Happy 4th

We had a great 4th celebrating with friends and family.  We feasted on lots of yummy food:  hot dogs, hamburgers, spicy honey chicken legs, broccoli  salad, watermelon, coleslaw, mini apple pies (made by Vivian and me), cherries, potato salad, chips and Chad's famous guacamole, potato chips, layered red/white/blue jello, Jody's raspberry pie (delicious), a red/white/blue cake, ice-cream and probably more!  The guys had fun shooting guns and playing bocce.  We all had a good time.  The night ended by watching the fireworks over the Speedway.

I am grateful for the United States of America; I'm proud to be an American and thankful for the freedoms we enjoy.

Gingerbread Houses

 This year we made gingerbread houses the easier way - with graham crackers instead of me making them all from scratch!  It was a relief - my goal this season was to simplify.  We still had lots of fun designing and decorating our houses.  I forgot my camera - so I don't have any pictures of us getting together with the Richaels.  Jody was on picture duty this year!

Olivia had the tallest house this year!

Vivian made a beautiful house with lots of candy.  The only problem was that she couldn't eat her candy because the royal frosting worked too well.  Next year we will frost them with regular cake frosting so they can enjoy their candy.

This year I tried to re-create our home.  I had fun sawing the crackers to make them fit just right.   Maybe next year I will get more detailed. Did you know that I love designing real homes, especially floor plans?

Corbin's house was nice and symmetrical - I had to catch a picture before he ate all the candy!

Porter was the first one done.  I had to force him to make his house.  He had a very unusual design!

Here is Paul's cute little house with stack of wood and Christmas tree.  I think this is his best one yet!

If you want to make houses out of real gingerbread, click here for the recipe and instructions, here.

Thanksgiving at Home

Grandpa Ramsey and the girls made little chocolate goodies to decorate the table.  The one on the right is Paul's after he ate the chocolate! 

 Crafting away!

 They all worked together.

 Smokey was wondering if he was left out.

 We had a wonderful meal.  Tisha and Mom both brought wonderful food and together, it was a hit without all the stress.

 Half the table!

 The second half of the table!

We had several pies to choose from - of course, my favorite was the Pecan Pie from Costco!

We had a really nice Thanksgiving Day - I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  It wasn't hectic or too much work with everyone pitching in.  It was actually a very enjoyable weekend with Mom, Keith, Tisha, David, and Daniel (Paul's youngest brother).

Mother's Day

Corbin whittled wood to make this very creative Mother's Day card - isn't it lovely!

Thank you children for the nice cards and gifts!

Vivian made this cute card with sucker and alligator love - remember him?  She also gave me a gift bag full of treasures from her bedroom.

Porter made this little card.

Olivia made this card with hand woven bookmark!

Olivia also made this card!  She really gets into Mother's Day.

When we were shopping earlier in the week at Desert Book, Olivia asked me "do you think someone will like this for a gift?"  I said, "Of course, anyone will love this!"  Fortunately I was the lucky recipient of this delicious rice crispy treat that had caramel, chocolate and pretzels in the middle of a layer of marshmallow cream.

It was a good Mother's Day!

St. Patrick's Day Came and Went

We usually celebrate St. Patrick's Day but with the girls being sick I didn't do much.  Usually we have a pancake breakfast with green syrup and then corned beef and cabbage for dinner - skipped both.  I have the corned beef in the freezer so we will have to celebrate another day.

Since the girls were home from school I put together a little treasure hunt in which they read clues that led them to the bear.  It was a little bright spot in their day.

This was Tisha's first experience at Build-a-Bear!

Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentines Day! 

I already set the table for dinner with our cute valentine plates, napkins, fun balloons, gifts, and piece of chocolate.  Now I am in the process of making Cupid's Cups.  I think we will have a finger foods for dinner including:  pizza squares, buffalo wings, veggie tray, egg rolls, and seven layer dip with chips.  For dessert and our FHE activity we will bake, frost, and decorate sugar cookies (my favorite recipe here).

Cupid's Cups

Thanksgiving in Burley

 

This year we gathered in Burley for Thanksgiving, all of us siblings except Tonya (she lives in Texas).  The cousins had a great time playing with each other.  We enjoyed a delicious family Thanksgiving meal.  Tisha and David won the award for the "best stuffing" - they made it from scratch!  It was a hit. 

We visited my Clark grandparents (they live a mile from Mom).  We were also able to see Gordon/Janet, Charles/Dianne, Dad/Luanne, and cousins Brett and Jared.  Dad brought a couple dune buggies that the kids road around the house.  Corbin had to take me for a ride, too.

