****SnOwMeN***

After our last snowstorm Allie and Kelsie decided to build a snowman. This is how he turned out...  kind of a sad little guy! The hanging banana is supposed to be his mouth! A snowman only a mother can love! They had a great time making the little guy!

I found a picture of these cute snowmen made from candy bars on a friend of a friends blog. I immediately knew the girls and I would have to make some. So this weekend we did and they turned out great! They are made from a giant candy bar with a glove for the hat and a tic tac nose. We embellished them with ribbons and buttons I already had. We put a label on the back that said, "We hope the warmth of the holidays melts your heart...not your snowman!" The girls are giving these to their friends and teachers. 

I ♥ SnOwMeN

~OuR ChRiStMaS hOuSe~

OuR hOLiDaY GreeTinG ~ 2009 ~

At our house we are not doing a big fancy Christmas this year. It's giving us a chance to focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. We are so grateful for all that we have. We have wonderful family and friends! Red still has employment and we are all healthy. We have a cozy warm home and the gospel of Jesus Christ. What more could we ask for? And...our cars are running and I have new tires! 

See the list goes on and on......

MeRRY ChRiStMaS!

mY CaRaMeLs

I just posted the recipe for my caramels...I've been making these for YEARS every Christmas! It's become a tradition at our house. Give them a try, you can do it!


♥ I've been catching up on a few things so check it out down below if you'd like. :) Thanksgiving, Halloween & Kelsie's birthday!

Our "Charlie Brown" Christmas Tree!

Our last Christmas in Colorado Springs we decided to be like the Griswalds and cut down our own tree! Our neighbor had done it for years and always had the most BEAUTIFUL tree! She assured us it was easy and only $10 for a permit so off we went. As we were traveling up the mountain road there was a sign that stated you should have chains or four wheel drive to continue on up the mountain. NO worries we moved forward in our chainless mini van. It seemed like we could keep going forever... and the kids were getting antsy so we found a good place to pull off the road. Hiked around for a little bit...none of the trees looked like my neighbors big, full noble fir. Pretty soon I could see that we were going to be leaving treeless so we just hacked down this tall scrawny tree and went on our merry way! I didn't think it was that bad until I was trying to put the lights on it...and realized there really weren't very many branches! (Note the lights hanging down in the picture!) Even then I didn't realize how bad it was until I found this picture from Kelsie's blessing day recently. WHAT A HORRIBLE TREE! I am just cracking up that I even let it in my house! And we took a picture in front of IT! I remember my family making fun of it and being a little irritated...I guess they didn't understand my sentimental attachment since we CUT the tree ourselves! So...the other funny part to me is the picture of us when we actually cut the tree. Again I have to say, What were we thinking?? Look at our attire? The saw? The newborn babe? (Yes, that's a real baby!) The two year old? These are all things that might make some people think twice before heading up into the mountains to cut down a tree...apparently not us! I'm glad we did it now...these pictures make me LOL! Kenna's face is seriously my fave.

P.S. One thing thing that makes this even funnier...in another life I've been known by friends and family to be VERY picky about our Christmas tree. I even used to make Red drive to multiple tree lots to find the PERFECT tree! WHATEVER! Sometime I'll have to post some pic's of our "perfect" trees. They are not nearly as memorable! I'm glad things don't have to be perfect at my house anymore. :)

ThAnKsGiViNg 2009

We hosted Thanksgiving in our home this year and had about 25 people for dinner. My parents drove here all the way from South Carolina and we had a blast! It really was fun. Red's family also came and everyone brought a lot, which made it much less stressful! Although I do have to say that my rolls did not turn out which has never happened and really ticked me off and stressed me out! Figures....Thanksgiving they don't turn out for some reason! I'm still not fully over it. Still, it was a great day, playing games and spending time with the family. Thanks everyone for all the great food and fun! We are so grateful for both of our families and all they do for us. We are truly blessed. Friday, we went with my parents and Scott and the kids to the movie The Blindside. We loved it! We spent later that evening with some good friends and went to Avery's baptism on Saturday. It was a good weekend!

hApPy HaLLoWeeN!

