We've Moved

Check us out at www.dyerites.blogspot.com for all of our adventures.

Happy Birthday Noelle and Chloe!

Stocking Frenzy

This year I made a new stocking for Indy. It was such a hit, everyone wanted to make stockings. So we made a bunch of little stockings to give away at Noelle's birthday party as a "goody bag."

Cody decided these were too little, so he made a BIG stocking. Of course Davey wanted a big one too, so . . .

I'm not so sure I would drive the fabric with Davey pushing the pedal. You are brave Cody. Luckily Jeromy was home in case we needed a quick stitch job.

My Double Date

Davey's Happy Meal

Davey and I went out on a date. I told him that we could do anything he wanted to do with a $5 budget. I suggested going out for ice cream or a happy meal. He asked me if we could go to different places and make our own happy meal. Why not? He then asked me for some paper and a pen and started composing a list. You can see the list in the left of the picture above.
McDonalds-french fries
Dollar Store-toy
Sam's Club-Shake
Jack in the Box-Hamburger
Return Bread
Gas
Candy Thermometer
The last three items were errands I needed to run. He was gallant enough to run errands with me while we were on our date. We didn't follow the list exactly. At Sam's Club he decided that he wanted a Berry Sundae and a Hot Dog/Soda combo, so we skipped Jack in the Box. Davey ordered and paid for everything, even at the Drive Thru. He was a true gentleman. We took our happy meal and went to the car. I asked Davey what we should eat first and he said, just dig in! After we ate our happy meal and after we finished we played with his new dart gun. We had several contests. I ended up losing 9 to 18. Time flew by, before I knew it we were out of time. It was a fun date! Thanks David.

Later that night I was lucky enough to go on another date with Jeromy, he's taking the picture:) That was fun too!

SURPRISE!

Sssshhhhhhh! It's a Surprise Birthday Party

Unbeknownest to Cody and Davey I took these pictures of them and used them as invitations for their Surprise Party. Amazingly with 30 kids in attendance, they had no idea. It was a standard surprise at the door party. Cody was so excited he started yelling and jumping up and down. Davey was so overwhelmed he ran away, momentarily. The party was packed with food, games and kids. My kids had a blast. And thanks to Sacramento's great weather the whole event took place outside. I'm glad we did it and I know the kids loved it, but I don't know that we'll ever have such a colossal party again!

Mighty Lightning

We think soccer is a great sport, because it involves so much running. Cody needs to run, run, run and burn as much energy as possible. Cody loved having his dad for a coach. In fact David requested that Jeromy coach his team next year and Cody was very possessive. It's nice to know they love their dad! Cody's been lucky to have his best friend, Tanner, on his team every year. Cody and Tanner have been friends since they were 1 1/2 years old.

Pinkalicious

Noelle and I read "Pinkalicious" and I asked her if she wanted to make pink cupcakes. She said, "No" with a very frightened face. I explained to her that the book is pretend and she won't really turn pink if she eats pink cupcakes. She believed me, so today we made pink cupcakes. She was very careful as she poured the water and oil into the strawberry cake mix. I was impressed. She lined the cupcake pans with pink wrappers. Then she watched them bake. After they were finished baking she put on her new pink dress (I finished sewing it yesterday and she's been begging to wear it.) We read the book and ate pink cupcakes. It was definitely pinkalicious. I've been wondering if the book is really pretend . . . Noelle's been eating and sneaking cupcakes just like the girl in the book, will she be pink tomorrow?

Happy Birthday David

The night before David turned 7 I asked him what he wanted to eat for his birthday. Without hesitation he informed that he wanted a pancake with a blueberry mouth and berry ears with Happy Birthday written on it. He also wanted a fruit shake. I was a little surprised, has he been planning this? His request was so specific. Then I asked if he wanted to buy hot lunch at school. And he said, "No, no, no I want to take it so I get exactly what I want." He wanted a tuna fish sandwich, a kudos bar, cheddar bunnies, a juice box and a cupcake. I was a little dumbfounded and I wasn't sure that I wanted to know what he wanted for dinner, but I asked anyway. He told me, "Hmm, I'll have to think about that and get back to you." We had to compromise on dinner, but we finally agreed on Happy Meals.
After dinner we had a few people over for cupcakes. Not just any cupcakes, David wanted "under the sea" cupcakes. He even found a picture for me to follow and he wanted one with an octopus on it. A little string licorice and a jaw breaker later and phew! I did it!

