nails, wood, and stickers. They loved it. After the big project, we went to lunch with Grandma and Grandpa to our favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate Kade's birthday.

He wanted to go to this particular restaurant because he wanted them to sing to him. An added bonus was getting a yummy sundae that his siblings tried to inhale before I put the brakes on.
Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for braving the snow and heading up to see Kade.
More to come on the big birthday...
He's 8!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I have been busy getting things ready for Primary, birthdays, baptism, and Christmas.
Our house is finally ready for Christmas.
Almost.
We got our tree.
It was free! (My favorite).
My parents thought the evergreen in their front yard was getting too big and offered to let us cut it down for our Christmas tree this year.
Of course, it looked a lot smaller when it was outside than it does in the house.
Burke cut another foot off of it to get in inside.
It was extremely pokey, so after we got it in the tree stand and all screwed in, and found it was leaning a little bit, we decided not to subject ourselves to torture in order to fix it.
Burke and I got the lights on and the kids decorated it.
Annika called the tree decorations "ordinances".
The "ordinance" ring-- where the kids hang everything gets higher every year.**Sniff**
Of course, it is bare in the back.
Adrienne helped with the stockings. And she made sure our famous singing and dancing Santa was put out where all could see him. We had to move him because not only is he obnoxious after about two days, he is also a little bit naughty.

Thankful

We had a great weekend spending the holiday with Burke's extended family. The kids played with their cousins, the adults ate (and ate), and Burke got to go shooting with his brothers and their boys.
I got to go shopping.
What more do you need?
I am so thankful that we have family who can gather together and enjoy a nice meal.
I am thankful that my kids love to play with their cousins.
I am thankful that we are all healthy this year.
I am thankful that we could still talk about Grandpa and how much we miss him.
I am thankful that I have a great family of my own.
I am thankful that my boys held the door open for me and my girls on Sunday.
I am thankful that my husband hung all my Christmas lights.

I am thankful that my driveway gets shoveled when it snows...
Lest Grandma see this photo and think poorly of my mothering skills, I claim ignorance. This was Daddy's little helper who was supposed to be in bed, and sneaked out to help daddy shovel the driveway. And no, I didn't take this picture, but I did laugh really hard when she came in with freezing little feet.
I am thankful for my children who keep things interesting and for a husband who makes a 4 year old get out of bed and want to be with him in bare feet on a cold snowy night.

Perfectly Princess-y

We went to see Disney Princesses on Ice. It was a special treat, and I didn't tell the girls we were going until we got there.
We had excellent seats. It was a great experience and we had so much fun.
It started with Mickey and Minnie. Adrienne was fine.
Then we got into Snow White, Ariel, Mulan, Belle, and Aurora.Adrienne was not so happy to see the villains in each story. She sat on my lap for the entire first half of the show.
The second half was Cinderella's story.
That was better.
The stepsisters were right in front of us. Adrienne was a little scared of them too, but she stayed in her seat.
Of course, every princess needs her fairy godmother. Sometimes a mom needs one too.
At the end, all of the princes and princesses were on the set waving in their beautiful gold and white sparkly gowns. Annika was in heaven.It was nice to have a girl's night out with the cousins, aunt, and grandma.
Thanks grandma!

What Goes Around...

Shortly before parent teacher conference, Nathan informed me that he had a project in his social studies class.
No problem.
He had to build a model of a Native American home. A teepee or a long house, etc.
No problem.
Then he told me it was due the next day.
And it was already 10 PM.
And he didn't have any of the paperwork for directions or requirements for the teepee.
And it had been assigned for a month, he thought.
Now we have a problem.

I was more than a little perturbed at his lack of responsibility, but had to keep my tongue in check because someday my own mother hoped that/warned me this would happen.

I was in Mrs. Achziger's class for 7th grade English. She was just as her name sounded: awful.
We had to do book reports once each month. The requirements for the reports varied, sometimes we had to do a simple description of the report, sometimes we had to do it verbally.

