Seth + Evon

Utah, Part II

2011-09-10T09:06:00.001-07:00

Day three we found ourselves heading to Provo for a BBQ at Seth’s uncle Todd’s house (oops, forgot to take pictures). After the BBQ we took the girls and Seth’s parents to Stadium of Fire. I must say I was a little skeptical: I’m not a big fan of watching fireworks. But the event was amazing. Seth and I became a fan of Brad Paisley who performed (that’s big because I’m not really into country music). The patriotic program was very touching and the fireworks were the best I have ever seen.

We had a nice visit on Sunday evening with Seth’s cousin Beverly and her family who happened to be visiting from New York. It’s always nice to finally meet a FaceBook friend. Of course, I forgot to take pictures, again!

On the Fourth of July morning we went mountain bike riding with Seth’s sister Mary, Scott her fiancé, and his really cute kids. We asked them to take it easy on us because we are beginners and had only done this once before. The scenery was so beautiful the ride was a bit rocky but pretty easy as far as the incline we were riding up. The scary part was the trail. The trail was so narrow only bikes could ride one way so we would have to get off our bikes and hug the mountain to let other bikers through. On the other side of us was a drop that was at least a couple hundred feet down the cliff and lots of loose rocks that made it very hard to keep one’s balance – well my balance that is. I ate it a couple of times luckily landed in some wild rhubarb and shrubs which broke my fall down the cliff. I was shaken, a bit scared and tempted to give up. But I had to show my family and myself that I can do hard (in this case scary) things.

Our next casualty was Rachel she fell off her bike and had no rhubarb to catch her fall. Thankfully she fell only a few feet instead of a couple hundred! Angels were definitely with us this day. At this point Scott was ready to make us all turn back but Rachel, though shaken, insisted on making it to the top. Scott took a few members of our party back down the mountain and I was ready to join them but I knew I needed to make it to the top with Rachel. If she could do it so could I! And we did!

Later in the day Seth’s brother Dave and his family came over for a BBQ and fireworks! It was fun to see them and have the cousins hang out together. At 10:00pm I excused myself and went to bed I was so exhausted from our day.

We did manage to get pictures of Eva at the BBQ!

On to Stadium of Fire!

Our adventurous bike ride!

You can see how narrow the trail is!

View from the very top, see the road that's how far we road up!

BBQ at Grandma & Grandpa’s house.

Utah, Part I

2011-09-08T20:53:00.001-07:00

We had a fabulous time visiting Seth’s parents in Pleasant Grove. We were amazed at the beauty that surrounded us and we were really tempted to pack up and move to UT. But realistically we can’t so we won’t but we were tempted. Utah has so much to do all year: skiing in the winter, hiking, mountain bike riding, tubing, camping and you are surrounded by glorious mountains and fabulous weather (during the summer at least).

We arrived in Utah on a Wednesday evening after a long car drive that included many pit stops due to yours truly. I guess with age the first thing to go is the bladder – I used to be able to hold it for hours! We took the girls for a bike ride on BYU campus and made our way to the Wilkinson Center to visit the bookstore for some BYU clothing for the girls. We also had a great visit with our friend Chanelle, who is at BYU for the summer. We ended our campus visit with some ice cream at the Creamery. It was so fun to be on campus and hear Seth talk about some of his experiences – or should I say escapades – while he was at BYU. We saw so many kids attending EFY that Rachel got excited and wants to attend next year.

On Friday we took the kids to Park City and we did the Alpine Slide and Coaster. The Coaster was so much fun! The girls really wanted to do the zip line, too. Now they will have something to look forward to on our next trip to UT. Seth and I loved the car ride to Park City. It was absolutely beautiful and it was fun to talk about building a cabin someday in the mountains of UT. It’s nice to day-dream once in awhile!

We also went shooting with Grandpa.

End of School Gifts

2011-06-26T17:20:00.001-07:00

I found the cutest idea this year for end of the year teacher gifts. I bought the canister at Michaels and all the candy at Wal-Mart except for the pop rocks.

Sedona

2011-06-26T16:29:00.001-07:00

We started off Summer 2011 by taking the family to Sedona and we had so much fun! We attempted mountain bike riding; the girls and Seth did a great job. I on the other hand had to walk my bike up a few steep inclines but I was ok with that. We lounged by the pool and took the girls to Slide Rock where we discovered how brave Rachel is. She jumped off a 20 foot cliff into the cold water below! Check out the video at the end of our pictures. Can’t wait to go back in the fall for some hiking.

Outside our condo, Seth, Rachel, Alex and our friend Rhiannon

Rachel at Slide Rock

Moooo…

2011-05-23T07:53:00.003-07:00

We bought a bull. Yes, a bull! We plan on fattening him up and sending him to where all fat cows go: the slaughter house, so we can eat steak for the next year or two. He’s been named Goner. Can you guess why?

6th Grade Culture Parade

2011-05-23T07:53:00.001-07:00

At the end of every school year each 6th grader is given a ancient culture to study and report on. Alex wrote report and made a poster on the Greek World and presented it to her class. All the kids made floats representing their subjects and the parents got to come and see all the creative floats.

Thirteen

2011-05-23T07:52:00.001-07:00

Rachel turned 13 on May 11. She had a great day. Her school friends gave her birthday balloons, candy, flowers, and stuff animals. In honor of becoming a teenager we gave her emerald stud earrings, her birthstone. She also got some birthday money and her Facebook privileges restored. I think she felt the love! (As you can see from the pictures, she was a little sugared out!)

Easter Traditions & Family

2011-05-23T07:51:00.001-07:00

This year we held Easter celebrations the day before since Rachel would be spending Easter morning with her mom this year. Friday evening we made Resurrection Cookies. I was so happy the the girls requested we make them again. Instead of doing baskets this year I found huge plastic eggs at Hobby Lobby. I filled the small one with mascara the medium one was filled with candy and a traditional chocolate Easter bunny. The Large egg I filled with a pair of white shorts and 2 pairs of flip-flops. Every year we hide small plastic eggs around the house for the kids to find and one of the eggs holds a special treat. Last year it was $10 for the person who can solve a riddle and find where it’s hiding. This year instead of hiding the small eggs we hid the three eggs I filled and each girl had a riddle they needed to solve in order to find their eggs. The largest of the eggs were hidden in a tree outside and the two smaller ones were hidden inside. The funniest part of watching them hunt for these very large eggs was that they were hard to find, believe it or not!

Then we took the kids out for breakfast and had our Easter dinner that evening. Easter Sunday after church, we went to Seth's sister’s house for a BBQ and Easter egg hunt. I must say I loved celebrating all the fun Easter stuff on Saturday. It was nice to have Easter all weekend long and it made our Easter day less hectic and stressful, allowing us to focus more on the true meaning of why we celebrate Easter.

Like Father Like Daughter

2011-04-20T22:47:00.000-07:00

In March our family was asked to speak in sacrament meeting. Alex was in California visiting her dad so she got lucky. The night before we delivered our talks, Seth and Rachel were putting on the finishing touches and I couldn't resist capturing this Kodak moment!

Alex & Cooking,101

2011-04-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

I wish I had gotten a picture of this. You’ll have to use your imagination on this one. Alex and her friend Chloe were going to make no-bake fudge cookies for their Young Women bake sale. I asked the girls if they knew what to do and if they needed my help. They said they knew what to do and no, they did not need my help. A little later something told me I needed to check in with them. I walked into the kitchen and they had put the sugar, milk and butter in a pot and were getting ready to put the remainder of the ingredients in the pan. I reminded them they needed to boil the first three ingredients for one minute before adding the remaining ingredients. Alex said, “We did. We let it boil for one minute.” I was puzzled because the butter and sugar had not melted down and the pot was not hot. Here’s what they had done: they put the first three ingredients in the pot, turned on the stovetop burner, and set the timer for one minute. When I finally could stop laughing I had to show them what boiling means!

Such A goof Ball

2011-04-18T12:08:00.001-07:00

Alex and Rachel have a very funny side to them. Often one of them will say or do something that will makes us laugh. I was in the office the other day when I heard Rachel running down the stairs, saying in a high pitch voice, “Jeremy’s home!” She ran into the office wearing his suit and tie. How cute is she!

