Winter in the Basin

A poem adapted to where I live because it fits so well.

WINTER IN THE BASIN

It's winter in the basin

and the gentle breezes blow

seventy miles an hour

at twenty five below.

Oh, how I love the basin

when the snow's up to your butt.

You take a breath of winter

and your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful

so I guess I'll hang around.

I could never leave the basin

'cuz I'm frozen to the ground.

-anonymous

Yes, it's cold here. Once the snow comes and sticks, the temps plummet and stay that way. We've been twenty five below the past few nights with a high of single digits if we are lucky. BRRR!

The picture above is not that great. I need to take/find a better one, but I wanted to show you an "oil field temple". Yes, you read me right. I like when we go for drives at night and can see all the oil rigs lit up. To me they look like temples. Hahaha, right? I first noticed this over at a friends house. I was looking out their back window towards a hill in the distance and on top of this hill was a rig. These rigs use some very bright lights. At one end there is the big, tall drill with lights all the way up (like a steeple) and spread out, usually just to one side below, is the rest of the equipment (like the building part). I thought to myself...not really thinking, "Geez, they have a great view of the temple." before my brain kicked in.

Back in Rexburg I loved to see the temple all lit up on the hill. I also love to drive through the Salt Lake valley at night and see all the temples in the area. Love how you can't miss them. They are beautiful. Well, my "oil field temples" are not the same thing (in fact they are very much the exact opposite) but they remind me of the real thing and get me thinking temple-like thoughts and that's all that matters, right? Sometimes, way out in the country, you can be surrounded by them and it's neat looking. I guess kind of like the Salt Lake valley at night just without all the other lights. Just "oil field temples", dark mesa filled horizons, and stars.

So, living in the basin can be cold. So cold. And it can be rough, BUT it can be beautiful too. Really beautiful.

Thanksgiving 2013

It was a laid back, low key Thanksgiving this year. We didn't even decide to just do our own thing at home until the day before. We had offers from Max's sister Leah and also Heath/Marie but they had other extended family already coming and we didn't want to overwhelm. I was excited to just do our very own thing and bake everything myself. I had never done that before.
Memorable things:

• The turkey was beautiful, perfectly golden brown, and so moist. I must always remember to use cheesecloth soaked in butter, oil, and chicken broth. 
• Taking a bite of your favorite pumpkin pie that you apparently forgot to add sugar to is NO BUENO! Just trust me on this. Sooooooo disappointing! (Have no fear, I whipped up another one that was delicious and Thanksgiving was saved!) My only lasting concern is that Jason ate a whole piece of the "sugar free" pie before I got to mine and realized it was disgusting. I asked him why he ate it and he said he didn't want me to feel bad. At first I thought, "Awww, what a sweetie!" and then I thought, "Oh crap! What else has he gagged down just to save my feelings?" There could be a lot in almost 14 years of marriage. hmmm
• Weston falling asleep at the table. So cute!
• Lime slush. My new favorite holiday drink.
• I once again made a green bean casserole thinking, "I like all the stuff that goes in it. Surely I'll enjoy it this year." and then.....not. When will I learn? Green bean casserole is just not my/our thing. (Note to self next Thanksgiving)
• Baked sweet potatoes are the best! They make up for the green bean casserole. I just bake them like a regular baked potato, cut them open, add a little butter, salt, and pepper (once again, like a regular baked potato) and they are delish! Yams are great this way too. If you've never tried it, you must! No marshmallows needed. It's kind of like a combination of a sweet....potato (Did I really just say that? Geez, Einstein's got nothin' on me!) and cooked squash. I really need to remember to have these more often and not just holiday meals.
• I really don't like eggnog but Wyatt and Owen do. Doesn't surprise me.
• Mario Cart tournament after dinner.
• Leftovers and of course, turkey noodle soup. Yum!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  Jason got called out to a rig Wednesday night and didn't get home until 3:30 am Thanksgiving morning so we didn't go for a tree until Friday morning. Oh, well. Still a Thanksgiving tradition, right, even if it's not day of? There is such a great area for beautiful Christmas trees here, about an hour away. Jason and Weston found our tree this year and I think "It's a beaut, Clark" (What movie is that from, huh? We've already watched it twice. Holiday fave). When we got back from tree hunting, Jason put up Christmas lights. We haven't hung lights on our house in years but Jason was all gung ho this year.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

A little late but...HALLOWEEN

I've said so before but once again, for the record, Halloween is just not my favorite. I do like the creativity it inspires but that's about it. I wasn't sure my creative juices were going to start flowing this year but they finally did around the time of Wyatt's orchestra concert (2 blogs ago I think). I didn't do as much as I have in the past but it all turned out okay and the kids had fun.

