Pizza! Pizza!

Did you know, I used to be the assistant manager at Little Caesar's.  This post isn't about that.

Cora and I had the opportunity to go on a field trip to Pizza My Heart.

This is a small pizza chain here in Northern California.  Although they are small, this year they won the "World's Best Pizza" award at the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas - the first American team to ever win the award!

Each kid got their own T-shirt, got to make their own pizza, and saw the workings of the restaurant behind the scenes.

The best part was the manager, who entertained us with his dough tossing skills:)

 

After the field trip was over, Cora and I ordered a slice of their Pesto pizza.

It was delicious.  Was it the best pizza I've ever had?  Ummm, I think I'll always be partial to Fat Jack's in Ephraim....and yes, I still call it Fat Jack's, even though they changed their name, which they never should have done, even if someone new bought the business.  The end.

 

Family Visit and Belated Birthday

Yay!  Joe's parents came for a quick visit last weekend.  We didn't want to wear them out TOO much, but we sure packed a lot into our Saturday.  First the aquarium.

 Then Fisherman's wharf. 

 Of course, we had to get our seafood fix.  Joe's mom didn't think she could eat a whol sourdough breadbowl full of clam chowder, but she wanted more than a cup, so she ordered just a regular bowl. Well, it turned out that the "cup" was really more like a bowl, and the "bowl" she ordered was really more like a huge serving bowl - like 4 times as much as was in the sourdough bread bowl.  We all helped her eat some, and we still never saw the bottom of the bowl;)  And I'm mad because I didn't get a picture of it!

The kids also got to hold some exotic birds that a man had on the wharf.

Then we went to the Butterfly Garden, and saw a lot more butterflies this time. They were all packed in close together to stay warm (we had just had a few days of stormy weather), but we were able to see them through a telescope they had set up there, and I got this awesome picture.

 And finally, we FINALLY celebrated Joseph's birthday.  Yep, I dropped the ball again.  Seriously people, what is wrong with me?!  I'm so lucky that Joseph is so patient and tolerant of me always being late to celebrate his birthday.  We had a LEGO birthday for him, and played a lego board game, and had a lego building competition, and everyone got a new lego person.

Here is the last 10 years with our wonderful, handsome, and talented Joseph Thomas Liddell.

Day 1 - weighing in at 9 1/2 lbs!

 I think the first year consisted mostly of patiently surviving Cora's intense "loving";)

 2 years, and she's still all over him, but he loves her.  They're still best friends:)

 3 years - the perfect Harry Potter

 4 years - 4 Josephs celebrated the 4th of July

5 years - all siblings present and accounted for.

 6 years - new glasses (sorry you inherited my bad eyes, but hey, they look good on you!)

7 years - missing teeth

 8 years - getting baptized

 9 years - spending time with Mom and Dad

10 years - loving life, and ready for more:)

We love you Joseph!  Hope you had a great birthday......a long time ago;)

Grateful - Week 4

1. On Thursday I was grateful for Thanksgiving.  I know that there are a few people out there who think that Thanksgiving is an antiquated holiday, celebrating the wrongs we committed against the American Indians, while killing millions of innocent turkeys.  Sigh.  I guess holidays are what you make of them.  To me, Thanksgiving, while it only comes once a year, reminds me to give thanks to God, and recognize his hand in my life EVERY day.  I'm grateful to be reminded to be grateful.

2. On Friday I was grateful for my oldest child, Cora.  I've said it once, and I'll say it again - she is my heart.....she is ALL heart.  She is my example of Christ-like love.  In so many ways she is just like her father.  It makes me laugh, because every time they butt heads, I remind them that they're being EXACTLY like each other.  She is smart, she is funny, she is beautiful inside and out, she is mature and responsible, she is generous, she is organized, she is artistic, she is GOOD.  Homeschooling her has not been all roses, but I have loved spending all the extra time with her - truly a joy.

3. On Saturday I was grateful for Joseph.  He's such a love-bug.  Always hugging and kissing and showing affection.  He still loves to play with my hair - it's like his security blanket.  He has such a great love for learning new things, he is quick to learn new things, and he loves to share what he has learned.  He is smart, he is energetic, he is sensitive and passionate, he is creative, he is comfortable in his own skin, he is SWEET.  Joseph's favorite thing is to spend time with his family, and I love that about him.

