Flake Fun

Where did April go?  

We enjoyed a trip up north to visit a bit which was fun.  I did the solo driving thing and it actually went really well. 

The big project has been the chicken coop.  With terribly windy weekends (50+mph) it took longer than anticipated but we put the shingles on yesterday so they are cooped.  Now we just need to finish the feeders and waterer  and we'll be done.

Aunt Karen kindly gave us some lilac starts so we planted 6 in the front yard as a future privacy hedge.  Fingers crossed. 

Scott tilled the garden spot yesterday so I am hoping to get a good chunk of of garden in this week...as soon as everyone stops throwing up! 

Funny musings of the week- 

"Mom, I think Aunt Elise will have to move because Jack is getting so big...too big for their house!" -Rand

"Mom, did you know that the pretend Aunt Elise and the real Aunt Elise are the same size?"- Robin

Hope that you all have a great week! 

Homemade granola

 As requested by Elise, here is my homemade granola recipe. 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 
• 1 ½ cup raw nuts and/or seeds
• 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
• ½ cup maple syrup or honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup dried fruit, chopped if large (I don’t really like dried fruit, so I rarely add it)
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 2-3 Tbsp chia seeds, hemp seeds, or flax seed. I use a combination of all three. 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
3. Pour in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer.
4. Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway (for extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools. If using coconut flakes, add them halfway through baking. They’ll burn otherwise 😬
5. Let the granola cool completely. Top with the dried fruit (and optional chocolate chips, if using). Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don’t want extra-clumpy granola.

Nilsson News

 We are saved!  The weather has finally decided to feel like spring and we are basking in the beauty and warmth of sunshine!  We'd almost given up all hope of ever being able to resume activity outside, but things pulled through for us.  Like Elise, I have so many plants that want to be outside.  For some reason, my watermelon starts really took off and are vining all over the shelves and they have even started blossoming!  I was able to lay out the plastic and I'm hoping to plant some melons this week sometime.  We planted new peach trees, and apple tree, and three grape vines!  The project as of late is our chicken palace.  It's an 8X16 sized shed with a new large sized run as well.  Henry wants an egg selling business so we had to get a few extra chicks.  We'll have 23 when it's all said and done.  Elise came over for the coop raising and we have a foundation, floor, four walls, and the start of a roof.  We're hoping to go help the Harts with their coop raising too.  See what fun y'all miss out on by not living in Idaho?  In all honesty, this was a good winter to not live in Idaho.

We finished our last day of our homeschool co-op and we have pretty much wrapped up our own schooling as we now focus our attention on the garden, animals, and upcoming Missouri/Nauvoo trip.  It's crazy how fast the time is flying by!

Dane is walking all over the place and the kids are realizing what can happen if the leave anything out at toddler level.  It's hard to believe the little guy will be one year old next month!  Life is good and it is lovely watching everyone enjoy some much needed fresh air.  It's amazing how much happier everyone seems to be.  Hopefully we'll get some photos posted soon!  Happy Sabbath!

Hyde Happinesses

 Hello all! This month has been absolutely crazy and so much fun!! We’ve celebrated a few birthdays and have enjoyed the company of some fantastic people that we love so much! 

The highlight of the month was definitely when the Harts came to visit. They renewed my love and gratitude for the gorgeous place that we live in :) Stetson was happy to have company and slept through the night both of the nights they were here! And then he promptly hit a sleep regression… so I will be paying the Harts to come back once again so I can get some sleep ;) it was so delightful to have them. We went on a hike and just enjoyed the general splendor of the Kentucky countryside. We really would love to host anyone else who’d like to come enjoy near perfect weather and green grass ;)

Elise helped me plant our garden which was a blast, and it has been thriving ever since. It’s our salsa garden - tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro, and peas, because why not. We also potted some strawberries, and one is about to turn red! I don’t have a green thumb by any means, but Kentucky soil doesn’t seem to need a lot of help thankfully.

We got to celebrate mine and Cams birthdays this month. The Harts were able to be here for part of Cams birthday which was so fun! Unfortunately they weren’t able to stay for the main event - a bbq and chocolate cake. Cam has been wanting a grill for a very long time, so we got him one (shoutout to Elise for helping me figure out how to buy propane) and he has been a grilling machine ever since. Cam spoiled me rotten on my birthday, which consisted of hanging out with Stetson all day and a yummy dinner and wandering around some fun shops later in the evening. 

This weekend we went to the races which is always fun! Stetson wasn’t quite sure what to think of all the people and noise, but he was pretty enamored by the horses and liked watching them fly by. 

