I can finally share with you...

...all of the Christmas gifts we've been working like mad on this month for the family members we were in charge of.

Stores sell these wooden blocks for $19 per set. We bought the wood for 4 sets at a beautiful $6 price. John cut them out and all 6 of us sanded them like mad one night. Then John and I spent a couple of hours painting them all. Once dry, I got to decorate them, which was my favorite part.

I sewed up this car play mat for the nieces and nephews of the families we did this year. I hunted down this fabric for days and couldn't find it at any of our local fabric stores. John swooped in and saved the day by finding the fabric on ebay. Thanks dear.

I decided to crochet up some washcloths and sew up some hot pads for our parents and grandmas. I will definitely be making more washcloths in the future. I will definitely NOT be sewing this particular hot pad again. They took me hours to do. I'll find an easier version for next time.

I decorated these frames for my mom and grandma. Now I want one.

And last, but most certainly not least...I just have to share with you the cute bears John's mom made for the girls. They love them and they are so cute and cuddly!

Keep reading to my next post about our Christmas Day fun :)

Christmas Fun

Merry Christmas to all of you! We had a lovely day, even with church smack-dab in the middle of our normal day's festivities. We did stockings and strings at 7 a.m. before getting ready for our 9 a.m. church, then came home and unwrapped the presents from under the tree.


The three older girls all got scooters at the end of their string. Alicia captured all of their emotions - can you say, pure bliss?

We have not allowed scooters for the girls because we thought they were slightly dangerous. we still think that, but after one broken back from sledding, a crazy bike crash, and considering the fact that our girls are already riding all of their friends' scooters on a daily basis anyway, it was time to get them their own. They may be the only ones wearing helmets while riding scooters in the neighborhood, but that was our one concession to allowing them to ride the things.

This cute gal got a wiggle car at the end of her string. You see that sucker bottle in her hand? She would not let go of it and sucked on it ALL day (other than church and her nap). I think it was her most favorite present.

The RC cars we got all 4 girls were a hit. They've been racing them almost non-stop for two days now.

We have been really slow this year getting to some of our traditions, including gingerbread houses. We did them on Christmas Eve, then proceeded on to the Layton park lights for our usual Christmas Eve night activity.


Now this week we will be focusing on recuperating, sleeping in, consuming yummy Christmas treats, NOT exercising or dieting, avoiding the after-Christmas shopping, and most of all for John and I...NOT working (that is, I hope I don't get a call from my editor this week...I'm taking a self-imposed vacation).

**slight addendum** John has just reminded me that we are all working on the basement this week. It is coming along nicely with John all done with hanging dry wall in Kimberly's room - this week he will be hanging dry wall in the den area, and it sounds like I get to help mud up Kimberly's room. Should be fun, right?

Happy Holidays to you all! Thanks for reading our blog. I sure enjoy reading all of yours. I am especially thankful for technology that allows us to keep in touch with family and friends nowadays. We thoroughly enjoyed Skyping with most of our family members yesterday - it was a gift in and of itself being able to see and chat with family as if we were sitting in the same room together.

Love, the Rimingtons

Hello, and Good Bye.

I just said goodbye to my mom who is flying back to Seattle this evening, and now I am in mourning. Therapy calls for a blog post of the fun things we got to do with her over the last 5 days. We had such a wonderful time.

We visited downtown Salt Lake where we saw the lights on temple square and rode the train across town to the gingerbread house festival at Gateway.


Mom had fun with the girlies doing different craft projects, cookies, and even...


...helped Alicia with her Christmas song on the piano. I am ashamed to admit I had completely forgotten my mom knew how to play the piano because once Christy and I surpassed her skills, she stopped playing.

So now we go back to telephone visiting until the next get-together, which for now isn't scheduled until July. I love Utah, but sometimes its hard to live so far away from my mom and siblings, who all live in different states. At least we're all west of the Colorado river.

I have got a story for you...

My fellow readers, who I know are my dear friends and family members - I have finished typing up my notes of the interview I had with that German gal who grew up during WWII in Eastern Germany and was able to escape after the war - it is truly an inspiring story.

She has given me permission to share her story, provided I do not include her name. If you would be interested in a copy of her story, I will gladly email it to you. It's not too terribly long - only 3 1/2 typed pages, so you're not out a ton of reading time. I promise it will be a read you will never forget, and will be forever engrained in your mind.

Just leave your email address in the comment section and I will send it to you.

Blown Away

Last Thursday was an eventful windstorm with record winds as high as 100 mph. School was cancelled due to no power, entire trees were downed, wood fences crumpled, shingles scattered everywhere on the ground, trampolines in the wrong backyards, siding melted off sides of houses - and this was just in our neighborhood!

