Happy Thanksgiving 2007!

We went to Bakersfield for Thanksgiving again this year. Third year running! We all love seeing great-grandpa and grandma Richards, our cousins and second cousins and going to dinner at Uncle Sam and Aunt Kathy's. Here are some of the highlights:

Uncle Sam baked the yams at 500 degrees for 45 minutes. The marshmallows were black, but the rest was delicious and caramelized! Mmmm...

My dinner assignment was rolls, which I stressed about all week, since I don't (or didn't) have a great recipe for rolls. The one I used to make in Utah has never really worked here in California. Everything is always home-made and delicious at the Bakersfield Thanksgiving, so I couldn't just cop out and get rolls from Costco! I was feeling the pressure. I tried a new recipe (Thanks Amber!) and the rolls turned out fantabulous and everyone loved them! Grandma said to me on the way home from Uncle Sam's that she was impressed that I made home-made rolls and that she thought I could just go to Costco to get rolls since we had a three hour drive!


And now for the kids' take on Thanksgiving...

Ian liked playing with his cousins and in grandma's yard and picking her beautiful roses.
(although he looks pretty UNhappy in this picture.)




Kate took a liking to grandpa Richards. She held his hand for a little stroll outside and went to sit on his lap a couple of times. He was pretty tickled.


She also enjoyed the jelly belly appetizers -- a little too much!


The biggest hit for Jacob was great-grandma's "fluffy" potty. He cracked up every time he went.



Huzzah for Thanksgiving!

Don't try this at home

I spent the other night blowdrying Ben's year books. Why?

Because they got wet. Why?

Because they were in a box in the garage which got thoroughly soaked by the water coming out of the water heater. Why?



































My landlord told me to drain the water heater. We were running out of hot water at an alarming rate every day. He made it sound easy enough--put a hose on the drain valve, open the drain valve, turn off the water to the water heater-- that I could do it by myself. In theory, the water should drain out, along with any sediment that may have collected over the years. I'm pretty handy, as girls go, and Ben was out of town, so I tried it. I was actually successful. I swear, no more water was coming out of the hose when I checked! Then I tried to get the hose off. It was stuck on there pretty hard, so I had to get a wrench. Suddenly the valve popped out of the water heater completely, and a strong spray of water hit me in the stomach, soaking me in seconds. Holding in the screams, I tried screwing the valve back in (it's still attached to the darn hose), saying a lot of silent prayers and spraying water all over the contents of the garage, including the box of Ben's yearbooks. I finally got the drain valve back on. Turns out I don't know the difference between the water shut-off valve and the gas shut-off valve. Oops.


I felt a lot better when the plumber came the next day and the drain valve popped off for him, too. At least I didn't swear like he did.

The Many Dresses of Kate

I have been on a mission to find the perfect dress for Kate for the holidays and family pictures. I posted the prices because I am a bargain hunter!

Here are the choices:

Scalloped Brown Wool with Pink Bow - H&M $16.90

Red Velvet with Satin Bow - Target $11.99

Brown Tiered Ruffle -Children's Place $11.99

Red Bow Cardigan -Children's Place $9.99
White Eyelet Lace Skirt - H&M $12?

What do you think? Vote in the poll!

Daylight Savings

I have a real reason to love daylight savings time this year. Yes, many of you got to sleep in an hour, but I have missed out on that benefit for years now. My kids' body clocks take a while to adjust. (It's Wednesday and they are still getting up at the 5 o'clock hour!)

I started swimming this year with Audra and (sometimes) Marea. We swim in an outdoor pool, because you can do that in California. However, the early mornings have been getting colder and colder and darker and darker. Although it can be amazing to watch the sunrise, it has been increasingly more difficult to get out of bed in the morning, and even more difficult to plunge my body into the water while it's dark.
But this morning was different. It felt at least ten degrees warmer and it was light!
So here's to daylight savings.

Happy Halloween!

Just a quick post so you can see the kids in their Halloween costumes.





Ian and Jacob came up with the idea to be the Super Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi.





















Kitty-Kate and her friend Karen as a matching pink poodle.