A well laid plan.

Several months ago my Mom shared with me a plan to surprise my Dad. My youngest brother Sam was going to be receiving his Eagle Scout award at the end of June. My dad had expressed to her how great he thought it would be if he could get all 3 of his Eagle Scout sons together in their scout uniforms. My brother, Ted was already going to be in town at the end of June but Mark lives in England and it seemed like an impossible plan. So, Mom and I started hatching. We were the only people who knew about the plan. I contacted Mark and it turned out that he would be able to take work off and come. Also the whole family was planning a trip to McCall the following week and he was able to stay long enough to join us there too. We flew him into Seattle the night before the Court of Honor and I picked him up. I was SO excited!!! For many days before that I got through my daily run imagining the look on my Dad's face when we showed up.

Anyway, the next morning we headed down to Oregon. We went through many different plans of how to 'show up' and actually it ended up being totally different. As we were driving up to the house i could see that everybody was out in the front yard... so much for sneaking in! I let Mark out before i got all the way to the house and we tried to be as sneaky as possible. Then, I was so discombobbled by every one being outside that i almost forgot to video tape it. Here is how it went down (sorry it got a little shaky in the middle)




Then, a couple of hours later, Annabelle and Dave showed up and we had a fun surprise all over again. I didn't get any video of that one though.


Here they are, the Eagle Scouts in all their glory.

Lemon Chex mix

I came across this when i was looking for teacher appreciation gifts and i had to try it. I love chex muddie buddies and these are like a lighter version of those.

Lemon Chex Mix


9 cups Rice Chex
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips (i used almond bark)
1/4 cup butter
4 tsp grated lemon peel (i didnt have any so i just left it out)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

Melt chocolate and butter together, than add lemon peel and juice to pan; stir altogether. Put cereal in big bowl using a soft spatula mix lemon mixture with cereal gently. Place half of mixture and powdered sugar in paper bag and shake, do the same for other half. Lay out on wax paper to cool before storing in air tight container. Since i didn't have any lemon peel i sprinkled some True Lemon powder over it at the end to give it an extra lemony kick.

Go and make some RIGHT NOW! you'll thank me later.

source

5 More down

I know, I know... the 5 of you who read my blog are all wondering what happened to my winter reading. I had big plans and long lists of books but I barely made a dent. I did manage to finish 5 more books and the program ends tuesday, so I got 2 entries into the grand prize drawing(cross your fingers for me)

Long Live the Queen by Ellen Emerson White : I really enjoyed this one, the 3rd in the series. Meg is kidnapped. She overcomes.

A View From Saturday By E.L. Konigsburg : How did I ever miss this one when i was younger?? I think it came out when I was in high school, I must have not noticed. I loved The Mixed up files by the same author, and this one did not disappoint. I loved the themes and the unity of the characters.

Maisie Dobbs By Jaqueline Winspear : My mom and sister have been recommending this series for quite some time. The book takes place in England during and following WWI. Maisie Dobbs is a investigator who really captured my interest and made the book(s) very addicting.

Birds of a Feather By Jacqueline Winspear : The second book about Maisie Dobbs. She is investigating the deaths of 3 young women, seemingly unrelated, and the disappearance of another young women. This book seemed a little more daring than the first, maybe it was just the character growing.

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear : Book three about Maisie Dobbs. This one was even more intriguing. The great thing, for me, about these books is that there are enough obvious clues that I can figure out parts of the mystery and feel smart but not so many clues that I have the whole thing figured out by the end. She always sneaks in a surprise at the end.

I started the books by Marcus Zuzak but didn't care for them. I returned them to the library with out reading them. I still have What the Dog Saw, after renewing it twice, and I hope to read it before I have to take it back to the library. I just got the last Ellen Emerson White book yesterday and if I can tear myself away from Maisie Dobbs, I plan to read that one next.

So, thats that. I managed to read 10 books in 10 weeks. Come to think of it, thats not too bad. I was kind of feeling bad because i had hoped to read more but now that I look back and realize that it breaks down to a book a week I feel like I accomplished more.

The First 5

I finally finished 5 books for my first entry into the winter reading program at our local library. It took me WAY longer than it used to! I really thought i could read 5 books in a week. It ended up taking 2 weeks, which isn't too shabby but is pretty slow for me. So here is what I read:

The Life of Pi by Yan Martel : I ended up loving this book and finishing it in about a day. I started it about 2 years ago and couldn't get into it. But once you get past all the exposition about swimming pools it gets really interesting.

The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White : Really, really, REALLY loved this book. It is about an Army nurse in Vietnam so parts of it were like watching an episode of M.A.S.H. but it was so well written and easy to read. I read it pretty fast too.

