I am SO doing this!

I don't know about you other "Mormon Mommies" out there, but I have a hard time with General Conference. I love it, and would love to actually watch it, but eight hours of "watching old guys talk" (That's how Ethan described it when we talked about it during FHE this week) is hard on small kids. I have printed out the fun conference packets (Or here or here)(I print them out on the blank sheets of Color Wonder paper, it makes them a little more magical) we sit in a tent like the people in the Book of Mormon did when they were listening to King Benjamin, we have tons of treats, but there is still the fighting over who's marker is whose, she stole my treats, he left floaties in my juice, you know the drill. So I found this darling idea that I think might solve all of my problems (Or at the very least, get us through the opening song without any whining) It is an individual crate filled with conference goodies. I think I am going to add a few other things to mine, like a small pillow and blanket, the conference packets, stickers, and better treats, but I still think it's a great idea. I'll let you know how it worked.

I Love Fall

It's true. I love the smells and the colors, and the nip in the air. I love cleaning the windows and the yard in preparation for cold weather. I especially love the food of fall. I love canning, and soups and breads, and apple cider. I love the way cooking it makes your house smell delicious. I love the look of happiness on your family's faces when they take a bite of a special dinner you worked hard to make. I love being able to use my crock pot! This week in celebration of it officially being fall I cleaned out my garden, left my windows cracked at night and woke up with a chill in the house that required me to break out the house slippers. I made my favorite potato soup, made yummy wheat bread, canned raspberry-pear jam, and made soft ginger-snap cookies (Thanks for the recipe Joanna, they were SOOO GOOD) So here is my point: What are your favorite things about fall? What are your favorite fall recipes? Is there anything that you cook, and then you know fall has finally arrived? Share with me, I would love to try out new things.

Girls are always right.

For a long time we have been trying to get Adia to learn Left and Right. We have tried everything. She just doesn't get it. It doesn't matter what we do or how hard we try, it isn't clicking. What she does know, and came up with all on her own, is Boy Side and Girl Side. "boy side" is always left, and "girl side" is always right. Every single time. If I say "Adia, please get me the envelopes in the left drawer of my desk", she could spend ten minutes looking, and never come up with one. If I say, "Adia, please get me the envelopes in the boy side of my desk" she knows just what I'm talking about. Its funny. So see, Girls are always right, just ask Adia:)

Trying to catch up.

I'm still not caught up for the summer, and it seems like I keep falling further and further behind. This is from a while ago, but hey, at least it's here.:)

Grandpa is a huge story teller. The kids still believe everything he says, (I can't say too much it took me about five years of marraige to realize that almost every story he tells isn't true.:))and I love this picture because you can tell that they are hanging on his every word.

Ethan had just fallen in the creek and the water was COLD!

A few weeks ago Grandma and Grandpa Eberling came to visit for the afternoon. We hadn't seen them for a really long time, so it was fun to catch up with them. After they gave the kids presents (Build-a-bears that are ADORABLE) we went out to eat and then went to the park. On our way we stopped by the tabernacle here in town and toured it for a few minutes. Then we went and played in the creek that runs through the park. It was a lot of fun. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Today I discovered...

1. That Gary Thornbaum is from...Dun-da, Da, Da... Nevada.
2. That Gary Thornbaum refuses to answer his phone when either I or anyone from his insurance company calls him.
3. That I have the best insurance company ever, and I love them. (Really, if you are shopping around for good insurance let me know, I have a recommendation)
4. That Gary Thornbaum WILL NOT steal my peach joy after all. Look at these yummy turnovers I made today. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be because these suckers are STINKIN' GOOD! And they are made fresh from Gary Thornbaum Peaches!

How Gary Thornbaum ruined my joy.

I love peaches. LOVE THEM. They are on my top five list of favorite fruits. I love how sweet and juicy they are. I love that when you bite into a fresh, ripe peach the taste is so overwhelmingly delicious that you don't even mind that there is juice running down your face, and down your arm and dripping onto your shirt. I love fresh peaches, I love canned peaches, I love peach jam, and peach pie, and peach leather, and pretty much anything peach I have ever tasted. I live in Peach City USA (I'm not kidding, people really call my town that) We are famous for our peaches here. In fact this weekend is "Peach Days". It is huge here. It is actually the oldest festival in Utah, and the second oldest in the country. I have to tell you, I am kind of in heaven. One of the best things about Peach Days is that peaches are on sale for a really good price all over town. I love to go get a box or two and take them home, and eat them and dry them and freeze them and can them to my little heart's content.

