September's gone Already???

Wow- did the last month fly by or what?

Middle has played a lot of soccer-  all out of town.
Girls are back to TaVaci
All patients are back to Piano Lessons- after a 2 year break while Grandma was gone.
BYU Football has been a little bit Bi-Polar.
Outpatient turned 23
Neighbor/ Friend opened her mission call. To Germany.
Relief Society Tea Party
Nephew TC returns from Chile
Our first- born niece got married **-
Nephew TC reports mission.
Science Fair Project
Service projects

DETAILS:

Soccer-

Lots of traveling but they have won all but one game-  they are doing well. 


TaVaci-

Middle changed her other mind (at least 6 times) and decided to finish out her last possible year.  She will be glad, I hope.


Piano-

Regardless of what my patients might say to your face, I think they have missed it and are enjoying the progress they are making so quickly in trying to get back up to speed.  I have spent a small fortune in new books and music for all of them to work on.



BYU football.

Well- it has had its moments.  They have been few and the DR has/will miss more games this year because he doesn't want to miss his meetings on Sunday and that is hard to do with games getting over so late on Saturday nights-  the night of the Utah disaster- he and his dad didn't get home until 2:00 AM.

So far, only the girls have had a turn to accompany the DR to the games, because the one other weekend was too crazy with the wedding and our nephew's mission report- so the DR opted not to add yet another round trip out in that week.


Outpatient turned 23-

LOL had a party for him- and it was adorable! Woodland Theme- thanks to the acquisition of Rufio to inspire the theme.  Hedgehog cake balls, owl cupcakes, "acorns" from kisses and pretzels, and a cake like a tree stump.  Gummy bears and "sticks" as well.

 LOOK AT RUFIO'S PARTY HAT!!!!!  Seen anything cuter?

stole the pics from LOL's blog- since I wasn't packin that day-


Mission Call-

Friend opened her mission call- which has quite the story behind it- and it said Frankfurt Germany.  She is way excited and we are excited for her.


Relief Society Annual Tea Party-

Caused way more stress than it should have for us.  They had a fun idea to bling out shoes for a fashion show.  Thanks to our busyness, we didn't get to start until almost the last possible minute to create our blinging fashions.  We only did the girls.  We tried our hand at making cake balls (those take more practice- although they looked okay once we got them on the cake plate to display.  Only got pics of Middle's shoes-  Youngest had silver blingy healed sandals and she attached gold bows and big curly ribbon streamers which trailed behind her.

Middle's shoes actually turned out pretty good- but thanks to soccer practice, she and I missed the Youngest's play that she did at the tea party.  I felt bad about that and wonder why they didn't wait until later into the party to perform- since a few of us weren't there yet.  Oh well- other than Youngest being disappointed- it was fine.  Our cake balls disappeared quickly- so that was good.

Elder C returns.

Our nephew TC returned from serving a mission in Chile- he left 6 days before Outpatient had returned from Brazil- so it has been 4 years since these best buds had seen each other.  I didn't go to the airport- it was on a Wednesday and the week of the wedding, but the DR drove out and back that afternoon with his parents.  He said he looks great but thin.  Might mention here that he was serving 60 miles from the epicenter of that horrendous earthquake a couple of years ago-

Wedding

Our niece is one of the sweetest gals ever- She was married once before which was not a good situation- divorced a little over 8 years ago.  She has had such a struggle- but finally- she is so happy- and we are so happy for her and J-  it was a long time coming- and I have to say that wedding was possibly pulled together in the shortest time I have ever seen-  it was so creative and fabulous and I was so happy to help with the set up and during the reception.

Mission Report

We got up dark and early to drive out and back for TC's mission report-  it was so nice to see him again!  He did a great job speaking- even though I couldn't hardly keep my eyes open :)  There was another person speaking that day who was preparing to leave for a mission- to Frank furt Germany- and so of course I had to run up and speak to her immediately after the meeting was over and tell her about our neighbor- so maybe they will even end up serving together down the road.

Science Fair-

Middle had her project due- and that was shocking to the system-  I am used to trying to help with those in the spring months- not immediately after school starts-  but we got it done- doubt she will be going to the main fair-  but that is what I said last year too.

So-  for the most part-  That was our September- Cliff Notes Version-

September Celebrations

WAY LATE!

Outpatient  "23"

Kristy

Mike D

David and Ashleigh

Mark L

Hope you all had the most awesome of days!

