Christmas morning

We got to sleep in until 7:30am...

Whoa! Santa ate the head and foot of the gingerbread man, took bites of the chocolates, and drank all of the milk. He left a thank you note and a couch full of presents! Xavi was pretty disappointed that he didn't get to see him, though. Maybe we'll have to explain that better next year. This year he learned that Santa's bag is full of toys!

He was very happy with Santa when he opened a Cars umbrella.
"This is what I wanted!"

Neen & Grandpa are helping his music skills along this year with a nice red guitar, an electric drum pad set, and lots of accessories. Thank you! X sways and wiggles his hips as he dances around like a rock star and makes up songs, usually a cross between Yellow Submarine and original lyrics about the new baby. :)

Yummy lunch with family at Little America. X and D had a good time together. X even asked me if he could "share" his coloring book and crayons with D. What a sweetie!

Technically not Christmas Day but it was Xavi's last present (or should I say "bribe"...he was upset that they weren't taking him to California with them)...$20 to spend on any toys he wanted. What did he buy? Cars, of course!

Merry Christmas!

Getting ready for Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here is our undoctored five-minute family photo shoot, finger smudge on the lens and all (sorry, dear! You do look angelic...). What you can't see, however, is the fourth member of our family, the one we found out about just after Thanksgiving...baby #2, due early August. X is very excited about being a big brother and we are very happy to add to our little family.

Picture below: The AmeriCorps members at our school (that means me) were given one week to gather clothing and coins to help families from the school get needed winter clothing. The students and staff at the elementary brought in close to $1,000 in coins with which we bought boots, socks, underwear, coats, hats, gloves, and gift cards to add to the donated clothing. Old Navy donated the racks which made it look like a store and some reporters came and put the event in the local newspaper! We held what we called "A Warm Winter's Night" for families in need with over 30 families attending the event. Volunteers colored and played games with the kids while parents found the items they needed. Wal-Mart donated bags and candycanes and there were books from our "toy library" and puzzles for gifts as well. A nearby elementary school took the clothes left over and did their own similar clothing event. The short timeframe made it stressful but I think it was a helpful and successful service to the community, especially during this cold winter!

Since waiting to open presents all month is hard on kids, Xavi's grandma put the pieces to a nativity into different boxes, one labeled for each day. It's intended as the twelve days before Christmas but it was easier for X to see that the calendar said Dec. 1, so he could open Box #1. He loved it and made sure to take pictures of it when he opened the last box with baby Jesus (see below).

X also loves being an honorary member of the Cub Scouts. Since we are the leaders, he makes sure he gets to do everything the boys do. This time it was making gingerbread houses. His funny pose is because he has frosting all over his fingers and hands (he was eating most of it!)

Joe and I were a little humbuggy(new word?) at the beginning of December, mostly because we were both swamped with work. But as X kept pointing out everywhere we went that "this store (or building or house) is ready for Christmas" because it had a tree, we finally went and got ready for Christmas, too. I should have taken a picture of the lopsided tree when X had put all his decorations in one spot, but we rearranged and that's the shot I took. Xavi also helped me put together a Christmas puzzle that we put in the picture frame. We spent the whole week before Christmas visiting relatives and attending talent nights. Lots of fun and lots of talent! We sang "In a Little Stable" from Xavi's preschool and he was great at remembering when to pick up and ring the bells and when to put them down again. So proud!

Dinosaurs are real

We were so lucky to go to the Dinosaur Park with some of our favorite people--Duane & Kirsten! What I learned there right off is that three-year-olds think everything is real. X was terrified of the dinosaurs and clung to his dad or to me (see below). It probably didn't help that we started in the animatronics section where the dinosaurs move a little in threatening ways to other dinosaurs and make loud noises...

After a while, though, he understood that they were not going to get him and even liked being the brave one in the animatronics section when we met up shortly after with Hannah (also 3) who was scared of the dinosaurs. He didn't go up to the dinosaurs, in fact, he stayed as far back as the wall let him and held securely to me, but he did bravely point out the baby dinosaurs to Hannah and told her they weren't scary. :) He still believes there are some real dinosaurs somewhere (we couldn't fully convince him that they were all dead).

