girls' camp

We survived girls' camp. What a great time all the girls had. They have amazing leaders that work together so well and "attitude reflects leadership" (what movie is that from?) in such a great way that the girls were friendly, caring, helpful, and had a lot of fun together. I enjoyed my kids too. As we pulled off the highway towards the campground Sac said, "Dirt, trees, this is going to be great." It was great. They kicked up the dirt, lay in the dirt, drove their trucks in the dirt and were very happy.

It was a stake camp and each ward had a value and a country for their theme. Our country was Holland. They really went all out.

They had Linda as the camp cook and she out did herself. Lots of great dutch oven cooking and beautiful food. I think this was the first camp fruit fall. It was beautiful. I had planned food for my family but the ward food was always plentiful and more tempting so we mostly ate with them.

We enjoyed a family hike. Sac always finds me flowers. It is tradition. He picked a whole bouquet and we cut the top off a water bottle for a vase.

The girls from each ward performed a dance the last night. Once again I was amazed at the quality from each ward. Here is our Dutch dance. I wish I had pictures of the night before. Each ward designed a dress out of plastic and they had a Miss Value pageant. They were creative and actually quite pretty. Doodle was hoping there would be more princess dresses the next day but they didn't last.

Mr. O knew how to impress his family by assisting mother nature in taking down some trees.

It was breathtaking and beautiful. The weather was great.

The challenge I had at camp was trying to keep my kids from eating junk all day. They had candy sitting out at camp. They wanted to share treats. They were being nice and feeding kids the way we have been marketed to. They had water bottles but also little Crystal Light packages to flavor the clean water. Personally I was thrilled that so much of the junk just didn't tempt me like it use to. Even the white french toast, the imitation syrup, the white rolls, the cobbler. I did try the cobbler but yuck it tasted like preservatives. It tasted fake. Unfortunately my family has not been avoiding the junk as much and they ate it readily despite my wishes. I did put my foot down on the Crystal light. I have never felt good about artificial sweeteners and I just couldn't bare to see them drinking bright read yuck.

I am actually sorry to see the culture of food in our country and in our church. So much of it is not real food and it is marketed to our youth. I know you have been hearing about obesity in the news lately. I found this clip rather interesting and frustrating. We have to make better choices for our children. It's too bad that so much of our socializing includes consuming garbage.

The more I learn, the more I want to make better choices and teach my children to make better choices including giving them the knowledge so they can feel good and be healthy.

For those of you wondering, I was able to eat my whole grain sour dough muffins for breakfast. It really seemed to help my day to at least get a good breakfast. We also had our own fresh fruit. I brought my own bread that we used for sandwiches and we did get lots of great fresh air. I love the mountains.

I am grateful for a good experience and good people. There was great effort put in to strengthening testimonies and desire to live the gospel daily, especially implementing the new YW value of virtue. I feel a need to do and be better.

Sweet helper

The other morning Doodle woke up and called down the stairs asking where I was. I answered and then didn't hear any more. After a while I headed up to see where she was. I found her in my room. I had hung her laundry to dry the night before. She had gotten up, dressed, and folded her laundry. The two in front are dresses she wanted hung up. I was thrilled with her help. She is becoming so independent and thinks she can do pretty much anything. A couple of days later I found she had helped her self to the raspberry jam, spilled it on the floor, and piled up dry washcloths on top to take care of the mess. By the time I figured out what she had down the wood floor was turning red. Today at the grocery store she didn't want to ride in the cart, she wanted to push the cart. It was not really that much fun. Sure glad sometimes its helpful and other times just cute because sometimes I just get irritated.

And Elise, I didn't know how to do this but I'm going for 'plan tacky'. I got this for your birthday but didn't ship it. I was going to email the picture on THE day but didn't. I know you think I completely don't care but I do and I have been wondering what to do. So, I am admitting to the world, or at least the small part of the world that ever looks at my blog, that I got you a big pot for your birthday. Its practical, its useful, its needed, and I didn't know what else to do. It's kind of like Pooh's gift of a useful pot to put things in that he gave to Eeyore. I'm sure some day you will thank me. I thank you for the many years that you were helpful. (and still are . . ) I can't wait to show it to you in person.

So I am off to girls camp. For a nursery leader I sure get to go to lots of youth activities. It should be fun. I'm just going for the food. Mr. O is the priesthood person and I and my little ones are his support. This way we get a family vacation. Five out of a family of ten isn't too bad. There is room for improvement.

pioneer day

We hussled over to Spring City for the pioneer day celebration. It was a lot of fun. We got there in time to join the sack race. Saac must have jumped too hard because he came right out the bottom and ended up running babysteps to try and keep up.

