Thanksgiving Dinner Planning

So like many years since Med school and beyond I get to host Thanksgiving this year but this year is going to be special. This year we are going to have family join us. My sister and her family of seven will be making it a full house. In the past my big heart ached when I had to put on my own thankful meal because I'd get really get homesick for my family. Thankfully I have always had such wonderful friends to share the holiday with but this year I actually get some family! Anyways, I have this menu floating in my head that I sort of have this huge desire to write down and compile the recipes I am going to do as I research and find the ones I am needing to find and get ready to make the monster shopping list so that is what this is. If you see a place where I need a recipe please share with me your favorite. I love recipe recommendations!

Stuffing:I got this recipe from Stewart's Aunt Sue when we eat there for Thanksgiving. I totally fell in love with it! It is so dang good.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups boiling water
3 sticks butter melted
1 minced onion
1 1/2 to 2 loaves bread (white bread)
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 tsp. salt *if your butter is salted add less then given here
2 tsp. poultry seasoning or sage
3 Tbsp. parsley flakes
4 stalks celery diced
DIRECTIONS
Mix all together. If too dry just add more water. You can then stuff turkey with it or you can bake in a baking pan. Bake until turkey is cooked through and if in its own pan cook at 350 degrees until tops of bread are golden brown - I think this is best baked in a shallow pan  so you get lots of golden bred and its not soggy on the bottom.

Turkey: I have tried many different ways to cook a turkey. Brine, salt rub, butter coated, traditional.... But I think after all the turkeys I have cooked in my life probably about 10 I think I have found my favorite way. We'll see how it goes this year.

INGREDIENTS
Salt
Poultry seasoning
paprika
little bit of sugar
butter
large onion
Celery stalks
Big Turkey

DIRECTIONS
1.)With a completely thawed turkey the day before you want to bake it make a generous amount of rub using the dried seasonings listed above. Then rub that baby down. The insides, all of the outsides, and even a little under that skin. Wrap it in plastic wrap and then put it in the bottom of your refrigerator on top a large layer of news paper.
2.) Then the next day about an hour and half before you bake it take it out and give it a chance to warm up a bit for that hour. Wash off the salt rub on its exterior and pat dry. Stuff it with coarsely chopped onion, and celery. With softened butter get messy and mush it under the breast skin to help keep the breasts moist. Then I sprinkle it with more paprika (it will give it a nice color). Then you can bake it how you like. I like using a turkey bag but to each their own.
*Make sure you time things right. It takes a long time to bake and then you want to let it rest before you serve it and you need time to make the gravy.
*With this method the gravy can be really salty so I like to have gravy mixes on hand to help me mix and play with flavor if needed.

Creamed Corn -I got this recipe from Stewart's Aunt Sue. It is so good you know its not good for you. My kids loved it!
INGREDIENTS
2 packages (10 oz.) frozen corn, thawed
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp. Salt
5 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I would probably omit this when I make it)
DIRECTIONS
1.) Combine all ingredients except the butter, flour, and cheese in a large pan. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer 5 minutes. Watch it carefully so it doesn't scorch on the bottom of the pan.
2.) In a separate pan melt butter and add flour to make thickening. Slowly pour butter mixture into the corn mixture. Stir constantly and bring to a gentle boil.
3.)Pour into serving dish and enjoy.
*If you are adding the cheese then sprinkle on top and broil to brown the cheese and serve.

Sauteed Green Beans - Since I like to do the creamed corn I really don't think we need another super rich creamy side dish and I love vegetables so I want green beans but in a healthier simpler preparation.

INGREDIENTS
olive oil
onion
garlic
salt (or chicken bullion powder)
green beans

DIRECTIONS
Saute onions in oil then add the garlic after 30 seconds add the green beans. sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir, cover, and let steam. Stir occasionally remove from heat and serve when tender. If you like you can sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to sort of pretty them up and give a little kick.

Blueberry Jello Salad - This is a tradition from my childhood. It was my favorite thing about thanksgiving dinner growing up. I love this jello.

