Cousins Are Cool

I grew up with 6 cousins, in all parts of the world at times. But, even though there was age and distance between us all, there is something special about that relationship. Cousins are just cool. I am so glad that my children have lots and lots of cousins. Last month we celebrated the arrival of the most recent Lester cousin, Ryker. What a blast to see how much fun these kids have together, and the way they get along. Like I said, Cousins Are Cool.

Happy Birthday Clay-Dog

Clay directing the singing of Happy Birthday to him.

Clay. He wakes up and jumps in our bed. He's been doing a birthday countdown for about two weeks now, he's so excited. We wish him a happy birthday.

Nate says, "Let's see, in dog years that would make you 49."

"49!?!?!?! That's as old as Bruce Thornock!" with a little bit of disgust at the idea of being that old, and of course the delight that comes from being teased by dad. (Bruce, by the way, is turning 40 this year)

After school Clay got to see Connor and Jake, who were passing through on the way to their grandma's house, and then we went to the church for some Scouting business. While we were there, Grandma and Grandpa stopped by to give Clay his birthday presents, with which he was delighted.
It’s nearing dinnertime, and Nate suggested that we offer to take him wherever he wants to go for dinner. We were all looking forward to going out to eat, since we don’t go out much. Here’s how the conversation went.
“Clay, where do you want to go to dinner, we can go anywhere in the world you want.”
“Hawaii?”
“Maybe not, it’s a little far.”
“Where does Uncle Andrew live?”
“Provo”
He stands there thinking for a minute and says, “That’s too far too.”
“OK, where do you want to go? Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, Chili’s”
“We’d have to go far to go somewhere like that. Let’s just stay here.”
“OK, there’s JB’s, Bear Town, Pizza Hut, and Don Pedros.”
“McDonald’s too”
“Yes, there’s McDonald’s too, but we could go somewhere nicer than that.”
“Let’s just go home and eat.”
Sidetracked, so we pick up the conversation later in the car.
“Clay, where are we going for your birthday dinner?”
“I told you I want to eat one mom’s famous home-cooked meals.”
In the background you can hear Sam, “Clay don’t you want a chicken-fried steak at JB’s? They’re really good!”
And Amelia, “I want to go to Bear Town.”
And Emma, “I waaaaant cheeeeeesssssseee piiiiiiiiizzzzzzzaaaaaa.”
So, we get dad on the phone,”Hey, honey, just meet us at home. Clay doesn’t want to go out.”
“I’ve been looking forward to eating out all day, let me talk to him.”
I hand the phone to Clay and after a brief pause I hear him say,
“But dad, I want to eat at home. The Birthday Boy has spoken.”
Well, that settled it. The Birthday Boy had spoken and he wanted to eat what he had eaten the night before, chicken tostadas, or tacos. I asked if he wanted beef or chicken tonight, and he said beef. So, I make dinner.
Clay gets to the table and asks, “Where’s the chicken stuff?”
“You said you wanted beef”
“OK”
We all enjoyed our dinner of beef tacos.
None of us had finished before Clay was ready to tear into the presents.

ipod shuffle (blue of course)

pitching machine

(was that for Clay, or his dad?hmmmm?)

football & book

(Thank You Grandma & Grandpa)
He was thrilled with it all. He’s such a cheeseball, and he poses beautifully for every picture.

Now, to get a better window to Clay’s personality, let me tell you about his birthday wishes. Weeks ago I asked what kind of Birthday Party he would like to have. He thought for a little bit and then said, “a prophet party.”
“A Prophet Party?!?!?”
“Yes, I want a cake with Joseph Smith. No, Gordon B. Hinckley. And then we’ll play a prophet game. It will be really cool.”
SO, how does a do-it-yourself cake maker make a cake of the prophet? And still feel good about consuming it? We compromised on a cake of Joseph Smith in the sacred grove.

