Family Pictures

We had the opportunity to have our family pictures taken a short time ago and I LOVE them! They turned out so great. There were a ton that I really liked, but here are a few of my favorites. I can't believe how big Logan is getting. It's crazy to think he'll be in kindergarten this next year.

This is our family...hoping to be more than 3 soon.

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Preparedness

So, I am all about emergency preparedness and over the past few years I have really tried to not only beef up my food storage but emergency supplies as well. On the top of my list last year was a Global Solar Oven. So, with LOTS and LOTS of research, I finally found the best solar oven available and for the best price as well.

After I ordered it and the box arrived on my doorstep, the solar oven was placed downstairs and I kind of forgot all about it. I recently had the opportunity to attend a solar oven cooking class at my local grocery store after which I was re-committed to using my solar oven. It's not only great to have and know how to use in case of an emergency, but it's great to cook with year around as well. You can cook with a solar oven as long as the sun is shining. So, a few weeks ago, I pulled my solar oven out of storage and used it for the 1st time. I was kind of low on prep time for a meal, so I threw in to a pot what I would normally throw into a crock pot for a Sunday meal after church (pork, potatoes, carrots, onion, carrots, cream of mushroom soup, etc...). So into the solar oven it went and a few hours later...ta da....dinner was served.

We were so excited to have dinner already done and to see how great the solar oven really worked, that we had to try it again the next day. So, after a few hours of cooking outside...dinner was served once again. This time I had made a chicken pot pie dish that I found online. So Yummy! I have yet to try to bake cookies or bread in the solar oven. However, if we have a nice sunny day anytime soon, I may make that my next quest.

This is a close up of the pot inside of the solar oven...cooking away by the SUN!

Anyway, I would never have thought I'd be so excited about cooking...especially in a solar oven. But, I couldn't tell you the relief and self of security I had when I actually cooked my first meal in the solar oven. It's just one more thing to help me feel prepared in case at any point in time I don't have the luxury and convenience of using my oven or microwave to cook meals for my family. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a LOT of use out of it in the summer time too. I don't know about you, but using my oven is the last thing I want to do when it's 100 degrees outside. I think I'll just let the sun do the cooking for me.

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Thanksgiving 2009

This year my parent's decided to come and visit us for Thanksgiving. Not only did my parent's come, but my brother with his wife and another brother with his fiance all came as well. They weren't going to be able to make it to our home until late Wednesday night, which meant I did all of the prep for the food by myself. I have made several turkey dinners in the past, but this was the first time I made EVERYTHING to go with it including; turkey, mashed potatoes, candied yams, pretzel jello salad, rolls, stuffing, gravy, and everything else. Oh, and dessert too. It was a busy few days getting ready and lots of baking, but oh so much fun! It was so great to have family here for a few days and to be able to enjoy time together.

Of course because we were hosting so many people this year and we didn't have enough room at our table, that gave us an excuse to buy a new dining room table which I've been wanting to get for some time now. It seats 8 people...which I LOVE! Since we were hosting dinner for a total of 8 adults and 1 child, we brought our breakfast table into the dining room which was perfect height for the dining room table, which gave us enough room for everyone. Aside from the yummy food, we had a great time visiting, playing guitar hero, visiting craft boutiques, movies, shopping and visiting Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. We also took Grandma and Grandpa to a nearby pond so we could take pictures of them. They turned out so cute. Logan enjoyed the extra attention from everyone and can't wait to visit with Grandma and Grandpa again when they come to visit a few days after Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Games after dinner

Logan jammin' on the guitar...look at his stance! That's my boy!

Video of the family playing Guitar Hero...so fun!

Temple Square...brr, it was cold!

