Simons Says 2012.

Gym Videos.

2012-02-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

{picture by Tara}
Today at the open gym we met up with our cousins Presley and Stella {see their pictures here} and our uncle Dallin.

Now you now why we love open gym in the middle of winter and why Truman takes amazing naps afterward!!!

Snow, finally!

2012-02-12T21:48:00.003-07:00

Snow, finally! I think it caught us all off guard, including our HOA {who is suppose to shovel our roads, driveways and stairs}. At about 10:40 Tara {Gregg's older sister who lives across the street} yelled across the street to Gregg and asked if we thought she could make it to church in her Lexus. Gregg yelled back from our master bedroom window "yes". We watched as she backed out of her driveway and slide right into our front yard. Opps. She tired and tired and tried to get unstuck with no luck. Finally Gregg and Dallin changed out of their church clothes and went to shovel her out. Meanwhile I changed Truman and Bodie from their church clothes into their snow clothes. After shoveling a path across the entire street and her entire driveway Tara was able to pull back into her garage {by this time about three other men from the ward/neighborhood showed up to help}.

Next they guys headed down the street with a tow rope in hand to help this car ... our neighbor {who is also currently 'investigating' the Mormon church}. I think she appreciated the good deed.

By the time we had shoveled out everyone who had managed to get themselves "stuck" the plow made it to our road. We changed back into Sunday clothes and headed to church .. a little over an hour late!

{thanks Dallin for the picture and documenting that we actually made it}.

After church and naps we promised Truman we would go play in the snow. He was so excited! We walked down to grandpa and grandma Simons house to plow them out before grandma returned from her trip down south {grandpa is still out of town}.

Bodie watched all the excitement from the stroller all bundled up!

I think Gregg has plowed his parents driveway more then his dad this winter

{his dad always seems to be gone when it snows}.

Taking it all in - on grandmas unplowed driveway.

I think I know what we will be doing tomorrow!

Girls Date.

2012-02-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

Tiffany organized a Saturday afternoon girls date. My mom, Tiffany, Addie, Quinn and I went to the BYU Theater Ballets' presentation of "The Snow Queen". It was really fun to watch how excited Addie and Quinn were.

Thanks to Gregg, grandpa, Dallin, and McKay for watching the boys.

Etiquette dinner.

2012-02-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Tonight for mutual we hosted an etiquette dinner. The youth came dressed in their Sunday best. We started by teaching the men how to go to the ladies house and pick her up, introduce himself to her parents, how to walk her to the car, open the door, etc.

Thanks Bishop for letting us use your awesome car -it makes for a nice ride!

We asked a couple in our ward to teach our etiquette dinner. They sat in the middle of the square at a very formal table and taught the kids and answered questions as the adults served the food.

{I seriously love my young woman ... it made my heart melt to see everyone dressed up and excited to learn}

Too scared to eat - they were so worried about making a mistake!

They started with a salad and rolls.

Lucky Ana had two dates!

My favorite part was when the priests asked if this counted as a date. My reply was "if you use what you learned and take your date home it will."

Next it was on to spaghetti ... now that is hard!

I didn't get a picture of dessert, it was fresh berries with vanilla ice cream.

Our etiquette couple! Thank you!

These two informed that they made a "pinky promise" to go on a date together once they are 16! Like that is going to be hard to keep!

I think the youth had a really great time. We learned tons and maybe someday they will be thankful to know proper dating and dinner etiquette!

*side note: if you are thinking about doing this in your ward, it was really simple, didn't take a lot of prep and was very well received. I can email you my planning document.

Greggs Day.

2012-02-07T22:44:00.004-07:00

Happy Birthday Gregg!

A week ago I asked Gregg what he wanted to do for his birthday - he said, "take Truman skiing" - so we did. We borrowed some skis from a friend and took Truman to Sundance for his first skiing experience {thanks mom for watching Bodie}.

Going up the tow rope with dad.

Look how hard he is concentrating!

Truman liked going "really fast" down the "big hill" with dad!

He liked having me pull him around at the bottom of the hill.

{a man walked by with a really nice lens on his camera so I asked him if he would take a family photo for us, this is what we got. I thought with all his nice equipment that he might know what he was doing ... I was picturing a nice vertical shot with the mountains and ski hill in the back ground, not a chin shot!}

Truman waiting for dad to load the ski's into the car so we could go get a treat at the Sundance shop.

We had a successful first day of skiing, we will see if he wants to go again anytime soon. The weather was beautiful. The rest of Greggs birthday was fun and spontaneous.

Open Gym.

2012-02-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

Non of these pictures are great - but I wanted to remember how much fun Truman is having at 'open gym' time on Monday mornings. This is the perfect winter activity. We go to a local gymnastics gym for open gym time for a hour and a half on Mondays. Truman never makes it home awake - he is always exhausted after running, jumping and playing this hard.

I will take my camera again next week and try a faster shutter speed!

Internet Bookclub.

2012-02-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

We had our first internet book club discussion tonight {thanks to Google +} with some of my cousins and their spouses. It worked out really well. My sister is leading the discussion; we are reading Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman. I think we had 16 people chatting {including my brother Nate in China via FaceTime with the iphone held up to the computer}. Technology!

For those that missed this time our next assignment is chapters 3 and 7.

Happy reading and happy emotional parenting till next time!

Gregg.

2012-02-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

Gregg does not get the recognition he deserves on this blog so I thought I would share these new head shots that he had to have for work. I like they turned out nice.

{and I think he is a total hottie!}

crying.

2012-01-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

Bodie and I hung out all day yesterday while Truman and Gregg had a man date in Salt Lake {getting new tires on my car}. You would think from these pictures that Bodie hated every minute of hanging out with me!

{something in this picture makes him look like a 'Quinn Boy' to me}.

Tangerine Buns.

2012-01-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Tangerine-Pistachio style buns

½ cuppacked brown sugar

½ cup shelledunsalted pistachios

5 tablespoonsunsalted butter, melted

Flour forwork surface

1 ½ poundpizza dough

1/3 cuporange marmalade

¼ teaspoon coarsesalt

In a foodprocessor, pulse brown sugar and pistachios until coarsely ground. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons sugar mixture into a8-inch round baking pan and drizzle 2 tablespoons butter.

