utah flash vs ft wayne

Sam brought home free tickets to Monday night's Utah Flash game. I was glad that he was excited to go, so after dinner we packed up the willing and went off in the cold.

So I was thinking this might have been a nice picture if my zoom was working. Then I gave the camera to Sam and he got it to work easily.  That is kind of how it is around here with anything remotely technological.

And this is what interested Sam....probably on his birthday wish list...

Basketball must be Mary's muse.

I love that there are so many things going on to keep the kids' happy. I got to watch a few minutes of the game between poetry readings and  bathroom, popcorn, and bouncy house requests.

They love the kidzone

I was ready to see William contained.

So on one of our many wander-abouts, a man from Malawi's Pizza stopped to give us a free desert pizza. He called it the chocolate pizza, but it was so much more.

There were rich bites of sweet peanut butter and toasted marshmallows covered in chocolate syrup and powdered sugar.  See that crust?  Cracker thin, brick oven fired. Made me want to try it with pepperoni.

Can you see what's happening here?  I ate the part that fell on the floor.  It was that good.  And that's my job.

thank you winder farms

Thank you, from the kids and I, to the people at Winder Farms.  In response to our January 26, 2011 post they sent us some delicious chocolate milk and a sampler package filled with a variety of flavors of milk. 

The kids didn't know there were so many ways to drink milk...strawberry, root beer flavored, orange, vanilla.

Sophie's learning more about milk everyday...

Mary wanted to keep the strawberry milk to herself.

And here's an update on that amazing cheesecake that we ordered...Junior's of New York...
Sam, Kyle, and I...the cheesecake lovers, agreed that it was fantastic  So rich...each bite was all about the cheese. Look at the texture. I love how it crumbled!

Here's an aerial view...like the topography of a new moon!  Reminds me of A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit.  (Obsessive...)

Thank you Winder Farms!

old times big picture

It  seems that I touted too soon my camera reconditioning abilities.  Friday morning I watched Bethany participate in the school spelling bee.  She studied hard and I'm proud of her for being courageous and diligent.  So standing in the back of the auditorium, trying to get a better shot of Bethany, I realized that the offending piece that I tore off with abandon was actually responsible for the zoom-in.

The universe might be telling me to buy a new camera, with a more sophisticated, or changeable lens, but my budget is telling me to keep looking at the big picture.

I love to walk through the halls and see the kids' artwork displayed, especially seasonal. It brings out my inner elementary school student. Olivia was excited about the 100th Day of School this week.

I found the 100 Hershey's Kisses that she brought.  That doesn't really look like that much...maybe I could eat those myself.

Last week warmed up to feel like early Spring.  Here's Thursday. I was outside planting the daffodil, crocus, and hyacinth bulbs in our little flower bed. I wish I could do something with that pipe. I should really create a more attractive border as well. I'm just not gifted at decorating... I'm substance without form... May be one of my mental issues.

I thought I would make a perfect mom moment out of the gardening time by including the kids, but ended up being the tyrannical mom and sending the guilty inside crying when one brother hit  the other with a little trowel. I hoped no one was watching...

Friday afternoon the girls were running up and down the street planning sleepovers with neighborhood friends. We had two friends here Friday night. It felt like old times.

Grandma Martha brought supplies for making Valentines.

Sam requested that we make homemade pizza.  I found pizza pans on sale two-for-one. I'm grateful for small blessings.

I couldn't find pesto at the market where I shopped Thursday evening, so I improvised and picked up a few packages of Alfredo-pesto sauce mix.  It turned out to be creamy, and delicious with Parmesan cheese grated on top.  Sam called the mushroom and tomato side "the politically incorrect" side, as he knew Bethany wouldn't approve.

monday, meat loaf, movies

Sunday, January 23- Sam was back in the kitchen.  He was excited about this cooling rack that Grandma Martha gave us.  The cookies he made were from the Mrs. Field's cookbook.  They're made from honey instead of brown sugar, which gave them a different, but delicious, texture.

Looks like Sam was doing a little sampling too.  Next he made jam filled butter cookies, and then Tuna and Garlic pasta, one of our family's favorite recipes.  Sunday evening Sam insisted that I go to a fireside. Turned out to be fascinating- an anthropologist sharing his story of his conversion to the LDS faith.

