This & That

Isaac's Birthday

It's only been two days, I know, but we have another birthday!

Our Isaac is 8 years old today.

I took this picture of Isaac when he was almost 9 months old at a trip to the zoo and it's still one of my very favorites of him.

This picture is also very representative of Isaac. He's a very physical, high-energy kiddo.

He also has a more calm, serious side and it usually involves reading Wings of Fire books.

He can be a little apprehensive about trying new things, like riding horses in the Wind Rivers. After all, horses are really big, and Gramma Honey feels exactly the same way about riding them, but he almost always finds it works out ok in the end. We love all the sides of this boy, as love all our grandchildren. Happy birthday to Isaac!!

Around Here This Week

A rare Friday edition of AHTW since tomorrow is a special day.

So around here this week....

We had a little more snow last week. I made this video specifically for one of my friends who lives in Florida.

All the little people have returned to their respective homes.

I tested positive for Covid despite being fully vaccinated and boosted. Fortunately, it just feels like a cold and nothing like what I had at Christmas time.

Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week...I got this one of Roger, who also tested positive for Covid. In the fever contest, he wins. His was a lot higher than mine.

I got this picture of David from his mama with the question, "Can you guess what this boy's favorite color is??" Hmmmm....

And this one of John who was outside playing in their sand table.

The wanderers returned from Hawaii and had a good time while they were there. I have almost an exact picture of my husband at this spot.

No doubt at all that it's a lovely place, and when I see pictures like this I always marvel and the beauty and variety in the world.

There were also wildlife pictures for the boys. I had an adorable video of the twins "reading" (translate that to licking) a book, but for some reason YouTube won't let me upload it. I'll keep trying.

 

John's Birthday

We have a birthday today! Our grandson John is 3 whole years old.

It seems like a blink of an eye since he was this size.

Tiny guy that he was.

This boy has a thing for jets and can identify several different types by sight.

Like his two older brothers, he also loves dinosaurs,

And also needs to see Gus when he Face Times me. We love this boy as we love all our grandkids. Happy birthday, John!

Italian Sliders

You know how it is with kids. Some are pickier than others when it comes to trying and liking different kinds of food. After 2 1/2 weeks tending 2 groups of grandchildren this month, this has really been brought home to me. I always try to go kid-friendly when I watch the kids. Fighting the food fight is just not something I'm willing to take on in addition to drop-offs, pick-ups, homework, and extracurricular activities. I have very simple goals when it comes to tending grandchildren. Number one is to keep all children alive, and I think that's a pretty good goal to have at the top of the list. Everything else is just extra. Fun Guy Grandpa usually has pretty good entertaining ideas, and I try to keep everyone on track time-wise, get their required chores done, and feed everyone, which goes right back to keeping people alive.

These little sliders are universally accepted by little people. In fact, they are one of Levi's favorites, and he has a fairly small list of those. His dad gave me several suggestions about how I might avoid the food fight this week and I incorporated almost all of them. I found the recipe for these here, and if you need to feed little ones (or big ones) this is a good bet.

Italian Sliders

• 12 slider rolls
• 12 slices pepperoni
• 12 slices salami
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
• 6 slices of ham, cut in quarters or halves depending on the size
• 1/3 cup butter, melted (I use a little less)
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• pizza sauce

Cut the sheet of rolls in half horizontally, then place the bottom of the sliders in the bottom of a 12x8" pan. Distribute the meat and cheese over the bottom half of the rolls, then place the top of the slider buns on top.

In a bowl mix together the melted butter, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese. Evenly pour the mixture over each slider. (I will say that I don't use all of this on the top. It gets too soggy for my taste.) Then place the pan in an oven preheated to 350°  for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it, as the top browns fairly quickly. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping, if desired. None of my little people wanted to do that, but Grandpa is a fan. Makes 12 sliders

Around Here This Week

So around here this week...

Yep, this happened. My many-year-old laptop died a final death and couldn't be revived. Several of the alphabet keys were giving up the ghost, so it was time to get a new one. I'm loving it, although the smaller size has taken some getting used to, and there's always that learning/remembering curve when setting the whole thing up.

