Veggie Snackin'

I made this veggie platter up yesterday afternoon thinking that it would probably last us for at least a couple of days. WRONG! It's almost all gone... and I blame Tate. He's definitely a VEGGIE LOVER.

No Sugar-Carob Cake Recipe

{Adapted from Grandpa Snyder's Carob Cake recipe}

Servings:8

1 Cup Water
6 Tbsp. Canola Oil
1 Tbsp. Distilled White Vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. Chunky Peanut Butter
1/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 Cup Honey
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 Cup Chatfield's Carob Powder
1 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour

Combine wet ingredients in Bosch mixer. Add dry ingredients and combine until mixed (30-40 seconds). Pour into greased 8"x8" pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with sugar free ice cream.

Tate's Letter to Santa

In case you can't make out Tate's letter to Santa that he wrote all by himself, it says:

Dear Santa,

I want Grandma Margaret to get better and I want some Crystals. That's all I want.
Love, Tate

P.S. I also want a sign language book and the movie Star Wars.

Rappelling Adventure & A Little Miracle

We went Rappelling today at Bull Dog Canyon with some friends (Curtis, Rachel, and their little family). It was quite an ADVENTURE...

Bryan, Tate, and I ALL went rappelling, but I only have proof (in pictures) of them going down the mountain. I guess that's what happens when I'm ALMOST ALWAYS the photographer in the family.

So here's Bryan just starting off (the first few steps off the side of the cliff are the scariest) but he did great!

And here's Tate & Curtis going down facing front (I guess it was easier with two people that way).

YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME WHILE I WAS DANGLING 1/2 WAY DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.

A HUGE chunk of my hair got stuck... ALL TANGLED up in the figure 8 hook & rope... I'd say about 5 inches worth of hair... (I had worn my hair in a pony tail too, but the majority of the front part had come out of the rubber band and this was the part that got stuck).

I was terrified to say the least! In my mind I imagined what would happen if I continued downward-MY HAIR WOULD BE RIPPED FROM MY SCALP. And since I am VERY INEXPERIENCED at rappelling, I had NO IDEA what to do. So I prayed for help!

When I finished my (very fast prayer) I knew exactly what to do... I VERY CAREFULLY leaned my left arm against a rock and using that arm for support, I lifted my body up as high as I could and shook my head violently to help release my hair from the figure 8 and rope. And it worked.

So that is my little (yet super HUGE) miracle for the day!

Busy Bryan

I started posting ads for SUNKISS POOLS on Craigslist some time ago, and it's been working. Bryan's been staying really busy (which is good for the pocket book/not so good for him having to work this weekend.
Anyways, he let Tate & I come with him to a couple of jobs this past week-so that was fun!

Thanksgiving Day 2009

We had Thanksgiving dinner with my family on Thursday and Bryan's family on Friday-so it worked out great to be able to visit both of our families! It kind of helps that Bryan & I, my parents, and Bryan's parents all live within 5 miles of each other...
Here's some pictures from Thursday (at my parents). Unfortunately I only got one picture at Bryan's parents on Friday and it turned out super blurry (so I'm not posting that).

{My parents helped the grandchildren to act out the very first Thanksgiving}

{Katie girl sneaking radishes before the feast}

{Kids Table}

{Rebecca with olives on ALL 10 fingers}

{The Adult Table}

{Emma & Tate in the Three Legged Race}

{Bryan and I WON the adult three legged race}

Just Being Cute!

Pink Present Hat

I finished my very first hat (using a loom) today.

It turned out looking... Like a BIG PINK PRESENT!

Once Upon a Time...

We were all SUPER hungry, so I decided to make my FAMOUS chicken soup.

I added a little bit of this and a little bit of that into the pot and waited and waited and waited for it to cook. Finally it was done:)

After pouring the soup into our bowls, I realized that it was much too hot (near boiling). So I left the bowls on the counter top to cool slightly, while I proceeded to set the rest of the table.

Then Mr. Tate (who was the hungriest of us all) found the good smelling bowls of soup on the counter and accidentally spilled the entire bowl onto his arm.

He SCREAMED loudly, so I grabbed him and brought him over to the kitchen sink where I proceeded to rinse his arm in COLD water, and then... he accidentally knocked a glass mug off the counter with his foot which shattered everywhere.

He was ALRIGHT (thankfully). But I was FRAZZLED.

We cleaned up the great big mess, poured some more soup for Tate, and FINALLY got to fill our HUNGRY tummies with food.

That night, after tucking both my boys in bed, I SNUCK off to see a really late night movie with my SIL Carrie!!! And it was fun. Yeah for de-frazzlers!

The End.

Bry & I

Just chillin' with my man on a Sunday afternoon with Mr. Tate as photographer.

Soccer is Officially Over!

It's been a fun season with Bryan (Dad) as coach.

Tate was thrilled to receive his very first trophy!

Here's one last picture with his team-mates.

And a little video clip of Tate playing in his last game.
(He's #7)

Grandma's House

We went over to Grandma Margaret's house the other day and she helped Tate to paint a cute turkey to send to Uncle Tommy.

Frosting, Eating, & Delivering Sugar Cookies

It was a FUN afternoon!

Just a few Pictures...

Christina and Joseph asked me to take some family pictures for them at the park. I told them "yes, but I can't guarantee anything". I'm all about taking pictures but with no pressure! That's why I prefer the whole "following them around while they just hang out and play" vs. "pose, smile, and say cheese" sort of thing!

I am Thankful.

Lately I've been feeling somewhat sorry for myself and my incapability to have what I desire the most right now, another baby.