Valentines Day

2011-04-18T11:42:00.001-07:00

This year for our Valentines dinner I made a tostada pizza with some heart shaped individual pizza’s on the side, not too exciting. The real treat was Seth who made a Red Velvet cake using the original Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake recipe from the 1920’s. He did an amazing job and it was so good even with beets, yes beets that’s where the color red comes from. The cake was so moist and I loved the frosting it was made with cream, cream cheese and mascarpone.

Alex’s D.A.R.E. Graduation

2011-04-18T07:54:00.001-07:00

This time last year I was blogging about Rachel’s DARE graduation I can’t believe how fast a year has gone by. I wish I could slow down the clock!

The best part about DARE graduation was watching Alex prepare for this day. About a week before graduation she went to the mall with some friends (and a parent chaperone) to buy a dress with her own money. She sent me a text from the mall to tell me she found a dress but it was strapless and wanted to know if she wore a jacket over it could she buy it. I gave her the ok! I’m happy that so far when it comes to modesty she has no problems with it. I really hope she takes this attitude into her teen years.

The BIG day came and she even wanted me to curl her hair and put a flower clip in her hair. These kinds of requests are so not my daughter I was happy to comply. Doesn't she look so grown up? Can you tell that these girls went shopping together?

Playing Catch Up

2011-04-17T14:59:00.001-07:00

I have not posted anything since November. This blog is our family journal of sorts and well…I’ve failed posting the memories! Please stay tuned for LOTS of posts over the next couple of days!

Giving Thanks

2010-11-27T09:27:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. This year I decided that I did not want to cook dinner; the time I would normally spend in the kitchen cooking I wanted to spend visiting with friends and family. I’m thankful for a husband who suggested we order our Thanksgiving dinner from AJ’s. With a few added sides, appetizers and desserts brought by family and friends we had a feast.
The girls and I started off the morning by running in the first annual Gobble Wobble & Pumpkin Plod. These girls were such good sports about getting up to go running at 7:30 am on a no-school day. The bribe of Mexican hot chocolate helped! We ran in the Pumpkin Plod – 2 mile race. After the race Rachel said, “I’m glad we did this, I feel accomplished,” and so did I. I was reminded that I’m totally out of shape and still feeling it a few days later.

I’m very grateful for my family. We’ve had a trial or two to deal with this year but through those trials we can still find a lot to be thankful for.

I’m thankful that we have family locally that we can share the holidays with.

I’m grateful in a selfish way that the blizzard in Utah kept Seth’s brother and his family home this year for Thanksgiving! Sorry Utah family!!

I’m grateful for friends who have been like family that we can share the holidays with.

I’m grateful that these boys did not burn down my house! (They were building rockets and lighting them at my kitchen table.)

I’m grateful that Alex & Rachel have cousins that live locally and get to see and hang out with.

I’m grateful for this picture, it represents the fabulous day we had and all the love that was shared in our home.

A few other families were missing on this day Dave, Jenn and their kids who will be moving to Utah and all my family in California. You all were missed!

Gilbert Temple Groundbreaking

2010-11-22T19:56:00.001-08:00

It was such a wonderful experience to attend the groundbreaking ceremony.

Elder Costa and his wife. Elder Costa gave the dedicatory prayer.

Alex's Piano Recital

2010-11-22T19:36:00.001-08:00

Christmas Cards & Procrastination

2010-11-22T09:46:00.001-08:00

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is this week, last year at this time I promised myself that I would plan ahead next year and make sure that we got family pictures done. Did I do what I had planned? No! This year went by so fast that my head is still spinning and I really don't want to admit that the holidays have begun. I went back and forth about what to do for cards and pictures this year and then Shutterfly came to my rescue! They have this deal you get 50 free cards if you blog about them. I could use free cards; who can’t? As I looked at the assortment of holiday cards they offer I realized that I could do a collage of photos from throughout the year of our family. I’ve used Shutterfly in the past and was very happy with the quality and process. This is a win-win!. Shutterfly has put me at peace with the idea that I procrastinated getting a traditional family photo done. There’s always next year!

This is one of my favorite layouts:

The Happiest Place on Earth!

2010-11-01T13:02:00.001-07:00

Last February we joined Disneyland in the “Give a day get a day” program and we got free Disneyland tickets for volunteering in our community. So for fall break we were off to California to cash in our free tickets, see some old friends and try out Magic Mountain.

I love Disneyland, but I’m not a Disney fanatic. My house is not decked out in Mickey Mouse stuff. What I love about Disneyland is the exciting energy and to me it really is one of the happiest places on earth.

Our adventure started off with a quick stop at the General Patton Memorial museum in Chiriaci Summit, California. It was really fun looking at the artifacts from this time in history. I left feeling proud to be the daughter of a man who served in WWII.

Our next stop was Anaheim, California — Disneyland!!

After our day at Disneyland we drove to Los Angeles and took the girls to the Simon Weisenthal Museum of Tolerance. In 6th grade Rachel’s class learned about the Holocaust and a Holocaust survivor came to speak to the students and their parents. Alex will get a chance this year to be part of this program at school. At the beginning of the tour we were each given a picture and a name of a Jewish person who lived in Germany at that time and we learned a little bit about them. It was very emotional walking through the 75 minute exhibit at the end of the tour we each found out if our person had died or survived.

We also took the girls to the La Brea Tar Pits and went to visit some friends and family. The next day we took the girls to Magic Mountain and they had a blast! Unfortunately, I was getting over a migraine from the night before so I didn’t get to go on the rides. We had so much fun we forgot to take pictures. Well we do have this one below. Did I mention it was also fright night at Magic Mountain? Very Fun!

These girls are quite the adventurous roller coaster-dare-devils. They went on some really hard-core rides. I was kind of glad I had an excuse of not feeling well to get me out of having to chicken out in front of them. We had a fabulous trip!

Gilbert Temple Site

2010-10-31T15:54:00.001-07:00

Last week after church we took a ride to the site where they have started construction on the Gilbert Temple. On November 13th the ground breaking ceremony will take place. I’m so excited that we get to watch a temple being built in our neighborhood (ok, ten minutes away near my neighborhood). For more information on LDS temples click here and here.

I love this pictures of these two girls.

Sushi Anyone?

2010-10-26T20:21:00.001-07:00

Seth is a BIG sushi connoisseur. He LOVES it! And when I say he loves it I mean he LOVES the hard-core stuff. He will eat Salmon Roe (salmon eggs) wrapped in seaweed and Uni (sea urchin) with a quail egg. Because of him I have learned to tolerate it over the years and I’m starting to enjoy the safe stuff.

Seth decided it was time for Rachel and Alex to experience Sushi so last Saturday night they were introduced to Sushi. And what an experience it was! They embraced it and tried everything. I was impressed. Before we ordered sushi the girls were looking at the dinner menu and asked the nice Japanese waitress if they had orange chicken. (I just about died.) The nice lady said, “This is Japanese restaurant.” I added, “Orange Chicken is Chinese.” It was a pretty funny moment!

Alex & Rachel started with the safe stuff. They tried a Spider Roll — soft shell crab, avocado, and rice.

Next was a Las Vegas Roll. Who wouldn’t like deep fried rice, cream cheese, salmon, and crab?

The last of the safe stuff was the Dragon Roll, which was Rachel’s favorite — avocado and eel.

When Seth and I were dating he took me out for Sushi and ordered quail eggs. He challenged me to try it so of course I took the challenge. I had to impress him with my adventurous side. Seth told the girls this story and commented that I’m too wimpy to try it now. So again, I had to take the challenge just to be an example to the girls. But let me tell you this is not my favorite thing to do. Alex decided to try it with me.

This is Alex slurping at it. She never did shoot it.

And that’s me trying to chug it as fast as I can.

Alex and Rachel both tried the Uni (sea urchin). They liked the taste but not the texture. They also tried the salmon roe (salmon eggs). I don’t think that one was a favorite. But all in all it was a fun, adventurous night!

October 17, 1999

2010-10-21T19:41:00.001-07:00

This was a BIG day for me, this was the day I became a mom. I can’t believe that 11 years have gone by so fast. I feel very privileged that Alex chose me as her mom, she has taught me about unconditional love, patience (still a work in progress), selflessness, and how to lighten up and laugh!