Yesterday after I dropped Adia off at school (Freedom, Yay!) I was supposed to go to Ethan's school to volunteer. When I got there they said that they didn't need me for another hour because the kids were listening to a special message from President Obama. As I left, wondering what to do with myself for an hour I got the great idea to head out to my favorite farmer's market and get a load of peaches before everyone had a chance to pick them over. I went there and got my peaches, and also a bunch of Bear Lake Raspberries to make a batch of my favorite Peach Raspberry jam. (It's so good, I can't get enough of it. I even made it without sugar this time in order to fit into Ethan's diet, and it's still so perfect it made me want to eat a PB&J for dinner last night) So I loaded my goodies into the back of my car and got in. I was in the process of buckling my seat belt when I looked up an saw a truck backing toward me really fast. Before I could do anything he hit me in the front passenger side tire, and scooted my big SUV about three feet. I got out of the car and the guy who hit me came running over to me. His name was Gary Thornbaum. He wrote down his name and phone number, and told me who his insurance company was, then he ran over to his truck and jumped in. I thought he was going to get his insurance information, but was surprised to see him speed out of the parking lot. At first I thought, wow, everywhere Gary Thornbaum goes he goes fast, but then it clicked that he had just left! That was rude. I didn't really know what was going on, but he had given me his phone number, so I whipped out my cell phone and gave him a call to ask if he was coming back. It was busy. I waited around for a while, and when I didn't see Gary Thornbaum speeding over to me I decided to go home. Then I called my mom who told me that I should call the cops just to be on the safe side. So I did. Apparently what Gary Thornbaum knew that I didn't is that if you are on private property and the damage is less than $1000 (It wasn't, it turns out that it is almost three times that much, but I didn't know it at the time)you don't need to call the cops. But the officer did make a note of it just to be on the safe side. He gave me a case number and said that if I ever talk to Gary Thornbaum again I should tell him that it isn't nice to just drive away like that, and leave a crazy girl alone wondering what to do next. (Those weren't his exact words, but that was the gist) I said that I had Gary Thornbaum's number if he wanted to call him and tell him that for me. He said he just might, and actually took down the number:) (I love the cops in our little town. I have had more experiences with them than you might think, and each time I have found them to be just delightful! That could be because I have never been getting a ticket or anything when I have talked to them... but either way - nice people) So I tried my dear Friend Gary Thornbaum again, and got a hold of him this time. He said that he was in from out of town for the festival, and didn't have his insurance information with him, but if I called him back the next morning he would have it for me. I told him it wasn't nice to just leave me there, and that he better not be messing with me with this whole insurance thing. He assured me that he wasn't, and said that he was embarrassed, and that's why he left. So I went on with my day. I volunteered at Ethan's school, and then picked Adia up from school, and thats when I noticed these awful grinding and squeaking sounds each time the tire turned. I parked the car and checked it out, and sure enough, you can see that my tire is cocked at a crazy angle. GRRR!
So today I called My friend Gary Thornbaum to get his insurance information. He wasn't there but his wife gave me the agent's name and number, and said that she would have Gary Thornbaum call me with the policy number when he got there. So I called the agent with a ridiculously imposable name to pronounce. (Really, his name is Ajit Kundanani, say that five times fast.) and equally impossible to understand. He found a policy for Gary Thornbaum, and his big white truck, but wouldn't help me because I couldn't confirm his state of residence. (His area code wasn't one from Utah, and I didn't recognise where it was from) He actually yelled at me "How can you have been in an accident with someone and not know where he lives?" I don't know. I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him, and if I had it wouldn't have been "Hey Gary Thornbaum where ya from?" No, If I had been given half a chance to say anything it would have been more along the lines of "Hey Gary Thornbaum, just where are you driving to now?" or "Gary Thornbaum, please come back and give me proper insurance information!" or even "Slow down Gary Thornbaum, you drive to fast!" Anyway, I will know for next time. Finally I found out the right information, and got things figured out. I am just waiting for the adjuster to okay the body shop to begin work, and then I will be enjoying a rental car for the next few weeks on Gary Thornbaum's dime until my car is up and running.
So, where am I going with this story you might ask. The peaches. They no longer bring me the joy I once felt for them. I am so sore from being jerked around in my car (I hadn't quite fastened the seat belt before Gary Thornbaum knocked me for a loop.) that I'm not even enjoying all the canning and other stuff. I even tried a nice big bowl of fresh sliced peaches for lunch, and nothing. Every time I look at a peach I think of Gary Thornbaum, and totally lose my appetite. Grrr, stinkin' Gary Thornbaum stealing my joy, Grrr...

