Time for an update

Yup. It's been a while since my last post. Everything has been so crazy busy! I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. Didn't used to be like this. Used to be just love, and still mostly is, but I don't mesh well with the "worlds" take on Christmas. Leaves me feeling overwhelmed and anxious, and it's hard to break away from it all when your constantly being bombarded with it most places that you go.
I recognize "these" feeling most when I'm feeling the exact opposite, otherwise I'm just sucked right in to the whole thing and think everything is normal (made for some deep thoughts on the importance of "opposition in all things", but that's a discussion for another day). This realization really hit me the other day when I was reading the December issue of the Ensign. I was enjoying it SO much! After reading the Christmas stories from different prophets I was feeling so good and "Christmasy".
The REAL "Christmasy" feeling, not the fake!
This was the way I should be feeling!
This was the way it used to be!
I started craving and searching for these feelings more. I found them when listening to certain Christmas music, when reminiscing about certain memories, when visiting with some special elderly people in my ward, and when being with Jason and all my kids for some family time. Still not the same as I remember from years past (less consistent maybe?) but it's a start.
What I know now is, gone are the days when those good feelings would just naturally be there. I have to consciously seek them out.
Is this a sign of the times or just a sign of me getting "old"?! (Can somebody "old" answer that for me, please?) 
Okay, this post was not meant to be like this. I started it with the ONLY intention of updating events and posting recent pictures but it "evolved" didn't it?! So sorry....but it feels good to voice these kinds of things every now and then.
Moving on.
Thanksgiving in Idaho was fun and such a nice get away.

Yummy smoked turkey!

All bundled up while Christmas tree hunting in Kilgore.

Gotta love the cute Weston face even with the drool!

Corinne got to wear Robyn's old, coveted, sexy, pink and purple snow boots. Lucky:)

Love these boys!

 After the Thanksgiving break, Jason was back to long days of work but at least he got Sunday's off. We went Christmas tree hunting for ourselves on a Sunday afternoon drive after church.

Found our best Christmas tree yet!

Wyatt wanted to try his hand at cutting it down.

 In other news, Wyatt had his first orchestra concert. It was so fun to watch him play and I couldn't help but giggle at Mrs. Wheeler the conductor as she tried to keep everyone going at the same tempo and coming in at the right time. Looked like a real workout!

 

Be aware that this is 6th grade orchestra and these kids have only been playing since the beginning of September. Also, sorry for the sound cut outs. Apparently my little camera doesn't do sound and zoom at the same time. Sorry for my giggling in the back ground, too. I just couldn't help myself.

So proud of my awesome cello player!

Weston is now crawling and has had his first cold. 7 months old and had never been sick (did have a fever once from shots but that doesn't count)! The poor guy seemed so confused by it and would look at me as if to say, "Why do I feel so crappy and what is this stuff coming out of my nose that I constantly have to wipe all over your shirt, mom?" I've had to try to stay away from dark colored shirts, always have a tissue handy, and keep my hair up in a pony tail because of this. Oh, well. Love the sweet boy anyway.

Where's the real baby? Millie and her friend Olivia love to play 'babies' and Weston's their favorite one!

Bath buddies! One of Millie and Weston's favorite places to be. Tip for other mommies: throw a bottle of lotion in with the kids (as long as the lid is tight). Weston likes to play with it and then it's nice and warm after they get out to help combat the dry skin of winter. I hate putting cold lotion on nice, warm bodies after a bath. They hate it, too!

Evolution of a Weston smile (Yep, I needed that)

What a cure for sadness, frustration, blah days! There's nothing better than a sweet, cheerful, no worries Weston smile!
I dare you to look at these pictures and not smile yourself.
Impossible, I tell you!
Completely impossible.
I give you the evolution of a Weston smile to cheer you (and myself) on the crappiest days.

Just woke up after a trip to town. Let's see if we can get those fingers out of his mouth.

Okay, fingers out. Warming up......

..... beautiful, blue eyes starting to twinkle. Here it comes.....

.....I see the two new, little teeth.  Cheeks getting rounder and rosier. Almost complete.......

......THERE IT IS! Smiles so hard he can't even keep his eyes open. You can almost hear the happy baby snorts through his nose.