So when I returned I was happy to find all was well, the kids were all together, happily watching Power Rangers the movie, which was why Caitlin and Grant have been shouting "Go Power Ranger Pink! Go Power Ranger Red!" all week.

Monday morning I found the casualty of my absense.  My camera was lying on the floor underneath the sofa, and I realized that the shutter was shattered, so when I opened and closed the lens, parts of the shutter stuck out.  I imagined the cost of buying a new camera or paying for a repair. All morning I tried to remind myself to look for how this mishap could possibly be an opening in the universe.

When I took the camera in to the shop, not surprisingly, the clerk suggested I buy a new one.  Instead I decided to rip the shutter out of camera, and was happy to find that it worked just as well.  It just looks bad. So what I thought might be an "out with the old in with the new" experience became a "use it up wear it out" experience instead...all the more empowering for being more financially appropriate, at least for this month.

One of the many ways that we have been blessed lately...

Granddad and Judith have made a tradition of bringing us dinner every Monday night.  It's always delicious, and always fun to see what they've brought.  Kyle loves Judith's meat loaf.

This was the scene Tuesday morning.  Sam had everyone up before 6:30...5:30 PST, to watch the Academy Award nominations announced.  The kids were happy to see True Grit get so many nominations, and Inception pick up a few...two of their favorite movies of the year.

The girls were up too.

Since we weren't invited to the breakfast in Hollywood, we had one of our own Tuesday night.  The kids call breakfast at night brinner.

And I was busy thinking about brinner and forgot to have the kids watch the President's speech...What a flaky mom...

Wednesday was supposed to be the beginning of the daunting task of re-enrolling the family at the dentist. I was set for my own appointment, and driving to pick up Grandma Martha,who had generously agreed to babysit, when snow flurries turned to snow fall. On the way back to our house, just before we hit the somewhat formidable hill that descends toward our street, my brakes went out, and I couldn't control the steering. I hadn't realized how slick the roads were. I pulled off to a side street to see if it was a problem with the van or just a slick spot, but every time I pumped the brakes, they would shudder and the back end fish tailed. We decided to park and unload, and the four kids and Grandma and I hiked home in the snow.

It was nasty driving but beautiful walking. I felt grateful that we hadn't tried to drive down the hill, and that the boys were so happy to be out for a winter hike. It was a great opportunity for them to try out their new Buzz Lightyear boots...one of the joys of being a three-year-old boy no doubt.

So the world is white again...even though my teeth aren't.

winder farms

There are times when you want to surround yourself with people you trust.  A team, a support system. My lawyer... my therapist... my dentist, dermatologist, hairdresser.  So one afternoon, last November, a knock on the door brought two gentlemen into my personal network.  The more outspoken of the two reminded me an awful lot of a younger, thinner Al Roker and smiled with such warmth and enthusism, it seemed like he had floated in with the Autumn sunshine.

"I'm your new milkman," he said.

The sound of which seemed to fill a need I hadn't known I'd had. 

So not half an hour later and I was the owner of a shiny, silver Winder Farms cooler, and making note of his instruction. I was to place it on the front porch every Monday night, so they could fill it with eight bottles of farm fresh, hormone free milk,  the thought of which filled me with idyllic excitement.

This was the first morning we walked out to find milk on our doorstep.

Who knew that the milkman could also bring chicken tamales. Y muy ricos tambien!

So buying hormone free milk is a bit more expensive than buying the store brand, but I have found, as the milkman suggested at his first visit, that I have saved money, not having to run to the store to buy milk. And the kids like the milk so much better than store bought, that they are willing to stick to the eight bottles per week. That means they have started to notice and regulate their own milk use (and abuse) in order to make it last through Monday morning. That's been a good thing.

Now we've begun to recognize the sound of the milk truck arriving around bedtime (ahem...) late bedtime on Monday night.

So what's happening here?  This is the scene of my children stalking...maybe this is reverse-stalking, since their actually spying on him coming to our house...the milkman.

Now it's our weekly tradition to wait for the milk Monday night.  I get lots of help when it's time to put it away.

This is comforting.

This week the cheesecake was on special. Ten dollars off! I can't wait to try it.