who likes shrimp?

Well at least one of them liked it.

Still?

When do kids outgrow the urge to eat dog food?
I hope it's soon. That's just gross.

blog, blog, blog

As most of you can tell, I love to blog. Sometimes I blog about pretty random stuff, but I still enjoy it. I have never wanted to "praise" blogging, but I have really learned a lot about myself as I have blogged more and more... which sounds geeky, I know. But I'm a geek.
My sweet husband sent me a link, that I thought I should like to share.... since it's about blogging! And it has helped me realize that it's ok (and somewhat therapeutical) that I blog as often as I do.
So if you are feeling guilty about the amount of time you spend blogging, or you are wondering why you should take any time to blog, or you're just curious as to what I am talking about, take a look at this article about blogging.

April Ann

Last night we had our Christmas present date with Jason's parents. We went to the play April Ann. It was a cute show. A little slow in the beginning, but the second half was better. There were several funny lines, as you'd expect with a family of hillbillies! But mostly it was nice to have an evening out with my in-laws (and I didn't have to plan dinner!) So, thanks mom and dad for an awesome evening!

lovin those jazz!

I love the Utah Jazz. A couple of years ago, Jason wanted to watch their play off games. I watched too in order to spend time with him. I got hooked! And I am pretty sure I like them more than he does now! I love watching every play, and I'm glad we have a little rewind button for the plays that I just have to see again.
Last night their game with Cleveland started at 8:30. I knew it would end really late, so I thought if the game wasn't going well, I would watch it speed-style today. Even though I was super tired from not sleeping much the night before.... I stayed up until almost midnight to finish this game!
(For those who care nothing about the NBA, you can stop reading because this will get boring for you!)
We were behind by 12 points at one time... then we pulled ahead by 13 and I thought, this game is ours, I can probably go to bed. All of a sudden Lebron James has a few crazy amazing (for them, not us) plays and they are back in the game! And actually pull ahead again! With only 32.5 seconds we are six points behind... not looking good. It turns into a foul-fest... and lucky for us, they miss a couple of their free throws! And we make ours! With 5.6 seconds left of the game, we are down by 2... I'm hoping they will go for a solid 2 and go into overtime so that we have a better chance at winning. Sloan brings in his good 3 point shooters, so I know he's wanting to end the game, and hoping we win with a 3. The ball comes in to Korver... the Cavs defense is super tight, he passes it to Price... still tight D, the time is running down, Price passes it to the new guy, Gaines, who was in his 5th NBA game, working on only one Practice with the Jazz, the seconds are ticking fast.... the clock is down to 1.2 seconds, he shoots for a three... and he scores!! It was so amazing! The buzzer rang as the ball was swishing it up! I was so pumped that I couldn't even sleep after we watched it again and again about 12 times!
Sorry, anyone who likes the Jazz probably watched it, and those who care less, probably still don't care. But I'm a geek... and I admit, I watched it again this morning (just the final 5.6 seconds) and got almost as excited as last night!
Ok, I'm done, and I'm all worked up again (in a good way) so maybe I'll get something done today now!
Wahoo!! Go Jazz!! (click on that to see it for yourself! Even if you're not a basketball fan... it is still super awesome, so just watch it!)

Orange Chicken

Orange Chicken

chicken
oil
corn starch
salt and pepper
orange sauce (from Costco)
cooked rice

Mix salt, pepper and corn starch. Cut chicken into pieces. Coat chicken with corn starch mixture. Cook in heated oil until cooked through. Add orange sauce. Serve over rice.

First time pig tails

When I had put the first one in, Sam said," Mommy, what are you doing to her hair?" After the second, he still looked confused and said, "Mommy, are them horns? Tell me the truth. Are them horns?"

2009 in a nutshell

Each year my mom and sisters and I make two scrapbook pages as a summary of the year, then make copies for each other and pass them around. Then we keep them in a binder that we add to each year.
Not much happened this year in our little family, but since Jason got me a scanner for Christmas, I was anxious to use it! So you get to see our 2009 scrapbook pages!

white chili

White Chili

3 cans white beans
4 C cubed chicken
1 Tb olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can green chilies
2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground oregano
5 C chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 C shredded jack cheese

Saute onion, garlic, and herbs in olive oil until onion is translucent but not brown. Add beans, chicken, chilies, broth, and salt. Cook 20 minutes. Slowly add cheese (to melt evenly) 5 minutes before serving. Stir until well melted.

Christmas Vacation

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy... fun, but busy. Here are a few pictures from a few of the activities we have done over the Christmas break.

