Playing and Sleeping

Cars and Legos are definitely the most used toys in our house, and we have plenty of each. John built this temple out of legos for the kids, who love pointing out Angel Moroni whenever we drive past a real one. Notice the little academy award figure that he used for the top;)

Lately whenever Wes is playing with his cars he always uses this little dialogue: "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, come join the church!" (were not sure where he came up with this one)

Mae is on total lockdown when it's bedtime. She has a safety pin at the top of her zipper on her pajamas, duct tape on her light switch, an industrial gate on her door and sometimes there is packing tape around her ankles. You might think all of this is unnecessary but this week when we forgot some of these things there was a room full of poop and pee and a naked girl asleep on the floor... nice.

Progress

Here are the latest pictures, the foundation is poured and cured, and the window wells are in and all the dirt is backfilled. The framing will start next week!

Working hard

I took this picture of John a little while ago. (It is much easier to take a picture of someone who is not jumping around with a short attention span) Handsome right? John has updated his website again and has a blog as well. Also, here is a picture of the new AMP brand that John redid, their new sign looks great.

Can't wait to tell you!

Do you remember how we have been looking for a house for over two years, and do you remember how all the offers we put in on houses fell through, and how we were discouraged and about to give up? Well, we decided to build our own perfect little house. After looking at house after house and putting in offer after offer we started to think about and look into buying a lot and building. We have felt guided and blessed to have found the lot, builder, and house that we have put the last six months into planning. (I take back all the complaining I did about not being able to find a house because being able to plan and build exactly what we want has been such a huge blessing and privilege. It just goes to show that Im not really the one in charge of my life, Heavenly Father has bigger and better things in store.)

A few things about our house:

Our lot is in a quiet little tucked away neighborhood near the base of a mountain. The spot used to be a tree farm so there are a lot of beautiful trees in the neighborhood. We found out this week that we are building on solid bedrock, pretty valuable stuff. There is a family of deer that live on the hill by our house (this is both good and bad). So far we have two neighbors out of the fourteen lots that make up the division. We will have neighbors on one side and a pasture of horses on the other. I wish I could tell you more but not sure it's smart to put any other info on the web, email us if you have questions.

We have been working for months now on our plan which is done but I still keep tweaking. If you're curious (and I know you are) you can see our house files and photos for the contractors here. Some days I love spending time working on our house and other days I just feel sick with the stress. Of course this project has basically become my fourth child so I love thinking and talking about it, but if you would rather you can just skip all my detailed ramblings and get to the pictures. We really just can't wait to be in a house where we can be organized and have systems and just feel "home". I will keep updates here on our blog.




Our view:

Hands

I love it when my babies find their hands.
Vera has found hers this week and its so fun to watch her. She also loves to suck her two fingers, its so cute.

Here is Wes and Mae at the same stage. Same car seat, same toy.

some pictures of us

What we have been up to:
eating
growing
playing
planing
and enjoying this little warm weather break

more food stuff

We are still doing well with our new healthy food goals, and have been trying tons of new foods. We have been doing a food co-op and get all kinds of new foods in our basket each week, its so fun. John and the kids have been really into grapefruits lately so when we got some red pommelos in our basket they were super excited. Yesterday while John was working I put the girls down for a nap and Wes and I snuck the last pommelo. They really take a little while to peel so we had a fun little date. The best part is dusting each piece with sugar, so so yummy.

some other new foods we have tried:
brussels sprouts: I ate a few, John ate one, Wes ate one bite, and Mae couldn't choke it down. Many requests to never make again.
cauliflower: super good, will definitely do lots more.
tangelos: just like oranges, a big hit.
homemade granola: didn't even last a week, I will probably make a batch once a week, so yummy.
quinoa: the kids think its rice, although I think I need to perfect my recipes.
wheat berries: thumbs down, I guess I need to try again, no one ate it
carrot and yam puree: so yummy, we just used it in the place of mashed potatoes, so much more healthy.

greek yogurt: I really like using it for baking but not sure the kids are a big fan of it plain.

(just so you know, I have eaten cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and grapefruit before, I just haven't made them since Iv'e been married)

Dinner

I roasted my first chicken last night and it was super delicious. You need to make it. But please don't let the pictures make up your mind, it tasted way better than these dark pictures can show.




LEMON CHICKEN WITH CROUTONS - Ina Garten

Ingredients

1 (4 to 5-pound) roasting chicken
1 large yellow onion, sliced
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 cups (3/4-inch) bread cubes (1 baguette or round boule)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Directions

Take the giblets out of the chicken and wash it inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers. Toss the onion with a little olive oil in a small roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the lemons inside the chicken. Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels, brush it with the melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Cover with foil and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. (The onions may burn, but the flavor is good.)

Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until very hot. Lower the heat to medium-low and saute the bread cubes, tossing frequently, until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add more olive oil, as needed, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the croutons on a serving platter. Slice the chicken and place it, plus all the pan juices, over the croutons. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.