C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S

C - Children
H - Happiness
R - Relaxation - not!
I - Irritation
S - Surprises
T - Tender Smiles
M - Merriness
A - Atoning
S - Sacrifice

So this Christmas was so fun with the CHILDREN's ages. Logan and Rileigh were so excited about the Elves putting their jammies under their pillows on Christmas Eve. They found Nellie's too and looked to see if Mom and Dad got some...maybe next year.
Can you tell with the HAPPINESS in the above photo who just woke up? Notice the coal in Logan and Rileigh's hands. They were told that is all their was and Santa did not leave toys this year.

I must say this was a RELAXING year. I just sat back and enjoyed it more and tried to just see it all through my kids' eyes.

Of course their is always IRRITATION involved when it comes to this stressful time of year. For the most part it was minimal. We enjoyed seeing Rich's sister Tami and husband Chris and two kid's Noah and Katelyn. Matt, Rich's brother had his daughter, Kat, here as well. We took the opportunity and did a Grand kid photo for the Grandparents. It turned out pretty good with no head swaps.
SURPRISES for this year were just simply having a very enjoyable Christmas. We stress so much that it may or may not all come together. We are so blessed and did have a very nice Christmas with family and loved ones.

We did not do so good on getting good photos Christmas morning, like I said I just enjoyed it more and was more laid back with things. I have those TENDER SMILES engraved in my head. Like when Nellies' ball toy blows the balls into the air and she screamed each and every time. Then my Dad would just belly laugh, that was so fun to watch. The smiles on Logan and Rileigh's faces when they tell everyone that they got "I Pods" Wink, Wink. At 6 years old we are loving the fact that they do not know the difference in an MP3 player and an I Pod. Cheap are we? No, Savvy Smart!!!

One night we did take the Whitemyer Grand kids down to Ogden to see all the little houses and the little kids loved it. The guys went to see Avatar 3-D at the IMAX in Salt Lake. It really brings out the Christmas Spirit and the MERRINESS of the Season to be with family and enjoy the sights!

His ATONING SACRIFICE is something that over the years I want to instill in my kids what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. It's not something that is going to happen quickly but slowly over the years. I hope one day they will have this testimony in their hearts.

Mtn. Green Community Cookbook...Sigh...

Okay for those of you that know me know that I enjoy cooking and trying new things for my family. You also know that this cookbook has been the death of me and may have scarred some new and not so new relationships in my life. I still sit and wonder how I got stuck with the repsonsibility that was given to me to produce, in my words, such a grown up task. I am not capable of such tasks mind you. There were countless days and nights that I would be sick and/or sleepless over this task at hand, producing the "Mtn. Green Community Cookbook." Their were other hands involved in the creation of this book, my Mother In Law which whom I am indebted to for the long hours of service, Jenifer Standbridge who just well, put up with me and Tammy Martin who I am sure wondered if it was actually going to come together. I do, however, think it was a HUGE blessing in disguise. To lay awake worried about a cookbook for fear I would dissapoint friends and neighbors when in my reality at that time I should have been sleepless over things going on in my real world and did not give two thoughts about. So looking back this task took away from my reality and got me through those tough times. I know that may not make sense but it was and is and will be a huge blessing in disguise.

So the "will be" blessing portion. I have decided rather than throwing this cookbook in the snow, because seriously that is what I want to do with the stacks that sit at my house as I type, waiting to be picked up and packaged as very nice Christmas gifts. I am going to blog about this great book filled with fun, tried and true recipes by local friends and family.

My blogging idea came from my new favorite flick, "Julie & Julia." The movie was really good and it just so happens that we have a copy of Julia Child's cookbook which is the 19th re-print, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I believe in total this cookbook has been reproduced like 47 times! Rich picked it up at the DI for $2 when we moved back to Utah. The cookbook had at that point only been used by Rich so the second I got home after seeing the flick I found one of the recipes they used in the movie, " Boeuf Bourguignon." So I made it like two days later. Can I just say Oh My Gosh, it was so good, like melt in your mouth pieces of beef with such a yummy savory flavor. Perfect "high style" comfort food. Okay, so enough about Julia Child. I do enjoy putting on a winter layer and enjoying me some good home cookn' each year, especially over the holidays and that I am planning on doing and am well on my way of doing just that.

