How would you make a snowmobile cake?
After years of making super duper birthday cakes I have come to the conclusion that my kids don't like cake. They won't eat cup cakes, sugar cookies, cake of any shape or flavor. All they really like is the frosting. It drives me crazy. I have made lego cakes, barbie cakes, and supercross dirtbike race track cakes. When Seth asked for a snowmobile cake after riding on one for the first time this month, I thought I would shoot Dan when he answered Seth, "Sure, mommy can make one for you!"
I remembered those JibJab Christmas elves that were so funny and thought that would work for his birthday "BROWNIES" that were covered in frosting!!! Snowy icve crystals finished off his birthday cake which he didn't eat...
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I remembered those JibJab Christmas elves that were so funny and thought that would work for his birthday "BROWNIES" that were covered in frosting!!! Snowy icve crystals finished off his birthday cake which he didn't eat...
That's a Cisco?
I still can't believe that this is what all of the hub bub was about. Last year he tried and got skunked. We had to go out and by a new net (which Seth could easily fit in) and he still got skunked. This year he couldn't find his fishing weighters. He looked everywhere in the house including garage and basement. He thought he might have left them at the cabin. Finally he borrowed his brother Jared's and on his second attempt he succeeded! He pulled up to Cisco beach and watched this couple dipping for fish. This guy was up to his knees in water slowly following the fish he could see through Bear Lakes blue water. His girlfriend or wife (must be a newlywed) was holding a lantern and continued to rotate, not unlike a lighthouse, either attracting the fish or scaring them his way. As soon as he told me, I knew just what I would be doing next year!!!
He caught one all by himself and the friendly couple gave him some pointers and then realized they had more that the limit and gave him five of their fish! Thankfully it was enough that he doesn't have to go back to keep trying. But now he is so antsy for spring and summer to get here, I don't know if either of us will make it, alive that is!!! Seth did go out with him and had a lot of fun playing with the fish on the beach...
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He caught one all by himself and the friendly couple gave him some pointers and then realized they had more that the limit and gave him five of their fish! Thankfully it was enough that he doesn't have to go back to keep trying. But now he is so antsy for spring and summer to get here, I don't know if either of us will make it, alive that is!!! Seth did go out with him and had a lot of fun playing with the fish on the beach...
Bear Lake?
Friday, January 28, 2011
We left for Bear Lake as soon as Chloe got home from school and Dan got home from work. This might be our last chance to catch some Cisco before they stop spawning. Dan tried while we were at the cabin over the Martin Luther King holiday but he didn't net any. We came through the Logan canyon and arrived to these waves of rolling fog sitting on top of the entire lake:
This is the view from the cabin:
The Heritage Society Recognition Dinner
Thursday, January 27, 2011
We all met at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building:
to support Dan's little brother Josh:
Dan and his brothers and sister were all inductees to the James E. West Fellowship this year:
There was a special guest, General George Washington:
The whole evening was very patriotic and fun! Thanks Mom and Dad!!!
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The Cake & Presents
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
He asked for a snowmobile cake...
I downloaded this picture and added his head (huge) like thos jib jab christmas elves.
The blue is bear lake:
Great Grandpa Davis sent him some money and he picked out this nerf gun:
These motorcycles were from Chloe:
Grandma Thomson gave him some money and he picked out these legos:
He loved getting the calls from his Aunts and cousins and having everyone sing happy birthday to him!
I can't believe he is Five Years Old!!!
Seth's Birthday
This is what He wanted to do for his birthday!
Such nice form!
This is were you sat if you got a strike!
Dan won, then me, then SETH and Chloe
Do I have any Crayons?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Black, Gray, White, Brown, Apricot, Violet Red, Scarlet, Red, Carnation Pink, Red Violet, Red Orange Orange Orange
Yellow, Dandelion, Yellow Green, Green Yellow, Green, Blue Green, Blue, Indigo, Cerulean, Blue Violet, & Violet
P.S. I counted them and there are about 25 sets of crayons
No 'L'
We have had a special request to post this video of the 2020 American Idol:
{This will be back posted to it's original date of 12/23/10}
Valentine's Request
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Chloe just came home from school with a this letter:
Lucky for me my entire family lives in Utah. I am hoping my blogger friends can help us out...
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Dad and Dan both got snow mobiles stuck in the snowDan went out fishing early one morning and got his truck stuck and had to be towed
We snuck this picture of Grandpa napping ~ they really got a great workout this weekend!
I learned how to french braid on Harlie's long hair! 
Here are the girls searching for some quiet time on the top bunk! 
Dan taking Chloe, Harlie, Seth, & one of the Twins~ Crazy!!!
I learned how to french braid on Harlie's long hair! 
Here are the girls searching for some quiet time on the top bunk! 
Dan taking Chloe, Harlie, Seth, & one of the Twins~ Crazy!!!
