Down

Do you ever have one of those days that turns into one of those weeks? Which, in turn, evolves into one of those months? Nothing is different. Have Pastor and I been fighting? No, he is as nice as ever. My children are beautiful and the sun is even out today. There is nothing to justify the perpetual sad I feel. Perhaps I need more B vitamins.

So sorry if I don't update like I should. I haven't been facebooking like I usually do either. I'm sure when we're able to enjoy the sunshine more, I will feel better. :)

One of the Best

I think I might make some people sick by how much I talk about my brother. I'm sorry if this is true and you are one of them. I can't help but be proud, so I was more than proud when we had the chance to greet him at the National Guard Base as he arrived home after serving in Afghanistan. I have never been to welcome a military member home and have to say that it was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. Being in a crowd who were all so proud of their father/mother, brother/sister, uncle/aunt ect. was amazing. The vibe and emotions when the soldiers come from the plane was indescribable and the deafening roar that ensued gave me goosebumps.

Of course seeing this . . .



And doing things like this . . .




Was great fun too!

I am so proud my boys have an example like my brother in their lives and I'm proud to brimming for the service he so selflessly renders. Like any perfect sister, I don't tell him enough. I love you Paulie Wog! :)

Wolves, Boys & Other Things That Might Kill Me

Most people who know me know that I LOVE a good book with magic, mayhem and mounds of love. This novel has zero hocus pocus but is so magically written that you wouldn't miss it. I found it to be very stirring and a joy to read. I started it this morning and finished it just now. That tells you how good it is!

I actually bought the book months ago, but haven't been in the right frame of mind to read. There are usually so many of my own stories spinning in my head that I can't keep another tamed. Luckily I had a brain fart today and needed the inspiration derived from its pages. :)

Carl's Jr.

Last week we went to Carl's Jr. for lunch. The place we ate had one of those little indoor playgrounds and I was bound not to let Duane play there because of how many older kids were already there. We sat in the main section of the place, but could see the play area through a large glass window. When our food came, Duane began insisting that he wanted to play. We told him to eat his food and we'd think about it. (Let's face it, that always means no).

Duane insisted and, finally, I told him. "You go play, but we're staying here to eat." I fully expected Duane to give in. Never, in a million years, would I have believed that he'd go on his own. He's the kind of kid that needs someone to sit and watch him play.

After I'd said that, he jumped off the booth and went, by himself, to play on the indoor playground. I was torn with pride and nostalgic longing. Here was my baby, deciding he didn't need his mom to go and play where big kids were. He wasn't intimidated and played happily for awhile before coming back and taking bite of his cheeseburger only to run back in.

Pastor and I were nervous parents and watched his every move. My plan backfired completely and I was reminded of how fleeting childhood/babyhood really is.

Perfect To Me

I know a man who supports me in everything I do. He is handsome and brave and sacrifices so much to make his family happy. He has always loved me for me and never tries to change anything. He understands when I have a bad day and does everything he can to help even though he works TWO jobs. He lets me grow and encourages me to work on my talents. I have grown into someone I'm proud of because he never discouraged me.

I am blessed to be wife to such a man and will be forever grateful of his loving acceptance of who I truly am. He is wonderful and I love him with all my heart and soul!

My Avan

I haven't been as dedicated to blogging since #2 came along and I feel my little Avan has been left out a little. I blogged every time Duane sneezed when he was a baby! Poor little #2 children . . .

I don't want to admit how fast Avan's growing. He's turned into quite the chunk and eats more than Duane does. He loves cars and books and to watch the credits after a movie is through. He loves pizza, but it makes his tummy hurt. His favorite food is chocolate.

One of the funniest things about him is that he's EXTREMELY jealous. If Pastor or Duane hug me, he comes over and gives them a whopping. It's so funny and I know I shouldn't laugh, but I can't help myself.

Avan ADORES Duane too. He follows him through the place trying to do what his big brother does. He's gotten pretty good at keeping up with him too! He runs on his little chubby legs and it makes me giggle. I love to see them playing and laughing together. I've never heard a better sound than my two boys laughing!

Our Avan is a dancer and boy does he have rhythm! He hears that beat and starts to bounce on his baby legs. It's amazing such a little thing can move that way, but he loves music and will dance to anything we've played for him.

One thing that isn't so . . . fantastic: Avan is a phone destroyer. I've been through two smart phones because of that kid! He puts everything he can in his mouth, including phones if he gets a hold of them. My smart phone(s) got water under the casing and slowly shut down afterward and couldn't be revived. :(

It's a good thing he's so cute . . .

It's probably cliche by now, but I love both of my boys and I will never tire of saying it! My little family is everything to me and I would do anything for them, even go through countless cell phones. :)

Happy Birthday Avan!

Avan's birthday party, which includes the cake I made! Can you tell I'm proud? I also made his pinata, but didn't get a good shot of it . . .






His birthday was before Christmas.

Christmas

These are the pics I managed to take over Christmas.




Duane and Avan's friends, Emma and Sammy.

Scary Eyes

Duane does this scary thing with his eyes. He started doing around Halloween. It's pretty funny but also creepy because it kind of looks like he's possessed or something. He first started doing it when he was embarrassed, but we made such a big deal that he does whenever he wants to make us laugh. It's funny/weird to see his eyes roll in the back of his head that way . . .

Watchin' A Movie

Duane and Avan love watching movies on cold mornings. They are so cute and usually don't fight for the space they want.

