Initiated

We had a morning arrival at the airport. And the three cutest Kevan's (I think Rob would agree) came walking down the hall and into our arms for hugs. We are so happy to have them here. Rob will join up with us later.

They have had illness galore during the past few months. But the stomach flu hit them a few days ago. Apparently everyone has had it - except Rob - hurry knock on wood.

Zach took less than one hour to initiate the carpet in the Family Room. He had a huge runny poopy diaper (symptom of the stomach flu he had earlier) that he generously shared with the carpet.

So now we are initiated things can only get better :)

More Christmas Preparations

Another account of the

Christmas Preparations

going on around here.

Dancing Santa

Santa has the Christmas spirit!

Evening Project

An evening project that turned out pretty good.

Take a look and see for yourself.

Slushy Anyone?

We have been in a cold snap here. The daytime temps are in the 60's and the nights in the 40's. But a couple of mornings have been into the 30's. So the bad news is that I just trimmed our bushes in the front and they might be more susceptible to the cold. The 2 bushes that had grown out of control I cut WAY back and I don't know how they will do. But on the nights that the 30's is forecast we have covered those 2 bushes and our little garden out back. Doug even lovingly brought out his worklight and put it under the sheet to keep the little plants as warm as possible.

Well after the first night of "freezing" one bush on the corner of our lot looked a little black and dry. So at least the outsides were damaged. We will leave it as it is and hope it survives. The things I covered seem OK but I don't really know.

So yesterday it was only supposed to get maybe 42 or so at night - according to the paper. So we didn't cover things up. Doug mentioned the garden and asked if we should but we both thought things would be OK.

But this morning at 5:30 when I saw our outside thermometer reading 37 I panicked. That sensor is next to the house and under the roof so I knew things were even colder on the plants. So I ran out in the darkness to quickly put some water on the garden and maybe warm the roots a little bit. But when I reached the hose I saw something frothy or bubbly at the end of the hose. Almost scary. But I bravely reached for the hose and then touched the froth. Guess what it was.

YEP. a slushy. It had gotten cold enough for the water in the hose to start freezing and as it expanded it oozed out the end of the hose and we had a pile of and "all green" slushy. (All green meaning that no electricity was used/wasted in making the slushy treat.)

We still watered and covered the garden with the worklight turned on. We have hope that since the plants are suited for cold weather they might survive. But I am not holding my breath. I am also not counting on the paper anymore for forecasts. I guess I'll use a current online site to give us more up-to-date and accurate weather forecasts.

But this morning I enjoyed something I've never seen before - an all natural slushy dispensed from our own garden hose. What a treat!

Decorations

As I mentioned in my previous post we celebrated Isaac's birthday yesterday. I tried to give him breakfast in bed but inexplicably he stumbled out of bed at about 6 am. WHAT!? I usually never see him until 2 minutes before he leaves for school - at about 8:25. So what's the deal?

His girlfriend (my BFF) planned and executed a near perfect job of providing our yard with birthday decorations. Her plan had to be flawless. She texted me for permission. I gave her that. She needed a code to get into the neighborhood. I gave her that too. So I knew it was coming. The toughest thing for them was probably this - it was the coldest night we've had in a very long time. The temperature was near freezing. I think their hands, fingers, ears, and noses were probably very cold by the time they finished. But the results were very nice.

I guess she felt bad that her brother put decorations on the garage and that he "messed up" the decorating. That explains why Isaac was out of bed so early. She texted him so he could clean things up if he thought it was necessary. He took a look asked what I thought. But when I looked, this is what I saw:

Looking out our front door.

Looking back at the front door.

One of three (or maybe 4) signs.

Along the wall the balloon decorations were lined up perfectly.

Birthday banner decoration.

Another Birthday sign decoration.

Yikes! I didn't realize this would be PG-13. Oh, I get it. Mooned - sickle shaped objects and round full "moons". Pretty clever decorations.

In my humble opinion the decorations were not bad at all. In fact, it brought a lot of festive color to our somewhat drab and dull neighborhood. So a huge thanks to Kristina for helping us to make Isaac's birthday memorable.

Thanksgiving - Critical Failure

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I have been doing Thanksgiving dinners for over 25 years now and none came so close to critical failure.