Aren't my babies cute?!

One of my favorite pumpkins this year. It just grew like that so we HAD to make it a skull.

Princess Amelia and Westy the Wizard. There's something about babies in beards that I just can't get enough of! He was a gnome with a beard last year. What can he be with a beard next year? hmmm

I think he was on a sugar high for over a week! He LOVED holding out his bucket for people to put candy in and he would NOT let go of it for anything. No matter where I hid the candy in the days that followed, he always seemed to find it.

Millie wanted a frankenstein hello kitty to go with the other frankenstein. I did my best.

These are the pumpkins we made for grandpa Max's porch. He loved them and I loved when he tried to match light the battery powered candles I put in them. Apparently he's never seen those before.

Millie is 6!

My baby girl turned 6 yesterday! Yes, 6! She's not so small any more. Makes me sad. At least I have Weston who can be my small one still. How long will that last, though?
Millie has always been such a joy! My only little girl in a house of boys. Oh, we love her!
I love that she is just enough girly and just enough tom boy. I love how her and Weston are such buddies (they are playing dress up as we speak. Poor Westy). I love that she gets along with pretty much EVERYONE. I love that she is kindhearted and sweet and makes friends so easy. I love that she LOVES school (I hope that lasts). I love that she adores her dad, he adores her, and I get to watch their special daddy-daughter relationship daily. I love that she is usually so appreciative of the things we do for her. I love that she smiles and laughs all of the time.
I love being Amelia's mom!
Happy Birthday baby doll!

Millie's "birth"day and other random pics below.

Millie in her Kindergarten birthday hat.

Millie wanted a Hello Kitty cake. Seriously so fun to make and I got to make my first Italian meringue frosting which is beautiful, bright white, fluffy, easier than I thought, and delicious.

Cupcakes we made for Millie's Kindergarten class.

Wyatt's Halloween Orchestra Concert Costume

Wyatt needed a costume for his Halloween concert last night. I was hoping he could just wear his viking costume from years past but I discovered yesterday in getting it out that his helmet had been demolished. Shoot! Owen's was fine but Wyatt's head is definitely not the same size. I had to come up with something quick and I didn't have time to go to the store for materials. I was putting away clothes and saw one of Wyatt's yellow shirts.
*Lightbulb*
So, this is my 15-minute-procrastination-use-what-you've-got-in-the-house costume.

Say "Banana"

Wyatt and his best friend and cello partner Braxton.

The pictures aren't very good but I used an old yellow beanie with a black stripe around the bottom. It was perfect for a minion head. Cut off toilet paper rolls wrapped in tin foil made eyes and black pipe cleaners poked through the top made minion hair (wish you could see that in the pics). Jason's old mission suspenders finished it off. He said he felt like a dork but I thought it was pretty nifty for 15 minutes.
The concert was great and I thought the 7th graders sounded better than the 8th so way to go Wyatt!

General Conference Oct 2013

I've only been to General Conference once (well, twice now) and that was back when Wyatt was Weston size. It's hard to go and plan those kinds of trips with small children (heck, it's hard to watch at home with small children) so we had never gone again. A while back we happened to be talking to our ward's 1st counselor when the bishop walked up to ask him if he knew of anyone wanting conference tickets. At the end of the conversation, we ended up with 3 tickets to the Saturday morning session and 2 to the priesthood session. We figured I could go with Wyatt and Owen that morning and Jason would take Wyatt to the priesthood session that night. It worked out great and I think the boys had a good experience.
Thoughts on conference:

• I retain SO much more when I'm actually there and can focus just on the speakers! Wowzers! So wonderful! I can still tell you every speaker that morning, what they talked about, stories they told, and music that was sung. Can I say that about the other sessions? No mam!
• When I watch from home, one of my very favorite things is to listen to the choir sing and when the congregational hymn is sung is when I usually take a bathroom break. At conference, I still love the choir but the congregational hymn is AMAZING! With that many people singing all together, all around you, it's so powerful. I mean, where else does such a large group of people sing together like that? You've got to experience it to know what I mean.
• In front of me, an old lady was texting away on her fancy phone before conference started. I noticed her because she was texting and flipping around on her phone like a pro for such a 'mature' lady. She was taking pictures of her family next to her and sending them with messages like, "Waiting for conference to start. So excited!" (I'm nosy. I know.) I got in a conversation with a lady behind me from California who was at conference for the first time and said she was so excited, too. Once conference started and right after President Monson spoke, I glanced around and noticed the old lady in front of me and the lady behind me that had been 'so excited' were dead asleep! Looking around a little more I was amazed to see just how many people were asleep. Most of them slept through the majority of it. The husband of the woman in front kept nudging her to wake her up, which she would for about a minute and then go right back out. It was kind of funny......and kind of sad. Oh well.
• Outside the conference center afterward, there was a large group of protesters holding up one finger (no, not that finger) indicating the number one. They were yelling and had signs saying things like, "There is only ONE God". They were protesting (very strongly) our belief that we can be like God someday, become Gods and Goddesses. I was tempted to hold up my finger too and say, "I totally agree with you! There is only one God! BUT, why is it so hard for you to accept that we believe we can become like Him someday." I wanted to ask them if  they believed they were children of God, if they believed that our Heavenly Father loves us all very much. The only love I can really compare His love for us is my own love for my children and as a loving parent, I want my children to have every single good thing I have ever had in my life and more. Why then would God, as our loving Father, not want the same for us? To become like Him. To have what he has. Not to become THE God but to become gods and goddesses ourselves. It makes total and complete sense to me so why is it so hard for them to understand? We are asked not to try to get into confrontations with the protesters so I didn't say anything but I wanted to. Oh, I wanted to.
• It was sad to see people from our own church protesting at the priesthood session. Felt almost like a literal slap in the face. So sad. I don't pretend to know or understand everything but I do know one thing, you don't protest against your own church.

I was worried about how the boys might react to the protesters around temple square during conference. I remembered there being SO many when I went years ago so I tried to prep them a little. There were NONE Saturday morning when we got there. I guess protesters don't get up early. There were a few when we left, though. The boys were very polite to them and even said "no thank you" when offered a "Conference Issue" of the newspaper (wolf in sheep's clothing) that everyone else was taking. Proud of my big boys.

I got to visit my good friend Tifani who lives in Spanish Fork on Sunday. Tifani and I were friends in High school, roommates in college, and married roommates on the same day. We've kept in touch but hadn't seen each other in a long time. Jeff and her now have 4 kids. Aiden 10, Bryson 8, Caleb 5, and Dani 3 (ABCD haha). I LOVE their family and our kids get along so great!

My garden

Whew, sorry for the last post. I was just having a moment. Now I have vented and I'm good again.
Time for a happy, upbeat post don't you think?
This post is dedicated to my garden. Bushels of tomatoes, dozens of ears of corn, carrots, potatoes, squash coming out our ears, more pumpkins that we know what to do with.....my garden has made me very happy this year.

Early spring garden

The cows. Oreo, Jefe, Bessy, Crazy Cora, and Lucky Star. They were eying the garden all year. My biggest fear was that they would find there way into it.

Growing like a weed (both the garden and Weston).

A view of our house and garden from Jason's dad's house.

Some of our pumpkins grew through the fence into the cow pasture. The cows left them alone for a long time and we thought they were good until a few weeks ago when they suddenly discovered they were yummy. I saved most of the pumpkins but the vines disappeared faster than you can say "Moo".

First day of school for Wyatt and Owen. Jake and Weston did not want to be in the shot.

First day of school for Millie (kindergarten started a week later). Jake once again did not want his picture taken.

 So, thank you garden. It's been another great year. I now have quarts and quarts of spaghetti sauce, bags of freezer corn, and lots more yummy stuff we are still enjoying fresh.