Christmas 2009

Here is the traditional "kids in the hall waiting to go see what Santa brought for them" photo.

I made these Sack Boy and Girl from Little Big Planet. It was the hardest knitting project I have done yet! I was proud. Tanner and Kiersten really like them! Tanner's is named Kevin. Kiersten's changes all the time. Right now it is Blossom. Or Mini-Kiersten. Or Kiersten2. Or Mini-Kiersten2. She can't decide.

Here's Kiersten's up close.

Here's Kiersten with her new watch from Grandma and Grandpa Hammer.

Here's Jared with his new blanket from Grandma and Grandpa Hammer.

Brittany got a new cedar chest made by her Grandpa and Tanner got just what he wanted: money.

Kiersten's School Christmas Sing

King of Jingaling!

It's C-c-c-c-cold Outside!

Sorry for the bad video. It's from my camera and I was watching her, not the screen!! The eternal dilemma: do you live your life or view it through a camera?

Kiersten and Santa at the Mall

Kiersten really wanted to see Santa this year because all her friends at school were talking about it. So we went to the mall on Brittany's birthday and she got to see him.

Brittany's 19th Birthday!!

She is so old!!! Which makes me... hmmm. Brittany turned 19 and had a fun little birthday party with her family. We then went shopping at the mall and ate dinner at In 'n' Out!

Trip to Houston

I went to Houston with Mark to check out the area. It was fogged in the whole two days I was there! Apparently Houston is never foggy. This is the view just outside our hotel.

Kiersten's Dance Recital

Kiersten was in dance again this fall. They did a really nice dance in Chinese dresses with streamers hanging from their wrists. Here are Kiersten and her dad after her recital. She really loves getting flowers and always reminds us that we need to get some for her!

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. They have a new dog, Charlie, and he is a St. Bernard/Grand Pyrenees mix. Here he is still a puppy, and the kids were having fun getting in his crate with him. He's too big to turn around in the crate now!

Dishtowels

Here are some dishtowels that I embroidered for my good friend, Fawn, for Christmas. I really enjoy doing these! Mine are getting a little worn, so maybe the next set will be for me!

Donut Fry

Obviously I am not taking many pictures lately. Kiersten was home for two weeks solid with her cold (and us avoiding swine flu) and now Tanner and Jared are sick, too.

So last night I took Kiersten to the Olson Donut Fry at Mark's cousin's house. Mark was on his way in from NYC and wasn't able to come. We had a good time talking to all the relatives; we really only see them this one time a year. And the donuts were yummy, too!

Not Getting Angry Ever

I've been working on some things lately, and I found this blog entry about not getting angry ever. It's so great!!!

Another great website with things about anger and lots of other really great info: zenhabits.net Click on the "start here" link to the right on that page.

Also, a really good book to read (thanks to my brother Mark for sending me the book!)

Have a New Kid by Friday: How to Change Your Child's Attitude, Behavior and Character in 5 Days by Kevin Leman

This is a lot more about how to be a parent than about how to get your kids to change. But it works!!! He advocates the Vitamin N theory (saying NO). Love it!

Halloween

Kiersten was sick the entire week before Halloween with a cold and a nasty cough. I was hoping she would be better in time to go to her class party and parade, but she really wasn't.

Brittany came into town for the donut fry on the 30th, and her dad took her and Kiersten shopping at the mall on Saturday. They had a great time and got back just in time for Kiersten to go trick-or-treating. She had wanted to be Jack Sparrow for her costume, but because she was sick all week she hadn't really made much progress getting that together. She really didn't care, either. So she threw on a princess dress and we went to about 12 houses. Then she said she was ready to go home.

All-in-all, a very low-key Halloween.

Pumpkin Carving!

We carved pumpkins the same night after Mark's procedure. Kiersten did a mummy.

Tanner was trying hard to finish his math so he could get his pumpkin carved.
This is the one I did because Jared didn't want to do one.

The finished product!

Mark's Neck Procedure

Mark has been having a lot of pain in his neck for a long time now. He had an MRI that didn't really show anything wrong, so he ended up going to see a pain specialist. They decided to inject his C1 and C2 joints bilaterally with steroids. They put him under for it, and when I went to pick him up he was feeling really good! We iced it all day, but when the pain meds wore off, he was in a fair amount of pain. It was getting better gradually, but the next day, he got the hiccups. And I mean he really got the hiccups! They were loud and constant all day! Finally in the afternoon, we were getting donuts ready for our donut fry, and he just about couldn't breathe. I called the doctor and they prescribed some Valium. My mom and dad were here for the donut fry and they were so good to run to the store for us (twice including getting the prescription filled!) The Valium, Pepsi and a heating pad on his stomach helped. He was much better the next day. And his pain is much reduced because of the steroids! Yay!

Apples!

My good friend, Fawn, had told me she and her girls were getting carmel apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (which is right near our old house in CA) and I was jealous, so I made my own!! They are really easy to make and soooo good. We've made them a few times now.

I got the apples from a friend in our ward who has an apple tree and was trying to get rid of some! I also canned some apple pie filling using these apples, yum!

The Great Pumpkin Was Killed Last Night

We are so sad! Our great pumpkin was killed last night. Someone rolled it down the stairs and partway down the street. It is smashed to smithereens in front of our neighbor's house.

We got so many comments about it; we even have one neighbor who wanted some seeds from it so she could grow one.

