Beckam's Birthday

beckam was very specific in his plans for his 4th birthday. he wanted his dad to cook benihana's at home (which means tapenyaki-style), his friends to wear star wars costumes (even though he didn't own one, which he was fine with) and chocolate cake w/ chocolate frosting.

we surprised him by having "the papas" (mine and micah's dad) bring his cousins evan and bradon from bakersfield.

we got him a storm trooper costume, which arrived hours before the party

neighbor boys

and papa john got him an anakin costume that evan got to wear
(papa also brought light sabers for each kid--non-stop entertainment for 6 boys)
and papa dave brought beckam this:he made it himself w/ his new cake decorating accessories
(yes, that's fondant. impressive.) the other kids got chocolate muffins w/ vanilla ice cream and homemade hot fudge sauce. i thought that was an easy chocolate cake w/ chocolate frosting.
ready for the chef.
on the menu: shrimp, chicken, steak, egg fried rice, sauteed mushroom, zucchini and onion
and ginger ale to drink
awaiting the volcanic eruption:
my sweet, happy birthday boy.man, i love this kid. he greets us many times throughout the day w/ random hugs, sweet little kisses and confessions of love. the other day this is what we heard from the backseat:
"dad, i just really love you. i love you, too mom but i just really love dad. i love the way he looks. i just really love him."

some papa lovin'

turtle tent from the neighbors
happy birthday beckam boy!
we LOVED celebrating you!

another recipe if i may and a cute beckam story

and i may since it is my blog. i like to share these because i'm always looking for new fast, healthy and most importantly delicious dinner ideas. it's not a real recipe it's more of a meal idea:

meatball sandwich
focaccia rolls (SO GOOD, trader joes), toasted

italian style (or turkey) frozen meatballs (trader joes), cooked

provolone cheese, melted on top

marinara sauce
(i just throw these ingredients in the blender and then heat on the stove: 2 T extra virgin olive oil, 1 small onion, 4 cloves garlic, 28 oz can stewed tomatoes, ½ t salt, ½ t black pepper and 10 fresh basil leaves (or dried or if you're my husband, you use cilantro instead of basil (on accident)--same difference, right? it still tasted great. i tell you he teaches me time and again that there really IS more than one right way to do things!)

cute beckam story
sometimes as a mother i wonder if my boys are learning anything i'm trying to teach them. and then there is a moment like this and i realize the answer is YES! asher can now reach the doors to the armoire, which houses the tv and he loves to exercise his new found skill of shutting the doors whenever they are open. unfortunately for him, they are only open when the tv is on and more unfortunately, his brothers do not appreciate him closing them while they are watching a show. so the other day, this very scene played out while i listened from the dining room. i hear the armoire door shut and turn my head to see what the repercussions will be. beckam walks over to asher, gently puts his hand on asher's cheek and quietly says, "asher...please don't shut the doors again, brother is trying to watch star wars." and best of all, asher listened!!
glory, glory hallelujah maybe they are learning something!

excuse me while i play on facebook

i won't be long and when i return:

i'll tell you about beckam turning 4 (two weeks ago)
i'll show you my new bangs and pictures of asher w/ an allergic reaction (to what? i don't know but he looked f-u-n-n-y. kinda scary really.)

a recipe and more family photos

i hear some of you actually use the recipes i post so here's one of our favorite fast and easy "regulars":

abc chicken soup
(i just make up the amounts every time so this is what i did tonight)

boil 3 large chicken breasts in chicken broth (3 boxes of pacific from costco) for 10 min. or until chicken is cooked through. chop 3 potatoes, 3 carrots, 2 stalks of celery, 1 parsnip, 2 zucchini and 1 cup of mushroom. remove chicken, shred and set aside. add veggies to boiling broth, except for zucchini and mushroom. let boil a few minutes before adding bag ABC pastsa (trader joes). cook 8 min. or so and then add remaining veggies and chicken. salt and pepper. serve w/ trader joe's most delicious corn bread!!

for beckam it's the lettuce wraps but this is jaden's fav. tonight he had two full bowls and was ready for "third 2nds."

and today in the mail i got the cd of our family photo shoot that melissa did (header photo)! wanna see some of our favorites?! (they're not blurry if you click on the image)
and there's a few more that will be featured in our header at some point. because any good photographer includes personalized blog header photos don't they? she's in san luis obispo so look her up if you want some great pictures at a great price!! she's super cute and nice, too!

