Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Gordon's 5th Birthday Interview



Interview with Gordon:
1. Something you do well.
swimming... plus one is two.
2. Something you wish you could do better.
do gymnastics
3. Your favorite food.
quesadilla
4. 3 words that tell about you.
me is me
5. What makes you happy.
you.

(oh, that is so sweet.)
Is there anything else that makes you happy?
No.
Something that makes you smile?
you.
6. The most important thing in your life right now.
the airport.

Why?
because that's is where airplanes land. That is where they start driving and fly.
7. Your favorite movie.
G-Force, Wipe-out, and Polar Express
8. Your favorite book.
Runaway Bunny- a bunny runs away and the mom bunny runs after it. If the baby bunny is a fish the mom bunny will fish for it.
9. Your favorite thing.
watching movies. My favorite song is You Better Watch Out! You better not cry!
10. Your favorite place to go.
to Izzy's house
11. Your favorite thing to draw.
Disneyland
12. Something you want for Christmas.
You know what Spencer got for Christmas at Papa's house. It is green and white and you plug it in? That is what I want.
13. Your favorite color.
Blue, yellow, white, green, red, black, peach
14. What do you like to play?
Going to Vegas

How do you play that?
Get on the couch. Pretend that the couch is a rocket. Get all your stuff, make a mess. (he means pack his clothes but I always tell him he is making a mess) Take a shower, take a bath, and go to Vegas!
15. What do you like to do when it's raining?
Stay inside. Play Vegas. Hug you. Take naps. Hahaha
16. Your favorite animal?

You.
No.
Um...Edison.
No.
Um...my favorite animal is...ME!
No.
an elephant.
One plus one is awesome!


How does it feel to be 5?
I don't know I haven't been 5 for very long.
What was your favorite thing about being 4?
Swimming and playing with Terin
What did you not like about being 4?
Not playing with rocks. I played with rocks when I was 3 but not when I was 4.
What is going to be exciting about being 5?
I am getting older.
What is good about getting older?
I am getting close to being a grownup.
What is so great about being a grownup?
Grownups are stronger and can lift heavier things and kids can't do that.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Better Late than Never

Gordon's party was monster themed and it was perfect because all the Halloween stuff was 75% off. I found this invitation online and changed it to suite our party:
I printed off some Yo Gabba Gabba monster masks and had the kids color them and add different things to them. Then we practiced being really scary monsters. We made scary faces, stomped, and made scary noises. Then we played Hide-n-Scare. Half the kids hid while the other kids looked for them and then they jumped out and made scary faces!
 All the kids making scary faces. Now the story behind the cupcakes. I found these cupcakes in the Fall issue of Taste of Home and that is what started this monster themed party. Well, we had the party planned and everything was ready, including the cupcakes and then Gordon woke up sick (vomiting). So we cancelled the party and ended up throwing away a lot of cupcakes. Well, Chris insisted that we make the cupcakes again and try for the party the next week.
 I wasn't so sure I wanted to make all those cupcakes again! But it actually turned out easier the second time. The kids absolutely loved them. And Gordon even got to help create some with the left over supplies.

At the end we had them follow the green monster footprints to find their goody bags. I just bought a bunch of Halloween stuff (spiders, googly eye glasses...) and I made some slime and put them each in a ziploc bag. All in all it was a successful party.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Fall Recipes



I have been looking forward to making these delicious soups. Both of these are family favorites. Try them out.


Autumn Chowder
6 slices bacon, chopped or 2 cups of ham, cubed
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup water
3 cups potatoes, diced
1 carrot, sliced
1 tsp instant chicken bouillon
3 cups milk
2 cans corn, drained
½ tsp pepper
3 cups Cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp flour

Fry bacon. Add onions. Brown until bacon is crisp. Stir in water, potatoes, carrots, and bouillon. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes (it goes faster with the lid on). Stir in milk, corn, and pepper. Heat until simmering. Mix cheese and flour and add to soup mixture. Stir constantly until cheese is melted. 

