Apricots, Apricots...

I am feeling like a bit of a pioneer woman today. I was so lucky to collect 2 big bags of apricots from Chick and Mona's tree. I let them sit for a couple of days and get nice and ripe and then I got to work.

Somehow I suckered Nanette into doing this with me (just so you know, she has a six week old baby...and is planning a birthday party for her daughter in 3 days). And baby Archer barely made a peep...

Got some canning jam jars and got started on the cooked apricot jam. Now seriously, I know I don't HAVE to answer the phone, but it probably rang 8 times while I was trying to read directions, puree fruit, stir pectin, boil sugar, etc. I guess pioneers didn't have technology to worry about. Once the cooked jam was done, we realized that we had ALOT of fruit left...so....

We made freezer jam (a bit quicker than the cooked stuff) and then I proceded to puree the rest add a bit of geletin and made some fruit rolls in the dyhydrator.

It was a GREAT afternoon of chatting, cooking, and hanging out, all while the kids played and Archer slept. Good times, good friends, and now good jam!

Marriage

"But....mommy...I really want to marry my brother..." Cassidy says as she sits next to me on the couch.

"Oh, honey...that is sweet...why to you want to marry your brother?" mommy responds.

"Cause he's the nicest boy in the whole wide world" she says sweetly.

Now everyone together...AWWWWWWWWWWW!

Matty in Costa Rica

Matty (Josh too) has only been gone for one day...and besides Cass making sad noises last night before bed because she wanted a kiss from Daddy...we are doing great.

Matty will be so pleased that Cass and I spent our morning looking for "curb alerts" aka... dumpster diving for wood pieces to paint and craft with.. I am sure he will be even more pleased that I found a large bookshelf that I squeezed into "mini" just waited for me to "make-over". I mean...for free...I gotta give it a try. And he's gone for almost two weeks (except for Mother's Day :)), so now is the time for crafting!

Kaden is at school and will be picking him up in about an hour. Then it's homework, ballet, park play, and dinner. Followed by a night time routine which may involve watching dancing with the stars with the kids.

Hope the boys are safe and sound in Costa wha- wha... and will be having fun in the water soon! Miss you!

I'm gonna miss this...

I am trying to enjoy the little moments here in life. And trying to blog about them...so I will remember. I am not perfect, nor do I expect myself to be, but I am here for these to darling kids of mine. There are lots of things I need to work on. I need to be more organized, get to the gym, eat healthier, cook healthier, and many more...but one thing I am good at is that I can look past the piles of papers or the drawers that so desperately need to be sorted through...and I can take the kids to the beach...because it is February...and it is 80 degrees...and we live near the beach...and well...I can. I can do that easily. Sometimes too easily...but I'm gonna miss this!

Soon enough I know that our time will be more filled. Filled with MORE. More soccer practices. More homework. More ballet. More golf. More running around. More stuff.

I know that soon enough I will long for the days when we were less busy and wonder why I didn't do more. I'm gonna miss this!

I'm gonna miss that Cassidy wants to read Pinkalicious again...even though we have read it 100 times and she knows all the words.

I'm gonna miss all of the questions that Kaden has for me...about...well...just about anything.... ( I thought it was a 3 year old stage...but luckily he keeps on asking why)!

I'm gonna miss taking the kids to the playground... 'cause one day soon enough they'll want to go by themselves. They won't even want me there.

I'm gonna miss that they want to cuddle. This morning...Kaden tip- toed into our room...said "good morning...can I get in and have a cuddle?" Of course I let him in! I know that time will pass soon enough and he will be a teenager and may not want to cuddle. I'm gonna miss this!

Cassidy my little love bug...has bouts with mommyitis...at least that's what we call it around here. Her bedtime habits include waking up several times to see where mommy is...and crying wondering why mommy is no longer lying next to her. Well, I am not sure that I am going to miss this...but I bet I will. I bet there is something about her wanting me and needing me. Even though it is pretty tiring...and would be a whole lot easier to sleep train her and deal with the crying for a few nights...I bet...I'm gonna miss this!

Now...I don't know many parents who LOVE cleaning up after the kids make forts with every blanket, pillow, and sheet in the house. But next time they want to build a fort, I will imagine that those sheets will one day instead be on their beds at college. I will miss those sheets covering the couch and tucked into the backs of chairs. I will wish the kids were home so that I could climb under the fort and read them a story. I'm gonna miss this!

It seems as if so much of my time is spent in "mini"...our little nickname for our Toyota Sienna Minivan. Already back and forth from preschool to kindergarten. Mini gets us where we need to go...and in style too(hee hee). I am so thankful to have mini...but more thankful for all the good times we have in the van. Now... do I really want to listen to JTTA music, Disney soundtracks, and favorite preschool songs...not really. But as I listen to the voices singing along so innocently and sweetly in the back (and at the top of their lungs at times)...I realize that I'm gonna miss this! One day not too far in the future...they will be TOO cool for...singing aloud in the car...and will have their IPOD's on...listening to god knows what. So, next time they ask to listen to their music...I will turn it on and up...because, I'm gonna miss this!