maybe men don't belong in the kitchen.

i was talking to micah on the phone last night while shopping at target when he says, "oh, that's why there's bubbles all over the floor. that wasn't the soap for the dishwasher." so today we ran the rinse cycle to see if we could get rid of the lingering suds. when micah opened the dishwasher, all that could be heard from the kitchen over and over was, "wow, these soap suds are fantastic. these suds are really fantastic." then, "come here, you've got to experience this."
micah's notorious for these kind of accidents. this is perhaps his best:

when we were very newly married, we were doing laundry late one night and since the laundry room was outside and around the corner from our apt., i sent him out to change the clothes from the washer to the dryer and bring in the clothes from the dryer. then i waited for him to come back. and waited and waited and waited. and waited. then finally the front door opened and in steps micah laundry basket in hand. check. i look at him confused. he smiles. (this story i cannot retell without laughing my head off as i type it) and says, "the dryer is broke. there's water pouring into it!" i'm still confused. water? really? he goes on: "yeah, it's the funniest thing. i opened the dryer and the clothes were still really wet. so i put more quarters in and WATER starting pouring into the dryer!" of course i was hysterical and surely wet my pants and probably did each time i retold it to every member of our family. he went on to tell me how baffled he was about water in the dryer until it occurred to him that it must be the washer! but why in the world, he wondered, would the washer be on the right side?! the washer goes on the left. it's always supposed to be on the left! he then resorted to taking each piece of clothing out one by one and wringing it out before tossing it into the dryer. "spin cycle? what's a spin cycle?" he wondered. (he still didn't know tonight about the spin cycle when i stopped at this point while reading him this post and said he would probably do the exact same thing today should the dryer ever malfunction like that again).

i teased him about his great ploy to get out of laundry duty for the rest of his life. and it actually kind of worked. i'm happy for him to fold but i'd rather man the machines. and fold he does. you should see his skills! he's learned from the pro (apparently that's me. just ask his mom and dad. they marvel at my folding and have been known to just sit and watch me. really! no talents. who am i kidding?) so it all works out. and the dishes got clean. and the clothes did, too. so i'm not complaining. really.

Happy New Year to YOU

and happy 9th anniversary to us!
i'll die if my kids get married at 21. i'm SO glad my parents had complete trust in me and never questioned or doubted my decision (i know some were skeptical since we only dated 6 months before we were married and i became mormon to boot). i couldn't have found a more perfect man had i searched the world over. and how cool is it that i met him when i was 12 and got to watch him live his life for 9 years before i ever dated him. i was well-informed and he's exceeded the potential i saw in him another 9 years later! what a testament to the benefits of living the gospel.

this year i want to exercise regularly even it's only once a week.
i want to focus on the good things in people even if it's just their shoes at the moment.
i want to enjoy each day with my little family even when it's hard.

i'm grateful for where i am at the end of this year and look forward to the growth and experiences the new year will bring.

a great christmas story:

and i just heard this christmas song, children, go where i send thee by mary chapin carpenter on the radio (for what I thought was the first time) and loved it! so we got it on itunes and have enjoyed it so much. in fact, we were listening to it tonight as the boys were going to bed and jaden got up to request we put it on his shuffle for him.

here's the funny part, i was trying to figure out how to post it here so you could hear it and when i searched for it, it came up w/ natalie merchant singing it and i immediately recognized it from her cd--one of my favorites! but it sounds so different i had no idea it was the same song.

check em' out. what do you think?

have you seen this awesome website:

Personalized Christmas Story Books

we made some today and even laminated them.
the boys loved it and were so excited!

Thankfully...

• we got to go to moscow, idaho w/ the other 22 members of my family (more than half were kids) for a thanksgiving gathering. it was cold but we were in the comfort of my sister's beautiful, cozy home and didn't even notice. we had such a great time! the kids played tirelessly in the basement (which is bigger than my house) while we a-dults cooked (or watched others cook), visited, cleaned-up and played games. i talked a group into going to see twilight with me again and i loved it just the same. so did micah and everyone else, especially my 14 year old niece. (everything was so beautiful, i didn't take any pictures. that happens to me a lot. i don't know where to even start so i just don't. i'm sorry. i call it "just enjoying the moment" not "just being a slacker")
  
