carving pumpkins

It is the traditional FHE thing to do the monday before Halloween in our family (and I am guessing MANY others)- carve pumpkins! I thought it would make a fun night and even made some other themed food- Candy corn pizza (different colors of cheese to look like a candy corn- it didn't turn out to be very good), and cauldron dipped apples (see the bottom pictures) which were YUMMY!!

Marcus really didn't like the "guts" of the pumpkin and would not touch it with his hands. Notice the disgusted expression!



Cynthia didn't have a problem with it though! (Notice she is still wearing her gymnastics clothes from this afternoon)



Finished Jack-o-lanterns:

(Marcus even did much of the carving himself!)



(I love Cynthia's tiny pumpkin she got at school- she loved having a "baby jack-o-lantern")





The yummy cauldron dipped apples:


Mmmm- that is tasty mom!

(Lillian ended up just licking the chocolate off the apple!)

Recipe for Cauldron dipped apples:
*This doesn't have to be exact- I actually messed up the recipe and forgot the shortening and powdered sugar in the main chocolate mixture you dip the apples in. Basically it was just melted chocolate chips and peanut butter and it still was great!

5 or 6 medium apples, stems removed
5-6 wooden sticks
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbs shortening
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
peanut butter sugar (see below for recipe)

Line tray with waxed paper. Wash, dry and stem apples; insert wooden stick into stem end of each apple. Prepare peanut butter sugar.

Melt chocolate chips and shortening together. Stir in peanut butter until smooth, then blend in powdered sugar.

Dip apples into chocolate mixture; twirl gently to remove excess. Sprinkle peanut butter sugar over apples. Place on prepared tray and refrigerate until firm.

Peanut butter sugar:
3 Tbs peanut butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs granulated sugar
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl

knocking on wood doesn't help . . .

Just yesterday when I wrote the last post I said we at least hadn't gotten sick yet (knock on wood)- - and lo and behold it hit us! Just about an hour after falling asleep, I was awoken by Cynthia running into my room saying she needed to throw up. I ran her to the bathroom just in time. Poor girl, she threw up about 7 times between midnight and 5 am last night, crying each time that she wanted daddy home to make it all better. Somehow she got it into her mind that if daddy was home, he would be able to magically make it go away. Luckily she is old enough to contain the vomit- so I didn't have any clean up to do- what a blessing that is! Needless to say neither of us got much sleep. Ugh- I have a feeling it is going to go through the whole family.

So- after this super uplifting post - - hopefully the rest of the day will go better! We will see!

Trials and blessings

I was just thinking about this today. I need to vent and gripe a little- then I can move on and think about the wonderful blessings I have. I have the gospel, a husband who loves me, and 3 beautiful children whom I love, even though my trials are in relation to them! I have a roof over my head (that I really like, even if it isn't very big), food to eat, and more than the basics of life. I am grateful for my friends- who help me get through the stressful days. And funny as this sounds, I am grateful for my interet connection -I think blogging, email, etc. really helps me get through LIFE. I acknowlege that truly so many of you have gone and are going through unimaginable trials- and I don't want to make it sound like I am not grateful for my life and what I have, for I am truly blessed. My trials this week are so minimal compared to my blessings, and the good things of the week- so maybe this post will help me remember that.

Jon just started his first Hospital service rotation- another one we planned on being hard. He has to do it three times each year- so it will be often enough, in conjuction with several other long hour rotations like OB. Not only is it long hours, but stressful for him- so he comes home bone tired. It isn't the program's fault- it is just the nature of being a medical resident- anywhere. The hours are unpredictable, which is the hardest for me to deal with. I am fine with him being gone long hours- it is just hard when I can't even plan for when he will be late. He pretty much worked all weekend- yesterday, his rounds took for 7 am to 3:30 pm, then he is on-call today and at the hospital from 6:30 am today until the afternoon tomorrow. I HATE church by myself. On to the next bit of griping- I have the wildest kids ever!! Lillian was a nightmare at church today. All week Marcus has been extremely irritable, which means I am dealing with tantrums, lots of anger and name calling. Sigh- at least I haven't gotten a call from the school yet. Oh- on top of that, yesterday the van sliding door broke. I have a really old van- the kind where there is only one sliding door on one side, so the kids have to climb in from the passenger side in the front, and I have to either climb in the back or lean way over the seat to buckle Lillian in. We can't afford to fix it right now- unless Jon does it - - Jon? Jon? Where are you? Do I even have a husband? I can see your dirty laundry- so I must have a husband. Actually, to his credit- he has been wonderful when he is home. Even when he comes home so tired, he tries to help out, and seems to want to spend time with us. I feel bad because I know he feel stressed out about the things he wants and needs to accomplish at home, that just aren't happening. I am so glad that he likes spending time with me- and misses me when we are apart. I just have to hold onto weekends like last weekend- when we had so much fun at the Olympic Penninsula. I am actually glad he doesn't have a church calling - - what could he even do?

