What's cookin' with Kate

2010-07-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

After a fun weekend there is nothing like a good nap!

2010-07-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our newest family member Luke!

There is no place better for dinner than on the river.

2010-07-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend with Johna and Alana in town. We had dinner down the river and Willow Bay, lots of time in pool, and a kyak trip.

2010-07-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

After church on SUnday we all took a walk in Manito Park, with a little rest for our feet in the fountain at Duncan Gardens

2010-07-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grampa at the beach

2010-07-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Gabby at the beach

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Jake at the beach!

2010-07-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Newport Beach jusy has too much potential for great photos.

2010-07-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Finally some decent family photos!

2010-07-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

Dan and Sarah were able to join us up at the lake for some fun boating and a great pancake breakfast (thanks Dan)!

2010-07-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Rich, James and Andrew came to visit for the weekend. We had a great time with them. While the weather was not fantastic we did manage to find time for a boat ride.

2010-07-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

In April we went to visit Jen. Lexi took some photos with her two closet cousins and Matt was able to see all of his brothers.

2010-07-20T07:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Spring!

2010-07-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

We have a strict no twinner policy at our house. Too bad I was alseep when Matt left for church and we discovered this when we arrived...

2010-07-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

It is good to have a creatice husband at importnant times of the year (like Easter!)

2010-07-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

So many great pictures! I will just post a few of Matt's collages and call it a day:-)!

2010-07-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mimi and Papa who took the kids, Matt & I were able to go zip lining down the mountains of Maui. The kids enjoyed some one on one time with their grandparents and Gabby got to fish on the golf course thanks to kids club Hyatt.

2010-07-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Paradise. This February we were able to take a trip to Maui with Mimi and Papa. Matt and I loved the warm weather and the kids loved the beach and the pool.

2010-07-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

In the end Hawaii was wonderful. When we returned Matt made a wonderful photo book about our vacation. On the cover is the picture of Matt, Jake, Gabby and I out in the water. Everyone who sees it comments that Lexi is not in the photo. Well...not from lack of effort we did not manage to return home with a single decent picture of the whole family!! Here are a few attempts.

2010-07-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

As Christmas day continued Dad cooked breakfast (bacon and pancakes) and then we all gathered at our condo for a game of Beatles Rock Band.

2010-07-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

Christmas at the lake is wonderful. Jake got a fire house complete with firemen and a fire truck, Gabby got an American Girl doll, My brother and I got matching instant meat thermometers, and my mom received an electronic bagpipe chanter.

2010-07-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

By December Lexi was looking alittle more like herself:-)! Also it was time for the annual Santa picture and to start getting ready for Christmas.

2010-07-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Jake moved to a big boy bed and to sharing a room at the same time. It was a difficult transition. In one of our attempts to streamline bed time we took pictures of each step and then the kids got stickers as they completed each phase. Brushing, books and prayer, going to sleep, and STAYING in bed!

2010-07-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Denver for Thanksgiving. We were able to bless Lexi (6 of Matt's 7 sibling were able to join us), celebrate the holiday, head up into the mountains for some tree cutting and Matt was able to attend both a Broncos and a Nuggets Game.

2010-07-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom and the kids!

2010-07-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

Not much snow this year so we had to make do with what little we had. This is one pretty sad looking snow man but the kids had fun making it!

2010-07-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Just a few favorites from Johnny's pictures this past fall

2010-07-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Jake's fantastic photos...

2010-07-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks again the Johnny who came up and did come family photos for us! Lexi was less than helpful and the best pictures turned out to be of here feet. To be honest that is pretty appropriate as now here feet are one of her most expressive features.

2010-07-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

Halloween was lots of fun. Jake was a polar bear, Gabby was a snow princess, and Lexi was a duck, but mostly she just wanted to nurse!

2010-07-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

For the first time in a long time we bought grocery store pumkins. While we missed our annual pumpkin trip to greenbluff these were just as much fun to carve!

2010-07-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

Proud grandparents

2010-07-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

Gabby out little soccer star.

2010-07-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Alexis Josephine Sheffield has arrived on September 25, 2009.
Welcome to the family out little one!

2010-07-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

At last the first day of school!

2010-07-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Peach picking with the Pincocks.

2010-07-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

As summer was ending we enjoyed nice warm evenings out in the yard

2010-07-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

We were able to enjoy a fun weekend with Maddy and Ryan Jensen that their wonder full kids. Just in case it is not obvious both Maddy and I are feeling a bit pregnant:-)!