INGREDIENTS
1 large box jello (blueberry, strawberry, or whatever you like)
1 regular size can crushed pineapple
1 can blueberry pie filling
8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T. sugar
DIRECTIONS
Pour jello powder into 9x13 baking dish. Add 2 cups hot water onto jello and dissolve. Add pineapple w/ juice and pie filling. Refrigerate until set.
Bring cream cheese to room temperature. Beat cream and sugar and vanilla until it is a nice fluffy whipped cream. then mix in the softened cream cheese. Layer on top of jello. Refrigerate again.
Green salad  - just basic side salad-ness. Because if you add all the extras like cheese and such it will get soggy and then you have to throw it out and let me tell you your salad will not be totally eaten...not when there are so many other items to eat. So go simple and then have a healthy lunch ready to go the next day. I like to make homemade salad dressings for this: ranch, blue cheese, and a vinegrette. I make the dressings days before and I love having the left overs to use after he holiday for yummy salads.

Sweet Potatoes -

I need to find THE recipe for this. I never been in love with sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving but I don't dis-like them either. I like the way my father-inlaws family does them so maybe I will copy their way this year. But just as a side note when you have a baby this is their favorite thing to eat. :)

Pie-

of heavens, pie. to be honest I am not a big pie maker. They take so much time so that is the thing I delegate to others... Well I love love pumpkin pie so I always make sure to have a pumpkin pie.- plus that is an easy pie to make, or buy.:)  I think I will make an extra one so we have left overs of that one. But truly "You can bring a pie." is a favorite line of mine for my guests. That or rolls. My sister is doing both. Her hubby loves to make pies and she is buying us some lovely rolls and so I am glad to say those are covered. Phew!

******This is the place in my menu where I start to be filled with awe for my mother...how did she do it all!!! homemade everything every year! With two types of stuffing and five different pies, and rolls and fresh bread and then the items for the vegetarian crew so she has to make fried vegetarian meat too! Oh, my mom is going to heaven for all the service she has given us kids. bless her heart!

Relishes-

Cranny berry sauce - I am going to trader Joes and buying their nice kind. I wish I could make my own but I don't know w good recipe and to be honest I don't even like cranberry sauce very much and the canned kind is not happening so to Trader Joes we go! pickles (baby dill), olives (because when I was a kid we always had to put them on our fingers...its tradition!) , ...

Punch - I am going to do a fizzy cranberry and soda deal in the punch bowl like my mom did when I was growing up. We loved as kids helping make the punch and then getting to serve ourselves punch in our cute fancy cups.

Mashed Potatoes-

I need a potato masher and to get my mom's way of doing it...I cant remember if she did canned milk or just milk and butter and salt and pepper....need to check on that. If you have golden way please do tell!

What I need to buy for dessert: whipping cream for pies, and ice cream for pies, and egg nog.

A little healing from home

So this is probably too personal but often I wonder if people ever feel the way I feel and so maybe someone will read this and not feel so weird that they once felt this way....maybe it will help them heal too? Anyways, I don't know if this is real thing or not but I have been having total "genetic guilt". Like I feel bad that my children have so much of me in them and not more of their dad. The things I sort of hated or disliked or caused me pain growing up I saw my kids reflecting and I sort of freaked out about it. For a long time I just thought I'd be such a good parent that I could "parent away" their struggles,  these"weaknesses" that might cause them pain. But as I have been so sick and moving, and school has dummped on my family life I am failing at my super parenting ideals. I was left having to really deal with what was going on with me. It was so confusing to me. I loved my kids and to wish them different seemed so wrong (which I think it is) and then to not be loving the childhood me was weird and sad too, and then to sort of start feeling like I had a bad childhood was super depressing. I would go in these emotional circles. Guilt, Fear, sadness, guilt, sadness, over it, not over it all,....

