The way Christmas is supposed to be...

Dillon had a bad morning. He didn't want to play with his toys because he wanted his room to stay clean for Christmas (Santa doesn't come to a messy house, you know). I told him I'd help him clean up his toys, but it wasn't enough.

He was so emotional, and lonely, that he started to cry. I had him sit in my lap and we rocked like we did when he was little.

We started talking about the gingerbread man that disappeared from his kindergarten class. Aunt Melece and Grandma Graves have both seen him where they live. I told him that maybe we could make a gingerbread man someday, and he looked at me and said, "But it will run away!"

I told him that not all gingerbread men run away, and then I took the opportunity to prove it.

I'm so glad I did.

I looked up a recipe online, and discovered that I had exactly the 1/2 cup of molasses that we needed, as well as all the spices. We hurried to make the dough so it could refrigerate for an hour and still leave us enough time to bake and decorate cookies before afternoon kindergarten. (We did take time to smell the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, molasses, and vanilla as we added them). Dillon decided that molasses smells just like Rico's doggy treats. I think gingerbread tastes just like Rico's doggy treats...

We considered taping the refrigerator door closed, so that the dough wouldn't run away, but Dillon used his thinking cap and determined that dough doesn't have legs, so it wouldn't be able to run.

He did, however, sit right by the oven the entire time they were baking to make sure that none of them got away.

(Does anyone know how to clean the crud off of the inside of my oven door? I've heard you shouldn't use oven cleaner in a self-cleaning oven, but the "self-cleaning" feature doesn't do such a great job on the window...)

By a tender mercy from heaven, I came home from Walmart yesterday with a bag of gingerbread marshmallows. I don't even like ginger, or marshmallows, but for some reason I saw them and instinctively put them in my cart. Dillon was thrilled and they were the perfect addition to our little celebration.
Dillon and I had a nice little party together (he ate gingerbread cookies, while I took pictures of them :o). The baby slept the entire time (another tender mercy) and I was able to give Dillon the one-on-one time he needed.

This is the way Christmas is supposed to be.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I thought I would take a moment while my boys are "otherwise engaged" (with sleeping, football, and the Wii), to acknowledge my many blessings. I'm not going to make a list, as it could go on all day, but it's been a good year for us. I'm grateful to have a few quiet moments to ponder all that I've been given.

We were on our own for Thanksgiving this year, since Todd is on-call this week. I've spent 10-12 hours in the kitchen over the past two days, and it took a whopping 15 minutes to inhale our meal!

Todd had to work all morning, but I managed to have almost everything ready by the time he got home. The boys helped peel the potatoes (until two of them peeled their knuckles), and Todd mashed them. Our gravy was the perfect consistency (only took 12 years to get it right), the turkey was moist and oh-so-good, and I found a great use for our over-abundance of parsnips (the white "flowers" garnishing the turkey).

I was talking to Vanessa this morning, and we both commented how every Thanksgiving we have forgotten how we did things the last time. Because of that, I'm going to write down all the boring details for my own future reference. Maybe one day I'll be able to pull off a Thanksgiving meal without calling my Dad 42 times.

I made Maple-Roasted Turkey with Sage, Smoked Bacon, and Cornbread Stuffing. The grocery store didn't have fresh sage, so I used dried. I had a 13 pound turkey, and put it in the fridge to thaw on Sunday night. I probably should've taken it out on Saturday night. I followed the directions in the recipe, even though I was afraid the turkey would be dry without foil or an oven-bag. I basted it every 30 minutes, and it was every bit as moist as the ones I've done in a bag. It baked for about 3 1/2 hours at 350 degrees (did NOT stuff the bird).

I used my favorite cornbread recipe for the stuffing. I should've cut the sugar in half (or more) since you really don't need it for stuffing, but it was good anyway :o) I added celery and mushrooms to the onions, and sauteed all in sage butter. I sprinkled 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder over the dry ingredients before mixing it up to make it fluffier.

I cooked and sliced the yams yesterday, and re-heated them today with butter and brown sugar, before toasting marshmallows on top. I made them in a round dish like Grandma does, 'cause that's just how yams are supposed to be. I can't even fathom them in a square dish...

