All of us,(except Heidi who was at a cousin's house), went to Mesa to see the nativity and light display last week. Mesa was where Joel and I were married in 1995....oooh...that sounds so long ago! How time flies when we're having fun! 
After decoding and unscrambling words, they ran to the Christmas tree where they found a baggie with the "se wi ng de sk" cards to be arranged in the proper order. Then in my sewing desk drawer, they found the socks.
Well, I told them to look again and this time their sharp eyes spotted the addition of 5 lifesaver candy canes to the tree. (The candy canes that were all ready on the tree were sour patch brand candy canes that look very similar.) I told them those 5 canes were for them to have as a treat. Yes, we eat a lot of candy canes this time of year. :-}
I love this picture! Just click on it to see the full size version.
The site that I found the information on had some pictures of really strange eggs. Like a spoon shaped egg or an egg within an egg! You can see for yourself by going to this link.
"Wow, look at this huge egg! - Mom, do you think it would have been twins?". And then when you are cooking, you never know when you are going to crack open a double yolker! My friend Heather, who raises chickens, told me her kids proclaim it a lucky day when she breaks open a double yolked egg. We just gather around and marvel at it and sometimes take a picture. Look at the color difference in the yolks. The other one is a store-bought egg.
A book that has special memories for me is "The Shiniest Star". My grandmother read it to my mother when she was little, and then my mother read it to me and my siblings. That original book was pretty much worn out and fragile and I wouldn't have even wanted to ask to borrow it for fear of what my kids might to do it. So last year my Mom had the great idea to look it up online and see if "The Shiniest Star" was still available anywhere. (by the way, what did we do before the internet?) We were so excited to see there is now a reproduction of the original! So "The Shiniest Star" tradition is now being passed down to my own kids. :-) Here is a picture from inside the book.
Our homeschool group met at Dierkes lake to do a sagebrush seed collection project with our friend Ed, the forest ranger. It was fun to get out in the desert and enjoy being outdoors for a couple hours. We love the rugged beauty of the canyon.
I finally finished sewing some items that I started awhile ago. I wish I had thought of making this apron for Heidi's Christmas present, but it's too late now because she's been watching me work on it! I made it a little big so she could wear it for next 2 or 3 years.
Heidi caught the stomach flu that Reagan had 2 days ago. Sadly, hers is lasting a lot longer and she is much more vocal about her pain than Reagan. Heidi decided she needed to wear a hat because she felt cold and I had to try hard not to laugh because the one she picked out made her look like a sick smurf.
Sometimes, when I know dinner is not going to be as complete or filling as I think it should be and I'm worried the kids will be hungry again in a half hour, I make a big smoothie to serve along with the main course. I always try to cram as many good things in it as possible. Saturday night's smoothie was particularly delicious. It included strawberries, 1/2 a banana, 2 handfuls of spinach, a small amount of kale, yogurt, frozen orange juice, a bit of lime juice, and little elderberry concentrate. My friend, Jenny, told me last year that you can add quite a bit of fresh spinach to smoothies without effecting the flavor at all. It's true!
And here's a simple bread idea that Joel always raves about. Take a loaf of the Idaho sourdough baguettes you can buy at Costco. Cut one in half, spread ranch dressing on each half and sprinkle grated cheddar or mozzarella on top. Then toast until bubbly. A nice variation on this is to add bacon bits before the cheese. And no, this recipe isn't lowfat or healthy!
Heidi made a little fort in the living room and inside of it she put her laundry basket and used a sweater for a pillow. It doesn't look too comfortable but she slept in it all night.....
Speaking of comfortable, this spot doesn't look too great either. But during the long late hours spent remodeling at Grandma's house this spring, sometimes Heidi was forced to create a sleeping place amidst the clutter. This time she used a pink parasol to help define her little space (and maybe protect her from the dangling electric outlets over head- poor child!). 