 I took it to the Lord. I knew that if I couldn't deal with this and heal whatever nonsensical emotional drama I had created I would really hurt my kids hearts and that was not an option. So after several days of prayers I got a package in the mail. My mom and my sisters that lived close by her had gone through lots of disorganized pictures and memorabilia from all us kids. My mom thought we should have our little keepsakes to share with our own children. As I went through my box with Angeli and the boys my heart was healed. It was so kind of Heavenly Father to orchestrate that so the confussion could be completely wiped away. I saw all these pictures of me as a baby, toddler, and a school aged kid, my kindergarten report card, my artwork, pictures of me in a church talent show with my big sister Shayla, my orange cat I would hug so tight as a baby he would almost die...he was so patient with me, I read a letter from my brother Jason he had sent me from when he was on his mission when I was just in kindergarten and I remembered how tender he always was to me, and so on and so forth. Then the random pictures of my brother Adam and I cooking in the kitchen together, and me hugging my toddler best friend who lived next door and how we'd run around topless and play all day long...I can remember us talking about potty training! :O) We had so much fun. . I received some year books and as I read the letters my closest friends had written I was so touched at how they expressed how much of a difference I had made in their lives. I sort of fell in love with myself, my childhood, and the fact that there in these pictures, letters, artwork, report cards,... were the sweet emily-ish genes that my children were bursting with and that now for the first time in a long time that was not a bad thing any more.

I am so thankful for my inspired mother who raised me, loved me, fever was harsh or tempered with me and my sensitive soul, and how she adored my tender little heart even when I drew us as elephants together in the jungle she was the bog one and I was her baby. LOL  I am thankful for my husband who loves me exactly the way I am and all that I have ever been, and for my sweet sweet full of heart and creativity children that fill my life with meaning and joy. And lastly for my Father in Heaven. He is the best parenting example to me. He sent us here to grow knowing full well the awful things that would happen to us, that they would shape us and he did not fear. He sent His son. His son had to face His mission here on earth and he didn't want to have to suffer the atonement but He did and it was so worth it as it has saved us all. Because of the Atonement I have the comfort, and our Heavenly Father has the gift t of telling His children that it will all be okay. All can be healed, better times are yet ahead, and it will be worth it. When there are things so broken and scary the atonement is the only thing that can heal  and promise that as we continue it will be worth it and all will be resorted to us. As a parent that is the best comfort.

As I go forward with parenting I never want fear to guide my parenting. I believe in the goodness of my little ones and I know that pain and hardship are not to be feared they are what this chapter of our existence was meant to expose us to so that we can progress. so I want to parent with faith and peace and now with out self loathing and genetic guilt. My kids are like me and that can now be a beautiful thing to watch how they bloom in their very own way.

Mom, thank you for my healing box. You were inspired. :O) 

The more I parent the more the atonement becomes my most sacred and treasured gift. I thank God and Jesus Christ for it every day. 

Little fall highlights

Well, I haven't had much to blog about lately because we have been busy, sick a lot, and not doing much worth talking about. But there were two high lights from this Fall season that I wanted to share about. First, was our fall break. With the kids out of school and Stewart having a week off we wondered what we should do and alas with how tired, sick ,and poor we were we just kept it really simple. We road our bikes, Stewart cut me some wood decorations for Halloween which he loved getting his wood shop up and running again, we spent a day up on Mt. Lemmon and it was like heaven for me to be in nature - I need that regularly, went for our last chilly swim, we worked on little craft projects I had wanted to do, got a membership to the zoo and had a great day there, celebrated both my and Stewart's birthdays, and enjoyed the cooler temperatures. It was nice to take life at a slower pace and not feel so rushed and stressed about folding laundry, rushing to school, throwing together last minute preschool lessons , and all that daily stuff that is not very fun. It was needed R&R and we really enjoyed it.

  Another fun thing this fall was a fun visit from Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen. It is hard for them to get away ans so we really appreciated their willingness to re-organize their lives to see us. It was a little funny that there was no Whitney with them...missed her. :( We had a lovely time. We went to the school Fall carnival, did our Saturday karate lessons and sports with the boys, took the kids to their primary program practice, went and did mini golf on Saturday, and then Sunday we enjoyed watching the kids in the primary program. Mom and Dad Ras always bring with them so much of a sweet spirit and it was nice to re-connect and be together again. The kids keep asking when they are coming again and when we will be going to see them and it is really sad to think it might not be until next summer. Bummer. But we are glad we had the time we did have with them.

Expelliarmus! Oh, and Happy Halloween too.