Then it was off to the roping. Lucky these calves don't run to fast. Notice the tongue sticking out, guiding that rope.

With a little brotherly advice from one whose done it before Sunny had a go at it.

. . . and here is my favorite cowboy. I don't get to see him in this kind of action much but it is rather pleasing to know he has those skills and talents, just in case. Besides I have always admired a good cowboy.

Challenge 5, a hard one

So far the challenges have made sense to me and I have willingly jumped in to make those changes/improvements in my life but I struggle with this one. Simple/healthy/tasty is suggesting that we give up dairy for at least 4 weeks. I have moved to raw milk, I am making my own yogurt (much cheaper) and I buy my cheese in the super size blocks to save money. The idea of giving up dairy is very hard for me. I don't drink milk but I love cheese. It makes everything taste better. I may do my own version of this challenge and just cut back and choose good sources. I am tempted by the promised weight loss though. I really would like to enjoy a little less of me. Maybe this could just be an exercise in will power and self control. Maybe you shouldn't ask me how this one is going.

For more information on why to give up cheese and all dairy, go read her reasons. I just don't want to.

Happy Birthday, Elise!

23 years ago on the 23rd a sweet angel became my daughter. I am so grateful for Elise. She has been a cheerful, friendly, enthusiastic angel. This year she is far away in Connecticut. Please wish her a happy birthday. As Twinkle says its her golden birthday (23 on 23) and that only happens once.

Now my baby is having a baby. Her own little angel will be coming within 5 weeks. Time goes so quickly. If you have a memory of Elise before she becomes a mom, please share. Let's try to make her miss us so she will hurry home and stay close. Then we will have more memories and stories to share.

I feel violated

This is our back back yard, right behind the fence. This is where Tall One is raising rabbits with his 4H club and had been training his rabbit to be shown. They were New Zealand Whites and just old enough to mate.

These are the doors that were still closed when my little children came out this morning but this is what they found.

Both rabbits had been moved to the same cage, heads mangled and ears with identifying tattos turned inside out and placed at the top of the cage.

I cried. I feel the loss of life but more I feel violated. Someone came into my yard and intentionally killed my children's pets. Even more than that they stole the security I have felt in my own yard. They stole my trust in my small town. Somebody out there is sadistic. I am sad.

BUT they will not win. We will try again. We will get rabbits again. We will alert our neighbors to help us keep watch. We will get locks and we will not give up the things that bring us joy.

Challenge 4

1. drink more water

2. green smoothies

3. toss the junk, read labels, make good choices

I hope you're having fun and feeling good. I still struggle with the water. It should be the easiest but I forget. I bought a nice water bottle. It's quart size, convenient, spill proof, but I forget about it. Today it is sitting on my bedside table. When it is with me all my kids want some. I suppose they need it to but then I don't know how much I'm getting. The other problem is that I'm a guzzler. I like to down a big glass of water when I'm thinking about it but with my bottle I have to suck and it takes longer and I don't get as much. Tough I know. We all have our challenges. I'm hoping to have big cups of water with my meals and sip throughout the day with my water bottle.

4. * Whole Grains! This is something that many people I know and love already are trying to do. I'm so glad. It makes me feel good to think I'm doing something right. I got stuck in a bucket of red wheat. Everything I made was darker and heavier. We survived and now I tell you that the white wheat is heavenly. I am loving it. I made sweet rolls with a little butter, apples and a little sugar. I've made bread. I even made hamburger and hot dog buns, bagged the extras for the freezer so I won't be tempted to buy a bag.

The next goal if you are already doing whole grains would be to learn about sprouted and/or fermented grains. Our grains really are amazing and the nutrition level leaps as you sprout your grains. As for fermenting or soaking you grains the ability to absorb the nutrients improves and digestion becomes easier. It is the next step in getting the most from your grains. I have been cooking with sourdough and it has been fun and yummy. Some of our favorites have been from Lazy Organizer. Scroll down to find her pitas, muffins, and bagels.

This was a double batch of bagel and the whole family loves them except Sunny. He only has one front tooth and that makes it hard. It tastes really good warm with cream cheese, fresh berries and a drizzle of honey. Combine it with a green smoothie for breakfast and you get a great start to your day.

Especially if you are lucky enough to find a friendly strawberry looking right back at you.

Or a sweet little girl topping your smoothie!

The pitas took a little practice. Some of them are working but all of them taste good. I just have to cut some of them open because they didn't develop the big bubble that creates the pocket. I chopped a bunch of fresh veggies from the fridge (cauliflower, red pepper, cucumber, zucchini, onion, tomato) add salt and pepper. It was great.

Sour dough pancake are very easy and good. A soaked grain idea for breakfast was soaking old fashion oats in milk and yogurt over night. In the morning we added fresh chopped fruit and a little of our honey. It was great, cool, and healthy.

