Knighton Days

Time to catch up!

2011-01-17T12:11:00.009-07:00

Geez, so much to do! And now that Porter is napping, I hope to be able to get caught up here...

Recipe #6: Potato Soup
I've decided that any recipe that doesn't average a 5/10 stars at least isn't going to get posted. I did take a picture, though, so I'll throw that on here. This recipe got a 3 from Luke and a 4 from me. It makes your house smell WONDERFUL, but is only really good to make if the only ingredients you have in your house are potatoes, bacon and water. Mm.

Recipe #7: BBQ Ribs
Now this recipe IS a good one! We had a couple of friends over to enjoy it with us, and I asked them to rate it, too. I got the recipe from my friend Mary, and have made it a few times with success!

2 lbs country style ribs
2 C tomato sauce (you can use ketchup)
1 tsp garlic salt
1 C brown sugar
1 C honey
1/2 C spicy brown mustard (I've never added this and it's still been good)
4 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Liquid Smoke
2 C cooked rice

Cook ribs for 4+ hours on high. Drain and add all the remaining ingredients. Turn the ribs to coat in the sauce. Cook for another couple of hours on low. Serve over rice.

How we rated it:
Luke - 6
Adrienne - 7
Chad - 9
Sara - 8

Recipe #8: Shortcut Stroganoff (a Campbell's recipe)

If you're up for some good food and a little heartburn, this recipe is awesome!

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless beef sirloin strips for stir frying (you can also use ground beef to make this meal on the cheap!)
1 can (10 3/4 ounce) Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Condensed Beef Broth
1 cup water
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cups uncooked corkscrew pasta
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat oil in skillet. Add beef and cook until browned and juices evaporate, stirring often. Add soup, broth, water and Worcestershire sauce. Heat to a boil. Stir in pasta. Cook over medium heat 15 minutes or until done. Stir in sour cream, heat through.

How we rated it:
Luke - 5
Adrienne - 7

Recipe #9: Chicken Haystacks

Super easy, pretty quick meal. Most normal people like this one (I think it goes without saying at this point that Luke doesn't). I made this the other night when it was just Porter and me at home. I LOVE this meal!

2 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can pineapple tidbits
Crunchy chow mein noodles
Tomatoes
Shredded cheese

Cook chicken, then cut up into bite size pieces. Mix cream of chicken soup with the chicken and heat through. Cook as much rice as your little heart desires, then spoon out the chicken mixture over the rice. Top with shredded cheese, pineapple, tomatoes and noodles. Some people also like to throw some diced green onions in there, too...but I'm a purist. :)

How I rated this: 8/10 stars!

Recipe #10: Pasta Al Forno
I made this last night and it was actually a hit all around!

1 (16 oz.) pkg. Rigatoni, cooked and drained (I used garden Rotini last night since I was out of Rigatoni, and actually prefer the Rotini for the color it adds!)
1 (26 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (8 oz.) pkg. fresh mushrooms
Mozzarella cheese
Cheddar cheese

White Sauce
1 T. flour
1 T. butter
1 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper

Melt butter in saucepan and sautee mushrooms; set aside.

Melt butter for white sauce in a small saucepan. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add milk all at once. Stir over medium heat for one minute AFTER thickened and bubbly. Add mushrooms.

Layer in a dish: rigatoni, white sauce, spaghetti sauce, cheeses and repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until bubbly, hot and DELICIOUS!

How we rated it:
Luke - 7 (!)
Adrienne - 8
Austin - 8

Recipe 5: Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken

2011-01-05T22:13:00.004-07:00

This meal is AWESOME! And it doesn't get a whole heck of a lot easier, either. Let's dive right into its gooey goodness!

Recipe:
6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (I used 4, and it was fine, you just have extra sauce)
salt & pepper to taste
garlic powder, to taste
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup

Rinse the chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. The first time I made this, I rubbed the salt, pepper and garlic powder all OVER those bad boys like a crazy masseuse! This time, I forgot and mixed the seasoning with the soup and then plopped the chicken in. YOU CAN'T MESS THIS UP!! Anyway, mix undiluted soup and pour over the chicken in the crock pot. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Serve over rice or noodles. I prefer rice, but - honestly - I think you could serve it over dog food and it would be FABULOUS!

Sam and Lindsay joined us for dinner, and Porter enjoyed it, as well. :) We served it up with some fresh, steamed broccoli and it was oh-so-comfort-food-ilicious!

I forgot to take pictures of it, but here's one I nabbed off the interwebs:

How we rated it:
Luke - 5 (he's kind of hard to impress and fixed himself some hot wings right after eating this...I'm still not over the fact that he gave the French Toast Casserole 8 out of 10!!)
Adrienne - 7.5...but maybe more like an 8
Lindsay - 7.5...and for the record, she's pregnant, so this is a special rating
Sam - 9 (he's not terribly hard to impress, but he is always honest)

If I am going to consider myself a woman of integrity, I MUST recommend that you try this one!!

Last night we had spaghetti - and no fancy recipe, at that (hardly a recipe at all, really). So, I'm not going to bother posting details on that...but I thought you might still enjoy a few pictures of the Porterbear embarking on his first spaghetti experience. :)

Recipe 4: Slow-Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-01-04T10:08:00.005-07:00

If you or a loved one are recovering from a stomach ailment, this would be a good recipe to use. Otherwise, it is too bland to write home about.

Recipe:
2 lb. boneless chicken parts (I had planned to use leg meat, but it smelled a little sketchy, so I emergency defrosted some breastisses instead)
4 c. chicken broth
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 ribs celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
3 c. uncooked egg noodles

Place the chicken and broth in the slow-cooker. Add the vegetables. (I did the broth and vegetables, THEN the chicken because I am a REBEL!) Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, paprika, and parsley flakes. Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours, or on low 7-8 hours. Remove the chicken and cut (or shred) into bite-size pieces. On the stove, cook the egg noodles according to package directions. Put the chicken and cooked noodles in the slow-cooker and heat through.

What could have made this better? Less celery and 43 pounds of salt.

How we rated it:
Luke - 2/10
Adrienne - 4/10

THANKFULLY, I have a tried and true version of chicken noodle soup from my mom, but we will have to debut that recipe on the blog at a later date and time. Until then, you have a recipe that will be great to use the next time you get the flu. Or, since it smells deceivingly delicious, you can use it to induce premature hunger pangs in house guests that have overstayed their welcome and know they're not invited to dinner. You pick.

**UPDATE**: My neighbors graciously took the leftovers off my hands (Luke doesn't really eat leftovers - particularly chicken - and I was out of room in the fridge). They LOVED it! Different strokes, I s'pose!

Recipe 3: French Toast Casserole

2011-01-03T20:43:00.004-07:00

French Toast Casserole can be described in two syllables: de-lish. It makes your house smell yummy, too!

Recipe:
1/4 c. butter, sliced
6 eggs, beaten like a red-headed stepchild
1 c. milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
8 slices o' bread, cubed

Loosely crumple a few pieces of foil and put on bottom of slow-cooker. Line the sides of the slow-cooker with foil. Place another piece of foil over crumpled foil on bottom. While you're at it, fashion a hat out of the foil and wear it so the aliens can't read your mind. Slice the butter into patty-pats and place in the slow-cooker. Cover and cook on high until the butter is melted (10-15 minutes, or longer if you stash your butter in the fridge). Whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, sugar, salt and vanilla. Fold in the bread cubes. Pour the bread mixture over the melted butter. Cover and cook on high 1-2 hours, or low for 3-4 hours until done in the center (you have to slice it to see, as it doesn't really brown). Slice and serve up a steamin' plate with syrup and powdered sugar.

What could have possibly made this better? Perhaps adding some nutmeg and/or small bits of apple or peaches. SOOOOO GOOOOOOD!

How we rated it:
Luke - 8/10 (!!!!!!!!!)
Adrienne - 8/10
Austin - 10/10
Porter - nom nom nom nom nom nom

As an aside, this does not make a HUGE casserole. If Austin hadn't eaten cereal 10 minutes before we were going to eat the casserole, the four of us likely would have finished off the full thing. Double the recipe if you have teenage boys or llamas like Tina that you like to give leftovers to.

Also, this is a great recipe if you have stale bread. I had several hamburger buns that were no longer fit for hamburgerizing, so I cubed the bottom halves of the buns and used those (the sesame seed tops will be going to my neighbor's chickens).

Bon appetit!

Recipe 2: Beef Enchiladas

2011-01-03T20:27:00.005-07:00

I ate beef enchiladas on occasion growing up. They aren't necessarily something you'd want to cook up to impress your celebrity crush, but they're an easy go-to meal in a pinch.

Recipe:
1 lb. ground beef
1 packet enchilada seasoning
1 can tomato sauce
cheddar cheese
flour tortillas

Preheat the oven to 350. Brown the ground beef, drain. In a separate bowl, mix the enchilada seasoning with the tomato sauce. Mix about 2/3 to 3/4 sauce with the ground beef. Sprinkle in as much (or as little) cheese as you would like in the ground beef mixture. Spoon the mixture into tortillas, and roll those suckers up! Place seam side down in a greased 9x11 pan. After all stuffed tortillas are resting happily in the pan, pour the remaining sauce over the tops of the tortillas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

My favorite part of this meal - aside from its simplicity - is that the ends of the tortillas get crispy in the oven. Yum!

How we rated it:
Lucas - 4/10 stars
Adrienne 5/10 stars

Recipe 1: Chicken and Dumplings

2011-01-02T21:42:00.004-07:00

We actually had this recipe on New Year's Eve, but I had never made it before and it was too yummy to be embarrassed by...so I thought I would share. :)

Now, just so you know, where I come from they are chicken 'n' dumplins. Just slur everything and say a bunch of n's and you've got the recipe for saying the name RIGHT!

I will try to be more diligent about documenting the steps of the meal prep, or at least taking pictures of it before it's been maimed...but I only managed two pictures of this particular delicacy. I also need to work on presentation if anyone is really going to be encouraged to make and consume it themselves.

Recipe:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 c. diced carrots
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1 med. onion, chopped
2 cans cream o' chicken soup
1 can water
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper
Dumpling topping (recipe to follow)

Place chicken in slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients, except the dumpling topping. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Prepare the dumpling topping and spoon over the chicken mixture. Tilt the slow cooker lid to vent the steam and cook on high for 30-60 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked in the center.

