A Christmas Carol

It took us until the last minute to roll out our Christmas video this year. The actors were on strike. Let's just say that one of our children puts the "ben" in Ebenezer.

2007 Sunshine on My Shoulders

2006 How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2005 Nativity

Merry Christmas!

Laundry

While Staci and I were frantically tackling our daunting piles of laundry, we both agreed that we needed the sign that hangs above her friend's washing machine. It reads:

"When I said, 'I do,' I didn't mean laundry."

Marie's Journal Entry

Marie started each school day with a vocabulary word written on the board. Her job was to write the definition and color an accompanying picture. This entry was written at the beginning of the year, so her spelling is a little difficult to decipher.

Translation: Worker means my grandpa's job is to ride on airplanes and he gets paid.

A New House

A while ago James asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told him I wanted a house. Well Santa delivered. We can't decide which is more exciting, the large back yard or our interest rate (4.9%)! We have a few details that still need to resolved, but we're hopeful. We close on the 30th. Yikes.

Swimming Lessons-Autumn Session

Last week was the kids' final swimming lesson. Grandma Jane came to watch (that might explain why we actually have pictures of the event). I'd say the progess they made was worth every penny. Marie is swimming on her own for short distances, and Tessa is almost there. Ben is no longer afraid of the water and Grace...well, she's just happy to be along for the ride!

Tessa doing the elementary back float with her teacher, Spencer. (Chicken, airplane, soldier!)

Tessa is pretty fast on the kick-board.

Ben and Miss Gretchen. He LOVED her.

I wish this picture hadn't turned out so blurry. Check out Ben's awesome stroke!

Marie swimming on her own!

The indoor water slide. It is so nice to have access to a pool year-round.

Grace at the bottom of a kiddy slide. We are thankful she no longer crawls deeper than nose-level. Apparently it takes some degree of sense to turn around--as opposed to going deeper.

Odds and Ends

Are we good parents because we've been spending lots of time with the kids or bad parents because we haven't updated the blog in a month?

Tessa was the statue of liberty for Halloween.


Ben was a Tyrannosaurus.

Marie was a doctor, but she was at school when pictures were taken. Grace was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She was taking a nap.

This is my pumpkin.

The kids caught catfish (not Halloween related--they were just having fun).

Priceless Marie Quote

Mom, is this house a four leaf clover [foreclosure]?

Bracing for Winter

The girls were ready for winter clothes about a month and a half ago. But I told them they had to wait until it got quite a bit colder in order to help them adapt to the "extreme" temperature. (Otherwise we wouldn't have any other layers when it really got cold.) Since it got down to the mid 20's last night, I figured it was cold enough. Here they are, just before going off to school.

Kristen Kay Christensen's Wedding (What a tongue twister!)

Kristen was married on a perfect autumn day in the Manti temple. It was so much fun being with all the cousins. A special thank-you goes to Grandma Lori for the horses and Little House series, and to Grandpa Steve for ball games and stories on his knee!

80's Party

Allie sporting biker shorts and a fanny pack.

Check out those wings (and hoop earrings)!

Pegged pants and a Michael J. Fox "life preserver."

We look so HOT.

Thank you, Aunt Molly, for the shorts, earrings, and for watching the kids for us. They miss you already.

Baked Sour Cream Donuts

I lost my best recipe in the move. This recipe is pretty close (and quite delicious), but I do have one question for those baking pros out there. Since this recipe calls for baking powder and soda (instead of yeast), should I treat the dough like muffin batter and handle it as little as possible? It does ask you to "gently" knead the dough. So does that mean that intead, that it will be like bread: the more it is roughed up the lighter it will be? I went for somewhere in the middle...

Baked Sour Cream Donuts (pictured below)*

3 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup sour cream

*

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside. Combine eggs and sugar and mix until pale yellow and slightly stiff. Add butter and sour cream and mix until well blended. Add dry ingredients and beat until a moist, stiff dough is formed.

*

Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently, working in additional flour to prevent sticking. Dough should be soft and smooth. Cover; let rest for 30 minutes.

*

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Generously grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut out with round cookie cutter or simply cut into squares (like you would biscuits). Leave at least one inch space between donuts on the cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. DO NOT OVER COOK.

*

Prepare a bowl with a cinnamon and sugar mixture then another with melted butter. When still warm (or cool), quickly submerge each donut in butter and then roll around in cinnamon/sugar, coating all sides. Or, dip into a maple glaze (see below):

*

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup maple syrup

*

The donut recipe in the picture was doubled.

Valiant 9 Class Party

Even though I was released as a primary teacher, I promised the kids we would still hold the class party that we had scheduled for this weekend. There aren't too many pictures, but I think everyone had a lot of fun. (I learned, though, that kids that age are still picky eaters. No one ate the chili and pumpkin egg nog. It's a good thing I had plenty of chips, cheese, and cookies.)

James' poster for "Pin the Wart on the Witch."

Maddie gets ready to place her wart.

Kids popping each other's balloons.

Why I Love Autumn

Leaves changing color in our very own yard!

Baked Sour Cream Donuts

Halloween Hangman (this was Marie's word)

We Love that Grace's Face

What a character she has turned out to be!

Ben's Cast

Ben is learning not to suck his thumb. He, like the girls two years ago, will have it on for one week and then we will soak the cast in the tub to remove it. His cast is made of Rigid Wrap (found at Michael's). The cast doesn't have to go all the way up his thumb--just high enough to break the suction. He has been a champ. No tears at bed time, just frustration at meal times because he is right-handed.

Berry Picking in Brighton

Marie scored 100% on her first spelling test and even got the challenge words correct.

Painting during family home evening.