Teaching

So there is a cool model her at BYU idaho called the learning model. One of its focuses is on teaching one another. I think that is so crucial for us as a family. We all need to learn and we all have different experiences that allow us to grow. I have been thinking about the talk entitled "It is Never too Early and Its Never too Late". It is a good one from last conference. In it a member from the seventy talks about how he learned a great example from interviewing a young man for his mission. This young man's father would take him aside and say when you get about this age you will have to watch out for this. Anyway he decided to apply that principle to his life knowing that it was never to early or too late to do so. As siblings and as parents for a lot of you, I think that this principle is applicable to the whole family. We can all learn from each other. my religion teacher was sharing a principle that Elder Scott taught. It we want our youth to live the gospel they need to teach it. "A testimony is gained in the bearing of it" as President Packer shared. As we teach we help ourselves and others. It is also easier to learn from peers and from those that have experiences we can relate too.

Look for a life update soon

TTFN

Love you guys
John

Esther Means "Star"

Here's a link to the newspaper report of the Treble Tones Valentine's Concert

http://mountainstar.lcsd2.org/6962/news/treble-tones-sing-about-love/

 There are several photos that go with the article and Esther is highlighted in one with her solo.

And here is a video of her solo:
She sounds great, right?  Hers and Shaianne's were the solos most in tune and with most power.

We went with Grandpa and Grandma.  They both very much enjoyed it, as did we.

We feel so blessed to have such talented children who strive to improve and be involved.

Zion's, Durbins, Valentine's, and Dating

This is kind of a late update! President's day weekend I went to Zion's National Park with Briana Barkdull, her roommate Karina, and Karina's friend Josh. (I know two?)  We had a great time!!

We hiked Observation Point, we ate out at a Thai restaurant (one of Briana's favorite foods), we saw Karina's old mission companion, and Briana and I talked and decided to start "officially" dating. Yes it was Valentine's day. No, I didn't plan it that way. It just seemed like the right time, and it was Valentine's. (shrug) What can a guy do?

Here is the view from the top!!

A couple of mountain goats that we saw as we were driving in the park.

I went for a run that morning. Here are a couple of pictures that I took on the run.

I also happened to run by a garage sale and I found... a nice pair of cowboy boots!! They are sweet! And the best part... Only for $3.

On the way home, we stopped at the Durbin's house in Nephi. Using the knowledge that Mom had proportioned just recently in an email, I knew that I could expect a warm welcome. Briana and I talked with Angie and Mitch. It was fun to play with and get to know their kids. It was also fun to hear the tales of the ranch. Mitch had gone to North Dakota to buy some bulls for the ranch. Apparently the lead bull at the sale went for 650,000 dollars... for 2/3 share. Right!? But he said that they leave the bull at the ranch and then just collect semen for the artificial insemination, and that the people who bought that bull can expect to make about 10 million off of it during its lifetime. But as we all know, life on the ranch is a constant excitement. While Mitch was gone, one of the cows delivered twins. Angie, Vanessa, and Mason were out there trying to pull them and Mitch was directing them via videocall on the phone. At the most critical moment the phone dies, so Mitch is left in darkness for a bit while Angie and the kids are frantically trying to work it all out without his direction. They ended up getting the calves delivered, (don't forget that Angie has a little 4 month old girl, Harley, as well) and Mitch called and sent one of the other workers out there to check on the calves, but that guy didn't do what Mitch had asked him, so the calves didn't get the care they needed, and they both died. :(
After staying up all night, Mitch went to the auction and then drove home through a blizzard where there was 6-8 inches of drifting snow covering the road and he couldn't see ten feet in front of him.... We got there about 30 min after he got back. Wow!! Briana liked hearing about the welfare system and the purpose of the ranch. She was impressed by Mitch and Angie and the system. (If anyone wants to call them, I have their numbers now!)

When Briana got home, she was surprised to see that I had "heart attacked" her room. I wrote cheesy pick up lines on a bunch of paper hearts and I wrote a letter. Then I left them at her house (she barely missed seeing me and spoiling the surprise). I got her other roommate's, Alyssa, number when I took a picture using her phone. Then I texted her roommate and asked her to put up the hearts. Her roommate also got some chocolate to go with it. It was funny and it turned out so well. Haha! She liked it.


Below is a snowman that I found on a morning run in Provo. Now there is no snow in Provo except on the mountains. It has been really warm here lately.

On President's day we went for a hike up to Stewart Falls (up Provo Canyon). The trail was packed down by all the snowshoers, but if you stepped off the trail you would sink in. One time I stepped off to let some people by and I sank in up to my upper thigh. I just sat there as the people walked by, "How's it going up there?" 

:)

We went with two other couples that we knew from the ward.

And at last, a picture of us together!!