See, I told you.
Even Westy can't help but smile again as he watches me post these.
Now, what was it that was making me feel so low? I forget.
Quick, scroll to the top and do it again!

Millie turns 5!

Happy Birthday Amelia!

Holy cow, I can't believe how time flies! My Millie is 5!

She has been so excited for her birthday for months. I would constantly hear her telling people, "My birthday is after Halloween!". Well, finally it came. November 6th, a Tuesday, election day, just like it was the day she was born 5 years ago.
I remember being so happy to have a little girl and Jason was immediately smitten. He was the first one to hold her after she was born. Of course, that was after they had resuscitated her and she had spent an hour or so in the NICU, but he has been wrapped around her little finger ever since.

 Millie has been wanting a 'Piggie' bank for a long time. She finally got one (with a tutu and tiara of course) along with some money to put in it, dress up stuff, a new Barbie movie, and some clothes.
Happy girl and a very happy birthday!
I love to make different and fun birthday cakes for all my kids every year. I remember my mom making some creative cakes when I was a child. My favorite being the pink elephant cake made with tiered layers and marshmallow toothpick elephants all around it. There was also a clown cake and a teddy bear cake that stick out in my mind.
This year for Millie's birthday, I decided to make an owl. Sounds boring but it turned out cute and Millie was happy which was all that mattered. Her only request was that it be pink and have a crown. Okay then.

Here's a few other cakes I've done in the past.

Wyatt's Candy Cake 11th Bday. Layer cake with Kit-Kats and M&Ms.

Owen's Chocolate-Chocolate cake for 9th Bday. Rich chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting and fudge filling.

Millie's 4th Bday. 8 inch layer cake cut like a peace sign and arranged like a butterfly. Colorful candy stick middle.

Millie's 3rd (I think). Cocoa rice crispie treat base with flower cupcakes on popsicle sticks. 

Owen's 4th? Chocolate Oreo cake with oreo dirt and gummi worms. He loved it!

Owen's 5th? One of our favorites now. Have made it multiple times. Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake. Swiss roll slices frozen in single layer in plastic wrap lined bowl. Then add vanilla ice cream layer, fudge layer and finish with chocolate ice cream center. It's awesome!

Halloween 2012

Oh, Halloween! You are one of my least favorite holidays (sorry Shannon) but we had fun just the same.

The day dawned with one of the reddest sun rises I've ever seen. It was kind of spooky and even brighter than this before I found my camera.

"Red sky in morning, sailor take warning"

Grandma and Grandpa Eastin sent some super cute 'mummy' candy bars and a card that is now everyone's favorite thing (especially Millie). The kids are so thrilled when they get anything in the mail!

 We went to the ward trunk or treat Tuesday night. Always one of the wards biggest parties with the biggest turn out. Geez! If everyone that showed up for that also showed up to sacrament meeting every week we would be one huge ward. I threw together a chicken tortilla soup after remembering that I had signed up to bring some kind of soup. Used left over barbecued chicken thighs, black beans, canned diced tomatoes and anything else I could find in the pantry. Added corn tortilla strips and topped it with chopped fresh cilantro when I got to the party right before serving. My soup was clear at the end of the huge table of soup and chili so I thought I would be going home with a whole pot of left overs to try to make my kids eat through the rest of the week. I hadn't even tried it and I wasn't going to openly claim it just in case it was no good. As I was eating my broccoli cheese soup that somebody else made, I started hearing things like, "You've got to try some of this soup", "Someone's got to get me the recipe for this", and "Who made it?". Well, being the sucker for a good recipe I went back up to the table to try some of this great soup everyone was buzzing about.
 Lo and behold, it was my soup!
What the heck!
I finally tried some and, yeah, it was pretty stinkin' good. Barely got any and came home with an empty pot. Now if I can just remember exactly how I made it I could give out the recipe. I'll try it again soon and write it down this time so I won't forget.

