Record Snow Day

It snowed last night! It was the earliest day of snowfall ever for Boise. Our grass & most of our leaves are still green. As soon as they saw the snow coming down, Becca & Wyatt asked if they could go outside! We got down the snow gear & let them out. They had a blast. Our tree out front became so heavy with snow a large limb broke.

Tired Wyatt

The other night Wyatt was complaining of a headache all evening. We put him in the tub and this is what happened. He's really asleep. Not to worry, he was supervised constantly.

Creamy Chicken Chili

While eating homemade creamy chicken chili, Brandon encouraged Wyatt to eat more saying it has beans in it. Wyatt's response: "You can boom to the moon!"

Creamy Chicken Chili

(our ward's Fall Recipes cookbook)

1 lb. chicken breast, chunked

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 T. oil

2 cans great northern beans

1 can chicken broth

1 4oz can green chilies

1 t. salt

1 t. cumin

1 t. oregano

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

In pan saute' chicken, onion and garlic in oil. Add beans, broth, chilies and spices. Bring to a boil & simmer. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Add sour cream & whipping cream (if it's too spicy, add more sour cream, our kids like it better that way). Serve.

Our Praying Mantis Visitor

After school the other day Wyatt wanted to ride the "Gator" so I had the girls sit on the front porch with me to do homework. We were there for about 15 minutes before we noticed this praying mantis on the side of the house. Becca asked if she could take some pictures and share it at school next week. It stayed at our front door the rest of the evening and was even there when the girls left for school the next morning.

First Grade Artwork

Sarah brought this page home yesterday. She'd worked on it at school and was very proud of it. I had her translate the words for me: "My mom likes to make bread. My father likes to draw. My sister likes to ride on a horse. My brother is dumb and he burps." (Click the picture to see it better.) Oh, first grade!! I love this being a mom stuff . . .

10th anniversary

Sept 5th was our 10th anniversary. My dear mother watched our kids while we went to dinner then did some window-shopping. Mom sent flowers & a card and Brandon brought flowers home. He said, "I figure if I don't bring flowers home, I'll be in big trouble." We had a great evening talking about the past 10 years and what it's brought to us. We dreamed of the next 10 years and the joys awaiting us. Becca will be heading to college, Sarah will be dating, and Wyatt will be nearing his time to start driver's education classes. We treasure our children and love to hear them laugh and watch them learn. We're very blessed!

Torch Finger Steaks

1 Lb. Top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4" to 1" cubes. Not any larger.
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. Lawry's Season Salt
2 eggs
1 teas. baking powder
3/4 teas. pepper
enough milk to form pancake batter, approx. 1 cup.

Deep fry at 375° until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. We used Albertson's top grade sirloin. 1 Lb. of steak makes a lot of cubes!

First Day of School 2008

Both girls were up, dressed, fed, & ready in about 15 mintues this morning! Needless to say, they were enthusiastic about school starting today. Becca is excited to learn cursive writing and Boise history. Hopefully she'll be able to teach us more about this city we love. Sarah can't wait to have homework, which her teacher says it's for the parents to do and not her. Yea, she was thrilled to announce that. Ah, first grade. I can't wait to watch her advance in her reading.

A Day with Donnie

My good friend, Donnie (Donella) Holden, took all 3 kids out last week. They made their own visors, visited the zoo, had a picnic at the MK Nature Center, then she treated them to milkshakes on the way home. Donnie wanted to give me some time to myself. (I found a swimsuit for our cruise in November!) These are pictures Donnie took on their trip. How can you not love those who serve you so selflessly?? Then tonight she watched Wyatt & Sarah while we took Becca to the Twin Falls Temple Dedication. Donnie loves our kids and they love her too. We're so bless to have her & Kory in our lives.

Winters Reunion

Clint & Tina Sampson (Brandon's sister) came up from Vernal, Utah with their 2 children, Brinley & Trail. They were only able to stay for a few days, but we were able to get together a lot. After family pictures were taken one evening, we met at Read & Angie's (Brandon's sister) home for Trail's 1st birthday party & swimming. Angie had made a little birthday cake for Trail (a "Hunny Pot"), which he thoroughly devoured and/or smeared. It was loads of fun being together.

