Friday, June 27, 2008

Jello Fun

I have never been a big fan of jello, but when I saw this I had to make it. It looks so pretty.

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The kids loved it, they thought it was super cool to be able to eat a rainbow. The recipe make a ton so we shared with our neighbors. Our neighbors work in Primary at church with the children between the ages for 3 - 11. The kids sing this song that goes...

Our Primary Colors

Our primary colors are 1, 2, 3, red, yellow, and blue.

Each one has a message for you and me.

Each is a symbol true.

Red is for courage to do what right,

Yellow for service from morning till night.

Blue is for truth in our thought and our deed.

We will be happy when this is our creed.

Words and music by Marzelle Mangum

Which is also Kyle's school's spirit song. Since the jello is made with red, yellow, and blue jello it will be a perfect treat for Primary and Kyle's school. Thank you to the creative lady over at Do Better for this idea.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Chef Lutes

As parents we all hope that our kids grow up and are outstanding members of society.  This is my wish for both of my kids but as I see Kyle growing into a young man I also want to make sure he will be a good husband and father.  Since Kyle turned 8 I have been teaching him a few skill he can do around the house.  He knows how to clean a bathroom and yes that includes the ever dreaded toilet.  He can read clothing labels and wash them properly and he even knows which items should be placed in the delicates bag.  He can sew about as well as I can on a sewing machine, not that that is say a lot.  He knows how to load the dishwasher so everything gets cleaned.  He can sew a button, something I know how to do but rarely ever do, hopefully he'll use this skill more.  His favorite skill to learn right now has to be cooking.  He started out learning how to make the old stand by, mac and cheese from a box.  Then he learned how to make it into a well rounded meal.  He learned quite a few basics like cooking eggs, browning ground beef and cooking pasta.  Notice all these things are kid friendly, they can be stirred a lot.  Cooking rice is just boring for him, he likes to constantly be stirring or flipping something when cooking.  So I thought I should teach him how to make risotto.  We had some peas growing the the garden so I sent Lana out to pick them and we made cheesy risotto with peas. 

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After he sautéed the onions and garlic he got to add the rice...now the fun starts

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He decided he was going to be there a while so he pulled up a stool

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He used the line down the middle trick to see if he needed to add more chicken stock

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Yes, we actually grew peas in Las Vegas

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The finished product was to die for delicious

 

I can't help but wonder what kind of job Kyle will have when he gets older.  I think something along the lines of archaeologist or geologist because he has always been fascinated with ancient civilizations and loves discovering rocks and fossils.  I asked him recently what he wants to do when he gets older and he said he wants to be a chef.  There is no telling what he'll do to make an income but one thing is for sure, if he keeps making dishes like this he will make is family very happy.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Kyle's Last Day of School

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Kyle got out of school June 4th.  He has overcome many challenges this year in going to a new school.  I knew he would do just fine, because he can make friends faster than I can spend money.  He really had a great year of school.  Above is a picture of Kyle and his teacher.  She was such an awesome teacher.   I have also heard great things about his next year's teacher.

His teacher handed out awards and here are the ones Kyle got:

A/B Honor Roll - for consistently earning A's and B's all year!

Perfectly Punctual - for never being tardy this year!

Awesome Athlete - for always giving 100% during P.E.!

Super Scientist - for your excellent work in science and health!

Enthusiastic Participant - for actively participating in class discussions!

WAY TO GO KYLE!!!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Preschool Graduation


Lana had a very hard time going to preschool. The first week was great then after that if was a struggle. She would cry and latch on to me every time I would leave. Sometimes she would even run out of the preschool, down the driveway, and chase my car down. Well that only happened once but it was still traumatic for both of us. The last two months she finally got over it and ran to preschool with a smile on her face. She always had a great time at preschool even though there was tear shed in the beginning.

Ronnie's parents, Ronnie and Sue were in town at the time of Lana's graduation. Lana had 5 people attend her graduation with cameras at the ready. All the kids marched out proudly with their little hats on and we all waited to see Lana, and waited, and waited. Lana finally made an appearance after her Dad went to talk to her. Here is a video of Lana's class saying the Pledge of Allegiance after Lana finally made her appearance.


Yes, that was Lana under the table. This is were she stayed for the most part of the graduation program. Her teacher finally got her to come out after bribing her with a prize from the reward box. She didn't talk or sing but she did sit in her chair for the last ten minutes. Here is another video of her teacher talking about her.


We have seen her grow a lot this year and I can't wait to see what new things Kindergarten brings.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Faucet Repair 101

We have had a leaky faucet in the kid's bathtub for quite sometime. We have replaced the washer in it and that would work for a little while but it would eventually start leaking again. So while Ronnie's Dad was in town we asked him to take a look at it and see what else we should do. He recommend replacing another part of the faucet and then said if you want to we could just put a new faucet in. I thought we should just go ahead and get a new faucet, then I asked how hard if would be to center our faucet over the tub. For some reason the tub faucet is set off centered and it just looks odd. Then when he said he could take a look at that I said hey we also have a new tub enclosure we bought at Lowe's one day because it was 80% off can you put that in too. Always willing to help he said sure. So a leaky faucet led to basically a new bathroom.

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If you want to know how to repair a faucet I can't help you, but I can advise you to get your Father-in-law to just redo the whole bathroom while he is on vacation.

Thanks Ronnie

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