Must Finish Pretzels

On the way home from Utah Gavin was falling asleep while eating pretzels. There was some determination to eat those pretzels however, he lacked on the follow through.

Our Pilgrimage to "The Holy Land," and Back to "Sin City."

We went to Utah to see my sister Sarah's baby Addison. She is just the cutest little thing. Here are a few things I discovered along the way:

1. Our kids travel well in the car with these things; Tasty beverage, snacks that they don't get at home, a new toy, and their blankets from their beds.
2. Laney is terrified of Dogs (not that this is a new thing or that it pertains to this trip in any way...) but she is also terrified of Cats. (My sister Sarah has 2.)
3. Laney gets very concerned when things are not how they should be. Case in point: if Addison was sleeping and the pacifier was near by she was concerned that Addison was not using it.
4. Hotel rooms are fun. They are however not as fun as the room you go to to get ice in the Hotel. Way more Fun!
5. Our kids would gladly be with anyone but us.
6. You can buy our kids toys and they will love you for it. Chances are that if you didn't buy them a toy they would still love you anyways. But now every time they get out that toy they will let me know that you bought it for them.
7. Gavin loves everyone but evidently when Grandpa asks him who he loves the answer will always be Grandma Jackie.
8. Our kids get hurt a lot.
9. Kids with no naps and little sleep are not horrible until the day is almost over, then watch out!
10. Hotels are always better with your own pillow.

Even Animals Need Clean Teeth

Yummy Kebabs

In light of Hells Kitchen starting up again I am going to please some of my friends and share two delicious recipes.

Pork Satays

Ingredients:

1 jar hoisin sauce (8 oz.)

1/2 c. chili garlic sauce

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. rice vinegar

2 T. Asian sesame oil

1 pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut (into about 12 strips each about 4-6" long.)

Mix together all ingredients. Add pork tenderloin. Place on skewers. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes. Flip satays, baste with left over marinade, then grill until cooked through, 3-4 more minutes.

Coconut- Marinated Chicken Kebabs

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 lb. fresh pineapple

1 large green bell pepper

For Marinade:

1 can coconut milk (14 oz.)

1/2 c. sugar

2 jalapenos (seeded and diced)

1 t. kosher salt

juice of 1 lime

Combine all marinade ingredients. Cut pineapple, chicken and peppers into 2" chunks. Place in large resealable plastic bag. Add marinade to bag and let stand 5 minutes. Start with chicken alternate between pineapple and pepper, ending with chicken. Grill for 8-10 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through basting with reserved marinade every 3 minutes.

Enjoy because they taste sooo good!

Hells Back

What can I say...when I hear him say "Shut up you Donkey!"

I get a little gitty.

Can You Fix My Hair to Cover My Growing Midsection?

Both of our kids love to play with my hair. Gavin is always asking if he can touch it. Wet or Dry they don't care. Gavin's job was evidently fixing my bangs. Laney was doing the smoothing or the lack there of. This is the finished product....not to bad minus the fluff on one side. Doesn't Laney look proud.Here are all of us after a bang revamp. (Maybe we will have to work with Gavin a little on the bangs.)
My children the hair stylists. Now if only we could do something about Laney's lack of hair. Perhaps Gavin can concoct something in the kitchen maybe some all natural baby Rogaine?

I've Been Tagged

I was tagged a while ago and since I am a slacker I am just getting around to it now, so here goes.

#1 What was I doing 10 years ago?
Well, I graduated from Central Kitsap High School and moved to Bothell. I moved in with my friend Miranda and was working at Costco in the service deli.

#2 Things on my To-Do list today.
For Monday:
Go on a walk
Do the laundry
Clean upstairs bathrooms
Wash kitchen floor…if I feel like it.
Make an appointment for my kids to go to the doctor.