2010-07-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Jake at his best (or funniest)

2010-07-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Roy and Cora came to visit and we were able to enjoy a nice dinner with them.

2010-07-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Blueberry picking in Sandpoint is always a blast. We ate more than we picked and spent a great deal of time chasing kids but it was a fun date.

2010-07-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

No summer is coplete without a trip to the fire station
Thank you Dr. Watts

2010-07-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

Next Uncle Rich Came to visit. We had a great time riding the chairlift up the mountain and a campfire that night.

2010-07-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

So I thought about updating our blog today and found that we are a bit behind, as in a year behind! So here we go.....
We will start with last year and our trip down to Newport Beach. We had a great time with John, Alana and Great Grandpa Gill.

Thank you John for the pictures!

2009-07-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had John (one of Matt's BYU Roommates) and Stephanie up from the Tri cities. John is a fantastic photographer and was kind enough to snap a few pictures of the kids for us during the weekend. I can't choose a favorite so I am going with the shotgun approach!

More pictures from the weekend

2009-07-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

2009-07-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

Super fun weekend with the Goodys up in Sandpoint. We hit the 4th of July parade, the fireworks, and lots of fun times on and in the water.

Papa's birthday

2009-07-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Papa's almost 60th birthday with a pug 'ugly' cake. It is a good thing that I was able to start with a subject that looked like the cake! (thanks to the memory of Winston!)

Emily's visit

2009-07-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

In June Matt's sister Emily made the journey to Spokane. We had a great time with her and her kids. What could be better than seven kids under the age of nine in a boat?

Kansas City

2009-07-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with the Larsens in Kansas City. Our kids still want to go back and 'play toys' with the extensive Larsen collection.

The long Spring

2009-07-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Spring took a long time this year in Spokane. But we had a great time at least enjoying not having any snow.

Jake had his first ride on the airplanes at Riverfront Park. He loved it until his sister decided it was time to 'fly'. Notice there are no pictures of the plane in the air!

Gabby had a very special Mother's Day suprise for me at preschool. The kids made lunch and served it to all the moms. It was really a fun day.

Our little dancer

2009-04-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

The much anticipated Ballet recital is almost here! We had picture day this past weekend which marked the first time Gabby has been allowed to remove her costume from the bag. It will truly be a miracle if it makes it to the recital.

Easter Continued

2009-04-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

And finally, this is as good as it gets! Not huge smiles on the kids, but no scary faces. What more can you ask for in a family photo?

Easter Photo Moment

2009-04-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

So with the craziness of life we realize that we really haven't taken pictures for months. So Easter morning we decide this is the moment! Perhaps we should have had the easter candy first....
Working on smiles...can't you just hear the "CHEEEEEEEEEEESE"

Dad made it in this one, limp and all! Still working the kinks out of the smile for Gabs.

Warning: Runaway children!

Seriously, leave your nose alone!

Annual Trip to Monterey

2009-04-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

I do have to say this most possibly our most unphotogenic trip ever...Note the pictures below. And these are some of the better ones. I post them only as evidence that I still exist. I am regulary haunted by what a brat I could be about taking pictures. I am sure that my parents will look at the last photo and laugh for a very long time. Enjoy!

Monterey Aquarium

2009-04-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Our Spring trip to Monterey was great! We had such in incredible time with Emily (as always!). We LOVED the aquarium. We got to be front row for live feedings with both the penguins and the large tank (sharks, rays, tuna, etc). The kids favorite area was the 'splash zone'. Animals are overrated.

Happy Birthday Jake & Matt

2009-04-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite guys share a birthday! For the big TWO and 30+ we had a 'bug' cake. Chocolate cake and frosting, served from a bucket with plenty of suprises on top of and inside the cake!!

Happy Birthday Mimi

2009-04-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Mimi had a special birthday this year (happy 60th Mom!). The are festivities throughout the year, but from Gabby and Jake we had a birthday dinner with a pink (of course) butterfly cake.

Winter WONDERland (wondering if it will ever end!)

2009-04-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

Winter in SPokane this year brought more snow than anyone can remember. In fact, it broke every record on the books (most snow in total, most snow in shortest amount of time, etc). This picture is from the beginning, when the snow was still fun!