Stetson has learned to roll from his back to his tummy, and we cannot keep him from doing it, even in his sleep which terrifies his mama 😅 he is growing so big and has been laughing a lot more which is just splendid. We recently got him a door bouncer which he loves. He can’t stand to be laying down or reclined; he must be upright at all times! So the bouncer has been fun and a good break for our backs 😅 he still talks up a storm and loves reading books. It’s fun to see him reach for things and want to touch different surfaces. He’s pretty darn cute. 

We sure love you all and hope you have a great week! 

He doesn’t love his passie, but sometimes when he’s fussy in the car he’ll tolerate it. This time he couldn’t decide between his hand and the passie, so he decided to try both. 

A mama Robin decided to lay some eggs above our front door… and they hatched! 

He loves being in his wraps and carriers. He’s just so much fun!!

Hart Happenings

The past couple of weeks went by in a blur of miles, spikeball games, lush green hills and trees, and dear faces of our favorite family members.

Due to a spikeball tournament in Richmond Virginia, Jack and Alex decided to drive across the country so Peter and I jumped in the van and joined the cross country trek.  We had to leave Ian behind, which was a massive bummer, but his work and rehearsal schedule just couldn't be worked around.

Rather than go to Richmond, Peter and I were dropped off in Kentucky to hang out with Emma, Cam, and STETSON for a few days.  Guys, that baby is the greatest little person I've met in a while!  He is so interested in people and carries on the most earnest conversations.  The Harts were entirely smitten from the get-go.  We basked in the Hyde's hospitality and got to see some of the beautiful places in and around Lexington.  Cam's birthday coincided with our time there and we even got to celebrate a little bit with him.  So glad he is part of our family!  It was so great to be in warm weather and green surroundings.  It buoyed us up immensely.

Peter was in puppy heaven hanging out with Oakley for a few days.  She would come into the room Peter was sleeping in and wake him up every morning and he told me it was the best way to wake up in the whole world.

After their tournament, Alex and Jack came to collect us and we drove down to see Alex's sister who lives in Tennessee.  It was fun to catch up with her and her family.  They have an epic rope swing that the boys had a blast playing on until Jack got injured.  Uncle Brandon got his porsche out of the garage and took the boys for a spin which they thought was fantastic.  Our van just doesn't compare.  They took us to Gatlin Tennessee (anyone remember the Gatlin Brothers?) and we had a great time looking around the town and stepping into various charming shops.  

Alex kindly booked me a flight home from Nashville which got me home about a day before them and saved me about 24 hours of car driving.  Super nice.  I got home just in time to jump in and help out at Ian's performances with his homeschool acting group.  They put on an excellent show which was written by a good friend of ours based on her experiences visiting her dad in the memory care unit he lived in for the last 10 months of his life.  There were some memorable characters that were featured in the play and it was really well done.  Peter was also a really good helper in the concessions stand.

While I was helping in the kitchen and with the concessions at the play, Alex was running Jack to his soccer games.  The won one, they lost one, and Jack is thrilled to be back on the field.  I love watching him play.

The weather seems determined to thwart any plans for putting plants in the ground.  As a result, I have SO MANY PLANTS in my house and in holding areas in other parts of the yard.  I don't think I can adequately convey to you, how many plants are not in their permanent homes right now.  And they just keep coming!  Ruth picked up another box of trees and grape plants that we had shipped to Dad's house this week.  Could I plant them out in the yard yet?  No, no I could not.  I have 19 trees/shrubs on the front porch waiting to be planted and then 3 grapes and 6 more trees out in a holding pile of mulch waiting for their permanent home.  That's on top of the 10 flats of plants I have on shelves under grow lights in my bedroom......We have a situation, people!!!! Blessedly, the forecast looks promising for the coming week.  We should be able to dig some holes and settle these plants into their homes.

We are pretty wiped out here today.  The boys and I are sprawled out on various couches and chairs around the house.  Peter is on the phone with Grant.  It's the first Sunday of a new semester at BYU-Idaho today so Alex will probably be up there for most of the day.  The boys helped me bake a cookie sheet sized sugar cookie to celebrate our 18th anniversary when he gets home.  That's a lot of wonderful years!

We'll put some highlight pictures of the last couple weeks in a separate post.

Here's to a relaxing Sabbath day to you all and Happy Spring to everyone!

Flake Fun

The last few days have been busy and fun.  Scott took his spring break and we spent 3 days in the Scottsdale area. We went to a trampoline park (kids loved it) and to the Phoenix Childrens Museum (kids super loved it). Then we went to lots of parks and just relaxed.  