After retrieving my daughters from their 20-minute day of school, shortest day of school on record for them so far, we holed up in the house while the storm raged around us. The forceful winds just pounded into our garage door and was even pushing the front door so hard, I had to dead bolt it to keep it from getting blown open.

I went out to take down the flag and could hardly stand up straight and was fearful of all the debris flying around. Closing the garage door was almost impossible with each wind gust pushing the garage door back up when I returned from picking up the girls.

My neighbor across the street called to tell me her wood fence had fallen down. While chatting with her on the phone and watching the storm rage from my front window, I noticed my other neighbor's shingles were flying off her roof like loose paper! I had my friend I was chatting with on the phone look over to my house, and she said I had several patches ready to fly off as well!

The storm finally settled down about mid-morning, but the aftermath was ridiculous throughout the neighborhood. John was out of town, so this is what he got to come home to...

My loving neighbor came over and got on the roof to assess our damage and covered up some of the really bad sections - thank goodness, because it snowed that night.

John spent a good chunk of Saturday up on the roof putting new shingles on. Just what he wanted to be doing in December with temperatures below freezing.


Our chimney cap even blew off in the storm. Good thing some of our neighbors on the street behind us retrieved it so we could get it put back on.

All-in-all, we fared pretty well, considering the damage that many other neighbors experienced. Thank goodness for insurance, though this time, we didn't sustain enough damage to warrant a new roof (shucks darn, because we need a new one in the next couple of years!).

On Sunday, we were expected to get another really bad wind storm with winds up to 70 mph, so not as bad as the first one, but pretty serious. There was still a lot of debris throughout the neighborhood, and trees still downed. During church, it was announced that the ox was in the mire and a work group was put together right after church to go around and clean up all of the debris so it wouldn't be flying around in the storm.

John and the older two girls set out with the trailer and got to work cleaning up one of our neighbor's trees. John said the lineup to the dump was outrageously long because everyone else was doing the same thing.

The second storm didn't end up arriving, but at least the neighborhood is cleaned up, families are getting their houses assessed by their insurance companies, or like us, doing the work themselves and getting everything back in order. I'm so grateful John is able and willing to get on the roof to fix it for our clan as I am devastatingly afraid of being on the roof.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Newish Roof!

Some Firsts

I experienced a few firsts this past week.

First up, we went down to visit one of our neighbors who has a pet python. Pet and Python really should not be in the same sentence, but it is. Wait. Maybe a pet python would be easier than a Great Dane.

I digress. Back to our firsts. This is the first time I got to see a python squeeze his dinner. Okay, so the mouse was already dead, but apparently it's just engrained in them to squeeze the living daylights out of their meal first.

So here she is squeezing away. Then the main event was underway - watching her gulp down the mouse. Simply fascinating!


Next up, my first time ever doing a french braid in Alicia's hair that actually looked good! Working with all the different strands makes my hands shake just thinking about it, but they're learning to get the hang of it, so for one of Alicia's choral collection performances, I did her hair up nice and fancy.



These pictures are actually the ones I took for Alicia at her request so she could see what the back looked like.

And lastly on the list of firsts for the week, I made homemade egg rolls for the first time. After spending a fortune on the pre-made ones at the store, I decided I would give these a try. They are amazingly easy to make, especially if you bake them like I did rather than frying, and they were surprisingly delicious!

Kimberly helped me put the egg rolls together.

Of course Shenzie wanted to know what we were making.

And Wa-La! The final product with some sweet and sour sauce. Delicious.

If you are interested in trying them, here is the recipe I used:

1 lb. pork
1 package egg roll wraps
1 bag shredded cabbage and carrot mix
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg (beaten, for sealing the rolls)

Fry up the pork. Mix together the cooked pork, cabbage and carrot mixture. Season with 1 tablespoon of oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Follow the instructions on the back of the egg roll package for rolling up and use the egg to seal the final edge.

I decided to bake the egg rolls per the instructions on the package because it would save me time. They were fabulous! I may just be making them again in the near future.

Our Houseguest for the Week

Meet Shenzie, Justin & Heather's (John's brother and wife) Great Dane. She will be with us for a grand total of 9 days.

Most of you probably know I am not a dog-lover, so this is going out on a limb for me.
However, we've set up an exchange of services - our watching their dog for a week while they are at Disneyland in exchange for a weekend of watching our girls so we can go to Vegas. Who do you think will get the better end of the deal?

Megan adores her, and given Shenzie's large size, I'm surprised she doesn't intimidate Megan. However, the two are practically inseparable. So cute.

Shenzie is really a sweet dog and she has had a ball here. The whole family has smothered her with love - yes, even me.

In fact, most surprising to us has been her favoring me over John, who is the dog lover around here. Go figure!?!

Last night, Shenzie wanted to be where I was, so she plopped down in my rather smallish kitchen while I was cooking dinner. Can I just say that it was a tad difficult maneuvering around her :)

Of course Megan came over to join us.

