Life As A Tripp

Sunday

2010-08-02T10:23:00.001-07:00

For Church on Sunday Adalyn got a new dress. I used this tutorial to make it. I totally loved how it turned out! It was so easy to make.

Warren got a fish from his primary class. He liked it so much he even had it sleep with him last night. Warren starts pre-school in two weeks. He is getting really excited. I can't believe how old he is getting

On Sunday this little guy was a total wreck!! He spent most of the day screaming. I am talking LOUD screaming!! I thought I was going to go crazy. 2:00pm church is so hard. It is every one's nap time. I don't know how we always end up with that time. We have had it for almost 5 years straight. We don't change times again til Aug. 2011. It is going to be a LONG year.
Luckily Garryn is in a better mood today. I don't think I could take another day of screaming. Amber and Brennon come home tonight. I am soooo excited!

Adalyn

2010-07-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

Adalyn is quite the stinker. She is into and onto everything. Some of her favorite things to do are empty all the contents from drawers and cupboards and climbing onto the table. I had to take off my centerpiece since she kept knocking it onto the floor. A few days ago I sat the ladder up to hang a sign over my pantry. I went to get the rest of my supplies and I came back and found this. I was totally freaked and shocked, so I did what any mother would do. I made Devon run and get my camera. Hey, I want to have proof to show her when she gets older. Another of Adalyn's favorite things to do is unload the dishwasher. I am sure this will be nice someday; but frustrating when you are trying to load it. If the dishwasher is left even slightly ajar, she can get it open. This is from a couple of days ago. She is so proud of herself! Today Devon caught her in my craft room. She had climbed onto the chair and then pulled herself onto my desk; then she started dumping all the contents on my shelf. Good thing Devon found her when he did. It could have been a lot bigger mess!
All of my kids have been climber's but Amber and Adalyn are definitely the worst. I guess my boys are a little more cautious (but not much).

I made Addie a few new dresses this weekend. I really liked how they turned out. I love this pattern. You just use your old t-shirts. I have used a couple of her other patterns and love them as well.

Videos of Our Piano in Action

2010-07-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

Piano

2010-07-12T08:16:00.003-07:00

Devon has been wanting us to get a piano for a long time. He has been searching craigslist for about a year and every now and then he will find one he wants us to look at. I have wanted a piano also, but I haven't been actively pursuing it like he has. A few weeks ago he placed an add on craigslist that said he was looking for a player piano. We got several calls about it, but only one that seemed too good to be true. It is a beautiful piano, and was a great price. We couldn't pass it up. Devon has been playing it non-stop. Devon took all these pictures of the piano. I think he did a great job!!!

Adalyn turns one

2010-07-06T09:24:00.001-07:00

Addie turned one on Saturday. I can't believe how fast this year went! We had a mini birthday celebration. Most of our family is out of town so we are going to have and official birthday party later.

Addie totally enjoyed her cupcake!

Grandma Tripp, Garryn and Warren get in on the action.

It all ended like this! In the tub!

Yellow Chandelier

2010-07-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

I can't find my before photo of this chandelier. It was black. I was planning on painting it for a long time but I just got to it last week. I decided it would be easiest to paint if I took it all apart. It worked out well. I just made sure I finished it quickly while I still remembered how to put it together.

Here is a picture Devon took of me putting the chandelier back together.

It cracks me up how intense my eyes look here. I guess I was really concentrating.

Devon took this picture of Adalyn watching me. Most of the time she was trying to take off with pieces of the chandelier. Devon had to take her in the other room so I could finish. She was not happy about it!!

Here is the finished product. I think it turned out really good. I have been loving this color of yellow lately. I guess if I get tired of it I can paint it again.

Meet the girls

2010-07-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here are our chickens. We got bantam chickens so they are about 1/2 the size of normal chickens. We think they are pretty cute. They each have their own personality.

We call this one Jasmine since she is a sultan chicken. I guess Devon was thinking of Aladin. She is pretty scared of everyone. It could be because Garryn goes out there and picks them up and throws them. He is soooo naughty!

We haven't named this one yet. We usually call her Blackie because of her color. She is our smallest chicken. She is quite spunky though. She will lay green eggs when she starts laying.

This one we call Big Mama. She is a Buff Brahma. I guess it rhymes well with Big Mama. She is our biggest chicken. She is cautious yet friendly. She will let Devon hold her for quite a while.

This is Fluffy (Brennon was determined to name one Fluffy, and this one fits that description best). She is supper friendly. Except after Garryn has been around. Then she is supper freaked out. It could because she is the one Garryn captures the most.
Here they are frolicking around in our back yard. You can see all the weeds that have popped up. I can't wait to get them taken care of.

Devon's Project

2010-07-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

We decided we wanted to get chickens when we were visiting in Utah. Devon and Amber immediately started dreaming up chicken coops. Devon sketched up a couple designs. One was a castle coop. Devon ended up deciding to build a 1950's inspired coop. He got the idea after visiting Ripples hamburger joint in Provo Utah (YUMMY burgers by the way!). Devon actually took a picture of it with his Polaroid camera. That is quite an honor. He doesn't have much film left.I was thinking it would be a while till we actually did it, but we found a local family that raises chickens and we fell in love. We bought four before we even had a coop for them. Devon finalized his plans and we went off to Home Depot for the supplies. Devon worked straight for about a week till he finished the coop. I did help a bit with the wire part. That was not fun. Good thing we had gloves.

Don't look too much at our grass (or lack of it). Jayson scalped it and then our sprinklers went out. Not a good combination. We have a landscaping friend who is supposed to come help us fix it. He is on vacation now, so it will have to wait a bit longer. It was really pretty before it all died. Now it is just dry little needles and weeds everywhere.

I decided I wanted to paint it a fun blue color. I was a little shocked at how bright it turned out. It looked more ghetto blue than charming cottage blue. I tried to have them change the color, but they said there wasn't much they could do since there was already too much pigment in the color. Oh well, I guess it will grow on me. Devon said it reminds him of the beach. I guess I will just have to imagine Greece when I see it.

Here is the finished coop. I think it turned out really good! Devon did a great job!!

Next post we will introduce you to our girls. They have been so fun to watch!! Who knew I would love having chickens so much.

Utah 2010 part 3

2010-06-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

We also had a picnic in Provo Canyon with Grant's family. It was a lot of fun hanging out with everyone. We split into groups to see who could build the tallest structure with just spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. Everyone did pretty horrible, but it was a lot of fun to watch.

Warren and Garryn spent most of their time climbing up and down these rocks.

Sarah's little girl Gracie was trying to see what Adalyn was up to. She took one whiff of her stinky diaper and took off. It was pretty funny.

This is what Garryn looked like at the end of the day. Dirty, tired, and REALLY grumpy!!
We had a great time. We loved spending time with everyone in Utah. Hopefully we can make a trip again next year.

Utah 2010 part 2

2010-06-27T14:59:00.001-07:00

We had a couple of day trips while we were in Utah. Jayson took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum by Thanksgiving Point. They had a great time

They especially like digging the toy dinosaurs out of the mud. Warren stuck a few of them in his pocket. When they got home and found them in his pocket they asked him why he put them in there. He said "so no one would see them". Mission accomplished. Later on he tried to say that Nana put them in his pocket. I guess my mom has some pretty long arms since she wasn't with them at the museum.

Warren and Amber are so silly! We also spent a day in Salt Lake City. We all enjoyed spending time at Temple Square. The temple is so beautiful!!
Garryn made Jayson carry him everywhere. We also took a tour of the LDS Conference center. This is a view from the roof. It is amazing up there.

