First Day of School

My thoughts as we got ready to go to preschool:

• Which shirt should I have him wear?
• We are biking over there so I can't gel his hair because the helmet will mess it up anyway. Oh well.
• I hope he remembers to close the door if he uses the bathroom and I hope he remembers to pull up his pants before he comes out.
• It will be so much fun to hear what he has learned and to reinforce it at home.
• I hope he chews his food OK. What if he pukes?
• Is this backpack too big? I hope not.
  
• Marie is going to love having alone time with me.
• Is he going to keep his hands to himself?
• Will he be able to sit in his chair?
• Will he listen?

After we arrived I unbuckled him, put his backpack on and told him to go up the stairs. Off he went. He didn't even look back. This was no surprise, really. He has always been this way. Daycare. Nursery. Primary. Babysitters. See ya later, Mom!

William's reply to "What did you do in preschool today, William?"

• When the bell rang we had to stop playing with toys and had a snack.
• Snack was animal crackers and water.
• I didn't learn any letters or numbers, Mommy. (He really did. He just told me he didn't because I told him he would.)
  

Typical boy. He was there for 2 1/2 hours. I could have handled a 2 1/2 minute description, at least, 2 1/2 seconds wasn't nearly long enough.

Miss Michelle's reaction to William:

• He has a lot of energy. A lot of energy.

Yep. I could have told you that, honey. (Thankfully, she passed my "interview" back in May and proved to be the best candidate to reign in that energy a bit. She'll do great!)

The best part of the day:

• The smile on his face when I came to pick him up. It reassured me that I am still the center of his universe. For now.

Be A Star!

We had a party last week to celebrate the beginning of an new era in our life as a family. With William entering preschool we have begun The School Era. I know that sometimes I will love it and other times I will hate it. I will curse it and I will celebrate it. But no matter what I can't help but be excited about it!

For me, as a child, First Day of School Eve was the second most exciting day of the year (second to Christmas Eve, of course). I loved the anticipation of meeting my new teacher and finding out where I sat. I pondered the perfect outfit (which was always a dress), made a delicious lunch, and carefully set out my backpack. I drooled over my new school supplies and anticipated using them with such joy! *sigh* It makes me want to be a 3rd grader again just thinking about it. That being said, it only makes sense that we turn First Day of School Eve into a night to celebrate, right? Of course right. (Thanks to Nie for the inspiration.)


William was the giddy guest of honor. The feast included his favorites; pretzel wrapped hot dogs, apples, and carrots.

The carrots aren't his favorite, but I always throw a couple on his plate in hopes that one day he will eat them. Actually, that night I do believe we got him to eat one little tiny carrot drenched in Ranch.

And because pretzels are really only good the first day (therefore we had to use the dough), dessert was monogram cinnamon sugar pretzels. Let's not talk about how many carbs were consumed that night, K? Thanks.

The meal was followed by a couple of character building games that had great potential, but with a 3 and 1 year old ended up being complete flops, so we aren't going to dwell on them. Then we moved on to the grand finale of the night.

A father's blessing from Brandon to William. The highlight of the night, for sure.

It's going to be a good school year. It's going to be a good school era.

Triathlon

We swam.

We biked.

We ran.

And do you know what? It was a lot easier than I expected.
I am so doing it again next year.

Our Pause

Our "pause" to celebrate our anniversary was an overnight getaway. It went so fast and was in the middle of so much other stuff going on that it felt more like a blink.

Thanks to a great discount through the Base, we stayed in the Rich's Drive-In room at the Anniversary Inn in Logan.

Our typical Friday night date consists of a Redbox movie, popcorn, and treats so we thought it would be fun to celebrate our anniversary with the ultimate Friday night date. The Inn provided so many treats. Oh my. I think I am still full from everything we ate. My favorite was breakfast in the morning. Yum.

