First Time Food Blogger: Green Bean Slushie

Never posted a recipe on here before, but the boys and I felt we were really onto something here, so we took easy-to-follow pictures to aid you in re-creation.

Put a tray of ice and a handful of green beans in your blender.

Add a little sugar and water. Get excited about it.

Blend. According to my help, after that you must also stir.

Look how vibrantly green and refreshing it turns out!

Enjoy! With a straw or two, of course.

Share with everyone of all ages.

. . . And this may be the result if yours turns out like ours did. Where could we possibly have gone wrong?

You want the true story? Or first the printable recipe?

I told the boys one day that one of the grossest things I ever ate was a green bean slushie. It was presented as a treat to me by my host dad in Taiwan. Certainly I ate things with overall grosser flavor and/or appearance (Goat head anyone? A tray of fried guppies sound scrumptious?), but the texture of that slushie, combined with an overall unappealing flavor, just sent the yuckiness sky high. So of course my boys said, "Let's make a green bean slushie!" My excuse was, "We don't have any ice."

So fast forward a couple of days to a sick day. Nobody was that sick, but we couldn't go anywhere, so Josh suggested we make the green bean slushie - and he had made ice just for the occasion. I was going to say no, but they started chanting, "Green bean slushie! Green bean slushie!" And I thought, "Why not? It will be funny to us, at least." They were laughing the whole time. Ah, sick days . . .

And while we were still in quarrantine mode, I finally busted out the sprinklers in the back yard for the kids. Mean mom, it's July! Wait, cut me some slack. It was too cold for most of June, then we went on a little trip, then did Independence Weekend, so the second week of July it was.

Peanut butter and jelly on the trampoline makes every swim party awesome.

They had a really great sprinkler for the first little while. It shoots up lots of water, and also shoots balls in the air. But I didn't whip out the camera until they switched to this little Elmo. Look how lovely it is here right now . . .

Can you tell by his face what Andrew thought about water shooting all over the place?

Finally it appeared that Elmo was tame enough he could get this close.

So we stayed home, but avoided going nuts. We had a good time . . . just follow our recipe for similar results.

Great Things Happen at the Last Minute

Just realized that title could lead one to believe this is a post about being in great need, and then last second intervention occurs. An inspirational post. However, I came to write about the camping trip we took a couple of weeks ago at the last minute . . . If your whole family is tired and you get to spend some time together and then have a great time, is that inspirational? If so, get out your Kleenex. (If not, sorry. Maybe another time.)

One day in mid-June, while I was away conferencing, my sister Cindy called with a proposition. Would we like to go camping at Bear Lake in a couple of days? I can't believe we hemmed and hawed about all of the things we have to do. Fact is, we will never get them done, so glad we chose Bear Lake!

Packing at the last minute was great, we didn't stress about having everything perfect, we just threw stuff in and went. Between my sister and I, we had everything we needed. We stayed at the KOA camp up there, and it turned out to be tons of fun. A playground, minature golf, and a jumping thingy for the kids, and a nice communal-camping end-of-the-world atmosphere for all. We loved it. At the camp the kids played while I chatted with Cindy and made food. Then we ate lots of yummy food. Both evening and morning. Ah, the simple joys of camping . . . why is it so fun and awesome? It is.

Oh, and as luck would have it, Gary got this for Father's Day:

Doesn't look too different set up in Key West (thank you, Henry, for posting this to Amazon). My kids were sooo excited to set this up, I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of it yet. And we've used it twice. The kids were ecstatic to help Gary both times, and even more ecstatic to run around in it. Perfect for our family, we even set up the port a crib in it. Not that Andrew would sleep in it, but we set it up. Sidenote: The cutest thing ever was waking up to see Gary and Andrew snuggling together while they slept. Yea, Father's Day, so glad Gary got this gift.

Noah on the jumping pillow. They were playing hip music from the 00's, and the kids were thoroughly enjoying it.

Tate, Noah, and a little blur of Josh.

Mr. Beckett loved this rocking horse. This kid makes the most hilarious facials ever, love it.

Andrew loves him some rocking horse action, too.

Noah was proud of this feat.