I made the fresh cranberry sauce yesterday. It was Dillon's favorite part of the meal. I didn't add the cinnamon or cloves because "the mood didn't move me". I think I like the recipe I used a few years ago better...but I have no idea where to find it.

I made the World's Best Dinner Rolls, and they were good, but not as light and fluffy as I expected. I'll try them again, but if they aren't "the best", then I'll move on to a new recipe. It's probably just me. Or the altitude. Or the weather. I've had lots of issues with bread making lately.

I made Aunt Anita's famous Orange Jello last night as well. It takes one large box of orange Jell0, and one large box of COOKED lemon pudding (not instant). You make each one according to the package directions, leaving 1 of the cups of COLD water OUT of the Jello. Then you whisk the Jello and Pudding together and refrigerate.

For dessert, after everyone has finished digesting, we'll be having this Pumpkin Roll. I changed the servings to 15 and re-calculated the ingredient list to make it in my large baking sheet rather than a 9x13 pan. It ended up being just the right amount. I made this a few weeks ago and the kids all loved it. I nearly made this Pumpkin Cream Trifle today, but Todd wasn't feeling brave enough. I have leftover pumpkin so I'll be making this in the next day or so and I'll try to remember to give a review.

I wish I would've made the pumpkin roll yesterday, but there wasn't room in my fridge until I had the turkey in the oven. I was in the kitchen yesterday from about 6:00-10:30 PM, and from 9:00-2:30 today. I think if I had to cut something out next time, it would be the homemade rolls. They took up a lot of space, time, and dishes. If only Dad's bakery were closer...

The Winners

Thank you all for your help with Dinner Campaign 2010. We had a great time, and the boys are already thinking about their nominations for next year.

Our final ballot consisted of the top two (three if there was a tie) choices in each category, and the winners were:

Salisbury steak, glazed carrots, egg nog...

...and "Our Favorite Chocolate Cake".

Who won the election?

We all did.

Our Favorite Chocolate Cake

1 pkg. Devil's Food cake mix (is there any other kind?)

4 oz. instant chocolate pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup warm water

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1/2 cup oil

12 oz. bag MILK chocolate chips

Grease and flour your bundt pan. Say the word "bundt" a few times (the way they say it on Big Fat Greek Wedding), tell your kids they can't lick the beaters 'cause there's raw eggs in the batter. Bake at 350 degree's for 45 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes, slide a small rubber spatula down the sides, and dump onto your favorite plate. No frosting needed. Enjoy!

Halloween 2010

Halloween on Saturday is a terrible idea.

Our trunk-or-treat started at 5:00,

which means that we had about 10 hours worth of time to kill today.

So, we filled up the time with work :o).

Todd rented a splitter, and he and the boys split all our wood for the winter.

They were good helpers, and when the work was done

we had a Halloween "linner".

I made this pizza with strips of ham for the web, and olives for spiders.

I wrapped water bottles with adhesive tape and added googly eyes for mummies.

And then I used cheese sticks to make some mini mummy pizza's.

And I added almonds to the breadsticks for "witch fingers".

(In the background you can see me and Todd's "normal" veggie pizza)

After lunch, the boys played while I worked on my blog book. I "slurped it up" with Blurb last week, and it was 800 pages long! I am slowly combining and cutting posts to try to get it down to 400 pages before I have it printed. It's been fun to review the last four years. I can't believe how many incidents I have forgotten--I'm so glad I wrote them down!

After what seemed like an eternity (for kids AND parents)

we FINALLY went trick-or-treating.

Then we came home and had hot chocolate.

Now I think I feel a movie night coming on...

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

When Dillon was a baby, I bought some black fleece to make a spider hat.

I finally made it...today. It only took me five years. I started it at 10:15 this morning, and Justin wore it to the costume parade at the elementary school at 11:00 (minus the eyes).

One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had made a little fleece jacket as well.

I only had to call my mom once. And my friend Marsha once. And Mike at Bernina once. It's been YEARS since I tried to do a buttonhole, and my machine was giving me fits, but I finally got it to work.