Before heading home we went to the Logan temple. In addition to doing a session, I was also excited to pay a visit to the spot where Brandon proposed to me. Imagine our surprise and disappointment when we discovered that our spot now looks like this --

It totally reminded us of our wedding day. Half of the enormous lawn in front of the Los Angeles temple was torn up. Good times.

Thanks for the quick pause with me, honey! Love you!

Come to the Temple

Brandon and I have never bought gifts for each other for our anniversary. For us it is the time spent together that is a gift. We cherish the chance we have to pause and remember that beautiful day when we knelt across a sacred altar and promised ourselves to each other and to our Heavenly Father for eternity.

Which is why I was thrilled when a couple of friends of mine inspired me this year with fantastic ideas to celebrate our wedding anniversary not just as a couple, but also as a family. (Thanks Jill and Megan! Their blogs are private, or I would share the link.)

For the month leading up to the big day we had family home evening lessons that centered around the temple. The favorite activity was building a play dough version of "our" temple. We've pulled out the play dough more frequently since then and Marie quickly sticks a plastic fork in a chunk of it and cries, "Temp-o!"

(You can thank the blinking light on the camera for this picture.
I still can't believe both kids are looking and smiling!)

The last Monday before our anniversary we went up to our closest temple and shared with the kids our love of the temple and its importance in our lives. Being the realist that I am, I must point out that this part took about 30 seconds. The rest of the visit consisted of keeping them from falling into the empty fountain, empty because the temple itself was closed for cleaning at the time.

After saving their lives multiple times we left the temple grounds and paid a visit to an ice cream shop to consume some unnecessary but delicious calories.(Can you say huckleberry ice cream?)

When William said his prayers that night he said, "Thank you for going to see the temple today." We were pleasantly surprised that he didn't express his gratitude for the ice cream instead.

Since that beautiful day five years ago we feel humbled that we have been given the opportunity to share the truths of the Gospel with two of Heavenly Father's choice spirits. I love that these chosen spirits were placed in my arms to usher through this life. I love that William and Marie are old enough to comprehend, even in a small part, what the temple is. And I love this stage in my family's life when we get to determine and establish traditions that will be the foundation on which their lives are built. A foundation which will point them towards the temple and towards the Gospel.

I foresee this tradition definitely making it on my top ten list. I am definitely looking forward to an eternity of August trips to the temple (and I wouldn't mind a bit more ice cream either).

I Am Mother, Hear Me Roar

Read this.

Just Keep Swimming!

Despite a busy summer I managed to squeeze swimming lessons in just in time! It was the last session at the pool.

The verdict on how they went is complicated, but to put it simply --

From a former swim instructor's viewpoint I was not impressed with the management of the pool, the organization of the lessons, or the lead teacher's enthusiasm.

From a mother's standpoint I was pleased with the progress that William made and loved how much he looked forward to lessons each day. He would literally shake with excitement as he walked toward the pool. That alone made it worth every penny.

William has now informed us that when he grows up he wants to be a swim lesson teacher. That is why I will do it again. I'm thinking maybe in January when we are all tired of being in the house. (As much as I hate indoor pools, that is a definite benefit they provide, year round swimming lessons!)

Doing "superman glides". I'm pretty sure this guy is the reason William loved the lessons.

Playing "Bubble Gum"

Bubble, bubble, bubble,

POP!

the devoted spectator

Bubbles with the kickboard.
They should have been encouraging him to put his eyes in the water. Just saying ...

He was splashing the teachers so they "attacked". That smile is just priceless!

William Ate This!

By now you know the profound meaning behind those three words, right?

Cheesy Zucchini Boats -- Although we liked the ground beef version I made last week better (which William also ate), these are worth mentioning because William had 3 helpings! (He only ate the filling, but whatever, good enough for me.)

Renaissance of Tuna Casserole -- I will never make the cream of chicken/potato chip tuna casserole again. This was so fast and both of my kids practically inhaled it! (Note: If you make this, I think I almost tripled the amount of sauce. The original recipe does not make nearly enough.)

