Sunday Bread Baking

 Josh came home from church today and said immediately, "I want to make mini loaves of bread."  Who am I to say NO to that?  So, we got out the wheat grinder, the kitchen aide mixer and got busy.  The was his first time making bread and he did a great job!  He already knows how to make pancakes, cookies, quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches.  If you didn't notice, these are pretty much the only foods he likes to eat!  At least he won't starve when he lives on his own!!!

 He made 6 mini loaves (one for each of the family since David is away again) and a large loaf I took to the neighbor. 

 Josh ate his entire loaf in practically one bite all smothered with butter.

 Rachel choose a more insect form of eating and hollowed out the center and discarded the crust.

Sarah also decided to earn some extra credit for her cooking class at school and make yummy chicken rolls for dinner.  I slept through the whole process.  When I got up, I helped her get them baked and with the extra dough she made another loaf of bread.

My kids are quite talented in the kitchen!!!!

Spring Soccer

Yes - this was taken on April 30th, on a beautiful spring morning in Highland, Utah.  Josh's team is in the green and yellow.  Normally a game would be rescheduled in weather like this, but since the season is over, the tournament starts next week AND this game had already been rescheduled SEVERAL times due to bad weather, the team decided to play anyway. 

It was quite amusing watching the teams play.  The ball would be booted down the field and roll once or twice and then STOP.  It would start to accumulate snow like a snow ball and be too heavy to move anymore.  By the end of the game, everyone was drenched and freezing!  The snow was amazingly dry and would NOT melt even with the sun out.

 

Josh is the goalie.

EASTER Sunday

 I tried to skip the Easter egg hunt this year but I got out-voted.  Thankfully the weather cooperated for just a couple hours and we were able to have it outside. (We have had non-stop storms: rain, hail, sleet, snow, wind, etc) 

My kids are getting SOOO big and grown up.

 Most of the time was spent in making sure that everyone got an EQUAL amount of eggs.  Apparently equality is very IMPORTANT to my children.

David turns 40!!!

 While David went to choir Sunday afternoon, we planned an impromptu surprise party for him for his birthday.  I made a HUGE turkey dinner (one of his favorites) and we had the Chandlers over.  Stacy made a yummy coconut cake.  Sarah and the kids made a big sign that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY and we put up streamers and balloons.  For a Sunday, spur-of-the-moment party, it was actually not too lame.  When he came in from choir we all jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE."  At least he wasn't expecting anything.

For the guy that already has EVERYTHING, I got him a KINDLE.  He had been talking about how much he needed one.  I still can't figure it out since he already has an iPad, iPhone and an Audible account.  Maybe it is on the Y chromosome and I'll never understand.  I also got him a fancy-shmancy iron that he wanted.

We celebrated again the following Easter Sunday with the Monson clan.  Karen and Wes also had birthdays that week.  I made German chocolate cake and we had a huge ham dinner.  YUMMY!

Spring Break - April 2011

We went to Las Vegas for spring break this year to try and find some sunshine.  The only goal was for the kids to be able to swim until they couldn't take it any longer.    David had a business trip until Tuesday night so I drove the kids down Monday by myself.  The kids swam and swam and swam and swam.  I didn't get in the pool even once (it has to be REALLY hot for me to get wet) but I loved basking in the sun for hours and hours.

 CHEETOS - the lunch of champions!!!

 David and the boys tried to make a noodle raft.  I'm not sure that it was a success?

 Rachel and Afton Walstad (her BFF).

David's BFF from high school and his family met us down there on Wednesday.  The kids all got along great. 

 One of the nights we took the kids to an all-you-can-eat buffet that Vegas in known for.  They LOVED it.  Sarah ate a plateful of food from EVERY station!  She was impressive.  Jake ate several platefuls of ribs after nachos, pasta and several ice cream cones.  I was able to gag down a salad and some cake.  Buffets are NOT my favorite.

On the way home we stopped in St George to get slushie/ice creams and lunch.  Daniel got a mustache from the vending machine.

Cancun - Feb 2011

 Sadly, these are the only photos we have of our trip to Cancun.  David ended up WORKING the whole time and so I laid on the beach reading by myself.  Don't get me WRONG, I'm NOT COMPLAINING!!!!  I had a great time and read 5 books that week and got a great tan!

We also drove to Merida for a client meeting.  The town is beautiful and we had fun walking around the square.  The food was delicious, as well.  On our way back we stopped at Chichen Itza and saw the night time, cheese-ball light show.  David sort of enjoyed it (it was in Spanish) and I wondered what the point of it was.

At  a fancy-shmancy Argentine restaurant for dinner.

All in all, it was a nice break from the kids and the horrid, Utah weather.  I was able to warm my bones up before entering back into 4 more months of WINTER.

Arrow of Light

Josh, Connor, Cole

 Josh has been SO excited about getting his Arrow of Light from Cub Scouts and moving on to Boy Scouts.  He has always shown such enthusiasm and dedication to the cub scout program and even got ALL 20 of the Achievements possible in Webelos.  We are so proud of him and for working so hard at all he does.  He is such a blessing in our home, always making us laugh.  He is really growing up to be a great example to his siblings and such a handsome kid!