It's hard for me (sometimes) to accept the position that I'm in (having a five year old, wanting more children and not being able to have more right now). I get frustrated! Very very frustrated! I want to see a fertility doctor and I want to adopt-but I DON'T feel right about pursuing either of them right now, and THAT is what is so frustrating for me.

From the time I was a little girl, I ALWAYS wanted to have A LOT of children. In fact when someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always the same, "a mother".

Lucky for me-I am a Mother!!! Even if I am only the Mother to one, I'm still a Mother. I've been blessed with the most adorable 5 year old on the planet, and I thank Heavenly Father every day for this great blessing that He's given to me.

It's humbling to accept that God's plan for me may not be my plan for me, but that His plan is better! And for that I'm very thankful.

Tate's SAD Hands

I'm sure that the change in weather is mostly to blame for Tate's poor chapped hands. Another factor involved would be the number of times he washes his hands in a day. Seriously this kid is OBSESSED with having clean hands.

He usually carries around a bottle of hand sanitizer everywhere he goes and even then tries to avoid touching things that he thinks could have germs on them. It's very common for me to CATCH him practicing his piano with his elbows so that he doesn't have to touch the keys with his fingers (I'm totally not kidding).

Fall Festival

I LOVE how at Tate's Elementary School they only have one fundraiser for the year (a fall festival that is fun for the entire family) and you don't have to worry about buying or selling any of that expensive magazine stuff.

Campout

Bryan's been enjoying his calling as assistant scout master. He had a campout with the deacons on Friday night. He told me that he slept under the stars (I'm so jealous) and he took this picture of the sun set.

I'm hoping to convince him to take us (Tate & I) camping soon. It shouldn't be too hard/he likes it!

Big Boy Scooter

Tate goes to the same Elementary School that I went to when I was little. It is a "Back to Basics" school that focuses on writing in learning how to read. They also focus on learning phonograms (there are a total of 70) which they review daily and expect the children to learn.

Since it seemed kind of daunting for a five year old to learn the sounds of 70 phonograms, my parents started a tradition that when we learned all 70 phonograms we were able to go to the store and buy whatever toy we wanted (that was reasonably priced of course). I still remember my prize (the Heart Family dolls).

Anyways, Bryan and I decided to pass this BRIBING tradition on with Tate...

And he did it!!! He memorized all 70 phonogram sounds for a scooter (a big boy scooter with two wheels which we bought off of Craigslist for only $10). Go Tate!

3 Gold Medals

I'm getting kind of LAZY with my "Picture a Day Project". As much as I ENJOY taking a daily picture, when I skip posting it for even one day it becomes a chore to catch up. But I'm NOT going to quit now... There's only 45 more days left in this year. Besides, I have really enjoyed being able to look back at this year {through my pictures} and remember just about everything that has taken place in our family. So that is my motivation to stick it out and continue through the end of this year.

Anyways, enough rambling... Here's Thursday's picture!

Tate's been enjoying playing the wii, and he's getting really good at it too (definitely better than me) probably because I never play:) Anyways, his current favorite game is wii play. His favorite part is that at the end of the game, it gives you a medal for doing a good job. The medals are given in this order; bronze, silver, gold, and platinum depending on how many points you get. Tate got his first platinum medal on the fishing this past week with 3100 points! He was totally proud of himself.

Ever since he's started playing this game and getting medals on the wii, he's wanted to get a REAL medal. Well last Sunday when we went to church with Grandma and Grandpa, their primary gave out gold medals to all of the children for participating in the Primary program and Tate got one too. He has been wearing and carrying this medal around almost all week.

And a funny story:
On Thursday I overheard Tate telling his Aunts (Sarah and Natalie) about how many gold medals he's earned. The conversation went something like this, "I've got 3 gold medals! I got a gold medal on the fishing game one time, and another gold medal on the fishing game another time, and another gold medal from Primary!"

Family Proclamation Book (I'm Done & Something For YOU)

Are you excited? I am!!!

I finished the very last page of my family proclamation scrapbook last night!

So that means I'm done-YEAH! I've been working on this project for over a year, so you can only imagine my excitement.

As promised I've included some "DO IT YOURSELF" pages for you to use (so that you can make a family proclamation scrapbook using your own family photos). This would also be a fun project to do with Young Women or even Primary kids:)

There are 11 visual pages and 11 word pages (plus a front cover and back cover) for you to download. I figure that for someone who wants to memorize the Family Proclamation it would take approximately one year to accomplish it (memorizing a page/month for January through November, and then using the month of December for review).

To make your own book you'll first need to save the "DO IT YOURSELF" visual pages and word pages to your computer (they are the blank pages below).

You can then either use your own photo software (such as Photoshop) or you can use a free online scrapbook site (such as Scrapblog or Smilebox) to insert your family photos into the blank spaces of the page. If you're not a "digital scrapbook person" you could always print the pages and then cut and paste your own pictures where they belong.

Make Your Own Book-Downloads

{Front & Back Covers}

{11 Visual & Word Pages}

For our family, I made an 8"x8" family proclamation book that we use during scripture study. Basically we just say the parts we are working on "all together as a family" while pointing to the pictures. (And it works-it really does. Tate is only 5 and he has memorized 3/4 of the proclamation already).

To make my book; I printed the pages on cardstock paper with our printer, placed the visual picture back to back with the words for that page, laminated them, and used some binder rings to attach them together. It's simple & cute, yet sturdy.

I just wanted to add that in making this book and in taking the time to memorize it, I've come to realize just how powerful the family proclamation really is... I've also developed an even greater testimony of families. I KNOW that "the family is ordained of God and also that it is the fundamental unit of society". I am SO thankful for the family I have now {Bryan and Tate}, the family I grew up in, and the family I married into.

If you make your own proclamation book, I'd LOVE to see it!!! Please link.