North African Meatballs -- Don't let all the ingredients scare you. I had pretty much everything in my pantry. This recipe comes together fairly fast and the combination of flavors was new and refreshing. I did not make the couscous. I just served the meatballs over brown rice.

Our Fifth Year

Our Fifth Year

We lived .... here!
Brandon .... became a shining star at work. Most Valued Employee for sure! (Good thing Bethany is writing this, he would never say that about himself.) His evenings and weekends were filled with maintaining the lawn and the house. Building the garden and sandbox were two of his favorite projects.
Bethany .... loved being at home with the kids, even on the rough days. She spent her precious free moments with blogging, crafting, sewing, and cooking. She also took advantage of the 2-3 times a week that she was able to head to the gym. Her favorite day of the week was Friday. Friday was date night with Brandon. Date night usually consisted of popcorn and a Redbox movie in the living room.
William .... turned 3. His obsession with cars, trains, trucks, tractors, etc. was as strong as ever. His greatest accomplishment this year was overcoming his textural difficulties and finally broadening his diet.
Marie .... turned 1. She took her first steps and hasn't slowed down since. She had to work pretty hard to keep up with her brother, but somehow managed. Her greatest accomplishment? Growing hair.
Memorable moments ....

• Marie has enough hair for pigtails
• trip to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa P.
• Marie takes her first steps
• Bethany spends a weekend in Rexburg with Sara
• Marie's first birthday
• P. family gathering at "the farm"
• Thanksgiving in Vernal
• Ashley and Mike's wedding (Brandon's sister)
  
• Christmas in California -- despite the fact that William puked 9 days in a row, Brandon got a 24-hour stomach bug, and Marie got RSV it was a wonderful trip! Seriously.
• seeing "Wicked" finally!
  
• William's 3rd birthday
• Marie's first haircut
• Celine Dion concert
  
• We have a red kitchen!
• April trip to California
• 4th of July trip to Vernal
• William's first talk

And the video? Coming soon to a blog near you (or perhaps just facebook). By soon, I mean before our 6th year is over.

Our Fourth Year

Our Fourth Year

We lived .... here!
Brandon .... was a hard working electrical engineering maniac! His favorite job perk? Three hours of fitness leave a week.
Bethany .... was very quickly falling in love with being a stay at home mom, even with the challenges that a toddler and a newborn will inevitably present.
William .... took to being a big brother quite fabulously.
Marie .... did not take to being a baby too fabulously, but made up for her fussiness with a plethora of cuteness.

Memorable moments ....

• trip to the zoo
• Marie is born!
• Thanksgiving at the farm
• Marie's blessing -- almost 30 people in our little house, talk about a party!
  
• Christmas in Vernal, Marie's first Christmas
• a very tough winter full of cold, snow, PPD, fussy baby, and a stir crazy toddler (not a fun memory, but a still a memory)
• trip to California in April for Rachel's senior recital (Bethany's sister)
• trip to California in June for Rachel's wedding
• lots of time with cousins
  
• family pictures on the beach
• 4th of July in Vernal
• hiking Mt. Timpanogos, this time we made it to the top!

So, about the video. The file is too large for Blogger. At is lowest quality it is 135 MB and Blogger only takes 100 MB. I looked at uploading it onto Soapbox which is Microsoft's version of youtube. It's file size max is also 100MB. Youtube has a 10 minute max and the video is about 13 minutes long. If you are friends with me or Brandon on facebook, you can view it there because I know you are just dying to spend 13 minutes of your life watching my picture slideshow. I would really love to have the video itself on Blogger though. Anyone have any tips or tricks they can suggest?

Our Fourth Year...

... is having technical difficulties. The current file is too large to upload onto Blogger. Plus, Brandon and I are heading up to Logan to celebrate in just a couple of hours. We are leaving the kids for 24 hours, I have a lot to do, blogging not being the top of the priority list.

I know you are just going to be biting your nails waiting to see the video, but you will probably have to wait until Sunday.

