Merry Christmas

Damian played Santa's helper by handing out the presents,

but he seemed to think they were all for him.

Damian had just as much fun playing with the empty boxes as he did with his presents.

Since it was not a hot day we had a roast turkey dinner.

Where did everyone go?

By the end of the day, it was all too much for some...

We're still here

Okay, this is why I haven't posted anything for over a month.

We had a great Thanksgiving in St. George with Aunt Benja and Uncle Erick. Since the restaurant was closed for the day, we had our party there. We made two turkeys this year. PJ made a delicious rosemary rubbed turkey, and we finally realized my dream of putting a whole turkey in the deep fryer. YUM.

Here is Andrew held captive in the princess tent.

Halloween Aftermath

Here's a peek at what happened when everyone finally came home from trick-or-treating. As Little Bo Peep counts her spoils, a wolf in sheep's clothing sneaks up from behind and snags her biggest catch.

Happy Halloween!

First, here are some fascinating pictures of our roof remodel, for my Dad's enjoyment.
Of course, half way through the job, it started to rain, so we had to tarp almost the entire roof.


And here is the latest wall hanging I've made. I was getting sick of my Firecracker one, so I made this out of a charm pack, a fat quarter, and 1/2 yard of fabric. The cute wall plaque is from my Fall Swap buddy.
And finally, the fun stuff. Here's Little Bo Peep, with her sheep (which looks uncannily like a poodle).

Pumpkin Land

Here we are at the first field trip of the season. Everyone looks so calm and organized in the picture, but with every elementary school in the county descending on Pumpkin Land at the same exact moment, it was absolute chaos. How could it possibly be a good idea to take twenty preschool kids into a corn maze? Still, we had a lot of fun and even went home with a souvenir pumpkin.

Aunt Benja came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Not only did she fix us a Thai feast, she fed Lane bubbles.

,

Lullaby

Andrew just sent me this video. I think you'll all enjoy it.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?

Well, after feeling guilty all last winter that we didn't have an emergency heat source, I finally ordered us a half cord of wood (I know, this tops everyone's list of fears). I thought I would be fancy and buy one of those wood rack bracket sets at Walmart. What a mistake. As soon as I assembled it and stacked half of the wood, the welds popped on the brackets and my whole woodpile cascaded down the side.That's when Bob's How To (seriously) came to the rescue. For $2.75 I had my very own plans for a foolproof woodrack. After a while, Andrew felt sorry for me slaving away in the garage with our old handsaw, so he helped me out with the power saw to finish all of the cuts. A few hours later, I'd finished my very first woodworking project (not counting the numberless painted wood thingys I've done between Young Women's and Super Saturday). Happily, I started stacking the woodpile for the second time.
Of course, half a cord of wood is a lot of wood, and so no matter how fabulous my new wood rack was, it was never going to hold that much. So the next day, I went down to the Home Depot, bought myself 5 more pressure treated 2x4's, and looked helpless until the salesperson offered to cut them all to size for me. Another hour went by, and I had my second rack, à la Bob's How To.

So, here's the finished product:
And here is what Lane was doing while I was busy working:

Fall Favorites Swap Results

I had a lot of fun planning for my Fall Swap buddy and waiting for my package to arrive. If you're curious, you can see some of the other swaps here.

So, here's a picture of what my buddy sent me in the mail.

Jill sent school supplies, a "canning" jar of candies, a Halloween pumpkin, an apple-cinnamon candle, and a Fall wall plaque. Her cute homemade card said:

"I love gearing up for school. My mom always cans food in the fall as a family tradition. I do now too...even though I ruin half of it.... I love decorating and dressing-up for Halloween, growing up we always had apple-cinnamon candles burning when we got home from school. I love the smell! And lastly, we always do a craft day with my friends & family - I made a little wooden plaque for you too!"

And here is what I sent to Tiffany.

