Emeline

Will someone please post pictures of my new niece?  And let me know how everything is going?  Pretty please?

The kids are gone

Jason and Grace are gone and it is bitter sweet. I can't live with them and yet it is funny how much I think about them and wonder how they are doing. I hope everything goes well for them, they deserve a bright future, and right now it looks pretty dim. I felt like we made some progress but they will probably backslide now that they are with Anne, she definately does things different than I do. I wouldn't have made it through without the help of Julie, Dad, Christa, Liam, Danny, Tommy and even Wes. Yesterday was the first day to myself since the end of July. It was good to put my place back together-at least part of it. Life rushes on. Love to all of you, Mom

Countdown

So...as you all know, the count down began last week. We are now down to 4 full days, and 2 partial days until Jason and Grace will be going back to Anne. I can not wait for this! I've had a very difficult time with this some days. But I've been lucky and have had Mom to help me...and me help her. Our relationship is stronger because of this trial. I've learned one major thing from this. I've come to realize how much I really do love my nephews and niece. (I'm sure the newest addition will have my heart the second I see her.) So thank you for raising such wonderful kids that don't get into every little thing at our house. And also, thank you for taking them home at the end of the day. ;)

One more thing...if for some odd reason you haven't heard, I start school on Wednesday September 1. I'm so excited for this, but also a little scared. I'm asking any and all who would be willing to check up on me regularly to make sure that I'm keeping up with my school work. I'm sure I'm going to need all the encouragment I can get. :)

Miscommunication...

Yesterday Wyatt was tugging on my hand trying to get me to come with him.  I kept saying to him to "tell me what you want".  He just got more and more upset.  I said "use your words" and in his most distraught tone he looked at me and said "Words!"  Sometimes I forget that Wyatt doesn't quite get some of the phrases I use.  We're still working on getting him into a pre-K class (school has been in session for a week now) where he will be able to work with some specialists who can hopefully coax some words out of him and get him to make connections between his language and the world around him.  Clearly I'm clueless about how to do that.

Way to go Katie!

It seems a bit funny to be posting this but it is a big milestone. Kathryn is well underway with potty training! She has been wearing underpants almost exclusively for the last week. She has had a few accidents but is doing very well with going into the bathroom and using the toilet on her own.
Tonight Katie went into the bathroom and a few minutes later came out and said that she had pooped. I asked her if it was in the potty and she said that it was. It was an exciting moment because up until now she has refused to even sit on the toilet if she had to poop. She got a treat which happened to be a candy bar and two stickers to put on her chart. She was very proud of herself! Brendan was great about it. He congratulated her on it several times.

The Great Ceiling Cave-in!

I'm sure you've all heard the story, but here's a recap with photos. One afternoon, Wyatt snuck upstairs and pushed a small table into our bathroom. He had a grand old time playing in our sink while I watched TV in the basement, completely unaware of what was going on. Forty or so minutes later, I walked upstairs to see a dripping wet Wyatt and hear water running in the background. I ran upstairs to find a bathroom drenched in water, but all the faucets turned off... where in the world was the water turned on? I ran downstairs and found that the water sound was coming from the stream of water pouring from our ceiling. I quickly grabbed buckets and tried to contain and clean up as much as I could. After a few hours, the water had finally stopped trickling out of the ceiling and I went to bed. Cut to 3 a.m. Jake's at the hospital when I hear a loud crash from downstairs and think "great, someone is trying to break in" so I slowly creep downstairs with my phone ready to dial 911, when I see what has really happened: a huge chunk of the ceiling has fallen down. The Sheetrock had become so saturated with water that the screws could no longer hold it.

The Carnage:

The Aftermath:

The Repairs:

Painting:

It still looks kind of wonky; we'll probably need to do some more work on it eventually. As for now, at least the hole is covered up!

Recipes

When Mom came out to help bring Jason and Grace home, I made a couple of meals in the crock pot and she has been asking me to send her the recipes ever since. I got them both from a wonderful website called Prudence Pennywise (also where I got the recipe for that yummy tortilla soup I made while I was in Utah). Any-who, here are the recipes:

Pineapple and Green Chile Pork Tacos in the Crockpot
1 lb. pork chops (I use chicken - Leigh)
1 8 ounce can crushed pineapple with juices
1 cup tomatillo salsa (green salsa or salsa verde)
1 4 ounce can green chiles, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar

For serving: warm flour tortillas, queso fresco (or feta), chopped cilantro, lime wedges, more green salsa

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for four hours or on low for 6 to eight hours. Shred pork, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve in soft flour tortillas with desired accompaniments. (I like them with cheddar cheese, lime juice, sour cream, red salsa and some lettuce or cabbage - Leigh)


Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
1 lb. pork chops
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon or more tabasco sauce, optional
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Shred meat. Serve on homemade rolls or bakery buns with cole slaw (I love to put the cole slaw right on top of the meat for a creamy, tangy sandwich! - Leigh)

Funny video

Have you all seen the parody of the Old Spice commercial for the BYU library? I found it on You Tube when I entered "BYU library". I think it is called new spice too. It's pretty good. While watching it, watch the tree in the L hand corner and then in the next shot. Enjoy,

Mom

Happy Un-Birthdays!

Happy belated birthday to Emily and Brenda! I'm getting worse and worse about remembering people's birthdays on the actual day. Just one more reason why we need to get back to Utah!

Boys at the Cabin

We went to the cabin with Grammie, Grandpa & Aunt Julie on Monday, July 5th. We weren't able to get much done, but Corwin, Luke & Alex had a great day playing.

We are looking forward to spending more time up there this summer and getting the addition finished!