Becca's Engaged!

Most people have heard that Becca got engaged just before she came home for Christmas. I have been waiting to post this until she got her story up on her blog. It is there so now you can see the official "report". We are excited for Becca and Steven. He is a great young man and we are happy to have him join our family. They are looking at May 23 in the Rexburg Temple with a reception in IF and an open house in Fremont California.

Disco Dancin Griffiths Gals

Becca has been working hard to get us all in shape and teach us some new moves. She finally accomplished her goal. Check us out on her blog. You will not believe what she was able to do with us sorry gals. California must be treating her well.

Help and Keep Looking

Ok, so I am still very new to this blog thing. I started the Griffiths family Christmas party post on Sunday. Then I put it on hold to do thanksgiving. So when I posted it today it is below the Thanksgiving posts. So if you are looking for the family party post keep scrolling down. And if anyone knows how to move posts to a different order please let me know! I am just learning this by trial and error, mostly error. It takes me way to long to create a post!!! Also if you know any family members that may not know about this blog feel free to send them a link.

My Santa Stud

I am going to pay dearly for this post.

This Summer my nephew ran in the "Spudman Triathalon" in Burley, Idaho. His wife titled the blog about it as "My Spud Stud". When Dave played Santa for the Griffiths family Christmas party I thought I should make a post about it and call it "My Santa Stud". Sorry to steal your idea Megan.

OK, now that you have fallen off your seats from laughter I will continue.

Dave says he wants to leave this life with anonymity, meaning he doesn't want to be on any blog or facebook page. He has even taped over his web cam on his laptop. Well, he has a lot of years of technology driven life ahead of him so I just don't see that happening. I thought I might as well get him started on the path to Internet stardom with his debut as Santa.

I thought he made a pretty good Santa, his cheeks were not quite rosy enough, and he was missing a cherry nose, an of course no pipe. But other than that he fit the Night Before Christmas Santa quite well. He really could have used some suspenders so his pants didn't fall down. We will have to work on that for next year. I don't think anyone heard the story about the hole in the toe of his boot. It was from burning it when he landed in a hot fireplace. And same thing with the patch on the seat of his pants!

Secretly I think he enjoyed it. He was pretty good with the kids, the "too big for Santa ones", the ones trying to pull off his beard, the one with the bottle, the crying one, and the ones that would not say a word! And he even danced, but no Santa Cat!
Thanks Chris for coming up with the outfit. I think the kids really liked having a visitor from the North Pole. Hopefully this will become a renewed tradition at the family party.

Anyway, I guess when you get to be our age and are as out of shape as we are being married to a Santa Stud is a pretty good thing! I wouldn't trade him for anything!

Twilight

Here is a very late movie review. On Wednesday before Thanksgiving Becca, Millie, and I went to Twilight. Yes, I have read all the books. My verdict . . . I really liked it. I went with very low expectations, I had heard a lot of negative about the movie. Maybe that is why it surpassed my expectations.
What I didn't like- Bella's prom dress and especially the lack of heels; Alice's lack of shopping or primping Bella scenes; Bella not being shown as the klutz she is; and no shinning, whiter than white, straight, perfect teeth on Edward.
What I liked- Dr. Cullen (I may be an old lady but he was hot!); Jasper; the casting for Alice and Rosalie; the baseball scene; Forks High School; and the Cullen's cars.
I know there was some other stuff but I waited too long to write this. The funniest part of the movie was the 4 teenage girls in front of us that were giggling and ahhhhing during every Edward/Bella scene.