Overheard...

*Let me just preface this by saying that shooting people, pretend or otherwise, is not okay in our house, but before I could put a stop to it I was laughing too hard, and they just don't take you seriously when you can't keep a straight face.
Adia: Bang!
Ethan: Missed me, ha, ha!
Adia: Bang! Bang!
Ethan: Missed again, Neener Neener!
Adia: Bang! Bang! Bang-ba-bang-ba-bang, bang, bang! Bang!...Bang!
Ethan: Ha, Still missed!
Adia: Fine then this isn't a gun anymore, it's a magic wand, and I'm using it to make you stuck in a PRINCESS MOVIE... FOREVER! SO THERE!

Another First Day of School

Today was the day. It was finally time for Adia to go to school. She has been waiting for this all summer long, and it was every bit as good as she thought it would be. She had a lot of fun, and loved every minute of it. She says that she is "totally the smartest one in the whole class" but her teacher says that she "is a great leader and always willing to help others learn" (I think that means she was super bossy, and needs to give it a rest, but we'll give it a week or two and see how things go:)

I made her take pictures outside in the morning sun, and it was way too bright. This is her throwing a fit about having to take pictures when her eyes were "being brighted"

This is once she got over it and decided to smile and get it over with.

He poor little eyes are all red from the sun. I'm such a mean mom.

I took my camera and wanted to get shots of her hanging up her backpack and standing next to her cubby, but she told me that it was time to go, so I had to head out. I didn't want to embarrass her or anything. There will be plenty of time for that when she's older.

The age old question.

What to do with all of zucchini that is overtaking my life? You know what I'm talking about. This is the time of year when your poor little family has eaten all of the grilled, sauteed, and roasted zucchini they can stand. But your garden is producing the little suckers faster than you can consume them, and in the spirit of "waste not, want not" you can't stand to throw them away. And everyone else you know is in the same boat as you and this is proven over and over again as you find a grocery sack full of zucchini on your doorstep each morning, if you leave your car unlocked as you run in to pick you child up from a play date, and return to find the front seat filled with zucchini, and when you look inside your child's backpack you find more of it. It's a never ending problem, but one that you hardly dare complain about. I know you know exactly what I'm saying. So here are a few new things to try, I hope that it helps, at least a little.
First of all, I grate it and stick it in freezer bags and store it in the freezer. That way you can use it throughout the winter when you aren't sick of it anymore. I don't love to eat it sauteed like that, but if you cook it in something like either of the following recipes it is great. So here are the recipes, though I can't take credit for either of them.
The first is from my blog friend Janeal. She is a fabulous cook, and proves it with the best zucchini bread EVER. It is super light and fluffy, but really moist too. And it has the most amazing glaze in the world. MMMMM, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Zucchini Coconut Bread
3 Eggs
3/4 C. Oil
1 1/2 C. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 C. Grated zucchini
2 1/3 C. Flour
1/4 tsp. Soda
1/4 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 sm. Pkg. Pistachio pudding
1 C. Coconut (optional)
Beat together eggs, oil, and sugar. Add the vanilla and zucchini. Mix all dry ingredients together and add to the other mixture. Pour into 2 greased bread pans.Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Coconut Glaze
1/2 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Water
1 T. Butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. Coconut extract
Bring sugar, water, and butter to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add extract. Pour over warm bread and let it cool completely before removing from pans.

The next one is from a cookbook made in our newlywed ward. It sounds kind of gross if you just read the recipe, but have some faith and give it a try, you won't be sorry. Even my kids love it.
Tasty Zucchini Bake
3 c. zucchini, grated
1/2 c. margarine or butter
1 small onion
3/4 c. diced celery
2 small carrots, grated
1 pkg stove top stuffing
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small container sour cream
1/2 c. grated cheese
Mix bread cubes with stuffing mix. Pour half of the stuffing into a 9x13 in baking dish. Cook zucchini, carrots, celery, onions together until tender. Mix soup with sour cream and add to vegetables. Pour over stuffing in baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Melt butter and mix with remaining stuffing and sprinkle over top of casserole. Bake 350 for 30 minutes.