The Presidents Daughter by Ellen Emerson White : I had high hopes for this one, I really did. But by the end I just wanted to punch the main character in the mouth. AND it is the first in a series of 4 books (blegh). It is about a 16 year old girl whose mother runs for and becomes the President of the United States. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen. It never did.

White House Autumn by Ellen Emerson White : Sequel to The Presidents Daughter. I actually enjoyed this one more than the first, the plot was better developed but i still wanted to punch Meg, the main character. I plan to read the last 2 in the series, after a little break.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan : I patiently waited for this one to come out in paperback because i am cheap. LOVE the Percy Jackson books. Hated the movie, BTW, don't waste your time. This one didn't disappoint. It was as well developed and exciting as the first 4. Read this one in a day.


So I have 5 more ready and waiting. They include the 3rd in the Ellen Emerson White series, What the Dog Saw, and a couple by Marcus Zuzak

Something Fantastic.

I just discovered something fantastic!

Our local library is having a Winter Reading Program for Adults. And the prizes are really fantastic! All you have to do is read 5 books for one entry into the prize drawing. Considering that i can read 5 books in about a week if i put my mind to it, I may have a pretty good chance at a prize. The program ends on March 15th which is about 8 weeks from now. So I am off to the library while the girls are at school (and hopefully William will be asleep in my arms) to get 4 books to complete my first entry. I already read THe Life of Pi, in about one day. I'll take recommendations although i tend to rely on Janssen's blog for good books. I am not a reviewer like she is though so don't expect me to review any of the books i read, However i will let you all know when i win a fabulous prize.

Happy Reading!!!

Grace is 5!!

I got the idea for her cake from I Am Baker. Her cakes are fantastic! They seem to be as fun on the inside as they are on the outside. You should check out her jack-o-lantern cake and her heart cake. Ohhhh and her Easter cake. She is AWESOME!

My colors were not as vibrant as hers, she must have used gel food colors. I just used a white cake mix and separated it into smaller bowls and colored them with regular liquid food color. Grace loved it.

So many Months.....

So many months have gone by since my last post! I kind of let it get away from me, didn't I. SO in lieu of a lengthy post(s) about the last several months here are some bullet points.

-April: Tim was offered a job in Olympia Washington in the beginning of April. So we quickly listed our house for sale and it sold in 4 days. And they buyer wanted to close exactly when we were needing to head north. It really worked out perfectly.

-May: Tim was training in California for the first 3 weeks of May. I was doing the single parent thing but thankfully since the house was under contract I didn't have to worry about showings etc. We survived. Then on the 24th we closed an the house and drove out of town the same day. It was sad to leave our friends and we miss them a lot.

-June: After driving through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington we made it to our new (rented) house. We spent June visiting family in Oregon and getting acclimated to our new town. Towards the end of the month we went to Oregon for Tim's family reunion. Eleanor turned 3 at the end of the month. She had a little b day party at grandmas house.

-July: My sister Abi got married. I made the wedding cake. Spent a fair amount of july in oregon.

-August: The kids and i made a trip to Idaho to visit my extended family. Loads of fun! Swimming, marshmallow roasting, and sleeping in the camper. The 9 hour(one way) drive with all 4 kids by myself wasn't particularly fun so next year maybe we will convince daddy to go with us.

-September: School started. I am sure my rejoicing could be heard for miles. Eddie and Grace are at the same school now, which is nice. We live close enough that i walk them to and from school. Some time in August, with Tim's encouragement I signed up for the 5k at Oktoberfest in Mt Angel. I had been running some since we moved but hadn't gotten serious about it till then. We went to Oktoberfest the 2nd weekend and i ran the race. Since then i have continued my running and am running at least 3 miles every day in preparation for a 4 miler on thanksgiving.



-October: Eddie turned 7 in October! It is so hard to believe that he is that old. He is really a great kid. For Halloween Eddie was a jedi, Grace was a Doctor, and Eleanor was a giraffe. William wore a festive sweater( after making costumes for the other 3 he kind of got left out. Next year...)

Now it is November. Grace turns 5 on Friday. She is coming along, although her teachers are concerned that she may have other delays besides speech so we are looking into that.

William is getting so big. He cruises around the furniture and is starting to stand on his own too. He is a really happy baby and if I could just get him to consistently sleep through the night I would be one happy Momma!

One last update about myself. All this running has been beneficial to my figure. I happened to come across a paper where i wrote down my weight and measurements when i started back to the gym after having William. I have lost 35 pounds and MANY inches(i haven't actually measured recently). Also, I am down 4 pants sizes! YAY ME!