Ready for Christmas???

It has been a rough couple of weeks. Seems like we haven't stopped running since Thanksgiving. Cole has been off which has been nice. But, unfortunately this is a very busy time at my work and we really haven't been able to spend much time together because I have been working as much as possible.
Therefore, we have not done one ounce of Christmas shopping. Yeah, you read right. I am in trouble.
Dawsyn is ready though. I had my birthday and she helped me open my gifts, she loved the wrapping paper. She is pulling herself up to anything and everything and is starting to walk along the couch a little. Cole and I have to keep our eye out all the time because the makes a fast crawl for the stairs (no, we don't have a gate yet). We have resorted to sliding the couch over to block that walkway.
Dawsyn finally got her first two teeth. One the week before Thanksgiving and the second the day after Thanksgiving. We still have not returned to a regular sleep pattern yet.
We are loving every second with Dawsyn and it is even better when we can all be home together.
We did go altogether to get a Christmas tree. We all love the mountain. I must say, it is a little hard to pack a 21 lb baby through the snow with snow boots on. But we had fun scouting for the perfect tree. How did we do?

Thanksgiving in Koosharem

Some of my favorite recipes

I am a little behind on this blogging thing... I need to do a huge update post. But I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending time with family, so I thought I would share what I will be making for Thanksgiving dinner. Can't wait to eat these and many other tasty things on Thursday... and then go for a long walk (weather permitting, we may have to find an indoor exercise!!). Happy Turkey Day... Hope you Gobble til you Wobble!!

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

DIRECTIONS
1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir on medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat, and cook and stir 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Beat yolks slightly. Gradually stir 1 cup of mix into yolks. Return yolk mixture to saucepan, and bring to gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 more minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in butter, peel, and juice. Fold in sour cream.
3. Pour filling into baked pie shell, and cool. Top with whipped cream if desired.

* I want my lemon pie to be yellow, so I add some yellow food coloring, call me crazy!!

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
1 Keebler™ Ready Crust® Graham Pie Crust
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Directions
1. Brush bottom and sides of crust with 1 egg yolk. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. 2. In large bowl whisk together 1 egg, pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ginger until combined. Pour into crust. 3. Bake on baking sheet at 350i??F about 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. 4. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator.

Festive Cranberry Sauce

3 cups cranberries
1 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup dried cherries (5 oz bag)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon grated orange peel

Stir together in saucepan. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for about 15 minuets or until reduced to 41/2 cups, stir occasionally. Will thicken as it cools. Can also be used on cheesecake.

Sweet Potatoes

6-7 Sweet potatoes ( I use Yams)
cooked and peeled
Sauce
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4Tbs. Butter, melted
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Topping
6 Tbs. butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Place sliced potatoes in greased 9x13 pan. Mix sauce ingredients and pour over potatoes.
Mix topping ingredients together to form a crumble and sprinkle over top of potatoes.
Bake on 350 for 40-45 min

*you can add marshmallows, but I like them without!

WHY WE LOVE CHILDREN!!!

1) NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, 'Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'
2) OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, 'The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.'
3) KETCHUP
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the bottle During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle.'
4) MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, 'What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before.'
5) POLICE
It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station.. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me 'Is that a dog you got back there?' he asked. 'It sure is,' I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, 'What'd he do?'
6) ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'
7) DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, 'Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit> .' 'And why not, darling?' 'You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning. '
8) SCHOOL
A little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!'
9) BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. 'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out. 'What have you got there, dear?' With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's Adam's underwear.'

