This is Jack's pre-school holiday program. He's in the white shirt and blue hat.

Tristan has had a lot of firsts lately. This week on Monday he went to his first book fair at school. His class went during school hours. He took 6 one dollar bills in an envelope and I told him he could buy whatever he wanted. He picked out a pen and a little notebook and paid for them all by himself. A first. He was so cute. He told me all about how he counted out his money. He accidentally gave the lady too much, but she gave him back a dollar. whew.

Tuesday the Mighty Ducks hockey team sent representatives to his school. It was just for the kindergarten. They set up a street hockey course.


Then today he went in a limo with 8 other kids to the Rainforest Cafe. Here he is posing in front of the limo with two kids from his class. The rest of the kids were older.

A visit to Uncle Chad & Uncle Andrew's work


Recognize Chad's handiwork? Who doesn't want drawings on their chest and back? No one I can think of. We stop by Chad and Andrew's work weekly for a little fun and running around. The boys can usually get Andrew or Chad to give them a ride on the forklift or, as they did this last time, a ride on a metal cart through the parking lot. Jack is mostly interested in Chad stamping him with whatever stamps he has handy, ie. "PAID" or "FAXED" or "Pay to the order of (complete with banking information)". The boys love going there. They get a few laughs and some tootsie rolls. Jack told me the other day, "I have three daddies. Daddy, Uncle Chad and Uncle Andrew." Aww...

It's been forever since I've posted, but we just recently got our camera back... the one I lost in the hospital in Utah on July 7th. There were some technical difficulties, but we're back in action now. Things have been very busy with work lately. I'm overwhelmed. More work= more money, but it also equals more work. Funny how that turns out. I asked to be released from teaching Sunday School. I needed to cut back on something. Don't worry, I'm still the Webelos Den Mother.
My first school class is wrapping up this week. I thought they were 6-week classes, but no, they're 5-week classes. It's the equivalent of taking a full-load at school. A semester crammed into 5-weeks. One thing I like is, I only have one class to keep track of. It does mean that I have 4-6 chapters to read a week and at least one paper due per week in addition to a BIG individual paper and BIG group project I'm working on. The BIG ones are due this week. Happy Thanksgiving to me. It's all done online and I'm getting used to that. I enjoy independent study, so I don't miss going to class, but all the textbooks are online too. It's hard to do so much reading online. I prefer reading out of a book. It's also hard to be sequestered in the office for so long. I have been getting up an hour and a half earlier everyday to work on my school work. I feel the dust coming off the wheels in my head already.

Tristan is into his 3rd month of kindergarten and loving it. He loves his teacher and she loves him. She can't say enough about how good he is in class. Not perfect, however. He did have to turn his card once. Oh well... he can't be good ALL the time. He won a trip to the Rainforest Cafe, in a limo, with the principal, for bringing in a lot of money for the Jog-A-Thon. He's excited about that, but tries to play it down. He's made tons of friends, ironically, most of them are girls. His birthday is coming up and he's looking forward to inviting all of them.

Jack is... well... Jack. He's the funniest kid. It's hard to believe all that personality fits in that body. He is willing to "show you his moves" at any time. He got a sleep mask, (The kind that you would put over your eyes to nap or something, if it was too bright.) and he wears it all the time on his forehead. Just in case it suddenly gets too bright and he needs to pull it down. We wore it to Burger King, the park, to take Tristan to school, etc. He's living the Boy Scout motto already. It's either that or a costume. I'm sure he'll have both a costume and the mask on soon.

He loves pre-school and his teacher told me "he's wonderful". Oh good. At least he behaves away from home. He and Archer fight like brothers. They are always arguing about something. Last week when I picked him up from school, he was all upset because he said, "Archer fired me from the playhouse." ha, ha... Then he said, "So I fired him back." That's their new thing. Firing each other. We, the adults, can't exactly figure out what that means. What does that entail? Do they have to leave the playhouse?? Of course we talk about loving our cousins and playing nice with everyone, but it's a little bit funny... secretly. Maybe it's just the way they say it.

Martha Stewart... Eat your heart out!

So, as I put away the new batch of tomatoes I grew and canned, I got to thinking. So far this week I've canned tomatoes, set out the big pumpkin we grew for Halloween, stripped wallpaper off of two bathrooms and finished painting and decorating one of them, taught Webelos, done my Sunday School lesson and fit in my usual mom work and coding work. Ta Da! I was thinking that Martha Stewart has nothing on me. OK, so maybe she has a lot more money and a whole empire she controls. Empire shmempire.

The kids are outside playing in the rain. It rains so seldom here that it's a novelty. They're right now practicing walking around in the backyard with umbrellas.
"Look Mom... I'm not even getting wet!"
Amazing, those umbrella things.

One last note... Why is it that Jack always puts his flip-flops on the wrong feet? I thought flip-flops were sort of wrong feet proof. He has to get them practically sideways in order for him to get the little piece between his big toe and next toe. He'll walk around like that until I say, "Jack, you have your thongs on the wrong feet." Then, with a look of sudden surprise he looks down and says, "Oh." Then he changes them.