Okay...so I'm a little behind! We had a really fun Halloween this year. Very low key. We went to some fun parties, enjoyed festivities at the school, carved pumpkins and ate a lot of soup and of course too much candy. Tanner was that scary thing with the mask, Allie was Lucille Ball (she never let me fix her hair!), McKenna was a vampire and Kelsie was a witch or a cheerleader depending on the day! Halloween night we watched Twilight Zone the movie...super weird!

mY BaBy tUrNeD FiVe!!

Waaay back in October, Kelsie had her fifth birthday. I had planned on finding a few more baby pictures to add to her digital scrapbook...but that has not happened so I just completed it with what I had. I can't believe this girl is five already. Turning five is like becoming a 'big girl' to me...so I am a little sad. Lucky for me she will always be my baby! Kelsie relishes in being the youngest and is definitely spoiled and loved by everyone in the family! She has such a fun personality and loves to be the center of attention! Her primary teacher recently told me she will probably be a student body officer when she's older. (I think that might be a little premature :)But, that kind of explains the kind of personality she has! I love her and I love her energy. I even love her little lisp and kind of wish she would keep it forever. Kelsie loves hanging out and playing with her big sisters and adores her big brother. Happy Birthday sweet girl! A little late..... So glad you are in our family! Above are a few of the scrapbook pages I did for Kelsie and below is the eight page album.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What's for breakfast???

Edamame (soybeans)

Kelsie Anne woke up this morning with a hankering for edamame pronounced (edamamaid) by her. So, I obliged by steaming up a bag for her liking, complete with sea salt and chocolate milk. What a nut she is! I do have to say though...I love that she's not a picky eater. She will eat just about anything that is put in front of her! She busted me snacking on edamame one night when she was supposed to be in bed and has been hooked ever since. If you haven't tried them...you should. They are the perfect snack. Seriously way better than popcorn or chips! But....for breakfast! 

***Sorry I'm so slow posting! The recipe for the Tomato Basil Bisque is on my sister-in-laws recipe blog. It was posted in Oct. 2007. I changed it up a little because I wasn't going to the store. So, I had just canned quart jars of salt and pepper tomatoes, instead of the tomatoes and juice called for in the recipe, I pureed two jars of my tomatoes for the soup. Also, I didn't have shallots so I used some sweet onions I had on hand. As for the ciabatta, I just toasted it with the brie, pears and pecans and drizzled a little olive oil and balsamic on top along with ground pepper. 

ThE PuMpKiN PaTcH

Last week we took a little trip to the PuMpKiN PaTcH! Twice, actually. The first was with Kelsie's little preschool class and the second time just with the girls. They had a great time making their way through the corn maze, sitting on the tractors and carefully selecting a pumpkin. It was a beautiful sunny fall afternoon, a perfect day to be outside! I do love Fall! (I know some of the pic's are the same)

Chick Food!

Apparently....it's my fault the Patriots lost on Sunday. Red asked if I would make nachos for lunch and instead I opted for Tomato Basil Bisque, toasted ciabatta with apples, brie cheese and pecans and a salad with blue cheese, apples, toasted almonds and dried cranberries with balsamic vinaigrette. Doesn't it sound yummy. Of course I like nachos too and had I known what a disgrace it would be to serve such food...well I'm not sure I would have done anything different! Next time I'll try to be nice and go for something a little more MANLY!! Just to clarify...he cleaned his plate...but since his team lost...it must have been the lack of nachos! ???

I NEED LASIK!

