Our trip to Kentucky

Back in April Natalie and I took a super awesome trip to Kentucky to visit our BFFs, the Cliftons. They moved to Kentucky last June and had a new baby in the meantime. It was Natalie’s first time flying and she was fascinated and thrilled by it all. It was a long flight but we made it. The scenery was beautiful, the horses were interesting, but the best part was hanging out with our dear friends.

We took a field trip to a horse farm, where they keep race horses and breed them. This is the trophy room where they can show off what races were won by prestigious horses housed there.

These horses were seriously beautiful. The whole place was pristine and meticulously cared for. I would feel totally comfortable eating my dinner off the stable floor. Look at this beautiful shiny stallion. The tour guide took us around to each pasture and we peered over the fences at the grazing horses while she told us briefly of their racing history, their family members who had won races, and their stud fee. The fees ranged from $50k to $150K. It was truly amazing to take a peek into this world that is so different from mine (horse breeding and racing, that is).

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Here are the little beauties in front of a fountain. Can you see what I mean about the breathtaking beauty all around us?

There was a famous horse buried here. Don’t ask me who it was, heh heh.

Here is the one picture of me, proof that I was there. The moister air made my hair extra poofy.

This tower was like, 100 years old.

Aren’t they purty? Natalie’s tall, huh?

It was green rolling pastures and brown and white fences in every direction. I was plastered to the window the entire time. This one time we were driving past some horses grazing and there was one galloping along, its shiny brown coat glistening in the sun, its mane and tail flowing behind it, its lean muscles rippling under its skin. It was a slow motion moment and one I’ll never forget.

Meanwhile, we spent a lot of time leisurely hanging out at Emily’s house, the kids playing to their hearts content and Emily and I enjoying the ultimate chat session. The kids did a lot of digging for worms and centipedes. The weather was a bit chilly and really nippy at night! We were glad we brought our sweaters.

Natalie and Heidi both knew some cute little songs on the piano and did a little performance for us, complete with matching long-john PJs.

We went to the Keeneland racetrack on the last day of the races to see some, well…races. It was a super fun experience and highly interesting. It was at this old, beautiful location with all sorts of amazingly dressed and very attractive people. There were betting stations EVERYWHERE and people milling about studying the race booklets trying to make decisions on which horses to bet on. Also lots of beer and cigarettes were to be seen in every direction. Strangely, people were just smoking throughout the crowd during the races. There was no avoiding the smoke or smell of beer. So different than Gilbert! lol

Jockey statues

So outside of the arena/building/racing area, there were these tranquil grassy areas where the horses were paraded around for all to behold. It was really cool to see these highly athletic and specially trained horses up close.

 

The jockeys were indeed very small men and an occasional woman.

We bought popcorn to occupy the troops between races.

This lil’ fella did great, considering he was only 2 months old, missed a nap or two, and was overwhelmed by crowds and noise. Just wook at his widdle double chin!

We rode a shuttle bus back to our car, which was super exciting for the kiddos.

Natalie was being rebellious for these shots.

The Saturday we were there happened to be Arbor day, so we went to the children’s garden at UK (Univ of KY) and got in for free. It was this really neat area with play structures, a creek, and beautiful plants. There were two little pioneer buildings; a house and a school. Heidi and Natalie pretended they were pioneer kids for a while.

Out fetching the water.

Churning the butter.

“fishing” in the creek.

Cute baby.

Leaf rubbing in the schoolhouse.

Creek jumping. It was such a beautiful day and we just let them play for a long time.

This was a spiffy painted horse statue.

It was such an amazing trip, with oodles of fun had by all. Hoping we can go back a time or two in the next few years!! If only we could fly for free….

Thank you, Cliftons, for an awesome time and all the fun memories!

Family Pictures

We got family pics done last month. A photographer friend asked me if I would do a trade and I jumped at the chance. Most of them turned out pretty cute in my opinion. Here are the ones we got prints of for the walls:

 

 

 

The sweet little singers

More Christmas

This year our extended Kleven Family Party was a breakfast/pajama party, so I let the girls open their Christmas pajamas early for that night. We’ve never done the pajama thing before, but I thought I’d start it this year when I found some killer deals on pj’s on Black Friday. The girls were so cute and felt so funny going to the party in their pajamas.  We had dinner/breakfast and then there was a small program with some talents and songs, then a nativity presentation with some songs mingled in. Natalie and Brooklyn sang “When Joseph Went to Bethlehem” at the appropriate spot and did so well! I was impressed, especially because Brooklyn learned all the words that very day leading up to it.

