Happy Birthday Ellie!

Ellie Kate is 3 Years old. Wow has the time flown. What a wild and wonderful world this has been since she's been here. I have to say of all my children she has really challenged me the most but I have also learned the most and been humbled the most by her. I can't imagine not having her sweet smile and kisses every morning. She is so enthusiastic about life and knows exactly how she wants it to be. And Boy does she love her brother and sisters. She really is a very special girl and I can't believe she's mine. We Love You Baby!

There's no place like home for the Holidays!

We all went to Andy's parents house for Christmas dinner. We had Ham and potatoes and really yummy Broccoli salad. Not to mention apple, cherry, and pumpkin pie, YUM! We reenacted the Nativity, complete with a real baby (Our 5 week old nephew, Brigam). It was very cute having all the little one's dressed up in their costumes. I was very glad not to have to go through that all by myself at my house later that night. We went home at about 8 to find it had snowed 5 inches while we were away. So we rushed in out of the cold , took the last piece off our advent calender, sang a couple songs, and then opened up ONE present. The little kids expected something exciting but Sariah and Aubrey knew it would only be PJs, just like it is every year. We left out MnMs and Coke for Santa and threatened all the kids with a Santa-no-show if they didn't go to bed immediately. Then Andy and I went about our Christmas duties which just so happened to take until almost 5am this year, thanks to a 3 story wooden Barbie house. All in all pretty much the same Christmas eve we always have but It felt really good to be home and surrounded by our family, knowing we were all safe, healthy, and happy and that is something I will never take for granted.

Unto us a Child is Born!

I gave my Christmas lesson to my sweet CTR 5 class today. We talked about the true meaning of Christmas and what an amazing gift our Savior Jesus Christ is to us. The spirit was so strong. Even when one of the little girls yelled out that she loved the snow while I was telling the story of Jesus' birth . I was thankful for the class' squirreling around because it kept me from crying and having to explain myself to 5 year olds. I am going to miss being Isaac's teacher. And boy am I in for it next year. The up and coming class is huge. Ellie will be a Sunbeam sitting in the row in front of me, which is going to be interesting to say the least. I am so thankful to be able to teach such innocent little spirits. I learn so much in the process. I want to let you all know how much I love my Heavenly Father for giving me such a wonderful gift as this:

Merry Christmas!

Time Flies, why then oh why can't I

Today I have just been pondering how time flies by. My sister in law just gave me a disc that had these pictures that I haven't seen in a couple of years of my kids on them . How have they gotten so big so fast? Why does every year seem to go faster than the one before it? Why can't I keep up with the pace? So as time is even now slipping away I'm going to make this short, get off the computer, and go enjoy the last Sunday before Christmas with my kids.

Merry Christmas!

So we have had family pictures twice now plus all the kids in a studio. Boy am I sick of getting dressed up, not to mention dressing up everyone else. Andy's sister Wendy took some pics at the beautiful lodge we stayed in at Lake Odell over Thanksgiving. She wasn't able to get them to us in time so we took some quick snapshots at Jodie's (my sis-in-law). We hurried to get ready after school but it gets dark at like 4pm. So even though it was dark outside her son insisted we not use the flash, making us totally reliant on artificial light. I thought we should use the flash and edit later. Needless to say, the pictures turned out blurry (the ones he didn't accidentally erase) .I tried, really I did and now this is me letting it go. So If you don't get a Christmas card this year, consider this your Merry Christmas. However, I think I found at least one okay pic (the one above isn't it) and will be sending out a few cards. I will not sweat the small stuff, I will not sweat the small stuff, I will not sweat the small stuff...

Ellie's B-day cake contest. Which one will win?

So this is the cake I am planning on making for Ellie's birthday but I can't decide. I'm thinking of putting it to a vote on here. Keep in mind she's having a princess party. So, do you like the one above or...


This One? It tastes good
This one? it's a mini cake

Or this one? big and bold

It's a dilemma.

