Adventures in North Bend and Seattle

We spent two of the last three days with our friends, the Cassidys; Sunday in their stomping grounds, North Bend, and today in Seattle.

John was asked to fill in as pastor for the Mt. Si Lutheran church on Sunday since their interim pastor was away on vacation. We thought it would be a great opportunity to support John and to experience a different type of worship.

The services started at 10:00, but since there is no 7:55 ferry on Sunday mornings and the 8:45 would put us there a little late, we hopped on the 7:05 and had a few minutes (about 90) to kill before we had to be there. We stopped by Twede's cafe, of Twin Peak's fame, for some hot chocolate, (a very rich concoction topped with a mound of real whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles)

and then drove over to Snoqualmie Falls. We got soaked standing on the observatory; the spray was so heavy it was like being enveloped in a blanket of fog. This picture was taken from up the path a little way, not the best head on view, but the best I could do under the circumstances. The roar was deafening, and it was exhilirating to see the power of the water.

Then it was finally time for church to start.

I was immediately struck by how "churchish" their building is. I love the front door. Inside the chapel was decorated with greenery and candles, and they have a beautiful stained glass window in the very front. (click the link and scroll down a little to see a picture and read about the symbolism.) John presented a wonderful sermon reminding us that Jesus gave us the best gift of all and the importance of not being wrapped up in worldly gifts. After the service was "coffee fellowship" hour. It was nice to meet a few members of their congregation and talk to John more about his family's church. Then we headed back to the Cassidy's for lunch and a nice afternoon visiting.

Today, we spent the day in Seattle. Every year at Christmas time there is carousel at Westlake Park and gingerbread houses in the Sheraton Hotel, so for the past three years, we've met up with the Cassidy's to see those sites and then watch a movie. It was fun walking around the city, seeing the Christmas lights and colorful stalls in Pike Place Market.

Here's an example of the detail in one of the gingerbread houses. Puts ours to shame!

And here are the kids in the Sheraton lobby (plus one of Nate's friends we brought along). Thanks Cassidy's, for two fun days together!

Merry Christmas!

We had a very nice Christmas and I hope you all did, too! We told the kids they couldn't wake up before 5:30 to get their stockings and they couldn't wake us up until after 7:00. We were woken at 7:30 by Nate saying "Breakfast is ready!" He and Kylie had prepared a feast of crepes, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. Yes, I know I have amazing kids! (Although a few hours later they were fighting over the wii remote, so don't worry, they're normal.) After breakfast we opened presents, a low-key affair this year. We didn't give them anything big or expensive, which I liked.

We spent Christmas Eve with Brad's family. Every year we have a big gift exchange game with his extended family. With all the snow and ice we were afraid not everyone would come this year, but fortunately all 29 people made it there safely. Brad's two sisters and brother-in-law were home from Hawaii, so that made it even more fun.

We went to my parent's house for Christmas dinner. Once again, I forgot to take a picture of everyone at the dinner table. We were a smallish group this year, Corey's family, my family and my parents. Tifanie and Tad came by to exchange gifts, then went to Tad's parent's for dinner.

It was the "year of the hat" this Christmas. I made 10 knitted hats! I wanted to make each family's matching, but I ran out of yarn and with all the snow wasn't able to make it to Silverdale to buy more.

Alicia will probably only wear hers when she's here. I don't think she'll need it in Hawaii!

Corey's family matches because I made theirs first. Sorry Pat and Sarah! Pat's family got Christmas colors, boys in green and girls in red.

We actually had a white Christmas this year, something that rarely happens in the Pacific Northwest! It even snowed ON Christmas. It was very peaceful watching it fall as we opened presents. Merry Christmas!

Our Little Eskimo

I saw this cool igloo on a friend's blog and told Brad about it. Fifteen minutes later, he was out with the kids building one! They took the recycling bins, filled them with snow and made perfect, 18" thick bricks.

Here it is about half-way done...

and the final product! Not quite as big as my friend's, but Kylie and Jillian were able to fit inside together. I won't say who got stuck trying to get inside...just had to turn those hips a little...

Kylie loved it so much, she wanted to sleep in it last night. We decided it would be OK, since every winter the boyscouts go up to Hurricane Ridge, build igloos, and sleep in them. She tried to get Matzo to sleep in there with her, but he was too scared. Fortunately, we're dog-sitting another dog and he was more than willing to camp out with her. She said she stayed pretty warm, just got a little wet on her feet since they stuck out of the opening a bit!

