More Showing Off

Ian wants everyone to know that he, too, learned a lil' monologue of Shakespeare's. His is from Othello and Iago is speaking. He is in his Halloween costume (a knight to King Henry V) at Nana's house. I am posting two versions because we disagree about which is better.

The kids had so much fun with this that we are working on some Thanksgiving poems now. Maybe this will motivate Kimball to finish learning his choice from Hamlet.

Henry as Henry V

Henry learned the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V (Act IV Scene iii) to go with his Halloween costume. This one isn't flawless, but it is precious and the best we got recorded. Leave him a comment! He'd love to hear what you think.

Where Have I Been?

I feel like this blog is my long lost (or at least neglected) friend of late. Things have just been so constantly busy around here that I have little time to read or write blog posts. And I miss it! Yet I'm not sure exactly what I could have cut out these past couple of weeks. Here is a glimpse at what we have done in the last 7 days. Obviously, little time has been spent at the computer. To those of you who think that I have turned my back on your blogs, please know that I will make it back!

So, here are a few things that have been keeping us busy:


Soccer. Luckily Unfortunately, today's games were rained out. But last Saturday we had two soccer games. And we are at the point in the season where almost everyone wishes it would just be over!:)

Prop 8. We've been to rallies, town hall meetings, and phone banks trying to spread the excitement and educate people about Prop 8. We've been to training meetings and planning meetings. We've been talking about this so much with everyone that we know that I'm not sure what we'll talk about after Tuesday (don't forget to vote!) We are in the final days now. The final days of calling the people who promised to vote yes until they get to the polls. The final days of waving signs on street corners. The final days of knocking on doors and shaking hands.

Cub Scouts. Kimball's pack had a great meeting at the library. Although we go to the library regularly and check out our limit of 50 books, Kimball didn't have his own library card yet. Well, he does now. The librarian also showed the boys lots of new books that were just up their alley. Kimball came home with a few of her suggestions, including books about gross things, books about spooky things, books about world records. . . . yes, he still loves books. He also participated in retiring the flag at the library that day. And no, I have no idea where his neckerchief and slide are. Thanks for noticing he wasn't in full uniform!


Homeschool. We are busy learning about the ancient Greeks. Among other things, this week we learned about the Greek alphabet and tried writing our names using it. We also adorned Grecian urns with drawings of mythological stories, had our own Olympic games, and brushed up on the Odyssey, which we read together last spring.


Halloween. Duh. We had a ward trunk-or-treat plus our annual Halloween open house, inspired by our dear friends, the Renoufs. (You can read about our tradition here.) Yesterday the forecast called for rain, so we set up the shade tarps just in case. The rain stayed away until about 8:15, over two hours into the party. We had a good turnout, especially given the weather, and fun was had by all. One Tinkerbell even managed to sleep through a good part of it before awaking to play with her friends.


Kimball agreed to be a clown for the trunk or treat, but for Halloween night, he had only one wish. He had to be Howard Carter. (Go ahead and click the link. You have no idea who Howard Carter is--admit it! I didn't.) With his nana's help, he and Henry turned their room into an Egyptian tomb, complete with hieroglyphics, paintings of Egyptian gods, and a sarcophagus. He led our guests on expeditions back to the tomb, where his lantern was the only light, and explained all the details of the paintings to them. He was absolutely adorable!



This Bon Jovi wannabe grilled and served hot dogs and corn dogs all night (after cleaning my house and setting up tables, chairs, and tarps for me.) This annual gig couldn't be done without all his work.

Our little ballerina proved to be quite the party girl.
After the initial phase where she bolted out the open double doors and towards the front street multiple times, she finally figured out that the fun was to be in the thick of things. She flitted about, visiting everyone, charming people into taking the wrapper off of a lolly for her every time one ran out. (The clever girl had quickly discovered where the trick-or-treat bin was.) She was thrilled when any of her friends arrived, like her cousins, Lydia

and Isaac, or her BFF, Cali. She refused to go to bed until our guests were gone, even though it was long past her bedtime.