Whole Wheat Sour Dough Bagels
2 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups wheat flour
1/3 cup sour dough starter

In the evening combine all ingredients.  Knead or mix in your mixer for ten minutes. Cover with plastic and leave on the counter. In the morning the dough should be doubled.

Knead for a minute and then divide dough into 12-14 balls. Take the balls and put your thumbs through the middle of the ball to make a bagel shape. Work the hole to 2 inches because the holes will shrink when they rise although I don’t mind if the hole closes up a bit. It helps keep the toppings from falling through.

Allow the bagels to rest for 20 minutes. I ruined my first batch by letting them rest too long so don’t do it! While the bagels are resting, start boiling a pot of water on the stove. Add honey or sugar (about 1/3 cup) to the water. After the bagels have rested and your water is boiling drop the bagels two or three at a time into the boiling water. Boil for one minute. Do not over boil or your bagels will fall apart. After a minute remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on greased cookie sheet.

After the bagels are boiled you can brush them with an egg wash ( one egg white and about 3 Tbs of water) but it isn’t required. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Sour dough takes longer to bake than regular dough so it may need to go longer.

summer fun

We have had a great summer so far and yet not done much. We have not taken any great vacations, we have not gone swimming, or field trips. We haven't gotten new toys for the sandbox or water play. We have just let the kids have free time.

Our backyard is big, fenced in, and grass covered. We have trees, a swing set and a trampoline. Now they do use the trampoline but most of the time they go through the small gate to the back backyard, the no man's land, the weed covered, grasshopper infested, junk filled place between our backyard and our garden/orchard area.

This is where they make huts, dig holes, create adventures, and spend the most time. It is crazy. I don't know who invented the idea that we had to create a play space or that we need to spend a lot of money on toys. It certainly wasn't children. They seem to have the most fun inventing their own play, discovering their own play spaces, and creating their own huts. Kids work very hard at play. My boys are actually playing work. Yesterday they were building their new hut. They were arranging very big logs, using their small truck to haul stuff around, cutting down weeds inside their hut to make space. All this in hopes of eventually doing some adventuresome play.

Really our children practice adult skills as they play. I am grateful for our children's play that is truly teaching them to be hard working, creative, cooperative adults. The adults they are copying are their parents. It's a big responsibility. I am hoping to spend more time doing the things I want my children to do and, more importantly, doing whatever I need to do cheerfully. They are watching and learning.

still eating good food/ a recipe

It is the season of hot and I am so grateful to have my sun oven. I used it again for our enchiladas. It was so fun to put it all together in the house and then take it outside and just forget about it for a while. I set up the oven at 5:00 (that takes maybe 15 seconds), put dinner in it at 5:30 and we ate at 6:30. It was hot and delicious. Because the pan that fits easily in the oven is round I just layered my enchiladas like a birthday cake.

It was so good I realized I had to blog about it. Of course, that was after I started eating. Maybe next time I will move the fork for the picture. I am always thrilled to find a yummy dinner that does not involve meat. Especially in the summer since meat is meant for times of cold and famine. Even the lettuce was fresh from my garden. It feels so good.

Pineapple-black bean enchiladas
2 teas veg. oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits, drained
½ cup pineapple juice, reserved
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 4 1/2 oz can chopped green chilies
1 tes salt
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 10 oz can mild enchilada sauce
8 wheat flour tortillas
½ cup sour cream
8 teas chopped fresh cilantro
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 glass pan with oil. Heat oil in a skillet. Add onion and pepper, cook 4-5 min. or until soft. Stif in pineapple, beans, green shilies and salt. Cook and stir until thoroughly heated. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in ½ cup cilantro and 2 cups of the cheese.
Spread 1 Tb. Enchilada sauce on each tortilla. Spoon about ¾ cup mixture over sauce on each . Roll up tortillas; place seam side down in baking dish.
In small bow. Mix reserved 1/3 cup juice and remaining enchilada sauce, pour over entire surface of enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with oil sprayed sheet of foil, sealing tightly. Back 35-40 min. remove foil during last 5-10 min. Top each enchilada with 1 T sour cream and 1 teas. Cilantro. Serves 8.

foamerator fun

These were so simple to make and use. Just cut the bottom off of a water bottle, attach a wet piece of terry cloth to the bottom with an elastic band. Dip in dish soap slightly watered down, then gently blow. WARNING: don't inhale, the foam goes either way and doesn't taste very good. All three kids had to try that.

Step 3, Toss It!

