Lacrosse

Meghann started a lacrosse team. She has had two practices and is starting to get the hang of it. I don't know anything about it or I would blog all the details, but here she is at practice.

Grapefruit and a Frog

Last week I was in the kitchen cutting these gorgeous and delicious grapefruit that our neightbor had given us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something, and this is what it was!

Lovely little frog, isn't he? Thank goodness the kids were home and could shoo him outside for me so that we could go on with our breakfast. Courtney actually said she recognized him from playing with him a few days before and hiding him in the garage. I guess he was just coming in for some more fun.

Grandma Beverly Passes Away

Brady's Grandma Beverly passed away Sunday night. She was such a great, strong woman. Here she is back in Decmeber receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from West Point City. That's quite an honor.

And here is Grandma and Grandpa Chester back in 1995 when they drove to Snowflake to visit us. That meant a lot that they would hop in their car and drive all that way for a visit. Meghann was just a baby.

I wish we had lived closer so that our kids could have attended the famous Kiddie Kollege. Whenever we talk about the kids going to college, Jordan says he is going to Kiddie Kollege! We're glad she's with her eternal companion and free from the pains of her body but we will miss her.

Water Hose and 3 Boys

Saturday Brady gave the boys the assignment to clean the green mildew off the white mailbox post (doesn't that sound lovely...that's Florida humidity for ya!). I walked out the front door and saw this and I ran to get my camera. I thought the three boys all holding on to the hose was a priceless picture. Now that's teamwork.

Then they turned around and gave me a cute smile. The joy (and oftentimes mischief) of three boys!

Denied...Almost

Well, after over a month of working on this 1,000 piece photo-mosiac puzzle, we finally finished it...almost. It has been a super hard puzzle and I was the only one working on it because the kids just couldn't get into it. They would help here and there but they mostly just asked me why it was taking me so long to finish it. My time to just sit and enjoy a puzzle was pretty limited but finally on Saturday morning I woke up determined to finish it. When I had 25 or so pieces left I made Courtney and Spencer come in and help me. We had four pieces left to put in and only three pieces in our hands. AARGH! I tried not to cry but put everyone on the hunt for the missing piece. We looked everywhere and didn't come up with it so I chalked one up to experience (I was still trying to figure out what kind of experience).

Later that evening Spencer found the missing piece on the side of the couch! Hooray! Now I can sleep peacefully at night. And look what a nice puzzle it is.

Alphabet Tag

I've never been tagged before! Here's one by Liseanne...

A-Attached or Single? Attatched
B-Best Friends? Brady (that's what happens when you live away from everyone and he's your ONLY friend for a while). Also Brendee and Wendy (from way back in 7th grade!)
C-Cake or Pie? Trapper's pie, any day!
D-Day of Choice? Sunday - no computer, no television, quiet time for my kids. Oh, and church. :)
E-Essential Item? My embroidery machine and my Bosch mixer.
F-Favorite Color? Yellow.
G-Gummy Bears or Worms? Gummy Bears, cinnamon bears preferrably.
H-Hometown? Syracuse, Utah.
I-Favorite Indulgence? Bruster's Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip ice cream. Mmmmm.
J-January or July? In Florida - January definitely. It's glorious.
K-Kids? 5
L-Life isn't complete without? My husband and kids.
M-Marriage Date? December 12, 1991
N-Number of Brother's and Sister's? 5 sisters, one brother.
O-Oranges or Apples? Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apples.
P-Phobia and Fears? Definitely afraid of heights.
Q-Quote? It's hard to narrow down one favorite, but here's one that I read from Elder Holland once that has really stuck with me: "...When Christ comes, the members of His Church must be looking and acting like members of His Church are supposed to look and act if we are to be acceptable to Him. We must be doing His work, and we must be living His teachings. He must recognize us quickly and easily as truly being His disciples." July '07 Ensign
R-Reason to Smile? Mowing the grass, painting the house all in February (and hopefully not into March). Getting a new fridge too :)
S-Season of Choice? Spring
T-Tag Three People? Are there three people that read this besides my sister-in-law who Liseanne already tagged? Let's see...my sister Denise, Katee and BRADY (we'll see if he reads my blog) :)
U-Unknown Fact About Me? I love Neil Diamond.
V-Vegetable? Corn on the cob...but does Spinach salad count? I love that too.
W-Worst Habit? Brady says it's keeping a stash of chocolate somewhere in my closet. I'm a closet eater. Another bad habit is running over curbs. I do it all the time, just ask my kids.
X-X-ray or Ultrasound? It better be x-ray now...an ultrasound would freak me out (if I was pregnant)
Y-Your Favorite Food? That's a hard one. I'll say my homemade lasagna, chicken croissant sandwiches and good old pizza.
Z-Zodiac Sign? Scorpio

A Post-Valentine Entry

Here are some pictures from yesterday:
Actually, I found this picture from last year's Valentine's Day. This heart-shaped pizza stromboli has become a tradition.

