First Birthday Party (Again....lots of pictures)

Here are the pics from Owen's Birthday party. It was just our little family.

He just couldn't resist opening the presents before we told him to.

Sporting his birthday crown from Toys 'R Us.


Messy from his special pizza dinner.

Wearing his 1st Birthday hat.


Opening his presents.
(A Cars tambourine that Logan picked out.)

Upset that the cake is out of his reach.

Ah, that is better.

Yes, he touched the candle just like Logan.
No, he didn't cry. He was just surprised and examined his fingers.


Digging into the cake. It was probably 3-4 inches across.


Nice and mushy.


Look dad, dirty hands!


Almost done.


He got the smashing technique down good.


He ate the whole cake gone. Not too much on the floor or his lap.


Some milk to wash it all down with.

Thanks for all the great presents. Owen had a fun time ripping all the paper and trying to crawl away with his gifts.

Ode to Owen (Warning...lots of pictures)

Okay....okay....I realize it is the 28th and Owen's birthday was on the 26th...I'm a busy woman.

Sleeping Oh so peacefully. The day after he was born.

I love the look of sheer determination on his face.
He know that his brother is going to make his life rough.

Owen with his big sister. (A few weeks old.)

The men in the circle for the blessing.
Check out the hot Tux my mom made. She is amazing!

My happy little guy. About 3 months old.

Logan reading a book to Owen. He is showing him his nose.

He should be sleeping, but he was caught playing with Pooh instead.

Enjoying the swing in Cali.


He loved to play UNDER the toy instead of IN it.


Proof that he isn't always perfect. Yelling about something.


Swimming on Memorial Day. (Katelyn in the foreground.)

Common Owen face....with tongue hanging out.

Another common scene....toy in mouth, another in hand.


That boy loved him some plums!


My most common view of Owen. "Mom....pick me up!"


Attacking his brother's Mr. Potato Head.
(Yes, he has huge eyes. )


He wants to do everything Logan does.
(Ignore my butt, Steven is in trouble for that.)


AH, my sweet little man on his first birthday. All grown up.

My Father....

A few minutes ago, I was showing Kimberley by blog (the only thing I've gotten accomplished today) and I noticed the date, August 14, today is my dad's birthday. So I had to post a little something in his honor.

(This is my dad's mission picture, taken when he was 19.)

My dad has been a great example in my life. He is constantly looking for ways to serve others. He meets people for a brief moment, but can then recall their name 6 months later. He loves my mother amazingly and as kids we hardly ever saw them fight. He tried to spend time with each of us kids. I remember having interviews with my father on the couch Sunday evenings.

(My dad with Kim and Logan this summer. He took them riding on the quad.)

I think the most amazing thing about my dad, is that he is an awesome grandfather. He loves each of his grandkids and spends lots of time with them when we visit. He is willing to sleep outside when Kim wants to . He is willing to jump on the trampoline or play ball at the drop of a hat with Logan.

(Owen and Grandpa getting to know each other the day before his blessing.)

I feel supremely fortunate to have grown up in such a wonderful home, led by my father. I know that I was greatly blessed to witness his strengths and learn from his (very) few weaknesses. I am grateful for all that my parents have put up with through the years and the constant love and support they have given.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Feeling like Mrs. Molly Mormon...

There are times I just don't feel like I'm being a great Mormon mom. I yell at my kids, I don't read my scriptures everyday, my house has too much clutter that is just accumulating all over and my food storage is almost non-existent (except for cereal, BBQ sauce, and salad dressing that I got with some awesome deals). Lately I've been trying to get myself all-together and be a better person. I have been trying to get my house in order, trying to develop better relationships with my kids, and get working on the food storage.

Today, we will talk about the food storage. I know, you are so excited. There are many ways to get that food storage going...but not too many on my tight food budget. So I have turned to canning. I know you are a little shocked there....but yes, I have entered the world of canning women. Specifically, I started last October when a couple ladies I worked with in YW invited me to can applesauce with them. It was a great experience and I will forever can applesauce and apple pie filling with them. (oh yes, that is right, apple pie filling. Oh so good) It was like canning for dummies and they are so much fun to work with.

This year, I've been a bit more adventurous. I found a great friend, Melissa, the mother of one of Kim's great friends. She is big into canning and knows what she is doing, so we have combined forces and canned together. This earlier this year, we did strawberry jam and strawberry lemonade concentrate. After doing jam with her, I felt educated and did some on my own: raspberry jam (well, Nicole and I did this one together with FREE raspberries from Grandma and Grandpa Andersen's garden). Then all by myself I made apricot jam (from FREE apricots I got from my home teacher).

(A jar of apricot jam I did all by myself. I only got enough apricots to do one batch, but they were free so I'm not complaining.)

I know, I know jam is easy. But yesterday was my greatest adventure yet, peaches! We planted a peach tree in our yard two years ago when we moved in. Last year a fierce windstorm blew off all the blossoms and we didn't get a single peach. This year, we got more than we thought we would. Steven ate quite a few and then informed me he was tired of eating them and I should do something with them before they got too bad. So I called Melissa and asked if she was willing to do peaches. When I told her they were free because they were off my tree she jumped at the opportunity. I knew we wouldn't net too many jars because it's only a dwarf tree and the birds had been pecking at the peaches, but I figured a couple jars would be better than none. So we went to work yesterday at 10am boiling, peeling, cutting, pitting. After letting all the jars sit to make sure they sealed, I got home about 2:30pm. I ended up with 8 quart jars and Melissa got 7 qt and 1 pint jar for our effort.

(The 8 qt. jars out on my counter cooling and waiting for room in the garage.)

So all in all, as the peaches sit so beautifully on my counter (I need to clear room for them in the garage), I feel really good about myself. I feel all Pioneer-ish....growing my own produce and then preserving it for later consumption. I feel like a good little Mormon housewife. One step at at time I guess.

(We added a mint leaf in a couple of the jars upon the suggestion of the canning book, we will see how that changes the flavor and decide if we want to do that again. That is the green thing you see in this picture.)