Siblings

I can't believe I have two kids. I think having photos of a young sibling holding the baby and the baby looking either asleep or unhappy is part of childhood. Also it is time for everyone to post Christmas lists- where we all get to pretend we will get the things that we want- hooray!

Updates

Well, nobody else seems to have posted in a while so I thought I'd give it a shot. Some quick updates since the last post:

Paul is getting a divorce, July 4th (no comments on this one just yet)
Jeremy had his birthday, July 25th
Rachelle had her birthday, August 15th
Paul had his birthday and went to a Depeche Mode concert, August 25th
Several cousins had birthdays, I can't remember them all, but I know they happened.


Janae is pretty friggin close to having her baby, it's time to open up the bidding, or guessing pool. For those who don't understand, post when you think the baby will be born.
Guesses:

Sept 22nd - Paul Sharp

That's pretty much it y'all, party on!

Celebrating Steve

It was great to have Claire and Steve in town to celebrate Steve's birthday. They came in town to attend a wedding, but they were able to stop and visit for a little. He pointed out that it wasn't technically his birthday the day we celebrated, but who cares! It was fun to see Claire and Steve and worth throwing a party.

A view of the spread.

I made Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, and brownies. Mom and Melissa provided fruit, cheese and crackers, and ice cream.











Melissa and Paul presented a present for Claire and Steve.

Easter

Jeremy drove Paul, Melissa, and me, up to Salt Lake for Easter at Mom’s house. Mom called Saturday and asked us to bring up a table, because she didn’t have enough room for all of us. To prepare for dinner, Jeremy and Paul cleared off Paul and Melissa’s table which was in the back house and put it in the 4 Runner while Melissa and I made Aunt Natalia’s Chicken recipe.

Aunt Natalia’s Chicken

Ingredients
2-3 Onions diced
16 Costco Chicken Breast Tenders
3-4 carrots or 6 really skinny carrots grated (I like to pretend I hand grated them by putting them in the food processor after I peel them)
Butter
Seasoning salt
1-2 cups Sour Cream (also from Costco, one container makes 2-3 recipes)

1. Brown diced onion in the butter with seasoning salt
2. Add frozen chicken breast tenders, more seasoning salt, and more butter if needed.
3. When the chicken starts to cook and becomes softer use the spatula to cut the chicken into bit sized pieces, or put a cutting board by the pan, take out the chicken, dice and return to pan to cook.
4. Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly, add the carrots.
5. Add more seasoning salt.
6. Let cook a few minutes depending on how soft you would like the carrots
7. Add enough sour cream to coat the chicken and make a little sauce
8. Let simmer until the sour cream has thickened about 20-30 minutes
9. Serve

Potatoes make a good accompanying side. Preferably potato pancakes but baked potatoes also work. Sometimes we just eat the chicken with bread or toast.

After dinner Paul Melissa Jeremy and I watched Clone Wars together. The perfect Easter Eve event.

Melissa read Twilight out loud to us in the car on the way up to Salt Lake.

When we got to Mom’s house we started dinner preparations. Jeremy did the meat which was a lot, there was ham and lamb. So yummy. He seasoned the lamb with lemon, garlic, seasoning salt and onion powder and put it in the oven. Jeremy also baked and glazed the ham. Melissa and I worked on cutting the fruit together for fruit salad. I washed lettuce. Mom was directing us and helping everywhere. We were all good worker drones. Turns out I don’t know how to make asparagus and mushrooms without a lot of supervision. Mom did the potato puree au gratin with melted cheese on top. Paul and Melissa set the table with Mom’s fancy plates and table clothes. They put the bunny shaped bread in a basket on the table.
We went to Mom’s ward for Sacrament, and got to see A.J. and Gina there. It was nice to see them.

We were all busy preparing things when Grandma Berg, Grandpa Berg, Uncle Evan and Aunt Natalia came. Natalia and Evan liked standing in the kitchen where they could smell the lamb more strongly. Grandma Berg made gravy for the lamb. When we were all seated at the table Mom picked Evan to pray and we began our feast. The food and company was excellent. We ate until we were stuffed. The food was put away and we all visited until it was time to go home. Evan and Natalia took Grandpa Berg with them as they left. Our Provo Group left a little later. Grandma stayed later with Mom.

My mom is going to have my brother in law shoot me

Jeremy and I were up in Salt Lake for an appointment and were planning to meet Mom at her house after. Jeremy and I arrived and let ourselves in. I started reading Mom’s Financial Peace book by Dave Ramsey, outside on the porch. Jeremy was in Mom’s office waiting for the computer to warm up so he could send an email.

When Mom pulled up my brother in law A.J. came up to see who it was. He thought he heard someone come home already. Meanwhile, I saw that Mom had pulled up and was yelling a greeting from the back porch and Jeremy stood at the front door. Mom said something like “get those people out of my house!”