Well, here it is. What you can’t tell is that our little figurine there is really a bull fighter, but, he had joints in all the right places to be able to make him a kneeling, praying prophet. Clay was thrilled. And, thank you Grandma and Grandpa Lester for the outfit and the construction gear that could not stay in the package for another minute.

I have thought quite a bit about what would possess a 7 year old to want a prophet birthday party. Clay was very affected by the passing of President Hinckley earlier this year. Even at this most recent General Conference, he mentioned that when he thought about President Hinckley he felt sad. I like to think that in his 7 year old world, the Prophet is important enough to celebrate, to remember, and to honor on Clay's important day. I hope that attitude never changes.

Emma's Room

The other morning after the boys had already left for school, Amelia and I were in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast when Emma came toddling into the room with a smile and her infectious giggle.

"How did you get out of your bed?"

"I climbded out"

"Show me"

So she very proudly toddled back to her room, but could not get back into her crib. I put her in and she proceeded to show me exactly how cautiously and carefully she maneuvered her way out of her bed. Now, I guess that I should not be surprised at all because she is the first child of mine that still sleeps in a crib at the age of 2 1/2. But I looked around her room, which is mostly my favorite, and it occurred to me that it could not stay that way for very much longer. The crib would have to go, so that would mean a bigger bed, a different bedspread, la de da. So many changes would have to come from this simple little discovery that Emma had made. I felt a little sad. So, I pulled out the camera to get this one down for posterity.

My Baby Girl Emma's Room

These are the curtains that started it all. I absolutely fell in love with them when I first saw them, and then I waited and waited and waited and they would not go on sale. So, I just had to buy them. Then I had to find a crib set to match, and paint the walls purple, and the butterflies too...see what they started.

Sometimes at night we have to acknowledge every person in the pictures on the shelf before we can say goodnight. Good stalling technique.

But, happy thing is that the climbing out hasn't happened since. Maybe I can keep my baby and her room for a little while longer.......

The Real Meaning of Easter

I have to admit I'm not a big fan of the Easter Bunny. In fact, I think he wasn't mentioned much in our house until the big night after we colored our easter eggs with cousins. This year the Easter Bunny hid the dozen eggs that they colored, and then gave each of them a church book and way too much candy (which I promptly hid in the cupboard). Sam and Clay were both very excited about the book they got, "Preach the Gospel." Clay's first response was, "We can give family home evening lessons out of this book. Can me and Sam do it tomorrow night?"

Of Course

Sam and Clay wake up Monday morning and Clay says, we're going to do page 51, it's about the Atonement. Sam comes upstairs and he's got notes and paper bookmarks in his book. Time comes for the lesson that night, and Clay says, I really like page 17 too. OK, you can do them both. Sam says, I liked page 54, it was about the premortal existence, and stuff like that. OK, do that too.

Clay starts with the questions. He nods at our answers and tells us we're right, and sometimes adds his own insight. At the end he shows the picture of Joseph Smith reading the Bible and bears his testimony of studying the scriptures, and the truthfulness of the gospel. Nate and I were both in tears. Then Sam started to read about Christ and what His sacrifice means to us in our lives. They made a seamless transition at a specific predetermined point in their books, then Clay finished the discussion. Sam concluded with his testimony that Jesus loves him and the church is true.

I don't know that I could have been more happy with my two little boys, passionately sharing the gospel, and doing it in such a pure and innocent way. It made me feel, for a small moment, that we must be doing something right.

So, if you want to know the real meaning of Easter, I know two young boys who can't wait to be missionaries and share that knowledge with the world.

Easter Eggs and Snowboots

Despite all of the crazy things going on around us lately, we decided to proceed with our now yearly Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch on Saturday. I had kept the girls busy filling easter eggs for weeks before, and I kept hoping that the snow would stop coming down. Day after day, it looked as if the snow would be an inevitable part of our festivities. With all of my hesitation, I did not get any invitations sent, and ended up making phone call invites for the latter part of the week. I'd say we ended up with a great crowd of family and friends. Nate and Derek hid easter eggs all over the side and back yard. It was actually almost better than last year because there were holes from footprints everywhere, and they just dropped the eggs in those holes, among other places. The sun was shining, the kids had a blast, and we had a riot watching.