We have Marc's kiddos this week and it's been interesting to be back in the school drop off and pick up mode, and then entertainment mode as school was cancelled on Friday due to staff being out with Covid.

"I'm gone" flowers arrived and he wasn't even gone. He was in the kid trenches with me.

We've had cold temperatures, low clouds and fog for most of the week. All that combines to give everything a lacy coating of frost, that's just so pretty.

We don't get it very often, but it's kind of fun when we do.

When I drove Marc's boys to school the other day, Levi told me we needed to make a treat that looked like this. I'm not sure I can duplicate the look.

Meanwhile, sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, I got this one of Evan on his phone. Being totally absorbed in his phone is a fairly typical representation of my eldest child, but notice that he's next to the ocean doing it. Definitely a change of venue. He's been in Hawaii for some continuing education and his wife, Jan, snapped this picture.

More proof that he's in a much warmer climate than we are at present....and the text exchange that went with it. Actually, Evan tans the best of all my kids. He has his dad's couple-of-shades-darker than his mother's whiter than white, skin. That said, it's been many years since he rogued beans as a summer job and proved that point.

Marc and Rachelle decided to join them for part of the time, which is why I have Marc's kids this week. This picture is representative of a long-standing inside joke with the boys that I believe started when they all had to read Lord of the Flies for school. In the book, having the conch meant it was that person's turn to speak, if I remember right. So...Marc has the conch. You can imagine in a family of 5 boys there had to be a way of designating whose turn it was to speak or things might descend into total chaos and mayhem. And while we don't have an actual conch, although Eric bought several when he was in Hawaii a few years ago, we will pass the figurative conch to Marc.

End of the Year Documenting

In between grandkid tending episodes, I've been trying to get the last few weeks of 2021 documenting in the Project Life app, so I can order my yearly book.

As you can see, I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting closer.

Will I continue with this format in the coming year?

And I know you're just leaning forward in your chairs waiting for the answer, right?

Yep, I still maintain it's the easiest way I've found to document my family history. I still have a couple of weeks to go, but I'm working on it. Right now though, I need to run be a referee.

Ritz Cracker Toffee

This was the other treat we made while Eric's kids were here. It's been a while since I've had to hide a treat from my husband so he wouldn't eat it all before the kids had a chance at it, but I had to do exactly that with this stuff.

Recipes for this can be found all over the internet. I used this recipe. I've also seen it done with saltine crackers, but Ritz was what we had on hand, so Ritz was what we used. Caroline was feeling under the weather later on in the week so she was home from school, and she & Ephraim worked on this by laying out the crackers on a parchment-covered cookie sheet (after washing their hands!). The blue sprinkles were a nod to a winter/January/snow feeling, and they went with the tablecloth. This is a really easy treat that's somewhat addicting. I doubled the recipe to fit on a 12x17 rimmed cookie sheet.

Ritz Cracker Toffee

• Ritz crackers
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 425°. Lay the crackers out in an 8 or 9-inch square, parchment-lined baking dish. I imagine if you don't use the parchment, you might be chiseling this stuff out of the pan. 

Melt butter and brown sugar together and bring it to a boil. Boil for a couple of minutes, then pour it over the crackers, spreading it out so it pretty much covers them all. An offset spatula works really well for this. Put it in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Pull the pan out and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. In a couple of minutes, when you can see the chocolate chips are soft, use that same offset spatula to spread the chocolate all over the top of the crackers. Add whatever sprinkles you want....or don't. Let cool and then break the toffee apart into pieces. Store in a cool place. I just put mine in a Ziploc in the fridge.

 

Around Here This Week

So around here this week....

Fun Guy Grandpa spent some time dragging Marc's kiddos around the pasture in a sled behind the rhino. Looks like nap time hit for both him and Jude.

We finally, FINALLY got the tree out. We've never had a tree up this far after Christmas and if I'm honest, it really messed with my brain. It's almost like I couldn't move on and get the house put back together if that behemoth of a tree was still sitting there.

Hubby and Bryce took a overnighter up at the cabin to check on things, and saw a cow and calf moose on the way in.

