Our Stellar September

We've had a fun time this past month. I made the smilebox newsletter above, but I know there are those who cannot view smilebox for some reason or another, so I also included the pages below. Enjoy!

Daddy's First "Pedi"

A couple weeks ago, Steve had a campout with the scouts from Friday to Saturday night.  I know how camping can really take a toll on your energy, so I was fully expecting Steve to be on the couch much of Saturday, which he was.  Well, while Steve was out braving the wilderness on Friday night, my mom came over and joined me and the girls for a "girls night."  They gave me a foot massage using a scrub my mom had brought over.  May I just say, Amara and Lily have tiny hands and their massages were cute.  So, the next day, when Steve came home, he showered and sat on the couch, his eyelids already half-closed when the girls came up with the great idea to give daddy a pedicure.  I think it helped proposing the idea when he was half-out because he was willing to surrender.  So, I helped gather the items and I helped with some of the massaging too.  Here's how it went:
Step One: Use the handy wooden scoop to gob out a bunch scrub.

The "Noni" Body Scrub

 Step Two: Spread onto wet foot.

They applied it very liberally.

 Step Three: Massage like you mean it!

Steve's constant request was, "Harder.  Much harder please."

 Step Four: Repeat on other foot.

Amara is in heaven!  What child wouldn't want to plaster goo on their parents skin and rub it all over?

Steve was a little ticklish with the girls massaging, and I loved watching him squirm as they were trying to push harder.  I'm glad I got pictures!

"More Sushi Please!"

A couple of weeks ago we had a delicious sushi night.  While I was making the sushi with my mom, Lily was snapping some pictures.  She did a good job of capturing the food we ate and just browsing through them makes my mouth water!  The Smilebox presentation at the end of this post features her photos.

We made Christensen-Family-Friendly rolls.  In other words, all our sushi rolls were raw-fish-less.  We are greatly limited in our fresh fish selection here in rural-ville, but I'm not complaining, at least not today.  The way I see it, I'm lucky that I can make tasty sushi minus the sashimi, and at the same time I get to save money for my family!  My mom and I made a variety of rolls mixing-and-matching these ingredients~

• tempura green onion
• tempura zucchini (from the garden)
• tempura yam
• fresh garden cucumber
• Krab
• fresh green onion
• crushed fried noodles
• homemade wasabi-mayo
• homemade cayenne-mayo
• teriyaki glaze

Everyone loved dinner and we ate until there were only 3 small pieces left.

Make a photo album

Our First First Grader!

The alarm goes off at 6:45 a.m. and Lily is dressed, her hair brushed and ready for breakfast in 3 minutes time.  I'm thinking~ Huh.  That's unusual.  Last school year it took her 30-45 minutes to just put her clothes on.  Then I would scramble to do her hair while she glared and poked at her breakfast, then we'd grab her shoes and backpack on our way out the door and I'd wrap her toast in a paper towel for her to eat in the car on the way to school. 

So what's with the remarkable enthusiasm?  It's the magic of a new school year.  It kicks us into gear- and by "us" I mean all of us.  After our joyous summer devoid of alarm clocks, routines, schedules, and deadlines, school comes knocking at our door and we're back in business.  And yes, we were out the door in no time on the first day of school. 

Now it's been 3 weeks since school began and morning routines are a bit of a drudgery again.  But that's what I expected.

Lily unmistakably has a rough time rolling out of bed, but she loves school.  She tells me that she has a very nice and beautiful teacher, Mrs. Brinkerhoff.

She likes everything about school except disrespectful students who talk out of turn.  I can understand that.  She's also made some friends and has a great time at recess playing.

Me: What do you play?
Lily:  We play the same thing every recess.
Me: And what's that?
Lily: Oh, just like we're dogs. 

That doesn't surprise me.  She's wanted a dog since forever ago.  Her favorite shows are Martha Speaks (on PBS, a cartoon about a talking dog) and Dogs With Jobs (BYU-TV).  And any gift-giving holiday she makes it known that she wants a puppy.

One day I drove by the school at recess time and saw Lily holding her friend's hand and running around the playground.  It makes my heart happy for her, especially since I've been tragically weighed down with her being gone from home (me) for such a long part of the day.  Amara at first would ask if Lily was coming home soon or if we were going to run an errand, she'd ask if we were going to get Lily, but now she realizes that Lily goes early to school with dad and comes home with him close to dinner time.

We all wake up early and get ready for the day at the same time, so sometimes Amara and I will go to the school early and help Steve in his classroom and walk Lily to class.

Steve's classroom has changed since last year.  He's switched to tables instead of desks.  In the picture above you see the U-shaped tables- it's all he could get at the time.  Now, he has rectangular tables and his classroom looks more spacious.  Steve's report on how the school year is going thus far is *deep breath* "It going... [insert 30 second pause]... fine." 

