Little Cinderella

I guess I've trained my kids well - at least the youngest one. Last night, Kasidee found a napkin and began dusting and cleaning everything in our family room, even the bricks on the fireplace. I just wonder why her older sisters complain every time it's their turn to clean!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

Well, I guess we (did I say WE?!) are the "proud" new owners of a 1991 Honda 4x4 Four-Wheeler. Hmmm. It all started back in May when we went to our niece's baptism up in Riverside (see my May 31st entry). Chris and Wendy have the perfect place for riding four-wheelers - they can go out their backyard and ride for miles. Plus, they all enjoy riding and all 6 of them have their own. But they let us take their four-wheelers for a spin when we were up there in May - and since then Quentin was obsessed. And when Quentin becomes obsessed, it doesn't end until he gets it. I have heard all about four-wheelers for 3 1/2 months. He's researched them a lot, finally found a good deal, and used his quarterly bonus for it. So there ya have it. He sweetly said if I had any reservations, he wouldn't get it. But how could I deprive him of something he's wanted HIS WHOLE LIFE (or at least the last 3 1/2 months)?! I'm nervous for lots of reasons, but oh well. The smile on his face was, well, priceless!

Kids Say the Darndest...

Some of you who have been to my house have probably noticed the sign in my bedroom of Kiera's quote. When she was 4, she woke up, sat up in bed, and with a huge smile, looked around and said excitedly, "Mama! I've never had this day before!" I loved that so much that I had a sign made so I could always remember it. Well, I recently (finally) added a sign for something Makenna said nearly a year ago. Several times as we walked Kiera to school, Makenna would look around, sigh, and say, "Ahhh...a yummy day!" So cute! I want to always remember the excitement and innocence my girls have for a brand-new day!

3 Little Monkeys

Tonight the girls and I went to the Rock Loft (Secret Haven) for their Halloween open house. We had planned on going with Nikki and her kids, but a traffic jam prevented them from being able to go (we missed you guys!) The employees (and a few customers) were totally decked out in their witch costumes - Kiera loved it (especially since she wants to be a witch this year), but Makenna got a little spooked and kept asking if we could go home. Anyway, I couldn't leave empty-handed, and I spotted these awesome little pumpkins. They are so neat, and I absolutely love them - they make me all fluttery inside! Pretty cool. And something even cooler - there's a new-ish store by the Rock Loft called "3 Little Monkeys." Soooo cute! They've got the cutest little toys and children's books. They're a little expensive, but they've got things you can't find everywhere - except maybe online! Anyway, it gave me a lot of ideas for Christmas, and I know we'll be back - they have a weekly storytime! Yay!

Lazy Weekend

This is how most of our pictures turn out. Quentin wanted a picture of his "4 girls," but Makenna always pouts when it comes to picture time. So here it is.


What a lazy weekend. It has felt so nice and has been a much-needed break for all of us. We've been going, going, going for so long and the next 4 weekends are pretty much booked, so it was nice to have a breather! We spent Friday night at Corbin and Nikki's (Eric and Mischelle were also there) - the girls always like to play with their cousins. Saturday morning we all slept sooooo late (9:00!) then had waffles for brunch. Later, we checked out the store Bukoos - we had never been there before. It was fun. There's a LOT of junk, but if you look hard you can find some great deals. We got some brand-new kids books that have been on my "list" for 3 bucks (regularly $17) and a few DVDs. Quentin was excited to find the Indiana Jones 3 DVD boxed set (regularly $40) for $21! Yay! After that, we visited my Grandma and Mom. Then today after church, Quentin wanted to try an experiment. He has been suffering from a nasty ear infection since Wednesday. He's been on antibiotics for a few days, but he says it still feels like a knife is stuck in his ear. Anyway, he wanted to drive up Farmington Canyon to see if the altitude would make a difference. Crazy enough, it did - up at the top, his pain lessened. But coming back down, he was in pain again. Yuck. Poor guy! Anyway, being up in the canyon made Quentin all giddy about his new obsession - getting a 4-Wheeler. I'm not sure I'm supportive of this (at least not till we have a cabin or some property to drive it on!) but once Quentin's obsessed about something, it doesn't go away. But it was a nice little drive for us - we went all the way up to the top, where we could see Davis County on one side and Morgan on the other side. And we were even so high that we could see the Great Salt Lake all the way around Antelope Island. The girls thought that was pretty neat. Toodles till next time! :0)

Mmm...Moroccan Stew - Part 2

Okay, so I've had a few requests for my Moroccan Stew recipe. Here goes: (Oh, this serves 6 but I always double it so we can eat it for a few meals). Let me know if anyone is brave enough to try it - it's SOOOO yummy!

