sweet & sugary, colorful & creamy

The week of July 4th, we attended 4 different family dinners. I wanted some ideas of food to take, because I wanted to take something different to each party. I figured it was a great time to try a new monthly recipe for my 2012 goals, too. I looked on pinterest, and found some great ideas. I decided to try a few of them, and I used the same concept but changed the recipes.

The first dinner was at Cockrell Campground on July 2nd. The Jack Tolman family was having a reunion and invited us to join them for the evening. The main course was desert pies, and I brought a tapioca fruit salad to share (it's tapioca pudding mixed with orange juice, strawberries, bananas, mandarin oranges, and pineapple). It was a fun evening for the kids, very relaxing for the adults, and we all ate great food!

The second dinner was at Dennis & Janoa's house for the 4th of July. Some of the Jack Tolman family came, as well as the Cummings family and some of Josh's family. The main course was roasted hot dogs, and I brought cream cheese strawberries as a side dish. We ate home made ice cream for dessert afterwards, and for the first time in my life, I made homemade ice cream to bring, too. My parents had given me an old ice cream maker years ago that I'd never used until this summer! (the black/wooden one in the front of this photo)

I'd seen a photo of the strawberries on Pinterest, but  never clicked on it to get a recipe. I found a fruit dip made from cream cheese in my recipe box, and I decided to use that as the dip for the strawberries. And I discovered some blue sprinklers in my cupboard to dip them in to create the patriotic color blend. Although they weren't as pretty as the Pinterest photo, they were still really yummy!

The third dinner was July 6th in Edward & Kathy's yard. All of Josh's siblings were there, as well as several members of the Harris family. The main course again was roasted hot dogs. I wanted to bring finger foods that would be easy to eat without using utensils for the kids, and I decided to bring 3 different ones. The first was deviled eggs. I'd had a craving for them, and I really wanted some! The second item was a different version of the cream cheese strawberries. I cut out the green tips, put the same cream cheese dip inside a plastic baggy, cut a corner tip from the bag, and squeezed the dip inside the strawberries. Again, I saw a photo on Pinterest, but never got a recipe, so I just used it as the main idea. I needed a container to hold the strawberries upright, and I thought of an egg carton to place them in. Voila! Everybody loved them, and the container didn't need to be washed afterwards!

The third item was dip-filled cucumbers. Again, I saw the photo on Pinterest, but totally created a different recipe than the one that was listed. I peeled part of the cucumbers off, cut them into slices, scooped out the seedy pulp, and added a small dollop of ranch bacon dip into each one (I also found the recipe for that dip in my recipe box). They were so good! And easier to serve and eat than sliced cucumbers and a bowl of dip! They were a big hit of the dinner! I'm definitely going to make these again and again!

The fourth family meal that week was a lunch in Edward & Kathy's yard on July 7th, with just Josh's siblings and parents. We ate a variety of sandwiches and salads. I brought a big broccoli salad (with broccoli, tomatoes, purple onion, cheese, & italian dressing) and the tapioca fruit salad again.

I think I gained 5 pounds in just that week alone. There was SO much good food, and a lot of sitting around talking with family! But it was worth it; I enjoyed every minute and bite of it!

...in the treetops, when the wind blows...

The day after we got home from our vacation to the Pocatello region, there was a windstorm that blew through our valley. It was a sudden burst that occurred in the weather, and it blew horrendously  for about a half hour. When the storm was nearly over, my mother-in-law Kathy called and said "Did you call Josh to tell him about the two trees that fell in your yard?" I had no idea! Since the wind was so strong, we were inside. And since it was so loud, I couldn't hear anything else going on outside! So I walked out to see the damage. We have several mature trees in the yard, and the one that is on the northern-most tip of our yard had two major branches break off and fall in the ditch, on our driveway, in our yard, and in Kathy's yard. One of the branches was also laying on the power line. Kathy called Ed & Josh to come home from work to take care of it BEFORE it either: 1. cut the power line or 2. backed up the ditch and produced flooding in the yard. I grabbed my camera before they got home and surveyed the damage with photos.

As seen from Kathy's yard:
(from her view it really did look like entire trees had fallen!)

