The Day of the Tomatoes

There are a few things in my life as a homemaker that give me a tremendous amount of satisfaction. Baking bread and making pumpkin rolls are high on the list. There is nothing like sitting back after a few hours of mess & work and seeing your creation, perfect and untouched. Today, I added another to my list. Canning. Yes, I canned tomatoes for the first time as an adult person and definitely the first time by myself (well, not really...I had to call my mom & sister for moral support & some guidance). I really am so excited. I plan to do some more tomatoes this week, and hopefully some peaches soon if I can find a good deal, and next...who knows? The canning possibilities are endless.
P.S. Thanks to my mom for lending me her steam canner & to my mother-in-law for the use of the jars. I'm so excited to get my own equipment soon; I just wanted to make sure that I would actually use it if I went out and bought it...I think I will. Yay! I'm so excited!

At Home in the Mountains

Last week, my kids & I hopped in the car and spent a few glorious days in the mountains with my family. As I was driving into town, the temperature was 62 degrees and on my way out of town 5 days later, 74 degrees. I don't think it got much hotter than that the whole week - it was great! Here are the top 5 reasons why I loved this trip with my family:

5) the weather was amazing; we got to experience an awesome rainstorm on Monday afternoon
4) the smell; I miss the smell of the trees there, especially when it's wet
3) reading; I read 4 books, including one of my all-time favorites, Pride and Prejudice
2) chatting with my parents on a whole range of topics such as finances, canning, food storage, parenting, etc.
1) just being with my family: washing dishes with Quinton, watching Buchanan make Mexican suckers for the kids, watching Food Network with Stanton, playing ball with Grandpa, Grandma, & the kids, seeing Lincoln in his new football uniform, hearing some exciting news from Buchanan & Ariann, and watching my children LOVE being with their uncles & grandparents

The only downfall to the week was not being able to have Jeff with us; he was faithfully putting in his time at Atwell-Hicks in Florence. We really missed him and were so happy to be home again (there really is no place like home), but the kids are already looking forward to their next trip to the mountains.

I am so not cool...

I have come to the realization that I am no longer "cool". Maybe I should have realized this a little sooner (perhaps when I told my Achievement Day girls that they should come to the next activity. "Be here, or be square", I said...I should have been able to at least get the cheesy saying right. One of the girls just looked at me and said, "Isn't it be THERE or be square?"). Anyways, this is what has been on my mind the past couple of days: I am not cool and my life is not very exciting. These thoughts prompted some soul-searching on my part. Who am I really and what do I have to offer to those around me? Why isn't my life exciting...or is it? After pondering who I am and what makes me special, here are a few things that I came up with:

1) I LOVE chocolate chip cookies and I LOVE the chocolate chip cookies that I make. Almost everyone that knows me well knows that I make them anytime someone comes over to my house and have been doing it since I was young. In fact, Jeff worked with a high school friend of mine for a summer and we had him & his wife over one night. I was making chocolate chip cookies and he said, "Don't you always make cookies? It seems like I remember you always making cookies." Yes, I always make cookies.
2) I just got a new piano bench for my birthday. Jeff began refinishing my parents' old piano for me 5 years ago, and it is just in its finishing phases (we took a few years off when we moved to Flagstaff and couldn't take it with us). I absolutely LOVE it!! I love watching my kids get up to the piano and play; it makes me feel like a real mom. I love listening to the music as I do my chores throughout the day...I hope our home is always filled with good music.
3)I have never been very creative or decorative at all, but I just learned how to crochet a cute border on blankets & have already given one as a baby gift. I am so excited about this new skill that was passed on to me from my grandma; not only is it fun but I feel like I'm keeping up at least one tradition of the good women in my family. I also successfully designed (after copying & combining different ideas) and sewed a cute set of valance curtains for my kitchen windows. This is an accomplishment for me on at least two levels. Not only am I not known for my creativity, but I also am not known for my tenacity. If I can't do something well and quickly the first time, I usually don't try, try again. So I was pretty proud of myself for sticking with something that was not only very tedious & time-consuming, but not instinctively easy for me. They also turned out much better than I imagined.
4)I LOVE being a wife...maybe it's because Jeff is so easy on me and doesn't demand or expect perfection from me, but it really is so fun. While I have many improvements to make in this area, I love to do things for and with Jeff. He is such a fun person and I am so happy to have him in my life. He helps me not take myself too seriously and to enjoy the simple pleasures in our life. And he makes me laugh. You should have seen him the other night doing a TaeBo workout for the first time (he indulged me - he would rather go running). I know he was exaggerating his lack of coordination but it still made me laugh; I don't really don't know how the man can look so good on the basketball court with those coordination skills :) I love you, Jeff...you are the world to me!
5)I have three beautiful, amazing children that I love SOOO much! It is so exciting to watch them grow and learn, and I love learning how to be a good parent. I could talk forever about all the great things I get to observe and experience being a mother, suffice it to say that they teach me so much and bring me so much joy. Plus, they make me laugh too.
6)I try so hard to be good. I am so far away from perfect, but I don't know anyone who wants to be a goody-goody as badly as I do. You may laugh because obviously I am not there yet, but I really do try. I love doing good things and teaching my children the Gospel; every day I am "trying a little harder to be a little better".
7)I don't like to run at all, but I really REALLY wish that I did.
8)I have recently discovered the joys of shopping for a bargain.
9)I really want to buy a pressure canner; I just learned how to can chicken and I'm starting to get obsessed with food storage.
10)I really like to write...I don't take the time to sit down and do it very often, but sentences run through my mind like crazy and I rearrange them and rearrange them until they sound good enough to be put onto paper (they rarely get there).
11)I really really DISLIKE pets and would never get one on my own, but I am now considering the possibility of getting a chocolate lab puppy for my kids...what do you think? It would only be an outside pet.
12)I love FAMILY. I have 7 siblings that are fantastic and I love to be with them and talk to them and they inspire me to be better. I also can't help but love the spouses that they have chosen so far - I'm so lucky. My parents are AMAZING and I'm so blessed to have been raised by them. My in-laws are equally amazing and I can't believe how lucky I am to be married into such a great family. I have learned so much from them and love spending time with them as well.
13)I talk too much. Even now, in writing, I can't seem to stop myself. Sometimes I do have what I call "thinking days", where I don't talk a lot (drives people close to me crazy because they think I'm upset) but when I get excited about something, it's hard for me to stop.

