It's Crazy Hair Day Time Again!

We LOVE Crazy Hair Day!  Lucky for me this year my girls gave me some warning about Crazy Hair Day and even asked me to get them up early to give me time to get their hair done.  And lucky for me, they were all willing to let ME do their hair.  And as much as I really don't like the new district-wide stupid Tuesday schedule, today it was lucky they had more time since school starts at 8:30 on Tuesdays. 

  I was also lucky that I had an idea of what I wanted to do and easily found pictures on the internet when I googled it.  Tyler's do is actually featured on the Adopt A Do site which is down there on my sidebar.  It was prettier before we added the colored hairspray, but crazier with it, right?

 She loves it!

 Rachel and Olivia's hair was a little trickier, but I think it turned out cute.

 Too bad it didn't stay sticking up like it was supposed to.  Oh well.

I am so lucky to have such adorable little girls who look beautiful even when their hair is crazy!

P.S. Tyler's hairdo was still intact when she got home!  I didn't know she could be calm enough not to have it completely trashed by the time the day was over.  I guess she IS growing up.  Of course, is it really a good thing to be able to maintain a bun mohawk all day long?  I don't know.

P.S.S. Olivia won a prize for her hairdo.  I guess the principal saw her coming in late this morning (yeah, my youngest two girls barely made it to school at 8:32 a.m.).  Yay, Olivia!

Eighth Grade Football Games, Parent Teacher Conferences, Root Canals and other fun stuff

 I don't mean to give the impression that I classify watching eighth grade football with root canals, 'cause I don't.  It has just been that kind of a week.  Add into that trying to keep up with homework--Suddenly I am the Algebra expert?  How did that happen?--getting the oldest eligible for Cross Country and drama activities, talking with teachers all day Tuesday trying to find out what I need to do to help the kids succeed in school, attending extra-curricular activities, getting kids ready a couple of times while Britt was out in the morning hunting with Cole (Cole drew an elusive bull elk tag), and working on a couple major projects for Britt at work, by the end of the week I was something beyond exhausted.

These pictures comprise two football games Cole played in.  The first was Thursday, September 15 against Moab.  It was a tough game.  The boys are still kind of figuring out how to work together as a team.

 Time out on the field

Stop him!

last minute instructions 

 Almost the final score (since they turned off the scoreboard last time before the game was over, I wasn't taking any chances)

 caught

but we couldn't quite make anything happen.

The team's game this past Thursday the 22nd (Happy Birthday to my brother Drew and my Aunt Nancy) went a little better:

 Cole's on defense

 Oops!  He just missed this tackle

 still on defense

 Go, Mustangs!

 Cole was frustrated that he spent so much of the game on the sidelines.

 But you know he had missed part of some practices during the week because he was elk hunting.

 We held them to no score until the final play when the clock ran out and our defense just let their man run into the end zone.  It was craziness.

But we still won.  Yay!

And I was in pain the whole time.  That morning a back molar that has bothered me slightly for several years (like since I was a teenager) really started hurting.  Thursday night I went to bed in moderate pain.  Early Friday morning, like 3:00 in the morning, I realized there was no way I was going to get any sleep with the sharp shooting pain penetrating my jaw.  I asked Britt if he had anything stronger than Tylenol and he gave me some old pain medication.  Then I asked him for a blessing.  That Friday, he and Cole went out early to hunt again.  I called Garrett on his cell phone and had him get the kids up and fed.  They came into my room for prayer.  Then Garrett drove to school (yes, he has his learner's permit) and I made it home safely on my own.  I spent the entire day "sleeping" and taking pain medication.  Tried to eat, threw up a couple times.  By late afternoon that day, I decided I would rather eat than take pain medication.  And I was actually okay without it! (for a few hours, anyway)

My dentist was able to get me into an emergency appointment later than night for a root canal.  By then, I had decided that I wasn't hurting that bad anymore, so I didn't really want to do the painful procedure. But I wanted to be able to sleep that night, so I figured I better just do it.  He said my nerve was actually dying and that was why it wasn't hurting as bad at that point.  But, he said eventually it would have abscessed and got infected and then I would have felt worse.  I have to say, that was the most pleasant root canal ever!  No joke!  It was such a relief!  And oh yeah, I slept like a baby that night (even without my husband who was camping out in hopes of finding some elk early in the morning--no such luck).

Saturday was a busy day between a cub scout baptism, the Stake Relief Society Humanitarian Project, and the General Relief Society Broadcast, which was so worth attending!  Sunday, I spent the whole time after church trying to create a DVD of our motorcycle trip for my father-in-law Joe.  I have never done that before, so it turned into quite the project.  Just got it done today.  I am also still working on some projects for Britt.

The fact is, I am tired.

But life doesn't slow down even for a root canal.  We just have to keep going.  And that's okay.  We'll get there eventually.

John Thornton Cross Country Invitational (and the sun was even shining)

For the past few years, the San Juan High School sponsored Cross Country Race in Blanding has required a change of venue from the regular course at the college to the track at the high school because of heavy rains.  Not this year!  The sun was shining brightly and the temperatures were 80+ degrees.  It was a good day to run.  (By the way, this was yesterday).

The race started with the middle school runners.  Eva is on the team this year.  Here she is waiting to run the race, with her friend Ashley Berrett:

 Aren't they cute girls?

 this is Ashley crossing the finish line

 Eva's cousin Rhiannon and Eva race to the finish line

 Go, Eva!!!

