Having waited so long to post, I keep feeling like I need to post something really momentous and "worth it." Too much pressure! So, here are the random thoughts on my mind at the moment and I am going to post them no matter what so that I can get into my rhythm again.

We moved. We left Ann Arbor (sniff, sigh) on August 1st for some serious road tripping (if you think you were on our route, but we missed you, please don't hate us! We had several family commitments and movers to coordinate and we did our best. We'll catch you the next time around). One highlight was Nauvoo and the pageant there put on by the LDS church. It was fantastic! My goodness, was I impressed. My expectations were a little low, since I have seen the Hill Cumorah pageant many times and found it a little cheesy. This was my favorite of the pageants I've seen. And the spirit in Nauvoo is just so wonderful. I bought a couple of books there which I am planning to read someday soon to learn what I ought to know about our church's history. While we were there, we ran into a couple of people we know from Ann Arbor who were working the pageant as volunteers. That was fun.

Lots of fun stops along the way, and one stop that was the least fun I've had in recent memory. We were in Claremont Oklahoma, a couple of days into our trip, when Dirk woke up and realized that he had forgotten to post the third day of his bar exam. The CA bar is three days long. Participants write out the test on their laptops and are supposed to post the their work after leaving the testing center. Dirk took his test that third day and flew back to Ann Arbor that evening and forgot to post his work by the deadline. I don't think I can really describe the sickening feeling of having sacrificed for a summer to study and study and then have your work not be accepted. Or, even worse, to be the person's wife who must anticipate another four or five months of bar study, not to mention thinking that aforementioned husband could have hung around to help with the move if it wasn't going to count anyway :) We thought all was lost, and it probably is, but Dirk wrote up a very impressive petition to have his work accepted anyway and we'll see what happens. I have no expectation of success, since they are real sticklers. But at least he gave it his best effort. Honestly, it didn't seem like as big a deal as I thought it should. Everything has worked out so perfectly up until now, we were due for a bump in the road.

I also have to publicly apologize to Dirk, because I think I said something at my last book club in Ann Arbor about how he was useless for driving on road trips. In fact, he drove most of the way and didn't fall asleep once! It's the GPS in the new van; he says it makes him feel a sense of accomplishment as the nice lady tells him where to go and shows the milestones and how much longer is left, etc.

So, we arrived here on August 21st, rushing to meet the movers, who then didn't show up for another week and a half. Really. We camped out and went to the beach and Sea World and I painted most of the house. It was actually kind of fun. Then, on Dirk's first day of work, they came! Now all I have to do is unpack!

That's all for now. As soon as I find the camera and the USB cable at the same time, I will upload some pictures of the chickadees.

Meramac Caves

These are pictures taken at the fabulous Meramec cavern in Missouri during our cross country trip. It was one of those unplanned stops that I saw advertised on about sixteen billboards and they finally convinced me. It was HUGE and once a hideout of Jesse James! When we explained this to Isaac, he was so excited. He has been wanting to be a "bad guy" ever since. He informed me the other day that he definitely wants to be "Dark Nader" for Halloween.

We took the tour, which turned out to be quite thorough, and I'm pretty sure that every being in the cave and the underworld at large was silently begging that Brody go back where he came from. He started wanting to walk on his own about one quarter of the way through and this was obviously not an option. Who knows how deep those underground pools are? So, he made sure we didn't forget by screaming at top volume pretty consistently for the next 40 minutes. The guide took the opportunity to tell us how popular the cave was for concerts because of its excellent acoustics.

Nauvoo Temple

The Moment We've Been Waiting For

Dirk flies out to San Diego today to take the bar exam. I think it is safe to say that we both feel like throwing up! There is just so much happening this week. He'll leave today, study for a few days there, and take the exam Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. While he is doing that, I will be supervising our move and keeping track of the kids. Then, he'll fly back on Friday morning and we'll drive down to Houston. I know he'll do great, and I'll somehow manage the move and getting our home ready for the tenants moving in. Still, everyone in this house is on edge. Except the children. It's a constant party for them with brownies for breakfast and playdates and pool dates and birthday parties every day. Thanks to all my friends here who have been an incredible support with taking my children so I can work here at home!