There was one way we could get out of it. It was by reading a book that was extra long. Then we could skip a month and there was one less book report to do.

I decided that was the way to go when I had procrastinated one month and didn't have time to read an entire book before the report was due.

Now I just had to find a book that would fit the bill.
I picked Jane Eyre.
Not a short book.
Very long, very complicated for a 7th grader.
But I read it, and mostly liked it.

For the next report, the teacher had decided that we were going to illustrate each chapter with a drawing.

I had to illustrate each chapter of a 600+ page book.
Plus, this happened to be over Christmas break. Who wants to do a stupid book report over Christmas break?

So....

I found myself doing some drawings the Sunday night before school started. I didn't realize how long it was going to take until I had been working for an hour and had only done about three pictures.

My mom was hanging around the kitchen while I worked, asking questions. When she figured out what a predicament I had put myself in, she had pretty much the same reaction I did when I found out about Nathan's teepee assignment.

Grrrrr.

She let me work for a few more hours, but finally took pity on me around 10 PM and grabbed some paper and worked with me to get it done.

We worked for a while longer, and finally finished the report long after my bedtime.

I got an A.

But,

I have never heard the end of it since.

Which is good, because it helped me have a smidgen more patience with Nathan as we worked on his teepee.

He got an A.
He will never hear the end of it.

Daddy's Little Helper

No, I didn't do this either. Just sayin'...
While we wait for them to send us the right microwave part, my dishwasher decided to stop working too. Thankfully(?), Burke fixed it too.
He had some help though. I'm sure the feather was extremely useful.I guess this is what happens when you are literally picking out your appliances 30 minutes before you have to be on an airplane back to Michigan (and you just had major sticker shock after picking out your carpet).
Maybe one of these days something will break and he won't be able to fix it....Hmmm... I doubt it.

Pretty Laced Rainbows

I did this on Adrienne the other day and loved it. I have done something similar a million times before, but this one was really fancy and turned out beautifully.
It took a quite a while to finish. Adrienne was a very patient trooper. She read me a book and we visited while I worked on her hair. I got to hear all about preschool, primary, and her plans for the future (she is going to grow up and be a mommy). By the time we were done, I think she was sick of sitting. This one lasted only two days. She had a crazy night and the 'do didn't survive.

Pumpkin Pancakes

We made the yummiest breakfast ever the other day.
At least, Burke and I loved it.
The kids were foodie wimps.
I first had it at my sister's house in Ohio.
Pumpkin Pancakes with Apple Syrup=YUM!
I found the recipe at Allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Pancakes With Hot Cider Syrup
HOT CIDER SYRUP:
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
In a saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.
For pancakes, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter.
Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot greased griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with the syrup.

Another Harvest

I got another shipment of produce on Saturday. This time I got up early to volunteer. It was a lot of fun. We distributed the fruit and veggies evenly to all the baskets and then got to take some of the extras home. I got some extra cauliflower, strawberries and bananas.
We have already eaten all the strawberries.
We made crepes (again) with strawberry, orange, banana and spinach smoothie for Sunday dinner. Tee-hee, the kids were eating spinach without even knowing it.
I am all about simple Sunday fare.

Here is a photo of the latest shipment and Adrienne's hand:
The only problem is that I got a billion kiwi. Any ideas on what to do with them?

Thanks

On Veteran's Day, the scouts had an opportunity to learn how to take care of the flag from a vet who is in our ward.
Although they range in age from 8-10, are a little rambunctious, and didn't always pay attention, I was grateful for the opportunity to be there while they were taught the correct way to respect our flag from someone who fought for it.
Thanks for the sacrifices of those men and women who have served our country.
We salute you (even if it is with the wrong hand). I love this photo. He is showing the boys the proper way to hold the flag, and telling them how important it is to be sure the flag is secure in your arms.
His grasp shows his reverence for it. I hope the boys got the message.
I know I did.