Brrrrr...

We had our second snow of the season this weekend and it is still novel enough that Eden thinks it is pretty neat. Every time we get out of the car she wants to play in it for a while and usually comes in with little icicle fingers. She was so excited about the tiny snowman we made a few weeks ago with the first snow. Crazy kid!

Hoot Hoot for Halloween!

Finally, two weeks later, here is our Halloween post!
Despite not being able to go to St. George like we'd wanted to, we had a dandy of a day. We made yummy, whole-wheat, jack-o-lantern pancakes for breakfast (and smothered them in sugar) and spent the rest of the morning doing projects (like making Noah's hat and gloves). Then in the afternoon, we went hiking up Centerville Canyon. So pretty! Awesome trail! Gorgeous weather! Great hiking from Eden! No complaints from Noah! Perfect!
After our hike, we picked up a jack-o-lantern pizza from Papa Murphy's, threw on the kids' costumes and hit the road just before 8 o'clock (rather late in this neighborhood).

Noah was the green monster from his pj's (very cute & very tired). Eden was a pink kitty-cat and wanted to wear her tutu just like the kitty on her jammies! So pretty!Eden caught in the act: being nice to her little brother! Trick-or-Treating was fun and fairly warm. Noah loved eating mini M&M's when we got home and Eden couldn't wait to eat a pink Laffy Taffy (everything is better in pink)!

P.S.
Hey Hikers: check out the sweet way they made the bridges on that trail! They were amazingly easy to cross, even with a kid in tow!
P.P.S. Just F.Y.I. in case you didn't know: you can click on the collages to see the pictures more up close...! :)

Ray of Sunshine

Soon, many of our days will be, as Ellie says, "dark and doomy."
No worries here though...we have our own little live-in Ray of Sunshine!
(You can kind of see his one little tooth in this picture)

Here's our little helper!

He was so excited to help mop the floor!
How can you help but smile with this little guy around?

One Last Fall Day

We had our first snow of the season today (pictures to come), but here are some pictures of one of the last really lovely days this year.

Little Noah couldn't be happier than outside! We stick him in overalls and let him lose. He consumes dirt and rocks (he's got a big one in his mouth in several of the pictures) in large amounts and really loves playing with the trike--exploring the trunk and pushing it around to practice his walking skills.
Eden loves her "park" in the back yard. She always wants to be pushed on the swing, but when Mom and Dad are busy she swings with her imaginary friends. She is often talking away to one of her cousins or friends from nursery or even pals from the TV. The other day she was hollering at the "man cub" to come push her. She's also getting to be quite the hiker and likes to bring her own pack!
About that last post...we've gotten several protests about it, telling us not to whine and that we live in a great place with some wonderful benefits. We actually really like Bountiful and I'm not sure how that post came about. We were going around enjoying the leaves and Lance wanted to take a bunch of pictures to show off what a pretty place we live in. He said something like, "Besides Park City, I think Bountiful has got to be the prettiest town along the Wasatch Front." He also says things like, "Man, I love driving around Bountiful! I hated going anywhere when we lived in Salt Lake--too much traffic and so many lights." I wrote the text above the pictures on that last post and then turned it over to him. And look what happened! I guess we like Bountiful in the non-winter only! Haha!

Bountiful in the Fall

Being busy with remodeling projects pretty much every moment, we really don't get out to see gorgeous spots as much as we used to. Luckily for us, there is gorgeousness all around us here in Bountiful. These are pictures we took on our evening walks. Just down the street are two rivers we cross, which have fantastic leaves right now. Of course, the beauty of autumn here is nearly eclipsed by the inevitability of the coming hellishness of Northern Utah winters. We try to enjoy the short month of great weather and wonderful colors before the four long months of colorless, lifeless, polluted, bleak, kill-me-now-before-it-snows winters. Perhaps global warming will kick in for real this winter and give us a reason to live up here.

Putting the coming death-of-all-that-lives aside, autumn up here really is spectacular. We drove up the street to Mueler Park/Mill Canyon the other day and the leaves were at their peak. It was really spectacular.

All Hands on Deck!

WooHoo! We finished the deck--no more diving platform! Now we just need some patio furniture and some friends to BBQ...I mean BBQ with!

(P.S. Aren't our wood piles rustic?)

Potty Training!

POTTY TRAINING...
Should those words be accompanied by a clap of thunder and dun-dun-dun-dun type music?
I guess that depends on your experience. I've heard several moms of young kids say that POTTY TRAINING was the worst experience of motherhood yet. With their words ringing in my ears I finally approached p.t. with a goodly amount of trepidation. However, I was hoping this might turn out like childbirth (so many horror stories, but really not at all bad if you are prepared...and best not to listen to those stories at all) and that, armed with a secret weapon, it would be a breeze.

