Installment Three: The Big Event.

This is it friends. The end of the exciting on going saga of my super adventurous trip.
I'll give you a moment to try to pull your selves together....
Are you all okay now? Good.
Let's get on with it then, shall we?

First of all, you should know that Amanda is weird. No one brings out the weird in me like Amanda does. In fact, when our brother agreed to run the Wasatch Back with us next year his exact words were, "I'll do it only if you two won't be weird." Ya, right, good luck with that.
....Any hoo, here's Amanda 'observing' Molly beating her mint center.

Just because I love you all and clearly I have no shame, here is a picture of me beating a center for my mom. Please, don't judge my obvious pudginess. I already told you my mom is a fantastic cook. And it was chocolate week. And I am wearing bare minimum 6 layers of clothing. What? Idaho is cold. I know my beauty is amazing. Try not to hate me, look past your jealousy and love me for what's on the inside. :) Which, at the moment, is a lot of wintery-good comfort stuff.

Here's Molly pouring out a center. I suppose that I have done this in kind of a backward order...oh well, you'll just have to deal. Please ignore the fact that Molly looks so pulled together and presentable. Let's pretend like everyone there looked like me....a little scary.

This is my sister in law, Very Pregnant Natalie, dipping. Very Pregnant Natalie did not want me to take too many pictures of her. Might I toss in this little tidbit? I could NOT be happier with my brothers spouse choices. They all married VERY well. Nice job, Boys. It was so fun to spend time with all my sisters in law as well.

And finally here is a sampling of some of the deliciousness that were created that magical week.
All told, we figured that with all of us (Me, my mom, sisters and sister in laws) we dipped:
-over 70 pounds of chocolate
-well over 2000 pieces of candy
-weighing in at at least 160 pounds

Now, THAT is a LOT of chocolatey goodness.

Your welcome, World. We do what we can.
Some people strive for world peace,
Others just try to make the world a little bit sweeter place to be.
:o)

Installment Numero Dos.

And here we have Idaho,

So, I went to my parents house for the candy extravaganza.
I love it there.
No, seriously, I LoVe being there.
If ever I have some sort of terminal illness and I need some solace and peace,
take me there.

Plus, my mom is a fantastic cook.
I eat a lot of food at her house.
And I do mean
A LOT.


Got Milk?
They sure do.
Aren't cows great?

Those little dots out there that you can't really make out because-I-was-too-cold-and-too-lazy-to-walk-out-into-the-field-to-get-a-better-picture-of-Ya, those are sheep.
Every winter the sheep come to town.
Well, okay, not town exactly, but they do come to the fields.
I love it when the sheep are there.
They come and stay on the land for a little while and graze in the fields.

Wanna know a little secret?
I think being a sheep herder would an okay job.
I mean, if I didn't have this whole Mom/Wife thing going.
You could live in that cozy little trailer,
read to your hearts content,
enjoy a lovely cup of hot choco curled up with a book,
have a couple of fantastic dogs to keep you company,
travel all over,
walk every day through the sheep
and enjoy the fresh air.
It doesn't sound so bad.
Solitude sure seems like it would be a beautiful thing.
I wouldn't know,
I haven't had any in over fourteen years.
Not complaining, just saying...

Alright, tis the season to be busy so that's it for this installment
of Farmgirl's Idaho Winter Adventure.

Survival at theThe Homestead.

I am realizing I may need to cover all this stuff in blog post installments.
We're all good with that, right?
So, here we go...

Installment #1: Survival at the Homestead.

Dear old Mikey was kind enough to cover for me for an entire week so I could go to Idaho and candy make my brains out. He is pretty much my favorite husband. Ya, I know, I only have the one--still, my favorite.

The plan was for me to leave on a Saturday and return the next Saturday. One whole week. I did take Grant with me, that still left him with four hoodlums to deal with.

The night before I left Mike called a meeting with the kids to "plan" out the week. I over heard it from the kitchen....it went something like this:
Okay guys, Mom is leaving in the morning and we all need to pitch in and do extra jobs besides your weekly chores in order to get through the week. Now there are jobs that only Mom does, so we are going to need to divide those up. I have a list here of the five things that just Mom does...

Hold the phone!!
Ex-squeeze me?
Just five?
Just the five things that I do...???
Hummm, it seems like I do more than five things.
Guess not.
That's what's so handy about being Mom, I just do the five things a day and I'm golden.
Sweet.
This comment cracked me up, I know he came up with just the 'five things'
that they needed to do daily in order to survive.
Five was the magic number because there were five of them left here at home.
....Any hoo....

