Green Eggs & Ham

Each time we read Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs & Ham Ryan wants me to make them for breakfast, so with left over Christmas ham I decided I'd give it a try...



O.k.....so it didn't look as neat as I thought it should(I think I put a little too many green drops of food coloring on the egg), and Ryan didn't think it looked all that appetizing....so the green egg didn't get eaten, but it's still a fun book to read!

Christmas Favorites

It started early (3:00a.m. to be exact!), with the kids going to check their stockings. They managed to stay quiet for another 4 1/2 hours until everyone else in the house woke up.

Some Christmas Favorites:


Cody's Sam size box of Hot Cheetos, which he was expecting to be his Guitar Hero drums...sorry Cody!



Ryan's Nintendo DS



Heather's Pasta Salad!



We are enjoying our Christmas vacation & love spending time with family!



Casey's favorite Christmas tradition - burning of the boxes!

Eli the elf

I have talked before about Ryan's unwillingness to go to school each morning, and after the Thanksgiving break it was even more intensified. He stayed home an extra day, because he had been sick over the break, so when it finally came time for him to get up & get ready to go back to school, he was not very happy. I felt really bad sending him to school with him being so upset. I thought about him all day & even, after much contemplation, e-mailed his teacher about his severe distress that morning.

She e-mailed back letting me know that he had a hard time in the morning but was doing better & had a surprise in his backpack. He came off the bus with a big smile, telling me he wanted me to read something in his backpack:



I was choking back tears as I read the letter, thinking I am so grateful(again) for such good kindergarten teachers. He was so much better after that, waiting each day to see who in his class would receive the next elf hat.

We will gear up these next couple weeks for the return after Christmas break!

Christmas Letter 2008

Onion Rings Anyone?

For the past two years (after moving to Athens & having cable) one of our favorite channels to watch has been the Food Network Channel. From "The Barefoot Contessa" to "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives," we love to watch all of the different cooking styles & recipes they have to offer.

This weekend Cody decided he wanted to try one of the recipes he saw for Battered Onion Rings.

He cut the onions rings & made the batter for them to soak in - onions were a little strong - love the protective goggles!



He dipped them in another batter & flour mixture before frying & waallaa....



I'm happy to say, I didn't have to do a single thing for this cooking adventure.

Great Job Cody!

Christmas Candy

The chocolates are finally done!



For the past 10 years I've enjoyed making chocolates at Christmas time. I always tell myself I'm only going to order enough chocolate for what I NEED to make for family, teachers, and a few others, but somewhere between that thought & ordering my chocolate things get a little out of control, and I end up with way more than is needed.

It works out o.k. though, with lots of samples to be had for everyone...



A friend joined in on the fun this year, and her little boy enjoyed many reachable treats!

Christmas Photo

It always poses a challenge to get a photo for our Christmas cards, and this year was no exception. Cody couldn't wear shorts, Ryan had to stand still for a few seconds, and Kaitlyn wasn't happy with any of her pictures.

Take 1


Take 2



Take 3



The Keeper

Athens Stake

Yesterday was the groundbreaking ceremony for the Athens Georgia Stake Center.



It covers 20 acres & Casey is pointing to the baseball diamond & volley ball courts. It should be completed sometime next year, and the best part about it is that we are only 3 miles away from what will be our new stake center!!

"29" and holding!

It was Casey's birthday yesterday & he had only 2 requests - 1.)A carrot cake made from scratch (his mother's recipe), and 2.)A potato dish (also his mother's recipe). Sounds easy enough...although, I tried to convince him it would taste just as good coming out of a box. He wasn't convinced, so I grated carrots & made his "Happy Birthday" Cake from scratch. It turned out great, but the cream cheese frosting was the favorite!

Thanksgiving weekend

We had friends from North Carolina come in to visit for the Thanksgiving weekend. The first stop when everyone arrived was the leaf pile. They had all kinds of crazy fun jumping in, over & on our pile of leaves.





Aside from a sick-coughing child(Ryan) & rain most of the weekend we had fun playing games, eating, watching movies and just hanging out!!!!

Thanksgiving Feast

The kindergarten classes had their annual Thanksgiving Feast today. They dressed up as Indians with outfits they made & decorated.



Ryan's Indian name was "Fast Deer", because in some recent class running races he was the fastest.

"Leaves are Falling All Around"

Fall is the most beautiful time of year in Georgia. The leaves change all sorts of rich vibrant colors, making the drive to the grocery store a scenic pleasure.



However, after the 2nd week in November they start to fall, which makes our yard a blanket of leaves. Casey is hoping to make one big pile for mulching...but for now, we'll just have fun playing in the piles!

Gas Prices

I just filled up for $1.97/gallon at Sams. I think it's been a couple years since I've done that!

Lost a tooth

Ryan was so excited when one of his teeth became loose. He would wiggle it constantly & couldn't wait for it to come out. Casey said he'd pull it out for him, but Ryan didn't like that idea. It came out a few days later on it's own at school. We put it under his pillow that night for the tooth fairy to find. He came into our room at 3:30a.m. to tell us he couldn't find anything from the tooth fairy. I assured him it was there & we'd find it in the morning.