Not Much

I know I haven't posted for a few days now... with school being closed due to snow, when there's not even enough snow to go play in, we got into a bit of a rut for a few days. Not much happened, we just hung out around the house.... Oh! I know something! Super Suppers! Has anyone heard of it? It's great. I have always been a little lame about taking the time to make a nice big dinner, but it's something I really want the kids to have, like I did growing up. I remember always sitting down at the dinner table together for a big meal. It was a time for all of us to be together, talk, and enjoy the yummy food! So, my mom and I decided to go to a place in Salem called Super Suppers. Each month there is a different menu of 12 dinners to choose from. You pick the ones you want to make, and there are stations set up with all of the ingredients chopped, and ready to go. All you really do is measure out how much you need of everything, and throw it into a feezer container. On the lid, you put on a sticker saying what's inside, and the instructions on cooking it. At home, I pull a couple out of the freezer at a time, let them defrost in the fridge, then take one out and either pop it in the oven or onto a skillet for about 20 minutes, and it's done!! It's been great, and they taste great, too. There are even vegetarian dishes, if that's what you prefer.... Anyway, I'm definitely going to keep going. I already have another friend that's wanting to go with me next time. I tell ya- it's so worth it!
Well, I am off- I won't be posting for a few days, because I'm headed off to Seattle for the weekend. Yay! Trav, the kids, and I are going up with Jared and Meagan for a couple of nights. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Elijah already has some plans for when we get there. :) I'm just hoping to avoid too much rain. I'll be posting all about it (with lots of pics, I'm sure) when we return-until then.... :)

Our Beloved Prophet

The prophet of our church, Gordon B. Hinkley, passed away just 3 hours ago. He passed of natural, age-related causes (he was 97 years old). He was a wonderful, amazing man, and an incredible speaker. His words often became my favorite quotes. "His quick wit and humor, combined with an eloquent style at the pulpit, made him one of the most loved of modern Church leaders." I loved his humor. It created a great connection with people. He used humor often, but one time that immediately jumped to my mind was when he began to walk with a cane. Obviously, he realized that the site of it could cause concern and wonder, and chose to address the issue in this way: "Now, before I give my concluding words I would like to make a little explanation. People are talking about why in the world I’m walking with a cane. That’s become the topic of conversation these days. Well, I saw that Brigham Young used a cane. John Taylor had a cane, and Wilford Woodruff had a cane, and President Grant had a cane in his old age. And I’ve seen President McKay with a cane and Spencer Kimball with a cane, and I’m just trying to get in style." He continued on to give a short explaination of the real reasons, but it is a great example of the view he had on the world- the lighthearteness with which he faced challenges. What a great example he was. I will be going to the bookstore tomorrow to purchase all of his books, and get busy reading. I want to always remember his beautiful words. He will be sorely missed, and always remembered in the hearts of the members of the church and many others.


The article written on his passing can be viewed at: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/beloved-church-president-gordon-b-hinckley-dies-at-97

IT SNOWED!!!!!!!

This morning, Elijah came running into our room saying, "It's snowing outside! It's a wonderland!" As a friend of mine said today, it's not quite as exciting for us as adults anymore (although I do still get a bit of a thrill out of it), but it's so fun to see the same excitement we used to have in our kids. They were so delighted at the site of it all. We had a big numbers-shaped pancake breakfast then bundled up for some play time in the snow. They threw snowballs (mostly at Mom!) and sledded down our street. Afterwards, the boys warmed up with some hot cocoa (one of the best parts of playing in the snow, in my opinion). It makes me wish we lived somewhere that got more snow during the winter, because all three kids absolutely love it. Maybe in the future....



