Gingerbread Family Night

I've never made Gingerbread Cookies before ... ever. SO, I thought I'd give it a try this year and we had a FUN, FUN Family Night last night

When I pulled out the cookie cutters Isaac saw the Christmas tree and decided he wanted to make a family of trees instead of "men". Then, as he decorated them, he dubbed them aliens! He put them all in the gingerbread house, instead of keeping them to eat.

Ella loved her cookies! I gave her a decorated one and she just stared at it for a while saying, "head! eyes! mouth!" such a little cutie. She especially loved putting on the gumdrops and marshmallows

Austin also decided not to make men, instead he used the snow man cookie cutter and made a snow man family. He decorated his cookies like his "future" family. With the dad as a police man, married to a beautiful woman (his words!) with three daughters. The baby was suspiciously dressed like a Star Wars Clone Trooper (I didn't get a picture but it was pretty funny!) He is quite certain that this is the way his family will turn out...I'm okay with it as long as the "beautiful woman" loves me like a second mom and I get to babysit those granddaughters all the time!! Ha!

Cameron's a pretty good cookie decorator too! I was cracking up at the "bite here" cookie. It was nice doing something like this together because so often either I or Cameron are gone in the evenings, thanks to work and church. It's amazing how relaxing decorating a few cookies can be!

As for, Land-o Commando, you can see why he has that nick-name! His little "Gingy" had body armour and a bazooka. Landon was especially excited to take it to school today and show his friends. He is hilarious! He worked so hard on it that he didn't have time to decorate anything else. He just ate the rest of his cookies without frosting (which I think is actually the best way to eat them too!) And I tried out my skills - which are not so great! Landon and Austin were a little dissapointed when they noticed I couldn't fit their whole names on a cookie. I tried, at least! And I'm blaming it on the frosting getting hard by the time I did my cookies - that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Halloween Weekend {2011}

It started on Friday... with classroom parties. Isaac decided to go as Spiderman - with Dracula teeth. He brought fruit and marshmellows for his party. I made a cake for Austin to take to his class and Landon brought popcorn. We hadn't even trick or treated yet and already our house was overflowing with junk food! (we still have a few pieces of cake, left...seriously, this holiday is not good on the waist line...or the teeth! Cameron's kinda going crazy about kids' brushing good at night. No cavities!)

That night we had our church party. I made Chili for the Chili Cook-Off, Cameron came in second place in the pie-eating contest, the Young Men and Young Women (and their leaders , including me since I'm still the Mia Maid Adviser) put on a little carnival, and the kids went "trunk or treating". This was Ella's first experience with people giving her piles of candy, and she LOVED it! She was so dang cute. Her, "twick oh tweet" was so clear and cute that everyone thought she was adorable. And guess what happens on Halloween when someone thinks your adorable - they give you even more candy! So, she made a haul and every now and then just sat down in the parking lot, grabbed a piece, and said, "open. open. OPEN!"

The boys took off with their friends. They made a haul too - I think Landon went around the parking lot at least twice. We ended up with so much candy that I didn't buy any for the Trick or Treater's on Halloween. I just gave out our Trunk Or Treating candy.

Saturday, we carved our pumpkins. This year ended up a little funny as far as pumpkins go. Landon got his pumpkin a few weeks ago when he went on a hay ride with a friend from school. Issac got his from his preschool pumpkin patch field trip. We just grabbed one from our garden for Ella and we got one for Austin when we went to the pumpkin patch together as a family. First year, ever, that I didn't spend a fortune just on our pumpkins.

Austin didn't want a picture of him with his pumpkin. He carved it all by himself and I LOVE the teeth he gave it. (his is the one on the left) Landon took two days to carve his because he wanted it to be perfect. He said he was waiting for inspiration. And Issac just wanted his to be the "perfect" Jack-O-Lantern, named "Jack-O-Lant".

Halloween night came and we "spookified" our dinner table. Isaac helped me set the table with the silverware set on the plates in cross-bone shape. I told him we were making witch's brew to drink (apple juice and ginger ale) and he wanted to "taste test" it. He said, "ummm, yum, Mom! This is the BEST Witch's Dungeon, EVER!" We had dinner in a pumpkin. I felt quite domestic because the pumpkins I used were from our Garden. They were planted for the purpose of making pie, but I didn't feel up to it (I still have one more pumpkin. I might still try a pie, I guess.) They worked perfect for dinner, though. And, as a note to self: Austin devoured this dinner! He LOVED it. Make it again!

