Belated Birthday Party

With soccer, scouts, my Freaky Friday Enrichment activity and a huge Utah book report we finally manged to get around to Conner's 10th birthday party. We went to the Classic Fun Center in Sandy to skate. We ordered pizza when we got there and Conner and his two friends he brought went off to skate. Camile, Aaron, Carly & Ellie came, along with Gina and Emma (and her cousin Gracie). Steph and Braint came too. I brought some colored hairspray and my face painting stuff- the boys weren't interested but the girls were excited to get butterflies and princess faces. My camera ran out of batteries so I have no pictures of Conner and his friends just the girls.
Emma and Sophie's butterfly faces (Sophie has a mouthful of pizza) Carly with her princess face.

Now I need to brag about Conner for a minute. Conner sure is a joy to have around. I hear from his scout leader, primary teacher and school teacher what a nice kid he is. They tell me he listens well and is such a good example and calming influence on the other kids. That sure is nice to hear. He is such a great brother- when he's not fighting with Kali they are great playmates. I told them last night if they wanted to rent Rollerblades they were going to have to use their own money. Kali started throwing a fit that she didn't have any money (she spent it all at the book fair) and Conner came over and told me he had enough that Kali could borrow some. He loves to be with Sophie. After Christmas 2004, he told me for Christmas next year he wanted a new baby in our family. (Sophie was born Dec. 2005!) He has been such a help with Sophie and it gives me a glimpse of what a great dad he is going to be. He also likes to cuddle with me- especially in the mornings and at night. I need to take advantage of that while it lasts. He is also very driven- he excels at whatever he puts his mind to. He's been on a competitive soccer team for the past couple years and it sure is fun to watch him. He's fast and great with his feet! He is a wonderful son and I feel so blessed to be his mom.

Birthday Girl

My birthday was last Wed. The years keep flying by- I can't belive how fast they come and go. I think getting old is all a state of mind though. I was remembering when I was a new mom and ladies that were my age I would think of as "older". So funny!

Here's a couple scrapbook pages I made last night that I scanned. Jimmy took me to lunch at Rumbi Grill and then Steph & Briant came over and babysat while we went to the Olive Garden for dinner. I was spoiled on my birthday! It was a great day!

Turkey Porcupines

We just had Turkey Porcupines for dinner. We had them about a month ago too and this was the half we didn't eat. I froze it for a night like tonight. (I didn't feel like cooking) When I cook I like to double the recipe and then freeze half. It's no harder to do a double batch and then it saves me so much time! So here's the recipe....

Turkey Porcupines

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 c. rice (I use the Organic Harvest Medley from Costco- brown, wild & red rice)

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 t. celery salt

2 T. chopped green peppers

1 T. grated onion

1 clove minced garlic

4 cups tomato juice or V-8 (I used half fresh tomatoes pureed in my blender and V-8 juice)

6 whole cloves of garlic

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. sugar

Mix together turkey, rice, salt pepper, celery salt, green pepper, onion, and garlic. Form into 18 small balls. (I use a small/medium cookie/ice cream scoop- makes it so easy) Mix tomato juice and the rest of the ingredients in large skillet. Add meatballs. Cover and simmer 1.5 hours (less if using white rice) or until rice is done. Turn meatballs halfway through if not covered by sauce.

I freeze half of this recipe. My kids love to eat this with a piece of toast and it goes great with a tossed salad.

First Indoor Workout

Since the kids have went back to school, Sophie and I have been going on walks (sometimes jogging) every morning and then we stop by the park and I let her play for awhile. I usually go with one of my neighbors and then there are other neighbors at the park when we get there. It's so fun to visit and the kids have a blast playing. It feels so good to be in the sunlight and breathe the fresh air.

Well, over the weekend it snowed! It all melted but this morning their was frost on the ground. It's too cold to take Sophie out when it's like this. So today I went down to the basement to work out on my Elliptical. Jimmy was down there for part of the time on the treadmill and we watched Ellen together. I put on a show for Sophie on the main floor and left the basement door opened so she could come down if she wanted to. She was only upstairs for about 10 minutes by herself before she came down and started playing with her train set and then she stole my water bottle.

After my workout I came upstairs and on the entry closet door she had done some artwork with purple marker! She was only alone for 10 minutes!! Ahhhh! I am going to miss having her strapped in a stroller while I workout. I may have to get up early to do my workouts before she's awake- I've been so spoiled! But it is supposed to warm up this week so we may get to go outside to workout and do our park dates a few more times. Can't it stay warm for just a couple months longer?? I love the mild fall weather- I wish it would just stick around!

