Flag Football

T.J. enjoyed his first flag football league this year.  He was on a team with a couple of friends and really seemed to have fun.  (Although I am hoping not too much :)!)  It turned out to be very time consuming with 2 practices a week and 2 games a week.  During one of the first games, T.J. almost scored a touchdown.  He was very excited about that.  The last couple of games were very very cold!  I am glad he had fun, but I am also glad it is over.  Now on to basketball.  I am coming to realize, that with boys (especially 3 of them) the sports is going to be never ending!

Our Last Day with Grampa

Sadly, Friday was our last day to spend with Grampa and Gramma.  We spent most of the morning and early afternoon having Grampa playtime.  It was so cute to watch.  Unfortunately, I took tons of video that day, but no pictures of the playdates.  They played restaurant, train, puzzles, and games.  Grampa played right along with them.  It is very fun to watch.  I wish I had a picture of their train expedition.  Nate was the conductor telling everyone all aboard.  Grampa was the driver wearing his crown, with the rocking horse in front of him.  He called it the one horse steam engine.  It was priceless time together creating memories that I am sure will last a lifetime!

Grampa and Gramma treated us to ice cream before Lisa and her kids came to pick them up for the rest of the day.  Of course the ice cream was delicious, but it wouldn't be right without funny face time!

Saying goodbye was very hard.  After having such a fabulous, fun week and watching the boys (and the adults) develop a bond with George and Margaret, it was very hard to see them leave.  I have an especially hard time saying goodbye when the next time you are going to see someone is unknown.  We will hope and pray that it is sooner rather than later, but until next time we have lots of video to make a sequel to the "Papa George" movie that the boys have been watching since our last visit.  It keeps the memories alive and helps the boys remember their Grandparents from England.

Temple Square

This was a trip we weren't really planning on doing during George's visit.  Margaret, however, really wanted to see it and he consented.  We rode trax down which the boys always enjoy and then had a picnic lunch in the pavilion in front of the temple.  

We enjoyed going into the tabernacle and the assembly hall.  I always like to go to temple square with boys.  There is so much to do and the boys love it.  It is such a peaceful place to be as a family.  Every time I go I leave thinking I need to come more often.  The boys had fun pushing McKay for the short time he actually stayed in the stroller.

We went into the visitor's center for a little while.  I like that TJ can read well because I know he reads the signs more and can learn so much from being there.  McKay on the other hand enjoyed pushing the button to see the light come on. 

We left McKay's jacket on the train and of course I thought it was going to be warmer that day (and didn't have a lot of clean warm clothing) so I put the boys in shorts and short sleeves.  McKay didn't seem to mind too much.  Grampa gave him his sweater to wrap around him and McKay LOVED that.  He wore it over his shoulder's the whole rest of the day and you could tell he felt like a big boy wearing it.  We had a really nice time all together.  That night we went to dinner at the country club and then retired at home for more "apples to apples".  The boys love to play "apples to apples".  The first night Grampa was there we played it and had so much fun, we did it every night.

Ice Cream Castle

When we returned from the train museum, we decided to treat Grampa to an ice cream castle.  It is tradition in Mike's family that for father's day, the kids build a "castle" out of ice cream and present it to the "king".  Then everyone grabs a spoon and digs in!  We do this every year for Mike and sometimes even my dad.  Since we don't see George on Father's Day, we thought it was the perfect time to do one for him.  We all enjoyed it.

After finishing our castle, we were treated to a session of funny faces by McKay.  He is always so cute.  The boys love to get him to make funny faces and he is really quite good at it for a 2 year old!

The Train Museum

On Wednesday, we loaded everyone up and went to the train museum.  This was especially fun considering all the boys in our family absolutely love trains, and I believe it was an inherited love from Grampa George!  Nate wanted to sit by Grampa so as you can see Grampa climbed to the very back of the van and that he where he rode the entire week.  I insisted that is not where I intended for him to ride, but it sure made the boys happy!  

We started again with a picnic lunch.  This time we had giant train engine as our background.  Needless to say, Grampa and the boys ate their lunch walking around the trains.  They couldn't wait to get started.  I loved to watch George tell them all about the trains.  He knows so much and they were so interested.