For dessert we had {crock-pot} baked apples. I filled them with granola and cherry pie filling. We called them "Witch's Brains"... ooooh spooky, and seriously GOOD!

I snapped a few pics of the kids before we headed off to Trick or Treat.

Landon was RON Weasly... do not confuse him with Harry Potter, whatever you do! He insisted on the red hair so everyone would know he was Ron. He was bummed that people still thought he was Harry. The picture on the right is him fighting a dark wizard with his "wand".

And here's the ninja boy. After much much debate, Austin finally decided to be this ninja. He told me that 3 kids in his class had the same costume. Good ol' Walmart! (I had him look on three websites for a costume he liked and we found THE ONE at Walmart, ugh!)

Isaac had this AWESOME Buzz Lightyear costume. The wings and goggles light up. But he really wasn't into it. He wore it for our church party but for Halloween Night he was all about his ragedy, holey, old Spiderman costume!

I know I'm biased but seriously, is she not the cutest little kitty, ever?!

I brought Ella home from Trick or Treating a little early. She could have stayed out all night, getting candy. I wasn't feeling great, though so I made her come home with me. I went out to light our pumpkins for the Trick or Treaters and when I came back in she had her candy dumped out around her and she was ripping open everything she could, taking a bite out of each piece. She looked a little sheepish when I caught her, but when I laughed she squealed with excitement. I think it could've been the best night of her life!

Halloween is such a fun holiday. We had a great time with our family this year.

Isaac came into my room yesterday, while I was getting ready. He said, "Mom! I made up this song. Listen: Halloweeen, Halloweeeeen. Everybody dresses up. It's a scary thing! oooohh, oooohhh, ROAR!" I tried to video him singing it, but he didn't want me to. He sang it to us at dinner and we all laughed and laughed. I had one of those moments of, "my life is good!" Thank you, Halloween!

So Much To Say

Where has the summer gone?!! It's corny and cliche but it needs to be said...this summer is FLYING by! There is so much to get caught up on, yet so much fun to be had (and so many kids to be entertained - all.day.long :) ) One day you might find a big ol' post of pictures from May to August, 'cause I'm not sure I'm gonna get caught up until school starts again.

For now, though, here's what we did this 4th of July:

We spent the week of the 4th in Utah. So Monday morning I opted out of the Riverdale 5K I was planning on. Mostly because (is this too vain?) I was going to be away from home the whole day and would've been stuck in my sweaty running clothes all day, oh yeah, and because I can't run the whole thing - I gotta take walk/jog rest breaks (I really am trying to be a good runner but, alas, so far it's not workin' for me the way I want!). Since Cameron didn't want to run it either (he was saving his strength for his 200 mile bike-packing trip the next day - a tale for another post), I talked my dad into running with me that morning around the neighborhood instead. Little did I know I'd be running a 5K anyway. My dad is hard core. But he is also merciful and let me jog/walk most of the time. A little something I love about my dad: I know he was dying to run but he stayed with me during my "rest" times and let me talk my head off about nothing and everything. He has a special way of listening that makes me feel like he really cares about what I'm saying - even when I'm sure he's got other things to think about. I told him I'd be able to run the whole way next time - so I didn't run with again that whole week! I'm working on it though, oh yes, yes I am.

Impossible to get 4 kids to sit still, smile, and look at the camera

Later in the day we met up with Cameron's family at his sister's house. It was fun. The kids played and played, in fact, I barely saw Landon and Austin; they were MIA with their cousins most of the time - and when they weren't, they were on the half pipe.

Shauntelle stole my camera and took a few shots. I'm still wondering if I was annoying her with all my picture taking and it was her way of showing me what it feels like to be on this side of the papparazzi. But I did get proof I was there too. Pictures of me are kind of rare these days:

I love that my kids are so lucky to have wonderful grandparents. I love LOVE that they can build relationships with my parents and grandparents and Cameron's parents. Isaac cracks me up in the picture with my dad...wish I knew what they were talking about!

After we left Shauntelle's we headed to my grandma's house. We tried an unsuccesful nap time. Then we met up with more of my family at my Aunt Benette's. Her kids are my cousins but they might as well be my kids' cousins. Her boys and mine get along like best friends. I love it. I didn't take one single picture. I was having too much fun stuffing my face with food and talking and relaxing while all 4 kids were entertained.