Picture of Grandma and Grandpa

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Pumkin Pie the Hard Way

This year we had several pumpkins left over from Halloween. Logan and I were out shopping and so I purchased 3 pumpkins to carve for Halloween. Well, it just so happens that Kerry brought home 3 pumpkins on the exact same day to surprise Logan. So, we ended up with not 3, but 6 pumpkins this year...and they were all HUGE. Since we had so many pumpkins that weren't getting put to use, I decided to make Homemade Pumpkin Pie from scratch. I wish I could say it was easy and fun, but that was so not the case. The pies were delicious for sure, but wow...it was a lot of work. So, since it was so time consuming and took several hours in the kitchen, I thought it warranted it's very own post. I do have to say it is nice to have the extra pureed pumpkin in the freezer so we can pull it out whenever we'd like for pumpkin pancakes, pies or cookies. Yummy! So, here was the l-o-n-g process of making pumpkin pie from scratch! Warning...do not try this from home unless you have several hours of free time. hee hee.

So the first step was cutting the pumpkin into smaller
sections so they'll fit in a pot to steam.

The next step was to steam the cut sections of pumpkins
till they were soft which took about 30 min per batch.

After they were soft, I had to separate the pumpkin from the skin
and puree the pumpkin in the blender.

Once it was pureed, it looked like this...

After the pumpkin was pureed, I had to gather the right amount

of pumpkin puree and add the ingredients to make a pie. Once
it was in the pie shell, it was ready to bake. I had a few already made
pie crusts that I decided to use since it took so long to make the filling.

And, last but not least, the finished product baking in the oven. Delicious!

Overall we made a total of 7 pumpkin pies which was perfect since we were hosting Thanksgiving at our home this year. With all of the other food for Thanksgiving, there was barely room in the fridge for the pies. However, we managed to fit everything in. YEAH!

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Karate Tournament

We enrolled Logan in Karate since he's too young to play any other sports right now and he is very athletic. We thought we'd try it for a few months and see how it goes. So far everything is great! Logan is picking up on the moves super quick and is probably the best student in his class (ages 4-6). He practices twice a week for 30 minutes which is the perfect amount of time. It's not only been great for him, but it's been great for me since the weather is turning cold out and this gives him a chance to get some energy out as well. After the first few months of karate, the students were encouraged to enroll in the local tournament which is sponsored by Logan's Karate School and it encompasses all of their schools in the area...which is a lot. Logan was a little intimidated at first, but once he found out there was a medal involved, he was in! So, off to the tournament we went. He was able to show to the judges what is called "star block" and then he was done. After all of the kids in his group were finished, they were all awarded with a medal. Can I just say how excited we were for Logan and for the courage he had to get up and show his moves all by himself. Way to go LOGAN!!! When the judge awarded him with his medal, he was smiling from ear to ear.
Logan continues to work hard during class and is improving every day. We're excited to continue with his classes and to watch him progress. And, we're excited to have the opportunity to watch him participate in other sports when he's in kindergarten next year. He's already informed us that he wants to play football for sure, so we'll have to see about that one.

Here's also a few photos of his first test to advance from a white belt to a white belt with a yellow stripe. He was so excited to get a new belt and can't wait till he gets another one in a few months.

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Halloween 2009

This year for Halloween our costumes were kind of random and they didn't match at all. Kerry had to be Snake Eyes to fit into the theme with his department at work. Logan insisted on being Robin. And, I was so busy with other things that I didn't have a costume at all. Luckily, a friend of mine told me I couldn't go without a costume and so she lent me her sons baseball uniform. He played for BYU and was awesome! We spent the Friday before Halloween at my husbands work party and afterward took Logan to a Karate Halloween Party where there were bounce houses and games. Logan's favorite was the donut eating contest. On Saturday evening, which was Halloween, we spent the evening at Kerry's sister home for trick-or-treating and a family party. We had a delicious dinner, followed by games, crafts, and visiting. Overall we had a great Halloween and luckily this year it didn't snow. YEAH!!! Logan made out with a pretty good stash of candy, but luckily he's not that crazy about candy...unless it's chocolate. The chocolate was gone a long time ago, but he's still working on the other stuff.

The two pictures below are photos of a turret Kerry made for his work party. He is amazingly creative and can make or draw anything you ask him to do. His gun was so great and everyone loved it! He even made it so it would shoot out smoke. I know, I have a super creative husband...which is so not fair because all I can do is draw stick figures and that's about it. hee hee. Anyway, Happy Halloween!

