Gathering Leaves

Italian Cream Cupcakes

2012-02-03T11:49:00.001-08:00

Italian Cream Cupcakes

with Coconut Butter cream frosting
We used the "Pioneer Woman's) recipe http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/07/billies-italian-cream-cake-recipe/

Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE:
1 stick Butter
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Sugar
5 whole Eggs (separated)
3 teaspoons Vanilla
1 cup Coconut (from PW: If You Think You Hate Coconut, Trust Me: I Do Too, And I Love It In This Recipe)
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 cup Buttermilk

Most Italian cream Cakes call for Cream Cheese Frosting, but I didn't have any cream cheese in the house so we made coconut butter cream, which was equally as yummy.
The problem is I didn't really measure any of the ingredients for the frosting, but it's basically...
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
3to 4 tbs milk
Powder sugar until the right consistency
1tsp of coconut flavoring

Tree-May my Cooking partner in crime....

December came and went

2012-01-30T08:09:00.000-08:00

Wow, Dec got busy.... shocking I know. Blogging obviously not top priority! :) So here is a quick run down on the rest of our 2011...

No snow for Christmas but a ton after and since.

Homemade gifts that the boys made for each other and neighbor kids. These where a hit. you can imagine rubber band gun and little boys, even the big boys.
Here's Dreaming of You Pillowcases...

The boys helped make these pillow cases for grandma and grandpa J.
flubber...

One of the neighbor boys made this goop for my boys, they loved it...hours and hours of entertainment.
Here is the recipe (from Kidactivities.net)
FLUBBER
Two cups Glue
Food Coloring
Four tablespoons Borax
Warm water
In one bowl mix in 1 1/2 cups of warm water, Glue, and food coloring. In a separate bowl mix in Borax with 1 1/3 cup of warm water.
Pour the glue mixture into the borax mixture.
Do not mix or stir it will form on its own. (Note: I found I needed to stir it a bit for it to come together. The second day, it was even better than the first day! See K-A images... You'll find it shapes itself out smoothly into what ever you store it in. Barb)
Store in plastic baggies.
Porter was sick Christmas eve and Christmas day. We had all the cousins over to our house for the big Christmas eve party, I couldn't find Porter, then I realized he had put himself to bed, you know he had to be sick to do that.

Here is the hand carved sling shot from Grandma G.

Ethan got ...

diapers for Christmas, he was sooo excited.
He actually got a lot of camping and outdoor equipment. The boys here do a lot of snow camping, we aren't really well equipped for that. But now he is.
Santa brought Ava a shopping cart, she is now officially a bag lady. She pushes her little cart around the house gathering whatever she can find. If you have lost something, check Ava's cart, you'll probably find it.

Santa brought Kaden a B.B. Gun I don't have a picture of it. (B.B. guns, rubber band guns, sling shots.... do you see a theme here? we must have three boys).
Here is Karl's gift to me.... almost done

I don't have any closets to put all of our winter coats and gloves and boots in so he is making me one. It is now actually all stained and ready to have the doors put on it. It is beautiful, I will show you the finished product soon. I am so excited about it.
We had a wonderful holiday season, but I'm glad it's over for another year.

Christmas on a Dime

2011-12-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

Ok so maybe not on a dime, but here are some ideas that we have done to help save a few pennies. But even more then that I think it is about Simplifying this Sacred Season. Every year presents are ripped open, they are played with and then this......

They throw the toys to the side, and play with the boxes.
Hundreds of dollars later, the kids don't even remember what they got a few months later. This year I want to make it more meaningful. We have my husband's sister's family for Christmas this year, so we decided to make gifts.Well sort of.

Kaden and Porter really enjoyed stitching... and I must say they did a pretty good job.

We went to the dollar store and bought hats, and scarves and put each child's initials on them.

We also bought an extra scarf and cut it into squares sewed it and filled it with wheat ( you can use rice also) making each one their own wheat heat. Pop it in the microwave for a minute and you have a lovely warm heater.
We also made cinnamon fire-starters for their christmas basket. Take some newspaper, put in a pine-cone, cinnamon sticks or cinnamon powder with pine-needles. Wrap with raffia, and you have a lovely fragrant fire-starter for your fireplace. The boys had fun making these as well. I think the boys really enjoyed making their cousin's presents this year, rather then me just buying something and sending it. I hope the cousins will like it as well.
I made the little boys and Ava a crayon/paper carrier for church.