Great.

Tell my brother in law, who is a security guard, and usually carries a gun, to get us out of the house. I see this as a recipe for disaster. Another option would be to not invite us over. I would venture to say that would be a much easier solution, than being driven from the house at gunpoint. Then we wouldn’t be there in the first place for A.J. to try and chase out.

It is nice to know that A.J. is looking out for Mom. Now all I have to do is convince him that Jeremy and I coming over isn’t a threat and we should be good. Maybe I’ll start calling A.J. when we come up to avoid any confusion or accidents.

Costco

Melissa and I went to Costco together and it blew my mind. Melissa is a task oriented shopper. She is focused on those things she needs, gets them and leaves as quickly as possible. On our way there we discussed those things we needed:

Eggs
Granola bar snack for her work
Carrots
Yeast
Frozen Chicken
Sour Cream
Frozen corn
Frozen Broccoli

We got in the store, she pushed the cart and together we zoomed from aisle to aisle picking up only those things we needed. We probably spent about 10 minutes in the store including check out time.
When we got home 20- 30 minutes after we left our house I was in shock. I felt disoriented, unable to reconcile a Costco trip taking so little time with reality. Did we really go? Didn’t we just leave our house to go to Costco? Did I just imagine going to Costco? There is no way we should have been able to get all those things and still be back in so short a time. No way. I have tried to do Costco fast before, but this should have been impossible. But with Melissa it was possible. We did it. I attribute all of the success to Melissa. And we had the carrots, chicken, and sour cream in Aunt Natalia’s Chicken that night.

Vacuuming at 1:56 am is a perfectly normal thing to do

Vacuuming at 1:56 am is a perfectly normal thing to do

Melissa thought it was the funniest thing on Saturday night, well about 1:56 am Sunday morning, when I decided everyone was awake- I should vacuum. It was a long time coming. I had been working toward the goal of vacuuming all day. It seemed only natural to me to accomplish the goal. That is one thing off the to do list.

I woke up at 7:16 am Saturday, very motivated to do dishes, clean the bathrooms and vacuum. Slight problem. Everyone else seemed to think the weekend was a time to sleep in. So instead of doing the cleaning which was bound to wake someone up, I checked my email, read the handbook on the family (which mentioned cleaning), ate breakfast, worked on organizing photos, then decided I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to wake someone up. I decided the humans should still sleep, I would wake the dog. Madison I don’t feel guilty about waking up. Madison and I decided to go on a walk. We walked toward Kirk and Rachel’s house, but turned back when we found out Rachel was at the gym with her sister Sara for her Zumba class. (We could see her house at that point.) When we got back from our walk, I started measuring the ingredients for pancakes with Madison in her beggar spot. Finally there was nothing left to do; I had to wake the humans. It was about 11:30 when I let Madison charge into the bedroom to wake up Jeremy. Jeremy seemed alright with it when he realized pancakes were involved. Paul and Melissa liked the pancake idea too. We all ate breakfast together. Jeremy made fried eggs to accompany the meal.

When I told them that I wanted to vacuum but hadn’t because they were sleeping they confirmed that letting them sleep was the right thing to do. Melissa told me that if I had vacuumed that early in the morning she would have hated me.

So naturally when I found out everyone was awake I decided to stop ironing (Which I was doing as Jeremy practiced Mavis Beacon typing, and then as Melissa, Jeremy, and I were visiting) and start vacuuming. I was really glad I did. I filled up the entire tank with dirt and hair. I only vacuumed downstairs. I think I need to vacuum more. Melissa sent me a text at 1:56 “you are the funniest person ever”. I think she was surprised when I decided to finish what I had been trying to do all day. I couldn’t see why, but I’m glad the thinks I’m funny.

I'm baking with yeast now!

I feel that I have finally arrived. I'm baking with yeast now! I successfully made my first loaf of bread all by myself a few weeks ago, with ground wheat from storage. It was like a coming of age for me.

Sister Smith is a great neighbor, she has a wheat grinder and helped me grind some wheat. I made two batches of bread the first week, and was running out of wheat flour when I went up to Salt Lake to visit Mom and do the Utah food Co-op. Mom also has a wheat grinder, which was great. She helped me grind wheat while I was up there. I feel glad that I have two possible sources to grind the wheat I have in storage at my house.

Also I asked Mom, and I guess this recipe has been shared at relief society, and with lots of people so the recipe is okay to share.

Nu Skin & East Bay

Dear Family,

I quit FedEx Offiice (hell) and got a job at NuSkin (heaven) I love my job. I am also working pt at East Bay Studios (films commercials/shows etc) I also love it there. I get to dress professionally and work with real adults at a respectable company who truly appreciates their employees. I smile now. The End.