I loved the kids easy but cute costumes this year. We went with the whole 'lawn ornament' theme this year. The boys were lawn gnomes and Millie was a pink flamingo. Almost everything was made from stuff I already had and took no time at all. I love that! The boys' used red poster board and batting (I did find a little piece of white fur stuff for Weston). Millie wore her pink leotard and tights. I happened upon a pack of cheap pink feathers in the craft section in Walmart and got home to happily find that it was a boa. I strung some along the top of a dress up skirt Millie already had and wrapped the rest around her arms. The hat was made out of an old pink winter baby hat with a bill that we never used and barely fit her. I covered the bill with white felt and fashioned the black end with left over fabric, stuffing, and a glue gun. The eyes were styrofoam balls left over from a solar system project for Wyatt a couple years ago.
I love the way they all turned out! Wyatt said with a pout, "I wanted to be a werewolf." Oh well. Everyone else was happy. I told him he could be an evil lawn gnome if he wanted and I could break out the vampire teeth and fake blood but he settled with a promise that I would try to make him a werewolf costume next year if I can find some ambition.

My sweet Westy!

Millie loved posing on one leg...

again....

and again.

Deer Hunt Camping Trip and French Bread Recipe

Looking for deer, found a sunset.

For Jason's first days off since the end of August we went camping and deer hunting in an area called Nutters south off Duchesne. We got there Friday evening (Oct. 19th) and after dropping off the trailer and quickly setting up camp we went scouting for deer since the hunt would open the following morning. We saw a few but nothing bigger than two points. The sunset that night was beautiful and I wish a had a better camera to do it justice. The complementary colors of bright orange and blue were amazing. Unfortunately, after taking a couple pictures of the sunset, I realized I was out of batteries so these pictures will have to do to sum up the trip.
It was pretty cool and crisp while we were there but the camper was warm, comfortable (our bed could use a new mattress, though) and had everything we needed. We had fun at camp playing games, building forts, roasting hotdogs and s'mores, and making scones with honey butter. Yum! Lynnette's quick french bread recipe works great for scones by the way (and so many more things). I need to post it because I use it all the time but can never find it in my mess of recipes. Okay, I've convinced myself.

Lynnette's Quick French Bread
1 1/2 cups hot water
2 cups flour
1 T. butter, softened
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
I mix this in my kitchenaid with the dough hook until combined.
Then in a separate little bowl, combine 1 more cup of flour with 2 T. yeast.
Add the flour/yeast mixture to your dough and let your mixer continue kneading it for 10 minutes. Leave the dough in the bowl, spray with Pam, cover, and let rise until double which only takes about 20 minutes or so.
From there you can shape it into two long french bread loaves, make a couple slash marks on the tops, put them on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. No need to let it rise again.
It's as simple as that and only takes about an hour from start to finish!
If you want scones just break off and stretch out scone size pieces of dough instead of forming the dough into loaves and drop them into hot oil for deep fat frying. Don't make the oil too hot or they'll cook too fast and be doughy in the middle but don't make the oil too cool or they'll cook to slow and absorb more oil (yuck). Usually heat to around 375 degrees.
One of my favorite uses for this dough is Stromboli. Break the dough into two equal size pieces. Roll each out into a flat cookie sheet size rectangle. Lay lunch meat (I like black forest ham from the deli counter) in a single layer on top, leaving about am inch border. Sprinkle with your choice of shredded cheese (I like Monterey Jack). Roll up jelly roll style starting on a long side. Pinch seams to seal. Bake same as french bread, 375 for 20 minutes.

So, anyway. Back to the hunt. Since Jason was more horn rather than meat hunting, we didn't bag a buck this time but the hunt isn't over yet. He still has a few days and who knows, maybe my next post will show pictures of a monster buck........if I can remember the batteries.

More fishing

I love fishing at Sandwash with my family! Wish we could go more often. These are pictures from last month when Jason actually got off a little early. He still hasn't had a day off since Brady's wedding (by the way, thank you Brady for getting married so he could have a day off). But, fear not! Jason has at least two days off coming up for us to go camping, deer hunting, and go to church so the ward doesn't think he's gone completely inactive.

A little bit of fishing before the sun goes down. Not the most beautiful pictures with my crappy camera but the sun setting on the lake was so pretty.