"Hey Mom...want to play Wii?" (ummm...no...not actually)...but I know that one day they will be stuck up in their rooms working on some high school history project and they won't have time for a game. And I will wish(and they will wish)that they could play a game of memory...go fish...and Wii, so yes...I want to play Wii, 'cause I'm gonna miss this!

I'm gonna miss it all one day...so to that pile of laundry waiting to be folded...the dishes that need to be unloaded...and to the closets that are begging to be organized...I'll see you a little bit later...I've got a fort to build!

What are you going to miss?

Pink and White Day

I just love when they are excited to head off to school. What 3 1/2 year old girl wouldn't be on "Pink and White" day?

Sandy, Utah 2010

I haven't been to Utah since about the 3rd grade when I was stuck in a smoke filled van with another family, which happened to have 3 boys, all of which thought I had cooties. Well, this trip...was nothing like that.

This time we went with our good friends the Steimle's, for OUR kids first trip to the snow. And what a time it was.

We decided to split it up a bit...boys fly to Salt Lake, girls drive. The main reason for this was so that the boys didn't miss too much school or work. Us girls...being women of leisure...(ha ha) could take our time...sort of. I had to rely on Matty's family to help get Kaden to and from school. Thank you, thank you,thank you, to them!

Now most people would think...driving to Utah with two 3 1/2 year olds...not so much fun. But the little girls were GREAT!!! We filled a laundry basket with LOTS of activities, which kept them busy...and we stopped...ALOT (mostly because the moms wanted to shop).

And...shopping we did...but that is going to have to be another post.




We stopped at a restaurant to eat, and watching Cassidy play with her first snow was SO sweet. So innocent! Priceless!





We got to stop off at Nanette's brothers cute diner/restaurant called Sammy's. We tried the "famous" pie shakes. Could anything be better than throwing a slice of pie, in a blender with some ice cream...YUMMY! Definitely something to try at home...seeing I don't make it to Utah often enough.

Nanette went to pick up the boys at the airport and we got settled in to Quail Hills (near Snowbird and Alta).



After some snow time ( Kaden played for about 2 hours the first time),the boys hit the slopes the Friday to get Rock and Kaden skiing on the hill. Kaden is hooked and looking forward to our next trip to the snow already.









The next day, Cass and Piper got their turn to ski and looked like two little pink snow balls rolling down the Chickadee slope at Snowbird. Boys got round 2 on the slopes. Then home for some relaxation time. It sure was hard to get Kaden and Rock away from that Wii.












The next day, we kind of just chilled at the house, made a big snowman, and then hit a place near Park City that had intertubing. The kids LOVED the tow up the hill and whizzing down the hill on their intertubes. More than the tow, the snowfall at night was a big hit...because they could eat the snow. I had forgotten how awesome snowfall at night looked.









Matty and Myles finally got an ACTUAL ski day in (no teaching little ones)and the moms hit the Nickelcade with the kids. Us moms won the most tickets playing Deal or No Deal...but our reward was letting the kids get to pick out prizes with out so much fuss.



All the boys headed to the airport...and us girls stayed behind to clean up. We told the girls it was a "girls slumber party". I LOVE how gullible 3 year olds are. And then it was off to shop home...I mean drive home.

We made it back whole...and looking forward to A Utah Summer! Thank you Steimle Family for a GREAT family trip!

Lego Extravaganza

Kaden turned 6 a few weeks ago and we had some friends from his class and a few neighbors over for a Lego party. It was a fun theme to work around. Mommy almost had more fun doing all the crafts to prepare, than the kids had at the party...almost. Just thought I'd share a few favorites.

Here are all the Legos that we put out in the family room. Having the sheet under the Legos made it easy to use the space for other activities during the party (because of clean up).

We made these GREAT Lego necklaces that I saw while researching other blogs. Aren't they CUTE!


These are the Lego shaped cakes I made a few days in advance to put on top of the premade plain Costco cake! I used loaf pans to bake cakes, added oreos on top and frosted. Then I wrapped them in plastic wrap and froze until needed.

What is a party w/o a Lego Pinata! Couldn't find one...so we made it. Kaden and Cass painted the rectangular box and we added take-out sauce containers to make it into a Lego brick. I added some tissue paper...and wah lah...a Lego pinata.

The kids did a Lego spoon race and basically ran up and down our hallway.


This is the game where you wrap a present up (legos of course) several times (we did 7). The kids sit in a circle and listen to music. When the music stops, the person holding the present unwraps a layer. The person who opens the last layer...keeps the prize.

All in all, it was a great party. Wish we could have gotten to all the other activities I had planned...but at least the kids didn't know the agenda. So, until the next party...