Dumpling topping:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. sugar

Mix all ingredients, then cut in 1/3 c. of butter or shortening until crumbly. Add 1/2 c. milk and stir until just moist.

FYI, the dumpling topping never gets dark, so I had to cut a chunk out of the middle to make sure it was done.

Bottom line, this was a tasty, savory meal. It was even Luke Approved! Whenever I make a new recipe, I ask Luke the following: "Do you like it?" and "Is it something you'd want to have again?" Now, my newest question is, "Out of 10 stars, how many would you give it?"

Here's how we rated it:
Luke - 6
Adrienne - 7.5

So, what could we do to improve it? Aside from having someone else make it, I'm not quite sure. I'm still in my culinary idiocy stage.

A new year, a new post.

2011-01-01T14:06:00.002-07:00

I've never been much of one to make New Year's resolutions, much less keep them. However, here are some resolutions I've made over the years that I've managed to be very diligent about:

Date: January 1, 2008
Resolution: Write in my journal every single day.
Progress: Haven't missed a day in THREE YEARS!

But that's pretty much it. For the past 5 1/2 years, I've read my scriptures every single day - except 3 (one day was my wedding day, one day was when we were moving across the country, and another day was when I was so obsessed with finding housing BEFORE moving across the country that I just completely forgot). Oh, and I started doing that in June 2005, so that doesn't really count anyway.

However, PEOPLE CAN CHANGE! Sometimes. And sort of. I've decided I am really good at making notebooks full of plans, ridiculous spreadsheets and organizing the fun out of vacations...but the execution is where I seem to be lacking. But, against my natural nature, I have made SEVERAL resolutions for 2011. Hopefully an unofficial one of them will be updating the blog with my progress. Meh. We'll see.

So, yes! Here is what I would like to accomplish this brand new year:

1. Learn to play the cello. No, seriously. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and there are several people in my ward that play, and even an AVAILABLE cello that I can borrow FOR FREE!!!!1!!1!!! This is too good of an opportunity to pass up. Duh.

2. Get one year's supply of water and toiletries stored.

3. Get 3 months of food stored.

4. Create family scrapbook pages documenting 2005-2010 (about 3 or 4 months/page).

5. Actively plan, and stick to, a monthly meal plan so my family doesn't starve to death. I would also like to blog about this in particular, including family reviews and recipes.

6. Write my personal history from birth through age 11.

7. Learn to sew at least two of the following: blankets, burp cloths (for the infinite number of babies that are springing forth from the loins of very prolific friends and family members), carseat canopies, nursing covers, aprons.

I also want to be diligent about our family garden this year and do some more canning, but I didn't feel the need to make those resolutions.

This should be an adventure! 2010 was a good (albeit scary at times) year for us. I have high hopes for 2011, as well. :)

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of burrs.

2010-08-16T20:35:00.004-06:00

Our dogs are very sweet. Really. A little neuroticism is mixed in with their wily, oft-shed hair, but deep down, they're just stuffed fluffs with minds of their own. When they see the neighbor's dog on the other side of the fence, however, the friendly facade is tossed and they suddenly turn into 18 pound Dobermans.

Luke and I have talked several times recently about putting up some chicken wire to block their access to the shared fence where Aggro, the neighbor's dog, likes to saunter. Nothing much has come of these discussions, as we often forget there's an issue until Story and Ripley are yelled back into the house and find themselves afflicted with foxtails or peppercorn-sized burrs.

Today, there was a burr infestation. I had let the dogs out to potty, then forgot about them as I took le bebe back to his room to feed him. Whilst thus occupied, I heard Story's telltale "OHMYGOSH! OHMYGOSH! AGGRO'S-AT-THE-FENCE-AND-I-MUST-GET-HIM!" bark. Since I didn't care to go to the back door with my upper half bared to the world, I figured the puppy dog roundup would have to wait until Porter was finished at the snack bar.

Once I placed the boy in his crib, I went outside and word-lassoed the dogs back into the house. I knew I had my work cut out for me when I saw all sorts of plant debris stuck in their britches and leg hair, and a stick nearly half the length of Story's body all tangled in her wild mane.

So I broke out the soft, doggy-themed lunchbox in which I keep the dogs' grooming accoutrements (why couldn't my guys be as neat, tidy and well-behaved as the little Scotties on the lunchbox??). I got Ripley first, as I knew he'd make a beeline to smush himself under our bed if he saw what I was getting ready to do. One by one, I pulled the burrs out of his ears, then off the backs of his legs, then out from between all the pads of all of his feet, then off his belly...Next, Story flopped in front of me and I went through the same routine with her, only she has significantly more leg hair (which is perfectly acceptable with dogs...if my legs were to be significantly hairier than Luke's, we'd have a problem). After about 30 to 45 minutes of de-burring my canine kids, I looked at the giant pile that lay atop the paper towel next to me on the floor. The number of burrs I had dislodged was utterly ridiculous.

And to think some chicken wire could've stopped it all.

*************************************************************************************

Austin played with his Lincoln Logs this afternoon after I declined his request for more computer time and told him to "do something useful". Apparently pulling weeds or cleaning the bathroom were not things he found to be worth his time. Instead, he pulled out his Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card magazine and started perusing it. When I told him to put that away and do something USEFUL ("But it's useful to me! I'm reading it!"), he scowled at me and stomped off to his room ("Do NOT stomp to your room or you'll wake the baby!!"). A minute later, he came back with his box o' Logs perched atop his head, and I rolled my eyes as I left the room.

This is what he ended up building:

Behold, the Omega Leotard Cannon.

I have no idea what that name even means.

I am BACK....maybe.

2010-08-02T13:08:00.018-06:00

Let's get right down to brass tacks. A LOT has happened this past year - er, year and 2 months - since I posted last. Unfortunately, I can't say that I was on sabbatical on Easter Island, or that I was working under contract for a secret government agency. Oh, no. In fact, much more REALISTIC things have been happening. Brace yourselves!

June 2009
Luke got laid off. I found out the next day I was pregnant. Yes, two and a half years of trying and two miscarriages later, THIS was the time my body decided to give the green light.

July 2009
I ate lots of Cheerios to ebb morning sickness, and I was very busy training new teams at Ancestry.com. To this day, I am still unable to conceive of eating another Cheerio for the rest of my life. Barf.

August 2009
I took a new position at Ancestry as a Content Reviewer on the DPS team. Luke and I also celebrated our 4th anniversary (hooray!) and went camping. Just the two of us. We hiked Lower Calf Falls, and I nearly perished for want of oxygen and muscle tone. My exercise regimen the previous month involved playing "Lynica" on Facebook every evening after work as I turned my nose up at all food except for the occasional glass of juice or bowl of ice cream. So, needless to say, I wasn't in tip-top shape to be hiking 90% grade cliff faces at an altitude of 40,000 feet.

September 2009
Luke, still looking for a job. Me, still working at Ancestry. I believe it was about this time that I discovered that I could easily become addicted to Cherry Coke if I left myself unchecked. Oh, the wonders it did for my pregnant gastro-tribluations!

October 2009
Mom & Dad sent us money so we could take Austin on the Heber Creeper train ride for his 9th birthday. I LOVE HALLOWEEEEEEEEEN! Then my dad lost his job. Toward the end of this month, however, Luke was re-hired by the same company that laid him off (they realized they couldn't do it without him, I suppose). My belly also decided it would expand to 2,000 times its normal size. We also found out we were having a boy! HOORAY!

November 2009
Spent Thanksgiving with Warren & Jeanette (Luke's mom and her husband). Still working at Ancestry, and Luke and I were having to share the truck since he had not received his work vehicle (back) yet. Not an easy feat when he works in Draper early in the morning and I worked in Provo in the not-as-early morning. The money spent in gas enabled us to live just as high on the hog as we did while Luke was on unemployment. Awesome.

December 2009
Yea! My whole family - Mom, Dad, Cameron and Bethany (Lindsay was living with us at the time) - came to my house for Christmas! It was the first time in two or three years we'd all been together. Mom made her famous macaroni & cheese dinner, as well as the beloved CINNAMON ROLLS OF CHRISTMAS MORNING. I wish I had relaxed a little more, though. Amidst work, my family, Luke's family, and REALLY starting to feel the more size-induced pains of pregnancy, I probably stressed more than I ought to have done. My dad also found another job working on Quantico Marine Base.

January 2010
Happy New Year! As of January 1st, I had written in my journal EVERY DAY for two years straight. Still keeping that trend alive as of today. I was also waddling at this point. I had a baby shower at the end of the month and I could hardly believe it was happening.

February 2010
I made it as far as I could stand - my last day of work was February 17th. I worked up until a week and a half before my due date. I felt like a human hot air balloon maneuvering around the hallways, couldn't sleep, took 5 painful minutes just to roll over in bed, could barely pull myself into the truck, and no longer lounged on the couch for fear I'd have to call the Fire Department to unwedge and lift me out of it. Due date was February 27th - I was almost there!

March 2010
My due date came and went, and my sense of humor about it had up and left, too. I was finally scheduled to be induced on March 4th, the same day my cousins Brian and Erika were having their little girl, Adelyn. Well, since I live in Provo and 75% of the female population is giving birth at any given time, I didn't get called into the hospital until the evening of the fourth. Then, after 16 hours, little Mr. Porter Holden Knighton made his adorable appearance, tipping the scales at 8 lbs 11 oz. He was so awesome from the start. March was a huge month, because my sister Lindsay also got married to Sam! They got sealed for time and all eternity in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, and then had a rockin', carnivorous reception at Tucano's.

April 2010
I turned 26. DEATH. I also spent lots of time snorgling the new little man in my life.

May 2010
I officially quit my job at Ancestry.com and, with fond feelings, kept my insurance until the end of the month. God bless America and great insurance plans! I also flew out to Virginia at the end of the month, and Porterbear met his Great Grandmama Cromwell, Great Grandma Paxton, and Uncle Cameron for the very first time.

June 2010
Luke turned 34 and spent lots of time building cabinets as a side job, now that I am no longer earning the Benjamins. Austin also played in the League of Eternal Baseball. I'm pretty sure Luke's schedule this entire month consisted of Work - Take Austin to Baseball - More Work - Get Austin From Baseball - Work - Baseball - Work - Baseball...At least, that's what I have to assume since I never saw him and Austin was constantly talking about baseball. Austin also came to live with us for the summer, visiting his mom on Fridays and Saturdays.