....on goes the meeting of the minds and they divide up my 'five jobs' and plan out their week. I came home to a relatively clean house, children that were still alive, and a husband that didn't abandon ship in my absence.

They did awesome. Just a couple of things that need to be shared with the public at large:
1) The phone call from Mike on Monday night. "I'll be really glad when your back. (Me thinking: Uh...Honey, it's just Monday. You do realize I'm not coming back until Saturday, right?) I'm not used to thinking about the kids at all during the day. I didn't realize how much I really don't worry about them, I leave that all up to you I guess." I love him.
2) Mike telling me last night that he had decided before hand that the best way to get through the week was to pretend like it wasn't ever going to end. Pretend like he was a single dad forever. He has assured me, he does not want to ever be a single dad. And since I have told him that if he ever left me he would get the children, I think I have him right where I want him. Mwahhaahaahaa.
3)My discovery that the microwave did not fall under one of the 'five things Mom does' list. Well, there's six. We're up to six things Mom does.

Believe me when I tell you this picture in no way, shape, or form does justice to the disgusting mess that was, in fact, my microwave.
(Yes, Anne, your lasagna lived on in the micro...until my return)
When Grant saw it he said, "Look Mom! The microwave has the chicken pox!"
He even tried to show the kids the chicken pox microwave when they got home from school.
Fortunately, I had already discovered the cure.
He was marginally disappointed.

So much to post, So much to recover from....

Seriously, tomorrow may be the day I feel like I am actually the

Queen of the Castle once again.
Which means I can finally find the time I want to catch you all up on the
many ramblings rattling around in my head.
Trust me, there are many.
I know you all wait with baited breathe,
don't try to hide it.
First and fore most, this is what you need to know....
Chocolate G-O-O-O-O-O-D

If ever you need a little pick me up,
spend a week up to your elbows in
Chocolate.
That's good stuff right there, I tell ya, good stuff.

Hang tight my peeps.
Full report coming up.

Idaho Welcomes....ME!

Hi-dee Ho from the Gem State.

Just hanging out enjoying the calm before the chocolate storm that will be touching down here tomorrow morning.

Oooooo I love me some chocolate fun!

Me Mum and I will be starting the week out,

but before it is through all of my sisters will be here.

THIS is unprecedented, Folks.

The only thing that can improve on chocolate week is sharing it with my sistas.

I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking the Nelson booty walk might make an appearance.
I have decided to make it my own special priority to be on quality control.

That's me....always willing to take one for the team.

I'm good like that.

Girls, Girls, Girls.

Getting the Christmas stuff out always involves a certain amount of sorting and organizing of all the stuff that accumulates itself in nice little piles throughout my house.
I kinda like that part- shocker, I know.
Any hoo, I decided to get all the Holiday Decor out early this year since I will be AWOL the first week of December.
I came across a bunch of papers that needed to be filed, mixed in with those I found a treasure.

Side Note:
Should we talk for a moment about things we are grateful for?
Tis the season, right?
All righty, then...
I am so grateful I have girls, I am so happy they have each other and that they were born Boom, Boom and Boom.
Three in a row...couldn't have planned it better myself.

Back to my find.
I remember seeing this paper a loonngg time ago and sticking it aside knowing it was a keeper.
Here you go blogging world--

How to Be A Drawing Princess List
(written by Lucy.
composed by three sweet girls.)

And because I'm wondering if you all will be able to read it, I'll transcribe below.

1. Do a curtsy right.
2. Speak with kind words.
3. Don't throw stuff.
4. No shouting.
5. Must know her tones.
6. Must be able to balance 5 books.
7. Chew with mouth closed.
8. Don't talk with mouth full of food.
9. Eat with your fork.
10. No elbows on the table.
11. Don't lick your lips.
12. Must know how to draw a straight line.
13. Say please and thank you.
14. No gulping loud.
15. Must know how to skate.
16. Must know how to do ballet.
17. Must brush hair every morning.
18. Must bath every night.
19. No saying stuff like "Ukk"
20. No showing your privates to other people.
21. Must know karate.
22. No kicking any one on purpose.
23. No hitting any one on purpose.
24. No screaming.
25. Wear pretty dresses.
26. Follow instructions always.

There you are.
It's a rough life, lot's to remember and all.
How to live the Princess life, or any life really...
Good stuff.
I love these little people.
:o)

One week ago...

I was spending some quality time with

Me Mum.
We were doing a chocolate demo for Super Saturday.
It was so much fun.
She is a really nice lady.
She took time out of her busy life to...
-Make all the delicious chocolates you see there on the table.
(there was a lot)
-Spent a day shopping to get all the ingredients to make all the
delicious chocolates you see there on the table.
-Came all the way down here from Home Sweet Home (Preston)
to do the demonstration with me.