I ran out of fleece before I was able to make pants, but luckily Andrea gave me all of her son's baby clothes before she moved, and there were some black sweatpants included. I found some red felt, and...

...sewed an hourglass on his bum!

(I know it's supposed to be on the underside, but I thought it was cuter on his bum)

Brayden is 10!

We realized yesterday that if Brayden had been born two days earlier, he would've turned 10 on 10/10/10. So close...

I can't believe I'm old enough to have a ten year old. My, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to stay awake at night to feed my new baby (actually, that did happen yesterday...but it was a different baby).

I used to feed Brayden in the livingroom at "the little house" and I would turn the radio on to help me stay awake. There was a song by Kenny Chesney that was really popular at that time, and it often played while I was feeding him. To this day, EVERY time I hear that song, it instantly takes me back to that time when I was a new mother, feeding my baby in the night. I'm adding it to the top of my playlist if you want to hear it, although the words have absolutely nothing to do with motherhood or a new baby.

It will always be one of my favorite songs, just because of the feelings and memories that I have when I hear it.

Brayden chose "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" for his birthday theme this year. I didn't get a very good picture of it, but I hung caramel popcorn balls (meatballs) and play food from the ceiling with fishing line so we could have food "raining" on us.

These spaghetti and meatball cupcakes were by far the easiest birthday cake I've ever made. I just used a frosting tip for the spaghetti, added some food coloring to our strawberry jam to make it look like sauce, and used Reese's Puffs cereal for the meatballs.

Then I rolled no-bake cookies into meatballs
And I made fried egg candy with pretzels, white chocolate chips, and M&M's.
For dinner we had a giant hamburger, and "Sunset Jell-O". Thanks Dad, for your help with the hamburger bun. It doesn't look that great, but it tasted good! (the first one I made looked better, but I cooked it a little too long). The Jell-O was supposed to be yellow. I bought three boxes of "island pineapple", but the recipe for Jiggler's called for four boxes, so I added a box of orange since the store was closed and that's all I had on hand.
Nate and Erin came IN COSTUME, which I absolutely loved. Erin wore an awesome unibrow to be Mr. Lockwood. Nate is Steve, the monkey thought translator. Jackie is Sam Sparks, the meteorologist, and Billy is none other than BABY BRENT (holding a can of sardines). Have I mentioned that I love having family here?
And here's the birthday boy hiding behind his loot. He got the Chronicles of Narnia, a Lego Hero Factory guy, a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book/journal, two hexbug nano's (so they can race), his new Webelos book and accessories, an official cub scout pocketknife, a Star Wars music CD, some money from Grandma Great, and some of those silly rubber bands that have taken over the world. He also got a new shirt, which isn't pictured.
Fun facts about Brayden:

-he loves to read

-he knows the scriptures stories better than his Mom. (The other day, Caleb asked me who Amlici was, and Brayden filled him in while I was trying to remember).

-his favorite school subject is Science

-his favorite color is yellow

-his favorite soda is Sprite

-his favorite ice cream is Vanilla

-he has slept with his favorite afghan since he was a baby, but ever since he left it at Grandma's house a few weeks ago, he has done just fine without it.

-he eats as much as his parents...sometimes more. I'm pretty sure if we let him, he'd be able to eat an entire box of cereal in two meals.

-he is growing WAY too fast.

We love you, Brayden!

Justin's Blessing Day

Justin was blessed last Sunday, September 19th, in my Mom and Dad's ward.

I am amazed at how many family members were there to support us. Todd's Mom was there from Washington, and two of his siblings who live in Cache Valley. Grandma and Papa were there, even though Grandma had surgery the week that Justin was born. All of my Dad's siblings were there, and both of my Mom's sisters and their husbands. Several of my cousins (on both sides) came as well. I don't think I had seen my cousin Cade since Thanksgiving 2005!

Thank you to all of our family who were able to be there.

It means so much to us.

Brayden, Caleb, and Dillon were all blessed in a white tux with tails. I wanted to do something different this time, so Justin got this simple little knit romper. Todd thought it was a bit "girly" but I loved keeping him "little". No big boy clothes for this baby...

Oh how we love this little boy!