Walking around the Dinosaur Park was a lot of fun and X's fear disappeared quickly. He loved climbing on everything and running around. It was hard to tear him away from the excavation area, our last stop, where you can use brushes to "find" dinosaur bones in the sand. Such a fun day!

"Whoa"

Jurassic Park flashbacks anyone?

The family dinosaur...

Just a sample of some of those dangerous humans...

Joe and I were a little creeped out when we saw something small swimming in the water.
We thought it was a drown-proof rat or an otter (our minds still in CA, I guess)
It turns out it was a muskrat, so we were close! It seemed cuter after the mystery was solved.

Future archeologists (sp?)

Oh, boy...I've got joy!

X is in a little preschool where the moms take turns teaching two lessons each. It is a wonderful couple of hours and I felt lucky to get to take the kids on a field trip when it was my turn to teach. We were learning about rules and how things turn out well when we follow the rules. We went to Great Harvest to see how their bakers follow the rules (recipes) to make good bread. They gave an excellent short presentation, just right for young kids. The kids were patient while they waited for the tour to start and seemed to like the field trip.

Learning about the five main ingredients in bread:
flour, water, yeast, honey, and salt (I think)
Seeing the giant mixing bowl was my favorite part.

A gigantic mix of dough getting cut into smaller loaf pieces.
The workers showed off by throwing the dough up and over
the black rafters (see below) trying to land them right on the baking tray.

The kids watching the workers knead the dough

Waiting for their free bread samples

Enjoying the bread samples--thanks!

It was a fun field trip and the kids were given a picture to color
which let the moms get a free loaf of bread later! Yum!

The first day of school--thanks Miss Jesi for putting it all together!

X enjoys school and the kids enjoy playing with each other.

There are great moms and great kids! Who could ask for anything better?!

Together Again

After being with cousin Z almost everyday for six months, it was inevitable that X would go through cousin withdrawals after our move. At first he told us he missed her. Then he showed us how he was playing with his (imaginary) Zelia and would ask us to buckle her in when we got in the car or make us give her food at the table. I got a little worried! Soon every prayer of his included asking that she could come visit. I felt so sad for him and tried to find other little kids for him to play with minimal luck at that point. X's prayers were answered, though, and Jenn let Z fly up with Grandma who was coming up for a family reunion. When the two kids saw each other at the reunion in the canyon X was shy and Z was ecstatic (see picture above) but they both gave each other great big hugs. They played hard all weekend and fought, too, for good measure. :) It was so great seeing them together again.

Imaginary Z still comes to play sometimes but with new friends at preschool and meeting some neighbors he is adjusting. His mind is often still in California, though, as I found out when writing my list of things-to-do yesterday. I asked him what I should write on the list and he said "Go to Neen's house." I wrote it down, of course, and am working on a plan to visit, though it may be on the to-do list for a bit! :)

Happy kids at the Farmer's Market (above)

Dress up costumes from Grandma (below)

They wore these the rest of the weekend!

Minnie Mouse and "policeman" picking veggies from Great-Grandma's garden

Meeting a new relative

Exploring the pumpkin garden with Darby & Hannah

Saying goodbye at the airport...come again!

Julie, Julia & Me

Ok, I'm no chef but occasionally I like to pretend. When I was unpacking all of our recipe books, I kept thinking, yum, this looks good, ooooh, look at that! So when I saw the movie Julie and Julia, I guess I crossed the threshold of inspiration and I actually tried some new recipes that required some new cooking skills (new for me anyway).

#1 Grilled steak--Don't laugh but this really was new for me! We don't have a barbeque and Joe is such a great meat chef that I haven't really had to cook steak before. I followed an online recipe step-by-step that told me how to grill (broil, maybe?) steaks in an oven. It kept me busy because it had me switching those steaks every three to five minutes, either to a different rack location or flipping them over. The best part was moving around the big iron racks in the oven. Did you know things cook differently according to the closeness to the coils at the top or bottom? Of course, I knew that, too, but I always stick my food on the same rack in the general middle to bottom, so this was definitely branching out. Plus I juggled a real full meal--veggies, salad, potatoes, etc. so the timer was constantly going off the entire time. I see how Iron Chef contestants might sweat in their food. It is hot running around! That dinner used up my cooking motivation until Saturday when I found two more great recipes to try...

