Soccer Dreams

The other day Lilly made this heartfelt card for Spencer. She knows her brother is passionate about soccer and from her sentiment she's crazy about her brother.

Spencer has had a dream to play college soccer since he was about 8 years old. We were living in Norway at the time and our friend Nils introduced Spencer to his brother Petter Rudi. Peter was/is a professional soccer player. He has played for teams in Norway, England and Italy to name a few. One afternoon Petter played soccer with Spencer and he told him that if he wanted to be a great soccer player he needed to practice getting as many juggles as he could in a row without loosing control of the ball. For years Spencer has practiced and worked hard to learn how to control the ball and play his best.

As Spencer has grown so has his love for the game of soccer. When we moved to France Spencer was determined to be on a French "football" team. He made the cut, but struggled for months to learn the language. It wasn't easy playing on a team where all of the coaching was in a different language. Many nights he would come home from practice feeling pretty low. His teammates didn't speak English and they weren't exactly kind to the only American kid on the roster. Spencer used this as motivation. he wanted to be friends with the other kids, but more importantly he wanted to play soccer and play it well. As a result he worked extra hard to become fluent in French. This showed his coach and teammates that he was committed. His game improved, he ended the year on the top team and he could communicate with the locals.

We are now at the tail end of his Senior year. I can hardly believe that he's at this point in his life. Last month he accepted a position on the soccer team for BYU Hawaii. That's where he'll be going to college in the fall. He'll be going to get a great education and to play the game that he has always wanted to play. It's a dream come true. Today he made the High School soccer team. We're looking forward to one last season on our home turf. Then maybe I'll need to take a few trips to Hawaii to watch my boy.

School Days and Snow Forts

I often wonder who decides the schedules for our public schools? Why on earth do they think that having three half days in a row followed by a full day off for Friday is an effective way to educate our children? Don't get me wrong, I love having my children at home. I also love it when my children are excited about school.

Lilly has had the craziest school week ever. She had a full day Monday, half day Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and tomorrow she gets the day off! Wow. We've had a great time together for these half days. It's kind of like having a kindergartner again, and sometimes I miss those days! There's been plenty of time to do homework without feeling stressed, we've read books, practiced the violin, visited a new baby cousin and took turns snuggling with Heidi Jane, had a dentist appointment and built a snow fort.

There's hardly been any snow for such fun this winter. Today we woke up to a small blanket of white and luckily it lasted until the half day of school ended. Lilly and her buddies Ryan and Taylor worked for a couple of hours building a fabulous fort. When they finished it was almost dinner time. Not thinking I fixed them all big cups of hot cocoa complete with a giant marshmallow, cashews and homemade bread and butter. It was a feast of sorts. The three of them were giddy with their meal. I loved the laughter, slurping and talk of how to defend their fort from "the little kids". They certainly had their own education enjoying the wonderful world outside of their classroom.

I guess it's ok now and then to take it easy from the classroom.

Science Fair

We've had chickens for almost two years now. They are a bone of contention between me and Taylor. He does not like the chickens. He does not like the chicken poop. I don't like the poop, but I do like the chickens. It has been fun to raise chickens, to gather eggs in the mornings, to watch the chickens wander through the yard when we let them out of the coop and most importantly it has been fun to watch Clara take responsibility caring for these birds.

This was her second science fair project connected with raising chickens. Every day Clara goes out and feeds the chickens, makes sure the coop is in order and then she takes the statistics for her project. She joined forces with her cousin Abbie and her chickens. A battle between the two coops. The girls compared results trying to figure out if the cold weather and air quality affected the hens ability to lay eggs. After a couple of months gathering data and laying out a nice presentation the girls took third place in the District Science Fair and will be heading to the State Science Fair in a couple of weeks. I'm proud of these scientists/farmers and hope they continue to gather great results and lots of fresh eggs!

The Police are in the House!

