{Typical Day}

I took a few pics of the kids today, and this funny video of Ethan making Kade laugh. He is ppitting a piece of cheese onto Kade's tray and it is making Kade giggle over and over. Gross yet funny!

Here is Ethan showing his latest and greatest idea. He came up to me and said "My got an idea Mom. Why don't you move the house (playhouse) over by the trampoline and I will jump of the roof and look like a ninja turtle. It's the greatest plan ever!" All his ideas are the greatest ever according to him. So here is the pre-broken leg picture. He didn't break it this time but I am sure some injury is bound to happen because he bounces so high. Daddy thinks it's okay though, against my better judgment.

I went to share a yummy recipe I made this week. It's from the Favorites cookbook my friend Candace introduced me to, I get lots of good recipes from it and you can get it here: http://www.makeawishutah.org/giving/cookbooks.html

This is one of my favorites, it's so yummy.

BBQ Chicken Chop Salad
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts1 cup barbeque sauce
Marinate chicken in barbeque sauce, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Chop into pieces and refrigerate.

½ head iceberg lettuce, chopped½ head Romaine lettuce, chopped 3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, ½ cup cilantro, chopped1 (15-once) can black beans, rinsed and drained1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed, ½ pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated, avacado, diced.

Combine chicken in a large salad bowl with salad ingredients and toss. Serve with ranch dressing, additional barbeque sauce and crispy corn tortilla chips. Be sure and use good ranch with this (made from Hidden Valley mix) and not just bottled. There's a big difference in taste.

Here's a pic before dresing is added.... Enjoy!

{The Many Faces of Ethan}

*Warning - this post contains a million pictures of Ethan*

If you have been around Ethan than you know what a ham he can be, he loves to make people laugh. Here he is being silly while my sister Brittany takes pictures of him, he's trying to make a different expression for each picture.

The nice beginning picture:

And not they get scary!

That's all for now - hope you enjoyes the show!

{Recipes}

Well as some of you know I have been taking some cooking classes taught by the husband of one of my high school friends. His name is Chef Brandon and he is SO, SO good at what he does. I have taken two classes, my last one is tommorrow night. I have learned lots, and it's making me a little more daring in my cooking. I won't post any of his recipes, since he asked that we didn't (he will be doing a cookbook in the future).

But I will post a recipe somewhat like one he made for us, with some adaptations that are super delish. I found this on a different blog and I it last night (Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Butter Sugar Croutons). I am not a big squasher but this my friends is good stuff.

Enjoy!

{Week in Review}

Well folks, the Christmas tree has just been up a little while and already the bottom looks all freaky. I am having some guilty feelings when I look at it also, none of the crafty little things my kids make are displayed on it. We helped my parents put up their tree last Sunday and my mom has always had a tree with a million mismatched handmade ornaments. Very sentimental and fun to put up and remember back when. Cody especially loves it, and I agree it is not pretty but it is more sentimental and Christmasy. My tree is all fancy-smancy and not too kid-friendly. I am not the sweet, patient mom that allows her children to hang ornaments as they wished...crooked, 3 together, upside down...no I let them hang one or two through gritted teeth then send them away while I finish. Not good! I need to work on that.

A few days ago I was putting make-up on in the bathroom and Ethan came in saying "Sorry Mom." Okay Ethan, what did you do? "I broke a ball". So he leads me to the tile in the doorway by our front door, and an ornament is broken. "I was just checking to see if it was glass, sorry Mom. It is glass." He says. "Yes Ethan, they are all glass, no more checking!!" I told him. What a stinker.

On Friday Ethan and I went to have lunch with Rhett at his school. He was so, so excited and proud to have us there, he kept giving me hugs and telling me he loved me. It was making me and his teacher all teary eyed. I keep thinking I need to appreciate all these little moments because when he is older it won't be so cool to have mom sitting by him at lunch. During lunch I noticed Ethan all hunched over eating chips. Did I pack chips in his lunch? No! I realized he had snuck them from the girl sitting next to him. Little turkey! When we got home I asked him where he got the chips. "Well Mom, I waited until the girl looked the other way and then I grabbed some chips from her bag!" He proudly told me. He is a little sneak for sure, we have to keep all our food locked up out of his reach.

Friday night all three kids went for a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Flakes!! They were so excited, but not as excited as Cody and I! Cody and I went to a surprise birthday party in Mesa with a super funny White Elephant Party. Then Saturday we went to a movie (Dan in Real Life), went to lunch, and then shopped for Christmas presents. What a fun and relaxing day! It was fun to be back with the kids tonight, even though it was just a day we missed them lots (just not Kade's scream). Well that's the latest in our little house, hope everyone is doing well.

{Naughty and Nice}

This is Kade this morning taking things off our Christmas tree and then running (babystyle) away.

A little bit later I was vacuuming upstairs and he got the toy vacuum out of the boys room all by himself and was copying me. So cute!!

{So Very Thankful!}

Before I start this post I want to say that I have been very "naughty" as my boys would say and I only took 2 pictures the whole time we were in Utah! Not good! I noticed April took a bunch so maybe I can get some from her and I'll post them later.