The Great Dalmuti

One of our favorite things to do when we have a lot of people is play The Great Dalmuti. We played it at a friend's house about 10 years ago with playing cards. They said you could buy the cards and I searched for a long time for them. I finally found them in a game store in Salt Lake. (They are quite easy to find these days) The idea of the game is to be the Great Dalmuti. When you are the Great Dalmuti you get the privileges of being the best player- the Peon has to give you their 2 best cards, you are the first to play, the Peon has to deal the cards and clear the piles after each round. The best part though is the props. You can use a variety of props but the idea is that the Great Dalmuti has the best prop and the Peon has the worst prop. We have used chairs- the Great Dalmuti gets the recliner, the Peon sits on the floor. We used to use Mardi gras beads. Then we went to hats, just random hats around the house. But now I have my grandmother's old hats so we use them mixed in with some other funny hats we have. The funniest part of the hats is when the guys wear a ladies hat from the 40's or a pioneer bonnet! Enough said. . . The sillier you look the better

Even Grandma Great got in on the game
Ellie doesn't get the game but loves to wear a weird hat
This hat is so Becca!

Mindy and April moving up to be the Great Dalmuti

Last the best of all the game. . . Steven and Will

What good sports they are!

Thanksgiving

My family has been on my case to get the Thanksgiving picture up so here I am again, trying to catch up. I have about 5 or 6 posts to do so keep checking back!
We had a really fun Thanksgiving! Millie came home the Friday before Thanksgiving,Mindy and the kids came on Monday, Becca and Steven came on Tuesday, Garry came Wednesday, and April is just always close. It was so nice to have the family together but we really missed Caleb and Noni. Everyone pitched in to make a great dinner. I couldn't have done it without Mindy's talent with the turkey. We played games. Dave and Camille babysat the kids so the rest of us could go to the Temple on Friday, then we all met at one of our favorite places for lunch, Craigo's. Anyone who has gone to BYU-I/Ricks is probably familiar with Craigo's, now there is one in Idaho Falls. We made our traditional Christmas chocolate advents. We all had plenty of turns holding Stockton and Logan. And I prepared to give a talk on Sunday (ok that was kind of a downer). It was sad to send everyone on their way home. I started the last batch of "crowd" dishes on Sunday night right as we were leaving for a viewing. When Dave walked back into the kitchen there was water everywhere. Our poor dishwasher, that we have been babying for years, finally gave in to its ailments and sprung a permanent leak. At least it lasted through the holiday! I guess those coming home for Christmas will get the privilege of washing dishes by hand.

Dave, Ellie and Garry

Take a look at that spread!

Garry and MindyApril and CamilleRebecca and Steven

One of our Thanksgiving traditions. . .Martinelli's

Logan and Stockton joined us off to the side

Griffiths Family Christmas Party

The Griffiths family Christmas party is always a highlight of the year. This year was no exception. We had it at Floyd and Alison's home in Cove. There was yummy food, the traditional "program", a fun white elephant gift exchange, and a visit from the man from up North, yes, Santa Clause (aka Uncle Dave- if his figure doesn't fit the mold he is the farthest North in attendance). We are starting on the next generation (the great grandchildren) for the program and it is a little rocky, a lot of them are still kind of young to get the idea of performing. But we had a great showing- Floyd and Coleman did a great guitar/singing number, Katey played the piano, Caleb and Noni sang, and Candace and Jared read us a story. I think I missed the rest as I was helping Santa. If I counted right there were 43 there- Grandma & Grandpa, the 4 siblings and their spouses, 19 grandchildren (including spouses), and 14 great grandchildren. I think the sad part is that so many of the grandkids live out of the area and are not able to come. We miss you all!
Thank you to all who brought food or helped in anyway. Especially thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for being the reason we all get together and for the cards and treat bags (I believe with the help of Christine). Hope to see you all again next year and maybe even more of you!
I panicked that I missed one of the kids sitting on Santa's lap, I counted 14 greats there and only had 13 pictures, then I realized Jackson was over 12. We really should have had him and Jed sitting on Santa's lap too! I also missed a picture of Candace with Santa getting the bag for her "angel". Sorry!

