Feb 14 2013

Happy Valentines Day

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Karin

This morning I surprised my kids with a Valentine breakfast. I decorated the room with streamers and hearts. They were so surprised. Levi my second grader asked if I did this all in one night. It really wasn’t hard but he thought I spent a lot of time.

The hearts were left over from last year. I had to cut out a bunch of hearts for Levi’s school valentine party. I saved them knowing that I didn’t want to have to cut hearts again and also knowing that I could use them over and over. There were a few big hearts that I chose to write a little note to each of my kids on. This was very simple but made a huge impact on my kids this morning. In the note I just told them how much I loved them and some special things that they do that bring happiness to our lives. The streamers were left over from Sophia’s birthday party last year. Corey helped hang the hearts on the ceiling fan and wal- lah we have a Valentine room ready for a special breakfast.

little notes for the kids

enjoying their valentine breakfast.

heart shaped cinnamon rolls

I like to do a special breakfast in the morning to start the day off right. Last year I made heart shaped french toast. This year heart shaped cinnamon rolls. I got the idea from pintrest. I have a really yummy cinnamon roll recipe so I made the dough yesterday and let it rise in the fridge all day and when the kids went to bed I rolled it out and put it back in the fridge. I woke up at 6:00 to put them in the oven. I put it on delay start for a half an hour that way it had a chance to warm up and rise. By the time 7:00 rolled around we had fresh warm cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

I also like to make a cute lunch so the kids can keep feeling the love during the day. I cut their sandwich into a heart and this year I put some vanilla yogurt in a dish and cut some strawberries for the top. There is a note that goes on top of the yogurt container that says “I love you berry much”. So simple but every year the kids tell me how much they appreciate it.

lunch packed with love

flowers from my sweetheart.

My cute little valentines.

My sweet husband got me flowers and chocolates for Valentines. This is a huge step for him. I hardly ever get flowers because he thinks what’s the point they are going to die in a week anyway. So I really do love these flowers. He surprised me with them last Saturday and look they made it to Valentines day! Valentines day is a good day to tell anyone special how you feel about them . My family hears that I love them everyday but today I got to show them in a special way. I hope you take the time everyday to show your loved ones how you feel and if you don’t at least take a little time out today to do so. Hope you all have a wonderful Valentines day.

Jan 28 2013

Snow Day!

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Karin

Preston, Levi, & Sophie enjoying the snow.

This morning around 7:24 am my boys are all ready to head out the door for school. Teeth are brushed, hair is combed, and lunches are made. We hear from their dad school is cancelled it’s a snow day! Immediately you hear a mighty cheer come from the boys at the same time you hear a mighty groan come from their mom. Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy having the boys around but I also enjoy the peace and quiet when they are off to school. So we have made this day a productive day. After the kids did their chores which include cleaning their rooms, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, and picking up all the toys around the house we made this day a true snow day.

It snowed around 6 inches last night and around 3 inches the day before. We also have about 12 inches that was already accumulated from before.When we shovel the driveway we always shovel to one side. We do this because we live in the great state of Idaho where the wind never stops blowing. If we shovel to the other side of the driveway we are back out there shovelling the drifts. That means we have quite the mound on the one side of our drive. So much so I have to chuck the shovel of snow over my head.

I decided the kids would have a lot of fun with a few caves and tunnels. It was a lot of hard work but the kids really did have fun making the tunnels. This is a great memory to go down in the books. They spent so much energy on making the tunnels that they haven’t even had a chance to play in them yet. We came in for hot cocoa and we are letting their snow stuff dry. Hopefully later in the day I can send them back out to play.

Preston in his cave/tunnel.

Sophia in her cave/tunnel. It connects to Preston’s.

Levi working hard on his cave. He put the most effort in.

Preston’s and Sophia’s cave.

Levi’s cave

Another entrance to Levi’s cave

Jan 18 2013

Why the new name?

