Happy Birthday, Jacob!

I can't believe my sweet little boy is 4 years old today.

Wasn't he an adorable baby?

Kindergarten Program

I can't believe Sarah has completed her kindergarten year. Her class put on a little program the other day where they sang several songs and then showed a slide show with pictures of the kids during their different activities over the year.

Here's a couple of the songs. Her good friend, Jackson, is the little boy in front of her. He's a character!


Don't worry, Sarah does have girlfriends too.

Family Update

Ok, so I haven't blogged for a while, so I thought I would post some pics of things we've been up to the last few months.

We celebrated Shawn's Birthday in March with some yummy, mini chocolate pudding pies. Grace's birthday is also in March, but I can't seem to find any pictures of it. (Oops - typical 3rd child)





This is just a cute picture of Shawn walking with the kids to the Children's Hands on Museum in Olympia during our Spring Break.
After Shawn finished his finals to complete his 1st year of law school (Yippee!!!) we had some fun family time. We took a trip to Utah to visit friends and family, but unfortunately I forgot our camera, so I am unable to document it. We also went to this cute amusement park south of Salem, called the Enchanted Forest.

Humpty DumptyJack and Jill
Shoe Slide

We were eating our lunch and this squirrel came pretty close, so the kids threw some food for him and he got even closer and stuck around a while for more.

There were some fun rides for the kids Grace just likes to watch the carousel

Happy Easter!

Funny Car Conversation with Sarah

I'm driving with all the kids to Walmart and we're listening to a children's songs CD and the song Jack and Jill comes on, and it gets to the part where "Jack fell down and broke his crown," and:

Sarah: (says to herself) Broke his crown?... Mom, is crown another word for head?
Mom: yes it is
Sarah: So he broke his head?
Mom: ya, I guess so
Sarah: wow...that's gotta hurt.

A-ward Winning Chili

Ok, so I guess my chili recipe won the grand prize at our Ward Chili Cook-off last Saturday. I knew it was good, but I didn't expect to win since I'm on the Activities committee and kind of helped come up with the idea. Anyway, I'm glad so many people liked it, but I just wish I hadn't made a fool of myself when they asked me to say a few words from the microphone. I think I mentioned something about everyone being gassy because of all the beans we had eaten... embarrassing!

Anyway, here's the recipe if anyone wants it:

White Chicken Chili

½ stick butter
¼ cup flour
¾ cup chicken broth
2 cups half and half
1 ½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 small cans diced green chilies
3 cans Great Northern beans (Bush brand are best)
1 cup diced cooked chicken
½ onion, chopped and sautéed
1 ½ cup Monterey Jack cheese
sour cream for topping (optional)

In a large stockpot, melt the butter and then wisk in flour. Gradually add broth and cream and bring to a low boil over med heat until thick. Wisk constantly so it won’t burn. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the seasonings. Then add the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat back up to medium to heat through. If desired, top with a dollop of sour cream.

West Salem High School Cheer Camp

As an extension of her birthday, Sarah went to a little cheerleader day camp at the high school. She had a great time and was relieved to see a friend from her class, Maddie, also there so she didn't have to be nervous. There were actually several girls from her class and from our ward there. It was pretty hilarious watching the routine that they learned. By the looks if it, I'm not sure many of the girls were actually paying attention to the instruction. I guess the point is that they had fun, right?

Jacob and Grace liked hanging out in the bleachers for awhile. Why is it so hard...

to get both kids to look at the camera...

and smile at the same time?