These babies were being so funny eating their watermelon together. Couldn't snap a picture at the right time, though . . .

Andrew can't resist giving everyone "huggies" all the time.

S'mores time! Guess I didn't get an enthused picture, but I was the S'mores assembler, what can I do?

My nephew Braden is almost 8, so he is the oldest and wisest of the kids. He wanted to tell ghost stories around the campfire, but none of us knew any awesome ones. So, I told the lame ones I knew from 4th grade slumber parties, like "The Hook." I tell you what, they might be lame, but telling them freaked me out! I'm not cut out for ghost stories these days. But it was fun talking with Braden, now that he's big and all that.

Sophie and Noah were hilarious, playing together all morning. They ran around, made little piles of leaves and flowers (something to do with playing house), and I could only capture it once they were still.

We spent quite a while at the lake on Saturday. It was insane how high the water is this year, the beach I remember was mostly eaten up. Didn't stop us from having a great time, once we learned to negotiate it.

Noah, Braden, and Josh, braving the cold water. Noah stayed in the water longer than any of the kids, and was sooo proud of himself. When he saw this picture just now he said, "That's me being a great swimmer!"

I helped the kids make sand creations, although it took a lot of effort on our part to haul the water beyond the reeds and to the sand. It was so nice, though, just to sit in the sand and play.

After the lake, we hit a hamburger stand so that I could get my raspberry shake fix.Yum. We were all exhausted, and my skin was totally fried (I felt like an idiot. Sunscreen on the kids, but not me. Hurt for days.), but we'd had a great time. It felt like we'd had a really action packed weekend, even though we weren't there for very long. We had a great time being with Cindy and fam, and Bear Lake was beautiful. Winning combination!

So, BONUS time . . . I took these pictures the week after Bear Lake, so here they are.

Last time Noah had a chance to pick something at the dollar store, he chose this Knight gear. I told him I needed a picture one day while he was wearing it, and he said I should take a picture while he was doing his moves. Behold, the moves.

Party In the USA's Birthday

"So, do you guys know why we celebrate on the fourth of July?"

"Yeah, because it's Party in the USA's birthday!" (That was Josh. He knows a lot.)

I have some adorable pictures of us enjoying the fourth, but for memory's sake I have to state it was kind of a culmination of a fun yet pictureless weekend. Gary and I went on a date Friday night, and the kids stayed up late with the baby-sitter, the next night we watched neighborhood fireworks with friends (holy relaxed laws, batman . . . awesome to watch, though), and on Sunday we got together with Gary's family for a farewell barbeque for two of his brothers. So much fun at all of those things. Yet no sleep for days in a row for the chillins . . . On Monday morn (the fourth), Gary and I woke up and looked at eachother and said, "Do we really want to do this parade thing?" But the kids woke up too, so we threw on some clothes and went. They loved it and I felt patriotic for being there.

Noah and Josh were so excited to get these flags when the parade started. The shaker in Josh's hands is the reason he HAD to go to a parade on the 4th of July. He made it in summer preschool and planned out exactly how he'd shake it when he got to the parade.

Andrew enjoyed the parade from his stroller. He went nuts over the dogs and horses.

Josh loves this picture because it reminds him of when he got squirted by the firemen. Awesome.

Andrew was so excited to get ahold of the flags.

After the parade we went home to eat a yummy breakfast - at around noon. Gary played patriotic music on youtube as he prepared it, so I felt pretty American. (Actually kinda serious. I was singing Proud to Be An American to my kids - with the artist - and I got all choked up. What having kids has done to me, I tell ya.) Then we were all too exhausted to move. I think we slept and went in slow motion all day, until we were invited to eat a slice of patriotic flag cake with friends. That snapped us back in action. Oh, yeah, and there was some drama about nobody can eat cake until they get their hair cut that nearly left Josh at home, but that's not patriotic, so anyway, we dragged ourselves to the fireworks despite our tiredness. Why? We hadn't been in forever, and are used to being with extended family and weren't, um . . . so we went.

Waiting for the fireworks to begin . . . I don't know what Noah was pointing out at the time, but I love it.

The incredible light saber duel.

