Eastward bound

Todd likes to look at my blog at work, I wanted him to remember how Griffin's hair AND Brody's hair used to look like only last summer. Our children have been blessed with plenty of hair on their heads. I love Cammy's short here too!
I have been packing for our annual trek to Utah. This summer we are making a few more stops to attend a few family reunions. First Nyssa, Oregon (with a rest stop at Roaring Springs waterpark with the Petersen's) then Logan, Provo, and Liberty. We always take a Skeen family photo at my parents property/compound. This was last years family shot. My favorite was the hay field year. We've chosen the theme and location for this year.....can't wait to see how it turns out.

Camdyn had Todd and I contimplating buying this party cocker Callie. She was SO adorable! I'm thinking Camdyn won't forget that we told her we'd think about it this summer. I was digging around to find a family photo and nothing I have shows Brody's current age. He's pretty balded in most these shots. I especially like how he's tuggin on Kennedy's hair and she's just trying to hold her pose :>

I've also been compiling our Thailand Scrapbook from last December. I called Todd and told him it was depressing me putting together all the pictures from that most fabulous trip. Tan, kid free and with the best company ever! (sigh....) Dad, we owe you for life!

SleepRunning

Last night T and I went to the first of our Broadway Series shows. A Chorus Line. I could give it or take it....more on the give it side. I couldn't fall asleep when I went to bed at midnight, so I read until 1:30 then Brody woke up at 2:00 and 4:30. I told Todd to wake me up as he was leaving for work at 5:20 to run with a group from the club 12 miles. This is the view from a portion of that run looking down on Lacamas Lake. I run from my house and meet them at the golf course, run the 3.5 mile trail along this lake and then a few more loops and back to home. It's a beautiful way to start the morning. No matter how tired I am, once I get going I'm always glad I woke up.
Watching my friend Nicole's kids while she is in NYC I decided to take 5 of the kids to see Charlotte's Web. I volunteered Griffin and Mason to stay home, nap Brody and play PS2. After the movie got out I took the kids home and Griffin babysat all 7 of them, fed them lunch, got Brody up, changed AND had the whole house cleaned/dishes done while I went to 24 hour fitness to do a little wieghts demo for two of my co-workers Jen and Tonya. So appreciative were they to Griffin they paid him $10 for watching all the kids so I could meet them for an hour. He was thrilled!

I promised the girls a little adventure when I got home. We went to play in/around some fountains then to Sonic for Happy Hour fruit slushes.
I got home just in time for Brody's nap #2. He will sometimes cry a bit before falling asleep, so I let him cry it out for awhile. He was inconsolable. I think he knew there were a bunch of girls downstairs having fun and he wanted in! By this time it was getting too late to try to lie him down, but he was still in a state!
Lying down on the floor in a pouty bout of crying or reaching up for me "Ugggg, Ugggg, maaaaa"
Finally he calmed himself. Once we got back from watching Griffin's scrimmage I put the kids to work. I have this system (I use it when I'm going a little crazy)....I start throwing all the (junk) into the middle of whichever room I'm in, making a big pile. Then all I have to say is "that pile better be put away, not hidden away, before I come back in this room". It works like a charm.

Here are four movies I've watched in the last few weeks. Sadly there is only one in which I didn't cry over! (by cry I mean at the least, tears welled up in my eyes and I got verclempt). Penelope, Charlotte's Web, Cars, Steel Magnolia's. Any guesses as to which one it wasn't?

Sunday agenda

I meant to post these pics at the bottom, but haven't figured out how to rearrange once it's been uploaded. Anywho, my friend Ashley asked for some recipes to try out. I figured I'd blog them so there is a visual and others can try it out too. This is a family favorite. Todd's made it at the Firestation. Everyone who tries it loves it.....oh, and I have this new rule. If you complain about what I made for dinner, you can go to your room without supper. My kids have gotten to be very well rounded eaters :>Even Kennedy is gobbling it down! The recipes are at the bottom.
My friend Jeannie races for River City Bikes. She was at a Criterium today 2 blocks from a park I was taking the kids to. We walked over to see what it was all about. WOW!!!
These were the catergory 1 pros. It's a one kilometer, 8 corner course they ride for 60 min. Cash prizes are given out every so many laps and at the end the winner takes a prize purse. When they zoomed past about every 40-60 sec. you could feel the wind speed pick up. Brody loved it and was clapping everytime they came round the corner. There was even a biker that went down taking several with him on the last lap.
Brody is happy as a clam at any park.

