What They Should Teach in Home Ec

Remember your Jr. High Home Ec class? I took cooking in 7th grade. We watched movies showing pristine sugar factories, the Hershey chocolate factory, etc. We learned to make coffee cake, biscuits, etc. Our teacher told us that the only difference between white flour and whole wheat was a little fiber and white flour had the advantage because it was enriched.

Of course there was no such thing as the glycemic index at that point. I wonder what they teach kids how to make these days in Home Economics. I read on the news today that United Health is offering grants to schools who implement educational programs to help fight childhood obesity--which is at about 23.7 percent in Utah according to the article.

What better way to do it than to have a Home Ec type environment where kids learn how to make healthy food?

Last week I attended an Education Week class by Brad Petersen on cooking with whole grains. At first I wasn't too interested in it because it sounded like more of the same, but then I decided to go. When I saw the HUNDREDS of people standing in line outside of the Varsity Theater hoping for a chance to get in, I knew I'd come to the right place.

He was very charming and so funny. The information he shared was so helpful. He did cooking demonstrations with an electric pressure cooker, showed us how easy it is to bake bread in a Bosch, and had tons of great ideas for making our regular fare more healthy by adding whole grains, using superior ingredients, etc. He made a delicious yogurt butter spread that was amazing. I think our Jr. High kids today need a Chef Brad. Check out his website for some of his great ideas. We recently made banana bread with his wonder flour blend and we loved it.

First Day of School 2010

Elise and Monet have been counting down the days to go back to school. They love school. Monet especially gets upset if I have to take her out for something.

They had their alarm clocks all programmed, and Elise braided Monet's hair the night before. Cute stuff. I love the picture of them standing next to each other. Elise is now five feet tall, size 9 shoes. I think she's going to grow a lot this year. She's pretty tall for fifth grade.

Sending them back to school is a little like cutting off my right arm. They have been so helpful in keeping an eye on Miles and Simone this summer, cleaning up and getting things organized. But I think we're all ready for fall, structure, school, sports and all of that good stuff.

They are really excited about their classes and teachers. Elise's teacher blew up a pickle last year, and that makes him really awesome. Monet is excited to have friends in her class.

I took Miles and Simone to the Animal Park after the girls went to school. They got some little kid cones at the deli afterwards and Miles says, "Having Elise and Monet in school is good." LOL. Sorry bud, not going to be like that everyday.

He starts Kindergarten next week. Someone mentioned that I was going to cry when he went to school. Huh. I don't know how I'll feel about it! He's so excited and so ready, I think I'll just be excited for him.

But life is definitely changing for me around here. It has been a LONG time since these days: (You can thank me for not reposting the poop on walls and crib pictures)


Miles liked to cook oatmeal and hot chocolate by putting the packets in a bowl or cup and sticking it into the microwave unopened, and without water. Then I'd come running down the stairs to see a fire. So fun.

Someone likes cantaloupe--even the rind.


The funny thing is, he waited to get really hard until I was already pregnant with Simone. Little devil. Fortunately, he is so very sweet and loving that he made it through the two's alive. There is a reason I started my blog in 2005 and then didn't post anything else until August 2007. It was crazy around here. I was also busy doing this:

Which might explain the lack of supervision in the pictures above. I did learn to study EARLY in the morning.

My life as a mom is evolving. I think in someways the idea that I'm no longer the mom of very young kids is confronting. What I'm going to do with the rest of my life while my kids are in school is suddenly at the forefront of my mind.

But I'll tell you what I am going to do for the next month or so. Organize. Oh how my house is hard to keep up with in the summertime when there are constant messes and lots of kids around. It will be nice to enjoy a little quiet. And I am going to try hard to be better about cooking good meals. And I have some great Christmas and family history projects planned.

2010 Hobble Creek Half Marathon Race Report

Almost there!
At the finish line! Felt sooo good to be done!





Yesterday I was feeling really tired and the thought of this race was a little overwhelming. We've had a busy week! Jared and I went to some evening classes for Education Week at BYU, and we've had a lot of stuff going on with back to school preparations. By Friday night, I was tired.

