Christmas Eve Nativity

This tradition, along with reading our favorite Christmas book about Hoshmakaka, the grumpy camel, is a favorite. We had some friends over and the added children just made it that much more fun.

Christmas in Cedar City

Our Search for the Perfect Tree

Going to the mountains and cutting our own Christmas Tree has been on my bucket list for several years now. Mission accomplished!
We had so much fun getting out in the snow and searching for the perfect tree. We will probably make it a tradition.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow....(Please, Let it Snow!)

This was taken of Cairo a few weeks ago...When we had SNOW!
Right now Southern Utah is suffering from near record levels of precipitation but it's in the form of RAIN. It's the week of Christmas..we want snow and lot's of it! Bring on the snow dance. We will be doing the snow dance today to pass another day until Christmas.

Baby Steps...

The contest to become a contributor on a local lifestyle television show was entered on a whim. I had an interest, a curiosity, but I also have an intense and very real fear of public speaking. It seems I've had a lot of opportunities lately to "Face that Fear".
I won the contest and had my first appearance last week on Monday, the 22nd of November. It was a really fun experience and it helped my nerves that Sarah was willing to come with me. This is a photo collage of that morning on the set.

Festive Holiday Drinks

This sparkling treat screams "Happy Holidays...Let's Party"!
It is layered with Pom juice or Cranberry, then fresh lime juice, lots of great ice with fresh mint crushed and infused into it then topped off with 7up or Diet 7up. Then for a fun garnish some pomegranate seeds, mint sprig and peppermint stick for stirring.Grandma Watts used to always serve this warm drink for her clubs in the cold months. It's really easy to make and keep cold in the fridge just in case someone stops by to say "Hi" and you welcome them like you knew they were coming. Just warm up some milk and drop a heaping spoonful into a cute mug. Then sit down and share some laughs.


This warm, spicy tomato treat is perfect with some crackers,sliced cheese and olives. Serve it warm as an appetizer or just to warm your house guests up when they drop in for a visit.
I promise to post all the recipes later today. Have a happy one!

Reaching Great Heights

The elementary school has Green Ribbon Week. When I signed up to help with this week I assumed it would be about the environment. Well, green ribbons symbolize Healthy Lifestyle Week. It was a lot of fun planning and helping with this week which incorporates another cause I am passionate about. Keeping kids moving, eating right and making safe choices when it comes to wearing protective gear while participating in sports.
To kick off the week we invited all the students and their families to come to the SUU PE building for a free/discounted morning of fun using all the equipment. Our kids loved the rock climbing wall and we all enjoyed playing racquetball.
Thanks to the help of Sarah and ZenPrint we were able to market the week in high style with promotional banners, posters and bookmarks for the students that had fun fruits and veggies encouraging healthy choices.

Winter Strikes Southern Utah

We awoke one morning to a dusting of snow...and frigid temps!
Brad found the coats, gloves, and boots for the kids and they got geared up for the trip to school.
This all seems waaay to sooooon..brrrrr.

A-Corny Family

I've always loved acorns! I love the way the little hats fit on the heads and look like little people falling from the tree. It reminds me of collecting chestnuts with my Mom this time of year. I don't remember what we did with those things but I do remember going to Utah State and wandering around Old Main looking for chestnuts. The ones with some of their shell still attached were always my favorites.
The other day Jack and I were out on a walk with Max Pinto..the dog. Near our house we came upon a bunch of acorns that had fallen from a tree. I couldn't help but start collecting them and trying to find the "hat" that should fit on the nut. Jack got into it quickly and before we knew it we had hands full and pockets full to take home. When we got home we used a small stick I had also picked up on our walk and started creating our family to sit on that stick. Cairo and Charlie got involved and we soon had extended family included. Sitting on a twig of a family tree. Spontaneous crafts and fun always seem to work out to be the best at building memories and creating the cutest outcome.

Butternut Squash Soup

I adapted this recipe from one Lori Hansen, a friend from Provo who came to visit us in Abu Dhabi, made for a luncheon a long time ago.
It is so yummy and warming for this time of year. I encourage you to try it.

My changes included the following:
1 can of pear slices rather than a fresh pear
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 leek instead of onion..simply because that's what I had on hand.
Garnished with pomegranite seeds for a little tart crunch

Thankful Every Day

Every day we each use a slip of paper to write something we are THANKFUL for. When people come to visit we try to remember to ask them to write a "THANK YOU NOTE" and slip it into our little box in the kitchen.
This box is just the magnetic pencil box that came from IKEA and goes on our magnet board. I made the turkey picture from clip art and put magnets on the back of it to decorate the box for Thanksgiving. It's a great way to encourage all of us to think of at least 1 thing every day we are thankful for.

Harvest Holiday

The weekend before Halloween was a break from school for the kids. Luckily, we took the name of Harvest Holiday seriously on the first day and chose that day to harvest our pumpkins from the garden because it rained everyday after that.

Halloween Run for Cancer Fund Raiser

On the morning of Halloween Eve Brad, Cairo and I went south to warmer weather for a good cause. One of Brad's colleagues has a sister suffering from cancer and there was a 5K run to raise money for her. It was so nice to drive only 40 minutes and feel 10 degrees warmer..It warmed our hearts too.

Halloween Fun

World's ROCKSTAR Dad!