#3- What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire?
I really think that the possibilities are endless. Here are a few right off the top of my head. First buy a car and probably a slightly bigger house. (I would not want a huge house because I want to see my kids and not loose them in a wing of the house.) By slightly bigger I mean that I would like one more bedroom, a playroom, and a office. I would want the closet that was on that movie Overboard…Anyone? I would then buy a boat. Got to keep up with the Joneses right?! Heck I would buy everyone I know a boat. Then I would help anyone that needed it. Lastly I would get a million one dollar bills put them in a swimming pool and go for it. I like to think of this as my Duck Tales fantasy.

#4- Bad Habits?
I am a little OCD. I like things the way I like them. This makes it difficult to help me.

I obsess. If I got something in my head it doesn’t go away until I A.) fix it. B.) change it. C.) buy it.

#5- Places I've lived:
Bothell, Washington
Bremerton, Washington
Provo, Utah
North Las Vegas, Nevada

#6- Jobs I've had:
This just shows how loyal I am:
Taco Time
Costco
Fastsigns (my Dad owns this business)

#7- Things that people don't know about me:
Growing up I would run away from home and hide underneath our front porch. (I was very inventive.)
I can touch my tongue to my nose.
When I was younger my sister would always bet me a dollar that I would do something. I always did what she wanted me to do including: licking a stick of deodorant, snorting 7-up up a licorice straw up my nose, drinking raw eggs (my throat would not let it down), and drinking any other concoctions that she could mix together. I don’t think that I ever got a dollar.
I had a pet pig named Hamelton.
I have already purchased my dream car.
I’m pregnant.
I was told by my jewelry making teacher in High School that he could not give me an “A” for being a social butterfly. He gave me a “F.”

I tag Miranda and Shadoe. Unless you don't want to do it and then that is just fine with me.

Baby. Maybe?

Today at church Laney heard a baby cry during combined Relief Society and Priesthood. She was trying so hard to say "baby" it was cracking me up. So we came home and got it on camera. Check out that concentration.

Recommendations

We are planing to go and visit this cute baby that lives in Utah. While Blake and I were doing some planing something occurred to me....we will be by

and I will be eating one of these.

(Actually maybe I will have a couple of those.)

Which got me to thinking. In all of the places I have lived there have been things that I miss. I miss my family in Washington, I miss the green, I miss the water. I miss this place

In the pike place market they have a whole lot of food that is good. But what do I like best you ask? I like this (it is called a Landjäger. It is a Bavarian meat, kind of like a peperoni stick. Only so much better.)

And if I am going to Seattle, what else would I eat? Well I would go to eat Indian food and have some Chicken Tikka Masala, and garlic naan with mint chutney.

But, my all time favorite, the one thing I dream about. The one thing that I miss almost as much as I miss my family. The one thing I could eat everyday, and probably do, or try to is

(Not to be confused with Taco Times that reside outside of Washington State. Those Taco Times are NASTY! Yes, there is a difference. Trust me, I know.)

Blah, Blah, Blah

For about a month now I have felt blah. I don't want to clean, cook, actually I don't want to do much of anything. I have forced myself to do a few things but all in all I have been super lazy. I want nothing more than to sit around, or take a nap, maybe read a book. Anything that requires no energy on my part. I am not tired, sick or even sleep deprived just really lazy. However I think there may be some kind of mutiny planed. My kids are getting restless and who could blame them, I am like a big lump of goo. Actually I might have a revolution myself soon.

Unguren Easter Party

For those of you that have never come to this fabulous celebration, I am sorry in advance. For those of you that have come previously, but not this year, I am sorry again for your loss. For those of you that came this year.....It kinda rocked didn't it?!

Blake and I decided this year to have our party in our park. Our backyard is dirt and rocks, and does not have hiding places good enough for some of our eggs. Sure our backyard is great for an egg toss, or even a relay race but I will not lie, for hiding eggs it is not ideal. You will see no pictures of our kids coloring eggs because Blake and I do it all. It is a tedious task that we take on because coloring 100 eggs with kids well....I think you can imagine. Those eggs are then blown out, yup all 100 of them, and then stuffed with money or assigned a number for a prize.Then the hunt begins. We left out the pictures of people punching each other or knocking each other down for obvious reasons. (We don't want to be a witness in any law suits.)
Using your children for monetary gain while hunting for eggs is perfectly acceptable.