Recipe of the Week

So I have decided to do a recipe of the week since cooking is one of my hobbies. My recipe this week is Candy Cane Carameled Apples:

10 apples (I like granny smith or jonagold)
1/2 Cup of butter
1 cup corn syrup
2 cups brown sugar
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. Vanilla (the real thing)

White chocolate (white chocolate chips or Wilton candy melts)
Obliterated Candy Canes

Wash apples and stick something in the top for the handle (popsicle sticks, corn dog sticks, ect.)

In medium sized sauce pan over medium heat melt butter.
Add corn syrup and brown sugar.
Stir together
Stirring often bring them to a pregnant boil ( that's a boil that's about to happen)
Add sweetened condensed milk stirring quickly and constantly while doing so.
Stir frequently if not constantly until a Candy thermometer reads 245 degrees
Remove from heat and add the tsp. of Vanilla.

Stir Caramel slowly to remove bubbles and allow to cool a little.
Dip apples and place on a greased cookie sheet or wax paper.
allow to cool completely.
Melt chocolate in the microwave in short 30 second intervals until 3/4 of the way melted. Stir to complete melting.
Put the candy cane on a plate or in a bowl.
Dip the apples in the chocolate then spin it to remove excess.
Immediately sprinkle candy cane over the apple
Return to cookie sheet
Allow to set up
Viola! Candy Cane Carameled Apples

Follow the gray brick road

My cloggers were in the parade, Yeah! I painted the sign too. My nieces Emily and Brooke helped me. Eventually we had to ban Brooke from helping because she kept dripping paint everywhere. I just had to put polka dots over the paint spills. Everyone had so much fun that they were already asking to do it again next year. We only had about half the girls there but it was such a perfect day for a parade. We had so many different levels of cloggers so we just took turns one at a time doing whatever we wanted, just like freestyle. We weren't allowed to throw Candy or anything else because it's illegal here. Hint: in Oregon everything is illegal except things that are illegal everywhere else but I digress, We all had a wonderful time at the Bend Oregon Christmas Parade.

A new leaf!

So I turned out to be really bad at this blogging thing. I knew I would be, which is why I didn't do it for so long. All this encouragement to be on the computer all the time... Well MY time is very little but I am going to try and do better. I think I'm going to update every Sunday instead of trying to do it everyday or even every other day. So without further ado...

Primp primp here, primp primp there

The best idea Disneyland has ever come up with is this Princess Fantasy Faire that was going on while we were there. You could have you're face painted, your hair done, and your wardrobe changed to match that of your favorite princess (no eye dying though). The price $150.00. So my niece, Emma, got her hair fixed but Aubrey settled on face paint and a tiara for a cool $25.00. Ellie wanted the crown but ended up refusing the face paint in the end. She still had a blast looking at herself in the mirror. And when you were through, they had dancing lessons given by all the Disney princesses in the Enchanted theater. Sariah was off with her cousins and of course Andy and Isaac ran away as fast as they could. But Aubrey, Ellie, and I stayed there for hours. So FUN!

And our little dog, too.

So yes I have officially lost my mind and given in. We got a puppy. Andy's sister Wendy's dog had puppies in July and I agreed to let us adopt one. We really lucked out because he has the best personality. He never tries to squirm away and he doesn't get it your face. When I pet him my hands don't feel all grimy. He doesn't bark or jump on you.
He's so laid back, he was born to be a Moss it seems. So far so good. His name is Teddy. My niece Camille named him when he was born. The kids want to keep the name because it just seems to fit him. So we went to California to pick him up. And when we were leaving he was in his kennel crying. I was really thinking it was going to be the longest 15 hour drive home ever (as if that's not insanely long already). I told Sariah to hold him thinking he would quiet down. But he went from crying to yelping. Finally, I suggested Isaac hold him and sure enough, he snuggled down and closed his eyes instantly. There he stayed practically the whole
way home. Isaac had spent a good amount of time playing with the puppy while we were at Wendy's and obviously they'd bonded. So that makes me happy, after all I agreed to this whole puppy thing hoping Isaac would gain a buddy. As of now Teddy is definitely Issac's best friend.

