When There's a WIll There's a Way!

If anyone knows me....they know I am a MAJOR crock pot cooker! I LOVE the crock pot! It is such a time saver for one. Stuff tastes SO delicious and tender when it's slow cooked...and I just love that I don't have to tend the food, worry that my house will catch on fire while I'm gone and really, and don't have to stir it much during the day. It makes my house smell like I've been such a good housewife and have done nothing but fix meals for my family all day. :) Last week....I quickly threw a roast and some green salsa over the roast, plugged in the crock pot and away I went to help at the kids' school. I got home 4 hours later to find that same cold roast sitting in the crock pot! OH NO!!!! Did I forget to plug it in? NO! ....Did I forget to turn it on? NO...Did the GFCI button pop out and turn it off? I decided it MUST be that! I ran out to the box on the side of the house to reset the buttons....then ran back inside and plugged in the crock pot...POP! Ok....that couldn't be it shorting out could it? I did that 2 more times. I guess I'm a dummy...but I wasn't going to admit that my lovely crock pot could actually be dead! NOOOOOO!!!!! Ugh....what was I going to do? I have said it before and I'll say it again...I don't really like having to buy something I already own. This seems to be the year that this keeps happening to me!

As you can see, the crock pot comes apart. I couldn't help but be sad about throwing the ceramic bowl and lid away...so I stuck it in the garage to think about it. Thursday I went to Goodwill thinking that perhaps I'd find another crock pot for cheap. I like mine cuz it's BIG....and lots of them out there seem to be the little ones....so before I parted with my broken one, I wanted to replace it with a BIG one. Well what do ya know? I found the OUTSIDE SHELL to the crock pot. Some other poor unfortunate soul must have dropped their ceramic crock pot and it broke and they thought to send the shell to Goodwill. I am grateful to whoever that person is by the way....well, when I got to the front, they said it would be $10! What? It's only a part of a crock pot! That is highway robbery! I couldn't do it! I know they say one man's junk is another man's treasure, but c'mon! I looked over at the window and it said 50% off sale on Saturday! Should I do it? Walk away until Saturday? Who could possibly want part of a crock pot? I had to take that chance!

Saturday morning Goodwill opens at 9am. I am determined to go claim that crockpot shell! I am as excited as a kid at Christmas! Is this pathetic or what? I wake up at 5:11 am and start thinking about getting there right at 9 to give me the best possible chance of getting it. That is, IF no one else bought it Thursday or Friday! I can't fall back asleep! Good heavens! The thing I love about Saturdays are that I don't usually have to set my alarm. I can wake up around 7:30 and feel refreshed! I can't fall back asleep! I lay there for a good half hour...and then get up. I know, simple minds, simple pleasures, right? I got up, and wrote the kids their job lists to do, got in the shower and was out the door at 8:50am. I get there and my goodness! The parking lot is totally full! What is this? Black Saturday? WOW! I get in there and there are no shopping carts left and just HOARDS of people! What is WRONG with all of you? Stay in BED on Saturday! I just need to get in and out of here! I am NOT kidding you, there were people everywhere, and the lines to buy stuff were HORRIBLE! I go back to find the crockpot and a man has every good pot and pan and crockpot that exists. He left the junkie ones. I quickly scan his cart and NOPE, he doesn't have MY shell! But where is it? OH NO! It's NOT there! I walk quickly up to the front to see if it's still under the register that I left it at.....NOPE...... Then, I think to myself, "you're so cheap, that you lost it....lesson learned!" Then I get a feeling to go back and look in a different spot just in case. Friends, I am happy to say, that the shell and I are once again together. I stood in that line and paid my $5.00 and am now a VERY happy owner of a crock pot again!

I'm a happy girl!  Good things come to those who wait!  Oh, I forgot to tell you that I had bought a crockpot at Costco on Wed. because I thought it was a "must" in the house, not a "would be nice to have"....but I hadn't openend it, so I took the new one back to Costco and got my $45 dollars back!  This is a GREAT day!  So, here's to some good cookin' huh? 

The FInal Chapter of Crazy Cousin Christmas! Promise!

The main reason for blogging for me is to keep a family history for my kids. I was TRYING to scrapbook for a few years and fell so far behind that I felt REALLY overwhelmed! To say the least. Then, everyone around me kept talking about blogging and how it is SO much easier than scrapbooking. I really feel like it is a WONDERFUL thing! With that said, I know this cousin Christmas has lasted a long time, but it's really more for the kids....
David's dad BOB CRAWFORD grew up in Oakland, CA. BEFORE the Oakland Temple was built, he lived in that neighborhood and would play on the hill where the temple now sits. The COOL thing is that he wasn't a member of our church. He has been the only person in his family to join, but we think it's pretty special that he joined later in life after he and Linda were married. Anyway, our cousin Brittany wanted all of the cousins to come to the house Bill, Bob and Tom Crawford grew up in to hear them talk about some of their memories. So here are all of us gathered looking accross the street at the house watching Bob and Tom talk about things they remembered. The funny thing is, people kept looking at us so funny. We were a LARGE group all staring at this house. It would be funny to know what people were thinking as they drove by!