Todd and I argue every Sunday over who gets to

keep him during Priesthood/RS meeting.

Four generations.

I wish we'd have taken one of these with my mom and Grandma/Papa,

but I didn't think of it until they'd already gone.

Todd's family

Our boys couldn't be bothered with another picture, but Lydia was happy to join us!

I don't get to see Grandma and Papa enough.

I'm so glad they were able to make it.

Our family of SIX!

Carrie's shower

On Saturday, I got to attend a baby shower for my sis-in-law, Carrie. This baby has been a long time coming and we are thrilled to welcome him or her to the family in early November.

I feel blessed to have such wonderful, talented sisters.

They are great examples to me.

My sister, Charlotte, was in charge of the activity. She designed logos/sayings and printed them on T-shirt transfers to iron onto onesies. I wish I had pictures of all of them because they turned out SO cute! Both Carrie and my brother Ben have degree's in music, so the onesies all had a musical theme.

And here are our husbands...who went shooting after the shower.

You make me smile

Today is our 12th anniversary. We aren't doing anything extraordinary since we have a newborn, and because we got a week and a half together in Cedar before Justin was born, but I put a few pictures together that show what a great guy I married...

Love you, Todd. Thank you for being you.

You're cooler than the flip-side of my pillow...

Justin Taggart (J.T.)

He's here!

I will have to write the labor story later, but wanted to post a few pics in the meantime. Todd sent a mass e-mail, but there are a lot of addresses we don't have in our laptop, so if you didn't get one, that's why.

He was born on 8/9/10 at 11 AM with lots of DARK hair.
So far he will take a pacifier (hooray!) and he's a very good baby. He hasn't cried since the delivery and just makes cute little squeaky noises throughout the day.
We're getting ready to take his "tags" off, so I guess we can't return him :o)

He's a keeper!

Happy Mother's Day!

My friend, Mindy, posted this quote on our Apron Girl's blog and I just loved it:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."


— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I am lucky enough to have TWO wonderful mother's, who not only give the kind of service that Sister Hinckley talked about, but they ALSO have expertly coiffed hair AND perfectly manicured fingernails :o)

I have a lot to live up to.

Today I want my Mom to know how thankful I am for her testimony of the gospel. I have spent a lot of time pondering what it is that my Mom "did right" in raising our family, and I truly believe that the most important thing she did for me, is to set the example of reading her scriptures and saying her personal prayers...every single day. Every morning, she would sit in her favorite chair and read her scriptures, and every night, she would lock herself in the bathroom (because it was the only place she could be alone), and pray.

Like the sons of Helaman, I can say "we do not doubt that our mother's knew it". When times were hard as a teenager, I always knew that my mom had an unwavering testimony, and she taught by example that turning to the Lord could help me through any trial.

Thank you, Mom, for your example. I hope that I can pass this legacy on, and that my children will someday be able to say, "we doubt not that our mother knew it".

I call my Mom nearly every day. I rarely have anything important to say, and our conversations are never long, but she is my friend, and I don't know what I'd do without her. Sometimes just hearing her voice makes the day go better.

One of the best parts of growing up and getting married, is to get ANOTHER mother. Today I want Linda to know how thankful I am for her example and friendship. One of the things that I admire most about her, is how interested she is (and has always been) in the lives of her kids' friends. They love her like they do their own mother! When we talk, she often asks about my friends, by name, and wants to know how they're doing. Her service is given daily, in just talking to people with a smile, and letting them know that they are loved.

I want to be like that. I want my kids to be able to bring their friends home and know that I care...and that I want them in our home.

Thank you, Linda, for your example. It will not come easily to me, but I hope that I can be a friend to my children's friends. Thank you for listening to me when you probably have better things to do. And thank you for raising such a wonderful son, who makes me happy, honors his priesthood, and respects me. I am thrilled to soon have four little boys, who can look up to their father's wonderful example. I will make sure they know the part that you played.

Great news!

I have family moving to our tiny town.

maybe you didn't hear me

I HAVE FAMILY MOVING TO OUR TOWN!

My cousin, Erin, and her family are gonna be our neighbors. Her husband, Nate, just accepted a job as the music teacher for our school district.

