We wish you a Merry Christmas...

...and a happy new day.

A few shots from Christmas morning:

A message to Gavin from Santa!

CLICK HERE to see it :)

To have Santa send a personalized message to your own loved one (for FREE!), go to this site: http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

Frosty

Gavin received this animated Frosty (along with a sing-a-long story book) today from my cousin Patty's family. Super timely as he just watched the cartoon on TV last night! He's smitten.

Cookie cook

Gavin and I baked molasses sugar cookies today. Gavin was in charge of sprinkles.  He did so well that many of them even ended up on the cookies!

Hyrum's Holiday at Hardware

There are quite a few things we like about living in Hyrum, and the City's annual event at Hardware Ranch is one of them. Free sleigh rides among the elk, free cookies and hot cocoa, and free photos with the big man in red. This was Gavin's second time seeing Santa this week. We waited in a long line to see him in at the Festival of Lights in Ogden on Thursday evening, only to watch Gavin writhe out of his dad's arms like a crazed weasel and run screaming from Santa's general vicinity. Today we prepared him well in advance. He knew exactly what he wanted to say to Santa, he watched as numerous other children came and went from Santa's lap, and when his turn came along he turned back into a crazed weasel. Santa's helpers were prepared for such a response and suggested that we just stand behind the Clauses for our photo-op.

Homecoming

Vivian and I returned on Friday evening from a week-long trip to Chicago. While the occasion was solemn, we had a really enjoyable visit with my folks, my brothers, and my cousins and their families. Gram's wake and funeral were beautiful and well-attended. I didn't bring a camera, but hopefully some of my extended family will share their photos with me. When we returned we were greeted at the airport by an excited Gavin and a grateful Brandon, whose tearful eyes brought tears to my own. As we walked through the door to our Hyrum home, the sign in the picture made us feel even more special. It was surrounded by balloons and a very clean house. I missed my guys and it's wonderful to be back together as a family.

Backpedaling to November

Gavin and Brandon built our first snowman of the season on 11/23. Later that evening, the so-called "Great Blizzard of 2010" came through and dumped 6 or 8 inches of snow on and around "Mr. Smiley." While I was away in Chicago Mr. Smiley got buried in another foot or so of white stuff.



Temperatures have risen in the last couple of days, and this morning when I looked out the window Mr. Smiley was hunched over, slumped forward like he maybe fell asleep out of boredom or perhaps ate a little too much turkey. Then again, by the looks of it he probably died from being impaled in the chest & stomach by tree branches. I think I know who the 3-year-old prime suspect is for that one.

In Loving Memory

My maternal grandmother Irene passed away yesterday. In 1916 when she was born, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday in November (it was changed in the 1940's to the 4th Thursday in November). Grandma was born into this life on Thanksgiving Day and she passed into the next on Thanksgiving Day. So while she didn't quite make it to her 94th birthday on November 30th, she lived for 95 Thanksgivings. Clever woman.

I have so many fond childhood memories of feeding ducks and going swimming with her in the summers, watching her carve the Thanksgiving turkey, and spending Christmas Eves at her house.  As I got older, Gram and I didn't always see eye-to-eye. She was very traditional, conservative, and Catholic, and I was... not. Despite our differences we never lost sight of our grandmother-granddaughter connection and our unconditional love for one another got us through quite a few quarrels. While many of my decisions, big and small, went against her wishes, I always considered her point of view and she had a tremendous influence on me.

I will miss you, Gram!

The best part of the cookie-making process

Chard Yard Guard

Leaf Jumping - Take 2 (Doggy Style)

Best Friends Song

My best friends are cute,

and they live in my room,

and play play, 

and play toys,

and play trains.

Celebration

We had a mellow but fun birthday party for Gavin at our house on Saturday. We picked an airplane theme and Brandon and I got a kick out of decorating with balsa wood planes flying under a blue balloon sky through white balloon clouds.  We shared the day with friends (Paula & Tom, Mae & Andrew, Leanna, Angie, Sam & Claire) and family (Grandpa Dale, Uncle Marty, Grandma Debby, Aunt Brooke, Kenzy & Max), enjoying each others' company and some gorgeous fall weather.

Look who's THREE!

 

Happy birthday to Gavin! Highlights of his special day included going to school, going to a new (to him) McDonald's playland for lunch, hiking on the Logan River Trail - complete with train tracks and a guest appearance by a real train!, throwing rocks into the river, helping daddy make dinner, opening presents, and eating his very own, all to himself, extra-sweet, store-bought birthday cake.

Halloween Weekend

Despite my having a cold, and the weather being fickle, and Halloween landing on a Sunday this year (effectively bumping trick-or-treating to Saturday the 30th for most folks), we managed to pull off a pretty successful 10/31.  Many thanks to Brandon's sister Brooke for volunteering to take Gavin on Saturday.  He had a great time down in Syracuse where he attended a Halloween party and his cousin's birthday party, AND went trick-or-treating.  While he was gone, Brandon and I (and Vivian) went on a rare dinner date to Happy Sushi in Logan.  Gavin came home early Sunday afternoon, and after a much needed nap he donned his James costume and we went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood - mostly just to the houses of neighbors that we know.  To see more pictures, CLICK HERE.

First snow of the season

Gavin was soooo excited to play in (and eat) the snow.