On alightly floured work surface, roll and stretch dough into a 12-by-18 inch rectangle. Spread with marmalade. Top with remaining sugar mixture, sprinklewith salt and drizzle with 3 tablespoons butter. Starting at a long edge, roll up dough like ajelly roll. Cut crosswise into 8 piecesand place on pan. Cover with plasticwrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until buns are puffed and beginto tough, about 1 hour.

Preheatoven to 350 degrees. Place pan on arimmed baking sheet and bake until buns are golden brown, about 35minutes. Immediately run a knife aroundedge of pan and invert buns onto a serving platter. Serve warm.

358calories

14 g fat

8g protein

56 g carb

2 g fiber

Chicken.

2012-01-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

Slow- cooker garlic chicken with couscous.

5-6 piecesof chicken

1tablespoon olive oil

1 mediumyellow onion, thinly sliced

6 garliccloves, halved

2 teaspoonsdried thyme

1 cup drywhite wine

½ cup flour

1 cupcouscous

Chopped freshparsley

Salt,pepper

Seasonchicken with salt and pepper. Combineonion, garlic, and thyme in a 5-6 quart slow cooker and season with salt andpepper. Top with chicken, in a tightlayer. In a small bowl, whisk togetherwine and flour until smooth and add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 3 ½ hours (or 7 onlow). Cook couscous according to packageinstructions. Serve chicken and sauceover couscous, sprinkle with parsley.

730calories

29 g fat

56 gprotein

47 g carb

3 g fiber

greek.

2012-01-30T20:20:00.003-07:00

Greek-style chicken with pickled onions, tomatoes, andtzatziki

1 medium redonion, thinly sliced

2tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Coarse saltand pepper

3 boneless,skinless chicken breasts, but into 1-inch pieces

2 teaspoonsfinely grated lemon zest

4tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoonsdried oregano

½ Englishcucumber, halved crosswise and thinly sliced

2/3 cupsnonfat plain Greek yogurt

¼ cupchopped fresh parsley leaves

4 teaspoons oliveoil

1 pint grapeor cherry tomatoes, halved.

Cooked long-grainwhite rice

In a bowl,combine onion and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, combine chicken, lemon zest,and oregano; season with salt andpepper.

In a third mediumbowl, make tzatziki: combine cucumber, yogurt, parsley, and lemon juice; seasonwith salt and pepper.

In a largenonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 10minutes (I cooked my chicken on the griddle with no olive oil).

Add tomatoesto pickled onions and serve with chicken, tzatizki and rice.

300 calories

10g fat

40g protein

12g carbs

2 g fiber

Chicken grape salad.

2012-01-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Chicken and Grape Salad

8 slices ofbacon

2rotisserie chicken

1/3 cuplow-fat plain yogurt

½ cup bluecheese, crumbled

3tablespoons finely chopped chives

1 garlicclove, minced

6 ouncesred leaf lettuce

1 cupseedless red grapes, halved

Salt,pepper

In askillet, cook bacon stirring occasionally until fat is rendered and bacon iscrisp, about 9 minutes (or buy the pre-cooked bacon at Costco, it’s the best).

Meanwhile,shred half the chicken, discarding skin and bones. You should have about 2 cups of meat. In a medium bowl, mash together yogurt andcheese with a fork. Stir in chives andgarlic and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl toss together chicken, bacon, lettuce and grapes. Serve with yogurt dressing.

360calories

21g fat

32g protein

10 g carb

0g fiber

tangerine cake.

2012-01-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Tangerine Cake with Citrus Glaze

1 cupunsalted butter, room temperature

3 cupsflour

1 teaspoonbaking soda

1 teaspoonsalt

2 cupssugar

6 eggs

2tablespoons finely grated tangerine zest

½ cup tangerinejuice (about 6 tangerines)

2tablespoons orange juice

¾ cuplow-fat plain yogurt

1 teaspoonvanilla

Glaze:

1 ½ cupsconfectioners’ sugar

3tablespoons tangerine juice

Preheatoven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a12-cup Bundt cake pan. In a medium bowl,whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

In a largebowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on high untillight and fluffy, 5 minutes. Add eggs,one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in tangerine zest and juices. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in threeadditions, alternating with two addition yogurt, and beat to combine; beat invanilla. Transfer batter to pan, smoothtop, and firmly tap pan on a flat surface to remove air bubbles.

Bake until atoothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 30minutes. Invert cake onto rack set in arimmed baking sheet and let cool completely.

Make glaze;whisk together confectioners’ sugar and tangerine juice until smooth. Spoon glaze evenly over cake and let set 1hour.

495calories

18 g fat

7 g protein

76 g carb

1 g fiber

shirley j.

2012-01-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Check out the video above to see my parents dining room featured in a commercial. Kind of fun, and they got paid for it! Also check out the home page for Shirley J to see their dining room on the front page.

Friday Flashbacks.

2012-01-27T11:58:00.001-07:00

Valine, Paul, Tiffany, Nathan, Camille, Anthony | March 1988

When Tiffanys oldest daughter Addie was baptized last June my mom and I looked everywhere for a picture of Tiffanys baptism. I just found this picture of her baptism so I wanted to link the two pictures.

{I remember when this picture was taken!}

Click HERE to see Addie's Baptism.

Truman.

2012-01-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Truman | age 2 1/2 {33 months}

I have already mentioned on this blog how much Truman loves to draw. He drew this picture today on the back of my shopping list and I thought it was to cute to throw away. He told me it was him so I wrote his name across the top; he drew the rest including the sideways "T" on the right side.

New Beginnings.

2012-01-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

We held New Beginnings tonight. It was alot of work, as usual, but it turned out really cute. Pictured above is one of our new beehives who will join our Young Woman group in March. She sang a solo!

And of course, amazing food by all the advisers {I didn't get a chance to try any of it - it must have been that good}.

Our mutual theme for 2012 is "Arise and shine forth that thy light may be a standard for the nations;" We incorporated that theme into our New Beginnings.

Each of our girls has a beautiful necklace they got two years ago from the out-going Young Womans presidency. We have been adding charms to that necklace. Tonight we gave the girl a sunshine charm to remind them of the new mutual theme for 2012.

clapping.

2012-01-24T14:05:00.002-07:00

Bodies loves to clap.

He claps when ever anyone else claps {in the room or on TV} or if Truman yells horray. He can also clap along as you sing "Pat-a-cake". I will post a video.

Book Club.

2012-01-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

We had book club today. This month we read The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. It is about a girl who is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives with only a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a book. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raided as their own. And that is where I will leave it - I don't want to spoil it for anyone interesting in reading it!