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A Special Trip to CA

This past weekend, we headed to CA to visit my family. My oldest sister went through the Temple for the 1st time and we wanted to be there for her special day. Since we were just in CA less than 1 month ago, we decided this trip was going to have be a quick one. So, we packed up our things, arrived in CA on Thursday the 24th. Friday morning we had a Temple session at 9:45 am. There were several of us brothers and sisters and of course my mom and dad who were able to share this day together.

Kerry, My Brother & Dad

My Brother, Two Sisters & Me
(This picture makes me look short, but my sister with
the red hair is actually 6'1" and my brother is 6'7")

Afterwards we went out to lunch with those in the family who attended the Temple. Then we headed to another one of my sisters' home for a celebration party with family and friends. The food was delicious...Tri-Tip, Chili, Salads, Rolls, Chips & Salsa and of course Cake! My mom is such a GREAT cook! After the party we all headed to my nephews' football game. He is a Senior in High School this year and so it was fun to go and watch him play a game. Their team is ranked #1 and of course they won the game that night. My sister had a football T-Shirt for everyone to wear. Logan LOVED hanging out with his cousins and played with them the entire game.

Logan with 2 of his many cousins

Grandma & Grandpa enjoying the game

Kerry and I together!

The next day we were all tired from the previous day of events, and so since we were leaving that afternoon, we decided to hang out at my oldest sisters' home so we could visit and swim. It was definitely a short visit and the drive was long, but we had a great time and were happy to be there to share the special day with my sister.

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Graduating to a BIGGER Bike

A few months ago Logan learned how to ride his bicycle without training wheels and so we promised him a bigger bike. Well, his cousin in CA outgrew his bike and offered it to Logan. So, since we were just there this past week, we decided to bring it back with us. Of course once we got the bike home and out of the car, Logan immediately had to try the bike out. He did pretty good considering how small his last bike was. So, here is Logan trying out his new bike. A special THANKS to Aunt Heather and his cousin Ethan. Logan is one happy little boy!

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Surfs Up!

This summer we had the opportunity of spending a week at the beach with my parents in California. We were so excited for a such a fun vacation and even more excited to be able to spend time with family. My dad has recently taken a liking to surfing and so whenever he's in Southern California for a job, then he'll spend his off time surfing. Since my dad has a surfboard and we had some vacation time we needed to us, we decided to meet my parents and have a week or surfing and fun. I have to admit, the waves were pretty big that week and so I couldn't get myself to go out where all of the more experienced surfers were. So, I stayed closer to the shore and tried to ride the smaller waves. My main focus was just trying to stand up on the surfboard and not necessarily riding the waves. After a few minutes I decided the surfboard was too short, and I am just not quick enough to stand up before the wave has already passed me by. So, Logan and I stuck to Boogie Boarding which was so much fun! Kerry and my dad on the other hand were out riding the waves the entire trip. Well...they were trying to ride the waves anyway. Kerry briefly got up once and my dad almost got up. I think we've come to the conclusion that the surfboard was too short for the guys since they're beginner surfers and they are both pretty tall. Here's a few photos of surfing and boogie boarding fun!

All in all, the week was great! We enjoyed being out in the sun and Logan loved being able to visit with Grandma and Grandpa. While we were in Southern California, we also made a quick trip (actually we were there for quite a while...there was lots to see) to the Griffith Observatory. Little did we know that while we were there, the observatory was honoring Buzz Aldrin. Buzz Aldrin was the 2nd person to step foot on the moon as he was on the same mission as Neil Armstrong. So we listened to his speech and snapped a few photos of him as well.

Oh, and I almost forgot...when we arrived at the hotel we were staying in for the trip, we noticed a huge crowd behind the building and across the street. So, of course we went to check it out. Guess what it was? It was the show CSI Miami filming. So, if you were ever curious, CSI Miami is filmed in southern CA. Our hotel was next to the building they use to shoot their scenes for the Crime Lab. Since we were the only spectator there watching them film (they were just finishing up), they let us take a few photos after they were done. Cool huh!

Eating out with grandma and grandpa! Grandpa's favorite
restaurant because you can watch surfing on the big screen.

We had a great trip and can't wait again till next summer where we can hopefully have a vacation at the beach again! Or, hmm....Hawaii is sounding pretty good too.

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