We dropped Alissa off at Erin's house to play for a little while. Since we were out and about we decided to go to the library to look and see what books on CD they have. We'll borrow one or two for our long drive to Montana. Parker and Brinley played on the playground while we were inside looking. Shelley wanted to go to the Family Dollar, so that's where we headed next. We decided to walk since it wasn't very far away. It was pretty hot outside while we were walking and I guess it got Roger thinking about swimming. I saw him checking something on his phone, then he told me that the Brigham City Pool has family night prices. Of course, I wanted to go. So, Roger called his friend to cancel their basketball plans and see if he wanted to bring his family swimming. His friend wasn't interested in swimming, so that was a bummer. We called Alissa over at Erin's house and told her we were coming to get her early so we could go swimming. Alissa convinced Erin's family to take Erin swimming also. The pool was so refreshing! I loved it!
Sunday - June 16, 2013
A few weeks ago I saw a thing on Facebook saying they wanted to feature some fathers in the Leader (the Tremonton newspaper). The post said to send in a short message explaining why the father in your life should be featured. So, I quickly typed something up and sent it in, before Roger came in the room and saw what I was doing. I wanted it to be a surprise if they chose him. I figured that they would let me know if he was chosen, then we could type up something nice to say about him. But that is not how it happened. They did choose him, but they didn't let me know. They just used the paragraph that I had sent in explaining why he should be featured. I had forgotten about sending that in. I just figured they hadn't chosen him to be featured.
So, Roger comes home from work on Thursday morning and comes into the bedroom. He sits down on the bed and says, "I want to read something to you. I think you might recognize it." Then he picks up the paper and starts reading what I had written. I laughed. I had no idea they posted that. Roger liked it. He was really surprised.
He found out about it while he was at work. A guy that he works with was at home and called him at work. He said, "Moser, you're famous!" Roger was confused, so the guy explained that he had just read a short story about Roger in the Leader. Roger told his coworkers and then he headed to the Maverik to buy a copy of the newspaper. I'm glad I was able to surprise him, I just wish I would have known that was what they were going to post. I would have tried to write something a little better.
A few weeks ago we were watching an episode of World's Dumbest. This was episode was titled World's Smartest Inventions. While we were watching, I had a brilliant idea. I decided that it would be so funny to buy something that I had seen on that show for Roger's Father's Day gift. I decided that I would surprise Roger with this, then ask him if he wanted to make it our new tradition to always buy gag gifts for Mother's Day and Father's Day. The thing I got him is the pillow tie! Their slogan is, "Because most functions that require a necktie deserve to be slept through." The base of the tie is inflatable, so you can use it like a pillow.
We were so excited to surprise Roger with his gift. He loved it!
Friday - June 14th
We met our friends, the Croziers, at Bothwell Park to play for a while. Heather brought some yummy dip and her lunch to eat. So we sat at a picnic table and enjoyed the yummy dip, while the kids played on the playground. Braxin was so funny. He was so full of energy and so excited to be there. Parker brought his skateboard and his remote control car. Braxin loved following Parker and playing with the remote control car. They played on the playground, and played out in the baseball field for a while. Parker also spent some time skateboarding in the church parking lot.
When we got there, a dog across the street barked at us, then walked over to join us. It was a nice doggy and it hung around us the whole time we were there.
When we were done at the park, we headed back over here to our place to let the kids play a little longer and to enjoy some "Poop Cookies", as Heather calls them. I still call them No Bake Cookies. We hung out until it was Braxin's nap time and time for me to fix Roger's dinner, so he could have something to eat at work.
Brinley went home with Mikenna and Braxin to play for a little while longer and I went to pick her up just before Roger left to work. Heather was very kind and sent us home with the rest of the yummy dip she had made.
We used the bubble to make our redneck water bed. I was surprised at how well it went here. We don't play over here, because the kids around here cause a lot of trouble. I thought that we would set it up and end up with a ton of extra kids here. Somehow we managed to be able to play with out the interruption of other children. The four year old boy from next door was home, but he said he didn't want to play and just sat back and watched. It probably would have been worse if his step sister had been there.
Parker was a stinker and popped the waterbed earlier than everyone wanted. The girls all wanted to lay on it for a while, but they didn't get to do that. They still had a lot of fun playing on it though.
While we were playing, Roger went to Ogden to pick up our computer and to get Shelley from the Frontrunner. Shelley is coming to stay for two weeks, while her kids are at their dad's house for the month of June. She felt like she needed a little vacation. I don't think we are too much fun. hopefully she won't get too bored while she is here.
Shortly after Roger and Shelley came back, we ate some cinnamon rolls, then the Dukes headed home.