 

Here's their home. Their parents were F. Mason and Margaret Crawford. Bob is telling us some fascinating story....I just can't remember to jot them down!

 

We went to Tom and Alana's home afterwards to have a yummy lasagna dinner and some fun hanging out time! They live in Castro Valley which is only about 15 minutes away from their growing up home. It's so nice to have family! The kids all got along so well!

 

Poor Linda gets hot so easily! One night the kids heard her say "I'm just SWEATING!" One of the grandkids ran and got an icepack out of the freezer and brought it and put it on her head and then gave her some ice water! I had to include it! Nothing like those funny memories!

 

One thing for sure is....these Crawford kids are VERY creative! It reminds me of when I was growing up. Sometimes that creative play seems like a lost art with all the computer stuff, Wii games, etc....The kids built this HUGE fort and called it CLUB B. Not too sure what "B" stands for...but they were trying to make money! They had us come in and get a back massage for 1 penny! WHAT a bargain! We would tip them big like a nickle or something. :) I love the rules they have posted. These are memories we will always treasure!

 

We love our cousins on both sides. Here are a few of the candid shots that Donny took. I had to "borrow" them. Thanks Donny!

 

2 Seperate Family Pictures in One Month! Wow!

Donny (David's brother) has recently gotten a really nice camera and took some really nice shots of our families. I try to avoid family pictures for obvious reasons, and find it funny that in one month I have had 2 official family pictures taken and haven't really had one for probably 6 years! Bad, I confess....I must be more diligent about family pictures! The years just go by so quickly! It's amazing! This was the first time we were ALL together in a really long time. Yes, we have had some family get to gethers, but there was always someone missing....(war or work or whatever) hey, that was three W's. Kinda cool. Anyway, he we are in all our glory! Thanks Donny! You're super talented for sure! Love the place we had these taken at!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy Crawford Cousin Christmas 2009!!

Ok. I know I'm REALLY overdue getting these pictures out! No judging please! :) I have gotten the comment from a few people that "we are always going somewhere!" I didn't really think going to visit family in 2 states meant that we were always going. I feel like it's really important to keep those family ties strong.... Anyway, when I blog about our "trip" I guess I feel like we're having those family get-to-gethers that everyone else has, we just have to travel 800 miles to get to it! We live away from all family...and really love it here, but something we definitely miss is having memories with family. All of David's siblings came out to San Jose this year for Christmas! That was a Christmas present in itself! David, Cathy and Ginger all married within about 2 months of each other and Greg got married the year after. The fun thing about that is that all of our kids are around each other's ages! The Crawford home was a BLAST this Christmas! I'll try to capture the fun we had by showing some pictures and telling about some of it!

Abbie and Hawley are almost a year apart...but they seemed to be 2 peas in a pod! So fun to watch them play. They always wanted their hair done the same way or wanted to dress alike. You know, the typical girl thing. They were just instantly bonded from the time they got together until the time we all left! It's funny because Abbie and Hawley both have only brothers...so it was great to have some girl power! Then once Cathy and Dan showed up with their 3 girls, they really felt the power!

A Crawford tradition is to receive pj's on Christmas Eve. We were missing a few cousins here, but had to capture the ones that were there! Everyone is sporting their new pajamas and having such a fun time! The kids ALL did so well! I couldn't believe how much fun they had! They would stay up so late and get up so early. I really thought we would have crabby fighting kids. They couldn't seem to get enough of each other! SOOOO fun!

Holden is Justin and Ginger's baby. He was born a little early and is still so Little! He is 4 months old, so he can hold his head up and look around, but his little body looks like a newborn. He is small and light and just FUN to hold! We all wanted to hold him! I only got a few pictures of that, but I'm sure Holden had withdrawls after he left San Jose. I don't think he ever got put down! Your arm never felt like falling off after holding him for a long period of time! I miss him!

Uncle Greg and Uncle Justin each read the kids a Christmas story on Christmas eve after the kids settled down from getting new jammies and stuff. Always fun to see the uncles getting involved! :)

Crawford tradition from the time David was a kid until now is that the kids have to wait at the top of the stairs to come down. Then they are allowed to go and get their stocking and open anything that is inside of them. They like to really DRAG the day out! Poor Eli was still feeling a little sick on Christmas morning. His fever had gone away, but he was definitely not himself! We forgot to bring their stockings, so had to improvise and bought stockings at the dollar store. It for sure was not one of those "spendy" Chrimstmas' but it was a fun one nontheless...