A couple of months ago...I was rushing off on a Saturday morning to a baptism for one of the cute kids in our ward. I was putting my mascara on and Red was standing by the kitchen sink. So...I asked him if he would clean my glasses for me?? He said sure, where's the glass cleaner? I said, it's right by the sink in a white bottle...I meant can. Anyway! He started cleaning them and soon I hear... Oh SH....BEEP! A word he VERY seldom says! I look that direction only to realize I can't see...so I run over for a closer look. (These are my fairly new glasses that cost us a small fortune! I don't get new ones very often!)  My husband has just "cleaned" my glasses with fabric glue!!! HELLO! Who does that?? Luckily I didn't have to flip out for very long. Amazingly the glue came off pretty quickly and my lenses were in tact! What is the point of this story? I have no idea! I'm just saying...I need LASIK! Maybe my husband does too! I love you Red! :) Oh and when my girls are done making felt clothes for their webkins... it would be nice if they put the fabric glue away! That's all I have for today!


P.S. I've resumed the cleaning of my glasses! :)

If You Find a Mouse in Primary...

This past weekend was the primary program for our ward. This is a cute little program put on by the children who attend our church, with speaking parts and lots of music. Anyway... I was pretty involved with it this year...you might say. ;) So, we were at our church building on Saturday to practice when a friend came walking over holding a dead mouse by the tail. (Thanks James) He had just killed it! :( I don't do rodents! I remained pretty calm for me...I think? and we continued with our practice. The next day we had the program and it went wonderfully. Really it was great, the kids were so cute and it was perfect! I was even able to block out the fact that a mouse could be crawling up my leg any minute!(Because, you know if there's one...there are twenty and they're all having babies!) When the program was over we were getting ready to take the kids and head upstairs to the primary room for a snack and a movie, to celebrate... someone came down and said we needed to wait. Apparently a mouse was trying to crash the party! I could tell they didn't want to tell me what was going on. Long story longer...about four men in suits were trying to corner/kill the little mouse in our primary room. We waited a little longer and...mission accomplished! Now, I'm feeling a little guilty. (Not really.) I mean, haven't you read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? Maybe he just wanted to worship with the kids. And listen to them sing I am a Child of God or something. Who knows?? More likely...he wanted to enjoy the saltines and hot chocolate we found lurking in the singles ward's closet!! I'm just saying...I don't do mice! So...if you find a mouse in primary...he just might end up in Heaven!

SuMmeRTiMe, fLyS and BeiNg on TiMe!

Summer is coming to a close before my eyes! It was so chilly in my house this morning, I kind of wanted to turn on the heat....kind of. I didn't! Today I'm enjoying some of the things I love at Summers end, like fresh peaches and tomatoes. What I'm not enjoying...the flies! I've killed at least a half dozen so far today and I just opened my dishwasher and another one flew out! A stowaway! He knew I was on a fly hunt!  I just can't believe how fast this summer has flown by! Really, June didn't count this year for a couple of reasons. The weather was rainy all month and we were putting the finishing touches on our basement project. I remember thinking I was glad it wasn't nice outside or I couldn't have stayed inside day and night to finish! Soon I'll post pictures...we are LOVING the extra space to say the least!

So, yesterday I was reminded of a funny little story about my son, who will remain nameless. I forgot to pick him up from lacrosse. Bad mom! Bad mom! Really he wasn't upset... a little bugged but he knows I'm flaky sometimes and is patient with me.


That was not always the case.

A few years ago Tanner was playing little league football. If you've never been involved with this before, you should know it's serious stuff! Kind of like a mini boot camp or something. Honestly...I don't quite understand it! Anyway he was practicing five nights a week and Saturdays. I was done! The kids hadn't even started school yet so we had gone to a movie that day. Well...I didn't plan very well and by the time the movie got out, it was obvious Tanner was pretty much in a panic and just knew he would be running extra laps to make up for his mother's lack of planning!As Tanner (I guess he's not nameless!) got out of the car and shut the door, he turned around and tapped on the window. Tap, tap, tap. I promptly rolled it down. He then says to me in a very restrained voice, 'THIS had better not happen again.' To which I promptly rolled up the window and drove away. Then of course I started to laugh hysterically. He is just like both of his grandfathers! If he's not early, he's late! If he's late, it's my fault, because HE would not be late! Hello he's being raised by me, which by the way, I've been working on my tardiness and doing fairly well. But his father...well you know...he's still working on it!