I know Jamie thinks my life is easy :> Maybe in comparison to many it is. Sometimes I look around my house and all the (what's a better word for crap?) STUFF there is to do/put away/clean/fix/take care of/feed/nuture and it exhausts me.

Todd worked a 48 hour shift Th/F and was busy all day yesterday catching up on things around the house: trying to fix our washer....then going out to buy a new washing machine, install it, get groceries and go on a father/son date with Griff while I ran kids hither and yon to various activities. Then this morning Brody wouldn't go down for his morning nap. That's when I know his normal church nautiness is going to be even worse! Thanks to Griffin's voice of righteousness I got us all there on time. Luckily Camdyn and Griffin are both good at taking him out. I remember when we used to beg to be able to take Lindsey out when she was a baby. I also remember us calling out "I get the rest of her's if she can't finish it". I love it when my sissy's remind me of things from my youth that I had NO recollection of.

Anywho, it's hard when Todd's gone on Sunday. I love family outings on Sunday and have a fun one planned for this evening even though he's at work. So, to my sissy's who think I've got it easy.......buh-lieve me, I work my tail off. On the flip side, I don't have the luxury of nice home-made Sunday dinner's in Liberty and mom/dad/aunt/cousins willing to watch my kids, take them on adventures, play with cousins or take me out to lunch.

It's days such as these when I get feeling overwhelmed that I am grateful to have a wonderful husband, children, parents and sisters which bless my family life.

Cumin Salad

Chop the following and place in large bowl:

one entire stalk of celery

2 pink lady apples

1 can pineapple chunks or 2 cups fresh

3/4 cup green onions

1 can mandarin oranges

2 1/2 cups grapes sliced in half

3-4 cups cubed chicken

Mix in 3/4 cup mayo and 2 Tblsp ground cumin w/ one tsp sea salt.

Keep refridgerated until serving

Serves:10-12

yummy rice

Brown 6 oz spaghetti and 1 T oil in fry pan.

Add 2 cups sticky rice, 5 cups water, 6 cubes chicken bullion and bring to boil

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 min.

Serve hot rice with cold cumin salad.

Serves:10-12

Yummy Bread

I buy these baquettes from Fred Meyer Bakery or QFC w/ the bright orange "just bake it" sticker. Any bread will work but this kind is the best.

Mix: one cup mayo, 3/4 cup grated (in the green can) parm cheese and plenty of sliced green onions. Spread a thin layer on top of sliced bread and broil 3-4 min. until golden brown edges.

Mixture keeps well in fridge for a few weeks.

Maid to Order

Another normal summer day when daddy is away at work......I slept in this a.m. with the kids until Brody woke us up at 8:00. Got the kids breakfast....although Kenna is our sleepy head and doesn't wake until around 10:00.

In my continual efforts to save on gas :> I rode up to the gym @9:30 to teach spin/abs and rode home. The kids stayed home and gave Brody his morning nap.

Quickly made the kids lunch....I serve all their meals on these trays from Restoration Hardware. I love how they remind me of school lunches. Plus it's more fun to eat healthy stuff when it's all compartmentalized.