I’m so proud of her and I love her enthusiasm to try new things. She excels at piano, tumbling and horse back riding, and she would love to add more to her plat if I would let her.

Happy Birthday Alex!

For her birthday she wanted to hike to Hole in the Rock have a picnic and then go to the zoo. We had a really fun day, the weather was great and I was really happy because our hike was less than a mile.

Gooooo Firebirds!

2010-09-06T13:11:00.001-07:00

Over the summer Rachel attended Cheer camp with her Willis Cheer squad. The squad spent 3 days at the Arizona Grand Resort learning cheers and on the last day they had a competition with the other squads that attended. Rachel's squad won “Most Improved” and “Best Dance” routine.

Two weeks ago Rachel cheered at her first football game, it was a hot and miserable day but those girls did a great job cheering on the team. I think Rachel might have been wondering to herself, “What the heck did I get myself into”. Poor girl was dying in the heat!

School Started

2010-09-06T12:34:00.001-07:00

I’m so happy that school started and the kids and I are back into a routine. (Yes I know that school started in July and It’s now September!) However, I can’t believe that my little girl is in the 6^th grade finishing up her last year in elementary school. Seems like yesterday she was starting kindergarten. I know Seth has been feeling his share of growing pains with Jeremy in the 11^th grade and Rachel in 7^th grade — first year of Junior High! I guess the teen years are in full force at our house and there’s no turning back!

Lets take a walk down memory lane:

Jeremy Age 9

Rachel Age 5

Alex Age 5

Boy, how time flies…

The Tadpole Whisperer

2010-08-07T23:04:00.001-07:00

Alex is our animal lover. I remember a few years ago a mouse came into our house. As Seth was trying to chase it out the door with a broom, I was sitting on the kitchen table screaming, “Get it out of the house!” Alex was chasing Seth around telling him not to hurt the mouse. Get the picture? She loves all God’s creatures, big and small, even those that are not so cute and cuddly!

Last week after the rains she collected a big bucket of tadpoles and was determined to care for them till they morphed into frogs. She did loads of research on how to care for them and how to feed them and all of that. Alex really wanted to buy a reptile tank with her money at PetSmart. I suggested she try Craigslist and she found a ten gallon tank for $20. She has done such a great job caring for them. She has about 17 tadpoles that have already sprouted legs. She has spent hours watching, feeding and holding them.

Alex has invested about $30 of her own money, $20.00 for the tank and the remainder on rocks and crickets, her cousin gave her some blood worms. I calculated what it would have cost if she had gone to the store and purchased everything herself:

Tadpoles $7.00 for a few

Reptile Tank $69.99

Rocks, crickets and blood worms $18.00

Total of $94.99

Way to go Alex, good job on taking care of God's creatures and spending your money wisely!

PS. I'm so not the animal/creature lover. She must get that from her dad.

Stay-cation

2010-07-10T00:33:00.001-07:00

We decided to stay in town for a mini stay-cation. We took the kids to The Arizona Grand Resort for one night and two days. We had fun playing in the sun at the Oasis water park, relaxing and spending time together.

Even though you can’t tell by the pictures, Jeremy was with us and he brought his friend, Blake, along to keep him company.

The resort’s water park has two eight story water slides, one not-so-scary water slide, a lazy river and wave pool. I’m not a fan of roller coasters or the sensation of falling but I knew it would make Rachel’s day if I went down one of the eight story slides. So after much begging (on her part) and psyching my self up, I did it! I went down the less scary of the two — the one with the tube sticking out of the tower (see picture below). Don’t need to try that again! Seth went down both slides and loved every minute of it. It was fun to hang out at the bottom of the slide to see how big of a splash we would make. He got a few cheers from the crowd. I had a lot of fun hanging out with Alex on the lazy river and she was thrilled that I actually went swimming in the wave pool.

For dinner we took the kids to Rustlers Rooste. Oh look, there’s Jeremy — see, I told you he was with us! We were entertained with a magic show at our table and the girls were left a little baffled by the tricks.

We feasted on rattlesnake, steak, BBQ pork ribs, grilled salmon, potato skins, coleslaw, baked beans, cow pie (ice cream), and free cotton candy. We were stuffed! They also have a fun indoor slide that we played on. This is a really fun place to have dinner.

Fourth of July

2010-07-10T00:13:00.001-07:00

We had fun at Schnepf Farms with our friends the Hyers. We took a picnic dinner and the weather was great!

Yes, We Were Part of The Mayhem Too!

2010-07-09T21:08:00.001-07:00

My friend rented out two theaters for her closest friends to watch a special screening of Eclipse before it debuted at Midnight. I took Rachel, Alex and a couple of their friends, It was so much fun to watch them get so excited and giggle when Jacob came on screen with his shirt off!

I think I enjoyed watching the girls giggle and blush more than I enjoyed the movie. That was well worth $9.50 a ticket to experience!

More Summer Fun

2010-07-09T20:53:00.001-07:00

We took the kids to Tonto Natural Bridge in Payson a couple of weekends ago. It was so nice to escape the heat and explore one of Arizona’s State Parks. We had a picnic lunch, hiked and explored the bridge for three hours. We got soaking wet while climbing very slippery travertine rocks, this was an awesome day and we can’t wait to go back. On our way home we stopped by Dairy Queen for Blizzard’s.

We finally have an updated family picture and of course I forget to take off my sunglasses! Aren’t we a cute family?

Girls Camp

2010-07-09T01:59:00.001-07:00

The moment that Rachel has been waiting for finally arrived, girls camp. We loved hearing about all the wonderful things she did and learned. Some of her favorites from camp were:

1. Singing trees
2. Devotionals/Testimony Meeting
3. The first year hike
4. The food

She had so much fun and feels closer to the other girls. Rachel is really excited that Alex gets to have this awesome experience next year.

Bartlett Lake

2010-06-18T22:14:00.001-07:00

We kicked off the summer by going to Bartlett Lake with Seth’s sister, Kiersten, and her family for Memorial Day weekend. We camped out for two nights and went boating, cliff jumping, fishing and tubing during the day. I’m still not 100% sold on camping but it does help when there’s an RV and a boat involved. Rachel and Jeremy were not with us this weekend, hopefully we can make it back to the lake at some point this summer with them.

Cliff Jumping

Sun Bathing (wish I had gotten a picture of Alex jumping off the cliff)

Seth contemplating jumping

A few catches

Swimming

D-Backs & Date Nights

2010-06-15T14:21:00.001-07:00

I have a friend who has a friend who was selling some of his Diamondbacks season tickets. So we bought four games, two seats each game (really good seats) and Seth is taking each one of us on a D-Backs Daddy date night throughout the summer. Well, I guess when Seth and Jeremy go it will be more like a Boys-Night-Out than a date night.

Rachel and Seth attended the Diamondbacks vs. the Colorado Rockies game. That night the D-backs ended a ten game loosing streak, pulling ahead of the Rockies in a dramatic final inning — seems like the Manwarings are good luck! Rachel had so much fun, she came home so wound up and excited. It was fun to see the excitement they both shared and hear about her near death experience: a foul ball that grazed her shoulder. Sounds like it was good daddy/daughter time! (Darn it, I wish I had them take the camera!)

Five Years Ago This Summer…

2010-06-15T07:43:00.001-07:00

Wow! It’s been five years since I left sunny California and moved to the hot, brown desert of Arizona. Alex and I have been so blessed since our move here. I’ve had the opportunity to own a home, make some great friends, and get my dream job that I had prayed for prior to moving here. Most importantly, I met my wonderful husband. Who knew I would have to leave my family, friends and a 10 minute drive to the beach to meet him? I would have done it a lot sooner! Alex’s life has been blessed with good friends, horseback riding lessons, piano lessons and tumbling! Most important blessing for her was not being the only child anymore. She went from the oldest/only child to the youngest child with an awesome older sister and brother. As I look back on the past five years I would not change a thing!

Our family five years ago

Our family today

Another School Year… Where Does the Time Go?

2010-06-13T08:21:00.001-07:00

I can’t believe how quickly this school year went by! The kids successfully made it to the next level: Jeremy will be entering 11 grade, Rachel 7th and Alex 6th. This is a bittersweet moment for me because this will be my last year teaching Art Masterpiece and helping out in Alex’s class room. I also taught Art Master piece in Rachel's class this year and will miss spending time with her in class next year.