AND
-She let me go with her to get all of her grand kid Christmas shopping done
during her visit.
(it's always fun to help someone else spend money)
What a Gal!!

One week from today....

I will be in Preston ready to start a furry a chocolate making magic happen.
Can't wait!
I haven't been home to do chocolates in over ten years.
OooLaLa
This'll be grrreat!

Welcome, Guest Blogger.

A plane ride

Hello people.
Usually I am reading the post, not writing it.
But not today. Today I am "borrowing" my mothers blog.
But that is because of numerous reasons. Reasons being...
1. ya just gotta carry on that talent.
2. I am a farm girls daughter it is in my nature.
3. today I had the most amazing experience.
O.k. so I bet you are just dying to hear what happened.
So here it is.
Today Brooke Duvall and her dad took me flying.
FLYING!
Like in a plane!
In the sky!
Off the ground!
O.k. so, we arrived at the air port. Brooke showed me this plane.


We were about ready to take to the sky's.
(I was all ready a little sky sick!)



I could see my house!




Can you find yours?
(good luck!)

P.S. for those of you who have not already figured it out.
This is Audrey!

The Challenge. To myself.

Life's road has been, well....a bit bumpy of late.
Life's road is supposed to be bumpy.
I'm okay with bumps.
I am Farmgirl, after all. I do tough things really well.

You know, I look at life as a down-scalator. There is no standing still. You are either moving forward or you are moving backward.
You choose.

Over the last few months I have felt like I have needed to continually raise the bar in order to keep getting the help I am sorely in need of.
That's a good thing.
Raising the bar is a good thing.
So, the latest and greatest is to take on something I have always struggled with...scripture reading.

The challenge? Read the Book of Mormon by my birthday, February 8th.
I started last week and I am already into Second Nephi.
Good, right?

There ya go.
If anyone wants to go ahead and jump on this here band wagon, feel free.
It should be a great ride.
:o)

Halloween Rundown.

*Disclaimer: This was a weird Halloween week for me.
I haven't been on my game of late.

First things first.
Carving Pumpkins.
This is normally the Family Home Evening before the big Spook-Day tradition.
Some how this year I just didn't see this one coming. Didn't even have pumpkins purchased last Monday. A quick trip to our trusty neighborhood grocer and that was taken care off.
I should throw in that carving pumpkins rivals Christmas tree light stringing in Mike's book of 'fun things to do'.
He is, how ever, the only one the kids want to help them with their pumpkins.
And, with a little bit of fore warning, he is a pretty darn good sport about it.
This year it was a two day event. Drawing faces on Monday. Cleaning out and carving on Tuesday.P.S.
It was crazy hair day at the elementary. Lucy and Elsie went all out.

They were all happy with the end result. That made me happy.
Yes, Adam's is a Led Zeplin jack-o-lantern.
Ya, I didn't get a picture until today so they are sorta caving in.
Toldcha I'm off.

No group-kid pictures this year, what's up with that? I always line them up on the front porch.
What can I say? I'm off.

Grant. A skeleton. Again.
Good thing he looks so cute in it.
This boy DID NOT want to wear a costume.
At. All.
We talked of many an option. Not interested.
Finally, a desperate call to Stace on Friday, one pair of Skeleton jammies later and we called it good. FYI he is sitting next to the 'handing out' bowl (pre-trick or treating).
Got right on the sugar high, that one did.

Pirate Elsie.
Don't ye be thinkin' O takin' me booty, Matey!

All right, Lucy gets two pictures. Her costume cracked me up. She decided she wanted to be a Granny. She was hilarious!

Ahhh, Goose.

Audrey was a vampire.
I love 5$ finds at the D.I. and she loved the dress.
I'm not gonna lie, the older this girl gets the more I fear for her dates when they meet her very protective father.

Adam didn't end up dressing up this year.
The neighborhood party was Friday, they had already made plans to go paint balling.
Saturday they had a party=no costumes=no trick or treating.
He and his buddies had a lovely idea though...
Flashers.
Maybe next year.
Adam did make time to take Grant trick or treating, what a good big brother.
In Grant's words, his "Best Brother".
I know, competition is slim.

One Sunday afternoon nap for Mom and Dad, which resulted in no parental supervision, which resulted in a major candy swap meet for the kiddies, which resulted in an all out candy consumption smorgasbord and almost all the candy is gone.
Sounds good to me.

There you have it. Halloween rundown.
Done and Done.

By the By can you all believe I have been at this whole blogging thing for a year now?
Weird, huh?
Who'da thunk it?