School daze

This Wednesday, my kids started school.

High school. Middle school. Elementary school. Preschool starts next week.

I have made lunches. Packed backpacks. Signed enough papers to give myself a hand cramp for a week. I have driven back and forth. I have walked back and forth.

Seminary started. Early morning seminary. My alarm is set for a time that STARTS with a 4. Yes, a 4. Harmony's alarm starts with a 5. Early.

There have been quiet moments to think. There have been quiet moments to just be me. There have been sweet moments with Mason. There have been moments where he has driven me nuts, without older siblings to entertain him.

All of my kids have had a great first few days. They have classes with their friends & favorite teachers. They have made new friends. They have managed to open their lockers. And haul textbooks. And find their classes.

However, after three days, this Mama is worn the heck out. Last night I fell asleep at 8:15. With my contacts in. In my clothes. With Masons shoes at the end of my bed. Dead to the world at 8:15.

This year is going to be busy. And next year. And the next.

My caffeine consumption just may go up. By a lot.

14 lessons for my 14 year old...

My daughter turned 14!! How did that happen?! Normally for birthdays I do a post about the reasons I love the birthday boy or girl.

But with Harmony heading to high school and entering a new phase in her life, I decided on something different. Life lessons. Things I hope she learns in her life.

So here they are, 14 lessons I hope my 14 year old will learn...

14.) Her brothers aren't as bad as she thinks!

13.)To not take everything personally.

12.) To find healthy stress relievers.

11.)To be happy in just.being.herself.

10.) That she is amazing.

9.) What a true friend is.

8.) How to be content.

7.)That life is full of good things.

6.) Have a personal relationship with her Savior.

5.) To know who she is.

4.) To be thankful.

3.) That her Dad teases her because he loves her.

2.) Be confident.

 

1.) That no matter what happens, no matter what she does, that I will always, always have her back.

Happy 14th Birthday Harmony!!

4th of July

What a busy & fun day!

A very early wake up to go and attend a pancake breakfast at the church...

Ben decided that he and Harmony & Ethan would bike to the church. I took the car...

Ben and the boys google-ing answers to the history quiz

Yum!

After dropping kids off at home, I headed out to grocery shop. It was busy but I got it done :)

Then we headed to the Growing Grounds ( a piece of property owned by a member of our church) for a BBQ and the fireworks show.

The kids had fun hanging out with friends...

 and then sitting for the fireworks show...

I am one tired Mom and am soooo looking forward to taking a nap today!

Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July!

Crayon Canvas

Harmony has been super busy this summer.

Cleaning and organizing her room. Reading, writing and creating.

I love her "Oh yeah I can totally do that" attitude...and then she does.

We had been seeing this cute crayon canvas on Pinterest. One day she decided to make one for herself.

I love the colors she chose and they are just so her.



It took awhile to get the crayons to melt but she stuck with it. It turned out super cute, don't you think?

The next day she was busy going through her fabric stash and making bowties. I wish I had her creative juices!

easy come, easy go

Vacations, no matter how well planned, usually includes hidden costs. A forgotten item, a gift shop purchase, a meal out....Whatever it is.

I have a Ford Expedition. I love, love, love my car. However, it is not cheap to fill her up! I take advantage of gas reward points programs but...the most I can get off a tank here in CA is a mere .20! However, I will take what I can get.

So during a stop to get gas, I was shocked to find a different offer from Safeway...we got $1 off a gallon! Gas was already super cheap compared to So. Cal but to get $1 off as well? Heck yeah! (Picture above is CA prices with discount. Picture below is AZ price with discount)

While driving into the Grand Canyon, Ben informed me that we had to pay a $25 fee for park entrance. As we pulled up though, we saw this sign...

See that line on the very bottom? Yep, not only did we get the day free, we got a whole year free! We congratulated ourselves on saving some more money on our trip.

At the end of our trip, Ben said to me, "Have you ever noticed how when we save money
on something, we usually end up finding it somewhere later?"

Uh yeah. Unfortunatley. After one more stop at Sonic (this was a must have), we decided not to eat out or spend any more money until we got home.

Upon arriving home, we were getting everything cleaned out of the car, and getting back into the swing of things. But then...we realized that one of the freezers in our garage, had had the door left open.

Everything was ruined. EVERYTHING. I had to throw it all away. It made me sick to my stomach to throw all that food out. I had carefully wrapped meats, frozen produce, whole chickens...ugh. All of my hard work down the drain.

I was already in a bad mood because of all this. I went out to the garage to get something out of the car. When I clicked the garage door button, the door went up and I heard a shattering sound. The lift gate on the back of my car had been left open. When the door went up, it got caught and the whole thing shattered.

