Uninspired

That is how I feel today. I stayed up waaaay too late playing Mario Kart and got up waaaay too early to go to the gym. I am paying for it heavily today. And my kids are home from school today. And they are all playing with friends. I just opened up a can of Dr. Pepper, he is my good friend today.

Flashback Friday

When I was little, my mom used to make some of my clothes. I think she was pretty good at it. I remember this dress she made me for kindergarten. I remember wearing a lot of dresses that year.

I also remember this strawberry shortcake shirt that she made me. And I loved the little do-dads in my hair. They had little stuffed strawberries that dangled in my hair. They were my favorite! I always wore my strawberry shortcake shirt with a pair of blue knickers. Knickers were the best!


And while we are on the subject of flashback, I met with my friend Tiff for lunch this week. We hadn't seen each other in several years and it was a sweet reunion. We were roommates our freshman year of college at the Y. We had a really good time! I love Tiff! She has an amazing voice and I think she should be making music.

Tiff won Miss Richfield the summer after our freshman year. I don't know what all those dream catcher things are hanging in the background...

Pray for the Murph!

Yep, that's Murphy, my parents dog. And he is on his last leg. I think he is like 14 years old, I don't know what that equates to in dog years. Anyhow, we are dog-sitting. Let's hope he makes it until my parents get back. Have you ever heard a dog snore? I have, I am listening to it as I type. At least I know he is still breathing.

Back in the Saddle Again (or treadmill)

Last August I ran a half marathon with an injury. It was such an amazing accomplishment for me. I know for some of you, this is a fairly easy task, but not so much for me. Since then I have not been able to run without significant pain. Today I managed 5 miles pain free. Yipee! Another huge feat for me. And I felt great! I can't believe I even made it that far considering I haven't run in about 2 months. I am looking forward to many more miles!

Snow Baby

This morning we woke up to snow! It is exciting this time of year. It puts me in the mood for Christmas. We made the house smell like Christmas this morning and even listened to Christmas music. It is not even 9 o'clock and my snow baby has been out playing long enough that he is already done. Now it is time for hot chocolate, my favorite!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

My mom is coming up tonight in order to catch a flight in the morning. I made her this.

It is her birthday today. Here are some fun things about my mom. She loves coconut. She has 7 kids. She has a good eye for design. She is a good cook. She likes to shop. She used to do a Christmas boutique. She would buy stuff and make stuff all year long to sell at the boutique. She was really good at it. People would come for weeks ahead of time to buy things. Some even came from out of town. Sometimes she would sell out of things before the boutique started. She would fill up the library with things she made. My grandma would come help her sew and paint some years. Sometimes we even got to help with simple tasks. Her boutique was my favorite place to be this time of year. It usually fell on or around her birthday. She and her friends had the boutique in the same place every year. I remember setting up the night before. It was so exciting. During the boutique, there was always Christmas music playing and it smelled sooo good. Sometimes I got to help at the register. I loved it. My mom is a good helper. Whenever I had new babies she always pitched in to help. And by that I mean she did the dishes, tidied the house, folded clothes, cooked dinner, helped with kids, and you never had to ask her to do any of it. She would just come and get to work. It was wonderful. My mom loves to read and is always reading something. She walks with her friends every morning. My brothers would say she "gossips" with her friends every morning. They love to tease her about it. Either way, she gets out every morning. My mom loves to serve. I love my mom! Happy Birthday!

Take Out Without Leaving Home

Yesterday I made Cafe Rio for dinner. There are a lot of recipes out there, so I kind of had to pick and choose. I started with raw tortillas from Costco. Have you had those? They are very good. They come flattened out just like a tortilla. All you have to do is cook them on both sides. Next time I will try a different pork recipe. And there will be a next time because it was sooo good! Part of my kids made burritos and the the others made salads. It was fun for them to pick and choose. These are the recipes that I liked, and will use again:

Black Beans (I am sure you could use whatever beans you wanted)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cilantro
Combine in a sauce pan and heat through
I used 2 cans of beans and doubled everything, but the oil. They were good.

Pico de Gallo
3 tomatoes diced
1/2 bunch cilantro minced
1/2 sweet onion minced
1 section green pepper minced
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
1/4-1/3 cup of vinegar
Combine and refrigerate

Rice (This was so good and so easy!)
3 cups water
4 tsp chicken bullion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 can green chilies
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion
3 cups minute rice
Blend cilantro, green chilies, and onion in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients. Remove from heat and let sit.
I actually forgot to add the butter. It tasted so good, I probably wouldn't add it the next time.

