These are Days to Remember....

So our final day in the cousin reunion was spent at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson... if you haven't been there, it's well worth the trip! I've compiled a slide show of the entire weekend, so sit back and relax for a while... it's long!

Tag, You're it...

This is the first of many tags sent my way, but I'm NOT going to do them all at once... that just spoils the fun! This one is "Seven Random Facts About Me..."

• I met my husband at a Singles Ward Blood Drive - isn't that good movie material for the Singles 3rd Ward??? I was so unconcerned with meeting guys that I brought my MOM along... how dumb was I? I guess it didn't matter... I got rejected for donation (I often do because of low iron counts...) and I met Eric at the cookie table while I waited for my mom.
• I'm very weird (anal, maybe...) about how I load my dishwasher... everything has a specific place to go and if someone else is loading, I have to walk away, lest I offend them by re-arranging how the dishes are loaded! Interestingly enough, I hate doing dishes.... go figure!
• I love to decorate rooms in my house, but I'm cheap and I'm slow. I'll spend months planning a room, and finding ways to do cute things for next to no money... but once I get going on it, I'm a mad woman until it's done... I hate half finished decor!
• I'm a classic backseat driver. I have a hard time riding shotgun with most people... I'd much rather be the one driving. I think I must have control issues... this is why I don't like flying... not thrilled with my life being in someone else's (as in the pilot) hands.... I'm absolutely NOT going to be able to teach my kids to drive - I'll have a heart attack first!
• Disneyland is my favorite vacation destination... Maui is a close second... but Disneyland is better.... :)
• I'm terrified of the ocean. I grew up in Northern California where shark attacks happened frequently. I just can't go in any water that isn't clear and I never even watched the movie Jaws... but the idea of it scarred me for life. I will snorkel in Maui, but I'm only good for 10-15 minutes and then I'm heading back to the beach....
• I can't multitask at the grocery store... I see people all the time cruising down the grocery isles and gabbing the on phone at the same time. I can't do it... it's pathetic, because I'm generally a good multitasker. When my mom happens to buzz my cell while I'm at the grocery store, I'll stop dead in my tracks, talk for 2 minutes and then tell her I'm grocery shopping and I'll have to call her back!

So, I'm tagging anyone who has me linked on their blog... you know who you are... except Elise!

Going the Distance!

The last three days have been exhausting!!! We've crammed so much into a short amount of time! All day Thursday was spent preparing for Enrichment and going to Taylor's first Cross Country Meet. He took 3rd place and did really well.

Friday morning we just vegged out!!! After Enrichment Thursday night, I just fell asleep on the couch and slept after the kids all had breakfast. Then I took my mom Christmas shopping for my kids (no small feat...) and we made a Sam's Club run. I only allow myself to go once a month, because I always spend in the $300 range when I go!

Saturday we took the whole group and hiked Camelback Mountain! It was even more challenging than I remember, but we had a good time! On the way up, my nephew, Ben (who is the king of one liners...) was huffing and puffing over a big rock and said, "man, this is a nightmare!!!" The college age girl passing them at the time was busting up! On the way down, Ben and Ian were following Taylor. Most of the hike is boulder hopping and rock scrambling. Ian told Taylor, "you're going the easy (but hard for a little guy) way..." We were all cracking up!

The kids all enjoyed climbing the rails and on the way down Grandma Carol and Megan stopped for a rattlesnake to cross the path.... good thing he wasn't in a "fightin" mood....

Saturday night we all came home and vegged out - ice cream as a treat, then dinner, then more ice cream for dessert! We're breaking all the rules this weekend!

BIG Suprise!!!

Yesterday, my parents came to visit. Everyone knew they were coming and had looked forward to the visit for weeks. What my kids didn't know was that they were bringing along my nephew, Ben, who is 8. Eric picked them all up at the airport last night and brought them home. Ben got out of the car alone and came up to the door and rang the door bell... assuming it was Grandpa and Grandma, Ian went flying to the front door, only to find Ben hiding just out of sight... boy were they shocked to see him on the front porch!

After they unloaded the car, we all went to grab dinner at Wendy's. My mom has a severe sesame allergy, and therefore can't eat at any restaurants that use sesame seed buns. Wendy's is one of our favorite places to take her that is sesame-safe! At 9:30, we finally got them all in bed, and at 10:45, I had to break up Ben and Ian because they were still up talking.... and Ian is going to school this morning! I'm sure he'll be worthless by noon... I've already told him he can play hookie tomorrow to spend more time with Ben. It's not like he's going to be worth anything in class!

Orange Chicken

Here's the recipe I made for Taylor's Birthday dinner - he LOVES it and I love it too... plan for 3-4 hours total prep time (this includes down time while chicken marinates... could be done the day before if you are really on the ball!)

