find joy in the journey

summer goals 2013

* Do a better job brushing teeth.  (He wants to have sparkling white teeth and even asked us if he could get his teeth whitened!  We said, do a better job brushing your teeth.)

* Earn the Webelos badge

* Invent something new

* Do the real Fur Elise piano song.  (He played a simplified version at his recent piano recital.  While we applaud him for setting his goals high, I don't think the "real" Fur Elise is going to be a reality for him this summer.  Which is okay, because I think he's forgotten about this goal already.)

* Prepare for baptism.  (She will be 8 in September!)

* Do Yoga one day each week (The 11 circles are for checking off each week of the summer)

* Learn how to whistle (She wants to be like her brother, Payton, who recently acquired this skill)

* Achieve Star Scout

* Earn 8 merit badges

* Learn to play 10 hymns on the piano (We have a deal that when he learns 50 hymns he can take guitar lessons)

* Make a good cartoon (He is dying to learn more about computer animation)

white sheet cake

 

 A few years ago my sister-in-law Becca brought this recipe to a family gathering, I baked it up (I think she was busy with a baby at the time), and ever since I have been hooked.  It is moist, delicious, with just the perfect touch of almond flavoring.  I've made it three times now for gatherings and each and every time it has been a hit!  

CAKE

Heat and set aside:

3 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups water

Mix:

3 cups flour

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cups sour cream

3 eggs

2 Tbsp. almond extract

Combine both mixtures.  Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

ICING

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

8 oz. cool whip

Cream the sugar & cream cheese until smooth.  Fold in cool whip.

Top it with some berries and I dare you not to steal a bite for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack.

I've always thought it would be fun to make a cookbook with all of our favorite, tried and true recipes.  This one would definitely make the cut.  I'll have to add that to my Blurb to-do list.

The last time I made this cake was in the middle of my get-fit-for-hawaii goal a few months back.  As I was taking these photos I was literally all dressed up in my workout gear, moments away from shredding with Jillian Michaels.

But the cake!  Oh my, I just needed to have one more piece.  So I placed a piece on a pretty plate, with the intention of enjoying it after my workout.  I felt so rebellious, especially because Jillian Michaels was sitting there on the tv screen looking over my shoulder.

"Don't judge me, Jillian!"

 

happy father's day

This little video is for my dad.

I'm just barely 6 years old, singing at a Primary talent show.  We were in a teeny tiny ward back then!  (Or was it still a branch?  I don't know.)

**Turn up your volume because it is pretty quiet.**

the blog of awesome

Several years ago I gave The Book of Awesome to my brother, Kent, for his birthday.  He thinks that everything is awesome.  He's great at finding joy in the little, sometimes insignificant, awesome things of life.  As the book says, 

Sometimes it's easy to forget the things that make us smile.  Sometimes it's tempting to feel the world is falling apart.  But awesome things are all around us.

Right?  Right.  The book covers those everyday awesome things like popping bubble wrap, the other side of the pillow, hitting a bunch of green lights in a row, etc.

Well, as I was going through my photos from the wedding weekend in California I found several that were simply awesome to me.

1.  Driving down the road, knowing that we are heading toward cooler temperatures.  

Las Vegas - 112

Los Angeles - 73

Oh ya.  Awesome.

2.  This fantastic letter S right outside our hotel room.  Yesssss.

3.  Getting to love on baby Cole all weekend.  #babyfix

His shirt even says awesome!

4.  Getting to eat dinner with your bare hands.  Or no hands.

5.  Receiving a flower from a knight!

6.  After all the kids were tucked into bed, the adults gathered in my parents' hotel room to share some honeymoon survival gifts and marriage advice with Mason.  It was great.  Especially when Kent shared this video - It's Not About The Nail - as his marriage advice.  

7.  Too much partying, you think?  This one was so awesome I had to text it to my brothers (who have children) right away with the message "do any of your kids look like this?"  Ah, the gentle lull of the LA freeways.

8.  Streets lined with purple flowering trees.  Beautiful!

9.  Finding a triple peanut at Five Guys.  Just yesterday I discovered that Payton brought that very peanut home with him and he's keeping it on his dresser for Beary, his stuffed polar bear who eats peanuts.

Awesome.

What was awesome in your day?

mason & jessica's wedding day

Los Angeles Temple

So happy to see Mason happily married.

There were many photographers waiting for the couple to come out.

Preston was the most handsome of them all.

My niece, Carlee

Chatting with Papa Dan. 

Kent, Becca, Nicholas, and Ellie

Sweet, spunky Audrey

At the reception these two bonded over their mutual love of Angry Birds.

Mom's friend Sandi is always there.  :)

All the grandkids (minus Ellie).  Yes, it's a little awkward when the bride or groom hold a baby in wedding photos, but someone had to hold Cole.

What girl doesn't love to dance with her dad?  Endless twirling!

I convinced Conner that he should ask Grammer to dance.  He was so cute.

It's bouquet time and Anna has got her game face on.

and they're off!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was a whirlwind of a weekend.  48 hours -- in and out of LA.  Lots of activity.  But I'm glad that everyone was able to be there and we could spend a little time together.  Denver brought it to my attention that it had been 2 years since he and I had seen each other.  Wha?  That's just crazy.  I feel lame because I didn't get any photos of Denver, Bree, Heidi, or me! for that matter.  But trust me, I was there.  We were all there.

summer fun list 2013

It's finally here! 

