Read Your Labels!

Today I made a startling discovery: there is tuna in tuna.

I know, I know - you are probably relieved to know this, especially for those of you with tuna allergies. I mean, you could have opened up a can of tuna and made yourself a sandwich or something and never have known that there was tuna inside.

I would just like to give a shout-out to the people who are conscientious enough to add information like this to the label of a can of tuna:


Thank you, Tuna-Warning Creators. Thank you.

Bragging Rights

My kids are pretty dang awesome, to put it lightly. So, although this blog is generally not a place where I gush over my kids' accomplishments (and awesomeness), that's what it's going to be today. Consider it a Christmas letter if you want - I mean, they ARE playing CHRISTMAS MUSIC ON THE RADIO ALREADY!! And it did snow here this week. (But you'll still get a Christmas letter in December. You know you want it.)

Wait... why am I making excuses? It's my blog, after all. You don't have to read it.

And so, (drum roll, please) I present for your reading pleasure: My Amazing Offspring!

First we have Coolister.
Can I just come right out and say that I LOVE when my kids share the same interests that I had at their age? He ran his first season of Cross Country and loved it as much as I did. His fastest time was 16:58. Not only was he Rookie of the Year, he also lettered and got an Academic Achievement award. On top of this, he gets the grades I only dreamed of at his age. And (here's my favorite part) when he gets home from school the first thing he (almost - there is food, too...) always does is to find his baby brother or sister and give them hugs. OK, I'll stop.

Next we have ElemenoB.
She graduated from braces and got contacts. (And I bought a bat.) This young woman has taken up a liking for drama and just auditioned for the school musical. She seems to have natural ability in everything she does. She is a huge help with the kids and around the house and a loyal friend to her siblings. She has a talent for writing and a new interest in photography which is pretty impressive. You will never see her sitting around without a book in her hands. ElemenoB also shares my love for finding a great deal, and I won't lie - I LOVE it.

And now, Thumbelina! This girl also shares my love for drama and is hoping for a part in the school musical. However, they came up with a new rule that 7th graders cannot play main roles. Don't get me started on that. Just let me say this: their loss. She is also very patient and loving towards her younger siblings. I was initially worried about her transition to middle school but it turns out she has just enough sass and spunk to OWN that place. Like her older sister, she has a knack for writing and drawing. Thumbelina is my best helper when it comes to cleaning. If I want a thorough job, she's the one I ask.

Next in line, All-a-Boy!
This kid has been an amazing reader from kindergarten, but it still amazes me when he brings home books as thick as his arm and finishes them in just a few days. He's been reading the "Fablehaven" series and also just finished the book "Brisinger". He's 9. Is this normal? All-a-Boy is always sharing some deep insight with us or asking questions we don't know the answers to. This kid has an old soul, but he still thrives on playing with friends and building Lego creations.

Next we have Cowgirl.
This sweet kid is still in love with anything having to do with cowboys, Texas and horses. Her creative abilities are always amazing me - from her homemade 'computers' to her written stories and colorful drawings. If we gave her a ream of paper and a box of markers and locked her in a room, I don't think she'd re-surface until the markers had gone dry or the paper ran out. Cowgirl has a tender heart and likes to make sure no one is ever left out of anything. She loves caring for and singing to her baby brother.

Look out for the Princess!
I mean, look at that face - do I need to say more? (I will anyway...) This girl is the queen of randomness which is a great source of laughter for the family. She is also not shy about voicing her thoughts. In fact, just this week when I asked her if she could please get me a diaper, she responded, "Um, Mom? When you ask me to do things like that it kind of makes me feel like I'm your slave. So don't ask me anymore, OK? OK." She mixes up 'ask' and 'tell' which makes for some interesting conversations as well.

Next I present... Hubba! This train lover has branched out some and also loves the main characters from Toy Story. He is all boy, through and through. Hubba has recently taken to walking up and hugging me around the neck from behind and saying, "I love you, Mom." I love his sweet hugs. He is as addicted to milk as ever and likes to have 'BIG drinks', not little ones. One little quirk he has that makes us smile every time is the way he points with one eye squeezed shut. I'll have to post a picture of that sometime.

Next is Curly.Curly gets cuter every day. When the above picture was taken, I told her to smile, so she signed it. She has learned a lot of sign language and uses it to help us understand what she wants - which is usually 'milk' or some kind of food. She has recently started talking quite a bit and will repeat everything I say to her throughout the day. She is all girl but is happy to play with whatever Hubba is playing with - especially if he doesn't want her to. She is always asking to hold Baby O - who she refers to as "my baby boy".

