Montague Family

Christmas morning is always fun with excited little kids. Allison hardly held still for a picture. She's opening her Hello Kitty jammies here. They were a hit.




Will and his transformer.


I think this face says it all. She got the scooter that she asked for.


They were all watching a show on the computer while I was making dinner. I looked over and Will and Mckenzie were holding hands...pretty cute!


I FINALLY finished this blanked that I've been working on for our bed. I got the idea from a smaller blanket that I had bought a while ago and ambitiously decided to hand-quilt it. Let's just say that I started it last spring and just finished it this morning. But I know that it will get used and I'm pretty happy with the result. I'm mostly glad that it's done!


A close-up of some of the hand-quilting. (It's meant to look handmade.)


And here's the back:

Yeah, I just finished before next year and a new baby!

Happy New Year's everyone!

At the beginning of December, Will and Mckenzie had their first piano recital. I've been teaching them lessons (somewhat) and since I only have one other student, they got to join her in the recital. They did a great job!




Our ward Christmas party always has a visit from Santa. Allison refused to sit on his lap, this was as close as she would get. She was just so excited that he gave her a candy cane, and she got another one from someone when she snuck out of line. That's all she could talk about!


Will told Santa that he wants "lots of stuff" so Santa said he would surprise him. Thanks for making it easy, Will!


Mckenzie wanted a pony (I'm assuming My Little Pony) and a scooter.


Dave indulged me in a picture.


Aren't they cute? Will got to sing in the program with some other boys and he did great!


Mckenzie sang at her preschool program. She kept telling me that she was a "super singer". She did all the songs and sang loudly...good work Mckenzie!


Mckenzie sang one of her songs she learned at Dave's family party. She wanted to sing a solo, but I wanted Allison to sing with her. They did great! (Too bad we forgot to recharge the camera battery and it quit halfway through.)


We finally got some pictures taken for our Christmas cards. This was one that wasn't taken with the nice camera we borrowed, but I thought it was cute.

Merry Christmas!

I've had a cold so I felt like making soup last night for dinner. I remember my friend making minestrone and thought I'd try it. I found a few recipes online and pulled what I had and made my own. My family loved it so I'm sharing the recipe (mostly so I don't forget).

Minestrone

1 lb. bacon
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cups carrots chopped
2 small zucchini chopped
2 handfuls spinach leaves, chopped
1 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can white northern beans
1 cup penne pasta

Cook the bacon in a stockpot, then drain the grease. Add the garlic and onion and cook for a few minutes until softened. Then add the carrots, zucchini, spinach, and cans of tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, chicken broth and beans. Let it simmer for about 30 min. Add the pasta and cook until softened (I actually cooked the pasta separately, then decided to add it to the soup anyways.)

It smelled wonderful and tasted great too! We added mozzarella cheese on top and it was yummy. I loved that I picked the zucchini and spinach straight from my garden and then just used the other veggies that I had on hand. I plan on making this again. We had enough that we're having leftovers for dinner tonight and I might even make some crusty bread to eat with it.

The kids got to wear their costumes early to go to Aunt Jill's Halloween party. They had fun. (Except for the fact that Allison ate so much candy that she threw up...but then stuck a sucker right back in her mouth.)


We did pumpkins last night for family home evening. Will got to carve his since he's getting bigger. He wasn't so sure about cleaning it out, but he did it, with some help. The girls liked painting theirs.


Happy Halloween!

Thanks to a former co-worker, we were able to spend some time up north at a cabin and enjoy some fall weather. It was beautiful and relaxing and enjoyable! (Too bad Dave hurt his back the day before and could hardly walk. He said the relaxing helped him feel better though, thank goodness!)

Here's Will being photogenic.


Taking pictures in the car while I ran in to get some yummy donuts...yeah, I'm pregnant so I can indulge my cravings a little bit.


Mckenzie kept asking to have her picture taken.


Will didn't want his taken.


Allison in action.


Some beautiful fall colors.


This is at Bison Ranch...wait, there's no bison there anymore? Kind of lame. But we found some fun shops and some ice cream.




Hiking around a lake. Will wanted to go all the way, but too bad his little sisters were tired.





This was the first day and Dave was still pretty sore.

Last weekend we were able to go camping with the family on the annual ward family campout with our friends from church. The weather was cool and beautiful, the kids were good, and I actually got some sleep. Overall, a great trip!

This was a creek close to our campsite. We saw some fish there and tried fishing the next day, although we didn't catch anything.

I went to the doctor yesterday and he confirmed that the baby is a girl! Although I was still kind of holding out hope for a brother for Will, I am excited to have another baby girl. And even though Mckenzie used to pray that the baby was a boy, she, and the other kids, seem excited to have another baby girl. I'm officially half-way through this pregnancy and it seems to have gotten back to "normal" for me. Yeah! It seems a little more real now.