Took the girls to swim lessons across town with the Swim Nazi. Yes, that's what she's sort of known as....but I like her "no non-sense style"! Oddly enough, the girls don't seem to mind it at all.
During Brody's afternoon nap I went out with my friend Nicole for a mid-day run. She's prepping for her 1st half marathon and ran 10 miles! Way to go Nicole. It's so much more fun to go with someone I like to talk with. Think how much oxygen we used up Nic....that right there can shave lots of minutes off!
Shortly after getting home I took Griffin to soccer then promised the girls we could bike to Wendy's, get a movie and go to the park. Mine and T's new bikes are getting some accesories added on/tires changed out....so I had to pull Brody in the trailer on my old crap-ola bike. That wasn't as fun. But he loved it.
Brody cracked me up at the park. He kept going up the stairs and down the slide like this over and over and over.....like a wind-up toy. The funniest part was how he didn't need any assistance and was more mobile and confident than older kids playing there.

Not watching the clock, we barely made it home in time for me to go pick up Griffin from practice. Brody and Griffin took a bath and I started on my duties as the maid of the house. In fact I think I must say it often because Kennedy will reply, "Why am I always the maid?" Pretty much that is my life. Prepare meals, pick up, do laundry, pick up, deep clean, more meals, more picking up....and on and on. Actually I do love to deep clean. Aren't these stylish gloves adorable? I just dont' like picking up all the little trails the girls and especially Brody, leave behind.

Which brings me to something I mentioned earlier about Brody being so adorable when he's dumping out drawers....I'm not lovin' on it as much. It's become a standard the minute he walks into the bathrooms.
After baths and clean-up, it's family scripture time. Griffin is good at reminding me about that and family prayer, especially when I'm so tired I'd rather just get everyone to bed :> This is how it works for the first verse or two......
The others we struggle a bit to get through.
But at the end of the day there is nothing I love more than snuggling up to a clean, chubby little boy who loves his ba-ba and silky almost as much as he loves me! After he's tucked away the kids and I usually have a little party. I pop some kettle korn and sometimes watch a movie with them from when I was a little girl. My favorite recent picks are: Big Business, Return from Witch Mt., Savannah Smiles, The Parent Trap, Moon Spinners, Summer Magic, The Thrill of it all. The latter are Hayley Mills and Doris Day. I love those movies and so do the kids. Now I just need to get off this, put on my headphones and get to cleaning. I'm a night owl and an early riser. Those two are a hard combination!

Over the River and through the woods

It is a known fact that I absolutely love the Northwest. I thank my parents for moving us out of the burning hot Valley of the Sun. My preferred temp is about 70*. Lucky for me this whole week is upper 70's. Although it wasn't in my plan that they would then all move away from here back to Utah. Where else can you ride only minutes away from your front door and behold this kind of beauty?
Last summer Brody was pretty much connected to my hip....and other parts of my body. He wouldn't take a bottle. Todd felt bad for me and I told him not to worry, I'd make up for it next summer. So yesterday when I told Todd I wanted a few hours to myself he probably guessed I wouldn't be choosing shopping, a movie or lunch.
My friend Barb met at 9 a.m. for an 80 mile rountrip ride out to Multnomah Falls located in the Columbia River Gorge across the river in Oregon. Crown Point (above) at mile 32 offers a panoramic view of the gorge before the 8 mile descent on the Historic Columbia River Hwy drops you right off at the Multnomah Falls Lodge. Isn't it gorgeous? (above top)
There are several hikes all around the Falls, and tons of other falls surround this area. We have a 5 mile loop that goes to the top of Multnomah then loops around and comes down at Wah-keen-ah falls and back to the lodge. Easy to do with older kids. The waterfalls are rushing past you on all directions and it's so breathtaking.
Barb and I were trying to come up with a funny pose. Our minds were blank and some older ladies were taking our picture. So mom's "peace" came to mind. This has to be one of my all time favorite rides to do from the house. The views are breathtaking and I love the hill climb up to crown point. The more hills the better!

True Blue

Mia and I have been friends for over a decade! I first met her when I got hired at Columbia Endodontic Group. She worked as a receptionist and I was an assistant. I was prego with Griffin and her Austin was just 6 months behind. Nearly 12 years later we have 8 kids between the two of us. We've both moved on from working there together but have continued to stay in touch. Mia is the type of friend I can go a few months w/out seeing and yet we're always right back to where we left off. She is a numero uno dependable gal, a nurturing mothering and true blue friend. Over the years our kids have been in preschool together, played t-ball together, and continue to enjoy play dates with each other....even my girls love playing wtih all the boys! In fact tonight the girls were pleading for all the boys to stay for a sleep over :> It's a blessing to know that Mia is a friend I will have for life, no matter where our roads take us.