On the last day of school we made our annual trip to Krispy Kreme to cash in on free doughnuts for every A the kids got! I must brag for a moment and congratulate Alex for her straight A’s on her report card. She also gets $100 for her hard work this year. We gave the kids a goal and if they got straight A’s they would get a $100 as their reward. I was comfortable with this goal thinking that It would be impossible to achieve… guess I was wrong! Rachel is now determined to get straight A’s next year. Both girls made the A/B honor roll for first and second semester, Alex received an Excellence award in PE in her grade level and Rachel received a Compassion award in her grade level.

Now let the summer festivities begin!

Jeremy

2010-06-06T10:07:00.001-07:00

They say that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. So, I’ll let the pictures tell the story…

731 Days

2010-05-17T08:04:00.001-07:00

Time fly’s when your having fun. Happy Anniversary Sethy!

Twelve

2010-05-16T14:34:00.003-07:00

Rachel is having a great year. In June she will graduate from sixth grade and enter junior high school. She made the cheer team at Willis, and last week she celebrated her twelfth birthday! Now that she’s twelve she enters the Young Women’s program at church and gets to go to girls camp in June. What an exciting time in her life!

We started with a pre-birthday party Friday night. Rachel invited 12 of her closest friends over (including her sister) for a sleepover. I took the girls to Skate Land, then we came home for pizza and had a scavenger hunt through the neighborhood. Then the entertainment showed up: the cute big brother and his cute friends. I’ve never seen so many giddy and excited girls in my life … can you say boy crazy?! The girls swam, talked, and stayed up late. It was nice to get to know the girls that Rachel hangs out with. These are a great group of girls.

I couldn’t resist making these cupcakes.

We celebrated with Rachel as a family on Wednesday. We went to dinner at Pei Wei and then we took her to the Sephora make up counter where she learned the do’s and don’ts of makeup and how to apply it properly. And yes, despite her dad’s hesitation we bought her some makeup. It’s hard on a dad to see his little girl grow up!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Yeah Rachel!

2010-05-16T14:34:00.001-07:00

Rachel tried out for Willis Jr. High cheer team and after four days of tryouts she made the team. She is so excited and we are very happy for her.

Mothers Day Every Day

2010-05-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday while I was being showered with lovely homemade cards and pampered with meals that were made for me, it felt like any other day. That’s not a bad thing because at that moment I realized that I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who constantly pampers me. He cooks a few times a week, cleans and dose laundry. He’s a keeper!

Thought For The Day…

2010-05-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

This was on Mormon Messages today and has been floating around on Face Book. It’s a great reminder of what our divine purpose is and how the trials in our lives can bring us some of our richest and greatest blessings.

NieNie Dialogues – Stephanie's Blog.

Anything For A Sister

2010-05-02T21:33:00.001-07:00

I’m so not the creative over-achiever type. I leave that to my wonderful friends (you know who you are). But once in awhile I get a craving to want to be just like them. A couple of weeks ago at cooking club I learned how to make and work with fondant I was really shocked at how easy it was to make and decorate with. After cooking club I started to get the itch to make a cake but since Seth is on a diet I felt bad about making one for us so I decided to make one for my sister-in-law. Not just any cake mind you, I wanted to maker her wedding cake! Crazy, huh?

Kiersten was excited when I proposed the idea to her and so was I. I was excited for this adventure. How hard could it be? Cake Boss makes it look so easy! Kiersten wanted the cake to be three tiers. She asked that it be in the same colors that the boys wore in the wedding. She provided flowers for the cake that matched what the girls wore. I baked cakes all week: one carrot, one red velvet and two chocolate, two layers each. After I baked the cakes the fondant anxiety set in. I only had made it once and that was three weeks ago. But I made it and my anxiety disappeared. It came out pretty good (I definitely need to practice). I woke up early Saturday morning, the day of the wedding party, frosted the cakes, rolled out the fondant, and decorated the cakes. I made four tiers but decided to use only three tiers as we originally planned. At this point the anxiety of stacking the cakes was getting to me; I almost chickened out and bought a three tier cake stand. But I was feeling adventurous and decided against it.

I think the cake came out pretty well for my first try at not only baking a wedding cake but making and decorating with fondant for the first time. I give myself a B-. The cake had imperfections but overall I think it turned out!

I’m so grateful for my friend Cyndi who lent me her cake pans and decorating tools.

First and second stage is over. Anxiety is setting in for the stacking of the cakes.

Alex helped decorate with the flowers. She was a BIG help!

I love how the flowers cover up the imperfections.

As long as the brides happy with it…I’m happy!

The happy couple cutting into my cake. It felt a little like Christmas, all that work and it’s over in a snap or in this case a slice!

Would I ever do it again? Ummm, probably not! Well, I have learned in life to never say NEVER!

I had to post the fourth tier, Alex covered this tier in fondant and made the flowers. She has been wanting to learn how to decorate cakes for some time. I think I may need to find her a cake class.

Spoiled Rotten

2010-04-12T22:20:00.001-07:00

Alex has the coolest dad in town! He bought Alex tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert and invited Rachel to join them. Rachel and Alex ditched school last Friday and flew to California for the weekend. This was their first trip alone together and Rachel’s first time flying without a parent! Grandma Linda and Step-Mom Krista gave them the VIP treatment. Ron was stuck at work so it was a true girls weekend. They came home Sunday night and were just beaming as they walked off the plane.

These pictures are not too shabby for cell phone snapshots copied from Face Book.

Did you notice their seats are four rows back from the floor? Did I also mention they are spoiled?

Growing Up

2010-04-12T21:54:00.001-07:00

Rachel had her 6th grade D.A.R.E. graduation last week. Drug Abuse Resistance Training is a police officer instructed series of class room lessons that teaches kids how to resist peer pressure and stay drug-free. Rachel loved this program. At graduation one student from each class was selected to read his or her essay and Rachel’s was one of five that was considered. She was a little relieved that she did not have to speak in front of everyone.

Easter

2010-04-10T11:24:00.001-07:00

We had a nice Easter day with friends and family. It was fun watching our kids, ages 16, 11, and 10, hunting for eggs around the house. At what age do they grow out of this? We didn’t get to make our traditional Easter Resurrection Cookies this year; the time got away from me but we did manage to make some cute Easter Egg Nest Cookies.

Spring Break

2010-04-10T11:12:00.001-07:00

Rachel and I took an impromptu trip to California and met up with Alex, who was visiting her dad in Los Angeles. We visited friends and hung out at the beach and relaxed. My wonderful friends introduced me to Tifa Chocolate. Wow! Have you ever drunk chocolate that was infused with any flavor you could imagine? Well, I did! I had a Chai Tea flavor that was out of this world!

On our way home we stopped in Palm Springs and visited with Alex’s dad at the station. We didn’t get to stay long because they were called to duty. But it was fun to get a tour of the fire station.

Alex’s Piano Recital

2010-04-10T10:43:00.001-07:00

Here’s a sample of Alex playing The Wild Rider by Robert Schumann at her last piano recital.

A Beautiful Story

2010-03-07T12:40:00.001-08:00

If you have ten minutes I suggest grabbing some Kleenex and reading this story about a beautiful birth and a perfect child.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2010-03-07T11:50:00.001-08:00

Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.

I went to Costco about 3 weeks ago and bought a couple potted tomato plants. I thought this would be an easy way to start the garden that we have been talking about for the past few years. I don’t have a green thumb but since they were already potted I thought all I would have to do is water the plants and the tomatoes would grow. Simple enough? No, nothing is ever simple for me. I did what I do best and I forgot that I bought the darn plants and I found them nearly half dead yesterday sitting in the sun. Thankfully I was able to revive them. Most important lesson learned is that you have to REMEMBER that you have a garden to water. I guess I secretly thought that Alex and Seth would be so excited about our tomato garden that they would take care of it for me.

