A look back

This video was taken almost one year ago. I can't believe how much Livvy has grown up! She is such a sweet, loving little girl.

The other night I was putting her to bed and she literally could not stop talking. She was telling me about how she liked princesses and fairies. She was telling me how "Ronnie" was her friend at school and he held her hand. She was telling me about how much she loved her "squishy baby Jude". I started reading her bedtime book and she just kept talking over me. I have no idea where she gets her gift of gab ;).

I love my little Livvy girl.

London Science Museum

On Saturday we spent the day at the London Science Museum with my Uncle Jon!

Right when we got off the tube station we spotted the new Hyde Park church building and visitor center, so we stopped in for a peak. 

Jude really loved Uncle Jon immediately! 

The science museum was a blast. The kids were in heaven with all of the fun exhibits.

Livvy loved looking (and talking) to the two Livvys. 

The favorite by far was the water table. Jude went crazy and might as well not have worn an apron. By the end he was drenched from head to toe!

I love Jude's little tongue sticking out.

Livvy's favorite new friend, Clarice the reindeer went everywhere with us. 

Keeping Jude occupied for the hour train ride back was tough. I told Lincoln imagine 11 hours of this in three weeks! Let the fun begin!

Cherry on top.

As if our Christmas could get any better what with going to Arizona to see our family and being in the United States of America after 1 year of being gone, we're adding another element of awesomeness.

We have my 20 week ultrasound coming up on December 10th and rather than find out then, we're going to save it for Christmas morning!!!

So, here's the plan. We'll bring in a piece of paper and envelope and have the ultrasound technician write down girl or boy in blue or pink. Then (making sure no one can see into the envelope) we will seal it up.

Christmas morning we're going to wrap it in a box and have Livvy open it up and tell us if it's blue or pink!

....

The only thing that I'm worried about is us being able to tell on the scan (British word for ultrasound). Jude wasn't shy and both of us could tell right away. Lincoln and I are going to have to commit to not look!

I'm so excited that we get to share this fun moment with our families (mine via computer)! This Christmas is like the Christmases of all Christmases. Seriously people, the happiness is going to be out of control.

Life Lately

Life lately has been pretty relaxed. School, colds, rain, leaves, and prepping for our Christmas trip. 

Oh yeah, and we're having a baby in May. Which seems like old news, but I haven't really talked about the impending baby much. Livvy is very excited and just yesterday I told her we were going to the doctor (midwife) for the baby and she asked "Oh, is the doctor going to get the baby out?" She can't wait to meet her baby sister (yes, she is absolutely set on having a sister and if I tell her "or baby brother" she says "oh, two babies!?!? A baby sister and a baby brother!", sweet girl!)

Jude is in for a rude awakening. That baby (yes, he is still very much a baby) loves to snuggle and is so clingy! He freaks out whenever I have another kid on my lap...luckily we still have 5 more months to work on that. 

Jude (at 15 months!) is starting to walk more and more and the past two days I've been working in the kitchen and he has come walking in all by himself! Big deal for a kid that has been so terrified to let go of my hand and walk by himself! He is a sweet boy and is learning so much right now. He understands more than he can speak, but he is trying to talk all the time. 

Livvy has been home from school, because of a cold and I have loved soaking her in during Jude's naps. She loves to cook/bake with me and very dutifully stirs, grates and pours whatever I need. She has such a sweet little spirit and is always helping me with Jude. They have become the very best of friends and I have loved watching them find ways to make each other laugh and play.

We find out if we're having a boy or a girl on December 10th and the more I think about it, the more I know I will be SO happy either way. Whether I get another spirited girl like Livvy or a mild, cuddly boy like Jude, I will be so blessed to have another baby to love.

The blog that feeds my family

For the past few years I have been so happy to use one blog for the majority of my dinner ideas. This week I made a recipe of hers for 3 of the 5 week night meals.

Mel's Kitchen Cafe

I love her recipes because
1. they are yummy
2. most of them are quick and I can do them with two little ones circles around my legs
3. my kids like most of the recipes
4. the food is seriously yummy

So I've compiled a list of all the recipes that have tried of hers. Some I rotate in my weekly menu plans, and some I've only made a few times, but all  of them are good. So if you are stumped for dinner go to her recipe index and try out a few!