Gary thinks it's funny that kids all around us had a whole collection of huge glowsticks, and our kids got these. One was free, so we sprung for the other. They were in heaven.

Andrew was feeling a little restrained, so adorable shots were not in the cards.

They may be assaulted by the flash, but I think they're so cute . . .

And the fireworks were awesome! I'm serious when I say I haven't been for years and years. I've seen them from afar, I've seen the new huge ones people do in the neighborhood, but it's nothing like the big show. There's something like laying on a blanket with your four favorite people on a warm summer night seeing incredible colors burst all across the sky that thrills the soul. (Insert contented shimmy.)

The other kids were asleep, so Andrew got to wear Noah's shoes and backpack. He was SO proud and SO adorable. This was also the first day he started saying backpack. Add the hat and the cuteness level was off the charts.

So, to round out the week, we took the family to the racetrack on Saturday. We have a pass for activities that included that, so we figured, why not? We had no expectations, so it was fun for them to be far exceeded. The boys LOVED it, it held their attention for over an hour and a half. When the cars came out for each race we'd each call which one we'd be cheering for. We each won a couple, actually. Josh won often because he refused to choose until someone was actually in the lead. One time the car I chose had a huge lead, and Noah hadn't even chosen one. I said, "Look at my car, it's winning!" He said, "Yeah, but that red one is coming right up." It was not coming right up at all, actually. But then, at the last minute - it won. Wow, Noah.

Oh, and we didn't time dinner so well, so we were happy that they gave out free "metabolic bars" for the boys to eat while watching. Mmmmm.

Just two little boys enjoying their metabolic bars at the races.

So, it turns out to not be easy to capture a photo with a racecar in it. But I got one, have fun finding it. :)

The kids really, really wanted me to take a picture of the "broken car." Didn't get it until it was loaded onto the tow truck, but here it is. For some reason, this whole process was absolutely fascinating. Noah said, "This is not good, not good at all. "

This is how you get a picture of race cars - when they aren't racing.

Andrew thoroughly enjoyed the one and a half metabolic bars he chowed down.

Afterwards we went and ate BBQ - goes well with racing, right? Turns out the metabolic bars may have made the kids a little sick. Oops. Good thing I didn't eat them. :) So, quite the week. Explosives, racecars, BBQ - what's more American? Happy birthday, Party in the USA!

Laser Tag, Pregant Zumba, and Tidbits Galore

Didn't mean for this to get long. I just got out of bed to turn off our crazy possessed sprinklers, and decided to jot a few things. So much for jotting.

I wish I could publish my mental picture of Noah in a laser tag vest. It was nearly as big as him, in my mind I picture flashing lights by each ear that would have been on a larger person's shoulder. Josh had some free passes left over from a birthday party, so we went to play as a family a couple of weeks ago. We had the place to ourselves, which was perfect for Andrew to run around. Something about the fog, lights, and music really tickled his fancy, because he ran around laughing the entire time. Josh was super into it, and looked adorable in his gear as well. After about 2 minutes (can you believe it took me that long?), I realized hitting Noah was a cheap shot, and it became a battle between Gary and me. Very fun. Gary had the best accuracy by far, Josh second, me third. Awesome. Wish I hadn't left my camera at home, it was cuteness overload with the boys. With that and our free Macey's ice cream cones afterwards, it was a dream evening.

I'm starting to feel like my Zumba career is going to be on hold for a while. Okay, well, is. If my belly is ridiculous now (last time I did the class, the shaking looked sooo good :), I shudder to imagine what it will be in 3 weeks when I don't have anything on the schedule during Zumba time. I tried water aerobics for the first time yesterday, and while it was surprisingly difficult, it's amazing how much harder I will work for Enrique and Usher than for the Beach Boys. Love them, of course, but, you know. Also, people I knew went to Zumba, and we laughed together. Yesterday at water when I arrived there were 5 older ladies chatting and not listening to the teacher. I got in the water and did the exercises ALL BY MYSELF for the first 15 minutes. When we grabbed the noodles the other ladies decided to join in. Noodles make the difference . . . None of this is a major life change, I just think it's amusing. The contrast makes me giggle. I will get to know the water people and report back.