Can you find the snowball headed my way?
Travis testing out the sled first
Go, Rogue!
Don't worry, it's not blood on her face, just jam from breakfast :)
Elijah using the sled to sheild himslef from the flying snowballs

Super Saturday

Today (well, technically "yesterday", since it's past midnight) was a great Saturday. First, I got to sleep in a little bit. Isn't it interesting what a precious commodity sleep becomes as a parent? Forget the birthday presents- just let me sleep all day! Anyway, once I did get up, Trav headed out for basketball practice while the kids and I played, ate some lunch, then laid down for naps. Once Trav got home, I took another nice, hot shower (another precious commodity). We have decided to try a new thing for Saturdays. Each Saturday, the boys will take turns getting to plan our day. Today, Rogue chose for us to go out to eat at Red Robin, the go watch "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" at the movie theater. It definitely helped to curb potential meltdowns from Rogue, which have become increasingly frequent. Despite the fact that I spent most of the movie in the hallway with Alex, it was fun, and the boys loved it. Alex was completely happy running up and down (...and up and down... and up and down.... :) the ramps in the hallway for an hour, too. After the movie, we dropped the kids off at my parents' house, and headed back to Silverton for a game night with some friends. I love game nights. It's a chance for the adults to interact, act a little goofy, and let loose without the kids. Next Saturday will be Elijah's turn. We'll actually be taking a trip up to Seattle for the weekend, and since we've been a couple of times before, he already has some activities in mind :) I think that it'll be a fun new tradition for us.

UPDATE on last post

The man who broke into my friend's home was caught after doing the same thing to another SAHM in Molalla. The second the door opened, the woman called the police. The responding officer was right around the corner, and caught the guy as he was running back out of the house. His picture was on the news, and Stefani called in to tell them it was the same guy that came into her house. Thank goodness he was found....

Mama says knock you out. I'm gonna knock you out....

Most of you will find yourself at home, by yourselves at some point during the day (or most of the day, like me). I usually lock the doors, when I'm home alone, but now I will always make certain that they are locked at all times. A friend of mine told me about something that happened to her a couple of days ago:
She was home alone, and had just put her baby down for a nap, when she heard the front door open. She was wondering why her husband had come home so early, and turned the corner to find a strange man walking through her house. She backed into her son's bedroom, and searched for something to defend herself with. Finding nothing close enough, she jumped out as he reached the bedroom door, and punched him in the face! She landed a pretty solid blow that made him start to bleed, and the combination of that with her cursing, yelling, and threatening him, made him turn and leave the house (way to go Stefani!). She did, of course proceed to call the police after he left, but he was never caught.
So, this is just a reminder to ALWAYS lock your doors!

F-I-V-E !

Elijah turned a whopping 5 years old on the 7th. His party with his school friends, however, took place the following Friday. Everyone at his school was having parties at these great places- Bauman Farms, an equestrian center, and Jump Up (a huge bounce house warehouse). I hit the internet looking for a fun, yet not-too-expensive place to have his birthday party. We ended up finding a great ceramics studio in Salem called Create-A-Memory. We went there first before Christmas to make some gifts, and the boys were anxious to return for Elijah's party. Eli wanted a "Pirate" theme to his party, and Travis happened upon the coolest cake ever at Albertsons, of all places. It wasn't just a plain cake with a picture of a pirate ship on it, oh no- it was in the shape of a pirate ship, complete with pirates and everything. The kids all loved it. There were all kinds of things to choose from to paint, and Elijah, of course, chose the pirate mug. Rogue immediately snatched up a frog from the shelf as his choice. All of the kids got to paint, color pirate pictures, and eat some pirate cake before heading home. It was great fun, and I would definitely recommend the place to anyone for a party, or just for fun.

**BTW, I feel I need to add an apology in here. I know that Elijah has a lot more friends from church and the neighborhood that were not invited to his party. The location is paid for by headcount, rather than a single fee. So, we had to make a decision to invite just his classmates and his 2 cousins. He was disappointed, and really wanted to invite everyone. So, to any of my friends who feel that their children were left out, I apologize. Please know that he really wanted to invite everyone.**

"Snow House"

Immediately following the reception (actually a little bit before it ended), Trav, the kids and I hoped in the car and jetted off to Sunriver for the weekend. We caught up with his family a few hours later, and settled in to our weekend abode. When we got there, we struggled to get the furnace to work. I even spent some time out in the garage trying to get it to ignite, but it wasn't working. As it was too late to call anyone, we spent the first night with no heat. The next day, we called the owners. They were very apologetic, refunded our money for the night, and had someone out to fix it first thing that morning. By the time we went out for some sledding, we returned to a cozy, warm house. Elijah tooks lots of pics (some of which can be seen on his blog), and we had a little birthday celebration for him that night, too. Before we headed home, we hung out in Bend for a while in the Old Mill district, for some shopping and eating, while all of the guys talked about plans to move there. Our drive home was hindered by a snow storm that had rolled in. One more day (which we had considered staying) would have trapped us on the other side of the pass. We all made it home safely, and were left wishing the weekend had lasted a little longer.