THE WEAPON:This is the book MY parents used to p.t. me and most of my 7 siblings (that is until they got sick of p.ting and just had my oldest sister and brother do it for them).

LAST WEEK OF AUGUST--THE 1ST ATTEMPT:
I read and reread the book, bought 3 versions of a kiddie potty, stocked up on supplies and took the plunge. The night before I crammed like crazy, scribbled reminders on the bathroom mirror and had that sick night-before-a-final feeling. Things went okay, but not exactly like the book said--Eden wasn't really motivated by the psychologically proven motivators. By the end of two or three days (can't remember which--it's all a hazy blur now) stuck in the house I decided to bag it (and had that I-just-failed-a-final feeling).


FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER--SUCCESS:
The book said that p.ting should be done in a positive, happy, excited manner. I tried, but I think my feeling of "do or die" might have shown through the forced smiles. Our second attempt was totally different. Eden didn't have to be taught the procedure this time and we were way casual about the whole thing. I just stuck her in undies because she wanted to, reminded her she had them on occasionally, set a timer to go off once an hour and had her try going about that often. And she did!...And loved it!...And got to watch the long-awaited "Word Factory" when she was finally able to do her business in the potty (the big potty--she hated each one of the tiny potties we bought her)!

She is now a Potty Pro and does everything by herself! And really, it was not too bad. I think my smiles will be a lot less forced when it comes time to p.t. Noah.

Pure Goodness: Peanut Butter

Pure Goodness Product: Natural Peanut Butter

Ingredients:

Peanuts, contains 1% or less of salt (can get unsalted version)

Lengthy List Loser:

Ingredients: Peanuts, sugar. Contains 2 percent or less of: molasses, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean), mono- and diglycerides and salt.

Do "choosy moms" really choose Jif (or its counterparts)?

A few notes on Natural Peanut Butter:

Reason you might not love it:
It's not sweet!
Reason to love it anyway:
Unless you are spreading p.b. on crackers or something, you almost always eat it with something sweet anyway (with jam or honey on sandwiches, in cookies...) so skipping the sugar in the p.b. isn't even noticeable. Plus you can always stir in a bit of honey if you need it sweeter and know exactly what you are getting.

Reason you might not love it:
It separates!
Reason to love it anyway:
If you rotate the way you store it, you don't have to worry about it. Just put it away upside down one time and then right side up the next time.


Reason you might not love it:
You have to refrigerate it and that makes it hard to spread.
Reason to love it anyway:
According to one p.b. connoisseur, if you eat it fairly quickly you don't have to refrigerate it (refrigeration is to keep it from going rancid). Also, some brands get harder to spread than others. We love the Adams brand, but it does harden in the fridge. The natural organic p.b. from Costco stays spreadable so we usually go with that one.

Enough said!

Mother of Three!

Who new I was a mother of three? I've got two boys and a girl. My oldest is currently attending Utah State University. He calls home every week or so, shows up here about once a month with loads of laundry, mooches food, leaves his stuff around the house, and is generally pretty dang fun.

SUPE!
Check out the way he slices bread (and that was one of two...my precious homemade bread)!

Tats for Tots

We are thinking of starting a new business called Tats for Tots!
(Tats clearly being short for Tattoos)
We would feature Do-It-Themselves starter kits for your kiddies.
Eden and Noah have been testing the beta version of our product (each of them "did it themselves") and posed for some publicity photos.


What do you think--is it a go?

Coming Along...Slowly, but Slowly!

Yeah, yeah...remodeling's my passion (said with a Brooklyn accent).
We've been working on our deck: tripling the area and getting rid of the moldy green carpet in favor of composite decking. All that's left is the railing, which would be a nice addition since our kids love to play out there while we work. Don't worry, they would only fall 10 feet and die if they plunged over the edge. Gotta' get that railing done! Here's some pictures of the workers for this and another deconstruction project:Noah freakin' loves to eat remodel debris! He loves trying to use Dad's new miter saw and any other tool he can get his little hands on!
Sorry no picts of Eden. She spent almost as much time out on the deck as Mom and Dad, handing us nails (or stealing them for her own purposes) and freaking her padres out by going within three feet of the edge.
Thanks for your help sledging that stem wall, Jeff!

Blue September

I've learned that overly tired two-year-olds have no regard for what is going on in their mom's lives (are all kids like that to their moms--even, say, twenty-eight-year-olds???). In a brief respite from the mayhem of today, Eden had turned on some tunes and I was listening while sorting laundry. When I heard this song, something made me turn it up (LOUD):

Where is the coastguard?
I keep looking each direction
For a spotlight, give me something
I need something for protection
Maybe flotsam, junk will do just fine
the jetsam sunk, I'm left behind
I'm treading for my life, believe me
(How can I keep up this breathing?)