Homeschool

So I took Tanner out of three of his classes (English, Pre-Algebra and Science) and am having him do the K12 program online. It is great! He actually takes a little longer to do the work, but he says he doesn't mind because he is comfortable. The office was a little cold today, so we turned on the space heater, and he can lay however he wants on his chair or the desk (or the floor) and he can wear gloves, and he is happy. I like it because I can see he's learning something. He also is very grateful when I say we are done for the day or if I shorten any of his assignments a bit, so that's a nice attitude!! Next semester we hope to have a more consistent schedule with the junior high so it's not as hard to figure out when he's supposed to be there and when I'm supposed to pick him up. It's different every day because of the A/B day schedule.

Garden is Done

We had our first frost last week, and the zucchini looked like cooked spinach on the ground. Today I got everything pulled down and out; feels really good! Hopefully it will dry up enough to till soon. Jared is going to get it all in the trailer and take it to the dump. We will have some nice cornstalks left drying for porch decoration!

Conference

Conference was great! As always. But this time I was really asking for some help with receiving personal revelation. It seems to me like all the "usual" things are not quite the answers I need for my unique situation. So I was listening very carefully, and of course, the very first talk was about personal revelation!!! And no fewer than three talks were on the same topic! Heavenly Father definitely does hear and answer prayers.

Jared with a License!

This is Jared driving us home after he got his driver's license!

Halloween Decorations

Mark loves Halloween, and he particularly likes lots of decorations. This is our Halloween tree. It is a Christmas tree spray-painted black and has lots of Halloween things on it. Mark is great to put up the decorations; he and Kiersten did it while I went to the General RS Meeting last night. I really enjoyed the meeting; for some reason, the song "How Firm a Foundation" really hit home to me. We had soups and breads at the stake center after the broadcast and it was really nice.

Jared's Birthday ATV Ride

One of the really great things about Utah is the seasons!!

We managed to get Mark out having some fun!

Tanner had fun roaming around.

It's fun to go across this little creek. It's a lot higher in the spring!!

It was hotter than we expected; Kiersten had a great time wading in the creek.

They had fun on top of this big rock! Jared posted pictures on Facebook of Kiersten up there, too!

Mark's been out of town for two weeks! It is nice to have him home.

Great Pumpkins and 4-H

The 4-H girls came over today and they all thought those pumpkins were way cool!

The Great Pumpkin Part II

Grandpa and Grandma and I loaded the big pumpkins into the truck and strapped them down and I brought them home. When we unloaded them, I backed up to the front steps as close as I could get, and we laid down a ramp from the tailgate to the steps and rolled each one down very carefully! Grandpa says he thinks the big one might be 500 pounds. It took me and Mark and Jared to get the job done!

Guardsman Pass

Mark and I drove through Guardsman Pass from Big Cottonwood Canyon over to Midway with some friends of ours. The scenery was beautiful! We had dinner at Tarahumara, a mexican restaurant there. It wasn't amazing, but we had a really good time.

Oat Bran Muffins

I guess I'm just in a cooking mood. I bought oat bran at the grocery store this week because I've been wanting to try oat bran muffins. Found this recipe online, and they were so good!!

Oat Bran Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used half white and half fresh-ground wheat - yum!)

1 cup oat bran

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup milk

2 large egg whites, beaten (I just used one whole egg)

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with baking cups. Coat with cooking spray.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, oat bran, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix well; add milk, beaten egg whites, honey and melted butter. Stir to just moisten the dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
3. Pour batter evenly into baking cups and bake for 15 to 17 minutes. Tops should be golden brown and spring back when lightly touched in the center.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Oh, and I figured out there are 109 calories in each one. In case you wanted to know.

Bruschetta

I have tomatoes in the garden this year, and I didn't want to make salsa because we have lots left from last year, so I've canned most of the tomatoes. But I'm trying to learn to like fresh ones, too. I found a great recipe for bruschetta that is a great way to eat them without having problems with the texture!

1 1/2 lb tomatoes, put in boiling water for a minute to get the skins off easily

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

1 t balsamic vinegar

2 basil leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

You dice the tomatoes and mix it all up.

I slice a baguette (or I like to buy a sourdough one already sliced up) and put butter and garlic salt on one side. Broil that in the oven just until starting to crisp.

Spread the tomato mixture on the bread and eat it up! It's great.

Tanner Mowing the Lawn

Tanner mows the front and Jared does the back. Tanner always has to get dressed up for it. Protection from the sun and any grass is important!

Uncle Joe's Cabin

We went to Fairview to see Uncle Joe and Marilyn at their cabin. It was beautiful! They have done amazing things with rockwork and wood. We rode around on our 4-wheelers looking at what was for sale in the area. It was such a nice day; cool and a little rainy.

Tanner likes to drive the ATV!

The Great Pumpkin

My dad is an amazing gardener. This year he decided to grow monster pumpkins for our kids to enjoy! Here is Kiersten with the biggest one a few weeks ago. I think he thinks he's going to get it in our car for us to take home sometime before Halloween!

The Garden!

Our garden is really starting to produce. We've had the squash going for awhile, but this is the first corn and we are just getting beans, too. We have some tomatoes that I will need to start canning soon!

Great-Grandma Ruth's 91st Birthday Party!

My paternal grandma, Ruth Hammer, had her 91st birthday party! She has moved in next door to my mom and dad and they are taking care of her. We had a nice party at the park in Lewiston. It was a rainy afternoon, but we were under the pavilion, so it was nice for us. The kids had fun playing in the rain.

Grandma Hammer (Kris's mom) and Uncle Gerry.

Kiersten spent most of her time being mad and playing on this tree.

We picked up Brittany and Sarah (her cousin on Mark's side) from USU and took them to the party with us. They mostly played games.

Tanner had fun with the umbrella.

Sarah

Jared

This fabulous cake made by my niece, Breelyn! She is very creative.