First day of 5th Grade

It's official they are in 5th Grade. The morning went off without a hitch. Although the girls did say I was embarrassing because I went outside in my sweats and scrubs tops to take their picture. Really? What about the time at the grocery store someone asked the bag boy what was wrong with his face? Or when someone told a friend "Yeah you should do some things with your house like clean it." Well I guess this is pay back, and if I really wanted to embarrass them, I could have walked them to school...I'm just saying.

 

Juliana

Kathryn

 

Thoughts on Back to School

I know that this time of year sees many tearful goodbyes as mothers leave their first last or middle children in Kindergarten. But around our house I think tomorrow will bring cheers on all sides. We are all ready for school to start. There is suddenly nothing to do all day but ask mom what to do. Suddenly the toys, crafts, and outdoor distractions are no longer enough. It probably doesn't help that I have started working in earnest and so my attention is divided. Last week when the cousins started school there were cries of foul play heard here at my house. "That's no fair! I want to start school." Really this is ideal I suppose, it makes tomorrow morning something to look forward to for both parties. Pics will be uploaded tomorrow.

New Year

I know it's not the new year, but it is almost the new school year. With the girls and Steven going back, we thought it would be good to have a little family council to discuss how we were all going to face and tackle this new adventure. Steve and I really wanted to help the girls see that even if it might be hard at times, we can still find good and exciting every day too. We chatted about how we could all support each other over the coming 2 years, and how if we are working together, we are much stronger than if we are trying to work separately. We even decided to come up with a family motto for this next adventure. We stole it from Google, but the one we chose is "Love is the main ingredient." I love it, and hope that we can keep that as our focus, and not get bogged down in the day to day challenges.

Check List

You know those items that get on your to-do list and get stuck there? Well I got one of those items done today! Yipeee. In our back yard, there is a bench that is attached to the patio. When we moved in the wood was very old and starting to get splintery. It's great to have when we have people over for extra seating so last spring we took it apart, and bought new 2x6 boards to fix it. Well we needed to cut them at a 45 degree angle so the wood promptly got put away and soon forgotten. Or at least put on the back burner. So this spring I decided to finish the dang bench. I found a friend who was willing to help me to cut them, then they sat again until this week. We finally made it to the store for some stain, and I got all the holes drilled. Yesterday a good friend let me use her big workshop to stain them. They dried and we got them back this afternoon. So the girls and I put the bench back together. It's so nice to have it finished. It only took 1 1/2 years. Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure.

Change Continued

As the early post suggested, life is changing. The girls are growing up and are no longer my babies, but almost young ladies. We have now lived in one place for more than 2 years! I thought things were settling down, but here we go again. Steve has decided that life as a Librarian is not what he wants to do for the rest of his life. There are several reasons for this, and we have been thinking and planning what to do about it for at least a year if not longer. This year we decided to do something about it. So this fall, he is quitting his job at BYU, and striking out on a new path. He has been accepted to attend the school of business at the University of Utah. I know we have been moving towards this moment for a while now, but you can only do so much planning, and knowing that it is just around the corner, is exciting and a bit daunting. Here we go again!

Disneyland

Well this year we finally made it to Disneyland. It was a fun adventure, and a jam packed day full of great memories. We decided to only do one day, due to the fact that Steve really doesn't like Disneyland, and our budget will be changing significantly this fall. We go to go with two of my siblings and it was a blast. Here are a few highlights. 

I am being totally brave posting this picture! It's something I am working on. After a ling drive to CA on Monday, we relaxed by playing at the beach for a few hours. 

Kathryn enjoying the waves.

Juliana with her cousins bravely baring the brunt of the waves.
 

 Autotopia was the first ride of the day. The girls were really excited to get to drive.

Kathryn rode with me and Juliana rode with Steve. It was a great way to start the day.

This ride was one of the only ones that Steve was looking forward to. The girls were not at all convinced. In fact they were pretty much terrified. Not sure if it was the right thing or not, but we made them go on it. This was while were were in line, notice the faces. Afterward, they told their cousins that it was one of their favorite rides, but when we suggested doing it again, they politely refused.

Splash Mountain was a big hit, especially after the trauma of Space Mountain. I know it doesn't look like it, but we all really loved this ride and if we had had the time, would have done it again.

