Levi's 13th Birthday

This is Levi's Birthday, we went to eat at Red Robin and he brought some friends along. He got a docking station/alarm clock for his i-touch and was very happy about that!

Cami's Gymnastic's Floor Routine

Cami has been working hard this year in Gymnastics.

This is her floor routine at the parent show.

Merry Christmas!

Have you missed me?

yeah I know, I'm back from the dead. I've been busy and my camera was acting up...By the way, I was given a new one for my birthday. It's pink and perty too. Tom picked it for me (he knows I like pink things), so I really have no excuse now for not keeping up my blog. Lots of cool things have been happening for me to write about too. Like the two rats that are living in my bathroom...at least until Christmas Eve, when they will be moving into Lucas's room. So, I'll be back soon with pictures....Merry Christmas!

Happy Halloween...Arrrrr

Arrr...We have been having a fun Halloween week. We had a party Saturday night...Tom and I dressed up as pirates. The kids carved their pumpkins for Family Home Evening last night. More pictures to come.....arrrrr.

Anyone know what "arrr" means in pirate?

What to do with those fall apples....

This apple tart is a favorite! The healthy date, nut crust allows you to indulge without guilt or compromising flavor as you enjoy added nutrition as well as flavor. The walnuts in the crust make one serving of this tart an excellent source of those hard-to-find omega-3 fatty acids! Enjoy!

Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes, chilling time: about 1 hour

Ingredients:

2½ cups walnuts
1½ cups dates
3 green apples, such as Granny Smith
juice of 1 lemon in 2 cups water
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground clove
2 TBS honey
½ cup apple juice
¼ cup raisins

Directions:
Combine walnuts and dates in food processor. Make sure you remove pits if dates have them and cut off end where stem was. Process until well mixed and ground, but not smooth. About 40 seconds. It should be a coarse texture when done. Press evenly into a 9 inch tart pan. Set in refrigerator while making the filling.
Slice apples by cutting into quarters. Cut out core and slice crosswise in ¼ inch thick slices. Put into lemon water while you finish cutting apples. Drain well in colander when done.
Place apples in a large skillet with rest of the ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently on medium heat.
Remove apples with a slotted spoon from hot pan to a bowl and cool completely.
Reduce liquid to about half the volume and cool separately.
Spread apples evenly over crust. Brush syrup over apples. Can be served right away or will keep in refrigerator until needed. Keep tart covered in refrigerator so it doesn't pick up moisture. Top with a little vanilla yogurt if desired.

Serves 8

Healthy Cooking Tips:
This crust is fantastic if prepared correctly. First of all, it is important to choose dates that are firm and not too gooey. Zahidi dates are usually good for this. When processing your crust you may have to do it in 2 batches. Combine half the dates and half the walnuts in each batch. Process well, but do not make the mixture too smooth. You should not process more than 40 seconds for each batch. You want to have a coarse texture that is ground enough to hold together when pressed. Take a pinch of crust between your fingers and press it together. If it is over processed the crust will end up pasty and will not be good. If it is not quite ground enough it won't hold together. You can get a good idea of the consistency by looking at the photo.

http://www.whfoods.com/

Somewhere Fun to Go this weekend...

Okay, so I know it's tempting to just skim through these long blogs, but if you want to find out how I got pickle juice on my butt your just going to have to read the whole dang thing....

Sunday morning Tom and I woke up to the fresh fall air coming in through our windows. It's beautiful, this past weekend Fall arrived. Just like that, and just like that we woke up Sunday and decided to skip church and pack up the kids to head up to our favorite hang out in Sedona for some camping, hiking and family fun. An hour later we were on the road stuffed to the gills with sleeping bags, treats, tents and one of the neighbor kids. We picked out a camp site in Oak Creek Canyon at Manzanita Campground...right next to the creek. Then we were off to our favorite Sedona Playground...Crescent Moon Picnic Area. It was a little chilly, but only in the shade. Crescent Moon is an awesome place to spend the day. It's got all the good picnic area stuff, but even better is the hiking path along the creek. It's spectacular! The kids love to go exploring along the creek. There are a couple of rope swings for swimming...the water was FREEZING, but Levi and Lucas both braved the frigid waters for a swing into the creek. We all got wet one way or another and had a perfectly lovely afternoon. The view of Cathedral Rock along this hike is something you have to see..don't be like me and forget your camera! The temp last night was about 20 degrees in the canyon, but we all stayed cozy and warm while in our sleeping bags AND like the true campers we are, all were up this morning at 6 am headed to McDonalds for breakfast and Hot Choc just about as quick as we could zip out of our bags and jump in the heated car! (I'm not a big fan of freezing my touche off waiting for the fire to warm me up! Esp when I'm the one who has to start the said fire!) Sure we looked like a big homeless family, but we were the only ones in the restaurant. By the time we got back from breakfast it was warm enough to clean up camp and head home. My only complaint was the sticky stinky pickle juice someone spilt onto my chair which I sat in and soaked thru the seat of my only pair of pants. This I discovered as I was walking into McDonalds. I did what anyone would do in that situation and stuffed an extra tee shirt in my underware so I wouldn't feel the sticky cold stuff on my butt. That completed the homeless ensemble nicely.