Here's a little recap of a very exciting night we had a couple of weeks ago:

Taylor seems to miss all the fun. Once again he was out of town. We were expecting our good friends, the Thomas’ from our days in France. They were flying in from State College PA. It had been a frantically busy day. The powder room bathroom toilet clogged up in the morning. I told the kids just to close the bathroom door and I’d take care of it after they went to school. The day passed quickly and after school they reminded me that the bathroom smelled horrible and the toilet was still clogged. Close the door and I’ll get to it later. I think I said that about 15 times in the course of the day. After getting Lilly and Clara to bed I told Spencer and Olivia I was heading to the airport to pick up Doug and Tracy. Just as Spencer and Olivia headed downstairs to get ready for bed the phone rang, it was Tracy letting me know Nils was near the airport and had offered to go pick them up and bring them to our house. Great. I started rushing around getting things tidy and company ready. I figured everyone was asleep so I didn’t bother waking them up to let them know of the change in plan. Bad idea.

As I was unloading the dishwasher I noticed the pot and pan drawer was overly stuffed, so I rearranged it in speed time. I shot around the upstairs putting all kinds of odds and ends in their proper spots. It dawned on me that the bathroom door was closed for a reason. I moved in on the flooded toiled with a vengeance. With the plunger in hand I plunged and I plunged and I plunged. Breakthrough! I scrubbed the toilet and bathroom and felt blissful peace. The house was tidy, the toilet clean and we were ready for company. I heard a knock at the door. I rounded the corner from the kitchen to the entry just as the front door bolted open and two fully uniformed and armed police officers pushed through yelling “Salt Lake City Police!!!!!” I was stunned. “What’s going on?!” I asked, thinking something horrible was happening in our peaceful neighborhood. They started questioning me, “do you live here?” “did you report a break in?” “is there a problem here?” No, no no. Spencer and Olivia were standing at the bottom of the stairs pajama clad and white faced. They had called 911 when they heard all kinds of banging and movement upstairs. At first Spencer looked out the front door window and realized my car was not in the driveway. I had moved it in the garage when I knew I wasn’t going to the airport. He and Olivia were huddled in the little girls bedrooms not knowing what to do. They called my cell phone, but it was in the back room and I couldn’t hear it with all of my plunging. SO how do you explain all of this to the police?

Luckily they were the coolest police on the squad. It took them all of .2 seconds to figure out that this was a serious misunderstanding. Holy cow I scared my kids to death! The cops had even called a backup vehicle. Just as we were sorting out the comedy of errors a SLPD Suburban came pulling up in front of the house. They radioed back that it was a false alarm and the Suburban rolled away. The cops told the kids they did the right thing, that it was better to be safe and they were glad all was well. Good grief. We had a huge laugh over this one. Who knew plunging a toilet could be so dangerous?

Tumtum and Nutmeg are in the House!

Yikes! There's a mouse in our house. Spencer said he saw a little mouse scurry across the floor in the storage room downstairs. Seems peculair as I just finished reading the Tumtum and Nutmeg books to Lilly and Clara last night.

These books by Emily Bearn are some of the most delightful childrens books I have read in ages. Each story is filled with intrigue, magic and wonder. Lilly has never been so excited for bedtime. Her little friend Sophie gave her the first book for Christmas. We devoured it in just a couple of weeks. The night we finished the first book the girls begged me to see if I could buy the next book first thing in the morning. The second book is as rich and colorful as the first and we devoured it in double time. Last night we finished the last chapter. There are recipes at the end of the book. As Lilly was trying to fall asleep she asked if we could try to make a recipe after school. She practically bolted through the door calling out to see if I had the ingredients.

We chose to make the "Fireside Flapjacks". This recipe called for rolled oats, butter and sugar. Lilly measured, stirred, and baked it all on her own. As she licked the spoon she kept commenting on how delicious it was. She had dance this afternoon so she carefully loaded a baggie with her goodies to share with the girls in the dance carpool. As each girl got in the car Lilly thrust out the bag and offered her goods. They asked what it was and Lilly replied, "It's a delicious warm treat that I made!" Of course everyone agreed and as they hopped out of my car I turned to look at the empty back seat which was full of sugared oatmeal crumbs! A delicious treat indeed. Messy food is often the best food.