We Miss You, Lolly!

When Cheryl Nilsson moved to Davis she introduced us to Impossible Acres Pumpkin Farm. We love it because there are baby bunnies, baby pigs, baby ducks, baby chicks, baby goats, baby kittens, a pony and a calf. The kids are allowed to hold and pet all of the baby animals. I set Indy down right next to these baby ducks. All he had to do was reach out and he could have grabbed one, but the straw was far more fascinating.

Noelle enjoyed holding the kittens the most. This one fell asleep on Noelle's lap and she continued to stroke it's fur.

Bathtub Beautician

Noelle wanted to be Snow White for Halloween. She loves Snow White. She often tells me that she wishes she had my hair color because it is just like Snow White. Thanks to the Bathtub Beautician formerly known as the Kitchen Beautician AKA Grandma Gracie, Noelle got her wish. For Halloween I cut, and Grandma dyed Noelle's hair. WaaLA! A beautiful Snow White!

Grandma was very impressed with how still Noelle sat while her hair was being done. Noelle is very serious about being beautiful. I don't know many 3 year olds that will hold still long enough to put eyeliner on, but Noelle did, or should I say Snow White.
The hair color is supposed to wash out in 6-8 shampoos, so Noelle is officially boycotting getting her hair washed. I miss my blondie, but I am in the minority, Jeromy, Cody and Davey all agree they prefer a brunette Noelle. The dark hair does make her blue eyes stand out.

Harvesting Wheat

Yesterday the boys went with Jeromy and Grandpa Dan to some fields about 1/2 mile away from our home. In these fields they found wheat. Grandpa told the boys that we could use this wheat to make bread. The boys thought that sounded like a great idea. So they brought home some wheat and harvested it. They enjoyed it so much that we went back today to do it again.
First you pick the wheat. Here Noelle and La La are picking it.

Next you stomp, hit, smash or generally break the wheat until the grains are separated from the chaff.

The most time consuming step is separating the wheat kernals from the excess chaff. We poured the grains and chaff from one bag to another in front of a fan. The fan blew away the chaff while the heavier grains dropped into the bag. We did this several times. We then poured the grains into a bowl and picked out any remaining casings by hand.

We poured the grains of wheat into my wheat grinder and then made the flour into bread.

David counted down the last 5 minutes . . . he was HUNGRY!

We ate the bread warm with homemade blackberry jam (from blackberries we picked this summer) and store bought butter.

Another Pumpkin Farm

This is David's school field trip. It was fun to spend the day hanging out with Davey

Last night we were reading the scriptures and Jeromy began quizzing the kids about what we read the night before.
Jeromy: What did Nephi and his family eat while they were traveling through the wilderness.
David: Mayonnaise?
There was a little bit of a question in David's voice. I had no idea where he got mayonnaise from, but Jeromy picked up on it right away.
Jeromy: No, that was Moses, the Children of Israel at manna when they were in the wilderness. What did Nephi and his family eat? It was raw blank and the Lord blessed it so it would be sweet.
David: Sand!
There was no question in his voice this time, he shouted out confidently. I don't know where he got sand from and I guess Jeromy didn't know either.
Jeromy: No, it was RAW MEAT.
Good try Davey

Vote YES on Prop 8

I do not usually post political issues on my blog, in fact this will be the first ever. The closer we get to November 4th the more urgent this issue has become to me. Cody asked me the other day what Prop 8 was about. When I explained that it protected marriage between a man and a woman. He was surprised, why wouldn't marriage be between a man and a woman? I feel the same way. I believe there is a reason that men and women are supposed to compliment each other, procreation being one of many. I also believe that the definition of marriage should be the union of a man and a woman. This proposition is about the definition of marriage, it is in not about equal rights. In California couples, whether homosexual or heterosexual are offered the same rights, Prop 8 does NOT change that.



One of the strongest reasons I support Prop 8 is because if it is not passed my beliefs will not be protected. Jack O'Connell is the California Superintendent of Public Instruction, he does not support Prop 8 and he misleads Californians by saying marriage is not required to be taught in California. What he doesn't say is that it is taught in 96% of California Schools. There are already several schools teaching about homosexual marriage as young as Kindergarten. I don't feel my Kindergartener needs to learn about homosexual or heterosexual relationships.