I guess the moral of the story is that after thinking a lot about who I am, I came up with this one main idea: I am a person with a few weird quirks, but basically I am a good person who tries hard to be good and who has much to be thankful for. My life is exciting because it is full of the people that I love and I really wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. I guess that is pretty cool.

and they lived happily ever after

A little over 2 weeks ago, my little (not so little anymore) brother got married in the Snowflake Arizona Temple. Buchanan & Ariann were a beautiful couple and it was such a wonderful day. I was so happy that I had been able to be a little bit involved in some of the planning and dreaming, but especially glad that I could be there on that special day in the temple. In my opinion, there isn't anything better than being in the temple with your family and this was no exception. It was beautiful!! They were so cute and in love, but I don't think I have ever seen a more nervous-looking couple; it was funny. They got over that quickly and I think married life is going great for them. I talked to my brother the other night and I could tell he was so proud of his new wife when he told me how she had fixed up their little home for them...so fun! I know they will be happy together and I'm so excited to have a new sister added to our family! Love you guys!

Camping and S'mores

I think it has been a good month since we had our first camping trip as a family. We found a good deal on some camping gear and decided to put it to good use. So we made sure we had everything we needed, including the ingredients for the must-have treat of camping trips: s'mores, and set out on our camping adventure...in our living room. It worked out great for everyone. Dad & the kids were glad to be able to go camping (even if it was cheater-style), Mom didn't have to do all the hard work that goes into a camping trip, and the baby got to sleep in his own bed. I had gotten a s'mores maker for my birthday last year and had not yet used it, so we pulled it out for its inaugural run...it is awesome! Here are some cool pics; we had a great time!

I have some cute pictures and stories to tell but haven't had the time....but I just wanted to share this quick anecdote while I have a second. Yesterday, Cole escaped down the street to our neighbor's house and when I finally caught up to him, I didn't say anything. I just grabbed his hand and we started walking home. A few steps down the street and he said, "Hi Mommy. Nice to see you." I was cracking up...not exactly the words I expected to hear from my 2-year-old escapee. Haha.

Carrabba's...mmm, mmm, good

So Jeff & I went to Carrabba's Italian Grill last night for our anniversary. Neither of us had been there before but had heard great reviews from my brother and Jeff's boss Greg, so we thought we'd give it a try. As we were being seated, the hostess asked if we had been there and we said no. Later, while we were enjoying our hot bread with the yummy olive oil & spices, the owner of the restaurant came to welcome us and give us a plate of zucchini fries on the house. In response to his question, we told him that our 6-year anniversary and some referrals from Jeff's boss had brought us in. We then enjoyed the most delicious Italian food I have ever eaten: the zucchini was so good that I could have just stopped there, but I also had a minestrone soup that was to die for and Pollo Rosa Maria, which was grilled chicken breast "stuffed with fontina cheese and prosciutto, topped with mushrooms and a basil lemon butter sauce." Seriously, it was sooo good. Jeff enjoyed his favorite classic, lasagne, and it was delectable as well.

Throughout the meal, I dreamed of owning my own Italian restaurant someday...Camilla, do you want to go partners? At the end of the meal, our very friendly and efficient server Gordon brought us dessert and we were serenaded by the Carrabba's staff. He then told us that our meal had been taken care of and to enjoy our evening. Wow - we were blown away! We are definitely coming here again, we said.

As we were leaving, we found the owner to say thank you and found that Jeff's boss Greg had called earlier to let him know we were coming and to take care of us - wasn't that thoughtful? We also chatted with Gordon who, we found out, graduated from Mountain View High School just one year earlier than Jeff. What a small world.

On our way home, we stopped at Home Depot right next door, and as we were perusing the tools, Jeff said, "Oh no. We forgot to leave a tip." I was horrified. We had enjoyed a wonderful evening and Gordon had been so good to us...so we went back and I apologized to the hostess and asked if she would please give our tip to Gordon for us...good save! I couldn't believe we had forgotten and I was so glad that Jeff remembered in enough time.

Anyways, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Carrabba's...if you like Italian food, I give it my full recommendation.