Everything is wrapped in this picture (in lunch bags and scrapbooking supplies from our Ebay days), but my Fall Faves were Lehi Mills Pumpkin Cookie mix, Bath & Body Works "Look Ma New Hands" lotion, a yummy recipe for Corn Chowder, a book about how great mothers are, and a charm pack of cute fabric with a pattern for a jean quilt.

I had just as much fun planning my package as I did opening the one Jill sent!

They Just Come Out That Way

Hana was invited to her first birthday party this weekend, with strict instructions to wear her very best princess dress. We managed to scrounge together a pretty decent "ballerina princess" outfit. Later, she put on all of her party favors and entertained us with an original song until bedtime.

Swag's Health

If you haven't noticed the new link on our site, Andrew is bravely tracking his quest for better health on his new SwagsHealth blog. I won't give the game away, but here is a sample of his latest post. Drop in on him from time to time and cheer him on!

"Since I have lived in Utah I have looked at Mt Timpanogos everyday and I have never reached the top. Well now I have, and she can never mock me again...."


See the rest at http://swagshealth.blogspot.com

Big Shoes

I finally broke down and bought Hana a new dress. Lucky for me, Lane already had a matching hand-me-down.Okay, we can't decide how to spell Lane's nickname. So, if you have an opinion, vote in the comments below. Is it Laney or Lanie? Either way, she has some big shoes to fill.

The Adventures of Hana

Here's Hana riding her bike at the park. She's getting pretty good at it.Hana on her way to her first day of preschool.
They're finally tearing down the old house we lived in while we were in school. This is where Hana lived when she was a baby. Notice the sign warning all workers to wash their face and hands before eating. It seems the siding was made of asbestos, great.
Hana with her favorite great-uncle named Steve.
Grammy was in town, so we went down to campus for a J. Dawg and a trip to the duck pond.

A day in the life of Lane

Driving to Walmart.
Hard at work.The safest way to play.

Birthday Boy

Thanks Uncle Andrew, Aunty Samantha, Hana and Lane for the great presents. I love them!

Damian got a blow up speed boat full of balls and he thought it was great! He hops in and out of it all the time.

We went to the park for a picnic on Damian's birthday and he loved the lamington that we had.

We had a party a week after the actual birthday. Damian got so many new toys, I don't know where I am going to put them all. Damian had a great time and really enjoyed all the attention.

I made this whale of a cake, it did not turn out quite like the book but at least you can tell what it is.

Pina Colada Parfait

In my ongoing quest to find non-dairy, corn-free food that Lane can eat, I've invented a new dessert recipe (not like a 1-year-old needs more dessert options). So, here it is:

Pina Colada Parfait

Jell-O Layer:
1 large box pineapple Jell-O
1 small can mandarin oranges
1 small can crushed pineapple

Make Jell-O according to package directions. Add drained mandarin oranges and pineapple. Pour into a pretty dish and let set.

Coconut Custard Topping:
2 1/2 T tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 t salt
1 can coconut milk (Chef's Choice brand is best)
2 egg yolks
1/4 t vanilla

Combine tapioca starch, sugar, and salt in saucepan. Add coconut milk and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Temper the egg yolks by adding a little of the hot liquid to the yolks in a separate bowl, and stirring them quickly. Then add yolk mixture back into saucepan. Cook another 2 minutes, being careful not to boil or curdle the eggs. Add vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

When Jell-O is set, top with Coconut Custard. Let chill 2 hours, and enjoy. YAY!!! A yummy, creamy dessert that is non-dairy!

Travel

Hello!

I thought it was about time I put something up on this blog so here are some photo's from my recent trip overseas. I arrived in London late June and then went straight to Paris for a few days with Dad. Dad went home and I stayed for another month travelling around England (London, Oxford, Bath, York etc). I stayed with friends in London and Reading then met up with Ken, Sue, Judy etc for my time in York. Sue and I also met Grandad's sister Mary (see picture) and one of her grand-daughters and great grand-daughter (the baby - Lola). Travelling was a brilliant experience and one to be repeated in another place and another time...hopefully in the not so distant future :) Jen