My Favorite Things

The last part of this week has been really busy, but it's been packed with some of my very favorite things...

Ken coming home from his business trip early- He was only gone for 1 night instead of 3, things went well and he finished up early and caught the last flight out of D.C. Yeah!!! However since Rose had her airport drama the whole time he was gone, and since he was able to come home early his flight just didn't get in until 2 A.M. and I needed to pick him up (thanks to my Dad I was able too since he stayed at home with the kids), we have decided it will probably be best to just have Ken drive himself in the future. Which is kind of sad because I really like to drive him to the airport and get those last few minutes in.

Since it was so quick he didn't get a chance to go to the Washington D.C. Temple. He drove by it last trip but didn't have his white shirt and tie and knew he would be back in a week, so this trip he made a point to pack it. But when he finished his work up early he decided to come home and see me instead of waiting a whole entire next day to come home. But I'm glad he chose coming home to me as fast as he could even though he missed out on seeing one of the most beautiful temples in the world.
Making Jam with my Friends-Over the past week I have made 126 pints of Jam from 84 lbs of berries. I usually enjoy making jam, but this time I really loved it. I made Raspberry, Strawberry, and Blackberry. Blackberry is my fav! And the great thing is that all of the fruit was prepared for me. I bought several cases with ladies from our Stake from a berry farm in Oregon. The fruit either comes flash frozen (I love the frozen blueberries, they are so sweet and yummy like eating a Popsicle) or you can buy buckets of pureed and strained fruit. The buckets of puree make canning berry jam so easy! It still took awhile, but I have a whole years worth of jam now. Here's a picture of the 67 pints I kept for my family.

Scripture Time-We really love scripture time in our house. Or to qoute Nathan's testimony that he said last Fast Sunday, "My Dad really loves to read the scriptures." So much so that it usually lasts for 45 minutes to an hour. Guess how many verses we read? That would be around 15 at the most! So why does it take 45 minutes???

There is the first 10 that it takes to get everyone into the same room. Then of course the first ones start to get bored so Ken starts tickling them and playing around. Then the others hear and come running and so Ken has to tickle them too. And one feels left out and has a little pity party so they need cuddles from me. Then I get the sad child and the happy ones to gang up on Ken and tickle him. And somehow Ken ends up turning into a donkey/cow/horse and gives all the kids a ride on his back as he tries to escape. Finally the heavy burden crushes Ken to the ground, and the all have to lay on the floor for 5 minutes to catch their breath. And finally, we read scriptures until one of the girls has had it, which doesn't take too long.

I don't think these pctures are what our leaders had in mind when they said to read the scriptures everyday as a family. But we love it! We started messing around like this when school got out for the summer but I am glad it has continued now that we are back to crazy schedules again.

Cheering at Games-I am actually loving the games this season way more then last year. It doesn't seem as hot and the games are way more interesting, they aren't dragging on for forever this year. It's really weird the drastic difference between this year and last year. And then I think, "Oh yeah, I'm not 8 1/2 months pregnant!" Like, could that be the reason why I am loving cheering at the boys games this year???

Darin is playing Flag Football. Doesn't he look so manly in his uniform. We however need to read a book or something on football because we have no idea what is going on. First Down--What's that???

Nathan is playing Soccer. He is super fast, Can you see how he spun away so he wouldn't get hit by the ball. And he scored 2 goals on Saturday!!!



Rose letting me Whisper Sweet Nothings to her-Rose has finally gotten to the point where I can lay down with her and cuddle her and say things like:
"I love you!"
"You're a pretty girl!"
"You're so smart!"
"You are sooooo beautiful!"
"You are so big and strong and can do so many fun things like..."
"You're such a nice sister!"
"I'm so proud of you!"
"You are being so good!"

She will finally lay still and listen to me as I tell her all the things I love about her for 10-15 or more minutes. She just smiles up at me and drinks it in and everytime I say "I love you!" she says "I love you, Mommy!". It's so cute! I'm happy she will let me get some good cuddle time now instead of brushing me off and running away or at times even screaming or crying. Like we finally have that sweet connection and she will let me adore her like 3 times a day. How can I not??? just look at that face!

Friday Night Dinners- My favorite TV show ever is Gilmore Girls. I still yearn for it, mainly so I could have my weekly re-hashing with Tasha. But I love that Emily Gilmore insists on Lorelei and Rory coming over for Friday night dinners. They are totally pretentious and way over the top, and it's just funny to see Emily's various maids that come and quickly go since they can't keep up with her standards.

Anyway, when Ken was in school like 5 years ago we started Friday Night Dinners. It was where I made a special meal, the boys did the table decorations, we had special drinks, it was an occasion you didn't want to miss! Ever since we had the baby girls, it has been hit or miss. We may go months without one and then go 3 months having it regularly. But special family time is a huge commodity in our house when school is in session so I decided to bring it back this year.
This Friday (actually Saturday because Nathan had a birthday party to go to and then my parents surprised us and offered to watch the kids so Ken and I went to a movie). Anyway 1st course was a Salad with a sweet vinagerette, Homemade Sweet Herb Bread with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil dipping sauce.
And the Main Course was "Little Green Hats" We had something like these in Cancun and this is what they called them. Basically it was green ravioli filled with cheeses and served with a creamy, cheesy, garlicky white sauce. Ken really loved it so I worked Friday trying to surprise him (do you know how hard that is to do when he is home all day!). And I even made the pasta from scratch! And of course he peeked when I left to pick up the kids from school.