Monster Repellent

What you are seeing here is monster repellent. Z got that viking hat at Scandanavian Days, and has loved wearing it around, pretending to be a viking. Yesterday, he told me that vikings are very fearsome and scary, and if he left his viking hat outside his bedroom door, monsters would be scared to come in because they knew a viking was in there.

S thought it was a great idea. Before she moved bedrooms, we would write "Keep Out, no monsters allowed" in dry erase marker on K's aquarium. Because everyone knows monsters respect keep out signs. But now that she's with Z, no keep out signs have been written.

A New Stove!

When we bought our house a few years ago, we immediately started remodeling the kitchen. I desperately wanted a gas range, but the ones I wanted were a bit spendy. In addition, our kitchen could only be called "tiny", and I figured that if I got a smooth surface range, I could use the cook top as counter space as needed.

I've really coveted gas ranges ever since though, and have been sad that I didn't have a gas range, especially since all the cool cooks had one. I got a nice commission check from my real estate business a couple months ago, and decided to finally give in and buy the range.

I have a friend who works in the Sears appliance department, and he helped me figure out what I wanted, then let me know when to buy it.

I invited my dad up for dinner, and he and J did all the plumbing for the gas line.

Meanwhile, I took our big, growly pickup truck to go pick up my range. Helped the guys load it, then tied it down myself. Then, I went to Lowes and got all the electrical parts and the flex conduit. I could just feel the chest hairs sprouting as I did all of that. It was kind of fun.

I am so excited to cook on it!Isn't it pretty and shiny?

After it was all installed, I brought S & Z into the kitchen to give them a lecture about safety. Z in particular tends to twist knobs whenever he can. Today alone, he turned on the water heater to the trailer, opened the drain of the gray water to the trailer, and turned on the hose bib to the house. Obviously, he couldn't be doing this with a gas line. I made a big deal about how dangerous it was to twist these knobs, and how if little kids twist them, it could make a big fire, and we could get burned, or our house could catch fire.

I then went to SHOW them what happened if they twisted the knobs, hoping to appease their curiosity. Z actually ran from the kitchen, yelling not to make a fire. I had to try to explain that it's ok if Mommy, Daddy, K or M do it. Just not little kids. I don't think he's convinced though. I suspect he'll freak out when it comes time to cook dinner tomorrow night.

The Scandanavian Days 5k

Every Memorial Day Weekend, we always head to Ephraim to attend their Scandanavian Days Festival, and have a family reunion. This year, the family reunion kind of fizzled because my uncle is in poor health, and my grandma (justifiably so) felt that he shouldn't be so far from a major medical facility. With the two of them staying home, we kind of agreed not to do a formal reunion, though we did make Grenco, a traditional soup we always make (I'll post the recipe later).

Since joining a gym, I've toyed with the idea of running in the annual 5k they hold at the festival. I've always chosen not to, partly because I'm chicken, and partly because it starts quite early in the morning. This year, however, I decided to approach J and my sisters and brothers in law, all of whom attend the family reunion. Yes, they're not related to the Larsen family, but they're all super fun people, so the Larsen side adopted them. J's parents also attend every year, and everyone is welcomed with open arms. So, I mention to them that there's a 5k/10k/half marathon that morning, and it had exactly the reaction I was hoping for/was afraid of.

Yes! Let's do it!!! So, J and I signed up. SIL N and SIL E say they'll do it. E, being a runner, plans to do the 10k. SIL J also is on board. The week before the 5k, BIL E ran the Ogden Marathon. He got a good time, but tweaked his knee, and decided he couldn't do another race so quickly. Definitely understandable.

The morning of the race dawns. I was a little nervous. I am not a fast runner, and I still hate running with a white hot passion. I don't want to be the last one in. I don't expect I will be, as the 5k is a "fun run/walk" and there's people with strollers and children. I don't have any illusions of beating SIL J, SIL N, or J. J and his sister (and his brothers, too, I imagine) are superhuman freaks when it comes to cardio stuff. I truly believe they could all wake up tomorrow morning and run a marathon with no training, just for giggles. SIL N had fairly major surgery a few months ago, and was just getting back into her routine. I wasn't sure how competitive of a runner she was, but she didn't seem to have my level of passionate hatred for running, so I figured she was also a lot faster than me.

The race began, and J and SIL J and SIL N all take off. BIL E was there to take pictures and cheer us on. Immediately, they all leave me behind.