4. On Sunday I was grateful for Joe.  My sister's husband past away 2 years ago on Sunday.  I know that she finds peace in knowing that they won't be apart forever, and that is what I am most thankful for too - knowing that my relationship with Joe is forever.  I am grateful that Joe is my best friend. I am grateful that Joe is the father of my children. He is funny, he is hard working, he is smart, he is inventive, he is patient, he is considerate, he is a man of integrity, he is a man that puts his family first, he is the kind of person that makes me want to be a better person.  Forever sounds good to me.

5. On Monday I was grateful for Madelyn.  Oh Madelyn.  She is a girl, that's for sure.  She loves clothes, and pink, and cute things.  She is really loving school this year, and comes home every day and does her homework right away without me asking her to. She is feminine, she is fierce, she is dramatic, at times she is attention-seeking, and at other times over-confident, she is CUTE.  She is almost always willing to help anyone out with their chores if it means she can play with them.  Love that girl!

6. On Tuesday I was grateful for Alex.  Alex has decided to help me cook every meal, and he puts on his "manly" apron, and stands up on a chair, and does what he can.  He's also decided he wants to be an artist.  He spends a LOT of time drawing, and if you've ever seen his writing or drawing, you'll know how detail-oriented he is.  He is meticulous, he is dedicated and determined, he is sometimes oblivious, he is full of energy, he is HAPPY.  You can hardly keep up with the boy, and I'm glad he's mine.

7. On Wednesday I was grateful for my in-laws.  Boy, did I luck out in that department!  Every single last one of them - LOVE THEM!  I was also grateful for my sisters.  As kids, Lorraine and I butted heads a lot, and I hardly even knew that Marie and Rebekah existed;)  But dang, I love those girls!  I am thankful for the unique relationships that I have with each one of them - none of them are the same.  I am so jealous that they all get to live close to each other, and I am far away:(

Plus two extra days to finish off the month

8. On Thursday I was grateful for miracles, big and small.  Thursday was my nieces 6th birthday, and a post on facebook by my sister reminded me of the miracle of her birth - "Six years ago today I sat in an exam room and was told that the baby I was carrying had a day or two to live. We were actually given the option to let her die and deliver her as a stillborn. We were then told by the neonatologist all of the many problems we may have to face with such a small baby. Later that night the doctor came in the room and said we have to deliver this baby now, she is not going to make it through the night! 21 minutes later Ava Marie Few was born weighing only 15 0z. Although this was one of the scariest days of my life I became a mother that day. Happy Birthday Ava.... I love you to the moon and back!!!!!"  I just want to share some of the picture I have of Ava, beginning with her birth, up until now.  She truly is a miracle, and I'm grateful.

9. On Friday I was grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has taught me all of the important things I know in life. I know that I am a daughter of God, who loves me. I know where I came from, why I am here, and what it is possible for me to become. I know that I have worth, and that I am loved unconditionally. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and that he died for me. I know that when I make mistakes, it is possible to get back on the right path. I know that families can be together forever.  I know that the scriptures are the word of God, and that they can give us peace and guidance.  I know that there are living prophets today who give us direction that is relevant to the world we live in. What I don't know, is what my life would be like if I didn't know these things. I am grateful that I do.

Grateful - Week 3

1. On Thursday I was soooooooo grateful for payday.  Seriously.  I know we're rich compared to most of the world, but I had a hard time feeling that the week leading up to payday.  Cupboards.Were.Bare.  But, I was also super grateful to find the girls their Christmas stocking stuffers for this year, all 2nd hand and super cheap;) We're doing another charity Christmas this year - the kids will only get stockings from Santa, and instead of family presents, we will spend that money on helping others....'cause we're rich, remember?;)  Now I just need to figure out what the boys are getting in their stockings.....I mean, I help Santa, ya know? 

2. On Friday I was grateful to have a slice of the BEST pumpkin pie I've EVER had.  Alex's class had a little Thanksgiving Feast for lunch, and one of the parents brought this pumpkin pie, which was from Coco's Bakery.  I was wary of it at first, because on top of the pumpkin pie was a layer of pumpkin chiffon, and then whipped cream.  The chiffon looked to fancy (don't be fancy, just get dancy).....okay, really it just looked too moussey (not a fan of mousse).  But then I helped one of the kids get a piece of it, and then I licked it off my finger, and then I was hooked.  [Mary says you can be fancy and dancy at the same time;)]  Click on the picture to go to their website.  Dear Coco's, your welcome for the free advertising.  Can I have a free pie?

3. On Saturday I was grateful for a clean house.  Grateful when everyone does their part to keep it that way.  Grateful for the peaceful feeling it brings.  And grateful for chocolate fudge brownie icecream and peppermint icecream in the same bowl;)

4. On Sunday I was grateful for a variety of things - opportunities to serve my family, the temple, a healthy body, new family pictures (you'll have to wait to see those), and random things you find in the Relief Society closet (...or Primary closet, or Young Women's closet, depending on what calling you have.  Do the men have closets?)