Hittin' the Sauce

In preparation for our cross country move, I recently gave most of my canning jars away to friends from church here in Ann Arbor. Since then, several people have asked me how I do my applesauce. I find this slightly hysterical, since I am not Super Canner or anything, I just wanted to find a way to use all those yummy Michigan apples. My method came about when someone told me how to make applesauce as follows: "Well, you just cook 'em down!"

I've got my way of doing it, which is not how a "real" canning expert does it. Most people use a Victorio (sp?) strainer. They cut the apples roughly, cook them for a few minutes, and run them through the strainer, which removes all peels and seeds. Then, they add enough sugar to make it taste right and spices if desired. It's very easy and quick. My way requires no special equipment (just a stew pot or crock pot or both) but it takes all weekend! I sometimes do it during conference. But, I've done it both ways and mine makes tastier applesauce in my opinion. I buy a box of "mixed seconds" which means that they pick up the apples that fall on the ground and they mix all different kinds. I like this because the flavors are tart, sweet, tangy, etc. The apples are really good, too, even though they aren't always perfect. I like Wiard's orchard and Plymouth orchard for apples, but I don't think I've ever had a Michigan apple I didn't like. Then I quarter, peel and seed the apples with a pairing knife, though I keep meaning to spring for a corer-peeler-slicer that will do this job for me. That's the labor intensive part. Then, I put them all in a pot or crock pot and heat them on medium low uncovered for maybe four or five hours with just a couple of inches of water. This is why I think the flavor is so intense with this method. The apples cook down the flavor concentrates. I have sometimes added cinnamon, but I have never added sugar when I cook them this way, because they become so sweet as they cook. Then I put them in jars and "process" them, which you probably know means boiling them in a water bath for 20 minutes to seal them.

That's it! Like I said, I've done it both ways and the results are amazing, whichever way you choose. You'll never buy applesauce again!

Wouldn't you know it?

Many of you know that we are preparing to move from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to San Diego, California. As part of these preparations, we have to rent out our house here, since the housing market here is such a disaster. We listed the house and got a great response. We have had showings every day and I am so grateful. However, I find it a bit challenging keeping the house perfectly clean all the time just in case someone stops by to see it. Well, it happened this evening: someone was wanting to come by and I had only 15 minutes to prepare to amaze and impress them with my immaculate house. No problem. There were some dishes in the sink, the dishwasher was full of clean dishes because I had just run it (four hours before, maybe seven) so I threw them on a cookie sheet and tossed them in the oven with the granola I had made earlier but not yet put into containers. Of course it happened that tonight, several hours after "cleaning" the kitchen and promptly forgetting the stuff in the oven, I preheated the oven to finish baking a batch of cookies I had started for our little preschool group (many things are only half done around here). You guessed it: sippy cups melted and exploding, baby spoons bent and plastic storage containers oozing. To top it off, my sister Deb called while I was cleaning up the mess, so I was able to tell her that my destruction of kitchen appliances extended way beyond melting the bread bag to her toasters and starting her dish towels on fire all through college. I hope it made her feel better. Deb, you really should start a registry at Williams Sonoma for me to replace all the kitchen stuff I've ruined for you over the years.
You can't see me, but I'm inside scraping the plastic off the oven.

Soccer Fame

Isaac played his last game of his first soccer team, the Blue Sharks, this morning. It took him about three games to get into it. He liked practicing because everyone got their own ball. But when all of the children lined up with the same ball as their object, he wanted out. At first, he would only stand on the field and stare at us forlornly while all the other children gathered around the soccer ball that wasn't even moving half of the time. Someone would get a kick in and then the kid clump would move to the new spot to kick each other in the shin guards. I don't know why he didn't think this was fun.

After field-standing came total refusal to step foot on the field. Then, we had good talks about playing on a team and working together and most importantly, hustle. The next game he was back to field-standing, but without the sad look on his face, whenever he was asked to play until he got knocked over once and sat out the rest. The third game, though, he really got into it. We had been practicing at home that morning and he said soccer was fun when it was just Mom trying to get the ball, but he didn't like it when all those other kids were trying to get it. I told him to just pretend that all those other kids were one big Mom. He ran and kicked and cheered just like the pros. After the game, he told me, "I didn't even have to pretend that those other kids were one big Mom, I was just brave." He even scored a goal in each of the next two games. Very exciting.