But this race is so fun. So we packed up our stuff and slept over at Grandma and Grandpa G's house. The kids were in heaven with all the cool video games, their fun Roxy dog, and getting to pick lots of fruits and veggies out of their huge garden. Sometimes when you come from big families like ours, it is really nice to spend some one-on-one time with the parents. They are such amazing people, we always learn so much from them.

I loaded the bus all by myself. A little lonely if you ask me. I really enjoy when I have some friends to ride up with and visit with. But at the top after we got dropped off, I was in great company. I had six friends who were also running this race. Good thing too, because the race started 45 minutes late, so it was fun to have some people to talk to.

In 2008 when I ran this race, I got my best time yet by a few minutes. I'd been training for St. George and had a 17 and 14 miler under my belt already, and so a 13.1 didn't seem too hard.

But this fall I'm not running a marathon. And the the longest run I've done in awhile is an 11 miler a couple weeks ago. So I didn't know how I'd do at the end of the race when you lose that nice shade and huge elevation drop. Anyway, I just decided that I'd go for it and not hold back too much. If I burned out at the end, worst case scenario I wouldn't beat my time from a couple years ago.

The first 9 miles were great. I felt really good, and maintained an 8:00/mile pace. The last four weren't as easy and I was feeling it that last mile. I wanted to go faster, but I was slowing down. I was really happy to see the finish line!

My official chip time was 1:46:35 which is an 8:07 pace. I was really happy with that since I think it beat my last time by about 3 minutes. I felt good all day today and am not sore yet. So I'm already thinking about next year and how good it would feel to have an average pace in the sevens.

I was really happy to see my family as I ran into the finish! It is so fun to have familiar faces in the crowd cheering for me. It makes it a lot more fun to have someone to celebrate a good race with.

Since the race started so late, Jared watched all the elite runners coming in. He was pretty inspired! We are doing the Red Rock Relay in a month, and we've been running together. I am excited for him to experience a race, as a participant. I think he is going to love it.

I got some new running shoes. My second pair of Nike Vomero's. I LOVE these shoes. I tried every kind of shoe it seems, and this one really is the best fit for my feet. I don't get nearly the blisters that I did before.

Summer Review

This summer flew by--of course it always feels like that! We've been busy with all kinds of stuff. I laugh when I think of a couple months ago actually believing that things were going to "slow down" in the summer after Monet's baptism. I should know by now that things NEVER slow down. We always manage to fill up our days. I don't mind all the fun stuff though. Hiking, swimming, Seven Peaks, boating, sleepovers with cousins, Thanksgiving Point, Lagoon, Dollar movies, Drive-in movies, bike rides, Snoasis, driveway basketball practice, Cowabunga Bay, etc. We've been really enjoying all this time with the kids home!

The kids are trying to cram in as many friends as possible. It is chaos and all the fun things that go along with having no schedule, sprinkled with a day here and there of intense cleaning frenzies.

Simone is essentially living in her swimsuit. Which is a step up from last year when she was running around naked half the time. We are so glad to be done with potty training!

Elise and Monet were taking just about daily bike rides down to the little snow cone shack a couple miles away. They are pretty excited about their new found independence, although they did check-in with the walkie talkies when they arrived.

We had Morgan come out and stay for a few days over the Fourth of July. The kids loved having their cousin help out at our glow stand at Sugarhouse Park. Elise and Morgan teamed up and made BBQ chicken pizza and mini-cheesecakes from scratch one evening. It was delicious! The girls loved driving the waverunners too. I loved being able to see more of my niece from Chicago. She is such a great girl.

We went boating a few times and tried out some new restaurants. We got a wakeboard after we got home from Lake Powell. I was very happy to have a little redemption when I popped up 3 for 3 from the back of the waverunner. I guess that kids wakeboard I used in Lake Powell really was the reason I couldn't get up. And it just about took my arms off. My confidence is restored.

Elise had basketball camp at BYU with her cousin Heather. She was the youngest girl there. She loved being able to stay over in the dorms and eat at the Cannon Center. Jared plays ball with Corianne sometimes, who is the leading scorer on the Womens Basketball team at BYU. Elise was really excited to have Corianne come find her and say hi. Her team won the tournament and they got a cool t-shirt.

Heather and Elise with their counselor at basketball camp. Staying in the dorms was soo fun.