Now that you are drinking water, enjoying green smoothies several times a week if not daily, (I made one today with yogurt, milk, frozen raspberries, ice, pure maple syrup, vanilla, and spinach. It tasted like a raspberry shake. We all loved it. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.) let's get rid of the junk. Throw away in the garbage the chips, cookies, soda, punch, even popsicles. Please invite your kids to be a part of this. Empower them with the knowledge to make good choices. Don't feed the junk to them to get rid of it. We just don't need the junk. It will be much easier now that you are feeding your body better. I bet you have noticed that you don't crave the other things quite so much. You will still experience some cravings as your body adjusts but just jump in and do it. If you are like me after a week or so I will want to have just a little of something. I'll take some remembering how fun these foods were. Then if I am honest with myself and listen to my body I realize that the junk food just doesn't taste as good as I remember. It just isn't worth it.

In the mean time you might have to get a little mean. Just toss the food and don't let it in the house. Find some healthy subsitutes. Ike today was telling me how a frozen banana on a stick tastes just as good as a creamy. We also made our own popsicles with orange juice. It's a great time of year to be eating fresh fruit and garden veggies. No excuse to go hungry, just choose real food.

Avoid, toss, don't buy foods with these ingredients:

1. refined white sugar
2. high fructose corn syrup
3. fructose
4. sucrose
5. aspartame (Nutrasweet)
6. sucralose (Splenda)
7. Saccharin (Sweet and Low)
8. Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
9. artificial colors (red 40, yellow, lake blue, etc.)
10. partially hydrogenated oils (of any kind also known as trans-fats)
11. shortening
12. margarine

I felt ready to search a little more about why I should avoid some of these. I'm learning about excitotoxins. Here are some of the resources excitotoxins, joyfulaging.com/Excitotoxins.htm, youtube video on excitotoxins. I'm still working my way through the video but it is certainly educational. If you want to make real changes that will bless your body and your family get the knowledge, understand the "why's" and you will be better at permanent improvement. Once again I am getting my main ideas from this blog.

I am feeling grateful that I live in a small town with little fast food options, that growing up we were too poor (or maybe mom was just too wise) to have soda pop except on special occasions so I didn't grow up hooked on it. . . and my mom didn't believe in chips and other snacks/treats. We made our own and missed a lot of the extra ingredients that we can't pronounce or recognize. My goal has been to stick with real foods, things I recognize as food. I do have my occasional treats and I am hoping that they will be even more seldom. I don't need it and my kids certainly don't. They deserve every chance they can get at being healthy.

Cherries at our house, finally!

These cherries were beautiful. We picked and picked. Our little tree is a volunteer from Grandpa's house and this is the first year we have had much of any crop. They are sour pie cherries. Regular cherry pie is such a disappointment compared to the sour cherrie pie.

My pit crew. They were great. We just bagged the cherries and put them in the freezer. I'm adding one bag to our sour dough muffins for breakfast. We also made cherry cobbler in my sun oven. No heating the house up.

Fresh Cherry Crisp

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups pitted sour cherries

1 1/2 cups white sugar (just 1 cup)

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or sprouted wheat flour)

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup brown sugar (or sucanat)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening(BAD!  Just use more butter or coconut oil)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, combine cherries, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, and 4 tablespoons flour. Pour into 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, oats, and brown sugar. Cut in butter and shortening until crumbly. Sprinkle over cherries.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

youth conference

This is where I disappeared to this week. Mr. O ran short of leaders (or so he said) at the last minute and wondered if I could come and be with him. My dear mother watch my three little ones and off we ran to the wilderness. It turned out that the woman in charge of the food was not able to come so I was invited to come and be in charge of the food.

Luckily she had organized well and done all the preparation so all I had to do was supervise the youth in cooking and cleanup. It wasn't too bad. We have great youth and they were very willing to help.

They were also so fun to be with. They were kind to each other, respectful, cooperative. I heard no complaining and we spent a lot of time in cars seeing the sites. They were all a pleasure. Some of the highlights for me included being there with my two sons. I am so grateful for them. Also seeing Bishop in his role with the youth. He was truly inspired as he taught. He was full of love and appreciation for the youth and leaders and was very sweet and thoughtful with me.

We enjoyed the wonders of creation, in scripture,

in nature,

And in time spent with great sons and daughters of God. Thanks for letting me be a part of this youth conference.

These entertaining priests did the polar plunge that first night between rain storms.

And this is the cabin we stayed in that had a lot of beds (thank goodness), ping pong in the garage and canoes and rowboats that were a big hit with everyone.

twinkler fun

Some people need lots of fireworks to have fun but we have decided the most fun for everyone is twinklers (rather than sparkles in honor of Twinkle).

The night time option on the camera made for some fun pictures. We didn't get to these until the 6th. We had plenty of fun and are saving some for the 24th.