A visit from friends . . .

Last Sunday our friend Jeanette Smalls (in the green dress) came to visit and brought her sister, Sarah. Jeanette & Shannon were married about the same time we were. We attended the same ward where Jeanette and I served in the Young Women's together. They moved into my mom's ward and Jeanette became good friends with her. So mom came over to visit too.

We've kept in touch these past 10 years. They have 3 boys now and live near Austin, Texas. Jeanette & Sarah are from Ghana, Africa, where their father was over the Church Education System program. Their accent is beautiful to listen to. Sarah told us she translates for General Conference and shared some experiences with us. She just graduated from BYU-Idaho and is headed to Texas to live with Shannon & Jeanette. She was wonderful with our kids, letting them take pictures with her camera and then taking several beautiful pictures of each child. It was wonderful to see them again (Sarah stayed with the Smalls 10 years ago so we'd met before). We only wish they lived closer, but Jeanette said they'd still like to move back to Boise. Shannon's parents live in Nampa. He works for the State of Texas with their disaster relief efforts, coordinating with FEMA. Jeanette is the chairman of the activities committee for their ward and Shannon serves as an emergency / disaster preparedness coordinator.

Twin Falls Temple

Last Saturday was my dad's (Caudill) family reunion in Hansen, Idaho. It's a suburb (ha-ha) of Twin Falls. As a part of the reunion we were all able to go thru the newly completed Twin Falls Temple open house. It was beautiful and so neat having our children there with us.

I've started cleaning the Boise temple. It's closed for most of July and I've been able to work during the days. Starting the 29th though, I'll be working 10pm to 1am. Hoping to get a nap in the afternoons, we'll see!

Swim Pictures

Swimming Lessons 2008

The kids just finished swimming lessons last night. Rebecca is now able to jump off the diving board & swim to safety!! We're so grateful. It's awesome to watch her gain confidence and to see it all "click" as she has learned to coordinate her arms & legs.

Sarah seemed completely confident in herself and trusting in her teacher, Miss Jamie. She was grateful to have the swim goggles. Her freestyle form still needs some work, but she'll get it. Yesterday she'd swim with her arms up with only her hands moving. It looked like she was surrendering underwater! But her teacher worked with her more and she improved.

Wyatt just loved being in the water. The goggles didn't fit over his glasses, but he didn't seem to mind getting his eyes wet. He just kept the glasses on. At the end of each lesson, the kids were allowed to get a swim toy (floaties, tube, noodle, etc). Wyatt always chose a big water gun and sat on the steps to play with it. All the other kids would swim, but he was completely taken with this huge gun. Brandon promised we'd go find one to play with at home.

We'll do lessons again next year and look forward to watching Sarah and Wyatt become indepent swimmers. The girls earned swim passes to Roaring Springs this last year in school so Brandon will take an afternoon off this month and we'll go as a family.

Becca got her tooth knocked out!

Brandon & I enjoyed a much-needed date night last Friday. (We saw the new Indiana Jones movie and really liked it.)

My dear mother watched our kids for us and after prayers & scripture study, apparently the girls were playing around and Becca's face hit Sarah's head, knocking Becca's already-loose tooth out. She found it once then lost it again. She left a note for the Tooth-Fairy saying she'd lost the tooth. The Tooth-Fairy wrote her back saying she knew Becca was VERY honest and left her two quarters. Becca was thrilled!

Scooby-Doo

Sarah just told me when she grows up and has kids she's going to name them Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred and she'll get a dog and name him Scooby-Doo.

A while back we were having a favorite meal (Orange Chicken from Costco) and Brandon found this Scooby-Doo piece of chicken.

I'm so grateful we can fnd entertainment in the little things.

Day 1

Okay, here we go! Just had mozzarella burgers & corn on the cob for dinner. The kids played in the sprinklers. Now enjoying some "quieter" time before the bedtime routine. I'm taking that time to figure this all out. Guess that's all for now!