After the hunt is over. We come inside for lunch. This year we had a smorgasbord of food and treats. Our center piece this year was flowers and Cadbury eggs. (Everyone can take one of those too.) All in all I would say that the party went great. We had good friends and family, good food, and some good fun.

Music Maestro

Aunt Sarah a while ago got Gavin one of those books that you push a button and it plays different music. Well it was a Thomas the Train book, and here is one of the songs...sung by Gavin.

"Oh it is great to be an engine and go rolling along

chug chug chugging along, peep, peep, peeping along

All the people waving as we roll along. Chug chug chugging along all day."

Welcome to the World

My sister Sarah had her baby today and named her Addison. So she gets an honorary blogger shout out! She was 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

Ski Trip

Blake and I this weekend went on his works annual ski trip. We went to Brianhead in Utah. It was fabulous to go and do something together with out the kids. (Thank you Grandma Dana!)

This is our friend Mark. We carpooled with him up there and then hung out with him even though he snowboards. (Insert gasp of horror, or Booing and Hissing. Unless you are a snowboarder and then you can cheer.)

These are some of the people from Blake's work.

All in all I would say that we had a great time. It was really cold so I had to go sit in the lodge a couple of times to warm up. But Blake got his "ski on" and we both are feeling a little bit sore now. I guess that just means we did good.

Trying Times

How is it that a girl this cute, and that looks so happy could be the one thing that has been driving me to insanity lately? She wakes up in the morning crying or throwing a tantrum and pretty much continues until the end of the day. I finally decided that I was going to take her to the doctor but what do I say? My little girl is super ornery? She is being kind of a stinker lately, I would like to think that something is wrong with her and that she is not just stuck like this, could you help me? Well that is pretty much what I said. Do you know what the doctor told me? She has a ear infection. Oh, happy day....you mean there is medicine to fix this?!

Windy City II

This weekend we went to the park to have a birthday party for our friends the Andrews whose little girl turned one. It ended up being super windy, lets just say it is the windiest I have ever seen here in Vegas. Needless to say the park stay ended up being about 5 minutes. Then we packed up and went to their house instead. But we did get this cute picture of Laney trying to stay vertical.

Backyard Fun

This weekend we went and played in our very brown, rocky back yard. Blake was teaching Gavin how to hit a ball. Gavin did quite well, I think, considering he has never done it before.

Do not be alarmed this picture is nothing like this.

This is what Laney was doing most of the time. I think these couple pictures are funny. I am just not sure why. Maybe it is because it reminds me of a stand off in an old western movie. Can't you just hear the twangy music in the background?

Alas, they call it a draw.

Problems

For some reason I am having problems uploading pictures....so stay tuned I will try later.

Train Gang

Gavin has a lot of trains but he just got two new ones that he loves, Thomas and Emily, that are battery powered. They other day he was in his room and I heard him yelling

Gavin: I said NO!!
Gavin: I said NO!!
Me: (Yelling from the other room) Gavin talk nice.
Gavin: I wasn't talking mean, Thomas was. He was yelling "No" and pushing Emily.
Me: Well you need to tell Thomas to talk nice and that we don't push anybody.
Gavin: Will you come in and tell him with me?
Me: Yeah, I will.

I have come to a point where I teach life lessons to electric trains.

Yesterday's Headdress

Slap One Up Top and Call It Good

Our little girl is not like most. She likes to wear a lot of clothes. If she sees a hat or a headband she taps her head to let us know that she wants to wear it. She wore that (last picture) hat all day today. I am sure that people think that we are crazy because we have a little girl walking around in a short sleeve shirt, it is 70 degrees outside, and she is wearing her nubbin hat. Laney has decided that she has her own style and agenda and there is nothing that we can do about it.

Do You Understand Gibberish?

Laney likes to read books. The only problem is that she uses one word, that I do not understand. Well, at least she is consistent she uses a lot of words I don't understand.

What Do You Like On Your Eggos?