Christmas 2010

Since we are getting close to Valentines Day, I should probably write about Christmas.  We decided to go to my parents house in Casper.  Of course, we were hit with a big snow storm the day we wanted to leave and instead of taking the usual 6 1/2 hours to get there, it took 9 hours.  Luckily, the kids were great as they just watched movie after movie and Uncle Jason came with us, so there was another adult to entertain if needed.


My sister and her husband also came to Casper to spend the holidays.  We helped them put together a 1000 piece puzzle they are using as part of adopting a boy from Russia.  You can read about their adoption journey at their blog http://www.bowenfamilycentral.com/

Christmas Eve we participated in the usual activities:  easy dinner (this year homemade pizza), acting out the nativity, playing Christmas songs with chimes, and the $10 gift exchange. 

Christmas morning was of course the highlight of the whole trip.  The kids were spoiled and I always love seeing the joy and excitement on their faces Christmas morning. 

Overall it was a fantastic trip.  I am so grateful for my family and the opportunity to spend time with them.

Nathan turns 2!

Way back on November 14th, Nathan turned 2.  We had a low key birthday party at home with family.  Nathan looks a lot like Andrew, just a fairer version with his blonde hair and blue eyes.  He loves to get into everything in the kitchen.  I wonder if we have a future chef in our midst.  He also loves Mickey Mouse, trains, and going to the library for story time.

Andrew's reflection photo

Each year the elementary school participates in the PTA reflections program.  Anna always wants to participate and enter something in the different categories.  Her enthusiasm rubbed off on Andrew and he entered several categories as well.  They both entered 3 categories and 2 of their pieces were chosen by their school to move on to the district competition.   We found out on Friday that Andrew's photo he took was chosen by the school district to move on to the regional competition.  The theme for this year was together we can and Andrew's photo is titled, Together we can fight evil.

How to make homemade candy canes

Anna is doing an extra project for school on candy canes.  She thought it would be fun to make homemade candy canes and make a poster about it to be apart of her presentation.  I have never made candy canes before, but the recipe seemed easy enough.  By far the hardest part was shaping the candy canes.  As a result, the candy canes are not pretty but they sure taste good.

Step One:
Get your ingredients - 3 cups sugar, 1 cup corn syrup, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp peppermint extract, red food coloring

 
Step Two:
Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in saucepan.  Put on stove over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.

Step Three:
Once sugar dissolves, stop stirring and let mixture boil to soft crack stage.

Step Four:
Once soft crack stage is reached, remove pan from stove and stir in peppermint extract.

Step Five:
Pour half of mixture into a greased jelly roll pan.  Add couple drops of red food coloring to to the rest of the mixture, pour red mixture into a greased jelly roll pan.

Step Six:
Use a spatula and move the mixture around from the edges as it cools.

Step Seven:
Pull the candy until it is glossy.

Step Eight:
Pull/roll each mixture into 2 inch diameter ropes.

Step Nine:
Twist clear and read ropes together.  Cut to desired size and shape with a hook.

Step Ten:
Let candy canes harden at room temperature.

Step Eleven:
Enjoy your handmade candy canes!

Notes:
Like I said these did not turn out pretty.  I think I would need to practice more with the recipe.  If you do not have extra help with the pulling/shaping, you can put one of the pans in  a 200 degree oven as you work with one of the mixtures.  This will help so the candy doesn't harden.

Halloween 2010

We had an interesting week before Halloween.  First, we had some plumbing problems and in order to get things fixed it was needed to dig a 13 foot hole in our front yard.   As a result, we had a big hole in our front yard the night of trick or treating.  Luckily, a few trick or treaters managed to get to our front door and I was able to get rid of some of our candy.

Second, Andrew got a concussion at school a couple of days before Halloween.  We are still trying to figure out what happened as no adults saw it  and Andrew is fuzzy about the details.  At lunch recess, he somehow fell down on the basketball court and hit his head pretty hard.  A nice 6th grader took him to the office where they bandaged him up.  They called me at home to tell me he hit his head, but that he was doing good and just had a bad scrape and bruise.   Well, an hour later I got a call that he was not doing as good.  He was really pale and not feeling good.  I went and picked him up and when we got home he threw up.  I gave my doctor a call as I know it is not good to throw up after you hit your head and they said bring him in so they could observe him.   You could tell the poor guy was in pain and not feeling good.   Half way through the doctor's examine he gets all the color back and starts talking up a storm (which is a clear indicator he is feeling like his old self).  He had no more bad symptoms and was able to have a great Halloween.