So... I have decided each time I go the the grocery store I will purchase the items needed for 4 - 5 recipes from "The Mtn. Green Community Cookbook" and blog about it. So this evening I am starting with some ingredients that I already had in my house so that brought me to Tracy Madorin's Pork Chops and Potatoes. In Logan's words, "that looks disgusting." In my mind I could just tell it was going to be good comfort food, and so it was. I love onions and it was full of 1 can of french fried onions. The recipe said to bake in a 9 X 13 dish. Mine is full of caramel that is so overcooked I am afraid I will break the glass dish removing it. Never mind the fact that I still break away and eat large morsels everyday until it must be gone. I have finishitis! Okay sorry, back onto the Pork Chops and Potatoes, the recipe says to begin by browning the pork chops then placing in a dish to bake. I browned and baked in the same Fry Pan. A Pampered Chef pan that is versatile from stove top to oven, love it. I also added Johny Spice while browning, it should be a staple seasoning in every woman's spice cabinet. Also the recipe did not specify what kind of hashbrowns other than O'Brian Hash Brown's so I could only find the O'Brian that were cubed and not shredded, worked just fine. Overall a very fine meal that all kids and husband enjoyed and I would make it again!

So I feel this new recipe blog thing is more for my journaling purposes and to prepare good healthy meals for my family so that we may eat as a family. It is on the "To Do List" for 2010 to eat 4 meals at the table with my family a week. That may be breakfast, lunch or dinner and will be a huge family accomplishment if we can do just that.

I am going to award the first reply with a can of French Fried Onions for any comment made on this particular post! Just for the simple fact that it is so long and am curious to see who reads the whole darn rootn' tootn' thing!

These are a few of my Thankful Things...

So for Thanksgiving my Mom likes to go around the room and have us all say what we are Thankful For. I put a damper on it and told her I did not want to play. So now out of guilt I must admit I am Thankful for so many things in my Life.

I am so...so...so Thankful for Family

I am Thankful for Good Health

I am Thankful for 3 vehicles that half ways work most of the time


I am Thankful for Rich and the way in which he provides for our family

Last but not least I am thankful for washing machines
As I was going through this last years pictures I realized it wasn't such a bad year after all. I am not the most optimistic person but I have tried my darndest to make the best of this last year that I am so very Thankful is behind us.

So in closing I am saying good bye to 2009 and Bring on 2010! It has got to be better than this last year.

Fall Festivities...Lake Powell???

Lake Powell indeed. What a good trip. The weather held out for us, our kids survived the Grandparents or is it the other way around, the Grandparents survived the kids? One out of three of our cars made the trip with no malfunctions and did I mention the weather?
My Dad had mentioned they had a rather nice trip to Lake Powell in October once long ago, so I knew it was possible. The whole sound of it being " the budget season" to rent a house boat kind of freaked me out. It had to be good weather it just had to and soooo it was. It was soooooo good.

Rich and I and three other couples slept under the stars and it was amazing, all except the three other couples were there, ha ha!
My highlight of the trip was just hanging on top of the houseboat reading magazines and chit chatn' with the girls. So relaxing and there was no whining in my ear or tattle telling or crying or screaming children. Oh it was bliss.
There was a time I felt beat down from all the boating, skiing, tubing, eating and exploring. I finally had to stay back and catch a quick snooze to keep up with it all. I think Rich's favorite part was the food, we ate really, really good and a lot.

Those in attendance: Seth and Mandy Wallace, Brian and Hillary Vaughn, Michelle and Chad White, Liz and Jason Polad, Brad and Jen Westenskow, Cory and Rachel Penrod, Kevin Harward and Michelle Hoerman.

The Hosts Seth and Mandy put this trip together, they did awsome and we had a blast. Thanks for the invite and let's do it again next year...in the Budget Season!

60th Birthday Surprise...Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Friend, Sister!

So we did it, we pulled off, a total surprise for my Mom's 60th Birthday! It was so fun, she totally deserved it. Her dear friend Patrice kept calling to see how I was coming in the planning stages. I don't think she had a whole lot of faith in me. It was just one week of planning and Patrice kept asking about food and how many I had invited. I mentioned in these situations you only get about two/thirds to come of those invited. Patrice assured me that they would ALL come. So then I got nervous about not having enough food and if the weather hold out so we could be outside.

