The Perfect Halloween

With Halloween just a few days away, I'm sure your kids have been driving you crazy with what they want to dress up as and what candy they want you to pass out to the trick-or-treaters. But seriously, do you have want it takes to make it the PERFECT HALLOWEEN? Answer the questions below to find out:

1. Do you have an AWESOME costume?

My daughter as a ballerina last Halloween.

2. Do you have family or friends to share the day with?

Picture taken October 2008

3. Do you have a scary movie (or cartoon if you have little ones) to watch?

My favorite "scary movie" when I was a kid.

4. Have you made some Halloween goodies (like cupcakes or pumpkin bars)?

My husband and I made these pumpkin bars two weeks ago.

5. Did you put up your Halloween decorations?

My sister Sarah made this last year for Halloween!

6. Do you have any spooky ghost stories (or Halloween picture books if you have little ones) to read?

One my my husband's favorite novels.

7. Have you carved your jack-o-lantern yet?

Halloween 2012

8. Have you gone to a haunted house/forest/corn maze?

October 2010

9. Have you gone to the pumpkin patch?

Sarah's daughter at the pumpkin patch.

10.  Do you have lots of good candy for Halloween night?

Our candy so far this Halloween...

If you answered yes to all of those questions then you are well on your way to having the PERFECT HALLOWEEN. If not, it's okay you still have a few more days to get the perfection in order. Just remember, Halloween only comes once a year so make it fun and most importantly make a memory!

Recipe for Delicious Easy Kid-Friendly Crowd-Pleasing Crockpot Filipino Chicken Adobo! - by Bethany

My husband and I both served as LDS missionaries in the Philippines before we were married. We each have many fond memories of our time there: the people, the culture, the language, the scenery, the food... well... SOME of the food...

A lot of the food there took some getting used to. Going to the market looked like this:

You can imagine how it smelled! 

And walking around town, you'd see scenes like this:

They're burning the hair off a goat before roasting it on a spit over the fire.
I saw people in my areas use this same technique with a mangy dog!

We tried a lot of things in the Philippines that we never cared to eat again, but one thing we both agreed that we love is chicken adobo (adobong manok). It's meaty and salty and vinegary and oh, so good! It's one of the things we always order whenever we can find a Filipino restaurant (they're not that easy to find).

In one of those take-out containers is chicken adobo. I know that's a lot of food - I was pregnant!

The authentic version of chicken adobo is really delicious, and of course nostalgic for my husband and me, but contains bones, skin, LOTS of grease, and whole black peppercorns, which are quite unpleasant to accidentally bite into. When we get it at Filipino restaurants, my kids usually don't want any.

So I've been making variations of chicken adobo over the years until I now feel like I have a really good version of it. I make it for guests, potlucks, and everyday family dinners - it's so easy, and everyone LOVES it!

Here's what you need:

Boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can use breasts, but they dry out a lot faster)

Soy sauce

Vinegar

Garlic

Bay leaves

Black pepper

I use 4 large thighs for my little family (2 adults and 2 young meat eaters), but you can easily double or triple it, as long as your crockpot will fit it.

Use equal parts soy sauce and vinegar. I use about 1/2 cup of each. Then a couple of teaspoons (or cloves) of minced garlic, 3 bay leaves, and a few grinds of pepper.

When I get a chance to go to an Asian market, I get the authentic
 soy sauce and vinegar that we used in the Philippines.

I throw all the ingredients in the crockpot together in the morning whenever it's convenient, with the chicken still frozen! Can it get any easier?

I leave it on high all day, throw some basmati rice into the rice cooker around dinner time, then shred up the crockpot mixture with a fork (throwing out the bay leaves first). It doesn't take much to get it all broken up by that point.

Serve it over the rice, making sure not to overdo it on the sauce - it's super salty!

I serve it with tomatoes (the acid goes SO well with the salt!), or mangoes if they're cheap (more authentic). And of course a fork and a spoon, so we can eat Filipino-style:) We drink milk with it a lot of the time, also to cut the salt. (I never drank milk once on my mission, but we're really not trying for authenticity anymore here - just deliciousness!)