Utah 2010 part 1

2010-06-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

We got back from Utah about a week and a half ago, but I am just getting around to posting the photo's now. There are a ton of photo's so I am going to break it into a couple of posts. We had a great time! We spent most of the time hanging out at Grandma Peterson's house. I found this horse while my mom and I were out garage sale shopping. The kids and I love it!! Jayson, not so much. Maybe it was the fact that we had to drive home with it on the roof of our van. It made it home safely. All the cousins like the horse as well.We also got to spent some time with Jayson's family. His Uncle Grant and Aunt Christie invited us over for dinner at their house. The kids had a great time playing in their awesome yard! Jayson and I enjoyed visiting with everyone!

Amber and the boys liked playing with their cats.

Warren thought he was petting one of the cats but he was actually smacking it. After several attempts of walking away from Warren the cat finally hissed and jumped at him. The cats claws got stuck in Warrens shirt. Warren started running around with the cat stuck to him and flaying around, He said to Amber "look Amber, kitty love me, he hugging me". I guess the cat finally hissed really loud and ran away. Too bad we didn't get it on video.

Amber took this picture of Adalyn. I love how it turned out. Garryn and I are in the background. I was trying to comfort him. I think Warren hurt him. They can be sooooo mean to each other.
Here is aother picture Amber took. She got a TON of Addie

The trampoline is always a fun time for the kids. Here is Amber jumping on it. The sky looked amazing in the background. It started raining a few minutes after this picture was taken.
Devon spent most of the time playing their piano. Devon loves the piano and keeps hoping we get one for our home.

The calm after the storm

2010-05-26T11:57:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of Warren and Garryn yesterday after a crazy and EXPENSIVE day. They both crashed on the couch. Here is a very brief recap of the day. We had two flat tires, and Garryn flooded our master bath. Luckily our handyman was at our house doing some work for us. He helped us get out our wet carpets out so we could salvage them. We will have to replace the carpet padding but it seams like everything else is OK. Garryn is a total stinker. You have to keep your eye on him every second or he is into some kind of trouble. I hope this phase doesn't last much longer. They look so cute when they are asleep. I wished it was me sleeping at this point but I was still busy with damage control. The life of a parent.

Brennon Baptism

2010-05-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

Brennon got baptised about a week and a half ago on May 15. It was such a neat day. Brennon wanted Devon to be the one to baptise him. It was Devon's first time. He did a great job, even though I know he was really nervous. I was so incredibly proud of both of them. Here is our whole clan. Adalyn wasn't facing the camera in any of the pictures we took. This is the best we got. I am not sure what Brennon is thinking about. This was taken right after the baptism.Brennon's dad Scot and his wife Jill came for the baptism. Scot did his confirmation blessing. He did a really good job. Brennon is blessed to have so many that love and care about him. Brennon's friend Ashton drew this picture of Devon baptising Brennon. I love it! Check out Devon's full head of hair.

2010-05-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Devon entered a video contest for keeping Arizona green. He got an honorable mention for his video. Last night we went to an award ceremony for all the contestants that placed. I think Devon should have won but I am not one of the judges. You can go to the web site and see the picture of the winners and their video's . Here is the link .I am SO PROUD of Devon!! He worked really hard on this, and I think he did a fantastic job! He got a lot of really good feedback. Way to go Devon!!!

Bath Time

2010-05-12T08:27:00.001-07:00

Last night the boys had a great time playing around in their bubble bath. Addie just hung out on the side of the tub, wishing she could join in on the fun.

On a side note, don't you just love my brick floors! You can kind of see them in the picture with Adalyn. I have them in my entry way and in my halls and all the baths. I will have to post some more picture of our new home. I need to do some cleaning first. It would be a lot easier to do the cleaning if I didn't have so many little one tearing it apart all the time. I love my messy rugrats!!! I guess I will just have to settle for semi clean photos! I will post some soon.

Sleeping Beauty

2010-05-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jayson took the kids for a walk. We only have a double stroller so Jayson put Adalyn in the back basket. This is what she looked like when she got home. I can't even handle how cute this picture is.

Sorry I have been so bad at posting lately. Things have been crazy at the Tripp household. Plus is doesn't help that my camera was not working for a while. I am going to try and do better. Wish me luck!!

Amber and Devon jumping off swing

2010-04-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

devon post: garage sale finds

2010-03-06T12:51:00.001-08:00

Today we went to garage sales like usual. i was not expecting to find much of anything but today i struck gold.I finally found a fully working while still old looking projector. the people thought it was so cool that i was in to this kind of stuff that they gave me a awesome 8mm camera ,they were planning to sell on eBay, for just five dollars extra.

this camera is awesome! it was a very high end camera when it came out.

they also gave me a 8mm editor , 8mm converter (to transfer film to videotape with), and a unopened record with JFK,s speeches on it for not much more. when i got in the car i was suffering from over excitement overdose and i couldn't stay still.

Yay! sorry still a little exited

Dining Room Before & After

2010-02-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

When we moved into our new house I knew I wanted to close off some of the walls of the dinning room and change it into my sewing/craft room. Well last week we completed the first part. Now I just need to paint it and move in my furniture. I am so excited. I have totally missed having a room for my creative endeavors.

Before:

After:

I love how my contractor added an art niche in the entry way. I need to get busy filling it up.

I LOVE my new house!!! I will post more pictures once I get it more put together.

Boat Boy!!

2010-01-27T06:07:00.001-08:00

For Christmas Jayson's dad had his brother raise a cow and split the meat between the three Tripp brothers here in Arizona. His brother drove the meat down from Idaho in four huge Styrofoam coolers. Devon used two of the coolers and some duct tape to make a boat. He likes to take the boys on rides in our pool.
Last week we had a ton of rain, Devon was super excited since this meant he could try out his boat in the neighborhood overflow areas.

Blogging Hiatus

2010-01-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted anything for a really long time. We moved the beginning of December. Things are still crazy, but I hope to have it a little more under control soon. I still have boxes everywhere and my bed is in my living room. The house we bought had a dog and it made the master bedroom it's toilet. We ripped all the carpet out of the room and closets and bleached and painted the floors. We also had the dogie door removed from my closet. It smells a ton better, but now we need to get new carpet. We need to rent out our old house to get money for the new carpet. Right now we are paying two mortgages. Hopefully we get it rented out soon. Anyway that is why I have been so bad at blogging. I will try to post some pictures soon, for anyone that may till read my blog.

super ultra mega devon post

2009-12-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

Beatles YAY! i really like the beatles and have made it my goal to get all 13 albums. so far i have got 3 and i really love them i got this awsome NES at a garrage sale with a whole bunch of games and controlers incuded. it also had a original gameboy included

i finaly found a projector for my 8mm films yay! it mostley works

devon mini post: just a funny vid of warren

2009-11-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

Devon post : reel cool stuff from yard sales

2009-11-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to yard sales as usual but yesterday i got two really cool things. i got both these things tor $5 at different sales. the first thing i got was a fancy lightsaber. these cost$120 normally

The second and coolest thing i got was a reel-to-reel player/recorder. I saw it on the ground with the $5 sticker on it. I immediately said in excitement "is that a reel to reel player!". the guy said it was and my mom said "whats that?". my mom kinda gave me weird looks for even wanting this strange object. anyway i got it and took it home. i looked it up online and found it is worth $300-$550! yay!