Where Happy Little Bluebirds Fly (well sort of)

Well, so we just took a trip to Disneyland on Wednesday. It was super fun. I did a really horrible job of taking pictures. We were all split up most of the time. All of us but Sariah were together here in the Tiki Room. Wendy, Lynda(not pictured), Emma, and Henry were there too. I just watched Ellie's reaction the whole time. She just very calmly took the whole thing in. The singing Tiki masks scared her a little. Isaac thought it was pretty cool, but didn't understand why they wouldn't use real birds. I totally agree. If they could get real birds to do that, even the Macaws with the corny accents would be cool.

A Horse of a Different Name?

So Isaac Prayed for 3 years, no lie, to be able to go horse back riding with his sisters at Crystal Peaks Youth ranch. The girls go twice a month. Because you have to be 5 this was his first time. He was so cute with the Horse and his instructor, Sam. His favorite horse, Luke, had retired from the ranch so Sam picked out this sweet gentle beauty. You can imagine Isaac's dismay at finding out this horse's name was Isabelle and it was a girl. Horses should be boys named Luke or Bob. He actually asked if he could rename the horse a boy name. Sam explained that the horse knew her name and would be confused if they called her something different. Sam asked Isaac if he could call Isaac by a different girl name. "NO Way", he replied. Then he understood. And he begrudgingly accepted her. And to his surprise he still had fun riding a GIRL.

If ever a Wiz there was!

So I took Isaac to Kindergarten screening yesterday. I have been coaching him constantly to get him prepared. He's never been tested before so I don't know what the end result was. They said he did very good. He's a pretty bright boy so you would think he would remember all the fun things we did this summer but NO, When the teacher asked him what he did all summer his reply? "UUUHHH, I watched TV!" I was so embarrassed. Well, I guess I know where his heart is. And I guess that explains the pictures of his favorite show, Zaboomafoo, I found on my camera yesterday. I didn't even know he knew how to use the camera. He is a wiz after all.

Get the oil can!

Well,
Isaacs arm is officially healed. I don't think it was common knowledge but about 6 weeks ago Isaac was sliding down the stairs on a camping matt, slid off, rolled down the stairs, and broke his wrist. Andy and I were at the movies of course. Luckily a 5 year olds bones are bendable so his bones were only splintered. A removable cast was all he needed. It was pretty sad watching him favor his arm for awhile. But hes good as new now. Not even a little rusty.

I'll Get You My Pretty!

This is the skirt Ellie chose for the day. She's mad because she didn't want to wear a shirt at all. I know your thinking, I'm the mom and I should be able to make the decisions on what my two year old wears. Well, I have to choose my battles. For making her wear a shirt today, she'll be Getting me back for it all day. If it wasn't so cold she might have won this one.

Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow

Here I go, following the masses. Okay, I actually think this blog thing is a lot cooler that I did at first. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to keep up. But I realized I waste a good amount of time online reading stupid "news" and such. If I give that up I should have a sufficient amount of time.
The girls are officially back at school after a whirlwind summer. Sariah started middle school and was very relieved, I think, to see that all her fears would not be realized. She remembered the combo to her locker and the handle didn't jam, she didn't get lost on the way to any of her classes, her teachers didn't saddle her with mountains of homework on the first day, her teachers were all nice and supportive instead of cold and strict, and lunch didn't taste as disgusting as it did in elementary. Her only complaint? Only one teacher pronounced her name right.
Aubrey is now in 4th grade and has kept up with her streak of getting the most highly recommended teacher around, even though they don't allow requests here. She has several kids in her class from last year, so she feels right at home. Her only complaint? Summer seemed more like Christmas vacation that Summer vacation.
Isaac starts school on Monday the 8th. He is so excited. I had intended on keeping him home but decided his brain needs far more stimulation that I can offer him at this point. He is such a social bug. Just being with the other kids is going to do him wonders.
So it will just be Ellie and I. Maybe I'll get a couple of hours without screaming and whining but I doubt it. I hope to get her re-potty trained. Yes, she was successful at it for weeks, only to have her dumb, should have know better on the fourth kid mom, move her into a big girl bed. Now she is used to not having to wear a diaper but completely unwilling to use the toilet. She has turned into a sort of puppy, choosing the same spot in Sariah's room for accidents. (Poor Sariah) Which brings to my next goal. Shampooing the carpets.
I've used my time for today. Time to go to battle with Ellie over the outfit she'll want to wear. Wish me luck.