HUSBAND TAG

HUSBAND TAG!!
Where did you meet your husband? At the opening ceremonies for the Utah Summer Games. I had just graduated from SUU where I worked at the Campus Police Department. Cole's Sergent(Kevin) also worked at SUU as a part-time officer. Kevin had been after me to meet Cole and I was sick of people trying to set me up, I pretty much ignored him. I found that Cole had been doing the same thing. Anyway, I walked in the gates with Megan, Ethan and my roommate Diane and Kevin practically ran to get Cole telling me not to go anywhere. We met, Cole asked my name twice and we visited for a second. Later he got my number from one of the other officers. I think it is cute that he still remembers what I was wearing that night.
How long have you been married? 4 years just last week!!
What does he do that surprises you?I love when he surprises me and comes home early or takes a day off so we can spend time together.
What is your favorite feature of his?Hmmm, can I type this... he has a very nice butt, I love his eyes, his hands and his feet(even though he won't let me touch them). I might mention that he makes a UHP uniform look dang good!!
What is your favorite quality he has? When he commits to something, he is totally committed, whether it is our marriage or Cub Scouts.
Does he have a nickname for you?Babe and Kimmie.
What is his favorite food?He is a steak and potatoes man
What is his favorite Sport?NASCAR
When and where was your first kiss?At the door to my apartment (Campus Towne #2). I think it was our third date.
What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?Getting wood, hiking, going for walks and watching Dawsyn grow.
Do you have children?our baby girl
Does he have any hidden talents?He can sing... if he will
How old is he?32
Who said I love you first? Well. I said "Cole, I think I am falling." Cole said,"I already fell". I think that meant a lot to both of us, we knew we were both committed to each other.
His favorite kind of music?Country mostly, but we have been listening to a lot of Hair Nation on Sirius.
What do you admire most about him?His love and devotion for Dawsyn and I. He is willing to to anything for our happiness.
Will he read this?I don't think so. He thinks this blogging stuff this is crazy.
Who do you tag? Diane and Chesney

Photo Shoot

Just had to post the cute pictures. She was so good. We spent the better part of the day out shopping and Dawsyn hardly made a peep. Well, a lot of talking, no crying!!

Best Anniversary (thus far)!!

So, Just had to write a little about our anniversary. We didn't really have a plan for the evening, and I had been at work all day. When I got home, Cole was ready to head up the mountain for a load of wood. Which was great, we both love getting wood. It is very rewarding!! (some might think we are a little odd, oh well) Dawsyn was very good. While I am loading the truck she sits in her car seat and giggles at me. I think she thinks we are playing peek-a-boo with me going up and down moving wood. Anyway, I would do silly things so she could see me (waving arms and jumping up and down). I started clapping, she did too. I thought it might be just a coincidence. When we got home, I put her in her chair for her dinner. While clapping I said to her, "yeah, cereal!". And she started clapping too. No coincidence there, she knew what she was doing.
After Dawsyn had eaten her cereal, I put her pajamas on her and we sat on the floor while I read the grocery ads. She was rolling all over like usual, until she noticed that I had the paper. She got up on her knees and started crawling. It was a beginning crawl, she would push off with her legs then lay flat to see if she could reach the paper, but crawling none the less.
What a happy anniversary we had. Dawsyn reached some fun milestones, we got to spend time together doing something we love; oh, and Cole sent me some beautiful red roses.

4 years...(or is it 6?)

Our 4 year anniversary.

Just like the others, we are not doing much.

Our first anniversary was spent cleaning and painting our garage floor.

Our second anniversary, Cole was at training with Neo in Northern Utah.

Our third anniversary... I don't remember.

So for our fourth we are going to the cabin this weekend and stay a couple of nights. We can't wait to get out of town.

I just thought it would be fun to look back over the years together. We have had a lot of fun, and have really learned to rely on each other. I can't express how blessed I feel that I have such a wonderful husband. He is truly concerned about Dawsyn's and my happiness; always putting us first. I tell Cole that he runs circles around me... and he really does. He has always helped with the laundry, and all the house cleaning, and he takes care of the cars, the yard and all the maintenance on the house. To top it all off, he is a wonderful daddy. Dawsyn lights up when he comes in the room, I have to admit... so do I!

I love you Cole. You have made the past six years the best of my life, and I can't wait for many more.


Just after we started dating - 6 years ago.


Our Wedding Day!!


And before we had Dawsyn. I don't have a recent one.

Blue eyed baby!!

More pictures, just because she is so darn cute!!

Dawsyn Dawsyn, 6 months old

Dawsyn Dawsyn (as she is affectionately known, courtesy Mia Mia) turned 6 months on the 28th.
She weighs 18 1/2 lbs and is 26 inches long. While at the doctor's office, the doctor said like three times how good Dawsyn was. He finally turned to me and asked, "Is she always this good of a baby?" Yes, she is. She is a wonderful baby. Sleeps through the night, loves her cereal,fruit and veggies, pretty good in the car (she especially loves the truck), loves to cuddle... and is just pretty mellow (as Cole would say). There is no question, she is her Daddy's girl.