I thought this was a funny picture.  It was supposed to be with just McKay, but Nate decided to jump in to be funny.  In the end, it was funny and it made for a great picture!

These were the boys favorite places.  The place where they could pretend to drive the train and the caboose they could climb in.  

Once we let them climb on them, we couldn't get them off!  I love these pictures in front of the train.  Grampa with all his little engineers!  It was another great day.

Picnic in the Canyon

On Tuesday, we went on a picnic up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  It was very pretty.

Everyone loved throwing rocks in the river.  Nate tried to take a different way across, and unfortunately stepped on a rock that wasn't too stable. He landed both feet in the water as he tried to get back on the rocks.  The funny thing was, a few minutes later, he tried the same path.  Stepped on the same rock and had the same wet outcome.  Sometimes we don't learn on the first mistake.  A lesson we can all learn from :).  

After throwing rocks for awhile, we went on a walk up the trail and eventually came to this fallen tree which we thought made a good picture spot.  We then went back for some cookies and headed home for T.J.'s flag football game.  It was the first time Margaret has seen American football.  I think she was a bit confused, especially with it being a revised version for 8 year olds!

Thanksgiving Point

We enjoyed a wonderful day at Thanksgiving Point with JaNae, Justin, and Max, Grampa and Gramma, and JaNae's sister Jolynn and her boys.  We started at the Dinosaur Museum.  The boys (of all ages as you can see) especially enjoyed the sand and water area and the dinosaur dig.  Grampa is so good to get down and play with the boys.  They enjoy him so much.

We then enjoyed a nice lunch at the restaurant.  McKay decided he would rather sleep than eat!  We were very pleased with our boys.  To eat at a nice restaurant with eight boys (ages 8 and under) and actually be complimented by the waitress about our boys makes any mom burst with pride!

After lunch we went to the main gardens.  It was so beautiful and peaceful.  It has been so long since I have been there, I didn't realize how nice it was or how much the boys would enjoy it.  We all had a wonderful time and I can't wait to take the boys back.  A great way to start the week with Grampa and Gramma.

The Three Nephites

We were sitting down for lunch after church today and we asked the boys what they learned about in their primary class.  T.J. said that he learned about when Jesus Christ was leaving the earth and he asked people what they wanted before he left.  He said that most of the people wanted to go with Jesus but 3 of them wanted to stay on the earth until the second coming.  I realized he was talking about "the Three Nephites".  He then continued saying, "I'm guessing that one of them maybe died because the other two could be Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus."  He was so serious and Mike and I both burst out laughing!  I could tell he was really confused as to why we were laughing so hard.  It was such a sweet thing and made my day!

Grampa's Visit

The Sunday after George arrived, we had all of the family here for dinner.  It was fun to see everyone together.  All of the kids gathered around Grampa and he told them stories of his childhood and advice that he would leave with them.  The boys were so excited to be with him and loved listening to him.  He speaks to them in a grown up manner that draws their attention and makes them feel so big and important.  

Flag Football

Flag football ended about a month ago, but I never posted anything about it.  This was the last game of the season.  (Very Cold!)  T.J. was on a team with several friends from the neighborhood.  He really enjoyed it.  I am not sure how much he actually learned.  We had very dedicated coaches, who were also very dedicated to winning.  He did enjoy it and started playing football with the kids at recess.  My main goal in having him do football was for him to understand the game enough that he would play with his friends.  In that case, it was a great success!

Nate's French Toast

One of the boys favorite thing to do with Grampa George and Grandma Margaret was to play restaurant.  For breakfast one morning I made french toast.  A little later, Nate was making "breakfast" for breakfast and asked if she wanted french toast.  He then fished the wood toast out of the bucket and said, "Here's the toast, it just needs to be frenched!"  I thought that was so cute!

The Train Arrives!

