Really Good Friends

Chase has a really good friend named Savanna, who is just a couple months older than him. They have so much fun together, and usually can't wait to see each other. They love to run through the house, chase each other, and take all of the books or movies off the shelf. Nothing like having an accomplice in mischief!

How cute are they?!!

Just a hunch...

But I think Chase is trying to tell me he has a cold. What do you think?

Science at its finest!

Last night was, what I consider, one of the BEST things about living in a desert...a thunder and lightning storm. Simply AMAZING...though the kids didn't really think so.

It all began right about 8:00 pm - bedtime for our kids. Rion was already in bed, Chase was asleep, and Hailey was doing all she could to distract us from the fact that she was still in our bedroom. We had the blinds open, and the first thing I noticed were the clouds. Rolls upon rolls of billowing clouds. Hailey saw the lightning first, but it was so bright that it didn't go unnoticed by Eric, who was not facing the window. What a light display! Not just in an isolated area, but in several places. The thunder didn't get very loud this time, but had a continuous low rumble.

Rion joined us, wet eyes and all, within the first five minutes. I forget how sensitive he still is, even now that he is almost nine. (I think he was still reliving the last thunder storm we had, where the power went out when he was using a windowless bathroom...with the door locked. Poor guy.) I took the first few minutes after he came in to once again explain the science behind lightning and thunder, and show him how truly exciting it can be. I don't think he really bought into it all, but after a while of "ooh, that one was awesome," he finally calmed down.

Until....

The hail. WOW! I have never seen hail like this! It wasn't very big, just the size of peas. But it came down so hard that Rion has now indulged us with another cute phrase. "Mom, will the hail break in?" LOL Will the hail break into the house? Certainly not, but it sure sounded like it might. I have a little video clip of the sound. It's too dark to see anything, and it's short, but you'll get the sense of where he was coming from.

It hailed for roughly five minutes. Like I said, I have never seen hail like this. Usually it's just in small spurts. By the time it was done, it looked like it had been snowing for a while. It was brighter outside by this time, becuase of the whiteness, so I was able to take a picture out the bedroom window, though a little blurry.

All in all, the storm lasted about 30 minutes. Hailey became pretty much oblivious to the whole thing about 15 minutes into it, and at some point they both managed to end up in my bed. It was nice, though, being able to show excitement for another of Heavenly Father's creations, and to share that with our children.

No matter how silly they are...

Happy Easter

I'm a few days late in posting my Easter photos, but better late than never!

I took a picture of the kids, all looking nice in their church clothes. Somehow, we all managed to be wearing red this year, so I decided to leave the red eyes alone since they fit in so well!

Our family has never really done the Sunday Morning Easter Egg Hunt ritual. Don't ask me why, it has just never really happened. Regardless, we still have fun hunting for Easter Eggs with the extended family and enjoying the true meaning of Easter - to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior.

We had Easter Dinner at my parents' house this year. Great food, and a lot of fun watching the kids go wild looking for eggs. Since I was running the video during the hunt, we didn't get too many pictures.

Chase was very eager to get his hands on the "good stuff". If you look carefully enough, you can count at least 3 pieces of candy he managed to shove in his mouth, complete with one wrapper! So, of course, it all came back out again.

Hailey just HAD to wear her new red dress...all day long! She was so excited about it, she didn't want to change after church.


And then there is Rion. Unfortunately, we left his bucket home this year, so we improvised. I don't think he minded too much, as long as he got some candy!


All in all, it was a good day. Other than Hailey feeding Eric a piece of candy with peanut butter in it (while we were at church), I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Now that Easter is over, though...bring on summer!

Let the guilt begin...

Today I managed to feel like the worst mom ever! I was holding Chase's hand, bringing him into the house, when he decided he wanted to stay outside. So, I proceeded to pick him up and carry him about 3 feet into the house so I could shut the door. In the process, I felt his wrist pop twice, and he started crying and holding his arm. Yikes! I felt SOOOO bad!

I watched him for about an hour to see if he got any better, but he continued to use his good arm to hold the sleeve of his hurt arm, kind of like a sling, while he moped around. Feeling absolutely horrible, I took him to the doctor. Lucky for me, his arm wasn't dislocated or broken, just sore. Whew! Poor little guy, though!