This is Monet and her friend Addie dressing up like their little brothers. I thought it was hilarious. They even had boy names for me to call them.



Although I love having the kids home and just being able to wake up and decide what kind of adventures we are going to have that day, I will really love being able to mop the floor and have it stay clean for more than an hour. The kids are so excited to find out who their teachers are, and to go back to school.

My Little Big Girl

Simone has been trying to convince me that she is big. She informed me that she is too big for nursery. She wants to come with me and Miles to Primary. She doesn't want to sit in a car seat anymore. She said to me the other day at swimming lessons, "Just look at me, can't you see that I am big now?" Later that day she went on to say that she is "older enough" to call me "mom." What? Even my almost 11 year-old still calls me "Mommy." If you want to stay on Simone's good side, don't you dare call her little. You can call her light. She even campaigns for people to pick her up by assuring them that she is "really light" something she's heard a time or two. This 26 pound monkey is even convinced that she has a loose tooth. Wishful thinking. She just wants to be in on everything that is going on with her big brother and sisters. Last year Elise saved up for a pair of Converse. Then Miles got some (that Monet also wore since they have about the same size of feet) and I brought home some little yellow sneakers for Simone that I got at the Old Navy clearance. She asks me, "Are these my Converse?" We said that yes, they were her Converse--kind of. And she is proud. Brand awareness begins at three when you have big sisters. She's been stalking our cute older neighbor girls. Simone just adores them, and even asks me if she can invite Paige over to play with her. When I explained that she could only invite kids over her age (trying to spare the 12 year-old from having to come up with an excuse) she said, "but WHY? Paige loves me!" She watches them out the front window just about all day long and gets really excited if she gets a wave, or if she spots one of them inside their house. She is a bit of a snob to kids that are younger than her. She considers them "babies" and wants to be with the big kids--even when those kids are technically bigger than she is. So yesterday, when we were bringing out the boxes of clothes that should fit her now, she got to wear a really cool big girl type t-shirt. Paired with her bermudas, her Keens, and her hair long and straight, she felt like a very grown-up girl. Don't grow up too fast Simoney Baloney! We still love that cute little voice and the laugh that makes me smile every time I hear it.

Bye Bye Bellies!

So, Jared and I have discovered a super fun little shaved ice place. The kids LOVE it and want to go there like everyday. Scoop of ice cream, shaved ice with lots of sugary syrup, topped with cream. I think my belly is reflecting how many times we've been enjoying this yummy little place. So Jared and I are buckling down and ready to get serious about eating well and working out.

Last night, armed with his sister's recipe, we made spelt bread. Yum! Lots of butter, because you have to have butter. Okay, no butter next time that defeats the purpose.

Anyway, we are going to to get healthy again. We seem to cycle each summer. Eat like crap in June and July, and spend August, September and October making up for it. I know we can do it if we work together. We've come a LONG way in the last 13 years. When Jared is committed, his willpower is rock solid and it helps me stay on track too. And when we are both eating well, our kids are forced into it. Bwah ha ha.

When we got married Jared was very committed to being fit and healthy and wanted to make that a priority. So he made sure to fit basketball daily into his busy schedule--it took a lot of sacrifice. LOL. I started working full time and immediately gained five pounds that immediately left as soon as I started rollerblading and running every day. 20 year-old metabolisms are awesome like that.

But food was a whole different ballgame and required a lot of compromise. We really came from such different backgrounds, it was hard to reconcile at first. The first time he went grocery shopping he brought home Costco sized chocolate covered raisins and Jelly Bellies, licorice, Bagel Dogs. All I could see was my clothes budget spent on candy and disgusting microwave food. Ten dollars on Jelly Bellies is a lot when you are young and poor. I was shocked and frustrated.

When I went shopping, he'd look in the fridge and see nothing but veggies, pasta and potatoes. "I need more protein!" he'd say. "There's nothing to eat!" He'd complain. I was quick to point out that we had lots of things to eat: sandwich stuff, pasta, potatoes, etc. But all those things took at least ten minutes to make and seemed SO HARD.