Ander Branch- Andrew and Denae

Stockton Carlson- Mindy and Garry
Ellie Carlson- Mindy and GarryTanner Branch- Nathan and AngieLogan Carlson (the only one to try to pull off Santa's beard)Annie Griffiths- Floyd and KatieLeanor Tingey- AprilCaleb Tingey- AprilCassie Branch (the one with the attitude)- Nathan and AngieKatey Hinck- Julie and Klay
Coleman Griffiths- Floyd and KatieJake Alles- Mandy and T.J. Ryan Hinck- Julie and Klay

Girl's Day Out

We love to have "girl's days out". I decided it was time to start having them with the grand-daughters. I thought their birthday would be a good time. April, Millie, and I took Noni to Wingers for her first official girl's day out lunch (Dave took Caleb to Chuck-a-Rama . . . Caleb heaven). I told her she had to use her best manners and explained some of them. She did so good. She sat and colored her coloring menu, ate nicely, did not climb under the table (except once to get her earring), and didn't whine at all! The best part was when the waitress brought her a free kid's root beer float for being the birthday girl and shy little Noni looked up at the waitress and said "thank you". You must understand that Noni doesn't talk to anyone she doesn't have too. Besides being a good experience for Noni, we all had a great meal, Wingers is my favorite!

For kids the popcorn is the best part of Wingers!Noni is an excellent colorer

Fettucini Alfredo, Noni's favorite

MMMMM, sticky fingers and some chipolte chicken wrap

Boys will be Boys

I have been trying to find jobs Caleb can do for pay. Dave and I would like to help him learn the principles of hard work, saving money, and paying tithing. We had a bunch of bad apples that had fallen off the tree and needed to be picked up. I guess I didn't realize how many there were when I offered him a penny an apple or a dollar a bag (thinking there would be about 100 apples per bag). Well he conned Millie into helping him and they came up with 6 full bags of apples. I paid him his $6 and he put his tithing in an envelope for the Bishop. He was sure proud of himself as he handed the tithing to Bishop Smith and told him how he earned it. (He absolutely loves Bishop Smith and loves to take our tithing up to him on Sundays).

Millie kicked the apples to make them in piles so they were easier to pick up

Caleb showing how strong he was to gather all those apples

What boy can spend over an hour picking up apples and not climb the tree?

Thus, Boys will be Boys!

Leanora is 5

I am finally trying to catch up my blogging. It has been very busy and everything seemed to happen at once. On Friday, November 21 Leanora turned 5. One of her wishes was for Ellie to come to her party. We had it worked out until the Carlson's had a family emergency and she couldn't make it. But we had a fun evening anyway and she got to play with Ellie the next Monday.

Caleb's favorite part of any birthday "heavy, heavy, hangover"

Noni and her Cinderella Polly Pockets

Any girl's dream, Cinderella dress-ups

She got to pick her own cake, is that fair?

Blowing out the candles!

I cant seem to get the words right under pictures, anybody want to help me out?

Fall in Idaho

Sometimes I wonder why I live in this state of Idaho. It gets very cold in the winter and it can be very windy any time of year. In fact it can get cold any month of the year. The weather is not my idea of an Eden. But all it takes is a look out my back window and I remember how gorgeous it is. Here are examples of a Fall evening and sunset. See why I love it here?

Logan the Elf

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Something New for Dinner

I have been trying to get a family cookbook together for quite some time. In fact, I think it was Becca that started it for a Laurel project, what, 8 years ago? Usually when I try something new I type it up in my "family recipe file" that she started and there it sits. So I thought the best way to get it to them would be to post it here, then all of you that read my blog can try it out too. I have to admit that this started out as a Pampered Chef recipe but I have changed enough ingredients that I think it is no longer theirs, just the idea is, so I renamed it too. Next time I make it I think I will try to take a picture of it so you can see how I folded it. I hope the directions make sense. Anyway we thought it was pretty good and it was super easy, so here it is.