5. On Monday I was grateful for all the time I have, and have had with Joe.  Right now we don't see a whole lot of each other, because he leaves for school in the morning before I wake up, comes home long enough to have dinner and say hi, then goes to tutoring, then comes home and does homework for a couple of hours before going to bed.  It's not the only time we've had a challenging schedule.  However, I feel like we've been VERY lucky in our military career, especially when compared to many of our friends.  First of all, Joe hasn't ever deployed to war, and he hasn't had a ton of TDYs (Temporary Duties, like training and unaccompanied assignments).  In 12 1/2 years we've only spent a total of about 1 1/2 years apart.  Second of all, although he's occassionally had challenging schedules, they've only been temporary, not constant.  Right now he has every weekend off and the holidays, and we get regular dates.  Again, I feel VERY lucky, and grateful.

6. On Tuesday I was grateful for my parents.  My mom is the strongest woman I know, though you wouldn't know it by looking at her;)  If you ever read her biography (which nobody has written yet), then I know you'd agree.  She is also a great example to me of faith, perseverance, forgiveness, and love.  My dad....well, I like to think that I inherited some of his genes;)  He is funny, he takes things as they come and adapts to every situation, he's not ambitious but he is a VERY hard worker, he likes to use his hands and make/build/create things, and it is obvious that his family comes first.  My parents were the perfect parents for me, no doubt about it, and I love them.  I hope to live my life in a way that honors them and all they taught me and sacrificed for me.

7.  On Wednesday I was grateful that all of my kids slept in.  All of them.  Even Madelyn.  I can't remember the last time Madelyn slept in past 6:30.  She has no concept of weekends or holidays;)

Grateful - Week 2

1.  On Thursday I was grateful that I'm homeschooling Cora.  We went on a little field trip to a frog pond/wetland in the area....only it was a seasonal pond/wetland....and it's not the rainy season yet.  BUT, there was still a nice trail there, and a surprising variety of vegetation.  Really beautiful.  Want to go back.

2.  On Friday I was grateful for date nights.

3.  On Saturday I was grateful for friends.  Old friends, new friends, my friends, my kids' friends, facebook "friends", be there for you no matter what friends, haven't seen you in years but it feels like yesterday friends....all of them.  Friends are good.  Love my friends:)

4.  On Sunday I was grateful for all veteran's.  Joe has been in the Air Force for over 12 years now, and I am proud of him every day.  My dad was in the Army National Guard.  He deployed to Bosnia, and to Iraq.  My mom was in the Navy, and still claims it's the best;)  Joe's grandpa served in the army during World War II.  Joe's younger brother Bert is in the Air Force, and has also done a tour over in Afghanistan.  I am grateful to be a part of a family that serves our country.  This is a picture of Joe and I when I went out to see him for his graduation from Basic Training.

5.  On Mondays I was grateful that I finally took down our Halloween decorations.  I would say that all of our neighbors were grateful for that too, except some of them still have theirs up, soooo......;)

6.  On Tuesday I was grateful for my kids' teachers.  We have good teachers this year.....well, 3 really good ones and 1 good enough one (no, I'm not including myself in these stats - Cora does have a real teacher assigned to her with her homeschooling program, and she is great).  Teachers can make or break a child (yes, we certainly have had experience with that).  I am grateful for all GOOD teachers out there, who love what they do, who work so hard, and who treat our children with kindess, patience, and understanding.

7.  On Wednesday I was grateful for a sun that was "just right" - not too hot and not too cold, and perfect for the park.....or Goldilocks;)

Grateful - Week 1

My goodness, my blog has turned into such doom and gloom lately - so that's gotta change;)  A lot of people use facebook to post one thing they're grateful for each day during the month of November.  Instead of that, I'm going to blog each week about what I'm grateful for.  Here's my first week.

1.  On Thursday I was grateful for a husband who went to the store and bought me Sprite and saltine crackers, who got dinner for the kids, and who made me feel appreciated and loved in the midst of feeling like I was going to die;)  I was also grateful for Cora, who took care of the kids before Joe got home from work, and after he had to leave for a tutoring session.  I was also super grateful that it was payday!;)

2.  On Friday I was grateful for our backyard.  I went outside for a little while during the day (I try to every day, even for just a few minutes), and just looked around.  We've got a fence, which the majority of the houses here don't have.  We've also got grass back there.  A lot of the backyards just have dirt or this lovely stuff. 