Spooky Haunted Halloween House

This was a fun project to do with my daughter, Kali (8 years old). We took an Fisher Price Sweet Street House that no longer gets played with much. (we have a ton of them!) This one I actually found at D.I. for $1.50. You can find them there quite often or at garage sales too. You could use any old doll house but the more details on it the better. I took Krylon Fusion for Plastic (black) spray paint and painted two coats inside and out. After that dried, Kali painted some Popsicle sticks that I had cut with black acrylic paint. Then she wrote KEEP OUT, NO TRESPASSING, DO NOT ENTER, BEWARE with a silver metallic sharpie. She also put little dots in each of the corners to represent nails. We then put glued two of the boards across each window. I drew a jack-o-lantern face with a black sharpie on a candy pumpkin and then glued it by the front door. We got some small LED battery candles (at Walmart) and put two on the bottom floor and one on the top floor. We then put a piece of yellow tissue paper on each level. The lights are fun because they flicker like a real fireplace is burning inside. After we are done with Halloween I think I will put it back with the Sweet Streets for the girls to play with. It would be fun to have a haunted house with their make believe play. Since my kids are going to play with them I decided not to put floral moss on the top with a glue gun but I think that would make it look even more spooky. (The pictures aren't great of this- it was hard to get the lighting right to show the glowing windows and the details but you can still get the idea)

Halloween Candy Jar

This is a jar that I like to fill up for different holidays with seasonal candy. I got mine at TiaPan Trading but I've seen them at Roberts also. I always put the candy that I am not tempted by on the top so I won't eat it. (sometimes the kids are a problem but if I threaten good enough they will stay out) I've even thought about spraying the candy with varnish so that it will last year to year and telling the kids that now the candy is poisonous! I filled this one up with candy corn at the bottom, then I put a 3/4th empty paper towel roll in. I do this so I won't have to use as much candy since it's just for decoration. If you were to have a party and then let guests take little jars or bags of candy home I would not put in the roll. Then I layered the candy. These are the amounts and what I got. Two bags of Hersey's wrapped candy bars, two bags Halloween M&M's, two bags of yellow, orange, & white salt water taffy, three bags of candy corn. (there were so many cute candy to choose from- so you could make this look totally different) After I layer the candy and make sure the paper towel roll isn't showing as I go, I put on the lid, and tie a double knot out of two different ribbon (with wire edges). On Halloween you could empty the jar and pass out the wrapped candy and save the unwrapped candy year to year. I don't know how the M&M's keep their color but candy corns and laffy taffy harden and keep great. (just make sure guests don't try to sneak a piece and break a tooth) You could also wait until after Halloween when the Halloween candy goes on clearance and then just let it harden for next year.)

Carmel Apple Day

Ever since I can remember, October 9th has been Carmel apple day in my family. We actually celebrated (don't know if that's the right word) over conference weekend. My parents were in town and it's always best if my mom's around to make the Carmel apples and to tell the story that goes along with it.

So here's a short version of the story. When my mom was 13 her dad got in a serious car accident and was in a coma for 6 weeks. On the day my grandma finally prayed that Heavenly Father's will be done, my grandpa passed away. My mom's uncle came to the Jr. High and when my mom heard her name called over the intercom to come to the office, she knew her dad had died. She had an older sister at the school with her and then they went to the Elementary School to pick up some more of her siblings. They were all in the car crying on their way home and her uncle pulled over at a gas station, went in and came out with a Carmel apple for each of them. (this was a real treat that they never normal got) No one could cry while they were eating so they all sat in the car and ate their apples. My mom says that she was thinking that was the end for them. How could she go on without her dad. But just like that Carmel apple- there were still "sweet" things in store for her family.

About a year later, my grandma (who had 6 kids) got married to my Grandpa Henderson. They had two more kids. He's been a wonderful grandpa to me. As you can imagine it wasn't an easy transition for my mom, a teenager, at the time to have her mom marry someone else. But now she loves my grandpa like a father and is thankful for him coming into their lives.

So every October 9th (or close to) we remember my Grandpa Martin LaFollette and how my mom, my grandma, and my aunts and uncle made it through that hard time. I love to hear my Mom tell this story and bear her testimony. I am thankful that she is passing down her legacy to me and my children.

Here we are listening to my mom tell the story. The kids listened so well and the Spirit could be felt.