Riley Reading

Riley has been going around the house "reading" the words that he sees. He has learned to sound out words and uses this skill every chance he gets. I unfortunately only caught a snippet of him reading the title to "Grapes of Wrath". I just need to carry the camera around with me 24/7 so I can catch him reading a whole sentence. He hasn't reached the level of recognizing that the letters in the English language can make more than one sound, so it is pretty humorous to hear him sound out words. He doesn't quite get the whole "putting the sounds together to make a word" concept yet either, but we'll get there.

Water Babies

I have been posting an awful lot this weekend haven't I?!? Well, with Todd home, I've had the time. Anyway, our boys both love the bathtub. Riley wants a "washdown" several times a day, and Tanner would stay in the bathtub all day if we let him. It's nice to have kids who like getting clean. :)

Turkey leftovers

Oh my goodness...if you want something yummy to do with your turkey leftovers, then try this: make turkey pot pie.

I diced a small onion, two carrots, and 2 stalks of celery and sauteed them in a little bit of butter and sprinkled with some oregano, salt and pepper. Then I added 2 cans of chicken stock and my 2 smallish diced potatoes and brought it to a boil. I let it simmer for a few minutes to get the potatoes a little bit softer.

In a separate saucepan I melted about 2 TBSP of butter and added about 2 cups of shredded turkey and about 1/2 cup of milk and 3 TBSP flour. I cooked that through and added to my veggies/stock mix. It wasn't as thick as I wanted, so I added a little cornstarch and water. Then I let it thicken and added some frozen peas.

I put my leftover pie crust in a pie plate and topped with the filling. Then I put a second pie crust over the top, crimped it down, and cut some holes in the top. I baked it at 425 degrees for 15-minutes and then turned the temp down to 350 for about 15 minutes more. It was so delicious!!!

Happy Black Friday

We had such a fun day today...and I think it was made even better by the fact that we slept in today instead of going shopping. :) We started our day by going to get our Christmas tree and then decorating our house. It looks so festive and fun. I just love decorating for Christmas!





This evening we went to Kansas City to the lighting of the Mayor's Christmas tree celebration. Besides the fact that it was in the 20's...brrrrrr...we had a lot of fun. We got to hear the Kansas City Symphony Chorus (my choir) sing; we got to see the water fountain/music show; we played in the fun little life-size Christmas village; we ate dinner at Riley's favorite diner where the trains bring you your food; and of course what Christmas adventure would be complete without seeing Santa Clause? This Santa just happened to be an antique mechanical Santa from a department store that had its hay-day in the early 1900's. It was pretty cool.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving with some friends. Todd's co-worker, Juhee and his wife Sumee, along with their darling little girl Lois, came over for Thanksgiving dinner. It was really fun to get to know them a little bit more and of course, eat! We had a really yummy dinner--so yummy in fact, that we forgot to take any pictures before we dug in. And of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without playing any games. Unfortunately, Todd finds it a bit "boring" to play games with just me, so I played Cities and Knights with my dad online. I'm not sure what I would do without the Internet. It makes being so far from family and friends not seem like such a big distance. It was a very nice day.

Winter has come

One Last Fall Day...sigh...

Well, we had to enjoy our last nice day of the year...and boy was it nice. It reached 75 degrees and was just the right weather for the zoo. We had so much fun eating lunch with the peakcocks, riding the train, climbing the rocks, playing in the barn, and seeing the animals. I'm sure thankful for our one last fall day. :)

Tanner Stats

I took Tans to the doctor today for his 9-month well visit, and here are the stats:

Weight: 25lbs...+95%
Length: 30inches...+95%
Head Size: almost 20inches...+95%



Well, at least he's consistent!?!?! :)

Before and After...Living Room

I was so sick of walking in my front door and seeing these stark, white walls, that I couldn't stand it any longer. So, I took matters into my own hands and started painting! I absolutely love walking in my door now...well there is still the dining room and kitchen that are only half painted, but the living room looks great! :)

Before and After...Riley's Room

Riley still needs a new fan, but other than that, this kid is good to go!