OK- I feel so much better now! It is amazing how venting a little helps. Anyway- does anyone who has to deal with spouses being gone a lot (I KNOW many of you deal with this) have any advice for me? I think the thing that has gotten me through the best was being willing to pay for a babysitter. Even for church functions or training I have paid for a babysitter because I either really needed to be there, or needed to get out! This brings up a soapbox issue for me- it would be nice if people didn't automatically assume that spouses work normal weekday hours. I know many people with kids who don't have spouses that work normal hours- so it really irks me when a nursery isn't provided for church functions where children shouldn't be there. For example, I missed a couple of relief society functions last year because I couldn't bring the kids and Jon was gone. I even heard of someone in another RS who didn't like to provide a nursery for RS functions in the evening because it is "taken advantage of"- meaning the husbands are getting out of watching the kids when a nursery is provided. All that does is discourage single mothers or mothers with husbands working at those times from coming. Some people aren't willing to pay a babysitter.

OK- enough of my griping and on to the good things in my week. It was SUPER busy! Doctors appointments and errands, helping kids with homework and reading, taking them to gymnastics Monday and Friday, Cub Scouts every Wednesday . . . you know . . . Did I mention that I just got called into the cub scouts? I actually really like it and am really excited about it. It is a lot of work though! This week we had our pack meeting- a "birthday party" for the boys- it was great fun. I also had training half the day on Saturday (and had to get a babysitter . . . )- I actually really enjoyed the training. I also went to Sunnyside this week to see friends- - it was great! I miss seeing them on a daily or at least weekly basis. Saturday evening after Jon was home, we headed to the Harvest Festival at Terrace Heights Elementary for the fun games and food - - truly I love this time of year, despite the craziness. Below are some pictures- - I didn't get many because I was helping with one of the games for part of it- and we also had all the Hirtle's kids because both their parents were sick. I felt so bad for them! I think at least their kids had fun getting out- and we really enjoyed having them with us. At least we haven't gotten sick yet - - knock on wood.


in the jump castle



Cythia and a little boy from her class. She ran up to him, hugged him and they were so excited to see each other. She did that every time she saw someone from her class!

"Bella Berry Pie"

One of the first things we saw as we drove into Forks was a restaurant sporting the sign "now serving Bella Berry Pie". Sigh - - I didn't see Edward or Bella . . . but it was fun anyway! You Twilight fans will be interested in hearing about our trip to the Olympic Peninsula here in Washington this last weekend. Jon and I went there on our Honeymoon in May of 1998, long before Twilight was even a thought. We stayed in a little bed and breakfast right outside of La Push and Forks. Yes, it rains a lot- but to me it is one of the most romantic places on the planet. We were close to the wild Washington coast (we were right off of Rialto Beach), and the amazing Olympic National Park. It is one of my favorite National Parks due to the diversity- there are snow capped mountains, rain forest, mirror-like lakes and even the ocean. So- it was really fun to read the Twilight series which happens in the same place we Honeymooned. It is only about 4 hours from Yakima to get to the Peninsula (Discovery Bay)- and another two to the other side of the Peninsula where Forks is located. Jon and I hadn't been back since our Honeymoon, and we thought it is about time! So we took off for the weekend and had an amazing time. I am so glad we went this time of year- the fall colors set against the deep evergreen forest was spectacular!!



We headed to the far side of the Peninsula to the Forks and Hoh Rain forest area first. We got a kick out of seeing Twilight fans walking around the town in black T-shirts, and seeing the reader boards welcoming fans. Here are a few:






The Hoh Rain forest is one of my favorite things about Olympic National Park. It is the only Temperate Rain forest in the Northern Hemisphere- and it is the greenest place you will ever see. The "Hall of Mosses" is one of my favorite hikes, with its towering trees COVERED in long green moss. The fall leaves littering the ground just added to the romanticism of the place.






even the water had green moss growing in it!!




Before our hike, we had fun watching the birds while we ate lunch. The birds were so brazen, that one flew onto our table and took a huge piece of bread out of our sack. We had fun feeding them straight out of our hands!



After the rain forest, on our way back up the Peninsula, we headed over to La Push and the beach, and to find the place we stayed on our Honeymoon. My favorite was seeing the cliffs exactly the way I remember them, and what I pictured while reading New Moon- when Bella goes cliff jumping.



The beach was also amazing. It was freezing cold, though!! The kids loved climbing on the HUGE driftwood logs - - and there is something so amazing about the raw power of the ocean.




That night we stayed at the Worldmark at Discovery Bay- it was SOOO awesome! It is nice that we bought into Worldmark years ago when we could pay for it- now when we wouldn't have been able to afford to stay in a place like that,we get to enjoy it without having to pay (every year we get a certain amout of "credits" to use). We had a two bedroom condo- three level town house style with a master suite at the bottom, living room and kitchen in the middle, and a bedroom at the top. We had fun taking the kids swimming and having a nice romantic evening after the kids were in bed! The view of the bay was amazing.

The view from our condo.

The second day of our trip was shorter- basically just the drive up to Hurricane Ridge- up on the mountains. The fall colors were AMAZING at the bottom, then changed to dense magical evergreen forest, and then to the sparser mountain vegetation at the top- which I call a Christmas tree forest!



part way up



You can see the Straight of Juan De Fuca in the distance (the waterway between the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island, Canada).