Here is most of the group on the Mark Twain. Thanks for the fun times!

Change

Well, it has been a long time. The girls keep telling me to write more, but life is busy and I haven't taken time to do it. There is something I wanted to record before I forget it, and it's gone like so many other things that you think you will never forget. Since the girls where little and starting to read, they often share things with us they are reading. To let you know they want you to listen they have always said, "Here this," I love it. I don't know where they picked it up but it is a quirk that gets me in my mom heart. So the other day they girls were reading and one of them said this to the other. I remembered how often they used to say it when they were younger, and suddenly realized that they may actually stop saying it as they continue to learn and grow, without ever knowing it. I had to write it down so some day they will remember, and for that matter, so will I. Here is a great picture of us on our recent trip to California. I will post on the soon, if I find the time.

Small Victories

Life has been crazy lately. Between work, children, battling myself, and everyday stuff, I have felt overwhelmed and ready to throw in the towel. Through a series of unfortunate events, Steve and I have come to realize that how we had been dealing with discipline would no longer work. The girls are searching for their boundaries, and working regularly on pushing them out farther than we are comfortable with. After a long week, and many hours wondering what I am doing wrong, I have come to a few conclusions. They are not earth shattering, and really they were things I knew, but didn't know. Does that make any sense?

So this morning after gaining these bits of wisdom, my ability to stick to the plan of action was pu to the test right off the bat. One of my children had gotten out of bed last night, snuck into our room, taken something that didn't belong to her and slept with it under her pillow. I discovered it as she was making her bed and happened to lift up her pillow while I was standing in her room chatting. Rewinding a bit, I had just promised this same child the night before that if she would always tell me the truth I would try to not over react and get angry about what she was confessing to. So here was the moment of truth. I knew my reaction would be key. I asked where she got it, she told me, I said thank you, and put it away. Then after the bed was made she had a time out. Head down at the kitchen table. After breakfast she wanted her hair done, but we had no time left, and I had to tell her that because she had time out, the result was no time for hair. The victory for me, was not the lesson that I hope she learned. It was that as I told her that I couldn't do her hair I really felt bad and wished that I could. Please don't judge, but even a week ago, I would have probably felt she deserved whatever she got for sneaking and taking when she knows not to. I am grateful for the shift. Hopefully this is indicative of more good things to come.

Happy New Year!

I figured I ought to start out strong and actually post something early this year. I know it is over said, but 2011 went by way too fast, and ironically very slow at times as well. We talked about some goals with the girls tonight. It's a new year, that's what you do right??? This time of year is refreshing and stressful all at the same time. I find myself swinging wildly from anticipation of what the year will hold and all the great things that will come about, and terrific amounts of doubt that I will be able to get to even a small portion of the things that I would like to. I make my goals, every year, and then December 31 rolls around and a lot of said goals are still not accomplished! I know it's not the end of the world, just a year, but man I sometimes wonder what I did all year!! So I have a question for my last 3 readers who still follow me. What sort of feelings are brought out for you at the beginning of a year???

100 Things For Which Our Family Is Grateful

Ten Physical Things:

1. We had a healthy year
2. The girls grew a lot, learned a ton, and got both more mature and more sassy(!)
   
3. Kathryn and Juliana both have eight adult front teeth grown in. Their smiles no longer resemble jack-o-lanterns
4. The girls are learning to sing in harmony
5. Steven ran a personal best marathon this year in 2:58:53
6. Steven loves to run and bike as fast and as far as time allows
7. The girls ran a 5K and a bunch of mile runs this year, including a family Turkey Trot in La Verkin
8. Megan ran a PR on a 5K this year
9. Kathryn and Juliana passed two levels of swim lessons. Now they are little dolphins!
10. Our fingernails grew, and so did our hairs
11. We enjoyed many healthy foods from our garden

Ten Foods:

1. Chocolate!
2. Peanut butter!
3. Megan's homemade bread with freshly-ground wheat!
   
4. Potstickers!
5. Barbecue chicken!
6. Jerk seasoned turkey burgers!
7. Garden tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette!
8. Homemade Neapolitan pizzas!
9. Nectarines!
10. Falafel!
11. Molten chocolate cakes!