I don't have any tapes to play or record on but i can plug my record player into it and watch the meters move

Halloween 2009

2009-11-06T07:59:00.001-08:00

I am a little behind on getting this out. Halloween weekend was a lot of fun. My Cousin Ben and his wife Tricia came down to visit and they joined in on all the Halloween festivities. On Friday we went to Trunk or Treating at our church. Devon decked out the back of our van, but I didn't get any pictures of it. Darn it!!!Garryn was being whinny the whole night and wanted to be carried the whole time.Leslie and her girls came along with us.Jayson took over the kids candyOn Saturday we went over to Julie's to go Trick or Treating in her neighborhoodHere is Grandma Tripp with WarrenBrennonGarrynWarren trying to put his dragon head on. He never could figure it out, so he carried it the whole night. Silly boy!! He wouldn't let us put it on himHere is Ben and Tricia with Adria. They have one more daughter, but I guess I didn't get any pictures of her. I really need to do better with my picture taking. Check out Tricia's pictures from the night here.Adalyn got tired after about an hour. Doesn't Garryn look totally mischievous in this picture! We were trying to get him to follow us, but he just stood there giving us this look. Checking out their loot at the end of the night

My Little Witch

2009-10-26T06:58:00.001-07:00

I finished Adalyn's costume this weekend. I really liked how it turned out. I used this pattern for the dress. I really liked doing the freezer paper stenciling. I wasn't paying enough attention though and I got a little bit of white paint on the outside fabric. Oh well, it was really fun and turned out great anyway. I used this post to help me figure out how to make the hat; and this pattern to make the shoes. Doesn't Adalyn make the cutest little witch?
Warren didn't want to be left out of the pictures, so here is one of them together. Warren is wearing Brennon's shirt. That is Warren and Garryn's new thing; wearing either Devon or Brennon's shirts. They look so cute riding their bikes around in these huge shirts.

devon post: 8mm home movies!

2009-10-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

I found this awesome Kodak 8mm movie camera at a garage sale and bought it for two bucks!

this is the type of camera that made those classic home movies that played on projectors. it uses double 8 film which you can still buy! so i did and made my own home movie. i bought my film at

http://www.dwaynesphoto.com/ . i also has it processed there double 8 film is actually 16mm film but you run it through the camera twice exposing one side at a time then they cut it in half in processing. here is the processed film compared to the original film you get

i don't have a projector yet but i had the film converted to a digital file so i could see it in the meantime this is also good cause i can show you

Adalyn and her crazy tounge

2009-10-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here is another one for my mom. We got some video of Adalyn doing crazy things with her tongue. It is dark in the video so it is kind of hard to see, but worth trying.

Addie and her big bro's

2009-10-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

My mom complained after looking at my blog that she wanted more pictures of Adalyn. Yesterday I tried to take some pictures of her. Warren and Garryn didn't want to be left out and kept getting in the pictures.

First Garryn started kissing herThen Warren started to get in on the action. It is always a competition with Warren and Garryn (so much like their daddy!)
I got a couple photos of Adalyn alone and then......

Warren started squishing her face.

Then he propped his feet up next to her. She looks really excited about it.

Here is one of our little cutie all by herself

Family from Washington

2009-10-07T07:56:00.001-07:00

My dad's family is from Forks Washington. They have been there since the 1800's. A few of them came to Arizona for a visit and they stopped by to hang out with us for a night. It was great to see them. They are some of the sweetest people. This is my Grandpa Peterson's brother Pete and his wife Wilma.
This is Pete and Wilma's son Stan and his wife Linda. The first time I remember meeting them is when they came to Jayson and my wedding. It really meant a lot to us. On Saturday morning I was talking about them right after I woke up. I got my words mixed up and I called them Lin and Standa. I kept laughing all day thinking about it.

Stan or Standa (he he) brought a ton of genealogy from our relatives in Sweden. Here he is telling my mom and Julie about it.

Garryn thoroughly enjoyed the cupcakes Sarah brought. They were pretty darn good!!

Stan and Linda brought a ton of shirts for everyone. Since they live in Forks most of them were Twilight shirts. This is one that Amber took. I think it is really funny. Linda came up with this saying; isn't she clever.

This is a picture of the whole Washington gang. Stan and Linda's son Jordan and his wife Teresa are in the front. It was the first time I had met them. They were both really nice. They live outside Spokane.

Here is all of us. It was a fun night. I loved visiting with everyone!!!

New camera bag

2009-10-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

Today I made a camera case for my flip camera. I love the red and blue combo. I lined the inside with material from an old flannel sheet to help protect the camera from scratches.

Amber Skirt

2009-10-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

A few posts ago I said I would post some of the skirts I have been working on. Here are two I made for Amber. I think she looks so cute in them. I used this tutorial to get the basic measurements and this tutorial for cutting and sewing the skirt.

Amber picked out this orange material herself

I didn't use a zipper I just used buttons like the girl here did.

this one is made from a duvet cover I got from Ikea for super cheap.

Dancing Fool

2009-09-30T07:51:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we got a Flip Camera at Costco. The kids have been having fun making videos with it. I found this one on the camera this morning.

Look who's 3!!!

2009-09-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

Warren had a birthday this week. I can't believe how big he is getting. We celebrated with some cake. Who says you need a fork to eat cake?

Amber played Happy Birthday to him on her flute, while we all sang

Recipe Box

2009-09-17T08:08:00.001-07:00

Redoing my recipe box has been on my to do list for quite some time. I finally got around to doing it. I used to put all my recipes in a big binder, but I decide quite some time ago that I liked having them printed up on 4 x 6 note cards. I figure it is easier to carry around one card then to carry around a whole notebook. Plus I like that I can keep the file on my computer and just print up the recipes for anyone who asks.

I reprinted all my recipe cards (I deleted all the recipes I haven't used for a while) and laminated them. Now I can just wipe them clean if I get food on them. Then I got scrap book paper and traced around the dividers I already had. I cut them out and laminated them. Then I stuck a label on them. I put the label on top of the laminated divider, so I could remove them if I wanted to change my categories later without having to make new dividers. I think I got the box at Target, but it could have been Walmart.

To make my original dividers I just used Manila folders to get the shape of the tabs, and a 4 x 6 note card to get the size. Once I cut out my initial dividers I just traced around them on the left over Manila folder to get the remaining dividers I needed.

After I finished with my recipe box I made this little holder to go along with it. Now I can just pull out all the recipes I need for the week and put them in here. I just need to put a magnet on the back and figure out where to put it. I have a stainless steel refrigerator, so I can't put it on the fridge. I used this tutorial to make the recipe card holder. If you are interested they also have a 30 meal plan that is pretty cool. Check it out.

Picture Day

2009-09-16T07:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was picture day at school for Amber and Brennon. Amber had me curl her hair. Brennon wanted to wear a tie with his shirt, but decided against it when Amber made fun of him. I let them dress themselves, since I never buy the school pictures. They always turn out crappy, plus they are expensive. I would rather take the kids to Sears to get their pictures taken, at least then I know what I am getting. I haven't even done that for a couple of years. I think maybe I will take them again this year. I do buy yearbooks for the kids every year. That way they get a copy of their picture taken, and they have pictures of all their friends. I always loved yearbooks as a kid. We didn't have them offered till Jr. High though. I wish we could have ordered them in elementary school. I would have been in heaven. Then I could have put harts around all the boys I had crushes on. The only one I can remember now is Ryan Lennox from 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. When I played barbies he was always Ken. My best friend April Irvine, and I played barbies all the time. She also introduced me to Pat Benetar, who I still love. I even bought Devon a Pat Benetar record for his collection.

Four great years!

2009-09-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Jayson and my 4th year anniversary. It has gone by really fast. We have been pretty productive in four years. We have had 3 children. That gives us a total of 6. It gets a bit crazy around here most days, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Jayson thinks we have enough, but I wouldn't mind a couple more. I know that is crazy, but when you make them as good as we do, it would be a shame not to have more. I guess we will see what happens. I definitely want to wait a little while in any case. As I said it can get a bit crazy around here. I want Jayson to know how grateful I am for him. He is a wonderful husband and father. He took on me and my three kids and I am thankful for that everyday. I love that he is a big kid himself. He makes me laugh with the crazy things he comes up with. I love that he loves all our kids the same, even the ones he inherited. I love that he doesn't get mad at me when I throw a big temper tantrum. He just does his best to try and alleviate some of my stress. I love that he listens to me when I want to talk about all the things I want to do someday. It has been a great four years. I look forward to many more.