As seen from the bridge over the ditch

(You can see how it's laying on the power line):

As seen from our driveway

(It bent the fence panel):

As seen from the terrace above the driveway

(It completely blocked the driveway access):

As seen from the burn pile next to the terrace

(you can see the scars on the tree from where the two major branches had ripped off):

As soon as Ed & Josh got home, we all got right to work. The men used chainsaws to cut the main branches, and Malachi and our sons hauled the smaller branches to the burn pile and cut-up bigger branches to the stack of split wood.

(a view from our driveway of Josh using a chainsaw to cut up branches in Kathy's yard)

A fellow employee of Ed's also came home with him and noticed that the main branches that had fallen had rot-spots inside of them, and he pointed out that the branch that arches over our driveway also had some rot in it. Ed & his friend decided that branch needed to be cut, too, or it would inevitably break off the tree eventually as well.

(the arch branch as seen from the south side of the tree)

I was so sad that they were going to cut that branch. I loved how it naturally curved over the driveway entrance! I pleaded with them to please just cut where the growth was, and to leave the arch remaining. Thankfully, they obliged. When the branches from our driveway were cleared, Ed got his backhoe and hoisted up his friend in it with a chainsaw, and he cut off the part of the branch where the weight was putting pressure on the rotting arch.

(as seen from the north side of the tree)

(Notice the arch still remaining after the leafy branches had been removed from it)

Cleaning up was a lot of work, but with so many people helping we cut up the logs, raked up the twigs, and hauled off the entire mess in just 2 hours!

(Hauling off the branches that had fallen on the ditch, yards, and driveway)

(the young workers throwing the branches in our burn pile next to the terrace by our driveway)

After the major branches had been cut into stumps, and before they were hauled off to the wood-splitting pile, I looked at one of the logs. I decided to see how old the tree was, so I counted the rings in it. There were 77!!! Since the branch that broke off was at least 12 feet above ground, the base of the trunk is even wider, which means the tree is at around 100 years old! Amazing to think about!

We need to have the tree professionally trimmed now because all of the inside branches that never saw the sun are now visible and are very dead and noticeable on the tree! And this fall, we are going to have a ginormous bonfire with all the fallen & removed branches!

different strokes

Stroke of Luck:
On June 24, we went on our first family trip this summer to Pocatello. We stayed for one night at a nice hotel that I got a great deal online for. We had outlined several outdoor activities, so I was so happy when the weather was beautiful for our stay. It wasn't until the next week that wildfires broke out in the Pocatello area, and I was glad that we went before that happened.

Stroking Fur:
I took the 3 younger boys that afternoon to the Ross Park complex. First we went to the zoo--it was the first time we'd ever been there. It was such a hot day, so the bigger animals were all sleeping or hiding. Ross Park Zoo only has animals that are native to the Rocky Mountain region, so we've seen most of the animals before. Unfortunately, since the petting zoo was closed at that time, we were only able to pet the little goats through the fence, and not go inside it to pet the other petting zoo animals. Our favorite animal was probably the baby and mama elk. We also liked watching the buffalo, coyotes, ducks, bighorn sheep, and peacock.

Swimming Strokes:
After we were done walking around the zoo, we walked across the street to the Aquatic Center. Swimming there was one of my favorite activities this summer. There's different outdoor pools with different activities for different age levels. There were lots of lifeguards on duty, and we had such an awesome time there! Kanyon loved the kiddy pool; he truly had a blast. He played in there almost the entire time (until some kid pooped in there and they had to clear out the last half hour we were there). At first I just sat and watched him, but then I realized that there were 3 vigilant lifeguards for that area, and I could see the kiddy section from the other areas of the complex, so I went swimming/playing with the twins and watched him from afar.

Jonah and Micah liked the lazy river, complete with a current and lots of tubes. They rode around and around on it. I joined up with them and had a great time floating! They also liked climbing across the lily pad/rope course in the pool adjacent to the lazy river. I had to swim alongside them when they did that because it was too deep for them if they fell off, and the lifeguard wouldn't let them go across unless I was there because they were too short. After Kanyon's kiddy pool closed, then we all went swimming in the regular pool for a while. I just loved all the different areas! We never got bored!

When we were done swimming, Josh picked us up from the pool, and took us back to the hotel. Then the 4 boys decided to go swimming some more in the hotel's pool, and Josh and I hung around the hot tub.