I liked the book. I have had a crazy couple of weeks so I didn't get to focus on the book as much as I would have liked to. I would still recommend it three stars our of five.

Thanks Tami for the fruit and sweet breakfast rolls!

Volleyball.

2012-01-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Our brother-in-law {Chris} is the new BYU Men's Volleyball coach. We went to his first home game tonight to show our support. I accidentally called Cosmo {the cougar} a bear, he wasn't to happy with me ... opps.

Chris getting interviewed by BYU TV. Truman and Bodie both got air time on BYU TV - super cute.

Bodie showing off his new clapping skills. By the end of the games he would clap when everyone else in the Smith Field house would clap. Super cute.

Trumans latest sports obsession ... volleyball.

Friday Flashbacks.

2012-01-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

My dad's car | 1975

My mom and dad talk about this car often. I found this picture on my dad's computer {along with some other really good photos from the 1970's} He sold this car to go on a mission. I wanted to use it as my Friday Flashback so I could remember it.

Pasta Carbanara with Leeks

2012-01-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Pasta Carbonara with Leeks and Lemon

6 slices ofbacon

4 leeks,halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

¾ poundsshort pasta

2 eggs

½ ounceParmesan cheese, grated

1tablespoon finely grated lemon zest + 1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ cup freshparsley leaves, coarsely chopped

Set a largebowl of salt water boil. In a large skilletcook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8-10minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer baconto paper towel to drain. Pour off allbut 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Addleeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until leeks aregolden brown, about 10 minutes.

Add pastato pot and cook according to package instructions. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs,Parmesan, and lemon zest and juice. Whisk ¼ cup pasta water into egg mixture.

Drain pastaand immediately add a egg mixture along with bacon, leeks, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and stir tocombine. Sprinkle with more cheese ifdesired and serve immediately.

Ferarri

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks Dallin for this video.

drawings.

2012-01-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

I posted some of Trumans drawing here. My sister had fun analyzing them so I took some more so she could see his progress.

He always says "I'm drawing my best friend"

When you ask him who his best friend is he usually says Enoch, Ira, or Lincoln {his three male cousins}.

Army Crawl

2012-01-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Bodies latest trick!

friday flashbacks.

2012-01-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

This Friday Flashbacks is dedicated to my cousin Lindsey who is having her second baby boy today {hopefully}.

I think her son Crew looks just like her in the picture above.

August 1986

for sale.

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's official.

It's for sale.

{see the blue and white Realtor sign on the left}.

My parents built this house in 1988.

We moved in when I was about to turn 8.

Now it's time to sell it.

Time for a new adventure!

{I am starting to have mixed emotions about my parents selling all my childhood memories}

See more HERE.

Winter Swimming.

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

We took Truman and his cousin Presley {who lives across the street} swimming at Red Ledges last night for FHE.

Truman adores her!

I think this is a cute picture of Presley.

Presley jumped right in the heated pool and swam like a 'mermaid' She remembered all her swimming skills from this summer. It made me excited for summer swimming season again. Truman likes to hold on to the edge and swim around the pool and every time P dunked her head, Truman had to as well!

She thoroughly enjoyed the 'spa experience' after swimming. She took a long shower {using all the hot water} used the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, baby oil, deodorant, hair dryer, tooth brush, cotton swabs, etc, etc, etc..you get the picture! She enjoyed pampering herself before she was chauffeured home by uncle Gregg! My kind of girl!

Truman lifting a few weights before heading home for bed!

glasses.

2012-01-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Truman found these green glasses at the dollar store and insisted on wearing them around. He wanted to look like his uncle McKay {who just got some new zile glasses}.

reading.

2012-01-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

We liked having Quinn with us this weekend. Truman loved all the attention!

teeth.

2012-01-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

Bodie has four teeth now; two top, two bottom. It has really changed his look. I wanted a cute smiling picture to remember this stage, but do you think Bodie wanted to show off those new teeth, nope. This is the classic Bodie look, tongue out covering them up.

Nope, I am not opening my mouth.

After his morning nap we tried round two for a photo of his new teeth.

There we go, you can see the top ones.

So I asked Gregg and Nathan to help distract Bodie and get him to smile so I could capture the teeth. This is was I got. They nailed him to the ground and with all four of their hands they pried Bodies mouth open.

Thanks guys - really classy shot!

2012.

2012-01-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

Ready or not ... here we come!

New Years Eve.

2011-12-31T22:56:00.000-07:00

New Years Eve day started out with a 9:00 AM Risk game between McKay, Gregg, Dallin and Nathan.

pictured above: everyone getting ready, Nate was still in bed.

We start them young in our house on the game Risk.

Truman was pretty bummed when he found out he didn't really get to play.

Puzzles for Truman and Grandpa.

Lauren and Nate taught us how to play Monopoly Deal - supper simple, quick and fun.

Six hours later Gregg and Dallin were still going at it! Nate was out after about 1 hour and 45 minutes and I think McKay was shortly after that. After 7 hours and 20 minutes Dallin finally won.

Tonight Dallin, Nathan and McKay did a little fireworks show for us to help ring in 2012. Then it was off to bed for the kids and the grandparents!

McKay jumping over the fireworks - what a great example to my kids.

Nathan, Lauren, McKay, Gregg and I stayed up WAY to late playing Settlers. I don't know what possessed us to play back to back games well into the morning.

We all felt like care free kids again playing some of our favorite games all day and enjoying lots of comfort foods! What a great day, seriously.

Tomorrow at church McKay is speaking in sacrament meeting, Nathan is singing, Lauren is playing the piano and I am teaching the combined YW lesson - we are all going to be sleepy!

friday flashbacks.

2011-12-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Arave restored this awesome old limousine. Every time we visited him he would take us 'to town' to get ice cream and do Chinese fire drills at stop lights. We nick-named in Ecto-1 {you know, the Ghostbuster car!}. We were so sad when he sold it.

Paul, Grandpa Quinn {John}, Grandpa Arave {the tall one leaning against the car}

Joan, Dallin, Clarissa, Anthony, Nathan, Camille, Tiffany

{I am not sure who is in the car}

Year? 1993?

haircut.

2011-12-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

I know these picture are poor quality {they were taken with McKays iPad} but I had to share them because I love Trumans face!

Look at his eyes and mouth - I must be torchering him!

Done. Everything is okay.

And cute Bodie eating raspberry yogurt covered pretzels in his car seat {he opened the bag and got them out on his own without me noticing}.

