This Month

I haven't gotten around to blogging (or doing much of anything) this month. I have those end of pregnancy blahs. I don't feel like doing much of anything but cleaning and organizing. Yes, I'm nesting. So here are a couple pictures I managed to take.

Thanksgiving with my family. My parents have fourteen grandchildren and two more on the way. My sister Melanie went to Spokane this year so we only had eleven of the fourteen running around shrieking with joyful mischievous delight. Here are the ones lucky enough to sit at the kids' table.

My sweet Jairus with his future wife. He loves Molly Beecher. And I'm pretty sure she loves him too.

Me and my belly. Only six more weeks to go. Crazy.

Ephraim in his bunny suit with a chocolate covered face. Halloween was a good day for this little guy.

1953

Here is a little treasure from 1953. My wonderful friend Marianne let look through her collection of vintage patterns. This beauty was just meant to be. The measurements fit Marley perfectly right now. (Marley was quite concerned that I wouldn't finish before she grew) We had just enough of this fabric in my fabric stash. And it goes perfectly with the coat I made her last winter.

I love all things vintage. How wonderful that my powers of persuasion are rubbing off on my girl. She too loves all things old fashioned. A girl after my own heart. Aislyn still just loves all things pink. I'm working on her though.

Look at this beauty! I can't believe she will be twelve in just a few months. She is a girl of many talents and a kind heart. I can't imagine life without her and all she does. If you haven't already, you should check out her blog. It often makes me giggle and is very sweet. It's on my list of blogs- upside down and right side up.

I finally broke down

Yes, I finally broke down and turned on the furnace yesterday. Most people think I'm crazy to have waited so long. I probably am. But really, who wants to pay that extra bill through the winter months? Anyway, in preparation for a nice toasty warm house I replaced the furnace filters and decided to vacuum out the vents downstairs. Who knew I would be in for such a surprise.
Let me list the treasures I found in just one vent:
-A rock measuring about 4 inches in diameter.
-5-6 smaller rocks.
-2 jolly ranchers.
-A plastic muscle man action figure.
-3 pens.
-2 pencils.
-A rubber band.
-And a very stale dinner roll.

Apparently this has been someone's special summer time hiding spot although no one has any idea who would do such a thing:)

It's Been Awhile

What has happened the past few weeks? Well, not picture taking that's for sure. So here's a list.

-Jairus celebrated his fourth birthday with cookies and a Hot Wheels car ramp complete with a skull that you drive your cars into. Strange that my sensitive, tender boy is all about skeletons right now, or "skimitoos" as he pronounces it.
-Thomas and I got to go to the temple with his cousin Holly and her husband Joe for their first time. Very sweet experience.
-Our computer crashed, then miraculously started again, then died again, and is now hopefully really and truly fixed, thanks to John. What a roller coaster.
-I started a hornet's nest so to speak of political debate, kind of a weird position for me to be in.
-Ephraim wrote on the wall with red pencil and then cracked the plaster and started picking at it and now we have a three inch hole in our hallway. Awesome.
-We set up the crib for the baby, always fun for me. I can't wait for her to get here. Only ten more weeks to go.
-Marley turned into a teenager overnight and is now very concerned about privacy and all the injustices of having brothers and sisters.
-Townsend went to Grandma Carroll's house for a week and had a lovely time. We're glad to have him back though.

Up next....Halloween which I have not prepared for at all and then Aislyn's sixth birthday party which she has been inviting people to for the last six months.

Happy Birthday Ephraim!

Our little guy is now a big two years old. A little something about Ephraim. He likes to eat. He holds the family record for eating pancakes. Seven! He prefers to communicate by answering all questions with a nod or shake of his head. He's very tough and has no trouble holding his own with all these big kids around him. He loves to hug his brother Jairus and play horsey with his sister Marley. He is an escape artist and has given his mother a near heart attack a few times now. Most of all he is the most lovable two year old I know.

Westport and Grandpa!

