First Day of School - 2011

Today was the big day - the first day of school.  Joshua to fourth grade and Nathaniel to kindergarten. This is Joshua's second first day of fourth grade...his first first day of fourth grade was in 2001 when I was a month or two pregnant with him :) I think he'll enjoy more this time around!

The boys and I walked to school.  Grace was on the fence if she was going to come with us or not...until I mentioned that Dora was on.  She sent us away with a wave of her hand and a  "bye, guys."  On our walk, we saw this guy...as buck season gets nearer, I bet we won't be seeing much of him.

We dropped Joshua off at his classroom first.  He found his cubby and dropped off his backpack.  He found his desk and paused long enough for me to take a picture and then he was off to play with his friends. 

As I was leaving, I saw him out on the courts playing and zoomed in and got a couple of pictures of him...slightly blurry, but it's him.

After dropping Joshua off, Nathaniel and I walked out the door and down the steps and then crossed the walkway to the kindergarten classroom.  As we were doing this, Nathaniel tells me, "Bye, Mom, see you later."  I told him I didn't think so - I was taking him to his classroom.  I don't get all teary and emotional when my kids start school (well, I get emotional, but it's not sad...it's the little happy dance I'm doing inside as I see them start a fun year) but I do like to see them to the door on their first day.

I took a picture of him under the welcome sign on the door and then, after he signed in, (who gave him such a long first name?!), a picture of him with his name tag. 

I remember my first day of kindergarten - walking through that very same door.  We got apple name tags that were hanging on a "tree" (I think it was just a branch in a coffee can probably).  Thirty-three years ago it was my classroom where I started my adventures in education. Here's a picture of my kindergarten class - taken at Christmastime I'm guessing with the tree in the background.  The walls aren't orange now - they're currently covered with some blue fabric because they're studing the ocean.

Nathaniel is FIVE!!!

Yes, our little boy is growing up.  Hard to believe that he starts kindergarten tomorrow.  He's quite excited about that.  A week or so ago, he was suddenly getting very worried about the whole kindergarten thing.  But after visiting his classroom last Thursday evening, meeting his teacher, finding his cubby and seeing several friends from preschool, he decided he wasn't afraid anymore.  I hope he enjoys it.  I hope he has fun. I hope he makes friends. I hope he learns and grows in his classroom just like I did.  Yes, his kindergarten classroom is the very same classroom where I started school - in 1978.  Not the same teacher, however...I don't think his kindergarten teacher was even born when i was in Kindergarten.  My teacher, Mrs. Cassady, just passed away this past spring at 94 or so.

Saturday was his birthday.  He wanted French Toast for breakfast - Daddy made that. For lunch he'd wanted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but Grandma and Grandpa got out some hot dogs and he decided that was a better idea.  For dinner he wanted homemade pizza. We had cheese & olive and barbecue chicken. Dessert was homemade ice cream (chocolate) and a Buzz Lightyear cake.  This was the most complicated cake I've decorated...my shoulder still hurts!  But it didn't turn out too bad considering I've never had a decorating class or anything.  He loved it.  Told me it was amazing :)

The birthday boy!

Opening presents...they had a system. He opened the cards and handed them to Joshua, Joshua read them and then handed them to Grandma.  Grace tried to get him to open the presents faster by "starting" them for him.

Blowing out the candles

with his birthday banner

Wearing his new tie from Great Grandma Donna and Great Grandpa Ken

Playing Cars with Joshua Sunday afternoon...in their matching Bumblebee Transformer shirts (I think Joshua got his for his birthday...and we found one on clearance last week for Nathaniel!)

The two youngest after Church...Joshua didn't hear me call him outside for a picture. 

the lego tower he and Grace build Saturday morning while waiting for him to officially turn 5 (10:31am)...even has a landing pad for the helicopter on top!

He got some clothes and some Transformers (now he doesn't have to share Joshua's) and some Cars (from the movie Cars cars). He was a happy boy.  Grace wanted to open everything...we told her she has to wait just under a month until it's her turn - I don't think she quite understood.

August 23, 1995

This was our last family picture taken before I left for my mission to Spain.  This was at the end of the talks at the MTC and we were getting ready to say good-bye for 18 months.
Little did we know then how much things would change in that short time.
One of the hardest yet best times of my life - I'd do it over again without hesitation.

Mom and I with Jacob Vaniman...their family had lived in Etna for awhile.  I'd been Jacob's Sunbeam teacher one summer when I was home from BYU.  They lived near Provo at this time and some of them came to the MTC when I entered.

Saying good-bye...Dad's hair isn't all grey!  I think this is the picture Mom cropped down and sent me and I used it on my bus pass, my residency card, and a bunch of other things.
(No idea who the crying girl in the background is)

My MTC District...taken in front of the Provo Temple one Sunday afternoon - probably in September.
They were a great group...I'm still in contact (thank you Facebook) with all the sisters and one of the elders. 
I know where one other of the elders are, but not a clue to the other 5...guess I could always check FB some more :)

Summer is Drawing to a Close...

On Saturday, the boys had the Primary swim party...it was time for Grace's nap, so Brian stayed home with her.  I took the boys out to the party...they had some small life vests which was perfect for Nathaniel since he doesn't swim very well yet.  He was hardly out of the water...his poor little lips were purple and he was shivering, but he had a blast!!  Joshua was blasting (the older kids had all kinds of super soakers, water guns, sling shots, water bombs, etc.) in another way...he was never still long enough for me to get a picture!  They finished up the afternoon with root beer floats!