July 2010
Lindsay celebrated her 23rd birthday and my baby sister, Bethany, turned 20. If that didn't make me feel old, then the lines appearing at the corners of my eyes did. Luke got called to be Elders Quorum President and I got called to be 2nd Counselor in the Young Women Presidency in our ward. Apparently someone told the Bishop that we simply had nothing to do. Either that, or they let him know that baseball FINALLY ended and, seriously, we had nothing to do with all of our newly discovered time. Aside from working, building cabinets, cleaning the house, doing laundry, cooking, raising two boys...

August 2010
So here we are. Second day of August, and we've come full circle. Luke and I will be celebrating our FIFTH wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks, and I couldn't love that guy more. He is just too cool for school. Porter will be FIVE. MONTHS. OLD. on Thursday and it makes me want to cry because time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future way too fast for my liking. But, my GOSH is that little boy the light of my life!

Who wants a clean hoooooouse?

2009-05-12T18:01:00.002-06:00

KNIGHTON FAMILY CLEAN HOUSE MANIFESTO

I like hugs and I like kisses,
But what I really love is help with the dishes!

• Shoes are happiest when put away neatly in our rooms.

• Blankets love to be folded and stowed, not crumpled on the couch.

• Dishes feel best when they are napping in the cabinets or nestled in the dishwasher.

• Clothes enjoy being in dressers and closets, not on floors.

• Speaking of floors – feet, furniture and dogs only, please!

• Trash is a necessary but unwelcome guest – it sleeps solely in the garbage can.

• Kitchen counters appreciate being smooth and squeaky clean – like a baby’s bottom, only with more cracks.

• Dust bunnies are not pets!

• The police are tired of all the “Missing Tools” reports. Let’s prevent by putting away!

• Hats are nervous and prefer the safety of closet shelves.

• Clutter is the ENEMY! If we don’t know how long it’s been there or why, it can share a cot with the trash.

“He who wants to change the world should already by cleaning the dishes.”

Or, in other words…

CLEAN-UP-AFTER-YOURSELF MANIFESTO

• No shoes left anywhere except on your feet or in a closet.

• No blankets/comforters/pillows left on the couch for days. When you’re done with it, put it away!

• No dirty dishes left in the sink. If the dishwasher is clean, unload it. If it’s full, start it. Clean up after yourself completely when you’re done!

• No clothes belong on the floor - if they’re dirty, find a hamper; if they’re clean, for heaven’s sake put them AWAY!

• No junk left on the floors. If it goes unattended, it goes in the trash.

• No trash anywhere except the garbage can. Not on an end table, not on a dresser, not on a counter, not on a shelf, not in a box, not with a fox…

• No messy counters. Putting away dishes doesn’t mean a clean kitchen. If your food made a mess, clean it up.

• No one is incapable of using the vacuum cleaner.

• No tools left unattended. Put them where they belong so we know where they are the next time we need them.

• No hat accumulation outside the shelves of a closet.

• No stockpiling crap. If you aren’t going to do something with it right away, put it neatly where it belongs or toss it in the trash.

Remember: If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

How 'bout some of Grandma's homemade hot chocolate?

2009-02-28T20:48:00.001-07:00

Bad manners.

2009-02-15T17:55:00.001-07:00

Charitable Contributions

2009-02-15T12:05:00.002-07:00

Based on true events.

2009-02-14T19:28:00.002-07:00

Here's your daggum post...

2008-11-05T18:47:00.004-07:00

It's hard to believe that I went an ENTIRE MONTH without blogging a single time! I started receiving some hate mail from blog-starved, soon-to-be-former fans. So, instead of heading out in the icy cold to go pick up something from the grocery store, I'm writing a post. I hope you all is sassified.

Austin was baptized this past Saturday. Here are some fotos of the event.

Austin's story from when he was a kid.

2008-09-26T21:19:00.002-06:00

Apparently, Austin is the only one creating anything write-worthy as of late.

We were driving back home after having met Robyn at the Maverik in Lehi to make The Exchange. Austin, as usual, debriefed us on his week. As we were all talking, he decided to tell us a story from "back when [he] was in kindergarten".

Austin: Back when I first started playing soccer, they had us practice kicking the soccer ball past the goalies. We just didn't have goalies. They also told us, "Okay guys, come over here so we can practice throwing the ball back in when it's been kicked out of bounds!" At first, I thought, "This is LAME..." but I stuck with it and actually became a good soccer player! I head-bopped the ball a few times, and one time I even belly-butted the ball! See, the ball was coming RIGHT AT MY FACE, so to avoid being hit in the face I jumped up and belly-butted the ball and it shot right back.

Adrienne: Wow. You must have some kind of trampoline-stomach.

Austin: Yeah, when I go to play a sport, I like to put as much soft stuff on my stomach so if something hits it, it can just JET right back!

Adrienne: That makes sense. Sounds like you have a pretty incredible life every day.

Austin: Well, this was all back in kindergarten.

Adrienne: Oh, yeah, that's right.

Austin: And I would swing on the swing set, and the kids would all gather around because they would see me do things that had never been done before. And they even named some of my moves!

Adrienne: No kidding. What kinds of things did you do that had never been done before?

Austin: Well, I did this one thing where I would swing high and then lean so far back that my feet went straight out and would hit the chain! They called that The Rocket.

Adrienne: What are some of the other names?

Austin: Well, they only named three. The Rocket, and then the second one, I would swing really high and lean straight back, and my tush would come off the seat about a centimeter and they called that The Torpedo. Well, some called it The Missile, but I don't know why. The third one, I would pump a few times, then stop, then pump some more and I would stick my legs straight out with my feet apart. They called that The Scissors.

It's a good thing we have Austin on the weekends to reminisce about his lengthy past; otherwise, you guys would have nothing to read about. Not only that, but you never would have found out about the seldom-seen Rocket, Missile, and Scissors swing moves from way back when Austin was in kindergarten. Two years ago.

Austin's History Paper

2008-09-14T09:30:00.003-06:00

I guess Austin's teacher asked the students in her class to write a short story. Austin recited his story about Pearl Harbor to Luke and me. Here it is, and remember, this kid just started second grade:

"December 7, 1941 - That day began with a thunderous BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

(Apparently that took up the entire front page, so the rest was written on the back.)

A million American soldiers tried to fight back, but it was futile. Out of 1,000 Japanese planes, 27 were shot down. Two thousand four hundred twenty-two lives were lost."

And that was all he wrote, he said, because he ran out of room. I love that he wrote about an historical event rather than Pokemon. Way to go, Buzz!

A New Recipe

2008-09-05T22:12:00.002-06:00

Fill a cup up about a quarter of the way with root beer.
Tad it with lemonade, then slosh it with lemonade.
Hit the cherry button.
Fill the cup the rest of the way with root beer.

I dry heaved when Austin gave this recipe of the BEST soda he's EVER made. He swears by it. So, if you're up for something new....give it a try. And then let me know when you puke all over yourself.

Gardens, Canning, and Punishment

2008-08-31T08:28:00.005-06:00

My Canning & Food Preservation BFF, Mary, and I spent the day yesterday canning salsa and diced tomatoes. Some of the tomatoes were out of her mother-in-law's garden, and some were out of her very own! You should see her plants, they're ridiculous. Seriously. There are, like, 600 THOUSAND tomatoes on about five or six plants and they are all about as tall as the Chrysler building.

Anyway, we worked very hard - getting 9 quarts of diced tomatoes and 9 pints of FABULOUS salsa. Seriously, you should come to my house and try some. Delish! In between canning steps, we also managed to eat, look through Mary's baby book, and Mary was a milk-cow for Kian a couple of times.

Kian was making a crooked "Peace" sign at Mary while he was nursing, so I grabbed the camera in an attempt to catch this glorious moment. Instead, he's doing numero one, Mare has a two, and TK has a number three there in the background.

Speaking of TK.......that boy is hilarious, but I think his mom might be even funnier. Mary was telling me about how TK recently has been very artistic around the house with his washable markers. One day, he decided to "spruce up" Mommy's sheets on her bed. She reprimanded him and then had to wash the sheets. THE NEXT DAY, the little rapscallion was at it again! Mary caught him coloring on the sheets - and he'd had a fair enough warning. It was time to be punished. What was the punishment, you ask? Mary colored on his face with one of his own markers. Yes! I'm SERIOUS!! HAHAHA! Have you ever heard of anything FUNNIER?? He, of course, was devastated, and to add insult to injury he had to stand in time out in the corner. He cried streaks of tears through the markers, and then I'm sure he got over it. When Mary was cleaning stuff up after canning, she noticed some of the blue that he had cried off of his face on the side of the fridge in the corner where he'd had to stand. I died. So funny.

Moving on. Mary's garden has been a great success this year. We don't talk about what happened to mine. Anyhow, here's a picture of one of her eggplant babies (with more ready to be picked, soon!):

I realized that, of all of our documentation of our canning escapades, there were no pictures of Mary and me TOGETHER, as one of us is always photographer. I bellowed for her husband, Steve, to come up and take some of us. I think I interrupted his video game. He quickly took two pictures then disappeared again into his lair.

Steve's photo-journalistic abilities are astounding. And so is my beauty.

Yuck. Nothing like blanched, skinless tomatoes.

Here, Mare is placing in the last of our jars of diced tomatoes to be processed in the hot water bath. Yea!

For the salsa recipe, a number of onions needed to be sacrificed to appease the Pico de Gallo gods. Knowing how painful this ritual is, Mary decided to borrow Brayden's "gaggles", and gear up.

The P.d.G.G's must've been proud!

Even though Bray was at eye level, he seemed completely unharmed by the noxious onion gases.....this is mysterious to us. Mary suggested that it may be because the onion fumes go to the eyes of the person cutting them. We busted that myth, though, as I never TOUCHED an onion, and my eyes burned LONG after Mary was done cutting them up.

This photo doesn't really hold any significance. I just thought Mary looked hot in it.

Here's our glorious salsa, getting ready to cook on the stove for an hour and a half:

We were successful. We were tired. We, were awesome.

Mosaic

2008-08-17T13:31:00.002-06:00

I was reading my sister-in-law's blog and she had this cool mosaic on there that she made. If you want to create one of these here is how:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page of search results, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker. Choose 3 columns with 4 rows.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name - or I just used the first part of an email address, since I don't have a flickr account.