We spen Christmas in Denver with the Sheffields. One of the highlights was certainly the now anuual ugly sweater contest. I was so proud to win this year, but I will refrain from posting a solo shot. Let's just say you need a full length photo to appreciate my find.

Out little rocker

2009-04-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Jake is stunninly adept at the use of i phones, headphone, i pods and too many other electronic gadgets. Hmmmmmm what does he see everyday??? Soon enough he will be posing on face book.

What I really want for Christmas

2008-12-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

So it is that time of year again. The time where everyone wants a Christmas list from you and all the great ideas you have had for the past 11 months that you thought about writing down but didn't have completely escaped your mind. So I have come up with a few things; a new sweater, a watch (I don't have a single one that still works), a few replacement sets of earrings for those I (read my kids) lost down the drain, all the usual suspects. But as I thought about it her is my REAL wish list:

Dear Santa,
For Christmas this year I would like........
1. An 8 foot fake tree. One that looks real but doesn't need water, or to be cleaned up after each day as the needles fall, or that makes my allergies crazy. And yes I would like little white lights superglued on, perfectly spaced so that all I have to do is roll it out each December.
( I know it is a little bah humbug but this is my list.)
2. One Saturday morning each month when I get to sleep in as late as I like.
3. My kids to like vegetables and want to eat with silverware.
4. Jake to be spontaneously potty trained.
5. Self cleaning toilets and showers
6. A house broken pug puppy (this is fantasy after all)
7. One week of fresh snow on the mountain, sunshine and a baby sitter.
Thank you for your consideration
Kate

Hay You!

2008-11-29T22:14:00.000-08:00

The kiddie hay maze is one of our favorite traditions at Halloween. This face on Jake says it all. It is also the face that I seem to see the most these days. It says, "Here I come at about 100 mile per hour, brace yourself!"Along with the hay maze is hay for throwing / jumping. Nothing better than a hay fight. All in all it was a pretty great day out for the Sheffields.

Pumpkin Picking

2008-11-29T21:59:00.000-08:00

We pick pumpkins in addition to apples, but only once a year.

Apple Picking: Part Two

2008-11-29T21:55:00.000-08:00

We made to Walters Fruit Ranch as a family in time for some of the last apples of the season. Jake was again focused on the eating part of the adventure.

Gabby, of course, insisted on wearing her hot pink cowgirl hat (thanks Mimi). I think my mother does this to torture me!

Finally, we have the annual "box" photo. Each year we take pictures of the kids in the fruit box. Some years are more successful than others. Just for fun (or just for my fun) I posted years past below.

Past Year "Box" photos

2008-11-29T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hats, Hoods and Goggles

2008-11-29T21:34:00.000-08:00

Dress up is certainly a constant at our house. Gabby wanted to help out Dad in his hat selection. Mat always seems to have a hat for every occasion, but none that match this.

Not wanting Jake to be left out Gabby created a custom look for our little car lover.

Jake was a lion for Halloween (I am still looking for our Halloween pictures by the way.......). The costume was well used by October 31.

Who knew how many uses ski goggles have?

So You Think You Can Dance: The Tour

2008-11-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

So Emily and I made it happen. For almost 24 hours we were without commitments, children or any adult supervision...in short we were 16 again! We both flew into Salt Lake and met at the airport. We rented a car and with nothing but the best intentions of getting an outfit for Emily to wear to her sisters wedding, hit the mall. Apparently it had been a while since I tried shopping without children in tow. One pair of fabulous purple shoes, a set a matching jean I would have never bought on my own, and a trendy green coat later we were off to the show. (Thank you fashion guru Emily)
We were both a little afraid that the tour would not live up to our VERY high expectations. We were soooo wrong. It was AMAZING!! Seriously I still do not have words. We cruised back to Emily's parents' place and crashed for a few hours of sleep before our early morning flights back to reality.
Thanks to Matt and Scott for taking the kids and making it all possible. Save the date for next year!!!

Apple picking: Round one

2008-11-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

So we do lots of apple picking in the fall. Say it with me: Cheap Road Trip! It burns an entire morning. This year we hit the apples with the Pincock twins and Maddie Rawlins.
Jake was not about to be part of the group photo but he gets points for determination.
As crazy as this sounds this is the coolest thing... It is a giant sandbox of dried PEAS! The kids love it and they actually stay pretty clean. Who thought of this and how do I get one?

Pink Pink Pink!

