Oh Christmas Tree

After 15 years of having the same decorated Christmas tree we finally decided to update our tree. It was due to the burned out candle lights and broken ornaments. Marshall and I bought some angels and picture frames from Joann's. We tried webcamming with Michelle to get some tips on how to arrange them, and then she did one better. She and Marshall's mom decided to drive out from Vernal to help us get it just right. Michelle has decorated many trees for Vernal's Festival of Trees and is very talented. Right away she knew we needed filler and after debating it with Marshall, (and if you've never experienced two Bukers debating it is something to behold) Michelle won the argument and we went to Tai Pan. After more arguments about the top of the tree, Marshall decided to trust his mom and sister and we came home with what we had chosen, and some white stuff that caused most of the arguing while we were there. We got right to work and after an hour they had it complete. We were amazed at how beautiful it turned out, and we even love the "white stuff." Marshall thinks it's all his doing and takes full credit for the entire tree. But the rest of us know better, and really appreciate Michelle and Shirley coming to the rescue.

So much going on

and I am way behind. My pictures aren't in order and it won't let me move them.






First of all, I wanted to show you the witch I made for Halloween. My super talented friend Channa invited me over to make them and for some awesome chili. Halloween was rainy, rainy, cold and rainy. The kids were soaked through. But lots of candy was eaten none the less. Of course, on the first of November Kate passed away and her funeral was on the 6th. It was so sad. I didn't think I would cry but I bawled my eyes out because of how devastated Scott and Kristina were. It really broke your heart. My birthday was the next day. 37!! I was so exhausted from the funeral that I didn't want to do anything. Marshall made me crablegs and got me 2 German cookbooks from a German Bakery he had gone to in Denver, and then I had ordered two other cookbooks online. "Barefoot Contessa, How easy is that?" and "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3". It's kind of becoming tradition to get cookbooks for my birthday. We went to see Harry Potter with Scott and Kristina. Marshall went to the BYU game with David so we gave his ticket to Hanna, and in return received 8 fresh eggs from their chickens. They were all different colors and really good. I would love to have fresh eggs like that everyday. We spent Thanksgiving in Vernal with Michelle and her family. We ate so much food and made it home in time to shop black Friday. I took Samantha out at 5 and she got her shopping done, then I took Amy out. We really had a lot of fun. They are really excited for everyone to open their gifts. I told Marshall it's his job to take Scott. I went to a cookie exchange last week at Channa's and came home with 12 dozen assorted cookies. They were so good, and I really enjoyed visiting with friends. I also read "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" to Marshall and the kids. I love that book and we read it every year. In case I don't get the chance to update my blog before the new year, Merry Christmas!!

Kate's Obituary

is in today's paper. She is my oldest sister's daughter. She passed away Monday. Click here.

It's that time of year

No, not Christmas. Birthdays. October is a big birthday month for us. Samantha turned 14. Wow! The actual day of her birthday was low key. Friends decorated her locker and had gifts for her at school, Marshall and I stopped by at lunchtime with a cake from Dippidee to share with her friends. We discussed getting her a puppy. We looked all over and debated about it, but in the end decided it wasn't the best thing for us right now. Instead she got $40 (she is saving for an i-pod touch). I know, it's kind of a lame gift. By the way, Amy took the pic. Samantha didn't want any taken because she had just gotten home from swim, and as you all know, Scott refuses to wear a shirt to bed.
My dad stopped by with gifts for she and Amy from the family.

She had swimteam and then after that we had chicken spaghetti, homemade bread and cheesecake.

Samantha seemed content.
The next day we took the kids and 1 friend each to Lagoon.


We hadn't been in so long. They have some pretty cool rides. Really all I cared about was trying out Wicked and going on Colossus. Wicked did not disappoint. It was so much fun. I loved it! I made Amy and Scott go on it. Yes, I made them. That is the rule in our family. You don't have a choice. Scott was scared and started crying until I told him he could close his eyes. Amy loved it. Scott rode it again voluntarily, but I'm not convinced that he liked it. We took a picnic lunch with us complete with birthday cake. It was a fun day.
Sunday was filled with naps and leftover cake. Ugh!
Monday, Amy turned 11!

What? I just don't think that's right. But she assured me it was. It was another low key day. I made calzones for dinner and bought a coconut cream pie

because I couldn't eat anymore cake. She loved her boombox, which is what she requested and we made a CD for her with her favorite songs downloaded from i-tunes. 4 of them were Carrie Underwood. The rule in our house is no country music, but apparently I have more authority when it comes to roller coasters. Amy just loves her. And Taylor Swift. But at least she's happy.
Did I mention that every morning we do Amy's nails. Her nails are so perfect to begin with. We paint them crazy colors that drive her dad crazy and then add designs to match her outfits, which drives her dad even more crazy. For her birthday she had me write "happy bday!"
She doesn't get those nails from me, that's for sure!