Summer Activities

Summer has been much more fun-filled than I thought. I enjoy having the kids home and take opportunities to spend time with each child one on one. Biking, running, going to the park, library or the movies. Here's a few things we've been doing this summer.

First off, Mr. Boy.......I cannot imagine what our family would be like had we not decided to have another baby. Little Brody is so doted on by his siblings, and I just think everything he does is completely adorable....even down to his little baby tantrums! I just laugh when he's dumping out drawers and pouring water all over himself. I know we'll never have these experiences again :<> This week we took the kids to Oaks Amusement Park in Portland. Brody rode some kiddie rides with the girls. Some of them he loved.......like the cars.
Some of them he didn't love.....like the rollercoaster. I can't believe the attendant let him on. In fact she's the one that said he should ride with his sisters.

Brody was born the week after Griffin had soccer tryouts in 2007. I n many ways the "team baby". The parents go nuts over him, even some of the grandparents. At the games and tournaments, even indoor soccer, there is always ample amounts of people helping me chase him off of the field or feed him crackers and fruit. Which brings me to what Griffin has been up to this summer. Babysitting for me and soccer for Northstar United '96. We love this team. The boys have played competitive soccer now for 2 years and really gel as a team.

Last week the team had a fund raising event. Running laps. Griffin set a goal for 23 laps, 5 and 3/4 mile. I ran alongside him for support and to pace him. He was the only boy that never stopped to walk (only to grap a sip every mile) and ran until we were called off the track by coach. 33 laps. That's 8 and 1/4 mile and he never even broke a sweat! Plus he and I rode 12 miles that morning with Brody on the back of my bike. I see cross country in his future.
Last night we hosted a Northstar '96 past feed for the tournment we have this weekend in Beaverton. It was so much fun. I wowed everyone with yummy bread (candle party bread) and had lots of Pasta left over!
I was worried what the boys would do to keep themselves occupied, but between jumping, eating, and kicking the soccer ball around they were more than entertained. At the end of the evening we commented on how much we love the boys, parents and coaches of this team. I'm so happy Griffin is in an enviroment where he feels a part of something to great and encouraging. He loves soccer!
After I headed up our Stake's annual Pioneer Day 5k/10k run down on the Heritage Trail, the kids and I high tailed it out to Beaverton and surprised Griffin at his 2nd tournament game. Then I had a surprise when Luitenant Lake and his crew who were covering "near the area" pulled up in their rig and watched the game for 20 minutes.
Camdyn has really become my little responsible helper over the last few weeks. She does things now without rolling her eyes or pitching much attitude. Occasionally I'll get the "huffy breath" over folding laundry or picking up her room. She attended our Stake's Activity Day Camp at Camp Currie for 3 days and loved it.

After 3 days of careful nursing and bottle feeding (yes, I mixed up this birdie formula!) and making beds and little swings out of littlest pet shop toys, the baby bird passed away. It was actually really sad. I woke early to go for a run, and there he be....still as a stone lying in the little bed Camdyn had fashioned out of barbie pillows and blankets. She and Todd buried him in our backyard. I was weeding the other day and found his headstone which reads "Brody Lake Shinpaugh". (That would be out next door neighbor girls last name). Look at this little house she made for him. Sad!!! This was after he died. She just sat and stared at him. This is why I don't want pets!
Just this last week Camdyn and Kennedy went to Girl Scout Camp at the same Camp Currie from 8:30 to 3:00. We loved having them out of the house.....oh, I mean THEY loved getting out of the house. The theme was Once Upon a Time. Tickets were earned to buy things at the "camp store" and by the end of the week we've now got odd and end trinkets lying all over the place. It's great! When they aren't at camp, they're in suits/sprinklers, playing with friends, Brody or riding scooters.
We buddied up with the Jackson girls who we've known since birth. Nicole and I car-pooled and the girls clung to eachother getting out of my van that first day of camp.
Camdyn got Kennedy to brave the coaster with no hands! I think they rode this about 15-20 times that night.

