pretty awesome...

Blogger was not being very friendly last night...I posted the pictures, wrote a post and then it was deleted! I realized it immediately - but I didn't want to stay up and write the same post.  I finally bit the bullet and rewrote it...thankfully this time blogger was kind :)

Friday the older kids have early out at 1:05 & Jacob's Kindergarten starts at 1:10 up at the UofU.  The timing doesn't work really well to have everyone where they need to be at the exact time, and since my mom usually has Friday off - I have her pick up the older kids so that Madeleine can have a piano lesson and they get time with Grandma while I take Jacob up to class and either volunteer that afternoon or run errands.

This week she had the kiddos earlier in the week, so I picked up the older kids from school and then we cruised to get Jacob to his class...he was late, but thankfully his class is laid back about this :) We then drove down to Gateway and had plans to go shopping at Gymboree (Gymbucks time!) and head to the Children's Museum.

Two strikes were that 1) Gymboree is no longer in the Gateway. I should have double-checked! and 2) the children's museum was insanely busy as part of the Salt Lake area must have been on Spring Break. Every foot of the museum was packed with kids and it was not fun - so we left after 20 minutes...we signed up for the 6 month pass back in March so coming and going will be much easier and I won't feel guilty at how long we stay :)

We tried to find a park while I drove through the avenues back towards the U. I saw a big grassy area up a few blocks and drove towards it --- only to realize that we had come upon the Salt Lake Cemetery. This may seem weird to many people - for me, it's natural. My father was a Funeral Director when I was growing up - I wouldn't say I'm at home around death and the things related...but it doesn't bother me. I also love this specific cemetery as my Grandma Miller is buried there, and it has one incredible view of the Salt Lake Valley...oh, and it has many of the Prophets buried there as well :) We drove by George Albert Smith's family plot on the way out and saw his headstone. The older kids and I were amazed & I want to go back and see if we can find the other Prophets plots at a later time.

Anyway, we were able to find my Grandma's headstone after I drove up and down those narrow little "streets" and could feel that I was getting close, but couldn't remember the exact location. I'm so thankful that Grandpa Miller decided to get a headstone that is prominent to read from the street...that it is VERY close to the road also really helps.

The kiddos and I got out and we viewed her headstone and talked about how long she had lived, and then also viewed the headstone of her parents which are buried in the neighboring plot, as well as her sister who died at 2 years of age. It was a brief visit as it was chilly & windy - however it was sweet. There is a very special spirit, one of reverence and remembering, at cemeteries and I'm looking forward to Memorial Day when we will do a tour of a few cemeteries to go and visit ancestors that have passed on.

On the way out, we passed by this amazing flowering tree and I was just in awe at how intense the blooms were. I asked Madeleine to take a picture for me & she snapped one on the phone from the car (1st photo). Then she looked at it, and told me she needed to go closer to get a better shot. She hopped out, and took the 2nd photo - which really was better! I'm so proud of her little photographer eye!

Photo 1

Photo 2 (I made it larger - but look how much better it is!)

When we got home, the kiddos and I worked together to make Zuppa Toscana soup for dinner. This is THE meal that we all love and could have on a very regular basis....oh, it's so yummy! The great part as well is that everyone loves to help make it, which I love as it's not a complicated soup - it just takes time.

The boys got to work peeling potatoes & in the middle of their work Bryson Jr. asked me if we could open a family restaurant so we could work together. I love the idea & would love to be able to do that...

Hopefully it can be sooner than later - I love working together and it's especially nice when we are all working on a project and everyone is getting along. Ahhhh...I'll take a 1/2 hour of {almost} bliss :)

Madeleine was trying her hand out (literally) in cutting the slice of potato --- however she still needs some tutoring and I was worried a finger would be chopped off in the process of trying to finish dinner. Then I had a brilliant thought - the slicer I had purchased after a demo at the local grocery store (yes, I fell for one of those sales marketing little demo shows!) - so I pulled it out and she whipped through slicing the potatoes on the new little kitchen gadget - she was happy to get to stay on this important task & I was happy we didn't lose any fingers in the process!

To finish the evening, Bryson and I left the kiddos with Nana & Papa Lord at our house and we enjoyed a date night to the Jordan River Temple. We are so blessed (and now spoiled - we haven't had this many dates in years) with family around to watch the kiddos! I love how it allows time for the kiddos to develop a relationship with their grandparents - how awesome to have a pick-up soccer game in the backyard with Papa Lord?  Attention from Nana for whatever it is a child needs at the time.  And to have piano lessons from Grandma Joy and play in her backyard each week?  