I saw these on etsy and figured I had scrap material so I could make them. I am no seamstress by any stretch of the imagination,. So no I didn't measure anything, I just started cutting and sewing, luckily they turned out well enough. Don't look too close :) Another cheap Christmas Idea....

Compare.....

$45

$5 ( Second hand Store)
Why pay full price for a shirt that looks like it has never been worn. Both are name brand and I just saved $40.

$5

Beautifully wrapped under the tree no one will ever know you saved so much money. More simplifying the season tips to come.

A day of Rest? Rest from your Worries because so many served

2011-12-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

Sunday Dec 4th 2011, not our typical day of rest. 9:15 am the phone rang. Karl spoke to the man on the other end, making quick notes. "Kaden go get Ethan up. Everyone needs to be dressed and ready to work in 15 min.". The phone rang several times in the next 15 min in between phone calls being made. The boys were dressed in warm winter coats and leather gloves and out the door. Church canceled all home teaching families contacted and reports to supervisors. Every able body in the ward was dressed with rakes, shovels trucks and trailers ready to serve.
The high 100 mph wind on Thursday left Farmington and it's neighboring towns in a state of dishevel. Roofs blown off, large 80 year old trees blown over or snapped in half. Trees on houses and cars. Much of the town without power for 24-48 hours. The wind definitely took it's toll on the quaint town.
Here is a picture of us in front of our friends old barn.

Here is the old barn now.....

Here is a picture of our next door neighbors house.

Saturday the whole town was out cutting fallen trees and dragging the debris to the street. The city was going to come by and pick it all up, this would take them a good week or so. The weather has now taken a turn for the worse and they expect more high winds tonight. For fear that this debris would tear through the town causing more damage the Stake President declared it a work day.
It amazed me how quickly the town pulled together serving not only those they know, but anyone and everyone who needed help. I stayed at home most of the morning babysitting the neighbors kids while they went out to serve. I baked 5 dozen cookies to pass out. As groups of volunteers would come down my street, I ran out and passed out cookies. I felt bad I wasn't out in the trenches with them.

It was heart warming to see the little blond three year old Rebeca working along side her neighbor the large 80 year old Golden Glove Boxer. Or sister Robinson who is always dressed to the hilt, in all that is fashionable. In time of need, she was in sweats remembering her roots. She grew up on a ranch and not a stranger to hard work. Her husband off helping someone else, she got the call, had all four of her kids dressed in boots and leather gloves, she hooked her 12 foot trailer to her diesel pickup and she without hesitation jumped in where needed.
I have always said the one thing I really like about Utah is the opportunities my children have to serve. Whether it be mowing lawns, racking leaves, shoveling snow or hauling away debris after a storm, my children are learning how to serve, what an valuable life lesson.

Ethan is in the orange

Even in the Snow.

Karl...sexy man
Now as the winds return we can all rest a little easier.

Whoopie Pies..Monkey Bread.. & Monkey Cupcakes! YUM!

2011-11-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Whoopie Pies
From allrecipes.com
Ingredients

1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sour milk
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup hot water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shortening
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 egg whites, beaten
Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup of shortening and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time then stir in the vanilla and sour milk. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Stir together the baking soda and hot water then mix them into the batter last. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm but not overbaked. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
To make the filling: In a medium bowl, cream together the 1 1/2 cups shortening with the confectioners' sugar and 1/4 cup of flour until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the milk and vanilla until well mixed, then fold in the egg whites. Sandwich at least 1 tablespoon of filling between the flat sides of two cookies.

They make great gifts. I sent these to work with Karl, the guys loved them.

Monkey Bread
Lori Farnsworths bread recipe (cut in half for one monkey bread, use full recipe for two. Or full recipe for one monkey bread cake and 24 monkey bread cupcakes.)
P.S. For the monkey bread I only use white flour....

(Karl took the pictures of the monkey bread, before it was glazed.)
Fast and Easy Homemade Wheat Bread
4 cups hot tap water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons saf-instant yeast

Put hot water in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and yeast. Stir. Let rest about 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Next add:
2 tablespoons potato pearls
2 tablespoons oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey or sugar

Stir all together.

Then add
5 cups of red wheat flour
4-5 cups of white wheat flour

Can be any other combination of flour. But this is the combo I like the best.

