Christmas Party

This last weekend, we had our ward Christmas party. I thought it was really fun and loved the theme and all that went along with it. The theme was "A Storybook Christmas."  It all revolved around classic Christmas stories. Everyone was invited to wear their pajamas and to bring new or gently used books to donate to the Ronald McDonald house.  I'll start with what we had for dinner. For dinner they had roast beast (beef), who hash (potatoes au gratin), green salad, jello salad, and rolls.  After dinner was done and before the program, the music changed from Christmas music to the sng "Hot Chocolate" from the Polar Express.  The committee came out wearing chef hats rolling out carts with dessert (cookies) and cups of hot chocolate.  For the program, they had a ward member up on the side of the stage on a chair with a few children gather around.  All of the kids were invited to come sit on the floor just in front of the stage. The program consisted of home telling about a few Christmas story classics, the first being The Polar Express.  For this story the children who are in our elementary school's choir sang "When Christmas  Comes to Town," which K was a part of.  The next story was Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," this one starred our three bishopric members as the ghosts and had a religious spin on the story.  I can't remember the exact order of all them, but I think the next one was "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Another member walked out on stage to recite the story.  Just after he began, he was interrupted by a quartet who came on singing.  As the story went along, the quartet would echo/sing a part of the story, of course the narrator pretended to be annoyed but the quartet.  "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" was another story.  For this story, three deacons dressed with elf ears/hat sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with their voices changed to sound like elves.  The last but not least was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." This was a small vignette when the grinch meets Cindy Lou Who and realizes Christmas is much more than presents.  To end the program, they showed a video clip from the First Presidency's 2010 Christmas devotional where Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke about the grinch and how he saw Christmas through new eyes and we must too.  It was a great way to end the evening.    As soon as the closing prayer was done and the lights back on, the entire room erupted into mass chaos of cleaning up.  Ladies were clearing tables, men were stacking chairs - as they say, many hands make light work, and it was just that. The committee did a wonderful job putting everything together and was so much fun.

Moab

During Fall Break from school, our family along with Grandma & Grandpa Ericksen, F’s Brother and his family went down to Moab, UT.  I have never been here before and was looking forward to going to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse Point State Park.  We ended up with beautiful weather for the tree days we were there (in the 70’s).  It all began on Friday morning.  Since all of us were coming from different areas, we met just off the freeway at a mall parking lot, and began our caravan down toward Moab, stopping in Price for lunch at Wendy’s.  When we got to Moab, we checked into our hotel.  The rooms were small and brightly decorated.  Florescent greens and pink, bright purples – including a purple fridge, bright colored towels and sheets. Nothing I have ever seen before, but is also refreshing for where we were.  After getting checked in, all of us headed to Hole in the Rock.  Inside this rock, a husband and wife chiseled out a house for them. We took the tour with a goofy guide, but it was really interesting to see their house, how they added more rooms, separated the existing rooms, and learning how the home stays at a constant temperature (I think in the 60’s) all year round. On the property are a few shops including Native American jewelry and items, gorgeous! There is also a exotic animal petting zoo.  We went through and fed zebras, camels, raccoons, an ostrich, and several other animals.  Some of the group “kissed” the camel by putting a carrot in their mouth and then feeding it to the camel.  I was not part of that group.  For dinner we went to Pizza Hut, and got ready for the next day. Saturday, we got up ate breakfast that we packed, then loaded up the vehicles and drove to Arches National Park.  On the way there we detoured to Fisher Tower.  We climbed up and the kids explored the rocks and so did the adults. By the time we made it to Arches and up to the visitor center it was nearly noon.  Behind the visitor center are a few picnic tables and not many places to eat farther in the park, so we ate lunch and browsed around the visitor center.  Our first stop inside the park after lunch was the windows.  Both B and her cousin T had fallen asleep in the car, so F and M stayed back at the car while the rest of us walked up to the windows and turret arch. Next stop was upper viewpoint of Delicate arch.  When we pulled into the parking lot, there were only a few spots. We pulled into the first one we found, which happened to be next to a man (about the same age as my in-laws) with his windows down and jamming out to some loud techno music.  B was still asleep, so F’s dad tried to get this guy to turn down the music, his success was short lived.  M’s wife and F’s dad stayed with the little babes back at the car, while the rest of us walked up the trail to view Delicate arch.  It was beautiful!  One of these days, we’ll make the hike to the actual arch. Just by the viewpoint, there was a large mound of rocks, with an opening just large enough for L to climb and look through another opening.  It looks as if he got trapped in large rock slide! M’s family suggested we go to Sand Dune Arch.  It was amazing how in the middle of all these large rocks there is a wonderful playground of sand.  We let the kids play in the sand, we climbed up some rocks and had a great time….that is until L got sand in his eye. Then emt M stepped in and helped flush it out.  At this stop, we all had taken so many pictures that all of our phone and camera batteries were dying, which was terrible timing, but we got a few pictures at the dune.  M and his family headed back into town to get dinner, while our car went onto Landscape Arch.  We made the walk to the arch and luckily I remembered we had our iPad with us. I was able to use it to capture the pictures at the arch and the trail.  On the way back into the parking lot, K found a $10 bill, there was no one around to claim it, so we did let her keep it. She was pretty excited about it, and used it to buy a little stuffed animal raccoon at a visitor center the next day.  Dinner was at a little place called Milt’s Stop and Eat.  It was yummy! They have no indoor seating, you order and pickup through a window. To the side of the building, there is a patio with chairs, tables, and a condiments bar.  Definitely a must!!