That left me with some actual time in the craft room, which hasn't happened for a month or more. I did a little metallic watercolor painting over some embossing. 

Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, I got this video from Alison who took it at a trip to the zoo this week. It's actually pretty amazing to watch how James' new buddy follows the bag.

I got this one from Bryce & Sarah. They went on a cruise right after Christmas and had a great time with her parents. This was something I never thought Bryce would do.

And finally, the twins turned 10 months old on Christmas Eve. This was taken in the thick of ear infections and they still managed to be darn cute. Thankfully, they are on the mend and much happier about life.

Holiday and Post

When we finally got to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I was starting to feel a little under the weather, along with James. I got a lot of help from family in putting together the traditional Christmas Eve smorgasbord.

I just had to get a picture of Edward's plate. I was a little worried we might have one of those moments you see in a commercial when the plate collapses and everything goes flying, but it held. And yes, he ate it all.

There were plenty of arms willing to cuddle babies. I actually really love seeing my boys with babies because they're all really hands-on dads, and I credit my husband for that example. He is always more than willing to hold anyone, anytime. 

One of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve is turning out to be the grandchild nativity. It's alway fascinating to see how they put everything together with the help of the moms. This year, Frederick was the very convincing donkey.

Edward played the part of the angel of the Lord, complete with a bagel halo from the plastic food set.

Gwen was a wiseman bearing a gift of syrup, also from the plastic food set.

To start the music portion of the evening off, Jan & Edward played a flute/clarinet duet of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" that Edward had arranged himself. 

My daughter and I did our yearly rendition of "Sleigh Ride" with virtually no practice, which made it interesting, but it's something I look forward to every year.

Poor James and his mama.

And Jude and his mama.

John on Christmas Day wearing his festive shirt.

And here we all are. Every single one of my children and grandchildren. Such a rare thing, and really precious.

This was Christmas morning with Jack & Leo.

After Christmas, we continued to move some furniture around and put this bed together upstairs. It's our old king-sized bed and I wanted to take a picture to send to my daughter and her 6'6" husband, who will get the most use from it. Collin and Marc were so cooperative about participating in the picture.

We aren't amazing New Year's Eve party people, usually because we're traveling to Utah to visit extended family, but this year the weather didn't cooperate for that. Rachelle brought some light-up balloons over to add something merry to our impromptu homemade pizza party.

Oooooooo! Aaaaahhhhhhh! That's how we celebrated.

Pre-Holiday

I finally only have occasional coughing and for several nights haven't had to take something extra to suppress it so I could sleep. The tree is also finally out of my house, which must mean that it's time to get all my holiday pictures off my phone so I can organize them into some kind of coherent blog post.

We had a lot of fun with kids and grandkids during the last half of December. The babies are growing like little weeds and are just so interactive.

They jabbered and drooled and army crawled all over the place. 

We had to put a fence up around the tree so they wouldn't eat it.

Disneyland Grandpa organized a couple of trips to the ponds for fishing afternoons. 

Not only did they fish,

But Grandpa worked it so they cooked some of the fish for lunch. He does a mean tin foil fish.

Of course, if you play hard, sometimes you crash hard.

Evan's wife, Jan, has an annual tea party for moms and kids right around Christmas. Collin stood in for his wife this year as she was home taking care of a sick James. He caught this picture of John and Jude standing on a chair, helping themselves to the food.

They were just going to town and having a wonderful time with the popcorn.

We got snow for the holiday, and a lot of it. That meant there needed to be snowmen constructed.

This guy was a healthy height,

and well decked out.

This little cutie, however, was just so fun. This was one my daughter-in-law, Alison made that only stood 10 or 12 inches high. He was adorable.

These last couple of pictures, though. There's a story here. I was in the kitchen and the twins, mobile as they are, kept coming in and sliding around on the floor, wanting to be picked up. To save herself from having to go fetch them every couple of minutes, my daughter put up this baby gate. Well, they weren't having it. They came up to the gate and both started whining and beating on it. 

Gramma Honey couldn't have that. She had to rescue them, and for the briefest moment in time, they wanted me more than their mama. Of course, that lasted about 30 seconds, but that armful of babies was one of the sweetest memories of the season.