And last but not least - Baby O.
Look at those eyes. Look at those cheeks. Look at the little button nose. Check out the cute teeny chin poking out from below those chunky cheeks. He is full of smiles and so patient with his youngest older siblings. He is beginning to master the floor-scoot which generally precedes the soldier-crawl. Oh, how I love this baby.




(By the way, all pictures are by Jason at Backroads Photography. Have you checked out his website yet? No time is better than the present.)

Gathering Leaves

To add a little something to our yard for Halloween, we scatter leaves over everything. The problem with this is that we do not have large trees that produce enough leaves for the desired effect, so I have to gather them from elsewhere.

This year I found the perfect spot - the parking lot of the church in front of my kids' elementary school was blanketed with the colors of autumn! I gathered leaves in small increments until Halloween day, when I hauled a small trailer over with me.

After dropping The Princess off at kindergarten I began to rake, creating swishy patterns on the bare pavement and grass as I swept away their leafy covering. The leaves filled the trailer by the armful until the job was complete.

And then I had a fleeting thought - but it wasn't fast enough for me not to catch it and smile.

I looked around and, seeing no one, climbed inside the trailer.

I covered myself completely with the leaves, these colorful gifts from the trees, and lay there in silence. I listened to the rustling of the leaves on the pavement beneath me, blown about by the wind. I breathed in the smell of younger Halloweens and of autumn, then sighed as I realized I could not stay this way for long, buried in my memories.

I held a silent countdown: 3... 2... 1... and then burst from the leaves, throwing them to the skies and watching with pleasure as they rained back down into the trailer and onto the ground.

I made quick work of recapturing the leaves that were lost. As I walked towards the front of the suburban to drive home, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. A woman, sitting in the driver's seat of a car that had been there all along, eating her lunch, watching me.

I smiled.



I'm pretty sure she was jealous.

The Scariest Night of the Year!

No, I'm not talking about tonight. Although the results of today's election could be scary, indeed! But I'm not here to talk politics. I'm here to give you a full tour of our haunted house this year.

All of these amazing pictures were taken by the talented Jason of Backroads Photography. Thanks, Jason! To put it simply, you are awesome.

First, the view of the front yard. You better click on that one to really see all the details. Go ahead, click!
Here's a close-up in the cemetery. Spoooooky!
This was my witches' table just inside the front door where I greeted the trick-or-treaters.
Here's one of our new additions - a sign declaring the name of our Halloween abode. (Yes, Allen creates these in his head and builds them in our garage. He's got skills.)
Another new addition this year: the corn field.
The cemetery from another angle...Another shot of the house... I couldn't decide which one I liked best. (Just humor me. Thanks.)We had over 500 trick-or-treaters. It was crazy fun and the weather was perfect. The majority of the decorations came down last night, so Halloween season is officially over. (By the way, radio people, we still have Thanksgiving coming. Can you stop playing CHRISTMAS music already?!)

Be A Pal...

UPDATE: This lasts until November 15th - get over there and check it out! You are going to want family pictures to send out with your Christmas cards, prints to display in your home and Alphabetography creations to give as gifts this year. So go get it done, already!

I have a friend who is an amazing photographer.

In fact, he took our family pictures this year. (See? Amazing.)

He also takes some awesome pictures that you will want to frame and put up in your house.

In fact, I want to put one up in my house. And you want to help me.

(I'm using the force, is it working?)

Here's what we have to do. First, go check out his website by clicking HERE. Then go leave a comment on his blog telling him what you think and what pictures you like best by clicking HERE.

And here's the IMPORTANT part! When you leave your comment, be sure to say "Gerb sent me".

If you are really my friend, you will do this. (No pressure or anything.)

And if you decide to get all your friends to do it, too, and you're the winner, I get to come eat cookies at your house and see where you put your picture.

Deal?

(You: Deal.)

Ready, set, GO!

You Can Call Us The Apple Dumpling Gang

Ever since I was a smallish child I have wondered about Apple Dumplings. Why was that Disney movie called "The Apple Dumpling Gang", and why did the kids like them so much? Were they like fritters? Were they like Chicken and Dumplings - only with apples?