We stayed until almost dark. We decided to do our own little fireworks at my parents house so Cameron could get to bed a little earlier since he had to be on the road early the next day for his bike trip. Ella went to bed too. I let Landon have a sleep over with Colton at Benettes. It was weird not to have him with us for fireworks: I kept counting heads thinking how come there's only 2?! But I was happy that Ella was asleep and Landon was having fun with his {second} cousin.

I love this picture of Cameron and Austin watching the firework they lit together:

This 4th was great.

And the rest of the week was so fun too - boating, swimming (I was so happy that Shauntelle met us at the pool - and it was fun seeing one of my best high school friends there), visiting. I even got to go with my mom and Aunt Kim to the American Idol concert. (It was SO much fun {and SO SO loud - am I old to think that?!} I was cracking up at the people around me - all 30+ year old women; should've heard 'em when Stefano took his shirt off. ha ha :) It was seriously so awesome, though, to spend some time with my aunt and mom.)

Easter at Our House

Oh, Easter! It's almost as fun as Christmas. This year I wanted to capture the true meaning of the holiday, much like Christmas. We spent the week talking about Christ and the Resurrection. We had a Family Night and watched this video.

We also had plans to visit our families in Utah. We decided not to go, though, because of a number of reasons. When I called my mom to tell her she said, "okay, then we're coming there." I didn't tell the kids they were coming and when they woke up Saturday morning there was a lot of giggles and smiles and hugs when they found Grandma and Grandpa and Alina. SO FUN! We spent Saturday morning at Landon's baseball game. {Austin pulled his loose tooth out while we were there - it left his other loose tooth hanging like a moon-shiner's tooth. We laughed at it all day.} Landon was SO happy to get one of the two hits of the game. It was hilarious when he rounded third base and made it to home, paused, looked at us and posed with a huge grin, and then kept running back to the dugout. It really made him happy to have his Grandpa there watching him.

The boys and Alina spent the rest of the afternoon motorcycling at the dunes while my mom and I stayed home so I could do a couple up-dos for some girls from church going to prom. It was fun to do an up-do again...girls and prom, oh the excitement! I'm sure my mom was a little bored waiting for me to finish, sorry mom! Then we did some Easter shopping and made some GF hamburger buns so we could BBQ when the kids and dads got home. Of course we did some egg-dying after dinner. The kids are getting quite artistic. I should have taken more pictures. Landon made an egg for each of his favorite college football teams: Hawkeyes, Airforce, UofU Austin's eggs were most colorful, stamping and dying and coloring and dying again. And Isaac impressed me by writing his name for the first time on his eggs - well to be honest he spelled his name Issssss, but still, he wrote it on every egg. I love how happy they all were. And it was fun to have Alina there too. She was so cheerful and fun to be around all weekend. She's good at squelching the occasional argument between the boys too.

Sunday morning came early! It really was like Christmas. The kids were so excited to look for their baskets and eggs. Since Aust can't eat eggs the Easter Bunny hid plastic eggs with jelly beans in them; more of a hit then the hard-boiled kind, I must say. The boys had fun with their Hex Bugs and Ella fell in love with candy, especially her candy necklace. My mom described it well: she acted like we would act if we found a million dollars - she had pure joy and excitement with every lick.

I also bought some confetti-filled eggs for the kids to throw at each other outside. They braved the cold, and had a great time with the eggs. Then they got the water balloons from their Easter baskets and stayed outside until they were SOAKED! It was freezing outside, but they didn't care. They had so much fun throwing eggs and balloons at each other - I think I'm going to have to get those every year.

We had a HUGE, YUMMY Easter Dinner and then after the traditional 10 minute fight with Austin to get him out of the car so they could leave, my parents were headed home again. It was such a peaceful, enjoyable weekend. I loved it. I know it was an effort for them to come, so Thank You Mom and Dad.

Monday, the day was cloudy and cold but I put Ella in a little spring outfit anyway, because I was in the mood for spring. Later, I was cleaning my bathroom. I had gathered up all the Easter baskets and eggs to put away for next year and they were in my closet. Little Ella-girl came walking into the bathroom with a basket and looked so cute, I couldn't help myself. I had to grab the camera and a little impromptu photo-shoot. I was wishing I hadn't rolled up her pant legs, but I wasn't planning it so I didn't think to unroll them for the pictures.

Green Day 2011

The Leprechaun Traps...last year Austin came home from preschool the day before St. Patricks Day telling me how he HAD to make a trap and catch a leprechaun. He didn't get it. He's been planning this trap {no I'm not kidding} since then. He said he wanted to be rich. "I want to get that pot of gold so I will be rich and have a thousand dollars!" (if only a thousand dollars could make us rich, right?!)