Tomatillo Dressing
1/2 jalapeno (take out seeds)
2 cloves of garlic
2 tomatillos (remove papery skins)
1/2 bunch cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
1 packet Hidden Valley buttermilk ranch
Combine everything in the blender. Allow several hours of refrigeration before serving.

My husband even said, "We should have taken pictures," but it was Fast Sunday and we were really hungry! Do you have any good pork recipes?

Halloween 2008

There have been many costume changes in the past few days and I expect a few more before the night is over, but this is what they looked like this morning before they left to school.

Halloween 1988 and 1989

For some reason, my friend Kim and I thought it was fun to dress up like this.


We went to the DI and picked out those stylin dresses in the first picture. And yes I look really tall because I am and Kim is short, we were quite the pair. In the second picture, I remember we put tutu's around our legs to make them look bigger. I prefer the ropes tied around the pillows in the first picture for the "roll" effect. I have achieved that on my own now. And you gotta love our 80's hair!

Halloween 1977 and 1979

Me!

Halloween 2001

Aren't they the cutest? I just want to go back in time and squish them! I honestly don't know who is who in these pictures (I think David is on the left and Jacob on the right).

Grandma bought them costumes as well, so we had double the dress ups!

Halloween 1993

I thought it might be fun to post some Halloween pictures this week. This was taken my senior year of high school, good times...

Today I Cried

Today was our ward's primary program. Our kids were asked to wear white. They don't always wear white shirts and ties, but they did today and I thought they were so handsome. I love my boys a lot! The primary program was probably just like the one in your ward, same music, etc (except we got out early, yipee). We have a large primary and some of the kids had to sit on the first few rows in the congregation. One of them was my little Ethan. Luckily we were on the same side, so we got a great view of him. I had a great view of all of my boys. One of their favorite songs is "Called to Serve". They have requested that a lot at FHE this year. Today when the piano struck up the intro for "Called to Serve", Ethan crinkled his nose in excitement and shook his head like a rockstar. All of my boys eagerly sang this song (not so much on the other songs). I couldn't help but picture them in the MTC singing this song in the near future and leaving for missions. And I couldn't help but cry. They are growing up so fast. And I can't stop it. Faster than I realize we will be at the MTC, and sooner than I like, they will be leaving me and their dad and brothers to serve the Lord. I know that they are all going to be great missionaries. I just never thought part of me would dread the day they have to leave.

Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat (warning more cheesiness)

Yes, I went and saw HSM3 (High School Musical 3). And it was good. And yes I really was a Wildcat in real life. And yes, I married my high school sweetheart who also happened to be a high school basketball star. If only we would have been in the drama program...Someday we will try to convince our kids how cool we used to be.

Warning! (This may be too cheesy for some of you)

This photo was taken when Kirk and I were 18 years old. I found some other beauties that I will have to post later.

One time when I was in high school, Kirk REALLY wanted to talk to me in the middle of the night. So he came to my house flanked with about 3 or 4 friends. They all took posts just in case they woke up the wrong people. Kirk proceeded to the backyard to my basement window (which is also just below my parents window). He made all sorts of attempts to wake me by knocking on the window, but it all resulted in nothing. I didn't hear a thing! He told me the story the next day and I had no idea he was there.

So he learned early on that I am a GOOD sleeper. When we were blessed with twins, Kirk was just finishing up his last semester of college. So I usually got up by myself with both of them. He was in the middle of finals and working. On weekends, Kirk always helped. He has been the best husband and dad as far as helping out with the kids. Fast forward a couple of years later and sometimes I wouldn't even hear my babies. There were times he would get up with them and I wouldn't even know it. And it still happens to this day.

It takes me awhile to wake up and be coherent. Sometimes Kirk will tell me things that happened in the night and I thought I just dreamed them. Last night Tyler came in to our room and he was sick. He was throwing up all over. Kirk literally sprang into action. I laid there in bed dreaming about a little boy throwing up for awhile before I realized what was actually happening. We got him cleaned up and back to bed. Then we sat in the hall with our soapy water scrubbing our carpet (we had taco soup last night so we have some nice red spots left over). It was 4:00am. I was thinking how lucky I am to have Kirk. He had an early meeting this morning. He has also had a really busy week at work, we have hardly seen him. He very easily could have told me to get up and take care of it because he had meetings and work early in the morning, but he has never been like that. He is so good to get up and help. I am so lucky to have him. And it is a good thing, because I am a GOOD sleeper!