Productive Day

Have I said already how much I am enjoying Weston and being a mom again?! Well, I AM!
Did I get the bathroom cleaned today?
No.
Did I fold all the laundry that has been stacked in my room since yesterday?
No.
Did I finish organizing the pantry/storage room?
No.
Do I even know what I'm going to make for dinner tonight?
No.
BUT, did I cuddle with Weston, carrying him around and doing things one handed until my arm felt like it would fall off (but enjoying it:)? Did I relax on my bed while feeding him, giggling as his eyes rolled back in his head from being blissfully content and milk drunk? Did I hold Millie on my lap watching Curious George together while Weston happily rolled around on the floor? Did Millie and I laugh hysterically with Weston because he loves to be tickled on the back of his neck and makes the funniest noises and faces while scrunching up his shoulders?
Yes, yes, yes, and YES!
Whew!
That's one busy day. How do I pack it all in?
Here's a few recent Weston pictures.

First cereal. Still not his favorite. He wants what we eat :)

Weston thought he'd do it himself.

Look who's sitting up

Love how he sucks his two left fingers and happily sat in his high chair....

.....and fell asleep about 30 seconds later.

backyard cookout

I want to tickle the back of Weston's neck right now just looking at this picture.

Dear Wyatt and Owen, Please read this when you have your own kids

Yes, being a mom is definitely no fun sometimes. I have been wanting to pull my hair out lately with Wyatt and Owen. We seem to be having the same arguments over and over and OVER.
I'm so OVER it!
It starts out with them not minding me or listening to what I ask them to do. I get mad. Privileges get taken away. They get angry and defensive and start throwing whatever I say back in my face. I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with a solution; something I can say or do that will make them realize what they are doing and how completely ridiculous it is!  Here is an example. It was Owen and I's conversation last night but could have been Wyatt just as easily.
Me: "Owen, I've asked you 5 times already to get your chores done. Now I'm getting angry. No friends this weekend if you can't listen."
Owen: "You're so mean!"
Me: "I'm not trying to be mean. I was pretty nice the first 4 times. Please, just listen...."
Owen: "YOU never listen to ME!"
Me: "What are you talking about? And don't interrupt me."
Owen: "MOM, I was just going to say something! Don't interrupt ME!"
Me: "Do you even hear yourself right now? Stop fighting me and just do it."
Owen: "Do you hear YOURSELF right now?! Stop fighting ME!"
Me: "Owen, you're being ridiculous!"
Owen: "YOU'RE being ridiculous!"
Me: "I am so tired of this! I can't wait until your a parent and then maybe you'll finally understand how I feel."
Owen: "YOU don't understand kids"
......And the argument continues in this fashion until I feel like I am going completely insane and want to blog about it for the sole purpose of knowing that maybe, someday 25ish years from now the boys will have their own children, read this and say, "Whoa, karma sucks!"

Brady and Corinne's wedding

Where's Corinne? I never got one picture of her. What the heck?!

Outside the Oquirrh (is that how you spell that?) Mountain Temple before Brady and Corinne's sealing.

Gorgeous view from the temple

My Millie

Weston and Grandpa

HA! Apparently this is dad's "man center piece". Robyn was stressing over what to do for them and these are things dad suggested for incorporating yellow. He even bought a bunch of Twinkies to give out to people at the luncheon but I guess the Blue Lemon wouldn't let them serve any food but theirs. To bad Twinkie lovers!

Another self shot. Jason is super scruffy. Shaved but I forgot the beard trimmer. His facial hair tends to get out of control when he rarely has a day off.

We had so much fun at Brady and Corinne's wedding a couple weeks ago! It was a crazy, packed day but sometimes those are the best kind. We went out that Monday night before and stayed in a hotel so we wouldn't have to rush Tuesday morning. Well, with four kids it always turns into a rush anyway but we didn't have to rush as bad. The reception was so fabulous it probably made Pinterest jealous. Brady and Corinne were a beautiful, GAP modelish bride and goom.  Loved seeing all the family and people I feel like I never get to see anymore. Aunts, uncles, cousins. Wedding are so great to bring everyone together like that. With Brady married now, all our family's got left is Devin and hopefully he'll be a little while but I guess we still have reunions. I don't think I've ever really said this out right, and I guess this is a good opportunity, but Robyn's family really is awesome. Neither my mom's or dad's extended families have ever been real close, at least the way Robyn's is. It has meant so much to me that her family has always treated me like one of the family. They didn't have to. I've always felt so much support from them, especially when I was a teenager, things were tough, and I really needed it most. So, thank you from the bottom of my little pea pickin' heart Robyn's family. Love ya tons!