Ian, on the other hand, is famous for getting dressed for bed halfway through the party and he lived up to his reputation this year. Henry was thrilled to not have his mom policing his food (although he kept asking me before he ate anything, not quite catching on that I was going to let him eat whatever he wanted that night.) He paid for it this morning, though, by puking the chocolately contents of his stomach at 8:00 am. It's a good thing that at our house the candy disappears on November 1st. We get our fill before then.

I'm hoping that after the election on Tuesday I'll have some time to write and read blogs more often, but I'm not making any promises. November is not known for its unhurried ways around these parts. It's pretty much a whirlwind from now until January 2nd. But please stick with me. I'll try hard not to neglect you if you'll still check in once in a while!

Party Wrap-Up

So last night's party was a success. We figure that we had about 90 people come, a few less than RSVP'd, but not too shabby! We had plenty of food, although we did have Jared's parents run to the store for ketchup, then 1/2 an hour later for mustard (what can I say--I don't think straight under pressure--can you imagine how scary it would be if I actually had alcohol at my parties?)
I really realized how many people help make our annual event a success. As already mentioned, Jared's mom and dad are the ones who run to the store for everything we forgot, plus I think Dad made three trips earlier in the day between his house and ours with tables, chairs, a crockpot . . . you get the picture. Then, there was Christine, who offered to have the boys come over and play after naptime. I was sure that I'd be fine without her generous offer, but by 3:00 it sounded pretty darn good. Nancy showed up at 4:00 and said, "I've got an hour. Put me to work!" and proceeded to vacuum most of the house (I had only gotten to the family room so far) and to clean up Ian's room, which he had torn apart during his naptime. My wonderful sister, Alli, showed up about 4:30 with her arms full of decorations (which I hadn't asked her to bring but which made such a great addition to my two little decorations!) She is so good to think of the things that I don't.
We are so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends, and this annual tradition always helps us remember how wonderful that is.
Anyway, here are some pictures for you to enjoy. As you can see, Colonel Sanders attended to festivities (complete with his accent). So did my newest adorable nephew, Isaac, who came as himself.
Here are a few other party goers, enjoying their food, conversation, and other delights (like the train table, which was a hot spot!)
James was so in love, he wanted to share his Skittles with Bronwen. Thankfully, his mother intervened!
Henry felt so let down when the party was over. Here's where I found him when everyone had gone.Dad and Kimball were crashed in the living room at about the same time.
Hope you can make it out next year, dear readers!

Party Post Coming Soon

I can't wait to post pictures and a rehash of our Open House last night, however at the moment I can barely get to the computer for all the clean up that needs to be done! Not to mention that as soon as we finished family scripture study this morning at 7:30 am (which I had rolled out of bed for fifteen minutes previously,) my kids said, "OK, Mom! Time for Txxxxx Academy!" (I'm going to have to come up with a code name for our home school if I'm not going to disclose our family name on this site. In the future, I'll call us Tiger Academy, as the tigers are our chosen mascot.)
So, stay tuned. There will be pictures of our celebrity guest, adorable children, and more.