I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves up, take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion, yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now come down
Let the rain come down

Woah, melodramatic for my little life--I know! Haha! Gotta' not take life too seriously, but you know you've turned up crazy songs before or sat in your car and bawled to them. What songs have been "turn it up" songs for you?

Pictures of the Bambinos!

Here's a few more pictures for the grandmas (and if either of you see an individual picture you want full size, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you):

SILLY KIDS!

Just of few shots of our kids doing what kids do best: causing trouble, being silly, and making us laugh!

SUMMER '09!There are very few days in Bountiful that have you running for shade or for your swimsuit, but occasionally...

BOUNTIFUL PEAK! Some days, you just can't take more of the same (staying home with the kids while Dad's at work or sitting home with the kids while Dad rips up the basement) and so you convince Dad to stay home from work and play--not that I'd ever do that...! We drove up Bountiful Canyon, had a picnic, hiked to some beaver ponds (you can see their lodge), and drove over the mountain and down Farmington Canyon. Such fun!

Question on Comments

What do you think:

Like most people, I love getting comments on the blog, but they do leave me in a bit of a quandary at times. I often want to respond to the comments, particularly if they include questions. But where do you do your responding? Do I respond in another comment on the same post? Or will they never check back for an answer? Do I e-mail the response directly to the person? Or do I go to their blog (if they have one) and leave the response in a comment there?

I'd love to hear what you think!

I love pictures of me (yeah right), but figure no one will look at a post that doesn't include pictures. Eden took this picture of me contemplating the mysteries of the blog universe.

Lick it for Ten

If you haven't watched Late Night with Jimmy Fallon you've probably never heard of the mildly revolting game called "Lick it for Ten" in which audience members lick a random object (like a toaster or a bowl of goldfish) and are rewarded with $10. The slow-motion replay is the worst.
Well, here is our infinitely cuter version of the game:

Contestant 1Contestant 2If you want to send them $10 for their efforts, feel free! :)

Snow Basin

The misery of the drive there with two fairly cranky kids (church'll do that to ya') may have been outweighed by the gorgeousness of Snow Basin and the fun little walk we went on:

LIL' NOAH:
MISS EDEN:
& One More:

Remodeling.

Lots of remodeling going on. Lots and Lots. Our grass is finally looking green and only 3 of the bizillian plants and trees we have planted in the last few months have died..... actually they were not planted... perhaps thats why they died. I have a nasty habit of buying plants and then letting them sit in the sun for a week before i plant them. Not a good idea when it is over 95 degrees I have now learned.

But anyway, I'll have to post some pictures of our 6 new aspen trees 3 new maple trees, 3 new fruitless pear trees,2 new apple trees, 7 new bushes, and more....

I will not however post pictures of our sorry excuse for a garden..... as it is not growing. The last frost date here in bountiful is may 24th so we planted from seed during about the second week of June...... bad idea. I think gardens like to grow in the spring. not the summer. because here it is the end of July and our biggest plants are like 4 inches tall.... and hiding amidst the more thriving weed patch. yeah.... gardens are way over rated.

Pure Goodness: Sour Cream

Pure Goodness Product: Daisy Sour Cream

Ingredients: Cultured Cream

(Light Daisy Sour Cream: cultured cream, skim milk, vitamin A palmitate)


Lengthy List Loser: Regular Brand Sour Cream
Ingredients: Cultured milk, cream, whey protein concentrate, food starch-modified, sodium phosphate, maltodextrin, sodium citrate, potassium sorbate (preservative), gellan gum, carrageenan, guar gum, locust bean gum.

(Light version: Cultured milk, cream, whey protein concentrate, nonfat dry milk, food starch-modified, maltodextrin, sodium phosphate, potassium sorbate (preservative), carrageenan, guar gum, gellan gum, locust bean gum, vitamin A plamitate.)

The ingredient list varies by brand, but most have this many ingredients or more!

A Brag for the Blog

Woah! What in the world? Who is that and what is she doing!?
No proper blog is complete without regular brags, and so, a new section for this blog:
Encomia: Tributes to the Amazing People in our Lives!

BRYNN!Last Friday we met a guy who was a fellow missionary with Brynn in Ireland and was her district leader for a while. He said, "I don't know if Brynn has told you this--probably not--but she was the best missionary in our whole mission!" Apparently her mission president said pretty much the same thing. Shocker? I don't think so. We already knew she was amazing. It is just fun to hear other people say so too!

Lou told me a while ago that she was jealous that we lived so close to Brynn and got to hang out with her all the time and get to know her. Lucky us!

Best of all, Brynn married our fabulous brother and made him one of the happiest guys ever.