My Mom has a very large family and Great circles of friends, I literally mean circles. So with all invited and attending it was a rip roaring good time I must say, at least for an old ladies 60th Birthday Parteeee! Ha ha, don't tell her I said that, she never reads this thing anyways!

She truly is one of a kind in a Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Friend and Sister. She has to have everyone laughing with some off the wall comment she pulls out of no where. She is very snarcky and I love that about her. She has an opinion and will let you know it. It's no wonder she has circles of family and friends that attended her party. And YES they ALL came, what a tribute to my Mom. Love you Mom and I hope you had a very memorable evening with your family and circles of friends!

!!!My Birthday Blog!!!

My Birthday is coming up and sometimes you just get so excited about these things. Ohhh, to have a day all to yourself, or so we would like to think. The thought of it makes me so excited, like when you tingle inside with giddiness. Oh Great, now I am building this up so much, my day is going to blow!

So tonight Rich asked me what I wanted to do on my Birthday and I literally was blank. What can a girl do with a "Saturday Birthday" all to herself? Oh, it is weird but I wasn't sure. I do however share my Birthday with my Mom, it is the BEST, we always plan "Our" day. In years past we have even made or bought our own freakin' cake!

So this year, with it being a Saturday, ahhhhhh! A Saturday Birthday should be granted every year. For several reasons: Husbands are home, there is no church, you don't have to do carpool, Room Mother or work. It is the ultimate best day of the week EVER to have a birthday!

So these are my ideas for my Saturday Birthday:

-A day spent in Logan with my husband, we love Logan (the city and the kid, but in this case the city) we love to eat there and hang there.

-A pedicure and bra shopping, totally depressing in my case.

-Lunch at the Olive Garden with Rich and the kids

-Gardner's Village with my Mom and Sister

-Taking the boat out for one last (cold) spin, just to empty the gas for the year

-Sitting home and scrapbooking all day

Those are the only things I could come up with for my Satur"DAY" Birthday. I'm pretty sure Saturday night will be dinner with my parents and siblings, wahoo!

No seriously it will be a great day! I just need to decide what to do...

Then there is the 9th Wedding Anniversary SIX days later!

Nellie Mae is 1!

Nellie has been such a joy in our family. Unfortunately she has grown up FARRRRRR too fast. It brings a tear to my eye just thinking how fast it flew. And for those that know me best know I have the worst memory ever. I seriously cannot remember Nellie when she was super brand new. I think post pregnant head puts you in such a fog, which in some cases is a blessing, that life just whizzes by and the babies grow up without us even being able to comprehend and take it all in. Thank goodness for blogs and scrap booking to document all of my lost memories. In the first few months after Nellie was born I loved to do nothing else but hold her. The great thing was I could and took full advantage doing so knowing she is the caboose in the family. She is so entertaining and always, always smiley. She waves at the Yellow School Bus and giggles when she watches the kids get off the bus each day. She puts up with a lot of mauling from both Rileigh and Logan and Dad. They all play rough with her and she ends up screaming for help, poor thing. I thought her newness in our family would wear off and the kids would leave her alone. It hasn't, but it just proves how much they love having her in our family. We love you Nellsters Happy Birthday to YOU!

Logan and Rileigh turn 6 with SIX Sidekicks

So Rileigh who remembers everything these days reminded me we needed to send out invitations two days before their Birthday. So I made some phone calls to invite friends to a "family night" with the Whitemyer's. Giving parents the break of not having to come up with a present the day before the Birthday party. (I desperately wanted to get out of doing the "Friend Party" this year). Logan wanted to go to Sparetime Family Fun Center in Syracuse where the kids got unlimited Laser Tag, Bowling, Miniature Golf, 25 Tokens and Pizza. All to do in 2 1/2 hours. It was all the about the Laser Tag for Logan. It was even entertaining for the Grandparents, they challenged each other in a game of Bowling. I think the one that had the most fun, was DAD. What a memorable Birthday Party!