Vote Yes on Prop 8

Delicious!

How come dinner tastes so much better with spooky names? Of course no one ate the pumpkin guts (butter nut squash) even with a new name.

The Most Dangerous Chocolate Cake Recipe in the World!

Thanks (or maybe NO THANKS!) for this Kimberly. It is a fantastic way to satiate that sweet tooth without making a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies. fyi: mine only took 2 minutes to cook!

MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. Thecake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!(this can serve 2 if you want to share!)
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake atany time of the day or night!

Fairy

I saw this beautiful petticoat on Minna's blog and I decided to make my own. My plan was to make a petticoat for Noelle's Halloween costume to fill out the skirt. I got a little carried away. I made the petticoat so full, that the costume's skirt doesn't fit over it. Oops.

The other day Noelle and I were getting out of the car and this was our conversation:
Noelle: Look at all the mom cars.
I looked up and noticed that there was a minivan parked on one side of us and a station wagon on the other side.
Me: What is a mom car?
Noelle: A big car
Me: What is a dad car?
Noelle: A little car
Oh great, I just got stereotyped as a minivan mom by my 3 year old. I guess I can't deny it. Deep down I think I am more of a Bmer girl. I'd like a manual transmission 5 series, but for some reason I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Apple Hill

I love the fall. This year has been one of the best falls ever. Another fall tradition is Apple Hill. It's hard for me to put into words why I love Apple Hill so much. It's the crispness, the beauty, the freedom to run, the apple donuts, the apple cider, the 20 lb boxes of apples (I bought 5 boxes this year.)


This is proof that humans are born toothless carnivores. I was holding a plate of chicken and next thing I knew, the chicken was gone.

We went to Apple Hill 7 years ago when Cody was 23 mos. old. We went to this petting zoo and Cody got bit by a chicken. He started to cry and I comforted him. I said to the chicken, "Bad chicken, we don't bite." And Cody felt a little better that the chicken was getting in trouble. He climbed off my lap, pointed at the chicken and said "Time out chicken."

This was a great swing. David is still talking about how high he went on the tire swing.

We came home from Apple Hill and Paul and Heather and Kobe came over. We put a movie on for the kids and Heather and I made 3 pies, 2 pumpkin and one apple while Jeromy and Paul made 15 caramel apples dipped in chocolate and or cinnamon and sugar. We did all of this in less than an hour. It's amazing what 4 adults can accomplish. A few days later Heather came back and we canned 20 bottles of Apple Butter and 14 bottles of Apple Sauce. That's another thing I love about the fall, I feel so provident!

Bishop's Pumpkin Farm

This is our 5th consecutive year visiting Bishop's Pumpkin Farm. We love it for it's petting zoo, the train, the slides, the hayride and of course the pumpkins. This year Cody and Tanner were a little too cool to go on the train. Tanner said, "The train is boring. I don't want to go" Cody said, "Yeah, it's okay, let's go on it anyway." I can't believe it. The first time we went Cody LOVED the train. I hate to say it, but My baby is growing up! And another cliche, Where has the time gone?

I Love to See the Temple

Indy learned how to sit up on our trip. In fact grandpa takes full credit. He claims he taught him to sit up in the bath 2 nights before this picture was taken. Thank you grandpa.

Kimball Farms

It all started about 40 years ago. My dad was interested in my mom, so he went to Boston to meet her parents. My grandpa liked my father and he took it upon himself to leave a positive impression on him. Grandpa took dad to all of the finest places in Boston. He also took him to Vermont to the Joseph Smith Birthplace. On the way home they stopped at Kimball Farms. It was known for it's delicious ice cream. So 8 kids and 40 years later Kimball Farms left it's impression. I went to this tasty ice cream stand with my mom and dad , husband and my own kids. It was delicious. Davey chose orange sherbet. A flavor which I don't usually enjoy. But it was so good we all kept asking Davey for more tastes. My dad eventually went and bought another orange sherbet, it was that good! I also enjoyed my chocolate truffle. If you're in the area, don't pass by Kimball Farms mmmmmm...