Sangria

I am checking off the last item on that list I made a week month ago. This post is definitely from back in the day, (November) but at least it isn't about Christmas....

Instead, I bring you a peek into one of our family home evening treats. We take FHE treat very seriously. Everyone has a turn picking what we make and that is the coveted turn on the FHE board. Tyler chose sangrias on his night.

You can bet that we were making our own special version since wine was not on our ingredient list. (I looked up Sangria and it is wine with fruit pieces and maybe a sweetener.) We started with our sweetener. Sprite.

Next up...the fruit. But we didn't use pieces of fruit. We pureed our own blend. And added it in.

Finally, the whipped cream. Whipped cream?? What the...soda and dairy? Not my first choice. (And for the record, none of the pictures of Sangria that I have seen come with whipped cream.) But this is the man's creation. We let him do what he likes on his treat day.

No one complained. They seemed to be a hit. 

I managed to choke one down.

The 'cakes' liked hers just fine.

Cheers, says Robyn.

On my search for the sangria pictures, I stumbled across a few more that should be posted. First, a rare shot of book group. (I think Tyler was walking through and snapped one.)

Also, Ivory decided that she wanted to make me breakfast on Christmas Eve. (The morning of Christmas Eve, not the eve of Christmas Eve. Darnit...another Christmas post. Seriously....this is the last one.) Anyway, she had it all planned out. She got up early with Tyler and made a card and put together the tray just right.

Then she brought me breakfast in bed. (No, I don't like breakfast in bed, almost as much as I don't like having pictures taken of me in the morning, but sometimes we sacrifice for our children.)

She did such a cute job on everything. I went for the toast first. She had made me special cinnamon toast.

Except...we have a container of salt that looks exactly like cinnamon. Can you guess what she put on the toast?

Yep. Salt. 

Salty toast.

Oh man.

It was terrible. 

Funniest thing ever. I choked down my bite (literally this time) and she was such a trooper about it. I could see the little tears welling up in her eyes. I said, "Don't cry Ivory. I love that you made the special effort to make me breakfast and I'm NEVER going to forget this breakfast. Ever. It will be a great story for a long time."

Sure enough, just today she was making a joke about cinnamon toast. Come to think about it, I still haven't labeled those containers. Maybe I have a secret wish that someone else can try salty toast. It really is an experience.

You Make My Heart Pop

Time keeps slipping away from me. Especially when there are so many things to keep track of and remember. This week there were plenty of regular things on my to-do list, not to mention 130+ Valentines that I needed to get/make for the kids. I usually get items and have the monkeys put them together. Last year, they did a great job.

This year, I swung back toward candy-free valentines. ("Unpredictable!" -As Vector says in Despicable Me) But these were super easy and the kids put them together in a snap. (It helps that Dad printed and cut them at work. What a stud!)

I used some decorative tape, which was fun, but not as sticky as it could have been. However, since the goal is to eventually take the balloons off, I figured it would do. The girls packed them up and had them ready to go a day early. (Teachers, you are welcome in advance for all the balloons that will be floating around your classrooms.)

We had some extra balloons on our end, and it has been fun for the girls to play with them.

Pearl especially has been be-bopping them all around the house.

Tyler and I are going to have a pretty quiet Valentine's Day. He is using the weekends to go visit his father and take one girl at a time to visit with Grandpa. Last week Ivory was the first to say 'goodbye.'

I think it is special that they have time to spend with him one on one. I know Barry is going through a lot and I can't imagine his daily battles, but I think he is a hero for loving his grandchildren and making them feel special.

Since I knew Tyler would be gone, I made him some salsa to take with him.

*If you can't read the little card, it says, "You and Me. We are like chips and salsa. Perfect together!"

We ate some last night and it sure stayed with me. Even after brushing, I woke up with some killer breath. I may need to experiment and try different amounts of onion or garlic. (Whew.)

I hope you all enjoy your weekend. Squeeze on someone you love.

Phone Dump

This is not a Christmas post by any means, but it has been so long since I cleared out pictures on my phone that they go back well into December. More to enjoy I guess. Let's get going on all this random picture taking.

The tree was a draw for random photos. Whenever the kids got ahold of my phone, I would find more pictures of the tree.

I don't blame them. I took a few myself along with my buddy here.

Don't be deceived. This next shot was taken by me...not the kids. I was experimenting with light and movement. (Yes, the kids photos look basically the same.)