I've always loved Lily's drawings and she's come home with some great ones.  I'll share one of her worksheets with you, so you can enjoy her artwork as much as I do.

 Yes, that's the sun with sunglasses on and wiping sweat from his face!  Nice tongue hanging out, too.

 I like how mad the storm cloud looks.  The rain is bigger at the bottom because it's closer to you.  She likes to add perspective to her drawings.

 This is a guy getting knocked over by the wind.

 She's pointing to the clouds.

 This picture is mostly white, just like a whiteout snowstorm.

 Then her drawings of morning, afternoon, and evening.  I particularly like how groggy the little person is lying on the floor in the morning drawing.  It is an accurate depiction of her normal mornings.  You notice the afternoon is raining, that's because summers in Utah get afternoon clouds and thundershowers.  Then the evening has colorful clouds for the sunset.

Here's the entire worksheet.

Get back here Summer! I'm not done with you yet!

To say this summer has been busy would be an understatement.  School is starting up again this week and no, we did not get a yard put in this year.  Not even close.  And it's not going to happen this year either- thanks to our new member of the family, the 2007 white Dodge Caravan.  That reminds me, we need to give that beauty a car wash and thorough vacuuming.

Well, I believe we spent more time (and money) away from home than actually at home this summer.  I love having summers off and the flexibility it gives our family!   This summer gave us so much~ our belated anniversary getaway to Salt Lake, multiple baby showers, multiple baby blessings, multi-city traveling, family reunions, a week of pioneer trek, a funeral, car issues, a new used vehicle, my sister's newborn, birthday celebrations, holiday celebrations, a little garden, road construction everywhere, and seemingly endless dining out and probably a few extra inches around my waistline.

It's been crazy-busy and so enjoyable.  I didn't document everything, but I did download my camera and compile some of this summer's doings in the following smilebox photo book for your enjoyment:

Customize your own photo album

Poetry and Pictures

Look at me, look at me, look at me now!

You could do what I do, if you only knew how.

I study the scriptures one hour each day;

I bake, I upholster, I scrub, and I pray.

I always keep all the commandments completely;

I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.

I help in their classrooms!  I sew all they wear!

Above is what Lily chose to bring to her first Kindergarten show-n-tell.

Yup, homemade costumes.  Amara is sporting the girl's throw pillows from their bed, and Lily is a ladybug (in case you couldn't tell) with a painted piece of cardboard duct taped to a backpack.

I drive them to practice; I cut all their hair!

I memorize names of the General Authorities;

I focus on things to be done by priorities.

I play the piano!  I bless with my talents!

My toilets all sparkle, my checkbooks all balance!

Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;

I attend all my meetings (on time!  Never late!)

I am taking a class on the teachings of Paul,

But that is not all!  Oh no.  That is not all.

I track my bad habits ‘til each is abolished;

Our t-shirts are ironed, my toenails are polished!

Our family home evenings are always delightful,

The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.

I do genealogy, faithfully too.

It’s easy to do all the things that I do!

I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;

Good morning!  Daddy, can you cut my waffles?

I know all the names of each youth in my stake!

I read to my children! I help all my neighbors!

I bless the community, too, with my labors.

I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;

My visiting teaching is done the first day!

(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.

It’s the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.) 

I chart resolutions and check off each goal;

I seek each “lost lamb” on my Primary roll.

I can homegrown produce each summer and fall.

But that is not all!  Oh no!  That is not all.

I write in my journal! I sing in the choir!

Each day I write “thank you’s” to those I admire.

My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!

My kids get straight A’s!  And their bedrooms are clean!

I have a home business to help make some money;

I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.

In our old apartment- If I wasn't leaving the house, I was usually wearing this robe all day long.

I go to the temple at least once a week;

I change the car’s tires; I fix the sink’s leak!

I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;

I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.

I make sure I rotate our two-years’ supply;

My shopping for Christmas is done by July!

These things are not hard;

It’s good if you do them.  You can if you try!

Just set goals and pursue them!

It’s easy to do all the things that I do!

If you plan and work smart, you can do them all too!

“It’s easy!” she said……

            And then she dropped dead.

    Author:  Vickie Gunther

I love this poem.  And I love my family and our imperfect lives.

Great-Great Grandma Okelberry's Cookbook and Photos

Photo album created with Smilebox

I wanted a family history project to work on yesterday, and this seemed perfect.  I made a recipe/scrapbook from the pics I had taken of my great-great grandmother's cookbook.  I loved getting to know her a little better through pictures and the recipes she deemed worthy enough of writing down.

I have many family history projects on my "to do" list.  This was one that was nice to know I could finish it in a couple hours.  Well, that couple of hours turned into more like 6 hours, but it was time well spent.