Our Laughter

So I am going to try this out… I have my new Droid X and am going to attempt my first post. Will it work?

-          Preheat oven to 500 degrees (heat pizza stone if available)

-          Use a refrigerated crust or the following crust (homemade is better)

• 1 C       warm water
• 1 T        instant yeast
• 2 T        Sugar
• ½ t       Salt
• 2 T        oil
• 2 ½ C   Flour (more if needed)
• Put Yeast in water to dissolve. Mix all other ingredients together then add water/yeast mixture until dough is no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Knead 6 minutes by mixer on lower setting or 8-10 minutes by hand, until the dough passes a windowpane test. Put in an oiled bowl, cover, and let dough rest.

-          Sauce

• 1/3 C    sweet chili sauce
• ½ t       basil
• ¼ t       garlic powder (OR fresh garlic minced to taste)
• ¼ t       powered ginger or ½ t of fresh ginger
• 1 ½ T    tomato sauce
• Simmer on low while assembling the toppings. The longer it simmers the better the taste.

-          Toppings

• ½ C      EACH – mango, pineapple, mandarin oranges, green and red peppers, roma tomatoes
• ¼ C      EACH – chopped red onions, jalapeños
• 2 C       Mozzarella cheese
• ¼ C      Feta cheese
• 1 C       grilled chicken or ham

Roll crust out on some parchment and cornmeal. Spread sauce and add toppings to likening then top with the mixture of cheese. Slide a cold baking sheet under the parchment paper and use it to slide the pizza on to the pre-heated stone in the oven (CRITICAL – that the baking sheet or stone is pre-heated to 500 degrees.) Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crust and cheese is golden brown. For an added touch put some olive oil in a dish with Italian seasonings and bush the outside of the pizza before you put it in the oven and once half way through the baking time. Pull out and let site for 5 minutes –then cut and serve.

This is by far the best pizza we have ever made. Our 3 kids love it – minus the jalapeños, but mom and dad like those.

So on Saturday Charlie and Kade decided to try their hand at engineering. Instead of making detailed plans and blue prints, building models and testing weight limits, getting the right building permits – they just built it!

As you can see there are of course limits to this bridge.

1) wieght

2) weather

3) slippage with plastic on plastic

Of course it worked just fine for Kade to cross. So Charlie wanted a turn and proceed across. About half way Charlie realized that this was not a good idea. Unfortunately the plastic parts already had started to slip and down Charlie went smacking his head on the white corner of the shoe holder. This resulted in one of Newton’s laws of motions and a trip to the ER.

He did beat his brother Kade on the number of stitches – 7. Kade had 5 the last time we went to the ER.

We promised the boys that we would go camping this weekend, only to have it rain and get really cold… SO, we put the tent up in their room and roasted mini-marshmallows before bed. That was good enough for the boys (AND we got to sleep in our comfy bed instead of an uncomfortable sleeping bag on the ground… And avoided the bugs, the hassle of cleaning up, fighting with them to go to bed… It was great!)

Roasting mini-marshmallows on a toothpick over a tea-light....

The art of roasting a mini-marshmallow...

Livvy Lou, eating mini-marshmallows with Dad

Sleeping in a sleeping bag, in a tent, in their room

Who needs a tent outside, when it will fit inside?

Since we have moved back up to Shelby, our internet access has been very limited. As in, once a month, when we go down to Great Falls. That being the case, updating the blog has been rather difficult, especially since we typically keep so busy when we are down in Great Falls. Not much we can do about it, but I miss being able to share stories of the kids and record them for myself…

