No Place Like Home

We are moving from Utah back to Iowa early Saturday morning. It is definitely a bittersweet situation. It has been wonderful to live close to family again. One of the very best things about living near family is watching your children connect with grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. In my opinion, the most difficult thing about living far away is feeling like they are missing out on those relationships. I am so thankful for the past eight months and the opportunity we have had to live so close to so much family. I get a lump in my throat every time I think about how much love and support everyone has given us while we have been here. Some of the highlights have included:

• Long summer days spent swinging and playing in the backyard. 
• Grandpa's awesome tree house.
• Tons of play dates with cousins.

• Celebrating Maddie's second birthday.

• Womens' weekends.

• Grandma's tea set.
• Friday night pizza--always from Papa Murphy's and always the Cowboy (seriously, you don't want any variety, Dad?)
• Cooking with pounds and pounds of garlic and onions because that's what my dad loves--gotta keep the landlord happy.
• Unlimited Cars and Dora fruit snacks whenever we visited Grandma Mary-Ann.
• Anytime Ryan came home, even if it was just for a few days between rotations. Those reunions were always super-sweet.

• Our entire month in Colorado. Living with Ryan's brother and his family was a great experience that I will always look back on with fond memories.

• Dinner at Layla's with Papa and Mama Payne.
• Ben and Jerry's in every flavor imaginable at our constant disposal. my dad is the Devil in disguise, I tell ya.
• Play dates and girls' nights with lifelong friends.
• Red Mango. I had to eat my words when I told my sister that it couldn't be "that good." I'm totally addicted.
• Spending so many holidays with family.

• Playing "Just Dance" on the wii on Christmas Day with all of Ryan's family. I would pay good money to see a dance-off between Ryan's dad and mine to the tune of "Walk like an Egyptian."
• Cookie bake-offs in my parents' sweet kitchen.

• Watching this little guy get chunkier every day.

• The circus with Grandma Maddie, the most memorable part being when 3 of the grandkids (Ike included) stayed on the train while both adults got off...it's funny now, but Grandma didn't think it was too funny then.

• Spending time with the Great Grandparents.

• Being able to attend Grandpa Hancock's funeral and Uncle Mark's as well.

• Having so much family to celebrate with when Davis was blessed.

• A tub big enough to swim in.

• Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with my mom and dad.
• The Payne family Reunion. 
• Playing Celebrity at said reunion and laughing my arse off while Papa P. yelled at everyone on his team, calling them "a bunch of idiots!" for not guessing his uncanny impression of Christopher Walken.

What a fun eight months it has been. I am so glad we decided to come home during this crazy year. As my mom said, "I wouldn't trade the memories for anything."

Me neither.

All 10 of Them

This past Christmas my sisters and I decided to give my parents a picture with all 10 of their grandkids together. Jeni Boston was the photographer we hired and we were all really pleased with how the photos turned out.

I thought she did a great job considering her somewhat-hard-to-manage clients. 

This was the one we ended up choosing to enlarge and give to my parents.

One of my favorites.

This picture cracks me up every time. Maddie just looks so uncomfortable in that position.

Just the boys.

Just the girls. Not sure what is going through Maddie's head in this shot...

Book of Mormon Fiesta!

This morning my sister and I took Ike, Fischer, and Maddie to the new Children's exhibit at the Church History Museum. It's called "Book of Mormon Fiesta" and it is all about the Book of Mormon in Latin America. Everything was in both Spanish and English and there were different stories from the Book of Mormon as well as examples of Latino Saints and how they have applied its teachings to their lives. I think all the kids had a great time, with the only major meltdown happening when we had to leave (ahem....Maddie).

The exhibit is free and will be at the Museum until January of 2013. I would highly recommend it, even for kids as young as ours.

Fischer and Isaac fishing from Nephi's ship. Fischer said this was his favorite activity. 

We had the place pretty much to ourselves when we first got there, so Allie and I even got into it, dressing up in traditional Latina attire and learning how to dance. Not to brag but I was a much better dancer than she was.

Fischer playing one of the many computer games they had to offer.

Isaac practicing his reformed Egyptian.

Harvesting veggies to feed the missionaries.

Checking out the hens in the hen house.

Playing dress up with different Book of Mormon characters.

We might have to take the kids again in a couple of years, just before it closes. I think they will love it even more when they are a little older.

Have you tried this?

Litehouse Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette Dressing.
My aunt introduced me to this salad dressing recently and it is definitely a new favorite. Unique and packed with flavor. And as a bonus, it's much more figure-friendly than traditional bleu cheese, with just 7 grams of fat per serving instead of the usual 15+ grams. You can find it in the refrigerator section of the produce department. We had it with Buffalo Chicken Salads, and even my dad enjoyed it. When my dad willingly eats a salad for dinner, you know it must be good.

A Day on the Farm

My friend Kandis lives on a farm and invited us out to visit last Friday. The kids loved playing in the snow and seeing the animals. Kandis is one of the busiest people I know, so it meant a lot that she took the morning off to be with us. 

Checking out the sheep. The weather was really nice considering it's the middle of January.

The two dogs were the biggest hit of the morning, hands down.

Ike and Maddie love Kandis. She is like an aunt to them.

Slugger must weigh 4 times as much as Maddie, but she wasn't nearly as scared of him as I was. She loved bossing him around and kept talking about him long after we left the farm. 

Ike and the beloved John Deere.

Checking out the Clydesdale horses.

What was I thinking not bringing the stroller? My arm was dangerously close to falling off by the end of the morning. Even so, we had a great time. Thanks, Kandis!

Southwestern Quinoa

Have you jumped on the Quinoa train yet?

I love this stuff! My sister introduced me to this grain (is it a grain?) when we moved to Utah and now I use it in place of rice whenever I can. You can find it in bulk at Costco for a reasonable price. I have also seen it at Winco and other grocery stores. Since Ryan's family has started a weight-loss challenge to kick off the new year, I thought I would share this healthy recipe:

Southwestern Quinoa

 2 cups water

1 cup quinoa grain

2 tsp Olive oil

½ tsp Cumin

1 clove minced garlic

½ tsp Garlic Salt

1 cup salsa

1 can black beans, rinsed

Chips or crackers of your choice

Bring water to boil, add quinoa. Simmer for about 20 min. While hot, toss with olive oil, cumin, 

minced garlic, & garlic salt. Gently stir in salsa & black beans. Serve with chips or crackers.