Be Prepared

Family, Family Fun, Life in Texas, Me, Memories
We're supposed to start getting bad weather about 11 AM our time, so the countdown is on. OK, people have been asking, so I'm going to detail what we've got stored, and what we're up to. I've got a pantry full of food, at least 70 cans of food, 10# of meat in my freezer (which will be getting grilled), plenty of veggies in the freezer 4 cases of bottled water, and we'll have a few more gallons stores of drinking water, and two tubs full for flushing and washing up by tonight, two giant bags of charcoal, two normal size ones, a bag of mesquite chips, a grill, a long burning log, three chaffing dish warmers (or whatever those little can cooking things are), matches, several lighters (the long…
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A little bit of Panic

Aiden, Baby Joey, Bella and Edward, Family, Family Fun, Humor, Kevin, Kevin and I, Life in Texas, Me, Memories, Michael, Pictures, The end is near, Twilight
The area that we used to live in, just twenty something miles away was evacuated this morning, but we've been told to "shelter in place," so unless there's some other mandate, we're sticking around.  When Allison was here 7 years ago our home was safe (we know the woman who lived here at the time) so that's somewhat comforting. Little Aiden is sick with a head cold.  He's not doing to well with that, I don't want to consider cramming him (and the rest of us) in the car for a long evacuation.  So gratefully we're hopefully not doing that. We were already well stocked and ready, but I went to the grocery store this morning to pick up just a few more things, a long burning fire log, another…
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Which clothes on Joey for our family pictures?

Aiden, Baby Joey, Family, Family Fun, Kevin, Kevin and I, Me, Michael, Pictures
We're getting family pictures soon, and are wondering what we should put on Joey. Vote on our poll at your right please!  And if you have any other suggestions for him, please let us know.  either another combination of the outfits we have for him, or if you can find something online for less than $15. Oh, and we'll all be in jeans in various darker blues. Mock Blue Jeans with darker blue wolf shirt (the tiny logo is a howling wolf and a couple pine trees). Brown pants, lighter blue dinosaur shirt with brown jacket First outfit with brown jacket Here are the shirts I'm planning on using for the rest of us, with both possible shirts for Joey. Also what about shoes?  We don't all have dark shoes... …
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“Don’t tell the girls you wanna marry them!”

Dreams, Family, Family Fun, Humor, Me, Michael, Pregnancy
Didn't think I'd be saying that one yet...  I guess Michael keeps telling the girls in his class that he wants to marry them.  So they tattle, and he gets in trouble. He's always asking me when the next baby is coming, and I keep telling him it's not up to him, and there might not be any more babies.  He says when he grows up he's going to have 12 children (I don't know where he'd get that from!), but he loves little babies and kids.
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Another Recipe

Baby Joey, Church, Family Fun, Life in Texas, recipes
We had the Elders over for dinner tonight, I always look forward to our turns to feed them.  We had to bow out last time as our water got turned off for community repairs, so I jumped at this next opportunity to feed them. Sweet and Sour Meatballs 1-28oz. bag meatballs average size can crushed pineapple with juice 3/4 cups apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup grape jelly 3/4 cups salsa (we used pace picante) squirt of ketchup up to 1 cup cornstarch slurry (half and half water and cornstarch mixed up) Mix up everything but meatballs and slurry add meatballs and coat with sauce cook in slow cooker for 6-8 hours on low, or 3-4 on high just before done taste and add vinegar, ketchup or brown sugar as desired…
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My Grandpa, My Parents, and My Brother

Aiden, Church, Family Fun, Grief and Loss, Health Concerns, Me, Memories, Pictures, The end is near, To new beginnings
My 80 somthingish Grandpa broke his hip lastnight and fell, they're not sure what happened first.  He was carrying a BIG watermelon and Grandma seems to think it landed ON him and that's what broke it...  So I guess there's three options.  He was supposed to go into surgery earlier today but it kept getting knocked back.  So I'm not sure what's happened. My parents are currently at a neighborhood/stake (gotta love Utah) meeting concerning a woman in their neighborhood who was badly beaten this week in her home by a door to door magazine salesman, who'd been to my parents home earlier that day.  I'm not sure if it's so much concerning the actual incident, local emotional control, or information to help protect themselves.  The hazy details I have…
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The most handsomest boy who wears glasses!

Aiden, Baby Joey, Family Fun, Me, Michael, Pictures
Michael boy just got glasses yesterday.  Here's the story in pictures. Contemplating this new milestone on the way to pick them up. Putting them on for the first time with prescription lenses. Help adjusting them. First impression of having glasses (sadly, I don't think it got much better). Aiden, he kept whining "I wants glasses!  Where's my glasses?" Getting a little warmed up, but mostly making faces about it. Trying on the other pair. Hmm, Brown, for the last three years brown has been Michael's favorite color, only last Friday, the day we went to the optometrist and ordered his glasses, he switched to blue. Joey just along for the ride. Aiden's new glasses.  Yes, I caved, but given Michael's mood, I needed SOMEBODY to be excited about glasses.  And…
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Adorable Stray Cats Need a Home

Adoption, Animals, Cats, Family Fun, Grief and Loss, Humor, Life in Texas, Me, Pictures, Pregnancy, The end is near, To new beginnings
They have a home!  Someone's coming to get them! OK, these are some of the adorable cats that hang around my neighborhood, they can't stay long because well, we're in apartments and it's not the safest environment for them and I think there are legal issues... So these little guys are free to anyone willing to catch them, take them to the vet, and care for them. This is a Mama, probably not more than a year old, and her final kitten left from what we believe is her first litter, born earlier this summer, 6-8 weeks old.  I don't know where the other two kittens are, hopefully people were able to take them in rather than having them found by predators or hit by cars.  The girls downstairs have…
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