MY ULTIMATE FAVORITES
-Creamy White Chili - I make this a lot and serve it with tortilla chips, super good

-Sweet and Sour Chicken - I think this is one of her most popular recipes, it was easy to throw together and the kids loved it.

-Sticky Coconut Chicken - I bake this in my oven and serve it with coconut rice

-Orange Cashew Rice with Tilapia - love this rice that is packed with flavor and texture

-Skillet Creamy Macaroni and Cheese - Jude ate three/four bowls of this, loved how creamy it came out with no weird textures

-Broccoli beef - as a Chinese food lover I can tell you this is better than take out. Really good and easy.

-Honey lime chicken enchiladas - if you ever need to feed a crowd this is a winner!

-Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce - sounds funky, but it's super good, a little bit spicy so not the best for the kids

-Chopped Cobb Salad with Blue Cheese - such a good summer salad

BAKING GOODIES
Lion House Dinner Rolls

Divine Breadsticks

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie
Classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Glazed Poppy Seed Bread

RECIPES I NEED TO MAKE AGAIN
The Best Ground Beef Tacos
Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pinapple and Red Onion

Chicken with Mushrooms and Zucchini

Creamy Swiss Cheese Chicken Bake

Hawaiian Haystacks- Chicken Sauce Reinvented

Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

Mango and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Pasta Chicken Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Spinach and Bacon

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Shredded Chicken Pitas with Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Peanut Butter Crunch Snack Balls

....

This week I tried two new recipes from her site and was blown away both times. Kids loved 'em, hubby loved 'em and I could make them up without Lincoln being home to help with the kids. Dinner time is crazy time for my kids, so having quick recipes that come together pretty fast is super important. 

If you're in a dinner stump try her blog out! It's been a no fail source for me. 

The New Forest

For our final weekend getaway we decided to head toward Winchester and Southampton and enjoy the surrounding areas. 

Saturday we spent the day in The New Forest National Park. It was awesome! There are wild ponies that wander everywhere throughout the park. Seriously you could walk up and touch them (if it wasn't against the rules).  Jude and Livvy were in heaven. 

At one point we were driving out of a car park and we were stopped by 6 ponies that decided they were comfortable in the middle of the road! Thankfully, a forest ranger was behind us and came and literally pushed them off the road. 

After we wandered around the ponies we headed to a little hiking trail nearby. 

The fall colors were gorgeous and Livvy was so excited to go hiking. She kept saying she needed her tent and a flashlight. =) 

We bought a little hiking back pack a few months ago and finally broke it in for our little non-walker. He loved it and had fun grabbing leaves on trees with Lincoln. 

The only way we keep Livvy walking is by providing her a "walking stick". She was so entertained with it and the mud that she could "squelch and squirch" through (go read We're Going on a Bear Hunt). 

Lincoln also found me a Christmas tree. Thanks, sweets. 

Jude discovered the fun of crunching leaves.

 Family time is the best. 

Halloween Night

After the long day of partying, we were all so tired that we didn't carve our pumpkins until about 5 pm! 

Livvy was excited to color her face and was very upset when I cut into her beautiful faces!

After we finished carving, we got ready for Lincoln to come home so we could Trick or Treat!

Jude the Hunter, with his hunting spoils

Livvy the Princess (she had a bigger more obvious princess dress, but due to an earlier accent we found a back up dress that fit her princess needs)

We went to a few houses close by (where we encountered a man who gave Livvy a pound to buy some sweets). We learned fast that only people who put pumpkins out are participating in the American-imported holiday of Halloween.  After a block, Jude was done, so I headed home.  Livvy, however, was determined to find more suckers. So thanks to an amazing Dad (who still hadn't eaten dinner yet), they walked all over our neighborhood and looked for houses with pumpkins. 

Overall, Halloween was a success. I had heard it would be so lame and I was so dreading it here. But I have to say, it felt very much like a good, candy filled Halloween in the States!

