Caramel Rice Krispies

I love this version of rice krispie treats that I got from a recipe swap a few years ago! For Christmas we substitute the rice krispies with Barrel of Fun Corn Pops which are usually only carried in our local stores during the holidays. It tastes like caramel corn, but without all of the kernels and hulls.
Caramel Rice Krispie Treats
1 c butter
2 c brown sugar
1 c corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
handful mini marshmallows (optional)
rice krispies or corn pops
Bring butter, brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a large saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes stirring frequently. Add marshmallows and sweetened condensed milk and boil for 3 more minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rice krispies or corn pops.
Spread rice krispie treats onto a large greased cookie sheet and cut into squares when cool.
(For the caramel corn I usually just dump it in piles on plastic plates and try not to eat it all before I can give it away).

Piano Preschool & Spring Recital

This year I've enjoyed teaching piano preschool to Dan & Emily and a few of their friends. They have especially loved snack time. You can read more about it on my piano blog Emily performed "A-Train" and "My Dog Tucker" for her first piano recital last week although I am sad that I forgot to get a picture of her that night. She has expressed the most interest in piano of all of my kids. I love it when she comes asking me for a lesson. Even when its late at night, I can't pass up the offer. The other day she was actually correcting me when I played a little song from her book she said, "No mom, this says piano, you're supposed to play it quiet!" Daniel played "A-B Bop" and "Ode to Joy." I love how his "thinking tongue" comes out whenever he's concentrating on something:). Rebecca (rather reluctantly) performed "Horse and Rider" and "Cat's Prowl" and then was happy to head off to join Jared who was judging the Junior Miss Competition. I was happy to hear her tell me the other day that she isn't going to quit because she's heard so many adults tell her that they wish they wouldn't have quit when they were young- so they must be right.

Daniel Makes Me Laugh

I can't believe how talkative my 2 youngest kids have become when we're running errands. Today as soon as the Doctor walked in to the room for my visit Daniel asked him "How come you're wearing slippers?" Then Emily piped up with some of her own questions. Our next stop was Walmart. Daniel was happily singing "Rainbows, Lollipops and Gumballs..everything that's beautiful is mine" (from Cloudy w/ a Chance of Meatballs) as we pushed the cart through the aisles. Then when we got the checkout he asked the cashier "Is your refrigerator running?" The teenage boy checking out had obviously heard this one before and said "No, not today." Dan persisted... "Well is it going to be running tommorrow?" The cashier was entertained and replied, "Well if it is I'll make sure that I catch it!" I think Dan remembered this little joke from a Arthur book we checked out from the library. At the pharmacist, Emily & Dan were nonstop conversing with the pharmacist. I think they don't fall from their mother's tree in this area, because I was too scared to even call and order pizza when I was much older then they are.

Brotherly Love

Jared went 4-wheeling with Dan last night. Originally he was going to take Emily too, but she was pretty tired and based on past experience he thought it would be too hard on her going on such a long drive, so instead she went on a ride around the block. When we broke the news to her that she'd get to stay home with the girls (& Jacob who has strep) she seemed fine. But when she discovered that Dan was not staying with her, she was broken-hearted. She clung to him and kept saying, I just want Dan. We even tried to appease her with a piece of taffy, but she refused and kept on clinging to her brother and chasing him out the door when he tried to go. It was kind of sweet for me to see how much she loves her brother, even though she was sad. For now she still insists that she wants to marry him someday.
Good Things:
Siblings who get along
Kind Brothers

Sabbath Ideals

I think I've always been an idealist. I like reading inspiring books with happy endings. As a child and college student, I envisioned the perfectly organized home I'd run some day... children wake up and quickly and happily complete their chores, get ready for school, then sit down to some nice peaceful family scripture study and prayer before heading off for the day. Then they come home to a happy mom who is just waiting to hear about their day while eating the milk and cookies I've made for them...etc. I have my ideas about the ideal Sunday too... after attending church, everyone comes home for a peaceful afternoon of scripture stories, gospel discussions, church magazine stories, scripture videos, with hymns and primary songs playing in the background. Of course there wouldn't be any fighting or arguing or kids running outside in the mud:0) But I've found that parenthood is more like the "train ride" analogy that President Hinckley gave once. There are some beautiful vistas to enjoy along the way, but plenty of rough or boring terrain in between. The trick is to enjoy the ride. Reaching ideals is a whole lot harder than thinking about them.
A few weeks ago I revisited "The Friend" website on www.lds.org and discovered the "Mormon Radio" link as well. I am loving these resources for Sundays- especially when I am so ready for nap. I love the music playing in the background while the kids play matching games with the prophets or put together scripture picture puzzles.
Last week when I was heading for a nap I found the "Mormon Messages" link on Youtube. It was so inspiring to watch some of the humanitarian aid videos, I never could pull myself away for the nap and my kids all started gathering around to watch it too. I love days like that!
Sunday still doesn't reach my "ideal" expectations most weeks... but I'm going to keep on trying. It's better to try and fail then to have never have tried at all.
Just writing about this makes me appreciate my mom and the efforts she made to make the Sabbath a special day in our home growing up. I have fond memories playing "Zion" "LDS Sketch Charades" & "Know Your Gospel" with my brother Matt. And thanks to the dramatized version of the scriptures that we listened to over and over I think we can all quote with a lot of feeling the words from 3 Nephi 8:25 "O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah."
We usually had a pretty nice meal on Sundays too. I haven't quite reached that ideal yet as I'd rather "rest" from preparing meals on Sunday since cooking isn't my favorite thing - but I guess I better go throw a little something together.