Well Halloween 2012 has come and gone. I was so happy with how well everything went! It was such a hectic day and I was praying almost constantly that it would all go well and it did. So grateful. Here is the quick play by play of the craziness...So Halloween morning I woke up early and actually put makeup on...big deal these days, and we were off! First it was to the babysitters for the Ben and Gen to get baby sat. Then we raced to the school where I dropped the kids off and then busily go to work setting up for the first grade Halloween bash. It went well. I didn't want all the classes together but oh, well. It was fun even though it wasn't as fun  as it could have been. Then it was time to quickly clean up everything and race to the babysitters to get the Ben and Gen, get them food at the gas station (awesome), and then to the next babysitters. Then I was racing back to the school to set up for Angeli's class party. The class came back from lunch we helped them into their costumes and took the class picture. We partied until school was out. Then we cleaned up, loaded the big kids up and raced to the babysitters again to pick up the exhausted Gen and Ben. Then we headed home and unloaded the van, got it cute for the trunk or treat, Stew surprised me with getting home early enough to help get he kids ready, and we were racing to the trunk or treat. At the end of that we headed home and did some door to door trick or treating in our neighborhood. All this was done with my Zofran having run out the day before, blows my mind that I made it through. I was Tired!, Happy!, Grateful it went so well!, and Relieved it was done with!

I think the kids had a lovely day. They really were the cutest things ever. And we found that trick or treating in Tucson is weird. It is so dark here. They have "light pollution" laws here so no street lights in residential areas and in our neighborhood the houses are spread out and rather far back on their lots and not the brightest of lights so it was really dark. and we found ourselves repeating to the  kids, "stay on the walkways or you might walk into a cactus." Its odd that we had to be saying that to our kids. But I have to say trick or treating in temps that weren't freezing was the awesome. I was in a sun dress and flip flops. Hello how nice is that!?!?!

So enough of me and my experiences here are the cutest Harry Potter, Hermione, Ron, and Hedwig the world has ever seen! 

  This was taken as I pretended to toot.... classless I know. they were dieing...but it got a cute picture. :)

 This picture really  was that way on its own...they are disapparating! I loved that. 

 Hedwig

 it's that tie cute? I asked Stew to make one for her and he did...love him, love her. btw by the time I moved the owl hair out of her eye she was not holding still at all for me anymore. so sorry her eye is covered up!

Hermione 

 

Ron

Isn't Ben's hair just too much...he loved it!

 

Harry Potter

 

This was her first Halloween where she got to really do it all by herself. She loved it. She couldn't believe people were really handing out candy.  I am not sure if there is a better holiday for toddlers!

And the kids loved the doughnut eating contest and the pinata. What fun ideas that our other church trunk or treats never did before. So fun. 

with every move

with every move I end up going through this stage after about 6 months, give or take a little, where I just want to move back to wherever I was before. I just burn out of being "new" and get really homesick. I know its just how I am every time....when I moved to Burbank, when I moved to Provo, when I moved to Reno, and now when I moved to Tucson. I know its just a phase I have to go through but I sure hate this phase. I feel guilty for feeling this way when there are so many kind welcoming people in my life. If my kids weren't in school I'd pack us up and head to my parents for a week or two. Oh, well it will pass and by our year mark I will feel better about living here. But for today I am really missing all the old comforts and friends I used to have. Heavens it'd feel good to go to a girls night with all my friends like the old days and have a play date with kids my kids are really friends with. hmmmm. Sigh, I better go get preschool ready they'll be here in 30 minutes and I still have the post Halloween clean up to do from last night...and my kids were adorable last night I might add. I hope I got some good pictures I'll be able to share with you. ;O) 

My Sorcerer's Apprentice

So this little girly of mine is a doll. She is bubbling with personality. She LOVES life. EVERYTHING is worth shouting about in unrestrained glee - her nursery leaders very tactfully asked me to work on that with her. I said I'd try but not to hold their breath. :O) But everyone at church , even her noise sensitive nursery leaders, call her the happy baby. They see her waving as she skips down the halls and say,  "Oh, its the happy baby! Hello!"  Having her around is like living with a cheerleader promoting life in the cutest way possible. But heavens she gets into the worst messes you can imagine. I seriously cant let her out of sight without some sort of negative consequence.