This morning, before the Dukes came, Parker went outside to look at something he saw in the grass. He came back in and told us that we can't go in the grass today. He explained that they sprayed the grass and if we go in the grass, we will get sick and our thumbs will turn blue. I asked him how he knew this. He said that it is on the sign. So we all went out to look at the sign. The sign in the grass had a picture of a blue thumb and said Lawn Doctor. I'm guessing that is the name of the company that takes care of the lawn here. Parker is a funny boy!
Later in the day, Alissa found a blue marker and remembered the sign and what Parker thought it meant. We had been in the backyard playing in the grass for a while, when Alissa came out with her thumb colored blue. She went over to Parker and showed him her thumb. She asked if his thumb had changed yet. It was funny. Parker was smiling. He thought she was joking, but you could tell he wasn't quite sure.
I tried a new Cinnamon Roll recipe (I found on Pinterest) that uses vanilla pudding. I loved it! I think I'll be using it from now on.
Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls
½ cup Warm Water
2 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp Sugar
3 ½ oz pkg Instant Vanilla Pudding ½ cup Butter, melted 2 Eggs 1 tsp Salt 6 + cups Flour
Filling:
1 cup Butter, melted
2 cups Brown sugar
4 tsp Cinnamon
In a small bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside. In large bowl, take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions. Add butter, eggs and salt. Mix well. Then add yeast mixture. Blend. Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Do not over flour the dough! It should be very soft but not sticky. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled. Then roll out on floured board to 34 X 21 inches in size. Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface. In bowl, mix 2 cups brown sugar and 4 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top. Roll up very tightly. With knife put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. Cut with thread or serrated knife. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Cover and let rise until double again.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden (don’t overbake). Frost warm rolls with frosting. Use melted buttercream frosting. Makes about 24 very large rolls.
*Freezable Recipe: After shaping the rolls and placing them on the baking sheet, cover with lightly greased saran wrap and a layer of tin foil. Store in the freezer. The night before you want to serve them take out the rolls and put them in the refrigerator. Let them thaw in the refrigerator. Take them out about 8-9 hours after being in the refrigerator and let them rise until doubled. Bake according to the recipe. (If you have less time, you can take the rolls out of the freezer and let them come to room temperature on the counter – about 4 hours, then let rise until doubled).
Monday - June 10, 2013
The computer was not working right, so we decided to take it in to get things running smoothly again. We have a lifetime thing with the place we bought the computer, so it is free to take it in for repairs. The only problem is that the place is in Ogden. Since we were heading to Ogden, Roger did a little search online to see if there was something fun and free for us to do together as a family. He found that there was a new splash pad not too far from the computer place. So we went and played for a little while after dropping off the computer. It was really crowded, but the kids still had a lot of fun. And I had fun taking pictures and trying some of the different settings on the camera.
This picture of Roger is my favorite.
Here is Alissa getting a large bucket of water dumped on her. She thought that was fun. Every time the buckets started looking full, she ran over so it would dump on her.
Parker and Brinley got tired of playing in the water, so they went over to play on the playground for a while. Before we had come, Brinley told us that she was going to make a new friend. While they were on the playground, I kept looking over to check on them. Every time, I saw Brinley, I thought, "I need to go over there and tell her to pull her swimsuit up." When she would swing on the bar her swimsuit would hang down. When we were done and getting ready to come home, Brinley came over and told me that she made a new friend. Then she told me how they met. Brinley said that her new friend came over to her and said "Your bum crack is showing." I started to laugh when she said that, because it was so cute and funny. But that made Brinley feel embarrassed and she quickly changed her story. she said, "Wait. I mean... She didn't say that.... She said... I like your swimsuit. I think it is cute." That was funny that she changed her story. I felt bad for laughing when she started to tell it to me. It just caught me off guard. I couldn't stop myself from laughing. After her friend said something to her, Brinley asked her if she would stay and play with her. That's how Brinley made her new friend.
Before we left, the kids ran over to a hill and rolled down it a few times. Then we headed home.
We relaxed for a little while and ate dinner after heading home, then we headed over to Jeanne Stevens Park to play with friends. Brian, Alisa, and Delany Reed met us at the park. They brought treats and two Frisbees for us to play with. Delany and Brinley spent the majority of the time playing on the playground together. they also spent a little time playing Frisbee and played a game over on the stage. Parker and Alissa had a lot of fun playing Frisbee with Roger and Brian.
Parker is really goofy. That's all. I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and he wanted to just be by me. So, he brought in this container and a blanket. It wasn't long after he came in, that I realized I wasn't hearing any sounds coming from his direction anymore. So I turned around and this is what I saw.