1 cup lentils, washed
3 cups water
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 to 2 cups pumpkin or butternut squash
1 15-oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 15-oz. can corn, drained
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 tsp. ginger (dried)
1 15-oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained

1. Place the lentils in a pot with 3 cups water and bring to a boil.
2. Partially cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the vegetables, spices and chickpeas; partially cover and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. If the stew is too thick, add boiling water to thin.
5. May serve over rice or couscous.

First Day of Preschool (Sort Of)

Makenna's been wearing her backpack all morning, waiting for preschool. It doesn't start till the afternoon, so it was a long morning. She was SO excited! Today was just an orientation meeting - the kids got to color their snack placemats and the teacher talked to the parents. Makenna will be going to the same preschool Kiera went to (in our old neighborhood) - it is fabulous! She can't wait to go but she's also glad Mommy can come in once a month to be the parent helper. I don't know - something about preschool gets me all excited inside. Maybe someday I'll be a preschool teacher - that would be such a fun job!

Mmm...Moroccan Stew

The pic above is not very flattering (blurry, not "plated" very prettily, etc.), but I wanted to share what we had for dinner tonight: Cumin-Scented Moroccan Stew. Yum. There's nothing like cumin. It's warm, fragrant, comforting. Mmm - my favorite spice. And when cumin is paired with garbanzo beans, lentils, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and brown rice, well, it's almost heavenly. This cooler weather has really gotten me in the cooking mood. I've been going through my recipes, making my mouth water over Fall flavors - sweet potatoes, baked apples, pumpkin pancakes, butternut squash, stews...yum!

This is the Place

On a whim, we decided to visit This is the Place Heritage Park yesterday (for those who don't know, it's a "living history village" about Pioneer life. The employees are "Pioneers," and there are about 50 buildings that have been relocated or are replicas of Pioneer homes and businesses). I hadn't been there since I was a kid, Quentin had never been there at all, and we've been talking about going there for a couple of years but hadn't made it. So we finally went! And boy, we were impressed! We thought we'd be there maybe an hour or so - we didn't realize how much there is to do and how much fun the girls (and us!) would have! We were there for 4 1/2 hours and probably could have stayed nearly an hour more if they hadn't closed for the day! We had an absolute blast. We saw a blacksmith and tinsmith make stuff, rode a train, panned for gold, and the girls rode a pony, made cornhusk dolls, ate penny candy, played in the schoolhouse, and got a "loan" from the banker. What a fun experience - Kiera kept saying how much she loves visiting the "Olden Days."

First Day

Well, we did it. We dropped Kiera off for her very first day of first grade. She was so brave, and I was brave too - till I got out into the empty hallway. I started getting teary-eyed. Then I ran into 4 of my neighbors and we all laughed and gave each other hugs! A few days ago I clipped something I saw in a magazine ad and put it on my fridge: "There will be bigger hallways and bigger kids. There will be new sounds, new friends and new teachers. She'll line up, look back and file inside and at that moment you'll realize this is your first day of school too."

I'm sure Kiera will do fine. She loves school and learning and she's a social butterfly. Yes, she'll have fun and be happy. I'm just sad for me. I miss her. She's my friend, my helper and my entertainer for Makenna and Kasidee. My neighbor says Kiera is sunshine - full of brightness, happiness, goodness and is always thinking of others. This time will be good for me to be able to focus on Makenna and Kasidee. Makenna will be going to preschool in a couple of weeks, we have "standing" playdates arranged, and I have a list of fun things we can do. But I'll still feel lost and a little empty - at least for awhile.

