if you’re happy and you know it

We are in a rush to get through all things "summer" before time runs out. Last Saturday we went to the park to ride the carnival rides.

This year Natalie was big enough for the little rides, and this purple plane was calling her name.

While waiting to ride the ferris wheel, Ian told me he was going to do an excited dance. I was glad he let that excitement out and shared it with me.

It’s never hard to guess what Ian is feeling on the inside.

I’m not a fan of heights, or falling from them, so I was happy to watch the stroller and take pictures.

As soon as Natalie saw the carousel she went running for the tickets and called back over her shoulder, “I’m coming right back horsies!” I think the purple horse was calling her name too.

My kids are cute. What else can I say?

important credentials

Recent conversation at lunch about my lawn mowing skills:

Me: Daddy is better at mowing the lawn.

Cali: That’s because he’s a professional.

Ian: And he’s hairy!

i have a family here on earth

I just wanted to put up this photo of one happy family.

Why so happy? They just came out of the temple after being there, all together, for the first time.

Those are celestial smiles.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

Natalie and I took a trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house while the rest of our family went to Lake Powell. We all had a grand time.

I packed the wrong sd card and only got a few pictures, but these give the essence of the trip alright.

Lot’s of family, lots of fresh air, a scoop (or ten) of homemade ice cream, and lots of fun.

my little firecrackers

I think I will always question giving burning metal sticks to our children to play with, especially when these are the looks we get, but what better way to celebrate independence is there than playing with fire?

We celebrated on the second of July because we were out of town on the fourth.  Let me tell you, it was a spectacular little show.

 

 

 

 

 

That was my favorite part of the show.

Summer nights are the perfect time to remember how lucky we are to have freedom in the pursuit of happiness.

berry yummy (and very low-fat)

It’s July? Where is the summer going?

We are loving the ripe berries and here is a good way to enjoy some. We love to make wacky cake because it is fast, just the right size, and yummy. I tried subbing out the oil with applesauce to see if it would still be good and it was great! I served it up still warm from the oven with fat-free cool whip sliced strawberries and drizzled a little chocolate syrup over the top. This was oh so yummy.

Here is the recipe for Wacky Cake, (one of our family favorites.)

*****Update 7-23-11 Since this post I got some new cocoa and realized I had forgotten to take it's fat into account when I labeled this dessert fat-free. Please excuse that mistake. It still is very low-fat.

Wacky Cake

1. Sift into one bowl:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tblsp. cocoa

2. Add:

1/3 cup cooking oil (or substitute applesauce for even lower-fat version)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cider vinegar

1 cup cold water

3. Pour ingredients into greased 9” square pan and bake 35 minutes at 350.

4. Let cool and top with frosting or whatever you like on your chocolate cake.

it’s a major award

This is a post I’ve been meaning to make for a few months now.

Cali has talent in many areas, and she love art. Her skills paid off recently in a poster contest where she won a for her age group and our family got to go to a lunch and awards ceremony to honor the winners.

The same week she entered a coloring contest where she won A YEAR’S SUPPLY OF ICE CREAM.

Really she won twelve coupons for ice cream, but a “year’s supply” sounds so much cooler. I would have liked to explain to them that 52 coupons is more realistic for our family, but I didn’t want to embarrass her.

Here’s the family enjoying a picnic in 30 degree weather thanks to our little artiste. They planted a tree in her name with a little plaque, but it started snowing hard, so we just ran for the car.

Cali also finished up Spring soccer. It went into a few makeup games because of rained-out and snowed-out games.

I would have taken a picture of her with her “Most Valuable Player” trophy, but it would have been more meaningful if I could have gotten the whole team together with each of them holding their “Most Valuable Player” trophies.

And Cali finished up the school year with a few more awards for scholastics at her school’s awards assembly.

I think her favorite award will always be the ice cream.

what now

You can’t see it from the picture, but the ceiling fan is going full speed.

Ian, using his special do-the-unexpected-and-most-damaging-thing skill, pulled the cord that switches this fan on and off right out. No, there is no other switch for the fan. We long ago came to the conclusion that much of our wiring was done by monkeys.

I opened it up to see if there was a simple way to fix the switch. (This is just a fan not a light)

I found this mass of wires and decided to quit while I was ahead. I’ve seen enough movies to know that danger surrounds a jumbled mass of different colored wires.

At least the fan is still working. Albeit, nonstop.