Sledding on the frozen sheet of ice!
Seth loves to spend as much time as possible out side and throws a fit when we make him come inside and warm up. His cheeks tend to get a little wind burned and it tends to look like frost bite. Grandma saved the day and found these 'robber' masks to keep at least 8 cheeks warm!!!More of Seth's Room
Thursday, January 13, 2011
I forgot to mention that when Chloe got home from school, Seth, Tom and I hid in his room on top of and behind the bunk bed. Chloe came in and we all jumped out, "Surprise!" She was happy for Seth for about 2 seconds and then burst into tears because Seth has bunk beds and she doesn't... He loves the lights under his bed + they make a great night light ~ since he was sleeping with the light on. We brought back the three bins it took to take everything out of his room to make space for Tom. We eliminated at least one bin of unused toys. Seth keeps wondering if he will be taking them with him to college, like Andy on Toy Story 3!
Thanks, Uncle Tom
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
There has been some bed shifting lately in our family. Each of us siblings had been trying to have a spare bed for dad to come and stay over. Now most of us have an extra bed. Tom had lent both Erin and I each half of this set of bunk beds. They had gotten Erin's half back for Dad to sleep in and were just shifting things around at their house and then it got shifted around to our house!!! We had talked about making a play fort for Seth, leaving the bottom bunk open. I'll add a curtain rod with a sheet to make a fort and I have some spare LED Christmas lights that I will string up under the bed to give him some light while playing!
This is a picture of Tom making sure that it is structurally sound:
And his own little minions following his every move {like their tongues?}
This is a tutorial of one of the many ways of getting down!
Grandpa's Ties
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Grandpa used to get confused and get dressed in a nice suit and tie
to go out and work in the garage or garden. Grandma solved her frustration
by gifting each of his son-in-laws and grandson's one of his many ties!
These boys were so proud to be showing of their Grandpa's ties!!!
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This Mother's View
Every time I tell Seth we will be running errands, he gets all excited,
thinking I said we were running to Erin's and more importantly Sam's!
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Dad's Obituary
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thomas Gilbert Thomson
(April 30, 1945 - January 7, 2011)
Our loving husband, father & grandfather passed away peacefully at home on January 7, 2011. Tom, 65, had a long struggle with Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s disease. He was born April 30, 1945, in SLC to Gladys & Thomas Marshall Thomson. He graduated from West High & served an LDS mission to the Gulf States. Tom married Karen McDermaid in the Salt Lake Temple on November 17, 1967. He was the owner & operator of Tom’s Iron Works. He was a faithful member of the LDS church serving in many callings including: Stake President, Bishop, High Counselor, YM President & Home Teacher. We will miss him dearly, especially his silly sense of humor & his love of family! Tom is survived by his wife, Karen, children: Laura (Guy) Lewis, Wendy (Russ) Steeneck, Jeanette (Brad) Atkinson, Becky (Dan) Hancock, Liz (Dan) Davis, Krista (Jeff) McMillan, Tom Jr. (Jenn) Thomson, Erin (Kendall) Johnson; 24 grandchildren with twins on the way. Also survived by his mother, Gladys Thomson Avery & siblings: Kathy (Alan) Parker, Debby (David) Plummer, Gary (Diana) Thomson, & Jeff (Judy) Thomson. He was preceded in death by his father & granddaughter, Dayna. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 11th at 11:00 in the South Jordan Parkway Stake Center, 9894 S. 2700 West. A viewing will be held Monday, January 10th from 6:30 to 8:30 & Tuesday from 9:30 to 10:30 with both visitations held at the Stake Center. Interment: Valley View Memorial Park, 4335 West 4100 South, West Valley City.
I thought I wanted to be there to witness his last breath...
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Dan and I have rushed through the week after Christmas. On Monday we took Hannah home after an evening full of dancing with the stars competition, lots and lots of new songs made up about the best cousins ever and Dan teasing Hannah mercilessly ~ simply because she was fresh meat! We stopped at an appliance store on California Avenue for a new heating element for our broken dryer. We were just going to go and get a new one ~ our dryer is pretty old. Wendy had offered Russ' help and I have many, many memories of my dad fixing my mom's dryer. But it wasn't until Laura told us about this store and that even Guy can fix the $42 heating element on a dryer that both of us had enough confidence to make a go at repairs!On Tuesday I started to take down our Christmas decorations. I am usually glad to put it away after looking at it for over a months, but it still always seems so empty and dull once the furniture is back into place and the picture frames are on the shelves again. Tommy had his doctors appointment and we were going to watch Desirae at 3 pm. Dan got home and started taking apart the bare tree and doing the heavy lifting. I had already gotten dinner started and the kids were able to keep Desi entertained. By the time Tom and Jenn got back with Tommy's new 'knife wounds', I had {hopefully} vacuumed up every last fake evergreen needle and Dan had taken {not likely} the last box of Christmas decor down to the basement! The mountain of laundry was slowly getting smaller as the newly fixed dryer was working like a charm, faster and hotter than ever!!!