We have taken Shenzie on some walks where we have had several people stop and ask us about our 'horse'. She is certainly a large dog, but ever-so-lovable. I may just be willing to watch her again. I never in a million years thought I would say that.

See - told you they are the best of friends. Shenzie even lets Megan sit on her - though when I caught Megan doing this, I quickly took a picture, then got her off the poor dog.

Anyway, I still hold my ground on never wanting to own a dog. Pigs will need to fly before that happens.

Change is Good Right?

I have such a hard time with change, but it was time for our ward to have another change apparently. Four and a half years ago, we were split off into a brand new ward in our stake. It took some time, but we all became friends and it was a lovely ward. Last night, we found out that we are loosing several streets and lo-and-behold, adding several streets from our old ward!

Thankfully, ward boundaries do not define my friendships, and thanks to good old facebook, it's a lot easier to keep up with everyone. I am confident our new ward friends will become a loving ward where we can feel unified, though I will need to be patient as it generally takes a year or two for that to happen.

Speaking of changes, I was thinking earlier this week about other changes. The winter season is definitely upon us, and though not my favorite season, I have loved getting up and feeling that extra nip in the air or getting all bundled up in sweatshirts and blankets to watch a movie now that it gets dark so early.

I've noticed that our habits change in the winter months. As opposed to the warmer months where we spend most of our time outside, our activities move inward during the colder months. We spend a lot of family time playing games, watching movies, and the kids have had to get extra creative of late with their activities.

One thing that has brought me great pleasure is seeing them play games together and find crafts they can work on together inside. It makes my heart happy seeing them getting along. Okay, so they don't get along all the time, but it's so nice to see those quiet moments when they are doing so.

This last week they have been making friendship bracelets up the wazoo. Kimberly also made this cute craft to-do board one afternoon - all on her own. I love that the winter months do that - bring the kids inside where they have to learn to play together and remember how to be nice.

In fact, I have to brag about Kimberly a little bit. The other night, John and I were gone, so Kimberly was babysitting. The two younger ones were in bed, so it was just Alicia and Kimberly hanging out until it was time for them to go to bed, at which point, Alicia started crying because the warts she had recently had frozen off were hurting pretty bad. Kimberly called us, and we were on our way home, but about 15 minutes away.

When we got home, we discovered the two girls up in the bathroom just chatting away. Kimberly had started talking to Alicia to keep her mind off her toes, and they ended up having a good conversation, just the two of them. Not only did it warm my heart to see Kimberly being so thoughtful to her sister, it was nice to see the two of them enjoying each others company. I hope that continues as I am so grateful for the friendships I have with my siblings.

On a complete side note, we made it Disney on Ice this year. Sadly, my Grandma Lynn, who treated us to the tickets, ended up being sick, as well as John, so we had two extra tickets. Thankfully, two of their friends were happy to use the tickets, and a saint-of-a-mother (aka me) took them all. by. myself. They had a wonderful time, as did I, but I was glad to be home under one roof where I didn't have to make sure all of my chickadees were under my wings in a crowded place.

And what would a blog post be without the latest cute picture of Megan...

My New Bed Partner

I am appalled that I have let my blog lapse almost two weeks without a new blog post! Truthfully though, things have been pretty ordinarily normal around here with not too many new things to report. I am still writing stories for the local newspaper, still helping out the girls with their homework, still cleaning the house, and then cleaning the house some more after the kids follow behind me the first time around destroying anything and everything I've just picked up or cleaned.

I am also in the midst of trying to determine Christmas presents. I am shocked at how quickly the season is encroaching upon me and know if I don't get a handle on our gift plans soon, I will be drowning in seasonal fluff before I know it.

These last couple of weeks, though normal and more of the same-old, same-old, I have discovered I have a new bed-friend. John is on my right, and my heating pad lays ever-so-lovingly on my left. Now that my twenties have evaded me not-so-kindly, I have to accept my new fate: sore and aching body parts by the end of the day just waiting for me to acknowledge their pestering presence.

I dutifully ignore them until I finally slumber into my bed, at which point, they cannot be ignored any further. They adore my attention and longingly ache for my heating pad to soothe their troubles away so I can enter the dreamy sleep-filled world.

This being the month of Thanksgiving, I give thanks to my family, of course, and now, I also give thanks to my blessedly warm heating pad that helps me get to sleep pain-free before getting up in the morning in order to face a whole new set of aches that will begin forming during the day - I know they are just waiting to have a visit with my warm bed-mate each night.

Halloween 2011

We survived another Halloween -

In case you're wondering, Kimberly is technically a Pirate Bride. Alicia is our friendly Native American aka Indian, Natalie the witch costume my mom made for me when I was that age, and Megan, the shy pumpkin.