Ten Things about Nature:

1. Our fresh-cut Christmas tree (bringing nature indoors)
   
2. Fall colors in the mountains
3. Mt. Timpanogos
4. Wood--because it makes most of the things we live in, on, and with
5. Steven enjoyed riding his bike on the Alpine Loop. Majestic!
6. Running the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (only one mile from home)
7. The beach in California
8. Birdsong
9. The miracle that delicious fruits and vegetables actually grow in our garden with only a little effort
10. Snow (Steven takes issue with this one, as he is the one who has to shovel it all winter long)

Ten Material Possessions:

1. Our new dresser
2. Running shoes and road bike
3. Our piano
4. Kathryn's Bear-bie and Juliana's Dolly
5. Books (look for our favorite books read in 2011 soon)
   
6. A warm, water-tight, secure home
7. Our beds
   
8. A water heater
9. Our new computer
10. Megan: prescription sunglasses

Ten Places:

1. France and Switzerland
2. Nashville, TN
3. Granny's House in Rancho Cucamonga, CA
4. The United States
5. The Provo Temple (Megan's favorite)
6. Edgemont neighborhood (where most of our friends live)
7. Zion National Park
8. Provo, UT
9. The library
10. Kathryn and Juliana's bedroom

Ten Modern Inventions:

1. Phones, email, and Skype
   
2. Computers, the Internet
   
3. Electricity
4. GPS watches (for running and cycling)
5. Vaccinations
6. Digital cameras
   
7. Flushing toilets
8. mp3 players
9. Automobiles (because as much as Steven likes to bike, sometimes you gotta have a car!)
   
10. Potable water and plumbing
    

Ten Living People:

1. Grandparents Nordstrom and Burdette
   
2. Cousins, aunts, uncles
   
3. Kathryn: Jimmer Fredette (why? I don't know; we saw him play once this year, though)
   
4. Megan: Maryann Jackson
5. Juliana: Sister Judd (Activity Days leader), Sister Smith (piano teacher)
   
6. Kathryn: Mme Budge and Ms. Quinn (school teachers)
7. Steven: Myrna Layton
8. Steven: John Dehlin, Joanna Brooks, Marcus Borg, Harvey Cox, Bart Ehrman
   
9. Adele
10. Marilyn Webb
11. Tina Fey
    

Ten Deceased People:

1. Emma Green Bull (Megan's ancestor)
2. Charlotte Blake Humphries (Megan's grandmother; passed away late last year)
3. Delta Cox Blake (Kathryn did a biography report on her great-great-grandmother)
4. Mohandas Gandhi
5. Fritz Nordstrom (long lost ancestor)
6. Stella Lundquist Nordstrom (Steven's grandmother)
   
7. John Lennon
8. Jane Austen
9. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
10. Mother Teresa
    

Ten Milestones:

1. Kathryn and Juliana got baptized in June
2. Steven passed his third year review at work
3. Megan renewed her teaching license
4. The girls read over 150 books each, over 20,000 pages each
5. We read the New Testament as a family
6. We canned and froze apricots, nectarines, pears, plums, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and grapes in many forms. It took the whole month of October
7. Steven ran over 1,000 miles, and biked over 2,000 miles, burning something like 250,000 calories in around 300 hours of exercise
8. Juliana and Kathryn memorized addition and subtraction facts, 0-12
9. Megan scrapbooked 3 years of our memories (now we're only 3 years behind!)
10. We didn't go crazy

Ten Spiritual Things:

1. Being able to go to church every Sunday
2. Teachings of life after death
3. The Holy Ghost as comfort and guide
4. Jesus' teachings of radical love and peaceful resistance against domination systems through personal compassionate action
   
5. Singing in choir
6. Attending Primary (we're all there!)
7. Forgiveness
8. Nature
9. Prayer
10. The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ

There are many more things and people we are thankful for that couldn't be listed here. We hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. What 100 things are YOU grateful for?

Experiment

So I was messing around with wordle today and I made this. It's made using the texts from all the talks given by the first presidency in General Conference Oct. 2011. Pretty fun.