Things got a little better over the years. I learned that having an empty fridge sends my husband into a panic.
I learned that he loved fast and easy leftovers. I mastered chicken. Jared, who'd never eaten any pasta aside from spaghetti and meatballs, discovered that he really loved pasta with sauteed veggies, beans, and baked potatoes with cottage cheese. But we were still at a stalemate on many things.

Then one day when Elise was a baby, a miracle happened. Jared was at work on a call with a guy who needed some help with his computer, when this random guy asked Jared, "Where did you serve your mission?" Jared was completely confused since of course he'd never spoken about religion or anything like that. Then, this soon-to-be friend asked Jared, "How's your food storage coming along?" A couple weeks later, Blair (the guy) drove out from Colorado to bring us a trunkload of food storage. A fancy rice cooker, spelt, brown rice, beans, Congee (Chinese herbs) etc. He knew Jared was LDS from his voice and mannerisms. So funny. Maybe he said "Oh my heck" or something like that. That's always a dead giveaway.

Blair became somewhat of a mentor to Jared on health things. He showed him how to make Congee (which is delicious), millet patties (also great), and lots of other yummy things. Jared gave up cheese for a year, and cut way back on dairy. He ate more veggies, vegetarian foods, and less processed in general. He was really excited about it. I was excited too. We both were at our ideal weight and felt great. It was nice to have some fresh motivation, and to learn so much. Jared then proceeded to out-research me on everything health-related. I was happy to follow his lead, and even learned to gulp down powdered greens (while plugging my nose.)

Since then, we've had other amazing people influence us. Some good friends took us to a raw food cooking class and we learned how to make spinach smoothies, and coconut smoothies. Spinach smoothies are a staple around here now.

Jared's cousin's wife, Natalie, is a pretty inspiring person who has influenced a lot of his family members. She would always bring a healthy treat to the family gatherings, and her healthy food would often go faster than the brownies. Her influence taught us how one person can make a huge difference.

Now, when we go to a family party on his side, his two sisters, his brother, his mom and dad bring things like fruit and veggies, natural jello, black bean brownies, super yummy healthy popcorn, and homemade bread.

We are excited for all of their successes and are inspired by their commitment. Their major health issues like chronic sinus infections, migraines, stomach aches, fatigue, etc have disappeared. I think their total pounds lost is probably over 200 lbs in the last year and a half.

Anyway, when I answer my door these days to find that the UPS man has left me a new sprouting tray and a whole box of sprouting seeds, I just have to laugh. This is SO not the man I married ordering this stuff. I'm so glad for his open-mindedness and his enthusiasm. When he gets into something, he doesn't do it half-way and that has always helped me. So here we go. October 31rst, I'm going to post some good positive results.

Here are some other websites that have been passed along to us from our friends and family:
http://www.simplehealthytasty.blogspot.com/-- recipes for people who can't do dairy
http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/They are based in Springville. We like the trays we ordered, but our favorite product is the Easy Sprouter.
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/ --Great price on coconut oil, organic herbs, etc.
http://www.trainermomma.com/ --I love this one. She works out a lot and has a formula to figure in the calories you need to replace from your workouts. I sometimes have a hard time figuring out if I'm eating the right amount when I am training AND trying to lose weight. I love her "eat with me" posts.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/ --Free site to track calories. I love that it generates graphs and charts. I love charts and graphs! I print them up after I've entered in my food and it just looks so great in my binder. LOL. Anything visual like that is just really fun for me.

Adair Family Reunion: Camping at Tony Grove

Total Count: 19 kids, 16 adults. We had quite a fun weekend! I love to hang out with my family, and I love to camp. So for me, this was a near perfect couple of days. Usually with camping, I can't wait to get back home. This time I felt like I could have stayed another couple of days. Tony Grove is beautiful! It is just 20 minutes up Logan Canyon on the road to Bear Lake. There were tons of wildflowers, huge pine trees shading the campsites, a pretty little lake, and some really neat hikes nearby. (although we didn't hike. Why hike when we were having so much fun just sitting and visiting.) I love the adventure and change of pace.

We were lucky enough to have my WHOLE family there. My mom and Demetrios, Dad and Diane, Marge, and all of my siblings and their kids. We have siblings from Phoenix, Denver, Chicago and California. So that was really great to all be in the same place for a couple of days. The only ones missing were a couple of brother-in-laws from out-of-state that had to work.