If I ever get a minute :)

I have so much to catch this little o' blog up on- hopefully I can find a spare minute.  We have had soccer, mission reports, long anticipated wedding events, workload more than doubling, school (and can you believe hockey is breathing down our necks)-

I have some crazy health stuff going on-I better call in the morning and make a doctor's appointment- I think I have now avoided it long enough.

The sore tailbone since May- the crazy insomnia, dizzy spells, heartburn,  and other signs which would in the past indicate that I was expecting-  although that is totally not possible any more.  Today's major swollen legs are the last straw.  I even took measurements.


PS-  I cut over 8 inches off of my hair.  I should have taken a before pic, just so you could fully appreciate that :)

Fill in the Blanks- Wedding and Oregon

I have mentioned before that when we lived in Oregon- we made some of the best friends we could have asked for.  We also picked up a few extra children from time to time.  Those are the best kind- kind of a "rent-o-kid"  but anyway- we had the opportunity to return to our "home" for the wedding of one of our "daughters".  Missing a place you only called home for about 19 months may seem weird to some people but our friends from there agree-  it seemed like we were there for much longer and we have definitely taken them with us in our hearts.

We flew in on Thursday afternoon- and immediately had to remember we were NOT on vacation- so we both sat down to work for a bit.  Then we headed over to stay with the "B" family.  They are empty- Nester's now- so we made our reservations for whichever room had the best bed.  We went out and had a light dinner, and then the DR and I had the opportunity to go to the temple with Miss Ashlee for her endowment.  So many memories of this beautiful girl when she was just a tiny three year old.

Friday- we worked, fed the soon to be in-law family- and then spent the rest of the evening setting up the reception. 

Saturday- we went to the temple again- this time for the sealing.  I had fun catching up with a friend of mine from high school who happened to move to Oregon about 6 months after we left- and he and his wife became friends with a lot of our friends too-

The sweetest part of the day was right as the officiator was beginning to speak- Garrett got teary- and that pretty much did it for me.  Love seeing a misty eyed groom.

Our girlie grew up to be a beautiful woman.

The Paparazzi ;)

And boy do those daddy-daughter moments get me too.

There is one of our other "daughters" and part of her little family-

Ashlee and Fuzzy Face (aka- the DR)

 (yes he looks totally scruffy- but she wanted his beard back that he had when she was little so he didn't shave while we were there.)

So glad we could make it back to Oregon.  I would move back there in a heartbeat.  Think if I click my heals, I could have a Dorothy experience?

Fill in the Blanks- New Family member

As I mentioned- Outpatient and LOL have a new pet- a hedgehog-  because they are cute and unusual- and the landlord won't let them have a Sophie Dog.

His name is Rufio- and he is growing rather quickly.

He is cute!  Even if he is a bit pokey.

Rewind- Weekend Happenings

Last Friday and Saturday found us on the road- once again.  This time, Middle has started back up with traveling soccer.  She had two games on Saturday.

Friday- We drove out and stopped by the new branch of the Looney Bin- to visit with LOL and Outpatient. And so the patients could play with Rufio.

Rufio has a new trick- as it were.  They stick his head in a toilet paper roll- and he wanders around with it on for a few minutes- then pulls it off.  I forgot to mention that Rufio makes a hissy noise when he is preterbed.- Sort of sounds like a hissing tea kettle- or something that sizzles.  He was doing that a bit because he wasn't feeling socially inclined :)


Then we took Outpatient (and LOL) to dinner- sort of early for his birthday but since we wouldn't be in town on his birthday- early was good.  We went to the Blue Lemon.  And we dropped off the rest of the patients at Pizza Pie Cafe.  We ate yummy food - the tomato bisque soup is sooooo very yummy. Then we went to my sis in law's house and headed to bed in prep for soccer.

Middle played at the far south end of the valley in the morning, and they played pretty lamespice the first half.  We had Miss Sophie with us, but when we got to the fields- there were signs saying NO DOGS-  there was also NO SHADE! to speak of- so I did the best I could to find shady parking- and ended up having to move the van twice- finally gave up and took Sophie back to the field with me- and held her the entire time.  I was almost hoping someone would say something to me about it-  anyway- when I left to move the van- it was tied 1-1, when I came back, we were down 2-1.  First game slump I guess-  anyway, the girls rallied and ended up scoring 4 more goals and only let them score one more. 