Every Christmas Jason's parents have a night where they make candy trains with each of the grandkids. This year we joined in with Terrell and Cindy's kids to make them. Sam was in heaven since this night included most of his favorite things: candy, trains, Grandma and Grandpa, Joshy, and Joshy's toys! (Joshy is the cute little red head standing next to Sam. They are about 6 months apart, and Sam LOVES him!)
Here's the final result: (clearly he had plenty of help!)
Livia was fine with a few M&Ms.
The post-decorating mess:


We also went to my sister, Ronda's house for a little Christmas Party.
Ron and Ronda:
Leesa and Addison:
Livia, the victim of daddy's silliness:
An attempt at a kid picture. (why is it always my kid(s) causing the problem?)
Livia got a pop-up toy:
Sam got a barn with several animals.
Livia starting young with phone calls.
Liv just being Liv.


The gift that Jason's parents gave to each of their grandkids was a night at the Family Fun Center. It has a jungle area and a bouncing area, among other things. I didn't think Livia would care to join in, so we just decided to hand out and watch others. Too bad the floor was so nasty!
Sam learned how to climb up to the top of the slides rather quickly.
Here he is with Josh:



After we ate all sorts of pizza, root beer, and doughnuts, most of the kids lined up along the wall that bordered the skating area surrounding the bouncy toys, and did a high-5 line up.


Jason has been wanting to see this movie since he first saw previews, so we went to the 3D version yesterday. Both of us left with a headache from sitting in the second row, but it was a really good movie, and we're excited to see it again... but maybe we'll stick with the last row and 2D next time.


We went with some family to go sledding. Sam was a little hesitant to go down by himself, so he just ate the snow instead.

Finally Jason convinced him to try a little hill.




It's been so nice to have Jason home these last couple of weeks, we've had a lot of fun and been able to spend a lot of time together.

We hope everyone had a great Christmas Season and a Happy New Year!

We're excited to see what 2010 brings!

Santa came....

Here's a little recap of our Christmas Eve and Day:

Livia (as usual) was uncooperative once the camera surfaced.
Sam was happy to get Buzz and Woody PJ's. Too bad they are 3 sizes too big. (Thanks to the selfish boy-PJ-hog-lady on Black Friday, that's the only set of PJs I found.)
Sam and Jason thought a long time about where the milk and cookies should be left for Santa so that Maggie wouldn't get it before he got there. The mantle was agreed upon.
I guess this means that Santa made it down the chimney safely.
Here's a shot of the bootie he left behind.
Livia's stocking supplies.
And her clementine after only a few minutes.
Daddy told Santa that Sam loves sticks. So I guess Santa was trying to be funny.... and he wrapped it so that mommy was surprised too. But.... Sam loved it.
I must have been on the Nice List.... Santa spoiled mommy way too much!
(Minus the tutu, that was for Livia.)
Sam's stocking stuff and the awesome trains and table Santa brought for him.
Even Maggie got to join in on the Christmas fun. Santa brought her two bags of treats and a couple of bouncy balls...
We gave her another bed and 4 small fleece blankets. I had hoped they would each last a little longer... but that's why I cut it into four blankets!
Here is the first one:
This was later that day:
This was a little later still:
Now there are bits and pieces throughout the house.

Since we had Christmas Day to ourselves, I was not about to cook a ham.... and since Domino's was closed... we went all out... and had hot subs (just like we eat about once a week.) Maybe someday I will plan on making a nice Christmas dinner... but probably not.

We had a great Christmas, it has been so nice to have Jason home... even though he has already completed his Assassin's Creed 2 game. (He reassured me there are many more options he can do to still play it and enjoy it though.... so don't worry!) We've enjoyed just hanging out at home... and not doing anything productive!

We hope you all had a great Christmas and will have a great New Year!

silent prayers

One year ago today was a difficult day for me. It was the day that my carelessness lost me my engagement, wedding, and anniversary rings.

Looking at them on my hands now, I am thinking again of how blessed I am to have them returned to me. It is a reminder that there are still good people out there who are eager to answer another's prayers.

I want to share a short portion of this month's Visiting Teaching Message from the Ensign by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

Disciples of Christ throughout all ages of the world have been distinguished by their compassion..... In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us, and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers.

What have I (or you) done lately to answer the silent prayer of another? There are so many opportunities available.... if we but open our eyes and listen with our hearts.

This week, as we celebrate our Savior's birth, let's all take an extra second to listen for a silent prayer... and then cheerfully do what we can to answer it.