Spiritual Sunday

Another great thing about living in Utah is that the public libraries have LDS books. We have been checking out lately some older LDS illustrated scripture books. Anna and Andrew absolutely love them.

Today was Stake Conference in Casper. One of the speakers spoke about a Senior couple that put in their mission papers. They basically requested that they go to a specific country since they spoke the language. They were shocked when they got called to serve in Florida. At first they were really upset, but after praying about it they also felt they should go to Florida.

Their first morning in Florida they met a young woman with two young children. They asked if they could tell her about the church and she told them to come back at night when her husband was home. Imagine their shock when they came back that evening and their estranged son answered the door. They had not seen their son in several years, did not know he lived in Florida, and did not even know he was married or had children. They were able to repair the relationship and today things are great.

The speaker went on to say how the Lord knows what is best for us. This is so true in my own life. There have been several times when at first I have not understood why something is happening, but then I see the Lord's hand and I am grateful for His divine guidance.

Super Saturday

Jason brought back a traditional Kazakhstan costume for the kids. They had fun dressing up with him. We now have a traditional costumes from India, Spain, and Kazakhstan. I think we may have to start collecting costumes from around the world!

Fantastic Friday - A Missionary Returns

What a night! We barely made it on time to see my brother get off the airplane. The plane got a good tailwind and arrived 20 minutes early!

Elder Despain just off the airplane and not quite sure what he should do.



Talking to the kids, it is hard to believe Anna was 4 and Andrew was 2 when he left.



The homemade signs





We are so glad you are home, Uncle Jason! We can't wait to play with you in Provo.

Thursday Thoughts - Jason is coming home

We are in Casper, WY. Tonight at 10:45 PM my youngest brother will be coming home from his mission in Moscow, Russia. My mom and dad went to pick him up, so I came a day early to get things ready. Anna and Andrew made posters this morning and we will go get some balloons before we go to the airport.

I need to reclean my parents house though before we can let the party begin. It was so nice when we arrived late last night, but Anna and Andrew I think have pulled out everything from all the closets. Good thing they get in late tonight!

Workout Wednesday

Here is a favorite quick weight-lifting workout:

Do all the exercises with no rest in between

10 reps barbell chest presses
10 reps barbell dead lifts
repeat

10 reps barbell bicep curls
10 reps barbell skull crushers
repeat

10 reps barbell upright rows
10 reps barbell shoulder presses
repeat

10 reps dumbbell chest flys
10 reps dumbbell bent over rows
repeat

10 reps dumbell bicep curls
10 reps tricep dips
repeat

10 reps lateral raises
10 reps side lateral raises
repeat

That is the workout. It is a nice one if you are short on time and want a full body workout.

Taste of Tuesday - Current favorite breakfast

My current favorite breakfast is adapted from a recipe (Quick banana breakfast to go) from Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book Eat for Health.

1/4 cup oats
1 banana sliced
1 cup frozen blueberries or any type of berry
4 to 6 walnuts broken into pieces
handful of dried currants or other dried fruit
handful of raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup POM juice

Mix everything together in a bowl and microwave for 1.5 minutes.

Monday Miracles - Blessings of Utah

One of things that I love about Utah is that there are so many talented people that teach lessons. Anna has been fortunate to take dance and piano lessons from wonderful woman that live very close and charge a very reasonable rate. There are also so many people that do preschools out of their basement and the preschools are amazing. It is so nice to be able to walk to Andrew's preschool.

Anna had her piano recital tonight. She did a great job! We are so proud of her and her willingness to learn a musical instrument.

Of course, Andrew had to have a picture taken of him with Bumblebee, who he somehow smuggled into the recital.

And last, I found this picture on the camera. It looks like Anna was having a fashion shoot with Nathan.

June Blog Challenge

So, I am going to try to blog everyday for the month of June. My good friend, Leanna, put out the challenge. She here is what you can look forward to for the month June.