We've had about a foot of snow in the past week, way more than we usually see around here! It seriously feels like we've moved to another state. I finally ventured out in Brad's 4WD truck and have been able to get around without any problems. The forecast says it's going to stick around for a few more days, so it looks like we'll have a white Christmas!

Jillian finally got her snow day...

after three days of wishing and hoping! And we're getting another one tomorrow, so it looks like Christmas Break (yes, I still call it Christmas Break even though I know the PC term is Winter Break) is starting early. I'm so glad I got all the shopping done last Friday before the snow hit! Now we can sit back, make and eat tons of Christmas cookies, play in the snow, and enjoy our hard earned break. I'm mostly excited about sleeping in.

By noon, Kylie was on the hunt for a good sledding spot. Our yard is pretty flat, the only hill is in the woods and heads straight to the highway. She really wanted to go to her friend's house about 4 miles up the highway, but she has a mom who is a big chicken and refused to drive in the snow. We ended up walking up to our neighbor's house and taking advantage of their multi-hilled yard.

This is Ben standing on the road we walked up to our neighbor's. Looks pretty icy, doesn't it? See why I didn't want to drive?! I know all you Utahns and Idahoans and Coloradans and everyone else who isn't from Bainbridge Island (and maybe some who are) are laughing at me, but I don't care. I'm safe and cozy!

The kids all got their fill of sledding for the day. I'm sure we'll be back at it tomorrow! Let it snow!

Snow Day!

Jillian's power of positive thinking worked! As she went to bed last night, she said, "OK everyone, think SNOW!" And we woke up to 2-3". It's very cold, too, highs for the next few days are supposed to be in the mid-20s, which is pretty unusual for us. I'm more worried about icy roads than snow. Going to church this morning there were three "Mormon-mobiles" going up the hill to the church and one got stuck. The next one pulled over to help, blocking the lane. I was the third and made it past both in the wrong-way lane, slipping and sliding into the parking lot! Whew!

The kids and Matzo kids rushed out this morning at 7:45 to play and we discovered that Matzo loves the snow. He tries to catch snowballs and then he's confused because he can't figure out what happened to them!

Tonight as she goes to bed, I'm sure Jillian will be thinking, "NO SCHOOL!" and it will probably work!

Will you marry me?

Ben to me: "Which one of your kids would you marry if you could marry one of us, and not dad?"

Me: "I can't marry one of my kids!"

Ben: "I know, but if you could."

Me: "You!"

Ben: "Really?" (with a HUGE grin on his face!)

It's nice to be so loved!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...

I go around the house singing this almost every day! I love seeing all the lights and decorations when I'm out driving around. I haven't gotten around to putting up the lights on the outside of my house yet, but the inside is as decorated as it will get. I'm not a big "accessorizer" and I have no talent for interior decorating, but I do love Christmas and I'm gradually collecting things that I like. We decided on the tall, skinny tree because we didn't have a lot of space. It's actually one of the best looking trees we've cut on the mountain! And it looks much better in person!

For family night this week, we decorated gingerbread houses (graham cracker style!)

I think it's interesting how my kids' personalities come out in an activity like this. Nate is a minimalist, Kylie digs in with both hands, Jill is very careful and precise, and Ben sits back and lets someone else do the work!

Time for a new post

but I don't have much to say! Brad's been sick all week and I've been sticking pretty close to home. I've tried to take care of him, but I'll admit I am a terrible nurse. I don't know how the women in all the English lit. novels I read could sit by the sick person's side all day and night and wipe his/her fevered brow with a cool cloth or gently spoon broth into his/her mouth. I would go insane! Yes, I do realize these are fictitious characters, but I'm sure that's what people used to do 200 years ago. Our car was also in the shop for a few days, so that kept me close to home, too.


I did make an advent calendar with Jillian and Ben this week, which turned out nicely.


I haven't ever had one before and after seeing the prices for a nice one, we decided to make it instead. I think we only spent about $13.00 and that was for the red and green felt that came on a 72" bolt, so I ended up with about 3 times as much as I needed.

Other than that, all I've been up to is cleaning house, doing laundry, running kids around... Oh, I did wash Brad's truck yesterday because it was filthy after our mountain outing, that was an accomplishment!

Hunting for Christmas Trees

We've made a tradition of going up to the Olympic Mountains the weekend after Thanksgiving to hunt for our Christmas tree. This year several friends joined us. We left home at 9:30, were on the mountain by 11:00 and the hunt was on! You either have to go uphill or downhill, no easy walking through groomed Christmas tree farms for us.

What a beautiful part of the world we live in! You can barely see the Hood Canal peeking through the mountains in the distance.