Service

2010-02-27T10:02:00.001-08:00

I signed our family up for the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program. I love going to Disneyland, especially when it’s free. And what a great opportunity for our family to work together and offer service in our community. It’s a win-win for everyone! We volunteered at the Safe Haven cat shelter in Scottsdale. I’m not an animal person but I knew the girls would be in heaven, surrounded by cats and kittens. The Safe Haven Cat Shelter is a house that a bunch of cats occupy; no humans live there. The house is divided in half and the older cats occupy the front of the house and the kittens occupy the back half of the house. Volunteers go everyday to scoop poop, wash the floors, and feed the animals. It takes a lot of work to run the house. Seth tinted the windows, I vacuumed the floors and cleaned out a closet. Rachel and Alex got to groom the cats, hold them and have fun with them. Our volunteer guide mentioned that 60% of the Disney volunteers are no-shows. Can you believe that? Who wouldn’t want to get free Disney tickets and offer some service at the same time!

You’re probably wandering where Jeremy was during our two hour service project. The shelter only needed four volunteers so Jeremy stayed home and offered service for our family. He cleaned the pool and mowed the lawn. After we were all done with our service projects we took the kids to dinner at our new favorite burger joint, Five Guys.

Sixteen – The Sweetest Number

2010-02-22T19:27:00.001-08:00

It’s official, Jeremy is old enough to date and drive. Happy 16th Birthday Jeremy! We had a family party with a cake that I made and my sweet husband decorated to look like a guitar pick. We also made some of Jeremy’s favorite foods for his birthday dinner. This is an important milestone because he will advance in the priesthood and because he is ready to receive his patriarchal blessing. I was very impressed when Jeremy approached his dad to get the ball rolling, he’s already had his interview with the Bishop and received his recommend. Next call is to the Patriarch!

2009 Top Ten List

2010-01-24T15:13:00.001-08:00

At the end of each year we create a list that highlights the memorable moments that stood out for us as a family.

Impromptu Family Trip to Knott's Berry Farm
Wicked
Seth's New Job
Jeremy Got His Drivers Permit
New Hobbies;Guns & Ammo
Girls Trip to California
Seth's New Drums & Bass
No Kids For 5 Straight Days
Someone Turned 40
Survived One Year Together As a Family

Storm Damage

2010-01-22T08:37:00.001-08:00

The media are claiming that this week's storm is one of the strongest ever (top three) sustained by the Phoenix metropolitan area. We didn't get that full force felt by L.A., but we did have record precipitation and winds in excess of 30 mph. Sky Harbor Airport was closed during much of the evening, several highways were closed — I-10, AZ-101, I-17, I-40 — and tornadoes were reported but not yet confirmed.

At home in Chandler, we didn't escape the torrent. Scroll down to see the destruction in our own back yard!

(Actually, a couple forty foot acacias fell into our back yard. Click to see the pictures.)

Lots and Lots of Snow!

2010-01-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

A couple days after Christmas, Evon and I packed Jeremy and Rachel into the car for a road trip to Utah. We got there just in time for a terrific snowfall. Alex flew into SLC the next day from spending Christmas with her dad. We spent the week at my parents’ home in Pleasant Grove and packed the week (a little too) full of fun! Here’s a little montage that shows how a family from the Arizona desert will go crazy when they see the white, powdery stuff.

We ate in the Lion House Pantry and met my fifth cousin, Sandy, then toured the Beehive House. We walked around Temple Square and stopped in the Tabernacle and visited the Church History Museum. They have the actual pistols Joseph and Hyrum defended with in Carthage Jail. We toured the Conference Center where we saw Arnold Friberg’s twelve original Book of Mormon paintings. We played in the snow, built snowmen and snow forts, went sledding, visited friends who use to live in Arizona, visited cousins and aunts and uncles and second cousins. We went tubing in Soldier Hollow and had the best burgers and shakes at Dairy Keen in Heber, UT. We drove to the west desert and plinked targets and snowmen. We went shopping at BYU Bookstore and looked at everything in BYU’s Museum of Art and saw Avatar in IMAX 3D. And somehow we found time to play Risk for hours and hours.
Happy New Year to you and your families. We wish you peace, happiness, good health and success.

Our Early Christmas

2010-01-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas was wonderful this year. We began, as is now becoming tradition, by getting together with our family here in Arizona for Christmas Eve dinner. This year, though, it was held on the 19^th. After a delicious dinner, to which everyone contributed — excellent smokies, Lindsey! — we played our annual white elephant game. We play it so that each item can be stolen three times only and no more. As you can see, everyone is vulnerable.

It was a night of excellent food, good fun, beloved family, and perfect timing … because we planned to celebrate Christmas the next morning — almost a week early! Jealous? Alex was flying to California to be with her father and family. Rachel and Jeremy were spending Christmas day with their mother and family. So we opened presents December 20 in the morning. Know what Santa brought? Three guesses!

We hope that you had a wonderful, Christmas.

Dear Santa

2009-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my four children on demand, visited their doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground and figured out how to attach nine patches onto my son's boy scout uniform with staples and a glue gun.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month two pregnancies ago.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with three kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season.
Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

Mom

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel ALL my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

(Author Unknown)

Merry Christmas from the Manwaring Family

2009-12-14T22:38:00.001-08:00

Bah Humbug!

2009-12-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

Today we kicked off the Christmas season! After we hung the garland over the door and put the last decorations on the tree, we took the kids out to see A Christmas Carol at the Hale Centre Theatre. The kids had never been to a play so this was a new experience for them and Alex was the only one who was familiar with the story. The play was fabulous and they kids really enjoyed it.

Alex’s Orchestra Recital

2009-12-02T22:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight we enjoyed watching Alex perform on violin in the fifth and sixth grade orchestra recital. She played Carol of the Bells, one of my favorite Christmas songs, in a violin duet and did wonderfully.

Alex is very musically talented. She’s been playing piano, fiddle, drums, and bass guitar. After just a little more practice, we should put this one-girl band downtown to earn some cash!

Anything You Can Shoot She Can Shoot Better

2009-11-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

Black Friday, three generations of Manwarings killed a few hours in the desert plinking balloons and bottles of colored water. This was the girls’ first time firing anything more than a pellet gun and they both surprised us with their accuracy and enthusiasm. Alex was a sharp shooter on the .22 caliber Savage 64F, hitting her targets with dazzling consistency at 25 yards and 75 yards. After trying the .22 caliber firearms, Rachel soon realized that she has an affinity for the more powerful weapons like the Hi-Point .45 ACP and the .223 caliber Savage 10FP. Jeremy enjoyed all the firearms, including a 7.65 mm Mauser model 1891, and couldn’t pick a favorite. The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect outing with Grandpa and Uncle Peter.

Click a picture for the gallery with videos

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T23:11:00.000-08:00

In October 1789, President George Washington began his Thanksgiving proclamation thusly:

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

This year we have received more blessings than I could enumerate here. So it was quite special to have so many relatives and friends in our home for Thanksgiving. We should hold dear these precious traditions and heritage.

Dave brought his guitar and we jammed a little before giving up the stage to the cousins. (Manwaring is the new Osmond!)

Click the pictures for more images and video

Proud Mom Moment!

2009-11-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

Alex loves to play the piano and that makes me happy. She has been playing for about three years and is getting better and better. I thought I would showoff her talent:

Alex playing "Love Story" by Taylor Swift

SCC Iron Pour

2009-11-14T22:01:00.000-08:00

I took Evon and Alex to see the SCC Iron Pour. It was interesting to watch as the molten iron was poured into various molds. It had rained briefly in the morning and some of the molds had water in them. As the workers poured the ore into one mold, the water vaporized and sprayed hot droplets of iron all over. Everyone ducked for cover and no one was hurt.

Click on the picture for more

Beat Drums! Beat Drums!

2009-11-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

I really can’t remember finding anything this cool at a garage sale before. We had actually been browsing through craigslist recently, so we knew this was a good deal when we saw it. Sweet Evon insisted we get it once we haggled the price down a bit.

Rachel at the School Talent Night

2009-11-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

Rachel and her friend Madi performed in the school talent show and did really well. There were some really amazing acts that night and some terribly awful ones, but they were all fun to watch!

Tweedledee & Tweedledum

2009-11-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

This is the funniest story ever! I'm sure every family has their very own Tweedledee and Tweedledum; ours happen to be our daughters, Alex and Rachel.

