We have been busy around here lately that I have not had time to blog about it. So I got done with work a little earlier tonight and felt that I needed to get some blogging done before I do some laundry and then go to bed. It is busy around here. So in a nutshell here is what we have been doing:
First of all we have been trying to be a little more provident in our living and have been using some of the veggies in our pitiful garden, grinding wheat, and buying and freezing massive amounts of chicken. We are getting prepared for the long, cold winter ahead.
Here is McKay next to some chicken breasts that I purchased from a company called Zaycon Foods at a smokin deal at $1.49 a pound! Look up their website if you want deals like this on meat. It is amazing. I think they only sell chicken once a year in the fall. I got some last year and we did not have enough to last us the whole time, so I decided to be more prepared and double it. So on the morning of my birthday, I spent all morning packing up 80 pounds of chicken. Our freezer is very happy to be a little fuller now and hopefully this will last us until next fall.
My mom got me an automatic wheat grinder last Christmas and I have never broken it out of its box and used it. It seemed a little intimidating. Well for the last many months I have been making my own wheat bread and have stopped buying it at the store. Once I finally found the winning wheat bread recipe that works everytime I use it and it is super easy, I have been making my own since. I usually get all my wheat flour from the bins at Winco. One day though I needed to make some bread and I ran out of wheat flour and I was not going to make a trip to the store just for the flour to make the bread and so I decided it was time to pull out the new machine. It was actually really simple and I finally used up some of my storage wheat and grinded a big bag of wheat to use for the next month. Amazingly the flour is so much finer than the store bought kind and my bread tasted a lot better as well. Another great discovery when I finally get my wits up and use my Christmas presents. Thanks Mom, I love it!!!
My garden did not do so well this year. We got 2 tomato plants, 1 cucumber plant, a few jalapeno plants, and in the spring some strawberries. That was all. I planted and replanted and replanted again many times many different kinds of veggies and none came up. Kory said it was time to dig out the dirt and buy some new good dirt and topsoil for next year. My garden next year will be a glorious jungle, I can't wait!! At least this year I had a few ingredents to make some salsa. I made quite a few batches and froze them this last week. It won't last us long though because it is so good and we are eating it up fast.
I had a birthday a few weeks ago. I am now 32. It was just a normal day but then got better as the day went on. As I said before, I froze chicken all morning, cleaned the house, and Kory and I went on a date and ate at Carino's for dinner and went to the mall in search of another suit for Kory which we were unsucessful with. We picked up the kids and then ate Krispie Cream donuts for dessert. A sweet lady in our ward dropped off a big cupcake with a candle and we used this to sing Happy Birthday. It was a good birthday.
Last week we had a company come to our home to spray foam our garage attic and some of our garage. Our bathroom sits mostly above our garage and it is always cold. Kory lined up getting it spray foamed to make it warmer and to protect against mold. When they came they put this thing in our front door with a fan that pushed the cold air outside into our home so that they could find any cracks that need to be sealed and also to keep the fumes from coming into our home. It was a bit scary but they said we could stay there and it was perfectly safe. It got really cold in our house that morning and they were there for like 4 hours.
Some other things that have been keeping us busy are this last Sunday we had Stake Conference and I was asked to play a flut solo in the adult session the Saturday before. I was really nervous but we did a good job and everyone seemed to like it. I love to be able to share this talent I have been given. It is really fun and I love to play my flute. I need to play more though so I can get used to performing again in front of people and not get so nervous.
Kason is now 2-1/2 and very whiney and fussy. He is super silly though and reminds me of his dad with a sense of humor to him. He keeps me very busy trying to meet his every need all the time. He loves to torment Erica as much as possible and that seems to make him the happiest. I hope he grows out of this soon.
Erica luckily gets to get away from Kason every so often and go to preschool which she loves. She is very happy and smart and recently learned to ride a bike without training wheels. She goes outside everyday and rides her bike for about an hour or more and loves it. I don't know what she is going to do when it gets too cold to do that anymore.
McKay is finishing up soccer this week with his final game this Saturday. He does not like soccer anymore so this is his last season. He is going to try basketball for the first time this January and we have him all signed up and ready to go. He is taking piano lessons and LOVES it. I only have to remind him once and awhile to practice. He usually remembers himself and is really doing well. He goes far and beyond his practice time and often goes back and reviews songs that he has already passed off. He is playing Christmas songs preparing for a recital coming up. I think he is meant to be a musician and not a sports boy, but we will see how he likes basketball.
Kory is super busy with his new calling in the bishopric. In my eyes, he seems to really enjoy it though and learning a lot. He is a lot happier when he comes home from meetings and other things that involve his calling. He spoke a few weeks ago at church about revelation and the temple and did such a good job. He is amazing and I love to watch him grow spiritually and see him becoming more gentle and kind and loving to us all.
The kids are all excited about Halloween and that will probably be my next post. See you then!