When I take this to potlucks, I cook 2 cups of rice in the rice cooker, spread it all over the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan, then put the chicken adobo mixture on top using a slotted spoon so as to not overdo the sauce. People are always asking for the recipe!

Try something new tomorrow, or at your next potluck, or next time you have guests over! Expose your kids to a new cuisine! Make something easy and delicious that will become a part of your menu! Your taste buds will thank you in Tagalog - Salamat po!

The Most Important Time of the Day (by Heather)

I've been thinking a lot lately about something that is a part of our hectic morning routine around here. Like many homes, once our kids are up, it's lots of "gently reminding" them to get things done so they can be out the door (looking presentable - if possible!) on time. Every minute from the time they wake up, to the time they're out the door, is valuable as there is a lot to do before they have to leave. If I'm not careful, I could spend the whole morning "gently reminding" them to do things, and by the time they're out the door, I won't have had a quiet moment with them. I recognized this (and hated it!) when my oldest started kindergarten last year. It was all RUSH in the morning, even the morning family prayer was said in the van. It didn't seem right to start the day out like that. So we changed things and made room for something in our hectic, crazy, morning schedule.

We are Mormon (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). We believe in The Bible and The Book of Mormon. As a family, we read from the Book of Mormon every night, but really, it's pretty wild….um, yes…a VERY wild experience actually….every….night. 

It's hard to concentrate when the 1 year old and 3 year old are being so distracting with their cute laughter and playful manner and the 5 year old and 6 year old are taking 10 minutes to read one verse because they have to sound out LOTS of the words. And the words and what is happening in the scriptures, are kind of hard for the kids to grasp. Honestly, I don't think they're learning a whole lot from our evening family scripture study….at least not at this point in their young lives.  

BUT in the MORNING, the craziest time of our days, that's when we are having some of the most spiritual learning happen in our home. When would there be a time for this? Well, we could do what my dad did when I was a kid and just play General Conference videos or church videos all throughout the house as people are getting ready for church (really good idea, dad, I'm going to incorporate that one day). We do it during breakfast, when the kids' mouths are full….and quiet! 

They are listening and awake and interested and I love that we have this time with them. It's special and precious and powerful. Our Church puts out a lot of wonderful material to help kids understand the scriptures such as The Bible and The Book of Mormon and what God's plan is for us. Frankly, adults can learn a lot from the material also - I know I do. We read each morning from the cartoon stories of one of these books and then we read a story from "The Friend" magazine which is usually something that the kids can totally relate to at school or in their young lives, and it instills in them even more how the gospel is in every part of our every day lives.

Friday morning we were reading a story from the "New Testament Stories" - that's the one we're in right now. After the short story was over, I asked my 5 year old what had happened in the story and was so impressed that he repeated, in some parts word for word, what I had read and then he told me what he had learned from it. I really feel like my kids learn a lot. They grasp so much more of what is written in the scriptures - the stories, the parables, the history, the principles of the gospel -  as we use this little, cartoon book. It's short, simple and has pictures - that's what we all want in life, isn't it? I love it and whoever thought of the idea. I am positive it has really helped shape and mold my children's young testimonies and their every day actions. They know the stories of Jesus and in many cases, teach them to their friends. I love these books!

After we read a short chapter from the scripture stories, then we read from "The Friend." On Friday, it was a short story that talked about how one young girl shared the gospel with her friend at school and the girl and her mom were baptized. It had lots of pictures of the girl and her friend and the baptism. So wonderful! It inspired me and my kids to share the gospel…that day. Not an hour had passed from when my kids and I felt the spirit of missionary work from reading that story and felt inspired to share the great gift of the gospel, before they were out the door and acting on those feelings. Telling others what they read that morning. Inviting them to church activities. Starting the day off with a positive note, and better understanding of life, a real perspective of who they are and that God loves them - I am convinced my kids could not start the day off better than this.

It's a crazy, hectic morning around here. But when we sit down at the breakfast table, in that 15 minutes of peace and quiet, my kids learn the most important things they'll learn that day. I guess it's true what they say - breakfast IS the most important meal of the day!