Andrew just up and rejected his binkie. A big shocker, being as he was extremely addicted. He cries every time we put him in bed now, and he has nothing keep him relaxed in church, etc., but he suddenly doesn't want it. It may have to do with teething . . . I guess this is a good thing, since he's 20 months. I won't have to fight the battle later. So far with my kids I have had one long-term addict, one young quitter, and one addict that threw it away himself. Variety.

I am working on a math class as part of my teacher certification, and while it's not bad at all, it's just one more thing. I'm getting terrified that I won't be able to earn enough relicensure points by next year when I'm up for renewal. You would not believe the amount of time and money it takes to keep this thing up. Suddenly I'm on a professional development rampage. A couple of weeks ago I went to a training in Salt Lake (civic education - so awesome!), and Gary took off work to be with the kids. I told him that Noah and Andrew really liked feeding ducks and going to the park while Josh was at school. He did both. Not only that, he pushed them on the swings at the park for well over an hour one day. Those little boys had their best days ever . . .

The other day a baby crawled on my floor and the tops of her feet turned black from my carpet. I had vacuumed it less than 24 hours prior and had it professionally cleaned in March. YUCK! I am trying not to worry about the carpet, because no use worrying about things you can do absolutely nothing about, but wow.

I am carrying this baby so high I can't breathe already. Not breathing has always come much later for me, so it's startling. On the upside, I can walk. And wear some large pants from before. I wonder how many times you can do this pregnancy thing before it feels the same. More than 4.

We went out with Dallin and Martha on Friday night and it was fantastic. We ate at Red Iguana (delicious, and I didn't even mind I was the only one not in on the Spanish jokes with the musicians), then walked it off at temple square. Great company, great fun.

All 3 boys are hilarious and active. They are on their bikes and scooters (yea for birthdays!) every chance they can get. Josh is actually riding a 2-wheeler now. Noah is really interested in space, and is determined to work hard in preschool so he can be an astronaut.  Andrew is suddenly trying to say a lot more words, and my favorite is "huggies." Not the diapers, actual chubby-baby hugs where he cuddles right into you. Yeah, it's worth it.

7 Stitches Oughta Do It

Gary observed that if you add up our childrens' ages, it's nearly 10 years altogether. And in nearly a decade of little boy-hood, we'd never dealt with stitches. Pretty good record, so it was pretty much a given it would happen eventually. The poor streak-breaker was my tender-hearted baby Andrew.

My kids were at a friends' house while I was at a no-kids-allowed health assessment (which I did very well on, but failed to earn the rebate because my waist circumference is more than desirable). Right as I was getting in the car to go home she called and asked, "So, did they take your blood pressure yet?" She said it seemed like Andrew would need stitches, and since she seemed so calm I expected it to be borderline. When I arrived at their house everyone was indeed very calm, Andrew was laying on the counter eating Smarties. But when the wound was uncovered, my eyes popped open wide. Um, yep, if you can see the insides of his head, the kid is gonna need stitches.

So, what happened? Apparently Andrew was playing with a toy golf club at the top of the stairs, and somehow fell down the stairs and bashed his head on a bookshelf. My friend heard the fall and ran up to see if he was okay, but he was just lying face-down with his hands over his head. When she picked him up his hands were full of blood . . . uh, oh. I feel so bad she had to deal with our little inevitable emergency, and that the baby-sitting duties were then extended for two hours . . .

We had a little totally-out-of-gas-while-the-baby-is-pulling-the-butterfly-bandages-off-his-dripping-head-wound drama, but once we arrived at the instacare they took care of us well. It was a sad time, as toddlers generally don't love being bound up, held down, and having their face covered, especially when they can feel a stranger sewing their forehead back together, but I got some really sweet snuggles afterward. The nurses that were holding him down (one being a pretty big guy) both remarked several times how strong Andrew is. Yeah, those 30+ pounds aren't just for looks, folks. Poor kid emerged from his bondage soaking wet, and wouldn't even accept a popsicle from the nurse. I was glad he still wanted to hug me, because it was pretty heart breaking to see him all terrified and screaming for me. Gary couldn't even stand the story, and bought him a new Diego coloring book to make him feel better. (It did. He sang "ego" for Gare.)