Yummy, Yummy Pasta

Penne with Spinach Sauce
Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

1 pound whole wheat penne
3 garlic cloves
2 oz goat cheese (I used low-fat sour cream)
1 oz reduced fat cream cheese (I used neufchatel cheese)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 oz fresh baby spinach (I used a bag)
2 Tbs Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Chop the rest of the spinach and place in a bowl. When the pasta is done, use a slotted spoon and transfer it to the bowl with the spinach. This kind of cooks the spinach because the noodles are wet and still hot. Add the cheese-spinach mixture, mix and enjoy.

Brian and I couldn't believe how good this was! We even fought over the leftovers the next day.

The "Other" Tyler

This is Jeri's grandson, Tyler. Not to be confused with Amy's son Tyler. Jack has dubbed him the "Other" Tyler. As in, "Mom, can the Other Tyler come and play?" The Other Tyler is 4 and they seem to be a really great friend fit. Tyler tells Jack what they're going to play and Jack just says OK. Also, they have one of the hallmarks of a great friendship... twin outfits! Tyler's is new, but Jack's has seen MUCH, MUCH love and wear. Who doesn't want to wear a quilted polyester bodysuit everyday of Summer... especially when it's 103?

A new post!!!

My camera was misplaced at the University of Utah Medical Center when we were there over the summer. I still have not gotten it back due to some logistical problems. I sometimes feel like, no pictures, no post, but I'll catch everyone up anyway.

We started Kindergarten and Tristan announced at the end of the first day that he had made one friend. When I asked his friend's name, he didn't know. Hey... little things aren't important. He also told me that it was SO easy to make a friend. He just said, "Hey, do you want to be my friend?" and the other boy said yes. "Isn't that SO great mom!" Also there was a bit of amusement when he told me that his new friend looked JUST like him. Same hair, same eyes... "just like me, mom." The next day we went to school and he was looking for his new friend to point him out to me. At first he said, "That's him over there... wait, that's not him." (This boy was Chinese) Then finally, at long last, The Friend came. Turns out, he does have the same hair and eye color as Tristan. He also happens to be a dark-skinned Pakistani. It was funny, but I appreciate at the same time that kids don't see race.

The greatest thing about Kindergarten is that he gets to go everyday. I pick him up at noon and that rolls around pretty fast. He really loves it, but I'm already getting grief from him about doing the homework. Uh.. Tristan... this is only the beginning. Writing your name twice and reading a story is not exactly a lot of homework.

My other news is that I got another calling. They didn't release me from teaching Sunday School. We're going to see how it is doing both. "So, we have a special calling in mind for you," says the bishop. "We've struggled to fill this calling for a while (uh huh) and when you walked in the church on Sunday it was like a vision. (I bet you say that to everyone) We'd like you to be the Webelos Den Leader."
Silence
More silence
"Ummm... what does this entail for me?"
"Only one night a week for den meeting. One night a month for pack meeting. (Who remembers the watermelon cheer?) One night a month for pack leadership meeting and one night a month if you want to go to the council roundtable. "
"Wow, is that all? I'm surprised this has been so difficult to fill. Who doesn't want a bunch of 10 year old boys running around their house? Who doesn't have 2 nights a week to commit?"

Tristan is very excited. Can't you just see him eating all of that campy stuff up at the pack meeting? He's also excited that a group of 10 year olds are going to come to our house and run around. Me? I just can't wait to buy my yellow shirt and sew on some patches. I'm VERY open to suggestions for the group. Because so far-- I got nothin'.

Making Bread




Jack's loaf wasn't salvageable.

This is a very typical day for me. Notice the arguing and that Jack has to stop what he's doing occasionally and watch TV.

Deep Thoughts, by Tristan Plummer.

In the car yesterday Tristan said,
"Mom, sometimes I think about the bad things that have happened to me in my life,"
"What bad things?" I interrupted to ask.
"You know, like when I broke my arm." (mental sigh of relief. I was hoping it wasn't anything too bad.)
"Right, so what do you think about these things?" I asked.
"I think back on all the bad things that have happened in my life, and I think 'wow, sure am glad that's over with!"

Jack frequently gets "needles" in his eyes (dust or an eyelash) and "snakes" (a hair) in his mouth. These episodes are accompanied by frantic motions to remove the offending object.
Mom was speaking in Sacrament meeting on Sunday when Jack suddenly had a snake attack in his mouth. "Mommy, mommy... there's a snake in my mouth. Get it out! Get it out!"

We went to Disneyland yesterday with Amy and kids. Considering we were two adults with 5 kids, under 5, we did well. Lots of fun was had by everybody. Even baby Mia was good. Tristan got picked to be on stage for "Jedi Training". He loved it. He also loved riding a roller coaster for the first time. He rode all alone in the very front seat of the roller coaster. I couldn't ride with him because I was riding with Jack in the seat right behind him. Jack didn't seem to like the ride as much as Tristan, but joined in with the shouts of "Let's do it again!!!"

It's finally done! After many months of waiting, we have a finished backyard. It's strange, it seems like since we've never had an outside place for the kids to play, they don't know what to do out there. I was dreaming of them running and playing, but it hasn't really happened like that. Turns out, the only time they want to go outside is if I'm with them. I wish there were more kids around us. I remember being a pre-schooler and playing outside all the time with the neighbors. Now, if Tristan wants to play with someone, we have to set up a playdate a week in advance.