Markers for Lunch

Good thing I've switched to Crayola.

Spaghetti Paint

Kind of copying Heather on this one...still, the spaghetti shots are classic, are they not?

Shove with love...

Ta-da!

Pleased as punch

What you get when a 2 year old paints your toes...


We should have spent that time painting the walls instead...gross!

Love, Logic and Strawberry Pie

I've been trying to Love and Logic it around here. If you've heard of this parenting technique, you'll know that it's a lot about letting consequences and not words do the teaching. This works great at my house since the kids don't listen to a whole lot of what I say anyhow.

So today Jonah was sassin' me with the usual "You're in big trouble, mom" and "No, you're going to corner time" kinds of phrases when he didn't get something he wanted. I quick decided I needed a consequence and came up with the strawberry pie I made last night.

Lunch time came around and "Oh, Ellie! Would you like some of this yummy strawberry pie?" Jonah asks, "can I have some Mom?" "Oh I don't think so. Sorry Jonah." (I say with a sweet, loving smile on my face) "Why?!" Jonah demands more than asks. "You haven't been very nice to me today, Jonah. I'm really sorry honey." And then the tantrum ensues. You get the picture I'm sure...well, maybe your kids are more angelic than mine.

Part of me wanted to feel bad for not letting him have the pie even later on when he had calmed down, but most of me was actually very proud that I stuck to my guns on this one and you know what, he's been a very pleasant boy this afternoon and is even at this very moment taking a nap!
Of course the real reason for this story is the pie. This is seriously the yummiest strawberry pie ever. (Recipe courtesy of Michelle Jacobs...we love it!)

(I've been cheating and using a store-bought crust, but for you serious pie makers out there...)
Vinegar Pie Crusts

2 ½ c. flour
1 c. shortening
½ tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
¼ c. cold water (or a little more, as needed)
1 T. vinegar

Blend the flour and salt. Add shortening and mix lightly. Then add egg, water, and vinegar. Form dough into a ball, wrap in saran wrap, and leave in fridge for about 15 minutes. Roll flat, place in pie tins, and prick bottoms of pie shells with fork. Bake at 475 for 8-10 minutes.
*Makes 2-3 single pie crusts

Strawberry Pie

9-inch pie shells (2)
3-4 quarts fresh strawberries
2 c. sugar
6 T. cornstarch
2 ¼ c. water (somehow this always ends up being too much water when I make it, so next time I'll try cutting in half)
1 small box strawberry jell-o
1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
Powdered sugar for sweetening (about 1/2 to 1 cup depending on your sweet tooth)

Pie Crust, cream cheese, and berries:

Bake two vinegar pie crusts. While they are baking, beat the cream cheese (be sure it’s at room temperature) and powdered sugar together. Add enough powdered sugar to sweeten the cream cheese. When the pie shells are cool, spread the sweetened cream cheese on the bottom of each pie crust. Then stack the strawberries in the pie tin so that the strawberries reach the top of the pie dish around the edges and are mounding in the middle.

**Glaze:

Mash enough berries to measure one cup. Add mashed berries and water to a saucepan. Stir together the cornstarch and sugar, then add to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and boils. Add jell-o. Mix and then let the glaze cool. Pour over strawberries. Chill until set, about 4 hours.
* Makes 2 strawberry pies

**I make the glaze first so that while it's cooling I can be doing the rest of it.

Other cute pictures...

What's that in your bum, Char? Have you been playing with Ellie? I think so.

My favorite time of day. And really we had put them down in their own beds, but this is how they ended up. Can you tell that my bed didn't get made that day? Whoops.

Haigler Continued...

Playing at the creek

Meagan and Ellie dunking their heads in the creek...these two girls were inseparable.

Jonah, Meagan and Ellie at the swimming hole

Charlotte didn't mind just standing in the pouring rain...

...or dancing in it either.

Preston and Char-Bar...BFF

Haigler 2008

Just about every year we've been in town we go to Lofgreen Acres at Haigler. We love you Grandma Lofgreen for building us a place big enough to convene all together! This year was especially fun as we discovered some new treasures.

Discovery #1: The swimming hole. Josh was out fishing with Jonah along the creek when J's flip flop fell off, traveled down stream a bit and was finally caught at the head of a beautiful swimming hole about 12 ft. deep at it's deepest point. It made for some great cliff jumping, wading around for the kids and night swimming/jumping.

Discovery #2: Haigler Waterfalls. Amazing! It was a gorgeous, laborious 4 hr. hike; well worth the effort to finally discover these falls. Thanks Aunt Peggy for the heads up on this hike. We did take an accidental detour on the way back but thankfully found our course again.

Sister in law Cynthia, Sister Kristin and Mom on their way down to the falls

At the Falls. Don't feel like you need to click to see any more detail in these :)

The afternoon thunderstorms are what make any trip to the mountains the best. Maybe the only thing (besides family) that I absolutely LOVE about Arizona are the monsoons. This year has been great. I can't get enough of these storms. I wish I had taken some pictures of the storm I drove through on the way back from Haigler. The gray clouds against the mountains were quite amazing. Awe inspiring. Here are more pictures of the trip.

Mikki and Bekki thinking real hard at a game of Blokus, our signature game of this Haigler year.

Uncle Tyler hanging out with Ellie and Charlotte

A cute one of Char

Charley, Jonah, Ellie and the cows feeling at home in our back yard.

Jonah hard at work during the water games activity

This is why you don't buy the generic brand...

Ellie, in true princess fashion, loves to paint her nails. Often I'll see her using the markers to "paint" her nails, think "oh that's cute," then come back 10 mintues later to this...

...and her partner in crime. Actually, the jury's still out as to whether
Char's a co-conspirator or victim in the case of Ellie and her markers v. Mom. What I do know is that Mom typically loses these cases.

What I have learned from these situations? That the generic washable brand of markers are not in reality washable. Note to self. Stick with Crayola.

Pictures of Haigler to come...!

Happy Fourth!

One of the perks of being married to an attorney is that you get to become law abiding citizens. Maybe perk isn't the right word. The other day Jonah mysteriously came home with a box of firecrackers (thank you, family!). Josh decided there was no way we were keeping them. However, can you really just throw them away? What if they blow up? Josh solved the problem by turning ourselves in, more or less. He actually called up the fire department to ask what we should do about them. After perplexing the Town of Gilbert for awhile, he was referred to the police station to turn them in for destruction. Should I be impressed or annoyed? Jonah knew exactly how he felt about it...


In the end the kids had fun going down to the police station to hand over the illegal merchandise. And we all get to feel great about being law abiding citizens again.


In other news, Jonah has found his favorite great-uncle. He had a great time at Uncle Brad's place viewing his trophies and I think we've got a future hunter in the makings here. Tonight as he was getting ready for bed he told Josh that his bedtime story had to be either a "...fishing story or a hunting story. You can choose, Dad." Lovely.


We're headed off to Haigler now to celebrate the Fourth and spend some quality time with the Allreds. Wahoo! I can't wait. Jonah is perhaps even more excited. Last night as I was putting Ellie to bed he came in and very seriously said, "Mom, we've got a big day tomorrow."
Which is why I better stop blogging now and finish (more like start) packing.