Draper.

2011-12-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

Young Woman this morning at the Draper Utah Temple.

Quilt.

2011-12-26T23:06:00.002-07:00

I got this beautiful quilt for Christmas from my mom that she and my aunts made. It's called red-on-red embroidery. I have watched them work on it all fall. As it came together I totally fell in love with it and was socked when I opened it up Christmas morning. I don't think my mom was planning on giving it to me, but she knew how much I loved it.

Each of my aunts and my grandma initialed the panels that they embroidered.

My grandma Arave hand quilted it.

I love it.

Thank you everyone who shared their talent!

Christmas.

2011-12-25T23:23:00.000-07:00

Christmas at Hopkinsons in pictures. Enjoy!

It was a late, late night for Santa and the elves.

Evidence that he came!

iPhone 4S for mom.

Enoch said we are officially in the 'footed pajama club'

upgraded basketball hoop for Truman from dad.

GoPro video camera for McKay {see his first video HERE or see below}.

{its a video camera you mount to your helmet or chest and video while you ski, play, bike, swim, etc. Perfect gift for McKay - I am looking forward to many, many more great videos!}.

kayaks for the Hopinsons.

Truman giving his gift to dad...

...so excited he is jumping up and down...

...big cheesy hugs from dad...

Truman was adimate that we get Gregg some tennis balls for Christmas despite me trying to talk him into getting golf balls.

ski's for Enoch.

Truman's favorite movie.

New Years Breakfast {for Christmas Breakfast} by Gregg.

Quinn and Addie.

Jean and Anna.

Truman and Enoch.

our best attemped at a Hopkinson family photo.

Quinn, Enoch, Aaron, Tiffany, Anna, Jean, Addie

Cousins.

2011-12-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

Truman (2), Stella (3), Bodie (9 months), Presley 5.

Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Simons House.

We spent Christmas Eve at the Simons house with Brad and Amber, Lynn and Bob and the McGowns. We had sandwiches and Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets - a Simons family favorite.

Christmas card.

2011-12-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

friday flashback.

2011-12-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Me and Santa

not sure what year ... 1985 {?}

Jesus.

2011-12-22T08:51:00.003-07:00

This is what our nativities have looked like this season; everyone from both nativities circled around Jesus.

good morning.

2011-12-21T08:30:00.001-07:00

I think this picture should be titled

"Good morning motherhood!"

nursery.

2011-12-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

Truman did this nativity sticker picture in nursery this week. I think it is really cute. My favorite part is the camels in the stall {camels are his favorite animal so of course they would get to be inside} and the cow jumping over the moon - with a palm tree as a tail!

Truman is luck enough to have his Grandma Simons as one of his nursery leaders and he loves it.

oh Christmas tree.

2011-12-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Dallin.

2011-12-15T21:16:00.004-07:00

Happy Birthday to my little brother Dallin!

Thanks for letting us hangout with you today.

Wednesday.

2011-12-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

I received an email this morning that said "Happy Birthday" and it had all these pictures attached!

I usually do Friday Flashbacks on Friday {!} but today is a party day so I am going to post them today!

Tonight at about 6:15 I ran into my girlfriends house to use her bathroom and pickup some movies that my brother-in-law wanted to borrow. I was confused when my girlfriend opened the door and told me "no" I couldn't use the bathroom. All of the sudden my friends AND family jumped out from the living room and started singing Happy Birthday ... I started to cry.

I was shocked and had NO IDEA that almost everyone I knew {including all our Young Woman} where in on the biggest birthday party surprise ever. Gregg got me good.

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes and for making me feel so loved.

PS- In case you were wondering ... I turned 30.

9 months.

2011-12-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Bodie had his nine month check up today. He is still super small.

15 pounds 6 ounces | 26 inches

Sunday night his top left tooth came threw and today it was is top right - he hasn't been to happy about it!

Despite what the American Academy of Pediatrics says my kids get a clear runny nose and high fever every time they get a tooth. He's my little elf in these cute Christmas pj's.

{click here to see Truman at nine months}

family.

2011-12-11T17:25:00.001-07:00

Bodie rocking away looking at the Christmas tree!

Bodie and Truman before church in their Christmas outfits {are boys aloud to have Christmas outfits like girls do?!} - Merry Christmas!

After church Tara snapped these photos of us - thanks! Merry Christmas. I wish we had snow!

ski day.

2011-12-10T22:07:00.001-07:00

Look at that big smile!

I dropped Gregg off at Park City Mountain resort this morning to ski with my brothers and our brother-in-law. My parents bought all the boys ski passes for Christmas. They got their Christmas presents at Thanksgiving {when everyone was in-town} but never skied because the snow was bad.

The little boys spent some quality time doing puzzles with grandpa.

too cute.

They came home for some warm soup at noon and then headed back up to the slopes. Tonight they are all at the St. Regis working out. I guess you could say it was "guys day out"

They look like ... the four amigos!

McKay, Aaron, Dallin, Gregg

music.

2011-12-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a holiday Music Together class. My girlfriend Kristi is a music therapist. She teaches two semesters of music classes a year. Last fall Truman and I took one her classes; I am debating doing it again this winter with both the boys.

Truman loves music - in the car on the way to class he sang a ten minute rendition of "Twinkle, twinkle little star".
He is getting his bells on to sing "Jingle Bells".

Kristi always plays a song toward the end of the class that the kids can pick any instrument to play along with. Truman usually goes for a drum.

Our friends the Fifes were there.

Kristi with her two youngest kids.

After class Kristi hosted a pre-birthday celebration for me {Tara is missing, sick with strep}. Starting in August we each have a birthday, one a month for six months. We have been going to the late night movies or out for chocolate dessert for the past three months but, with the holidays this month we decided we better meet for lunch since nights are busy with parties. Next month is Kristi's birthday so hopefully we can get back to our night out {with the husbands at home putting the kids to bed}!

{me, Kristi, Ali, Tami, Laura and baby Annebelle - remember her here?}

Thanks friends!

friday flashbacks.

2011-12-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Anthony Quinn

Year ??

{I can not get over how much his son Ira looks like he did as a child}

lights.

2011-12-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

For mutual tonight we braved the bitter cold weather and the huge crowds to see the lights at Temple Square.

These are the wonderful ladies I serve with, Caprice and Michelle.

This was our best attempt to get a group shot.

Some of our girls.

