First Day of School

Emily, Anna and James started school - grades 6, 4, and 1. They (and me) were so excited for school to start and have been loving it since. Anna loves that she and Emily have a recess to share. I am not sure that Emily is as excited about that as Anna.

In celebration of having a day alone with just mom and Chase, we went to Thanksgiving Point to see the gardens. It was pretty cool.

Emily has started a blog

Emily wanted to start blogging and I thought it would be a good way for her to keep a journal. Her first entry was a book review - I guess she was inspired by Sean. Here is a copy.

The Secret Garden

By Frances Hodgson Burnett

Mary Lennox is a young, ugly and selfish child who lives in India when her parents die from a disease. She is then sent to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor. While she is there, she finds a secret garden that belonged to her passed aunt. She also finds her sick cousin Colin and helps him find the strength to walk.

 I liked this book because it had some of my favorite things. Gardens, animals, friends, and a few secrets. It also showed me that all you need is friends to have a good life. 

Sean quits Facebook, now tries blogging

If you know how to read - and really, if you didn't, would you be reading this blog? Sean has started his own blog about what else . . . books. You can find it here.

Cascade Springs

Sunday we drove the Alpine Loop and walked up Cascade Springs. It was so beautiful up American Fork Canyon.

 Sean told the kids if they spotted a badger, moose, bear, or elk he would take them out for ice cream, but all we could find was this yellow bird and that brown fish. It was still fun looking though.

We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls on our home, it was so crowded.

End of Park City Tournament

Anna's team lost their last game 0-1. It was heartbreaking because the other team scored with 1 minute left. Her team played so well. I think with a little more practice, they are going to be really good.

And Soccer Begins, Day 2

Check in with the refs. 

Boys being boys.

Almost a goal. It hit the post.

SCORE!

They won this game 4-0. Anna scored 3 of the 4 goals. They did have a mighty wind to assist them for the first half of the game, but Anna played well. It was exciting! Tomorrow morning they play again and if they win, they have another game that night to determine 1st and 2nd places. 

And Soccer Begins

Our first game of the season. Anna has a new team this year and I thought they did really well. They lost 0-2, but the team they lost to won their first game 5-0.

One of the parents commented on her improvement over the summer. They said she could kick a lot further (farther?). Thanks Kevin!

Here was one of 2 missed goals by Anna, she was so close.

We will see how the rest of the tournament goes.

Chase Singing

This is how much Chase loves Little Einsteins.

My Recipe Collection

I have started putting my recipes online. I thought it would be a good place to organize and record the foods and recipes we like. I especially want to be able to teach my kids how to cook before they leave home. Here is a copy of my first entry.
http://tannerkitchen.blogspot.com/

Salad

• 6-7 cups mixed green lettuce - romaine, spinach, red leaf
• 1 large chicken breast, grilled (or deli chicken) and chopped
• 1 crisp apple, cored and diced
• 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 bell pepper (preferably red, yellow or orange), chopped
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds

Dressing

• 3 fresh tomatillos
• 1 package dry ranch dressing
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1 cup mayo
• 1/4-1/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Puree all dressing ingredients in blender and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
2. Toss first 6 salad ingredients, add dressing then toss again. Sprinkle avocado and sunflower seeds evenly over top.

Serve with flour tortillas (uncooked tortillas found in deli aisle)

Main course

Colorado Trip

We spent the last weekend in Colorado and as always, had a lot of fun, especially the kids - their Grandparents like to spoil them.

Courtney let James spend the night with her and he loved that he is old enough to do this.

We took some pictures of the kids, I can't figure out how to take a great picture, they were in the shade for these pictures, so their eyes were open.

...but in the sun for this picture - better picture, but hard not to squint.

This is where Grandma works and I thought this was a good picture of all of them.

Enjoying the front yard.

We went to see lots of movies, went out to eat, went swimming, visited the American Girl store, went on a lot of bike rides, and of course, scooter rides.

Sean was getting tired of them by this point.

Safety first.