Winter 2010-2011

Well, here's last winter's photos and video clips. We started the winter off with a ski trip to Red Lodge the day after Thanksgiving. Yes, they already had enough snow. Annisia did very well her first days back on the skis. She started skiing Spring 2010, but only got in probably 6 hours before the end of the season. So we were impressed with her skiing. We did sign her up for a group lesson right off, and she did well. In her words, "It was easy." Succinct. That's my girl.

Then, after our Special Meetings in early December, we geared up for Christmas. I had the kids buy each other something this year so they know it's not just about receiving, but also about giving. They liked the gifts they received from each other. Kayla was home and stayed with us a couple of nights which was fun. The kids enjoy having her here too. Michael bought me skis! They are beautiful. I got myself a helmet last year also. We enjoyed Christmas Day with Michael's family at the ranch.

Then Dawnita, a friend and former roommate of Leilani and I, came from CA, via ID, where she rode with Kristi, a friend she played BB with at Clark College in Vancouver, WA. (Do you think I could fit a few more abbreviations in that sentence? Let's try...), and we all met in Bozeman, MT, for some skiing and R&R for the wk between C'Mas and New Years. ;-) We met up on a Tuesday eve, skied Wednesday, it got super cold Thursday (like 0 at the base and -9 at the top of the mt!) so only the diehards, (ie. Bret, Michael and Kristi) skied, and Dawnita, the kids and I hung out at the hotel and did a little shopping and got Starbucks. Well, I got Starbucks...while I tried to recover from my accident with the snowboarder the day before. Yup. Sure glad I got a helmet last year.

Then we all parted ways Friday, New Year's Eve. We drove home where Leilani had camped out while we were gone, had some chill time,  got the kids to bed, then Michael noticed the generator wasn't kicking on in the mountain home the guys had just built. He did the solar system for the home and was keeping watch on it remotely through the winter. It was blizzarding, about 8:30pm, and he was worried because the family was up there and were using a lot of power. So he sent an email of what they needed to do hoping they'd get it before the power went out. Then he called Bret and they geared up to go up there. Now, this place is off the road, no paving through the winter kind of place. So they were prepared to hike in a mile through fairly deep snow, hauling in tools and supplies. Luckily, the man of the home got the email, they got the generator going, met Michael and Bret at the road, and all was well. But what a way to ring in the new year!! What did Leilani and I do while Michael was gone? Besides me worry because I didn't know any of the good things that were happening?! Well, Leilani said, "Do you want to play Farkle?" and I said, "We don't have it." and she said, "I wonder if there's an app for that?" and there was! So we played Farkle! on the iPod...Whee!

The pics of the kids at Gramma and Papa's are from one Saturday we decided to go sledding out there. Unfortunately, it was getting warm, so the snow was sticky. But the kids tried. Jonathan was funny, standing on the sled and riding it down like a snowboard. Michael brought his snowboard along and gave the kids a ride. Fun winter times!

Apple Oven Pancakes, 2010 posts continued...

Remember what our fruit trees looked like in the summer/fall of 2010? This link will jog your memory... So, What do you do with a bumper crop of apples? You make Apple Oven Pancakes every Sunday morning for a while...
Here's the recipe: 
3 1/2 tbsp melted butter in pan, spread on 4 Tbsp Brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Top with sliced apples (recipe says to peel them, bah!)

Pour batter (4 eggs, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 1/4 tsp salt, take care to not overmix) over apples and bake @ 400 degrees x30-35 min. I use my Pampered Chef pie plate which is slightly bigger than the average pie dish, so I doubled the recipe.

The pancake rises in the oven. When done, immediately loosen sides and flip onto a dish. In a couple minutes, the pancake will lose its puffiness, and just be pure deliciousness!

A slice of Apple Oven Pancake with a lake of lemon juice surrounded by powdered sugar mountains! Yummy!

Serve to happy children!

Camping, September 2010

We finally got the camper up to our favorite place in September (2010). Refinishing the house took priority, but we accomplished enough to call it good. All that's left is the front porch and that'll wait until summer 2011. So off we went.

 Jonathan reading Biscuit to Annisia! He's really liking knowing how to read!

