Big Pumpkins

We attended a Pumpkin Pickin' Party yesterday afternoon at the home of Dr. Christensen, the doctor who removed the non-cancerous lump from my boob that cost us more than $2000 last year. He is really into growing giant pumpkins and began an annual party at his house for anyone in the area to come and weigh their pumpkins. It's a potluck party and everyone is invited, whether you have a pumpkin or not. The aide in Landon's class who helps his autistic kid invited us to watch the big weigh in. Her dad has won the Jack-O-Lantern contest every year of the event. There is a Jack-O-Lantern contest (that's a variety of pumpkin) and a giant pumpkin contest (another variety). As fun as this party was, Emma and Lauren whined the whole time because it was hot and the hay was prickly that we had to sit on. Emma scraped her foot up and I got stung by a bee or something on my finger. It hurt real bad, but unlike our crybaby girls, I still had fun.

The girls posing with the Jack-O-Lantern entries. The heaviest was 91.5 pounds.

This is how Dr. Christensen's pumpkin arrived from his field to be placed on the scale.

These are some of the giant pumpkins. The growers seemed disappointed if their pumpkins were under 400 pounds. We left before all the pumpkins were weighed, but Dr. Christensen's pumpkins are usually in the 800-900 pound range.This is the scale. Everyone sat on bales of hay set up like an amphitheater all the way around the scale. About 100 people were at the event while we were there.

Someone brought a watermelon to be weighed. It came in at 94 pounds.

Cookout With The Morris's

Last night we went with Morris and Heidi Christensen and their kids, Ketti and Jens, (we just call them the Morris's) and had a cookout. BYU-Idaho owns property out by Beaver Dick park along the river, so we went out there and had a canoe ride and cooked tinfoil dinners. Morris and Heidi brought the canoe and a dutch oven. They made a really good apple crisp dessert with apples from the tree in their yard.

Part of the fun was making our own foil dinners before we left. We added a scoop of cream of chicken soup on top of the meat and veggies.Morris was nice enough to take the kids for a ride in the canoe, since no one else wanted to go. Emma was really happy that she got to help paddle.These are our foil dinners, cooking. Notice the mammoth, loaf-size foil dinners. Those are the LeFevre dinners.

Emma and Jens are tight. He is the cutest little kid and Emma likes to play with him and help him. Jens is almost 3 years old.Ketti is almost 6 and just started Kindergarten. She and Lauren have been good friends for almost 3 years.These are our good friends, Heidi and Morris. They're so fun to be with that sometimes we wonder why they hang out with us. They're really active (like Heidi likes to run marathons, Morris likes to ride his bike 100 miles at a time) yet they enjoy a good meal. That's the glue that hold the Christensens and LeFevres together, I guess.

Fun times with Redi-whip.

Enchanted Enchiladas

We made Uncle John's recipe for Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas from our 2nd cookbook tonight. They were so good! We used the "medium" flavor of green chile enchilada sauce. They had a lot of flavor. Both the girls even liked them. We highly recommend these enchiladas...quick and easy to make, very few ingredients, lots of flavor.

(Last night at Family Reading Night, Lauren and I read a book that had a mexican restaurant named "The Enchanted Enchilada.")

This is what I had for lunch today. Not quite as enchanting, but so stinkin' good that I felt the need to photograph it before I ate it. This is leftover "Buffalo Chicken Sandwich" that we ate for dinner Tuesday night. This recipe is also in our 2nd cookbook.

New Home Decor--UPDATE

I made new valances for my kitchen and dining room today. I also made a table runner that turned out too short, but whatever. It's still on the table. All I need now is a pretty autumn centerpiece.

Here's a little update to my last posting...Emma helped me find these pretty flowers at Walmart for only $6.50 yesterday after school. (I don't know what kind they are, but they're real.)
Here's my little home decor helper working on her homework. She's pretty fun to have around. When I asked her how she liked her school lunch yesterday, she said the macaroni and cheese was "unusually good."

It's All About The Food

I decided to document our favorite places to eat, whether we're close to home or visiting family. When we're home, the choices are very limited, but we love Stockman's Restaurant on county line road between Idaho Falls and Rigby. They don't have a website, but here is a link for contact information and some local reviews. Apparently everyone else likes it as much as we do. http://local.yahoo.com/info-40924773-stockman-s-restaurant-rigby They have all-you-can-eat steak! They serve 16 ounces of steak the first time around and most people don't need to ask for more, but I'll admit it has happened in our family.