On Wednesday the kids and I put on our jackets then socks and slippers with plans to tackle the basement. {Dan & I have worked really hard over the last three years we've lived here to eliminate the 'stuff' we keep moving from house to house. Much of this had been accomplished back when we were seriously considering another move.} I just recently purchased a 4 foot section of shelving for our food storage. Before that it was up in our pantry or on the basement ground. There were many boxes, broken down and piled up after organizing those shelves. Much of my holiday decor had just been put anywhere and/or everywhere. There were more empty boxes that needed to be stored for warranty/return purposes. And there were various bins full of clothes either too big and the next sizes for the kids or too small and dream wear for me! It took us about 4 hours and that even included hauling the garbage out to the garage and over to the elementary school for recycling. {Dan gets so worked up when the kids go on and on about saving the planet: reuse, renew, recycle}
I continued with laundry and our constant search for our missing cordless phones. I have a set of 4 but am missing 2 of them... We clean out in the cushions of both couches as well as under them ~ finding more Christmas items. I needed to mop the floors before we left for Bear Lake and even though I usually leave it for the last minute, I used our new Shark steamer and very quickly and easily clean the kitchen floors. I got in the shower and decided that I really needed a soak in the tub. I laid there relaxing in the hot water mentally making my to do list for the New Years weekend at Bear Lake. One minute I was rinsing the conditioner from my hair and the next thing I know Dan's home from work and joining me in the tub! After recovering from the surprise, I reminded him that I was going out with my girlfriends for the night. We talked about our days and very nicely and very simply relaxed together. It wasn't five minutes before the kids were knocking down the door needing something...
On Thursday I got almost all of the laundry caught up, We rushed to the grocery store and Costco for some last item needs, and we rushed through our packing. Dan got off work a bit early and we raced up to Logan, grabbed Chloe some ski goggles and then rushed up the canyon in hopes to miss any avalanches. Bry and Sue beat us there and Jared and Echo were right behind us! We got everything unloaded and started putting groceries away and shoveling the snow. I will post pictures and more at the cabin later.
Friday mid morning I heard my obnoxiously loud cell phone ring from our basement bedroom in the cabin. I was eating my breakfast and ignored the call. I knew it couldn't be good news... About fifteen minutes later Dan brings me the phone up saying its been going off constantly since the first call... I took a deep breath and called my sister Jeanette. She was at my parents house and confirmed my worries. The hospice doctor had visited and his best guest was three to five more days. I listened to more information that I didn't really hear. I hung up the phone and confirmed what Dan had already assumed from my end of the conversation. He gave me a big, hard hug and started downstairs gathering all of our stuff up in preparation to leave.
We drove strait South without stopping home. We were still in our warm layers when we arrived. Laura, Jeanette and Becky had already left. Wendy was just leaving. Krista would be leaving St George in the morning in hopes to be there soon. He was lifeless in his hospital bed. The silver railings on either side seemed to keep us away or out as much as keep him safely inside. His hands would jerk and he started to snore. It was a beautiful sound! Mom helped me lower the cold railing and I found his hand. Dan leaned over me and tearily asked my Dad to tell our Dayna we love and miss her. That he loves him. I love you Dad. I heard my mom sob, knowing how much she loves each son in law and how much Dad loved having eight sons! Chloe asked if she could sing Grandpa her No 'L' song and we got a smile and his eyes open for a little bit. Seth told grandpa how much he loved him and that he would miss him because he could talk like a duck! I snuggled up to my dad and cried on his shoulder. They're not quite as firm or broad lately but it was still a good shoulder to cry on. I told him I loved him and his hand jerked in mine and he told me, "love you too" with a tight squeeze on my fingers. I thought I wanted to be there to witness his last breath and sent Dan and the kids home for the night.
I sat with him and checked on him a few more times. I listened to the girls mention they thought he was very close to the veil and those on the other side. He was pointing to others in the room. During the night he was gasping for air and choking. He seemed to need some water but I couldn't get him to drink anything. I didn't get much sleep and when Erin's kids woke up, mom shooed me to her bed to get a few hours sleep. I was enjoying some New Years Wassail and sitting with Dad around 10 am. I had Dad's hand in mine and he started to fidget a little bit and his eyes opened up looking all around the room. He squeezed my hand and I squeezed his back. Then all of the sudden I felt someone else squeeze my other hand. I moved it, kind of shaking it out and I felt another soft, warm squeeze and the most peaceful feeling settled over me. I knew that everything would be alright. I was able to call Dan and tell him that I could come home. I was both capable and comfortable to leave my Dad's side.
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