On Friday, we'd had to run over to Yreka to pick up copies of some medical records of Nathaniel's to send to a specialist and pick up a prescription for Brian, so we decided to use the kids' free pizza certificates from the summer reading program at the library.  Joshua downed his.  Nathaniel and Grace brought their leftovers home for dinner.  They enjoyed them (and we enjoyed the buffet!) and also had fun reading this summer.

Three Musketeers

The boys were driving me crazy one day in early June - wanting to play video games or watch TV yet again.  I told them to use their imaginations and be pioneers or explorers or something. Explore an uncharted jungle or desert, or a new planet in outerspace, or an underwater colony...just go play and play nice.  They did!  They loaded up their backpacks, and explored...I think it was a planet in outerspace.  I'll have to ask Joshua for sure what it was.  But they were sure cute! And Grace enjoyed it, too!

Pollo con Piña

This is one of my favorite recipes that I brought home from my mission in Spain.  I got this from a member in the Valencia branch...she was originally from the Canary Islands and she told me that is where the recipe originated.  She was sick (cancer) and my companion and I did service by cleaning and ironing for her.  She would cook for us. She gave my trainer and I pretty blank books that we could write down the recipes in.  They were delicious (even the Sopa de Ajo (Garlic Soup)).  I received one letter from her after I came home in 1997 - she'd gone back to the Canary Islands.  I haven't heard from her since, so I'm not sure of her whereabouts or if her cancer came back or what. But every time I make this (and it is now a favorite of my husband and kids) I think of Mercedes.


Mercedes, me and her son, Alejandro
February 1996
Valencia, Spain

My original copy of the recipe - I'd only been in Spain a few months, but I couldn't remember certain cooking terms in English (or figure out how to translate right) I couldn't figure out "brown the chicken" just got it figured out to cooking it not frying it :)

As you can see it is very well used...I think, next to my recipe for Tortilla it is the most used page in this book!

Pollo con Piña

from Mercedes Mendez in Valencia, Spain






1 chicken cut in small pieces (or chicken breasts, or things or even tenders)


1 large can of pineapple rings (with juice)


2 beef bouillon cubes


250 g margarine (about 1 ½ cubes)


Flour


Water






Clean the chicken, coat with flour. Set aside. In a frying pan, melt margarine. Brown the chicken. Put browned chicken in a 9” x 13” pan and set aside. In the leftover margarine, add the pineapple juice and the bouillon cubes. Stir well, until boiling and the bouillon cubes have disintegrated. Mix 1 tsp of flour in 1/3 c. of water (just so flour is mixed well). Mix into margarine mixture. Strain mixture (if necessary) and pour over chicken and cook 30-45 minutes in oven at 350° to 375°.






This is good served over rice or mashed potatoes. You may need additional pineapple juice – especially if you want it saucier to pour over rice or potatoes. Then I add an additional bouillon cube as well.

Bisquick Garlic Cheese Biscuits

Joshua fixed these to go with our Pollo con Piña the other night...they were delicious.

I think what really makes them great is using Homemade Bisquick :)

2 c. bisquick

¼ c. margarine or butter, melted


2/3 c. milk

¼ t. garlic powder


½ c. shredded cheddar cheese





· Heat oven to 450. Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms; beat 30 seconds.


· Drop dough by 10 to 12 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.


· Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix melted oleo & garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.





**I sometimes add a little garlic powder to the bisquick as I mix in the milk. These taste a lot like the biscuits at Red Lobster. They go great with spaghetti. Joshua’s always turn out better than mine!







Homemade Bisquick Mix


Makes 7 cups





3 cups white flour


3 cups whole wheat flour


3 Tbsp baking powder


1 Tbsp salt


1 cup shortening





1. Whisk flour together in a large bowl with baking powder and salt until well blended.


2. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs.


3. Store mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.


4. Use whenever your recipe calls for BISQUICK.





**the original recipe that I found on the Internet had you sift the dry ingredients together three times…using a wire whisk is much easier and gives the same results. It also called for 6 cups of white flour, but we like doing half whole wheat and half white flour.

august days

Smiley Grace

Nathaniel grabbed my camera and took a few pictures...

The house nathaniel built with his creature on top...I thought it was part of the house...it looked pretty cool

Joshua and his house...front view and side view...it's not really a house, it's a hanger for Star Wars ships he's built

Nathaniel with his house

Grace with a couple of zucchini we picked from the garden this morning.

Inside Out Pizza

Inside Out Pizza (from Lacie Benton~Winters)

Crust:
5 c. flour
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
2 T yeast (2 pkgs)
1 ½ c. warm water
½ c. warm milk
2 T melted butter

Filling:

Any pizza toppings you desire. Can include pizza sauce in it and have extra for dipping, or can just have it for dipping and not put any inside the pizza.

Mix dry ingredients (use only ½ total amount of flour) and then add wet ingredients. Beat on medium for 3 minutes. Slowly add remaining flour. Change to dough hook when needed. Let rise 1 hour. Roll out, put filling on half of dough. Fold over and seal. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Brush top with egg whites if desired.

This is another one that Joshua will take cold in his lunch to school.  It freezes pretty well, too.  I usually get 2 pizzas out of this and we've eaten one and froze the other for later.

Dad's new Job

We got these clippers at Christmastime with the idea that I would be the one cutting the boys' hair.  But I wanted to wait until summer so if I did a horrible job, it wouldn't matter because it was summer and the shorter, the better, right?  But Grace would've been way to helpful, so Dad decided he'd do it. 

I decided he's hired and it save us about $20 every 6 weeks or so to have him cut the boys' hair.