Last Monday was just about as perfect as a day can be. We all piled into the Pilot and headed for the beach. School started for everyone else last week so we had the beach to ourselves. We were all happy to have Grandpa Done here for a visit. Grandpa=Fun. We made sand castles, found jellyfish and shells, buried our legs in the sand, thought we were being killed by a wave that knocked us down(OK that one was Jairus but he recovered quickly), threw a lot of sand, drove on the beach and scared innocent seagulls, saw cranberry bogs, ate at a wonderful little restaraunt called Bennett's, broke a glass, ate an "adult meal" and had generally had a beautiful day. Thank you grandpa!

Canning Week!

Canning week. In a strange and twisted way I look forward to it all year long. I never work quite so hard, or stay up quite so late as I do this week. I'm never quite so tired or frazzled as I am this week. But I never feel quite the sense of fulfillment as I do this week. And even though the kids complain here and there I think they feel the same way. Hard work makes you feel good, it gives you confidence. Both Marley and Townsend made comments about how fun it was and how they loved it. Even Ephraim got in on the green snapping and corn husking action.
This year Sarah and I drove to Yakima on Monday, loaded up her van with probably 1,000 pounds of produce and then got to work on Tuesday. Thanks to Sister Moore we got 400 pounds of corn for free from the WSU fields in Puyallup. This year our family did 40 quarts of peaches, 15 quarts of pears, 65 quarts of green beans, 85 quarts of tomatoes and we froze 25 quarts of fresh corn. It all tastes so much better than the store bought stuff.

Here's our pile of corn husks.

Pretty tomatoes.

Corn huskin' tickle fight.

Fruits of our labors.

Utah

We had a lovely time in Utah. Sadly I almost always forgot to bring the camera with me so we're lacking in photographic evidence. Thanks to Lucinda for welcoming our brood into her home and being so cool about the extra messes in her house. Thomas and I went to Education Week Tuesday through Friday. I LOVE Education Week. It's so uplifting, motivating, and spirit filled. In the evening we did fun things with the kids. We got to go on a walk at Silver Lake with Thomas' mission buddy Mark and his beautiful family. We took the kids and walked around the BYU campus. We thought we'd start brainwashing them early as to what school they want to attend. We went to a little water park on Monday where I got the sunburn of the century. I'm still peeling. So gross. The kids had a blast and even Jairus summed up the courage to go down water slides with his dad and loved it. We also took an afternoon and walked around Temple Square. I hadn't been there since I was very little. Such an amazing place. Utah was sunny and wonderful. We always feel so loved there. Everyone was sad to leave, especially Aislyn and Jairus who were spoiled rotten by their sweet cousins Jenica and Elise. Thank you girls!

It was a wonderful time but I was glad to be home in my own bed.

Eight Things

My ultra creative and talented friend Helena Jole tagged me and so here it is.

8 Things I Did Yesterday

-Husked corn
-Blanched corn
-Cut corn off the cob
-Put corn into freezer bags
-Canned tomatoes
-Canned pears
-Mopped kitchen floor multiple times
-Washed jars of freshly canned produce and looked lovingly at their beauty sitting in my cupboards
Can you tell it's canning week at my house?

8 Favorite Shows

-The Cosby Show
-The Office
-Friends
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-I'm not really up my TV shows. We haven't had TV in 5 years. But we do watch( a few too many) movies.

8 Favorite Restaraunts

-East West Cafe
-Flipping Out (cheeseburgers are delicioso)
-Sarah's House for soup(not really a restaraunt but the soup is always wonderful)
-Moctezuma's
-Cafe Rio
-The Teryaki place by the Seattle temple, they serve brown rice and I love it. Plus I always go there with my husband and I love my husband.
-I can't think of eight.
-All I can think about is Sarah's potato leek soup. Hint hint.

8 Things I Look Forward To

-Ada Leigh being born
-Time alone with Thomas
-Time alone with each of my kids, they are all so different and interesting.
-Sewing Ada's blessing gown
-Trip to Vegas with my Best Loved Baby girls
-My Steve Done dad coming to visit this weekend
-Being a grandma

I tag Marianne, Sarah, Ida, Kristen, Marley and anyone else who happens to read this.

It's a.......

GIRL! Which is very good news since Aislyn already told everyone months ago that her mom was having a baby girl. I can't wait to get started on her blessing gown. Just need to save up enough to get my sewing machine fixed, darn it.

