Christmas 2007

Rexburg Temple slideshow

Thought everyone might enjoy!

Love this crazy life!

This week has been a crazy one. Aaron worked so so much. His latest night was 3 am. Yes, you read that right. Other nights were 11 pm. It is really sad when 8pm is early. I am so grateful though that he works so hard. We were able to go out on Friday night to his work party. It was at the Portland Art museum and was beautiful. The food was great and I think everyone else was enjoying the free alcohol a little much. We actually left to pick up the girls before it got to crazy. Maybe next year we'll stay to watch everyone become more inhibited! We were grateful to our friends the Rowe's for watching the girls for us. We've actually started to trade off baby-sitting every other weekend so that we can have dates. It has been wonderful.

Brooklyn has come down with a cold so that has been a bummer. Friday night I had to go into her room I swear, a dozen times. Three of those were because she wanted a song. Her favorite is "I love to see the temple." My rendition at 3am isn't that enthusiastic though. The other times she wanted a different Binky and some orange juice. I don't know if I am creating a high maintenance girl or if I was just feeling sorry for her because she didn't feel well. Last night she slept all night so hopefully we won't make a habit of it. I teach preschool this week so things should be busy.



I came into Anna's room the other morning to find her dressed, if you can call it that. She informed me that she was going to the store to do some shopping and that she had gotten dressed all by herself. I loved the cowboy boots with the too-too


We are looking forward to going to Rexburg for Christmas. It has been fun to recieve cards in the mail seeing everyone's beautiful families. I love this time of year remembering the birth of our Savior.

This cartoon made me think of my mom. She loves snowmen and in-turn I love them. It made me smile & I hope it makes you smile as well.

I've been tagged

The rules:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Habit: I completly nag Aaron to death when he drives. Telling him when to speed up and slow down, when to go through a yellow light and reminding him that be forgot his blinker. I have to say in my defense I have on two occasions recently saved the lives of some pedestrians that he almost ran over. :) We were late to some things and in new neighbrohoods though. He really is a good driver!

Fact: I don't have any cavities

Habit: I am really punctual. To be early is to be on time is my mantra. I think that I turn into a general in the army on Sunday Mornings trying to get everyone up and out the door to get to church by 9am. I hate to be late

Fact: I love sweets. I try to keep them out of my house because I have no self-control. :) It has been a huge problem having a krispi Kreme so close. Because if there are donuts in the house, or anything else sweet for that matter, it is like they are calling my name all day.

Fact: I love to cook. Before we had kids I would spend all day making a new recipi. Now that things are a bit more hectic I still enjoy it I just have to spend a little more time preparing so that I have time to get dinner on. Anna and Brooklyn love to help so things are a bit more slow, but more satisfying because they are so proud of themselves when they help.

Habit: I have to make my bed everyday. That may seem so odd to some people but growing up I didn't make my bed ever, unless my mom was hounding me about it. Them after I got married and discovered flylady (www.flylady.com) who trasformed the way that I keep my house (check it out :)) it became a habit that I can't break. The bed is the first thing I do when I get up in the morning.

Ok, I know that wasn't too interesting but thanks anyhow to Amy E. for tagging me. Tag to Tiffany B., Michelle M, Jill R, Adrianna C, Lori R, Megan C.

Petco Field trip

For Preschool the kids learned about pets, so today we went to Petco and saw the animals. At this particular one, they have a doggy day care where they had literally dozens of dogs running around behind the glass. The girls loved it.

Anna's Salon

Last night Aaron was working late, and I wanted to watch the republican presidential debate. I know, I'm a dork. Anyhow, I needed the girls to be able to entertain themselves for a while so this is what Anna came up with. Luckily Brooklyn was a pretty good sport. Needless to say I was able to watch most of the debate while Anna attempted to put every bow we had into Brooklyn's hair. Enjoy

Fat free Friday

In honor of fat free Friday... (everything is fatfree on Friday :) )I decided to make homemade Cinnamon rolls for the first time. Boy is it a long process, and with a 3 year old and an 18 month old constantly wanting to offer their tremendously slow, I mean expert help, it seems even longer. I think that Aaron was pleasantly surprised. He shouldn't get too used to it though.

Family night

Tonight we talked about Thanksgiving for family night. For the closing song instead of singing a primary song, Anna proceeded to make up a song about turkeys. Enjoy!

Anna singing

Staying in

The weather has turned quite cold and raining today. I decided to make cookies today with Anna after Brooklyn went down for a nap. I love to have her help me in the kitchen. She is such a big help and is always so proud of herself when she does things all by herself. Her favorite part is helping me clean up.... by licking everything clean!