Thanks, Tanner for keeping me on time...for the most part! I love that guy! :)

P.S. Where did the spell check go? Am I going crazy?

New Sisters Blog

Allie started a new blog this summer and she's been bugging me to add it to my blog! She made a few digital scrapbooks and wanted to post them to our family blog...so I helped her start her own blog. Now she can put whatever she would like to on it! As of right now it is listed as the sisters blog on my blog list. It will soon become private...so let me know if you are interested in following her blog by leaving a comment with your e-mail address here! If you know us don't be shy! It might be some good entertainment!? It is her blog...so I have no idea what will end up on it?? Allie loves to read, so she added a shelfari bookshelf today. If you have a child close to her age, or McKenna's age you might want to see what they've been reading. I know I'm always looking for ideas! They are still trying to remember all of the books they've read!

Family Pictures

Back to School

Kelsie-preschool

Allie-6th Grade

McKenna-2nd Grade

Tanner-8th Grade

Well...last week the kid's all started school! I got pictures of the girls, but failed to rise and take one of Tanner! His bus comes at zero dark thirty! Still, I feel like a terrible mother! :( He would have been totally irritated if took pics of him anyway! The kid's all had new clothes and shoes, which made them happy. Everyone was excited/nervous to meet their teachers, but they all seem pretty happy with them and their friends...so life is good! Back to the routine!

Views from Mount Timp

Tanner recently climbed the backside of Mount Timpanogos with the scouts! He took along an older digital camera that we have and actually got some pretty good pictures, so I decided to post a few! I'm glad he was able to make it to the top...way to go Tan-man!

The "Lake"

Kelsie, McKenna and Gracie

We have a couple of new little "lakes" that have opened this summer and are fairly close to our home. I use the term "lake" very loosely as my husband grew up in Michigan and knows what lakes are really supposed be like. One of them is actually a small reservoir that we have dubbed, "the puddle" and the other is a very small lake. But...they both have sandy beaches and the kids love it! One even has a big playground behind the beach. This summer we've enjoyed spending time at both of them!

LaGoOn!

Kelsie, Mickelle, McKenna, Allie and Audree!

In July, we spent the day at Lagoon with some friends from our neighborhood, the Ereksons. We had a great time and stayed at the park from open to close. It was Hot, Hot, Hot! But, after lunch we all went on Rattle Snake Rapids and got soaking wet...it cooled us off for a while. I have to say, I was more impressed with Lagoon than I have been in the past. The flowers were beautiful and it just seemed like there was shade everywhere we went. Everyone but Kelsie went on Wicked...that is a one wild roller coaster! I feel like I've been on some pretty good ones in Orlando, but this one is crazy! I couldn't even open my mouth to utter a scream...a first for me! I'm not sure I'll be getting on that one again! It was a great day!

Grandpa Woody's 90th Birthday!

Grandpa Woody and Grandma Colleen

I think everyone in the family agrees...

This is our favorite picture of our grandparents.

This picture was taken walking down the street in downtown Seattle, WA.

A street photographer took it and sold them the photo.

They look like movie stars to me!

The party was held at the Cole's clubhouse. Starting at the bottom right and going clockwise:

my mom and dad, Grandpa Woody and Aunt Maxine (his sister)

Grandpa Woody with his children: Don, Laurel and Jan and

finally Grandpa and Aunt Maxine with Gayle and Kent Brown, and the Larsens.

The kids had fun swimming in the pool!

The whole family!

Grandma and Grandpa's posterity.

The girl cousins: Savannah, Allie, McKenna and Avery

enjoying the theater room.

One of the neatest things about this celebration was my Great Aunt Maxine, surprising my grandpa (she's his only living sibling) and coming to Utah from the Portland area. A few of her children came as well. So it was one big party! I think my grandpa was exhausted afterward! Happy 90th Grandpa!