Sunday morning we ate breakfast, packed up the cars, checked out and made our way first to Dead Horse Point.  It was incredibly windy – forgive the crazy expressions and hair, we were nearly knocked over by the wind.  I couldn’t believe that the people used to leave the horses out at the point to die – why not just open it back up and let them run free?? We ate lunch at the picnic area right by the visitor center and headed for our last destination before driving home…Canyonlands.  In Canyonlands, we stopped to see Aztec Bluff, Orange Cliffs Overlook, Grand View Point, and Buck Canyon Overlook and at Upheaval Dome – I really wanted to go up, but we were running out of time and little B was once again sleeping in the car.  I took the other two kids and a few of the other family members made their way up, too.  K, L, and I hurried as fast as we could up the mountainside, much of it seemed to be natural rock stairs.  We made it and enjoyed the view.  Just as we were starting our way back down, the rest of the group were reaching the top.  At one point on the way back down, L stopped at the bottom of a large rock, turned around and held out his hand.  He wanted to help me step down from the rock.  What a gentleman!  We had hurried so that if F wanted to go up he could, but he didn’t want to. As soon as the cars were loaded up again, we drove home, making a stop again in Price for dinner at Wendy’s.  It was a great trip and I am looking forward to the next time!

Lego Birthday Party

For L’s 6th birthday, we did a Lego themed birthday party.  Thanks to Pinterest, we had a load of great ideas to choose from.  I had a great time putting everything together and I think all of the boys had a great time, too!

Here is what we did.  I borrowed the large box of Legos from my parents… with three brothers, there are quite a few Legos.  I separated out body parts.  Heads, torsos, legs, and hair/hat accessories. The boys were able to pick out and built a Lego guy, which they took to the table where they could color a picture of their Lego minifig.

Then they could free build with the Legos.  I had these set up on a big queen sized bed sheet on the floor of our living room. 

After all the kids arrived, we ate some little snacks.  Chips, grapes, rectangular shaped Jell-o Jigglers, and some graham crackers filled with a little frosting topped with colored marshmallows to look like Legos. I made the banner from cardstock and made them look like Lego bricks.I added little Lego smiley faces to the side of each cup and also wrote their names on the back (I hate when I lose my cup in the sea of  cups at a party!) 

Next…games.  The games we played were: Pin the head on the minifig,

Lego toss game, simply tossing Lego blocks into the rings.