We're never sure how much snow to expect; last year there was quite a bit, but this year, NONE! It didn't phase the kids one bit, they played in the dirt and rocks instead.

We bought four permits so we could cut trees for others as well, but now we have to choose which one we like best, short and bushy or tall and lean?

Balderdash

Has anyone ever played the game "Balderdash"? We love it! Last night, Jillian, Kylie, Nate, Brad and I all played together and had so many good laughs. Basically the game goes like this:

1. One player reads a word from the card (these are words that no one has ever heard of, but are real words).
2. The other players write down what they think the word means, while the player who read the word writes down the real meaning.
3. The "definitions" are read out loud by the player who read the word from the card. The other players guess which is the real definition. You score points by guessing the real definition and by tricking other players into guessing your definition is correct.

Here are some of the words and "definitions" from our game. Can you guess the real definitions?

Uxorious
a. extremely smelly
b. a type of fruit drink
c. a bad recess
d. submissive to one's wife
e. a disease, I think

Snash
a. a type of ivy
b. to snatch then smash
c. to speak disrespectfully
d. to stash macaroni
e. I steal jewelry

Agroof
a. falling flat on one's face
b. unkind or insensitive
c. to grapple
d. to go poof and then scream
e. a camel's second eyelid

Thanksgiving Feast

I've finally decided on my Thanksgiving menu. It took a while to figure out how many people were going to be here (only eight this year, sad!) and then I wanted to find a few new ideas. We will be serving:

(for recipes, click on the highlighted items)

Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Wheat Berry Waldorf Salad
Pistachio Salad
Southern Green Beans
Carrot-Sweet Potato Mash
Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Chocolate Dream Pie

YUM!!! My new finds are the Wheatberry Waldorf Salad and the Carrot-Sweet Potato Mash. I figured we'd better keep some of the old favorites, too. I wish I could celebrate with all of you! I love big gatherings on Thanksgiving. This year my parents went down to Santa Barbara, CA to visit my brother Scott's family. Corey and Tifanie are spending the day with their husband's families. Brad's brother, Pat, is going to his wife's family. We attempted to invite some friends, but I guess it wasn't meant to be, so it's just the six of us and Brad's parents. We'll have a wonderful time reflecting on all we're thankful for and eating tons of yummy food! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

La Befana

Jillian and I spent this weekend at La Befana, a handmade craft bazaar that my friend Katie organized. Jill and I created and sold "book baubles" which are bookmarks with a charm on one end and a bead on the other, strung on a nice black cotton string. We had so much fun making them together and they turned out so cute that I almost didn't want to sell them! They were very popular; we sold all but six. There were so many wonderful crafts at La Befana. It was great to see what other women created and to be a part of such a crafy group!

I forgot to take a picture at the beginning of the bazaar, so this is only about 1/3 of what we made. It's hard to see from the picture how cute they really are, but trust me, you'd want one!

Two Winners!

I cooked two dinners this week that my family really enjoyed.

The first, Sweet and Sour Chicken, got 12 thumbs up (2 thumbs from each of us). It takes a while to fry up all the chicken, so give yourself at least an hour.

The second, Pork and Mushroom Marengo, got 10 thumbs up (only one dissenter isn't too bad). It's a crockpot recipe, with just a little bit of prep. before hand.

Here are the recipes for both:

SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN

3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

In a bowl, make the batter for the chicken:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 tsp salt

Whisk together to remove all lumps. Dump in your chicken chunks.

In a wok (or deep fryer), heat your oil to 375*. Make sure it's hot otherwise the batter will soak up too much oil. Place chunks into the hot oil, being careful not to splash yourself. Don't put too many in otherwise they'll all stick together, and it will also cool your oil down too much. Turn the pieces over to cook the other side. Fry until golden brown

Remove the cooked chicken from the oil and put on paper towels. Once all the chicken is fried up, put in a dish and hold in a 300* oven for 10-15 minutes.

SAUCE

1 T. butter or margarine
1 carrot, sliced
½ onion, sliced
1 green pepper, cut in chunks

Melt butter over medium heat. Saute veggies until crisp-tender. Remove from heat and put veggies in a bowl.

In the same saucepan, combine:

1 1/2 cups sugar
4 Tbsp rice vinegar
6 Tbsp ketchup
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cup cold water

Put the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Stir constantly so it doesn't lump up. Once it gets really thick, remove from the heat, and return veggies, plus 1 can pineapple chunks, drained. (This makes a ton of sauce. I’m planning to ½ it when I do it again.)



