Blowing Bubbles and Bike Repair

pictures taken July 31, 2009

Summer Afternoon

Pictures taken July 30, 2009

My Deceptive Day

Pictures taken July 29, 2009

My sister and I realized that we both had some errands to run at the same store. We decided to meet there and then we went to the library together. I remember taking pictures of the kids - who actually look pretty cute, and realizing that things aren't always as they appear.

In all honesty, my kids were beasts for this trip to the library. They kept fighting over everything - the books, the toys, even who got to be in front looking into the silly mirror.

We didn't stay very long, and by the time I got Ammon and Peter into the car with their seatbelts buckled, I was ready to pull out my hair!

Later that day, the boys told me they were hungry. We were between meals, so even though they asked for food, I told them no.

I went downstairs to work on some things and came back upstairs to find this scene. First, I yelled. I had told them that we weren't getting food out. Then, I took a deep breath and told them not to move. I raced down for my camera and shrugged to myself thinking that I could either be really grumpy about this, or I can just capture the moment and celebrate my two independent little guys who were working so well together.

I'm sure it's not the last time they will be partners in crime. These boys are amazing and as far as they are concerned there is nothing they can't do. (Well, Ammon is pretty convinced that he can't clean without a LOT of help from Mommy, but other than that...)

So here are my pictures - full of adorable looking children having a wonderful day. And in reality I was screaming inside and out. But maybe the pictures aren't as deceptive as I think, because in reality I look back at these moments and hold them close to my heart. I love being a mother and cherish these days I have watching Ammon and Peter grow.

Visiting Teaching Babysitting Swap

Pictures taken July 28, 2009

Last month I scheduled my visiting teaching and then called my sister to see if she would watch the boys for me while I went. Turned out, she had hers scheduled for the same day. There was a moment of disapointment until we realized that our schedules worked perfectly to take turns watching the kids.

I woke up, got the kids ready and headed out to Katy's house to drop them off. I went back to my neighborhood to have a lovely visit and then headed back to Katy's house. I got there just in time to have her head out the door for her visit. In the mean time, the kids were having a blast hanging out with each other!

The weather was nice, so we spent a lot of time outside on the deck. The backyard isn't finished yet, but the boys loved climbing the mounds of dirt. It was a grand adventure for them!

We finished out our afternoon with a nice snack of strawberries. Then Katy came home and we stayed and played some more! If I ever move away from family again, no one can ever accuse me of not appreciating what I have while I have it. I LOVE living so close to my sister, hanging out, taking turns babysitting, and letting the cousins grow up together!

Thanks Mom!

I have had requests for this recipe lately, so I thought I would post it. It is a recipe I grew up with; I remember making it for those days at school where we got to bring pillows and treats and read all day! I never understood the kids who moaned about our reading marathons - what could possibly be better than spending a school day reading your favorite books while eating your favorite treats. I guess not everyone knew the pleasures of A Wrinkle in Time and Fudgy Oatmeal Bars.

The way I remember this recipe being introduced to our family, is that it was one we clipped out of the newspaper. I have a lot of memories baking as a child, and this recipe is one of the best things we ever made.

When I was 12 years old, my family decided to have a family reunion in St. George. My aunt and uncle offered to bring me home with them after the reunion, but I needed to find a way to get back from California. It was up to me to earn $100 to buy my first plane ticket. I decided to create a cooking class to teach younger children how to cook. (I can't believe my amazing mother let me invite several extra small children into her kitchen multiple times a week for over a month to teach a cooking class!)

Somehow my goal was accomplished. Some of the things I remember teaching the kids how to make include homemade pretzels, english muffins, cinnamon rolls and homemade tootsie rolls. I remember being concerned about getting enough interest and so I thought I needed to pull out all the stops with my most amazing recipes. As an adult, I realize that I offered really cheap babysitting that came with a fun experience for the kids and brought home yummy food. No wonder why my class filled quickly and I was able to buy my ticket - I shoud have charged a lot more! ;-)

I look back on that time now and can't help but appreciate my mom. She helped me accomplish an awesome goal which led to a really fun summer including my first ever plane ride (which was by myself). But more than that, she taught me how to be creative and industrious and gave me confidence in my abilities. She taught me that I can do it - whatever "it" happens to be.