We've been having such beautiful warm weather of late that we decided to carve our pumpkins on the back deck this time. I could seriously do that every year if the weather decided to cooperate as such.


John let Kimberly and Alicia carve their own pumpkins this year, and thankfully, no cut off fingers - though Alicia was very concerned about that as she tried carving her intricate pumpkin.



John decided to use the one dinky-sized pumpkin our garden produced in conjunction with his much larger pumpkin he retrieved at the pumpkin patch. Tasty.


Kimberly's pumpkin is her rendition of Harry Potter. She is addicted to those books.

Natalie was quite proud of the ghost she drew out on paper for daddy to duplicate on her pumpkin.


And lastly, Megan got my ever-so-clever and creative pumpkin. The girls teased me mercilessly about carving such a simple face, but alas, pumpkin carving is not one of my strong suits. I am a much better pumpkin cleaner-outer.

Also, scroll back up and on the right you'll notice that I have new pictures of the girls. Enjoy! I think they are such beautiful and delightful girls. We have been so blessed to have them enrich our lives.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

Good thing I decided to take a picture instead of getting mad.
Yes, that is diaper rash creme.
I think she was a titch upset with me here because I had the gall to disrupt her artsy party.

On a positive spin, only a few more months of diapers and diaper rash creme before potty training ensues - and let it be known, it will be our last time - that's why I'm celebrating now and counting down the months.

On a completely unrelated note, John and I attended an adult Halloween party last week. The theme this year was Holidays - we could dress up as any holiday other than Halloween. Guess what holiday we chose?

Poor John, his hat was a tad small. I thought we portrayed Thanksgiving quite well. This party was also great because we have discovered that Kimberly makes a Great babysitter! No more calling ahead of time for sitters. Now I just have to make sure no one else kipes her on the nights we need her :)

Speaking of dressing up, Natalie had a field trip with her preschool class up to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden last week. She loved dressing up.


In case you were wondering, it was an actual squirting nipple. or tit. or teet. Or whatever they're called.
This of course led to quite the discussion led by Natalie about where milk comes from as we drove home.
You can tell we are not uber-farm experts.

Fashion Update

My friends continue to help educate me in the fashion world. It's a good thing too, otherwise I'd be stuck back in my old rut of t-shirts and mommy jeans.

I have updated my shirts in the past year, but had yet to update my jeans, mostly because after searching high and low years ago to find a pair of jeans that adequately fit my rather long legs and waist, I didn't think I would ever find another comfortable pair (by the way, my jean of choice? old navy. for the last 8 years or so)

Here's my new pair of jeans:


For a mere $20 at Kim's Fashions in Clearfield, the new, updated Dana jean-look. They are deliciously comfy - and long enough! and yes, these are my first pair of straight jeans in 8 years. I never thought I would return to that look.

If you have any other fashion questions, I'll direct them to my fashion gurus. they only charge a small fee.

This 'n' That 'o' Fun

Finally, a post with lots of pictures!!!

Here's what we've been up to of late:

Megan had her birthday on Thursday and turned TWO!!

Umm, I think she likes cake.

I tried an idea I got off pinterest - a rainbow cake. I had just frosted the top when Kimberly decided it was too boring, so she and her friend 'livened' up the top and sides a bit.

It was really easy - just whip up a batch of white or yellow cake, divide it out into six bowls, color each a different color, pour into cake pan one at a time creating the colorful layers, cook, and then wa-la! Rainbow cake. The girls have all put in their requests for rainbow cake on their birthdays. Done!

The basement is progressing along. The bedroom and den are completely framed up, and all of the electrical wires and lights are put in. Thanks to John's dad's help, the electrical box has also been replaced. That was an all-day task with no power.

Now John is working on putting in the heat registers and rerouting the heat ducting. It can sure get a little loud around here when he's drilling into the heat exchange (I think that's what it is called). It's cute to see Megan and Natalie quickly covering their ears when it starts.

We found out Alicia is far-sighted and needs glasses to read. So far, so good in the headache department. She was getting them far too regularly. P.S. Don't always trust the school vision screenings. They did not catch her eye problems. In fact, I should probably take Kimberly in for that matter. Our kids are doomed in the glasses department with both John and I having glasses.

With all the warm weather of late, John has been able to finish the front part of the walkway on the side of the house - you know, that part of the yard that gets constantly trampled and the grass has no hope for staying alive - yah, that part of the lawn. It looks so much better now, and we'll hopefully be able to finish back behind the gate if the weather continues to stay nice into this week.

Don't worry, John has put us all to work too. We have gotten very good at hauling the pavers around and unloading the dirt from the trailer at the dump site.

We also made it out for our annual pumpkin patch trip to retrieve pumpkins. We always hop on board for the hay ride and even better, it was a beautiful day for it yesterday.

I think that's it for now. You are officially caught up on our lives. Well, most of it anyway.
Until next time - adieu!