Chalkboard

2009-09-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a chalkboard I finished today. I have been meaning to do it for a long time. Sarah and I each got a frame like this from a yard sale a few months ago (Devon used the pictures in his room. A clown and owl). Sarah still has to figure out what color she wants hers to be. I went with blue. I can always change it later if I get tired of the color. For now I love it. Sorry for the weird angle; the chalkboard is in the hallway off our kitchen.

A Jumper for Adalyn

2009-09-08T11:15:00.001-07:00

I know I have been a terrible blogger lately. I have been doing quite a bit of stuff. One of the things I made lately is this jumper for Adalyn. I just traced around a jumper she had that I liked to make the pattern. Then I added a pocket following this tutorial. I really liked how it turned out. Here is a picture of the back
I have also made a few skirts. I will try and post those soon.

Look who's getting big

2009-08-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

Adalyn turned 6 weeks last Thursday. I can't believe how fast it flew by. It has been so fun having her join our family.

Here is one of her big brother enjoying his bagel a couple of day ago. These kids definitely keep us busy!

California Trip

2009-07-26T07:31:00.001-07:00

Last week we made a quick trip to California. My mom had some business she needed to to there. We left Saturday morning and came home Monday. It was a short trip, but we had fun. We stayed with my cousin Autume. Thanks Autume. Here are some highlights from the weekend.

Adalyn had her first bathGarryn enjoyed some Pinkberry
We spent some time at the beach

I am not sure how Autume could stand to lay out in those hot clothesGarryn made Sarah hold him after he got out of the water. She was a good sport about it. He got her all wet and sandy.
The balloon man at Twohey's made some balloons for Warren and Garryn.
A dog for GarrynNemo for WarrenSarah and I enjoyed some B&C's before heading back home. Are you jealous Kat? Too bad you weren't home we could have all enjoyed it together.

Cooking With Devon: homemade marshmallows

2009-07-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

in one episode of my favorite cooking show Good Eats, Alton Brown made marshmallows from scratch. i thought that was the coolest thing and so last night i thought i would try it out. they turned out really good and were fairly easy especially since my mom already had all the necessary equipment(kitchen aid, candy thermometer, etc). here is the recipe . it made a lot more than is shown. i thought i would put some in a pretty bowl. for this Bach i cut them into squares but you could mold them into any shape you want. i want to put a Bach in a cylindrical container sometime to make a giant store bought looking marshmallow.

A quilt for Adalyn

2009-07-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

Amber wanted to make a quilt for Adalyn when she was here last week. She worked on it all day Wednesday before heading back to Utah on Thursday. I think she did an amazing job. We used this tutorial. I am going to have someone else do the quilting since I want it to look really nice.

Amber working on the quilt at the new sewing desk.

I cut out the squares for her, then she layed them out in the order she wanted and sewed the squares together.

Here Amber is with the almost finished project. I sewed the strips across the top and bottom yesterday, now I just need to take it in to be quilted. I want to have it done when she gets back from Utah in August.

the super ultra mega devon post

2009-07-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

this post is a bunch of posts that i wanted to post earlier but i just never did

awhile ago i got a mysterious package from Kathy. just for that fact i knew it must be something good but the contents blew me away. they were (drum roll) awesome pristine Santa Fe super chief passenger train cars. i don't know how she knew that that was my favorite train or that i wanted these, she must be physic.
they are awesome. they run much smoother than my old train cars and they light up!

thank you so much Kathy! for all the stuff you have gotten me i love it all.

Record Collection
its amazing what you can find on craigslist. i got 115 record albums for $20 which works out to be 17 cents each. even though i don't know most of them it has some good ones in there. it also has repeats of some records i found one that i have two of that worth $20 its self

My Nintendo Game Collection

through garage sales and DI i have gotten a small Nintendo game collection. now all i need is a Nintendo! I've been looking on craigslist hopefully one will turn up soon

New Room Decorations!

through various means i have acquired various new decorations for my room. i got this fancy Gilbert microscope at a antique sale

this trombone was from a estate sale. i had to shine it up a bit but its cool

this type writer came from Sarah and i took the time to type the dedication speech of Disneyland(my favorite place). the awesome howdy doody head is a gift from Kathy. i love the randomness of it and its cool when older people recognise it . all of my siblings an Friends were clueless as to who it was, i guess its weird that i know. the thing they are both sitting on is my old erector set. New record player and a New Record

Brennon broke my old record player in my awesome stereo so i had to get a new one.

i finally found one that fit in my old stereo and here it is.
i also got a awesome record. The Best of the Beach Boys!

Build-A-Baby

2009-07-10T09:14:00.001-07:00

Amber left yesterday to go back to Utah. I miss her already. I am grateful that she was able to be here for Adalyn's birth. I know it meant a lot to her. I wish Brennon could have come as well. Before Amber left she wanted to try the dress from her Build-A-Bear on Adalyn. Adalyn is so small that the dress actually fit her.

Update:

Warren didn't want to be left out of the fun. He wanted to wear the dress also. Doesn't it go nicely with his Wall-E underwear!!

Our New Baby Girl

2009-07-07T16:31:00.001-07:00

Adalyn Marie was born on July 3rd, 2009 at 5:56pm. She weighed 5lbs and was 18.5 inches long. We adore our tiny new addition!!

On Thursday I went in for an ultrasound since I was starting to measure small. It turns out my amniotic fluid was very low. They decided it was best to induce. Adalyn was doing well, but that could change quickly in my situation. They set me up an appointment for the next day. There were a few people ahead of me waiting to be induced, so I had to wait for them to give me a call when a room opened up. The call came at 6:30am. My mom came down from Utah and was able to bring Amber with her. Amber was in the room when Adalyn was born. She was overwhelmed by the whole experience and started to cry. It was really cute.

Here I am a few days before Adalyn was born

Here we are just after she was born. She had this milky white substance stuck to her. I guess that is normal, since she was early.The proud papa!!Everyone loves their new sister

Craft Room

2009-06-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my craft room this past week. I got the crazy idea that I should rip out the shelving in the closet and build a sewing table in there instead. I don't have a picture of it before with all the shelving and clothing rods, but I took some pictures during the whole process. I really like how it turned out. Now I need to get everything put back together in the room.

Here is the closet after we ripped out the shelving, right before I painted it.

After paint, but before desk

With the new desk. Now I need to put some shelves above the sewing area to store sewing supplies. I even have a space for Amber to sew next to me. We just need to get her a sewing machine.

I will have to post some pictures of my craft room once I get it all put together. I am just starting to get it the way I want it. I love having my own space for my projects. Also a good way to get cheap paint is to go to Home Depot or Lowe's and look in their as is paint area. They are only $5 for a gallon of paint. I have gotten most of my paint this way. It makes painting so cheap!

Haircuts

2009-06-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

I did some haircuts last week. Warren's was getting so long. He did really good at sitting pretty still while I cut it. He started to get impatient at the end and kept moving around.

I love a clean cut boy!

Garryn got his haircut as well. He did better than I expected.

Warren got jealous when it was Garryn's turn and kept climbing up on the chair with him. It was pretty hard to cut with him up there. Garryn didn't like it either.

What a handsome guy!

I love being a mom

2009-06-18T08:23:00.001-07:00

Amber and Brennon left on Tuesday to spend the summer with their dad. I always hate this time of year, because I know I won't have all my kids with me. I was feeling really sad about it the other day when I found a note Brennon had left for me to find, on a chair in the living room. It made me feel better. I even teared up a bit (I never do that).

Amber has been really sweat also. She has been emailing me and she called to tell me she missed me. It was really great to hear her voice. I am so happy she called, because I can never get a hold of the kids when I try and call. I am so grateful for each and everyone of my children. I have been very blessed. Amber and Brennon, I hope you read this blog while you are gone. I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH. I MISS YOU!!!

Potty Training

2009-06-18T08:02:00.001-07:00

I have been potty training Warren this past week. He is doing really good. I wasn't ready to start the whole potty training process, but he was (he has been for a while). He would take off his diaper every time he pooed and come and get us so we could change him. It was really gross. I always had to go on a diaper hunt, and hope I found it before Garryn did. Jayson and I bought him one of those seats that go on top of the toilet seat so they don't fall in. As you can see Warren thought it was a hat at first.