 I had just gone to the bathroom and there she was standing in my now sopping wet kitchen floor so happy to have found such a great chore to do.  I thought that it was just too fitting that she is my little "Sorcerer's Apprentice!"

Here are more examples - Today she wanted to play outside with the pups. So I let her do her thing. Then I heard our latch gate click closed. I hurried outside called for her and saw that she and dogs were gone. She had figured out how to open that blasted gate. I hurried out the gate and there she was chasing the dogs out into the street calling "Chocooooo! Chocoooooo!" and smiling and laughing like she was having the time of her life and feeling very good about herself for being so responsible for helping get the doggies back. I grabbed her up and lucky for me my dogs at least come 80% of the time when I call and they came running back to me. So thank heavens the pool gate is way too high for her, but still now I cant let her into the back yard without supervision. darn.

Everyday there are at least three such things that happen especially now that she has realized that she can carry the little bathroom stool all over the house to help her get to those hard to reach things. Like she got into my super expensive face products that I bought a huge stock of before we left Reno since I wouldn't be able to get them without having to have them shipped and what do you know, she was covered head to toe in about $100 of beauty products. fabulous.

Or climbing up to get into my jewelery box, or up into the sink and flooding the kitchen counter tops, or into the cupboard and eating spoonfuls of sugar and spreading it all over the kitchen, or getting out all the tooth brushes and squeezing an entire bottle of toothpaste on them,.....She is darling but My oh, My! She is a mess superstar. :O)

 

And here are some other pictures I got of her. I was running late, the kids and I were supposed to have left for my sister's house who lives 2 hours away, 2 hours before but we weren't gone yet. I had finally gotten the kids all ready, packed all their stuff for the long weekend, they even had their shoes on, and then I ran into my room to brush my hair, brush my teeth, and throw my last things into my bag. Then I come out and there she is sitting on the floor with a giant bottle of Nutella in her hands feeding herself and the dogs.

Well, I had two choices: freak out or laugh. So I laughed and grabbed my camera so when she is older I can show her the sort of little stunts she'd pull on me. :) And then I said a prayer that the dogs wouldn't die, plopped the little chocolate girl into the bath and threw her clothes and shoes into the washer (since she tried to help me get them off with her super clean hands) and then I had to clean out the dogs' kennel, and mop the floor, wipe the walls down, clean the lamp that was decorated with Nutella oil-ness, and leave a note to Stewart telling him he had to wash the curtains while I was away before they were totally stained by her lovely chocolate hand prints...we were later then late, and she had no shoes to wear. But she was happy! :O) That Nutella was good stuff.

 

We love this girl but it will be sort of nice when she's four. :O)

Want to remember

Tonight Angeli was sad. After an hour of encouragement (girls are so much more complicated then boys)

She finally told me that she felt like I didn't love her as much as I loved bridger and Ben because she saw me cuddeling with them during scripture time.....which is funny because I was really just trying to keep them from being wild but sometimes being good gets you overlooked and she felt that. I was so glad that I felt guided in giving her an answer she could really feel good about. I told her that we have magic hearts. I said we have magic hearts because we are children of god. I said because we have hearts like heavenly father's our hearts have the ability to grow. We don't have to divide our love because the more people we love the bigger our heart grows....and it can grow and grow forever. We talked about how her love and heart had grown when Benjamin was born, and then when Genevieve was born. I told her that my heart grows with each of my babies and friends I make. I told her my loving someone else doesn't mean I love her less...it doesn't take away from my love for her. She seemed to feel so much peace after our talk. It's such a hard thing in larger families. I wish I could meet all their needs all the time but I can't cuddle them all at the same time...they try and make me...but I just can't. I hope I don't neglect their most important needs. But today I am glad I got to express to her how she is loved by her mommy. I am so grateful the Holy Ghost helped me comfort her. And I'm so grateful for our magic, god-like hearts. :-)

Daddy Daughter Campout

Last month our Stake had a daddy daughter camp out at the church owned campground up Sabino Canyon. Angeli and Stewart were really excited, Stewart would not take Genevieve along - she's a wild one these days. I could just imagine Stewart trying to put the tent together and her just happily walking to the edge of the mountain. So I agreed with his refusal. They had a really great time together and when they were gone the boys kept telling me how much they missed Angeli. I realized they really don't spend very much time apart from each other. I thought that was sweet. The boys, GV, and I had a  movie night and made root-beer floats with our very own homemade ice cream so we wouldn't feel like we were missing out too much. We had a good time too, even though we missed them.