Happy Birthday!

Cake-face Alex
The clan
Boys will be boys
Shane running right into a tree!

All 3 kids LOVED the snow :)

Reception #2

Spicoli and Elisabeth had a second reception at the Stayton Ward building. Mom and Denise Bunn did an amazing job decorating it (you completely forgot it was a gym the moment you walked in), and Eric did the yummy scruptious catering (and I got to taste plenty this time- unlike at my own wedding reception). It was beautiful, and I got some pretty good pics from the night, too. I struggled somewhat to find the best way to take pictures. There was dim lighting, which required a flash, unless I wanted to walk away with blurred pictures. On the other hand, I try to avoid using a flash, because I don't like the shadows and the sometimes too-intense lighting that it produces (any suggestions, Kellie?).
Elijah took posession of my old digital camera once I got my new one. He loves taking pictures, and does a pretty good job at it. He spent the evening placing people for the perfect pictures, and ended the evening with around 100 shots. I am continually impressed with the great interest he has shown in all forms of art. I'm very anxious to find out what he does with it as he gets older. See his blog (http://www.elijahrhodes.blogspot.com/) for pictures he took of the evening (to be posted later this evening).

More Soon!

I know it's been a long time since I posted. So much has happened, and I have so many photos coming soon. There's been another wedding reception, a sledding trip in Sunriver, and Elijah's birthday party. I've just had so little time to work on editting photos lately. No later than Wednesday, I promise to get caught up. I'll also be certain to sit down with Elijah for some more blogging on his site (http://www.elijahrhodes.blogspot.com/). It'll all be back on track soon!

Gorgeous

I know I just posted this pic in the last entry, but I had to post it again. It's of a tiger at the wildlife safari in Arizona. He was sitting atop a rock, looking so regal, and I just had to get some pics of him. I haven't finished editting all of the pictures yet, but this is my favorite so far. Isn't he gorgeous?!

Dum, Dum, Da-Dum

Just 2 days after Christmas, we jumped on an airplane to Arizona for Michael and Elisabeth's wedding at the Mesa Temple. The airport in Portland was SLAMMED, and the kids far exceeded our expectations for behavior. They listened great, stayed right by our sides, and didn't fight one bit. Were those well behaved kids really my children? I was so glad that they chose that time to behave so well. It could have been disasterous, but it all went very smoothly, despite the crazy obstacles you have to go through to get on the plane. Anyway, we got there, got our car (we now have to buy a new Escalade- it was sweeeeeeet!), and found our hotel. That night, we had a large family/wedding party dinner, and the next day had the wedding at the Mesa Temple, followed by the reception at the Case's. It was great fun, and very beautiful. The best part of the night was Elisabeth's neice Mary Jane and Elijah running around together. Mary Jane had changed out of her party dress, and dawned a wedding gown of her own, complete with veil. She then went in search of her groom, and her search had obviously concluded with Elijah. He was reluctant to play along at first (Elijah: "I don't want to dance", Mary Jane: "Well, then how about we play getting married?", Elijah: "Hmmm, how about we play... 'bye, bye'" -and takes off at a sprint-), but she eventually won him over and they spent the rest of the night chasing eachother around the house.





The rest of the vacation we spent going for walks, swimming, playing at the park, browsing the mall (I was need of a new pair of shades after my hubby reduced mine to a mere crumbles on the pavement!), and exporing a nearby wildlife safari. It was a pretty good trip, and now I'm busy trying to edit all of the pics from the trip, catch up on my blogging, clean the house, help Mom get ready for the 2nd reception in Stayton in 2 days, and prepare for our weekend trip to Sunriver, while also attempting to stick to one of my New Year's resolutions of ridding myself of some of this baby weight! Well, hopefully I survive the weekend, because then I need to get busy planning Elijah's birthday party for next weekend. Does the maddness ever end?! :)