I took Warren to the store to get some underwear, stickers and candy. He was so excited. He wanted to eat the candy as soon as we got home. I put it in a jar and told him he would get one every time he went potty. He was mad he didn't get to eat some right away, but he decided to go potty so he could get some. He has been doing great ever since. I also give him a sticker to put on a chart every time he goes. He feels so proud every time he gets to put another sticker on. He only had one accident the first day. We make him sleep in a diaper so he doesn't wet the bed. The first couple of nights he woke up with a wet diaper, but today when he woke up it was dry. I am so PROUD of him.

Lava Tube & Smores

2009-06-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

Last week we took the kids up to the Lava Cave. It was a lot of fun. I always forget how much I love being in the mountains till I get there. We made a goal to go camping often. At least I made the goal. I am not sure how excited Jayson is about it. I am definitely more of an outdoor person than he is.

Outside the entrance to the cave

Looking down into the entrance to the cave

Looking into the cave

Looking out from inside the caveWarren and Garryn enjoyed walking around and playing on rocks while we waited for Devon, Amber and Brennon to walk though the cave. Jayson and I went after they got back.

When Jayson and I got done walking through the cave we came out to find Warren like this.Warren peed his pants while his diaper was off. Devon dried them out by the fire.

Garryn fell into some mud.Brennon tried to pull down a tree.Jayson tried to avoid the smoke as much as possible.We made grilled cheese sandwiches and smores before heading back home. We considered staying the night, but Warren shut Garryn's fingers in the van's sliding door and that pretty much ended that idea. Luckily Garryn's fingers were fine once he calmed down.

Grandpa Tripp

2009-06-15T07:46:00.001-07:00

I have been meaning to blog about Jayson's dad coming to town, but it has been CRAZY with all the kids home from school. Jayson's dad came down from Alaska for TeeJay's graduation. It was the first time I got to meet him. The kids all loved him. We hope he can make it down here more often.

Jayson has to play ping pong with everyone who comes by.

The kids loved playing with grandpa's boots. It reminds me of pictures of my sister's and me in our dad's boots.

Dr. Tripp & Dr. Tripp

2009-06-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Jayson's brother TeeJay graduated from medical school. Since Jayson got his doctorate in Pharmacy 3 years ago, he was able to hood TeeJay. It was neat to watch. I am so proud of both of them. The pictures didn't turn out great, but they are better than nothing. The end of the graduation was pretty exciting. Warren was restless, and I was holding Garryn so I let Warren walk around in between the door to auditorium and the door outside. I didn't realize there was a fire alarm lever in there. Amber asked me if I wanted her to get Warren out (I guess she saw the fire alarm). I said no, he is fine. Well, the guy came up to give the final remarks before ending the ceremony when a beeping sound started going off and the microphones shut off. They had to end the ceremony early. I thought it couldn't have been Warren and then I saw the fire alarm in the doorway where Warren was, and sure enough it was pulled down. I got us out of there asap. I guess TeeJay will always remember his graduation from medical school.

Boredom

2009-06-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Devon gets bored. He tapes his baby brothers together. Garryn was excited about it until Warren started walking forcing him to walk backward. He wasn't too happy about it after that.

Bloomers

2009-05-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

I made some bloomers to go with the dress I made for my baby girl. I used this Amy Butler book for the pattern. In the book they have written instructions on how to make the bloomers, but they don't give you illustrations on the step by step. I had never made anything that had a crotch before but I didn't think much of it. I just started sewing following the directions without really paying attention. Well when I got half way through I noticed something was totally wrong.

They looked like this

I die laughing every time I look at them. Devon said "what were you thinking? It is like you were sewing without even looking". I think that was pretty much what I was doing. I was in a hurry to get them done. I went back and looked at a pattern in another book with a crotch seam and quickly figured out what I had done wrong. My second attempt was much better.

Here is the dress along with the bloomers and a head band I made. I made the flower on the headband using this tutorial.

I also made a dress to match Amber's skirt . I made this dress a little bigger so she could wear it her first time at church. Of course amber wants to wear her matching skirt.

If you want to find lots of cool tutorials, check out U Create. It is one of my new favorite blogs.

Baby Dress

2009-05-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

I made a dress for our new baby yesterday. I am totally in love with it. I found the pattern here. Since she will be born in July I am going to make her a couple more. I made this one really small so she can wear it home from the hospital. I am excited to see her in it. I am also working on a skirt for Amber with the same material. I will post when we finish it.

Garage Shelving

2009-05-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

Look what we got put in our garage a couple of weeks ago. I love them!! I love how much storage space they provide. Today I am going to be loading them up. I still have a bunch of stuff blocking one of the parking spots in the other section of our garage. I am trying to motivate myself to clear that out. It is getting hot outside and our car needs a space away from the heat.

entertainment center

2009-05-04T06:53:00.001-07:00

I know I was really bad at blogging last week. I do have an excuse for it. I was working on some projects. My mom was in town from Julie having her baby so she was able to help me a bit. I really appreciate all the work she did. I got this shelf at a yard sale last week for $5. It is solid wood, but it didn't have a back so it was a bit wobbly. I had a piece of paneling from Home Depot cut to fit. I painted it and nailed it to the back. Now I have a sturdy and totally cute entertainment center for around $25. I love yard sales!!!!!

BeforeAfter Don't you love the flash from my camera bouncing off the TV. I will be painting the walls behind Gold like I have in the rest of the house. I think it will look nice. I will show you the hutch I used as my inspiration for the color, as soon as I get my scanner working.

i got one of them new fangled phonograph machines and cleaned my room

2009-05-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

Devon has been bugging me to let him post on my blog every once and a while. I have agreed. This will be his first post.

This weekend while going to garage sales we went to an estate sale and i got this awesome record player/radio for just $11

it was so cool i decided to redecorate my room

i moved my wall of stuff to the wall with my sword and shield so i could have a 50s-60s theme by my record player so far that includes this clown painting
this owl panting and assorted things on top of the record player. including the awesome postcard from Kathy
right now i only have three records but i want to start collecting them. they actually sell records at best buy which is cool.

Matching game

2009-04-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

After making Amber's skirt I decided to make Warren and Garryn ties. I thought it would be cute if they matched, plus I have so much of that material. Anyway after I made the ties for the boys Jayson and Brennon decided they wanted a matching tie also. I was happy to oblige. Devon however didn't want a matching tie. He thought the material was too girly. While I was in the process of making Jayson's tie, Amber thought it would be really cool if I had a matching skirt too. I was planning on making myself a skirt, but the idea of us all matching didn't really appeal to me. Amber was so excited about the idea that I went ahead and did it anyway. I made myself a skirt with the same material. We all went to church with our new clothes, except for Devon. Do you like Brennon's mustache? He keeps licking his upper lip.

Bennon B-day

2009-04-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

It was Brennon's birthday last Sunday. We celebrated by having a little party with family.

Julie and TeeJay wrapped their gift and then covered it in packing tape. Jayson enjoyed the challenge of helping Brennon open it.Warren also helped Brennon open his presents, but first he had to strip down to his diaper. Brennon is excited about all the cash he gotGarryn liked all the candy Grandma Tripp gave Brennon

Brennon hid behind his tie while we sang Happy Birthday to him
It was a fun day. We always enjoy when our family comes over to help us celebrate!

Dresser

2009-04-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

I posted the before picture of this dresser a long time ago. I didn't think it would take me as long to finish it as it did. The all natural paint remover I applied dried on before I could scrape it down. I think it was too hot of a day. Anyway I ended up sanding the whole piece which took FOREVER. I got really burned out from it and took a long break before starting up again. I finished it up a couple of weeks ago. I am really happy with the end result. I still have somethings I need to do to it. I want to add some dowels in front of the mirror to hang my ribbon collection from; and I need to find my missing knob. I know it is somewhere in my garage. This Anthropologie Armoire was my inspiration for the paint.

Amber's New Skirt

2009-04-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

I got this book a few month ago and have been dying to try it out. It shows you how to make your own pattern or you can just sketch your measurement directly on the fabric.

Check out the skirt Amber and I made this past weekend. I made the pattern and the skirt, Amber sewed on the lace and the buttons. I think she did a really nice job. For the fabric we used a duvet cover I bought on sale from Ikea for $5.

Amber is excited to move on to the next skirt. I think I am going to let her do more of the sewing next time. She is really excited to use the sewing machine. I got an old curtain from a yard sale for 50 cents that we are going to use this time. I am all for using cheap fabric to practice with.

Devon's Art

2009-04-21T08:57:00.001-07:00

Devon had some of his artwork from a school project displayed in a show for outstanding artwork from high school students in the Chandler School District. We are really proud of him.

Shiner Boy

2009-04-20T12:54:00.001-07:00

Look what happened to my poor boy. He was rocking in his booster chair today when it flipped over. He hit his eye on the table on the way down. I feel so bad for him. I think it is going to turn into quite the shiner. Luckily he was strapped into the chair so he didn't hit his head on the ground.

Texas: Austin

2009-04-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

We spent our last couple of days in Austin. We really enjoyed it. There is a lot to see. Here a few of the things we did.

We walked up to see the Capital Building. Devon and Brennon went inside. The rest of us sat under a tree to rest for a bit.

We walked up a ton of stairs at Mt. Bonnell to get a view of Town Lake. It was beautiful. Devon brought his binoculars so he could get a closer look.We saw a swimming spring at Zilker Park.
We took a train ride at the park also. Poor Sarah got stung by a bee on her finger, while we waited for our train ride to start.

The wind outside our hotel almost blew Devon away.

We enjoyed some cupcakes at Hey Cupcake.

We had some good grub at Torchy's. They had really good tacos and queso. Devon is still thinking about the fajita taco he had. I didn't try that one but the fried avacado and trailer park tacos were really good.

We also headed over to the flea market at Round Top on Saturday before driving home. We got back home around 8am on Sunday morning. That drive was killer. It seemed like it took us FOREVER to get out of Texas.

Go back and check out my post on Houston. I forgot to post a picture of a man we saw all over Houston carrying a giant cross. Amber pointed it out, and I went and fixed my mistake.

Texas: Brenham

2009-04-13T16:27:00.001-07:00

We always enjoy visiting Brenham Texas. We would do it at least once a year when we lived in Houston.

We went to the Blue Bell ice cream factory. My favorite part is when you get a scoop of ice cream at the end.

We went to the Antique Rose Emporium.

The kids enjoyed pulling each other in their wagons.

Devon even shot a movie. Too bad he lost our video camera on our last day in Texas.

Sarah enjoyed taking pictures with her Russian camera.

We also stopped by our favorite spot to climb trees and take pictures in the Blue Bonnets

No stop to Brenham is complete without stopping to eat at Must Be Heaven. The kids loved the food and cardboard cars it came in.

Tune in tomorrow to hear about Austin, our last stop of the trip.

Texas: Houston

2009-04-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

We spent a couple of days in Houston. It was fun to see our old stomping ground. We drove around our old neighborhood and around areas I thought were pretty. I really love the area around the Galleria Mall. There are some beautiful neighborhoods. My mom fell in love with the colors on this house and made me take a picture so she could use them on her house in Utah.

It was fun to see our old friends.

I went to dinner with the always beautiful Tamara. This woman is seriously amazing. I wish she lived closer.

I couldn't believe how tall Devon's friend Bryan had gotten

We walked around the LDS temple grounds. It has such a peaceful feeling.

Warren enjoyed bossing Garryn around

We also took a free boat tour, but we weren't allowed to take any pictures. We were kind of bummed about that.

Our next stop was Brenham Texas. I will post about all we did there tomorrow.

UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to post this picture. Amber is the one who reminded me. We saw this guy pulling his cross on two separate days in two different parts of Houston. We had get a picture of him on the second day.

Texas: San Antonio

2009-04-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

We took a road trip to Texas. We left on March 28th and got home the morning of April 5th. I took all the kids and my mom and Sarah came. Jayson had to work so he stayed home. I don't think he liked the idea of being stuck in a van with that many people for that long anyway. The first day we drove to San Antonio and then we spent the next day exploring the city. It was a lot of fun. We woke up and had Texas shaped waffles. It cracks me up how PROUD Texas is of itself. I can't imagine going to hotel here and getting waffles the shape of Arizona.

Our first stop was the Alamo

Devon got to sit with Forest Gump at the wax museum

The Riverwalk is always fun to walk around We took the trolley to the Mexican market area. We were all pretty tired after all that and decided to call it a day. The next day we went to the outlets in San Marcos before heading to Houston. More on our adventures tomorrow.

Star Student

2009-04-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Brennon got chosen to be Star Student for the month of April from his P.E. teacher. He was so proud of his accomplishment. They recognized all the star students during their morning flag ceremony. When they called Brennon's name his teacher told him to go back since she thought they had said Brandon instead of Brennon. She didn't know he was getting the award. You should have seen his face. He was so sad. They quickly cleared up the misunderstanding and Brennon got to stand with the rest of the Star Students. We are so proud of you Brennon.

This is what Brennon's P.E. teacher had to say about him:

"He does a great job in all areas of PE. Brennon actively participates in all activities. He listens to and follows directions well. He is respectful to his classmates and always shows good sportsmanship."

Long time no write

2009-04-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

I know I have been a terrible blogger lately. It seem like I either don't have anything to blog about or life gets super crazy and I don't have the time. I am going to try and get back to blogging on a more regular basis.

Devon's Trek

2009-03-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

For church they took the youth on a pioneer trek. They pull handcarts and dress up like Pioneers. He was gone for 3 1/2 days. He came back looking like this. I guess the first day they were up there it rained and hailed all day. Sounds like fun. I know I would love to pull a handcart through the mud. He had a good time overall. It was a neat experience for him. They do it every four years, so Amber will be old enough to go next time.

It's a girl!!

2009-03-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

We found out the sex of our baby today. We are having a girl. We are very excited. I would post a picture of the ultrasound, but I haven't set up my scanner. Amber can't believe she is going to finally have a sister.

Canning Chicken

2009-02-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

Today I am canning a bunch of chicken. My husband bought a 40lb box, so I am going to have to do a couple batches. I thought I would explain how you can meat for anyone interested in trying it themselves. It is really easy. I use the All -American pressure canner, but there are other brands out that work just as well. If you are using one of the other brands of pressure canners, you will have to read your owners manual for the specifics of how it works. The directions for preparing the chicken will be the same no matter what canner you are using.

Start out with clean jars. I wash mine in the dishwasher before using. Then you fill the jars with raw chicken (a pint jar will hold about 1 lb. a quart jar will hold 2 lbs.). Chicken tenders are the easiest to use, since you won't have to trim the fat and cut the chicken in chunks. You can use either. You want to leave about 1 - 1 1/2 inches at the top of jar. You are going to want to get all the air pockets out of the chicken. You do this by pushing down the chicken. I use a plastic tool I got from Ball, but you can use whatever works for you. Add more chicken if you have more than 1 - 1 1/2 inches space from top of bottle. Then you are going to want to season the chicken (you can also do this before you add the chicken). Use 1/4-1/2 tsp. salt. I use 1/4 tsp. Canadian Steak Seasoning (I purchase at Sam's Club), and 1/4 tsp. kosher salt.You need to wipe the rim of the bottle with a damp cloth to make sure it is really clean. The lids won't seal if they aren't clean.

You need to simmer your lids for a couple minutes to soften the seals. I usually put them in a pan on low while I prepare the jars. You are going to need to replace these lids every time you can something. The jars and screw on rings can be reused over and over.

You then take the lids and place them on the jars. I use this tool I got from Ball. It has a magnet on the bottom. Then screw on the rings. You want them to be snug, but not too tight.
Once your jars are prepared you are going to place them in the pressure canner. Make sure you place a trivet (mine came with the canner) on the bottom first. My canner will fit about 9 pint jars on the bottom layer.

Then you are going to fill the canner with water till it comes up half way up the bottom jars. You can put a couple Tablespoons of white vinegar in at this time; it will help keep your jars clean (or so I have been told)
Then you are going to place another trivet on top of your bottles. On top of the trivet you are going to place another layer of bottles (if you have a smaller pressure canner or you are canning quart jars you will only be able to do one layer). I can fit another 9 pint jars on the top layer. It may look like my lid won't fit on the canner since the jars are coming up over the top, but my canner has a domed lid so it is fine.
You are then going to attach your lid and and place you pressure canner on the stove. If you have a glass top stove, you may consider doing your canning on a camp stove. I have known people who do their canning on a glass top stove and it is fine, but that is up to you. The canners are pretty heavy when they are full.

Heat you canner till steam comes out the release valve. It took my pressure cooker about 30-40 minutes to get to this point. I was cooking on medium high. you are going to let the steam go for 7-10minutes.
After you have let the cooker release steam for 7-10 minutes, you are going to put the pressure regulator weight over the steam valve. This will cause the canner to start building pressure. Here in Phoenix Arizona we can our meat at 10 lbs. of pressure (you will have to find out what pressure to use for your area). I find the #10 on my pressure regulator weight, and drop it over the steam valve.
Now the cooker is building pressure. It took mine about 12-13 minutes to come up to full pressure. When it reaches full pressure the weight on top of the steamer will start to jiggle and sputter. Your pressure gage will also be pointing to 10 lbs of pressure. You will start timing from this point. It will take 75 minutes for the pint jars, and 90 minutes for quart jars.

You are going to need to adjust your heat once the pressure regulator weight begins to jiggle and sputter. You only want the weight to jiggle one to four times a minutes. Once my cooker comes to pressure I set my burner to medium. This works for me, you will have to test and see what temperature works for you.

After you have cooked your meat for the proper amount of time you are going to turn your burner off. You do not touch the pressure canner. You let the pressure canner drop its pressure naturally. The pressure gage will read 0 lbs. pressure. It took mine about 30-40 minutes to drop the pressure.

You can now remove the pressure regulator weight, and your lid. The chicken will be very hot. You need to remove the chicken and place it on a towel on the counter to cool. I got the bottle remover from Ball. It came in a pack with the other tools I use

This is my 40 lbs. of chicken cooling on the counter. You will hear popping as the lids seal. It may take up to 24 hours for some of them to seal. If you have a bottle that doesn't seal in this amount of time, you will need to use use it up immediately. I get one every once in a while.

After the bottles have cooled you remove the screw on ring and wipe the bottles clean. Now you are going to want to label and date the tops. The chicken should last around 5 years on the shelf. It is fully cooked and ready to eat. I use mine wherever I would use shredded chicken. Soups, tacos, casseroles. Try it in your favorite recipes. It is really good.

Pero

2009-01-29T12:58:00.001-08:00

As far back as I can remember my mom used to drink Pero. When I got a little older I started to enjoy Pero myself, but unlike my mom I like mine with vanilla creamer and a little sugar. Well today I was cold so I thought I would make myself a cup. Warren immediately was after it. I thought hey, I'll give him a little bit, he'll realize he doesn't like it and leave me alone. Well, it didn't exactly go that way. Warren loved it and kept coming back for more. Then Garryn decided he wanted some, and wouldn't leave me alone till I got him some. I put some in Garrnys bottle and watered it down, gave Warren a little more, then finished my cup. After Warren finished his cup he came to me for some more, when I told him I didn't have anymore he went after Garryns, well as you can imagine that didn't go over well. I got Warren to give Garryn back his bottle and I made him his own cup.

Ignore the dusty Pero container. I wanted to show you what it looked like, but I dump my cans into clear containers after I open them. I just took this can out of the food storage room and didn't bother dusting the top.

Garryn finishing up his portion

Water Bottle Love

2009-01-28T06:18:00.001-08:00

I am not sure what it is about MY water bottle, but whenever I fill one up the kids want to take it over. Today Garryn got in on the action. He saw me with the water, and no mater how hard I tried to hide it behind me, he was determined to get it. When he did he started drooling all over my mouth piece. YUCK!!! I am trying to drink enough water, but it is hard when my kids molest whatever I put my water in. It doesn't matter what I put the water in, bottle, cup, jug whatever the kids want it. I DON'T GET IT. The older kids can get their own, and the younger two won't drink water from their own cups. I guess I just make it look so appealing. The funny thing is I really don't like water. I'm just trying to drink enough so I don't keep getting a UTI. I don't want to end up in the hospital with a kidney infection like I did when I was pregnant with Amber. Oh ya, Jayson and I are expecting AGAIN. I know this will make 6 kids. It is a lot, but we are really excited. One more kid to steal my water bottle

look mom, no hands!

Another Coconut Post

2009-01-28T06:10:00.001-08:00

OK so I've gone a bit overboard with all the posts about coconut, but I had to show you the cake I made. I would love to say that it was delicious and worth all the trouble to make. I can't say it was delicious because I didn't taste it, but I can say it was worth all the trouble. Jayson really liked it and that is good enough for me.

CocoNUTS

2009-01-27T05:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we opened the coconut I talked about in my last post. I had no idea how much work it would be. I hope Jayson appreciates it. I also hope he never wants one again.

Devon started out using a nail as suggest by someone on the Internet

He didn't think that was going to be a big enough hole so he got out a screwdriver to use. It started to crack, so he stopped pounding.This is how much liquid was coming out.It was taking too long so Devon got out a straw to help the process.Then you have to break away the inside from the outer shell. It took FOREVER!!Then you have to take all the little pieces and peel away the brown skin from the outside.Ta Da. The finished product. After a run through my food processor grater

Co-ops rule

2009-01-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

We have a Co-op in our area called Bountiful Baskets. I have known about it for a while but I have never tried it. Today was the first time. I am so excited about all the produce I got. It is fun because you never know what you are going to get. I have never used acorn squash before, but since I have 3 of them I am going to have to figure out something to do with it. I don't know about the coconut though, I REALLY hate the stuff. Jayson likes it so maybe I will crack her open and grate up the inside for him. Maybe I will just give it his mom, so I don't have to deal with it. I guess I will see if Jayson wants it. Devon wants to crack her open, but under no circumstances eat any of it.

Goldfield Mine

2009-01-21T11:36:00.000-08:00

Monday was MLK day. We were all off so we decided to go to Goldfield ghost town. It is only 30 minutes from our house and the kids have been wanting to go for quite some time. It was a pretty cool place. It was fun to walk around. Maybe next time we will do some of the attractions. I am thinking train ride, and mine tour. It might also be fun to do the Floozy tour. Maybe I won't take the kids on that one though.

I wasn't in any of the other photo's so here is one of me in the car.

More Birthday Parties

2009-01-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Garryn, Devon, and Grant's (Julie and TeeJay's son) birthday this past Saturday.I spent a good part of Friday cooking. I made 2 lasagnas (I even made the noodles) and 2 different cakes. I went to take my mom to run an errand and when I came back I discovered that Warren had dug into both half's of the chocolate cake. I didn't have the energy to make a new cake so I decided to use it anyway. I frosted all but the part that had been dug into. One half of the cake looks pretty good, but the other half not so much.

The party was fun. We had a bunch of family come over. Garryn didn't get to open any gifts since Warren thinks that is his job. Garryn is too young to care right now, but I could see that being a problem in the near future. Hopefully Warren outgrows this phase.