Like many church goers, we have found a pew that we like to sit in each Sunday. I am not above moving somewhere else, and I don't feel like we own it, but it is where we gravitate naturally. The church is supposed to be cleaned every week, but for some reason, this lone fruit snack was missed for weeks on end. Every Sunday, we would sit down and I would check to see if it was still there. Sure enough....it never moved. (Look closely.)

This is more impressive since in church there are any number of small children who could have scooped that thing up in a heartbeat. (Children are much more forgiving about old food on the floor.) Sadly, the day I took a picture, Tyler said it was all ridiculous and he snatched it and threw it away. I guess we will never know how long it could have remained there.



At church I am currently serving in the primary. Someone mentioned that two kids had fallen asleep in nursery and they looked so cute. This lady didn't have her phone and asked if I could take a picture. They are precious.

However the story didn't end so well since the girl woke up and puked all over the boy. Suddenly the whole scene seemed less adorable. I never did post that picture to the neighborhood FB page. The moment seemed to have soured. (Literally.)


Sometimes when your husband is on the phone and you are bored, do you find things to entertain yourself? Like stacking Little People nativity pieces? No...just me?

I was doing well. I couldn't quite get the fourth one to stay balanced. Each time they fell on the glass table, I got a crusty stare from the man on the phone. Sheesh...everyone's a critic.


During the holiday season we went caroling like we always do. It is a serious tradition. But we only got the one photo which was lost on the phone...until now.

My children like to draw pictures. (A lot.) (Lots of pictures.) Sometimes I will find them taped around the house in odd spots. One morning I awoke to this.

Daisy had made a cute Christmas tree complete with presents. And her photo was lovely, although devoid of all her siblings. (Maybe there just wasn't room on the paper? Maybe it is her secret dream?)


Strange Lego creation makes the blog. By June. (I think it is supposed to be a duck. Don't ask me how.)

In January (yes, December is finally in the past!) McKenzie was able to come to book group. She currently lives in Grenada, so it was kind of a big deal to see her. It was just for a moment, but I always love to catch up.

June has a NEVER ENDING stream of projects at school. She can barely stay on top of things in her advanced class. (Exhausting, but I still think it has been great for her.) Last month the sixth grade did something called a 'World's Fair.' The other classes focused on ancient cultures such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome, while June's class did modern countries with food samples. (The food was a big hit. That room was packed all night.) June paired up with her bestie and did Ukraine.

I think this had something to do with the fact that Tyler and I taught English there. Of course I couldn't remember any of the recipes I made there. (My only vivid memories of food were sour cream on everything and the turkey at Thanksgiving that came with feathers and head attached.) So we looked up an authentic recipe online. I give you Yabluchnyk Korzh. (Apple cake?) It was pretty tasty, but it got better each day it sat there.

Hannah's mom made some rolls with parsley, olive oil, and garlic. They were fantastic, but I picked her up just as they came out of the oven and in transporting them, the smell soaked into the car. My car smelled like garlic for two weeks. (There are worse things for a car to smell like.)

There was also a boy who worked on the project. His mom paid for the project board so he got out of making food. (Darn smart lady if you ask me.) I thought all their costumes looked fantastic. June's shirt was originally my mom's and probably came from Germany, but it looked great for the evening. Gotta love this awkward age where even small girls like June seem to tower over the boys.

Driving around town one day, I stopped behind a truck and was pretty appalled by their advertising slogan. Classy. I took the picture to share with Tyler. (You know you are in love when you send your significant other, pictures of all the weird things you see.)

Oh, more June projects. For this one, she had to make a musical instrument. She made a makeshift guitar with three rubberbands, which played three melodic bass notes. We had quite a time getting the rubberbands to stay put. They were more inclined to snap at the last minute sending tacks flying every which way. This chaotic procedure earned it the name of  the 'Stubborn Bass.'

Even as we drove to school, we saw that one band was stretching to its limit. As fortune would have it, it didn't break at school and hasn't broken yet. (Way to go hot glue.) And luckily, no one was seriously harmed in the making of this instrument.

Still with me? We have almost reached the end. Clearly I need to clean out my phone more often.