When we go to Utah, we always go to Cafe Rio, of course. Landon and I always get a version of the taco salad, usually pork, sometimes steak. It's unbelievable. Lauren sticks with a kid's quesadilla. Emma gets a kid's quesadilla and then eats a healthy portion of my salad. The only person I've ever met who doesn't love Cafe Rio is Manase Finau. Their website is http://www.caferio.com/

When we are in Las Vegas, there are two places we love. I personally love Buffalo Wild Wings the most, but Pei Wei is a close second. Buffalo Wild Wings is a chain, but I've only seen it in Vegas so far. http://www.buffalowildwings.com/ We usually go with the whole LeFevre clan and order at least 100 or so wings, cheesy fries and diet Pepsi/Coke. What I like about this place is that you can order what kind of sauce you want on your wings. We usually get a whole lot of honey barbeque wings, some teriyaki wings, some parmesan cheese wings and some spicy garlic wings. My girls can really inhale chicken wings. They usually eat 10-15 wings each.

We also love to visit Pei Wei when we're in Vegas! http://www.peiwei.com/ Evidently it's a "fast food" off shoot of P.F. Changs. We love to get the Phad Thai. The prices are much less than P.F. Changs and the food is every bit as good.

When we go to Vancouver to visit, we eat at Burgerville, of course! www.burgerville.com Burgerville is a local fast food burger chain that is located in the Portland/Vancouver area. The last restaurant is in the Dalles, Oregon as you're heading east, so we always stop there on our way back to Idaho. They use locally raised beef, Tillamook cheese, Walla Walla onions for ginormous onion rings, and Oregon strawberries for strawberry shortcake, etc. The best part of the burgers is the special sauce they put on the burgers! It's a mixture of mayo, mustard, and tartar sauce, I think. It's delightful! We eat there at least 3-4 times while we're in town.

Police Activity at the Meadows Townhouses

Here's a good story for everyone:

My neighbor told me that the building next to ours has two townhouse units filled with young single guys. Every night they stay up late drinking, smoking, playing loud music and partying with friends they invite over. My neighbor said she thought she also smelled marijuana one night because she sleeps with her fan in the window and thought she smelled it. The boys who live there also invited my neighbor's son (he is 8) over to play video games with them. She forbid her son from going over there and told the guys not to invite him over again. She didn't want to be the one to have a confrontation about the partying, so she told me all about it. I told her that I'd take care of it!

This was Wednesday afternoon. Right away, I called the city compliance officer to see if the owner was violating the zoning ordinances, I called Madison county dispatch to have them do more patrols in our neighborhood beginning Wednesday night, I called the BYU-Idaho Housing office to warn them that there could be some students living in un-approved housing who also happen to be partying, and I called the Homeowners Association to let them know what was going on. I went over to the building and took pictures of all the cigarette butts and beer cans that the boys have left out in front of their building to ensure the owners get a HOA fine for littering too.

So Wednesday night the boys had a big birthday party for one of them and invited lots of friends. The police showed up at about 10:45pm and cited 13 people for underage drinking and one 21 year old guy for supplying the alcohol. All the names of the people were listed in the newspaper and I have a call into the Student Honor office to make sure they look up each name and see who is a student and who is not.

So I've been having some fun this week. It's a real adrenaline rush for me to see stupid people get busted. I almost think law enforcement would be a fun line of work if I didn't have to be physically fit. I'm just happy we live in a place where littering and underage kids drinking is as exciting as it gets.

This was in the Rexburg Standard Journal today.

More Letters

Yesterday I got 7 letters from kids in Landon's class. I wrote back to the kids on Christmas cards because that's all I could find. I was told that I'm pretty, I have nice hair, I'm nice, and I'm sweet. One kid asked when number 26 and I got married.