Take a look-see at mine:

Play With Your Food

2008-08-14T13:06:00.002-06:00

I made french toast for dinner the other night - and, I must say, it was not only edible, it was actually pretty good! We were munching away, talking about myriad things, when Luke got quiet. He looked at my plate and asked, "What are you doing?"
Adrienne: "Um, eating my french toast?"
Luke: "Making a boot?"
I looked down to see what he was talking about. Sho 'nuff, this is what I saw:

Puppy time!

2008-08-12T09:03:00.010-06:00

I don't think anyone can truly comprehend how awesome my little furry childrens are. They are my best friends and I would gladly live in a compost pile WITH them before I would get rid of them in order to live in a house WITHOUT them - and for those of you who have tried to be a renter and dog-owner simultaneously....you know it's a difficult task to find dog-friendly housing. Make that Difficulty Level 692 when you have TWO canines in your family.

So, as an ode to my little loves, here's a foto gallery. Enjoy!

Yes, I know that a lot of the pictures are of Ripley and Story sleeping. This is because, not only is it easier to get a picture of them, but also, they're just plain cute all drowsy!

My little boy, Ripples. Born March 26, 2006. Sorry ladies, he's neutered.

And here's my baby girl, Story. Born October 7, 2007. She's crazy. No, really.

Hanging out at "Aunt" Mary's house while she and Mom are canning.

If you're small enough to lay on top of the couch, why wouldn't you?

Ripley has never liked car rides - but with his pal, Story, around, they're okay after all.

Ripples enjoying a snuggle from his dad.

Story loves her dad, too. Especially when she gets to sleep on a shoe-tangle.

Since moving to our Polly Pocket-sized house in Provo, Ripley has assumed the role of watch dog. Literally. He lays on the arm between the theater chairs and stares out the big window ALL DAY. (He's doing it right now while I sit next to him, posting this entry.)

The Tiniest, enjoying a snooze on Aunt Mary's kitchen floor.

Snatch and Crumble, snuggling on the sea of pillows.

BFF, I'm sure.

Story is hilarious. Mare and I were canning one day, and there was a small kitchen towel crumpled on the floor. I am not sure if this is the case with all dogs, or just mine, but wherever there is a blanket or pillow, THAT is the perfect spot to lay down. I will have my bed made, and then have a blanket folded up on my bed, with a pillow on top of that - and atop the pillow is the ONLY place for them to sit. No matter that the bed itself is a pillow-top mattress with a thick memory foam topper. They MUST be on top of the pillow that's on top of the blanket that's on top of the memory foam that's on top of the mattress. So, while a towel doesn't provide much cushioning on a tile floor, it works for Story. After this particular incident, Mary and I now fold up a blanket and put it in the corner, and it's not long before we find Story asleep on it.

Waiting for manna from heaven. It's in abundance at Aunt Mary's.

The main reason I love this picture is because of her tiny little paw clutching the pillow. Presh!

Snuggly Ripples...

This is Story when she's not comatose. Underfoot.

THE LATEST VICTIM:

Last night, we were all in the living room. Normally Story would be by one of our chairs, chewing on something (rawhide, rope, pen, Lego). Strangely, it seemed very quiet. Then, Luke noticed a Little Thing creeping around the corner of the kitchen, trying to stealthily head down the hall. The destination, no doubt, was The Crate. Luke used his "serious" voice, and the Little Thing, ears back and head low, skulked into the living room - big grin and all.
Many things have met their untimely deaths in the bowels of The Crate. Namely, pens, markers, paper, toilet paper tubes, and Pokemon cards. Below is a picture of the next would-be victim:

Yes, an ice cream bucket.

Checking it out....

..and running away!

The ice cream bucket did not escape unscathed. It suffered a severed limb, but I think it will make it.

Story: "Oh, Dad, I would never do something like that!"
(Notice her ears.....little snake.)

Story: "But now that you mention it, it DOES smell delicious..."

Austin....well, whatever day it is

2008-08-11T21:38:00.005-06:00

Entry...Something

Ello, polo! Hey Uncle Cameron and Aunt Lindsay, sorry about the holdup for Austin Wednesdays. We haven't really got time about that. But anyway, I was sick yesterday, and so, I really REALLY wanted to do it, but I haven't really thought about it. But anyway, Family Night turned into Fight Night yesterday. 'Cause we were playing Monopoly, and I gave Adrienne, like, a property with $400 plus I gave Adrienne TWO monopolies, plus $400 and my dad was all rubbing it in my face every time it was my turn. And I wanted to say, "Hey, Dad, why don't you stop rubbing it in my face and start playing the game?" And Adrienne said, "Dad is kinda being a bad sport." And I'm like, "He's taken my role!" I'm trying not to be a bad sport, but, I dunno. But really, I've been - being sick has been a big pain in the be-hind today. 'Cause I couldn't play with friends today and I hadn't thrown up once. *yawn* But anyway. I had to stay home 'cause my dad was afraid I was throwin' up all day and that I might throw up, so, he said I had to wait 'til tomorrow. And I made a theme that said, that I made up wrong, correction, and it was really two days before you play when you're sick I guess. But I don't know.
We had Family Home Evening today. We were planning to play golf afterwards, but I guess that plan didn't go out so well. But anyway, I told Tyson - my best friend - that if I didn't throw up tonight then we could have a golf tournament after I did my sentences and workbook pages. But anyway, I asked my dad if we could play this game - I don't know what it's called, can't remember. Wait, I remember. It's called Scrabble. And my dad said, "Nooo." But anyway, I feel like there was supposed to be, like, thirty "o's" to that "no", but I guess not. Well, my dad made this really funny deal with me and it's really weird. 'Cause, my dad said one day in my scripture journal I wanted to write the Ten Commandments in there and my dad said "Okay you can write four of them for your sentences tomorrow if you don't write them tonight" and I said, "That is CRAZY, Dad, are you sure you want to do that?" And he said yeah. I'm like, okay. And so I only wrote down one of the commandments that I can't write for my sentences. It was "Thou shalt not kill". But anyway, it's like 9:00 at night, or maybe 10:00. I dunno.
But, I took some pictures of my dad and Adrienne. And, um, I might post it with this thing, but, I don't know. If Adrienne will let me. She might not let us but it's really feeling. And I made this one where it cut off their face and it only had their forehead.

And about the Fight Night thing - I REALLY, REALLY wish I hadn't made that deal with her, but it was a good deal because her next turn she landed on the property she had traded me, so she had to pay me back for the property. But, then she went another time around the board and then she landed on the exact same property AGAIN. And so that really paid me back. 'Cause it was $200 for that rent, and I paid her $400. So, really, I think it was an investment, to trade all that money and property. But anyway, it's over! Really, I'm gone!

Family Night = Fight Night?

2008-08-10T22:21:00.004-06:00

Austin, bless his little pea-pickin' heart, LOVES board games. We went on a walk with the dogs tonight and he repeatedly said the following things (and NOTHING else):

"My knee hurts."

"I wish we were going home."
"I wanted to do something together as a family."

So, clearly, going on a walk was not something we were doing together, as all involved were not willing participants. Instead, the unwilling ones were really being tortured inhumanely.

We got home and I compulsively checked my e-mail while Luke did something else compulsive and Austin asked compulsively to do something "together as a family". He kept hinting at having an idea, but Luke and I - well, me, particularly - HATE when he hints at stuff rather than just coming on out and saying what he wants to say. So we generally ignore his feeble attempts at getting us to ask the questions we know he wants us to ask that he's not willing to ask or offer himself!!

As I was clickety-clackin' away on the computer, Austin came in and asked if I wanted to hear his idea (Choice A: "Do you want to hear my idea?" vs. Choice B: "I have an idea..." - Choice A wins). So I say, "Sure," and he says he wants to play Monopoly. I enjoy a good board game myself, but I told him I would only play if Luke would. I felt pretty safe no board game would be taking place, as Luke nearly always protests when playing one is brought up. Surprisingly, he said yes.

Here is how it went down:

We set up the board. Austin was the horse, I was the thimble and Luke was the top hat. No qualms there - we each chose the piece we wanted. Phew. Off to a good start.

We divvied up the money, and for the first few rounds, Luke and Austin acquired several properties while I acquired one or two and paid income tax, fees, and rent to them. Going okay, but be honest, who really likes being the loser? Oh well, no biggie - my luck will turn around.

I slowly acquired more properties, as we all did, until there were only a couple left. Luke had a knack for rolling the precise number needed to land on either "Chance" or "Community Chest", literally, 9 out of 10 turns. And, as luck would have it, most of the cards involved either paying poor taxes, paying the other players, or winning a big, fat $10 for getting second place in a beauty contest. As the game progressed, every time Luke rolled - knowing his fate before it even happened - he looked like this:

Now, Austin is not known in the Monopoly world for his business sense. In a game he and I played last week, he gave me something like $1,500 and Park Place (I already had Boardwalk) in exchange for Pacific Avenue. I didn't wheel and deal him, I simply accepted his offer and figured he'd learn the hard way how to make a good deal - good for his opponent, but more importantly good for HIM. So, in this game, we were all stonewalled in that we had each seemed to purchase one of the three properties in nearly every monopoly, so we were having trouble making progress. Because Luke is so benevolent, he offered to buy one of Austin's properties, which "wasn't making him any money anyway" in order to give Austin a few bucks and to further the game. Luke offered Austin $25 - yes, as in twenty-five dollars - for Connecticut Ave. The original purchase price of this property was $120. Austin accepted and I rolled my eyes.

Then, the tables turned. Austin offered to make me a "sweet deal", as he owned two of the yellow properties, and I owned the highly-coveted Ventnor Avenue that would complete his monopoly. He had to make it a beneficial deal for me, however, and I am known to drive a hard bargain. He offered something, but it wouldn't have been nearly worth it, so I countered. I told him I would give him my yellow property in exchange for his pink property (which would complete a lower-class monopoly for me), his railroad (which would give me TWO railroads), and his purple property. It may sound like a lot, but the purple properties - which would have, yes, given me another monopoly - are the ones that lay right after "GO", and are worth the least of ALL the monopolies on the board. The pink properties are a little better, but not by a whole lot as they fall right after "Jail". Needless to say, he refused my offer - much at Luke's encouragement. Oh, and by the way, I didn't say a word when Luke was making his $25 deal - I try to keep out of others' business dealings. Austin then countered, and it was better than I could have imagined. He agreed to the purple property and the pink property, but instead of the $200 railroad card, he threw in four $100 bills. Of course I accepted! Luke could not handle that I made out with such a sweet deal - and not through any weasely business tactics that he was inclined to subscribe to, either! The game pretty much ended at this point, though we continued to play. I built hotels and houses, and EVERY CHANCE LUKE GOT he fussed at Austin about what a horrible business deal he made with me, and how he had ruined the game because of it! As if HE were an angel, himself! It got to the point that we were all very frustrated, and the fun was un.