He was in pretty good spirits before the real fixing up began. The nurse put some numbing gel, gauze, and other stuff on his head right away, and with the hair and all the effect was actually pretty cute.

He ended up with 1 deep stitch and 6 on top. Pretty good gash for a little guy.

Gotta try a couple times to capture the damage. Yeah, he wasn't the most thrilled of kids at that moment.

Josh Was Right About One Thing . . .

I had a plan to announce the gender of my coming son by posting this picture, and getting excited that I get another one. But instead, I have no picture to post for such a cause, because for the first time - it's a girl. Feels weird to even type that. Josh called it two years ago, and his certainty actually made me feel pretty certain, too. Josh is pumped (perhaps even willing to not name her Solarica), Gary says he feels less tired already, Noah didn't care much until he was told he could protect her, Andrew just loves to say, "Baby," and I have mixed emotions.

I am excited! It will be fun to have another girl around here to be girly with. I forget sometimes I am a girl. However, being the oldest of 7 girls has given me enough girl experience to know it's fun. And after all the growing up stuff, someday I'll have someone who likes to talk on the phone and wants me to help when she has babies (I hope). I hope having a girl around will teach my boys more about how girls should be treated. And lucky, lucky little girl to have Gary as a daddy. He's the best at listening and giving hugs that make it all better, take it from this girl.

But . . . I am scared, too. What if she doesn't like me? What if she thinks I'm not cute or cool or whatever? What about finding modest clothes? What about her caring about modest clothes? It goes on and on. I have never once worried about these things with my boys. I guess the possible girl-hurts are just too real. I'll stop because this is a happy time. :)

So, little girlie, we are excited to meet you. You've got four awesome boys that are already set to protect you, and a mommy that is bawling right now because she just wants to be a good mommy. And also a Halloween costume mom bought 3 years ago on clearance. FYI, you'll be a cat.

The Blogging Dilemmazaa

I had a little help coming up with that title, though I'm not sure from which helper it came. It's catchy, though.

I found a piece of notebook paper from last summer covered in notes that were meant to remind me of the things that happened that week. It bothers me a lot that I never got around to writing out the full version, and now I don't know what most of them mean. That was only a year ago.

I just loaded my memory card onto this new computer. I can't believe how much my kids have changed since that card was started, and I wish I could remember the circumstances surrounding all of the pictures. That card is only 8 months old.

I love it when I capture the little things to remember later, like tonight when Gary couldn't find short-sleeved super-hero pajamas for both Josh and Noah, he put them in white t-shirts and brown lounge pants and told them that's what Jedi wear to bed. Noah was very proud to show me his awesome outfit, and my giggle returned just now when I went to put clothes away and saw my little sleeping Jedi.

Or the other night when Gary and I were reminsicing about the old days when all of the primary classes had different names and songs to go with them. I sang all of the songs, but had to admit I didn't know the Blazer one, and asked Gary if he knew. He immediately busted out with, "I'm a Blazer B . . ." with show choir enthusiasm. (Of course made up. He didn't know, either.) I hurt from laughing. You had to be there, but lucky me, I was. (Especially when he called his song "Some cheap Mormon tune.")

But blogging . . .  wow, when in the world? Get to the end of a day, I'm exhausted, the kitchen floor is sticking to my feet, and the clean laundry is becoming dirty from lack of attention. Even if that were ignored, just opening the computer seems like a difficult chore, much less forcing my brain to think of something to write. Ouch. Much better to stare into space until Gary makes me get in my bed. Or wait until a night like tonight when I started making bread way too late, then jot something down with no pictures. Darn it, I want to keep our little family history, but - the bread is ready. And that's the dilemmazaa.

And I Was Like Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh!

Actually, really just one baby, but I planned that for the title if we were having triplets and can't let go. Especially since Josh and Noah walk around the house all the time saying, "When I was 13, I had my first love." So, yes, a new computer (after a 4 month computer-less state) brings a chance to announce a new baby, which is not a surprise if you've seen me lately. My baggy-chic wardrobe is starting to not be enough concealment, although surprisingly, sucking in my abs is. Unless I want to breathe. So, on to the FAQ.