After many, many tears, and a bit of chocolate, I called the insurance company. Thank heaven for good insurance. After parts, labor and paying extra for them to come to us instead of me going to them, we were looking at a little less than $500. Ugh. Do you know what I can get with $500?!

While the windshield was being fixed, I went to Costco. My husband insisted that " there is nothing good to eat" and that we needed some quick & easy foods. That "little" trip, knowing that I had to replace some of what was lost, put me back a lot of money.

Yet another kick to the gut.

Such costly mistakes that could have been easily prevented.

It was an expensive, expensive couple of days. Lots of lessons learned.

Now I am trying to re-stock my freezer with good deals...and of course, buying a lock for the freezer!

lazy dinner

A couple of nights ago, I was feeling a little under the weather. Nothing serious, just kind of blah.

Yet, my family still wanted to eat dinner. Isn't that the way it always is?!

I decided on a quick and easy "dinner" that my family loves. German pancakes.

Recipes have a lot of history behind them don't they? Maybe not all of them, but some.

When I was first married, Ben and I were hanging out at his parents house. I am not sure how it came about but his Mom made us these puff pancakes and called them German Pancakes. After baking, we topped them with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

This was my first time having them...and yummo! I loved them. The buttery, salty, sweetness.  Because I loved them, and so does my husband, he wrote the recipe down for me. He never does this. It is so cute to have a recipe that he wrote out. I love it!

I have seen these called many different things, Hills & Valleys, German pancakes, Puff pancakes....so whatever you want to call it, this is our recipe:

6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp. butter

Pre-heat your oven to 450*.

Beat the eggs until they are frothy. Set aside for a moment and place your butter in your 13x9 dish. (We have also made these in pie plates for a circle shaped pancake/puff). I use a cube of butter, slice it at the 5 TBSP. mark. Then I cut into pats of butter  putting  one in each corner of the pan and one in the middle. Does that make sense? You want to melt the butter while you mix up the rest of the batter. Once you have mixed all the other ingredients in with the eggs, pour it into the dish and bake for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven.

My kids favorite way to eat these are with lemon juice squirted on the puff and than adding powdered sugar. However, I also like raspberry jam with powdered sugar. Have some fruit on the side and bacon/sausage and you have yourself a meal!

P.S.A.

On our last full day at the Grand Canyon, we tried to squeeze a lot in.

I ate breakfast around 6ish. Really early but when the sun comes up at 5...well, what are you gonna do?

Following breakfast, we cleaned up the camp site, went and took showers, quick trip to the general store and then a hike. It was at least 85* outside.

We hiked, rode a tram to several look outs and enjoyed our day. By 1:00 none of us had eaten, so we walked from the bus stop to a cafeteria. Mason "was tired of lots and lots of walking" so I ended up carrying him part of the way...as well as my backpack.

I was hot, tired, starving and felt loopy. Seriously loopy. So of course I CHOWED down my lunch.

We followed all of this with more hiking,  more carrying Mason (up a hill!) more straightening up, and then headed back to a view point to watch the sun set over the canyon. More walking. More sun. No water. No food.

By the time the sun had gone down, the kids in their shorts & t-shirts were all freezing. Ben took them back to the car while I stopped to take a few more pictures.

Walking back to the car, I got a little lost. We were in parking area 4, and I was in one. I began to walk when my body just felt weird.

I felt dizzy, sick to my stomach and just out of it. I kept walking and my foot would feel as if it was falling asleep. I kept walking, ( I am one of those "walk it off" kind of people) and the symptoms kept up. I was feeling disoriented and was about to text my husband to come and pick me up. I finally found the car and said, "I don't feel good."

Have you figured out what happened? Yeah I was completely dehydrated. I had been doing too much and not taking care of myself. I made sure my kids downed plenty of water. Had their sunscreen, bug spray, water bottles, snacks...you name it. Me? I was too busy to take care of myself.

I got in the car and guzzled water, which led to a sick stomach. I slowed down, rested in the a/c, ate some food, and lied down a while. I finally felt better, but it took awhile.

Can I tell you something? It was SCARY! I had never felt like that and don't want too again!

This summer, wherever you are, bring water! If you end up having to buy a water bottle, because you forgot, do it! Refill as necessary! Snacks are also important. Jerky, granola/protein bars, fruit, cheese, nuts...something. Drink your water! Water is the best but you can also have a Gatorade type drink. Just keep downing fluids.

Do as I say, and not as I did, because trust me, you don't want to feel that way! Stay safe this summer!