As I was saying, it wasn't a big spendy Christmas. The kids each got 3 things. We told the kids our main Christmas present was traveling. They were really good about it. I thought I'd get a little complaining when I said that. They surprised me by being understanding and wrote on a list the 3 things they would want. They weren't big huge expensive things either! I think they were just so happy to be with their cousins....it didn't even matter what they got! That is truly the way I like Christmas to be! When we can just enjoy the feelings and the spirit of Christmas. Am I sounding like a broken record? Does that make me sound old since no one even knows what a record is anymore?

The Langlois are practically family to us. We love them like they are our family. When we lived in San Jose, we were always doing something with them! They have always been so good to us and have taken a special liking to Abbie Claire. Doug, Sheri, Sara, her fiance Steve and Jake....we love having them over and spending time with them for sure!

Abbie and Hawley couldn't seem to get enough of those boys. They were hanging on Jake and Steve probably more than they wanted. Jake definitely has a Crawford Fan Club whether he wants it or not! Abbie can be shy with people after not seeing them for a while, but for some reason, when she sees Jake she picks up where she left off! She loves him!

Steve Fisher is Sara's Fiance. We really like him! He and Sara do alot of Country dancing. The girls all saw Steve and Sara dancing and wanted to try some of that. What a fun guy huh? I think he got more than he bargained for! He seriously was sweating picking up all these little girls and swinging them around. He taught them a bunch of lifts and stuff. At one point one of the girls went and got an ice pack out of the freezer to cool him off and a wash cloth to wipe off his sweat! They didn't think to say they had enough so he could cool down, they just took care of the overheating man that was lifting them into the air! Notice Abbie and her pointed toes! She just loved it! Now whenever we pick her up...she swings her legs in some of these poses and just points her toes like crazy! Fun times!

Grandma and Mason! Don't they look cute together? My kids have a special bond with these grandparents. I think it's because we lived with them for 6 years. I know, 6 years...huh? So Bob and Linda seemed like a 2nd set of parents while we were living there! We really did enjoy it. There was a lot of good that came from us staying there. I'm sure they're glad to have their home back now though!

Oh man are you in for a treat now! It is time to view the Crawford Family Talent Show! Who would've known there were so many talented people in one family? :) Side note....the thing that is funny is that we PAY money to have the kids do sports and take dance lessons, but the kids didn't do anything in the talent show that we actually PAY for! Keep scrolling down...you'll see what I mean. I didn't get pictures of everything...but you'll get the idea of how much fun we had! We had Dan and Cathy sing "Meet me in Montana". They have great voices! It was fun to watch. That song is Dan Seals and Marie Osmond...so I don't know quite why they are wearing the wigs....the beautiful wigs might I add....but they were funny anyway. :)

After each performance, Eli would come out and read 2 or 3 jokes from his joke book that Grandma Jefferies (my mom) sent to him! They were pretty good! A great filler in between the acts for sure!

Mason and Jane announced each number. They were great MC's of the night!

These boys are getting pretty famous for their breakdancing skills! They did a number and really got everyone all pumped up! It's fun to see them dance with their dad. David is such a fun dad. I feel lucky to have such a great guy in my life! Can you believe David is 36 and still doing the worm on the ground and doing handstands? He gets that from his dad. Bob is still doing handstands and stuff. What a bunch of great people we have in our family!

our Abbie is very friendly and loves to be heard for sure. But for some reason, she has total stage fright! It seems so funny to me because she's so headstrong and such a leader, but won't perform when you ask her to. As I mentioned earlier, she wouldn't do ballet, but wanted to do jump roping for her talent. There's a great daddy again doing jump roping with Abbie to help her not be so scared to be up on stage. Must be nice to be so in shape, huh?

Here are some of the other numbers. Singing, playing the flute, playing the guitar, tae kwando or however you spell it, and many other things. It was a great way for the cousins to see what each other had going on in their lives since we live so far away from each other.

We have been looking forward to doing this for a while. I don't know who came up with this idea, but we gotta do it again for sure!

Uncle Greg is a DJ for all the youth dances in the area. He is GREAT and they all love him! He DJ'd a dance for just our family and man did we have soooooooo much fun! Even Grandma and Grandpa were dancing!

We just danced the night away! Even the little guys! It was so cute to watch everyone! They were doing a big train, and then sometimes we would all be in a big circle and at one point Greg dedicated a song to Darlene and they slow danced while we all cirled around them! I love that we feel so much love in this family! Family is where it's at! It makes me miss my family too! These are the times I wish we all lived closer! sniff sniff....

One night we took the little girls to get their first pedicures. They had so much fun! It was cute to see all these little girls getting flowers painted on their toes! It's fun to be pampered at any age!

Whew! This is a lONG post! Now do you see why I took so long to get it out? I still need to get a few more uploaded from a couple more events that we had. This is going to be all for tonight though. This is Aunt Darlene making a rice krispy house with the kids. They started eating it hte minute it was done!