The magic of reading can truly take us to other worlds. Reading about little mice who wear clothing and eat civilized meals and go on adventures makes us think we like mice. However when Spencer reported that there was a little rodent in our basement I promptly got traps and had him set them...I loved the stories, but my reality is not the same. Please no mice in our house!

Blessings of Dirty Dishes

It's been a three day weekend. We've enjoyed all three days together as a family and that has been wonderful. It takes a fair amount of food preparation to keep six people well fed and content, especially when two of those people are teenage athletes. Needless to say we have eaten well. I've fixed homemade soups, roasts, mashed potatoes, sandwiches, waffles, muffins, brownies, fruit bowls, rolls and banana splits to name just a few dishes.

I enjoy thinking about meals and new recipes. It's fun to browse through cookbooks. I like to try new recipes and cooking techniques. Setting a pretty table with fabulous food makes me happy and I know it makes my family happy. They gather willingly at mealtime to sit around the table or bar. We love to linger over our meals and talk and laugh together. The kids are great at thanking me for the food and clearing their plates to the kitchen. But why is it that everyone wants to evaporate when it's time to wash the dishes?

Somehow the dishes always seem to multiply. I've appreciated everyone's effort this weekend. However I have spent hours washing pots, pans and dishes. Tonight we fulfilled our monthly assignment feeding dinner to the families and single women who are living at the homeless shelter at The Road Home. As I watched these tired mothers and fathers usher their babes with paper plates through the food line I felt such gratitude for the dishes I have been able to wash this weekend. To have a home that is comfortable and to have the means to put food on our table and to have the opportunity to gather my children around the table for family dinner is a blessing. I'm always grateful to prepare and serve dinner at the shelter. It's wonderful to watch the kids smile and offer words of kindness and to serve. We are served by them as well. They are humble and struggling and we are taught by their examples of enduring hardships and pressing on amidst the struggles. I'll be thinking of this as I wash dishes in the coming months and try to remember what a blessing a dirty plate can be after a satisfying meal.

Dipping Day

Today was "Dipping Day". Mom came over early this morning and I had the house chilled to a frigid temperature so we could dip our Christmas turtles in prime conditions. It was probably my best chocolate dipping ever. Since I was born, dipping day has had significance in my family. My mother "always wanted to learn how to do everything" so when her children were all young and underfoot she naturally decided that she should learn how to make and dip really good caramels and chocolate. She was the Stake Relief Society project coordinator and said she wanted to find interesting and new projects for women to engage in. That's when dipping day was conceived. Mother was so successful at making delicious melt in your mouth turtles at Christmas time, she has continued the tradition for 50+ years and now all of her children are carrying on in their own homes (my brothers and their wives included!).

It's labor intensive, but real traditions are worth doing. Mom has always used Faye's Caramel recipe. I asked her who Faye was and she told me she was a woman mom worked with 50+ years ago. This recipe is obviously a keeper:

Faye's Caramels
2 Cups Karo syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1 square butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups cream
1 tsp. vanilla
Add Karo, sugar and salt. Heat in heavy pan with lid on (don't lift the lid until steam starts puffing through the lid...about 15-20min +). Once it's really boiling lift the lid and stir constantly, but adding small bits of butter and cream alternately. Make sure not to bring temperature down too much and keep it boiling. Bring it to just barely over a soft ball stage (240 degrees). Remove from heat and add vanilla, immediately pour into buttered pan OR pour over pecans for turtles.


It was a completely enjoyable morning. Melting chocolate. Tasting melted chocolate. Dipping clean fingers into melted chocolate. Covering 100 nut/caramel clusters in delicious melted chocolate. Smelling melted chocolate. Working alongside my lovely mother. Loading finished product in to the old metal film canisters my mother used when I was a girl and placing them on my shelf. This enjoyment will continue as I break open a canister when company calls and I can offer them a homemade goody all because "Dipping Day" continues on in the legacy of my family.