I still do my monthly date with the kids. Robyn and I had a fabulous night together in January. We stayed up late, watched a movie, ate snacks, and then she slept upstairs with me. (Tyler was on a campout.) Ivory was bursting at the seams for February to arrive. She really wanted to go out on Feb. 1st, but I told her that was a Sunday. Her date didn't come soon enough in her estimation, but when we finally went out, we had a good time. We shopped for journals for her and ended the evening with chocolate. Love her chocolate lip liner.

Did I mention that June has a lot of projects? I didn't even get a picture of her diorama she took to school the other day. But I did sneak this picture of her while I was giving her a spelling test. She is such a good kid. She really works hard.

Last picture of the evening and this one is incredibly current. It was off Tyler's phone, from LAST NIGHT. (It doesn't get much fresher than that.) We went out on a group date to play Laser Tag. Mainly, my gym buddy, Becca, heard about my triumphant victory against the men on Tyler's birthday. She was skeptical. She needed to see me in action.

I think I earned my title. We played with some other kids besides our group. I believe two other guys made off with first and second place, but I came in third. (Highest from our group.) I'm not saying that I am amazing, or even that this is something to brag about, but I can hold my own in laser tag. Doug (Becca's hubby) came in fourth, and for the record, our team (green) beat the other team that those two guys were on. (Actually, it is possible that Jake came in second because he didn't remember his number and therefore never got a score, and he is a cop...but I think it is unlikely. Sorry Jake.)


And that is all there is folks. Goodnight.

Twelve Days

I'm having a bit of guilt over some Christmas posts that have not made it on here. February is a bit late in my opinion.

But it was because of a video people. Technology and I just don't get along like we should. But I did get it all figured out on my own. (Tyler had to send me the video as well. It would have been faster if it were on my phone in the first place. Yes...lame excuses.)

Every year the Scoresby's throw a most excellent Christmas party. I don't often blog about it because I can't adequately express the enormous amounts of fun we have with just words. Sounds dumb, but it is true. We have been going for almost a decade. I did post one year about it.

There is always an intro game before we get down the serious business of the Oldy-wed game and the white elephant gift exchange. This year Keri had us act out the twelve days of Christmas, and Tyler did some recording at the end. (My favorite part is Oz, who is French and just happened to draw '3 French Hens.' His part is classic.)

Tyler and I quizzed each other beforehand for the Oldy-wed game. Epic fail. There were questions that we discussed and missed anyway. Note to self...just go with it.

We scored big-time in the exchange though. It is possible to go home with two quirky gifts. (Interpretation - garage sale rejects.) This time however we drew high numbers and came home with two good gifts. It almost makes up for our epic fail.

Almost.

It makes me all excited for December again. It is only 10 months away.

Hanging with the Blooders

Our area has an annual blood drive. (I say annual because someone told me that, but when I looked back at the blog, it is more like semi-annual.) Regardless, I think it is important to give blood if one is able.

June was my tag-along last time, but this time I took Ivory. (Good to introduce the kids to new situations.) Ivory was quite a fun buddy. She would ask genuine probing questions as we sat waiting for our turn. Eventually, it was my turn in the chair and Ivory was all eyes and ears.

I told her stories about Grandma Dargan being a great phlebotomist. Ivory watched the needle in my arm and said it probably hurt. She watched my blood filling up the bag. She wished she could take a picture. Why not?

And for all you non-squeamish people, here is my bag o' blood. (For you squeamish people...sorry, that wasn't much warning.)

I showed her how to work the camera so she could take a selfie. (Never too young for selfies.)

Tyler joined us somewhere in there. Ivory was perfectly happy to stay to watch Dad face the needle as well. She said she thought he might cry. I told her that I hadn't cried, but she said Dad wasn't as tough as I was.

Spoiler: He didn't cry either.

But when he came home, he did say that Ivory said that maybe someday she would give up gymnastics to become a blooder.

Back to Back Birthdays

It would be shameful if I let the month of January end without highlighting our birthdays. Granted, they aren't as exciting as the kids birthdays, but I hear we are getting wiser. (Ha ha, only a fool would believe that.)

My birthday is always first. (Can't help it.) Tyler spent time sequestered with the kids working on a project on the days preceding my birthday. It took them a few hours to finish whatever it was, so I was excited to see it.

I woke up early on my birthday to go to boot camp and saw this on the table. (To the sweetest mom, it says.)

When I got home, June had made me breakfast and everyone was awake and ready for me to enjoy my present.