Treasure Hunt

It's our last day of "freedom" till school starts tomorrow. *Sigh* Yesterday we went to Lowes for their bi-monthly FREE building project. I can't believe how much the girls look forward to this and LOVE doing it! Yesterday they made a truck - how cool is that?! I'll tell ya - if you have kids, you gotta get over there. Check it out at www.lowesbuildandgrow.com. I've heard Home Depot does something once a month too. After that, we had lunch at Olive Garden then went on a few geocaches (another thing the girls LOVE - treasure hunts!) Check it out at www.geocaching.com. You can type in a location, it will give you coordinates to a "cache," then you follow your GPS unit - it will point you in the direction and guide you within feet of the "cache." (There are hundreds of thousands of caches all over the world!) When you find the hidden cache, you can open it up - inside is a dozen or so trinkets that you can choose from, then replace with one of your own. Kiera chose a coin from Seattle and Makenna chose a bubble necklace. You can also log your journey into a journal that is enclosed in the cache. It is so fun.

So tonight the back-to-school jitters have begun. Kiera's so excited, but she's afraid she'll have nightmares tonight. She's so sad she won't be in class with her BFF (I feel like a teenager writing that!) Sophie. But she's excited to have 3 (3!) recesses AND lunch with all of her friends. It will be an adventure!

Misc. Stuff 'Cuz I'm Addicted to Blogging. . .

A few random things that I feel the need to document since I'm hoping to print my blog into a book by the end of the year (sorry to make y'all put up with it!)...

When we went to the County Fair last week, the girls weren't the only ones enthralled by the clowns who twisted balloons into animal shapes. I thought they were awesome and I figured I could learn a few tricks for my future in the clowning business! Anyway, the girls and I got some books at the library, some balloons at Zurchers...and then we made Quentin figure it out! Here's his first "balloon sculpture" - can you tell it's a black hummingbird?? Well, I'm impressed!



Quentin was lucky enough to have the day off again today, so we took the girls swimming. 'Tis the last "real" day till school starts on Monday. Kiera's SOOOO excited for school, but I'm sad - I'll really miss her being gone all day. And I'm dreading the "sitting down and doing homework" thing, plus I'll miss the "whatever" schedule we've gotten so used to. Oh well. It will be good to have a "real" schedule and new goals - for me it's like a New Year!




Inspired by Nikki's recent post as well as a couple websites I've perused this week (www.laptoplunches.com and http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com), I LOVE the idea of posting what we're having for dinner!! I love seeing foods and recipes that other people post on their websites, so why shouldn't I do it too? :0) Many of mt friends have wondered what we (as vegetarians) eat - so maybe every once in awhile I'll show ya! Tonight we had brushetta (sp?) - simple and yummy!! I take rolls and cut them in half, put them under the broiler for a couple minutes to toast them a bit, then top them with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, a pinch of salt, and fresh basil. (I took the girls to the Farmer's Market last night while Quentin helped his sister and brother-in-law move into their first house; a cute little farmer tempted me with fresh basil and my mouth started watering. There's nothing like fresh basil!) Oh yum!


Again, inspired by someone else's blog (this time from Quentin's niece Jamie), Quentin took this picture of my grandma's hand, my mom's hand, my hand, and my 3 girls' hands. I love what Jamie said about her picture: "Much love, caring, soothing and hard work is held in this picture. It is so neat to see the beauty of a young hand, turned to a beautiful, wrinkled, aged hand. How lucky I am to have wonderful hands to follow!" What a neat idea, Jamie - you inspired me to have a picture like that of my own! Thank you!


Last but not least, Quentin and I got a VERY exciting phone call this evening from my cousin Aaron - he and his wife Lisa are expecting their first baby in February! Yahoo!!! We're SO happy for them - they'll be AWESOME parents! Yay!!

