San Francisco!!

FINALLY!! After living here for 3 months we finally made it to the city. I hadn't been there in 10 years! Can you believe it? Luckily it hasn't changed much. But I FORGOT my camera! How can I leave the house and forget my camera?? I just don't do that!! It must have something to do with the 2 hours it took to get ready for a daytrip with 4 kids. Luckily Kendall had her point and shoot so we did get some pictures. I can't wait to get back and get some more!! The kids were great and the weater was terrific! It was a perfect day!

PS - Landon WAS there. He was just asleep. :(

A hard couple of weeks.......Let's make cookies!!

We have had a tough couple of weeks. Not the most trying of times, but things just haven't gone quite right the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago we were getting ready to FINALLY get out of the house and go to the Jelly Belly Factory. The snacks were packed, kids dressed in their cutest clothes, and we were putting the car seats back in the van. Derek was tightening the straps, went to get out of the van, stood up too early right into the door of the van, and suffered a mild concusion.

With all the rains we had here, part of our fence blew down (luckily it is currently being held up by our neighbors trees) and the girls window leaked, ran down the back of the wall, and underneath their carpet. I had to pull up the carpet and let it dry out.

A family member was backing out of our driveway (our driveway has a slight curve in it and a lamp post you have to watch out for, it is very tricky), a pickup (that was replacing Derek's car windshield) was double parked with it's tailgate down and it was dark and you couldn't see the tailgate was down. Our van was backed into the tailgate and ripped down the bumper. So now our van is in the shop until next week.

But Presley doesn't seem to realize it's been a hard couple of weeks. And besides, cookies make everyone happy!!

Zucchini brownies!!

I have been looking for recipes to try with Landon. Right now he is just eating sugar cereal and an occasional grilled cheese sandwich. He loves cookies and chips, so I thought I would try to find something more healthy that resembled a treat. I have tried making homemade power bars, but no luck. I think I need something in the shape of a cookie. I saw these and thought I would try them. They were EXCELLENT!! I found the recipe at www.allrecipes.com. You can also link to the recipe directly by going to http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-Brownies/Detail.aspx?prop31=1.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

I followed the directions exactly, except I didn't put in the walnuts. I did peel the zucchinis before I grated them. I was a little worried when I put the batter in in the pan because it was nothing like regular brownie batter and actually had to be spooned into the pan because it was too thick to pour. I had read the reviews and everyone said that the water in the zucchini would be extracted during baking and the brownies would be moist. Yep!! These seriously are sooo good!! This is our new favorite brownie recipe!

Everybody loved them!! Except Landon. He smelled them (he does this to all food) and then put it back down. I need to put some in his mouth for him because he really does like chocolate, though his sensory issues keep him from trying things that he would like.

I noticed that there are cookie recipes also made out of zucchinis. I think I will have to try those too!!

Stretching your fabric softener

I found this fabric softener recipe when I was looking for laundry soap recipes. I have been using it and I LOVE it!! This is from the Duggar family at www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html.

1 Container of Name Brand Fabric Softener

4 Inexpensive sponges, cut in half

Pour entire container of softener into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice. (2 parts water to 1 part softener) Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.

I don't have 19 kids, so I definitely don't need a 5 gallon bucket of this!! I use a disposable container and put 1 part softener to 2 parts water. I really like my laundry to smell good, so I use 2 sponge halves instead of just 1 for each load.

Even if Derek and I weren't pinching our pennies right now, I would still use this. My clothes have never felt softer or smelled better, seriously!! I have been using this for about 6 weeks and we have only used 6 capfuls of fabric softener. We have 4 kids and a dog that sheds, so I do a LOT of laundry!!

There is a downside. This is a little messy. We have a sink in our laundry room, but a towel would work too to dry off your hands.

I have all the ingredients for the homemade laundry soap, but I haven't made it yet because I haven't run out of the store bought kind yet. I will post about that when I make it!!

Happy New Year!!

Picture post

Christmas 2009

You found our Christmas letter!! We sent out Christmas postcards, but decided to do an e-letter. Why? We could say it was because we wanted to be eco-friendly or that we wanted to save some money on printer ink or even that we wanted to lure more people to our blog. But the boring truth is that we ran out of time this year. 2009 was a crazy busy year full of changes for our family.

