Magic Mountain

We had some friends treat us to a day at Six Flags Magic Mountain before we left California. It was the first time for Breven and Caden, and Sienna's second trip. It was a fun day, and it was especially great to go with the Nelsons.
I was a little nervous how Caden would react to the log ride. He was getting more anxious as we waited in line, and I almost decided not to go when we got to the front. However, after the last big drop, he said, "AWESOME!!" I'm glad he liked it.
Goliath is Sienna's favorite ride. It has a 255 foot drop and you travel up to 85 miles per hour. She is only 52" tall and most of the big rides require you to be 54". She will probably love the park even more when she grows two more inches. Hopefully, the next trip we can go on Batman together (Cherlynn's favorite ride).
I love how Breven is holding Caden's hand to make sure he feels safe. He is a good big brother.

Before this trip, Breven was not a fan of roller coasters, but he loved it. He even rode it by himself a few times. Its too bad kids grow up too fast.

Thanks Friends!!

Chopped--Family Version

For some reason we like to watch Food Network. If the television is on, Sienna will often ask if we could change the channel to 55. One of our favorite shows is Chopped. If you have never seen it, four chefs are invited to cook three course: appetizer, main course and dessert. They are given a mystery basket with four items that must be used in the dish. After each coarse, the chefs face three judges. The judges eat the food and decide which chef is chopped and does not get to move on. The winner in the last round wins $10,000.

We've tried our own version a few time and love it.

First, a basket is prepared with items and then the kids can pull other things out of the fridge and pantry to complete their dishes. One time we played, the appetizer basket included apples, celery and peanut butter. Naturally, a variations of "Ants on a Log" were constructed. After the allotted time, the chefs have to face the judges to explain what they made. We encourage them to make up a name and explain their steps. Sienna gets into the presentation and decorating her plates. She would often take the sauce and add a smear on the plate for looks.

Even the blender had to be used in a few rounds because they have seen it on the show. One time, Sienna put jelly beans in the blender from the cupboard to make a powder to sprinkle on her crackers.

In the home version, we never chopped any chefs. All chefs moved on to the next coarse. They had a fun time because they felt like they had full reign of the kitchen.

Our Three Little Chefs

Happy Halloween

It was fun to be The Incredibles because it matched our family exactly.

Happy Halloween!!

Do You Have Something in Your Hands?

When I was growing up, my mom would always say to "have something in your hands while you are watching TV." If you know my mother she rarely just sits. She usually is sewing, crocheting or doing some other handi-work project.

My mom would also say, "If you want to sew, I will buy you the supplies." She wanted my brothers and sisters to develop talents and ,more importantly, to be busy. In reaching this goal she often bought projects for us to make.
One summer she gave me and each of my siblings a hooked rug project. Hooked rugs are quite simple, but they require patience and persistence to complete. So 25 years later, my parents still found a lot of unfinished rugs on the shelved in the storage room. To clean it up, they decided to re-gift and give each grandchild a rug to work on. (They actually had enough to go around).

On their last visit to California, they brought a rug for Sienna and a pillow for Breven. My parents worked with both Sienna and Breven while they were visiting and gave both of them a good start. Sienna and Breven were excited to continue the projects after Grandma and Grandpa left.

Sienna's rug was still brand new and never started, but Breven got my pillow that I started when I was around 6 or 7 years old. It was more than half way done, but still had a lot of work to go. Breven and I worked together putting the hook in the correct spot and pulling the yarn through. Breven even enjoyed sewing the background. All we have left is to turn it into a pillow.

We are pretty excited to finish such a project. I think it it funny to finish a project 30 years later--even projects can go full circle.

Thanks Mom for exposing me to a variety of crafts and teaching me to enjoy doing projects.
Happy Mother's Day!!

Snow in Spring

While we were in Utah, it snowed 10 inches one night. My dad used the tape measure to measure the snow before he shoveled.
We were not prepared with the proper coats and clothes, but we still spent the morning sledding, building snowmen and throwing snowballs. It was a thrill for some deprived kids from sunny California.
The most amazing thing was that the snow was completely melted 24 hours later, leaving the roads clear and the grass green. Sienna kept saying, "How can it snow in the spring? It is supposed to snow during winter."

Frog Chair

We have a baby walker that my oldest sister had with her twins 13 years ago. I know doctors advice not to have walkers because they are so dangerous or they don't help children learn to walk. Walkers may even prolong walking. However, even with all this negative advice, I actually like our frog chair.

My sister passed it on when we had Sienna. This frog chair has been used by seven children so far and definately looks like it. There is even a piece of duct tape holding one of the bars together.

I started using it with Caden the last few weeks and I smile everytime I put him in the chair. First, Caden loves the chair and starts to giggle. Second, I think about all the babies that have sat in the chair.

I must be crazy if I get sentimental over an old chair.

Christmas Surprise

For Christmas, we drove to Grandma and Grandpa's house to surprise them. We did not tell them that we were coming so it took Grandpa a few minutes to realize who was at his door. Grandma was so happy that she started to cry. It was such a fun Christmas because all my siblings and their families were together. This has not happened for many years.

Unfortunately, we did not get to visit any other friends since our kids got sick. I guess that is what happens when they are not used to the cold weather. We stayed in doors most of the time, close to the fire. Hopefully, the next trip we will get to visit others that we miss.

We also figured out the best way to travel is to wake up at 4:00 am. The kids sleep most of the way and it is nice to arrive in the late afternoon and have time to run around before it is time to go to bed. We are so glad we have good kids. They handled both drives amazingly well. I was surprised they really didn't use the bags of activities. They were content looking around, talking to each other and sleeping.

We are glad to be home and excited for 2009. Happy New Year!!!