(image copied from the web...it doesn't look good but it SO is)


Zuppa Toscana Soup
(From the Olive Garden)
1 lb sausage
2 large potatoes cubed
¾ cup chopped onion
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
2 cups kale- washed, dried, shredded
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon powder
1 quart water
1/3 cup heavy cream
½-1 tsp crushed red pepper

Cook sausage. Place onions in large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Add garlic to onion, cook an additional minute. Add chicken bouillon, water, potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Add sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer for 4 minutes. Serve and enjoy!!

Monday, September 27, 2010

All work and no play...

...would make for a dull summer! So of course our remodeling project wasn't all we did this summer. We went to Lagoon TWICE!! These pictures are from the whole Thomas Family Lagoon Trip! It was amazing. Seriously so fun!.

 Gordon thinks Lagoon is the best place on earth! It is pure joy for me just to see his face and how excited he gets. With his cousins with him it was heaven!
Edison did much better this trip than last time. He was not scared one bit. It was great to have everyone there (it would have been even better if we had Zach and Katie with us!)
 Chad and Katie with Grant and Lily.
 Maren and Brett with Fisher and Sarah.
Most of us together on the Tidal Wave.
The best was watching all the kids on the bumper cars. The older ones could get around pretty good but the younger ones just kept going in circles.
Thanks again family for the good time!!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Where do I even start?

Before
During
Before


The project that has taken most of our summer is redoing the floors in our house. We are still a long way from finished but we have also made a lot of progress. When we moved in we knew we were going to have to replace the carpet because the previous owner had cats and the whole upstairs stunk. Luckily the basement was remodeled after they moved out and before we moved in so we didn't need to worry about that.
Chris's parents dishwasher leaked and ruined the floor in front of it and that floor is not made anymore so they had to tear it all up and they gave it to us! Yeah! Well, when we tore the carpets up I don't think we were quite prepared for how bad it would be underneath.
During

Do you see all those nasty stains? It smelled so much worse (which I didn't think was possible.) It made me sick to think about how we had been walking and playing on this carpet for the past month! Anyway, we ended up tearing out all the sub-floor too. What a project! So this supposedly "free floor" we were getting wasn't quite turning out that way. We also had to knock down all the rock on the fireplace to get the boards out. After Chris's hard work, this is what the family room looks like today.

I know we still have to finish the fireplace and the trim but at least I have a floor.
Now the kitchen and dining room area we decided we wanted tile. It is still not in yet. This is what it looks like today. (literally I took this picture two minutes ago so forgive the mess.

(I have also been sanding and painting our table and chairs. That is another project for another post.)
This room has been even more of a nightmare because, as with most old houses, nothing is level. As you can see from this picture again...
The previous owners had put in some sort of plaster to try to even things out but it was all breaking up and cracking everywhere so we tore it out. We thought we had it level and put the backerboard down (the white boards you see under the table are for laying tile) and we would find it still wasn't level. So we would tear it up level it again and again and again. I think finally the dining room is level. we are still working on leveling the kitchen. The problem is it takes a good two hours to do a small area and we have to wait till the kids are in bed so it can dry with no little feet walking on it. Anyway, I feel like we take 2 steps forward 1 step back, 2 steps forward 1 step back...but hopefully it is finished soon. I told Chris I wanted to have a Halloween party at our house so it has to be done before then. Wish us luck!

Friday, June 25, 2010





I have been working on a few projects for the boys room. I still have a few more but who know when they will get done so I thought I would post what I finished.
I don't know if you remember this blanket...