For Reservations, Please Call... :)

I'm not sure why, but pretty much no one came to visit us in the winter. Perhaps we are only related to and friends with people who hate the snow as much as we do. Well, the snow melted and the Weaver Motel opened for business! We had one crazy-fun month of visitors! Here's a rundown:

June 5-6: Our friends Bobbi & Dennis and their kids, Addilyn & Landon (Dennis helped Lance with the yard and then we headed up the mountain for a picnic!)
June 6-7: Supe & his future-roommate, Chris
(They showed up very late, of course, since they'd been visiting a "hot girl", but we still managed to talk for a while and unload some Korean Liahona's on Chris)

June 10-13: Thomas & Rebecca and their kids, Robbi, Enoch, Joshua, Marianne, and Joseph
(We played games inside and watched movies while it rained and then went for a snail hunt and tried to kill eachother with pinecones at the park)June 14-18: Weed & Derek and their kids, Kaebri, Tasia, and Zade
(We visited Grandma Poulsen, went to Wheeler Farm, and had a BBQ in the mountains for Derek's Birthday)

June 22-23: Sienna
(She played ring-around-the-Rosie's and stayed up late with us while her baby brother was born!)

June 23-24: Lou and her kids, Brady and Ellie
(Lou, of course, got no sleep thanks to Juge's talking and her kids' cuddling. The kids had tons of fun playing and fighting over strollers and we did a Costco run.)

June 25-27: Dorothy
(Dorothy "taught" me how to make drapes by doing all the work herself--thanks! And we did a bridal shower for Carla!)

July 1-3: Thomas
(He drove all the way up here and helped Lance from some rooms downstairs--thanks!)

Sadly, amid the fun and chaos, we got very few pictures! We loved having visitors and had tons of fun with all of them! Hopefully, the accommodations will be much improved before too long and no one will be too scared to come back!

Pure Goodness

Food Ingredient Lists can be frightening things, especially if you read them after you've consumed a item masquerading as something edible. I've been noticing that, for the most part, items with the shortest ingredients lists leave me feeling better and more fulfilled than their lengthy list counterparts. So here's a new section for the ol' blog that will be reoccurring: Pure Goodness!

Pure Goodness Product: ButterIngredients: Cream, salt (if salted)


Lengthy List Loser: MargarineIngredients: Liquid Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Water, Buttermilk, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Benzoate, (as A Preservative) Vegetable Mono and Diglycerides, Artificial Flavor, Vitamin A Palmitate, Colored With Betacarotene, (Pro Vitamin A).

The above is actually quite a short list for non-butter spreads! Eeek!

There's No Wrong Way to Eat a Cookie!

I recently ate gingersnaps with several surreptitious cookie-dunkers! They were fearful of being spotted and mocked for indulging in this guilty pleasure.
Eden has no such inhibitions! She is a consummate cookie-dunker... ...and proud of it!
P.S. Eden is modeling Lillywhite Family Chocolate Chip Cookies of which a missionary recently told me, "Sister, those cookies changed my life." If you want the recipe let me know!

Three Little Red Hens!

After you have eaten homemade bread for a while, you can never go back, or at least I can't! I really don't love store-bought bread anymore, which means I get to spend time making bread fairly often (luckily I have a Bosch to knead it for me and can make five loaves at a time).

Eden has been helping me make bread for a long time now (she loves to sample the grains of wheat, the freshly-ground flour, and finally the dough, which she will grab in handfuls if I don't keep an eye on her). Noah is my newest little helper. We three little hens just have one question:
Why is it that Lance always gets to help us eat the bread?
Maybe cuz' he paid for it? :)

P.S. If anyone wants a super-easy, super-yummy wheat bread recipe, let me know and I will send one your way!

Happy Birthday Dear Lance...!

Lance turned...um...27...on June 4th and we tried to make the festivities last as long as possible. We started a week before his actual day with cake and a few funny Lance-stories while we were with his family in Brianhead.Next we partied on his big day with Jay and Brynn. We drove up on top of Bountiful Peak and had the smokiest fire and yummiest food ever: salad, warm rolls, baked potatoes warmed in the fire, and deliciously marinated steaks cooked on hot dog sticks over the fire. I tried taking some fabulous pictures, but sadly, had left the camera battery at home! After watching the sunset over the lake from up there we headed home for some spotted cake and the blowing of the candles, complete with the traditional picture!
Here's Lance in his birthday belt (by the way, Mom, Lance really liked the presents you sent--he says they are "awesome-possom!")Later that week, we headed (along with Jeff and Carla) to Aaron and Keumyeo's for a yummy BBQ and games. We finished things off with a Carmel Popcorn Packman Cake (a Weaver Family Tradition...I gotta' work on it a bit...didn't do it quite right, having never actually seen one before):
Another beautiful blowing picture:
Eden and Sienna with their cake booty:Sadly, I pretty much have no pictures of everyone who helped celebrate, but thanks to you all and HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANCE!