Adventure Update

Apparently I have been so busy making plans that I haven't uploaded a photo or even written a post since October. Could have something to do with that little thing called THE HOLIDAYS! I am just coming out of the holiday fog and I have been saying that for 2 weeks. We actually still have a flocked tree standing up in the family room upstairs (only because I need Matt's help to get it down). He believes that once you put a tree up, you don't ever break it down and store it in the box again. This hasn't come up in the past, because we have never had a fake tree (we still do the real one downstairs). It would have been good to know this before I bought a twelve foot tree.... Maybe I could store it in the gym, the ceiling is tall enough.... Anyway, things have changed a lot since I last posted. We are scheduled to leave for Sevilla, Spain in exactly three weeks from yesterday. I did some research and just felt that Spain would be a safer area for me to travel by myself with the kids. We are getting so excited for the trip. People keep asking if we are already for the trip and I guess we are as ready as we are going to be. We have the apartment, we have our passports, and we have our flights. The only thing we need to do is pack our bags. I do still need to meet with some teachers and figure out the school thing. We are going to just go and see what we think about school when we get there. Cassy wants to go, but nobody else does. If we end up home schooling, I think it will still work because then we can hire a tutor to take us around to different venues and help us practice our Spanish. I am just trying to figure out how many books to take and if we can get books while we are there. I am planning on everyone doing some math, science, memorization and lots of reading (as well as some Spanish, of course) everyday. As long as everyone keeps a good attitude, it should work out well. But of course that is a big "if"!

Addy's Scout Plans

You can definitely tell that Addy has older brothers. She doesn't mind talking about (or showcasing) a variety of bodily functions. She likes wearing camo, shooting guns, and playing with legos. And she would give up just about anything to be a scout! She always like to dress up when we go to pack meeting with Connor. Last week she changed into her fancy sun dress and put on bright red lipstick and tons of gold sparkles on her eyes. I told her she could go to scouts like that because she looked kind of crazy (think scary doll that you are afraid will come alive in the night and get you). She gave a big sigh and a huge eyeroll and went to the bathroom to become more presentable. Soon she returned, and lucky for us she has changed her whole look by taking out her piggy tales that she had in her hair all day. So now she looked like a homeless, scary doll. I gave in and we left for scouts. We got lots of comments at scouts....Addy thought it was great. Wish I had a picture...

Bad JuJu

I took Connor to Farr's Fresh for an ice cream and a little chat the other day. Actually it was the big chat about the birds and the bees. I decided to follow the advice from the Talking To Your Kids About Sex book by the Eyre's. They present the idea in such a positive manner and I think in a way in which it inspires your child to realize the importance of being married to share something so wonderful. It went well. Of course Connor was embarrassed somewhat and we read the book "Where Did I Come From?" But he was a good sport about it. "I bet your are going to do this with all of my siblings aren't you?" "What?" "You know, take them to get an ice cream and tell them all this stuff." He knows me so well. When we left we went to get a movie at Redbox. The line was too long at two different places, so we went to Smith's. Then someone stole my parking space. As we hopped out of the car, Connor replied,"Mom I think we have got some bad JuJu going on because of all that stuff we have been talking about..."

Costa Rica or Spain (or Chile)

Honestly, I keep going back and forth on this adventure of ours. Currently, I am leaning toward Spain....last week it was Costa Rica. Until I found out that a tourist was killed in the little beach town of Samara, where we are looking to stay. I did a little more research. There is a lot of theft there and the crime targets tourists. I have been reading of express kidnappings, murders, burglaries, and petty theft. Not sure that I am up for all of that. I want an adventure, but not danger. So I am back to considering Spain. I think it is doable if we go and simply stay in Spain, rather than trying to fit in a tour of Italy, France and England as well (although it will be hard to miss all of those things when we are SO close!) I guess we will have to go back in a couple of years for the rest of it all! Matt wants us to go live with a member family in Chile, but the airfare is astronomical, so I don't think that is an option...

Late

Poor Addy Booza! She was on her way to school a couple of days ago and she totally wiped out. In her own words, "I was running, cause my brothers told me to run because we were going to be late. The cement wasn't quite in and I tripped on it, and I fell on my face. And I chipped the back of my tooth, and I had swollen lips, and I hurt my knee and my nose. It was by Sister Keller's house, across the street. And she gave me a bandaid on my knee. She was a nurse, but she is retired. And she gave me a drink of water. And my mom came to get me. She took me to Great Harvest for a cinnamon roll. And then we went home to snuggle. And then I went to class at lunch time." It was quite traumatic and she has some serious nose road rash.

P.S.

The salsa is totally yummy, although I would add a little more heat next year. I am already rethinking my salsa ban.....

The Last Batch of Salsa Ever

I usually make salsa every year. It seems like every year the recipe isn't quite hot enough or too sweet or too whatever. Well, my dad came over and we started the salsa about 1pm.....I finished the canning at about 1am. I have declared that this is the last batch of salsa ever! I must admit that I like this recipe better than the recipes from last year, although it needs a little more heat. I think if this wasn't my last batch of salsa, then next time I would add more peppers than what it calls for, or just leave more of the seeds in. I felt like I was cutting and chopping and peeling tomatoes, onions, and peppers all day long. And then the hassel of the tomato juice splattering all over the concrete counter and floor. I didn't even bother with the boiling water bath (on advice from Madilyn and Cathryn...I still don't feel good about it, but it would have been another two hours!) Next year the plan is to plant more flowers (to cut) which I know I will totally enjoy and they will give me more bang for the buck. I love the fresh veggies from the garden, but rather than planting enough to can, I will probably just plant enough to eat fresh. I do love fresh garden salsa and it is a little more manageable to make one little batch. It does smell good in here though!

I must admit, I do feel like I could tweak this salsa recipe and come up with the perfect salsa next year. We'll see....

p.s. Just so I remember...I used the salsa recipe from the Dining Car cookbook.