He was able to get his Arrow with his best friend Cole who will be advancing to Boy Scouts next month after his birthday.  Josh is excited to join his other BFF, Connor in Boy Scouts.

 Grandma and Grandpa Monson came up to help us honor Josh at his Arrow ceremony.

I made Josh this shadow box that shows most of the awards that he earned as a Boy Scout.

Josh turns 11

Josh asked for a chocolate-oreo cake for his birthday.  It turned out AWESOME!  We had fun smashing the oreos and squishing them into to frosting.

Josh got a memory foam mattress topper and the XBox Kinex for his birthday.  It has been very entertaining to watch the kids flail and jump about.  It's good there isn't a mirror in there or they might stop playing for looking so silly.
David also took him, Cole (his BFF), Jake and Tate skiing on Monday (it ended up being a day off from school) and we went as a family to the restaurant of his choice (Pizza Pie Cafe) for his birthday dinner.  All in all, it was a pretty good birthday!

 I had to threaten  Josh with his LIFE that he BETTER NOT take a bite out of the cake.  (Last year he did and thought it was pretty funny.)

/ˈæŋgri/ Show han-gry[hang-gree]–adjective, -gri·er, -gri·est.

feeling or showing anger  or strong resentment (usually followed by at, with,  or about ) because of intense hunger:  
Jodie was HANGRY that she was dieting during her own birthday party and couldn't have chocolate cake.

Sledding @ Mutual Dell

 Our ward has an annual sledding party at Mutual Dell each year.  It was super fun to watch the kids zipping down the hill.  The ward provided hot cocoa and doughnuts!   David was a "SUPER-DAD" and took the kids on many runs.  He even went down the steep road run.  I preferred to stay inside where it was warm and there was plenty of sugar to keep me company.

It was not easy to get these three to stop for a minute and pose for me.  It took "CRAZY MOM" yelling and threatening.  Good thing I am so good at it!!!  It takes years of practice and honing of this skill.

The boys got these Madrid Real soccer jerseys for Christmas from their grandparents that served their mission in Madrid, Spain during the World Cup last year.  They LOVE their shirts and wear them as often as they are clean.  Many mornings there are tears (usually from Bubba) if their shirts are in the laundry.  They will probably wear them out before they even grow into them.

Thanks Grammy and Poppy!

Brace-less Smile!

I don't know who was more excited, Sarah or me, for her to get her braces off.  She has such a beautiful, LARGE smile.  One down, and 4 more to go!!!!

What's Up Doc?

After Jake had his 4 eye teeth pulled, he really resembled a bunny rabbit.  What a cute little bunny he is!

Snowboarding @ Sundance

Haley, Parker, Connor, Hunter and Josh

 

 Josh got the 5th grade ski pass for Christmas this year so he is learning how to snowboard.  We peer-pressured the neighbors to come along with us.  It was great fun.  I haven't skied in 18 years so it was pretty new to me too!

Josh caught on pretty fast after he took a morning lesson.

He was able to go up another couple times with his friend, Cole.  Pretty soon he will be boarding the double diamonds!

The Peppermint Twisters and the Christmas Piano Recital

We had an exciting Saturday with Rachel debuting at BYU in her first dance recital.  She and her friends, Hannah and Alayna were the Peppermint Twist dancers.  Rachel even had a speaking part, "Now, enjoy the Tiny Tunes with the Peppermint Twist!"  She was an instant SUPER star!!!  Her favorite part was getting to wear the cute outfit and MAKE-UP!!!

Right afterward we went to get lunch at the Pizza Factory and then rushed off to our SECOND recital in the day.  Sarah, Jake and Josh each had a Christmas song to perform and Sarah closed the recital with a great duet with her friend Megan Chandler.  The kids did great!!!

Acute Appendicitus

 The Saturday before Thanksgiving Josh complained of soreness on his lower right abdomen while also having a high fever.  We at first didn't think much of it because everyone had been barfing ALL week with stomach flu.  On Saturday morning David decided that it was suspiciously close to the symptoms of appendicitis and thought that I should take him to his pediatrician.  I headed there at 9:00 am.  His doctor also thought that his symptoms were dangerous and sent us to the hospital to get an ultrasound and blood work done.

So, off Josh and I went to American Fork Hospital.  After waiting hours, we finally got in to the ultrasound tech.  When the radiologist read his results they were inconclusive so the surgeon ordered a CT scan. 

A few more hours later, the surgeon determined that there was some fluid around his appendix and that surgery was the best, safest option.   By now it was 4:00 pm and we were to wait our turn for an operating room.

So, FINALLY, at 6:00 and 9 hours later, he was wheeled into surgery.  The procedure lasted about an hour, was uneventful and thankfully OVER!  He and David spent one night in the hospital and he came home Sunday afternoon.  Other than a rash at his incision site, he is feeling 100%.

 Going into the CT scanner.

WAITING and WAITING and WAITING!!!!

 Right after surgery in his hospital room.

The beautiful view from his room.  It made the stay a little less painful.  (At least for ME!)