Seeing the lights on Temple Square as on our family 'to do' list so Gregg and the boys came with me. What a crazy time of year to attempt to take our kids to see lights, especially on a Wednesday night in Utah! Bodie was the most well behaved out of anyone in our group; he didn't make a peep from about 5 o'clock when I woke him up from his nap till 9:45 when we finished dropping girls off at home.

people.

2011-12-05T21:54:00.001-07:00

Truman loves to draw and color; I have posted about it before. Today he drew a person, presumably a football player, for the first time. I had to take a picture because I think it looks pretty good for a 2-1/2 year old! You can also see at the top of the page that he loves to draw "T"'s.

Ward Christmas Party.

2011-12-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

The Young Men and Young Woman in our ward were incharge of the infamous Ward Christmas Party this year. With alot of help we pulled it off with a short amount of time to plan. The youth served dinner and then we had a short Nativity play.

The Relief Society made all the food {thank you}. The youth helped dish it up and serve it to about 200 people.

They voted to wear goofy Christmas hats!

Mary and baby Jesus.

We wrote a really cute and really short nativity play. We had the wonderful Dean and Kathy Hughes from our ward narrate it for us {basically the Christmas story from Luke 2 tied in with testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Thomas S. Monson at the end - very powerful}. We had a few songs mixed in as well; a solo by a primary child, a small RS number, and numbers by the Young Men and the Primary.

{if anyone is looking for a Christmas program email me and I can pdf you a copy}

I thought the decorations turned out awesome. I had the high priest run wire from bolts in the gym and then we strung Christmas lights from the wire {it dropped the ceiling to 10 feet which made the space feel more intimate}. The tables were set really simple but really elegant and then we had a few trees with white lights and simple decorations.

We asked people to bring donations for our local food bank.

I didn't remember my camera so these pictures are thanks to Caprice and John. Unfortunately no one get a picture of the place settings or the entire gym all set up.

Thanks to everyone who made this ward Christmas an elegant success!

Slideanide II

2011-11-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

McKay planking.

slideanide!

Me and McKay, "look mom, no hands"

My brother Nate and his wife Lauren.

us.

my sister Tiffany and her husband Aaron.

my brother Anthony - kissing a rock since his pregnant wife could not hike with us.

I like this picture because Nate is trying to encourage his wife over the cliff!
You can read Nate and Laurens blog HERE and McKay's blog HERE about the trip.

Slideanide.

2011-11-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

Dad, Ant, Gregg, Me, Aaron, Tiff, Dallin, McKay, Lauren, Nate, David, Bryan {Lauren's little brother and Dad}.

What is a Quinn Family get together without a little adventure to Southern Utah? We got up at 4:17 AM to head down to the red dirt to hike for the day. We went canyoneering to the poison creek area and did Slideanide Canyon.

We made "son of Paul" sweatshirt and surprised my dad with them {his name is Paul}. This is all my sibling! I can't believe we all made it {thanks to many babysitters} it was like the good old days!

Anthony, McKay, Tiff, Dallin, Me, Nate.

Dallin planking.

Gregg going off the first rappel which was 150 feet. You can see McKay at the bottom.

The newly weds, Lauren and Nate.

I like this picture because you can see how amazing the rock formations are.

{love his guy}

Trying to shimmy around the first water hole.

You can really see how narrow the canyon is from this picture.

It was a tight fit!

The second water hole was a bit more challenging. The guys braced themselves against the canyon walls so us girls could use their feet as supports to make it across. Unfortunately towards the end Dallin's foot slipped and he and I both fell in - it was COLD! This picture is of Lauren going across - you can see this canyon was not kind to our clothes {don't worry those are thermals she is showing off not G's!}

This was right after the last big rappel before we started hiking out of the canyon.

We hiked pass this arch on the way out of the canyon and back to the cars.

We made it. I think Gregg's clothes stayed the most intact out of anyone. After I fell into the water Aaron cut off the bottom part of my big grey sweatpants and then tied the rest around my calves. By the end of the hike my pants were shot and there were holes in my spandex underneath.

My dad's pants suffered the most damage! Here is how the canyon was described in one of our canyoneering books. "The canyon is hard on clothing and has a bed habit of 'showing a little cheek'."

The damage.

Thanks family for a great time

and a BIG thanks to my in-laws for watching our kids for 16 hours{starting at 4:30 in the morning}.

black friday.

2011-11-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

So I talked my super cool brother Anthony {who is just younger then me} into going black Friday shopping with me- that was long before all the adds came out saying that stores were opening at 10:00 PM on Thursday night...he was a trooper and at 10:01 PM we headed out to see what it was all about.

We both DIED when we got to the "McDonald's intersection" in Park City and saw this line of cars. We honestly didn't think that many people would be out shopping. We were wrong.

Do my eyes look tired or what? They hurt just looking at this photo.

It took us 30 minutes to drive about 2 miles to the outlets from the intersection of highway 224. The entire time we were laughing about how crazy ~~people are~~ we were for doing this. We had to park about a mile from the outlet malls and walk. We shopped until about 1:00 AM {after a quick run over to Best Buy}. We didn't buy a lot - the lines in the stores were crazy long and I didn't think the 'deals' were that great.

Every night this week the men have been going up to the St. Regis in Deer Valley to work out and then soak in the hot tubs. I found these pictures on Gregg's cell phone so I thought I would embarrass them all and share!

Sundance.

2011-11-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today we got to celebrate Thanksgiving day with the Simons family.

Truman was up early doing some pre-Thanksgiving dinner exercise!

{working off all the pie from grandma Quinns last night}

We all met at Sundance resort for Thanksgiving ~~dinner~~ lunch. It was really nice not to have to bake or clean up and of course the food was amazing.

Family photo in front of the restaurant.

The boys checking out the water around the resort.

We are very grateful for both of our families.

Quinns.

2011-11-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Quinn Family. All six of my siblings and their families are here to celebrate. A picture is worth 1,000 words so here is Thanksgiving at the Quinn home in pictures!

Ira starting it off right with chocolate pie for breakfast! Sharon has been trying to keep his sweets intake to a minimum but when she's not looking we have been sneaking his seconds ...

{I think he looks just like my brother Ant did when he was this age}.

Nate fulfilling his uncle responsibilities by changing poopy diapers on the kitchen table where thanksgiving dinner will soon be taking place!

Truman headed outside to be with the big kids.

My parents bought a piece of land in Midway {!} so the boys loaded up some wood to take over to store on the property {more on the property and their future plans later}!