They were finally able to play in the snow after it warmed up a bit.  They worked on making an igloo and taking turns being pulled by the four-wheeler on a sled!

Halloween Fun

Saturday morning Olivia reminded me that we were going to make Apple Cider Doughnuts.  So after a quick trip to the store, I had the kitchen in a huge mess and was pumping out lots of doughnuts and doughnut holes (my favorite).  Everyone enjoyed them so it may become an annual Halloween tradition.  Here is the recipe. 

Later that day, there was a neighborhood trick or treating in the park.  This was our first time attending this annual event - it was a lot of fun.  The kids just walked around and around the park until the candy was gone.  That was all the trick or treating we did.  I was happy because I was sick with a burning sore throat and cold.  It was quick and easy, plus fun to see so many friends.

Hometown for the 4th

The 4th started with a Boy Scout pancake breakfast at the church! The girls were in sausage heaven, eating at least 6 each (probably more).

We attended the Albion parade. It was short and sweet - the kids came home happy with a bag of candy! The funniest entry were the camels with Bin Laden and the hunter behind him.

We enjoyed a bag of cotton candy for $1.00. This was probably the coldest 4th that I have experienced - the morning started off at 49 degrees.

We also squeezed in time to play at Storybook Park and grab ice cream cones at Gossners (with Kameron). Oh, I love the black licorice flavor!

Sunday we attended a 4th of July musical performance at the King Fine Arts Center at BHS. It is a wonderful program of patriotic music that they have offered to the community for many years. The kids and I attended it along with Mom, Tara, Niels and Gage (I didn't get a picture of them). We also visited with the Redder family - Kam and family were in town from Arkansas along with Kara and family from Vegas (she is expecting twin girls).

It was a great 4th of July! It was nice being with family. Mom and Keith were great hosts. Olivia reminded Grandma often how much she loved her and how yummy her food was! This weekend we roasted giant marshmallows, ate lots of yummy food, stayed up late, had fun with Tara's cricut machine making vinyl lettering, visited grandma/pa Clark and Aunt Kathryn (I found out she's a Glenn Beck fan, too!), visited Marcus and Rebekah, played croquet (the boys did), and probably gained a couple pounds!

The Spirit of Liberty and the Fire of Patriotism

A wonderful message of patriotism was shared prior to the sharing of testimonies in sacrament meeting. Bishop Guy Redder read a portion of this talk, "The Test" that was given by President Boyd K. Packer in the Nov. 2008 Ensign - click here for the link to the full talk. It is a powerful message of teaching our children patriotism and love for our country. This is one of my goals to instill in my children a love for American and to continue to stand for truth, righteousness, freedom and liberty!

Here are excerpts from this message:

On July 24, 1849 the saints in Utah celebrated! They had been driven from their homes and persecuted terribly. They had sought protection from the United States President, Martin Van Buren, who told them, “Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you."

Here are "the final paragraphs of their third petition addressed to the Congress of the United States:

“The afflictions of your memorialists have already been overwhelming, too much for humanity, too much for American citizens to endure without complaint. We have groaned under the iron hand of tyranny and oppression these many years. We have been robbed of our property to the amount of two millions of dollars. We have been hunted as the wild beasts of the forest. We have seen our aged fathers who fought in the Revolution, and our innocent children, alike slaughtered by our persecutors. We have seen the fair daughters of American citizens insulted and abused in the most inhuman manner, and finally, we have seen fifteen thousand souls, men, women, and children, driven by force of arms, during the severities of winter, from their sacred homes and firesides, to a land of strangers, penniless and unprotected. Under all these afflicting circumstances, we imploringly stretch forth our hands towards the highest councils of our nation, and humbly appeal to the illustrious Senators and Representatives of a great and free people for redress and protection.

“Hear! O hear the petitioning voice of many thousands of American citizens who now groan in exile … ! Hear! O hear the weeping and bitter lamentations of widows and orphans, whose husbands and fathers have been cruelly martyred in the land where the proud eagle … floats! Let it not be recorded in the archives of the nations, that … exiles sought protection and redress at your hands, but sought it in vain. It is in your power to save us, our wives, and our children, from a repetition of the bloodthirsty scenes of Missouri, and thus greatly relieve the fears of a persecuted and injured people, and your petitioners will ever pray.”

After the saints had been in the Utah valley for two years, they celebrated their freedoms and liberty.

They built a bowery on Temple Square. They erected a flagpole 104 feet (32 m) tall. They made an enormous national flag 65 feet (20 m) in length and unfurled it at the top of this liberty pole.

It may seem puzzling, incredible almost beyond belief, that for the theme of this first celebration they chose patriotism and loyalty to that same government which had rejected and failed to assist them. What could they have been thinking of? If you can understand why, you will understand the power of the teachings of Christ.

