Phone Companies

AGH!! Does anyone else get as frustrated as I do dealing with the phone company? Maybe I'm the only one who gets lucky enough to speak to the most incompetent customer service providers around. I would go to almost any length to avoid calling AT&T. So, we're changing phone services because AT&T doesn't provide a decent long distance plan for us -- we don't need unlimited long distance, and anything else they're offering us is highway robbery. So we're trying out Vonage, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it turns out to be a good service. I must say that speaking to their customer service agents hasn't been nearly as painful as AT&T so far. That's encouraging to me. But the pain is that in the process of transferring our number over, we haven't been able to receive phone calls this past week, and probably won't until next Tuesday. And you guessed it -- it's AT&T's customer NO service's fault. However, when it comes right down to it, I don't really mind not having the phone ring.

Oh, I also figured out why I haven't been blogging much lately. I left my camera at Alli's last weekend, but when I get it back I'll have to get a picture of my youngest computer genius. It's much easier to avoid the computer when he's around, or he thinks it's his turn to control the mouse and keyboard as well as the fascinating blue power button.

My First Blanket

I actually did it! I crocheted this blanket. It was really fun learning how to do it. Hannah asked if she could have it, and I'm really glad that she can so easily overlook all the mistakes in it. She is so good for my ego as she thinks I am amazing to have made it. Now Nikki wants one, too and I have to figure out what pattern to do for hers.

Walking

We got this of Ryan last week. He was tired and grumpy, but he is doing such a good job walking these days! How is it possible that today is his birthday?!!

I posted this one because he sounds like a duck. What is it with boys and their sound effects? He is always making some funny sound.

Homemade Granola and Granola Bars

For a while now I have been trying to fix a problem I first noticed in the grocery store. When I shop, I buy groceries for Nate and me and then I buy some things for the kids that I don't eat because they are not healthy enough. That just kind of bugs me. Shouldn't I be just as concerned about what they eat as I am about what I eat? Don't I want them to grow up enjoying healthy foods and making healthy choices? Meals aren't really a problem because there is no way I'm cooking two different meals. They've just had to deal with it and have learned to like pepperoni-free whole wheat pizza and grilled salmon, etc., etc., etc. But what about snacks? How do you get your kids to eat healthy snacks when they are used to other stuff? I don't think goldfish and cheese crackers are bad snacks for kids, but can I really call them healthy? Granola bars are healthy, right? Well, the ones I usually buy for the kids are full of high-fructose corn syrup and almost protein-free. So, is there a better way? I found a granola recipe that I really like, but the girls aren't big fans of just granola, so I went looking for a granola bar recipe that I could make. I found a recipe online and changed it up a little bit today, and they were really easy to make. I need to make a few more adjustments to it, or find a different one because they ended up a little crumbly. Tasty, though. Has anybody ever had success with making granola bars? I'll try those again another day, but here is the recipe I have for granola that I really like.

Homemade Granola
from www.everydayfoodstorage.net

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I don't like coconut, so I don't add it)
dried fruits, if desired (tropical fruit is good, raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries are all great)

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave safe cup. Microwave on high 5 minutes, or until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, mix oats and nuts. Add the brown sugar mixture. Mix thoroughly. Spread onto 2 cookie sheets and bake for a total of 45 minutes or until golden brown. After 25 minutes, stir and put back in the oven for the rest of the time. When granola has cooled completely, add dried fruits.

Miscellaneous Photos

We had Lydia and Eliza over for a sleepover last night. We couldn't believe it when everyone was asleep within 30 minutes of putting them to bed. Didn't even have to go back in their room once. Eliza had her first week of kindergarten last week -- it really must have worn her out. :) We broke out the pool for them this morning, and even Ryan got to play for a little bit. The sky was overcast and he turned blue, though.

The yard maintenance guys trimmed down a bunch of limbs on trees throughout the neighborhood last week. The one in our front yard was really getting overgrown, so they trimmed it way back. After they were done we noticed this robin's nest exposed, but the robin wasn't leaving. She now has three babies in there, and it has been really neat to watch her feed them. They're starting to get really big. I'm afraid they are going to push each other out of the nest. It would be so neat if we could watch them learn to fly.

And then we have Ms. Crazy. She wanted me to take a picture of her hair. She actually did a really pretty up-do, but the whole outfit kind of stole the show from her hairstylist skills.

A Long Story About A Simple Morning

I just have to take a minute to sit down and remind myself that every outing is not always an adventure. I took all the kids to Wal-Mart for groceries this morning. Nikki got in the car and said, "I'm thirsty." Fine, we head to the water fountain when we get in the store (but you know she really wanted me to buy her a drink). Then we passed a display of animal cookies and Nikki said, "I'm hungry." Oh great, I forgot snacktime before we left. Sorry, we'll eat when we get home, but of course that didn't help her mood. She earned herself an extra chore today. But I accomplished all the shopping even with a baby crying and trying to wiggle himself out of the buckles in the cart and a whining 6-year-old and an 8-year-old who would lose track of time reading every package she passed in the aisles. Whew! Then we got to the car and Nikki noticed that we had a flat tire. Okay, maybe I won't make her do that extra chore. Thanks for the good eyes, Nikki. I load all of the groceries and all of the kids in the car with the instructions that they could eat a banana and feed one to Ryan, too. I broke out the spare tire and jack and was so grateful to be prepared. I was also praying that I could either get the tire off myself or that someone would stop and offer some help. It took a minute for me to figure out which side of the jack went up and which one was supposed to be on the ground. I was beginning to think that I must look like I really had things under control because no one was stopping. Finally, this nice man stopped and started lowering the jack back down. Wait, I said, that's going down. He says, in broken English, yeah you have to have the tires down to get the lug nuts loose. Oh, good thing he stopped. When he got the spare tire on, that was flat, too, but he said I could probably make it to the nearest gas station. So, I thanked and him and jumped in the car and said a prayer with the girls that we could make it home, which was closer than any gas station. On the way out of the parking lot I saw that Wal-Mart has a tire center and stopped in there. It would have taken them another 45 minutes to an hour to fix the tire, and I had ice cream, milk, cheese, butter, the whole nine yards, and 3 hungry kids including a sleepy baby. So I asked them to just fill the tire up so I could get home. You're not supposed to put air into a doughnut spare tire, but they did it and said we would probably make it. More prayers. So then I look in the back seat and thought that on top of it all Ryan had thrown up. No, the girls said that was just from them feeding him bananas. Gross!