Within a minute or two, I'm huffing and puffing. Is it the cold air (we could see our breath)? Is it the higher elevation (5500 feet)? Am I a wimp? Or could it be that maybe, just MAYBE, I should've tried running outside, instead of on a treadmill? I've run outside before. I think. Years and years and years ago. All those articles about how different treadmills are from outside running come flooding back. I feel stupid and slow.

After about 5 minutes, SIL N comes up alongside me. I guess she hadn't passed me after all. We ended up being about neck in the the whole race. We'd run for a bit, and then one of us would drop off and walk for a bit. But, for the vast majority of the race, we were together. It was nice, and I figured we'd most likely finish at the same time.

BIL E kept popping up to cheer on N, and take her picture. Seriously, the guy easily ran the 5k with all of his appearances. He was a great cheerleader, even running alongside her to keep her spirits up.

We finally get pretty close to the end. SIL N suddenly steps up the pace to a sprint. I was a little surprised because we were still a good way from the finish line. The competitive spirit that I thought I was utterly lacking when it came to running reared up. No way was I going to let her get a better time if we'd spent that much of the race running together! So, I sped up too. She sped up more. So did I. I think I was not as close to the end of my rope as she was, as I got a sudden burst of energy, and I actually was smiling.

We passed by some cones, and I guess she thought they were the finish line, so she completely dropped back, and I ended up finishing ahead of her. My competitive streak was pleased. Hey. I never claimed to be a particularly nice person.

Meanwhile, J had finished his 5k with an impressive 28 minute time. SIL J had finished with an also impressive 32 minute time. J had gotten his t-shirt and decided to come back to find me. He was pleased to find me within feet of the finish line, and he jogged past the line with me.

My time? 34.06.

Wait, what?!

When I ran the 5k on the treadmills, I was generally finishing it around 36-38 minutes. When I decided to do the 5k, I was hoping to finish in under 40 minutes. Considering all of the time I spent walking on this race, I figured I'd be over that for sure.

I was ecstatic to have beaten my personal goal by such a huge margin.

I still hate running though. I have yet to experience this "Runner's High". I'll probably keep it up, at least through this summer, and if the Runner's High continues to be elusive, I'll give up running come fall.

Postcard from K's school today

I don't know why the image won't rotate- it's rotated fine on my computer. -sigh-

Anyway, I got this postcard in the mail today from one of K's teachers. Isn't it so sweet? I know that teacher is one of her favorites.

S's Birthday Party

S was wild to have a birthday party with friends this year, so I decided to throw her one. I thought it would be more fun than the video game parties that M favors, or just 'hanging out' parties, like K wants.

We invited a couple friends from girl scouts, and a couple friends from school.

While we waited for everyone to arrive, I had the girls play outside. The chickens were a HUGE hit. When everyone who was going to get there, I let the girls each make a treasure box- I found these little wooden boxes at Dollar Tree, and bought some plastic jewels. I spray painted each box metallic gold ahead of time, and then let the girls glue the jewels on.

Here's a finished box that S made:

Then, I let the girls make their own homemade pizza. Earlier that day, I made the pizza dough, formed the crusts, then baked them, so that they would be finished quickly. I put out all of the toppings, and let the girls build their own pizza.

They asked to eat outside. Since that sounded a lot less messy, I was all over that. I had J take the girls outside while I finished things up inside. When I came outside, this is what I saw:

The girls would toss grass in to the chickens, then scream and squeal when the chickens ate it. They considered it to be dinner theater, I guess.

Then, we came inside and S opened her presents. She was thrilled with everything she got.

Last, I made a batch of buttercream frosting, and dyed it several different colors (the girls told me which colors to make). I put the frosting in a few decorating tubes, and let the girls decorate their cupcake.

Which brings me to the cupcakes. Ooooh, the cupcakes. If you know me at all, you know I am a SUCKER for anything crazy colored. I read about these rainbow cupcakes online, and just HAD to make them. I made a batch of vanilla cake batter. Divided it out, and then colored each section a different color- red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. I then put a spoonful

of each color in each cupcake paper. Baked as usual. Aren't they marvelous?!

After I posted this, K got mad because I didn't take a picture and post the treasure box that SHE made. So, here is her box. It really is lovely.