My uncle Ron even brought up my grandma from Logan. She was so funny. She had all the men/husbands line up as she tried to guess who is who. We thought it was pretty funny that she was so good natured about everything. She gets really nervous about things. She was worried we were all going to leave her and she wasn't going to know anyone. Grandma, don't worry, we're not leaving you up in the canyon by yourself!

She is forgetting who her own kids are, but she picked Jared out right away. She's always liked Jared. When we were first married and I'd come sleepover at her house, I'd inevitably forget to call him upon arrival, and he'd always call about a half hour after I got there to make sure I made it. She'd get after me for making my husband worry. I guess he's pretty easy to pick out these days with his smooth head. My grandma and Jared's Grandma Rae (Nanny) were buds in Hemet, California. It was fun to learn of that connection when we called her to tell her we were engaged.

We spent the first day on Bear Lake wakeboarding and paddling around in the kayaks, boating and riding the waverunners around. We got to camp later than we wanted to with just an hour or so to set up before dark. As we were setting up tents, a thunderstorm hit and completely soaked me and everything that had been unpacked. We waited it out in the car. When I told the kids if it kept raining that we might have to head home, they were insistent that they were NOT going to leave. They love camping. I love it, but sometimes grumble about how much work it is to pack and unpack, etc. But when I see them running around with their cousins just loving every second of it, it makes all the mess and hassle completely worth it. It stopped raining, and it kinda made it more exciting.

Cute Charlie paddling around in the kayak on Bear Lake.

Courtney, the oldest of the cousins, was so sweet and helped the kids learn to make bracelets and paddled around in the kayak with the younger kids. Courtney is an AMAZING kid. She was the very top of her class this year in 9th grade. She is so good with the kids. Simone just idolizes her, as do all the other kids. It is so nice to have such a great example for them.

Miles may not have any brothers, but he's got tons of cousins--6 of them are even in his same grade--4 of those are boys. I remember the day I found out that Angela was pregnant and due about the same time as me. I was so excited! Then, Michelle, Kelli, and Tiffany were also pregnant and due within 6 weeks of us. I couldn't believe it! Angela, Michelle and I all had boys. We couldn't have planned it better if we tried. Then Michael and Katie are together now and we got little Gavin who is the same age, and Chase in California. It is so cute to watch these little guys running around together. We hardly hear a word from them they are so busy having fun. At Bear Lake, they built a sweet water city in the sand. They'll all be starting Kindergarten this fall.

Mom and Demetrios getting set to go boating.

Beautiful Brooklyn!



The kids had the time of their lives. They built a super cool fort. They found a pallet like wood thing, broke it up, dug out the nails and re-nailed it to a bunch of trees with rocks. Only later we figured out that that "pallet" like thingy was part of a fence that belongs to the bathroom. Ooops. Anyway, they decorated it, outfitted it with a homemade table, chairs, garbage, and even pinecone weapons. It was very creative and so fun for all of them. I remember how much I loved my forts like that when I was a kid.

Morgan and Elise

Max and Sam's Pinata to celebrate their birthday.

Aunt Marge, Rachel and Bekah

Isaac and Chris were cool enough to let me french braid their hair. We can't have camping without braiding! Michelle did Morgans in a spiral french braid. She taught me everything I know.

Jax and Bekah. And Bekah is expecting a girl in October. Simone said to me, "Mommy, I love Bekah's baby in her tummy." Maybe they've already met. Bekah is carrying the first Nugent girl, born into the family, in 70 years!We just had one baby there. Baby Jacob. Michael and Katie's little guy. He is so smiley and cute, I don't think he cried the entire time.
My little twin brothers, Sam and Max, that just got baptized today!
Jared LOVING his new hammock. I had to be pretty quiet to snap this one, he is a light sleeper.
We did manage to leave our seats long enough to walk around Tony Grove Lake. It was beautiful!
The "must smile--no you may not make a face" family picture.
The Real Us.
Grandpa Adair and Baby Jake. This kid just grins whenever you get the camera out.

On the drive home I glanced up at Monet's feet and just had to laugh. They were black. All the kids had to have a major scrub down back at home. They sure had fun though! It was sooo worth it.