Family Pictures

Since we moved back to Provo, I have been wanting to go up the canyon and get family pictures in the fall. We have been here during four falls, and hadn't made it. So this year I was determined. As soon as the leaves started changing on the mountains, I called a friend and set up a time when both of our families could go up together, and take each others pictures. It was a perfect day, not too cold, with beautiful fall color everywhere. Here are a few that we snapped.

A Bunch of Stuff

Where to begin. Last week was Fall Break. The girls and I had Thursday and Friday off school. It wasn't a break at all. Steve took Friday off and we went to work. We knew it was going to be one of the last "warm" weekends left to get the garden ready for winter. I cut all the pumpkins on Tuesday and got rid of the vine. Then Friday the girls and I tackled the Tomato bushes. I am learning that here in the north, there are always a lot of tomatoes that don't ripen. We wait as long as we can, and always end up with A LOT of green tomatoes. Anyway, the vines came down. Steve dug up two big stumps, I cut down a lilac bush. We borrowed a friends truck and Steve go a truck load of compost. We borrow a neighbors rototill, so Steve always does her garden first. That left me to empty the truck of it's load so we could till the compost in. I emptied the whole thing except about two wheelbarrows full. Then when Steve brought the tiller, I decided to give it a try. It's a big tiller, and I wanted to know if I could do it. I did!!!! All by myself, pretty cool. (Although my body would disagree with me today).
In between all of this, we were bottling plum juice and grape juice. The tomatoes sat and waited on the counter. Thanks to Facebook I discovered a green tomato sauce recipe that doesn't require peeling the tomato. That's what I am working on tonight. I am so glad not to have to peel, but I still have lots of tomatoes to go!!! Harvest is awesome, but really tiring too.

Today the girls found out the "truth" behind Santa. They have been asking up stuff about it for a few weeks, and we kept avoiding it. This morning at breakfast it came up again, and so we spilled the beans. I really appreciate how Steve explained it, although I can't really summarize it and do it justice. Basically, he said Santa represented someone who gives their time to others all year, and give presents to show his love. So he said that the idea of Santa isn't untrue, it's just that it's your parents who give their time all year to serve, and then give you a present to show their love. We asked if they still wanted Santa to come, and the answer was a resounding yes. I guess the magic isn't dead yet. Here is a quick preview of our family photo shoot. I haven't had time to really go through all of them yet. I hope to get some others posted soon.

Kathryn


Juliana

Fall

With back to school it always seems like things stack up and don't get done. I go back to work with the kids, and my time is gone. So during my evening and days off, things are busy. This week it seemed that food was raining down on us. Not quite Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs but almost. It started off with a bucket of nectarines from my brother, then two days latter an elderly neighbor called and said that she had pears on her tree that she couldn't reach and if Steve would pick them they would be ours. I figured there would be a few, I was wrong. Thursday piano lessons got canceled so the girls and I headed out to the garden to harvest. I was met by some resistance, but eventually they both fell into the magic of it. We picked another big bunch of green beans, the second of the season, and then dug up half of the potatoes. Consequently dinner was mashed potatoes and green beans, it was delicious. Anyhow, Wednesday evening I tackled the nectarines. I didn't have a lot of lids so I just started with what I had. Peeling nectarines is tedious, so after the first batch I knew I had to find something else to do with our bucket that I had only made a small dent in. We decided to go with jam. I had never heard of nectarine jam, but they are almost a peach right? Steve and I did two batches and finally finished around 9:30 pm. I am happy to say that the pears won't be ready to can for at least 5 more days. After picking all the green beans Thursday, I tackled them on Friday. We like fresh green bean taste, so all I had to do was put them in boiling water batch by batch and then right into ice water to prep them for the freezer. Our freezer right now is full of green beans, no more room. I think we need to by another one for down stairs. Anyway, the potatoes are still sitting on the counter. I haven't decided if we are going to eat them all, or if I am going to put some up. We shall see. I love fall, and the preparations for winter, but I do wish they weren't all squished into nights and weekends. Here are some pics.

A Delicious New Recipe

Chickpea strawberry mango salad
Ingredients:
8 cups romaine lettuce, washed, dried, torn into pieces (2 L by volume)
1 batch Pumpkin spice-roasted chickpeas (see below)
1 mango, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups strawberries, washed and sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped
1/8 cup fresh mint, chopped (optional)
1 batch Cinnamon vinaigrette (see below)

Directions:

Add all ingredients in a large bowl and toss.