Let's Talk about Cheese

Right now my husband and I are in a transition time before school starts again in January and we needed a job quick.  We decided to sign up with a temp agency and quickly were given a position at the local cheese factory.  Not very glamorous, I know, but you can't be too picky when you live in a tiny, tiny 200-person town.  Anyway, let me share some things with you that I have learned about cheese since working there:

Starting off on a good note,
Tillamook is very picky about their cheese.  Good news for the consumer.  They are safe.

Now let's talk about shredded cheese for a second.  One day I was watching the Food Network (it really is the only thing that interests me when I'm flipping channels) and the Pioneer Woman was cooking something.  First of all, I had NO IDEA she had a TV show.  I've used some of her recipes from her blog before, but that's about it.  Anyway, her recipes are usually fairly easy and quick.  So when she said "I used lots of prepared things to save time, but one thing I don't compromise on is block cheese.  I never buy shredded."  That kind of caught me off-guard.  I buy shredded all the time.  Who wouldn't?  It's the same price and half the work.  But since working at this cheese factory I found out the reason why.  It's called Free Flow.

As the shredded cheese goes through the conveyor belt,  

Free Flow is poured on top.  It looks like flour basically.

But it's not just a little sprinkle.  It's a lot of Free Flow that goes on that thin conveyor belt.  The man operating the machine explained that it's absolutely necessary to keep the cheese from caking together.  It made sense, but I still didn't like it.  Starches, cellulose, and chemicals are what make up Free Flow.  And it goes into EVERY shredded cheese package out there.  Go ahead, look on the ingredients on the back of your shredded mozzarella.  Gross.  Never again.  Not only are those added ingredients not very good for you, they change the consistency of the cheese so it doesn't react the same way in recipes.  It's now worth it to shred my own cheese.  

This next part is just a warning to read carefully.  One day we were given the assignment to open package after package of what looked like shredded cheddar.  Turns out, it was not cheddar at all, but "salad topping."  It actually wasn't even cheese.  It was just oil and chemicals.  We were opening it because it's "expiration date" had passed and it needed to be printed with a new expiration date.  Apparently, imitation cheese products don't really expire (kind of like Twinkies), but they put an expiration date on there to make you feel better.  Gross.

While we're on the topic of cheese products, let's discuss Velveeta.  I personally have never liked it.  I always thought the texture was weird and the flavor was off.  But there are some people who love it.  Sorry I'm about to dash all of your hopes and dreams.  Velveeta starts with real cheese.  Good.  Real cheese that has fallen on the floor, or has expired, or will not sell.  Is that LEGAL?  Of course it is - just as long as they boil it hot enough to kill the bacteria.  And then they start to add the chemicals.  You'll notice on the box it even says it's a "cheese product" and not pure cheese.  Gross.  Now a valid reason to avoid it.  If you're curious about the technical side of how Velveeta is made, here is an interesting article.

So just try and be a little more picky with your cheese choice.  Don't just automatically go for the cheapest brand.  It might be imitation cheese.  Just be aware of what you're putting into your belly and into your kids' bellies.

St. George Marathon 2008 (by Haley)

In October of 2008 I ran the St. George Marathon. A guy I was interested in at the time talked me into signing up for it. He also said he would run with me since I had never run more than 5 miles before (he didn't). Below you will find the account of my experience running the race. It will forever be one of the hardest things that I have ever done.


October 4, 2008

Dear Family,

I thought I would give a quick rundown of my AMAZING St. George Marathon experience:

I left Provo on Friday, October 3 at about 3:30pm with my roommate Marissa and her married couple friends. It was a fine trip and nice to be with 2 people who were also running the marathon...and had done it before. I was worried about dinner because I didn't think we would stop along the way and I knew I couldn't wait to eat until 7 or 8pm to eat or I would be sick for the marathon. We did end up stopping at about 6:30 and I got some gross chicken fingers and fries from DQ. It actually filled me up. The food was so salty, I thought I would be dehydrated for the marathon.

We finally got to the Marathon Expo (convention) at about 7:30pm. We got our numbers and shoe chips (to track our time) and even marathon shirts and posters. Pretty cool. I ran (haha) into a few friends, including Dustin (a guy from church who convinced me to sign up for the marathon and we never ran together once). I chilled around there for a bit and then called Whitney and Ashley to see where they were.

