Chef Nate

Before Nate was born we purchased a MiniDV camcorder (hard drive or flash memory versions were still too expensive at the time) to get lots of video of Nate.  We shoot some video from time to time and I never get around to capturing that video digitally (it is a total pain).  I’m finally getting around to doing it now and over the next several weeks we hope to share many fun videos from the past 4 years!  To kick us off I give you “Nathan Cooks.” (Email Readers Click Here)

You may have heard of Nate’s intense desire to cook.  This desire is slightly lessened as of late; however, this desire fueled many exciting adventures at our house.  Here is a video of Nate (about a year ago) doing some cooking at home (completely of his own design) using ingredients that were nearly expired or that we would not eat.  We hear a lot of talking by Nate in this video and those of you that are currently familiar with him will recognize his progress with pronunciation!  When this video was taken his ears were completely filled with fluid.  Poor guy.  The video is almost ten minutes long so if you loose patience go to the end to see the finished product!  :)

Coupon Extravaganza!

Anyone in need of coupons (not grocery coupons)? I have a multitude. I bought a Happenings book plus have a bunch of loose coupons.

I have everything from Pier 1, Treehouse Museum, Crazy 8 kids clothes, the zoo, fast food, and LOTS of family activities. Name a place and I probably have a coupon for it. Maybe I need to have a coupon craze night and let everyone go through and grab all the coupons they want.

Ask and ye shall receive.

My Simple Testimony

Tonight I (Julie) feel like expressing how happy I am to know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I have a testimony of the gospel. The people aren’t perfect, but its principles and ordinances are.

Joseph Smith really did see Father in Heaven and Jesus the Christ. Every word of The Book of Mormon is true.

President Monson is the living prophet of God. He receives revelation and leads the Church with love and faith.

I’m grateful for my parents’ unfaltering faith. They taught me and showed by example the way to happiness.

I’m grateful to my children for teaching me, more than anyone ever has before, my faults. They stretch me to be better and better every day.

I’m grateful my husband holds and exercises his priesthood worthily and loves me without end.

Families are forever. How grateful I am for that truth.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Tidbits on a Tuesday

Nate started preschool last week and really loves it. He always tells me all about what he learned and is always excited to go again. It’s also been nice for me and Madeleine to be able to spend some one-on-one time together.

When Nate says “pump” it comes out as “hump.” It’s quite comical, especially when he says things like, “Daddy, you need to hump up the ball.”

Madeleine is getting more and more headstrong. She’s independent, intelligent, and into everything. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and stand up for herself.

Nate does something that’s pretty funny. He makes sound effects to emphasize whatever he is doing…like he clicks his tongue, etc. Rob mentioned he probably gets it from him because he does the same thing. I never noticed before! So I’ve been paying more attention lately and it’s true. Rob makes sound effects, too! For example: clicking the mouse requires a click of the tongue, applying toothpaste requires a squirt sound, plopping a scoop of food onto a plate requires a plop sound. Unequivocally weird.

Last night I was sitting on the floor talking with Rob. I go to brush a stray hair off of my arm and see that the tickle wasn’t a stray hair. It was…a…spider!!! And not a teeny spider but a good, medium-sized spider. Talk about everyone’s nightmare coming true. EEEEKKK!!!! I had to shower right away because I kept feeling creepy crawlers all over me.

Three BIG thumbs up from Julie to After Hours Medical Centers for their move to offer monthly memberships to individuals who can’t afford health insurance and don’t qualify for Medicaid. Way to bypass the insurance companies and the government at the same time!! Can I hear a “Woo, Woo”! The plan isn’t perfect, but it’s a big step in the right direction. Don’t you just love forward thinkers?

There’s a new product I’m very excited about. I mean, what else comes with the promise “You won’t be like a man. You’ll just pee like one.” That’s right, I’m introducing you to the Female Urination Device (sometimes called a FUD). Great for camping, boating, skiing, and just plain unsanitary toilet conditions.

 
I believe the people who came up with this idea deserve some link love and you’ll get a good laugh out of it as well. I’m definitely putting it on my Christmas list this year ;)

I’m sure there are so many more things that I can’t think of at the moment. But here are some random pictures/portraits we’ve taken over the last couple of months. Family can see more pictures here. Enjoy.

 

Bath time!

 

I was looking for Nate one morning because it had gotten eerily quiet. I found him in his room, in his dirty clothes basket, eating a cookie.

 

Rob and I went on a double date with some friends the other night. We went to The Pie next to the U. While we were waiting for our friends to arrive we whipped out the camera and took some random pictures. The funny thing is that while Rob was laying on the ground for this shot and I was standing above him, our friends pulled up. They were laughing pretty heartily.