• (did you remember to insert "thankfully" after each bullet) they didn't lose mine and asher's luggage until the return flight and we'd planned on staying overnight in sac w/ some of our best cousins, who are always SO hospitable and gracious. and our luggage was found in the morning while we attended the davis ward (so.much.fun to see good old friends). and the airline reimbursed us for my cute new church dress, shoes, outfit for asher and toiletries we had to buy!
• when the christmas tree slid off the roof of the car tonight on the freeway at 5 o'clock, instead of tumbling off into oncoming traffic, it dangled perilously on the side of the car hovering too close to the pavement, giving the boys and i a good laugh until i could pull over. and while i awaited the arrival of my knight in shining armor, a nice chp officer showed up, inched his way between the tree and the whizzing cars to hoist it back on top. micah arrived shortly thereafter w/ bungie cords in hand and we made the short jaunt safely back home (when jaden proclaimed, "that's the last time we let some kid tie our christmas tree to the roof of the car." he was at least 18.) amazingly the tree is unscathed standing proudly in the living room as i type!
• jaden informed me tonight, "mom, i'd rather not read my "pretend" reading books from school. i like reading real books like the scriptures where i can get good information."

REVISED

• i didn't get sick on thanksgiving, which has happened to me too many times.
• beckam started puking tonight--not on our trip and not in costco today before the christmas tree incident and it wasn't on jaden's head (you know trundle beds are good for that when you're on top. my sister and i had them. i slept on top and i'm sure janie still remembers the fateful night i got the flu). it was just all over his bed.

things could always be worse, right?!

The Wedding:

The lady scots:

before the party got started:and after:
this was our palace:

chichen itza
AMAZING.

jungle tour and zip-lines:
mike and erin
(on their honeymoon)

cenote:
going down
back up:
minus the 2 run-ins with la policia, this was the perfect vacation. we were innocent both times and were able to avoid much hassle w/ a $75 pay-off. of course the optimist my husband is considers the vacation complete for what kind of adventure would it have been without having to brib the mexican police? honestly, the people were very nice even one set of the cops and the military guys w/ the GIANT machine guns!

IF YOU GET A CHANCE TO GO TO PLAYA DEL CARMEN, DO IT!

First, can I tell you how much I loved Twilight the movie?! It came as a huge surprise to me! I'm (unintentionally) critical of movies and I really didn't have great expectations for it but I was SO pleasantly surprised!! It was such a great excuse for a girls night and I thought the theatre audience was so much fun. I seriously asked Micah if he wanted to go on a date to see it again. I NEVER watch movies twice, especially in the movie theatre but I'm pretty sure we'll go. The sweetest thing is, he'll love it, too. Too bad he hasn't read the book yet because I think that really helps you enjoy the movie more (I'm pretty sure it would seem a little ridiculous otherwise). I thought it was a great companion to the book and would venture to say I liked it as much.

Second, do you know our primary program is tomorrow! We practiced for 2 hours today and the kids were completely AMAZING! I do not know how they sat so patiently for that long and held it together the whole time. I'm just praying it carries over to tomorrow. Some say the worse the practice the better the program. What does that mean for us?

Third, do you know that my husband is in baking peanut butter cookies for our linger longer (potluck for you non-mormons) tomorrow while I'm "working on the finishing touches to the primary program"(shhhhh. So I got a little distracted) and they came out so beautiful and delicious. And I really love that guy!

Fourth, Jaden turned 7 last Sunday! We celebrated all weekend: Bonfire, wiene roast and smore making on the beach, trip to the planetarium to watch an astronaut movie in the dome, an ipod shuffle loaded with "dad's" music (resulting in the most excited Jaden I've ever seen over a gift) and pazooki (giant chocolate chip topped w/ vanilla ice cream, caramel and fudge) with friends:

Now, I'll try to post some Mexico pictures(again).

Oh,one more thing, do you know we have another new pet? He's (she's?) SO cute I have to show you:

"little"/"tiny"/"tortuga" sleeping in my hand.
he was one 1 of 7 babies found in Jenny's front yard after their tortoise "ran away"

this is precisely how i felt when i awoke thurs. morning (we got home in the wee hours):



photos to follow...

we're off....

to mike and erin's weddingand our first extended kidless vacation.
wish the grandparents luck.
and us, too that we won't get too homesick.
and that our kids will want to come back home upon our return.