I am trying to decorate the boys room with this blanket as the focus. I want to paint the small bookcase in their room orange or green. I think green would be a little safer but orange would be fun.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Edison


I realize Edison does not get nearly the amount of face time on this blog as Gordon does and it is just not fair!! Eddie is my little rascal. He loves to pull a funny face. He is always doing it at dinner time and making us all laugh.
Edison is super cute and boy does he know it. He uses his charms to get out of trouble all the time. He's just too hard to stay mad at. Except when he gets out of his crib at night and at nap time!! Just started that this week and it is sooo not fun.
We wanted to see if Edison's hair had any curl to it like Gordon's so we let it grow out a little bit. I wanted to document it before we cut it. 


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

You're so sassy


Gordon has been really sassy lately. Most of the time it is not funny but sometimes it really is. Like the other night. We had to go pick up daddy's car at work so he could drive to Twin Falls tomorrow. We left it there over the weekend because he came home with us. It was getting close to bed time so Gordon was trying to stall. He wanted to go for a drive and he was telling us where to go. We obliged for about 5 minutes but then I started telling him we needed to get home. Here is our conversation:
G: I am in charge and I make decisions
M: No, I am the boss.
G: No, we are going this way
M: Okay, how about we go over the big hill and then we will go home.
G: Okay, but I am not going to bed
M: You don't have to go to sleep but you do have to get in your bed
G: I will just get out of my bed
M: Then I will put you back in bed with no books
G: I will just get out of bed again
M: Then I will give you vinegar
G: Then I will throw up on you.
M: Then I will give you a spanking
G: Then I will give you a spanking

I couldn't help but laugh. Then I told him that I was in charge and he better do as I say or else...

Monday, May 3, 2010

All About Eddie

I have realized that Edison does not get much face time on this blog and it is really not fair. So, this is going to be a mega-Eddie post, with lots of pictures.
Edison is talking more and more but still not where I would like him to be. We are working with a speech therapist twice a month and we did a hearing test on his ears last week and the right ear could not get an accurate reading so we are going to try again next time. She thinks there may just be too much wax in his ear. And I could believe that! Edison leaks everywhere. His nose is always runny, you don't want to be near him when he sneezes, we are always cleaning wax out of his ears, and I don't know if you recall him as an infant--drool galore! I had a friend in Logan tell me that she knew an adult man that still had drooling problems. I pray that is not the fate for my little Eddie. Anywho...


Edison loves to snuggle which makes me so happy. Gordon was done with snuggling when he was like 12 months, but has now grown into liking it again! But Eddie has always loved to snuggle. I love putting him down for naps because he will let me hold like he is my little baby. Edison loves to give kisses. One on each cheek, so powerful they almost knock you over. And one on the lips.


We made a video the other day to send to Katie on her mission

Long time no see

I know it has been a ridiculously long time and I hate when I let it get like this because then I don't know where to pick up. There have been so many times I have sat down to write a post and I just wasn't feeling it. Ya, know? There was even a plethora of times when my kids did something cute and I thought, "I've got to blog about this." But I didn't. And now I don't remember. But let me tell you. My kids are cute! Currently they are outside standing on the fence watching our neighbor mow his lawn. Do you think he minds that two little boys love to watch as he "lawn the mow" as Gordon says it.
I will tell you one funny story that happened just this last Saturday night. I have been looking for a printer for awhile now. I want a laser printer because I heard that they will give you the most ink for our cartridge (more pages printed per cartridge). Anyway, I have lived this whole married life of mine without a printer (can you believe that!) and I finally said "NO MORE!" So I really started looking seriously online for a printer. (This is becoming a really long, boring story isn't it?) Okay, I will get to the funny part. I found an all-in-one printer at Office Max that was 50% off. It had really great reviews and we decided this was the one for us. Well, we called the Office Max in the big city (you know, Twin Falls) and made sure they had one in stock, they had 5, but the sale was ending that day. So we threw the kids in the car and headed to the big city. We arrived at 7:02 pm. They close on Saturday at 7:00 pm. I was not about to go home empty handed, so I started banging on the window. Oh yes I did! I pleaded my case in front of two employees while the rest watched on and they let me in. Praise the heavens! And on that note my dear friends I will leave you.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Need a Laugh

I thought this was hilarious. Enjoy-


She has other funny videos. Just search Anita Renfroe.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Our New Home!