1. The boys did swim lessons this summer (of which I never did get pictures of the official lessons… Bummer!) They really loved the swimming as well as their teachers, but I was rather disappointed that the teachers started them off with “backpacks” (in other words, flotation devices), especially since they were one-on-one with the teachers. This resulted in an over-dependence on the backpacks, and never learning how to swim. Next year, there will be no backpacks. Because I know they could have learned how to swim if they had never been introduced to the backpacks. Oh well. It was fun anyway. We walked most mornings to the pool (I think it was probably between 1/2 a mile to a mile…?) and the boys had the route memorized, ala Dora. “Cemetary, Big hill, Swimming pool! Say it with me…” It was very cute to hear them quote it, and fun to reinforce the directions. Olivia did lessons the first session (we did 2 session, a total of 4 weeks) but mostly just tolerated the water, although she never did cry.
2. I’ve done a lot of canning jams over the past few weeks. A friend at church  gave me some Nanking Cherries (they are “bush cherries”, about the size of a larger blueberry, and somewhat tart) and so I attempted to make some jelly out of them. It never set, so we had cherry syrup. I also made some rhubarb jam. Then, I found out a neighbor had some Nanking Cherries that he didn’t want, so I made some more jelly, and three batches of jam, getting some good recipes from his wife.The jam was a little time consuming, since I had to pit the cherries and that took forever, but man alive, is that jam amazing!!! I am looking forward to canning some pears and probably some more peaches this year. We won’t be doing apricot jam this year however… We still have an overabundance of the apricot jam left from last year!!! :) However, this same neighbor has some plums growing and has promised me I could have some, and I am looking forward to canning some plum jam and making plum tarts.
3. We have a little tomato garden growing… 10 plants in all. Now that we’ve actually had a little warm weather, they’ve really taken off. We will probably harvest the first of many, many tomatoes when we get home on Sunday. Our garden also consists of two pathetic little green pepper plants that are hanging in there but refuse to die, and some cilantro, a few garlic plants that we started from garlic that was starting to sprout, and perhaps some parsely and some chives (two or three of each of those plants… tiny and pathetic, but growing…) We planted a lot more than that, but alas, that’s all we got this year. Oh, and the house came equipped with rhubarb, asparagus, an apple tree (that is taking quite a beating from my boys who are ever anxious to partake of its fruit!!!), and a couple of small raspberry bushes. It’s been fun to eat the rhubarb, raspberries, and asparagus, and we are anxious for the small-ish apples to ripen.
4. I have had a lot of fun baking breads. I’ve got a great Sour Dough starter, and Aaron bought me “The Bread Bakers Apprentice” and I have had a lot of fun reading and experimenting. I have a lot to learn about artisean bread baking (yeah, I WISH my bread looked this good!), and have already cracked the inside glass window of our oven (oops… always put a towel over the window if you plan on steaming in the oven…) but turning out bread that crackles and crunches and is holey and wonderful… SO worth it! Even if a loaf takes two days or so to get prepared to bake… patience pays off in the end!
5. Olivia just started crawling this week. She’s a couple of weeks behind her brothers at this point, but she still managed to start crawling while still 6 months old. She’s our tiny little squirt, at perhaps not much more than 13 lbs at 7 month, and so it’s adorable to watch her crawl. She doesn’t look like she should be able to. She gets this huge grin on her face every time she does, though… She’s so proud of herself.

Speaking of Olivia… She has been such a great joy in our lives. She has been such an enjoyable baby– smiley all the time, pleasant, easy to predict and to put down to bed, not picky when it comes to food, calm… Heavenly Father knew I needed a calming presence in my life with my two energetic boys.  She adores her brothers (especially Charlie) and they adore her in return (again, especially Charlie, but Kade also.) She always has a happy smile when she sees them. They have been nothing short of amazing with her, taking care of her, sharing their pancakes with her, helping her eat all her cheerios, helping me with her diapers, playing with her, demonstrating crawling… Nothing makes a mom (and dad) prouder than to watch the older kids take such good care of their little sister. She’s been a wonderful addition to our family.

I have had some challenges with the boys, especially Kade, and some attitude problems, and checked out a couple of parenting books from the library. I hated losing my temper so much, especially since Kade was learning to be just as angry at me, and I needed some help. Here are the books I started reading. Not through either of them yet, but they both hit home and have helped already… “How to talk to your kids so they will listen, and listen to your kids so they will talk” and “Raising Good Children”. I have especially liked the “Raising Good Children” so far, as it goes through different “morality” stages that each kid will go through. Once I understood that 4 IS a difficult age, similar to 2, and understood a little better how to tackle his behavior, and what to expect from him, my life–and his– has become a lot better. I also started doing something I should have been doing for a long time… Singing to the kids at bed time. We sing all day long, but our bed-time routine has never had much “room” for singing. I thought it was time for a change. I have so many good memories of my parents singing to me at bed time. So, every night now I sing three songs– two of their choosing, in the “style” they want (silly, fast, like a goat, you name it…), tell them a scripture story, and then sing ” Angel Lullaby”, which my parents often sang for us as kids. It has helped the kids stay in bed SO much better… I should have started this tradition a long time ago.

Anyway, I will try to get some pictures up a little later tomorrow. It’s my bed time now!