Update: After Scott got home last night he was able to defuse the fan.

funny things said by my boy

I am getting so behind with blogging, but I told myself I couldn't blog this week until I finished preparing my Relief Society lesson.

I never finish preparing, but now the class is over, so I guess it counts.

Anyways, before I forget, here are some funny things that Ian said. (Finally something new to add to the side bar.)

1. Ian and I were making beds together. While we made my bed he was discussing the fact that Daddy and I shared the bed. "That's because he is a husband, and you are a honey."

2. I wish I could write down every prayer Ian says. The words spill out so quickly; no searching for something to say, and they give me an interesting view of what is forefront on his mind.

I think that it is the prayers like this that make Heavenly Father's day.

Here is the body of one from the other day (I wrote this one down):

Ian: I'm thankful we're safe from floods and that there's no tomatoes here that are gross and green and that we can go for Jesus and not the bad guys.

Amen to that.

down at the farm

When my children get really excited about seeing a cow, I know that they are growing up in a different world than I did.

I took Kimi, Ian, and Natalie to a farm/tourist attraction recently, and we had a good time seeing the animals.

Kimi has a thing for horses so these were the stars of the show for her.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for my girls so this is just the beginning of our summer outings.

stuck indoors s’mores

It’s still raining here, and are we ever looking forward to summer.

Here’s a treat that gives you a taste of the yummy campfire treat without the campfire.

It is also a treat that makes it so I stock up on Golden Grahams when there is a sale.

And it’s not a healthy treat, but life without dessert is meaningless.

Indoor S’mores

(Recipe from bettycrocker.com)

8 cups Golden Grahams cereal

5 cups mini marshmallows

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup light corn syrup

5 Tblsp. butter or margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup of mini marshmallows

1. In a large bowl, measure cereal. Butter a 9x13 pan. In large microwavable bowl, microwave 5 cups marshmallows, chocolate chips, corn syrup, and butter uncovered on High 2 minutes to 3 minutes 30 seconds, stirring after every minute, until melted and smooth when stirred. Stir in vanilla.

2. Pour over cereal and quickly toss until completely coated. Stir in 1 cup marshmallows

3. Press mixture evenly in pan using the buttered back of a spoon. Let stand uncovered, at least one hour. Or refrigerate if you prefer a firmer bar. (or just eat some of the gooey mess, still warm, if you are like me.) Cut into bars and enjoy.

4. Work out longer tomorrow.

kindergarten round-up

(There’s my little cowgirl in the middle.)

If this post seems familiar, it's because I did another post about this two years ago.

I’ll do another in two years, and four years from now. I also get to go on the off years with the prospective kindergartner so that means, as of right now, I get to see this show for 8 years running. (four years down, four to go.)

Good thing it is such an exciting production.

Kimi even ended up with the exact same speaking part that Cali had. It was uncanny.

Kimi only has three days of class left. She is glad to be moving on to first grade.

Ian’s glad for summer vacation so he will get to be with Kimi all day again.

The hours that she is gone are the longest hours of his life.

something warm on a rainy day

I like soups and breads on rainy days. We have had plenty of those lately.

This is a recipe for heathified corn bread that I like to make whenever we have taco soup. I started with the regular Alber’s corn bread recipe and tweaked and substituted it into this version. It is low fat, whole wheat, and delicious.

(I usually put applesauce and a little sugar-free maple syrup on mine, but a slab of butter looks better in pictures)

Heathified Corn Bread

1 cup yellow corn meal

1 cup white whole wheat flour (sometimes called whole wheat pastry flour)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup skim milk

1/3 cup applesauce

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Preaheat oven to 400 degrees and grease an 8 inch square or round baking dish

2. Combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.  Combine milk, applesauce and egg in a small bowl; mix well. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended.  Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.

Recipe can be doubled for a 9x13 pan, or can be made as above into 10-12 muffins baked for 15 minutes.

parks and recreation

In between the snow, rain, and cold we have had this spring, there have been a few nice days.

A few weeks ago we went to the park to fly a kite.

You can barely see the kite in the upper middle of this picture as four members of our family run after it.

Natalie and I got to hang out at the playground.

Forecast for today: more rain.

We’re looking forward to sunny days.

what melts my heart

I know I’ve said it before and I’ve posted pictures of my babies sleeping before, but watching them sleep never gets old to me.

I just wish I could see their dreams. I heard Ian giggling in his sleep this morning.