PORK & MUSHROOM MARENGO

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into-1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon cooking oil
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash black pepper
1/3 cup cold water
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Hot cooked brown rice (optional)

1. In a large skillet brown meat, half at a time, in hot oil. Drain off fat. In a 3-1/2-to 5-quart slow cooker place mushrooms and onion. Add meat. In a bowl combine undrained tomatoes, the 1 cup water, the Italian seasoning, bouillon granules, salt, and pepper. Pour over all.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

3. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. In a bowl stir together the 1/3 cup water and the flour. Stir flour mixture into pork mixture in cooker. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened.

If desired, serve over hot cooked rice. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
(I skipped step 3 and it turned out great!)

Tag

I got this one from Erika:

If you are a blogger you now have a mission. As soon as you read this, drop everything, grab your camera and take pictures of where you blog from. NO CLEANING!!! THEN, tag some lucky ducks and spread the love.

I know I'm not the Jen she tagged, but I thought it was interesting. I tag Lorilee, Lorelle, Katie G. , Michelle R. , McKenna and Kandyce because I've never seen where they live!

Here's my blogging spot, where I spend way too much time!

Can you say "Oedipus Complex"?

A few weeks ago, Ben drew a picture on my bedsheet. I asked Ben what it was and he said "You, me, and Dad in bed." At the time, I didn't look at it very carefully, just thought it was funny. Today, while putting the sheets on the bed, I looked more closely at the picture.

Guess which one's Brad!

Mom: According to Ben

I got this idea from Brooke who thought Ben would have some good answers...

1. What is something mom always says to you? Maybe

2. What makes mom happy? Hugs

3. What makes mom sad? Punches

4. What is something mom does that makes you laugh? Tickles me

5. What was mom like as a child? Little

6. How old is mom? 16
(I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not...)

7. How tall is mom? 20"
(20 is the highest Ben can count on his own, so it's a big number to him!)

8. What is mom's favorite thing to do? shop for food
(am I a little too excited about the grocery game?)

9. What does mom do when you're not around? wash dishes

10. What cool thing does mom do? play games with me

11. What's something mom is really good at? washing dishes
(must be because that's all I do when no kids are home!)

12. What is something mom isn't very good at? running
(out of the mouth of babes...)

13. What does mom do for her job? clean people's houses
(I do this very infrequently, but he's right, it's something I get paid to do!)

14. What is mom's favorite food? hamburgers
(ummm...NO!)

15. What does mom do that makes you proud of her? plays with me

16. What do you and mom do together? learn to read

17. How are you and mom alike? We're both humans

18. How do you know mom loves you? she kisses me

A Full-filling Day

We had a busy Saturday and accomplished a lot! Started off with Santa's Workshop at church this morning...they didn't lay out all the projects this year like they've done in the past, so I didn't get to take a picture of all that was made. I know we finished two large mosaic pots, seven or eight baby blankets (five of which Jillian sewed! Thanks mom for teaching her to sew, she loves it!), several windchimes, birdfeeders, knitted hats, Christmas wreaths & ornaments, two large wooden benches, cards and letters to servicemen & women and 75 hygiene kits. These wonderful Christmas gifts go to various organizations like Helpline House, House of Hope, and LDS Humanitarian Services. I love this activity that our ward does every year. It's such a great way to start the holiday season. The kids were very involved. Nate said he did a little of everything and he was very helpful with Ben. Jillian and I sewed most of the time, Kylie and Brad worked mostly on the bird feeders and benches. I was too busy to take many pictures, but here are a few.

After we got home, Jillian, Ben and I (and one of their friends) raked leaves in the front yard. It was a beautiful, afternoon, warm for mid-November!

The kids have a "dig site" on the edge of the yard, basically a really big hole that they've dug, and they decided to fill it with the leaves so they could jump in to it and pretend they were swimming. I guess they didn't get to the swimming part, since Jillian said there were slugs on the leaves...

While we were raking, Brad and Nate went to Brad's parents and loaded up logs from a tree Brad cut up last week. More wood to split...yipee! When they returned and the kids were tired of raking, Brad and I were able to do some yard work together without interruption, which is a very rare occurance! It was nice to talk and spend time outside together cleaning off the sports court.

Then tonight was Nathan's first indoor soccer game. He's on a co-ed team, five girls, twelve boys, all freshmen, all rec-league players. They played another Bainbridge team which was a mix of grades, with most of the players from select teams. (Bainbridge has a rec-league and a select league, select being the more "serious" players.) They lost, 5 to 11, but I thought they did pretty well considering their competition. He hasn't played soccer for the past two years, so it was fun to watch him again. Sorry, no pictures, the action is way too fast paced for my camera!