Gotta love the shadow on this one.

Rob had been trying to get a birthday portrait of me for weeks. I finally let him take it last Sunday. I look pretty serious.

Lots of love to all of you! Have a great week!

Help Wanted:

One part-time mother for my two children.

Requirements: Piles of patience, the cleaning capabilities of Alice from the Brady Bunch, the energy of a nuclear rocket, and an unnaturally cheerful attitude 110% of the time whilst being screamed at nonstop.

Must be able to handle one constantly over-dramatic child and one who is roaring into her terrible 2s.

The lucky candidate will start immediately with a base salary of ZILCH.

Please send your resume
Attn: Mrs. Exhaus Ted CrankyPants

Labor Day – A Day Trip

Can anyone guess where we went on our day trip??

I’ve (Julie) been wanting to drive the scenic Mirror Lake Highway for some time now. Finally, on the last unofficial day of summer, we made the trek. The weather was perfect and the the crowds of campers had all packed up and were going the opposite direction. There are a ton of pictures, but what would a Snow post be without them? Rob decided to let me handle the camera for the day, so all the pictures are courtesy of me!

After stopping in Kamas for lunch at Dick’s Drive-In (quite good), our first stop was just along the Provo River so the kids could throw rocks. Okay, okay, it was so Rob could throw rocks. He never fails to drop a large one in the water right next to me, drenching me, and he never fails to think it’s hilarious.

We stopped briefly at the Slate Gorge Overlook and then on to Upper Provo River Falls. I always had a memory in the back of my mind of coming here when I was little but never knew where or what it was. So it was pretty cool to get out of the car and see what I’d seen in my head all these years. This is such a fun place. The photos don’t really show very well, but picture terrace after terrace of waterfalls. After each fall is a pool of calm, shallow water. Great climbing rocks surround the area. The place was crawling with kids having a BLAST.

 

Next we stopped briefly at Washington Lake before the wind drove us onward.

Our last stop was at Mirror Lake. Geez, is it gorgeous or what?! Like always, Rob and I pledge to go back when we have more time to camp.

 

Family can view more pictures of our day trip here.

BTW…Yesterday’s post was supposed to be titled Southern EXPEDITION, not Southern EXPOSURE. hehehe. Oops.

Southern Exposure – Day 3

I know I’m supposed to be writing about our Labor Day fun, but these pictures are finally ready so I’ll blog about this first. Hopefully I’ll get to Labor Day later this week.

We got up pretty early and went to Bryce Canyon National Park. We had originally planned to do a 3-4 hour hike which passed most of the significant points of interest down inside the amphitheatre, but were quickly running out of time. So we shortened the hike to 2 hours and still saw some incredible scenery. There’s no way to fully appreciate the beauty of this place if you just see it from the overlooks. Those, too, are amazing and give you a sense of scale, but hiking below the rim is a real treat.

We started at Sunset Point and hiked down through Wall Street. This was one of my favorite parts of the hike. Switchback upon switchback lower you into a narrow canyon with the wall HIGH above. Notice the teeny people at the bottom of this photo.

Next we walked through the valley with the orange rocks, green trees, and blue sky. Not too many people hike through this area so it was a lot less busy than the other areas of the hike, which was nice.

Next we hiked up to Queen’s Garden, which was another of my favorite areas.

Then we wound our way up to a lookout point. On one side of us was this view…

And on the other side of us was this view.

We made it up to Sunrise Point and walked along the rim to our beginning point. Along the way we stopped and sat on a bench which overlooked the entirety of Bryce Canyon. We couldn’t get ourselves to leave the view for a long time. It pretty much took our breath away.

So, all throughout our Southern Utah trip, we ran into gazillions of French speakers. I know some were from Canada and some from France but I wonder…does anyone know if there’s some kind of Southern Utah marketing bonanza geared towards the French? There weren’t very many people from other European countries or from Asia. But like I said, gazillions of French. I bugged Rob the whole trip to get him to ask them why, but he kept chickening out. Anyone else know?

Afterwards, we drove home through Red Canyon. Our trip was amazing. Thanks again to Rob’s parents for watching the kids. We’d never be able to do this kind of hiking with them. Thanks to my best friend and husband who is always up for an adventure and willing to appease my exploring nature.

Can’t wait for our next trip!

Saturday @ Bear Lake

Last Saturday the fam went to Bear Lake with Rob’s parents. What a wonderful day! The weather was perfect, the water was perfect, and the kids were perfect.

I’d say the only down side was the striped sunburns Rob and I got from not applying the sunscreen very well. But not a big deal.

Here are some fun pictures of us. Family can view more here.