On Thursday (October 2) we went to meet George and Margaret at the train station.  It was the like stepping back in time.  The station looked like a little brick thomas station.  No door just a little glass room with park benches and we stood 6 feet from the train as it pulled with the boys grandparents from England!  It was 3 hours late so the boys had stayed up until 12:30 to greet Grampa, but it was worth it!  This was an experience we won't forget.  So cute and personal.  I think it made all of us want to try a trip on the train!

Fun at Disneyland!

It has been a long time since we posted and I am going to try to do better.  I will post some of the significant events over the last several months and write about a few others.  Following our visit to Carmel, we headed south for a wonderful week at Disneyland.  It can't get any better than that.  We LOVE Disneyland.  We all enjoy it so much!!!!  McKay loves everything about Winnie the Pooh except the life size bear!  T.J. is a new boy now that loves all the roller coasters and tried every ride he could go on which was everything except the Maliboomer, which unfortunately McKay was also too short for.  We also did the Character breakfast for the first time.  That was a treat!  So much fun to see all the characters and a delicious breakfast.  We really had a great time and are excited to use our season passes to go back.  Let us know if anyone wants to join us!  I am ready to go anytime, just prefer someone to go with me.

A Day to Remember Grandmommy

We attended a wonderful luncheon with Michael's family in honor of Grandmommy.  She was such a sweet and wonderful lady.  It was neat to listen to memories and read the wonderful booklet put together in her memory.  After the luncheon we spent a beautiful and a bit chilly afternoon at the beach.  We later spent the evening at Grandmommy's home visiting with her friends.  I enjoyed wondering through her home and garden's and trying to fill my mind with memories of their beautiful place knowing that would be the last time we would be there.  This was our last family picture taken in front of their fireplace.  A treasure!

Until we meet again...

Josephine Brinckloe

Yesterday we received the news that our dear Grandmommy had passed away after a wonderfully long and influential life. She returned home to be with Granddaddy who paved the way for her a few years ago. I'm sure she also is able to spend some time with Jacob and Oakley, our nephews who we also had the privilege of knowing...albeit a short time.

One of my most cherished experiences with Grandmommy and Granddaddy was just a few months after Alisha and I were married. We made a trip west after we graduated, and spent a few relaxing days with them in their home. One evening, we pulled out the HUGE scrapbook they always had, and poured through every picture, journal entry, flyer, and note in there. Grandmommy and Granddaddy stopped on on each page, giving us an in-depth view of their experiences throughout their lives. I felt like we got to know them so much better that night than we ever had before.

On Saturday, we planted our first bush in our yard. Fittingly, it is an English Boxwood...one of Grandmommy's favorites. We are dedicating that bush to her, and every time we walk down our cobblestone path to the mailbox, we will smell the sweet fragrance that I have grown to love, as it speaks of memories of my grandparents. I will post a picture of it when I get a chance to take one.

To Grandmommy: Thank you for your legacy. Thank you for your love. We are better people for ever knowing you, and the people you have touched in your lifetime are countless. We are so grateful to have had you in our lives, and pray that we will live our lives in a way to honor you. We will miss you dearly, but know of the great Plan of our Heavenly Father, which gives us the opportunity to meet again.

So...until we meet again....

Love, Mike, Alisha, TJ, Nate, and McKay

(P.S. Thank you to Geoff for the picture, which I 'borrowed' off his blog. :)

Best....pancakes....ever

Seriously.  You have to try them to believe it.  We found part of it on the internet, and Alisha added a couple things that perfected them.  For those that care, 1/4 cup batter makes a pancake, 5 of which are 4 Weight Watcher Points™ (minus the bananas.  Add whatever points those would be):

2 1/4 C.  Whole Wheat Flour

3 T brown sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt (I never use a full tsp...usually just over 1/2)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 egg whites

1/4 C. applesauce (unsweetened)

2 1/4 C. water

2 mashed bananas (ripe)

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then mix together.  Add more flour until consistency is just right.  We usually pour a bit of olive oil in the pan so they don't stick.  We top it off with pure maple syrup from Costco.  Great breakfast!

Enjoy!

(P.S. Janae, you are welcome to try this, modify it to make it a bit better for you (take out brown sugar, etc), and post on your culinary blog.  Then we'll try it after you perfect the healthfulness :-)