Skills!

In our Family Home Evenings each Monday we include a segment called "Skills". This is where the kids can show off something new they've learned that week. I thought I'd share what Camryn and Avery's skills were this week:

Avery has been working on her fine motor skills and recently started practicing writing letters of the alphabet. She's doing great and this morning she brought me her very first completed word, with no help from me! The word is HAVE, in case you can't make it out. She was actually trying to write Avery but either couldn't figure out the R or got to the end of the paper. I still count it as a successful word!

She's also been drawing lots of faces. I've been trying to give her tips. This one she did all on her own and I thought it was an awesome picture. Nice 'stache!

Camryn's skill this week was Twirling. She loves to spin around and around and doesn't get too dizzy, surprisingly. We have a few bedtime songs we've adapted to include twirling ("If you're happy and you know it, dance in circles!", that kind of thing). Here's a short clip of her twirling (and Avery trying to get in on the action). Enjoy!

Good Times

Oh, how I wish that summer would never end, and that my children could get down and color with chalk barefoot in the backyard all year long...

freebie alert

I just had to blog about this offer - it's so cool! The freebies4mom blog I read posted this offer for $10 of free food delivered for free by Schwan's. I ordered 8 frozen burgers (priced at $9.99, which I got for free), and two days later the Schwan's truck dropped them off at my house! So fun!! You can pick anything on their website that is $10 or less. I hear they have some really good ice cream treats too. Get yours before the offer ends!

Mill Pond Pictures

Fifth Anniversary!

I can't believe it's been five years today since we got married! Two BYU graduations, two kids, and a move to Wisconsin later. It's been a fabulous five years and we've grown a lot as a couple and learning how to be parents. I feel so lucky to have spent the past five years with my best friend and I'm glad that we have many, many more years to come!

We'll be celebrating our anniversary later this fall with a few days away from the kids!

Trapped

We caught my groundhog! With no sightings/signs in a week since our landlords set the trap, we thought this guy must have been long gone. But today he tried to get into his den (aka our stoop) and got caught! Poor little guy. I'm actually starting to feel sorry for him now, all trapped in there...

Pie #3- Blueberry Crumble Pie

My third pie was super delish! Here's the recipe Merrick found me in the newspaper:

1. Make a regular single pie dough. The recipe I used was more complicated than others so just use the one in your cookbook. Flute the edges and set aside and preheat oven to 350, putting a rack on lowest level.
2. Crumble Topping: Combine 1 1/4 c flour, 1 t baking powder, 1/2 t cinnamon, and stir well to mix. Stir 1/2 c brown sugar into 1 stick melted butter and scrape mixture into bowl of flour. Use a rubber spatula to fold in butter so that all flour is evenly moistened. Set aside.
3. Blueberry Filling: Put 1 c blueberries and 3/4 c sugar into a medium saucepan. Set over low heat and stir often to bruise the berries so that they release their juices as the mixture heats up and they dissolve the sugar. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until berry mixture is boiling. While berry mixture is coming to a boil, whisk 4 T cornstarch and 2 T water together in a small bowl. Stir about 1/2 c of the blueberry juices into the mixture and pour the cornstarch mixture into the boiling berry juices, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Cook, stirring constantly, until the juices thicken, return to a boil, and become clear. Put 5 c blueberries in a large bowl with 1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg and use a lg rubber spatula to fold in the thickened juices. Fold in 3 T cold butter (cut into 10 pieces).
4. Scrape filling into prepared piecrust. Use your fingertips to break the crumble mixture into 1/4-1/2-inch crumbs. Evenly scatter crumbs all over filling.
5. Bake pie until crust and crumbs are well-colored and baked through and filling is gently simmering, about 40 minutes. Cool pie on rack and serve at room temp. Make sure pie has cooled completely before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Merrick brought this to a work party and it was a big hit. Luckily he saved me a piece because this was a lot of work!

Munchkin Update

Camryn is 16 1/2 months now. Her hair is getting blonder and longer, she's learning all kinds of new things, and she's even trying to potty train herself already. I can sit her down on the potty and she can "go" almost every time, as if it were so easy!!! Crazy kid. She's really into baby dolls and she calls them "GaGa's" because one of our babies makes a "gaga" sound. She can hold her own with Avery and even tells her "Mo!" (No!) if Avery tries to swipe something from her. Her favorite shows are Dora and Diego (she calls him "GoGo!"). Other words she knows: Agua, cheese, hotdog, O-bar (granola bar), eyes, Uhoh!, milk, shoes, ball, and a bunch more but I can't remember right now. She's an awesome sleeper- I put her down at night and don't hear a peep out of her until the morning (unlike her sister who calls me back for drinks, kisses, and teddy bears!). She's also down to one long afternoon nap now which is nice so we can do fun stuff all morning. She's a mama's girl for sure but saves her best, cuddliest hugs for her dada.

Update- I thought of more words she knows: up, thank you ("day doo"), bubbles, more, Avery ("Ayah"), hi, Ariel, Belle, and bye bye.

A Captivating Read

This book is SO good. I was immediately transfixed by the story. The tale is of a four year old girl who is found in Australia getting off a ship from England all alone, with a small suitcase containing a fairy tale book, and she has no idea who she is. A man and woman take her in as their own and on her 21st birthday her father tells her that he found her and she was not his own. In 2005 this woman passes away and leaves the mystery of her birth to her granddaughter. The story rotates through time going between accounts set in 1900, 1913, 1975, 2005, and more, all to weave together the pieces of the story. Who were her parents? Why was she sent on a long voyage alone? And who is the mysterious Authoress of the fairy tale book she holds?

I loved this book even better than her first novel, which I read earlier this summer (A House at Riverton). I love the juxtaposition of the Victorian Era and modern settings. I think of all the books I've read lately this is the one I recommend most highly.