Halloween Fun

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, but you'll rarely find me donning a costume. As I sit here, I wonder what it is that I love so much about Halloween. The fact that it falls in the autumn, my favorite time of year, is definitely a factor. I love the excitement of children as they anticipate their costumes and all the candy that they'll consume. I love pumpkins and all the fall colors. And I love our annual Halloween party.
The last year that we lived in Whittier (2002), we decided to have a Halloween open house. We invited our friends from church, work, and school, and told the neighborhood to stop by for chili on Halloween night. It was so much fun that I promptly declared it a tradition. (My family will tell you that I am famous for declaring traditions after one time. I see no problem with it, if it's something you want to do again, but I do get a lot of razzing from my brothers and husband about this habit of mine.)
However, the first couple of Halloweens after we moved north were not conducive to an open house. The first year, we moved from an apartment to a house the weekend before Halloween, and we were still unpacking. The next year, we had a less-than-a-week-old baby. But by 2005, we were ready to introduce the Halloween Open House to our friends here. We printed up invitations for the first couple of years, and invited everyone we knew to stop by during the evening's festivities for hot dogs, chili, and homemade root beer. It was a hit! The first year, we had about 60 people come. By the next year, we had more like 80. This year, I just sent out evites and hope that word of mouth will reach everyone else.
So, if you don't live close enough to come to our party, maybe you should host your own. All you need is to make a pot of chili, drag your bbq out to the front porch, brew up some rootbeer, and get ready for guests! We do ask our guests to bring a treat to share, but even the year we didn't request it, many of them brought food along anyway. If you haven't gotten out invitations, you can just invite the neighbors in when they come by with their trick-or-treaters.
Last year, our boys decided to make their bedroom into a spook alley and they have been talking about it ever since! I love that they would rather be home at our party than out trick-or-treating (they do go to a church trunk-or-treat on the weekend before,) and that we can spend the evening with friends we love and with people we want to know better.
So come to our Open House or host your own. It's a great way to catch the spirit of Halloween fun. If only I had Morgan to decorate for me!

 Halloween Chili

• 7 lbs. good quality ground beef
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 yellow or orange bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 c. chili powder, or more to taste
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 T. cocoa powder
• 3 14 oz. cans Mexican stewed tomatoes, pureed in the blender
• 6 15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained
• 3 15 oz. cans pinto beans, drained
• 3 15 oz. cans black beans, drained
• 3 15 oz. cans corn kernels, drained
• 2 cans beef broth (you might not need all of it.)

To make this recipe, you need an enormous stock pot or two. It serves about 70 people, so cut it down if your party is smaller.
Brown the ground beef for about 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and continue to brown 5 minutes more. Add all the peppers and continue to saute until the meat is all brown and the onions and peppers are soft. Drain off as much of the fat as you can. Add chili powder, cumin, and cocoa powder. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and beans and half of the beef broth. Cook for 1-2 hours, simmering on very low heat, adding beef broth as needed to keep it from burning.
Serve with sour cream, chives, onions, and cheese on the side.   (Recipe from my friend, Erin!)

(Pictures are from Halloweens past and the last one is from our trunk-or-treat last weekend. Anyone who has tried to pose four kids in costumes before letting them loose on a party will sympathize with me--this was the best shot I got out of five attempts!)

Dinner Tonight

Today was one of those crazy days when I hit the ground running at 6:00 am and never slowed down. Even now I have three loads of laundry waiting for me to fold and a dishwasher that needs to be emptied before I can load it with dinner dishes.
In spite of being gone all morning and for the latter half of the afternoon, I managed to plan ahead and make a crock pot dinner so that when we walked in the door at 6pm after Kimball's RDI therapy appointment, dinner was ready! And even more noteworthy is that it was something that both Kimball and Henry ate without complaining. (I don't know what is keeping Ian alive these days. I swear he never eats and lives on about 16 oz of low fat milk a day. If he were my only child, I'd be worried, but I've learned that these things pass. And he doesn't seem to be losing weight.) I did fib a bit to Kimball and tell him that it was hamburger meat. Kimball is a hamburgertarian and refuses to eat any meat unless it is in the form of a hamburger. It would have been unlikely that he'd eaten this with ground beef--but it was downright miraculous that he ate this turkey chili.
Anyhow, you should try it this week. It is diet friendly (Core if you are doing WW), full of fiber and protein--(beans are our friend) and easy to make.

Turkey and White Bean Chili

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 24 oz (3 cups) chicken broth
• 45 oz (3 cans) white beans
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 3 T. lime juice
• 1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
• for extra kick, add one can diced green chilis

Brown the turkey, onion, and garlic in a frying pan. Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for at least 4 hours. Salt and pepper to taste.
This is a very mild chili--if you like heat, you need to add it. But my boys (including Jared) are wimpy, so they like it as written. We let Kimball put some cheddar cheese on it.
Enjoy!
P.S. Here's a Halloween picture from last year. Aren't they cute?

