December 2012

I hope your December was filled with fun and family. We had a great holiday season and are enjoying some lazy time before school starts in January. Here are a few pictures to summarize.

Lyndsee had her first Piano Recital.

Brianna had her first Cheer Competition.

We went to Temple Lights with the Widowski's, I am LOVING this picture!

Brianna went to Temple lights three times this year, with friends, with Young Women's and with us.

Brianna had a Birthday Party, this a few of the kids before we left.

24 kids for a barbecue and campfire in the desert! Super fun Sweet 16 party!

Christmas Eve with the Harper's

Logan got the Sperry's he's been wanting

Santa Came! (Bella got decked out for Christmas too.)



Brianna had her first date! She wouldn't let me take a picture, apparantly that would be embarrassing!

 

Turkey Hunt - Santa Cruz, CA

Logan and Scott headed to Santa Cruz on Friday to hunt turkeys with Nate, Tanner and Greg. Logan's uncle Nate set this trip up and has been talking with the boys about it for years. He ordered them guns and I hear he had an arsenal of them himself. They got up to Santa Cruz on Saturday morning and it sounds like they had a GREAT time. No turkeys lost their lives, but there are a few less birds and one less gopher on the ranch today.

They headed back to Brendas late Sunday and then got to spend some time with family, including meeting Cindi and Nate's sweet new baby Neva. I'm jealous, I admit it.

 

 We really appreciate Nate for setting this trip up and making it a great experience for the boys.

Here are a few of the pictures Scott shared with me.

Alaska - June 2012

We left the day after school got out this year for a cruise to Alaska. It was a great experience. We travelled on the Norwegian Pearl from Seattle and stopped in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, Alaska. We also spent one evening in Victoria, BC, Canada.

Our first day of vacation we spent exploring Seattle. We went to Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, wandered through a statue garden at the art museum and had dinner at Ivars near Pike Place Market. We walked a lot, probably too much but we wanted to see what we could in the short time we had in Seattle. The next morning we went to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and watched some ships moving from the lake level down to sea level. It was definitely interesting. There was a fish ladder there too but unfortunately we were too early to see the salmon moving up them. This was a bummer in a lot of places on the trip - I think it would be really interesting to go to Alaska in July and see the salmon moving upstream but we missed it. Luckily there were a lot of other interesting things to see.

It's all GUM! So gross, but oddly fascinating.



My parents waiting for us to board the ship. They were very patient with us. :)

We got on the ship in the afternoon. As we were waiting in line to go through the boarding process we realized that we had accidentally brought two birth certificates for Lyndsee and none for Logan. We had fun teasing him about leaving him in Seattle for the week. Lucky for him the person who boarded us chose to pretend he had seen his birth certificate and we boarded without a problem.

Lyndsee was the Rock Wall Champion.

It was fun to explore the ship and we patiently sat through the safety briefing and had a nice dinner that night. Logan and Brianna went to the Teen Centers "Bon Voyage" get together and met several friends that they spent a lot of time with over the next week. They usually would attend the shows at night with the teen group and spent time playing games, shooting baskets, watching movies and just hanging out with their friends. They usually had breakfast and dinner with us on the ship, other than that we would just pass them occasionally, and they usually had an ice cream cone in one hand and a brownie in the other. 

The first of many bus stops. There was only ONE seat!

Our first port was Juneau where we went to see the Mendenhall Glacier. It was spectacular with an incredible waterfall right next to it. We wandered through several little trails near there and then decided to walk the mile and a half to catch the city bus back to the port. Usually we don't mind city busses, but this time it was a big mistake. We were quickly joined on the bus by several very inebriated passengers. Two women and a couple were especially problematic. Lets just say they should have "gotten a room"! Ugh.

Totem Poles were everywhere



A rainy day in Ketchikan

We went across this beautiful stream multiple times

In Skagway we did an amazing zip line tour through the rainforest. The scenery was spectacular and the kids had fun flipping, flying upside down and sideways on the zip lines. I was happy that I didn't have a panic attack. The worst one was a line that you had to take a running start off the edge of a cliff! We all had a great time, and apparantly it was exhausting because Logan fell asleep on the busride back to the docks.

Chillaxin



Scott and I in Glacier Bay, so cold!

We had other scenic stops in Ketchikan (rainy) and Victoria BC (beautiful.) We also spent a day cruising through Glacier Bay where there was a ton of wildlife, we saw a bear, lots of whales and sea otters and eagles.  It was fun and relaxing and had spectacular scenery. I would definitely do a cruise again...but next time someplace warm!



We were photo bombed in Victoria, look closely at the tree behind me.



Lyndsee loved the totem poles and her coon tail hat!

Hellsgate Hike - May 2012

Scott and Reddin hiked Hellsgate Trail last weekend. They are going to take the scouts there this summer and wanted to have a good idea what they were getting themselves in to. I'm a little jealous after looking at the pictures and wish I could go too.

This is what a lot of the hike looked like

It's a good thing Scott and Reddin are "Experienced Trail Users" - hopefully the Scouts can handle it too.

French Bread recipe

French Bread recipe (this amount makes 3 small loaves or 2 large):
2 1/2 c. warm water
2 T. yeast
3 T. sugar
2 T. white vinegar
Add the above ingredients together and let sit until bubbly (about 3-5 minutes). Then add:
1 T. salt
1/3 c. oil (I use Canola)
6-7 c. flour (or a little more if it's too soft), one cup at a time--add enough until the dough is soft, but firm enough to mold into dough loaves

Knead for 2-5 minutes and then put in the oven with a small pot of boiling water. The water will keep the dough moist. Watch the dough and punch it down when it gets to the top of the mixing bowl. Do this every time it gets to the top of the bowl, as long as you have time to babysit it (2-5 times). Put the dough on a greased countertop and divide into 3 sections. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet. Roll the dough balls into rectangle/long French bread shapes. Slash tops of bread diagonally 3-5 times and cover with a beaten egg. Let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled)on the counter, or you can put them in your oven at 170 and wait until they are the size you want to cook them at. Once they are to the right size, turn up your stove to 375 (without opening the door!) and let them bake until done. Or, just raise on the counter and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!  Dough--can be a little soft, if too sticky, add a little more flour. Put the boiling water in the oven with your bowl of dough to help it rise faster.  Cut the dough into two equal parts (or three if you are making smaller loaves).  Slice the dough diagonally and white wash with 1 beaten egg.   Bake and serve warm out of the oven!

From:  http://www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post_09.html

Delicious!

Rules

This has been stuck to Lyndsee's door for awhile now. I happened to take a look at it again today and smiled. She was pretty thorough, (but must work on her spelling!)  Don't mess with Lyndsee!

Translation:

Rules: for my room

No yelling, no screaming, no whining, no teasing, no being serious, no sneezing, no burping, no coughing, no bragging, no stealing, no kissing, no coming in uninvited, no dirty shoes, no people I do not know, no being mean, especially for Brianna and Logan, no Bella in my room, no telling me what to do, no Logan in this room, no grabbing, no laying on my bed, no annoying Lyndsee, no scribbling on papers, no breaking these rules!

Lyndsee is allowed to break these rules whenever she wants.