Before and After...Our House

It sure looks a whole lot better...all our neighbor's keep telling us that, and all we did was paint the trim white, put up new lights, put up new numbers, and paint our door black. We still want to put up black shutters on the two top windows and the main window. Unfortunately, this is just a temporary fix until next summer when the house is going to have to be painted. It is need of a serious paint job?!?! :)

Before and After...Tanner's Room

Here is a before and after of Tanner's bedroom. This past week I found this Pottery Barn nursery set for SUPER cheap on Craig's List...man I love that website!

Riley's 3rd Birthday

Riley has been talking about his birthday party for several days now. In fact, last night while saying his prayers, he thanked Heavenly Father for his upcoming Thomas birthday and his presents. Then when I walked out of the room, I heard him say another prayer saying thank you for his future presents again. It was pretty funny.

We just had Lilly, her mom and dad, and her 2 brothers and sister over for the party. It was a perfect, lo-key birthday for Riley. He had a lot of fun!!!

I've Been Tagged

The rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I am a great cookie maker. I wasn't always though. I used to be terrible. My sister Emily could put me to shame with her delectable cookie concoctions. However, I have taken cookie-making seriously over the past 4-years and am now proud of my cookies.

2. I have read the Harry Potter series more times than I can count. :) I love those books.

3. I enjoy putting train tracks together just as much...if not more...than Riley. I can't wait for Riley's birthday and Christmas to roll around so we can give "him" the new Thomas accessories we bought for him.

4. When I was 5-years old, I was playing hide-and-seek with my sister Emily at my Grandma's house. She was it and I was hiding in the shower. When she found me, I screamed, slammed the shower door, then she screamed because I had cut her finger almost all the way off. I felt so terrible that I hid under my grandma's bed for the rest of the night.

5. I can't stand crumbs on my fingers. When I am eating popcorn, chips, french fries...basically any finger foods, I have to rub the "crumbs" off my fingers before I eat another piece of whatever it is I'm eating. Todd used to make fun of me, but he does it now too. :)

6. I am absolutely OBSESSED with Craig's List. I check it several times every day. I love a good bargain!!! :)

I tagged Emily Osborne, Stacey Taylor, Nicole Hansen, and Holly Dart

Laughing Baby

Girly Pictures

Thanks Amy!!! The pictures turned out perfect. What a fun, fun, fun weekend!!!

 

 

 

Girls' Weekend

I just got back from Girls' Weekend!!! Jenny is getting deployed in January, so we decided that we needed a getaway before that happened. I flew into Utah on Thursday night and flew back to Kansas Sunday night. Todd stayed home with the boys and Mike stayed home with his kids while Mom, Em, Jenn, and I romped all over the Salt Lake Valley. Here are some of the highlights:

We went to Desert Star Playhouse Friday night to see the play "Spamlet", a parody of Hamlet. We had a great time eating popcorn, waiting for our ice cream, and getting a HUGE glass of ice water dumped in our laps. :) What more could you ask for?!?!

 

On Friday afternoon we went shopping at Gardner Historic Village. I forgot how charming that place is! We met my friend Amy there so she could take some professional pictures of us to immortalize our trip. (Amy is pretty talented and I'll post some of the pictures she took later)

 

Laursie goofing off. Emily had SOOOO much Halloween candy and goodies at her house...much to my hips dismay! But, as you all know, when you are on vacation, all chocolate is calorie free and fat free.

 

On Saturday night we all went to Em's for pizza and games. We had so much fun playing Spanish Train, Family Feud, and Presidents. And, shocker of the century, Jenny actually PLAYED with us...and when I say played, I mean she played EVERY game with us and didn't complain once. I am so proud!!! :) We had a blast!

 

Tubby Time

Tanner is a water baby through and through!!! He loves the bathtub!