Watch Out Martha Stewart

During our recent trip to Washington DC, the boys ended up staying with friends. On the way home David and I had many conversations about what gift to get the families they stayed with. Plus, it was Lori's birthday and we wanted to do something for her. While passing Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in the airport, inspiration struck … caramel apples. We love them, they look beautiful, and they are fun. Then, inspiration struck again … why pay $7 an apple when we can make them at home? I know how to make caramel, we can buy some apples, dip the apples, drizzle chocolate in a fancy pattern, done. I was confident we could do it for cheaper and have more fun. Plus, then we could have some when done. Martha Stewart watch out, here comes Kimberly.

This is what I imagined the end result would be:

We read tips on line, I pulled out Grandma Hursts caramel apple recipe, I was ready. All went well until we actually dipped the apples. I couldn't get the caramel to actually stay on the apple. We dipped, we dipped again, we froze the apples, and the caramel just wouldn't stay. Then, the sticks kept breaking and we had to resort to kitchen knives. I then tried to drip chocolate fancily over the apples … again, a bust. This is what we ended up with:

The friends never ended up getting the apples (Lori still did). But, despite having to practically lick the caramel from the pan, it didn't stop Harrison. I think he ate more apples in 2 days than I had seen him eat in the last year.

I think $7 may be worth it.  Now, here's the real question … should I Pinterest this? ;)

I Believe in Miracles

Ever since we were little, we have played games together as a family.  When David became an official part of the family, he had a bit of a shock as he has not spent every Sunday for years playing games.  He is a good sport, but he has lost every game he has played since we've been married.

This weekend we had some friends over for games.  It was boys against girls, and the boys won.  David was pretty pleased with himself as that is the first game he has won.  Guess what it was ... Taboo.  A game that has little strategy beyond being able to talk and describe things really well.  I should have known that I would lose as that is what David likes to do best. :)

Quotable Quotes

One of my favorite things about Brandon is his sense of humor.  The guy just cracks me up.  Often, scripture reading is paused while Brandon and Harrison entertain us.  Feeling like I need to be a supportive spouse during this spiritual time, I try my best to maintain my composure and not laugh.  I normally fail.  When Brandon gets that twinkle in his eye, I know he has come up with something particularly clever.  More often than not, I find myself laughing through scripture reading.  When Harrison joins in, all is lost.  Here are a number of my favorite quotes from over the last few months (I even put one from myself and David, although they aren't nearly as funny as when the boys are being clever.) 

• "That is how my mind works, I compare everything to Taco Bell."
• "One of my life goals is to pee on or lick a national monument."
• "Do you remember when I was the master of 'Yo Mama" jokes?"
• "I've made it a strict policy never to volunteer for anything in seminary."
• "Footbally things"
• "On the tricycle ride of life, Dad has peddled up the hill, ridden over the top, and is coasting down the other side with his feet up not even on the pedals any more."
• "Oh poo-pa"
• After entering our room: "As a punishment (to David & Kimberly), I'm going to sit here on this chair for the next 30 minutes."
• David: "Are you burning things for fun?"  Child: "No, I'm actually testing household fluid combustion."
• "I have a really uptight teacher at school.  So, I start every conversation with, 'Do you know what I found on my foot this morning?'  To which she answers, 'I'm not your friend.'"

The Cleansing

We did a deep clean of Harrison's room this weekend.  It took two of us supervising and a lot of encouragement to get it done.  Guess which of the following we did not find in his room:

• A rotten apple that even Priscilla wouldn't eat
• Stale box of Chicken in a Biscuit
• Jack Link jerky & sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 potatoes
• A Substitute Teacher badge
• Two animal carcasses
• A six pack of Lightning Bolt Throwing Knives and Sheathe
• 100 bee bees all over the floor
• Large bag of clothes that did not fit (lots of breezy undies)
• Multiple Mountain Dew cans (one can he deemed "Special")
• Most of the houses pillows and comforters

Prior to this event we had noticed a distinct burning stench coming from Harrison's side of the house.  David and I jumped to the conclusion that my stepson, with an insatiable sense of thrill, had cooked, mixed, or created a fiery concoction in his bathroom. We cleaned the entire bathroom, vacuumed out the vent, but still could not find the source of the smell after weeks of looking.  After further investigation, looking high and low, we found a Hacky Sack resting on a bathroom spotlight slowly melting into the rice core of the children's toy. When taken off the "Slow Cooker" we found it scorched, yet not ready to combust at any given time during its time on the light.  We were very relieved to find Harrison had not committed accidental arson.  To not give him the satisfaction of the event, we threw it away immediately after discovery. 