I don't know how he can sleep in that. He is a tall kid. You would think he would have a hard time feeling comfortable all scrunched up in there.
Here is a picture of the yummy food I made. I was trying something I saw on Pinterest. I didn't use the Pinterest recipe. I used my own, but the way I made it was what I learned from Pinterest. We had Meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato icing on top. It was really yummy.
They definitely did not turn out as pretty as the ones on Pinterest. They stuck to the cupcake pan and I had a hard time getting them out.
Thursday - June 6, 2013
We went over to our friends, the Duke's house to play. The kids played in the sprinklers in the backyard for a while. The mosquitoes were really bad, so we weren't out there for too long. We came inside and used the plastic sheeting and duct tape to make a bubble. The kids had fun playing in the bubble.
Wednesday - June 4th
We went camping at Clear Creek Campground in Sawtooth National Forest. According to the GPS it would take us 2 hours to get there. Luckily, the GPS was wrong. It only took us an hour. A big chunk of the drive was on dirt roads. We're pretty sure that's why the GPS guessed wrong. For the whole drive there were hardly any trees or much of anything exciting to see. Pretty the entry into the camp starts the prettier scenery with lots of trees. It was a mixture of pine trees, St. George-y type of trees, and some quaking aspens. I don't love the St. George looking trees, but it was still very beautiful there. When we were looking for what camping spot to stay in, Roger ran into someone that he works with. They told us of some fun things to see and do while we were there. We had planned on going on a hike, but they told us that the hike was probably too treacherous for the kids. so instead we went to visit one of the places they told us about.
Plus, there was plenty of exploring to be done right around our campsite. Before we came, I did some research about this area, trying to find anything interesting about it's history. I wasn't able to find much, but I did learn that there had been some Bigfoot sightings there. I love the mystery of Bigfoot! The kids took me to an area that they had discovered and thought was really pretty. While I was in there and just before we headed back to camp, I noticed a large amount of fur. It was a lighter colored fur. I'm such a dork - when I saw it, the thoughts in my mind were - What's this? Could I have found some Bigfoot evidence? That's fur, right? Let me zoom in and take some picture. That's definitely fur. But it's a lighter color than Bigfoot. Maybe it's an albino Bigfoot! - After that, I noticed a deer leg not too far away from the fur and I realized that I had found the remains of a deer. Later, I came back to that area by myself, so I could go potty. While I was there, I noticed a lot of really big poop. So, of course, my thoughts go back to Bigfoot - Maybe I found Bigfoot evidence after all. Maybe a Bigfoot at that deer. then I hurried out of that area and back to camp. I really don't know what I believe about Bigfoot, but I do think it is a ton of fun to imagine that Bigfoot is real. Another mystery from our camping. While we were out and about, our wet wipes disappeared. Another silly Jenny thought - Bigfoot saw me while I was using the bathroom and thought, "Wow! What a great idea! Wet Wipes!" Then when we left, the Bigfoot (probably a female) came and stole our wet wipes.
Hahaha! I know I'm a dork. I just think this stuff is fun! And the thoughts that come to my mind are so funny!
The place that Roger's acquaintance told us about was the city of Rocks. It was about 30 miles away. It really is out there in the middle of nowhere. There is a tiny little town at it's entrance. The City of Rocks is in Idaho. It was really cool. This was a favorite resting area for the pioneers on their way to California. A lot of them signed their names and the date on the rocks when they stopped there. It is fun to see all the names and dates. We had a lot of fun hiking around on the rocks. Next time, we will probably try camping in the city of rocks. There is a nice looking steak house in town and a sign for Durfee Hot Spring. We didn't go and check out the hot spring, but we will definitely do that next time.
Back at camp. The first two pictures are the view on the drive into camp.
Alissa and Brinley were being funny and kicking their feet in the air. Parker came running up after and had me take pictures of him doing cool jumps. Parker brought some cars with him and spent a lot of time playing with his cars in the dirt. He was absolutely covered in dirt. I wish I would have taken a picture of him when he was all dirty. His face was completely covered in dirt. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the creek that was next to our campground. I'm glad that they had a chance to do that. They were smart and put on sunblock before they played in the water. Roger and I didn't use sunblock and came home very sunburned.
We had a rough night trying to sleep, but we survived.
In the morning, I took a video to show our fun camp site.
When we got home, we all went straight to bed. We pretty much all slept all day. We woke up around 7:00pm. Then we stayed up until about 2:00 or 3:00am. It's been crazy trying to get our bodies back on a regular schedule.