The kids playing on the rocks...a favorite pastime.

Mommy reading in the aspens...a favorite pastime...

Then we climbed a different, more challenging route up our favorite rock. Michael only got a photo of me...you should have seen the kids! They rocked! (sorry, couldn't resist!)

Jonathan considering the grandeur...

We went on a hike and kept climbing rocks. A sweet photo of the kids and I.

Superman and princess chairs by the fire.

Superman and Princess by the fire...

Must catch up...Some Aug/Sept 2010

I cannot believe I am nearly a year behind on this blog.

This is a photo of Jonathan starting Kindergarten, last year...

This is what happens when your kids get Transformers for birthdays...Daddy has to read the instructions that baffle Mommy. Kiddo catches on quickly.

Jonathan carrying the Husqvarna chainsaw to Daddy. He's a good, strong boy!

Annisia was excited about our cucumbers and the one zucchini that grew in our garden! Look at that grin! She's a good helper in the garden.

Gramma and Papa came over for lunch one day and the kids talked her into reading to them. 

Wily rascals!

Michael loves his hammock, and the kids do too. So the one he's had for many years, long before we were married, was getting trashed. I decided that was going to be his birthday gift. So I ordered him this one from Hammocks Rada in Mexico, and we really like it. I was hesitant to order from Mexico; wasn't sure how long it would take to ship here, currency exchange via internet...you know. They are the BEST! Everything is handled on the website, you know exactly how much it costs in US dollars before purchasing, and it was here within days. So quickly, in fact, that I wasn't quick enough to remember to tell Michael not to open any packages from FedEx and he opened it at the office!

Found these sweet footprints climbing up my stainless steel fridge. "Hmmm," I wondered, late one evening on my way past it. "How did one of the kids climb the fridge? I know they are good climbers and all, but that's pushing it." Then Daddy fessed up to helping Annisia walk up the fridge.

One Friday morning, I found this scene in the living room. I wonder what Yogi bear did to deserve being run over?! Poor bear.

One Saturday, we got going cleaning the windows. (shhhh, don't tell anyone I do windows. I really don't. Michael does!) I asked the kids to pick up some toys for me while we were busy. Well, they don't listen so well. Then I grabbed the vacuum cleaner to vacuum while the furniture was moved away from the wall. They still didn't pick up their stuff. So I did. Then I put them to work doing what I could have been doing while they should have been doing their job! Ha! That'll teach them!

Annisia dusted,

while Jonathan vacuumed!

He's pretty good at that! Hmmm...food for thought.

Jonathan's Construction Birthday Party, August 2010

Then came Jonathan's birthday. Daddy gave him a Swiss Army knife at breakfast. Daddy also made french toast, and we put a candle in Jonathan's stack. He thought that was a gas!

We had a construction party! What a fun time! I sent out invitations that were written on paint color chips. You know, those cards in the hardware store that show paint colors? Each box had a sentence..."Jonathan is "fixin" to turn 6! Construction site: our address. Shift: 2-4pm, and the date. RSVP to site boss, Darla, and our phone. Dress for mess!" When each of the 8 kids arrived, they were given a tool belt filled with a paint stir stick, a carpenter's pencil, a tape measure/level, a foam paintbrush, and a painters disposable hat, all of which was theirs to take home. Michael had made a house out of a refrigerator box, complete with windows and a door (with a milk jug handle doorknob!) Half of the kids started painting on the house, and the other half demolished a tower of boxes using a wrecking ball. After that got old, they had a wheelbarrow race. Then the teams switched places so everyone got a chance to use their paintbrushes to paint. Thankfully, some of the moms stayed, or this mom would have been a wreck!

The cake I made was sort of the one shown in the magazine for this party. I decided to use chocolate zucchini cake instead of a pound cake. I DID go to the store hoping to find 4 mini chocolate-covered doughnuts, 4 Twix, and 2 Twinkies. Note to self: don't leave things like this until crunch time. I bought a bag of about 24 mini chocolate-covered doughnuts, a huge bag of Twix, and a box of 12 Twinkies. ugh. Had I thought a little longer, I would have gone to a convenience store, right? Right. Then I wouldn't have had to eat the rest of the doughnuts and Twinkies. Jonathan saw the picture of the cake I was going to bake and said, "That's not an excavator, it's a backhoe loader." He wanted tracks, so we rigged up some Twizzler twists around the doughnuts. The cake was a hit.