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Karin

You may be wondering why there’s a new name for my blog. When I started this blog I named it Karin’s blog with the intent that I would change it later. After a few years I’ve finally come up with a name that I think fits. It only took me 3 years but hey better late than never. Since the purpose of this blog is to keep family and friends informed about our life “In A Nutshell” seems to fit (also we are all a little nutty here). Along with a new name I’ve decided it was time for a new look. So I hope I haven’t confused you too much.

I’ve noticed that a lot of blogs I’ve been keeping up with are taking a vacation of sorts. I’m hoping that with the holidays past things have settled down enough for them to start again. I have also been taking a little break and I hope to keep you informed of our new adventures for the new year soon.

Nov 24 2012

Temple Square

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Karin

Corey and I have been wanting to take the kids to Temple Square in Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights for a long time. The last time Corey and I saw the lights was December 1998. That’s before we were married. There is a lot that has changed on Temple Square since the last time we were there. We knew the kids would enjoy the beautiful lights. The day after Thanksgiving was the best time that worked for our schedules. Although I don’t know if we would go at that time again. Apparently as soon as it gets dark people come out of no where. We spent most of the day exploring the buildings and all around temple square with very little congestion. As soon as the lights came on we were shoulder to shoulder with all the people. It got a little crazy trying to navigate through the crowds. By the end of the evening we were tired and sore from walking. On the way home we stopped at In-N-Out Burger and had dinner. It wasn’t long after we got back on the road that the kids all fell asleep. We really wore them out.

Inside model of the Salt Lake Temple.
Found in the South Gate visitor center.

Preston viewing a video of the different rooms in the temple

The kids on the temple steps

The family in front of the temple

The old tabernacle

Levi in the Church history museum.

Kids in front of a life size model of the angel Moroni that is found on top of most LDS temples.

The nativity just outside the Tabernacle

Temple square before dark. Taken from the conference center.

Temple with the lights on

Temple with Christmas lights on.

A blue tree that Preston really liked

Nov 24 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Karin

We don’t have any family that lives close so sometimes Thanksgiving can be a hassle or a little depressing. Not this year. We have a couple of friends who also don’t have any family near. We combined forces and had a big Thanksgiving feast. We did this last year and thought that it turned out so well that we would do it again. It turned out well with only one hitch. I had a band-aid on before I started pulling the meat off the turkey but not after (eeewww). I was freaking out that someone would find it in their food. Reminded me of that friends episode when Monica looses a finger nail. Anyway, we did find it later while cleaning up and it wasn’t in the food (yay). We did have a good laugh over it. What a great night. Always so much better to spend the holiday with a large group of people. There was 21 in all. Thanks Jennifer and Andrea for saving our Thanksgiving.

Carving the Turkey with Jennifer

Sitting around the table

Kid table

Little kid table.

We had quite the spread

Dessert. We had 6 yummy pies.

Nov 1 2012

Halloween 2012

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Karin

The pumpkin bunch

Hey! Look at this I’m actually up to date on my post. Anyway I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. This year we, as a family, decided to do a family costume theme. So here is the story.

There are these two criminals at large. Very dangerous. They are wanted for grand theft, larceny, leaving the toilet seat up, and crimes against a pizza. Their recent heist was stealing a giant bag full of money. Anyone who had information about these two are asked to contact the FBI.

FBI finally got the bad guys.

We had so much fun with this. The boys were chased by numerous people trying to receive the reward. We also had a lot of kids pretending that they were thrown in jail. Harry Potter was a frequent guest in our jail along with “the Hulk”, a gangster, and the money bag herself. Halloween is such a fun holiday. It’s a time to step out of your shell and be who ever you want to be. After the trunk or treat Preston went with his friends to trick or treat and came home with over 5 lbs of candy. Sophia and Levi went with their dad around the block and got just about as much. I hope this year will be a year they all remember. We really had a great time.