Much love!

*muah*

Our Third Year

Our Third Year

We lived in .... Logan until May. Then we made the big move to our new home in Clinton. Yay!
Brandon .... graduated in Electrical Engineering in December. Yippee! In January he began working at the Base. He commuted from Logan for 5 months. What a trooper.
Bethany .... decided to finish out her third school year instead of ending in December when Brandon graduated. This resulted in both of them working full-time for 5 months. She was so grateful to officially become a stay at home mom when the school year ended.
William .... a social bug that loved playing at his babysitter's house. He also charmed his parents with his cuteness every single day.
Memorable moments ....

• lots of firsts for William --- first Halloween, first haircut, first T-day, first Christmas, first birthday, first steps
• Brandon graduates!
  
• trip to Disneyland on William's birthday
• positive pregnancy test!
• house hunting and the excitement of finally finding just the right one
• moving to our new house
• ultrasound to find out It's a Girl! (Grandma S. and Ashley were there!!)
• trip to California, getaway to Santa Barbara
• July trip to Vernal, swimming in Red Fleet
  

The Indulgence Continues: Our Second Year

The Second Year

We lived in .... Logan. We upgraded from our cinderblock apartment to a townhouse.
Brandon was .... very grateful to check his junior year off his list. That is a tough year for an engineering major! The light at the end of the tunnel was getting brighter. In the midst of all this he still managed to be the most supportive husband this side of the Milky Way.
Bethany was .... splitting her time as a teacher between two campuses which meant 8 concerts that school year. Phew! Add to that pregnancy, maternity leave, and then being a working mother and life was pretty crazy. Food Network and TLC were no longer a part of her vocabulary.
Memorable moments...

• ultrasound to find out that it's a boy! (Grandma and Great-Grandma got to be there, too!)
• Bethany flies to California to visit family and to be spoiled at a baby shower thrown by her mother and sisters
• Christmas in Logan, just the two (almost three) of us
• William joins our family!
• William's baby blessing ... William gets to meet lots of new people
  
• June visit to Vernal
• 4th of July trip to California
• William gets to meet his cousins
• Marc (Brandon's brother) and Eliza get married
  

The Countdown is On ....

On Friday Brandon and I will celebrate 5 years of marriage. In honor of this monumental event I am indulging myself with a little jaunt down memory lane, starting with our first year.

The First Year

We lived in .... Logan.
Brandon was .... going to school at USU, in his Junior year. He also tutored math on campus. He was busy, busy, busy.
Bethany was .... began her first year of teaching elementary school music a week after the wedding. When she wasn't teaching or lesson planning, Bethany became addicted to Food Network and TLC due to her husband's crazy schedule.
Memorable moments ....

• honeymoon in Monterey
  
• our first meal in our first apartment was McDonalds breakfast. We sat on the floor and ate because we didn't have a table yet.
  
• first Christmas in Vernal
• New Years in California, spending the night on Colorado Blvd and watching the Rose Parade the next morning
• positive pregnancy test!
• family reunion in Lehi ... announcing we were pregnant to Brandon's family (We were pretty sure my MIL was going to hyperventilate, she was so excited.)
  
• family reunion in Durango ... announcing we were pregnant to my family (My Dad walked over to Brandon, patted him on the back and said, "I guess this is where we go out and get a beer.")
• hiking Mt. Timpanogos, almost. There was too much snow to get all the way up to the saddle.
  

A Goon!

We work quite a bit with William on pronouncing his L's. Using the tip of your tongue against your teeth is hard work for a little 3-year-old. Therefore, saying Lagoon (our local amusement park) is a bit tricky for him. He always ends up leaving out the L. So, a couple of weeks ago, we took a trip with Brandon's family to A Goon! Yippee! I love my sweet boy and his William-ese.

William played the role of big brother well, and very willingly allowed Marie to share the rides with him. This ride would be "The Cars That Don't Bump," not to be confused with the Bumper Cars.