Find the minifig head: hiding the several heads from the previous game.

Lego scavenger hunt: To pick teams for the scavenger hunt, we had separated out two colors of Lego bricks.  One for each kid and having equal of each color. Let each kid blindly pick a block, determining their group.  The prize at the end was a bag of Lego brick crayons that I made earlier in the week with a mold and old broken crayons.

Last but not least, a Lego brick piñata.

For the cake: we had cupcakes instead.  Along with the brick mold, I bought a Lego minifig mold.  I used candy melts in different colors (yellow for the head/hands; blue, green, red for body and legs). I had made these earlier in the week too.  I used one to top each cupcake and displayed them on a cupcake stand. 

Party favors: I cut circles and hot glued them to the front of bags and filled them with stickers, little ninja guys, and other Lego items found at a party store. Attached a tag with the name of each boy. The font I used is from dafont.com called LEGo hic.

And as a little thank you, I used the yellow candy melts to cover marshmallows on sucker sticks. Wrapped those in little cellophane bags, attached a ribbon and thank you tag.  I don’t have a picture, but I drew a little Lego face on the cellophane bags (I didn’t have a edible writer, or I would have just drawn it on the candy.)

When everything was done, the boys went back to building Legos in the living room as parents came to pick them up.  It was a great party!! I had a fun time putting everything together and I think L had a great time too!

School Days, School Days!

Here are the kiddos on the first day of Kindergarten for L.  K started 3rd grade last week.  And Baby B will miss her sister and brother, but more time with Mama. I can't believe how time flies.  We had a great summer and looking forward to a wonderful school year.  Both of the kids are excited about their classes.  L thinks he can do things by himself (namely going to and from the bus stop without me - it's not too far away, but I like knowing they are safe). 

London 2012

I wish I could be writing to say that this is a place I have/am visiting, but no….just excited about the summer games.  For the last games in Beijing, to celebrated the opening ceremony, we had Chinese takeout for dinner.  We decided to make it a tradition to eat food from the host country.  Vancouver…that one didn’t pan out.  As for last night, it was yummy.  My dad served his mission in England  and my sister-in-law (J) from Canada, her mother is an immigrant from England, so that improved our cuisine for the evening.   I bought breaded cod at Costco (unfortunately not beer battered like it is in England), chips (french fries from the grocery store), malt vinegar to sprinkle on the fish and chips, and  ingredients to make apple dumplings (bringing a little American to the table).  M and J brought coleslaws, drinks, and a custard mix to make dessert.  When my parent’s came and we began dishing up dinner, I told them about my dumplings, my dad then made a comment about how he loves “Bird’s custard.”  Well, that was the exact custard the J had brought over.  K loved the fish – I think she told me she ate four of them!  B loved it too.  L was not as much of a fan.   My brother and his family came over for a little while in the middle, I broke out some glow sticks for the kids to play with.  For dessert, J made some of the custard and we served it with my apple dumplings or on top of some peaches.  It was delicious.  We had a blast watching the opening ceremonies and enjoying some local (imitation) fare. Already wanting to plan the next games!  Don’t worry, I will enjoy these games.
* A few side notes about our day:  K has been our lunch lady this summer, wanting to make lunches for us at home.  Today she made us a lovely lunch consisting of leftover steak, tortilla chips, a glass of milk, a banana, and peanut butter to dip our banana in.  It was good, just a little out of the ordinary.
When my brother and his family came over, I was holding their 6 week old baby.  B was right next to me, just staring at the baby – very excited about seeing the baby.  I asked her if she wanted to hold the baby. Her eyes lit up. I put her on the couch and more or less laid the baby over B’s legs.  B was bursting with excitement. I couldn’t even think about moving the baby or B flipped out.  But as soon as I put the baby on her lap again the tears and cries turned into giggles.  Only when the tired baby needed to go back to here mom, was B okay with  not holding the baby.  It was so cute!!  If only I had video…maybe next time we see them.