Recipe

Jenny's Fudgy Oatmeal Bars

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups oats

12 ounces chocolate chips
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbs butter
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees; grease pan

Mix brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla.
Add flour, baking soda, salt and oats.
Reserve 1/3 of the oatmeal mixture. Press remaining 2/3 oatmeal mixture in pan.

Heat chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and butter in sauce pan on a low heat.
Stir constantly until chocolate chips are melted.
Remove from heat; stir in nuts, vanilla and salt.

Spread chocolate over oatmeal mixture in pan.
Drop reserved oatmeal mixture onto chocolate mixture.
Bake 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Changing Seasons

Pictures taken July 27, 2009

We started the day with a nice, summer morning. Peter had fun playing in the yard with Sophia. I love watching my children play with their cousins. We are so blessed to have so many cousins nearby to play with. I think it's fun that it takes my children a while to learn that "cousin" and "friend" are actually two different relationships.

They ran through the yard and enjoyed summer the way only children do. A part of me gets jealous when I look at these pictures. They feel carefree and beautiful. I'm glad I was able to be a part of their day.

And then, the season changed. It was "back to school" time. Ammon had his kindergarten open house - his first moments beyond pre-school!

I was bubbling with pride as I watched my oldest baby march into that classroom. True to himself, he was confident and capable. He didn't even know to be worried, intimidated or uncomfortable in the slightest. He was excited and eager.

I was amazed to see how little my big boy looked. He has always done so much. He always seems to be two steps ahead of where he should be. Sometimes (almost always) I forget how young he still is! (Maybe that's how Heavenly Father sees us all - so mature and capable and yet still just in the kindergarten of our eternal lives.)

Ammon's open house was a self-guided tour. There was a sheet of paper with a checklist of places to visit. My smart little boy was able to read most of the instructions himself as we went from work stop to work stop.

We did all sorts of things including meeting the teacher, measuring how tall he is, working on an art project, reading a book, finding the bathroom, writing his name etc.

I especially loved watching him work on building this rocket. Perhaps that is because I always meant to get him this sort of thing to play with - it is just right up his alley. He thought it was lots of fun, got through it quickly, and was thrilled with himself when he finished.

Oh, how I love my boy! I am so proud of him and all of his accomplishments. He is growing into someone I admire. He amazes me in so many ways. He has a place in my heart that is reserved especially for him. And somehow, he gives me a glimpse into eternity as he will forever, in my eyes, be both a man of greatness, and my babe in arms.

Family Time

Pictures taken July 26, 2009

Because we had a later than planned night, the boys ended up sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday. Andrew went to pick them up Sunday morning after they had woken up. We heard about the fun things they did (a hiking trip with Grandpa Derrick and buying new shoes with Grandma Peggy) and then we told them about our weekend. When Ammon saw the pictures of Andrew jumping on the bed, he wanted to try it out. I am not sure if he gets his jumping genes from me, or if we just had a slow photographer for his picture, but this photo of him face down on the bed - that's Ammon's jumping picture.

We spend the rest of the morning hanging out together - a lot of time just relaxing on Mommy and Daddy's bed. We had a little "family home Morning" with a lesson about the Family Proclamation.

We enjoyed our time as a couple, but it was also so fun to come home to our little family! We sure love those boys!

Scottish Wedding

Pictures taken July 25, 2009

We woke up in Idaho Falls and enjoyed a nice breakfast in the restaurant downstairs. We had a little extra time so we wandered around the path by the snake river again. It really was beautiful and we wish we could have spent more time there!

Pretty soon, it was time to head into Rexburg for the wedding. We never printed off directions because we planned on following a couple of other cars into town. In the end, however, everyone headed out at their own time. We figured we would just hop onto I-15 and follow the signs. Anyone who knows Idaho immediately is aware of our mistake.

We were blissfully headed down I-15 when I decided to call my sister and find out where she was. One of us were at an exit in the 300's. The other was at an exit in the 100's. Only problem was that we shouldn't have been more than about 20 miles apart.