Strokes in Golf:
While me and the younger boys had been at the Zoo and Aquatic Center, Josh had taken Ammon golfing in American Falls. This is the 3rd summer that Ammon has been competing in golf tournaments in Eastern Idaho. He was scheduled for a golf tournament the next morning, and had never played there before, so Josh took him for a practice round that evening. They had a good time playing, and were surprised at the terrain of the golf course. It is very hilly, and is in the middle of town, so two streets cut through the course, so it was tricky to play. We took Ammon back out there the next morning, and watched him tee off two holes, and then we parked on one of the through-streets and watched him play the second hole from the comfort of our air-conditioned car seats!

Ammon competed in 4 tournaments this summer. He got 5th place for his age at the American Falls tournament. He was a little disappointed that he didn't medal, but he was glad for the new experience of competing at that golf course.

Heat Stroke:
The American Falls Golf Course did not allow spectators during the jr. golf tournament, so we took the rest of the family and our friend Kimi (who is currently living in Pocatello to attend ISU) to the nearby Massacre Rocks State Park. We'd never been there before, and we thought it would be fun to explore. When we woke up that morning, Jonah had bad diarrhea. When we left the hotel, he threw up. When we arrived at the park, he threw up again. We didn't know if it was because of something he ate, or if he had the flu. Nobody else ever got sick, so I still don't know. But he was a real trooper, and didn't let it hold him back from the day's activities. It was a really hot day, the hottest day of summer yet. We went to the visitor's center and got a map of the park, and decided to go for a hike on a nearby trail. There was a lot of sagebrush on the hike, but hardly any trees to provide shade. We were all overheated, burnt out, and physically exhausted by the time we'd completed that trail!

We drove the road around the rest of the park, opting to not get out again on the other trails. We enjoyed sitting and cooling in the air conditioner! Before we left, though, we decided to go out on one of the docks and put our feet in the cooling water of the Snake River. There was a breeze, and walking on the dock was dizzying, but once we sat down and took our shoes off, it felt so good!

With the Stroke of a Pen:
Before heading back to pick up Ammon, drop off Kimi, and drive back to Salmon, we made a stop at Register Rock which is only a few miles from Massacre Rocks. Register Rock was a site on the Oregon Trail where travelers would frequently stop to eat and let the animals rest. There are some large boulders there that the emigrants carved their names and dates in. The main one was fenced all around it so you couldn't touch it, but it was interesting to see dates carved into stone from over 150 years ago. There were other large rocks with carvings in them in the park that the boys climbed all over, too. And this park had lots of trees, so it was nice to be in the shade!

Can you see the priest & indian carvings in this rock done by a 7-year-old on the Oregon Trail?

By the Stroke of Midnight...
...we were home again! (just kidding...it was actually by the stroke of 5:00, but I just wanted to include that famous phrase). It was a short vacation, only about 24 hours long, but we squeezed a lot into that time! We had a {mostly} enjoyable time together! (other than the puking & the extreme heat, of course)

July 2012 on FB

July 3: We just got a phone call at 1am. I thought somebody had died...but no, it was a wrong phone number. I was gonna complain...but the truth is, I'd rather be woken up by a wrong phone number than a call about death.

July 4: Just booked the hotels for our family vacation to Glacier Natl Park in 2 weeks! So excited!!!

July 6: 5th week of summer: golfing with Josh, haircuts for me & Josh, 2 outdoor dinners with extended family, 2 playdates with friends in our backyard, 2 rounds of homemade ice cream, and lots of time spent with cousins! Lovin' summer!!!

July 9: I accidentally broke my husband's toe yesterday...just by bumping it with my foot!

July 13: 6th week of summer (the halfway point...BOO!): our family was in the 4th of July parade on a float promoting our pumpkin patch, we celebrated Josh's parents' 40th wedding anniversary, we participated in a family talent show, we watched our neighbors drive in the annual demolition derby, I drove to Boise and back with Amanda, the boys went to swimming lessons every morning, and I saw "Brave" in the movie theater.

July 17: I admit it: I love casseroles. Our family eats them on a weekly basis!

July 20: 7th week of summer: the boys all passed swimming lessons, our family watched Ice Age 4 in the movie theater, had a cousins playday & another friend playday in the backyard ditch, Josh & I placed at Couples Golf, I sang at a baptism, and we ate 4 packages of popsicles since it was so hot out!!!

