A funny comparison

You should check this out. It's the second post down with the two pictures.

Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!
We wish you a Merry Christmas!
We wish you a Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

(NOW BRING ME SOME FIGGY PUDDING!!!)

Or any kind of pudding, you know I am not picky!


Check my blog for lots of Christmas updates over the next few days!

Reindeer Food

It may be too late for you, I should have posted this sooner. Every Christmas Eve we sprinkle just a bit of Reindeer food to attract the reindeer to our house. It helps them to know which houses to go to and guide Santa in the right direction. Since we have started this tradition, Santa has never missed our house (nor did he miss it before!). It's just a simple activity that we enjoy. Here is the recipe:

1 scoop oatmeal - to keep them healthy
1 scoop hot cocoa mix - to keep them warm while they fly
1 scoop marshmallows - to keep them jolly
1 scoop red and green sprinkles - to give them magic to fly
Mix the scoops together in a small bag, scoops being a 1/2 tsp or so.

Sprinkle on the lawn at night,
The moon will make it sparkle bright.
Santa's reindeer fly and roam,
This will guide them to your home!

Merry Christmas!!

What do you think?

I got an email (I will send it to you all so you can see it) about Julie Beck's general conference talk. Apparently there has been alot of discussion on the internet about it. I wanted to see what some people were saying. I found these two links and would love you all to check them out and read some of the comments. What do you think?http://www.kvnuforthepeople.com/?p=893

http://www.bloggerofjared.com/2007/04/04/your-general-relief-society-president-julie-b-beck/

Happy Anniversary!

We hope you have a great Anniversary and we are glad you got married and had kids. I (Adrianne) am particularly glad you had Mike.

Christmas Traditions

I want to know what everyone is doing for Christmas Eve and how you do Christmas day. This is our first year not going home to Grandma's house. We are going to have to make Christmas by ourselves for our kids and I'm not sure I can do it.... So what do you do???

Since there hasn't been a lot of pictures of the boys lately...

Help me!

I know I am not the most computer literate person, but you'd think I'd be able to add stuff to the calendar... Can someone explain to us all how the calendar on this blog works?? Thanks a bunch!

Alone for a night..

First let me say that I am in awe and admire those of you who deal with having spouses gone for long periods of time. I know I have nothing to complain about, especially with Mike in Guam forever and Adrianne facing weather and power troubles. I am not alone for over a month like Andy and Laura, either. And then there are Mom and Dad who are away from each other all the time. I guess what I am saying is I am a big wimp! Mike had to go to Fargo last night, 3 hours away, so he could be to a meeting this morning. I heard on the radio that the highway into Fargo had several roll overs, cars sliding off the roads, and 60 mph gusts of winds yesterday morning. So I was a bit worried with him leaving at 7pm last night. He will be home this evening.
I don't know how many of you know, but our down stairs neighbor hates us, really hates us. She has sent another note telling us that we are breaking her lease, disturbing the peace, bad parents, etc. She documents what time the kids wake her up each day. She has threated to go the landlord, which she did, and also to the police. Anyway, having said that, I am also worried about keeping the kids quiet. For some reason it seems easier to do when Mike is here with me to do battle.
So last night, with Mike gone, I didn't sleep well, which I have heard most wives don't when alone. At 4 am Tyson woke up, which is very unusual. The three big kids usually sleep all night long and wake up around 7am. So, since I was worried about this nasty neighbor, I brought Tyson into my bed, since the nasty girl lives directly under his room, not mine. Big mistake! He snores like a bear and thrashes around all night. Also, Jacob was in the room with us. When I had to feed Jacob, Tyson became wide awake and kept trying to talk to Jacob, disturbing him from eating. It was an early morning and we all need naps, although I am not likely to get one.
We are all fine, Mike will be home tonight, we have power and food, and I shouldn't be complaining. Mike will be back in Fargo next week for several days. I am not looking forward to that. I really feel for those of you who are separated from your spouses for long periods of time. You are amazing!! Although, the idea of being separated from the kids for a night or two sounds nice!!

Nick's first haircut

Nick finaly got all his hair cut at one time. He's had bits and pieces cut here and there but this is the first time he's gotten "a hair cut." I hope you're not all getting board of these pictures, but I really enjoy seeing what Laura and Nick are up to.

A worm or mabey a caterpiller

Nicholas got to be a bug in some kind of elementary school production with his cousins, 1st and 2nd.

Laura's Birthdays

These first pictures are from Laura's 8th 20th birthday. It sure seems that she had a great time. The other pictures are from other birthdays in her family. Every time we talk, Laura tells me to tell you all how much she thinks of you and that she loves you.

Sarah's First Birthday

I can't believe Sarah is 1 already. Last Sunday we went to Laura's Mom's for a little party. Sarah loved the cake and ripping presents open.

(I put more pictures on the our blog. She will be having another party on Sunday, I will put more pictures on it after.)

The most delicious caramel popcorn!

My friend makes this and it is absolutely fantastic. It stays soft and chewy and doesn't get hard. I love it. Watch out though, it can be addicting!

1 cup corn syrup
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 T vanilla
2 gallons popped corn

In a large saucepan bring corn syrup, brown sugar, and
salt to a boil. Add butter and return to boil. Add
sweetened condensed milk, stiring constantly until it
reaches soft ball stage (228 degrees). Remove from
burner. Stir in vanilla. Let cool slightly. Divide
popcorn into two parts and lay on two greased cookie
sheets. Pour equal amounts of caramel over each. Stir
gently until coated. Can be formed into popcorn balls
if desired. Allow to set for about two hours.