Now, if you think that I think up all these things by myself, well, you have another think coming! This came straight from a Family Fun magazine, circa April 2008. (I saw it then, was fully aware of the little boy I was raising, and thought to myself, "Self, you ought to pull this one out and keep it. You're going to want it one of these years.") I am glad I kept it. I went into our local lumber yard to see if they had free nail pouches, paint sticks, brushes, anything I could get free or cheap as I was making a dozen. I had the pages I had torn out of the magazine with me. The lady helping me saw in the list of things to pack in the tool belt "Small measuring tape, $1, Home Depot" and promptly sat to her computer and ordered me a dozen for $1 each! She did everything she could to give me discounts or freebies. We live in a cool town.

Kids' Shared Birthday Party, early August 2010

Well, because Michael and I skipped town on Annisia's birthday, she didn't get a pary with friends. So, we planned a party for both kids to share with their little friends from our fellowship meeting. Annisia got to choose the cake. She chose an ice cream cake! Yippee! No baking! It was so fun to do. I bought a gallon of fudge swirl ice cream ( I NEVER buy a gallon of ice cream, well, only at Christmas time when I get one of those collector tins from Schwan's, but usually never...), I made hot fudge sauce. I used my cheesecake pan, put an oreo crust down, covered it with ice cream, a layer of hot fudge, more ice cream. Then I put blue food coloring into whipped cream and spread it over the top. Once frozen, I pulled off the springform pan and surrounded the cake with Twix and pretzels. I got a Dora and baby twins toy for Annisia and a little Annikan from Star Wars for Jonathan, then borrowed the golf balls from a little golf set the kids had. The dolls went into gummy rings and the balls were beach balls...voila! A pool party!

I decorated a table for the party too. I got the idea from the May 2009 Parents magazine then tweaked it a little with my imagination and what I had available.  I painted a tree and hills. The tree was a big green apple tree, with bowls of green things; green pepper strips, broccoli, Granny Smith apples, green grapes and cucumbers. The tree trunk was covered with pretzels and topped with peanut butter. Beside that was a hot air balloon filled with more grapes. There was a sun...a red bowl filled with goldfish crackers inside a yellow bowl filled with tortillla chips, surrounded by rainbow fruit rollups. There were some flowers with salsa, carrots, ranch dressing, and a couple of caterpillars; snack cups filled with raisins and an animal cracker. It's a good thing mommies came. The kids could have cared less! Simply put, the cake was the cake!

Annisia's Birthday, July 2010

We gathered at Pizza Hut to celebrate Annisia's birthday. We had the buffet, then I brought out the ice cream sandwiches. We lit a candle in hers and started singing, 8 adults and Jonathan. A table of high school girls who were enjoying lunch after a tough volleyball practice joined in! What a sweet surprise and great addition to our feeble song! The middle photo here is Annisia blushing at all the attention! Makes me laugh every time I look at it...

A Trip up to Hellroaring Plateau, July 2010

The next morning, we hobbled out of bed and decided to go on a hike. Hellroaring Plateau was our destination. But first, we had to drive up a CRAZY steep, bumpy single lane road. The seven mile road took us ONE HOUR. If you met someone coming the other direction, one of you backed up until the road got wide enough for you to pass. In the pics below, it's the foremost road.

 And that's Hellroaring Plateau on the upper right.

We started hiking around. Very cool country there. We started noticing these troughs scattered around the area and figured they were dugouts for miners. We passed a mining entrance on the way up. Silver? Gold? Don't know, but these dugouts were cool.

Some were small, possibly the sleeping areas. A couple were larger, likely a cooking area and a gathering area. Here's Michael standing in the largest one.

The area was very pretty. We found pretty trails, rocks, canyons...likely named Hellroaring for the sound of the wind through the canyon.

The collage shows some of the wildflowers we enjoyed, a photo of the mine entrance, and a beautiful gorge, and me, posing...cheese!

Then we had to go back down...