We bought a house.
A cute house.
An old house.
A 1960's house.
A house in Burley.
A house in a quiet neighborhood.
A house.
With a big backyard.
A home.


See that tiny stove. Yeah, it can barely fit a 9x13 pan in it. But it works.
Chris and I have sooooo many plans to remodel everything. Starting with that fireplace (when we have the $$). We are also replacing the carpet (because the previous owners had cats) and are planning on putting hard wood throughout the front room, kitchen, dining room and carpeting the two bedrooms upstairs. The basement was remodeled after they moved out so it is practically brand new!

And I was so excited to take pictures so I could post them here and I forgot to take one of the outside but then genius struck me and I got this pic off the inspection report. Not too shabby, eh? We are supposed to move in this weekend. Cross your fingers that everything goes smoothly so that can happen!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I did forget one thing...

I have caught the craft bug! I have started helping a lady in my ward make crafts to sell at the cheese store here in Heyburn. I have also made a few crafts to keep in my own home. I spend a lot of my free time getting ideas from others online. There is so much out there. I'm loving it!
Here are some things I have made:









Monday, March 15, 2010

March Madness

No I am not talking about basketball. This month has been crazy and it is only half over!!
Just a few things we have been up to lately-
  • My brother Zach went through the Twin Falls temple for the first time! We had most of the family together (missed Chad and Katie and their family...) What a special time.
  • Chris has been spending every waking moment trying to get the new cheese store ready.
  • I have been spending every waking moment thinking about our new house (what color am I going to paint the front room?!) Also finding someone to rent our apartment...and packing...and loosing sleep, dreaming about decorating my new house!
  • Magic Valley Chalet and UpperCrust are now open in Twin Falls (what an insane, crazy, stressful weekend.) And I am not looking forward to all the nights with Chris gone. =(
  • Oh and somebody celebrated their 26th birthday by cleaning windows and hanging signs at the new store.
  • My sister Sarah had a baby girl! Welcome Jane!
  • I signed up for a triathlon, the Spudman in July. I've started to.. think about.. planning a training schedule. It's stressing me out! I keep telling myself I have to wait for warmer weather. That's a good excuse reason, right?
  • And now my boys are sick!!
Is there anything else I am missing?

Free!

FREE!! Primary Children's Poster.
Go here to download it.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Edison's Birthday Party

Edison's birthday was last Friday. We had a small party with just some family. The pictures are all out of order (I really hate Blogger sometimes!) but you get the main idea.
We got him a Mr. Potato Head and it has been really fun for the boys. His cousin gave him another Mr. Potato Head so it was perfect because now we don't have any fights about it, except for who has the better eyes, hat, nose....
I really love this photo of Edison. It makes him seem so big. I don't know if it is because he is my second child but he has always seemed smaller to me. I realized at his 2 year check up--he is not small. He is in the 90% for weight and the 75% for height so not to bad at all.
This is Edison giving dad a hug for the present I we gave him. He then proceeded to give everyone in the room hugs. Did I mention Edison loves to give hugs?
Opening presents wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper. Like he really cares what is on the front?!
I love that smile! He is such a happy guy. Well, he did just get a hand-me down brand new barn that makes animal sounds. Who wouldn't be smiling? And I am just going to warn you about the picture below--it involves spit and boogers and cake...
It was actually kind of hilarious because he kept blowing upwards and couldn't get the candle out until he used the spit...and boogers.
The kids love to help me cook and of course they love to lick out the bowl. And below is my masterful creation. I know it looks a little bit like a pig but it is actually a cow. A pretty darn good looking cow if you ask me.
And that is the end of this picture show.
Happy Birthday Edison!