We got home on Friday night and attended Grannie's 88th birthday party here in Snowflake.  All 4 of her siblings were there and it was fun to see the five of them together.

Scott is making progress on the chicken coop and run so hopefully we can get that done this week.

We had a fun Easter which started with the joyful exclamation, "I found a pink egg in my bed!" 

Love you all!!

Hart Happenings

Happy Easter everyone!

  Can I just say that I loved the special format of the Easter service at church today?  It was lovely to experience the same emphasis on Christ that we feel at Christmas time.  We heard lots of wonderful music interspersed with scriptures about Jesus.  We spent the afternoon at Ruth's house for our annual Easter egg hunt.  While the dads hid the eggs Ruth and the kids and I made resurrection rolls.  Ian was worried that the tomb wasn't going to be empty when we broke the rolls open but...... (see photos).  It was glorious weather so the adults wandered around outside while the kids searched for eggs.  We dashed home because Alex's family was all coming over for dinner and we also ended up outside visiting while the kids played in the grass that has yet to come alive.  It was very great.

  This week has been a typical one, full of rehearsals and work for Ian, soccer and spikeball for Jack, and playdates and parkour for Peter.  The mornings are taken up with study time and music practice and then we also enjoy our homeschool co-op once a week, and group study with Ruth and co. on Tuesdays

  Alex is working on taking out a pine tree for me that is shading the garden along with training a new cleaning gal for the Airbnbs and revamping our housekeeping system.  He had a great run at the spikeball tournament this weekend and placed first in his division! Woo-hoo!  Go 40 yr. old!

  I keep starting seeds inside in hopes that I will be able to get them out in the garden soon.  Meanwhile, I got the whole orchard pruned, the blackberries cut back to manageable size (thanks to Jack's help), and dealt with half of the rose bushes.  I just have tomatoes to start tomorrow and then we should be all caught up on the seeds.

Here are some highlights from the week:

                        

                      Ready to go find the eggs.

         The baby chicks arrived. Peter is in heaven. 

                     Pruning in the snow and sun. 

                      The Easter trading begins. 

                       Ian’s rehearsal for Joseph. 

Ian’s friend Mason came to visit from Washington for Spring Break. 

                            Resurrection rolls!

Alex and Jack got invited to a Jazz/Lakers game and they got to sit in one of the boxes with catered dinner and dessert service. They thought they had died and gone to heaven. The Lakers won, for those who care. 

 

                       More Easter egg trading.   

  

Hyde Happinesses

 Hello hello! We are loving having some spring weather around here! We got our peas planted (perhaps a little late), and plan to have tomatoes, peppers, and onions in by the end of the week! We’ve been going on lots of walks and trying to soak up some sun. 

Stetson has found his high pitched voice which really makes me laugh. He has full blown conversations with us and really likes to be included in playing games. This week he found a passion for his ball. He’ll grab it and bring it to his mouth, all while going cross eyed. It’s pretty awesome. He’ll be three months old on Thursday! Time is flying!

Cam is still loving his job. He’s the general manager at the Stretch Zone and loves having control of his own schedule and being able to help the employees. 

Happy Easter! I listened to the Follow Him podcast this week and it was really great. If you have time, I definitely recommend it :) 

Anyway, we love y’all! Come visit soon!

Flake Fun

Not much has happened since our last post. We had a good conference weekend.  It wasn't calm and quiet by any means but the twins sat and listened to the prophet for a few minutes so I'll call that a win.

Scott started the chicken coop yesterday so we'll see how long it takes to finish it.  He is off this week for spring break so if we can avoid the wind, we may be able to get it done. 

So, Rand is showing a lot of interest in animals lately.  He is content to sit and quietly hold the chickens. We may be looking at a future vet. 

So, what happens when Dad is in charge of the colored popcorn? (Butter with food coloring). 

Hope that you all have an incredible week! Happy Easter!

Hyde Happinesses

 The news of this week is that Stetson laughed for the first time!! Woohoo!!! It was so cute and we anticipate many more fun giggles. 

We really enjoyed a fairly quiet conference weekend. The talks were absolutely phenomenal and I had so many good takeaways. I loved the call to repentance from President Nielson - to bury our verbal arsenal of insults and criticisms. I also enjoyed Elder Braggs talk about Poise, and thought it was a very interesting choice of a conference talk topic. I wondered how many people stopped watching conference when it was announced that Elder Holland would not be speaking… And because it’s so pertinent right now, I loved Elder Uchtdorfs talk about loving our children. Such a great conference!! 

We love you all and can’t wait for our trip to Nauvoo! If anyone wants to come visit before or after that, you know where to find us!! ;)