Whitney and Ashley finally got there at about 8:15pm, which ended up being perfect. We drove to Hurricane (about 15 minutes away) to our hotel room. I took a shower and climbed into bed at about 10:30. I fell asleep fast, but I kept waking up due to texts, or because it was so hot, etc. My alarm went off at 4am and we all got up. I was so nervous. I hoped that I could actually run it.

We left the hotel at 4:30 and headed to the starting line. I was so scared driving there. It seemed so far away and it was dark outside and raining. Ashley dropped Whit and I off and we got some pictures taken. 

I was freezing and of course did not prepare for it, so I insisted on borrowing Whitney's sweatshirt. Then I put a garbage bag over it that said: "I heart running!" My roommate Marissa made it. 

Since it was so cold outside there were fires. I stood by a fire to warm myself. I talked to a few runners that were experienced and they gave me advice. Then I saw Marissa and her brother Kelin. They were going crazy and were so excited. Then Marissa had to go to the bathroom and I never saw her again until after the marathon.

I ran a mile with Kelin and then I was on my own. I was grateful though because I wanted to go at my own pace. I had trained by myself. I was feeling so good. I hit mile 4 and I couldn't believe it. I wasn't listening to my ipod, I was just enjoying the experience, looking around, watching people, etc. The scenery was amazing. Lots of times I would be looking around me and run into people. The canyons, hills, trees, etc. I took Justin's advice and drank gatorade at every moment I could. I also ate these little fruit snack blocks whenever I felt a little hungry and they were perfect.

I knew I would see Whitney at mile 7 and that's when I had planned on giving her the sweatshirt, but I was still kind of cold and it was still raining. I didn't even notice Whitney until I passed her, so I just kept the sweatshirt.

I kept running and got to what they call "Hell's Hill"...the steepest hill of the marathon. It wasn't too bad, but by the time I was done with that hill I was feeling really hot. I had to take the sweatshirt off. I took a quick bathroom break (because of all the gatorade) and took off the sweatshirt. I was sure I would see Whitney again soon, but after about 2 or 3 miles of holding this heavy wet sweatshirt, I threw it to the side of the road. I will have to buy her a new one...

After I got rid of the sweatshirt, it was like I got my second wind. I was at mile 17 and I was feeling great. I turned up my ipod and I was running so fast. Maroon 5 (the music group) got me through some of the hardest parts of the marathon. I was feeling great. After a few miles, my legs started feeling really tired and I slowed down a tiny bit, but then I realized that it hurt more to slow down, so I kept on running.

When I reached mile 20 I couldn't believe it. The furthest I ever ran in my training was 20 miles and I almost died. I was at mile 20 and feeling fine. I about cried. I really was going to finish this marathon. I realized that your prayers helped. I also kept telling myself this phrase that seems silly, but that Marissa told me would help, "relax, power, glide". It actually did help. I was actually enjoying the marathon and had the stamina to do it all!

At mile 22 I ran into Whitney. She pumped me up and when she said that Ashley was waiting for me at mile 24, it just made me run even faster. I finally got to mile 24 and Ashley was no where to be found. I about cried. Your emotions go crazy after you have been running so long. I thought that she must have left or barely missed me. I began to think that if they are at least waiting for me at the finish line, that was good enough.

After about a half mile I saw Ashley. I almost cried. She started running with me. I had told her before to not crack jokes or ask me questions because I would not be feeling very good by that time. She did an awesome job and I wasn't feeling as bad as I thought I would be. She ran with me for a mile and then I told her that I wanted to run the last bit by myself. She ran to the finish line to meet me.

After she left I began to wonder if I should have asked her to run with me a little more. It was tough, but people were cheering on every side. I was so tired. I got to mile 26 and .2 miles seemed so far away. I refused to walk. I know that the Lord lifted my legs to the finish line. I heard people yelling my name, but I was too focused on finishing. Finally I crossed and about collapsed. The lady gave me a medal and a hug. I saw Whitney and Ashley. Whitney was bawling and I was too. Ashley had teary eyes. It was amazing!