I gave him strict instructions to take lots of pictures and he did! I was so pleased. :O) They said their favorite part was climbing on the rocks on their way down the mountain.

Enjoy Stewart's many pictures he took of himself and our cutie-pie. :O)

When they first got there they were surprised at how they had driven from complete dessert to an ever green forest in an hours time. And it was chiller then they thought it would be. Poor Angie was pretty cold. 

 

  

 

Book Club With Myself!

Okay I am starting a book club with myself. I have to admit reading is something I enjoy but I don't crave and I sort of hate sitting still to read but I decided there are just too many books piling up on my list of must reads that I need to make it a bigger priority. I thought about starting a book club but honestly I hate reading books I don't want to read so.... I am going to be super lame and do my own - I know how anti-social of me. Every month I will set out to read a book and then I will post a review on my blog. The first book is a book given to me by the author herself. I am almost done with it. i have enjoy it and a really quick easy read. The next I think will be a book my mom bought me about parenting kids with ADHD and ADD. Need more advice in that department and it has awesome reviews. So There that is my goal until I get through my stack of books...I have few near death experiences I want to read, then there is a book about Tucson family history that my father-in-law is currently reading that I would love to read through too, and then a book my girlfriend recommended called Queen Bee's and Wannabees which sounds like a good examination of girl's relationships during the school years  which I hope will help me parent Angeli and Genevi in their school years because I think I need some training in that department!....I hope I make some progress on my list!

Fun Things to do While we Live in Tucson

So I've been realizing how hard it is to get family fun in with all the school, church, and work stuff we have going on so I wanted to make a list of some of the possible of things I want to do while we live here in Tucson and maybe just maybe we'll be able to fit most of it in.

The Biosphere - How cool would that be to go to the world famous biosphere!  http://www.b2science.org/

AZ Science Center - Sounds really fun and educational! http://azscience.org/

Renaissance Festival - Ha ha! Let the inner nerd out! looks fabulous. Held in February - March. http://www.royalfaires.com/arizona/

State Parks - Okay this is my all time favorite thing to do....be out in nature! There are so many great hikes and camping trips we could do! Love to dream about!  AZStateParks.com

Grand Canyon - I want to wait until the kids are grown up enough that its not the most frightening thing ever to have them near giant cliffs but we must do this! The kids get a fall break and so I am already planning our trips we'll be doing on our next 4 fall breaks...the best time of year for a vacation without huge crowds at places like Disneyland, sea world, and yes the grand canyon! http://www.thecanyon.com/

Rocky Point Mexico - I  have heard great things about this beach town in Mexico. A lot of families in our ward who own vacations homes there and I want to go! I am excited because there is a volcano-ish thing close by where you can see real lava! Oh, my gosh how cool would that be for the kids to see! Sometimes the families in our ward give good deals at renting their houses out. Yes please! RockyPointMexico

Children's' Museum of Tucson- I am excited to check this out. i have some free passes and I think if we love it we'll have to buy a family pass for the year. http://www.childrensmuseumtucson.org/

Broadway in Tucson - I've only been to one real Broadway show and I'd love to go more. This year they have some shows I'd be excited to see. I'd love to take the kids to see stomp or the Blue Man group...I know too expensive but woudl 'd they love that!?!?! http://www.broadwayintucson.com/

Santa Crus County Fair - This is a maybe. But a country fair sounds so fun runs through September. sonoitafairgrounds.com

Sea Life Arizona - This sounds really fun to me...I'd rather go to San Diego just a 4-5 hour drive away but this way we wouldn't have a huge admission ticket and a hotel too. visitsealife.com/Arizona

Tolmachoff Farms - sounds like a great visitor farm where you can pick your own produce, go to the petting Zoo, have tours, and buy homemade treats. Their Pumpkin days, and watermelon days sound really fun. tolmachoff-farms.com