What do you think?

I succumb. It's all my sister fault. She started to play around with creating her own html and so that got my creative juices flowing. Aaron and I spent about 2 hours last night trying to figure it out and couldn't. So frusterating. It started to just become about being able to just figure out how to do it. With the help of my sister Angie this morning I realized that I was copy and pasting the wrong link into the html. It was fun once it starting working. It has taken some time to get it this far but I think it is fun. Enjoy!

My Thanks

My dear friend Samye has "tagged" me to write about things that I am thankful for. I am actually so grateful for this opportunity because I have been reflecting lately on all that I have and the responsibility that I have to give back to others because I have been so blessed. I don't usually journal on my blog for a couple of reason. #1 I don't have the writing skills or wit that many of my fellow bloggers have, and #2 It is a little scary to feel so vulnerable to those who visit blog. So I will do my best!

1. My Husband: Aaron is my rock. I am so lucky to have a man that works so hard for our family. He is currently working full-time, studying for the CPA Exam, full-filling church responsibilities, helping me at home with our girls, and just being a great man. I am blessed that he is my companion and partner. I love you.

2. For my Beautiful daughters, Anna and Brooklyn. They are my biggest joy and challenge. Is that possible? I am so blessed to be a mom and to have the responsibility in teaching and learning from my kids. I am often over-whelmed at how scary our world is. It reinforces to me how important my JOB as a stay at home mom really is. I look forward to our family growing in the future.

3. For the Gospel. What can I say. I love this gospel more than I can express. It is because of my faith and covenants, that I am able to be with my family forever. Wow!

4. My health and that of my family. I feel so blessed that I can wake up with my kids and Aaron and get on with our day and enjoy all the beauty around us. I think about parents who have kids who are very sick or other problems that make even the most basic tasks very hard. Next time I complain about Brooklyn throwing her food on the ground after she's finsihed, I remember that I could have to help a child who can't walk or speak.

5. My Freedom. Watching the news makes me very anxious sometimes. I become very overwhelmed at the great evil that is out there in the world. I have to remember that my Father in Heaven is in control and that if I live right everything will be alright in the end. We are blessed to live in America.

6. Yummy Food: This probably seems like a weird one but I am really grateful that I can go to a grocery store that is stocked with delicious and healthy food. There are so many people who just don't have enough to eat, and don't have the variety that we do. It makes my job at making dinner so much easier. and I just love to eat :)

7. A warm place to sleep at night. I am so blessed to be able to lay my head down each night and know that I can sleep in a warm safe place and that my girls can rest in a warm bed safe from the elements.

This is vary random and I could go on and on but those above just about cover it. I am going to Tag: Erin, Aubrey, Denise & Alison

Halloween fun

We have had a crazy week, but I wanted to share a few pictures of our fun. PS: Anna is doing better from her hives. Phew!



Frosting cookies for family night


Ummm.. I love pumpkin seeds


Carving pumpkins


Anna & Brooklyn hiding under daddys desk after trick-or-treating at his office


Sisters



Anna our snow princess

Got Hives?

Poor Anna broke out in a horrible rash and began to swell yesterday so I took her to the doc asap. They concluded that she has hives, though not contagious, thank goodness, can sure be uncomfortable. She woke up this morning worse and her face very swollen. Of coarse it takes like 3 hours for your doctor to return a call so we'll keep everyone posted on her condition. Its been a little scary but I think she'll be alright!

Fall Pics

My friend Michelle took some family pictures for us this week-end. They turned out great and I wanted to share one of the girls. Enjoy!

Take the Quiz here!

Pumpkin Patch

I give up!

In the attempt to keep up with the jones', trying to find the perfect blog back ground, I have concluded that the Tonks Family blog from now on will be white. Earlier in the week I found a great website (matie kay) and quickly uploaded adorable fall paper. I found out the next day that the web site was shut down due to copy writing problems. Strike 1. Then today I was going to my old friend Ali Flegal's blog and saw that she designed her own html. Who does that? Not me anyhow. Then I went to my old neighbors blog, megan cooper, and saw more cute backgrounds. So I went to that website and found a plethora of more paper. So I found one I liked and uploaded in on my blog, to then find out that all the links to the "blogs we read" were subsequently erased! Ahhhh, I'll never remember all of them. As a result, if you visit my blog and don't see your name on my link list, please give me your address again because my brain is too full at this point of kids songs and "to do" lists to be able to remember everything.... Thanks for letting me vent.

My sister's wedding

Last weekend my sister Michelle married Judson May in the Idaho Falls temple. They both looked so wonderful and I was so grateful that I was able to go. Aaron stayed home with the girls which was a nice break for me. My Grandpa Don Wood, who also married Aaron and I, sealed them which was very special. Enjoy the pics!