Love this picture: snowboots, tree, eggs, snow and grass.

Could those be buds on the tree? Didn't think so. But I am wondering when Sam got tall enough to reach that high on the horse trailer without stepping up on the wheels.

Amelia lost interest as Clay tried to get this egg for her. What a good big brother.

Tinkerbell in her rain boots and the ever watchfull Yukon. So CUTE!

As I mentioned before we also had brunch. I would not be my mother's daughter or my grandmother's granddaughter if I did not at least elaborate on the meal. We had croissants and muffins from Costco. As I was putting them out that morning, I started thinking, "How is this any different from Chocolate Cake?" It sure tasted as good. I guess if Goofy can serve hot dogs at his brunch, I can serve chocolate cake disguised as muffins. On with the menu: Fruit salad of pineapple, grapes, strawberries, and kiwi. Ham. Dutch Oven Potatoes. Breakfast Casserole, and French Toast Strata, apple and cherry. Easter Egg Jello things. Orange Juice and Water. I can't forget to mention the chocolate, candy, and more candy that the kids had just discovered in the yard. That was a pretty big part of the meal for most of them. I've loved how there are some of you who post recipes on your blog. So, here's one from this meal that I thought turned out pretty well. No pictures, though.

Stuffed Apple French Toast Strata

The credit for this recipe goes entirely to Nate's Aunt Jan.

6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 C maple syrup
8 oz cream cheese ( I only used half)
1 loaf French bread, cubed
8 eggs
2 1/2 C half & half or milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
In a greased 9x13 pan place half of cubed bread. Cut cream cheese into cubes and add to pan. Place remaining cubes of bread over cream cheese. Mix melted butter, eggs, cream, syrup, vanilla, and salt together. Pour over bread. Press bread to absorb the liquid. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes. Pull from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Make syrup:
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter
4 tsp corn starch
1 C apple juice
1 Tbsp lemon juice
In a small sauce pan, stir together all ingredients except the butter. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes, or until thick. Add butter. Pour over hot French Toast.

CHERRY LOVERS: For a variation, (I made this part up), drain a can of tart cherries, keeping the juice. Add the cherries when you add the cream cheese to the bread. When you make the syrup, omit the cinnamon, and substitute the cherry juice for the apple juice. YUMMY!

March Means Wrestling

Where have I been?

Cokeville, Coalville, Randolph, Evanston, and Morgan. Not to mention nightly practices at the highschool. March rolls around and we eat, sleep, and think wrestling. Sam absolutely LOVES every minute of it. (except maybe that match where he wrestled a kid who had placed second in a national competition and lost 2-22.) Otherwise he is strong and very smart about wrestling. He remembers techniques and carries them out, and he shows no mercy. As a result, he ended the season with three first places, one second place, one third place, and one fourth. This year he was wrestling other third graders, but often had to wrestle fourth graders as well. Now Clay is very strong too. He likes to look around and see what's going on around him, and sometimes fails to focus on his matches. He also tends to have more compassion for his opponent. The other night he had won his first two matches. But, when he tripped and fell back in his last match, the other kid jumped on top of him and had him on his back. Clay just laid there and got pinned. After the match he told me, "When he tried to pin me the third time, I just let him." As though he were doing a favor for this other kid. He placed fourth twice and second once.

If I can figure out how to post a video, I will. Check Back.

Grandma Perkins

On February 14, my dear sweet Grandma Perkins passed away at the age of 96. She was a very quiet, peaceful person who loved everyone, and exuded peace. Her home was a haven for many, and her kindness and prayers knew no judgement. I loved to spend summer days at her home; reading magazines, taking walks, exploring the farm, and playing with cousins. Her kind demeanor inspired many, including me. I will miss you, Grandma.