Due date? October 28th, October 22 by the ultrasound. I've been overdue once, though, and I'm not going to toy with my emotions by announcing anything earlier than October 28. So, as of now, 18 weeks along.

Do you know the gender? Josh claims it is a girl named Solarica. He decided this around a year ago. We shall see on both counts. (Maybe the name isn't awesome, but you would love it if you heard Noah pronounce it . . .)

Have you been sick? For about 6 weeks, terribly, more than I ever have been. The wonderful feelings of maternity collided with an episode of a malfunctioning gallbladder, so, yeah. Luckily, both problems gradually got better and better, and now I am blissfully enjoying my not-nauseous, pre-elephant state.

And that's about what I get asked. We are very excited to meet this new one. There is definitely room in our family for another one of these awesome kiddos we're blessed with. We feel a little overwhelmed with all of the things to do before baby's arrival, hope we have the capacity to pay attention to all of them, and all that, but, at the moment I feel no need to wax poetic. It will work out. And be great, even. Hooray for babies, hooray, hooray . . . (another song Josh and Noah sing a lot, somehow less popular than the Bieber one.)

Winter in a Nutshell

There aren't many nutshells around in the winter, but I dug one up today. Here's from the good old family update.

Our computer up and died a few months ago. So, no participation in internet whatnot. (This is Gary's work computer.)

Gary just finished the most brutal (long hours) legislative session so far, and we all survived. This year his area was especially busy because of all of the immigration legislation, so we almost never saw him. So, while the days all melt into single-parenthood wintery mush for me, there are some things that stand out. First of all, I got released from my calling at the end of January . . . yeah, the second time in two years I've been released from a presidency because the president has moved. So, now I will be doing something or other with family history. I'm sure this change of calling will free up millions of hours, sometime in the future. 

Also at the end of January, the kids and I escaped to St. George where I ran a half marathon. I ran with two of my sisters, and since we hadn't done much training for it we ran slow, but I ran the whole way, finished, and had fun. My dad, whose idea it was to enter, beat us by half an hour. My kids had a fun time hanging out with Deanne and Holly during the race (they still like the do mi mi song), and I enjoyed hanging out with them afterward. It was so fantastic to escape the winter blues with a trip down there!

Andrew's 15 month check-up brought two referrals to Primary Children's. The first was to the orthopedist for his bowed legs. The diagnosis . . . "You are one bow-legged dude," the doctor said. Luckily, he doesn't have problems with his feet, hips, or spine, so the problem will self-correct with no further intervention. His limp is still kind of sad, but he'll be okay. We were told the problem is likely a case of a heavy child walking early. Gary chuckled at that. The second visit was to the pediatric ENT for his perma-cold, sleep apnea, and tongue lesions. The tongue will be okay, but his adenoids have got to come out. That will happen Monday, and we are so excited. We figure what we spend on the surgery will be made up in savings on Kleenex. Cute little Andrew might finally feel well . . .

We're all into Jimmer-Mania around here, and though it might all end tonight (please don't!), it's been a ton of fun. Got us through the winter. I was going to send Matthew some Jimmer highlights, complete with a yell, for his birthday, but the computer went nuts. Too much to handle, I guess. You can look up your own, though, I'd recommend a little Jimmersion to cure what ails you.

It's been awesome to have Gary this week, maybe someday we'll get back into a family groove. We went to Preston for my sister's 30th birthday party at Pop N Pins lanes (decor not updated since Napoleon Dynamite). We had tons of fun, and Gary was impressed with my family's abilities to keep score in bowling (there is no electronic there). Gary with his silver spoon never had to use a paper and pencil when bowling . . . :) So, that's the last couple of months in a nutshell. When you see Josh he'll tell you about the badge he got when the policeman told mom to slow down, Gary will tell you about the rejected feral cat bill, Noah will demonstrate his Spiderman skills, Andrew will hopefully be done slobbering, and if you want, I'll dish about my gallbladder. Can't wait!