Now we're home, groceries are put away, lunch has been eaten, the baby is sleeping, Nate is bringing home a new tire because I don't have time today and probably wouldn't make it to the shop anyway, and I feel like I'm starting to breathe again. The kids were so good, and I didn't really get upset about it, and I'm really glad everything got taken care of so smoothly without a huge emotional breakdown or car breakdown on the side of the road.

Ryan is stepping. I can't call it walking yet, but he is taking steps here and there. He gets so excited and proud of himself that he falls down. Or he just can't wait to get to me and lunges. I just love him.

The girls started track out this week, and it has been really fun having them home. This is really the beginning of our summer except for our two week trip to Utah. It's been nice to just be here. Nate even got to stay home with us one day, but he slept most of the day. He went for a physical and they gave him a shot to update his immunizations. He's still recovering.

I went jogging this morning, and I felt good enough that my mind wasn't thinking the whole time -- just breathe, breathe, not that much farther. That only happened going up the last hill on the way back. Other than that my mind was free to think about how beautiful it was outside, how good it felt, how blessed I am. It was really nice. It is amazing to think how far I have come in the last few months. My heart is getting healthier. I'm excited to see how far I'll be able to run when I'm 40.

Kiddos are awake. Time for the rest of the day to begin.

Kitchenaid

I love this Kitchenaid -- it's very useful and saves a lot of time.

I love this Kitchen-aid, too -- he just is more timeconsuming than helpful.

Pictures galore

Well, I didn't post all 700 pictures, but I came close. It was a wonderful trip.

Traveling to Utah. The girls liked the plane better than Ryan. Bridal Veil Falls
JW & Alli doing dishes
Getting ready for family night
Nikki & Eliza

Bear & Wolf Discovery Center

A bald eagle with her baby

Geysers

This was a whole herd of bison that were trying to cross the road. Pretty neat.

Waiting for Old Faithful to blow!

This is cute, but I like the one Emma got of Nate better. :)

The best travelers

Lexi & Brenna

Beautiful!

Gosh, these things are big!

My poor sick, sunburnt baby enjoying the beauty.

She looks like a girl on a mission.

We got stuck in road construction, so Mike and Lydia jumped out of the car to get their feet wet in the freezing cold, rushing river where an elk could have jumped out the bush and gored them any minute. So we see who teaches Lydia to be so daring. :)

We were in the car A LOT. The girls took over 400 pictures to pass the time. Here's a little taste.

Sherrie as our singing time leader

Spencer and Jake had all the kids' attention with their puppet show.

Can you see the moose? I was happy she was on the other side of the river from us.

Spencer was so great hiking with his little posse of girl cousins. They love both Spencer and Nate.

Brenna and Luke were cute little buddies.
Kellee brought a whole bag of craft supplies, and I think the pipe cleaners were Hannah and Emma's favorites.


Dance party!

The Bass Gang

Hannah and Nikki LOVE Grandpa Robbins' trains. He has a whole room in his basement filled with tracks. It's really cool. Ryan loved them, too, but he wasn't allowed near them.

Provo's Freedom Festival Parade on the 4th

We had a lot of fun visiting with the Littles. JW & Gary told their sailing story that gets us laughing so hard it hurts.

Chuck & Eileen

It was so hard to get a picture of the babies together. Here's Ryan and Wyatt -- kind of.

And Baby Ammon is just the most easygoing kid I've ever seen. Love him!

Ryan is just about opposite. Love him too!

Jayden, Hannah, and Nikki put on the funniest little show for us. It was so creative and funny!

Wow, this is a special picture considering how much this baby loves his mama.

At the Robbins' family picnic

Whitney, Gabe, and Nikki

With Grandma Geneil.

The Robbins

Nate's nephew, Matt

Swim party!

It will be 10 years this September since Nate and I were married in the Mt. Timpanogas temple. His parents can see the temple from their doorstep. We tried to get some good pictures, but at the end of our trip it was kind of hard.

Back in NC, but the luggage took FOREVER to get out on the baggage claim. What troopers these kids are!

This is my naked baby because he blew out his diaper minutes before takeoff (Nate and I really don't fit in the airplane bathroom at the same time. It was pretty comical and gross trying to get things cleaned up), and no I didn't have an extra outfit in the carry-on. I had extra clothes for me and Nate, but not the baby. Really smart.

We're excited for our next vacation, but I'm glad there will be a couple of years for me to rest up and get ready for the next one. This one wore me out!