These Great Kids

Whose kids are these?   I am proud to say that they are mine!  :)  All of these sweet, handsome, beautiful, smart, funny kids belong to me and Micah and they make us so happy.  These pictures were taken at the I.F. Walmart portrait studio in August 2012.  I have a copy of the 1st one with them all together for all the grandparents.

Last night we had smoothies for our FHE treat and little Nathan spilled his on the table.  He was sad that his was all gone, but then, without Micah or I saying anything, each of Nate's brothers and sister poured some of their smoothie into his cup until his was full again.  My eyes got teary and my heart was full.  We are so blessed!

The Summer of Micah

Micah and Nathan on a trail in Zion's National Park (nice purse)

Skillz dat Killz!

Natural outdoors man (plus beagles)

Hurricane Pass on the Teton Crest Trail

Micah is such a neat guy who loves to have fun.  He did so many fun things this summer that it justifies a post dedicated to him.  We took a family vacation to St. George in June and spent the week swimming, hiking, and shopping with our friends - the Kipp family.  Micah's softball team had a great season and won the championship in July.  Micah took our boys to Malad for their annual Fathers and Sons campout from July 9th-14th.  After that our family went to Stanley and camped at Bull Trout campground the weekend of July 26-28.  And then Micah left the following Monday morning for an Aaronic Priesthood Encampment at Camp Cowles near Spokane from July 30-Aug. 4th and had an awesome experience with the youth there.  Think he's done?  Of course not.  Micah spent Aug 13th - 18th in the Tetons hiking and backpacking with my 2 brothers.  And finally, he took our family on a short day hike on a trail I think is called John's Creek just last Saturday.  What a man!  Enjoy the pics of his adventures!  And extra points to anyone who got my Seinfeld reference in the title.

Happy Mother's Day

On Sunday morning I woke up to find my children already dressed for church and the smell of breakfast in the air.  Micah made some very delicious crepes filled with homemade strawberry jam, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.  Mmmm!  I ate too many! 

Church was very nice, espeically the kids' song in Sacrament meeting.

We got home and took some Mother's Day pictures (even though I desperately need a haircut):

Then we went to our dear friends', Gail and Will Williams, house for a cook-out.  It was a gorgeous day outside and we all had such a nice time.  Hope all you mothers had an extra special day!

Our Easter Weekend

Rio turned 9 years old (yes, NINE!) on April 7 - the day before Easter. I loved her cake because guess what. Micah decorated it! He dyed the coconut green for the grass and used his power tools to drill holes in the Easter eggs for the candles to fit into.

Wanna guess what she's so excited about? Her favorite surprise birthday present was a pink Swiss army pocket knife.

Here's Tyler laying claim on an Easter egg and some candy.

All the kids together for a quick picture before church on Easter morning.

A happy couple with so much to be grateful for on this beautiful Easter Sunday morning.

Spring Forward

This is just how I feel today so I had to post it. :)

Toys

Most of the time I want to use a bulldozer to take care of the scads of toys lying around, but occasionally the toys here make me smile.

I think this one is especially funny because you'd think one of the boys put Jar Jar on the unicorn, but I came to find out that Rio was the one who posed him there.

And Tyler loves playing toys. The pointy blue elephant is one of his very favorites.

Clowning Around

Last night's Blue & Gold Banquet had a Circus theme.
Tyler was the cutest little clown!

Busy Baby

Hi. My name is Tyler. I'm 7 months old and love to be busy all the time. I have so much to learn! I love playing in my exer-saucer, jumping in my doorway jumper, and rolling around on the floor. I'm getting ready to crawl by revving my engine on hands and knees. I have two teeth that I grew all by myself. I have fun at bath time splashing in the water and getting my toes. I'm so much fun and get pretty much whatever I want from all the people around me who love me!

The Wiz of the West

The Missoula Children's Theater comes to Grangeville every February. Auditions for the play are held on Monday, rehearsals are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with the final performance on Friday night. It amazes me how well things come together in such a short time! Rio has been in the play for the past two years, but this year when auditions were held ALL THREE of our kids were cast to be in the The Wiz of the West!

Jack was the cutest tarantula you ever saw:

Harrison played the role of "Mad Dog".

And Rio was a beautiful buzzard!

They all did a fabulous job of remembering their lines and songs. We loved watching the kids having so much fun on stage!

Steak Strips with Spaghetti

This is one of my top 5 favorite recipes to make for my family. I have some pretty great dinner recipes so "top 5" means this one is awesome.

Look good? It tastes better than it looks!

Steak Strips with Spaghetti

1 medium onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt-free seasoning blend
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Hot cooked thin spaghetti

In a nonstick skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in butter until tender; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, brown beef; drain. Add tomato sauce, water, seasoning blend, thyme, pepper, and vegetables. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes or until steak is tender. Add mozzarella and heat until cheese is melted. Serve over spaghetti. Serves 6.

*A couple of chef notes: I leave out the onions. I prefer to cut my green pepper in large chunks to saute it. That way, the kids can pick them out more easily and give them to me! Also, I don't simmer the peppers, I put them in at the end with the cheese.