9 words women use

My Friend Lara forwarded this to me and I thought it might be helpful to my male readers...

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and youshould be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a nonverbal statement oftenmisunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing)

6)That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

(I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' ... that will bring on a 'whatever').

(8) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying _________ (see #1)

(9) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

What has Tom been up to this week?

"Brisingr"...yeah, pretty much every spare moment.

Nothing in particular...

Here are some pictures of out kids with our dog, London.

We love her.

Happy Birthday Dana!

Today is my sister in law's Birthday! Happy Birthday Dana! That's Tom's brother Pete on the piano. They were singing to us. Dana teaches voice lessons and she has a beautiful voice as does her husband. We Love to hear them sing together. Hope you had a great day sis!

Lucas

Lucas got a new hat and tee-shirt this weekend. He was so proud of them he asked me to take a picture of him. He's cute, huh?

Our Crazy Monday Night

So, here's what happened...On Monday, Levi was riding the bus home from school and this boy (who has been picking on Levi all year) stabbed him in the leg with a needle. It was a large needle stuck inside the opening of a mechanical pencil. Apperantly Levi had to sit next to this kid cuz there were no other seats. He thought it would be okay because they were sitting near the front. So after this kid grabs Levi's backpack and searches it for gum, he opens his own backpack, pulls out this pencil and starts stabbing the seat. Then he just stabs it into Levi's leg, deep. He stabbed him 2 other times, in the finger and leg again. So when Levi is trying to get out of the seat to get away, the bus driver is yelling at Levi to stay in his seat!
So, this same kid had stabbed a knife into Levi's backpack a few days ago. He has done many other abusive things to Levi, but this was the last straw. Against Levi's wishes, Tom and I decided to call the police and press charges. The police officer met us at the urgent care ( we went just to get him checked out, he was fine) Anyway, after all was said and done we pressed charges for both incidents. The kid most likely won't be back to Levi's school. So that is, in a nutshell, what happened on our last family home evening night. CRAZY!

Family Night...it was nice

We went to see "Get Smart" at the dollar theatre. That was last week, our family night this past monday involved urgent care and the police. Yeah, it was crazy, I'll tell ya about it sometime.

Art work, kids, toast and pickles....huh?

Cami, Megan and Lucas spent some time coloring the other day. That's Megan behind the self-portrait...can't you tell? Cami made the "valentines" and Lucas made the 3-D little pigs story..not shown in the picture is the paper straw house and the paper stick house..both destroyed by the paper wolf.

Skinny Tire Pictures

So, where was Tom this weekend while I was battling scorpions in the bathroom? In Moab riding in the Skinny Tire bike race with his brothers and their friend Heidi (cool name, eh?)

They had a great time and all finished the race and that's good because last year when they were attemping to finish this ride a freak snow storm came through and Tom nearly died from exposure on top of the mountain in his spandex shorts.... This year he just cut up his leg. They had fun and he is home safe and sound and sore, so I'm happy too :o)

Scorpion in the bathroom this morning!

Ok, so if you live in Arizona it's probably no big deal, but since we have lived here we've only seen a few and this is only the 2nd one ever in our house (the first one was under the kitchen table and our dog was playing with it)! This morning, while getting the kids ready for church, Megan - in the bathtub - yells "Mommy a scorpion!". I'm thinking probably it's just a cricket...but, sure enough it's a scorpion, ugh! Of course, Tom isn't home, so I have to be brave..I get his shoe and go to squish it. Scorpions can move faster than I thought...eek! But I finally win the battle and it's stuck to bottom of Tom's church shoe..so gross. Of all the places to find a scorpion though, the bathroom, where you are like the most naked and vulnerable...ugh, how did it get in there? I really hope they're not dropping out of the ceiling vents from the attic! So now every time I feel a little tickle, or I imagine I feel a little tickle, I'm jumping out of my skin. Now, I know I should feel blessed...I have many AZ friends who find several of the nasty things in their houses everyday...but I don't care to share living quarters with poisonous anythings. I've been told to always run the ceiling fans above your bed so if they are crawling around on the ceilings they won't fall onto your bed. Can you imagine having one in your bed????