He was worried about getting the trap ready for at least a week. Finally I said, well go ahead and work on it. He did the majority of the work but was having a hard time trying to make the trap door. So St. Patricks Day Eve Cameron helped him put it all together...complete with a piece of fake gold as bait.

Isaac wanted to join in the fun so we made a trap with a laundry basket. But he covered it up so the leprechaun wouldn't go in. (huh? isn't that the point, little dude?) He insisted that he didn't want the leprechaun getting into his trap so, that was that.

In the morning the kids were excited to find a dollar bill in each of their traps, along with a trail trail of green shredded paper leading them to the bathroom. They found a note written on the bathroom mirror, and a shirt, a pen, and a "sticky hand" for each of the boys. Isaac was hillarious yelling, "come out you naughty leprechaun. you are so naughty; you made a big mess!"

Austin couldn't figure out how the leprechaun got the dollar in the trap without setting it off. He also wondered why there weren't foot prints this year...oops. But he was excited for the dollar bill and begged me not to clean the note off the mirror.

Landon was the leprechaun's helper. He woke up early to make sure the leprechaun went potty after he left the gifts... (you know what I mean? green food coloring in the toilet - if you have boys do it... they LOVED it. and Landon loved being a partner in crime. who knew it would make him feel so special?!)

Even though the leprechaun didn't leave her shirt with the others, Ella wasn't left out. Cameron, himself bought this shirt for her. I love when he does things like that. You gotta know, Cam is NOT a shopper. He'd rather do almost anything than shop. So it's just kinda extra special when he brings something home and says, "I just thought she'd look cute in this!"

Landon only had school until 11:30 that day. Cameron was working late that night. So after we picked up Landon we drove out to base and did some more leprechaun pranking. We left a note in Cameron's car telling him he'd been choosen to have "good luck for the rest of his days." from Lucky and her helpers. We left a few little green treats. I wanted to call him and tell him to come look in the car but the kids just wanted to let him find it after work, so we headed back home.

Since Cameron worked until 8:30 that night, I invited a friend over. Her husband's in Afganistan so it was just the girls and kids. We had our own little Green St. Patricks Day party. I made Tortilla Chip chicken fingers for the kids and Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup for us. Everything else was green (uh, except for the bannas you can see in the picture ;) )

The corn bread you see is becoming a staple at our house. Gluten-Free bread is just NOT the same as "normal" bread. But we all LOVE this cornbread. I use it for everything from just eating, to BLT's. We can't eat it more than once a week because it has mixed flour in it, but we make sure to eat a double batch that day! Here's the "normal" version of the recipe...even though cornbread season is kinda over you might like to try it - moist and not too sweet and so so good.

Buttermilk Cornbread:

1 C buttermilk ( I use 1 C rice milk and 1 TBS apple cider vinegar)

1 C cornmeal (I've been using white cornmeal, just for a change)

1 C all purpose flour (I use a combo of rice flour, potato and tapioca starch and xanthym gum)

1/4 C sugar

1 TBS baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten (I use EnerG egg replacer)

1/4 C vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 4 1/2 inch by 8 1/2 inch loaf pan. Whisk together dry ingredients. Stir in milk, eggs and oil, just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 min.

Happy {HEART} Day: Love Notes

This past month has been, how you say?... CRAY-Z. No really. I've had to dedicate almost ALL of my time to keeping family happy and healthy - which isn't really that different than normal except, usually I have time to at least breathe... but the last few weeks, well they've just been TWICE or maybe THRICE as busy as normal.

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So, this morning, I wanted to take some time out. Make the day a little more special, and "valantinesy". So I got up a little earlier to make red smoothies and heart-shaped waffles. When Landon came downstairs dressed in his Valentines-Best, I smiled. He looked adorable and was oozing excitement for the day; I just wanted to give him a hug. So I did...and then I took a picture. And then I decided, today is the day I'm going to make time to put up a little blog post to tell all the people that keep me so busy, just why it's so worth it.