Last night for Family Home Evening we sat together and gave suggestions for our 2013 Summer Fun List. I always like to make it a combination of things we know we are going to do (trips & events that are on the calendar),

• Cannon Beach, Oregon
• Idaho
• Cousin Camp
• Mason & Jessica's Wedding

things that are just a given for summer time,

• swimming lessons (for Payton & Anna)
• activity pool
• splash pad
• night swimming
• summer reading program
• bubbles

and things that are on our wish lists or simply pop out of the kids' imaginations

• Children's Museum
• get large snow cones for the whole family at Purple Penguin
• take a silhouette picture (that was my choice)
• kids cook dinner (this was a unanimous kids' choice)
• fry an egg on the sidewalk
• tie dye t-shirts
• watch an outdoor movie
• star gazing with the telescope
• celebrate Payton's 1/2 birthday
• make sudzuu

For displaying the list this year I used the bulletin board again and with some inspiration from an instagram friend I wrote all of the summer fun items on Project Life white journaling cards.  I love how it turned out!  Clean, simple, and ready to be filled with fun.

Here's where it really gets FUN . . . . Each time we complete an item I plan to add a 2x2 instagram photo to the card.  By the end of the summer we should have this thing filled with great memories!

Memory #1 . . .

A blog post on that will be coming soon - stay tuned.

Also stay tuned for a post on our summer chores, goals, & reward system.

my baby brother is getting married

TODAY!

I remember when I used to change his diapers,

feed him from Gerber jars . . .  "here comes the airplane!"

give him baths, and play patty-cake in the mirror.

I was 10 1/2 when he was born.  Because of him, my place as the oldest in the family, and 3 other brothers who kept my mom busy, I had lots of hands-on experience with taking care of a baby.  Which was great.  He was my little buddy, my little guy to play house with.

And today he is getting married!

So glad we could be with Mason, and all my family, to celebrate this special day!

last day of school

Boy, this day was a blur.

I walked the kids to school.  Each carrying a gift for their teachers - a bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes and this tag.  I was pumped - last day of school! hooray! freedom! no homework!  They weren't so excited - already missing their friends and teachers.  I think it's great that they enjoy school so much, but it was kind of a buzz-kill.  We're supposed to be singing "schooooool's out for summer . . na-na-na-na" and jamming on our air guitars.  Oh well.

I raced back home to make it through my to-do list in the few short hours before early release.  Vacuum the pool, clean the kitchen, make a welcome to summer banner (see below), take a shower, go to the post office.  My grand visions of having one last quiet "me" day before summer vacation just did not happen.

Soon, school was over!

And we said good-bye to our crossing guard friends for the summer.  We sure like them.

Again, the kids were not in the high spirits I would expect on the last day of school.  I'm sure it was a combination of the heat (100 degrees), missing friends, and that one "B" in writing.  Conner, on the other hand, was stoked.

So I decided that we needed something to lift their spirits and stop the bickering that was already beginning.  The answer is always Purple Penguin snow cones.

But first you have to stand in line -- thank goodness for the complimentary umbrellas.

Then we finally made it home to discover a little surprise from mom . . . 

(oh my goodness, I NEED to rip out that half-dead vine)

Doesn't that look like so much fun?  I got the idea from Briana at Sweet Dreams Are Made of These.  (I cut the "summer" letters from cardstock with my Silhouette Cameo)

As for the rest of the day . . . there was swimming, installation of a new security system, Webelos pool party for Payton, Boy Scout Court of Honor for Conner (1st and 2nd Class rank advancements), grocery shopping at 8pm (still 95 degrees!), and picking up around the house & crossing off to-do list items until 10:30pm.

Boy am I glad school is over!  It will be so nice to relax, slow down the pace a bit, have time for the kids to play and be kids, and to spend time together as a family.  We have a big road trip on the calendar for this summer (3 weeks // 5 states), but other than that we are hunkering down at home.  I'm predicting that it is going to one fantastic summer vacation!

happy birthday dad

and mom!

My parents' birthdays are just a few days apart and today happens to be my dad's birthday!  I sent him a birthday card with a picture of Kauai chickens on it.

I don't think I ever mentioned that our Kauai vacation overlapped with my parents' vacation to The Garden Isle.  Yep.  A short 24 hours.  We came in as they were leaving.  But we did take the time to meet and chat over breakfast at Lei Petite Cafe on Sunday morning.

My dad really did not like the chickens -- having a 5:30am alarm clock every single morning didn't fit with his vacation plans.  It probably didn't help that their neighbor was feeding the chickens from her patio.

Anyways, he has had quite a busy week.  Over the weekend he took my mom to Remnants of the Past.  On Sunday morning he was called to the fires in Southern California.  After a few days there he came home (turning fire duty over to Sam and a few other workers) so he could prepare for Mason's wedding this weekend (also in southern CA).  Busy week!  I teased him over a text conversation that he needs to come up with a retirement plan someday.

Always working hard.

The good news is I get to see them soon!  And the whole family will be together for Mason's wedding.  

Love you dad! And mom!  Happy Birthday(s)!

memorial day

according to my iPhone

7:16 AM // breakfast in bed delivered by this cutie

7:32 AM // family scripture time

10:17 AM // Epic

1:23 PM // pool time

1:45 PM // when kids get creative

4:06 PM // pool toys

5:38 PM // gaming

6:00 PM // BBQ dinner

7:54 PM // funnel cakes for dessert

3 more days

I'm starting to put together a plan for our summer.  

. . . the traditional summer fun list

. . . deciding on the best approach for summer chores and rewards

. . . coming up with the kids' summer goals

. . . and my summer goals

Lots of ideas circulating in my head and I'm hoping it all comes together this week because school is out in 3 days!!

Here are some ideas that are inspiring me:

• Adding some RAKs to our summer list
• I like the format of this poster
• A zones chart for the kids' chores

And here are my Summer Fun lists from past years if you are looking for some inspiration as well.

2012 - Summer fun list, weekly activities, skills for each child to master, and daily jobs

2011 - A simple summer fun list, and goals for each child

2010 - Summer Fun List on magnets