Family Photo

 

Well, we tried.  It probably didn't help that we were dead tired and that we had two cameras going at once.  Hopefully the ones on my dad's camera turned out better....

Leaf Jumping - Take 1

An early (not real big) leaf pile meets Gavin the Galloping Galoot.

Vivian's Birthday Weekend

She's here! Our baby girl arrived on Sunday, 10/10/10, following a festivity-filled Saturday. On the day before her birth we visited the Paradise Valley Orchard, along with Mae, Shane and Andrew. Later that day Lev and Shanna had us over to their house for Lev's special BBQ brisket. At 3:30 am the following morning, our baby girl let us know that she was on her way. We checked into the hospital, made ourselves at home in Labor & Delivery Room #10 (seemed appropriate), and waited patiently for her to arrive. At 1:12 in the afternoon, Vivian Kayla Chard entered the big, bad world. She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. Her birth was easy and uncomplicated (quite a bit different from when her big brother was born), and we couldn't be more pleased to know her. Click HERE for lots more pictures (and more to be added soon).

A New Quinoa Recipe

For those of you who, like me, are enamored with the many fantastic virtues of quinoa, here's one for the recipe box. It came from Family Fun magazine, of all places. I made it for dinner this evening and Gavin devoured it. I was lazy and used my phone to take the picture. It's much more delectable-looking in person. Bon appetit!




Quinoa Salad
with Apples & Almonds



Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
2 T. honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 t. coarse salt
3 T. olive oil
1 cup peeled, diced tart apple
1 cup finely chopped celery (I substituted carrots from our garden)
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted
coarse salt and pepper

1) In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa and water, then bring them to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl, stir, and let it cool completely.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, lemon juice, and salt. Gradually whisk in the oil until blended.
3) Add the apple, celery (or carrots), raisins, parsley, and almonds to the quinoa and toss once more to coat the salad. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature. Serves 6 to 8.

Shorter (but hotter) days

Lately we've been milking the daylight as much as we can. The weather has been ridiculously warm (today's high was 88), which makes getting out and about after work that much more tempting. Last night we went for a stroll in Blacksmith Fork Canyon where I picked up a few odds and ends to decorate our front door. Tonight the chickens got a rare opportunity to roam (mostly) free in the yard for a little while. Gavin did his share of roaming too, but he chose a vertical route.

Lovin' from the Oven

Brandon and I wanted to stock the freezer with meals so we wouldn't have to cook much once the baby arrives, so I trolled the internet and was lucky enough to stumble onto the Once a Month Mom website. Once a month, OAMM guru Tricia comes up with a menu, a grocery list, and step-by-step instructions for making a boatload of meals in one day using seasonal ingredients. So this morning, after having already spent a few hours yesterday doing some of the prep cooking, we took a deep breath, grabbed our knives and crossed our fingers. We literally spent the entire day together in the kitchen as we blissfully included fresh zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, herbs, and a TON of tomatoes from our garden in the recipes. I took it as a good sign when, at 4 pm, after spending the entire day on his feet and with a couple more hours of food prep ahead of him, Brandon said, "this was a really good idea".

Here's what we made...

Breakfasts: * Sausage Apple Egg Casserole * Apple Baked Oatmeal * Breakfast Wraps *

Lunches: * California Sushi Wraps * Chicken and Wild Rice Soup * Pizza Soup *

Dinners: * Eggplant Parmesan * Sausage Ratatouille * Baked Creamy Veggie Pasta * Tostada Goop * Down Home Spaghetti Sauce * Simple Down Home Lasagna *

...Not to mention a big ol' mess (even though we tried to keep up on doing dishes throughout the day)...
We had to do some creative stacking and rearranging to fit it all on our spare freezer, but we did it and we're dang proud. Note that there are 5 more 32-oz yogurt containers full of soup & spaghetti sauce on the freezer door. Whew!

The (short but) Happy Bathtub Song

Cribbage/Horseshoe Championships, 2010

Each year a growing group of our friends gets together to play cribbage and horseshoes (and eat and drink, and drink some more). The buy-in is $10 per player per event and the winner takes all. Nineteen players participated in the 2010 cribbage bracket and, thanks to the sage advice he got from me (the first to be eliminated) about not underestimating your opponent, this year's cribbage champion was Ken Rozema. For the horseshoe tournament, teams of two are picked at 'random' (HA!). Team Chard/Armani (Brandon & Winston) looked tough all the way through, but in the end by Team Brown/Brown (Pat & Tony) came away with the coveted trophy.

Gavin had a great time exploring the Browns' hatchery home in Fremont. We got there a day before the festivities started, so he logged some great bonding time with Pat & Michelle.

Fishin'

Gavin got his very own fishing pole, so you can bet it won't be long before he's hauling in fresh trout for dinner. We're not quite ready to attach a barbed hook to his line, so for now he'll just keep the rubberized plastic fish on the end and use it to catch chickens.
He's had a couple of opportunities to practice his cast on the Blacksmith Fork River. The first time was with his mom, who was more worried about him getting wet than being successful at casting (he ended up soaking wet anyway), and whose casting demonstrations invariably ended up with the little green fish caught in a tree. The second time was with Brandon and Chris, who seem to have a much better grasp of the concept.