I finally gave Luke the death stare - since he couldn't seem to get over the business deal that didn't involve him - and I asked if we needed to end the game so he could be quiet about it. He looked at the clock - it was 9:00 - the perfect scapegoat for him, as he said, "We need to end it. Austin needs to go to bed." So we cleaned up. Austin left, lower lip stuck out, very disappointed (he never seemed too upset by the property trade). Luke, I'm sure, was mostly unfazed. I was ticked that Luke had been such a poor sport. This combo makes for a never-fail recipe for wonderful family memories.

Then we read scriptures, wrote in our scripture journals, finished watching the last few minutes of a show about a woman with lymphoedema, and said prayers.

So, were we successful in trying to "do something together as a family"? I think Austin has probably learned his lesson and from now on will keep his "ideas" to himself. At least as long as his ideas involve board games while Luke is home. By the end of the game tonight, it seems that the spirit of this Parker Brothers was the one that was really around the dinner table:

My Family Can't Help But Have Cute Babies

2008-08-09T09:48:00.004-06:00

Our topic of conversation today is: Sawyer Anthony Holden.

Now, it is very important that everyone understands just how awesome Sawyer is. His dad, Anthony, claims that "Cute Baby" (as Sawyer is often known by) has special superpowers. Aside from that, Sawyer and I share the same birthday - April 20th. For that reason alone, Sawyer is the bomb.

Of course, this post is slow in coming. As in, a month - maybe more - behind. The following fotos are from the family gathering from far and near to attend Sawyer's baby blessing on July 13th, 2008.

Anthony is probably the best dad in the world. When Sawyer was born, the first question everyone wanted to have answered was: "Is he a brown baby?"

Aunt Fran and I haven't seen each other since Nick and Jenna's wedding in June of 2006. I LOVE THIS WOMAN! Sawyer has a super-fash Abuela.

Sharing secrets...

The Fam!!
Allison (the mommy), Antonio (the daddy), James, Abuela, "Aunt" Lauren, "Aunt" Adrienne

Apparently Aunt Fran brought a blessing outfit for Sawyer, but the parents thought it was too girly - so they exchanged it for a pin-stripe suit.

This is how I feel all day every day.

So this is Sawyer, burrito-style. Apparently they stick him in this yellow straight jacket (although I am sure it has a much cuter name so as to disguise it's nefarious purposes!) to keep him from startling himself awake if he happens to flail while battling super-villains in his sleep.

This is my favorite picture - Sawyer and his main man, Yoda.

And this was the amazing spread of DELICIOUS victuals that we had after the baby blessing at Allison's sister's house. That woman is a killer cook. And her husband was great at grillin'! They are awesome and the food was soooooooo goooooooooood.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!

Scripture Journals Continued

2008-08-08T10:10:00.002-06:00

Here is the more complete version of our Scripture Journal Family Home Evening adventure from this past Monday. We had a lot of fun making them. It was interesting to see everyone's decorating "styles". I think they're all pretty indicative of our personalities.

Behold:

Luke's Journal

Austin's Journal (just in case you weren't sure)

My Journal. Obviously. I think the only reason Luke got so....creative....with his is because he had to find SOME way to fill the time while I was being Captain OCD about making my journal.

We also had smoothies as our treat. I made them. They weren't good, just in case you were wondering. Luke doctored them up and made them a bit more palatable, but they were almost beyond salvaging. I simply do not have a knack for cooking. I made homemade spaghetti sauce a couple of weeks ago that turned out surprisingly good, but that was just a fluke, I'm sure.

Anyway, we have used our scripture journals every night since making them and I think they're a huge success. I also bought each of us our own package of colored pencils to mark our scriptures, that way they wouldn't get misplaced (and if they did, it would be your own fault anyway and no one else would have to go without red/rojo/rouge due to someone else's carelessness). I have used my colored pencils, and on the first blank page of my scriptures I am making a color key (red = commandments, blue = blessings, orange = warnings, etc). I don't think Luke has used his yet, and Austin uses his to color things like King Noah's throne or fruit trees or something in his journal. Even when Austin isn't here, Luke and I have read together and, when we finish reading, we take a few minutes to either summarize what we read or just to write down thoughts that come to us. It's working out really well! I would encourage everyone else to give this a try. I definitely feel that we've been blessed for the short time we've used them.

In trying to be righteous....

2008-08-07T23:33:00.003-06:00

For Family Home Evening this past Monday, we made personal scripture journals. We cut out pictures and quotes from a couple of "Friend" magazines and Luke printed some pictures off the internet as well to paste to the fronts of our spiral-bound notebooks. I was going to post a picture of each of our journals, but I apparently deleted all of them except this one of Luke's - which is the most....noteworthy....anyway (I'll post fotos of mine and Austin's journals later). Luke felt a little guilty for making a hockey player out of President Kimball and an empanada-bearing cartoon out of President Monson, but he just couldn't resist.
I'm not sure whether to tell you to "enjoy" or "watch out for a lightning bolt", so.........here ya go:

The pic is a bit fuzzy, but I'll post some more later. If we haven't all been struck down on another summer's day, that is.

My Mom's Forte

2008-07-21T09:58:00.006-06:00

Now that three of my mom's four childrens have, more or less, flown the nest, she has decided to get a replacement child to dote on. He's as good-looking as the rest of us, for sure, and probably more mild-mannered. She can boss him around and he says, "Whatever you say, Ma! You're the BEST!" He's tall and handsome and has two blue eyes, so he fits right in. He's a pretty good guy. He may very well even be my mom's favorite child.... Meet Fortissimo.

Baby Forte

Youngin' Forte (Summer of 2006)

This is where he would normally begin to be interested in womenfolk....but, really, that option was taken away from him. (Spring 2007)

Forte (also known endearingly as "Fort" or "Farty" by his human family), has grown into quite the handsome and distinguished young man. In fact, he just participated in his first dressage show this past weekend! They grow up so fast... *sniff*

Here's my mama's account of that glorious day:

"The day started at 5:30 crawling out of bed (got to bed at 12:30 a.m.) and made it out to the barn at 6:00 a.m. to "sissyfy" Forte as Steve would term it but in dressage language it would be to braid Forte's mane. He had his bath and tail braided the night before.

We got on the road about 7:25 and headed to Quantico Marine Base where the show was being held. I had a dear friend show up at the barn at 6:00 a.m. (God bless her heart - BIG TIME) to help me braid and to be "groom" at the show. Lisa was a big help, as was Steve.

Forte and I showed in 2 classes. Intro level TEST A and intro level TEST B. He did really well in spite of the 200 degree heat and believe me I felt every degree of it. I thought I was going to melt in the saddle. His first TEST he scored a 62% (they always score dressage tests according to percentage based on numerous elements) and actually won this class!! His first blue ribbon at his first show - doesn't get much better than that!

TEST B was ridden later and he scored a 65.5% on that test and placed 2nd - right behind Kris Gerald, my friend from church. She has a spotted Shire/Paint X. Must be those draft X's!!! Anyway, Forte behaved like a true gentleman and just looked gorgeous."

The proof is in the pudding:

There was a professional equine photographer at the dressage show, and here's the link to the pictures that were taken of Forte. Mom told me not to post the link because she said she didn't want everyone to see them because not all the pictures are good. I saw all the pictures and thought they were GREAT! So, I'm posting the link anyway. Besides, I'm 2,200 miles away, what is she gonna do? Come out here?? (I must stop before my secret plot is revealed!)

Picture #10 is especially awesome:

http://www.equineactionphotography.exposuremanager.com/g/fortissimo#

Street Cred

2008-07-18T20:56:00.001-06:00

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Secret Dance Moves

2008-07-18T20:20:00.001-06:00

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

I want to be a farmer's wife.

2008-07-08T10:26:00.009-06:00

I. Love. Canning. It's an inexplicable force of nature that I do not try to deny. I also have the greatest friend ever - Mary - who gets equally excited by the words "pressure canner", "strawberries are on sale", and "someone gave me a bunch of jars". We are food storage soulmates.
To date, we have successfully canned apple pie filling, apple sauce, strawberry jam (once in the fall and once this summer), concord grape jelly, and chicken. Yes, chicken. When the chicken was in the jars, I told Mary we looked like mad scientists who like to bottle body parts. We laughed, but actually, I guess it's true! Canning takes science, and those chicken pieces were part of a poor little chicken body at one point. Gross. Okay, we'll move on.
Anyway, come along and take a photo tour on our We-Want-To-Build-Up-Our-Food-Storage-Because-We-Want-To-Be-Righteous-And-Eat-Well-When-The-World-Is-Ending Express!

Stop 1: Strawberry Fields Forever

Sadly, this is really the only picture we have of our canning maiden voyage. Luke and I found strawberries on sale last fall for $8 or $9 a flat. We hadn't been looking for them, but came upon them at a farmer's market type store. I about peed on myself and called Mary saying, "I bought these. Let's figure out how to can them."
Oh, and just to prove the divine destiny of our food preservation sisterhood, when I showed up at Mary's house that day to start canning, we were BOTH wearing our "I (heart) NY" shirts! It wasn't planned! Who can argue with that??

Stop 2: The Grape Escape

While shopping at Smith's one day for our strawberry supplies, the cashier whose lane we went to asked what we were canning. Giggling, we squeaked, "Strawberries!" She said, "Well, I have concord grapes in my backyard that we don't use for anything but decoration. You guys are more than welcome to come by after the first frost and pick some of them." And so we did. And it was incredible. There were HOARDS of these precious little purple nuggets of heaven! You could smell them before you got to the vine and they tasted as amazing as they smelled. I think we probably ended up with 25 or 30 pounds total.

We used the inversion method for the grape jelly (the NY shirt is clearly a popular choice for canning garb). You've never tasted anything so delicious in your life. I guarantee it.