My grandpa Arave - always documenting everything - now you know where I got my love of taking pictures from.

Uncle Ant spending some quality drawing time with Truman.

Bodie and Anna playing while everyone else was busy cooking.

yummy.

Loves from dad.

Tiff's amazing rolls.

The table settings.

Appetizers by me. I made brie' en' croute.

Dad carving the turkey.

Thanksgiving Dinner.

After dinner we played a family version of minute-to-win it.

Addie and Grandpa won.

Then we went right into celebrating Christmas!

Phew. What a day!

We have lots to be thankful for!

fondue.

2011-11-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

Let the festivities begin! Tonight Gregg and I made fondue for everyone at my parents house. Yummy. We made two cheese fondues and two chocolate fondues. Pictured above are coconut covered donut-holes for the chocolate fondue.

This is one of the cheese fondues although I am not sure why someone is dipping a dount-hole in it.

My brother Ant and his son Ira, visiting from Michigan.

Truman and Ira watching a little pre-bedtime movie on the ipad.

Excellence.

2011-11-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

We had our Young Woman Evening of Excellence tonight. It was a chance for each of the girls to show off the Personal Progress experience they have been working on this year. Back in January when we did our New Beginning they each set a value goal they wanted to work on. Tonight they were recognized for what they have accomplished.

I worked on faith all year. My value project was to plant, care for and harvest a vegetable garden. I took pictures of the garden this summer and shared those along with a few of the last tomatoes that I harvested.

Each of the girls were responsible for setting up a display table about their projects along with a picture of themselves. One of the advisers made the wood blocks with the girls names on them as a gift.

One of the highlights of the night was a picture slide show of all the activities we have done this year. The girls love to see pictures of themselves! We served fruit, veggies and sweet breads.

Next year we will do some better planning. We had Time out for Woman in Salt Lake all day yesterday, Evening of Excellence tonight and all the planning and prep that goes with Thanksgiving this week...and next weekend we are incharge of the ward Christmas party.

time out for girls.

2011-11-19T19:31:00.001-07:00

We took our young woman to Time out for Girls today. It was great.

friday flashbacks.

2011-11-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Nathan and Anthony Quinn | July 1990

We knew you would go far in life!

Color.

2011-11-17T13:17:00.001-07:00

Truman loves to draw and color.

This is the picture he has been drawing lately. It's a soccer field with balls.

two teeth.

2011-11-15T18:31:00.001-07:00

Bodie turned eight months last week and he official had two bottom teeth.

cousins.

2011-11-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

We had a 'boy party' this weekend with our cousin Enoch.

As you can see Truman loves Enoch!

They had a blast playing and laughing together! Good memories.

friday flashbacks.

2011-11-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Anthony, Paul and Nathan Quinn | Fall 1987

Lindsey {Trent} Schank | 1987

This Friday Flashbacks is dedicated to the birthday kids this week! Happy Birthday to Nathan last weekend and to Anthony and Lindsey TODAY!

Thai Chicken Pizza.

2011-11-09T21:53:00.001-07:00

Thai Chicken Pizza

1 Batch ofpizza dough {here}

Toppings:

Chicken,cooked and shredded

Fresh beansprouts

Carrots,shredded

Red onion,sliced

Freshbasil, chopped

Mozzarellacheese, shredded

Peanuts,chopped

Peanut Sauce:

¼ cupsmooth peanut butter

1/8 cup soysauce (or fish sauce)

Sugar totaste (about 2 teaspoons)

Thai chilipaste

Water tothin (about 1/8 cup)

Roll outthe pizza dough and drizzle with olive oil. Top the dough with toppings. Bakeat 500 degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is goldenbrown. Drizzle the peanut sauce over thepizza right before eating.

Chicken Cordon Blue Strata.

2011-11-09T21:42:00.001-07:00

Chicken Cordon Blue Strata

Phyllodough, thawed

Butter,melted

Chicken,cooked and shredded

Ham, diced

SwissCheese, shredded

Gruyerecheese, shredded

Spinach

Tomatoes

Salt andpepper

Remove asheet of phyllo dough from the package. Brush with melted butter and place in the bottom of a spring formpan. Repeat, layering the sheets ofphyllo to form a base on the bottom of the pan and edges up the side of thepan.

Make stratalayers inside your phyllo crust. Layerchicken, ham, cheese, spinach and tomatoes. Repeat layers and press down of filling ingredients as you go.

When springform pan is full of filling ingredients, finish by making a phyllo layer on thetop. Bring outside edge pieces of phylloover the top, and also layer new pieces of phyllo dough and tuck them into thesides of the spring form pan.

Bake for350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool. Slice into wedges to serve.

*{I saw this recipe made on a local morning show and decided to try it. It was really good - but the recipe is written horrible, with no measurements. If you are interested in making this recipe click here to see the segment}.

Macadamia-crusted mahi mahi.

2011-11-09T21:35:00.001-07:00

Macadamia- Crusted Mahi Mahi

1 cup panko(Japanese) bread crumbs

¾ cupmacadamia nuts

¼ teaspoonsalt

¼ teaspoonwhite pepper

1 egg

2tablespoons water

1/3 cupflour

4 mahi mahifillets (4 ounces each)

¼ canola oil

2tablespoons brown sugar

2tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoonsfresh ginger

Please thebread crumbs, nuts, salt and pepper in a food processor; cover and pulse untilnuts are finely chopped.

In a shallowbowl whisk egg and water. Place flourand nut mixture in separate shallow bowls. Coat fillets with flour, then dip in egg mixture and coat with nutmixture.

In a largeskillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook fillets for 304 minutes on each sideor until golden brown.

Meanwhile,in a small sauce pan combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, and ginger. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Drizzle over fish.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars.

2011-11-09T21:27:00.001-07:00

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars

1 package(18 oz) German chocolate cake mix

1/3 cupcanola oil

1 egg

Filling:

1 package(8 oz) reduced- fat cream cheese

1/3 cupsugar

1 egg

1 cupminiature semisweet chocolate chips

In a largebowl combined the cake mix, oil and egg. Set aside 1 cup for the topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into a 13 inch baking pan coated withcooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for10-12 minutes or until set.

For filing,in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg; beat well. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and reservedcrumb mixture.

Bake for18-20 minutes or until set. Cool on awire rack. Cut into bars.

1 bar

187calories

9 grams fat

25 gramscarbohydrates

3 gramsprotein

chair.