P.S. Sorry for the lame quality of my pictures. I really want to invest in a good camera someday! Until then...automatic flashes and blurry photos will have to satisfy the grandparents! =)

Oxford

On the same trip that we went to Windsor Castle we stopped in at the University of Oxford.

Because we got there pretty early and it was still cold we meandered around the Natural History Museum with the kids first. 

Jude seriously couldn't stop pointing at things. He wanted to touch everything and was so excited! Livvy loved it too, although she was really hesitant to stand underneath that T-Rex and take a picture! 

After the museum we wandered around the campus and saw some of the beautiful architecture. 

It was definitely very impressive, although I told Lincoln BYU may not be as impressive, but our landscaping has it beat! 

On our way back to the car park we walked down this random cobblestone street and right through filming of the movie Belle.

I think we literally passed the main characters in a carriage as we first walked in and they were setting the scene. We had a few minutes to hustle down the road before they closed it for the shot. It was pretty cool to see all the details that filming takes to create realistic scenes. Largely though, the scene was already created for them, thanks to the beautiful architecture that Oxford has.

Halloween Party 2012

My wonderful American friend of mine, Rebecca, and I were moaning about the lack of Halloween in England when we decided to fix it by throwing a party. At first the party started out just being a few of our kids friends but soon it grew to a ward party, including 40ish kids.

Yikes.

It was so much work, but it all paid off and it was a blast. We started the party with crafting monster plates, Oreo spider cookies, amazing gingerbread Halloween cookies, and Halloween cut outs. Friends showed up with cookies to decorate and cupcakes to frost. It was incredible to have so much unexpected help!

After all the crafting (and eating) we split the kids up into teams and started rotating between four different games, including: Pin the Tail on the Cat, Mummy Wrap, Marshmallow Ghosts on a string, and a Ghost Hunt.

 While I was helping with the games, Jude's biggest fan at church, Hugo, swooped in a took him for me. I am so thankful that we had so many helping hands. We had to do the party on Halloween (Wednesday) so we didn't have many hubbies around to help with the kids.I later found this cute photo of apparent evidence of what the Jude Dude was up to!

The last game (which I was so excited about!) was the Witch Relay. The kids had to ride on a broom and run around a witches hat and then tag the next team mate. It was such a blast!

Because Trick or Treating is a bit shoddy here we decided to have parents go into rooms around the church and let the kids Trick or Treat. They loved it and many "mums" told me that their kids had never had the chance to do that before and they were so excited to be able to finally experience it!

We ended the party with an amazing pot luck lunch (again thanks to so many people that helped so selflessly) and a little movie time featuring Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin.

The whole point of this extravaganza was for that little miss to get some good ol' Halloween fun with her friends. Even though I felt like I'd been hit by a truck at the end of the day, it was all worth it to see this little miss (and every kid there!) so excited to spend time together having fun!

Windsor Castle (the famous one)

A few weeks ago Lincoln booked our last couple weekends away before the weather gets unbearable. I couldn't have picked a better time to get away from house work and making food for a few days. 

Saturday morning we woke up to the coldest morning since last winter. So we grabbed everything we could think of to keep us warm and Lincoln punched in "Windsor Castle" in the "Points of Interest" category of our GPS. 

After an hour of driving and feeling bewildered about the lack of signs pointing us to the second most visited site in England, we pulled up to the following restaurant in the completely wrong direction called "Windsor Castle."

Woops! Just for the record I was the one driving not navigating...

So after another hour of driving we arrived in freezing cold Windsor. I love how Jude is bundled! He can't move, but he is warm!

Windsor Castle is the Queen's preferred weekend residence and houses many state events. The rooms and the decorations were over the top. They were gorgeous.

Despite it being freezing, the kids did great. At one point in the day Livvy said "Mommy, Jude told me he wants to go to the hotel and go swimming." That girl is a sly one.

After stuffing ourselves with amazing hamburgers and fries we made it to the hotel that was way too fancy for us and Lincoln and Livvy went swimming in a low-lite pool in the middle of a restaurant and bar. Lincoln is one good dad.