My little Mckenzie had her first day of preschool. She has been talking about it for months! We're all glad that she finally gets to go! She got to get a new dress for her first day, and Allison also wanted one, so she got one too.


Their funny little pose.

Mckenzie loved it! She got to be the leader on the first day and was so excited to be there. Her teacher said that she sang the songs great and wasn't shy.

Allison so badly wants to do what her older brother and sister are doing. She wanted to go to school so I told her she could do school with Mommy at home. She packed up Will's old lunch bag with snacks and put it in her backpack. After we dropped off Mckenzie, we came back home and worked in a workbook, played on the swings, had snacks, read stories, sang songs...but it wasn't enough. She was not convinced that it was school. Finally, I found out that there was story time at the library and we went, but she didn't seem to enjoy it. What a let down! I still need you at home for a few years, Allison!


So, I finally have almost completed a project that has been several months in the making. We did our first Craigslist purchase a few months ago: a dresser. My hope was to move the huge armoire/shelving units in our living room (thanks Jenny and Randy!) and replace them with this smaller piece of furniture. I loved the look, Dave loved the construction, but I wasn't thrilled with the finish.


So I painted it black and just distressed it. My first ever attempt at refinishing furniture. So far I'm happy with it. (I have to be, right?) I actually like it as a buffet here in the dining room, but there's not enough room. Dave is going to fix a drawer front so that it will fold down with a hinge, so hopefully we can put our dvd player and vcr and stuff inside.

Today was Will's first day of first grade. I've had mixed feelings about it...kind of excited, but not ready. He kept telling me he was nervous but when we got there, he found some friends and went off to play until the bell rang. He told me he had fun today. Yeah Will!



A few months ago I made a dress for Mckenzie. The pattern was on sale and I didn't look closely at it. It was a lot more involved than I had thought. But I was happy with how it turned out and I learned a lot.


I also made a pair of cargo pants for Will last week. It was one of the easiest things I've made. And hopefully he'll wear them.


Here's an easy recipe for a salty snack:

Homemade tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 425. Cut up some tortillas (I did 3). Place them in the pan, sprinkle with olive oil and some kosher salt. Bake for about 8 min. Easy and relatively healthy snack!

Sorry, haven't posted for a while...hey, real life is going on! :)

Will had his #6 birthday a few weeks ago. We knew we weren't going to top Mckenzie's beach birthday, but we took the family out to see Cars 2 and he liked that. He wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting...that's my boy!



We also were able to go "family camping" for Dave's annual family reunion. We were only able to spend one night, since Dave couldn't take anymore time off right then. But it seemed just right and it was great to get out of the hot valley.

You may notice a slight bump in my tummy. Yes, that is a baby bump, for those of you who don't know yet. I'm about 13 weeks along in an unusual (for me) pregnancy. I'm just taking it day by day and I feel like everything is going to work out fine.

Here are the kids eating a snack in front of a show. I just thought they were all cute together.


Okay, this video just makes me laugh. (You'll have to excuse my son who likes to play dress-up with his sisters...admit, yours do too!) Allison was cracking me up with her singing and dancing. She's got a fun personality.


Funny Moment:
I took Mckenzie and Will to the doctor this afternoon. Will was really nervous about getting a shot and kept asking about it. So Mckenzie said she was excited and wanted a shot...what? (She wanted a prize from the treasure chest for getting a shot.) So we got to the doctor and he kept telling her that she'd need one shot and she was excited. Finally, the doctor looked closer at the dates and realized Mckenzie didn't need any shots this time. He told her and she just looked like she was going to cry! I couldn't stop laughing! The doctor ended up letting her get a prize anyways because she looked so sad.

Tender Moment:
Will: Mom, I love you more than anything!
Sweet boy! Makes me love being a mom.

Yeah, we got to go on a vacation! To California! (Luckily I have a sister in California who let us stay with their family...thanks Amy!)

We got to go to the beach twice. We were warned of the "June Gloom", where it's overcast in the morning. I just didn't expect it to be so cold! But as you can tell from the pictures, the kids loved it and I enjoyed watching them and getting my legs wet.


Mckenzie got buried in the sand. It was her #4 birthday! She now says that she wants to go to California every year for her birthday!


We were trying to get the kids to go in the water.


Mckenzie found a shell that she liked. We found that when you go in the morning, there are more shells lying around.


My hubby...look, he's having fun!


Splashing in the waves...


Will in the sand.


Mckenzie's enjoying herself.


Me and my cute kiddies in the sand.


Cute Allison having fun!


Mckenzie's birthday cupcake, with pink frosting!


Cousins playing with Mckenzie's present. They played happily for a long time together.



Mckenzie enjoying some more gifts.


At Bracken Bird Farm, feeding the goats.


These two turkeys were giving us a show.





Thanks Amy and family, for letting us stay at your house and helping take care of us...we had a blast!