#2 Italian-style chicken roll-ups--I was excited about this recipe because it was going to use up the cream cheese, spaghetti sauce and half green pepper sitting in my fridge. I love that! It was actually pretty easy to make and I only messed up on one minor part (I put the final cheese on early). We thought it tasted good and X ate at least six bites of the chicken (not the stuff in the middle), so that was a bonus! It kind of tasted like a cross between chicken cacciatore and chicken cordon bleu. Should you feel like trying it, here's the recipe:

4 oz (half-pack) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c finely chopped green peppers
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, thawed (I used 3 chicken breasts but two is probably better)
cheese (shredded or 4 Kraft singles, cut in half)
1 c spaghetti sauce

Mix cream cheese and peppers in bowl; set aside. Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat oven to 425'F. Pound each chicken piece flatter than it came (the recipe recommended 1/4-inch thickness but we don't have a meat pounder-thingy to get it that thin). Put cheese on the chicken and top with half the cream cheese mixture. Roll up chicken and put in dish seam-side down. Top with spaghetti sauce. Cover dish with foil. Bake 20 min. Remove foil and top chicken with cheese. Bake 3 to 5 min. or until melted. Enjoy!

#3 Pineapple salsa w/tortilla chips--Ok, this was probably not the best side dish with the above chicken but I definitely think it rivals the taste of the Grilled Caribbean Salad at Chili's and deserves the whole spotlight at a future meal! The motivation again was random ingredients in my fridge which I was excited to use up. This time it was the use of half of a red pepper and the cilantro that caught my eye. Here's the recipe:

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 or 2 cups of chopped pineapple (1 cup was good for a family of 2.5 eaters), 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper, 1 sliced green onion (we didn't have this but I didn't miss it either...), 2 Tbs. lime juice, and 1 Tbs. fresh cilantro. Cover and chill in fridge until it's time to eat! Stays fresh up to 48 hrs.

So there you have it. Joe liked them both. He said they were "good". Not the most descriptive review but I did notice he had at least seconds of both! :)

Two months later...

Our life has taken a significant turn since we received a phone call from Utah State University in the middle of a drive through Nevada last month. One camping trip and nine days later we were moving from southern California to northern Utah! Joe has an awesome new job at the business school that put him right to work and is giving him two months to learn everything before his boss leaves for a month and he is in charge. The people in his office love having him and already scheduled him to take a group of students to Japan next spring!

We may be cold in 80 degree weather but we are happy to be here. We get all sorts of bonus benefits like the use of the university gym and wellness program, chances to audit classes, etc. I'm glad that we have insurance again. It sounds wrong but I'm almost excited to schedule doctor and dental appointments. Since we've gotten here, we've been busy painting the rooms in our rental house (part of the deal for getting to move in the next morning), shopping and garage saling, doing yardwork, and trying to get internet. I love that we have family in town and relatives all over Utah. We have so many people to visit! I'm also excited for all the cultural and community events in Logan. Lots of date nights, I hope!

A rundown of our summer in pictures:

Swimming lessons with cousin Z

The 'cribs' in the pool let the kids stand and practice in the water

Baby Izzy waiting with us for the 4th of July laser show

Waiting to walk in the kids parade

Camping near Bishop, CA:
Hands-on camping!

Okay, we tried regular fishing but the U-Ketch-Em pond was much
more effective (thanks for paying, Grandpa!). Xavier caught two fish and was so proud!

X loved his camping chair and would slouch into it like a teenager

Grandma thought of everything to put in their camping backpacks!

X's fascination with the camper led him to convince us
to buy him a camper trailer toy at D.I. to hold his cars
So far in Utah:

X adores his older cousins who are patient and sweet with him.

Our new house!
(Okay, we rent the main floor, but it's still cool)

To be continued...