Michells & Judson May Wedding

Don't turn your back

If I don't watch this girl like a hawk, something like this inevitably happens! I've never met a kid who loves to eat dirt more than Brook.

A must see!

While I was in Idaho visiting my family this Summer I saw one of the best movies. When we got settled in Portland I checked every place that we went, to buy the series and it was no where to be found. Finally we got a library card and I took a long shot to see if they possibly had it. YEAH, they did. They had two copies and I was 7th in line to get them. Go Figure. Well just today my turn was up and I rushed to the library to pick it up. I feel a little guilty because I hurried the girls off after lunch to their quiet time and popped some pop corn and watched practically the entire thing. (It is 2 disks long) I think that it may be my favorite movie of all time! What is the name of this great movie you ask....... North and South. It is the BBC series not the civil war movie so don't mistake the two. I highly recommend watching it. It is a period film in the 1850's and if you like Pride and Prejudice or movies of that kind, you'll LOVE this. I think even husbands would like it. Aaron isn't quite so sure but we'll be watching it this week-end after he finished his first part of the CPA exam, nice reward for him. :) I'll have to let you know what he thinks. The story and romance is great! Let me know what you think!!

Fire Station Field Trip

Yesterday for pre-school we went to the fire-station. Anna was pretty shy but had fun seeing the truck. She was most excited to be able to take home her very own fire hat. Enjoy!

Homemade Fries Recipe-So easy

I had a few requests for my french fry recipe.

Large brown potatoes (3-4)
Vegetable oil
salt
sugar (litl' bit)

Cut potatoes length wise into strips. (Not to big or they'll take forever to cook) If your not going to cook right away put in cold water with a little bit of sugar (sounds weird but the sugar helps them crisp up when they go into the oil)

Heat oil. Make sure you have enough oil to let the potatoes "Swim around" Test oil by placing a tip of one potato in oil, if it bubbles right away the oil is ready. Place about 1/2 the potatoes in. You don't want to put to many because they will lower the temperature of the oil and they won't turn out as well. Let cook about 5-6 minutes. You'll know when they're done. Cook to your crispt preference. Strain out onto a paper towel and salt right away! Enjoy and let me know how they turn out! REMEMBER: They are fat free on Tuesdays! :)

This is for you mom!

Growing up homemade fresh fries were such a treat... and a guilty pleasure. Most of the time I opt for baked fries but tonight, I was craving the deep fried ones. This is in honor of my mom! :)

I'm so crafty

Tired Super Hero

Yesterday was our Ward's Super Saturday. I signed up to make each of the girls reversible super hero capes. I thought it would be a nice easy project that would take a few hours. I was wrong. The project wasn't necessarily hard, just time consuming. I think I was there for 5 hours but I thought they turned out great! I would love to get a sewing machine and learn how to sew more fun dress up clothes for the girls! Enjoy

Children's Museum: Pre-School field trip

Yesterday for our pre-school field trip we went to the Portland children's museum. I think that the girls had a great time, even though I spent most of the time chasing after Brooklyn who was constantly trying to escape.

How Domestic of me!

Tonight to go with Chicken Cheddar Chowder ( See below for recipe, its fantastic!) I made homemade rolls as a side for the first time. I was so excited that I wanted to share how they turned out. My mother-in-law makes the best rolls so I don't know if I'll ever compare but I guess this is a start.

Chicken Cheddar Chowder Recipe

2 bacon slices 1 can Corn
2-3 chicken Breasts 1/2 C Flour
1 C Chopped Onion 2 cups milk
1 C diced red ball pepper 3/4 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Clove of garlic- minced 1/2 t. Salt
4 1/2 C Chicken Broth 1/4 t. pepper
1 3/4 C. diced, peeled, potato

1. Cook bacon in pan over med-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and crumble. Set aside. Add chicken, onion, bell pepper, and garlic to drippings in pan, saute 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add broth and potatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add corn and stir well.
2. Pour flour into a bowl. Slowly add milk stirring with a whisk until blended- add to soup. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Top with bacon.

* This was the exact recipe. I vary it a little. This last time I used one large can of canned chicken because I didn't have any breasts on hand. It works just as well. I also transfer the soup to a crockpot after adding the corn and then add the milk later to thicken. As it simmers it thickens. It also freezes well! Enjoy!

Silly Brooklyn

We looked over during a always hectic dinner with the girls and saw Brooklyn helping herself to the jam on the lid. By the time she was done she had licked it clean! Too cute :)

Random Fun!