• 1 1/2 c. water
• 2 T orange juice
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. vinegar
• 2 1/2 T soy sauce
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• a couple shakes of onion powder
• 2 T cornstarch
• 4 chicken breast fillets, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 c. cold water
• 1 egg
• 1/4 t soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 c flour
• 2-4 c veg oil (for frying)

Combine first seven ingredients in a small saucepan - bring to boil, stirring often. Once it come to a boil, remove from heat and let cool. Put cut chicken into a large ziploc bag and pour 1 c sauce over the chicken to marinate. Let sit at least one hour, longer if possible. If sauce is too hot to put in ziploc, add an ice cube or two to cool it quickly. Cover remaining sauce and save for later. Once chicken is marinated, heat 2 inches of oil in a wok or large deep pan. Combine cornstarch with 1/4 c water and add to sauce. Reheat on high until sauce boils again, then put aside and cover to keep warm - hopefully, it will be thick. Combine water, egg, soda, salt and 1/2 of flour. In separate bowl, put remaining flour. Dip chicken in plain flour first, then into the egg/flour mix. Fry in oil 3-4 minutes on each side until done. Place on paper towels to soak grease and toss in a bowl with the sauce. Serve over white rice.

The Thirteenth Year

Congrats Taylor - you made it to "teenagerdom" - you are now officially 13! I can't beleive it was thirteen years ago yesterday (November 4) that we were in the hospital in Provo.... okay, I'd rather not relive too much of that!!! I've delivered 4 kids in 4 different hospitals and if I could rate them best to worst, Provo would be at the bottom! Luckily, it was my first delivery, so I didn't know how bad it was until later...

But now I can get all mushy and say how proud I am of the Young Man that he has become - he is one of the most caring, honest kids I know. He truly has a desire to do good and follow the Savior's example. Yes, he is a teen, and has his crazy moments, but even when our tempers collide, he ineveitably, comes back and apologizes and gives me a hug... yes, he's a huggy kid... not in public of course, but who is at 13???

So here's a recap of the weekend:

His birthday fell on Sunday (fast Sunday no less...) so we celebrated all weekend! Friday night, we gave him his big gift - a new "man sized" mountain bike. This kid looks like a giant riding his BMX bike around... it was getting ridiculous! Both Grandma's chipped in so we could splurge a big and get him a nice one... not the "Diego" bike we'd been taunting him with forever... he he....

He also had 2 friends sleep over Friday night and we watched Spiderman 3, and ate lots of cake and ice cream. Megan baked the cake, I frosted it, and Megan and Ian decorated it... nice, huh??

The boys slept on the trampoline, but we woke up the next morning to find them back in the house - I guess by one am they were too cold and came inside.... wimps!!!! Anyway, we had pancakes and donuts for breakfast and I took Taylor and his two friends to Scottsdale to go paintballing. Taylor had been invited to a paintballing party almost a year ago and he's been planning it for his next birthday ever since. Since it's been so hot, we offiered to take him and some friends wakeboarding, but he wanted to paintball... I guess wakeboarding wasn't that exciting to him, since he's been doing it all summer!

While I was waiting for them to finish up and come out, this sweet limo pulled up with a couple dozen kids in it... just had to take a picture of it- it was the second limo I'd seen that day (while the boys paintballed, I went to a nearby mall and saw a black hummer limo that was really impressive, but didn't have my camera in hand for that one!)

All in all, I would say he got a good birthday - on Sunday, the real day, I made his favorite meal, Orange Chicken. It's a clone recipe from Panda Express, except that I don't make it spicy. It's really good, but pretty labor intensive, so I save it for special occasions. The good part is that it made enough for two whole meals! I love you Taylor!!!

Halloween

Here's some pictures of Halloween:

Only Megan and Ian carved pumpkins this year - luckily for me, Megan did hers all by herself! Ian needed a lot of help, though....

Here's Megan out trick or treating... one clueless dad asked her if she was "Anna Nicole..." she said, "huh?"... I quickly said, "Hannah Montana..." He said, "ohhhh... ooops!" I'm grateful Megan has no clue who Anna Nicole is.....

Getting Brayden to stand still for a picture didn't happen. In the end, I didn't attempt the original costume I bought him (Yoda) because I could remember where I'd put it after Saturday's trunk or treat party. He ended up walking around the neighborhood wearing a Superman cape and carrying 2 swords... one red, one blue... everyone thought he was a pirate when he walked up to their door, but I'm sure they were scratching their heads when they saw the cape walking away....

Taylor re-used his Scream costume again this year. He went out trick or treating by himself tonight... he didn't want to be seen with the little kids. I keep trying to tell them, that people give more candy to big brothers taking their siblings around the neighborhood than big teens out by themselves... oh well... he still came home with lots of candy!

Ian didn't want to sit still for a picture either, he was too anxious to go trick or treating... then when we got back he was too busy ransaking his loot to care about the camera!