Miracle of Monday
Taste of Tuesday
Workout Wednesday
Thoughts on Thursday
Fantastic Friday
Super Saturday
Spiritual Sunday

Disclaimer: I apologize in advance to Lindsey Ramage or anyone else that looks at this blog and I bore them to death. :)

Crazy Week

This week was the last week of school for both Anna and Andrew so it has been crazy. On Tuesday, Anna had quite the adventure. Her school does a program called the Xbox challenge, basically you have to solve 25 math facts in 25 seconds. Anna worked hard to do this and was only one of two 1st graders that passed the challenge. The reward was to go up to Ogden where the kids "sky dived" in a simulated chamber, rock climbed, and went surfing in a indoor surfing chamber.

Her school also on the last day of school does a dance festival where each grade performs a dance for the parents and rest of the school. The first graders did the chicken dance, it was a fun way to end the school year.

Nathan and Andrew went to the doctor for their 6 month and 4 year old check up. Somehow in the move from CA to UT, I missed a series of shots for Andrew. The doctor suggested I could give him some of his kindergarten shots early. I thought that was a good idea since he would have to get one anyway. Luckily, the nurse was super quick and was able to get all the shots in.

Here are Nathan's 6 months stats:

Weight - 19.97 pounds (86%)
Height - 27.5 inches (83%)

Sorry there are no pictures. We actually took some at Anna's dance festival and Andrew's preschool program, but none of them turned out.

Wizard of Oz

Anna has had so much fun this year in her dance class. Tonight the dance studio presented the Wizard of Oz. Anna was a tornado and a jewel. She did a great job!

Anna loved being a tornado! This was her favorite dance.

I am to blame for not getting a good shot of her during her jewel dance, I was too busy watching and forgot I should be taking pictures.

The happy dancer!

Only in Utah would they build an Emerald City out of green jello cups and then have them for refreshments during intermission. Andrew and Danny were in heaven.

My Flag

Andrew's preschool teacher is a city councilwoman, so the kids got to sing the song My Flag at a city council meeting. Andrew did a great job and of course you could hear him!

School Carnival

The night of my brother Craig's graduation, Danny took the kids to Anna's school carnival. Anna and Andrew had a blast playing the games, jumping in the jump house, climbing the rock wall, and eating good food. Danny also had a fun time bidding on items at the auction. Hopefully, I can make it next year.

Anna loved getting her hair done at the Paul Mitchell booth.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Andrew turned the big 4 on April 26th. My parents were in town for my brother Craig's graduation, so we had a fun birthday weekend. Andrew of course had to go to the Brick Oven, just like Anna.

Getting Big

Nathan has had a massive growth spurt. He weighed 6.5 pounds when he was born (9%) and was 20.5 inches long (45%). Well, at his 4 month check up last month he weighed 17 pounds (86%) and was 26.5 inches long (92%). He is definitely now a big boy! He is so much fun. I have a feeling he is going to be trouble when he is a toddler just like Anna and Andrew. He is always moving and wants you to carry him around so he can see everything that is going on.

Andrew is in a super hero phase. Everyday when he gets dressed he asks what super hero he is dressed like. He loves transformers, cars, and GI Joe too.

A couple of weeks ago, I took the kids to see a musical put on by the 5th and 6th graders at Anna's school. They did the play Sleeping Beauty. Danny was out of town for work, so I was on my own. Anna and Andrew decided they wanted to sit up front on the floor, so they could see better. I was near the back of the gym with Nathan. Well, it got to the part when the witch gets Sleeping Beauty to prick her finger and she falls asleep. All of sudden I hear crying and someone saying, "This is too scary" over and over. Instantly I knew it was Andrew. I was trying to figure out how I could get to him as the aisles were packed with parents filming their kids. A nice woman in the front tried to comfort him, but once Andrew starts crying it is pretty hard for him to stop. He then came running back to me and we made it to the very back of the gym where he could calm down.

I guess there will be no horror movies for him when he gets older!