By the end of the evening, he started moving his hurt arm around, and started bouncing off the walls again. I'm constantly amazed at how resilient children can be! And, I have definitely learned my lesson about their fragile little arms.

A Day of Firsts...

Today has been a day of firsts for Chase.

First of all, Chase has started shaving, with Daddy's help, of course. What a big guy! I just love the look on his face! He gets so excited to watch Daddy shaving, that he just had to join in.

The other "first" is his daring to finally lay down in the bathtub. He is such a little fish that I'm surprised it took him so long! He usually scoots around on his tummy in the bath, but I think he just decided it was time to focus on a different part of the tub.

...and of course, Hailey was in the bath with him, so we just had to get a picture of the two of them!

Service

What a fabulous night I just had! I just got home from our Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment Night, and I must say, it was a blast! With the birthday of Relief Society, we decided to have a "What Relief Society Means to Me" program followed by a Service Auction. I tell you, these ladies can sure get into it! There's nothing like spending $165 (play money) on a gallon sized bag of caramel popcorn, or $150 for a haircut. The best part is watching the sisters be so excited about giving service to others. It was such a successful night, I think we'll have to do this again next year!

All-Time Favorite Recipes

I know everyone likes to get new recipes. Here are some of my all time favorite ones!

Caramel Popcorn
2/3 c popcorn kernals - pop, pour in brown paper bag and set aside

1 cube butter
1 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c karo syrup

Combine ingredients in microwave safe bowl. Microwave 2 1/2 minutes, stir, then microwave 2 1/2 minutes again. Add 1 tsp baking soda. Stir, then pour over popcorn in brown paper bag. Shake well. Put whole bag in microwave for 1 minute, shake well, microwave 1 more minute, shake well, then pour out in large bowl. Break apart popcorn as it cools. Enjoy!

Mexican Cream Cheese Chicken
12 or so pieces of chicken tenderloins
1 1/2 c salsa
2 cans black beans (liquid included)

Combine ingredients in crockpot. Cook on med-med high long enough to be able to shred chicken. (about 3-4 hours) Once all chicken is shredded, add 1 box of cream cheese (cubed). Stir as cream cheese melts.

Serve over chips or rice (or both), or wrap in tortilla shell with favorite toppings. Optional toppings to add: cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, or whatever sounds really good to you!

Standard Pie Pastry
For a 9-inch single-crust pie:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 tablespoons ice water
1/2 cup Crisco© or other good shortening

For a 9-inch double- or lattice-crust, just double this recipe.

Preheat oven to 425°F (or whatever temp your pie recipe calls for).

Put the Crisco in a medium bowl. Over it, pour 1 cup of the flour and the salt, reserving 1/4 cup flour. With your pastry blender (some old timers use a fork), cut the flour and salt into the Crisco until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine the reserved 1/4 cup of flour with the 2-1/2 tablespoons ice water (estimate, or, if you must be exact, a half tablespoon equals 1-1/2 teaspoons) in a cup to make a smooth paste. Pour the paste over the pastry mixture and continue cutting in with the pastry blender until incorporated. Remember, the less you work the dough, the lighter and flakier the pastry.

Form the pastry into a ball, flatten and roll between sheets of waxed paper (you may see little veins of Crisco here and there, but that's okay) to a thickness of about 1/8 inch and 1-1/2 to 2 inches wider than the pie plate.

Peel off the top piece of waxed paper, invert a 9-inch pie plate on dough surface, and turn the sheet of dough and the pie plate over. Center the dough on pie plate, if necessary, and peel off the second sheet of waxed paper (tear off in pieces, if you like). Fit the dough into the pie plate without stretching it. If the dough tears a little, just pinch it back together.)

Trim the dough to overhang the edge of the pie plate by about 1-1/4 inches, then turn under to make an edge. You can put a fancy crimp in the edge at this point, if you wish.

Pre-Baked Pie Shells:
For a pre-baked pie shell, prick bottom and sides of pastry with a fork to avoid bubbles developing, and bake in a 425°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the crust is lightly browned.

It's about time!

Well, I finally did it. I finally jumped into the world of blogging. Eric has had a site for some time, but I felt that it was time for something more like a journal of my own. Now, let's just see if I can keep up with it.

I am really fortunate to have such a wonderful family! I hope this blog will show others just how wonderful they are.