And I didn't even throw up!

If ever there were a goal to accomplish after running a marathon, it would be that one. And I did it. Marshall and I ran the Top of Utah marathon over the weekend. What a great race they put on there. It was very cold that morning but luckily they had a tent set up with heaters. It was so nice to stay warm as we waited for the race. The first 14 miles are down the canyon and it felt so great. I hit the 13.1 mile mark at 1:54.40, which is 2 1/2 minutes faster than my best half marathon and 3 minutes faster than the one we did in August. It was great. And then I died. I really tried to hang on, and I sort of managed until we hit mile 20. It was pretty much over at that point. There was nothing left. My quads were so beat up from the pounding on that downhill that I could hardly lift them anymore. It was a spectacular death. That is the only word to describe it. If I wouldn't have been dehydrated from the race I would have cried. But, oh bliss, to cross that finish line. That was the best feeling ever. I wouldn't let myself sit down because I was so afraid of throwing up like I did after the other 2 marathons I have run, so we stretched and ate a fat boy. I was concerned about our kids and wanted to get out and find them. We hadn't seen them as we were running through the finish. Luckily we found them rather quickly. They had missed our finish because they had gone into a store to use the restrooms. But Amy took this picture of us. (I forgot to take off my sunglasses).

Our time was a 4:09.47, a PR by 26 minutes. Yay!! We are still recovering and can't walk down the stairs, but we are already planning to do a half marathon Oct. 30. I didn't hit my goal of going under 4 hours, but I was still so happy with the race. And I can hit that goal at the next one.

I wish I had pictures

because we had the best day Saturday. We took the kids tubing down Provo River, which was freezing cold, but oh so fun. Afterwards we took our tubes to Deercreek and hung out in the warm water for an hour or so. Then, to top it all off, we made the trek to Heber for milkshakes at Granny's. Perfect day!!

Should I work backwards?

Here is a run down of events in our lives.
Scott and Amy were watching a movie with Marshall and I thought it was so funny how Scott was hanging on his leg. So Cute.
Okay, here we go.
American Fork Steel Days were last weekend. We missed the parade because I had a difficult time running our 15 miles. I had been sick the night before but thought I could gut it out. Let's just say I walked a lot and we didn't make it back in time. On the up side, the kids didn't care. We did make it to the carnival and to the picnic in the park and fireworks.

The 5th of July was a fun day. We got up early and ran the Freedom Run 10k in Provo. It was the slowest 10k I have ever run. The kids did the 1 mile race. We didn't get to watch them, but Samantha came in 1st in the 12-13 year old division (7:30 mile) Amy finished in 12:30 and Scott took it out at a dead sprint and walked the rest of it in 15:00. After the race we met up with our good friends the Ockey's for the Parade. I think we have them talked into the 5k next year!!
We were going to tube Provo River, but my dad called and asked if we wanted to go shooting with him. He bought a new gun a while back but hadn't taken it out yet. We decided to celebrate our independence and our right to bear arms. My dad is a pretty good shot. He hit the target from twice as far away as the rest of us were shooting.


The 3rd of July we went to Stadium of Fire with David. Carrie Underwood performed. It was okay.
The 1st through the 3rd the kids had a swim meet at the AF rec center. Amy swam incredibly well. She dropped 18 seconds in the 200 IM and dropped a second off her 200 freestyle time and came in first place. She qualified for state, which was her goal.
Samantha didn't swim as well at this meet but 2 weeks before that she swam at the Cottonwood Heights meet and did outstanding. She missed making finals in the 100 breast so the next day she really went after the 200 breast. She cut 3 sec. and was seeded first in Consolation Finals. She really wanted to win it. She stayed with the girls on both sides of her and then pulled ahead on the last 50. She beat them and cut another 5 seconds, plus got her first A time.
Scott got a first place in the 25 fly at a rec league meet. He was pretty excited to get a blue ribbon.
Got to see my dad perform with the Wasatch Winds here in AF.

Over Memorial day we went camping by Vernal with Marshall's sister Michelle. It was cold and windy, but still a lot of fun.
So there you have it. That's our summer so far.
Oh yeah, I couldn't leave out the sushi. We tried making it for the first time!! Break out the wasabi!