Family Talent Show

For family night a few nights ago, Nathan planned a family talent show. Let me tell you, we are one talented family!

Ben made pig noises and did sommersaults.



Jillian and Kylie played the piano.





Nathan played guitar and sang (but not at the same time).





I made an apple pie (with help from Jill, Kylie & Ben),

and Brad ate the apple pie!

Next stop, America's Got Talent!

Cooking Slump

Help! I've fallen into a cooking slump and I can't get up! Every Sunday, I make my grocery list for the week and put together a menu based on what I'm buying (and what I have on hand). I have all my tried and true recipes in a three ring binder and I'm getting tired of them all! I've just spent the last hour looking online for new recipes, and haven't come up with much. So, I need your help! Please, kind friends, if you love me, send me a recipe! Something not too complicated that uses normal ingredients that kids will eat that doesn't contain dairy is all I ask. Thank you!

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

I've been totally excited for Thanksgiving ever since I saw this yummy looking recipe:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/pecan-topped-baked-sweet-potatoes.html

I can't wait to try it out this year. It seems the past few years we haven't been very creative with our Thanksgiving fare. We tend to stick to the traditional favorites, which isn't a bad thing because they're dishes we know we like, but this year I'm determined to try some new recipes. So...if you run across something that sounds especially delicious or you have one of your traditional favorites you want to share, comment with the recipe! I'll let you know when I've decided on my menu.

They Say Obama Attracted the Younger Voters

That was certainly true in our house. For some reason, Ben is infatuated with Obama. I know, we live on an extremely liberal Island in a liberal state, so I guess I can't be too surprised. On Halloween, one lady whose house we trick-or-treated at asked the kids, "If you could vote, who would you vote for?" Kylie and Jillian, noticing the Obama sign in the yard, mumbled something incomprensible, but Ben shouted out "OBAMA!" The lady gave him a high-five and an extra handful of candy. I asked him later why he would vote for Obama and he said, "Because John McCain wants to close down kids' schools." That was actually from an ad by Christine Gregoire against Dino Rossi in the Washington state governor's race, but same difference, right? I asked where he heard that and he said, "On TV." Hmmm...maybe we need to pull the plug!

More Fall Beauty

It's so nice that I don't have to leave my yard to see the beautiful fall colors. The trees are especially vibrant this year, I think because we've had so many nice days this October. Of course, as I say that, it's just started raining. Right in time for trick-or-treating tomorrow!

Don't you expect to see little gnomes sitting on these mushrooms?!

The leaves on my favorite tree keep getting more and more beautiful.

And here's another of my favorite trees. I know, I have lots of favorites. It's kind of like when my kids ask which one I like best. I like them all the best!

More Halloween Fun!

Is it just me, or does it seem like Halloween is celebrated even more than Christmas? We've had a solid week of Halloween activities and celebrations and it's not even the big day yet! As Ben said, it's only "Halloween New Year's" ( I think he meant Halloween Eve). I'm not really complaining, just making an observation.

Our week started off Monday with our annual pumpkin carving family night with the Kollodge family and the missionaries.

Carving chaos!

Chantal and Andre

Ben designing his pumpkin's face. It's so great that they're old enough to design their own pumpkins! We did cut Ben's for him, but little Andre here, loved to use the little saw and cut part of his own!

The finished products!

Top row: Adrian, Jillian, Aubrey, Kylie'

Middle row: Angelina, Aubrey, Andre, Nathan

Bottom Row: Ben

Then last night was the ward Halloween party, which the youth put on for the primary kids. Each class has a "booth" and the kids love it! Kylie said she thinks she had more fun than the little kids did. Brad and I had a good time judging the costume contest. I didn't get any pictures, but there were some very creative costumes, especially from the adults! One friend dressed up as Spiderman in the whole bodysuit get-up. Some of my favorites were two very authentic hippies, a 70s fashion plate wearing real "Vera" lemon yellow polyester pants with a flowered green & yellow blouse, and an amazing pirate family.

My little Jengo Fett, Scarecrow and Witch. Nate decided he was too old to dress up this year.

Bobba Fett and Jengo Fett reunited at last!

Nathan's class both, Donut-on-a-String

Kylie's class booth,"Hall of Squeams."
They had bowls of "guts", "eyeballs", "brains", etc.

for the kids to put their hands in.

Tomorrow are the school Halloween parties and costume parade, then we'll head down to Winslow for trick-or-treating, and on to Aunt Tif's neighborhood for more candy! Like I said, a whole week's worth of celebration!