The forest of christmas trees



Isn't is spectacular!!

General Conference

This post is pretty personal- but I wanted to share it anyway!

Wow- what an inspiring weekend. The last couple of weeks have rejuvenated my testimony in the Gospel of Jesus Christ - with being with two who went the temple for the first time, and listening to general conference. It is between Sunday sessions, and I feel like I need to sit down and write my feelings. I feel like I had been in a spiritual rut- going about my daily life, doing mostly what I should, but forgetting to completely dedicate my life to following Christ. Not that I need to change what I do every day in general, but changing my attitude and thoughts to center around Christ. This will affect how I love and teach my children and my own emotional well being. I now feel so full of love and joy for the life I live and all that I have, especially the love of my Heavenly Father and the Savior. I have no doubt in my mind that the Prophet, Thomas S Monson is called of God. I want to do as he counseled this morning- and have my home be a "Heaven on Earth". When I look around at our young family and our house, though we aren't perfect- I feel that we truly do have Heaven on Earth here in out little home. We may not have new (or even socially acceptable) cars, the nicest clothes, or grass in our backyard - - but I feel soooo happy with my life and all that we have! Our little stewardship gives me such joy- we have all the necessities of life and much more. Most of all, there is an undeniable love in our home- even though we aren't perfect and aren't perfectly nice to each other all the time- there is no doubt that we love each other. The other day I went to the Elementary school to help- and as I left Cynthia shouted out- "Bye mom, I love you!!" We say this to each other every time we part ways, so although it did warm my heart as it always does, I didn't think that much of it. Another parent was nearby and she said- isn't it wonderful when they say that! It made me realize how grateful I am that we do express love often to each other- - I want so much for my children to know how deeply I truly love them, despite my weaknesses as a parent! Even little Lillian is starting to say it and it is inexpressible how much joy that brings. I also truly enjoy a marriage that is becoming harder and harder to find in the world. Jon is truly still the love of my life- we have built a wonderful and close life together for the last 10 ½ years. I know it is because we have strived to live a virtuous life that we have this kind of wonderful relationship. Being in the medical field, Jon has seen how unusual it is for a couple like us to exist- where we each have only ever been intimate with one person- each other- and only in marriage. I am so grateful for the teachings of the gospel when I was a youth!!! The most wonderful thing about the Gospel is the atoning blood of Jesus Christ - - so even though we aren't perfect- we can strive for it and the Atonement makes us the difference.

Some of my other favorite talks so far were about Hope in adversity, simplifying to relieve stress, and unity in the gospel in our homes and wards (this made me think of the friendships I have shared in my life and the unity of purpose and love we shared). There still is the afternoon session to go- and I am so grateful that I have taken the time to really listen this time. It seems that I usually miss a session or two (especially Saturday) and plan to watch it or read it later, but never quite get around to all of it. I am truly realizing what I was missing and hope to do better in the future- because the renewed happiness gained this weekend is too precious to be lost.

Happy Birthday Jon!

We celebrated Jon's 33rd birthday by going out to lunch, and later enjoying strawberry shortcakes as a family. As the wonderful husband he is, Jon let me go to Danae's baby shower that night - - wow- what a guy!! We did go out on a date while we were in Spokane- we saw "Eagle Ege"- an awesome movie, by the way. So- happy birthday again to the love of my life! I feel so blessed to be married to a man who loves me and our children, and loves the Lord. We have such a good life together. (Now we just need to kick that horrible cold you are fighting!)

Twice Apon a Time . . .

Last night I had the privelege of going to Danae's baby shower in Sunnyside- she is having twin girls!! It was a wonderful shower- of course- those Sunnyside people sure know how to throw a party!!! I loved the cinderella theme . . .

Congratulations Danae!! We are all there for you! Thanks for being such a great friend!

Jenna and Deric- Wedding Day!!

Friday September 26th was another amazing day for our family- Jon's youngest sister got married in the Spokane Temple to Deric Molner- - now she is Mrs. Molner! The ceremony was so beautiful, and the reception was gorgeous!


Setting up for the reception (we were there from 9pm to 1am Thursday night!!)




I needed a midnight snack- the centerpieces sure tasted good!
(her colors were brown and green- the table center pieces were trifle bowls with granny smith apples- - it looked so cool!)

Wedding day:

our family all dressed up!




The happy couple!!




The young nieces and nephews in attendence- aren't they adorable all dressed alike!




The wedding party- I love the colors.




Jon and me- we love the Spokane Temple!



Jenna's reception was great. I especially loved how kid friendly it was- she had a special kids table covered with butcher paper, so they could color, and kid friendly food nearby. My kids especially loved the candy buffet- people could take a little box and fill it with whatever candy they wanted as a favor. You can only imagine how much fun the kids (and adults) had with that! The food was great too. I especially enjoyed watching everyone dance - the kids had a ball.








It was a long day . . . but wonderful!


We had a really fun weekend visiting with family- the kids always love seeing their cousins!




Grandma and Grandpa and their grandchildren!


I just had to finish with this picture of Lillian eating leftover wedding cake - - mmmmm!