Valentine's

Give me an excuse to glue hearts together and I'm totally there! I love Valentine's day and I love making things that are cute and unique. The boys made some for their Mema too, but I didn't get a pic of them.




















































This is the lovely rose my sweet hubby bought me. There was chocolate too, but I ate it. =D





















And here is the sweetest Valentine ever enjoying the valentine he received from Kiara. :) He's such a ladies man . . . er, boy.

Excitement!

I am nervous and excited to say that I will be submitting a manuscript to a publishing company. Not a lot of people know that I like write before I started work on this story. It's an adventure love story sort of novel, but not one of those icky romances.

There is a history behind my love of writing love stories. I am a hopeless romantic and always have been. I love princess stories filled with magic and adventure and mystical beasts. I don't love romance books where the only climax is the kissing stuff. :s I can barely stand seeing people kiss in public. When I was a teenager, I read all the books in this genre I could get my hands on, but there weren't many. That's how I started writing my own. I never thought it would amount to anything, but I liked doing it so I continued.

I'm still not sure it will ever amount to anything, but, like I've told a few friends, I have to try. I'm on pins and needles to find out if a publishing company will accept my manuscript. I know the chances are actually quite slim and expect to be rejected a few times before I get it right, but I will never know unless I try. The worst that will happen is it will be declined and I'll wind up taking a writing course from the community college and trying again.

All the same, wish me luck!! I'll need it. :)

Symbols For Your Blog

I stumbled accross this website of codes for symbols to add to your blog. Here is the link. I thought it very useful!
♥ ♥ ♥

Simple Shepard's Pie

This is comfort meal for me. I don't make it very often, except maybe when I'm having a down day.

What you will need:
1 lb. ground meat. Again, I prefer ground turkey lately.
1 package of frozen green beans
1 can of cream of something soup. We use cream of mushroom, but you can use pretty much any of them.
3-4 potatoes mashed up. Perfect for leftover taters.
Cheese if you like

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375°
Brown meat in a pan. When it's cooked layer the meat on the bottom of a cake pan. Layer beans on top of meat, the cream of something soup on top of the beans and the mashed potatoes on top of the soup. Add cheese on top if you like cheese. I usually leave it out. Put casserole in oven and let bake for 40-50 minutes.

Taco Soup

This is one of my very favorite things to make and eat! I'm sure a lot of people have heard or made this before, but I think it's worth posting.

What you need:
1 lb. ground meat. We have recently discovered the joys of ground turkey and it's great in this recipe!
1 package of taco seasoning
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of Italian diced tomatoes
Corn. This is a tough one to describe how much you will need because I like to use an entire bag of frozen corn. I think this recipe is great with a lot of corn. Most people that I know use 1 can.
1 bottle of salsa. (I use my mom's homemade salsa)

What to do:
Brown meat in a large sauce pan. After meat is thoroughly cooked, drain and wipe pan clean of grease. Put meat back in pan. Add beans (rinsed), tomatoes, taco seasoning and salsa to the pan. Save the corn for later if you are using frozen, if you are using canned add it now. Add some water to the mix. I usually use an empty can and add 1 can full, but you will find how much you'll like to add. Let stand on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Then you can turn off the stove and add the frozen corn. It will cool down the soup so it's ready to eat!

Fruit Leather

I'm thinking about making some fruit leather for Duane. He really enjoys the kind we get from Smith's and I thought it would be a nice thing to have around the house instead of only as a treat. Here is a link to an easy method and recipe.

Double Stuffed

Someone, who shall remain nameless at this time, has discovered the joys of eating the cream out of the middle of sandwich cookies. While he shall remain nameless, he looks quite a bit like this:

Here is the evidence:


Needless to say, it is no longer safe to leave opened packages of sandwich cookies on the table.

Timpanogos, Mighty Timpanogos!

Hiking to the Timp. Cave with family was a lot of fun! My brother Paul, who just came home from training for the Army, volunteered to take Duane in the pack. I thought to myself that I could at least keep up with the one carrying the 40lb baby. That was a huge mistake! Keeping up with him was hard and now my legs hurt like crazy! If I worked out with him once a week I'd be a twig.

Before we went up there was a snake show at the bottom. They were showing which snakes were harmless and what to look out for.

Gary and Avan watching the snakes.

Duane touching a snake. He was a little bit cautious.

Pretty view.

At the top! We made it!

Uncle Paul, full of good spirit. He barely broke a sweat.

Duane and me.

Garret and Paul, chillin'.

Duane, trying to be a mountain goat.

Duane, all bundled up to go in the cave. Thank goodness "meema" thought to bring sweaters.

Inside the cave! It was hard to get good photos. Our camera wasn't very good for the inside and in the dark bit. Clarissa still looks cute, even blurry.

Avan, wondering who turned out the lights.

Cave rock.

Gary, taking pics.

More cave rock.



Duane, being silly.

Cuddling close to daddy.



Avan fell asleep halfway through. He was heavy to carry like that. The rangers didn't allow the metal framed packs to go in.

On the other side of the cave with some of the trail guides.

Uncle Paul again.

Doug and Clarissa.

Getting ready to hike back down.

Mountain.

Pretty view.

The road far, far away.

Mommy.

Taking a breather before heading back down.

Here is one of Duane strapped to Uncle Paul.

The guys, being cool.

After the hike we went to my mom's for fireworks and a BBQ. We were so tired, but it was so worth it.

Uncle Paul likes fire.

The moon.