March 14th, Jaren's 8th birthday party at the park

I wasn't sure what to do for Jaren's birthday, so I last day decided to just invite family and friends to the park. Matt had made some snickerdoodles the day before, so that's what we had to hand out to everyone. Everyone had a nice time and I didn't have to have a clean house for it! We were actually in the process of taking out the clay dirt out of our garden plot. So we were busy doing that. Matt's mom got him a nice swim suit and shirt and game. We got him the fishing pole.

Stove top sized griddle from my Momma

Years ago, my mother picked up a full sized griddle at a garage sale. She asked me if I was interested in it, but I had no way to use it. I told her maybe someday. Well, now that we have a full burner top stove, I can use it. It use to take us so long to cook up all of our pancakes on one regular sized griddle 6 at a time, but now we can cook 15 pancakes at a time! It's a big timesaver.

Garden project Part 1

After years of having a disappointing garden, we finally decided to do something about it. We borrowed a kabota tractor from a ward member and Matt dug out about 10 tons of dirt. He filled up the back of his truck and the utility trailer and we hauled the dirt off to the desert to a ravine. On the last trip, the trailer got a flat. Fortunately, we did have a spare with us. The chickens loved digging in the bottom of the garden plot for worms and there were of bunch of them.

Next construction project - rear garage door

We wanted to redo our garden but were troubled with how we were going to have access to our back yard. One day Matt called me at work and told me of his idea to put in a garage door in the back of our garage. I thought it was interesting but that was it. A few days later he came home with all the supplies and spent the next few days installing it. Done! We have loved having it there with all the work we have had to put into our garden.

kids

Angelique wanted to participate in the Dr. Seuss dress up day. They could choose any character to dress up like. Angelique chose Cindy Lou Who. She did a fabulous job on her costume and hair. She did it all herself! She was the best Cindy Lou Who in her school if I say so myself!



Safia let Jileigh curl her hair for church. This is a once in a long time event that Safia will let someone do her hair other than a ponytail.


My little Beau climbed the tree. He is just cute so I took picture of him.

Jaren like to wrestle the dog sometimes and I just so happen to have the camera on me. That dog likes any kind of attention.

Elody came out of her room one day and had 8 pairs of her sister's panties around her neck! We all got a good laugh! What a funny kid!

Car Troubles

I have quite the story to tell. The kids didn't have school on a Monday, Feb 21st President's day, So the school started on Tuesday with Angelique attending early morning orchestra. The gas light was on in my car as I was going to pick up the girls. I got to the gas station and ran out of gas in the turning lane. A minute later a couple of men in truck stopped and helped me push my car into the gas station. I put 6 gallons in, but my car still wouldn't start. Amy Y. was behind me and picked up the girls for me. I called Andrea to take tare of my little kids, and Pam to pick me up. Later, Matt and his friend Lance went to look at the car. They decided that the fuel pump died. We ordered one online but it wasn't quite the right size. We had to mail it back and get a new one from the auto parts store. Two weeks later my car was running again. Sometimes deals on line work out and sometimes they don't.

Matt and Talon's Klondike overnight campout

COLD!!! Matt and Talon participated in the Klondike overnight campout. They were prepared well with thermals, boots, sock, gloves, beanies, snow jackets and snow pants. The evening was clear, and snow was about 3 feet deep on the level, but the roads had been cleared of snow. They woke up to 12" of new snow on the tents and it continued snowing very heavily all that morning. They thought is was a joke when the leaders came around and canceled the activities. Imagine, a Klondike cancelled on account of too much snow!!! However, as the snow continued to pile up and the narrow, treacherous highway down Cedar Canyon got deeper in unplowed snow, they realized it was probably a good idea. After breakfast they just packed everything back up and headed home. They stayed warm enough. Many of the scouts came in cars and trucks that were not 4wd and ended up in serious trouble, but our troop was prepared in all 4wd's and got out fine.

My Little Beau and sweet Elody together

Elody and Beau were watching TV together with their arms wrapped around each other's necks. Too Cute! Had to take a picture of them.


Once in a while Elody or Beau land in bed with us. One night they both did. I guess they were cold. I thought they were cute with both of them with their hands up by their heads.

Remodeling project - Toy and food storage closet to a bathroom

Stage One:






We finally started the bathroom project. Matt and the kids cleaned everything out of the toy/food storage closet and Matt and Talon demo'd out the shelves and tile. Then Matt dug down to the main plumbing line so B-I-L Jake could do the plumbing. Then Matt built the wall for the shower. Jake just finished all the plumbing this weekend, so now Matt can start on the electrical.

S - P - O - I - L - E - D ! ! !

I've been spoiled! The number one thing we want with our income tax return is a new oven. Now that the door is falling off, it is time. So here it is!!! The Kenmore Elite 30" dual oven. Love it!

Monday night dinner: Rustic veg. soup and Chicken nuggets homemade

The sickness bug has hit my family. The main symptoms are low grade fever, soar throat, and some are coughing. Talon, Jaren, Beauchene and Elody have had it. I started with the soar throat last night. Not Fun! On top of that, Matt woke up with a rib causing him pain. Late this morning, I was briefly watching Martha Stewart's cooking segment and watched her make Rustic vegetable soup starting with a marinara sauce. I decided that we were having that for dinner. So I set some chicken bones on to boil in one crock pot and a marinara sauce in another. I also cut up some chicken breast and set them to marinate in some buttermilk. After I took Matt to the chiropractor, we came home and made dinner. We made the bread crumbs from my homemade wheat bread and seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders and parsley. Everything turned out so yummy! That soup is a definite keeper. Matt suggested next time we add a pound of the smoked sausage roll cut up in slices.

Marinara sauce

Makes 5 cups
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Cooked pasta, for serving (optional)
• Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Directions
1. Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium saucepan along with olive oil, garlic, and oregano; season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook at a rapid simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Serve with cooked pasta, garnished with cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Rustic Vegetable Soup
Serves 4
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced small (1/2 cup)
• 2 medium carrots, diced medium (1 cup)
• 1/2 small green cabbage, core removed, diced large (2 1/2 cups)
• 2 1/4 cups Marinara Sauce (1/2 recipe)
• 3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 medium zucchini, diced large (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Directions
1. In a 4-quart heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add onion, carrot, and cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add marinara sauce and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add zucchini, reduce heat to a rapid simmer, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add cannellini beans and simmer until beans are heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide soup among four bowls and top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

I didn’t add the beans and I doubled the soup using all the marinara sauce.

Elody on the counter

Elody has this obsession with being up on the counter. I pull that child off at least a dozen times a day. Last night she was sitting up there when Talon was unloading the dishwasher. They like to unload everything up on the counter, shut the dishwasher, and then put everything away. So Talon unloaded everything and put it all around her. He thought it was funny and wanted me to take a picture of it. So here it is!

WARNING - This is gross

Over the weeks my shower drain got worse and worse to the point that it just was not draining hardly at all anymore. So Matt brought home from work a plumbing snake and put it down the drain. This is what he pulled out. A large rat-sized hair ball. Yuck! And it smelled disgusting. There you go. Sorry for sharing!