I wrote down the menu a couple weeks ago. I figured out what supplies I needed in order to provide the massive feast. Dutifully I added the needed items to my shopping list. I scoured the food ads and made my required stops carefully crossing off the procured items. My turkey was purchased - I put it in the fridge so it could thaw completely before the 25th.

Early this week I confirmed with our one invited guest about the items she was to bring - yummy raspberry jello and veggie tray. Check - she was ready and prepared to make her contribution to our annual feast. (Thanks mom!)

Wednesday I made the stuffing and put it in the fridge. I made the pie crust for banana cream pie and a cherry pie. I also made a batch of rolls. This was insurance that if I got the timing off on Thursday I would have some already made up that we could heat up and serve.

I was ready on Thursday for the completion of my Thanksgiving Day kitchen duties. I had a large turkey - thawed and ready to roast. I put it in the oven at the appointed time. I started another batch of rolls that would be ready to cook as soon as the turkey reached roasting perfection. About one hour before the feasting was to begin I put together the green bean casserole. A few minutes later I put it as well as the previously prepared stuffing into the oven. The smells got my saliva flowing. Things looked and smelled wonderful! The turkey timer popped up - a little earlier than expected. That was good. The turkey came out and the rolls went - WAIT! NOOO! Hold the phone! Something isn't right. What have I forgotten? How can it be? DISASTER!

It was at that moment that I discovered that the mashed potatos had not been started! Oh Boy! Critical Failure! Massive Critical Failure! Sheesh! In my defense - Doug is usually our potato guy for our Sunday meals. So usually I tell him and he takes care of it. Today I forgot to tell him and I forgot all about them myself. OOPS!

Well Mom and Doug rolled up their sleeves and started peeling potatos. I got the pan on the stove and started the water to boil. In a matter of minutes the potatos were in the pan and cooking along. And in a few short minutes we had managed to save the day from being a total Thanksgiving - Critical Failure.

Actually - everything was fine. It was delicious. It was tasty. And we ate too much. And really the potatoes only added a few minutes to our wait. While they cooked we made gravy and got all the fixings on the table. And do you know what? Then I let the gravy boil over and the stink of burned food replaced the delicious smells described above. But I recoverd once again. The potatos were cooked and mashed and put on the table with the gravy and they tasted extra good this year - I'll try not to forget about them next year.

Now that Thanksgiving has been planned, prepared for, cooked, eaten, and left-overs stored I can breath a huge sigh of relief and take today off. NOT! Today is another holiday at our house. Isaac's Birthday. So today we will celebrate again and hope we don't suffer another Critical Failure.

Taxi anyone?

Over the years I have often felt like a taxi driver. I spent many hours shuttling kids to various places: school, church activities, seminary, wrestling practice, gymnastics, piano lessons, organ lessons, soccer games, softball games, flag football, scouts, scout outings, friends - and I'm sure many more but I wanted to get on with the post. Anyway there were many times that I felt like saying, "Taxi anyone?" It seemed to be my main job. I almost bought me a uniform and bright yellow vehicle one time. I figured maybe I could pick up a few paying jobs when my vehicle was empty going to or from one of the above stated activities. Regretfully I never did.

Well this post is about a recent opportunity to play taxi fell into our laps. Well it didn't really fall there - Doug offered. And this time I was very happy we said, "Taxi anyone?"

Dougs folks planned a cross country trip. They would stop here for a visit. They don't seem to like flying and usually drive themselves from the east coast and make stops along the way for visits with friends and family. But this time the trip was airborn. Doug offered to save them a few bucks and relieve them the dreaded flight from Phoenix to SLC. "Taxi anyone," he said. Surprisingly they jumped at the offer so we were going to Utah. AGAIN!


Not that we ever mind a trip to Utah. We love seeing our kids. But I had just bummed a ride to Utah with Scott in September. And stayed up there for a week. Then Doug drove up to spend a long weekend up there in order to pick me up and bring me home. Their trip to Phoenix and desired "taxi" trip to Utah was in October. I hope the kids don't get tired of seeing us!

Anyway, these are the pictures I took from that trip. Not one of mom and dad - but they were busy taking pictures and I hope they share them with us eventually.

Calvin and Zachary facing off




Saide giving kisses to Calvin - wanted or not.

Feeding frienzy. And the winner is . . .




No explanation needed.

Siblings sharing - so sweet!