It is certainly true that the little things make life pretty awesome indeed.

spicy life

I had hopes to write a comment about motherhood and a little bit of my own feelings after the huge debate taking place after Hillary Rosen's comments.  Wow - the media world was abuzz today!  However, this mom is tired.  It was a hard night working with Bryson Jr. - we have up days and then the down days are intense.  His moods are such I don't even know completely how to describe - only that they are really hard to work through, keep patience with him and remember that 'this too shall pass'.  It mostly started after dinner & the height of his outbursts came during scripture time.  I'm emotionally exhausted from dealing with him most days.  Some days there is just more spice in that boy than I can handle...and I like spicy things!

Madeleine who is usually on track and one that I don't have to worry about monitoring is still up and still hasn't finished her homework!  She loves to write and draw, and subsequently has spent way too long on her homework assignment of writing a book.  She is upset that she isn't done and super tired...and now she needs to wake up very early tomorrow to finish before school starts.  We need to teach her how to pace out her homework and not to do the 150% and beyond on the assignments that she loves...but that she needs to get ALL homework completed.  Life lesson to learn - better start now to see that she understands how to meet multiple deadlines in life :)

So, that is the gist of the night....I think I have a little heart burn (or just a hurt heart) from all the flavor and spiciness that has been dealt out.  These are the times I just want to take a break - even though I know you can't take a break as mom...but it's easy to start to wonder if what you are doing matters at all.  Anyway - on to a happy memory about good spicy :)

Here is a memory from about 3 weeks ago when my sisters and their families was here for a little mini-reunion.  We had Indian food tonight and it reminded me of the night that we went out as married couples.  My mom told us that she'd have dinner with all the grandkids at her house & play games while we all went out to eat.  We hurried out of the house that Wednesday night (3/21/12) and went up the street to a new Indian restaurant that opened 'Spice Bistro' --- we all agree the name is lousy & when the manager asked us for feedback we told him honestly that the restaurant is much more than the name lends one to believe...the name should be changed, but he wasn't really wanting honest feedback in all areas it appeared :)  Here is the restaurant & it's interesting (silly?) name....hopefully it will stay in business despite the name & if you are in the area and like Indian definitely try it!  

We sat through a relaxed meal where we didn't have to serve children, make sure vegetables were eaten, and remind children to use good manners...we just enjoyed the company of adults!  This is the first time we've all gone out to eat together, and it was a favorite part of the week!  We sat around talking about our families, life & anything big or little that came up.  We filled our plates and then our tummies with the delicious food and then we wandered out to the parking lot....and looked across the way and saw Wendy's.  We weren't really hungry, but we wanted something sweet - so we ended up sitting in Wendy's having a Frosty :)

We seemed to talk a little more in-depth about life at our stretch of tables at Wendy's.  We think this might be because the place was empty (except for the two guys that came in when we were done and we asked them to take our picture!)....it was funny how the entire night was enjoyable, but it truly was the dessert/sweetest part of the night just talking it out at Wendy's.  Here are to future nights out with the couples & whether we always end with a Frosty, that little simple dessert will always hold great memories for me!  

 Brooke & Scott, Dan & Celeste, and Bryson & Me 

Divine oatmeal in a bowl...who knew?!

I'm switching things up today and posting this morning as I have a recipe on my mind that we tried last week and just love!

When we were in MBA school, the MBASA did a cookbook each year & these two simple books are some of my favorite cookbooks. The recipes are the tried & true recipes from women and families everywhere and there are some awesome gems in there. There is also the occasional funny recipe such as 'go and get a bag of Cheetos, open up a can of pop and enjoy' :) That one makes me laugh - the guy who submitted it was married to one of my good friends, and their son was in my preschool class both years. It's not a recipe I have tried, but it makes me laugh because of his zany personality and for putting such a dorky recipe in!

I have spied recipes that I've wanted to try for years & I'm trying to go through and do more of them now that I've got a bit more time in my life. With not having the PTA taking up huge chunks of my time, it's amazing how many hours there are to do things each week! It really does feel like I quit a part/full-time job & there are times when I miss all the events & projects we did....however, I have enjoyed how much time is in each week & not feeling so rushed all the time! I looked over this week's schedule and realized that it's rather empty & I get to choose what I'm going to fill it with! I have the typical cleaning, laundry and shuttling kiddos around in the schedule - and having Jacob home in the mornings without full-day Kindergarten is huge! I have an appointment here and there, and I did realize there is a PTA meeting & I'm volunteering in Bryson's class - but that is only 2 hours of time at the school & I'm going to the PTA meeting just to be informed....not because I'm signed up to do anything in particular. I used to spend between 30 & 40+ hours at the school on various projects. It's really nice & rather exciting to get to choose how I'm spending my time these days - and doing things for and with my family is a top priority....so cooking more meals at home that are healthy is something I'm spending a lot more time on :)