Tyler said I wasn't supposed to get up early and see my gift. "What, the candy jar? It took you 2 hours to fill that thing?" Turns out there were designs etched into the glass that I hadn't seen because of the candy. Can you see the cute owl?

And the heart with 'Mom' inside?

It was a very sweet gift....they know me well.  In fact, even Robyn loaned me some socks for the day.

Naturally I had my buddy with me for the day. Pearl and I like a selfie now and then.

The only thing I had planned for my birthday was to find the headquarters for the Google Fiber trucks. I know this may sound strange. When I drop off Ivory at gymnastics three times a week, I see a lot of Google Fiber trucks going the same direction. I count how many I see each day and my record so far, was fifteen.

I thought that for my birthday, I would follow the trucks and then count them all in their den. (So to speak.) The girls were pretty hip on the idea. So we loaded in the car and began our search for Google Fiber Mecca, as I call it.

It didn't take us long to find a truck. (I see at least one every time we go to gymnastics.) We had bets on how far we would have to follow the truck, but it wasn't far. Less than two minutes on the trail, we came to GF Mecca.

There was a large gate that was closed as we coasted to a stop behind our prize. There was a phone number displayed on the gate to call to enter. I figured the guy in front of us would do that. In the meantime, I was worried that another truck would pull up behind us and trap us. Sure enough, another truck appeared, but he just went around.

When the gate finally opened, I wasn't sure if I should enter as well, but the girls were suddenly screaming, "Follow Him!" "Go mom!" "Get in there!" "Don't let them get away!!" So I gunned the car and followed them right into the compound.

(I would like to note that this was scary for me. I'm not really a rule breaker and I was pretty sure I was trespassing on private property.)

But oh...the trucks. They were everywhere. We stopped and asked someone if it was okay if we looked around for a minute. He said he would check with his supervisor. In the meantime, I let the kids out to look at the trucks. They were madly running around trying to find the lowest or highest number on the trucks.

This is, of course, when the supervisor came out and told us that we couldn't be there and he needed us to leave as rapidly as possible. (Thought so.)

Monkeys were gathered and we departed in haste, but we had found GF Mecca. I have no desire to return because I have some guilt associated with that place, but I'm happy to report that I smashed my record, counting more than 50 trucks.

It is early in the year and already I am doing questionable things. (Clearly not one year wiser.)

In the evening, I made myself some lemon-blueberry bread instead of a cake. (There were many offers of assistance, but I was fine doing it myself. After all, I didn't have to make breakfast, and June was making dinner as well.)

Thirty-six years under my belt. Not too shabby.

Now to the big man on campus. It is convenient that Tyler's birthday is five days after mine. I never forget it. (Although I'm pretty sure I wouldn't forget it no matter when it happened.)

Same kind of story as my birthday. We tend to have early mornings with present opening since no one wants to wait. Once Tyler was up we bombarded him with presents. Robyn had been doing some princess tracings. She did one for Dad with his favorite princess.

You need a little back story for this next gift. There is a gym at Tyler's work. In the past, he hasn't used it much, but a friend of his said that they should start lifting weights together. Brett said that he was going to make Tyler into Captain America. (I think this is in reference to the movie where Steve Rogers starts out as a skinny guy, but gets super buff---although admittedly not by normal methods.) Tyler has always had nice arms so I don't really think of him as scrawny, but he could probably add some muscle.

When they go and work out, Tyler calls it his Captain America time. You can imagine we took advantage of that for his birthday. First, the shirt, complete with muscles.

And then original art from me and the girls. (They did a great job helping me paint the Captain America shield, including stickers and mod podge.) Tyler seemed to like the finished product.

Other fun gifts included a book, written by Ivory. It was called the 'D' Book.

She supervised while Dad read it. It was pretty funny with lots of good D words and definitions.

Tyler's last gift was a set of new sheets. We have never had nice sheets before. We always buy sheets on sale or get the jersey knit kind that somehow stop fitting the mattress after a few washes. Now we have honest to goodness, 400 count, grown-up sheets. 'Bout time since we've been married 15 years.

Tyler's birthday was also celebrated with laser tag festivities, that can be seen again here.

We haven't gotten around to his 'cake' yet. He requested brownies, but we still had brownies left over from FHE on his birthday. It didn't make sense to make more, and I keep forgetting to make them now. His candle shot will have to be in a later post. But I will get it...mark my words.

And with that, I leave you. Happy February in an hour or so.