2011-11-08T22:43:00.001-07:00

The big reveal! I picked up this chair at a consignment shop a few months ago. I knew when I first saw it that I wanted to paint it red {it reminded me of a red rocking chair I had as a child - seen here}. The chair is handmade out of oak and had a brown hand pieced seat. I had the hardest time deciding what to do for the seat fabric. When my super talented aunts Ilene and Christine where in town last month I picked them up from the airport and we all went to the fabric store {so fun}. We found this cute nursery rhyme toile fabric.

I can not take any credit for how cute this chair turned out. My aunt Ilene did all the work. She quilted the fabric and reapolstered the chair for me. Oh, and she also made two pillows to go along with the chair. Thank you Ilene for sharing your talent with me, and my boys. Truman and Bodie love the chair. I have not taken it to their room yet... I think I am going to keep it in the living room through the holidays. I sat Bodie in it last night and he was rocking away! I can already picture the boys sitting in it next to the fire place looking at the lights on the Chrimstas tree.

I was positive I took "before" pictures of the chair but I can not find them anywhere. This is the best I could do - Truman is sitting on the rocking chair "before" the makeover. You can see the original oak stain and a little bit of the homely brown seat.

update.

2011-11-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

No joke, Truman picked up this magazine while on the toilet at grandma's.

Successes: he stays dry during nap time. Failures: he still can't do a number two on the toilet...ideas? How do we conquer this one?

Pecan Chicken with Blue Cheese Sauce.

2011-11-06T17:59:00.001-07:00

Pecan Chicken with Blue Cheese Sauce

4 bonelessskinless chicken breast halves

¼ teaspoonsalt

1/8teaspoon pepper

¼ cup flour

1tablespoon fresh rosemary

¼ cupbutter, melted

1tablespoon brown sugar

¾ cupfinely chopped pecans

Sauce:

1 cup heavywhipping cream

1/3 cupcrumbled blue cheese

1tablespoon finely chopped green onions

¼ teaspoonsalt

¼ teaspoonpepper

Sprinklechicken with salt and pepper. In ashallow bowl, combine flour and rosemary; in a separate shallow bowl, combinebutter and brown sugar. Place pecans inanother shallow bowl. Coat chicken withflour mixture, then dip in butter mixture and coat with pecans.

Transfer toa greased baking sheet. Bate at 375degrees for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, placecream in a small saucepan. Bring to aboil; cook and stir for 8-10 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the cheese, onion, salt andpepper. Serve with chicken.

Peaches and Cream French Toast.

2011-11-05T08:57:00.000-06:00

Peaches and Cream FrenchToast

1 cuppacked brown sugar

½ cupbutter, cubed

1 can (29ounces) sliced peaches (drain them but keep the juice)

1 loaf (1pound) day-old French bread, cubed

1 package(8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed

12 eggs

1 ½ cupshalf-and-half cream

1 teaspoonvanilla

In a smallsauce pan combine the brown sugar, butter and 2 tablespoons of the juicedrained from the peaches. Cook and stirover medium heat until sugar is dissolved; pour into a greased 13x9 bakingdish.

Arrange peachesin dish. Place half of the bread crumbsover the peaches. Layer with creamcheese and the remaining bread. Placethe eggs, half-and-half cream and vanilla in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove fromthe refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bakeuncovered for 50-60 minutes – until the top is golden. Cool slightly and enjoy!

Serves 12

470 calories

23 grams fat

52 gramscarbohydrate

1 gramfiber

13 gramsprotein

friday flashbacks.

2011-11-04T10:33:00.001-06:00

Gregg and Brad Simons | Medicine Bow Wyoming 1999 {?}

Potty Time.

2011-11-02T21:22:00.004-06:00

It's true, we are fully invested in potty training this week. It all started last night when Truman successfully used the toilet before going to bed. When he got up this morning we put on the under pants {which I keep mistakenly calling panties} and we were on our way to potty training.

We had lots and lots of special drinks all day!

And these awesome soccer ball underwear...

{what a ham he can be - I have a feeling this picture could embarrass him very easily some day}

Now he is just getting down right silly after being in the house ALL day. Poor guy.

This potty training thing will wear you out! I am pooped {he, he, he - no pun intended}.

I would say it was a successful day one with only a few minor accidents this morning as we were getting started - no accidents after that! And tonight there is one worn out boy tucked in his covers holding on tightly to a new red golf club {wish I could somehow get a picture of that!}

Here's to more success tomorrow!

Halloween 2011.

2011-10-31T16:08:00.000-06:00

We spent to day with Hopkinsons - they hosted a soup and fried potato donuts dinner for the neighborhood before trick-or-treating. Yummy! And Thanks!

Jean, Quinn, Enoch, Emmie, Addie, Eve,

Anna, Bodie, Mackenzie, Truman, Dallin.

Simons

{I forgot Greggs costume; I felt so bad}.

Addie the mermaid.

Enoch.

Enoch + McKay the cowboys.

Anna the cat.

Hopkinsons

Lovell's

Trents

I don't know why but I really like this picture of Truman, so I included it!

The babies.

and I really like this picture of Bodie!

Fried donuts before trick-or-treating!

Classic Aaron face.

Thanks everyone for a great time.

book club.

2011-10-29T18:03:00.000-06:00

I hosted book club this morning at my house. I set my camera out and still forgot to take pictures, bummer.

This month we read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

The book is being made into a movie, Hugo, which comes out over Thanksgiving. You can see the movie trailer here. This cute boy, Asa Butterfield is playing Hugo and Martin Scorses is directing it. Can't wait to see it.

I served Autumn Pond French Toast and fresh fruit. Yummy.

Next we are reading The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk. Should be good.

Autumn Pond French Toast Souffle.

2011-10-29T16:06:00.000-06:00

AUTUMN POND FRENCH TOASTSOUFFLE

Christine Quinn

6 large croissants
10 eggs
3 cups half and half
3/4 cup real maple syrup (divided into 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz real butter, softened
Cinnamon and sugar (I used large crystal sugar)

Chop croissants into inch-sized pieces and place in a 9x13 buttered glass
pan (I used Pam spray). Whip softened cream cheese, butter, and 1/4 cup
maple syrup until smooth, and spread on top of the croissants.

Blend eggs, then add half and half and the remaining 1/2 cup syrup. Pour
over the croissants. Cover and refrigerate over night.