We were on our way to a family party in north Phoenix and were taking two different cars. I was planning on driving alone in Seth's truck and Seth would be driving with Jeremy, Sierra and the girls in Jeremy's new car. As we drove our caravan to the freeway I realized that I had left my purse at home but decided not to go back home because we were running late. As we got closer to the freeway I realized that I forgot to pack the keyboard that I was asked to bring. I tried to talk myself out of going back home for it but I felt I needed to. I flagged down the boys we turned the cars around and went back home.

As I pulled up to the house I saw two cute blond-haired girls in togas standing on our porch. They were Alex and Rachel! I was so surprised to see them because I thought they were in Jeremy's car. I'm a horrible mom! I just started laughing, I laughed so hard I couldn't even breathe and I started crying form the laughter. They ran to truck, "You came back for us!" I was laughing so hard I couldn't even respond to that remark. I hadn't come back for them, I came back for the keyboard!

In the meantime Jeremy pulls up behind me and they have no idea what's going on because they thought the girls were with me the entire time. I tried to explain to them what had happened but I was too hysterical with laughter. Seth thought I was hysterically crying because I had left them behind and it made me broken hearted… not!

Once I calmed down the girls explained to me that Seth had told them to ride with me. Remember I was taking the truck! They got into my car, sat there and watched me drive away! They thought I was joking with them until they realized I wasn't coming back. They decided to try and break into the house with a bobby pin. I think they watch too many spy movies. They didn't call me because they left their cell phones in the house and didn't realize that the back door was left unlocked!

Can you imagine If I hadn't gone back to the house? Alex and Rachel would have been sitting on the front porch for an awfully long time. And once we got to Phoenix would we have turned around immediately to get them? I will never know the alternate ending!

Maybe you had to be there to get the full effect but it was the BEST laugh I have had in a LONG TIME!!! Thank you girls for making my life sooo much fun and thanks for the memory that will haunt you for the rest of your life!

TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!

2009-11-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

When you’re turning 40, why not?!
Happy Birthday Curtis!

Ten

2009-10-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Alex who turned 10! Alex has grown up to be such a sweet, kind girl who is a great example to her friends, brothers and sister. I can't believe that in two years she will be in the Young Women's program at church. I'm so excited to see what kind of young women she becomes but also sad at the same time that she is no longer a little girl!

Happy Birthday Alex we love you and are so grateful that you are a part of our family!

Something To Think About

2009-10-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

I attended Time Out For Women for the first time this year. It was great to spend two days with friends and listen to uplifting speakers, I walked away with so much. Just a couple tidbits I would like to share:

"The future of the world has long been declared. The final outcome between good and evil has been determined......the scary thing is we are still trying to decide which teams jersey we are gong to wear." — quotation attributed to Jeffrey R. Holland

"If you can laugh at it then you can live with it. Humor helps us keep a good perspective." - Brad & Debbie Wilcox

"When we have children who seem to be making the wrong choices we can gain confidence in knowing that our Heavenly Father loves them as we do. Sometimes painful experiences pave the way for us to become who we are meant to be. That's why Heavenly Father can't change things for us." - Emily Watts

The lovely women I spent two days with

By Popular Demand.....

2009-10-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Pancakes!

As promised I'm posting my pumpkin pancake and syrup recipe. You have to make the syrup with the pancakes the syrup is soooo yummy! Rachel at breakfast took a bite her face perked up and said, "Where did you get this syrup!" I love saying, "Oh I made it!" Alex requested pumpkin pancakes everyday for the month of October! The girls also said that I should sell the syrup to IHOP! They are my toughest critics!!!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 tbs. butter melted
3 tbs. canned pumpkin
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. all spice

chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat skillet on medium heat. Combine eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, pumpkin, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Blend ingredients together. Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour the batter onto the skillet. Cook each side 1 to 2 minutes. You can use extra buttermilk to thin out the batter if yo don't like your pancakes so thick. I also add chocolate chips to the batter for pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes. I use the mini's!

I have another recipe that is a little more flavorful and the pancake is very dense. The kids prefer the one I posted. If you want to try the other recipe let me know!

Syrup

3/4 cup butter
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbs. light corn syrup
3 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. vanilla

Bring butter, sugar, buttermilk and corn syrup to a boil in an oversize pan (this is no joke you will need an oversize pot). Turn off heat, add baking soda and vanilla stir until dissolved. Will bubble up. Store extra syrup in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!!

Kitchen Staff

2009-09-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

All those sleepless nights, dirty diapers and spit-up are starting to payoff 10 years later! Having girls who are 10 and 11 is starting to work to my advantage! A few Sundays ago I didn't feel like cooking or even had a clue as to what to make for dinner. I know the kids love breakfast for dinner and that would be a special treat for them. When I announced what we would have for dinner the kids got excited and when I made my second announcement that the girls would be cooking dinner the girls were totally excited!

Alex and Rachel cooked eggs, hash browns with cheese, sausage and pancakes! They did a great job cooking and even kicked me out of the kitchen until it was time to eat. They made so much food we had leftover breakfast for dinner for breakfast the next morning!

I can get use to this kind of treatment, I don't mind passing the buck to a couple of naive girls who are in the midst of learning how to cook! They have fun and I get the night off!

Domestic Divas

2009-09-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

I was feeling a little domestic a few weeks ago and ordered 64 pounds of peaches to can. I was smart and did get my sister-in-law Lindy in on it with me! We spent an evening last week canning our peaches and having fun talking as we snacked on ice cream sandwiches. Word to the wise don't start canning at 7 o'clock at night it's better to start this project early in the morning!

"Hairspray"

2009-09-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Alex and Rachel were invited to a birthday party and the theme was Hairspray. They had so much fun getting ready and dressing up. The party started at 8:00 and was over at midnight and lots of the young women from church were their so that made it even more fun to be at a party with a bunch of teenage girls!

Rachel went as a preppy girl and Alex went as a sporty girl!

I am please to announce that no Bumpits were used or harmed, just lots of hairspray!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-13T12:30:00.001-07:00

Seth, Alex and I went to California for the long weekend and had a nice relaxing time. We visited with friends, hung out, had family come see us and even visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. I think visiting the library was Seth's favorite part of the trip.

Alex, Sami & Jessica

In front of the Ronald Reagan Library

Remember the "Just Say No" campaign?

Stacey & I in front of the Berlin Wall

Seth's with his the best US president in history

Air Force One Tail Number 27000 — We also got to go on board, very cool!

Marine One

¡Mm, Qué Rico!

2009-08-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law, Kiersten, invited me over to learn how to make tamales yesterday. Her friend, Rona, came over to teach us and it was way fun to learn to cook something new. Now I understand why tamales are only made a few times a year: they are a lot of work. As with any kind of hard work you get to reap the rewards, in this case my tummy gets to reap the rewards. The process from start to finish with 4 people helping took 4 hours yielding about 80 tamales.

You would think growing up with the last name Chavez I would know how to make this delightful dish unfortunately this is one dish my family never made! Oh and we also learned how to make homemade corn tortillas…. ¡Mm, qué rico!

WARNING

2009-08-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Can you guess why Jeremy's smiling like this?

?
?
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Because of this…

Thought I'd warn ya … there is another crazy driver on the road!
(hehehe … we love you Jeremy and are proud of you!)

Thought I'd Give It One More Try!

2009-08-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we went camping with Seth's sister, Kiersten, and her kids, her boyfriend, Curtis, and his daughter. This camp-out was a lot more civilized than the last! We had running water, latrines, camping stoves and no rain. The kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousins — and hopefully soon-to-be-cousins — fishing and hanging around the campfire roasting marshmallows. Kiersten and I even attempted making a peach cobbler in a dutch oven. Let's just say that it was a good attempt.

The attempt at the peach cobbler

Fishing

Scenery

Shooting

Playing

Butterfly

2009-07-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

Many of you know of my friend who's daughter was stricken with cancer a few months ago. On July 21, 2009 Taylor returned home to her Father in Heaven. She is now free from pain and has accomplished her mission in this life. Her family held the most beautiful service celebrating her life. The music was touching and the speakers were uplifting. I have a better appreciation and fondness for the beauty of a butterfly. Whenever I see one I will think of sweet Taylor!