Sophia and her daddy trick or treating (at our house.)

The super awesome FBI agents

A better view of the jail and Sophia being Sophia.

Oct 26 2012

Meadow Lake 2012

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Karin

Our campsite

After posting about the snow the other day it occurred to me that I haven’t posted for a long time. So I decided that it was time for me to share our camping trip we had at Meadow Lake this year. We went the first weekend of October. It has become a tradition for us. This is our third year. This year was extremely cold. As soon as the sun went behind the mountain until it rose up at 9:45 we huddled inside our sleeping bags in the trailer. Once the sun was up we were able to move around and play. Preston liked to go to the Lake and fish. We spent a day in the ghost town of Gilmore. Gilmore is an old mining town and we even found an old mine that was safe to explore. On another expedition we hiked up the mountain and found a pond that was frozen over. The boys tried to break the ice with rocks. Yes, and when I say boys that means Corey too. Even though we were freezing at night we had a lot of fun and created a bunch of memories.

Preston fishing by the lake

A fort Corey and I built for the kids

exploring the mining cave. It was so dark in there.

An old stove in one of the many run down mining houses.

part of the ghost town of Gilmore

The “boys” trying to break the ice

The Edwards Meadow Lake 2012

Oct 25 2012

SNOW!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Karin

2 to 3 inches of snow this morning.

This is what we found when we woke up this morning. Over night about 2 to 3 inches of snow fell. The news says it’ll be gone by this evening. I love the first snow fall of the year. It is so beautiful and peaceful outside. Sophia thinks it is now time for Santa to come. She even stuck her head near the fireplace and shouted “come on Santa come already”. The boys were excited to get their snow boots on and stomp through the snow to the bus stop. We’ll enjoy it now and have some fun playing in it. It’s not until February that I’m antsy for spring.

So beautiful and peaceful.

Sep 4 2012

First Day of School 2012

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Karin

I can’t believe it’s here. We had a whirlwind of a summer. School has begun! It’s a bittersweet moment. I really don’t like the tight schedule that school brings. The early mornings and the homework. I do, however, like the nice quiet that comes to our home. This morning both boys got up excitedly and got themselves ready. Preston so eager to get back to school where he can visit with his friends. Levi so timid and a little hesitant. He wanted me to take him (which I’m more than willing to do). He was afraid he wouldn’t have anyone to sit next to on the bus. Preston promised me he would sit with him. So when the bus pulled up and they hopped on we didn’t expect the driver to send the older boys straight to the back and thus splitting up my boys. The look on Levi’s face was heart breaking. Preston wasn’t sure what to do. I saw him moving up a little as the bus pulled away but I’m not sure if he was able to sit with Levi. I really hope everything worked out. I just have Sophia home with me so sweet and quiet. I’m not sure how we will fill our days but it’s going to be fun to spend more time with just her and I.

Preston starting 5th grade

Levi starting 2nd grade

tough little Sophia

On their way to the bus stop.

waiting for the bus. Can you see the anxiousness in Levi’s face

This is one member of the family who won’t miss the boys while they are at school.

Aug 17 2012

Wild Cats

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Karin

Grandma worked last night so we ended up spending the day with grandpa. Grandpa decided to take us to a place just outside of Cave Junction called Wild Cats. On the way we stopped at Kerbyville and looked at this shop that sells a bunch of wood carvings and had a lot of tree houses on the lot that the kids explored. When we got to the cat park we got to see a lot of really cool cats. The first one we saw was the lion. It freaked me out a little because I didn’t expect them to be so close. It’s a little unnerving when they roar. Most of the pictures that are of the big cats aren’t zoomed that is actually how close they were. My boys loved it. Sophia got a little hot and tired and by the end of the day just wanted to go back to grandma’s pool. It was pretty hot but every so often in the big cat park they had misters to stand in to help us cool off. When we got home of course we spent an hour or so in the pool. We had a really great day with grandpa.