 The junior varsity team prepares to start their race--SJH is pretty well-represented, don't you think?

 And they're off!

Wait, never mind.  One kid got tripped, so they had to start over.  Brayden Meyer still had a good race, even after really scraping up his hands

 And they're really off!

 Go, Garrett!!!

Coming across the finish line

Garrett definitely had a better run today, even though he was feeling a little bit sick afterward.  He felt good about his race.  He is improving and that is good.

The team did well, but I don't know what the final team scores were.  Thanks, Grandma Gail and Grandpa Worthy for coming out to watch your grandkids.  It was a fun day to run.

Family Traditions--Homemade Raspberry Ice cream at Grandma Barton's

I can remember over the years, on a few different occasions, we went to Britt's Grandpa and Grandma Barton's house for dinner or ice cream or both.  It has been several years since Grandpa Barton passed away and we visit occasionally now, but nothing like the huge family dinners we attended there years ago.  Still, there have been occasions when sweet Grandma Iris Barton has provided the Barton extended family with some of her delicious homemade raspberry ice cream.  Britt called her the other day and asked if we could bring the family over and make her special recipe there at her house.  Grandma said it has been a long while since she has even had an ice cream maker; she just doesn't need it anymore.  Luckily, we brought our own, along with the ingredients we needed (after verifying the recipe with her).

The kids asked to play with Grandma's marble set.  It is funny that they even remembered it.

 And then they fought over who got to play Uncle Jesse's piano

 Dad even tried his hand at one of his old favorite hymns.  We tried to sing along.

 Then, Grandma let the kids all have an ice cream treat, since we made them wait to have the ice cream until it has been in our freezer a couple days.

I know it is hard to tell that we are having a good time; they must all be in a sugar daze.

We also made some delicious clam chowder the Sunday before.  And since we had plenty of soup left over, we had it for dinner Monday night before we went over to see Grandma.  We also brought some soup and rolls to her for dinner, to thank her for hosting us that night.  We still can't quite believe Grandma is 90 years old.  She thinks that is plenty old, but we are happy she is still around.  Happy we got to spend the evening with her.  And the ice cream turned out to be delicious.  There is a tradition worth carrying on!

I know you want the recipes.  So here they are:


Nan's Clam Chowder (adapted from my mother Gail Glover's recipe):

2 or 3 cans minced clams (if you like bigger clam pieces, replace 1 can with chopped clams)
1/2-1 cup chopped onions
1 cup diced celery (finely diced, and usually less than a cup--we hate celery here, but we will eat it in  clam chowder)
2 cups (or more) cubed potatoes
3/4 cup melted butter
1/3-1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 TBSP sugar
1 quart half and half

Cook vegetables in clam juice and enough water to barely cover.  Simmer about 20 minutes.  Blend melted butter with flour, salt, pepper and sugar.  Add to vegetables and clams.  Add half and half last.  Heat through, but do not boil.  Serves 8.

We love this clam chowder!  We often double it and enjoy the leftovers through the week.  We serve it with french bread or Rhodes rolls.


Grandma Barton's Raspberry Ice Cream  (makes 1 gallon)

1 can evaporated milk
3 half pint cartons heavy whipping cream
2 packages frozen raspberries
Juice of 3 lemons
4 1/2 cups sugar
3 or 4 eggs

In mixing bowl, whip cream and evaporated milk.  Add sugar, lemon juice and eggs.  Put in ice cream maker freezer can, adding whole milk to fill 2 inches from top.  Freeze 15-20 minutes.    Open, add drained partially mashed raspberries.  Continue to mix in ice cream maker until it slows.  Place in freezer overnight until frozen.

This recipe is super yummy!  We discovered we didn't have room for any extra milk when we whipped it up.  Also, we just used regular frozen raspberries, not raspberries in syrup, so there was no need to drain.  And we actually only had room for one pack of raspberries.  Some of you might be afraid of the eggs, but they just make it like a frozen custard.  It is really tasty, although you don't need a large serving to enjoy it.  It is quite decadent!


Don't you love tasty family traditions?!

(Kim, you are welcome to steal my recipes and add them to your food blog, although I don't know if they would qualify as healthy food)

The last of the pictures at Grandma King's pool

We had such a good time at Grandma and Grandpa King's house.  We love all our St. George cousins. And we love Grandma and Grandpa King!

More Pool Fun at Grandma King's

I think these pictures speak for themselves.  These guys were having a ball!

 

Good times at Grandma and Grandpa King's

Sunday dinner at Grandma's was hamburgers and hot dogs.  The kids were all really hungry after playing in the sun all day.  All the other kids (and Jennilyn--she teaches) were starting school the next day, so we all wanted to get as much play time in as we could before they all had to go back to the real world.  Grandma also had to go to work the next day.  She has been working full time since one of the ladies that works with her is gone on maternity leave.

"Ham(burger)ing" it up for the camera

"If you insist on taking my picture, I am going to be silly"

Hannah (Jennilyn's daughter) looking studious.  She looks like she is related to Rachel, doesn't she?

Kayzlee can't get enough of Jennilyn's fruit salad (she belongs to Britt's brother Ryan and his wife Kynzee)

Isn't Kynzlee a doll?  She also belongs to Ryan and Kynzee

This kid must be related to Cole!  (This is Rhevv, also Ryan and Kynzee's)