Flake Fun

 Well, we survived a week of sickness and hopefully we will get some vitamin D this week and get back to 100%. You are right Emma. Doing the Mom thing while you are sick is exhausting. 

We got started on planting our garden.  We put in potatoes, corn, carrots and onions.  I am hoping to get some more planted this qeek.  The gladiolus are on the rise!!!!

Like you heard during Family Matters, we had the ward Fathers and sons overnight activity.  The boys went but didn't spend the night due to chilly temps.  When Robin first heard of what would be going on, she looked at me and stated,  "we should have a lonely party for all the girls who will be lonely during Fathers and sons." So we started planning.  She was really excited and had the whole thing planned (making pizza and having an ice cream bar). As soon as the boys left she started to get ready.  A necklace, bracelet,  earrings and some jewelry for mom too!  She set the table with bright pink plates and napkins, prepared the bowls of ice cream toppings and kept asking how long until the girls came.

Long story short our evening ended with the question, "mom, why did only one person come to my party?" It was heartbreaking.  But I am determined to give it another go in a month or two and give her a party that is a smashing success.  

I'm looking forward to a new week with renewed energy and optimism.   Hope that you all have a great week.

Hart Happenings

Chocolate puzzles!

Brothers outing to the ramen shop. Jack’s favorite!

Peter loves his new haircut

Potting up some serviceberry starts

Co-op raising day!

Another fan of ramen

Peter’s girls are also so glad for the nicer weather 

When the boys do my hair!

Solidarity!

 Hello Spring! 

I don’t think I have ever been more grateful for a turn in the weather and a change of season. All seems to be so much better with the warmer temperatures and sunshine. 

I have been endlessly entertained by the boys antics now that the sun is out. Ian just wants to follow the sun around and soak it in, while Peter and Jack immediately pulled out the bikes and have been having laser gun wars while riding the bikes all around the yard. 

With the good weather come the soccer and spikeball tournaments which take up most of our evenings. 

Ian is in the final weeks of rehearsing for Joseph. They had to push back opening night because they are still trying to finish the theater and the carpet they ordered was detained in customs. 

While Alex and Jack went to L.A. this weekend for spikeball Peter and I jetted down to Utah and snuck in a visit with the Manning’s (Mom and Dad were there too as an added bonus) and the Joe Bellistons. It was so good to see everyone! There was some pretty torrential rain in places on the drive to and from which is always exciting. I sure love the rain!

We had our final member meeting of the year which officially ends our homeschool co-op and at the meeting we voted in new board members which means that my term on the board has come to an end. It has been such a rewarding experience to serve with such dedicated women. I learned and grew a lot and made some really dear friends in the process. 

Pretty much same old same old at the Hart house. But I will take it! 

Hyde Happinesses

 Hello all. This week was more like Hyde’s Hysterics, but we had to keep up the trend and couldn’t change the title. We’ve all been sick this week, which is always a little tricky with a baby as I’m learning, but I think Stetson is also going through a sleep regression and is probably teething as well. It’s been a tough week but we’ve still had fun here and there :) we enjoyed some beautiful summer days and went on walks and dug around in the garden a bit. We have a really big pond up the street and we usually just walk around it for our walks. On one of the banks, we counted over 30 turtles just hanging out! And that’s just one of the banks! There are plenty of other turtles on other banks. I think Chet needs to come visit us, Yanny. Also on our strolls we’ve welcomed a new goose family! They have six little goslings and they are just as cute as can be! It’s very fun to go around and watch Spring do its thing. It’s supposed to thunderstorm all week this week, which is also actually very fun for us. We both really like the rain :) 

Anyway, not much to report here. It’s been a long week but not a lot has happened. We love you and are getting very excited for our family gathering coming up! 

Nose bubbles

He looks so big in his jeans and baseball onesie!

He loves this thing

The little robins are getting a little cuter! We haven’t gone up to see them for awhile, so if we go up a little later today I’ll get another picture.

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!!