I finished the marathon in about 4 hours and 40 minutes. It was amazing. That was faster than I ever trained. I was so proud of myself. When I started my training the most I had ever run was 5 miles. No one thought I could run this, even myself, but I was dedicated. I believe that I did so well because I was so dedicated to my 4 months of training. I never missed a day. The Lord helped me so much too. He answered my prayers. Having Whitney and Ashley there helped me go faster too. The weather even made me run faster.

Today I think it is a miracle that I did that. I really believe that I can do anything now. Wow, you have a goal and work hard for it, you can achieve it. I am grateful that I didn't get injured and that the Lord helped me so much to do this. 

In my room I have my marathon poster and medal hanging on the wall. It isn't to show off but is more for myself. It helps to remind me to never give up and that I can do anything if I work hard.

Friday Night Party - by Bethany

I don't have many memories from first grade, but one sticks out to me. It was a Friday in the fall, and I was so excited for school to be over. "Why?" asked my teacher, Dr. Mayfield. "On Friday nights, we eat junk food and pizza and lay all over the floor all evening watching movies until we're so tired our dad drags us to bed in our clothes!" (Or something to that effect.) The teacher mentioned it to my mom. She was mortified!

Okay, I don't have a picture of our Friday night parties, but here's a blast from the past to get you in the right frame of reference. (Whitney, Haley, Bethany, Ashley)

When we were growing up, Friday night was not a time to go hang out with friends. My dad wanted to do whatever he could to keep us home together as a family as much as possible, hence the mantra "Flakes don't do friends". To make us actually want to stay home with each other, my parents started the tradition of the Friday Night Party. 

Every Friday night for as long as I can remember, I came home from school to the smell of baking. Brownies, blondies, bird nest cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and no bakes were some of the regulars. Friday also happened to be shopping day, so there were all kinds of new goodies to discover: snack cakes and pies from the Hostess discount store, black-and-white bags of generic chips or cheese popcorn, cheapo Big K pop, and of course, either Fox DeLuxe (aka "cardboard") pizza or pepperoni rolls. It was like Christmas every weekend!

Dad would go to the library and rent a big stack of old movies - musicals, black and white, war movies, classics, live action Disney, etc. We would all go to the family room, vote on which movie we'd watch first, and fill our plates with piles of food set up on the big folding table. Then we'd eat and eat all night while watching movie after movie, sitting and laying all over the room. I'm sure my mom is mortified that I'm sharing this with the world, but to me it is a very fond memory!

When I told my husband about this tradition a few years into our marriage, he LOVED the idea. We don't go quite as overboard as the original version, but we and our kids always look forward to Friday nights at home with the family.

We always have a pizza. Our current favorite is pepperoni and green peppers, with a delicious (and cheap) pre-made herb pizza dough from Safeway. (I'm afraid I've had failure after failure with many different homemade dough recipes.)

We asked for a pizza peel one Christmas since we make pizza so much.

You may call that burnt, but it's EXACTLY how I like it, super crispy, and every bite gets eaten!

My spread doesn't come anywhere close to my mom's, but it all gets eaten. 

Pizza, cucumbers, diet root beer, and usually some kind of treat.

(Note bottles with lids to prevent messes, and paper plates! No dishes!)

The movie portion of our Friday night party is always evolving. When our oldest was younger, we watched a cartoon every week. Now we've moved on to live action family movies, with cartoons thrown in every once in a while. Admittedly, some of these shows are painful for adults to watch, but the kids love them! I get movies from the library, or we just watch something on Netflix.

We hook our laptop to the TV for Netflix movies. The kids love getting to eat in front of the TV.

It's a sacrifice to sit through episodes of "Caspar's Scare School", but it's for the kids.

It's a very simple concept that I think a lot of people practice with slight variations. We like it so much that if something happens on Friday night to prevent our regular plan, we'll do it the next night we can. When we have to throw it into a weeknight and go to bed early, sometimes we just watch an episode of something. It's worth it to us, and not just because it's fun and delicious. It's tradition and family bonding, and something that I hope will keep our kids wanting to spend most Friday nights with the family well into their teens.

You can't beat those happy smiling faces!

"More pizza crust, please!"