Stop 3: As American As Apple Pie

Mary's mother-in-law, LuAnn, was incredibly generous with her food crops last fall, and we were blessed in abundance with TONS of apples! There was a failed attempt at making apple butter, but we don't discuss it.... We made applesauce, which was sooo tasty! We only made a couple of quarts, though, as neither of our families eat much of it. If I'd known how AWESOME it was going to be, I would've made a lot more! We decided to can apple pie filling with the rest of the apples.

The filling turned out beautifully! We were so excited. I think it was even that evening we all had dinner together and made a pie with it. We made the crust from scratch, so the whole thing was completely homemade and wonderful! However, after several months, Mary and I decided that we didn't really eat apple pie that much. Bummer, you say? No way! We have both made apple crisp with it and it's spectacular!! (I'm trying to come up with words besides "awesome", "tasty", and "delicious".)

Stop 4: Cuttin' Up and Cutting Up

LuAnn, bless her soul, bought Mary a pressure canner. She had a vintage canner (orange and everything!) that she was letting Mary borrow so she and I could try our hand at canning chicken. They went and got the pressure canner checked to make sure it was in proper working order. Lo and behold, it wasn't!! DOOM!! Mary called with the bad news, but THEN she said LuAnn bought her one (instead of shopping for some clothes for her, which was the original intent). Oh, the sacrifices made in the name of food storage! We were so excited and, after regaining consciousness, made plans to spend a day canning. We also needed to fix some strawberry jam that never set from a couple of weeks earlier (you can see the little jars in the background below).

All in all, I think we ended up cutting up about 16 pounds of chicken. Well, I maybe did 5 pounds of that or so. My right hand suffered a burn injury that left it difficult to do anymore.
Mary: "I wonder if the canner is hot. I don't feel anything when I put my hand close to it."
Adrienne: "Hmm, that's weird. Let me see." <touch>
Yeah, well. Now we know.

Stop 5: An Army of Deliciousness

The pictures below are our preciouses that are currently on my shelf. Okay, well the jar of pear preserves that my mom made sneaked in there - it looked awful lonely on the shelf. This group of darlings doesn't account for Mary's jars, nor the jars we have either already used or given away. We have decided that the sweetest sound in the world is the little "pop!" that the jars make when they have officially sealed. It may not look like much, but it's more valuable than gold to us!

Final Destination: Adrienne's Future Farm

I hope you've enjoyed your trip. This is our last stop: my new home. Well, a few years from now, at least... :)

Adieu!

UTAH: This is the place...

2008-07-06T09:57:00.019-06:00

...where the grandiose nature of things sometimes leaves us speechless.

..where rudeness is a favorite pastime. ("Sorry, sir, but we can't see over your umbrella." <sarcastically> "Oh, yeah, I'm really sorry, too.")

...where your coolest aunt is also your whitest one.

...where being a diva is the ONLY way to go.

...where going to see hot air balloons is the only thing I'll wake up at 5:30 am for.

...where, if you're not careful, Davey Jones will make your head part of the Primary Children's Hospital parade float. (If you zoom in, you'll see the latest victim's head atop the gold sign.)

...where stuff like this........is.......uh, <stifled laughter> "cool".

...where I thought Coolio was actually on the BYU basketball team...until I realized his "hair" was just branches on the tree behind him.

...where, on July 4th, all rules are out and Sprite is a perfectly acceptable breakfast beverage.

...where spray bottle angst is the fastest rising crime among Primary children.

...where Latter-day Saint missionaries can be a parade display rather safely.

...where Llama Fest is a very real thing.

...where horses come in 65 colors at once.

...where, who cares about hearses? We have HORSES!

...where boiling babies in pots for a post-parade snack is very much looked forward to.

...where women take a year's food supply very seriously.

...where infertile women pose as princesses to lure small children away from their parents. (editor's note: Luke was a big fan of Snow White.)

...where having a naked baby on a field with 10,000 other people is completely normal.

...where George Washington's spirit comes in chalky form to participate in the festivities.

...where chickens grow to the size of miniature horses...and make you drunk if you eat too much of them.

...where Austin can be a total wet blanket while I try to take pictures of him.

...where sprinklers are merciless.

...where people really are this good-looking.

...where BIG hair is a BIG deal.

I hope you have enjoyed, and gleaned lots of accurate information from, this photo documentary of one of our country's finest states. Come for a visit!

Memory Monday....er, Friday

2008-06-27T10:40:00.010-06:00

We clearly have no clue what day it is at our house. But, I figured since I didn't have Austin until today that we'd do this together.

How do you show a sense of humor in your life? what makes you feel happy, content or joyful?

--or--
Share one of your favorite summer memories.

Adrienne: I would have to say I have somewhat of an irreverent sense of humor. I think I got that from my dad. Neopolitan ice cream is called Negropolitan ice cream, and has been for as long as I can remember. Journalists receive no mercy from us when they mess up during their broadcasts. I tend to make jokes about the dead - but maybe that's more of a coping mechanism than humor. (John: "I always heard Bill was really hard to work with. I can't believe he's dead, though." Adrienne: "Well, I don't guess he's too difficult to work with anymore."). I like to think I'm generally quick witted, and I came by that honest, too. Thanks, Dad!
I have so many awesome summer memories. I think one of the best summers I have had in a while, though, was the summer of 2006 when Austin came and lived with us in Virginia. We went to my family's house for cookouts and Sunday dinners. We would watch AFV together and eat "narbles" (peanut M&Ms in layman's terms). We'd throw the frisbee around the backyard for the dogs and sit in the swing covered in Heidi hair and talk. I have an awesome family!

Austin: My favorite summer memory was when, um, me and Adrienne were in Virginia. We were all having a good time and stuff. And I was playing Sims and I made this Ville, and I made this person named Mr. Ugly.
I show my sense of humor by jokes and sometimes when I'm at my mom's house David will yell in the car when we're not expecting it like, "AH!" and, um, Mom will tap him on the leg and say, "Don't do that". It's funny. What makes me happy and content is watching America's Funniest Home Videos AND seeing people fall on AFV. Like this one time this little dog was floating on a little red cushion and he fell in the water swimming pool.

Austin & Aunt Lindsay

Austin is a ladies' man.

Uncle Cameron stealing Austin's lunch money.

"ARR, me hateys! The seven seas ablaze me!"

Austin & Grandpa heading back from seeing the horses.

Creamsicle attack!

Personal space doesn't exist at Grandma's!

Too cool for school.

Austin and Ripples, the last day of Summer 2006.

Grandma leading Forte with Austin along for the ride.

Austin's version of the hand motions for "Book of Mormon Stories"

Austin Wednesdays will be moved to Thursdays....

2008-06-26T20:28:00.003-06:00

Entry 4

Um, today I'm just at Ciria's house. You know, doing my same ol' stuff...bein' lazy. A lazy butt, to be exact. I don't really know about you but I'm tired, sort of. Well, today my dad was working on the roof and, um, he threw down these boards with nails and I caught one of them. Like a small piece. And I threw it like a frisbee in the dumpster. It was soo cool. But, for every up there is a down, I must say. Um, by the way, Austin Wednesdays will be Austin Wednesdays AND Thursdays. Well, whatever you say is fine.
Be sure to read my post. It's over!

I was in the backyard looking at Adam and Ciria's garden, when Austin walked up and said, "Wow. Their garden is a weedless wonder."

Belated Austin Wednesday - Entry 3

2008-06-19T20:53:00.003-06:00

Austin was at his mom's house last night, so we're a day late, but here is entry numero tres.

Today I was at Alexis's house. To be babyitted. And we watched a lot of movies. And yeah, so I'm just sittin' here squeakin' around with my phone. And seriously, it really is squeaking. And, um, today Ethan had his record of lies: four. And on my voice messages I heard that Abbey called earlier today. And she didn't leave a message.
Well, I guess I'm just havin' a bad day. Sort of. 'Cause, um, um, well the good day part is that on my Game Boy I managed to get away from the water demon. I think I'm going for the fire gym. So I have two badges: the earth and the water. The reason why it was a bad day because when Ethan lied the fourth time he got me in a little trouble. Because he lied that I was the one talking when he really was and I had to sit in a really uncomfortable chair.
End of Entry 3.

Memory Monday....at the last second!

2008-06-16T23:30:00.002-06:00

QUESTION:

1. DO YOU KNOW HOW YOUR NAME WAS CHOSEN? EXPLAIN

-OR-

2. WHAT MOVIES CAN YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN?

Well, Austin isn't with us to answer these questions for himself tonight, but "Ice Age: The Meltdown" is a very safe bet as far as being a movie he can watch over and over and over and over and over and over and over ... and, yes, over again.

I won't answer for Luke - and I don't think he'll be answering for himself, either. He KILLED it at the gym tonight and is now laying in bed recuperating.

So, I WILL answer both questions for myself, just to make up for it.
1. I don't know why my parents chose the name Adrienne, but they said they were going to name me that whether I was a boy or a girl. Uhhh....ok.
Moving on.
2. "Kung Pow" is probably a movie I could watch repeatedly. Luke thinks it's the STUPIDEST MOVIE EVER! Which it is, but he doesn't "appreciate" it for the beautiful masterpiece it truly is. That movie is awesome. I love it. I could quote it endlessly. I might go watch it right now.

Oh, cell phones...

2008-06-13T22:11:00.002-06:00

Luke was going through a box looking for something when he came across one of his old RAZR cell phones. It is defunct, like so many of his phones, and he gave it to Austin. Ever since then, the cell phone has been ringing of the hook with "calls" for Austin.

"Oh, hi Mom....yeah....uh huh.....ok....oh, hey, Mom can I call you back in, like, two seconds? Well, more like two days."

"Hey Abbey, what's up?.....Harrison took your diary again?.....For good?.....Well, do whatever you want to him.......I don't know, it's not like I'm your mom..."

"Oh, hey Mom...what's that?....Uh huh......yeah.....Okay, bye. Adrienne, my mom says she wants new games on my phone, STAT!"

Austin Wednesdays: Entry 2

2008-06-11T20:09:00.007-06:00

Today is Wednesday. I got babysitted by Alexis because Dad couldn't pick me up yesterday. But right now I'm just here, you know...you know, I wanted to have a good time. My dad and Adrienne were just barely talking about buying a Wii. Mmm, but I might say today was quite awkward 'cause I went to this restaurant it had like this little thing first and you'd turn it over - the "give me meat" and "don't give me meat" thing. And so, and it was awkward because in my nap I didn't get any sleep because of my brother. The friends I've made in the neighborhood, their names are Tyson and Brayden. And so, I've been practicing this Pokemon red version game for quite a while today. And so, well, right now I'm just being a lazy BUTT. End of entry 2.