Disney

Here is Danielle being really shy for a family picture. I got to use John's sunglasses for a lot of the Disney trip. Danielle was showing her belly. She is getting really good at identifying her body parts. Except every time she shows her belly she has to show her naked belly.

We are in the Germany part of Epcot in this picture. Danielle really liked the belly Dancer at Epcot, because she got to dance with them. Also popular, the it's a small world ride. I didn't realize it was just rooms and rooms full of little dolls singing it's a small world. In multiple languages, I think. She got super excited when we went down the hill at the Norway ride. We have a roller coaster baby in our family. She kept saying wow. her favorite word lately is ball- so she talked a lot about the ball at epcot- who knew that the epcot ball was every child's dream plaything.

Next time someone else will have to come with us.

Thanksgiving, Claire's Birthday and Grandpa Berg's Birthday and Legacy and Our Christmas Decorations!

Thanksgiving at the Winegars

Well we spent Thanksgiving at Carol and Jeremy's house in Provo. Before dinner we went to go see the movie Four Christmases, it was hilarious. We then went to Carol and Jeremy's to help prepare for the dinner. Carol made a fantastic feast and we all had a splendid time.

Claire's Birthday

Last Saturday we celebrated Claire's birthday at Carol and Jeremy's house. We had a breakfast feast filled with pancakes, cinnamon rolls and fruit. Many family and friends were there.


Claire's favorite wrapping job was of course mine because it had Obama stickers on the box. Hehe.

Claire also gave me an awesome gift from her wedding, her official bridesmaid theme blouse and sweater, and some sweet frequent shopper cards!




Grandpa Berg's Birthday and Legacy



The same Saturday we celebrated Grandpa Berg's 75th Birthday at Linda's house and watched a slide show of his life and accomplishments. He opened many cards and was presented with a book written by Grandma Berg of her early life and when they both met. Grandpa Berg loved it and read out loud from it.

Christmas Decorations

Paul and I just finished with our Christmas decorations and are happy with the festive look and happy with Star Trek and Star Wars ornaments on our tree!

I Was Tagged and Now You Are Too!

What is your husbands name? Paul

How long have you been married? Almost 4 Months

How long did you date? I dunno, we were engaged for 8 months. But we met 2 years before.

How old is he? 19 Woohoo!

Who eats more sweets? Paul does.

Who said I love you first? Paul.

Who is taller? Paul.

Who can sing the best? I don't know. I love signing in Rockband though.

Who is smarter? Paul in the more tech and financial side. I'm smarter with graphic design and common sense.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who pays the bills? Paul does thankfully because I forget.

Who mows the lawn? Some guy.

Who cooks dinner? I do.

Who drives? I do. Except when I am too tired and sleep to drive.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I think Paul. But I think he does it just to earn points and make my arrogant self happy.

Who kissed who first? I did.

Who asked who out first? Paul did. (Bowling and also Claire's Wedding)

Who wears the pants? I wear pants. Paul wears shorts, even in the snow.

The rules for this tag: answer questions about your spouse, list names of people you are tagging in your post, then leave a comment on their blog letting them know they've been tagged. I'm tagging Claire and Carol.

I was tagged. So are you.

What is your husbands name? John

How long have you been married? Almost 4 years

How long did you date? About a 5 months.

How old is he? 25

Who eats more sweets? Me. John will eat sweets when they are there but doesn't have the same drive I do.

Who said I love you first? I think John

Who is taller? John

Who can sing the best? Maybe John. At least he is more famous for it.

Who is smarter? Me. are you reading this John?

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who mows the lawn? the Neighborhood association

Who cooks dinner? John does a lot of cooking- it is pretty even.

Who drives? When we are together I try to get John to drive.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Neither of us are ever wrong. Nor do we ever disagree.

Who kissed who first? John kissed me.

Who asked who out first? Probably John here too.

Who wears the pants? both of us love pants. I am more uptight and picky though.

The rules for this tag: answer questions about your spouse, list names of people you are tagging in your post, then leave a comment on their blog letting them know they've been tagged. I'm tagging Claire, Carol, Carlie and Melissa

More Christmas items

I forgot something important:
Gift card to Nordstrom

And, of course, I'm registered on Sephora.

And here's something I want:
The Mark London Flip-for-It palette

And this headband from Mark

Enjoy!

My Christmas List, by Rachelle

Here is my Christmas List:
1. Barbie ornaments from Hallmark
2. Raspberry Ripple scarf found here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16138223
3. The Office DVD's, seasons 2, 3, and 4
4. Leona Lewis "Spirit" CD
5. Jennifer Hudson debut CD
6. New Kids on the Block "The Block" CD
7. Hanson's latest CD
8. Gift card to Walmart (don't judge, just buy)
9. Gift card to Target
10. Gift cards to Barbiecollector.com
11. Paypal money

I'll add more if I think of more...

I love you all and hope this finds you well.