Rileigh got a new back-pack for Kindergarten

Logan got Star Wars toys

Guy Friends: Logan, Luke Tormen, Ethan and Cole Terry

Girlfriends: Avery Wallin, Kenia Martin, Rileigh and Kayli Schiers

Oh My Gosh this is such a CUTE picture I must say, look at them posing.

Thatcher Family Christmas Vacation

So this last Christmas 2008, my mom dad gave us all a one week trip to Island Park. It was a long awaited trip and so fun to plan and look forward to. I think that is half the fun of a trip, is looking forward to going and the planning part.

Here are the top 10 Highlights of the weeks trip:

1. Nellie starting Walking

2. My homemade marshmallows for smores with the adults only at the camp fire

3. Putting my brother through the pain of traveling with us and our kids, LOL

4. Having Island Park Resevoir to ourselves, it was glass at 9:30 in the morning for me to SKI!

5. My Dad showing up on the dock with a new tube for the kids

6. Four wheeling with my family up to the Continental Divide

7 . Seeing two moose on the shore at Island Park Resevoir and the mating Eagles

8. The family farts, ya I said it!

9. Never being bored

10. Being in Yellowstone with my whole family....priceless

We had a great time in a large very loud non-insulated cabin. Thanks Mom and Dad I think this next year we should go to Disneyland!

I took advantage of the scenery and took some family photos.

Next Posts to come Logan and Rileigh's Birthday and Nellie's 1st Birthday.

The Days of '47 Celebration

I love a P A R A D E. Yes I'm like my mother, we like parades. We love to people watch and to take the kids to the parade. As kids my parents would put us to bed at my Grandma's house in Orem and then they would go sleep on the curb in Provo to save us the greatest spot for the Provo Parade. This year we went to the Days of '47 Parade in SLC with Rich's Mom and Dad. We met up with my Mom and Dad and my niece Demi, they had slept the night on the curb to save us an ideal spot. We had a very fun day, thanks Mom and Dad!

A Simply Savvy Summer So Far I Must Say

This has been a Great Summer So Far and a rather frugal one as well. I am feeling so good about it because I have yet to have heard, "Mom I'm bored, what can we do?" That sentence drives me BoNkErs.

The kids have been doing an art class at the Stake Bowery, they paint with there hands and have learned a lot about all the colors. Then it's on to a picnic and playing in the creek (that is in the shade). They catch little minnows and try and get the water snakes. This is truly what a kids summer should be about. We stay for hours and they love it.

Then there is the 4th of JULY, same routine, Layton Parade and then on to Grandma and Grandpa Thatcher's for a Bar-B-Q, then Fire works that night. We had some fun with the camera!

We got invited by the Wallace's to go boating at Pine View one Saturday, Rich sustained some minor injuries (not shown in picture).

Then my college friends and I decided to do a husbandless camp trip on up to Bear Lake. This was an ingenious idea! We got there before dark set up our camp like real men would and sat down to take out pizza. The neighbors next to us just gawked at us the whole time. They sat with there arms folded across there chests and just stared. I think they were in awe that three women could run a camp chef and cook up some darn good dutch oven. The curiousity got the best of 'em and they came over to see what was cooking. We were the only camp that wasn't in an RV, we where the white trash single mothers, at least that's how it looked. Saturday our husbands did join us and they even got there before dark!

I brought along my Nanny, I mean my Niece, Demi. She was so fun and a ton of help. The little boys loooovvvved Her! Nellie was so good, she didn't try and eat the sand and just loved playing in the water. All the kids got along really well and were dead tired and the end of the day, I can't wait to do it next year.

We've also been on a hike up to Green Pond in the early cool morning. There was no whining and Logan wanted to keep going. We participated in a day at the South Ogden Splash pad (which wasn't as trashy as I had pictured it being). We've hiked up to Waterfall Canyon, we didn't quit make it to the top, someone had to go to the bathroom, we won't mention who! We've been to the Ogden Farmer's Market, the Ogden Horse Parade, the Ogden Children's Tree House and TWO Raptors Baseball Games.

Like I said no one has had the chance to get bored, YET!!!

I have loved every minute of this summer but my poor yard is suffering the consequences. Oh who cares? Not me obviously!