Jayson got some ping pong in. He just had to move my dining room table to do it.

I didn't take many pictures since my memory card is almost full. I need to have Jayson install my external hard drive so I can transfer all my photos. I also want to apologize to Amber. We had a party to celebrate her birthday and mine back in December. I didn't take any pictures for that party. She felt really bad that I didn't post about her birthday. She turned 10 on Nov. 25th.

My Yard

2009-01-03T09:40:00.001-08:00

I am finally getting around to posting about the work we had done in our yard. We plan on doing a lot more work, but we need to save up some more money to do so. We don't want to have to take out any loans to have to do it. Here is the front of the house. We took out the cement walkway and replaced it with pavers. We also extended the walkway to add another entrance that meets up with the front sidewalk. Now people don't have to either walk around to the the driveway entrance or walk through rocks to get to our front door.

Here is a closer look

This is looking out my front door into my courtyard

Here is another view of my courtyard. We plan on adding a lot of color with plants. We also want to replace the front door (or at least I do) and put urns on either side.

Here is our Backyard . We are going to put our outdoor kitchen on top of the pavers on the far right. We are going to add some more plants and a pool on the left hand side of our yard.

This is our landscapers working on the back yard

We are so excited about the improvements. It is nice to have grass for the kids to play on in the backyard. We will keep you posted on any new improvements. I figure it might take a little while till we get to the next round.

A Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

We had a very merry Christmas. It was nice to be with family. We had several rounds of present opening and each time my family room looked like a tornado hit. Warren loved opening presents and made sure he got to open everyone's. He got mad if you tried to open your own. Garryn didn't get to open any of his presents since Warren opened them all before he woke up.

Warren had to see how everything worked

Garryn enjoys being around Devon. He is a good big brother

Warren got bubbles in his stocking. He wanted to blow them all on his own. He got more on himself then in the air

Garryn enjoyed dumping Warren's Nerds. He started licking them off the floor after he was done dumping

Grandma Tripp bought Devon a set that had a bunch of flying things. The kids enjoyed watching the balloons fly around the room. It was quite entertaining to watch

Christmas Eve

2008-12-26T08:57:00.001-08:00

For Christmas eve we made sugar cookies for Santa

Amber and Brennon enjoyed helping out

Devon just wanted to play in the flour

He did enjoy eating them though

The kids got to open up their pajamas before going to bed

My baby turned one today

2008-12-23T18:38:00.001-08:00

I feel kind of bad because today was Garryn's 1st birthday, and I set up a doctor's appointment him for today. I knew he would get shots, but I didn't think about how miserable he would be. That is no way to spend your birthday!! I feel so bad. He kept rolling around on the ground crying. I was trying to get a picture to show how miserable he was, but as soon as I pulled the camera out he started to pose. If you enlarge this picture by clicking on it you can see a tear running down the left side of his face. SO SAD!!

He couldn't pose forever and I did manage to get a picture of him looking pretty miserable. So you don't think I am a mean mom for taking pictures instead of consoling him. I did do that first, but he was too miserable and just wanted down.

He recovered a bit by evening and was ready for some cake. He even started singing Happy Birthday to himself after we did.

He really enjoyed his cupcake. I hope that makes up for me getting him shots on his birthday. Probably not, but it makes me feel better to think so.

Birthday

2008-12-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

I had my birthday last Thursday. It was a perfect day filled with family. For lunch Jayson and I went to get my free meal at Joe' BBQ. Then we went with the kids to see the temple lights that evening. I am so grateful for my family.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-03T08:27:00.000-08:00

This is what my two youngest were up to last weekend. My Aunt Florence caught them and took pictures of them on her cell phone. That is Comet Warren is trying to clean Garryn with. I guess he thought he was REALLY dirty.

Sperry Family

2008-11-26T06:46:00.000-08:00

I took Leslie's family pictures for her on Saturday. I think they turned out well. She is going to take our family pictures for us if we can ever find a time that works for both of us. I hope we get our christmas cards out this year.

Hedgehog

2008-11-26T06:13:00.000-08:00

I told you about Amber's obsession with hedgehogs. Well here is her latest art project. We framed it and put it on our art wall.

I hope to someday have the whole staircase filled with my kids art work.

Orchestra Concert

2008-11-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

Amber started playing the violin this year. Last night was their first concert. She did really well.

Getting Pavers

2008-11-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

We are getting pavers put in the front of our house and in our back yard. We had somebody come out today to take our concrete out of our front walkway and courtyard. They will start putting the pavers in on Wed. I am so excited. I think it is going to look really nice. I will post an after picture when it is done.

This is our courtyard, with the cement all broken apart.Here is our front walkway.

Barbie smile

2008-11-17T11:24:00.002-08:00

Devon: I feel like a barbie when I smile.

Me: what?

Devon: It feels like I am trying to bend plastic.

Wisdom Teeth

2008-11-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

Devon got his wisdom teeth pulled early this morning. It was weird seeing him when they first brought me back. He was totally out of it, and he didn't have control of his face. It kind of freaked me out. I kept giggling. I am not sure why, but I kind of get a bit of hysterics when I freak out. He reminded of me of my friend Robin. She was in a car accident about 15 years ago. She has never fully recovered. I am not sure exactly what is wrong with her, she is awake but she's not really there. Devon had the same look on his face when I saw him. I am happy he is doing better now. He is resting on the couch and Warren went and laid down next to him and fell asleep. Devon is happy that he will be able to eat regular food by the time Thanksgiving comes.

Halloween

2008-11-04T05:51:00.002-08:00

So, I am a little late getting these out. I have been in a bit of a funk. I sliced a small chunk of skin off the tip of my thumb Saturday morning. It bleed forever and I didn't feel like doing anything, because I kept bumping into things and it would start bleeding again. It is better now, but still pretty gross. I know you really wanted to hear about it. Hope I didn't gross you out too much. Good thing it goes along with a Halloween post. Here are my little trick or treaters. Devon made himself a mask of himself. His old friend thought he was going as Bill Clinton. He is so much better looking than Bill. Good thing he doesn't wear a mask all the time.

Here is one of Garryn. He has the biggest smile. I was a little too late to get him looking at me, but he still looks adorable. I love these guys (and gal) !

Solar Cooking

2008-10-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

A really cute older lady that I go to church with taught a class on how to use solar ovens. I used mine for the first time yesterday. It worked great. I didn't even have to heat up my house. I think I want to get one more so I can cook bigger meals. I do have five kids (six if you include my husband). If you want to read up about them you can go here.

Kaitlyn

2008-10-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

Leslie's little girl Kaitlyn turned three yesterday. We celebrated last Saturday with a party in the park. Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!!

Green Bookshelves

2008-10-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Here are the before and after photos of my old bookshelves I redid. I really like how they turned out.

I am just starting to get this room together, but you get the idea of how its going to look.

Party

2008-10-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

Brennon got invited to a party this Saturday. He is so excited that he kept following me around the house yesterday asking me to read the invitation.

WaaaHaHaa!

2008-10-20T08:01:00.001-07:00

I gave Warren some of my hot chocolate to drink on Saturday. He managed to get the perfect villain mustache and goatee. I think he is adorable!

Lots of projects!

2008-10-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

I have been busy painting my house. Right now I am working on the 22 foot walls in my living and dining room. It has been interesting trying to get up that high. I used a long pole to get all the way up the walls, but I had to get a long latter to get around our upper windows. It was pretty scary up there. I am happy to have it finished.

Look at the cool dresser I got at a yard sale last weekend for $40. I am going to refinish it and put it in my craft room. I am planning on putting my wrapping paper in the long drawers, and also adding wooden dowels across the mirror to hold ribbon. I will post when I am finished with it.I got busy stripping it today. It is going to be a lot of work.

I am also working on a set of bookshelves for my living room right now. I am painting them green. I will post them when I am finished.