 

Our tradition of singing “C is for the Christ-child,” a lesser known Christmas song, is one of my favorites. The kids hold up their letter when we sing about it, and there are plenty of stars for lots of other kids to hold as well. Natalie and Brooklyn got letters this year!

Hannah entertained herself for quite a while sliding around on the smooth floor.

Natalie’s class had a reindeer party and I went to volunteer for it. The kids rotated around to different stations doing different crafts or activities that had to do with reindeer. They were so cute! Some things I learned about kindergarten teachers: They must have a lot of energy and a sense of humor. Wow. It was fun to see Natalie interacting with the other kids. SOmetimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall and watch my kid all day but since I can’t, this is the next best thing.

The temple lights were beautiful as usual. We were chilly but it wasn’t too bad. I picked up some hand warmers at Target a few days earlier and they were most helpful.

One of Emily’s favorite things it to walk along a curb and here Hannah is helping her along.

 

The models. Hannah was swinging her hair around.

Here is the annual Hatch Family Christmas party. It happened to be on the same night as our stake Christmas concert that I was playing my flute for, so I couldn’t make it. But Mark and the girls went and had a great time! The talents were wonderful, food delicious, and company just splendid. I was able to pop in for the last few minutes and got to say hi/bye to many.

Some cute little reindeer.  Uncle Randy has a tradition of leading the kids in “Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer'” and this year they all wore antlers. They are all getting so big!

Christmas

The thought of blogging about Christmas is slightly overwhelming, so will just do it a little at a time. There’s no rule that says I have to make one giant post!

 

 

We made Christmas sugar cookies! Yes, they are vegan. I made them with the regular sugar cookie recipe only I replaced the milk with almond milk, the butter with Earth Balance (vegan butter), and the egg with egg replacer powder (from Sprouts).  They turned out sooooo delicious! They were soft and pillowy just like the nonvegan version, and the frosting was perfect as well (regular recipe but with almond milk and EB). We have not done sugar cookies in the entire year we’ve been plant-based (mostly because I avoid added oils or fats) but we threw health into the wind for this particular afternoon and it was quite enjoyable. The kids had a great time sprinkling and we were able to share a plate with some of our non-dairy friends.

Here we are at the ward Christmas dinner. Aren’t my little sweeties (and one big sweetie) so adorbs?

Natalie sang in a little children’s choir for our stake music concert, and they performed at a rest home one afternoon prior to practice performing. Natalie sang great and it helped us realize where we needed to practice our words!

Mark’s mom gave us tickets to A Christmas Carol at the Hale Center Theater as an early Christmas gift. It was so amazing! We loved every minute and it was fun to see some quality live entertainment as well as spend time with each other (and Mom!) without kids around.

Like my green trench? I got it on clearance last spring and this was my first time wearing it.

Graham cracker “gingerbread” houses with Grandma Simonson. We used Rice-Mellow cream (like marshmallow cream but vegan) but it was too runny and gooey so we added a bunch of powdered sugar and that stiffened things right up. Even so, some bits and pieces were sliding off at the end of the night. Luckily the kids didn’t care as long as they were stuffing their faces with candy.

Hannah’s house got the worst of the destruction.

 

Emily didn’t care one lick about making a house. She just wanted smarties! “mo! mo tanny!” (more candy)

Thanksgiving

Since I totally missed blogging last year’s holidays, I want to make sure I get this year’s, even though it means playing catch up. So here’s the recap of our Thanksgiving this year!

We ate at the Albrecht’s house (Mark’s aunt and uncle) and here is the shot of the kids table. We couldn’t believe Spiderman could actually make it. We all got autographs.

Below is Mark’s grandparents with their 5 children, all growed up and some of them grandparents as well. Mark’s mom is second from the left.

 

Natalie and I goofed around.