Anyway - pulling myself back to the main topic (wow, I get out on some tangents, eh?!), the recipe that I've wanted to try for some time is Baked Amish Oatmeal. We love oatmeal in our family, but the regular bowl of oatmeal each week gets a little tiring, so it was time to change things up. We finally made it to the grocery store at the end of the week (having the kiddos home for Spring Break was awesome, but it was tricky to go shopping with all of them...I'm going to need to think about options for this summer! Once we had the eggs for this recipe I pulled it together last Thursday morning & Bryson Jr., Jacob and I were in heaven! We couldn't believe how yummy it was! Bryson Sr. tried some the next morning (we doubled the recipe so we could have extras for a few days after and I'm so glad that we did!) and he said it was like eating warm oatmeal cookies doused in milk. I think of it more like a big oatmeal cake....whichever of the two you prefer it is one of the best breakfast meals and it will definitely be showing up on our table a lot more!

Here is the recipe that I followed...but I'm going to work to tweak it a bit to see if I can make it a bit more healthy. These measurements are doubled, because I made it for the 9x13 pan and again to give us those yummy left-overs for subsequent mornings. If you don't want as much 1/2 the recipe and use a 9-inch square baking pan.

Amish Baked Oatmeal

1 c. vegetable oil (*I'm going to try applesauce next time, or at least 1/2 oil & 1/2 applesauce)

1 c. brown sugar (*it had originally called for 2 cups & I knew that would be too much, and even halving the sugar it was plenty sweet. I'm going to try honey or agave next time and see if I can work with the sweetener.)

4 eggs

6 cups regular rolled oats (*it called for quick oats, but I don't think they are as healthy...plus, I don't even have them so we used good old fashioned rolled oats & it still cooked beautifully!)

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

2 tsp. cinnamon

*fruit options - apple (peeled & chopped) or dried cranberries, or I saw this website & picture that put in fresh blueberries. Oh, the yummy-ness!

Mix everything together (wet first and then add the dry) and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour....although when it gets brown on the edges and firm in the middle it is done (it was 45 min. for me). Cut into pieces and serve as you wish...get ready for some definite "Mmmmmmm's" from those enjoying!

I put fresh blackberries on top of mine and did a little heavy-whipping cream. Oh wow - it was a party in the mouth! We also had some fresh whipping cream from a dessert, and Bryson Jr. and Jacob had a spoonful of whipping cream and then some regular milk over their bowl. They were all delicious ways & I really felt like we were cheating breakfast somehow and going straight for the dessert...which I'll be honest I've had the cake for breakfast on some mornings, and although it's good this was far better because it was the same sweet taste but much healthier!

Alright, I'll stop writing about oatmeal :) I have a storage room to clean out, and plants to get into the garden as it's going to be around 78 degrees today! I'm putting in a little herb garden in the soil next to the back door so that I can step out in my kitchen herb garden! I only have cilantro and spearmint to put in right now - but I want to add basil, rosemary and green onions....that is one area that I've enjoyed filling my time with - playing in the dirt & gardening. It's been incredible to have a yard again!

Easter Celebration

We enjoyed our Easter celebration at Nate & Lauren's home with the company of Nana & Papa Lord & Grammy.  The weather was beautiful today & we enjoyed eating outside with a spread of delicious food - oh the yummy-ness of that food, it was a great little feast!

Rebecca was the party planner and was so excited to put on a talent show, which could also be called an Easter Pageant.  She was into every detail...I love her in this photo directing everyone on what to do :)

 We packed our handy-dandy scripture dress-ups that we've had for years...these pieces of fabric have dressed up many children for scripture story reenactments...I had no idea when Bryson & I were Noah & Mrs. Noah years ago that we'd still be using the fabric for many other purposes...we sure do love that scripture dress-up bin!

Rebecca had written out an invitation for the Easter Party and dropped it off at our house yesterday when their family was out running errands.  I should have taken a picture, but it was darling and had a role for everyone to play...except that we found out today that there was fighting over who got to play the part of Jesus, and so the part was given to Uncle Nate....which he did such a great job, he sealed his commitment to that role for years to come!

Nate & Bryson acting part of the Last Supper 

This is one of my favorite photos from the pageant...the Garden.  It was amazing how well laid out their yard was for this show - Bryson pointed out that the Wall of Jerusalem is in the background, which wasn't even planned.

The cast members waiting to come on ~ Rebecca was Mary, Madeleine was one of the other women (Elisabeth I think), Rachel another woman, Jacob was a Roman Soldier (he still calls it a Shoulder and it's too cute that I've given up correcting him), and Bryson Jr. played the part of multiple disciples.  