Funny look, she doesn't know what to think about the flash on the camera.

Who is that baby with a Binky?? Can't be Dawsyn. (she chewed on it for 40 min and then was done; she has never liked them, but I try once in a while)

Sleeping in the truck after a long day of getting wood.

Cuddling with Dad, she loves our bed.

Riding 4 wheeler (asleep in less than 5 min).
You can't tell that we adore our little girl. She has both of us wrapped around her little finger.

Because I want these Christmas cards!!

Brandy is doing a give away on her other blog. And I want these... But will welcome friendly competition, so go check it out: Some of This and Some of That.

It is on its way!!!

Can't wait to get back on track... and it is going to take a lot to get all these extra pounds off!!

High School Tag, Thanks Megan...

High School Tag
1.Did you date someone from your school? No... I had the same crush for two years. He never knew.
2.What kind of car did you drive? The bus and then sometimes I would drive our Green Explorer and Ericka and I would run to get lunch.
3. Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try? Yes, but wasn't really good at parallel parking. Now, I am way good.
4. Were you a party animal? Yeah right. I was home most nights with Mom and Dad.
5. Were you considered a flirt? No way...
6. Were you in a band, orchestra, choir? Choir, I think we mostly messed around. I do remember singing the Broadway Classics
7. Were you a nerd? No, in fact Trail K, Ericka and I were picked not to take a Test in Mrs. Seegmiller's because we were the one that were struggling. I guess we just weren't as smart at the others.
8. Were you on any varsity teams? No, I pretty much gave up on Volley Ball when the coach put me in as middle blocker during a game and said "isn't that what you have been practicing". WHAT... Kimala - a middle blocker.
9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No, but Mr. Robinson had me on his hit list. He was always after me for some reason.
10. Can you still sing the fight song? Yep, I am a dork.
11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mrs. Seegmiller, Mrs. Anderson and good ol Mrs. Whittaker(she let me look at her diamonds and gave Ericka and I Tick Tacks while going through the Holocaust Museum; I think she was afraid we would pass out because of the smell).
12. Where did you sit during lunch? Senior hall or the steps just outside senior hall. Yummy CUP O Noodles. I think this could be why Mr. Robinson didn't like me... they came up with the rule of no food in A building.
13. What was your school's full name? Piute High School
14. School mascot and colors? Thunderbird, red, white and blue
15. Did you go to Homecoming? Did we have Homecoming? If we did I can't remember, all the dances were quite dumb.
16. If you could go back and do it all again, would you? Heck no. I was excited to be done with high school. College was much more fun.
17. What do you remember most about graduation? We were all mad a Donahoe and didn't want him to speak at Graduation. I lost my cap and tassel when I tossed it in the air. So, if anyone has an extra 98 tassel... it is mine.
18. Where did you go your senior skip day? California, this is where the whole Donahoe fight started. He wouldn't let us watch Titanic on the bus among other things. There was actually one point that he stormed off the bus kicking rocks he was so mad. And we thought Mrs. Seegmiller would be the tough one.
19. Were you in any clubs? Honor Society... I can't remember what else. I stayed pretty low that last couple of years.
20. Have you gained some weight since then? Do we even want to go there? I don't.
21. Who was your prom date? Oh Geez, Colby Smith. They didn't plan anything so we drove up and down main street in Richfield 500 times, Wes was working buy McDonald's pouring curb and gutter he saw us going back and forth. Then my date and Ericka's date started spitting ice through straws at each other at Pizza Hut just for me to realize that my cousin (Cory Sorensen) was sitting across from us. How embarrassing.
22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Didn't go. Would have loved to see everyone though.
23. Did you have a job while in high school? Fish Lake Lodge during the summer and part of fall. Cleaning, waitressing, front desk (i think I sold my first beer and cigarette's at 15) and then I took reservations in the office. Long days, I remember my feet hurting so bad that I couldn't go to sleep and then we would get up and do it all over again. A lot of fun stories from those days. Diver Dave, bats falling from the ceiling, pillow case races, eating employee meals in the cave. Oh the list goes on....

What a big girl!!