Health Update on the LeFevres

We've caught some kind of little virus around here. Today I feel kind of run down, achy and congested. Nothing serious, just a little cold-like thing. The girls have kind of gotten it this week too.
Emma stayed home from school yesterday because she felt sick. She's been feeling lightheaded and really tired lately, so I took her to the doctor for a blood test. She threw up right after the blood test because she has such an intolerance for anything having to do with blood. I'll find out today (I think) if she's anemic or anything. She sleeps 11-12 hours at night, so I think she's getting enough sleep. I also thought she could be in a growth spurt or something. She felt better today and went to school.
Today Lauren decided she was sick. She's been playing with neighbor kids everyday after school until dinner or sometimes until bedtime (7:00pm). We like that she's playing hard and having fun and not logging so many TV hours (to be honest we're enjoying the lack of drama when she's not home, too), but I think it's catching up to her. She's getting run down. She stayed in bed and watched TV until 9:00am, then decided she felt like going to school. Call me a bad mom, but I think having a little down time once in a while is OK--even during the school day. Lauren gets 100% on spelling and math tests and reads on a 4th grade level. Besides, her teacher is mean. I'd want to stay home too.
By the way, I don't want to forget to include Emma's accomplishments at school. She is in the advanced reading class for her grade. She reads above grade level and has the most AR points in her class (that's points you get for taking comprehension tests after you read a book). She finishes 1-2 books each week and sometimes keeps her light on after we say good-night to read...hey! I think I may have just solved Emma's tiredness problem. This blog is therapeutic.
For the first time ever, Landon actually hasn't felt sick when everyone else is. He's lost like 35 pounds now. He's looking good! Maybe someone can just convince him to start exercising. My nagging ceases to be heard anymore.

Happy Birthday Nana!

September 16th is Nana's birthday. This is a little video message we made for her. (Don't forget to pause the music in the playlist at the bottom of the blog!)

Enjoying Wii Fit

We bought Wii Fit in July. It's been a lot of fun. Emma enjoys doing hula hoop, and Lauren is particularly good at "heading" soccer balls while avoiding getting hit in the head with shoes. I have been having fun with the step aerobics and a cute little penguin game, while Landon still enjoys playing tennis with Wii Sport. (Don't forget to hit pause on the music when you watch the videos...it's more enjoyable.)

Number 26's Wife

Landon has 25 kids in his class. They are each given a number so he can keep track of them. One of the fun ways he gives them to practice their writing skills is by allowing them to write notes/letters to one another by way of the classroom mailbox. He purchased a real mailbox, provides note paper and envelopes and lets the kids "mail" each other letters whenever they have free time. They are required to write the student's number on the outside of the envelope so the kid assigned to deliver mail can easily find the right student to give the mail to. When they want to write to Landon, he told them he would be number 26. Yesterday he received a letter addressed to "26's wife." He brought it home to me, I opened it and it had hearts all over it, but it wasn't signed by anyone. It sounds like it could have been from a boy who had a crush on me to the untrained observer, but I recognized immediately that it had to be from a girl. I happen to know that boys aren't into drawing hearts, but girls have recently mastered this skill and love to draw hearts (and stars, by the way). I replied to the note on a real notecard (from a box of real stationary) and sent it to school with Landon. Landon found the mystery writer of the first letter (it was a girl) and apparently she was beyond excited. She couldn't believe I wrote back and on real stationary, no less. Today I have received 2 more letters addressed to 26's wife. I have a feeling I've started something that has the potential to get out of control. I'll keep everyone posted...This is what the outside of todays' envelope looked like.

This is a very sweet note complete with a pig. "Mr LeFevre rocks! He is so nice. So are your douters (daughters). Who do they have for teachers? Well, gotta go."

Manipulating with Love

Monday I completely cleaned the girls' bedrooms for them, making their beds and everything. I never do that, because I want them to be in charge of their own spaces and take responsibility for their own messes. I made an exception because I wanted to do something nice for them and I thought they'd appreciate it, which they did. The next morning they cleaned their rooms and made their own beds before they left for school in an attempt to keep their rooms as nice as I had made them the day before. I wrote them each a little love note telling them how nice their rooms looked and how great it was that they took the time to take care of their space. Today their rooms again were immaculately cleaned and beds made before they left for school. I haven't even had to ask them to clean up or anything. I am calling my method "Loving Manipulation."

Some of Our Favorite Things

This may become a regular feature on the blog. We have taken pictures of some of our favorite things to share with everyone.