I'm not saying I thought about this every day between then and now. But I read a post while blog surfing where someone wrote about making apple dumplings. And I thought to myself, "I have more apples than I know what to do with. I am DONE with applesauce! I am going to make apple dumplings!"

Now, here are a few a big 'secrets' that it took me years to learn:
1. ANYONE can be an amazing cook if they are willing to make the time to do things from scratch and follow directions.
2. Pretty much anything you could ever want to make is found in the Betty Crocker Cookbook with the red and white cover. Even those things you're embarrassed to admit you don't know how to make. This book has saved my life on many occasions. Boiled eggs? Check. Mashed potatoes? Check. Toast? Figured that one out on my own, thank you very much.
3. Be flexible with recipes. If it says to keep the apples whole and you want to chop them up, do what you want!
Sprinkle cinnamon on the apples before sealing the dumplings up! Add some nutmeg to the syrup! Get crazy!
Put 2 pans in the oven at the same time if you want. I know, air circulation and all that. But I'm flexible! And it worked. Besides, what's better than one pan of dumplings? Two. I like to peek while things are cooking. Look at how puffy they are getting! And that syrup is getting all thick and bubbly and um, ...sweetupy. (You can also invent words to describe things you are cooking. It makes it more splendiful.)
Then presto! Apple Dumpling Goodness for everyone! (side note: Am I a good mom or a bad mom since we ate these instead of lunch?)
My favorite thing to do with treats I produce that turn out tasty is to share. So, these went to a neighbor:
And life was good.

Moooving

One question I am often asked is this: So, when are you moving? I didn't know we were even considering it.

I guess people assume that a family of 11 cannot fit comfortably in our home. Sure, it can be tight sometimes, but here's the main reason we hope to live out the rest of our days here: location.

When I stand in front of my house, I can turn in any direction and gaze upon some of Utah's finest mountain peaks. It is beautiful here.

We also live in a neighborhood that has a "small-town" feeling that I adore. For example, in the short drive to my kids' school I see horses, cows, sheep and llamas. To get there I drive down what we call the "farm road" where there are open fields and pumpkin patches and old wooden structures that are dilapidated enough to hold my interest but sturdy enough to not look trashy.

On my way to drop the Princess off at kindergarten today I had to stop for 2 cows who were crossing the road. Cows! Crossing the road! They were probably loose but I didn't know which door to knock on and say, "Hey, your cows are out" so I just let them cross to go visit with the horses and went on my way.

2 days ago I stopped a block away from home so Hubba and I could watch a tortoise cross the street.

When we are driving home late at night in the winter we sometimes see deer wandering the neighborhood.

People wave at each other when they drive around our streets. Half the time I don't even know who I'm waving at - but if they want to be friendly, I'm happy to return the gesture!

Plus, as an added bonus, neighbors bring me treats and treasures at random times.

Marci shares lunch-sized portions of Tortellini Soup or Chinese Chicken Salad.

Jenny sends over just enough brownie edges or chocolates for me to eat in the pantry or my bedroom closet when I hope no one's paying attention.

Bethany treats me to her homemade salsa.

Jan gives me everything from 'counterfeit rolls' to 'peach bubbly' to rice pudding to Dove chocolate bars at least once a month.

I found chocolate mini donuts on my porch recently from ?? My kids had them devoured in record time.

(thanks to ??)

Barbara and Howard gave us 27 pumpkins and enough cornstalks (all from her garden) to complete our haunted decor for this year. (It's going to be SPECTACULAR!!) And they threw in a load of garden-fresh carrots for good measure. And frosted cookies for the kids.

It doesn't stop there. Everyone looks out for everyone else. We genuinely care for each other. I had meals brought in for over a week when I had my last baby. People were lined up to feed a family of ELEVEN. Can you find this stuff in just any neighborhood? Nope.

I know you're getting jealous, so I'll stop.

Tell me, why would we move?

That's what I thought.

What We Do For Fun

Guess what we did this month? Family pictures. And because we love the feeling of herding cats, we did it twice.

The first time (see above) we wore authentic 70's clothing purchased from our local thrift stores.

The second time we dressed a little more 2008.


We have never had so much fun taking family photos - from posing to the blaring tunes of Saturday Night Fever on a deserted water truck to running amok on a playground...

Jason, you did an amazing job. Thank you for putting up with our crazy antics.

Want to see a few more? Click here.