Jacob was excited about the thought of being a soldier before he got "on stage" - then he froze up a little.  He didn't want to push Nate around as the soldiers pushed Jesus, and when he was supposed to act out nailing the hands to a cross, he barely lifted his arms from his side and did the tiniest hammering action.  Nate whispered to him to nail his hands & Jacob came back with "I DID!"  Funny kid....very dramatic at home, but not as inclined on another sort of stage!

The women preparing the spices to go and annoint the body 

Jesus appears to Mary - I loved this scene as well, as Rebecca took the part so seriously.  It was adorable.  

Running to tell the disciples that Jesus is RISEN!  

Jesus appearing and allowing his hands & feet to be touched 

The Cast!  They did a great job & I have to say that I was once again reminded how well children learn and internalize something when they have a hands-on experience or act something out.  At first I was a little hesitant to think about acting this out - we act out the Nativity each Christmas, however the atonement and crucifixation is an event that I want to be careful to portray in the right way...and I get that we aren't the LDS movie studies.  However, the children took this very seriously - they wanted to show what happened and they did it in the most loving and child-like manner...it was absolutely perfect.  I hope that we'll be able to do this for many years to come as it really was beautiful to see the children acting out some of the very significant and most important events about the final hours of our Savior's life.

After the Easter Pageant, the kiddos started to play games with a few beach balls...

Which turned into a group game of volleyball/just keep the ball off the ground (and off the roof for Madeleine!...she has the extra height that sent the ball up there a few times!)

The cheering crowd or photographers :)  Grammy & Olivia - I have found a few different pictures on Pinterest that show generation photos and I like to pretend that I'm a budding photographer....

Olivia reminds me of Jacob - he would just stare at you like he was looking into your soul...they both seem to be older spirits in their little baby bodies....

Madeleine is super competitive - something we've noticed as she has gotten older, but she refuses to let us sign her up for team sports.  Too bad as she is super fast and I think it would be great for her to give it a try...then again, I always disliked the group sports I played and just wanted to do dance & singing.  Maybe we more alike after all...

We had a wonderful and beautiful Easter Sunday.  Once again, how blessed we are to live where we do and to have these opportunities for family events....the kiddos have really taken to the idea of going over to a family member's house for dinner so they can have cousin time.  I can't say that I blame them one bit!  

new circus in town

We did an Easter Egg hunt at Grandma Joy's this evening & while listening to Gma Joy gives instructions on the number of eggs for each child to find, Jacob clapped his hand over his mouth & Noel immediately copied. These two are so funny together - they adore one another & play really well....I think so much of it is that Jacob finally has someone younger than him that looks up to him...he doesn't let a chance go by to make Noel laugh, chase her and do things that she'll copy. They are quite the pair!

After the egg hunt we had a light-dinner & then we were back outside for relay races (it was definitely chilly, but we started to move up & warm up rather quickly. My mom has an amazing backyard that my sister Brooke and Dad designed & put in years ago (it was probably at least 12-13 years ago?).  It has an old English-style design which was well used to have us all on different courses for the race. The kids had a blast, and I laughed more than I did the group any good.

The last relay we were supposed to square off to see which team could hula-hoop for as long as possible. I don't know how long we actually did that exact activity - however the side shows were hilarious and much more fun! We stood in a circle and threw or rolled the hula-hoop to the person across from us. Jacob learned how to turn the hoop on his arm, as he was getting rather frustrated with the traditional hip version.

The kiddos were taking the hula-hoops and throwing them extremely high and they started to go close to the fence separating our yard from the neighbor. Eventually, a hoop went over and after a few moments deliberation on what to do, Bryson (Sr.) stood back and took a run to scale the 8 foot wall. Once on top, he lowered himself over the side & was going to let go when I mentioned to him that I thought the neighbor's had a bulldog. His face popped back up over the fence. I told him I wasn't sure on the type of dog, but they definitely had a dog. He brought his upper half of his body up, and then his whole body was finally resting on the fence. He told us that he wasn't afraid of a possible dog - he was the one that made the choice to try to get the hula-hoop this new way. The timing and delivery of the line was perfect for the moment - it's hard to recreate how funny it was...but he did lean his body down and with his arm grabbed the missing hula-hoop and then after doing a circus wall routine - was back down on the ground.  If we ever need to act out Samuel the Lamanite we know where to go...and who will be cast as Samuel :) 

Oh, those hula-hoops provided the best entertainment of the evening! We were probably out there for at least a 1/2 hour just playing with those, and fine tuning our skills in case as a family we want to join a circus. Or maybe we'll create our own circus...although I think we are already a certain type of circus most days :)

We definitely look forward to what we've decided Grandma Joy's Easter Games will definitely be an annual treat now that we are in the area to enjoy with family!