Their brass band played as President Brigham Young led a grand procession to Temple Square. He was followed by the Twelve Apostles and the Seventy.

Then followed 24 young men dressed in white pants; black coats; white scarves on their right shoulders; coronets, or crowns, on their heads; and a sheathed sword at their left sides. In their right hand, of all things, each carried a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The Declaration of Independence was read by one of those young men.

Next came 24 young women dressed in white, blue scarves on their right shoulders and white roses on their heads. Each carried a Bible and a Book of Mormon.

Almost but not quite as amazing as their choice of patriotism for a theme was what came next: 24 aged sires (as they were called) led by patriarch Isaac Morley. They were known as the Silver Greys—all 60 years of age or older. Each carried a staff painted red with white ribbon floating at the top. One carried the Stars and Stripes. These men were a symbol of the priesthood, which was “from the beginning before the world was” and had been restored in this dispensation.

And so on that day of celebration in 1849, “Elder Phineas Richards came forward in behalf of the twenty-four aged sires, and read their loyal and patriotic address.” He spoke of the need for them to teach patriotism to their children and to love and honor freedom. After he briefly recited the perils that they had come through, he said:

“Brethren and friends, we who have lived to three-score years, have beheld the government of the United States in its glory, and know that the outrageous cruelties we have suffered proceeded from a corrupted and degenerate administration, while the pure principles of our boasted Constitution remain unchanged. …

“… As we have inherited the spirit of liberty and the fire of patriotism from our fathers, so let them descend [unchanged] to our posterity.”

Three things about that 1849 commemoration were both symbolic and prophetic: first, that the young men carried the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; next, that each young woman carried the Bible and the Book of Mormon; and finally, that the old men—the Silver Greys—were honored in the parade."

(Boyd K. Packer, “The Test,” Liahona, Nov 2008, 88–91)

4th of July Ideas

Here is a Pottery Barn place setting. I like how the ribbon adds a splash of color. I am excited for a yummy BBQ - I'm looking for a perfect hamburger recipe right now.

Two years ago I got creative with the girls hair. Have fun with ribbon! (Olivia July 2008)

Viv's had the short curly hair - I miss that! July 2008

Stars on a Stick from "How Does She" - these rice crispy treats would be fun for the kids to make!

Here is a tutorial at Betz White to make a cute pinwheel brooch.

Easy and Colorful dessert from Southern Living! Whip this up in a couple minutes.

Cute flag t-shirts - they look easy if you have a sewing machine and an old red shirt.

Wow, look at the decor! Check out the blog "Centsational Girl" for more information and tutorials to make the fabric banner and pom poms. Plus in that post she has 126 various 4th of July ideas with pictures.

Firework Pom Poms

Your guests will be surprised when you cut the cake! Look at this cool flag cake from the "Make it and Love It" blog.

This is a cute idea - garland for your next BBQ from Jesse Kate Designs with tutorial!

Reverence for Memorial Day

For the very first time our family honored Memorial Day. After hearing that the President was not going to honor our American veterans today, I decided that I needed to step up and teach my children by example and by honoring this sacred day. I am appalled that our President isn't respecting this day, but I am grateful that it gave me the push to bring this tradition to our family.

We began by enjoying a special red, white and blue breakfast of pancakes with strawberries and blueberries - a favorite of every one's.

The program

I just couldn't pass up this opportunity to take a picture of our American Flag, which represents freedom and liberty!

Here the young sea cadets are waiting to release the white doves after a beautiful poem is read.

This was just breathtaking. The doves flew around the audience a few times before they flew away.

I have to say that my heart was especially touched today during this ceremony and I felt the spirit pour into me. This song also brought tears to my eyes as I saw the many veterans stand as their song was sung.

We also enjoyed a fly over by an airplane out of the Air Hawk War Museum. I believe it was a WWII plane. It circled 5 or 6 times above the ceremony before departing.

Also we listened to this bagpiper, two bell ceremony and the sounding of taps.

We also saw and heard this original cannon blast six times - it is also an original piece. The men were all dressed in Civil War uniforms.

Look at the bayonet!

Abraham Lincoln also attended the service!

Afterwards there was a BBQ - which we all enjoyed!

Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War was expanded after World War I to honor dead Americans from all wars.

We didn’t start celebrating Memorial Day until after the Civil War, but it was during that conflict, November of 1863, that President Abraham Lincoln gave his historic Gettysburg Address and eloquently laid out the simple yet profound idea that lies at the heart of this day:

"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Olivia made the family a Memorial Day card. Here are the different illustrations on the card.

Our family

Olivia holding the American flag!