Pumpkin spice-roasted chickpeas
Ingredients:
1 14-oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
2 TBS maple syrup (no substitutes) (1 1/2 australian TBS; 30 mL)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celcius).
2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until evenly coated.
3. Spread chickpeas on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Baked for 25-30 minutes, stirring chickpeas every 10 minutes to ensure even crisping.

Cinnamon vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 TBS apple cider vinegar (2 australian TBS + 1 tsp; 45 mL)
3 TBS lemon juice (2 australian TBS; 45 mL)
1/3 cup maple syrup (no substitutes) (80 mL)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil (60 mL)

Directions:

Whisk together all ingredients except oil in a medium bowl. Slowly add oil while whisking, until dressing has emulsified. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Pics of the Day

I thought I would do a before and after for today of the girls. They loved their first day of 3rd grade. They are really excited about their teachers, and can't wait to keep learning. They already started on cursive writing, and did great.

Kathryn

Juliana

New Year

Here we are again at the start of a new school year. The girls should at this moment be in their seats ready to start the day. I can't/can believe they are in 3rd grade already. What amazing little people they are. It's so fun and exciting to see them grow and learn and change. They challenge Steven and I almost daily, and we are always course correcting ourselves. I have pictures of them as they left today, I will post them this afternoon. I get to start work toady as well so I have to be off. I just couldn't pass the moment without marking it in some way. 3rd grade here we come!!

Example

Right now my girls are sitting at the kitchen table writing in their journal. It was something I thought to have them do this morning. Even though they started off complaining, they are into it now, and I probably couldn't stop them if I wanted to! So I figured I should follow their example and spill some of my life onto a page. Summer is finally here. We are at last above freezing. This year was cold for a long time. Anyway, the girls and I kicked off our summer by going to LaVerkin. We went last year too, and I think it's going to be a tradition that we keep doing. We spent 2 nights with my mom and 2 with my sister. It was a blast. There were soft ball games to watch, slip and slides to play on, treats, and tons of fun with cousins. We even had some impromptu baseball with some giant marshmallows. The kids thought that was great fun. One of my favorite parts was when my sis-in-law sat on a whole package of grahm crackers. It was hilarious to see her face when she felt and heard the crunch and realized what she had done. We both had a hardy laugh. When the temperature hit over 100 I seriously questioned my own sanity for wanting to visit and I had to question the sanity of those who choose to live there!! I did a lot of thinking about the early pioneers to that area, and wondered just what they thought when they arrived. It must have been a daily struggle to ever have enough water in the summer. So here are some pics, and maybe (If I can figure out how) a video.

Baptism

Life has been really busy lately. The girls turned eight years old the day after the school year ended. We threw a party for them and their friends on the last day of school, then had our own family celebration on their actual birthday.

They got new bikes, so we all went on a bike ride, and then I made them potstickers from scratch because right now that is their favorite meal. If you've ever made potstickers, you know that they take a whole of time to make, but I guess I can be grateful that they both like the same thing!!!

The next weekend they were baptized. We had so much fun with family and friends. We appreciate all the love and support, even if you couldn't physically be here, we felt your love from a distance. Here is a little slide show I made. A few days before the baptism, we went and took pictures of the girls in their dresses, so I wouldn't have to worry too much on the day of their baptism. Most of the slide show is from that photo shoot. The last couple pictures are from right before their baptism service began. Enjoy!

Funny things my children say

These are direct quotes that I have heard in the last few days. On Sunday we were coming home from church. I was asking the girls what they remembered from our Sacrament meeting. The first person talked about keeping a history of your life and how he was great full to know so much of his family history. Kathryn asked what history was. We told her, then she said, "That gives me the creeps. Family History." I have no idea why but it would seem that family history is a creepy phrase.
Next funny thing: Just now, Kathryn was sitting here with me. She has something on her face and I was trying to see what it was. She said, "It's a miple. That's what you call it." I think she was trying to say pimple. There is another thing that happened yesterday, but somehow it escapes me right now. I told Steven he would have to help me remember it, we'll see how helpful he is this evening.