Cynthia L. “Cindy” (Dobb) Matthews, 61, an assistant professor at the University of Great Falls who was active in her church and the community, died of breast cancer Thursday at her home.
Visitation is 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Croxford Funeral Home and Crematory. Her funeral is 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1401 9th St. N.W., with visitation an hour prior to the service time at the church. Burial is noon Thursday at Sunset Memorial Cemetery near Butte.
Born March 2, 1949, in Butte, Mont., to William Henry Dobb and Wyona Louise (McCracken) Dobb, Cindy surrendered her mortal body to death on Thursday, May 27, 2010, at her home in Great Falls, following a courageous seven-year battle with cancer.
Cindy graduated from Butte High before moving to Rexburg, Idaho, in 1967. She attended Ricks College, earning an associate degree in sociology. She then moved to Provo, Utah, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from BYU in 1971. With degree in hand, Cindy moved to Glendive, Mont., where she accepted a position as a juvenile probation officer with the Department of Institutions.
Early in 1978, Cindy accepted a new position in Kalispell, where she met William B. Matthews, and after a lengthy courtship of eight months, they were married in the Cardston Alberta LDS temple Jan. 20, 1979.
In January 1979, Cindy and William moved to Great Falls, Mont., where Cindy obtained her master’s degree from the then-College of Great Falls. After the birth of their third child, Cindy resigned her position with the Department of Institutions and devoted the next nine years to raising their three children.
In 1990, Cindy accepted a position as an adjunct professor in the criminal justice program at the College of Great Falls, and after eight years she was promoted to associate, then assistant professor at the University of Great Falls. Cindy began working on her doctorate degree at Montana State University-Bozeman, but after her diagnosis of breast cancer and subsequent treatment, she was forced to choose between completing her dissertation and being a teacher to the students at UGF. As in the past, Cindy chose to help others with whatever time she had remaining. She gave up her quest for the advanced degree and devoted herself to the students at the University of Great Falls. This devotion was recognized in the spring of 2009, when Cindy was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Great Falls.
Throughout her adult life, Cindy was active in many community and church activities, including many years in Cub, Boy and Girl Scout programs. Cindy spent several years working in the “In School Scout” program at Longfellow and Whittier elementary schools. Additionally, Cindy spent many years on the Gore Hill County Water District Board of Directors. Cindy served her church as a primary teacher and leader, seminary and relief society teacher, and blazer day camp director.
Preceding her in death were her father and mother; and a grandchild, Maddie.
She is survived by her husband, William B. Matthews; their three children, Aaron (Amaree) Matthews of Shelby, Mont., Jenny W. Matthews of Fairbanks, Alaska, and Eric (Amy) Matthews of Great Falls; grandchildren Kade, Charlie and Olivia in Shelby, Hunter and Wyona in Fairbanks, and Rylie in Great Falls; and a brother, William Dobb, and a sister, Kathleen (Dobb) Stevens, both of Butte. Cindy accepted as part of her family the Brandon and Erica Schlecht family of Rexburg, Idaho, and the Quinn and Kasie Boehme family of Great Falls.

Well after months of work and waiting for a phone call. I finally received it this morning. I am on my way to becoming a federal employee. So long to contract work! Good bye to not knowing where we would live in 6 months. Hello steady work that I love to do. Hello to staying put for a while.

SMILES all around!

The day is soon approaching. FINALLY! After 4 1/2 months of being separated, our family is moving BACK up to Shelby this Saturday. While there is still some uncertainty about Aaron’s job, things are looking up. And we’re tired of being apart. We have found a nice little house to rent, and are super excited to be back up with the friends we have made in Shelby. Aaron is excited to actually start eating food again (no, Aaron, cheese and crackers do NOT count as food!), and I’m excited to toss the kids off when he gets home when I’ve had a bad day. I am looking forward to having my own kitchen where I know where everything is. We are excited to read and play games in the evening once the kids are down for the night (we won’t have any live TV, just DVDs, and we won’t have the internet for a while, until our Condo sells) and to have friends over for dinner and games. We are both thrilled about being able to live out of a dresser instead of boxes, of having a place for everything, and just to be in our own space together again. We are excited to be in a ward where we are actually members of the congregation instead of extended visitors, to have callings, and to be able to contribute.

We also want to publicly thank the L family for allowing Aaron to rent a room in your house. I know you’ll never read this, but we’re grateful.  Also, thank you to Aaron’s parents for letting us tear apart your home. I am sure you’re looking forward to some peace and quite again :)

4 more days!

(btw– this does mean that in 4 days I will not be able to blog very often, nor will I be on facebook)