Field Trip

More fun-squeezing before school starts.... Today we met Quentin for lunch during his lunch hour. The girls think Daddy works at the coolest place 'cause it's just steps away from the Gateway fountains. Quentin and I grabbed some Subway sandwiches and watched the girls "frolick" in the fountains - well, except Makenna. She just watched from the sidelines. But even Kasidee got in on the action - she loved it! Afterwards, the girls and I went to the Salt Lake Library (my dad lets us borrow his library card!). We love it there! The girls played in the "Crystal Cave" and the "Attic" play areas and we got tons of books to come home with. What a fun day!

Bah Humbug!

So I'm trying to be a "greener" person and be a good example to my girls by recycling. We have 3 large garbage cans in our garage where our recyclables go till I can drive it over to Bountiful City's recycling station (usually about every 10 days or so). I have felt really good about doing this and am proud that my girls are more aware of "Reducing, Reusing and Recycling." When we went to drop off our stuff a few days ago, the recycling station was closed. I figured it was just temporary - but today my friend told me that Bountiful City has instituted a mandatory curbside recycling program and has discontinued their drop-off station. Aughhh! People in Centerville or Farmington have to PAY some company to pick up their recycling. Shouldn't they be paying US??? I'm so disappointed and frustrated - I don't know what to do. Plus here's another thought. I bought those cute little reusable shopping bags, thinking I was helping the environment. But now I have to buy plastic garbage sacks for my kitchen garbage cans. I guess it's all just part of the "things that make you go Hmmm...."

More Fun

As a "last hurrah" for summer, we're trying to squeeze in a few more fun things before school starts. We wanted to take Kasidee on a mini-train ride on her birthday last week but they were closed. The website said they were open today, so we went - but they were having a family reunion and weren't taking "normal" customers. Ergh! The girls were SOOO disappointed (we all were!), so we had to come up with Plan B pretty quick. The Farmington Pool was going to close in an hour, so we decided to fill up our little kiddie pool in the backyard. I thought the girls would balk, but they started jumping up and down with excitement. Whew! So we filled up the pool, turned on the sprinkler, and the girls got out their umbrellas. While they were playing, Quentin and I worked on a surprise we had for them. About a week ago when I was at the recycling center, I noticed someone had dropped off one of those Little Tyke purple dinosaur sandbox things. We've debated all summer about getting one, but Quentin wanted to add it to his "to do" list to MAKE a sandbox instead. But I couldn't resist. This sandbox was in pretty good shape - and it was free! So I nabbed it. We got some pea gravel (a little less, well, sandy than sand!) and filled it up. The girls thought it was the neatest thing. They got out their buckets and shovels and began digging - and throwing in pennies and nickels to see if they could bury them and find them again! So it turned out to be a fun day after all!

Little Walker

Kasidee's been taking a few steps here and there for a couple of months now, but the last few days she has really been taking off! (She loves pushing her dolly stroller, but she can walk without help now too!) She starts at one end of the room and toddles toward the other end. If she gets tippy, she'll sit down then start all over. She's getting pretty good at it - and she's very proud of herself (so are we)!

Home

I had a vivid dream last night that I've thought about all day today. I dreamt (dreamed?) that I looked out the window and saw a big wrecking ball in front of my front door. When I asked the person operating it what was up, he said, "Oh - didn't you get the notice from the City? We have to demolish your house." After much protesting, we realized it was to no avail. The wrecking ball guy was able to give us 12 hours to pack up our entire home and leave. I woke up with a heavy heart until I realized it was all just a crazy dream. But I've been thinking all day...I love our home! And not only just the house, but our neighborhood and the area as well! If we couldn't live here, where would we go? What would we do? I remember when we moved to Farmington nearly 9 years ago...I felt so far away and homesick. It took nearly a year for me to finally feel totally comfortable and "not homesick." 7 years later when we realized that we needed a new home, we knew where we wanted to be - we only moved about 2 miles south. We realized that South Farmington/North Centerville is where we want to raise our family. It is home. I guess that dream made me aware that I love my life right now - I love my family and our home. And I guess I'm so afraid of something taking that away. I've been thinking a lot about the "psychology of home" lately - how "home" means different things to different people (areas, floorplans, decorations, etc). But home is where our lives unfold. When I was little, my mom had a picture on our wall that said, "A house is made of bricks and stone; a home is made of love alone." Awwwww....