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

Girls-Only Weekend!

2009-07-27T11:39:00.001-07:00

I took Alex and Rachel to California a couple of weekends ago. One last hoorah before school starts! We had so much fun hanging out together. We sang to the Wicked soundtrack all the way to California and all the way home. Twelve hours of girls singing — ok, screaming — to Wicked and trying to hit those high notes. It's a good thing no one could hear us! We stayed with our friends, the Batts, and went to the beach, ate good food, splurged on ice cream everyday, went to the Los Angeles Temple. The girls swam everyday and we visited with old friends and family. Rachel even met her future husband, whom she doesn't plan on marrying until she's 21! (Hint: he might be in one of the photos … future eagle scout, missionary and BYU alumnus.)

At Long Last...

2009-07-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

I finally got to see Wicked! My friend Lucinda went with me and I took Alex and Rachel. We had a great time. Wicked was AMAZING!!! I have always loved going to the theater and I'm so thrilled that my girls are excited about the theater now. They want to go back and see Phantom of The Opera and Annie. Alex and Rachel were so cute when we got home they stayed up to watch the Wizard of Oz.

Girls Night

2009-07-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I decided to have a "girls night" with Rachel and Alex. We retreated to my bedroom after dinner with half a dozen chocolate chip cookies and lit some candles. We started our evening off with some "girl talk". We discussed some serious issues and then moved on to the silly light hearted girl talk. We listened to the soundtrack from Wicked while we did each others make-up. We went night swimming and ended the evening with facials. It was fun spending time with them and just hanging out! They had a lot of fun too!

It's Always Nice to Try New Things?

2009-07-12T15:07:00.002-07:00

We struggled with what to do for the 4th of July this year. We decided to take the kids to Tempe Town Lake to watch fireworks. We started the day off with a late breakfast, swam in the pool and went to Mill Ave. for some window shopping and had dinner at PF Changs. We walked over to Tempe Town Lake and it was really hot and not a lot of fun to be out in the heat. Thank goodness dinner was good and the fireworks were great! We can now mark Tempe Town Lake off our list as "Done That"!

June

2009-07-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Where has June gone? It came and went in a flash!! The kids are on summer break having fun hanging out with friends and doing absolutely nothing. We celebrated Seth's 41st birthday. The kids wanted to buy him a watch for his birthday and had a lot of fun picking one out for him. I attempted to make Seth a cake which I think came out pretty good. He requested whip creme frosting with a raspberry mouse filling, made from my home made raspberry jam I might add! A week latter we celebrated Fathers Day. Rachel and I made Seth a big chocolate chip cookie to celebrate his day!

Alex decided to be daring and got her hair cut with long bangs. She looks very cute and grown up. She also went to see her dad in California and meet her new baby brother Ashton.

A Nice Reminder

2009-06-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

This morning I read a blog post of a friend of a friend. Her post was about surrendering and being in the moment with our kids (you can read more here). As I read her post I was reminded of an experience I had when Alex was 2 or 3 years old. I was in a hurry to get Alex to her babysitter and me to work. As I was rushing down the walk way of our condo to get to my car I noticed Alex was not beside me so I stopped and looked back to see her crouched down looking at the ground. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm waiting for the bug to walk by, I don't want to step on it." I was a little annoyed as I grabbed her hand and said, "Mommy is in a hurry you can walk around the bug." Later that day as I was driving in the car that morning's incident replayed in my mind. I was immediately overcome with emotion and realized that I needed to slow down and be in the moment with Alex. Taking 30 seconds to stop and embrace her concern for God's creations would not make me any later than I already was. A lesson was learned that day!

Then life goes on and bombards us with "stuff" that needs to get done our priorities shift and we forget the lessons and experiences that we have had. Thank you friend of a friend for reminding me of the lesson I learned 7 years ago and over time lost sight of!

"What can ...young mother[s] [do]...to reduce the pressure [of raising young children] and enjoy [their families] more?

"Recognizing that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. … I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11)."

M. Russell Ballard, "Daughters of God," Ensign, May 2008, 109

Cousins

2009-06-09T07:07:00.001-07:00

I loved hanging out with my cousins growing up. Unfortunately this only happened once a year at Christmas when my family would visit our extended family in the Bay area. Even though there was 12 months between each visit we would pick up right where we left off like it was yesterday. What I remember most about our visits was all the laughing we did together. I always felt a special bond with my cousins even though I didn't know them very well.

Our kids are fortunate that they have cousins who live close by but they don't get to see each other very often. This weekend schedules were rearranged and we were able to have Lyndsey come stay with us for the weekend. The girls had so much fun together. They had a camp out in the back yard, laughed, went swimming, made breakfast for us (eggs, sausage and chocolate chip pancakes...yum!), went to the movies, played, laughed some more, watched a scary movie got scared and decided to spend the second night in the house. They kept themselves entertained all weekend and created some awsome memories. I love this picture even though it's a little fuzzy!

Alex 9.5, Rachel 11 and Lindsey 11.5

Can you picture these girls at 16, 17, and 18? Oh man, we are in trouble!

40

2009-06-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

1. I survived turning 40 and it wasn't painful! It might have been for Seth, I had to shove him a few times during the night to get him to stop snoring.

2. 40 doesn't feel any different than 39!

3. I don't have any new gray hair. (ok, I wouldn't know I started coloring my hair last year)

4. I have lots of friends on Face Book.

5. I have someone to grow old with.

6. I have kids who can be wonderful.

7. Senior Citizens discount is around the corner. I'm more excited about the discount than the old age--who can't use a discount these days!

8. I have great friends.

9. I have all my teeth. Except for my wisdom teeth.

10. The last day of school was yesterday. Yeah! I get to sleep in for the next few weeks!

11. I have a wonderful husband who made my BIG day very special! Seth made dinner and a birthday cake with lots of candles that would not blow out! Thanks Jeremy...very funny! Word to the wise...never put 40 candles on a cake the frosting will melt off!

Happy Birthday Evon!!!

2009-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Evon, as you predicted last month, you reached the ripe, old age of forty today (though you still look thirty!) Our children and I are only a few of the many people blessed to have you in our life. I feel especially privileged today to be your husband.
I hope that this milestone will not cause you to regret the number of years behind you. Instead, feel grateful to each of those years of joy and pain and experience for shaping you into the gentle, generous, strong, loving woman you are today.

Roughing It!

2009-05-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do something as a family for the long weekend; something inexpensive that would keep us out of the heat. I knew the kids would love it if we went camping. I'm not a camper, but for them I could make the sacrifice for one or two nights! But I was envisioning a campground with picnic tables, maybe some BBQ stands, latrines and running water.

Since it was Memorial Day weekend all the campsites were full so we had the kids say a prayer that we could find a campsite. We drove to the top of Mogollon Rim and found a spot that was an unmanaged site. (Click here for a map of our location.) There are no tables, latrines or running water and it was cold and raining! It's a good thing I bought a port-a-potty at the last minute!

If there's one thing that I hate it's to be wet and cold! Wet and cold we were! I was really bummed at this point — I thought the weekend would be ruined. As we camped in the cold and rain for two days I heard the kids saying stuff like, "This is the best weekend!", "This is so much fun!" I did not hear one complaint from anyone (except for the complaining that was going on in my head!). Their positive attitude started to rub off on me and the weekend was a lot of fun. Seth was having a great time and I was so amazed by Jeremy. He was chopping wood, putting up tents (in the rain) and working hard next to his dad. I was really impressed. The girls had a blast running around in the rain and hiking.

This is the first day and should give you an idea of how cold and wet it was.

Notice how wet Jeremy is? He forgot his jacket so I let him use the extra sweatshirt that I had brought for myself. The kids were hungry so we roasted marshmallow's to hold them over till dinner was done at about nine that night. They said the canned beef stew they had was the best stew they ever tasted! Hunger will do that to you!! Later in the night we watched a scary movie, "The Village" on the laptop.

The next morning. The kids had a snack before breakfast — yes, that's ice cream they are eating! I had to break down and buy a jacket. If I was going to be a happy camper then I needed to be warm!