Obsessive With a Capital O

Yes, that's me. Not be confused with Obsessive Compulsive, which would be my husband and at least one of my kids. Ok, so no one has been diagnosed and we're all still functioning, but I think that you can safely say that there is some of that floating around in the genes at our house.
I think that I have always been this way. In my childhood, it mostly manifested by my obsession with books. Most of the photos taken of my during my grade school years involve a book in my hands. Kimball is like me in that way. He brings along a book to read in the car if we are going to be gone for 5 minutes.
In college, I began to jump from obsession to obsession (as I continue to do)--often there was a boy involved, sometimes one who didn't know I existed! (Those of you who knew me in college may remember Mr. Density--not a typo, a reference from Back To the Future--and other Library Lovers who kept me headed to the great and spacious building to study and hope they'd show up!) I also went on stints of food obsessions. I remember one time that Erin, Heidi, and I went to Tony Roma's in Provo for their Chicken Caesar Salad ten times in two weeks. It was ridiculous considering my college spending money budget (and I obviously had no idea how laden with fat Caesar salad is,) but it was a need that had to be filled if we wanted to sleep at night! Another time McArthur and I beat a regular path to Pizza Pipeline for their Cinnamon Twists. Yum (I think I need to plan a trip to Provo!)
Which brings me to my current obsession: Halloween costumes. My kids have been discussing Halloween costumes randomly since November 2nd of last year and I have been telling them that we don't get to really plan Halloween until school starts. Well wouldn't you know that over after-school snack on the first day of school, Kimball piped up to remind us all that Halloween is around the corner (I know, it's scary how much my kids are like me.) And now,for some reason, I am spending a ridiculous amount of time searching for the perfect Halloween costume for the baby. I'm not sure why the others' are not occupying so much of my brain as hers is. I promise it's not because she's my favorite. I don't even think it's because it can be something girl-y (trying to fool my filter with strange spellings). But for some reason, I want it to be perfect--perfectly adorable, perfectly reasonable for her to crawl and move around in, and perfectly priced. This is the one time of year when I really kick myself for not learning any of my mother's amazing sewing skills. I guess it is also the one time of year when I shop obsessively and then beg my mom to sew costumes for the kids.
Anyway, I thought I had found a costume that fit the bill. Here it is:
Now, this may not look that different from all of the other ladybug costumes out there to you, but it is by far the cutest one I've found. I was so excited to see that babystyle (where it is listed) was offering $2 shipping on costumes ordered in August, and I had every intention of buying the costume. But I am a procrastinator as well as an obsessor, so rather than buy it immediately, I chose to look at it again every day until August 31st, just to make sure it was still THE ONE. Who expects there to be any danger of a Halloween costume selling out in August, for goodness sake!?
Well, you guessed it, this one is gone. And babystyle has posted this comment:"We're sorry, but this cute costume is permanently sold out. We will not be receiving more before Halloween."
How could they?
When I discovered this I was horrified and began perusing costume websites all over the place to find another perfect costume. And nothing that is remotely in my price range is good enough. I have run across a designer of children's costumes that is amazing (but well outside of my price range.) Here are a few of my favorites (I'm including boy favorites too, since Bronwen's not getting a $60 costume no matter how cute she is):There are loads more. So cute. There are some on ebay, so I might be able to pick one up at a more reasonable price. But which one, and how much is reasonable? The scary thing is that I am thinking about this more that I am about what I'm going to make for dinner tonight (maybe Chicken Caesar Salad?) or world peace or family history or anything much more worthwhile. Oh well. Check out my poll in the sidebar--I think I'll poll my readers to find out which one is your favorite. Provided I like your answer and it's available on ebay, I can get it. Then maybe I'll be able to move on to a new obsession--how about laundry?