I was a little bit slow to catch on as she gasped, "Oh no, Jenny! Did you get on I-15."

"Oh Katy!" I responded. "I did! Are YOU on the wrong road?"

It seriously took a little bit of back and forth before I realized that she was telling me I was the one on the wrong road! At this point it looked like we would miss the wedding - which was pathetic since we had driven up from Salt Lake the night before just to attend!



In the end, we made it to the temple late, but not too late. We were able to be there for the wedding but only just barely because Andrew decided that he was smarter than the GPS system that wanted to send us 7 miles out of our way.

My cousin married a man from Scottland so we had tons of men running around wearing kilts. It was pretty awesome!

The temple was beautiful and it was fun hanging out on the grounds and visiting with various family members. After the luncheon we had some free time so we decided to go check out this museum. It ended up looking less than exciting, though, and we decided we could spend the same amount of money to go to a cheap movie. So, we did that instead. Night At the Museum 2 was pretty good.

We ran into one of the brothers of the bride on the way into the reception. Andrew was excited to get a picture with him wearing a kilt. He was especially jealous of the knife these Scottish men wear in their socks!

Andrew also wanted to get a picture with our genuine Scottish man of the day: the Groom. We had fun visiting at the reception and then headed home to our cute boys. We hadn't heard a word from them the whole time we were gone and assumed that meant they were having a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. Seems that we were right.

We had one more big adventure on the way home - but that's not ours to tell. Definitely a night to remember, though!

Our Get-a-Way

Pictures taken July 24, 2009

My cousin was nice enough to get married, and my in-laws were nice enough to take our kids and between those two things we had an excuse and a way to head out for our own little get-a-way.
The first order of business when getting to the hotel in Idaho Falls was jumping on the bed. Don't ask me why. Somehow Andrew just couldn't resist! He was good at it too! He could really throw himself up high.

I was pretty weak about it - didn't really know how to just through myself into the air in hopes that the bed would provide a soft enough landing.

The road trip to get there was fun. We stopped in Brigham City on the way for some food and shopping. We took our time, enjoyed being together, and relished in the concept of having no schedule.

After we were done jumping on the bed, we enjoyed a nice walk out by the Snake River. The Idaho Falls Temple looked beautiful and the atmosphere was fun (although we did walk by a kareokee bar and heard some painful singing...)

Of course Andrew and I talked about how fun it would be to live in Idaho Falls. We always want to move to the places we visit. Then we remembered that this was July - and it was perfect. But Idaho has 11 other months, most of which don't promise to be so nice. So we enjoyed the visit and hope to go back again next summer.

Playing Tourist In Our Own Town

Pictures taken July 21, 2009

With my grandparents being here, we decided to spend a day at Temple Square. Andrew had a trax pass, so he volunteered to take the boys via the train. I drove with my mom and my grandparents. My dad met us there from work and Katy brought her kids as well. We started with a tour of the conference center. My grandpa had never been there, and was amazed to see it. We were able to go to the roof and look around up there.

We tried to get a few family pictures, but not always with the cooporation of the children. Peter thought it was way more fun to run free than to sit in Mommy's lap.

I think my favorite place on the roof was the fountain. It sits directly over the podium in the conference center and is symbolic of the living water flowing to the four corners of the earth.

Andrew took a moment to share some of the symbolisms to Ammon and to share his knowledge and understanding of the gospel.

It was fun to see the two of them discover things together.

After we were done with the rooftop, we headed inside where the art display is currently set up. My parents are docents at the Church History Museum, and the art display has been a part of their responsibility. They were thrilled to have the opportunity to give us our own personalized tour.

When we were finished, Uncle Andrew offered to take the three older kids (Ammon, Carolyn and Kylie) home on Trax. They had a blast with him as he made a couple of connections to go out of his way and get them slurpees at the 7-11. Katy and I took the two younger kids (Peter and Isaiah) which worked out well because they both fell asleep.

Before we left the conference center, though, Andrew's brother Tim stopped by to see us. He works downtown and just happened to call Andrew on his lunch break. When he realized where we were, he walked over to say hi. It was a fun addition to our day.