Can you tell I'm a little excited? The hardest part of living here, for me, has always been that we are so far from family (and Hobby Lobby), but now I have family here.

It's a good day.

No, It's a great day.

Congrats to Nate and Erin. I know Nate will do an awesome job with the music here, and I'm sure Erin will learn to love it like I have :o). It really is a wonderful place to raise a family...especially if you have your family near.

This picture of their family is outdated. They now have an adorable two week old baby boy, so our babies are going to be about 4 months apart! Oh, the fun we're gonna have...

Erin and I grew up in the same tiny town. With Grandma's house close. And cousin's close. And 5th Monday Family Home Evenings with the whole extended family. Around here you see the same thing. Everyone is related to everyone...except me...until now.

Goodness, it's a good day.

We're having a...

...nother boy!

Here's the proof:

Happy Birthday Todd!

Todd's birthday was yesterday, and I'm not gonna mince words. It was a flop. Luckily, he took it like a man.

Since we didn't take any pictures, I'm including this picture that shows what a fun Dad he is.

Our day started by discovering that there was a crack across the ENTIRE windshield of Todd's truck. After that, we discovered that Swimmy (one of Caleb's fish) passed on. Oh, and did I mention that there was no school? The poor guy didn't even get to enjoy some peace and quiet on his day off.

We spent the entire day mudding and taping sheetrock, and then when we realized we would need more corner tape and the local hardware store wouldn't get any in until Thursday, I made a "quick" trip to Home Depot (an hour away) to get more.

Todd and the boys stayed home, since Todd's friend was going to come help him tile around the stove, but we think he forgot because he didn't show up. I got home in time to throw some frozen Taquito's in the oven and open a can of applesauce for dinner. Wal-Mart only had carrot cakes left, which wouldn't do for Todd, so he didn't even get a cake. I DID manage to give him a cake MIX, but it's not quite the same.

Thank heavens our Netflix arrived, so after the kids went to bed we watched three episodes of Smallville, which turned out to be the highlight of the day.

Did I mention that it was also my brother's birthday? Happy Birthday Ben! I heard that his wife made him homemade stuffed shells, and triple chocolate cake with chocolate chips. I think we'll have to spend Todd's next birthday in CA with them...

Todd, I promise I'll make it up to you. You deserve it. Thank you for all the work you've done on our basement. It means so much to our family. Thank you for stepping up and doing the housework and laundry while I've been sick, and sleeping with 42 pillows on our bed. Thank you for playing monopoly with the boys yesterday, and for teaching them important things like how to light fires, and what it means to "pull your finger". They adore you...and so do I.

Dillon's 5th birthday

Dillon wanted a Hot Wheels birthday this year. Here are the boys coloring Hot Wheels pictures while we wait for the Grandparents to be ready to "Skype" with the webcam so they could watch him open his presents.

I had planned to borrow a horseshoe cake pan and put two cakes together to make a racetrack, but when my friend with the pan wasn't answering her phone all morning, I ended up ordering this cake from the grocery store. It cost more than the present we gave Dillon, but it was nice to not have to make a cake (I despise making birthday cakes). Plus, I hate all the thick nasty frosting they put on them at the bakery, so I wasn't even tempted to eat it and "waste" the calories :o)
We were supposed to have a mini-pinewood derby or a demolition derby (in a rubbermaid container full of dirt) to "win" the trophy and medals, but between Scouts, Basketball practice, and homework there wasn't any time for games. Dillon was thrilled with his trophy anyway. I had it made at a trophy shop and it only took 15 minutes and $6. Totally worth it to see the joy a five year old gets from a shiny piece of plastic. I also got a Hot Wheels movie from Netflix that we didn't have time to watch, so Dillon watched it the next day.

Caleb made this poster for Dillon. If you look closely, it says "Your Hot Dillon" in flames. I thought it was funny.

Grandma Graves got all my super boys a Superman shirt and they LOVE them. Todd's is faded on purpose ('cause I like it that way and I got to choose it). They'll come in handy at my Superman party in May :o).
The birthday boy blowing out the candles:
I can't believe my baby is five.