Nathan the dinosaur

Andrew, I mean Spiderman

Anna - the witch

Andrew with his loot

Anna with her loot

Anna turns 8 and is baptized!

This year was a monumental year for Anna since she turned 8.   In our church when you turn 8 you have the opportunity to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost.  We love Anna so much!   She is very responsible and such a good helper.  She loves sports, dance, art, music, reading, writing, photography, and of course playing with friends.

She had a great birthday party.  She wanted a pizza party with games and a juggling show (good thing she has an uncle who knows how to juggle fire).

Next was Anna's baptism day on September 4th.  Her Grandma Mary made the gown she was baptized in and her Grandma Janet altered a dress for her to be her baptism dress.

Last, Anna was able to go on a special trip with me to Atlanta, Georgia to celebrate turning 8.  My sister Ashley is a great hostess and we had a wonderful time.  We went to the Georgia Aquarium, Coke museum, Atlanta Zoo, Natural History Museum, and of course the American Girl store.

The last 4 months

 This is what we have been up to the last 4 months.

Sitting on the Y

The kids on the Y with their good friends.

In August we headed down to San Diego to see family, have fun, and see the dentist.

Nathan on one of the 2 rides he could ride at Legoland.  He loved it!

 

 

Anna and Andrew working together - think they will make it to the top?

The new Mormon Battalion Center is a must see for anyone visiting San Diego.

Anna got to enjoy an early birthday dinner at Ruby's on the pier in Oceanside.

Anna with her sponge curlers and Nathan not wanting to be left out wanted one in his hair too.

I ran in Utah's first mud run.  It was so much fun and a little dirty.

Anna on the first day of school.  I cannot find the picture of Andrew or them together that I knew I took.  I will keep on looking.

Wizard of Oz

Anna's dance studio performed the Wizard of Oz this year.  Anna was able to be one of the leads, the scarecrow.  She had so much fun and did a great job.

Aruba

Danny's mom is kind enough to offer one of her time shares to her kids on their 10 year anniversary.  We ended up going to Aruba.  It was a blast and so relaxing.  My parents were also awesome and watched the kids while we were gone for a week.  To top it off, my sister and her husband joined us for even more fun.

We stayed at the Marriott Surf Club.  The rooms were absolutely beautiful, the pool was fantastic, and you can't beat being right on the beach.

One of the favorite things that we did was a sailing trip.  We sailed along the coast and stopped at two spots for snorkeling.

These are some of the starfish that one of the guys pulled up while we were snorkeling.

The island receives a lot of wind, so it is a great site to kite surf and wind board.  The wind was also nice to cool off the island.  The wind and humidity however, were not nice for my hair.

The interior of the island is a desert with a couple of large hills/small mountains in the center.  One morning my sister, her husband and I decided to climb to the top of Mt. Haystack.  They basically poured cement stairs straight to the top.  There were 560 steps to the top.  We laughed that they would never have something like this in the US - too many liabilities.  Luckily, none of us tripped.

This is a picture of Eagle Beach.  It had the best sand.  This beach is also where sea turtles come to lay their eggs.  We were actually in Aruba when they lay their eggs.

We actually went one night to the beach to try to see some of turtles lay their eggs, but were not able to see one.  This is a picture of the barriers they put up after a turtle lays her eggs, to protect them before they hatch.

One night we went to watch the sun set at one of the lighthouses.  Can you spot Danny?  He went to check out the 2 party buses.

The island has 2 natural bridges.  One of the bridges has collapsed, but one is still intact.

Aruba had a gold rush in the 1800's.  This is what is left of one of the gold mines.  They say there is still some traces of gold on the island.

We decided to try scuba diving.  Here is our instructor/guide Romeo.  He was quite the character.

Danny had to try wake boarding in the ocean.  It was quite the workout with the waves and the wind.

Some of the other highlights:  relaxing at the beach/pool, kayaking along the coast, going to church with the locals, and exploring local hangouts.  It was a great trip!  Is it too soon to start planning another one?