We got the chair out last night because Dawsyn has been sitting up so well. She had her dinner sitting up in the chair instead of in the bouncy(which she is out growing very quickly). It took a little getting used to, but she liked it.
Dawsyn loves her rice cereal, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, pears and (the newest) bananas.
I felt like I was trying to grow her up last night putting her in the chair... but she is really ready for it, I guess it is just me that is not ready.

Cute pictures of Dawsyn

a little blury, she was moving....still cute tho!




Hide and Seek. I think this is her favorite place... she goes here often.

Neo in the flour

I was trying my hand at pie crusts and Cole was leaving for work. Cole brought Neo in for just a second while he gathered the rest of his stuff. I was on the phone with Mom, trying to get some instruction because my crusts were not going as I thought they should. My flour bucket was open on the floor. Neo saw something new and decided to check it out. Cole and I were both trying to tell him to get out. In the process, Neo dropped his ball in the flour and had to go back in to get it. Needless to say, I had flour all over the kitchen and the bucket needs new flour, but the picture was cute!

Under the bed

I was getting ready to put Dawsyn to bed, but wanted to get out of my jeans. So I put her down just outside my bathroom door and went to hang my jeans up. This is where I found Dawsyn.

Balloons from our house.

I got up when Cole left for work last Saturday and took pictures of the balloons from our house. it was so pretty. I can't wait for Dawsyn to be excited to see things like this.

Strike a pose.

This is Dawsyn's new favorite pose. She gets up on he side and stays this way until she wants to roll some more. She had just woke up here, but already striking her pose!

Labor Day weekend on the mountain

The purpose of this trip was to get some wood. Cole and Grandpa ended up cutting quite a bit around the cabin. Dawsyn and I stayed close to the cabin because it was a little chilly. We had so much fun on Saturday, I talked Cole into going back up Sunday after church. It didn't take much talking! It is so nice to be away from phones and such. Wish we could get up there more often. Hopefully, next time we can stay a day or two.

Bragging for Megan.

We didn't get the chance to plant a garden this year, but Megan was willing to share with us.

I had to take a picture when I saw how pretty it was. Thanks Meg, we enjoyed it all!

Playing with Addi

Addi is a great help with Dawsyn. She sure keeps you on your toes though. There were a couple times this day that Addi made me a little nervous about helping. Mostly when she went to get Dawsyn out of the jumper. I asked her what she was doing and said, "Dawsyn wants to get out."
As you can see below, Addi took her turn in the swing while Dawyn was sleeping. Cute!!

5 Months... How time flies!

I can't believe that Dawsyn is 5 months already.
She is so much fun and is really letting her little personality shine through.
She weighs over 17 pounds now and is loving rice cereal and carrots. Not so much with the sweet potatoes. She defiantly hates her vitamins. She gags. It is so funny though, I laugh and then hurry to give her some cereal to get the yucky taste out of her mouth. No teeth yet, for this I am grateful!

Dawsyn sits up a little, but doesn't like to very much. She would rather lay down and roll. She rolls everywhere, no kidding. She can get just about anywhere she wants in a matter of seconds.
She is defiantly her Daddy's girl. About the only things she got from me is her chubby big toes and that she loves to be tickled. One night, I had her in her bed asleep and while I was getting ready for bed she woke up. Expecting to be awake for a while I took her in to say good night to Cole. I laid her on the bed and she rolled to cuddle up with her dad, put her little bum up in the air and fell back asleep while Cole tickled her little body. It was the cutest thing.

We are so grateful to have Dawsyn in our little family. We were so boring without her. Life is defiantly more exciting with a little one around.

Adeline's 100th Birthday

Our next door neighbor, Adeline celebrated her 100th Birthday. I think she had a great day. Our neighborhood and ward organized an open house that afternoon and our street all went to sing Happy Birthday to her.
Adeline loves to tell stories about when she played Jazz on the piano... her favorite phrase is "OH SURE." I can just hear her saying that.

One of my favorite memories of Adeline is when Cole and I were building the house. She called me over and told me she was going to give us something refreshing to drink. I thought water, maybe juice, something refreshing. Oh no, she poured us both a nice tall glass of tomato juice.
I took it out to Cole. We decided that we better drink some because she was watching (she loved to watch to see what we were doing everyday). Cole just couldn't, so he pretended.
Anyway, it was a nice gesture. What a fun lady.