So last weekend (a week of dating) we tried to go to a Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert and wait in the standby line, but we didn't get in, so we walked in the north visitor's center and talked and walked around. After that, we met Grandpa Stratford at Leatherby's Creamery where he proceeded to treat us to some delicious ice cream. Briana was full, so I was helping her eat hers, and Grandpa asked her if she would consider going on another date with me seeing as I was stealing her ice cream... :) Ice cream is serious business for the Stratfords (and the Ericksons). No Stealing!

This week I experimented with some "Country Style Ribs" in my freezer. It was one of those packages of meat that I got from Mom and Dad and I just wasn't sure what to do with it. I rubbed the meat with salt, pepper, garlic, and brown sugar and cooked it in the oven in tin foil. Then I made some home made barbecue sauce and put that on top. 

It turned out surprisingly tasty (speaking as someone who has no experience with making sauce or ribs). I put some cayenne pepper in it, so it was warm, but Briana, who doesn't like spicy food, opted for some honey bbq sauce that I had in the fridge.


Yesterday I made breakfast for my roommates. Breakfast cake and bacon. We were supposed to make it together, but it turned into a "Joshua treat" breakfast. I didn't mind. It was good. I messed up on the baking powder and baking soda. I reversed the two adding 2 tsp of soda and 1/2 tsp of powder... so I added 1/2 tsp of cornstarch and 1 1/2 more tsp of powder. It turned out great, but I am still not sure which is more essential or how the soda and the powder interact.

And last night we went to the basketball game where BYU narrowly lost to Gonzaga 71-68. We sure cheered loudly for the last 3 minutes and we had a pretty good look at taking the lead, but it didn't shake out... :/ 

21 Eggs

That's a record.  A record, record, record.  21 eggs.  Not laid by my chickens in one day.  We only have 17 ladies anyway.  But 21 eggs used in one day.  

We had 2 egg omelets for breakfast.  Rhett ate one, Kira ate a half of one, Sienna ate a half, Glen ate one and I ate one. So that's a total of 8 eggs right there.  Liam had left over mac and cheese from last nights dinner that was still sitting on the table and a cookie.  He climbed up to the table and helped himself.  Can you tell he's the fourth?  

Then for YW tonight I am suppose to make Black Forest cupcakes.  Did you know that Black Forest Cake originated from Germany? We, Americans, make it totally wrong with chocolate cake, cherry pie filling and whip cream. But real Black Forest cake (skip ahead if you could care less) is called Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte pronounced Black Forest cherry-torte.  It consists of chocolate sponge cake, whip cream and cherries.  Kirschwasser is a clear spirit made from sour cherries and added to the cake.  German law mandates that kirschwasser must be present in the cake for it to be labeled Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte.  The dessert is not directly named after the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) mountain range like many believe but rather from the liquor that is distilled from the cherries grown in that region.  

So being true to this cake's legacy, I didn't want to make it the American way.  I looked up a recipe for  "Authentic Black Forest Cake" and found one with ingredients that included 9 eggs.  Yes, 9.  So I made that cake as cupcakes.  And after taking them out of the oven, I realized it was a disaster or at the very least, un-servable.  The top part of the cupcake was spongy but the bottom was tough and stuck to the cupcake paper making almost impossible to pull off.  After thinking it though, since the real cake is suppose to be a sponge cake, I think it must have needed 9 egg whites.  

Arrrgg.  Round two.  Sorry Germany, I'm going with America's Test Kitchen because I can't afford another failure.  How many eggs you might ask? 4.  Totaling the egg count used for the day to 21.  I did buy real frozen cherries though instead of pie filling to fill the center of the cupcakes.  I'll add a picture of the final outcome.  

"Who likes licking the spoon?"

                  Cupcakes (the mess-ups) for snack and lunch and snack again.  Is that ok?

Luckily when Kira came home to check our egg count in the coop, we had 12.  

I updated my blog

I know I should probably write a special update just for y'all.  I'll think about what to do.   Link

Ramblings of our Recent Rumblings

We are already a month and a half into this new year. It is crazy how time flies. It doesn't seem like much has happened between now and Christmas, but we have done quite a few things. Eliza, Hyrum, and I have all celebrated birthdays. Hyrum is now 2 and Eliza and I are two years older  than we were when he was born. Emmaline is rolling over like a champ. There has been snow and lots of cold. We even got a snow day.

Can't stop won't stop smiling

Hyrum and I like to wear our hoods together. Thanks Laurie for the birthday hoodie.

Hyrum's birthday mat

I made a mango jalapeno cheese ball

Eliza and I have been trying to up our quality of dates this year. We went to Dental School Prom which was kind of a flop. Just imagine high school Prom but people are a little more mature (at least until the alcohol kicks in). The next date was roller skating and that was much better. We went and played basketball at the church for one of our dates. We both realized we are out of running shape. We are really in shape when it comes to waking up at two in the morning changing a diaper, bouncing up and down a few times, and laying the baby back down, all in about 30 seconds so our place is still warm under the covers. We've also been swing dancing and this last week we went to the Broadway production of Newsies. It was fantastic. We also had the pleasure of attending some Olympic trials volleyball games with Eliza's Dad. It was a blast.