William's new obsession came out with this ride. "The Planes With Guns." Don't you love the matter of fact names he gives the rides? Guns, guns, guns ... I'd rather he just stick to planes, trains,and automobiles, personally.

And this ride? This was our valiant effort to get him to ride something a bit more thrilling. As you can see, he wasn't too thrilled and didn't end up riding it.

Another highlight of the day, not pictured, was in the water park area. The Lazy River is the perfect place to spend the 2 hottest hours of the day, if you ask me.

All in all, it was a typical fun day at an amusement park. The kids did fabulously well being thrown off their routines and Brandon and I loved having a day together. Now I am really excited for Disneyland in a few weeks.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa S for taking us! Until next year!

Good Eats

My triumphant William-actually-eats-something-besides-processed-food posts have been lacking lately. I guess it is because he is on a bit of a plateau. That's not to say that he isn't eating tremendously better than say, this time last year, he just hasn't made a ton of progress. Which isn't really disappointing because at this point he could actually be on the chart for how a "normal" three-year-old eats. Most important quality, he can actually chew his food.

So, in honor of my sweet boy who allows me to try new recipes without having to think of a second menu just for him, let me share some of our favorite recipes of late. Recipes that the whole family will eat. I will never cease to be grateful for nights when we can all sit down to the same meal and everybody eats. Never.

Recipe #1:

Picture taken from allrecipes.com.

Not really a meal, just yet another zucchini recipe to accompany the plethora that are gracing the blogging world right now. I, personally, don't go crazy for zucchini bread. It's just, eh, for me. I find myself trying anything but bread to use up my abundance of zucchini. Enter zucchini muffins. Super Duper Zucchini Muffins, even. I am providing the link and my revised version of the recipe below.(P.S. I love that muffins bake in 20 minutes, as opposed to the hour that bread usually takes. I hate waiting an hour+ to try my creation.)

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sour milk
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
  
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• brown sugar for tops
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a muffin pan, or use paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, eggs, zucchini, honey, yogurt, and vanilla. Fill muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full. (I found that this makes enough batter to fill the muffin cups to the top. This isn't really a problem you just have super duper muffin tops.) Sprinkle tops with brown sugar.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool. (Or not. I didn't.)

Recipe #2

The best burger I have ever had. Hands down. It's flavorful and juicy. The pesto in it is delicious. The home grown tomatoes couldn't have hurt, either.

Basil Chicken Burgers

Changes: ground turkey instead of ground chicken; it gives you the option of cheddar or parmesan and I chose parmesan

My mouth is watering just writing this. Yum.

Recipe #3

Rachael Ray calls this French Bread Pizza. We disagree. We call it ham and cheese sandwiches. I know, our creativity is astounding. William practically inhales this dinner. We have repeated this recipe more times the past two months then I have repeated any other recipe this entire year.

Changes: the recipe includes a salad, I haven't made that, I just serve it with carrot sticks and apple slices on the side; use black forest ham, for your own good; I have never used Gruyere cheese, too expensive, monterey jack or mozzarella are both delicious

Recipe #4

Paula Deen's name: Omelette for a Crowd
Our name: Eggs in a Bag (There goes our creativity again!)

We made these for dinner last night. William devoured them. He asked for eggs for breakfast this morning, instead of pancakes. Enough said.

William's First Talk

This one's for you, Grandma and Grandpa.

(Don't be fooled, those aren't blocks in his hand. That, my friends, is an HD microphone.)

THE TEXT
The temple is the house of the Lord.

My family can be together forever through the blessings of the temple.

Matthew 16:19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

We serve others through temple work.

Temples bless Heavenly Father's children throughout the world today.

When Jesus comes again, He will come to the temple.

I am thankful for temple blessings and my family.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Marie-esque: Her First Prayer

Often heard:

• when someone else is praying
• when she sees somebody folding his/her arms

"Heh fader
Day
a-MEN!"