To Blog or Not To Blog

To be honest I'm kind of bored with it and does anyone really read it?
Well, I guess for today I'll put something on it. Here's the rundown.
* Today was the last day of school. We had waffles w/ homemade whipped cream and strawberries, bacon, sausage and smoothies.
*Great report cards. Very pleased!
*Tyler graduates today from the same high school I graduated from 18 years ago. His mom is in town for it. Got to visit with them last night. Also 2 of Marshall's nieces graduate and his sister got her degree last week in Cali.
*Marshall's niece Brittany had her baby! Can't wait to see her.
*We didn't get into St. George (Marshall excited). Decided to do Top Of Utah Marathon in Sept.(Marshall not excited). Here's hoping I can be ready in time.
*Helped out at an Eagle Project last weekend. David came and Samantha's friend Hanna. It was a NICU reunion for UVRMC. Brickoven after. YUM!
*Amy had a pioneer trek at school. I got to volunteer for some of it. She was so cute in her pioneer outfit (Thanks Tamra)
*Fun dance festival at school for Scott and Amy. I'm so glad I don't have to work so I don't miss these "Important" moments in their lives. Volunteered at the first grade cake walk.
*Went to lunch twice with my friend Tamra last week. Discovered Kneaders. Seriously need to go there again.
*Hiked to the Y with my kids and Tyler a while back. Dang, but I forgot how hard that climb is!
*Lots of cooking and eating. Kids are well fed. (on a side note, someone wrote in Samantha's yearbook not to get any skinnier or she'll look anorexic. Not Cool!)
*Bike riding in Provo Canyon and some hot dog roasting and smores. Marshall has a true talent for getting things where they normally shouldn't go, like 5 bikes in a small SUV and no bike rack.
*Summer's here!!

I Did It

I signed us up for St. George! I know, I wasn't planning on running it this year (hence the reason I waited until the last minute) because I really wanted to get some good mileage under my belt and then go for it. But I changed my mind. I was thinking about it all last night and decided I would do it. Then I spent all day going back and forth on "do I really want to attempt this?" Now I'm really scared. This thing freaks me out like nothing else. Marshall was hoping I wouldn't want to do it, but if I'm in then he's in. Now that's my kind of compromise.
p.s. We won't find out until May 7 if we made it in

Something you should try

if you feel like cooking. Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Bouillabaise. So yummy. Some others we've made this week were baked blintzes and tomato and goat cheese tarts. We also started making tortillas, since my friend Leslie suggested it on her blog. MMMMMM!

Bridal Veil Falls

Last Saturday I had to get the kids out of the house for a few hours so Marshall could work with his new boss. We decided to hike from Canyon Glen to Bridal Veil Falls. It's not very long, but the weather was great and we had a really good time.

Pictures

What's been going on?

Lots actually. I have been so busy that I haven't found the time to blog. And I will have to post the pics later because they are on a different computer and the girls are using it right now. So, my little boy turned 7 on March 1. We had his party at Pirate Island in Orem and I totally recommend it. It is a bit pricey, but no more than anywhere else, and their pizza is actually good. I would have liked to try some of their other toppings, but since we were dealing with 7 year old boys, and Scott in particular, we stuck with half cheese and half pepperoni. We ordered his cake from Fresh Market and it was a cute pirate ship. Scott really loved his party and all the boys, and Samantha and Amy had a lot of fun.
Marshall's nephew Brett got married on the 13th and his mom and sister stayed with us 2 nights. They had such a great wedding and it was fun to see all the Buker families. He was married in the Salt Lake Temple and although it was cold and snowy, it was perfect and my girls have been planning their weddings ever since.
the weekend after that Samantha competed at the state meet in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and did great. She cut time in both events. Scott and Amy swam in the BC meet and Samantha swam with them at the Saturday meet. They all cut time and swam really well and Scott even dove off the blocks.
Our good friends from Idaho Falls, Barbara Miller and her 2 girls Rebecca and Chrissy came down for their Spring Break while her husband was out of town for work. We had so much fun visiting with them. We did the Easter egg hunt in Salt Lake (Terrible), played at Chuck E Cheese (kids loved it) ate at In-n-Out (I loved it) relaxed on Sunday, went skiing on Monday, which was so, so much fun, shopped at the Gateway on Tuesday, had Amy go back to school on Wednesday and went swimming and they went back home Thursday morning. A busy week, but also a lot of fun. Also on Tuesday our good friends Troy and Leslie were in town from Washington and came for dinner with the Ockey's. I so loved seeing them again. Marshall filled something like 350 eggs with candy and Samantha got to hide them for all 11 of the kids to do an egg hunt. Definitely too much sugar, but they loved it.
Then came general conference weekend and Easter. We went to my parents for Easter dinner and to watch the last session of conference, and the kids got to color eggs.
April 6 was mine and Marshall's 15th Anniversary. Yes, you read that right. 15 years!! We went to the temple and to dinner at Tuscany. Wow, was that good food. Yum! When we got home we found a jar on our bed filled with money. It was decorated and had CRUISE written on it. We are saving up to go on a southern caribbean cruise next spring break, and Samantha and Amy had gotten the idea from the movie UP to put all our change in a jar. They had $70 in it. Not a bad start!
We are also trying to eat healthier. We are buying some organic (it is too much to buy all organic) and trying to cut out most processed foods as well as anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it. We've been cleaning out the flower beds so that we can plant a garden. Can't wait to get started on it.
Spring Break is over and the kids go back to school on Monday. Maybe then I'll have time to upload some pics.