Oops. I forgot to say that you sprinkle the cinnamon andsugar on top just
prior to baking! Sorry.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, uncovered. Serve hot with butter and Buttery Maple Syrup.

BUTTERY MAPLE SYRUP
1 cup real maple syrup
1 cup butter
1 egg, beaten

Heat butter slowly, then add syrup. Add one beaten egg VERY SLOWLY while
beating with an electric mixer.

trunk or treat.

2011-10-28T17:09:00.000-06:00

Trunk-or-treat!
{picture thanks to Tara!}

Marching in the costume parade.

time to get serious about this candy!

my Conference Cinnamon Rolls got 'first runner up' in bake off.

friday flashbacks.

2011-10-28T09:09:00.002-06:00

Tiffany and Nathan | October 1988

{this is still my favorite Halloween photo}

raspberry cornmeal crumble bars.

2011-10-27T08:57:00.001-06:00

Raspberry Cornmeal Crumble Bars

¾ cupsnatural almonds

½ cup yellowcornmeal

2 cups flour

¾ cup sugar

½ teaspoonsalt

1 cupbutter, melted

10 ouncesfrozen raspberries

Preheat ovento 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch squarebaking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides. In a food processor, pulse almonds untilfinely ground. In a large bowl, whisktogether ground almonds, cornmeal, flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and stir until dry ingredients areevenly moistened.

Press abouttwo thirds the dough into dish. Scatterraspberries over top and crumble remaining dough over raspberries. Bake until top is golden brown, 30-40minutes, Let cool in dish on a wire rackbefore cutting into 9 bars.

One Bar

459 calories

27 grams fat

7 gramsprotein

50 gramscarbs

4 gramsfiber

more decorations.

2011-10-25T16:54:00.000-06:00

Here are some more decorations that I added to our house for Halloween. I used my cricket machine to die cut the 'Trick-or-Treat' for the front door and also the little jack-o-lantern for the front window. I think they turned out cute! At my sisters house I die cut four silhouettes of trick-or-treaters and put in her four front windows - maybe she could take a picture and post...maybe!

*** Post Update ***
My sister sent pictures of her cute door decals! Thanks Tiff.

dirty dash.

2011-10-24T12:45:00.000-06:00

I just got this picture from the Dirty Dash I did {see here}. There was a photo booth set up as you finished the race. You can tell how dirty I was from this photo. Next year I am signing up all my siblings to do this race with me {because it was so fun and funny}. It was a 10K {6.2 miles} with mud obstacles and even a part where you had to "run" in Deer Creek reservoir.

My brother Dallin and his friend Rebecca did it also - I love their photo.

decorations.

2011-10-23T12:33:00.000-06:00

I was in the mood to decorate for Halloween this year, but I didn't want to go out and buy stuff. One night I put this Halloween mantel together. I was telling my sister about it and she asked me to take a picture and put it on my blog so her kids could see it and try to replicate it at their house. Here you go - good luck - can't wait to see it.

friday flashbacks.

2011-10-21T10:10:00.001-06:00

How long has it been since I did Friday Flashbacks? Way to long. It's time I start doing them again...

{I have always loved this picture!}

Jacob Trent | March 1986

Chocolate Angel Food Cake.

2011-10-20T09:16:00.000-06:00

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

12 eggwhites

1 cup flour

1/3 cupbaking cocoa

¾ teaspooncream of tartar

1 ½ teaspoonvanilla

¼ teaspoonalmond extract

1/8 teaspoonsalt

1 2/3 cupssugar

Icing:

1 ¾ cups confectioners’sugar

1/3 cupbaking cocoa

1/3 cupreduced fat sour cream

1 tablespoonfat-free milk

¾ teaspoonvanilla extract

Place eggwhites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Sift flour and cocoa together twice; setaside.

Add thecream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until softpeaks form. Gradually add sugar, about 2tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugaris dissolved. Gradually fold in flourmixtures, about ½ cup at a time.

Gently spooninto an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Cutthrough batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on the lowest oven rack for 350 degreesfor 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry. Immediately invert pan; cool completely,about 1 hour.

Run a knifearound the side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate. For icing, in a small bowl, beat the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, sourcream, milk and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

1 slice

195 calories

1 gram fat

2 mgcholesterol

43 gramscarbohydrates

1 gram fiber

4 gramsprotein

Curry Chicken Rice Soup.

2011-10-19T14:20:00.000-06:00

Curry Chicken Rice Soup.

¼ cupbutter

2 largecarrots, finely chopped

2 celeryribs, finely chopped

1 smallonion, finely chopped

¾ cups plus2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoonsalt

1 teaspooncurry powder

2 cans (12oz each) fat-free evaporated milk

1 cuphalf-and-half cream

4 ½ cupsreduced-sodium chicken broth

3 cupscubed cooked chicken breast

2 cupscooked wild rice

In a largeheavy pot melt butter. Add the carrots,celery and onion; sauté for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with flour; stir until blended. Stir in salt and curry. Gradually add milk and cream {you are makinga rue}. Bring to a boil; and stir for 2minutes or until thickened.

Graduallyadd broth. Stir in chicken and rice;return to boil. Reduce heat; simmer,uncovered, for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

1 cup

263 calories

8 grams fat

54 mg cholesterol

26 gramscarbohydrate

2 gramsfiber

20 gramsprotein

outtakes.

2011-10-18T21:36:00.001-06:00

Tiff and I tried to take some photos of our little jack-o-lanterns. We have pictures of our two year old jack-o-lanterns when they were this same age {seen here}.

The outtakes were better then the actual "posed" pictures. Enjoy!

the leaf was way cooler to look at then the camera.

eating leaves.

falling.

oh. really falling.

Bodie: "get me out of here - what are you doing to me - really mom?!"

and what are some family photos with out Enoch doing his usual funny faces.

Anna pushing Bodie over - the fighting begins.

Anna- we have got to work on that smile - and Enoch is actually smiling normal!

okay, there were two cute ones!

design.

2011-10-15T22:24:00.000-06:00

I saw this ad in one of my design magazines and I loved it enough to scan it in and share. Love it!

tramp.

2011-10-14T15:33:00.000-06:00

We have a new addition to your backyard. A tramp. Truman loves to jump and I have been eyeing these five foot tramps all summer. Truman loves its - he can jump all his energy out. I am seriously contemplating putting it in the house for winter!

Our cousins Presley and Stella came over to try it out.

Stella is not fond of looking at the camera.