Here's a picture of my 5 little valentines. I didn't take a picture of my one BIG valentine...darn.
Here's this year's Valentine's day dinner. I had to take the picture before it was cooked so you'll have ot use your imagination on joining the two hearts.

Finally, look at these cute Crocs my sweet, thoughtful husband gave me. I love them!

I Love This Day of Love

I love Valentine's Day! I've had so much fun the past few days getting little gifts ready for my husband, my kids, school teachers, the crossing guards, neighbors, you name it! I've made more of these little heart baskets than I care to count, but after 10 or so, I got pretty fast at it. I think they're darling and just the right size to hold a few treats for the kids. Meghann, Courtney and Brady got a ticket to see the Hannah Montana movie and the boys got Bruster's gift cards (our favorite ice cream joint) so tonight we'll divide and conquer, Brady with the girls and me with the boys. Brady and I are going to lunch, lest you think we aren't celebrating OUR love, and I'm sure we'll have some quiet time later too! :)

Hearts, hearts, hearts!

Here is how the table looked when everyone woke up this morning.

Pink heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast...okay, some were more like blobs than hearts but it was the thought that counts!

Close up of a heart

Leaves in February

I know ya'all usually rake in the fall, but the leaves don't come off the trees until about February here in Florida. Here are some pictures of Jordan in a pile of leaves (not too happy about it, apparently) and Tucker trimming the crepe myrtle tree (yes, he's still in his pajamas. It's his favorite thing about Saturdays so I try not to hassle him about it too much).

A Perfect Day

Yesterday was just about as good as it gets. First, because it was Saturday. Second, because we didn't really have anything planned that we HAD to do (besides the broadcast from Salt Lake). Third, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Brady went to the 8:00 a.m. broacast while I had a yard sale with a few friends, then in the afternoon Brady did some yard work, we took the kids plus a neighbor to Pappy's Strawberry Patch and picked berries, we ordered pizza for dinner, then we invited all the neighbors over to watch "Game Plan" outside in the driveway. That was a very good movie, and rated G too! It's hard to find "G" rated movies these days. Anyway, it was just such a nice day but after reading Joanna's blog about negative temperatures, I don't want to say too much about our 78ish, balmy Florida weather. Just remember, we'll be paying for it in July! :)

Tucker was very proud of this heard-shaped strawberry he picked.

Happy Birthday Mike

Today is my brother Mike's birthday. Happy 36th - you're getting old! Here are some pictures from last summer when we were together in Utah. Hope you have a great day!

Mike knows how to grill a MEAN burger!

I can't remember why you were playing doggie here...I think you were begging for carmel popcorn at the fireworks! :) he he This picture might get circulated around like the famous one of Denise! (I can't post that picture though, this is a FAMILY blog after all)

Happy Birthday Wendy

Here's a happy birthday wish to our sister-in-law, Wendy. I obviously need more pictures of you, this was the only one I could find in the three minutes that I had to look and post this. Have a great birthday!

Ice Cream Cake Roll

Here's the final product. I should have let it set in the freezer longer...but we were hungry!

Here's the cake cooling in the tea towel.

Cake with ice cream spread out before rolling.

Cake batter in pan before baking.

Well, several weeks after Tucker's birthday I am finally getting around to posting this recipe for the ice cream cake roll I made. It was very yummy and fun to make - really not hard at all, but it looks hard so go ahead, impress someone!

Ingredients:
4 eggs, separated
3/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 c. cake flour (I couldn't find cake flour so just used the normal kind)
1/4 c. cocoa
3/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
3 c. ice cream, softened (I didn't measure, just spread out a good amount)

Chocolate Sauce: (I didn't make the chocolate sauce)
2 (1oz.) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 c. butter
2/3 c. evaporated milk, heated to 160 degrees
1 c. sugar

Directions:

1. Let eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with waxed paper; grease and flour paper; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks on high for 3 minutes or until lemon-colored. Gradually add sugar and vanilla, beating until thick and pale yellow. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder; gradually add to egg yolk mixture Beat on low until well mixed (mixture will be thick).
3. In another large mixing bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites and salt on high speed until soft peaks form. Fold a fourth of egg whites into the batter, then fold in remaining whites.
4. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in the towel jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Unroll cake; spread with ice cream to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up again. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until serving.
6. In a small heavy saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Gradually add warm milk and sugar; stir constantly for 5 minutes or until completely dissolved. Serve with cake.

Field Trip

Last week I went on a field trip with Courtney to the Environmental Center. We saw a baby alligator, snake, turtle, and lots of other animals.

This gives new meaning to "stuffed animals!"

How would you like to cuddle up to this teddy bear?