Most of you know from our Christmas letter last year that Derek was laid off at American Express after 13 years. His last day of work was in January and then he started 8 months of severance. He looked and looked for a job in Phoenix. There was NOTHING out there. So we decided that now was the time that if we wanted to move anywhere, where would it be??? We wanted to be somewhere close to rivers and mountains for Derek and somewhere without snow for Amy. Sacramento had everything we wanted and we really felt that this was where we should focus our search. But the Sacramento job market was even worse than the Phoenix market. So Amy packed up Derek and sent him out west to check it out. Derek fell in love with Sacramento, applied for a few jobs, then headed back to the heat.

He got a call from PG&E in Sacramento and they wanted him to come out for an interview. He flew to Sacramento and went to the interview. He thought he wasn't qualified for this particular position. But it went really well!! And they told him that if he didn't get this job, he was also very qualified for another position there. A couple of weeks later PG&E called and wanted to do a first interview over the phone for the other position. He was on the phone in his bedroom and the kids were being rowdy. Amy asked them to be quiet and Kendall asked why. Amy told her that he was on the phone about the "electricity" job. Kendall said "Just a minute." Amy watched her walk over to the couch, kneel down, and say a prayer that daddy would get the job. When Derek got off the phone he said it went awful and that he didn't even think he would get called in for a second interview. A week later, on his birthday, they called and told him that he got the job!! We could not believe it!! We know that our Heavenly Father truly listens to our prayers and that miracles do happen in today's times. 2009 was a very hard year for us and we would never want to go through it again, but we are so grateful that we did go through it. Because of our trials we are so much happier and more grateful for what we do have than we would have been without those trials.

To make a VERY long story short, Derek started work in August. Amy came out over Labor Day weekend, we found a house we fell in love with, put in an above the asking price offer (along with 8 other people), and got the house by just $1000 over the next person's offer. More miracles!!

Finally in October Amy and the kids moved out to Sacramento and we all stayed in Amy's old roommate Shannon's house. We are forever grateful to them for letting Derek stay with them for a couple of months and then Amy and Derek and 4 kids for 3 weeks!! We moved into our house on October 30 and we love it!!

Derek loves his job and is enjoying seeing the river every day when he drives to work. Amy is at home with the kids and is still working from home doing medical transcription.

Kendall was very sad to leave Arizona and all of her friends, especially Emily and Victoria. But she has made new friends and is getting used to her new school. Her school put on a play this year and she got one of the leading roles. She loved acting and wants to do some more. Does this surprise anyone?? She turned 8 this year and was baptized in Utah. She is such a wonderful girl and a very big help with her younger brothers and sisters. We are so proud of her.

Carson is 6 and in the first grade. Socially he is doing great and has lots of friends, but has had a tough time academically. The school district here is very advanced and his teacher said that his particular school is even more advanced than the other schools in the district. He is slowly catching up, but we are trying to decide rather to have him repeat first grade or go on to second. The kids go off track the whole month of January and we have another teacher all set up to tutor him 2 days a week. We are hoping that is all it takes. He has moved on (finally!) from Thomas the Tank Engine and is now really into Spiderman and Batman. He loves to climb and is looking forward to getting a play structure for the backyard. He is really fun to be around!

Landon is 3 and has made great strides this year! His speech therapist continued to come to our house once a week and he started occupational therapy to help with his sensory issues. He is starting to talk more and is learning to be more patient and wait for things that he wants. He and Presley are best friends and love to pal around together. His favorite place is outside. He has taken over all of Carson's Thomas trains and he loves cars and trucks. He is all boy!

Presley is 2 1/2 and is still a daddy's girl. Her language has exploded the year. There are a few sounds that are hard to hear because she has a cleft in her gumline, but she makes it work! She likes to take care of Landon and make sure he is behaving! She still wants to do everything we do. She is already loading the dishwasher!! Amy is thinking of teaching her to clean the bathrooms next year! :) She can be a stubborn 2-year-old at times, but once she realizes she can't get her way, she backs down and is very obedient and easy! She is now a head taller than her older brother Landon and is still in the 95th percentile for her height. The doctor thinks she will be 5'10" to 6' tall!!! She is a complete delight and our family wouldn't be the same without her!

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your families and friends. We are hoping that next year won't be quite as exciting for us as this past year and our big news will be that we added a puppy to our family!

Love,
Derek, Amy, Kendall, Carson, Landon, and Presley

We are both on Facebook, so you can contact us there if you want!!

Pictures and Outtakes

YES!! He does need a haircut!!

OUCH!!

All decked out.....almost!!