After 5 days off school under low dark clouds and freezing rain blowing sideways, Cairo awoke this morning letting me know we needed to run to WalMart before school so she could pull together her idea of the perfect Rockstar costume!
OK. At least the sun is shining today.
After I explained to her that the Red Ribbon Week committee at her school certainly didn't plan this day to have parents and kids run out and buy rockstar costumes a week before Halloween and that she would have to do her best with all the costumes and other things we have around the house, she started giving me the silent treatment. I could see something shaping up in the way of a costume but I just watched and waited to let her work it out..Then, I could see her talking to her personal ROCKSTAR...DAD.

Brad had just returned from the gym and he was sitting at the breakfast table sending her running this way and that around the house to collect different items.
Before I knew it, he was putting make-up on her face and helping her into shimmer leggings. She was going to be a KIZZ CHICK.
Only Brad could have pulled off this parenting success. He makes it fun. Makes it perfect. Let's be honest, if I would have even had the creative music mind to suggest such a thing I wouldn't have gotten past the words "KIZZ CHICK" before she rolled her eyes that were welling up with tears!

What would any of us, especially me, do without this Rockstar of a man, Dad, professor, Dr. Hotpants...He made her into the Rockstar she didn't even know she had in her dreams! She ran off to the bus with a giant smile on her face. I'm crazy about that guy!


Jack and Charlie decided (WHEW) to be the ROCKSTARS that they are in everyday life..making good choices and being kind to everyone. Those were easy costumes for me to pull together...

Brad Coaches Charlie and Jack

The boys played flag football again this year and what a difference a year makes! Brad was the coach and had a great assistant in Keith Gilbert another father. The team really seemed to catch on to the concepts of the game. Defense was great. Offense usually scored if the ball made it from the center to the QB. Both Jack and Charlie were fantastic players and I was so thrilled to watch them celebrate each other in success. Jack is super fast and was a great receiver and running back. Charlie was also great on offense but really found his place as a "Defensive Monster". Even when they had the ball, Charlie got a real thrill out of protecting the ball through great blocking. It was a great season and the team only lost twice to the same team...It's so much fun to watch the twins and Brad out there on the field together. Brad was such a patient and good coach. Often, when someone was out of place on the line he would just pick them up and move them over a few feet. There isn't much a man can do that is sexier than be a great father!

Cairo's Volcano Project

The 5th graders always do a volcano project for science. Cairo did hers today. We put it together last night and today she did the presentation for her classmates. It's built around a 2 liter bottle of Coke and to make it erupt she opened the Coke bottle and added several Mentos. As the photos show, it was a huge success.

Thanks so much to all who heard the call to the computer to vote for me..I won! No idea yet when I will be on the air. It was so nice of all of you to spend time and energy voting for me. I wish I could offer each of you a nice warm serving of peach cobbler as a thanks! Instead..you can just look at it in this picture...

Vote for Me...

OK, it's election time but I'm giving you something a little more interesting than Sarah Palin and the Tea Party..Vote for me to be the next contributor on Studio 5. It's a morning TV show here in the Utah market and I have made the finalists but the winner is determined by internet voting...
Please click on the link below, then vote for #5
There is not limit to how often you vote so if you have a few minutes..waiting at the Dr's office, sitting in a parking lot..or just letting dinner simmer..Please get on a toss me a few votes!
There will be a unified effort at 8:30pm MDT tonight for 10 straight minutes people voting again and again to try to move the numbers in my direction by at least 2 points.
This doesn't mean you can't vote during the day today or tomorrow...just vote...Come on..It's an adventure!

http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=23&sid=12237921

Sam Turns 12...Really.

It's so hard to believe my first born is 12!
It seems just a minute ago he turned 8 on our first September in Abu Dhabi.
He shares his birthday with Grandma Cook so we always like to combine the celebration. Fortunately we had both sets of grandparents here with us as well as Sam's Aunt Joleen, Brad's sister.
Sam had a combat themed party. (Every Mother's dream.....hmmmm) All his friends brought their Airsoft guns and protective gear and went out in the green space in our backyard to fight it out. I was only hoping they would wind up with the corpse of our not-so-friendly skunk that has been visiting our yard, spraying our poor dog and being really aggressive.
No skunk, but lots of fun and everyone seemed very happy with the party. Even one of Sam's best friends, Mohammad, was given the day off from fasting for Ramadan so he could partake of the pizza and cake to help Sam celebrate.
The cakes met Sam's request of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate...Chocolate cake, filled with chocolate pudding, covered with chocolate frosting.
I added my attempt of camo frosting on top to carry out the theme.
It's such a delight to have family near by to help celebrate special days with us and our kids.

Dr. Hotpants Runs a Serious Relay

Beginning at Brian Head ski resort and running through the gorgeous mountains and monuments of Southern Utah there are 200 teams running almost 200 miles in 48 hours.
Brad is on a team and ran the 1st leg of the race for his team this morning.
I took Max and went to Brian Head to see him finish his leg of the race and bring him home for some rest before he started his next assignment 7 hours later. He ate, showered and napped then ran another 6 miles this evening, watching the beautiful sunset on our western mountains. He will sleep now and be up running again at 4am. It's inspiring to see him and the other many runners along the route. Awesome!