My First Tag

THE FIVE

10 years ago I:

1. Had 2 little baby boys age 3 and 1
2. had super short platinum blonde hair, seriously, I have pictures!
3. was living in my mother-in-law's house (bless her for having us)
4. was working at Hollywood Video while Tom delivered pizza and went to school
5. Dreamt of having my own home and basically all the stuff I have and do now

5 things on today's "to do" list:

1. Fold and iron the 10 loads of clean laundry piled on my bed before Tom gets home (or hide it)
2. Pick my boys up from the movies
3. make dinner
4. buy a gift for a friend
5. empty the dishwasher and feed the dog

I enjoy:

1. cooking and baking for my family
2. traveling...but not so much when the kids come
3. live music and performances
4. riding my bike in beautiful places with no one and no cars around
5. reading...especially good sappy romances

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. Buy a huge property and home with guest houses for my family and friends
2. Help Tom start his own extreme adventure tour company
3. live debt free forever
4. definitely hire a live in maid
5. be very grateful

5 places I have lived:

1. Weatherford, Tx
2. Toronto, Ontario Canada
3. Grand Junction, CO
4. Bellingham, WA
5. Apache Junction, AZ

Five jobs I have had:

1. Photo Lab Tech - developing pictures and film
2. Live-in Nanny
3. Mary Kay Consultant
4. McDonalds -French Fry Girl
5. Fredricks of Hollywood sales girl...it's really true

I tag...
1. Carri
2. Stacy
3. Alacey
4. Leslie
5. and You! ... just for fun!

And now I will go and HIDE that Laundry so I can go shopping and pick up take-out! :o)

MMMM...a good love story

http://thepioneerwoman.com/category/black_heelstractor_wheels/the_night_i_met_marlboro_man


Dear Girlfriends: Last night I happened upon a wonderful Love Story in blog form...(thanks, Leslie) it kept me up half the night cuz I couldn't stop reading it! I promise you will LOVE it! Check it out only when you have several hours to sit and read cuz you won't want to stop! You can thank me later....
Ps this may tide over any twilighters waiting for the movie release.....

"Pee-Heads"

Cami made paper dolls the other day. She said "Look mom I made Pee-Heads".

They did look like the letter "P" !

The Secret's in the Sauce!

These Enchiladas are so YUMMY! I think the secret's in the sauce! I always use this one, made by Macayo's. I know it's made locally...I don't know if you can get it outside of Arizona! So Here's how I make 'em:

Shredded Chicken or Beef - Ive used canned meat, meat cooked in the crock pot, leftovers...but my favorite is to buy a whole rotisserie cooked chicken from the deli and shred the meat right off it, so quick and easy and yummy! By the way, when I do that I pour the chicken juice in the bottom of the tray onto the shredded meat and mix it in...mmm! A whole rotisserie chicken is enough to make 2 large casseroles of enchiladas!

So Simple...so you just pour some enchilada sauce in the bottom of the casserole pan to start. Then take a flour tortilla put in some meat, shredded cheese- a mexican blend is goood, a dollop of sour cream and roll it up. Keep going till your pans are full. About 10 per 9x13 pan. Then pour more sauce on top, make sure all tortillas have sauce on them. Cover with LOTS of shredded cheese. Sprinke on a can of green chilies and a can of sliced olives and cover foil. Bake @ 350 for about 45 min to an hour. Let cool for 15 minutes and enjoy!

We had a really nice visit with Uncle Matthew. I hope he and his wife, Kennedy, come again soon to visit.

This is Matthew with my little neice, Siona.

I've decided that I really need to plan a trip up to Edmonton with all the kids for next summer! I want them to get to know my family in Canada! I really miss them all!

Who is This Hunk????

So who is this handsome guy?

Meet my Uncle Matthew. My Mom's youngest brother. He is here visiting (with his beautiful wife Kennedy) from Edmonton, Alberta. This picture is from his album, recently released, called Low Down. http://www.myspace.com/mattwalkercanada

You can listen to it from this link. I'll be posting more about our visit soon.

I miss my family from Canada sooo much! I never get to see them and they are so far away. Everyone is there except for my sister Sarah who lives here in Gilbert. As the years fly by, I feel like Im missing out on so much with them. This is the first time Matthew has ever met my family! Somehow I've got to find a way to get there more and get them here more!