Watching daddy.

Playing with the house.


Sweet Sadie looking through the door to her play house.

That trip is becoming very routine for us. We enjoy the drive. We are always willing to drive up to Utah. So if anyone is heading up there and needs a delivery made, or buys a ticket to a Salt Lake Real game and needs some way to get up there, or needs to get a student either to or from BYU, or wants a load of snow to bring to Arizona, or wants to go to General Conference, or any other numberless reasons - remember we like to ask, "Taxi anyone?" And we mean it!

Square Foot

You all have seen our back yard - it is pretty big. I have wanted a garden but there is so much other fixing up or organizing or cleaning to do that I have't gotten around to it. Also I don't want to take the time to put a garden in the ground and then determine that we want the storage shed put there. Then I would have to move it. What to do?

So this winter I decided to put in what they call a Square Foot Garden. That is where you build a border that is usually 4' x 4'and then add a special mix of compost, soil, vermiculite, etc. The dimensions can differ but if you have access to each side of the garden a 4' x 4' is ideal. If you position it against a wall or fence then the ideal width is 2' x 4'. After building the border a weed barrier is placed on the ground first and then the garden is assembled on top. Then you divide your border into 1 foot lengths and mark the "squares" onto your soil. There are directions about how many plants can be put into each square - usually 1, 4, 8, or 16 - depending on the variety of plant. Peas can be planted 8 per square but not evenly spaced. They are planted down the middle of the "square" so that eventually you can put up a frame for the peas to crawl onto. I ran out of pea seeds so I filled the last 2 1/2 squares with some spinach.

This method of keeping the soil moist seemed pretty cool but was quickly abandoned because it seems that I like to go out and water the garden myself.

So I planted and watered. I watered and watched. I peeked and prayed. Until just a few short days later I could see that the plants were growing. Yes! Now my garden looks something like this:

I will keep you posted on my success with

Square Foot Gardening.

Maybe you'll even get to taste the fruits of our success

- if you time your visit just right!

Build-a-Bear

Have you ever gone to a mall and seen the store called Build-a-Bear? Just the other day Doug and I were wondering how that place stays in business. It just seems like a one time deal - if that. I have never been tempted to even go in one of those stores. But every once in a while you see someone in there getting some instructions or just looking around. I just can't imagine many folks actually building-a-bear. But then this happened.


I went into Isaac's room at peril of my life. It is usually in dire need of a hazmat team. But I try not to say much. Anyway there was something peculiar looking on his bed. It was a shiny green curvy shaped thingy - sort of princessy looking. So I dared to ask what that was. Guess what it was - yep a finished product from a Build-a-Bear establishment.

Let me describe. This was no bear. It was actually a monkey. Didn't even know that option existed. But it was a monkey - for sure - long skinny tail. You never see a bear with a long skinny tail - yes, definitely a monkey. It was all dolled up with an outfit that made it look like Ariel from the Disney movie, "The Little Mermaid". The shiny green curvy shaped thingy was the skirt that made the monkey look like a mermaid. The bikini top - purple in color was properly placed. There was also a bright red wig that attached by putting loops over the monkey ears - that was definitely an Ariel wig. There were some other accessories - like a baseball glove and bat. I don't know why those things were with an Ariel. Oh wait a minute, yes I do. The person who gave the little Ariel monkey to Isaac played softball in high school.

Can anyone guess her name?

Oh, and did I forget to mention the

large red heart-shaped pillow with

"I Love You"

attached to one of the monkey's arms?

Let's not forget that.

So I guess the Build-a-Bear store nearest Kristina's house is flush with her cashola. It is cute. Isaac sure likes it. So that's my story for today.

Water Bottles

Why is it that whenever I need a cold water bottle to take with me there aren't any in the fridge? Sometimes I find a water bottle with a measly inch of water in it. DOH! I can't tell you how much time I spend filling up water bottles and putting them in the fridge. Then why can't I find one when I need one?

Well I asked those who live in this house the same question all the time. "Where are all the water bottles?" Who left this swallow of water in this bottle and put it back in the fridge?" "Did you use a water bottle?" All of the answers are the same: NOT ME. NO I DID NOT. I ALWAYS FILL THEM UP AFTER I TAKE A DRINK. The answers go on and on. I believed everyone (NOT) so I thought we had a couple of "Not Me"s living here.

