Winter Fun

What do you do when it is cold outside? Have ice cream. Obviously. We went to the Bean Museum and saw all the animals and then we went to the BYU Creamery after. Is there anything better than peanut butter cup? Seth has a hilarious technique of daintily sticking out his tongue and touching the ice cream to it. It is not very efficient but he got the hang of it after I took the scoop off the top. Mia is a master with the spoon but HAS to do it herself, what 2 year old doesn't? Seth loves being with his cousins, luckily the "gang" didn't cause any damage at the museum or the creamery although Seth did try to lock all the 2nd floor patrons in and rearranged all the crackers and cookies in the adjoining aisle. What can you do when nap time is right around the corner?

Alternative Career

These are haircuts #40 & #6. With the rate of hair growth at our house it really would have been smart to go to barber school. They are pretty good sports as long as I keep them plugged into a show on the computer and keep treats coming. I on the other hand totally relish my time in the chair, it is time without anyone demanding things and I don't have to do anything.

Elephants, Tigers and Bears!

We went to the Circus with my Mom and sister and had a great time. Seth has now been saying "AND NOW" in his best announcer voice regarding everything ie: "AND NOW I need to go potty". Ben slept through a good portion which is amazing considering the volume was so loud. They should hand out ear plugs when the majority of the audience is under 5. This was the perfect size circus, small enough you can meet all the performers, ride the elephants and ponies during intermission but big enough they had loads of tigers, motorcycles, elephants and bears. It is hard to say what Seth liked best, the sound and light equipment he was investigating before the show or the light sabers that he coveted. My favorite part was the limited amount of clowns. Just one and he was actually fun, not creepy. It took some convincing and having Mia and Alyssa demonstrate, but Seth finally rode the pony. Seth has to be sure of something before he will do it, this applies to everything: slides, trampolines, food, and people. So we had a great time and narrowly escaped the joys of cotton candy. Thanks Grandma, you are the best!

Yuck!

Goopey noses. Goopey eyes. Goopey brain. I may have just invented a word but I am not firing on all cylinders. Just kicking this terrible cold that started with Seth (thanks to nursery), Ben perfected with a touch of teething and then I got. Poor babies.

Spoon Full of Sugar

I had a baking extravaganza yesterday. I have always been on the hunt for a sure fire pie crust recipe. There really shouldn't be any need as my mother's recipe is my favorite, but there is a knack to hers that I have never grasped. Something about the rolling out that I always destroy. I have tried Martha's, BHG, Recipezaar, Barefoot Contessa, and misc recipes from who knows where. I have had some success, but never the "best ever, never need another recipe" moment. Well this is it - The America's Test Kitchen recipe minus the vodka (sub more water or vinegar) is the best to date. Very easy in my food processor, easy to roll out, very flaky. However, the recipe calls for sugar, I have now discovered I don't like sweet pie crust. I was making turkey turnovers. It is a strange combination, good, but strange. So for sweet pies, the sugar works. For savory, I will leave out the sugar. By the way, my genius idea for turkey turnovers was a total success. I love turkey pot pies but don't have the little tins. I froze cubes of the filling and then wrapped them up in the dough. Totally worked and probably will try for fruit fillings too. So much less mess and you can make anytime.

Merry Christmas 2009

I am woefully slow in posting anything about Christmas, no excuses, we just had a fabulous time. For the first time in 6 years there was no major travelling. We saw lights and reindeer at Thanksgiving Point, Seth was very impressed but the highlight of the visit was the dinosaur museum we stopped in to warm up. We had 6-10 house guests on varying days in the form of Aaron's brother's family from California. Good sports about our "luxury" accommodations. Seth called most of them "Uncle Paul" and "friends" and had a great time being one of the gang and tried to stow away in their van when they were leaving. We went sledding, ate great food and thoroughly enjoyed seeing our families on a more relaxed schedule than past years. We were able to capture Christmas morning with the self-timer, I am shocked at the result (all eyes open and smiles). Seth enjoyed his garbage truck themed gifts plus all of Ben's gifts and Ben enjoyed all the paper. We all had such a lovely holiday - we are truly blessed.

Global Warming?

Let me start by saying "I am a swimmer." I can go through a couple suits a year. I am always on the lookout for a good suit. I appreciate the early arrival of swimwear in the winter to perk me up and continue to help me have faith that summer will come again. With that said, the start of December is TOO early! A couple weeks ago, while looking where they had moved the coats and sweaters at Target, I ran into racks and racks of swimsuits. Not just a couple of options for the rare person going to Hawaii for Christmas, but loads of suits. On top of all this, I live in UTAH now. I am about as far away from warm beaches as a person can get. People go skiing, not sunbathing in Utah, plus there are a bunch of Mormons here so what is with the disproportionate amount of bikinis? What happened? They don't usually put summer stuff out before Christmas. This all leads me to a new resolution similar to my no-Christmas-stuff-until-December resolution. I will not purchase a swimsuit, no matter how cute, before Valentines unless it is 50% off. Bah Humbug, but Merry Christmas.

Snow - Snow - Snow

I love snow. Real snow, not ice shards or ice pebbles blown from the Arctic. Seth is loving snow right now too. I had the dickens of a time trying to find boots. We are in the between toddler but not quite boy size. I was almost ready to get pink boots as they were the only thing left. For some reason there are 6 different options with varying amounts of sequins, flowers, and bows for girls and one option for boys. Another sexist conspiracy. Who of the sexes are more likely to spend a significant time in the snow? So we ended up with red boots that Seth loves tromping around the house in. Aaron built the snowman while Seth threw snowballs and occasionally patted the snowman. Our poor snowman fell over shortly after completion because the snow was so heavy. He got rebuilt the next day as a rabbit.

In the Same Place at the Same Time

It finally happened that me and some of my Geology gal pals were in town at the same time. It has been a while, but minus the obvious reminders that time has passed (children, and colored/shorter hair) it was like old times. There is always a standing lunch offer to any of my long lost pals.

Thankful 2009

Thankful for:

• Husband that is a boy scout
• Boy scout home because of Thanksgiving weekend
• Bed was just near table not spikes or something worse
• White duvet that can be bleached
• Seth hit forehead instead of eye, nose, or mouth
• Emergency care that was open during weekend
• Separate waiting area for well people so we didn't catch something else while waiting
• Medical Super Glue instead of stitches
• There will not be anymore monkeys jumping on the bed ..... for a while