Independence Day

July 4th….well, let’s back up a few days to June 30th.  Our little family was walking out of a local grocery store.  It so happens said grocery store was celebrating an anniversary and with that came great deals, as well as a few giveaways.  There were 3 giveaways which included a cooler full of treats, a $25 gift card, or a package of fireworks valued at $500. We entered the hubby in the first two, then decided to enter both of us into the fireworks.  That’s all for that day, fast forward to July 2nd in the afternoon.  I receive a phone call and couldn’t understand what the guy was saying, but then I figured it out.  I had won the $500 worth of fireworks.  Later that afternoon, I drove to the grocery store and picked up my fireworks.  One of the men at customer service asked if I needed help, “No, I should be fine,” was my answer.  Then the lady at the desk started to move the package.  She said I would need help, which was correct.  The box is just over 5 feet and filled with fireworks – very heavy.  Together we got it out to the car, this presented another problem.  I brought a car, not our Yukon.  I had to fold down seats, move car/booster seats just to get it in, but I did, and the back closed all the way.  Fast forward two days.  For the fourth, we invited my family and some of F’s family.  My sister + family, my parents, F’s parents + his sister.  We barbequed, played badminton, enjoyed cookies and homemade ice cream and definitely enjoyed F' lighting off a few fireworks! Here’s to the land of the free and home of the brave!!

I know this is a terrible picture, but it’s the only one I have with me and my fra-gee-lay prize – only moments before the fantastic display.

**please note, we did not light all the fireworks, we were careful in doing so, and no wildfires were started. 

Last day on the Coast

Thursday, October 6

Today we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.  It is not a very big aquarium, but it had Passages of the Deep, which was a shark tunnel.  One of the favorite parts of this tunnel was the floor.  The tank went under the floor, so you had to walk on glass and could look through the floor to see sharks swimming below you. Inside the tanks there were sharks, stingrays, halibut (really interesting to see them swim), and sea stars.   The one down side was the school group that was there at the aquarium (this happened at the Lewis and Clark, too).  The kids were everywhere and made it more crowded. 

The aquarium has octopuses, sea otters (loved watching them swim and hearing about them from the keeper), Japanese Crabs that are humungous!

sea lions and seals (we knew all about the differences between sea lions and seals from the day before, and could see them up close and watch them swim here), an aviary with my favorite: puffins, tide pools to feel sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins. 

The kids loved the old metal diving mask. Their heads fit in it easily, but I could barely get my head in it. I could never have been a deep sea diver when these helmets and suits were in use!!

 

After the aquarium, we played at the beach again (can’t get enough!)  The first time we ever took the kids to the beach, K was 4 and L was1.  It was completely opposite than this time.  The kids were afraid of the water and were content playing in the sand, this time they loved to run and play in the surf – even though it was cold water.  So glad they enjoyed it this time!  For dinner we went to a local place called the Chowder Bowl. We had read reviews about it and it lived up to all the good stuff.  F loves clam chowder and loved the fresh clam chowder they served.  Because we were on vacation after the tourist season had ended, it wasn’t busy.  We heard from friends that had been in this area during the summer had the same weather, but with all the crowds. The next morning, we packed up and headed out towards Boise.  When we reached Boise, we pulled into a free Wi-Fi spot to find a nearby hotel.  After finding the hotel address, we plugged it in the GPS and set go.  The directions were literally turn out of the parking lot, and turn across the street into the hotel parking lot!! We had not seen the hotel in our haste to find a Wi-Fi spot.  The following day we packed up – again- and headed back on the road – again.  We made it home in the early afternoon and were so glad to be home, sleeping in our own beds (K and L were excited to not share a bed), doing laundry and not living out of our bags, depending on either food we had packed or searching for a decent place to eat.  We calculated we drove over 2700 miles.  Too many of the nights, B was up and crying with F and I trying to keep her happy as well as trying to get enough sleep.  We survived all those miles and the 10 days in small quarters, but we had fun with all the sights and experiences we had as a family!