We love the way our staircase turned out. The picture doesn't do it justice though. See those ledges on the stairs? I want to wrap some boxes in really fancy paper to put in the sleigh for next year. Anyone one have any ideas of what else I could do on those ledges? What else could I put on the garland? Maybe some cranberry strings or pinecones?

We are happy to have a fireplace again! The only thing is that Landon and Presley need stockings from their Grandma Johnson. Hopefully she will be able to have them done by next year. We bought some cute stockings for them this year, but when we got home we realized they don't have the loops to hang them from! We also will need to order some more stocking holders for the mantle. So by next year we should have all 6 stockings hanging in a row!

Notice what is missing?? Yep, no tree yet. We intentionally waited for a while because of the boys and their urges to grab, twist, throw, and break anything in their hands! But then I got super busy with work last week and life in general and so we have no tree yet. But TODAY we are getting the tree up!!

Kendall and Santa

We just got back from our church Christmas party. When we got home Kendall (age 8) said "I was a little afraid to sit on Santa's lap because I thought I might toot!!!"

Leaving Arizona

I'm back!!! I have been sooo busy moving in, working, having 4 kids!! I have been wanting to write this post for a long time. I thought it would be easy to leave Arizona, but it was harder than I imagined. Arizona was a time of "selfishness" for our family. We moved to Arizona and then just 2 months later Landon was born at 31 weeks. We spent the next 2 months shuttling back and forth to the NICU and then adjusting to our new family of 5. Soon after Landon was born we started the adoption paperwork, brought home Presley, and then adjusted to our new life as a family of 6!! Then we had 2 toddlers!! Wow, were we busy!!! We definitely accepted more help from others than we were able to give. We were just starting dig out of our hole and step outside our front door when we moved to Sacramento. There are so many people in Arizona that we wished we would've gotten to know better. We would mention a family and talk about how much we wanted to have them over, but just never got around to it. I wish now I would've just made the time and not worried about how messy my house was.

Kendall especially had some wonderful friends in Arizona. Her friend Emily was a one in a million friend and they had been best friends since kindergarten, her friends Victoria and Madeline whom we carpooled with to and from school (though luckily their aunt lives here in Elk Grove), and her friend Mady who moved back to Utah a year before we moved to Sacramento. Kendall, as anyone that knows Kendall would expect, has made lots of new friends here and has already started to carve her nitch in her new surroundings. Carson had lots of "girlfriends" back in Arizona and actually has more friends that are boys here in Sacramento. I guess the girls aren't as charmed by his blond hair and good looks as they were in Arizona!!

Arizona was a place that we know we were supposed to live during those 3 years. My very first appointment with the perinatalogist they decided to run a test on the blood flow in my umbilical cord because my other babies were so small at birth. He said it would probably be fine and it was an extremely rare condition. Sure enough, I had that rare condition. They monitored me very closely and then I began to have reverse flow in my umbilical cord and they decided to deliver Landon. I was showing no signs at this time of preeclampsia and would have continued with my pregnancy if we had not known about my condition. Landon is here and healthy because we moved to Arizona!! There is another more personal reason why Arizona was a place we should be. Heavenly Father was watching over us and led to our "stopover" in Arizona.

That being said, we LOVE Sacramento!! We love our house, our ward (congregation) at church, our school (though it is about a year ahead of the kid's school in Arizona), and of course we love the weather!! We are so close to so many things to do with our family. Now that we have come out of our cocoon, I am excited to show my family everything that there is to do in the area that I enjoyed when I lived here. I look forward to taking them to San Francisco, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Santa Cruz, hiking, overnight backpacking along the coast, and whale watching just to name a few!!

We are so blessed and hope that we are here to stay for a very long time!!

Carson Funny

Tomorrow I will have a fever because my legs hurt.

A few pictures....words to follow later!!

So much to say, but too tired to write it all down!! We left Arizona on Friday and arrived in Sacramento Saturday afternoon. We are hoping to get into our house this week, but it may be next Monday. :( I will write more about our moving adventures later, but for right now enjoy the pictures. Today we went to the new house to show Derek's mom, then we went out to the Sacramento LDS temple, and then to Goethe Park where the kids had a great time playing in the trees....yes, there are trees here!!! Yay!!!

Goodbye Clint!!

Landon LOVES his speech therapist. What 2-year-old boy wouldn't love to have a male speech teacher that plays trains, cars, and loves to wrestle! They had so much fun together. And I think that Clint had almost as much as Landon did!! Landon is going to miss Clint terribly!! Thank you Clint for everything!!