Tag-9 Things (that I changed to 5 things)

Thanks for the tag Josy. I am just not that interesting, so I changed it from 9 things to 5 things. Here goes...
These are in no particular order

5 Favorite TV Shows

1. The Office
2. American Idol
3. Dancing With the Stars
4. Cold Case
5. Biggest Looser
6. Project Runway

5 Favorite Restaurants

1. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
2. The Riverhorse
3. The Cheesecake Factory
4. Coco Cafe
5. Olive Garden
6. Los Hermanos

5 Things That Happened to me Yesterday

1. Went to the doctor for my cold sore
2. Talked on the phone with my sister
3. Laid in bed because I felt sick
4. Cut David, Jacob, and Ethan's hair
5. Made soup for dinner

5 Things That I am Looking Forward To.

1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas
3. Christmas Shopping
4. My son's birthday
5. The weekend

5 Things on my Wish List

1. A new desk
2. A clean and organized house
3. A cleaning lady to help keep the house clean
4. A stable economy
5. A family vacation

5 People That I Tag

1. Kaitlin
2. Samantha
3. Trisha
4. Alleen
5. Michelle

The Corn Maze

Stay-cation

We didn't go anywhere for UEA. When I was little we used to go to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. It was awesome! We camped in the campground and spent our days riding four wheelers and playing games. My parents are currently trying to sell their trailer. Which I think is sad. It means that there will probably not be any more camping trips to the dunes. They are closing the door on an era of their lives and their children's lives. At least they still have four wheelers and I hope we get to go again even if it is only a day trip. My husband has been working the past couple of days and the kids and I have been on a few adventures. We tried to go to the zoo, but it was too crowded. So we went to visit grandma. We ended up at the stake park with her and some cousins. It was very fun.




I have fond memories of the stake park and I am glad that my kids have been able to play there and make some memories as well.

We also went to Gateway. I needed to pick up a few things and the kids came unglued when I told them we had to go. They were very unhappy about going shopping (they always are). Even with the warm weather and fountain, they did not want to go. We got parking right on the street (almost in front of the store)! That never happens. I bought my stuff and we headed for the fountain. David wanted to buy a new shirt. Since we were right in front of the Gap, I told him we would see if there was a sale. Sure enough there was. I got 3 super cute graphic t's for the boys and a polo shirt for David. And my grand total was $18.38. Not bad for 4 shirts! By now all the kids were happy, thank goodness! Then we made our way to the fountain and they had a great time.



And to make the day even better, my sister came to visit from BYU and brought me some mint brownies! Mmmmm my favorite!

Saturday Afternnon

Yes, all those boys are asleep. There was no posing or pretending going on for these photos. In fact, I bet my husband won't think his picture is quite as funny as I think it is.

Winding Down

Once I fall asleep, I am out. I can sleep through most anything. When I was younger and living at home, I remember many nights when I couldn't sleep. It always took me quite awhile to settle down. I frequented the family library all the time. It was just right down the hall from my room. Lucky for me, my mom was an English major, so we had a great selection of books for me to browse. I remember sitting in there and looking through books and taking one to my room to try it out. Reading would always make me sleepy. Another night time activity of mine was re-arranging the furniture. I used to have a "day bed". Remember those? I even had a trundle for when my grandma came to visit or my friend Kim slept over. Everything else in my room was a left over. One time I even had an old love seat in my room. I wanted it there and thought it was cool to have a little couch in my room. I used to have an old black and white tv in there too. It was perched upon some old 70's looking end table with some wicker. I tend to get bored easily and so at nights I would think of different ways to place the furniture and move it all myself. I totally enjoyed the cleaning it involved and the finished product, a new and clean perspective.

For the most part, my house is fairly clean, except for our bedroom. It is the dumping ground for everything. I would say, "if we had more space and a bigger closet, it wouldn't be so messy." But that is probably not true. Last year we got new furniture and painted our room. I still haven't decorated it. And it hasn't looked good for a long time. So last night while Kirk was at YM's, I (yep, just me) re-arranged the furniture. I moved the bed and the nightstands. I admit I waited for Kirk to help me with the dresser, but it looks so much better. I switched out our bedding (did I mention I get bored easily? we have different bedding that I switch once in awhile). This bedding is my very favorite though. I love my clean room and our new perspective.