 

She got into the modeling mood and gave me this lovely little shot with her crimped hair.

This is Natalie and one of the favorite older girl cousins, Megan. I think Natalie wants to be Megan when she grows up!

We posed uncomfortably on some rocks. Mark needs a tan.

 

After dinner we headed over to a park so we could carry out the annual Thanksgiving Day field hockey game. I’ve never seen it or have been a part of it because they usually play on T-day morning and I am usually cooking!

The Game.

The moms, grandmas, and kids hung out at the playground.

Hannah figured out how to button her own shirt so she proudly did it over and over. Way to develop those fine motor skills!

Such a fun time hanging out with the family. I love the after dinner part where everyone lays around with no agenda. We play games, chat, laugh, and enjoy the weather (usually). This year I made vegan mashed potatoes, vegan gravy, vegan banana cream pie, and vegan pumpkin pie. Oh, and sweet potato/apples. They were all very yummy if I do say so myself, except the sweet potato dish was too runny. Next year I’ll do something to thicken it up. Or maybe I’ll just be a rebel and make it sooner. I didn’t particularly care for the banana cream pie. It didn’t set right and was more like runny pudding than an actual slice. The topping was called “mimic Crème” and it’s a whipped topping made out of almonds and cashews. It was ok tasting, but the texture was too heavy to be whipping cream. I will use sweetened whipped coconut milk next time I make it. Incidentally, the omnivores really enjoyed that pie. I LOVED the pumpkin pie. It was amazing, and only 4 ingredients!! Will definitely be making that one again.

Hannah is four!

Our little sweetie Hannah Beverly turned 4 a couple of weeks ago on November 30th.  It was an off year for her so we didn’t have a friend birthday party, but we were able to do a fun combined family party with my niece, Allie, who turned one on the 24th. Hannah was so cute blowing out the candles. I love seeing how special a kid feels on their birthday. Really when they’re this young it doesn’t take much, but we enjoy every single tiny festivity.

 

 

Blowing like a champ.

 

The two birthday girls. It’d be fun to take one every year huh? This was the end of the night and poor little miss Allie was so tired but she obliged and we got this one non-blurry shot!

 

I made these scrum-diddly-umptious cupcakes that are totally vegan. They aren’t healthy, but all plant based.  They are made like hostess cupcakes with the blob of delicious creamy frosting inside. Now I have found a cupcake recipe that yields normal looking cupcakes that taste “real.”  Hooray!

I also took the girls out to lunch at Liberty Market, where the birthday person gets $10 towards their meal. I got a yummy sandwich and the kids shared a plate of spaghetti with extra bread. They gobbled it up and all wanted more. Guess I will have to buy two plates next time!

 

We also went to Party City and bought a bunch of balloons to put around our house to make it seem festive. Hannah loved choosing all the colors and chose mostly typical girl colors but surprised me by also choosing brown. Hannah felt so special wearing her “birthday girl” t-shirt and told everyone we saw that day that it was her birthday.

 

Hannah’s stats at age 4:

Weight: 33.2 lbs (25%)

Height: 40 3/4in (75%)

She got 4 shots the other day and did NOT like them. I mean, what kid does, but man. I have not heard her scream like that in a LONG time! She is still wearing her band-aids three days later.

Some things I want to remember about Hannah at this stage:

• She almost always ends up in our bed each night.
• She is sensitive to dairy and gluten
• She can write her name, but with the letters in random order
• She can skip, hop on one foot, and do a somersault
• She loves the park, especially swinging
• She is pretty confident trying new things, but acts shy and bashful as she goes about it
• She loves to hear the same books over and over as well as the same songs in the car over and over
• Hannah loves to cuddle and still likes to be carried around once in while. She is only just starting to get too long for that.
• Hannah loves any type of sweet or candy. She will not even hesitate to pop something in her mouth if it looks brightly colored and candy-like
• She is a little sneaky sometimes. I’ll catch her hiding in the living room eating chocolate chips sometimes, among other things.
• She likes to toe the line. Where Natalie is my rule follower, Hannah is my rule tester.

 

We love our little sweetie. She adds much laughter to our day and I love her more and more with each one that passes.