We made these for breakfast this morning and they turned out so well. I did it mainly for Jillian and Corinne, but the big kids liked them just as much. I just used my own pancake recipe (whole wheat, of course!) and then we decorated them like this. Simple and cute—this recipe is going into my Christmas recipe binder. Enjoy!
Tall, tall, tall. So tall that the kids had to get inventive to stack the huge balls on top of each other.
We didn’t even have a lot of snow—about 6 inches—but it was nice and wet and made great snowballs and forts and igloos. Evan asked if he could sleep here tonight:
I think he was a little bit glad I said no. But what a great day! This kept everyone busy and happy and working together for hours—priceless. I love these unplanned, spontaneous, free activities when everyone is getting along and having fun. It wouldn’t have gone nearly as well if I had suggested it and insisted they all go outside together.
“Mom, come look at this snowflake I made!” I hear from the other room. “Yeah,” the other kids chime in, “you gotta see this!” I walk toward their voices, pasting a smile on my face and vowing I won’t say anything (yet) about the mounds of little white paper scraps that are bound to be all over the just-vacuumed floor. Sure enough, Evan made the most amazing snowflake—and with no little white scraps! Enter technology. This website kept 5 kids busy for quite awhile, all of them taking a turn at making a snowflake masterpiece. Try it—it’s addicting!
http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/index.html?taf=sender
It’s telling of my life these days that I evaluate projects based on their mess factor. I weigh my responses carefully to the “Mom can we make_________?” questions based on the amount of cleanup I’ll face afterwards.
We celebrated Alyssa’s 15th birthday today two days ago (why does it take me days to write a single post in between lots of interruptions?). It was a busy day but she was so understanding about us squeezing in a cinnamon roll breakfast before school and a lasagna dinner in the few minutes between basketball practice and YW in Excellence & the scout court of honor. We didn’t do cake and presents until after 9pm when we were all home again.
What would I do without Alyssa? She is a second mother to Hayley and she is so good at it! Much better than I was at her age. I don’t even have to ask for her help—she just jumps in and changes diapers or offers to read Corinne a story. Brian and I have slipped away on a date a few times since Hayley was born and Alyssa does such a great job taking care of everyone while we’re gone.
When I read my teenage journals, I look at Alyssa and realize that she is more mature and self-assured than I felt at her age. She is becoming quite talented on the piano and can play music I never could. She is an amazing artist and already draws much better than I did in my high school art classes—and she’s never taken a class until recently. And last weekend when I played a game with her I was reminded again how intelligent she is.
I watched her during the YW in Excellence program on her birthday while I held Hayley in my arms and realized what a beautiful, kind, and accomplished person she is becoming. I marveled how quickly the last 15 years have passed since I was holding Alyssa the same way. I am so thankful for the gospel and the teachings and guidance it gives us as we strive to raise excellent young women. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful oldest daughter. I love you, Alyssa!
This is Hayley at 10 days old. You really can’t tell how small she is until you see her next to Evan. She was so tiny! At her two week checkup she was only 5 lbs 13 oz—not even up to her 6lb birth weight!
This picture was taken last Halloween. Impressive costumes, no? No. But good enough to get free burritos from Chipotle. That's right. All it takes is a blanket "tortilla" and a little foil hat on your head (or on the face if you're Mitchell and Grant) and the nice people at Chipotle Mexican Grill will give you a free burrito! We did this for the first time last year because they had just opened a couple of Chipotle restaurants in the area, but my Colorado family members have been doing this for years. Our real Halloween tradition for many years had been this:
Split pea "witches' soup" in pumpkin bread bowls. But last Halloween we (Brian, Mirien, Alyssa, and Evan) flew home from NYC, arriving mid-afternoon with no time to prepare our usual pre-trick-or-treat feast, so Chipotle was an easy answer. This year I am still adjusting to life with a new baby post C-section and would rather not cook. Despite protests from some of our children ("I don't want to go to Chipotle--we have to have split pea soup!"--can you believe that?), it looks like we'll be donning our tin foil yet again. Besides, it's not even soup weather today! We've got sun and temperatures should reach 70. Happy Halloween, everyone, and Mitchell: we miss you--Chipotle won't be the same without you!
She came as a surprise to all of us. Notice Evan's blue hair in the picture below--he was going to go to the BYU football game before little Hayley decided to come unscheduled.
Grant didn't stop grinning from the moment he heard the news.
It's rare that Hayley opens her eyes--what a bright new world!
After being in the crowded hospital room for about an hour, Corinne was starting to get restless. She said, "Let's go home now. Being here makes me feel mad." Maybe being a big sister will mellow her out a bit.
I love General Conference! What a privilege to hear from the Lord's servants. We try to make it meaningful and fun for the kids and they look forward to our Conference traditions. I didn't realize how much until I tried to scrap one of them today. "Mom, we have to go to Arctic Circle for shakes in between sessions! It's a tradition!" How did that one ever get started??
The boys' soccer games couldn't have been planned better. Grant's team (with Dad as coach) played at 8am. Unfortunately they lost, but to our cousin Brayden Portrey's team. Go Brayden! They were home in plenty of time to watch the first session of Conference. Evan's game was right after the first session and he played the entire game (which ended in a tie) in the rain and came home soaked. What good sports!
And another bonus--I don't have to go to church on Sunday and answer the barrage of questions about my condition. "How are you feeling? When are you due? How many more days? It looks like the baby has dropped! Have you chosen a name yet? Your ankles look swollen! How are you holding up?" And the one from Corinne last Sunday: "Mom, how come you always wear that skirt?" I only have to face one more Sunday pregnant! Now that's something to celebrate.