Hoppity skippity to the north end of the valley to the North for the second game. There were no nets set up when we got there- the other team's coach wasn't there- the game started quite late, and then went scoreless for quite a while.  Finally- we scored  a couple- then with not more than 5 minutes or so left-  the ref called them game because a storm had come up really quickly- and that storm included lightning.  So- we won that game as well.

We had to drive two cars back because Outpatients car was fixed so we returned Grandpa's car to Small Town.  We had planned on driving back late that night- but for once, I decided we should stay over and get up super early to drive home.  So- the DR got up by 4:30 to leave before 5:00- and I lay there awake from then until 5:30, when I finally gave up and got the van loaded with stuff and then patients and friend. We had a prayer and pulled away from the curb- something was not right.

Good Food Friday- Krispy S'mores Bars

We have enjoyed camping so much- and this recipe helps to keep the taste of camping going without (hopefully) the smoke from fire.

1/4 C butter or margarine

45-50 regular sized Marshmallows
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Box ( smaller- like 14 or 15 oz size) Golden Grahams

4-6  whole chocolate (hershey, symphany, etc.)  bars. Depends on person preference.

Bag of mini-marshmallows.


Spray or butter a 9x13 pan. Unwrap Chocolate bars.


Melt butter and marshmallows over medium low heat in a large pan. Add Vanilla. Add box of cereal and stir well, to coat all. Pour cereal mixture into prepared pan and press level with buttered hands. Place pieces of chocolate bars across the top, using as many as you want. We broke them into the 3part sections and placed them across with a little space in between- we used 5 bars I think.

Then cover with mini marshmallows so that you can't see the chocolate. (We also use regular marshmallow cut in half.)

Now- for the tricky part. Try not to start a fire in your oven. This helps it to remain edible. :)

Turn the oven broiler on to LOW- I don't recommend using high because- well- in about 30 seconds you might just see lots of flames. Make sure to keep the pan far enough away from the broiler as well. (you want about three inches clearance). Now- broil until the marshmallows are nice and golden. I don''t recommend blackened, although it does make for a more authentic s'more taste. Watch CAREFULLY- because it goes pretty fast. Remove from oven, let cool, and cut and serve.

Now- if you HAPPEN to burn your marshmallows, you just might be able to carefully scrape off the marshmallows and try that again. Not that we have personal experience with that scenario or anything. It is purely hypothetical. And no permanent damage incurred. Except to my waistline.

Back To School 2011

Back To School Spa PaRtY!

Fill in the Blanks- Last Full Week of Summer

Besides teaching RS (more on that later), The last full week of summer brought lots of last minute things.  Like 7th Grade shots.  You know, those shots you planned on getting taken care of all summer- and then- bam- summer is over.  Yep- those are the shots.  Big problem- the health dept was out- so Middle had to go the clinic and get a check up and then her shot.  Going to the doctors with her is so entertaining.  I dread the day she has to "really" go for a check up. 

We also had Standards Night- and since there was no one to take care of Youngest- she came too.  She was kind of bored and crazy as it seems- she will be there for real soon enough.

Middle and her friend B have birthdays close together, and so we decided to have a joint party- only not call it a birthday so they could both invite certain people that the other might not invite.  The girlies got together and made the invites for their Back To School Spa Party.  More on that later.

Friday, we delivered invites, and got the menfolk off for the start of the Bow Hunt. And Middle played in another 3V3 tournament.  This time it was Hockey and on Rollerblades which was a new experience for Middle.  She did pretty good though-and again- she is a competitive beast against the boys!  They ended up taking 4th- and most importantly, had a great time, but realized her feet are not ready for skates to be on them just yet.

Friday also brought a lovely phone call from Outpatient saying his car had broken down in Itty Bitty Town.  An hour away.  And itty bitty- like no stoplights- bitty. Oh the joy.  Luckily they were traveling behind his friend and wife- so they were able to come the rest of the way with them.  They were coming out for another friend's reception- which we went to Saturday night after Oldest and the DR returned from hunting, and then we got up at 4:45 to leave for Cougar Territory to listen to our nephew speak at 9:00 am before he leaves to serve a mission.

Kind of not what I had thought our last week of vacation would be like- but there you have it.

The day our nephew left for the MTC-

 he is headed to Massachusetts