Family Bonding - Washington Style

I got to meet the rest of my in-laws this week. It was great fun. The kids especially loved being able to run around like monkeys all week with little to no restriction on what they wanted to do. Every day they had plenty of cousins to play with. Kaleb really took a shine to Miles and they were almost inseparable. Elise and Macy mostly played with the girl cousins, but Macy decided that she's in love with Oliver (who is 5 1/2 years old). And Isaak enjoyed being tickled, cuddled, and played with by the older cousins like Sierra and Aaron.

Meeting and getting to know my sisters-in-law better was the highlight for me. We enjoyed talking and grocery shopping together. I appreciate the concern everyone had for my current state of pregnancy - they were so accomodating and kind about letting me get the rest I needed. It was also fun to get to know George and Ulene (Rob's aunt and uncle) a little better. They were able to spend a couple of days with us. We saw pics of their recent mission to Botswana, Africa. I asked if they've read the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series, and they have, and they said Botswana is really like that. I really enjoy those books, so that was fun.

We went to the beach in Ocean Shores to look for agates, but didn't find too many as the tide was coming in. We also went to the Interpretive Center there, which is basically a little visitor's center that tells you about Gray's Harbor and the surrounding areas. It was kind of like a museum- they had a kids' section with lots of fun things to touch and play with. That night we had a weenie and S'more roast at Jack and Charlet's house. The kids especially loved the marshmallow fight- they blew marshmallows at each other through skinny tubes.

Wednesday we visited Kalaloch beach near the Hoh Rain Forest, that had many rocks and tide pools. The kids loved climbing around in the rocks and looking at anemones, starfish, mussels, and all the other little creatures living in the water. We took some fun family pictures here. I sure had a heck of a time climbing back up the hill to the parking lot afterwards. So, we decided to take a scenic drive up to Forks, the setting of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Series.


There wasn't much to see, which we expected, but at least we can say we've been there! The rest of the family went on a hike in the rainforest and we met at dinner time in the Quinault Lodge. Robert used to play piano there (dang, I should've gotten a picture!), and he favored us with some easy listening while we waited for the Banquet Room to be set up for our party of 24 people. It was fun to hear some stories about Grandma Charlet while dinner was cooking. Not only was this a family reunion, it was a weeklong celebration of Gma's 65th Birthday. We are proud to honor her and grateful she is our Matriarch.



Thursday was a day to relax and do whatever we wanted. Some of the kids went to the Beach with Grandpa to learn how to fly kites. Some went later on with Grandma to make sand castles. Us girls went grocery shopping to stock up on snacks for the trip home. The family talent show took place at the nearby LDS meetinghouse while dinner was cooking. That was fun- we have many diverse talents in our family. Jeanne and Krysta made a super DELISH meatloaf with carrots, salad, and cheesy garlic bread for dinner. We had German Chocolate Cake to celebrate Mom's/Grandma's birthday while she opened presents. I went to bed early, but heard them singing the Pemberton Family song (put to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic), and when I read the words the next day I laughed. Very clever, whoever made it up.

On the way home we stopped for a few minutes at Maltnomah Falls, Oregon... mostly for a potty break. But it was a pretty sight to see. My pictures don't do it justice. Also, thanks to my sister Janelle for getting us her employee discount at the Marriott Spring Hill Suites in Boise! There's no way I could have made it 15 hours straight in the van. And the kids really enjoyed swimming in the pool.

Well, this will be a super long slide show, but I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Book Suggestions

I just finished the first book in the Fablehaven series. I HIGHLY recommend it. Reminiscent of the way I felt when first reading Harry Potter, the book was very hard to put down. I'm definitely looking forward to the two sequels. I've started reading it to Rob in the car on our way to WA state. More details on our trip are forthcoming!

Rob and I just finished Book 3... the Grip of the Shadow Plague. Mull is great at holding back key points of the storyline to keep you interested. When he reveals more "history", I always feel like another piece of the puzzle is added. Very fun and intriguing storyline. These are fantasy books geared toward Young Adults, but I think almost anyone would be enthralled by them. He also incorporates a lot of "values" and choices in the books for the characters. And they're fun for Young Adult reading groups- he has discussion questions in the back of each book. I'm still HIGHLY recommending them! It keeps getting better and better. Can't wait for Book 4- April 2009, I've heard.

Recipe - TAG, YOU'RE IT!!!

My friend Steph tagged me on her blog, so now you're tagged too! If you read this blog, you must post a recipe on your own blog, or email it to me!

Southwest Chicken Soup

Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan. Chop up 2 cups chicken, sprinkle with 1-2 tbsp of Southwest Seasoning Salt (Just click on it for a link!) and a dash of Lime Juice, and saute chicken until brown. (This is a picture of Southwest Spanish Rice... yummy, eh?)