Mix all together with wooden spoon until you get a soft dough. Dump onto a kneading surface and knead in additional flour until a nice stiff ball is accomplished. Cover with damp towel and let rise for 20-30 minutes.
For the monkey bread cake:
slice little slivers of butter across the bottom of the pan. roll about 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls of dough then roll them in sugar cinnamon mix, start layering bunt pan. about every two layers add more slivers of butter and sprinkle brown sugar. Continue to about 3/4 of the way up the pan. Bake for about 30 to 35 min, at 350 degrees. Let cool in pan for 30 min before inverting pan to get out bread onto serving plate.
Glaze with powder sugar glaze or sweetened condensed milk.
For Cupcakes:
Roll about 3 balls 1/2 inch thick. Roll in sugar cinnamon mix, put in cupcake liners. Top with small pad of butter and brown sugar. Cook for about 10 min at 350 degrees. Glaze with powder sugar glaze. I even added cream cheese frosting to my last batch, yummy.

Halloween

2011-11-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

Porter the Pirate

Kaden ~ Spot Collins from Newsies

Second year in a row, Ava Bug was tired and grumpy and wouldn't wear her Lady Bug costume. But here she is the next day in the beautiful autumn leaves.

Karl and I getting ready to go out to our "White Trash" Halloween Party

Porter: "Mom your skirt sure looks trashy"! ( I had on a black sequin skirt)
Me: "Do you know what that word means"?
Porter: "No! Kaden told me it".
Me: "Kaden what does trashy mean"?
Kaden: "You know Mom, like 80's"
sounds about right to me.... haha
I Love Halloween in our neighborhood, all the neighbors are out, everyone goes out about 6pm and it's just a fun social hour for adults and kids a like. One neighbor went so far as to set up a canopy in their front yard decorate it and made fresh donuts for all who came by. It's so Mayberry here. Love it! :)

Dessert table = Princess Cupcakes

2011-11-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

We have had a very full week. Last Monday my neighbor who is a Dentist asked me to make lemon cupcakes for his employees at work. So we then decided to go a bit above and beyond that. A full "Thank You" dessert table was made. Here is how it turned out.

On the menu was:
Lemon Cupcakes
Hummingbird Cupcakes
Chocolate Caramel dipped pretzels
lemon fudge
lemon fudge brownie balls
chocolate dipped brownie balls
Lemondrops and lemon sticks
Mini lemon pies

It was a ton of work, but fun to see it all pulled together.

So a couple of days later one of the other Dr.'s in the office his wife called me and ordered a few dozen cupcakes. Princess cupcakes made in real tea cups where part of the order. Those were fun.

These were just a base italian cream cake with cream cheese whip cream frosting and buttercream frosting.

Baptism Day

2011-10-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

Kaden had a wonderful baptism day.

His daddy baptized him.

Kaden had his two grandmas, his grandpa and lots of cousins and aunts and uncles there to support him.

We are sure glad Kaden is part of our family... how blessed we are.

Easy and Yummy

2011-10-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

German Chocolate Cupcakes
Easy and Yummy! once again my two favorite words together.

I used my favorite gheradelli base for the chocolate cupcake
Melt 2 sticks of butter
add 2 bars of 100% Ghirardelli chocolate bars till melted
Set aside to cool a bit.

Cream together:
5 eggs
3 Cups Sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Then add Chocolate Mixture
Finally add:
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp salt

Consistency will be thick.
Here is the part that is really easy... go to the store and buy your favorite German Chocolate icing, spread on top. Awesome right?

For the Frosting
Bittercream Frosting
1 pint heavy cream
11.5 oz. 60% Bittersweet cacao chips
½ c. butter
4-5 c. powdered sugar

Pumpkin Spice Brownie Bites

Recipe From: http://insidebrucrewlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/pumpkin-spice-brownie-bites.html
I pkg brwonie mix.. make it up and let it cool
pumpkin spice hershey kisses
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

After brownies have cooled cut into squares. put kiss in middle then mush the brownie into a ball around the kiss. Put into freezer. Melt your chocolate, take balls out of freezer, and dip. Yup, it's that easy. Then you can melt any other kind of chocolate or in my case butterscotch chips and drizzle on top for looks. Ooohhh so yummy.

It's Great to Be Eight

2011-10-07T06:32:00.001-07:00

My Kaden turned eight. He is such a good boy. For his birthday we had a cowboy party.