2008-11-29T21:01:00.000-08:00

Gabby lives in pink. Our big clothing break through was the recently she added dark pink (ie hot pink) to the approved clothing color list. The craziest part is that while these pictures are from September, she is still wearing her ballet leotard almost every day! We have snow!!!!

1st Days

2008-09-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Gabby had her first day of ballet last Friday! She has been so excited. She went shopping with Mimi (Grandma Mary Jane) for her leotard last week and has worn it almost every waking moment since. She would wear it to bed as well if we would let her. I think in her first half hour lesson they learned to point their toes and possibly to plie. Can you imagine a class of 3 and 4 year olds? Herding cats is all I have to say. Her teacher is a very brave woman!

Today was Gabby's first day of pre school. Gabby attended pre three school last year (love those fall birthdays!). This year she was off and running, literally, to the dress up pile to steal the best princess dress. Ah yes, experience counts. After 'helping' her remember to share she seemed to adjust quite quickly (as in 60 seconds) to the new class. While I lost the battle of the cute "first day of school outfit" I did win the "no costumes, pjs, or dirty and/or stained clothes" battle. We will call it a draw.

Newport Pictures

2008-08-30T11:39:00.001-07:00

Our Trip to Newport

2008-08-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

We are back from our trip to Newport Beach. Each year we get to spend one week visiting with Matt’s grandpa. He has a great little place right on the beach. The kids just loved staying on the beach. We found that while Gabby enjoyed learning to boogie board in the water Jake enjoyed the new hot sport of sand bodysurfing. We would dig a hole and then he would body surf down the sides. (If I can figure this out I will post the video.) We took our annual trip over to Balboa Island and enjoyed nightly excursions for frozen chocolate covered bananas.
We were able to catch up with lots of friends while we were in town. We saw Jim and Katie Watkins with their cure baby boy, Roy and Cora (my brother and his wife), Kevin and Karsen and their beautiful daughters, and Matt’s friends Bethany and Rob with their kids. We were also able to overlap with Matt’s sister Emily and her family. Gabby and Jake loved playing with their cousins.
If the pictures posted above are not enough (if you have time to kill or you are related) here is the link to Matt’s web album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mattsheffield/NewportBeach

Seriously, so blessed

2008-08-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

OK, I had to add this to my list of blogs because it really is funny. Matt sent me an email with the link and two hours later I was still laughing. It is a spoof blog on married Mormon moms. You have to be able to laugh but it is the funniest thing that I have read in a long time.

So Enjoy!!!!!!!

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

S.Y.T.Y.C.D.

2008-08-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know SYTYCD is short (almost short) for So you think you can dance. I really don't watch reality TV but thanks to Emily E. I am completely addicted to this show. In fact for three years we have been trying to go to the SYTYCD tour and I think that this is the year! We will find out on Saturday if we can get tickets but I am pretty excited!!!
Just for Emily: my prediction of the winner....Twitch or Joshua!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-07-17T10:31:00.001-07:00

Daddy is Chasing a Beaver

2008-07-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

Background:
This summer we have been reworking our back yard. In summary it has involved a tractor, new sod, concrete removal (and burial in some cases like the old concrete septic tank buried in the back), trees and growing grass from seed in a few large spots. This story is really about the grass growing from seed. We splurged on sod for areas in our yard that did not have any grass before the 'Project'. In order to save a few bucks, however, we decided to let the grass grow back where it had previously been. When that didn't happen fast enough, we bought seed, fertilizer and enough water to fill a small lake. Matt has been heard saying that this will make a great story about faith and things 'unseen' IF the grass ever grows again.
Yesterday:
The grass has indeed started to grow back. But yesterday we had an intruder. Matt got home from work and was headed into our room to change. When he looked out the door to the yard in our room he saw the unthinkable: a gofer! A very large, fat, happy gofer. So shirt pulled out he went chasing after the gofer with a push broom. I suddenly had images of a night two years ago where Matt when crazy and chased and killed a mouse with a broom in the middle of the kitchen floor. Only this time the kids were watching and the animal was much bigger.
In the end Matt just chased it around the yard for a while and then it ran into our neighbor's yard. A few minutes later the doorbell rang. At this point I had just opened up raw chicken so I asked Matt to grab the door. It was the Comcast guy (who is LDS, single and about 19 by the way) coming to talk with us about our phones. So here is my husband in the early stages of undress opening the door and my 3 yr old blurts out, "Daddy has been chasing a BEAVER!!" Very Nice.