This comb is one of my favorite things! My mom gave it to me when I was 18 years old, waiting for the Amtrak train to arrive to take me back to BYU after Christmas break was over. I realized I had forgotten my brush/comb and needed something as I would be on the train for about 24 hours. She dug around in her purse and pulled it out and gave it to me. I just kept using it. I took it on all my camping trips in college, my mission, my honeymoon, and every place I've ever lived. I've owned it for close to 19 years now. Very strange, I know. I just love that comb.

I gave Landon this cast iron frying pan about 2 years ago for his birthday. He loves it. He used it this morning to cook potatoes for breakfast (that's why it's dirty in the picture). Nothing browns meat or potatoes like a cast iron frying pan. We've even cooked pizza in it in the oven. It was only about $12 at Walmart. Emma received this blanket before she was born, from Aunt Jeanette. She calls it her "baa" because when she was about a year old, she couldn't say blanket. She started calling it baa and we have always just called it that. She hasn't slept one night of her life without it.

Lauren loves the TV. She would rather watch TV than do anything else. It's sad and pathetic, but it's true.

The Meadows Circus

This week the girls have been planning a "circus" with their friends in the neighborhood. They made flyers, practiced and had a dress rehearsal last night. Today they performed. The boys, who were originally going to participate, backed out after getting tired of being bossed around by the girls.

This is the flyer the girls taped on doors.

These are the spectators.

These are some of the circus performers (Lauren is on the big wheel).

This is Emma walking the elephant.This is Emma, doing her tightrope routine.

The circus performers after the show.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a really low-key weekend. We did some shopping on Saturday in Idaho Falls, went to Church yesterday, then today we went for an incredibly fun drive and hike near the continental divide.
When we were at Church, I saw some huge zucchini squash in the foyer on the floor with a sign that said, "free zucchini squash." The girls and I were really excited so we grabbed a 10 pounder and stashed it in the car. Landon had to stay late, so we took the zucchini home and promptly made zucchini bread with lots of big walnuts in it, because we're a nut-loving family.

Here's a before and after shot (I used the Diet Pepsi can for perspective):

We still have about 9 pounds of zucchini left. Sunday night we watched The Sound of Music (the girls had never seen it and it was on TV) and ate spaghetti with fresh-out-of-the-oven white bread and zucchini bread for dessert all in front of the TV. Lots of carbs, but very enjoyable.

This morning we decided to drive about 50 miles north to a trail head called Aldous Lake just outside of Kilgore, ID. We brought a bucket of chicken, zucchini bread and some oranges and went on a 2.6 mile round trip hike to Aldous Lake. The weather was perfect for us! When we started the hike it was lightly raining, then turned to light hail, then back to rain. We saw tons of berries (we think they're wild raspberries). After some fun at the lake (and some zucchini bread), we headed back and picked as many raspberries as we could find. The girls LOVED picking berries. At one point a little newlywed couple passed us (the only people we saw the whole time) and asked us what kind of berries we were picking. Well, I didn't notice them coming and was intently concentrating on picking my berries. When I heard them, I looked up, saw them about 10 feet in front of me and yelled "shit!" right at them, because I was so startled. They kept walking.
It really was a beautiful hike. It was amazingly close to a Northwest kind of hike, with mossy trees everywhere, cool weather with light rain, hearing a rushing creek in the distance, and ending up at a little lake.After the hike we drove on a dirt road to Island Park and came home on highway 20. We stopped at Big Juds in Ashton for dinner and ate burgers, fries and onion rings. Yummy! By the way, Landon has lost 27 pounds by now, and I've lost 43 since June 2007. Slow and steady!
When we were in Idaho Falls on Saturday we spent some time browsing in Barnes and Noble. We bought a book called The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. We are loving this book! It's a kids' book, so I've been reading it out loud through the weekend. We're only 100 pages into it and it's a 450 page book, but it's so good so far! We highly recommend it to anyone who has kids or likes kids' books.

These were the berries we picked. We think they're raspberries. Landon getting Emma's poncho on so she didn't get wet. We haven't gotten her a coat yet for fall or winter. Poor kid.This is the beginning of the trail.1.3 miles later, we made it to the lake!The girls enjoyed messing around in the water.Landon and me looking old (in my opinion).Isn't Lauren so cute?This is the rock we ate our zucchini bread on.This is what the berries looked like as soon as I washed them. They were pretty fragile.

This mouse was literally the only wildlife we encountered, not counting birds--which I don't, because I hate birds.