Easter Clothes

Mok sent the kids adorable Easter clothes this year. On Saturday we went to a baptism for our old friend and neighbor Kadin and the kids were so excited to get all dressed up. We were in a hurry so I didn't get to take any close up pictures of the dresses, but trust me, they are gorgeous.

I included all 4 pictures I took because they show just how difficult it can be to get four kids all looking and smiling at the camera at the same time.

G was obviously not in a picture taking mood.

LC with a super cheesy smile.

J looks fa-fessional :)

Graduate School

I am so excited to share our latest news. We found out today that Ryan was accepted into the graduate program at The University of West Florida. He will be getting an MSA in Leadership (at least I think that's what it's called. I'll have to ask Ryan when he gets home.)

The journey to his Masters Degree has been pretty long and very frustrating. I don't know how much of it I've shared on the blog, but here is a recap. He graduated UVU in Dec. of 07 and in the summer of 2008 he decided he wanted to go back to school and get a Masters degree. He found a program at Utah State that we thought would be a good fit. He took all the tests, went through their ridiculous admission process and several interviews and they told him that he didn't get in for the winter semester, but if he would take one more test, he would get in for the summer term.

He did what they asked (i.e. paid more money and wasted more time) and then they didn't let him in again. I don't want to get into the specifics of it, but it was ridiculous and insulting. We were so upset that we had wasted all that time with them when we could've been finding a different program and applying other places.

At that point we had really hit a stumbling block and just didn't know how to proceed. In November of 2009 my Aunt Janie came out to visit and we discussed the situation with her. She knew immediately what we should do and where he should go. West Florida. She has a Masters Degree and a Doctorate Degree from West Florida, and both of my parents got their Masters Degrees there also.

Turns out they had the perfect program for Ryan. It was a different direction than he had originally wanted to go, but he was so excited about it and we knew it was the right fit. Right then we understood why things had happened the way they did and we were grateful he didn't get into Utah State. So, we began the application process. We finished it up in Feb. and the deadline wasn't until April 1st, so we had a long wait ahead of us. Which bring us to today.

We can't wait to get started with this. We are both looking forward to the challenge and appreciate the opportunities this will give us.

ETA: No, we don't have to move. It's an online program.

Pirate Island

So, first a confession...I stole these pictures from Jess's blog...all of them...in this order. Really I just wanted to copy and paste her whole post because it was adorable, but as S says, "You are not allowed to copy-cat other peoples books" so I will write my own. (Which might be quite similar to hers. At least she loves me :)

We went to Pirate Island for J's birthday/to hang out/just because and it was pretty cute. The food was not so good, but not unbearable. The decor was nice and the big kids seemed to really like it. Unfortunately, this little gal was not a fan. She was just sitting in her chair and we looked over and she looked like this. Jess took a picture because it was so funny.

A split second later she looked like this.

She sat in Jess's lap for awhile and was finally able to calm down and eat when the food came.

Unfortunately at the end of her meal she got scared by the lights and noise again and almost choked. But she didn't, so all's well that end's well.

These three are so funny. Of course B.J. was yelling, "No paparazzi" and J immediately covered his face. He told S to do it and she just smiled bigger for the camera.

After dinner we played at the arcade and the kids loved it. Then came the rough part. B.J. went home with J & J to spend a couple nights. My kids were okay initially, but last night was hard. They both cried and cried for B.J. and said how much they missed him. They keep asking why can't he just live with us here. It makes me so sad for them, but I'm glad that he is able to come for visits fairly often. We sure do love him.

(Thanks for the pictures Jess and thanks for remembering your camera. I have only 1 picture of B.J. and the kids so far. I need to fix that this weekend.)

Baked Potato Soup

From food, snow, garden

3 tbsp. butter
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
6 baking potatoes already baked and skinned and coarsely chopped
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 oz.)
6 cups milk
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1 cup cooked millet or white quinoa (optional)
Cracked black pepper (optional)

You start off by making a roux.

1. Melt your butter, add the onion and garlic and cook until onions are clear. Gradually have your flour out and add it to butter- whisking as you go. When you’ve added all the flour (will be clumpy) gradually add milk, whisking as you go again until all the milk is added. This is your Roux.

2. Let cook, stirring as you go for about 5 minutes- then add potatoes and grain (millet or quinoa). Let simmer until it thickens (about 15 minutes) then add the bacon, sour cream and 1/2 the cheese as well as the salt.

3. Let simmer until you’re ready to serve (add pepper and garlic powder to taste) then top with a dollop of sour cream, green onions and cheese.

I got the recipe from this website: www.soggycheerios.com

I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. The kids ate it up and Lila had two big bowls. I will say it is VERY filling. Also, I think mine looked better than the picture here (which is from the blog I stole the recipe from).

Birthday Boy

Jackson has spent his 7th birthday with his best buddy in the whole world...Uncle B.J. B.J. timed his visit perfectly and we have been so excited for him to get here. Ryan and I took the two older kids to the airport yesterday to pick him up, and the kids haven't left his side since. They camped out on the living room floor last night and watched movies. They've played Lego's and Wii. B.J. got Jax a new Wii game and Sunny a new movie, and we went to the Aquarium today.

We have to pack as much as possible into his visits since we only get to see him couple times a year. Now on to some facts about the birthday boy.

He sure has come a long way since April 5, 2003. That was one of the best days of my life, but also one of the scariest. I am so thankful for the good health that Jackson has enjoyed since his surgery. We pray everyday that it will continue.

Jackson is an awesome big brother. He takes care of all the kids and makes sure things run smoothly in our household (this is a nice way of saying he is BOSSY!)

Jackson does GREAT at school. He is ahead of grade level in all of his subjects and his teacher can't say enough nice things about him.

Jackson has lots of friends and loves to play with them all the time.

Jackson especially loves reading, basketball, baseball, and football.

I think he is one of the cutest kids around. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Asparagus Omelets

I bought some asparagus last week without knowing what I was going to do with it. Today, Mom gave me a cute little vegetarian cookbook for Easter, and I found the perfect recipe. It was super simple. Just cook the asparagus for about 5 minutes. Mix up some eggs and a little bit of cold water. Pour the egg in the pan and when it is cooked (about 3 minutes) add cheese and asparagus.

The verdict is: Really good.

Even I could eat it with no trouble. The kids did great with it. Lila ate all the omelet part and a little bit of the asparagus, but she didn't complain, so I'm happy with that. Baby Griffin got pureed asparagus mixed with apple sauce and was happy as a clam.

I have so many new recipes that I can't wait to try. I'll let you know when I find good ones :)

Sunny Learned to Ride a Bike

She finally learned how to ride a bike. I say finally because she has been on the verge for almost a year. She wouldn't let us help her at all. Today while Dad and Ryan were out working she was riding in circles in the garage and then she came inside and announced that she had learned to ride the 2 wheeler by herself.

She is so proud to be riding a bike and so proud to have taught herself.

(Just for the record she does have a Princess bike, but it has a flat tire, and this little blue one just works better.)

So far both of my kids have learned to ride a bike at 5 years old. I was also 5 when I learned. I'm pretty sure Ryan said he was 7 or 8...good thing they take after me :)