Land-O: I love you cuz you are so determined to "get it right". You have a great imagination. You take good care of your brothers, especially when you get to spend time with them one on one. You work hard to do things that you want to do, even if those things don't come naturally. You know what you like: I always know what to get you for birthdays and holidays. You love when we do something "special". You make me smile with your long-winded stories that have so so many details. You have such compassion. You have the ability to set the tone in our house. I couldn't ask for a better first-born. Some of my VERY favorite things to do in the whole world are to listen to you play the piano and to watch you play sports. You are wonderful, I love you. Thank you for being you. love, Mom

Austin: I love you! You make me laugh every.single.day. Your enthusiasm for life makes me excited to live it with you. You have this amazing ability to sense what will make someone happy and do it. You are a big big helper. I know if I need someone to do something for me, you will be the first in line..and you always do it right away. I've loved watching you learn to read. I am amazed when you read verse after verse in the scriptures and only missread a few words. You are strong, so strong. When I take you to school the other kids are always excited to show you what they brought, or get you to come play with them. You know how to make people feel special; what a gift. I love you and I am so happy you are my Austin-Boy. love, Mom

My Zacky-boy: I love you so much, little dude. You make every day an adventure. I think your preschool teacher said it best, "he makes my day everytime he comes in the door!" You have so much passion that your feelings just leap off you. I {almost always!} love that you sing all.the.time. You are so determined to never be left behind, not for a second. I know you will go far in life, because you will not take no for an answer. When you give me a hug and then run away laughing, I can't help but feel happier. I love you. love, Mom

And you, Little Miss: I love you, Ella-girl. How far you've come in a year. My world was completed the day you were born. Your easy going baby ways make me feel peaceful and content. You smile all the time. And I always feel happy when I see it. You are just starting to stand up for seconds at a time - you smile and clap for yourself. It is so fun watching you. I love that you follow me around like a little puppy. I try so hard not to miss any minute of you. I love you, baby-girl. love, Mom

And yes, even you, Cameron, get a little love note today: this is the most recent picture I have of you and I love it because it shows some of your best qualities. I love how you (as much as possible) include the kids in your daily doings. You can make the boys think ANYTHING is fun. And you know how to have fun. You also know how to work. Hard. I appreciate you, my other half. We give each other balance. Together we have a life and a family. I am so lucky to have you. love, Kendra

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Wishing you all a very happy Valentines Day with the people that keep you busy, and keep you going.

Happy Halloween {part deux}

we kicked off the halloween fun with "haunted houses". i let Landon and Austin invite friends over to make them with us. Isaac did a great job building his little house too (his is the one with only ghosts). Landon invited his friend Andrew - a great kid who has a LOT in common with Landon.

Our only Trick or Treating this year went down at the church "Trunk or Treat". (We opted to invite a few friends over on Sunday and celebrate a little more Sunday-like rather than Trick or Treat) So on Friday I got the kids ready and we headed out. I was glad so many of my Young Women love to hold Ella cuz getting through a food line holding 4 plates of hotdogs and chili would've been a lot harder with her in my arms too.

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I really really tried to get Isaac on board with the idea of being a frog so he and Ella could be the Princess and the Frog but he wanted nothing to do with the frog. So I gave up and let all the kids pick from the aisles of WALMART! Awesome.

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Isaac chose this little Lightning Mcqueen number. He thinks it's a baseball player costume. And he LOVES it. He's already completely worn it out. (it is from Walmart - but really it is coming apart at the seams - I had to sew it back together before Friday.)

And Austin chose to join the Transformer world. (not sure why his picture is so huge)

Landon's costume is one my Mom gave us from her Halloween shop days. I'm not a fan of blood and guts kind of Halloween-ing, but you should have seen how excited Landon was to use fake blood (even though I would only let him use it on his hand.) boys!

Cameron was gone this year for our pumpkin carving. We missed him but we had fun anyway. I let the big kids do thier own pumpkins: scooping, drawing, and carving. Isaac helped me draw his and then punched out his carving (after I carved) with a spoon. We also made Ella a little one. {by the way - Isaac had a big pumpkin to carve too, but he really just wanted to carve the little one}

they turned out so awesome! They each named their pumpkins too. {and I was glad my little prayer that they wouldn't cut off a finger was answered!}

Sunday morning I made "spider web" oatmeal and the kids used a ghost cookie cuter to make their toast scarey. That night we had some friends over for spooky food and games. The kids helped with the decorations (see the shrunken heads - they're made from apples). We had chili and orange cornbread (that Austin made almost completely by himself) and sugar cookies leftover from the ones I had to make for Austin's class party. I attempted to make bone-shaped breadsticks but they ended up being just plain-shaped. We opened the door for a grand total of FIVE trick-or-treaters, the kids watched Babe, and we played Ticket to Ride. It was a fun night.