Time For Tea

My friend Jan invited me to a tea party today. She does this for me every month - sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with others. Often we visit at her kitchen table, but if the sun is shining we enjoy each other's company on her patio.

The Tin Man and Elphaba (driving a mack truck, no less!) welcomed me as I arrived.

The decorations were perfect, as always...

down to every last detail.

These are the ladies who gathered for tea today. They are some of my favorite people in our neighborhood. Once we were ready, Jan began with a blessing on the food, which included thanks for "this scrumptious day". How can you not love someone who talks like that?

June was even so kind as to model her wrap for us when asked. Isn't she elegant? I can only hope that time treats me this kindly.

We ate beautiful food and sipped Italian Amaretto hot chocolate from 100 year old teacups.

Jan topped all that off with a 3-layer orange cake prepared in honor of Teresa's birthday.

There were many finger foods available to snack on...

and everything was served on the most exquisite dishes.

This is the woman who puts it all together.

Jan calls herself eccentric. Why do you think I love her so much?

I call Jan amazing.

She is who I want to be when I grow up.

Shine On

There was a full moon last night.

As I looked up to admire it I realized that it looked distinctly like a spotlight. I started to wonder - what if it was shining for me, waiting for me to make my debut? And who's watching?

So I sang a line from a song that was playing in my head and gave a little twirl-hip-shake, just in case.

I hope I get rave reviews.

He's Always Thinking

While watching our church's General Conference today All-a-Boy asked me, "Mom, who is in charge of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?"

"I think Mack Wilberg is the name of the director." I responded.

fast forward 20 minutes...

"I trust you to mail this" All-a-Boy says, handing me a piece of notebook paper.

Here is what he wrote:

Dear Mack Willberg,

My mom said you were the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I had an idea that would even make nursery kids watch generel confrence too! Have the choir sing songs like Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam and popcorn popping on the apricot tree! I'd be anxious to watch that! You could even have them do the hand motions for popcorn popping and have them jump up on 'beam' on Sunbeam! Consider my idea.

Sincerely,
All-a-Boy


You better believe I'll be mailing the letter tomorrow. Do I even need to say how much I love the way this kid's brain works?

If You Are A Super Villain, Please Stop Reading

So, it turns out I am not invincible.

I discovered this on Thursday night as I tried to sprint across the street.

However, the verdict is still out on whether or not I can fly.




(I'll get back to you on that.)

Hooray For Halloween!

Remember how we decorated our (haunted) house 2 years ago? And then how we went all out and even did a spook alley last year?

Remember how we said we're taking a break this year?

We lied.

All of the decorations will be back up this year, but not until Halloween week. So if you missed seeing Allen's amazing Halloween brainchild last year, come check it out!

And if you think it looks impressive during the day, you've got to check it out at night.


(But no spook alley this year. Sorry.)

Just Peachy

I got an email a couple of days ago.

It proclaimed: FREE PEACHES! TODAY ONLY! BRING YOUR OWN CONTAINERS!

Allen's work was in close proximity to the location of the Great Peach Giveaway, so he and a co-worker went to fetch some FREE PEACHES! for us.

I had visions of my pantry stocked with enough canned peaches to last us the year. I love canned peaches! Maybe even some jam... my mouth was watering. I was not looking forward to the actual work of canning but I knew that the end result would be well worth it.

Allen came home that day with two huge boxes packed full of delicious looking peaches. I could not believe our luck! Not a blemish was in sight. These were some fine quality peaches, and they were FREE!

Yesterday was canning day. Those of you who are familiar with canning peaches will know that the skins are easily slipped off once the fruit is plunged into boiling water for 30 seconds or so and then immersed in cold water immediately after.

Such was not the case with these. The skins would not come off unless they were actually pried off with a knife. At first I wondered if I was going about things wrong. I checked my cookbooks, I looked online - I was doing things correctly. So why weren't the peaches cooperating?

In the process of peeling and slicing I couldn't resist taking a bite. As I slipped a slice of peachy goodness into my mouth, I stopped cold. It was not a sweet flavor, but a bland one. And as I chewed, the peach's texture was grainy.

Was I disappointed? Yes. But, there were lessons learned.

First off, you often get what you pay for.

But, when life hands you lemons you make lemonade. Or - when you get some tasteless peaches, add lots of sugar and they still make a pretty tasty cobbler.

And last of all, outward appearance is not always a sure indicator of what you will find on the inside.



(And I'm not just talking about peaches.)