Anna is your typical first born girl, basically she is Andrew and Nathan's 2nd mom. Nathan adores her, but I think Andrew thinks she is a bit too bossy. She also has an admire at her school. He wrote her a note asking if she would be his girlfriend and she had to either circle yes or no. Anna told me she didn't know what to do because she likes him as a friend, but doesn't want to be his girlfriend. I told her to tell him that she is to young to have a boyfriend, but that she still wants to be friends with him. After she said this, he looked at her kind of funny and asked, "How old are you?"

Easter

On Saturday, Anna and Andrew participated in the city of Provo Easter egg hunt. It was lightly raining, but that did not take away from the fun. The Easter eggs also had some great prizes - Anna got a free pedicure in one egg and Andrew got a free meal at Chili's.

We then headed over to Macey's to meet the Easter Bunny and go on a Easter treasure hunt throughout the store.

Look who's 32!

Danny wakes up each morning at 5:30 AM and immediately gets on the phone to talk with his co-workers in India or on the East coast. Usually around 8:00 AM he is done with his calls and will come and have breakfast and take a shower and get ready for the day. For his birthday today, we had birthday breakfast cake ready for him after his calls (Anna and Andrew couldn't wait and had some cake before as you can see from the picture). We then opened up presents real fast before Anna had to go to school. Tonight we will celebrate some more by going out to dinner (thanks Brandon and Amy for watching the kids).

India

Two weeks ago Danny went to India for a week for business. Luckily I was able to talk my parents to come down for a visit that week, so I had plenty of help at home. Danny enjoyed India and meeting with some of the people with which he works. His only complaint was that he feared for his life every time he drove anywhere. He has never seen such bad driving. I was also disappointed that he did not try any food. He ate granola bars everyday for breakfast and Pizza Hut for lunch and dinner. I don't know why he is so afraid of food!

Outside the hotel room



An Indian Mosque



Danny with some of his team



Anna and Andrew with some clothes and new toys from India

Crock Pot Recipes

Every month a group from church meets together and shares recipes. This month the theme was crockpot recipes. Here are some of my favorites from the night:

Crock Pot Applesauce (Trina Smith)

5 large apples, peeled, cored, and diced 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup water 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Turn crock pot on high and put 2 Tbsp. butter in bottom. Butter melts as you're preparing your apples. Mix all ingredients and pour in crock pot. Bake 3 hours on high, or turn on medium before bed and wake up to warm applesauce for breakfast. Mash to desired consistency.

I made this and I thought it was good, but a little sweet. I think you could halve the sugar and it would still taste good.

Crock Pot Lime Chicken Tacos (Lisa Jensen)

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken

Put chicken in slow cooker on low 5 to 6 hours. Shred chicken and cool slightly.

Combine:

3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 cup corn
1 cup chunky salsa

Stir salsa mixture into shredded chicken.

Serve in tortillas with favorite taco toppings.

Very good!

Anna hits the jackpot

Back during the holidays we participated in an office pool for the college football bowl games. Anna actually ended up winning the whole thing which amounted to $315.00. She decided to use her money by buying an American Girl Doll, donating goods to children in Russia where my brother is on his mission, and putting the rest in stocks. Here are some pictures of her with her new favorite doll which she decided to name Amy.

The next picture is of Nathan who is getting huge. He is not quite the scrawny thing he was when he was born. I am interested to see how big he will be at his 4 month check up next week.

The last picture is funny to me. Nathan had fallen asleep on the couch and Andrew was watching a show on TV or so I thought as I was hurrying to get stuff done.

Nathan 2 months

I can't believe Nathan is already 2 months. I was anxious to see how much he weighed at his appointment. He was skinny when he was born (in the 8th percentile), but average for height. Well, he has done a good job of gaining weight and is now in the 58th percentile, so pretty much average now with his height and weight. He continues to be a really sweet baby. As long as his tummy is full and he is not sleepy, he is happy to just watch the craziness around him.

Nathan still has blue eyes. I think they will either stay that color or be a green or grey color. I thought for sure all my kids would have brown eyes.



We could only get him to smile if I was holding him, so here you go.



Anna walked in when we were taking the above picture and wanted to be in a picture too.



And finally Andrew came in yelling, "Don't forget about me!"