Z's birthday and Spring Break

We ended up celebrating Z's birthday on the day before his actual birthday. He asked for a truck cake. Oh dear. That sounds deceptively easy. I knew it would never live up to his expectations because of his attention to detail.

I decided to give it a shot, and sure enough, it was awful. I would say it was worthy of cake wrecks, except that it was SO bad, it would be obvious it was a home cook, and not a professional's cake at all.

We got him a couple of Wii games and clothes for his birthday, and he was really tickled. He also got a Buzz Lightyear sleeping bag, which he has insisted on sleeping in every night, even though it's made him break out in a rash. I've washed it, but so far, no go.

On Z's actual birthday, we spent most of the day driving. J and M were going on the annual MAN ATV TRIP. We had all week off school, and I wanted to do something fun too. I decided to drive to Yakima, WA, to visit my friend Amy, who was one of my very best friends in junior high and high school.

On the way up, we stopped for lunch in Boise, where we had lunch with my friend Shelley. Shelley and I were pregnant with our oldest kids together. We met on a pregnancy expecting board and have been friends ever since. We were even featured in Parenting Magazine back in 1999 when our group had a reunion in Florida. It was great to see her again.

We got to Yakima just after dinner. Amy's kids met us before we even got out of the car. What an amazing welcome!

We had a wonderful week together. Amy and her husband, Tony, own a dance studio, which also offers singing lessons, and also recently opened a theater in the round. It was so neat to see their business, and see them living their dream. I was genuinely thrilled to see their success, and I am so proud of them!

Amy arranged for S to take a dance lesson with her daughter, who is the same age. S was so tickled to wear her dance outfit that Amy gave her, and take the class.

I know this is weird, but I love to go to the grocery store when I'm on vacation. I like to see how the store is different from my local stores. I was tickled with the Yakima grocery store because their wine selection (wait, what? Wine in the grocery store?! We don't have that in Utah!) was bigger in that one grocery store than we have in the entire liquor store. Yakima is surrounded by wineries and hops fields, so it makes sense there would be a large selection of local products.

It was tough to leave. We had such a fun week. It was fun to play house with an old friend, and take care of our kids together. Her kids are amazing and fun, and got along so well with mine. However, we did have to get home, so we got ready to leave a few days later. That last morning, there had been frost danger, so a local orchard had sprayed their trees with water to protect them. It was absolutely stunning.

The drive home seemed to take twice as long as the drive there. Isn't that the way it always goes? We didn't get home til nearly midnight. We had nice weather until the last hour. The last hour we were driving in snow, but the roads were ok.

I can easily say it was the funnest spring break I've ever had.

a new chicken

Since Lucy, my Black Copper Marans, has only laid two eggs since Sept 1 (and the last one was in early November), I've been contemplating replacing her. The problem is, you can't get just one chick. Chickens are flock animals and typically don't do well if raised alone. However, I didn't want more than one chicken.

I'd been mulling over this problem for a few weeks, when in mid March, my neighbor called me excitedly. My chicken fever had spread, and she's bought eight Rhode Island Red chicks. I was thrilled for her, but a plot immediately hatched (ha ha ha).

I asked her if she would be willing to "foster" a chick for me, so that I could get another chicken, and only ONE more chicken. I offered to buy a 50 lb bag of starter feed, as well as a small bag of medicated feed, since one of her chicks seemed to need the medication.

I found a local breeder who was selling Black Copper Marans chicks that were about the same age as my neighbor's chicks. I picked out an adorable chick that looked to be a couple days older than the neighbor's chicks. I suspect she/he was hatched on 3/12 or 3/13. The breeder isn't able to sex for gender, but she was trying an experiment this year. I picked out a chick that we both suspected were pullets.

Here's the chick at 5 days old, give or take.

Initially, I was going to name her Suzie, after the breeder. However, my neighbor has called the chick "Foster". Since I worry (ok, obsess) that this chick is actually a cockerel, Foster seems to be sticking.

Foster is now almost 5 weeks old. I'm still really hoping that it's a pullet, but I'm just not sure. If it's a rooster, I've kind of decided it's not the end of the world. Roosters really are gorgeous, much prettier than hens. It would also give me the opportunity to hatch eggs- a Copper Marans Rooster with an Easter Egger hen could make some cool offspring, particularly their egg color.

Unfortunately, chickens get really, really ugly once they lose their fuzz, but before they're grown up. I've said that Foster looks like a velociraptor that has been drizzled in honey, then dipped in feathers.