July 21: getting everything ready today for our family vacation tomorrow. So excited to go to: Spokane Washington, Whitefish Montana, and Glacier Natl Park! It's gonna be a great week!!!

July 27: Eeek--8 weeks of summer are gone! This week we: saw Ammon play baseball in the stake 24th celebration tournament, rode the world's longest gondola, visited my 95-year-old grandpa in Spokane, played on the Whitefish lake sandy beach, drove the going-to-the-sun road in Glacier, hiked to see lakes and waterfalls, rented a boat and took another boat tour ride on Glacier lakes, drove over 1,000 miles in 3 states, and watched the finale of HGTV's Design Star!

July 30: Ammon was going to leave for a 6-day scount camp today. I was so sad to let him go, because he's just 12 and it's his 1st time away from home alone for so long. But then late last night, we got a phone call saying there's a wild fire, and the scout camp was evacuated so he couldn't go today. But somehow, that just made me sadder for him instead of glad for myself.

chores for four

A week after school got out, we began our summer routine of chores. CLICK HERE to see LAST YEAR's system. A few things were tweaked to last year's chore system, like the addition of Jonah & Micah mowing our lawn, and the allowance pay was increased to $2.00 a week for each of the older boys if they got their chores done without complaining. They've done fairly well so far this summer with waking up and getting their chores done each day early in the morning. The biggest struggle has been with Micah and the garden...

On Fridays, the only chores the boys have to do is clean their room and weed the pumpkin patch or garden (whatever needs it the worst--and we tell them which one it is each week). When they weed the garden, they're each in charge of one row. When they weed the pumpkin patch, they usually have to do two rows. The first few weeks of summer, all that we weeded was the garden because it needed it more. Our garden is on the outskirts of the pumpkin patch. There are 2 rows of corn, which Ammon weeds, and two rows that include potatoes, onions, and carrots and Jonah & Micah each do one of those rows.

After 2 weeks, I noticed that Micah's potatoes only looked 1/2 done. So, I deducted half of his weeding pay that week for only doing half the job. Then I told him his whole pay would be taken away the following week if he didn't do it right. The next week, he again only did 1/2 the potatoes. So, he got his whole allowance taken away. He said he didn't care about the money. So, I told him if he didn't do it right the following week, he would earn no money PLUS have privileges taken away. Then him & I got into a big argument about it. His main complaint was "But mom,  you NEVER have to weed the garden, so WHY do I?". (side note: I do weed the raspberries, the flowers, and the pumpkin patch, but not the vegetable garden). I explained to him several times that dad and I both work 2 jobs each to support the family, and each member of the family has to do his part to help with the household, and weeding the garden is one of the ways the boys help the family. The argument went on and on, and I was so frustrated with him. The next week, he actually weeded his whole row of potatoes, so I paid him in full. Three days later, however, Josh was working in the pumpkin patch, and noticed that half of the potatoes in Micah's row had disappeared. Micah had chosen that week to weed the potatoes using a hoe instead of his hands. Not only did it take away the weeds, but it pulled up and killed half the potatoes, too. Jonah saw what Micah did, and decided to try it too. It killed about 1/4 the potoatoes in Jonah's row as well. This is a photo of the worst section of it (Micah's is the left row, Jonah's is the right):

I was LIVID! I made Micah give me half of his allowance back, and Jonah give me 1/4 of his. I yelled at them for a half hour about the consequences of their actions...that Josh & I work to pay for groceries for the family, and the garden supplies us with food we don't have to pay for, and now they took away some of that grown food from us because of lazyness and not following directions for how it should be done. Argghhhh. Ever since then, though, it's been much better. Micah's turned into a pretty good weeder, and no longer complains about it!

This is also one more change to last year's chore system: now that Kanyon is 5 1/2, he's started learning this summer how to do regular chores. Every other week, I train him on how to do a chore in his assigned room: the laundry room. I've taught him how to sweep, mop, wash windows, and wash surfaces (wall, fridge, door). He earns 50 cents a week to do the dishes (the boys all have a weekly assigned day when they have to help), and to clean the laundry room. He also has gotten better this year about doing his own laundry, and I've been teaching him how to fold his own clothes before putting them away in his drawers. Because he is so small, this is how he loves to unload the clothes from the dryer!:

I firmly believe in raising independent children. Josh believes in raising hard-working children. Although it occasionally requires a lot of effort to teach them to do be independent and hard-working, I feel that it is worth it to promote their self-esteem and create awarenesss of their capabilities. I raise my boys based upon the standards of  this statement from the Family Proclamation: "Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, WORK, and wholesome recreational activities".