We started out our trip early at 2:15am on Tuesday morning. I will note that Cody's insistence on us leaving at that crazy time resulted in a big fight Monday night, with him going to bed and me staying up angry, too mad to sleep even though I knew I would be woken up in a matter of hours. The kids did sleep for a big chunk of the trip, but Cody and I did not so we were a bit groggy for the next few days. I don't sleep well in cars, planes, on couches, well anywhere but my bed I guess. And even then I have to count sheep most nights before I go to sleep. But enough about my fascinating sleeping habits.

Tuesday we drove up to Utah, making one glorious stop at CAFE RIO. My most absolute favorite place to eat, you must have the pork salad. And yes, I have tried the one and Costa Vida, and NO it is not even close to being as good. Then we arrived in Salt Lake at Cody's brother Kael and his wife Monica's home. The kids loved playing with their cousins and especially liked playing in their backyard with all the leaves. So beautiful!! Then we went to Kael's first basketball game of the season (which they won).

The next day we got back in the van, and drove to Ogden where my sister Melissa and her hubby Sam live while Sam goes to Weber. We had so much fun having lunch with them, after which Melissa gave the boys gifts. You should have seen their excitement when they discovered what they were.....Tooting Machines (as they called them!). Push a button, and hear a toot, what more could a little boy ask for. Rhett was laughing so hard he was crying. Don't worry Melissa when you have kids I'll buy your kids lots of fun things like that. Lots. We then went to the Nicklecade, where all arcade games are 5 cents, how cool is that?

Then we got back in the van, and headed up to Logan to stay 3 days with Cody's sister Lesli and her husband Danielson. Okay, it's Danny but I always want to call him that in a stern voice (Karate Kid). Yada, Yada, Yada, we had a fun and delicious Thanksgiving. Lesli and I were in charge of pies, and we both discovered we don't know how to make them. I think we did okay though, we can follow recipes but as for the pie crust, well it was tricky to make all pretty! I am not Martha as I previously thought.

The next morning, the sister-in-laws all showed up at the local Wal-mart at 4:15am. We were positioned by the items we wanted, and at 5am when the items were uncovered we elbowed and pushed our way to the front. About 10 minutes later then things we had fought for were still available, but it was kind of fun to be so aggressive. Then we shopped around a bit at other stores, it was cold but so fun - I have such fun in-laws and I love being around them.

I also snuck in a visit to my good friend Candace who has moved to Provo while her husband gets an MBA. I wish we could have had more time together but it was just like old times, I miss her a lot :o(. MOVE BACK, it's not too late!

The boys loved playing with their cousins, and were sad to leave Logan as we headed towards Mapleton to stay with Boyd and Mona. We stayed a night with them, and got a late start on the road at 4am. We stopped at my parent's house for Sunday dinner, which tasted so good after being on the road eating junk all day. Kade got sick on Sunday, with a cough and runny nose - took him to the dr. Monday but it looks like it will just go away on it's own. Rhett is happy to be back in school and it feels good to be home again. Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jig.

{Thanksgiving Play}

On Thursday the Kindergarten classes all put on the cutest Kindergarten program with songs and lots of "group" parts. Rhett was a preacher, and his group got to say "Praise the Lord!" With their hands raised high a few times. It was a cute play, and Rhett was loving the attention. I will put a video on the bottom of this post with a part of one of the songs they sang. In the picture below, Rhett is in the front row, on the left. It's hard to see, my camera is a piece of junk! I want a new one but I am having a hard time buying one because I know if I wait 6 months there will be a newer, better, cheaper one!

Well, nothing else really exciting to write, except a couple "Ethanisms"

Friday I wanted to jump in the shower so I told Ethan he was Kade's babysitter. I gave him a whistle and told him to only blow it if Kade was in trouble and needed Mommy. So of course I'm in the middle of the shower and what do I hear...the whistle. I hesitated, knowing it's probably nothing but got out, ran out in the living room with my towel and dripping hair. Ethan was trying to put Kade on the stairs (time out spot). Ethan said "Mom! Kade won't stay in time out and he's saying potty words!" Kade was saying "Aaaapoo poo. Aaaapoo poo." Funny.

This morning we were getting ready to go watch my sister Ally's soccer game. Ethan had his cheap 25 cent sunglasses on and Rhett had his on, but one of the lenses had popped out. Rhett was upset, saying "I can't wear sunglasses broken like this! They will make me go crazy!" Ethan matter of factly said "Rhett, my have an idea. Just keep one eye closed." He always says my instead of I.

A few weeks ago he was burping at my mom's house and she told him to stop. He said seriously "Okay Grandma. My try to stop the burps.". It's funny. He is always coming up with "the perfect plan" as he tells us. It usually involves treats and going to parks.

Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to try a chicken wing. "Mom! If we eat a chicken's wings, how will he fly?" Then a few days ago he noticed a butterfly dead on our windshield. "Why did that butterfly crash into our window? Was he just a crazy flyer? Now his momma is going to be flying all over looking for her". Funny boy.

Well I am going to bed. I have been doing a million loads of laundry getting ready for out trip to Utah and I am tired! Hope everyone's doing well....