Meanwhile, heat in large soup pot: 1-2 cans diced tomatoes, 1-2 cans beans (I rinse mine first- can use kidney, pinto, or black), 1-2 tbsp of Onion Onion, 1 can chicken broth (or 2 cups of chicken stock).
When chicken is cooked, add to soup pot, and simmer on low heat for about 10 min.

Sprinkle with cilantro and cheese if desired. Serve with tortilla chips, corn bread, or bread sticks. For even MORE Yummy Recipes, visit my Tastefully Simple website!

Job Charts

This is our plan for keeping away Summer-Boredom as well as Stressed-Out-Kayleen. So far (day 3), it's going well. :) The kids all have specific jobs they need to do in the morning. When all are complete they get stickers on their chart, and they have free time until lunch... as long as they clean up after themselves. If they don't, out comes the Monster Bag (thanks, Midwife Melissa for the idea!). Any toys that I see left anywhere go in the bag. Then the offender has to do a chore to get it back. If the item stays in the bag for more than a week (ie, the child doesn't miss that particular toy), then it will go to the DI.

If they do all their chores for the week, they will get a full allowance. They each get half of what their age is, depending on how well they do their charts. They can lose money for not following directions, fighting with each other, or not doing their jobs. They can earn extra money by doing extra chores, if they don't have toys in the Monster Bag. One of the things we've had a big problem with is clothes being put where they don't belong. Clean or dirty, I've been finding them on the floor, under the bed, clean in the basket instead of drawers, etc. And I'm tired of doing extra laundry because they chose not to put the clothes away! Or, because they wore them for two hours and then decided to change. So our new rule is, if I find it in a place it doesn't belong, we deduct 10 cents from their weekly total. So far they're doing really well with that.

After lunch, we have Reading Time... Yesterday we started "Castle in the Attic". It was one of my favorites when I was younger. I let Kaleb and Elise each read a page or two and I read a couple of chapters. After that, they get to do Educational Activities (like puzzles, playdoh, workbooks, art projects) until 3:00. Then they have free time until dinner. If I'm teaching at any of these times, they have free time to play quietly in their rooms or downstairs.

Dinner time cleanup is shared, and then they have free time until 7:45, when we read scriptures. Macy and Isaak go to bed at about 8:00, and Kaleb and Elise stay up and read until 8:30. That way we cut down on goofing around when we send the kids to bed. Plus, K & E get to stay up a little later cause they're older.

Macy the Tumbler

Macy's tumbling recital was in the afternoon on the 28th, at Kearns High School. The performance was a little better executed than the first one they did back in February. They got to have big girl partners to help them remember the moves they were doing. Macy loves her tumbling class. Elise gets to join in September. We would have signed her up sooner, but the summer classes were already full. I'm sure they will love being in class together! Elise will probably move up to a more advanced class quickly, since she's been in gymnastics before. But we're going to start them out in the same class so she can get used to Miss Teresa, the teacher. Also, it will save me the headache of getting them to two different class times, at least for a while! (It was hard to get clear shots while they were moving- and I was also trying to zoom the videocamera at the same time... lol... so please forgive the crappy photography!)

Herriman Parade

Saturday the 28th was Herriman Town Days- starting with the parade in the morning. The City Council got to ride in the wagon and Mom was able to let the kids ride with her. I got a picture right before the parade started, but the pictures I tried to take during the parade didn't work, cause my camera batteries died! :( Talk about bad timing. Anyways, the kids loved riding in the wagon- they were the 5th entry. They wore their cowboy hats and matching shirts that Gma bought them. They got to throw taffy at the crowd as they rode. Rob went to find them when they were done and they all came back with a hat full of taffy. It was a really long parade, and it was super hot that day. We decided to go home after instead of staying for carnival rides, since the kids got to ride a bunch of rides at West Jordan the previous weekend. Later that day we took them swimming at the South Jordan Rec Center. I can't wait until the Herriman Rec Center is done and we won't have to drive so far!

Elise the Violinist

The First Grade at Rose Creek Elementary had a "Talent Show" last Wed. the 25th. Macy and Isaak and I went to watch. Most of the acts were lacking in what you call "talent", but I guess it's good that the kids were brave enough to get up in front of a crowd. There were multiple short piano numbers, a few good singers, a couple of silly joke tellers, a rope climber (we watched a video of him climbing a rope attached to a 25 ft swingset), and a couple of dancers. Elise was the only violinist. She was the 2nd to last person to perform at the end of the hour long show. Elise played "Go Tell Aunt Rhody", and she did a GREAT job! All the teachers and parents that I passed on my way back to my seat after playing piano for her RAVED about how great she did. It's been so much fun teaching her- she practically begs to practice every day.

At the Park

Rob and the kids met Michelle at the park on June 13th. They had pizza and the kids rode their bikes around and had fun. On the 21st, they met at West Jordan's city Carnival. The kids had a great time on all the rides. (I didn't go because of swollen feet...)