Prime Party

Josh is currently serving in our ward's Elders Quorum Presidency. He really enjoys working with the other members of the presidency, and having the opportunity to serve and help others in our ward. Once a year, the Elder's Quorum has a party. Last year, the party was at the EQ President Ryan Hilton's house. The presidency served shrimp as the main course. Josh doesn't like shrimp, but he helped cook and serve it, anyways. And he didn't enjoy doing that, either. It was a lot of work to prepare it, fry & cook it, and then clean up the oil and fryers afterwards. After the party last year, Ryan got called to be in the Bishopric, and a new president was called: Jason Linger. Josh was again asked to serve in the presidency under the leadership of Jason, which he gladly accepted. When the presidency began planning this year's annual party, Josh had one request: NO shrimp! They discussed food items, and decided to have Prime Rib as their main course. I've never had prime rib; whenever we go out to eat, it's what Josh usually orders and I usually order shrimp. I don't like steak and he doesn't like seafood--so we we tend to order what we normally don't eat at home since the other person doesn't like it! I was excited to try prime rib (and for free, too!). Jason ordered the meat from the local grocery store, and they cooked and prepared it. The presidency just had to pick it up and serve it!

Josh volunteered to have the party in our backyard this year, since we were hosting the Tolman Reunion the previous weekend, so the yard would already be in tip-top shape. The date was set for the evening of Friday, June 22.

Every year for the past 8 years, we've hosted an outdoor summer BBQ party. But I decided that I didn't want to do a nice, formal one this summer like we always do. So when I discovered that Josh had volunteered to host the dinner, I was kind of glad. It took all the planning and preparation work off my shoulders, but gave me the opportunity to still have friends and neighbors over for a good time at our place. All we had to do was set up the tables, bring a side dish, and show up! I was lovin' that!

The day of the BBQ, we aligned all the picnic tables in Ed & Kathy's yard, and decided the placement of the food tables. Then we waited for the time when people started showing up. We had over 30 people attend, and it was so delightful being around just adults for the evening!

The Prime Rib was delicious! I like it better than steak, because I love the fatty flavor.

   

The Presidency cut and served the meat, the au jus, the horseradish sauce, and the baked potatoes. You can't see Jason in this picture, but the other members of the presidency are Josh in the back, Jared to his right, and Mark on the far right.

There was also some refreshing salads, and some super delicious desserts that people brought to accompany the main dish. We sat, ate, and talked for about an hour before people began leaving. I sat by good company: the Hobbs' and the Dahle's and I had a fabulous time! It was a nice dinner and a relaxing evening! 

Josh enjoyed the evening, too! Ordering and serving the Prime Rib was so much better than cooking the shrimp, and he actually got to sit and mingle with the guests this year since there was no frying to be done and the clean-up was super easy, too. The Prime Rib was a good choice for a main dish, the location of the party was ideal for me, so we were both pleased. It was a win-win! Having the EQ party in our backyard was the best way to host a summer BBQ party!

Art in the Park

In June, the Salmon Arts Council offered 3 days of "Art in the Park". It was offered from 11-2 each day, and there were multiple art projects ready to make set out on several tables in the pavilion. At noon each day, there was also a free kids' lunch done by the after-school summer lunch program. On the last day, there was also a water "Grand Slam" game in the park for the kids organized by the county extension office & 4-H teens. We went to all 3 days of the Art in the Park, had 3 days of free lunch, and Jonah and Micah played in the water games on the last day. The boys made several art creations each day, including: marshmallow/toothpick structures, sand/glue art, painted pottery, yarn/stick stars, and beaded necklaces/bracelets.

Making marshmallow creations:

 

 (It was their favorite thing to do last year, and it was the first thing they wanted to do again this year.)