Last Chance

swim meet. March 5-6. First is Samantha in the 100 breast, Amy in the 200 free and Scott in the 25 free. Nicely done!

Rachael Ray always says

that if you get your kids in the kitchen cooking, they will eat whatever they made and they won't be so picky. So Scott and Amy helped with dinner last night. We made tri-berry muffins (minus the blueberries so really it was a duo) and Scott did half the work. It was really cute, actually. Then we sat down to dinner and he picked one apart and asked if next time I could leave out the berries. Clearly parenting advice from someone who has never had children is a lot like marriage advice from someone who has never been married.

The muffins were okay; they actually needed more berries than what I added, but Amy and I made an omelet for 2, that actually feeds 4 and it was so yummy. It even got a "Wow, this is really good" from Marshall, which is praise indeed. I really think you should try it.

The Kirsten/Barefoot project

Okay, it doesn't have the same ring as Julie/Julia, and I don't really want to cook gross stuff just because it's in a cookbook I happen to like. But, I really did like the movie, because I like to try out new recipes, and I thought since I own all 6 of the Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks, why not cook more out of them. I started with the first one, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. So far, it's mostly been a success. Like I said, if it's something I don't like, I won't bother making it, or if the ingredients are just too expensive, then it will have to wait until the economy picks up. What have I done so far? Eggplant spread, cheddar corn chowder, split pea soup, ham, brownies, coconut cupcakes (i've made them before), blueberry muffins (i've made those before too) and spaghetti and meatballs from Barefoot Contessa at home, and fish and chips, though I made hush puppies instead of chips. Other than the split pea soup, I've been happy with everything. That doesn't mean that I haven't made things from other cookbooks though. I made the Ultimate fish tacos last night from Tyler Florence that were so good I wish I had leftovers for lunch, and I made chicken with mushrooms and garlic from The Comfort Table: Everyday occassions. This week I'm trying lemon chicken, indonesian ginger chicken and basil tomato soup.
Does that make me a nerd? The better question is, do I care? It is what I enjoy doing and I'm having a lot of fun, plus my family eats well.

Random Pics

Scott watching cartoons before school and Amy reading.

The Fish Bowl Classic

was over the weekend. It's a swim meet. All three kids swam. Samantha got a state qualifying time in the 100 breast. Her time was a 1:21.86. She was so excited. The whole reason we went to this meet was so she could go for it. At their first meet she missed it by a second and really wanted to get it. She also swam the 200 free, 200 IM and 50 free. It was fun to watch her chase the girls down on the breaststroke portion of the IM.


Amy swam the 50 breast, 100 free, 200 free and 200 IM. She had a great 50 breast and dropped 2 more seconds to win her heat, the the 200's were a little much for her at this point and really wore her out. It was hard for her to end on a bad note, but she forgets it's been a year since they last swam and she needs time to build her endurance.Scott swam the 50 breast and the 100 free. A 100 is 4 laps. There was a 9 year old next to him (Scott was the youngest there) and after the first 2 laps he hung on to the wall and cried. Scott just kept swimming. Finally the 9 year old started swimming again and he caught up to Scott. When Scott saw him he started moving those little arms and raced him to the finish and was able to beat him! Because I was timing for most of the meet, I didn't get a lot of pictures. Next time I will get some video and post it. It's pretty cool to see how well they can swim. In fact, last week at Scott's practice a guy and girl, between 16-20 I'm guessing, we're in the way of Scott's group and the coach had to ask them to move to the other side. They started to swim away and it was embarrasing to see the little 6 and 7 year olds able to swim better.