Our Neighbor Totoro

Last week we checked out "Our Neighbor Totoro" from the library. Japanese anime at it's finest. Aislyn being the movie lover that she is especially appreciated it. Now Totoros are her favorite drawing subject. I particularly like the teeth.

Aislyn's New Do

Really it's been a long time coming. Aislyn was lucky(or not so lucky) enough to inherent her hair from me. Granted hers is generally curlier than mine and has those beautiful natural highlights. The problem with super thick and curly hair is that it tangles in an instant. This propensity for messy hair combined with Aislyn's natural fiery dispostion makes for a fun time when brushing, washing, what have you. I'm crossing my fingers that shorter hair will equal shorter temper tantrums. We shall see.

She was especially excited about the "heart braid". I'm not so sure it's worth the extra four bucks they stick to the price tag, but she LOVES it.

Pretty Aislyn.

The Hike That Was Not

On Saturday I drove up to Goldbar again for a couple of reasons. I had to retrieve Marley and Aislyn from their getaway at grandma's and we all wanted to hike to Wallace Falls. Turns out if you want to hike on a beautiful sunny Saturday you'd better get there early. And as some of you may know getting up early is not exactly my forte'. There was absolutely no where to park within a mile to the trail entrance. Plan B.....find yet another cute little mountain stream and get wet.

It is now apparent that I am indeed pregnant. Four months. Just one more to go and we'll know if I get to start smocking sweet little girl dresses. Can you tell that I just might be hoping for a girl? I do adore little boys though too.

Jairus inside a tree. He thought that was pretty great.

Pretty browned-eyed Marley. I might also be hoping for another set of brown eyes on this baby. They're so warm and beautiful.

Funny Aisy getting her bum wet. She had forgotten her swim suit. Can you believe my mom threw this one together in just 20 minutes with stuff she had laying around?!

Beautiful

A little blurry but still beautiful.

Our fourth

The fourth of July was our last day in Goldbar. It was hot and sunny and oh so beautiful at the Skykomish river. I love the blue/green color of the river. Townsend went inner tubing with grandma again. I stayed on the sandy shore with Ephraim and Jairus and got some sun. A little too much on my shoulders.

Aislyn was pretty much her loner self, content to cover herself in sand, rinse, and repeat.

OK, is it just me or do his arms look freakishly long here? It's crazy to watch my little Townsie grow up. He's getting so tall and strong.

Jairus and Ephraim spent their time throwing sand. I guess some things never loose their appeal. I had to wash about a pound of sand out of my hair later that night.

It was a wonderful, laid back day. We didn't even bother trying to go to a fire works show. Everyone was too tired by then.

Up The Creek

We're spending a couple of days in the lovely town of Goldbar WA with my parents. The kids view time at grandma's as the ultimate vacation. Time with cousins, in the kiddie pool, sleeping in tents, and best of all swimming in creeks and rivers with the funnest grandma ever.

The creek isn't too deep right now, but Aislyn was still not too sure of how fun the inner tube was.

Townsend on the other hand knows there is nothing better than a cool creek on a hot day.

Granola...It's what's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

So far this pregnancy I've had a love affair with fruit smoothies, Trader Joe's frozen macaroni and cheese, and now home made granola. I got this recipe from Sarah's mother Fran. Fran is a do-it-your-selfer in every possible way. She is a wealth of the kind of knowledge I'd like to have. So whenever she is in town I try to learn something new from her.

I find this granola to be delectable. It's crunchy, golden goodness has no equal. I find myself eating at least two bowls a day lately. The original recipe didn't call for flax or pumkin seeds but I think they add that little something extra plus they're very good for you.

The recipe is as follows:
6 cups rolled oats
2 cups shredded coconut
2 cups chopped nuts( I use half almonds and half pecans)
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 to 1 cup honey(to taste)
3/4 to 1 cup melted butter(to taste)
1 T cinnamon
1 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oats, coconut, nuts, and seeds in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine melted butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt. Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Spread onto cookie trays and place on top rack of oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 5 minutes.

This recipe makes a lot so if you're not feeding an army you could cut in half.
Enjoy!