Making sand/glue art:

Eating free lunch with our friends the Pace's:

Finishing painting the ceramic pots at home:

Here's my real review of it:

The Pros:
1. It was free (last year we had to pay to do it)
2. It was a nice break from being at home
3. I didn't have to make lunch for the boys
4. I spent one-on-one time with Kanyon making art projects
5. The boys saw/played with several friends
6. They got to create things they never would've done at home

The Cons:

1. It was crowded--there was a lot more people that came this year than last year

2. It was disorganized--there were 2-3 different projects on each table, so there wasn't enough room for more than a couple of kids to work on projects on the table surface

3. It was messy--there was a lot of kids who left their undone projects all over the tables, and not enough personnel to help the kids 

4. It was chaotic--there was a lot going on and not any instructions or directions were given on how to create the different art projects

5. It was too much of the same--instead of putting out a few different projects each day, there was the same numerous projects set out each day, so it was the same activities over and over

I was grateful for the chance to have something different for my boys to do on an average summer day. I especially liked that it was free this year (perhaps that's why there was SO many more kids that came! There was over 100 kids on the last day!). We never stayed the full 3 hours any of the days because it was a lot of noise and disorganization and chaotic mess, and the boys got tired of it after a while (which is why they finished their time-consuming painting project at home).

I am a very organized person, and I work with kids on a daily basis at school, and I could see how a few minor tweaks could make a big difference in the future. The lady who was in charge was newer, and not used to being around kids, and I think this might have been her first year doing it, so I gave her a few tips on how to make it better next year (like only put out a few projects each day so there's something different every day, which would also create more working space on the tables. and to have an example of each project on display so the kids knew what all the yarn/popsicle sticks/glue/paint/glitter/etc was supposed to be used for). But she didn't seem interested in what I told her. Whenever I see a disorganized project, I visualize how it could be better and what I could do to improve it...so I speak my mind occasionally to others on my visualized improvements. I figure it helps people who don't have the same organizational abilities, and shows them how to make the job easier and not so overwhelming. But I don't have a lot of couth, so sometimes I come across as bossy and rude (which I'm sure she thought I was).

Daddy Day

Father's Day was the day after our big Tolman Reunion. After church, we had a barbecue out in the shop and Josh and Edward opened gifts when lunch was over. I like to have the boys each give a gift to Josh, so he received 4 gifts from them. They helped me by picking out which gift they would give him, they picked a card for him and signed it, and they carried the gifts to him.

Gift 1: A sleeping gnome in a hammock

Gift 2: 3 mini-gnomes showing the actions of 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil'.

(We began collecting gnomes for Josh to put in his beautiful yard several years ago. Now for every Father's Day and his birthday, we give him different & unique ones to add to his collection. There are currently 11 gnomes in our backyard.)

Gift 3: The candy-bar gram poster

(It said: "RIESENs why we love our SUGAR DADDY and think our POP ROCKS: Your BUTTERFINGERs take care of OUR PATCH. You're a JOLLY RANCHER that grows our IDAHO SPUDs. You're MR. GOODBAR on the school board. You earn big PAYDAYs for your hard work at the golf course. We think you're SMARTIES as well as a BIG HUNK and there's lots of WAYs that you give us EXTRA SNICKERS! We think you SKOR 100GRAND for being the best dad ever! You bring us MOUNDS of JOY. Even though it's been a ROCKY ROAD and we've doen some real WHOPPERS (you know, those times when you ROL your eyes and say WHATCHAMACALIT), you've stuck with IT and we love you to PIECES. From your SWEETARTS and LIL RUNTS.)

Gift 4: the Barbecue Popcorn Popper

(Last fall when we were camping, I tried popping microwave popcorn over the fire in a pan, but ended up starting it on fire. I thought this was worth adding to our camping supplies when I saw it.)

And my gift to Josh was a hammock swing.

I bought one for myself for Mother's Day, and he loved it so much that I bought him one, too. Now they're both hanging on a tree in the backyard next to each other. We enjoy sitting together in the swings in the evening when it's cooler outside. Sometimes, when I'm not sitting in mine, he puts his feet up in mine and uses the two swings combined to lay in just like a regular hammock.

Happy Father's Day, Josh! I love raising our boys together with you by my side. I'm glad that I chose you as the father of my children. You are a good example for our sons, and the perfect partner for me. I love you!!!