Parenting Tip: Childrennnnnn just wanna have fuuunnn!

Dancing Kings

Jumping into parenting with teenagers is an interesting thing.  I will admit that I am used to uninterrupted sleep, it is a glorious thing.  I hadn't been plunged into sleepless nights with a baby, or years of little feet finding you in the middle of the night.  In fact, I kind of thought starting with teenagers might be an advantage as I skipped that stage.  Instead, I have learned that what it really means is that their best thoughts and desire to connect come between the hours of 11:00 pm and 1:00 am.   Interestingly enough, it doesn't bother me at all, I have found that during these times is when the best entertainment comes out.

It is not unusual for us to hear the knock, and the door immediately opens to "Dad, guess what!  I just got 10,000 points on Tetris."  (or some other game).  Once when David was travelling, I got a call at 11:00 pm that went like this.  "Hi, Kimberly, can you come outside?"  "Why Harrison?"  "Just come out to the porch" "I'm looking out the door and can't see anything."  "No, you have to come outside."  Open door, "I don't see anything."  "No, you have to come out on the porch."  "Okay Harrison, I'm outside."  "Turn around"  I turn around to see Harrison on the roof, window open, waving at me and smiling like he just robbed a bank.  Yes, their best entertainment comes at night.

A few nights ago we were watching TV when we heard a knock on the door.  In comes Harrison and his friend, Sam.  Without saying a word, they do the following dance and then leave:

If you wonder where Harrison got his dance moves from, Brandon and his friends performed this skit at their ward's Christmas party.  We laughed pretty hard.

Brandon Christmas Skit

BTW: David and I didn't think we could dance nearly as well as the two boys, so we chose not to put our own video on the blog.  You can thank me later.

Thank you Santa!

Santa brought us a King size bed for Christmas.  We learned the hard way that we are not compatible sleepers.  Kimberly needs a firm bed, David soft.  So, at least one of us has had a miserable sleeping experience for the past 7 months (usually that translates to both being miserable).  Memory foam is now our friend, and Santa has saved our sleep.

(The added bonus is that our new comforter matches our wall, so no need to repaint. Wahoo!)

Eggnog Shakes

Chris spent the month of December with us and we had a blast.  This guy is so full of energy, you can't help but get caught up in it just being around him.  Since he was with us in December, we were glad that we got to spend his 21st birthday with him.  Here are a few of my favorite memories of Chris over the past year.

• We came home one day to find this message on a bottle of eggnog.  We laughed pretty hard.  He wanted to make sure he got an eggnog shake.  I learned that eggnog shakes are one of his favorite things.
• Priscilla and Chris really bonded over the month of December.  Prior to December, Chris was not a fan.  Chris was so determined to win her over that she got a LOT of treats.  She got walks, a lot of belly rubs, and was even invited to sleep in his room a few nights.  It worked, Chris was one of Priscilla's favorites by the time he left (he may even be a competitor with Kimberly).  Since he left she has really missed all of the attention.
• Chris has been really big into vinyls recently.  When coming home for only a month he brought his vinyl player and about 30 vinyls.  He even got more for Christmas and was in heaven.  According to Chris, music in its true form can only be listened to in vinyl.
• We got regular clothing guidance from Chris while he was here.  As two engineers, it was probably needed.  He even claimed he needed to submit our names to the TV show "What not to wear".   I'm sure we are better dressed and better coordinated since the visit. 
• Chris bought his first car this December.  He ended up buying it the day before he went back to school.  Unfortunately, the car that he found was a stick, and he did not know how to drive stick.  Chris and his friends, and Chris and his Dad spent hours the night before trying to teach him how to drive.  We were both relieved when we heard that Chris and Brenna had made it back to Provo with no disasters.  He stalled a number of times, but thankfully the only thing that was hurt was their pride.

P.S. We are going to pretend that this entry occurred back in December when it was Chris' birthday. 
P.P.S. Trish, thanks for letting me copy your birthday blog idea.