Thursday Thoughts - Milestones for Nathan

Nathan has reached some milestones since we have been in Casper. He started crawling and his first tooth has popped through. I can't believe he is already 7 months. Seriously, where does the time go?

I still can't believe he has blue eyes. I think they could still change to green, so I guess only time will tell.

Workout Wednesday - Foam Rollers

I love foam rollers. I think everyone that pounds there body through exercise should have one. About 2 years ago, I thought I may have to stop running from severe knee pain. My quads were causing the pain from being too tight. I tried several different stretches, but nothing would relax my quads.

I then saw a foam roller at the gym and did some research and found that you can use it like a deep tissue massage for your muscles. I rolled on my quads and boy did it hurt, but it was a good hurt. I have had no more problems with sore knees or tight quads. You can roll it on any part of your body. It is great.

You can also use the roller for strength and balance moves. I love the foam roller so much, I got one for my dad as an early Father's Day present.

Taste of Tuesday - Fruit Pizza

Growing up my mom would make whatever we requested for a birthday cake. By far my most requested "birthday cake" was fruit pizza.

Fruit Pizza

Crust:
1 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

Mix butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Blend in flour, soda, and cream of tartar. Cover; chill 2 to 3 hours. Roll dough to 3/16 inch thick. Cut into circles for individual pizzas or put on a lightly greased pizza pan for a large fruit pizza.
Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until light brown on edge. (This time is for the individual pizzas, add 5 to 10 more minutes for a large pizza).

Cool

Sauce:
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together until smooth.

Spread on cooled cookie crust and top with fruit: Pineapple, mandarin oranges, bananas, kiwies, grapes, strawberries, etc.

Glaze:
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
dash salt
3/4 cup water
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sugar

Mix in sauce pan and cook over medium heat till mixture boils and thickens. Cool. Drizzle on top of fruit pizza.

You can omit the glaze if you want - it still tastes great.

Monday Miracles

We experienced quite the adventure tonight. We went to the base of Casper Mountain to a place called Garden Creek Falls with some other families in my parents ward. Everyone brought their own dinner (we brought foil dinners and smores - yummy).

Just as we were beginning to make and have our smores, a deputy from the sheriff's department came in his truck and told us we had to leave immediately. We couldn't even clean up our stuff - he told us to leave the park and we could come back for all our things a little bit later.

We had parked the van away from where everyone was eating and the deputy didn't even want us to go back for it, so Danny, Anna, Andrew, and Jason jumped in the bed of someone's truck and myself, Nathan, and my mom sat in the little back seat of the same truck. As we were leaving I turned around to make sure my kids were alright and I saw the deputy put on his bullet proof vest!

We then exited the park and got out wondering what was going on and when we could get back to our things. Someone heard that there was a jumper and that was why they were clearing the park and we could see ambulances waiting at the end of the road. Another deputy then came and wanted to know what we were doing just standing on the road. We told him what the other deputy told us and he said to have one person go back and get all our things and to have Danny go with him to get our car.

A couple of minutes later Danny came back with the car and the other guy came back, but with none of our stuff. The deputies had the area where we had dinner all blocked off and wouldn't let them grab our things. Danny said he heard that the jumper had a gun, so that is all that we know so far.

Hopefully, I will have an update tomorrow and we will have all our things back.

Some happy kids at the base of the falls before the craziness began.

Spiritual Sunday

Some things to think about:

Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar His face is to us. – President Ezra Taft Benson

To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never before done. - Richard G. Scott

The Word of Wisdom does not promise you perfect health, but it teaches how to keep the body you were born with in the best condition and your mind alert to delicate spiritual promptings. - Boyd K. Packer

Almost every day brings opportunities to perform unselfish acts for others. Such acts are unlimited and can be as simple as a kind word, a helping hand, or a gracious smile. - James E. Faust

True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. - Boyd K. Packer

Super Saturday

Nothing beats going out to eat on a Saturday night. The place we went, On the Border, has old cars and sculptures all around the rest, so we had to do a photo shop with the kids.

Can you see Anna and Andrew?

We also had quite the summer thunderstorm with hail and a tornado even touched down 10 miles out of town.

Fantastic Friday - Rainy Day Fun

It has been raining pretty much all this week. We are hoping it will warm up soon as we are all getting a bit stir crazy.

Fortunately, every morning this week we have had my cousin Angie's girls over to play. It has been fun for Anna and Andrew to have some playmates while we are here.

The girls found some gold star stickers and decided to put them all on their faces. They were being pretty silly.



While the girls were busy being silly, Andrew was content to play with legos.



Enjoying rice krispie treats and some fruit punch.

Hopefully, the rain will end and we can play outside all next week. But if it continues, any ideas of some things we can do inside for some really silly kids?

Thursday Thoughts - Mountain Men

Casper back in the day was a fort. I have many memories (good and bad) of visiting Ft. Casper and learning about frontier life.

My mom took Anna today to Ft. Casper where they were doing a presentation about mountain men and tall tales. According to my mom it was a pretty dry lecture, but Anna seemed to enjoy it and wants to go back next week when they talk about pioneers and make homemade butter.

Workout Wednesday - High Intensity Interval Training

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of my favorite ways to do cardio. Basically it involves short periods of maximum exercise followed by rest/recovery periods. It has been shown to improve performance and burn more fat than traditional cardio sessions. You can do this interval training on any machine at the gym or running outside.

Here is a sample HIIT session:

1. Run for 2 minutes at a level from 3 to 5

2. Run for 1 minute at a level of 6

3. Run for 1 minute at a level of 7

4. Run for 1 minute at a level of 8

5. Run for 1 minute at a level of 9

6. Repeat numbers 2 through 5, 3 more times

7. Run for 1 minute at a level of 10

8. Cool down for 2 minutes

Taste of Tuesday - Zucchini Cookies

We tried a new zucchini cookie recipe today. Here is a link to the recipe - cookies. We didn't have any granola, so we replaced it with a 1/2 cup rice krispies and 1/2 cup corn flakes.

Here are the reviews:

Andrew gave the cookies 4 stars.



Jason also gave the cookies 4 stars.



Anna gave the cookies 3.5 stars.



Janet gave the cookies 3.5 stars. She thought they had too many chocolate chips. I agree, I think if I make these again I would use half the amount of chocolate chips.



Danny gave the cookies 3 stars - he is a tough critic. I wonder if he would have had a different opinion if I wouldn't have told him zucchini was in the cookies.



Too young to try the cookies, but happy just to be included.

Monday Miracles - No Rain

A fun thing my parents do at various times throughout the summer is family home evening in the park. They invite the ward and barbecue and have families bring a salad or dessert. They also set up a volleyball court and play kings court. It is always a lot of fun.

It has been cold and rainy the last couple of days, so we were worried we would have to cancel today as it was raining around lunch. Luckily, the rain stopped long enough to have family home evening at the park tonight.

I took some pictures, but forgot to put the memory card in and we couldn't find a USB cable that was compatible, so I will have to post pictures when we go back to Provo.

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.