Icecream and idiosyncrasies

It's been forever since T and I had a date night. I love spending time just with him. He's game for anything I plan and I usually make it a surprise until the last minute when I need his help loading up all the bikes. I had the best one all planned out. It included a show at the OMNIMAX theatre, then biking downtown across the bridge to get an icecream on the waterfront. My OMSI half price days don't include summer months AND I'm a gas conservationist. Sooo, we thought up something a little closer to home. 2 weeks ago T and I bought new bikes for riding around with the kids. I LOVE them. Mine was a mere 10% the cost of my Ellsworth road bike. Yikes! But Ellie (we name our bikes in my family) rides like butter and I love it! I let Brody come along with us. He loves to ride on the back of my bike. We rode up to rent a movie, then enjoyed the nice evening breeze as we biked up to Sonic.......
We ate yummytimes ice cream.....We came up with a few things that "bug" us. I asked T to guess what mine were. He said "when people don't get your dessert order right". That wasn't exactly what I was after....but that does bug me. I came up with a list. His was just "people" :> One time I remember him coming home from work and saying "Ya know what, I think I'm thoroughly bugged by people". Dealing with the public in that setting day in and day out will do that to a man.
Put kiddies to bed and watched Vantage Point. Jack was in it. I won't say more than that as to not give anything away. It was a pretty good flick. One bad word, and lots of shooting. Not for the kids :>

Don't we all have those little things that bother us? I came up with a few.

1. Kids germy bottoms from the bathrooms at school, or worse the outhouse at camp! You know they don't use seat protectors!
2. Kids who don't wash hands before dinner or after playing at a public park or even being at school.
3. Dirty feet in clean sheets.
4. Stains I miss before clothing gets into the dryer.
5. Dirty fridges.
6. Narcisistic people. Definition, Narcisism: undue dwelling on one's own self or attainments.
7. Kids slamming doors or shouting when Brody is sleeping, or even when he isn't.
8. Fuzzy teeth.
9. Kids at a potluck/BBQ who dish up mounds of food when there's not enough for everyone present anyway, and parents who aren't observant to this.
10. A plate of overbaked/hard home made cookies. (I'm a cookie snob).
11. The phrase "I'm hungry" or "I don't want that for dinner".

Now I do realize none of these things are of any importance in the grand scheme of life. And it's all these little things that make me appreciate the flip side to every one of them.....like a delicious plate of homemade cookies or clean little bodies in fresh sheets.
Doesn't anyone share atleast ONE of these with me?

Blueberry Pie

The Northwest is abundant this time of year with all kinds of berries. Blackberries are the kids' favorite, but they stain our hands for days and have so many brambles we come away with scratches. Last week my friend Julie invited the girls and I along with some other gals and their girls from the ward to pick blueberries. We loved it! No stickers, easy to reach and nice grassy pathways for Brody to meander along while we picked. We picked 13 pounds in under an hour. They were so delicious! We munched on them fresh all day. I made 2 of my most favorite pies in the whole widest world out of them that night and yummy blueberry bran muffins on Sunday morning. The Morgan Girls
The Crofts Clan

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
(Makes two pies)

Crust:

Break apart 2 pkgs of HoneyMaid Grahams (keeping some in chunks)
3/4 CUBE of butter
1/4 cup sugar
Spray bottom of pie crust and bake for about 6 min. @ 350
Let cool

Filling:

8 oz. light cream cheese (whip with mixer) then add

1 cup powdered sugar

fold in 1 small tub of lite COOLWHIP then fold

3 cups blueberries (some smashed with your hands and some whole)

Place in cooled crust and garnish with plenty of whole berries on top.

Freeze to set then thaw on counter for 20-30 min. before serving.