It's called icycle plant, and it grows like a weed here.  It's EVERYWHERE and really hard to get rid of.  This is right behind our back fence, looking down as far as you can see.

Anyway.  I love our backyard.  I love that I can just send my kids to play out there and know that they're safe and that they're having a good time.  So when I went out on Friday, it was making me happy, and I took a couple of pictures.

3.  On Saturday I was grateful for the ability to make the most of things.  Saturday was a beautiful day, and I wanted to get out and enjoy it.  Alex and I were over our sickness - Yay!  Madelyn had been sick the night before, but seemed to be okay that morning.  We went and got breakfast, and then headed to Pheiffer Big Sur State Park for some hiking - just an hour away from where we live.  We hadn't driven too far when Madelyn said that she was feeling sick.  We handed her back an empty cup, and she soon filled it.  We kept driving.  It was a really curvy road.  After a while, Joseph said he was feeling sick.  Was he just car sick, or was he coming down with what everyone else had?  We questioned whether we should keep going, but we only had another 15 minutes to go, so I said we should press on.  We got to the park, Joseph got out of the car, and emptied his stomach all over the ground.  Then we went to get Bo out of the car - we brought her along for the hike - and she had thrown up in her crate as well.  We finally got everyone cleaned up, drinks of water for everyone, stomachs feeling more settled, and everyone was excited to go see a waterfall.  That's when we discovered that dogs are NOT allowed on the trails - only on the campsites and picnic areas.  Aaaaahhhhhh!!!  Everyone was so disappointed.  I was sooooooo disappointed.  I was tempted to turn right back around, demand our $10 entrance fee, and just go home and be mopey.  But I didn't.  Instead, I looked on the map for a picnic sight, and we walked over to it.  It was right by the river.  It was not very well kept, and nobody was there, but it was a beautiful area.  So we walked up and down the river, with Bo:), and we enjoyed a snack, and took pictures, and threw rocks in the river, and marveled at the Redwood trees, and just enjoyed ourselves. 

4. On Sunday I was grateful for General Conference.  We didn't get to church on Sunday because we were still harboring too many germs, so we watch a few talks from the most recent General Conference instead.  I really enjoyed Pres. Uchtdorf's talk.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes.

"In our day it is easy to merely pretend to spend time with others. With the click of a mouse, we can “connect” with thousands of “friends” without ever having to face a single one of them. Technology can be a wonderful thing, and it is very useful when we cannot be near our loved ones....However, I believe that we are not headed in the right direction, individually and as a society, when we connect with family or friends mostly by reposting humorous pictures, forwarding trivial things, or linking our loved ones to sites on the Internet. I suppose there is a place for this kind of activity, but how much time are we willing to spend on it? If we fail to give our best personal self and undivided time to those who are truly important to us, one day we will regret it."

"...good intentions are not enough. We must do. Even more important, we must become what Heavenly Father wants us to be."

"...no matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it." -  yep, I needed to be reminded of that one;)

5.  On Monday I was grateful for Daylight Savings...not sure I've ever been grateful for that before;)  But on Monday morning, my kids woke up an hour early.  While I lounged in bed, Madelyn got dressed, got her own breakfast, then took the dog outside, and fed the dog.  Cora made lunches for the other kids to take to school.  Nobody was tired or ornery.  The boys just watched TV, but whatever, it was still a great morning;)

6.  On Tuesday I was grateful for our country, and all that it offers.  I am proud to be an American!!!  Yep, I say that unapologetically.  I'm not saying that America is perfect, or that it's the only country that matters.  I'm not saying that other countries don't have claim to unique and wonderful qualities of their own.  I love learning about, and experiencing other histories and cultures from around the world - I think it makes me a better person.  I think EVERYONE should be proud of the country they are from.  I'm from America.  I'm proud that I'm part of a country where we have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom from opression, the freedom to live and travel anywhere we want in the country, freedom to work at any job we want, freedom to marry who we want and raise our families like we want, freedom to get an education, and the freedom to vote for our political leaders.

7.  On Wednesday I was grateful for my eyesight.  I've worn contacts since I was 11 years old, but I had to stop wearing them 2 years ago because the pollution in Seoul was jus too hard on my eyes.  So for the past 2 years I have ONLY worn glasses....and I haven't liked it.  On Wednesday I ordered contacts, and I am so excited.  But I was also reminded that, even if I have to wear glasses, at least I can see!  And there is so much in this world that is beautiful.