Tucson Botanical Gardens and "Butterfly Magic" - I think my kids would really enjoy the butterflies and I really love plants! They even have a rain forest section. How fun.  http://www.tucsonbotanical.org/

Tucson Zoo- Yay! I finally live by a zoo! I don't think its out of this world but I think it will be nice enough and I am really excited to take the kids we were going to go today but my girl friend has to cancel and I am actually feeling pretty sick so another time...but I am excited to go someday! http://www.tucsonzoo.org/

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base - They have a grave yard of retired planes that I hear is pretty cool for little people and grown up people too  to check out. I think that would be a fun afternoon activity one of these days. 

Wild West - Being in the heart of the WILD WEST they have an abundance of railroad towns, gold mining, and horse tours and such that I think the family would enjoy even if its not my favorite thing to do...boys love theri train rides! I need to research which ones are the best to go to.

Family History - I sort of want to spend several Family Home Evenings going to historical sights that have family history significance to us since Stewart was named after his great grandfather who helped settle Tucson and was a very prominent figure here. Some ward members have told me about some great places to check out (brandi fenton park) so I need to plan it all out and have some fun trips and story telling with the kids.

New blog

Hey you all! I am starting a new blog and maybe I'll be retiring this one. Blogging is a dying obsession of my mothering generation but I am still an avid fan so I will probably keep it up forever. But I felt I wanted a fresh start. Honestly, I am not sure if anyone ever reads this blog besides my dear mother and father and myself but if for nothing else its worth it to me so if you do actually read this and you want to follow me on my new blog I will post it's new address as soon as I get the pictures I want for it taken and all edited so they can be posted. I warn you its going to be churchy, but its sincerely me and my heart. Its what I want people to k now about me if nothing else, and most importantly what I want my children to know about their mother's heart. So there that's it. I just wanted to announce that. I am excited about it. Churchy blogging here I come. ;) 

Starting School

The school year started so soon this year, the 2nd of August! I could hardly believe that I'd have half of my kids going off to school all day long. I was excited and a little nervous to be getting established into a new school and I knew the kids were feeling the same way. The school the kids are in is rated as an A+ school and I have been so impressed with the teachers and staff there. They are so kind, smart, helpful, and organized. I am so grateful to be in the situation we are in here in Tucson we really have been placed in the best place for our family. It will; be great to watch us grow into it more and more.

The day before school started they had a "meet the teacher day" where we found out who the kids teachers were and got to tour the classrooms, and fill out lots of paper work of course.  I feel like both Angeli and Bridger were blessed with getting the best teachers for them. I signed up to work as one of the room moms  for each class which I am excited about. I hope its not too much but I am really looking forward to getting to know their teachers and to get to help in the class and the planning. I love my planning. ;O)

The next day was the start of school and it was a bit surreal. I didn't feel too ready ...like little silly things for example, I wasn't sure what they should wear or anything like that, which usually I'd like to have that all planned out but whatever! They got to pick it out themselves out of what was clean. :O) We live so close to their school that it really doesn't make sense to do anything other then walk to school so every morning and afternoon that's what we are doing, walking in the blistering heat to and from school. :O) - its hot at 2:40pm!

When they came home and we asked them how it went Angeli declared that she loves "everything" about school and Bridger said he loves "nothing" about school. He thinks its so boring and she thinks everything is so fun. :O) The difference between boys and girls I guess! I hope they can make friends. They were sad they cant eat together at lunch or play together at recess but I think it is good for them to branch out and make friends of their own. I am so proud of them for doing hard things. For Angeli overcoming her anxiety of new scary things is such a huge thing and Bridger its all about getting over the hard work of school. :O) I tell them daily "you can do hard things!". So anyways, we were late for the first day!!!! So the only pictures I got were on our way to school. I miscalculated how much time it would take to get everyone out the door, get the "littles" in the stroller, all of us off and walking....plus the campus was so crowded it was a bit crazy. So these are the only pictures I got. Bummer, but heck they are so cute  who needs fifty pictures anyways! ;) I love them!

I sure missed them that first day. The house was so quiet! I know things will pick up really quickly here soon so I am going to try and take advantage of every "quiet" moments I get!