I know y'all have already ended your dieting new year's resolutions so I thought I would give you another suggestion for your cravings. SPAM and SPAM snacks. It is like SPAM jerky. 

Snow time, and delivering papers on bike!

So I guess it's time for me to get back to this whole weekly letter thing! Even if no one reads it, it's a good source of family history, right? Ha!

Monday: We went to see some friends, Browns, who live in Downey. The kids had a blast! We rode horses, and got rides on a sled behind the four-wheeler. We also built a pair of snowmen.  We had some yummy chili, and the kids played the Wii. Browns were great hosts! It was a good way to spend President's day and enjoy the snow. Considering how much snow has melted, I am especially glad that we were able to do that.

Tuesday: No mutual for Cody, and it was nice to relax together and catch up a bit. Cody rode his bike to do papers and was stoked about that!! It really is the little things, huh? Ruby started getting a fever in the evening.

Wednesday: I took Ruby in to Community Care, and she started some amoxicillin. The doctor said he would save us the cost of the strep test and since he throat was fairly raw. She laid on the couch most of the day and came in to my bed that night. McKay had a patriotic concert; Cody stayed home with Ruby and Zayne went with me. The concert is a tradition the 5th graders do annually and there really are some good songs. They honor the veterans, military personnel, etc  in the audience by having them stand. Grandpa and Grandma Tillery, Myriah, and Eliza (Tori's girl) came, and enjoyed it. McKay did a great job! He is glad to have it done and will have his PE and reading time back this week. (Honestly, I think he enjoyed it more than he let on, but it's just not cool to like something like that, right?! ha!)

Thursday: Kept Ruby home from preschool another day, but picked up her books from her book order, one of which include "The Napping House," a definite favorite! Ruby was up and around some that day saying "I am not sick anymore since that medicine kicked in." Zayne got home from school and was talking about his legs felt "lazy" and said, "It's hard to walk when you feel all wavy." He slept in my bed that night.

Friday: I took Zayne to Community Care; his throat looked worse than Ruby's, but there was more traffic in there on that day so it took us a little while. I had a wolf meeting for scouts, and had scheduled to go on a girl's night earlier in the week but decided to stay home. Cody was excited to ride his paper route again since the roads are pretty much dry. He went to a friend's house. Jared came over that night with a few friends and roasted marshmallows on the back patio. I asked Jared a little later if he could give Zayne a blessing...even with the ibuprofen, his fever wasn't staying down, poor kid.

Saturday: Cody and I cleaned the church in the morning and then the rest of us got ready for Sunday and did a few chores around the house. Ruby and Zayne were feeling much better!

Today: Mckay stayed home with Zayne because Zayne didn't seem like he was quite back to himself, and was still a little pale and had a rash. Cody and Ruby and I went to church, and came home to Luke just getting here. Some really good talks on kindness today in sacrament meeting and we have a couple of new teachers in primary, which will be great! This was also our second week for our family devotional, per suggestion of the kids in our discussion as a family on what we can do make Sunday feel different from the other days in the week and delight in the Sabbath, yay!

So, now that I have officially gone longwinded...I hope all ya'll are doing well! No worries as to this long of an update being the routine every week, but at  least a "high-low" or a little something.

Chrystal and the clan

Happy Belated Birthday Joseph

As my, better late than never, birthday gift to you I am writing a update on our family.  Thanks for inspiring us all to stay in touch and to be Forever united Families.
  We are enjoying Emmett ever day.  He is a sweet baby as long as you are able to get a burp of tow or more out.   He has yet to adjust to sleeping then longer than three hour increments.  He has a fuzzy little head with longer hair in the back. It fairly light but definitely brown. He has really long fingers and toes.  Anna will tell me, "The baby is crying."  She thinks its funny when squeak cries.  When he was first born he would squeak two or three times before he let out his full cry.  Eli loves to hold Emmett and made him a Valentine in class the other day.  He wrote, "I am sorry that I have to go to school."  Lydia is the ever helpful older sister.  She enjoys being responsible in changing his diapers. The kids have all stepped up their game in helping around the house.  They would before, but now its do or not get done because mom can't  pick up the slack.

This is Emmett today! A couple of days after he was born his weight dropped to 7 Lbs 5 oz. Last Friday we took him to the doctor, and he weighed 8 lbs 11oz. He grew a half on inch.  

This is how Emmett felt after the Panthers lost the superbowl.  Well...in reality he hates this hat. I think its the third time I've tried it on him and each time he cries and cries.

Here is again just chillin.

                                                     

          All the kids enjoying the play dough that Grandma brought

                                         

His eyes are dark but sometimes they look blue and sometimes brown.  Still too early to tell. I still should do a hospital flashback, so look forward to more as long as I still have me sanity.