Easter 2010

The kids enjoyed coloring eggs and going on an indoor Easter egg hunt despite the snow on Saturday. It was fun to see the boys determination to catch the Easter bunny this year. I love hearing their discussions - "Is the Easter bunny small like a bunny or big like someone dressed up as a bunny?" "Maybe its a whole bunch of bunnies because one bunny couldn't hold everything." Daniel put some Jingle bells on the front doorknob in hopes of hearing the Easter bunny enter. He also tied a carrot to his finger with some string, but when he woke up, 2 ends of the carrot were bitten off, the middle was still intact. Jacob was just enthralled with the "video game" he got which he was sure must have cost at least $25. (He guessed just veinte cuatro too much:)
It was so nice to enjoy General Conference on Easter weekend. Our tv didn't get reception, the radio was pretty fuzzy, so when we finally got hooked up with the internet I was so grateful we upgraded from dialup this year and were able to watch it and pause where necessary so we didn't miss a thing. I loved Elder Bednar's talk.

Being Happy All Day Long

This morning while I was discovering some new piano websites to prepare for an upcoming group lesson, Daniel & Emily played happily together in the next room with a train set. I was pretty amazed they were doing so well for so long. I snapped a few pictures of them as I smiled at all of their "Let's pretend..." comments. A few minutes later they started to argue about riding trains on each others tracks. I said, "You guys were playing so nicely, I was hoping you'd play happily all day." Daniel asked, "Well, how can you be happy all day?" The words of a Primary song went through my mind about being happy all day but I couldn't think of the whole song so instead I said, "You could just sing this song... I'm Trying to be like Jesus..." and then you could be happy all day. Daniel retorted, "Well, that's just because Jesus didn't have any brothers or sisters!" I don't know where he comes up with these things.

Emily

Emily loves dressing up fancy and having her hair fixed. It seems like she changes clothes 4 or 5 times a day and most of the outfits are skirts or dresses even in the middle of the winter. If she had her way, she'd wear her fancy slip everyday:) I love this picture of her by the piano. She seems to really enjoy practicing the piano & learning new piano concepts. I hope her enthusiasm sticks! I'd love for all of my kids to learn to play the piano well - but I don't make them. I just provide lots of incentives like late night lessons, Piano Candy Bingo, and Music Money.

Fun with Cousins

My sister Melinda came up for a couple of days during Spring Break in March to visit. Emily is lucky to have a cousin so close to her age. Emily and Dessie had a lot of fun although it was hard getting them both to smile for the camera at the same time.
Mel's baby Andrew is so adorable. He looks like a Gerber baby. After reading my sister's blog post I just had to add this bit of insight Daniel gave after he watched Andrew spitting up.
"While we were eating lunch Andrew was spitting, so Dan who is 5 took the opportunity to enlighten us on the stages of child development:

"This is what babies gotta do. First they gotta learn to walk. Then they gotta learn ta' talk. Then they gotta learn to not spit. Then they gotta learn to ski. And then they gotta learn to dig holes to build character."

... In that order. Once you've mastered those skills, you've arrived; what more is there to life, really?"

Who Knew Painting Could Be This Fun?

In March we finished up a room in the basement for the girls to make room for baby Alyssa when she is born. Daniel and Emily were really excited about "helping" with the painting so Jared let them roll some paint on the walls. I just love Emily's expression of delight while working in these pictures.

St. Patrick's Day Fun with Family

Before St. Patricks Day we went down to visit my parents (and for Jared to go to the Mitt Romney speech). My mom had tons of fun activities planned for the kids including a gold hunt, musical shamrocks, decorating rainbow cupcakes. The kids also loved the green pancake breakfast and rainbow jello. Thanks mom for creating some fun memories for us all! Emily also had a great time riding "horsey" Grandpa. Just watching them brings back memories of me having fun doing the same thing when I was a kid.

Wrestling Season

March has been such a busy month for us - partly because it is wrestling season for the boys. Both boys have made a lot of progress. Jacob surprises us all with his drive to excel his ability to follow Jared's instructions with exactness. When Jared told Daniel to "go after those boys" he took it pretty literally. Its been fun watching him dance around the match trying to shoot in for the double leg.