Easy Chicken Baked Burrito
1 Large Tomato thinly sliced
3 C. chopped cooked Chicken
1 Can diced Green Chilies
½ C. chopped onion
½ lime (juice only)
3/4 C. thick and chunky Salsa
1 T. Taco seasoning
1 clove Garlic (minced)
1 ½ C. Shredded Mexican cheese blend
4 burrito size Tortillas
1 Can refried beans
Preheat oven to 425. Mix together chicken, green chilies, onion, lime juice, salsa, taco seasoning, garlic and 3/4 C. of the cheese, set aside. Arrange tortillas in an overlapping circular pattern on a round stone (pizza pan would be ok). Tortillas will extend off edge of pan. Spread beans in a square shape in the middle of the tortillas (about 10"X10"). Spoon chicken mixture evenly over beans. Sprinkle with more cheese if desired. Fold all 4 edges of tortillas up over filling like an envelope pattern. Arrange tomato slices in rows on top of burrito, sprinkle with cheese covering entire surface. Bake 18-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are browned. Cut with pizza cutter or large knife. Top each serving with shredded lettuce, sliced olives, green onions, guacamole, sour cream as desired.
6 hearty servings

Farewell to a Good Friend

Some things are harder to part with than others. Monday we parted with a "thing" that had become a friend. Ever since our van went to the graveyard, after serving us faithfully for many years, we have had a hard time keeping vehicles. I cant even count how many we have been through- T.C. (Texas Chili) that was smashed while sitting in Arby's parking lot, Mindy's "robin blue" whatever that was extremely crashed up, the cute green ford escort that died after a 6 day dash to Illinois during record heat, the hyundai that we sold to April and was hit on 17th, my dear Intrigue that Becca did a number on at Fred Meyer, Dave's enduring little red ford ranger that was left smashed against a cliff on the Ashton hill, and my birthday present Impala that we just swapped with Becca's Saturn in August. That's just the ones I remember most. So in February Dave broke down and bought a nice truck. I only got to ride in it once or twice before I went to Albuquerque and when I got home it was probably July before I even drove it. But I fell in love with it. I should know by now that you never fall in love with inanimate objects. In an effort to reduce our debt and the fact that we needed to replace Becca's Saturn (it isn't doing well) Dave put it up for sell. He knew that trucks of that size are not selling well, but guess what? He got a call on it within a day or two of advertising it on the INL trading post. The people loved it, it was just what they were looking for and they showed up Saturday with a cashiers check to buy it. Dave talked them into waiting till Monday and we met the lady at the bank and turned it over to her. They are a nice young family and I hope they enjoy it and take good care of it.
So here is my goodbye to my good friend "the truck"...thanks for safely taking Dave to Albuquerque to bring Ellie and I to Utah for my dad's funeral, thanks for getting us to California and back to help Becca move, and thanks for the countless trips to Utah, and not enough trips to Island Park. Becca and Millie loved driving "the truck", that is why it was so long before I drove it. Millie had it at school for a couple of weeks and it was a great guy magnet. I felt safe in "the truck" and even felt like I could drive at night because I was high enough to be above the glare of most other headlights.
You served us well, "truck" and we will miss you!

Thank You Voice Male!

I just wanted to publicly thank Voice Male for the free CD they sent me and let all my followers know that they are a great acappella singing group. I won their new "Kid Stuff" CD. It is full of fun songs like "Popcorn Popping" (or copporn as Ellie would say) and "Circle of Life". They also have CDs with Hymns and a great Christmas CD. Check them out at this link (Hope that works, this is the first time I have tried a link)
Anyway, Thanks Voice Male!

More Halloween Fun

So, when we went to the Pumpkin Patch and had the Halloween Party we didnt have time or energy to carve the pumpkins. So April, Caleb, Noni, Millie, and I carved pumpkins yesterday. They turned out so great that we had to share. We were amazed at how well Caleb and Noni did carving theirs with only a little help. The key...good pumpkin carving tools and patterns (most of ours came from a website called something like the "pumpkin lady". There is a better website that we used last year but it wasnt working for some reason yesterday. Anyway. . . drum roll please . . .






Camille's is certainly the most intricate one, it probably took her about 2 1/2 hours including cleaning out time, but she enjoyed it, she decided it is her talent! If you are having a hard time seeing what it is, it is three wolves baying in the trees. Wow! I'm impressed!