Memory Mondays

2008-06-09T16:46:00.003-06:00

At Ciria's request, we are participating in "Memory Mondays". The questions for today are:

IF YOU HAD TO EAT THE SAME MEAL OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
-OR-
TELL ABOUT LEARNING HOW TO DRIVE OR YOUR FIRST DRIVING EXPERIENCE

I asked Luke and Austin for their answers. Here ya go:

Luke: I don't even remember my first driving experience. If I had to choose one meal it would be garbage pizza (a.k.a. supreme pizza to normal people). That way, I could pick different toppings off each day and always eat a different kind of pizza.

Austin: Cheese Nips! And...pepperoni pizza.

Adrienne: I would eat fruit skewers like we had at Lindsay's reception. And crescent rolls. I don't remember my first driving experience, but I remember my driving instructor's name was Mr. Blaze, which I thought was pretty awesome.

***********

Austin said he was hungry and so he decided he would make some ramen noodles for himself. I came into the kitchen to find this:

Austin (singing): "Too many puppieees
With GUNS in their hands (pronounced "hahnz")
Surrender your clothes
Or ELSE you'll be baaahned
Even your UNDERpaaaahnts."

Adrienne: "That's really weird."

Austin: "It's not done yet."

Adrienne: "Oh."

Austin: "Too many puppieees
I SHOOT you dead.
Now it's done."

Adrienne: "..."

Yes, more Austin

2008-06-08T17:05:00.004-06:00

Sometimes I just don't know what to think about what comes out of that boy's mouth.

Just now he came up to me and said, "Adrienne. Have you ever heard me sing that song 'She's got biiiig haaair'?"
Adrienne: "Uh, just a second ago in the kitchen."
Austin: "That song makes me feel fat."
And then he wandered back in the kitchen. I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?? Yesterday he was singing the song, "I Believe I Can Fly". I never knew it went like this: "I believe I can fly. I got shot by your mama's thigh..."

We were getting out of the truck when we got home from church today and Austin said, "Hey, Adrienne." (Which is how he starts EVERY sentence/conversation.)
Adrienne: "What?"
Austin: "I have never farted in this truck."
Adrienne: ...

Yesterday he told us that if he didn't make it on American Idol, he would go on "So You Think You Can Dance With The Stars".

Also on our mountain adventure yesterday, we were driving through a part that looked kind of creepy to me.
Adrienne: "I almost expect to see an R.O.U.S. crawl out any second."
Austin: "What's an R.O.U.S.?"
Luke & Adrienne: "Rodent of unusual size."
Austin: "Unusually big or unusually small?"
Adrienne: "Well, if it was unusually small, we probably wouldn't see it at all."
Austin: "So then, like a deer?"
Adrienne: (Big sigh) "Austin, deer aren't rodents."
However, I can see how Austin gets his animals mixed up. Last night Luke was telling me how he'd like to hunt deer so he could bring it home and make deer steaks and deer beef (I laughed for about 10 minutes at that one). And we had a roast for dinner tonight and Austin said, "This chicken is TENDER!"

We should have our own reality t.v. show.

Ah, youth

2008-06-07T17:59:00.006-06:00

So, Austin is with us 5 out of 7 days for the duration of the summer. This means, it is time to partake of life and all the crazy things it makes Austin say. It also means I have something to blog about, because heaven knows Luke and I aren't that exciting.

Yesterday we were driving up to Salt Lake and Austin said, "Dad, when is your birthday?"
Luke: "June 14, 1976."
Austin: "No, when is it THIS year?"
Luke: "June 14th."
Adrienne: "Next Saturday, Buzz."
Austin (in the tone of a proud parent): "Awww, Dad's growing up!"
As Luke and I laughed about that, Austin then asked, "Wasn't your birthday in January last year?"

On that same trip, Austin informed us that, "If you two die, I'm going to sell your kidneys to the hospital." Later, as we were barreling down the highway towing a heavy trailer with two giant power tools on the back, I gasped very dramatically. Luke about had a heart attack and was like, "What?! What is it?"
Adrienne: "Baby ducks!"
Luke: "What?"
Adrienne: "On the side of the road! There were, like, six baby ducks running along the side of the road and there was NO MOM!"
I was nearly in tears and said a silent prayer the precious little things would be safe. Today we were all in the car and I said, "I sure hope those baby ducks are okay."
Luke: "I'm sure they're fine."
Austin: "Yeah, I'm sure they were fine. 'Cause they were under the car, not under the tires."

Today we saw something on t.v. related to the Make A Wish Foundation. Austin said, "I did a fundraiser for that, once!"
Adrienne: "Oh yeah? For who?"
Austin: "A boy named Alexander."
Adrienne: "What was wrong with him?"
Austin: "He had cancer. Skin cancer. From sunburn and rug burn."

I asked Austin today what song he would sing if he tried out for American Idol. His first choice was "Iron Man". But he couldn't remember the words. He said he needed a "refreshment" in order to be able to sing it. So, his second pick was the Pokemon theme song. If David Archuleta had sung that, he'd have had that competition in the bag, I'm sure.

Last night we got home from dinner after dark. We told Austin to go inside and take a QUICK shower (it was already 10:00) and Luke and I took the dogs out in the backyard to potty. We were out there talking and waiting for the dogs to finish up when I looked back at the house. The light was on in Austin's room, his blinds were up, and there, kneeling on his bed in front of the window, was Austin - without a stitch of clothing on! I'm talking FULL FRONTAL NUDITY here, people! AGCKH! He was trying to get his blinds down, but apparently hadn't realized that it should've been done BEFORE he got butt-nekkid! I couldn't believe it! EVERYONE could've seen him! I turned to Luke and said, "Lucas! Turn around and look at your child!" He didn't know whether to laugh or be mad, so I think it was a combination of both.

So, last Sunday, Luke signed us up for a "fun service project I thought we could do together as a family" that was taking place today. The service project was going to the site where they're having girls' camp in a week or so and sweeping out the cabins. Or so I was told. Or so Luke thought. Until he re-listened to his voicemail that he received as a reminder for us to live up to our obligations. Unfortunately, Luke didn't hear the part about the SEVERAL FEET OF SNOW and the other part about SHOVELING IT.
It was a beautiful 900 hour drive to the campsite - Mia Shalom. Luke said it's owned by the church. Apparently we're Jewish. I totally missed that memo, just like Luke totally missed the snow shoveling one. Anyway, we were driving up and down through various and sundry canyons. To Luke it was relaxing and enjoyable. To his neurotic wife, it was raining, the roads were slick, we were driving at 392 miles per hour and it was pure switchback hell. I was afraid for my life the whole time. I needed a serious dose of Diazepam. After many miles of these near-death experiences, we were finally getting close. At least we were pretty sure. When we were about twenty minutes from the campsite, Austin heaved a sigh and said, "Can we just go home?" No way, man! Not with what we've been through to get this far! Anyway, we were winding our way through the mountains and past mines (coal, not land) and I was white-knuckling it the whole way while Luke was laughing and singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water". We went a while without saying anything and were coming around a supremely winding, narrow curve when Austin matter-of-factly said, "Dad. We could die up here." At which point, I enacted a Silence Order on that boy!
So we finally made it, after I metaphorically poo'd my pants for, like, 2 hours. We did a little shoveling, but a lot of it had been done. Then we were going to help move picnic tables, and as we got to the cabins to do that, that had been done as well. So we risked our lives for about 30 minutes of work, maybe. It was 29 degrees and snowing, and after a pic to document the truthfulness of the existence of several feet of the white stuff in JUNE, we got back in the car. We gave Brother Mitchell a ride home and I insisted that he sat up front. He asked if I was sure, and I said yes, I was too busy not dying on the ride up to enjoy myself. So on the way back down I used Luke's cell phone to take pictures. Of course, the adapter for his memory chip is M.I.A., so I couldn't upload all the pics onto the computer, but I e-mailed the two below so that this blog would at least be, somewhat, worth looking at. I hate posting unless I have visuals.

Thankfully we arrived home in one piece - after nearly plummeting to our deaths around one curve because Luke was scratching his forehead and neglecting to pay attention as fully as is necessary on those roads.

It was weird how cold it was up at the campsite and it was bizarre to see so much snow this time of year. Maybe Luke's birthday really WAS in January last year. And it was looking like that might be the case this year, as well.

Austin Wednesdays

2008-06-04T14:40:00.005-06:00

So Summer Vacation (pronounced "vuh-KAY-shin" by Austin) has officially started for the boy. He just wrapped up first grade, and is now ready to work on his PhD.

To celebrate the summer and keep everyone abreast of how things look from a 7 year old's POV, we are starting Austin Wednesdays. These entries will be dictated by Austin, and typed by Adrienne...this dastardly duo is also known by some as the Tater Tot Twins.

Entry 1:
So today is Wednesday. Last day of school, you might say. Well today at school I only had a half of day because it was our last day, but I had little problems. I didn't know where to meet my dad, so he was late back to work. Okay, so here's a little question for ya...or two maybe. Okay, if you were to starve for three weeks and you only had one meal before that, what would you eat? And a second thing, if you had to eat out for a week, what restaurant would you go to every single time? Not including McDonald's. I HATE McDonald's!
Well today me and Adrienne are going to play a game of trivia. It's home alone with the Tater Tot Twin. The thing is, I don't know what I should do today. Definitely not swimming 'cause it's raining. I don't know, maybe I could go to sleep, take a 10 hour nap. But one thing, I'm going to give you another set of questions. If you were not to drink water for one day, or half a day, what would be your last drink?
Well today at school since it was our last day we got a root beer float party. But that doesn't mean we didn't have to work for it. Yesterday was Field Day. My FAVORITE day of the year! With an exclamation point. But still, there is one part that isn't fun that I didn't like. The ring toss. You had to get it around a soda and you got it around the most soda then you would, um, get a free soda and since that happened I just thought I would not like Field Day. But my favorite part about it was the obstacle course. It was so hard to race through! It was so hard to win! To one kid it was easy because he didn't jump like I did. The two flavors I got of sno cones on Field Day were Tiger's Blood and Mountain Stream.
Titled, "Entry one".
It's over!

Austinisms

2008-05-21T15:07:00.006-06:00

Few people throughout all of history have been blessed with a mind like Austin's. Thankfully, the majority of the rest of us have the minds to at least appreciate what I like to call "Austinisms".