Did I mention that I learned on the way up to the campsite that we were going to cook on an open fire not a camp stove? I was a little put off by this, especially when I realized that we had brought ONE pot to cook in and no pans! We picked up a cast iron pan on the way through Payson. Thank goodness we had four tree stumps to use as tables to prepare food! I guess this is what they mean by roughing it!

The Second night as we were getting ready for bed we discovered that 3 pillows and 1 sleeping bag were drenched with water. The two girls and I slept on a queen size air mattress with two sleeping bags opened up as blankets, Seth slept in a damp sleeping bag and pillow on the floor and Jeremy slept in a sleeping bag on an air mattress without a pillow. This must have been the coldest night. My mattress deflated and I slept on what felt like a big branch. In the morning I found out it was a flash light! I was so grateful when we woke up Sunday morning and the sun was shining. I gave thanks for the warmth of the sun before I got up.

We had fun! Sunday morning as the sun came out I was able to appreciate the beautiful surroundings we were in. It was absolutely beautiful! We hiked around a lake and played some silly games this weekend. Seth had a contest with the kids to see who had the dirtiest face using wet wipes. I played a game with the kids at night we walked into the woods and turned off our flash lights to see if we would get scared. And yes we did! The girls started screaming!

Seth made a comment this weekend, "When plans go awry that's when memories are created!" I could not agree more. There's nothing quite like taking a sponge bath with wet wipes and squatting behind a tree! I'll never forget it!

On our way home...

As we ate breakfast around our table this morning in our cozy home we realized we are grateful for the little things like soft warm beds, running water, and each other! I was truly blessed to come home to a clean house and all our laundry done … Thanks mom! Do you want to come over and do the camping laundry?

365 Days

2009-05-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

One year ago today we became a family!

5.17.2008

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? I'm getting kinda tired of looking at these wedding pictures. It's time to update our family photo!

Saturday Monring's in the 70's

2009-05-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

In the 1970’s TV shows for kids were so super innocent compared to what our kids watch today in 2009. The shows I watched as a little girl were about kids going on adventures and super heroes. Some of my favorite Saturday morning shows to watch were…

Dr. Shrinker

Electra Woman & Dyna Girl

Wonder Bug

The Land of the Lost

The only controversies over these shows were that boys had long hair and wore really tight jeans. The 70’s standard of long hair was the hair touched over the top of the ears and the back of the shirt collar. Scandalous! The jeans might have been extra tight but at least that kept their boxers from hanging out! A little over a year ago I ordered The Land of the Lost series from Netflix, I wanted Alex to experience a part of my childhood. I was so excited for her to watch this show and I knew she would just love it because she loves to watch movies about dinosaurs. I remember her reaction when I told her that I use to watch The Land of the Lost when I was a little girl:

Alex: “So, then this is going to look real fake, right?”

She laughed all the way through the first episode she could not get over how fake the effects and costumes looked. I was a little crushed--we laughed together. Then she wanted to watch the next episode and then the next and when Rachel came over she wanted Rachel to watch too. Before you knew it they were both hooked on The Land of The Lost. We watched the entire series together all three of us. Seth pretty much refused to watch!

I’m so excited because The Land of Lost was just made into a movie, starring Will Ferrell and will be released in the theaters in June! I have waited over 30 years to find out if Rick Marshall, Will and Holly make it back home! Hmmm, I wonder if J.J. Abrams ever watched the Land of the Lost as a kid?

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

2009-05-11T17:37:00.001-07:00

Today Rachel is eleven. She is tall, beautiful, mature, and very, very helpful. She loves animals and likes to swim or hang out with her sisters. She plays the clarinet and she is a prolific artist — she'll use up a sketchpad in a couple hours. Rachel has started her own blog (click here to visit).

Rachel began her birthday celebrations early Saturday. She went to the Mesa Temple in the morning for a Primary service project. Then she had a cut, style and consultation at Shaggy Chic Salon, where she learned how to use her new flat iron. Next the Hyers all joined us at home for birthday cake. Rachel helped out at a regional singles activity hosted by our stake in the evening and then stayed up very late watching a scary movie with her brother and her dad. Long, fun day!

We love you, Rachel, and hope you have a wonderful year!

Temple Service

2009-05-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Rachel, Alex and Grandma went to the Mesa temple and helped clean the grounds on Saturday morning. They woke up at 6:00 am to be at the temple by 7:00 am. I know this was a sacrifice for two girls who LOVE to sleep in on Saturday mornings. They had a lot of fun serving and a BIG thanks to Grandma for taking them!

Reflection!

2009-05-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to attend Women’s Conference at BYU last week. For the past three years I have attended with my friends, Marici from California and Tina from Virginia. We stayed on campus in the dorm rooms and had a great time talking, eating, sharing and learning. This year they couldn't make it for various reasons, so I decided to attend by myself. The conference theme for this year was “Finding Strength in the Lord.” I came away from this conference uplifted and feeling like I’m doing an ok job. But there is always room for improvement!

In two of the classes I attended I heard the same theme: “Women should reflect the mood of the home and set the proper tone so the spirit can dwell there.” As I contemplated this the saying came to mind, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” I realized if I want happiness, peace, and love in my home the way to accomplish this starts with my attitude, mood and the example I set. If I’m having a PMS kinda day I need to find “Strength in the Lord” to help me change my attitude. Instead of blaming my mood on hormones and expecting everyone to “just deal with it,” I need to humble myself and go to my Heavenly Father and ask Him for help even for the little things like hormones!

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. Ether 12:27

It’s good to be home!

The last days … yikes!

2009-05-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Well it’s almost here. Thirty days from today I’ll be the big 40! These are the last days of my 30’s. As I look back on the past ten years I can’t help but wonder if I made a difference in the world, in somebody’s life, accomplished anything outstanding? Sadly, I don’t know! I do know that I have had some wonderful learning experiences, trials that have become blessings, I have made some wonderful life-long friends, and was given the most precious gift the year I turned 30, my daughter, Alex. I have grown emotionally and spiritually. I did accomplish studying and reading the Book of Mormon from cover to cover. Looking back I sure did a lot of receiving. I pray that I gave as much as I received!

I still have so much to improve on and learn. As the sun sets on my 30’s I’ll walk away with some awesome memories and experiences. I look forward to waking up on June 3rd with the sun shining brightly on a new day and embracing 40! If you haven’t heard… 40 is the new 30!

I need to make the best out of my last 30 days! Any suggestions?

New Blogs!

2009-04-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Our girls have entered the world of blogging!

Rachel has a blog that is about her life and the art she likes to create! Check it out...rachelsworldofthearts.blogspot.com

Alex has a blog that is about her life and all the animals that she loves! Check it out...horsecrush.blogspot.com

Once Upon a Time...

2009-04-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

There was a boy who lived in Palatine, Illinois. He grew up to serve a mission and attended BYU. Two thousand miles away there was a girl who lived in North Hollywood, California. When she grew up she attended design school and did not serve a mission.

Who knew 20 years later their roads would cross in Chandler, AZ. They would meet, fall in love, and well … you'll have to stay tuned for next months post as we celebrate 12 joyous months of marriage!

1986

2009-04-17T22:25:00.001-07:00

Seth at his Eagle Court of Honor - August 3, 1986. Alex just asked which one is Seth, so for those of you who are also wondering...he's the one on the right! Gotta love that Eagle Scout of mine!

What were you doing in 1986?

Easter

2009-04-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening we had friends over and made resurrection cookies. The kids woke up Easter morning to a yummy breakfast and Easter baskets.

We ended the day with having family over for Easter dinner. It was a great day!

Eggcellence

2009-04-08T23:13:00.000-07:00

It's not a menacing world in a far away galaxy. It's one of Jeremy's eggs. Click the picture to see all of them.

To Believe or Not to Believe!

2009-04-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

The girls announced tonight that they no longer believe in the Easter Bunny. I responded with, "Well, if you are too old to believe in the Easter Bunny then I guess you're too old to get Easter baskets." They responded with, "Oh well, we still kinda believe".

We decorated our eggs tonight and as you can see each egg represents the personality of each artist.

Our family just oozes with creativity!

Ice Ice Baby!

2009-03-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

March family fun...Ice Blocking! We invited Seth's brother and his family to join us at Freestone park and the kids had a blast. This was a fun and inexpensive outing. click on the photo to see a close-up.