Well now I have solved the mystery - mostly. I did a sweep of the house. I checked all the rooms in the house. And guess what I found? A stash of empty and partially empty water bottles in two particular bedrooms.

First - Isaac's room

There were water bottles everywhere. On the bed, under the bed, and in his closet. They were empty and partial, standing and sitting up, crushed and in tact. Here is the collection of bottles that I recovered from Isaac's room.

Second - Scott's room

I was pleasantly surprised to find that there weren't any water bottles in Scott's room. Good.

Third - Downstairs bedroom (Scott had stayed there while the Selin's were here)

I found several down in this bedroom. Not as many as Isaac had in his room but then again he was only down there for about 4 days. So he would probably be in a close competition with Isaac had he spent more time down there.

I am sure if I inspected the vehicles that the above guilty parties drive around I would find the rest of our missing water bottles. But I have not done that yet - why? Because the caches that I found in the house were plenty to keep us stocked up in water bottles for quite a while. But raiding the cars will come eventually.

So now my water bottle mystery is solved. Hopefully this photographic evidence will shame Isaac and Scott into better water bottle etiquette - if not we're going to double their rent.

September in Utah

My blogging has been lazy. I have lots to tell you but not enough time to do it. I want to post some pictures of my trip to Utah in September.

Scott had a furlough day from work and wanted to go up north. So I took the opportunity and invited myself to go with him. I talked Doug into coming up the next week for a visit and then we both would drive home. That gave me a week up in Utah - perfect!

This was my first extended trip in Scott's sporty yellow car. It was nice enough but not as luxurious as I am used to. For example - no cup or water bottle holders. How does one travel without that? It was tough roughing it - but he was pretty good company. We made good time and then settled in for a nice visit.

We stopped in Springville after our drive and got to see the Kevan's. One of the special things we did was have Sadie try on a dress that was Lindsey's when she was little. Actually, my mom handmade the dress - the smocking too. I think the dress will eventually be worn by her - it is still really cute!

Zachary has really grown. He is chubby and happy and loved. He certainly adds a great piece to the Kevan Klan.

No trip to see the Kevan's is complete without a trip to their neighborhood park. We always enjoy going. Sadie likes to swing, and slide, and climb, and run, and dig, and has sooo much fun!

On the way home she was a little princessy. She needed the shade from my jacket to keep her out of the sun. Such a little thing to make her feel special.

When I was finally able to see Evan and Shanna and Calvin - he wasn't too sure about me. He was a little nervous. But he slowly warmed up enough to play with his toys and he allowed me to stay in his house while he played.

Another day - another trip to the park. This time Lindsey could play with Sadie because I was there to watch Zachary and to man the camera.

One afternoon we met up with Shanna and Calvin at BYU to browse through a Farmers' Market. Shanna bought some veggies and Lindsey bought some delicious peaches. Yumm! Calvin wasn't too sure about the whole outing. But we all managed to survive and all things considered it was pretty fun.

Here are the boys together. Calvin is about 8 months old and Zachary about 4 months old. Cousins - if they live close to each other they would be tight friends. But who knows where everyone will wind up. For now they get together pretty often and try to enjoy each other.

This might have been a little mean - but Calvin seemed OK with it. He was chasing the train around the track. Finally he got it - but it was fun to watch.

Finally Doug arrived and he was so happy to see his little grand kids! He loves them so much! Our first job together was to babysit Calvin. That was a toughie. He is a little nervous when his parents aren't around. But we managed to feed the little guy. Then he started warming up to us enough to play a little. But mostly he liked Doug because he had the Cheerios and kept Calvin flush with them.

This is the first picture of Calvin that looks even a little bit like Evan. I just think it is the look on his face - but I do see a little Evan there.

One big job while we were there was to replace the Kevan's toilet. The old one wasn't a powerful flusher. So Lindsey picked out the new one - it promised to be able to flush a dozen golf balls. I hope they don't try it. But unlike so many home repair projects - this one went smoothly and we were back in the bathroom doing our real business in no time.

Old one out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .new one in.

A delicious cobbler that Lindsey made for us - heavenly!

Shanna made pizza for everyone and it was delicious!

Oops the pine cones were not on the menu.

The guys were working really hard to get things ready for the dinner. Yeah, right!

A wonderful trip as always.