"My bottom is allergic to metal - and spankings!"

Grandma Paxton: "You've got Grandpa all figured out, don't you?"
Austin: "Yes, ma'am! He's WRONG!"

"I think one of the commandments is don't eat lizards for breakfast."

"I am never going to go around second-hand smoke. And I won't go around it when I'm married because I don't want my wife around it. ESPECIALLY if she's pregnant. Second-hand smoke increases the risk of asthma, SIDS, and dangerously low birth weight."

"A toast to Adrienne for this delectable meal I've never tasted!"

"Please bless the Braves to be smokin' hot out of their eyeballs."

"Please bless the Indians that they won't find the pioneers."

"Please bless Dad that he'll have a few birthdays left. And please bless Adrienne that she will get some rest for every 20 hours she sleeps."

When Austin attended Pony Express Elementary School, he had silent reading one day with the rest of his class. After they'd been reading for a few minutes, he went to his teacher, Mrs. Coombs, and told her he was having a hard time concentrating because there was a baseball game going on in his head. She told him he still needed to stay in his seat and be quiet until reading time was over. He walked away and sighed, "Alright, but this is going to take forever. It's only the second inning!"

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

2008-05-21T12:42:00.006-06:00

We took another hike on Monday - Ciria says she's "addicted". I'm probably quickly on my way to needing a stint in rehab myself in the near future. It's so fun! We hiked the same route we did last time, maybe going another couple hundred yards farther up the trail.

(Don't worry, Adam. The girls were only about 250 feet up in this pic. Haha!)

Along the way, Zoe found a rock that she "loved". It was apparently a coloring rock and it hatched from an avocado. Bet you've never seen one of those. We wouldn't have believed it had we not seen it ourselves. Gravity had it in for poor little Kari-Lyn. She bit the dust twice, but she managed to survive. It's amazing how quickly you can get over things when Mom is your pack mule.

The dogs enjoyed themselves again. I think the only casualty this go 'round was one of Eco's nipples. That's what you get for flying through the prickly underbrush at about 6 Gs.

Here are the scenic fotos. It's incredibly beautiful up in the canyon. And the river was quite full from the snow melt. The first pic is my fave.

This is a view of the valley from the canyon. If you look closely, you can see the Provo temple spire.

For the Beauty of the Earth

2008-05-16T11:56:00.010-06:00

Ciria invited the dog childrens and me to go hiking with her and the human childrens this morning. SO FUN! We went up Rock Canyon, which is just behind the Provo temple and it is glorious back there.

Eco (the Springer Spaniel that Ciria is dog-sitting long term), Story, and Ripley weren't too sure what they thought of one another and when they weren't completely ignoring each other, they were sizing one another up. My guys were confined to leashes the entire trip - so be sure to feel incredibly sorry for them. Eco, however, was a free-bird and went running all over the trails and mountainsides.

We headed up the "rocky" trail to start and Zoe lead the way (sorry Adam and Ciria, I don't know how to put the umlaut in her name). Kari-Lyn kept up pretty well. Okay, just kidding, she didn't keep up at all. If Ciria didn't have her tethered to her own waist, Kari was easily distracted by rocks, walking sticks, and pulling the bottom of her shirt all the way up and tucking it into her collar. Naomi was just hanging out on Ciria's back and would occasionally toss her hat to the ground. I suggested Ciria tape a piece of velcro to Naomi's head and a piece on the inside of her hat. She said she was going to just get a hat with a little chin strap. Either way.

The girls navigated their way through their "tunnel" and we crawled around the shale with the dogs. At one point Eco was coming back down and I think he startled Story, so she snapped at him. In his effort to get away from all 11 pounds of her, he dislodged a large rock which not-so-delicately landed atop the bone on the top of my left foot. Ouch.

Then we got to Rainbow Rock - the water was nice there, so the dogs had a good drink. Eco was still running all over the place as if he knew it like the back of his ha-...paw. Ripley was eager to follow the stream, but Story was pretty sure her life was in serious peril.

The girls ate their fruit snacks atop the one large rock that you could either be king or queen of if you climbed to the top. At one point Kari proclaimed that Eco was queen of the mountain. We're still working on the gender labels. I told Zoe that I liked her silver shoes because they were shiny. She replied, "Yeah, they glitter in the sunlight."

We took some pics of the girls post-fruit snacking and then strolled back down. Kari got a little over-zealous at one point and couldn't figure out how to put on the breaks after gathering a good bit of momentum. A face full of rocks seemed to do the trick. Don't worry, however, she had nary a scratch. And her two black eyes are from prior mishaps. ;)

So, overall it was a lot of fun. Nothing brings you closer to nature than being able to drop your little denims and pee on it.

We lived in one house for a year - it must be time to move!

2008-05-09T10:50:00.002-06:00

I grew up an Air Force brat, so it seems only fitting that I keep up with the trend of moving. Frequently. Luke and I have just relocated to the Petri Dish, as my dad likes to call it - otherwise known as Provo, Utah. I've been here a few times before, so it's a revisitation to my old stomping grounds. We will miss our ward in Eagle Mountain, but now we're in a ward where there are lots of young marrieds and nearly-deads (Luke coined that term, so he receives the credit/flack for that).
Luke is commuting to work in Draper everyday, which takes about 35 minutes, so it's not too bad. Compared to the HOURS - literally - spent commuting in the DC area, we feel that no one really has room to complain about their commute if it is less than 60 minutes or so each way. So shut up, or you shall be sentenced to hopping the VRE from Manassas to L'Enfant for one year. Yeah, that's right. Now go change your diaper.
So I am in the process of turning our 1946 matchbox into our cozy little hut for the time being. We went from a 2000+ square foot home with a two car garage and full basement to a maybe-850 square foot bungalow with a narrow carport just wide enough to stack boxes of spaghetti noodles three wide and three hundred tall. When Austin came home for the first time last weekend since we'd moved in he said, "So, remember when we came here to make the deal and the house was all nice and everything? ... What happened?" Later, however, he decided he liked the place fine and called it "cozy" as we forced him to sleep on the couch rather than throw him to the box sharks in his room and tell him to sink or swim.
Austin is almost done with school. I think June 4th is his last day. Then he will be stuck with the wicked stepmother for the duration of the summer. Mwuhahaha! We plan on taking care of our garden, playing at Adam and Ciria's (Luke's brother and his wife) with their girls Zoe, Kari, and Naomi, doing some other stuff....performing open heart surgery....scaling skyscrapers with suction cups attached to our hands and feet...discovering new species of dinosaurs... You know, the usual.
The dogs, of course, are doing great - aside from Ripley's occasional inconvenient vomiting at 3 in the morning. That always sucks. The backyard here is about four times the size of what we had in EM, so while we downsized and are living in a metaphorical Rubiks Cube (until I can unpack/discard/burn/implode the contents of all the boxes), they are free to Rocket-dog to their hearts' content out back.

Times are changin'

2008-02-21T14:02:00.003-07:00

A whole lot of nothing and everything has happened in the past couple of weeks. To start, Adrienne quit her job unexpectedly as a result of a couple of crappy managers creating entirely too much drama. So instead of reliving high school on a daily basis, Adrienne now walks Jim and Kaelyn Couts's dogs - Diesel and Danu - five days a week while Jim and Kaelyn are off earning the Benjamins.

Luke is currently working on a major project for the son of Ray Dolby. Yeah, that's right. As in the creator of Dolby Digital. And just recently Luke's company finished up a project for Bill Engvall in Park City. Heh, yeah. Luke's practically a celebrity at this point.

Austin is doing well academically in school, but is still voicing his disappointment in his difficult time making friends. This is an utter mystery to us, as Austin can converse quite enjoyably with anyone within the ages of 3 to 127. He enjoys playing on the weekends with his friend Harrison Clark (who Adrienne used to babysit back in Virginia when he was a wee tot).

The canine childrens are doing quite well. Ripley needs a makeover - particularly on his feet. His hair is so untidy he looks like he has grinch fingers. Story has this deliriously obnoxious habit currently of jumping up to yank our kitchen towels off the bar on the front of the stove and scattering them abroad. No matter how much her life is threatened, she simply can't resist.

So there you have it - the latest installment in the melodrama that is our lives. Hope y'all are doing well!!

Better Late Than Never, I Reckon...

2008-02-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are doing it. The now-obligatory online blog so friends, relatives, and stalkers alike can keep on top of what our family is up to. Fortunately for you, it shouldn't take much of your time, as "up to" consists mainly of work, with some laundry thrown in from time to time. And if we REALLY want to mix things up, we might even pick up dog poop in the backyard. But alas, it is at present covered by the constant barrage of frozen precipitation, so we'll stick with work and laundry for now.

To update those of you who haven't been awesome enough to really know what's going on in our lives....

Luke is a project manager for Safe & Sound Systems, a home automation company in Draper. He likes his job and is a stud at it. What grown man wouldn't want to play with home theater systems and shades that can monitor when the sun rises or sets so they know precisely when to raise and lower themselves so as to keep your retinas from being irreparably toasted by ultraviolet rays??? He does lots o' number crunching, too, though - so I guess it's not ALL fun and games. But just mostly.

Adrienne currently works as a PetNurse - a copyrighted and fancy term for "veterinary technician" - at Banfield Pet Hospital in American Fork. She gets to do lots of exciting things: place catheters, do blood work, assist in surgeries, and play Kumbaya on occasion in hopes of soothing the savage beast that often comes in the form of a declawed cat. (** Animal Cruelty Note: Cats that are declawed tend to be the worst to deal with because their first line of defense has been taken away and they often become aggressive as a result. Declawing is actually AMPUTATION of the last bone in the foot, so don't do it!!** That's for you, PETA. Oh, and I like roast beef.)

Austin is rockin' it in first grade. He frequently gets 100% on his weekly spelling tests and likely has a vocabulary larger than most of us do. At the age of four he proclaimed he was a "food monger", and earlier in the school year his teacher asked what words start with the letter "F" and he suggested "frolic". Not bad for someone who still can't tie their own shoes.

Our dogs, Ripley and Story, keep us laughing. Which is good, because they don't do much else to earn their keep! Unless you consider running around the house with abandoned socks and orphaned underwear a profitable living.

Such is life now in the Oquirrh mountains of Utah. Now that you are obviously addicted to the amazement of our daily existence, keep in touch! We'll be around...