Aunt Ashley was so nice and brought her miniature horse for the kids at the party to ride.

with star sheriff badge sugar cookies, an oreo cake per request of the birthday boy, and ice cream the kids were plenty sugared up.
we also nailed a horse shoe to a board and let them paint it. Roping competitions and a few games before the hamburgers were served, this made for a crazy but fun eighth birthday party with like 18 kids in attendance. gotta love Birthdays.

My handsome Kaden gets baptized tomorrow into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by his father, we are so proud of him.

Enjoying the Harvest

2011-09-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

We have sure enjoyed having fresh fruits and vegetables around this summer. My favorite is our watermelon and cantaloupes, Ava's too.

Ok how many of you put vanilla ice cream on your cantaloupe?
If you don't you should!

My mom did this for us as a treat when we were kids, so I thought I would carry on the tradition with my own kids, they love it!

Fried zucchini -

I remember my dad making fried zucchini when we were kids also. he cut his into circles, I made mine more into a fry shape.
All you need to do is did the zucchini into an egg, then into bread crumbs. Fry then until browned, salt and pepper to taste.
My kids smacked these right down as well. We also like to dip our in ranch. Not much healthy about this zucchini recipe. ha :)
I will post more later, short on time today.

Cowboys love Brick Oven Pizza

2011-09-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have a few cowboys in my house that love pizza.
Here is Kaden at Roping lessons....

Here is Porter trying his hand at it....

After a hard day out on the ranch, what do my boys love? That's right Brick oven pizza. There is something so very flavorful and tasty about bread and pizza cooked in an outside brick-oven.

~ Here is the problem~
I went to a friends house and had pizza cooked in a real pizza brick oven. I was hooked instantly. The ambiance was wonderful too. We were surrounded by a big garden, the yard was lovely, chickens running around out in the yard, jazzy-soul music playing. My friend cut vegetables straight out of her garden and put them on the pizza and cooked them up. It was heaven. Yum. So I decided I would try this in my outside fireplace that had a side oven. ~Not the Same~. You have to have firebricks around the whole thing for the heat to stay in properly. As you can see we have a metal plate on the top of ours.

So we had to keep a small fire going at all times to keep enough heat in there. It worked. But for my birthday I am asking my husband to make me a real brick-oven pizza.
I cut fresh basil off my plant and put in the dough.
I've decided swiss chard is a must on every pizza. My kids even love it.

I like the thinner crust...

Karl likes the thicker crust....

We chopped up zucchini, squash, green onions, basil, olives, and tomatoes also and put on it. WIth a whole wheat crust this is really a healthy garden vegetable dinner, and I am really craving it right now. :)
The funnest part was the kids all made their own individual pizzas they loved getting in and cooking.

First day of School

2011-08-29T07:12:00.001-07:00

Ethan last year

Ethan This year.

Kaden and Porter last year.

Kaden this year

Porter this year.

Ava last year.

Ava this year.

Sometimes I wish we could stop time. I really do enjoy my kids and I don't want them to grow up.

Garden Vegetable Dinners

2011-08-25T08:19:00.001-07:00

Our vegetables are coming off quickly.

~Photo Courtesy of Kaden~
I am finding as many ways as possible to use them.

Skewers -
I took thin steaks and cubed them.
then Marinated them in olive oil and Worcester sauce, peppered with Montreal steak seasoning
Cut the vegetables. (Squash, Zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes)
I boiled the potatoes for a few minutes just to make sure they would get done, before putting them on the skewer.
Last I splashed olive oil, Worcester sauce and steak seasoning over all of it.
~ My boys came and helped put the skews together, then their friends came in and wanted to help, it was a neighborhood affair~ It was fun.

Karl then cooked them on the grill, long enough to make sure the meat was done, OOOhhhh sooo yummy. We will have to do this again.
Zucchini Patties

1-15.5 oz can of chickpeas (aka garbonzo beans) drained and rinsed
1- cup plain breadcrumbs
1-zucchini grated
1- small red onion grated
1- egg slightly beaten
1-tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Mash chickpeas in a bowl until smooth. Stir in breadcrumbs, zucchini, onion, egg, and salt. Form into patties about a half inch thick.

Fry patties in oil until golden brown and crisp. Is good with ranch dressing, greek yogurt or sour cream.
I had my doubts as so did my family, but they actually turned out good.
We have zucchini coming out our ears, I have made bread and muffins until the family is sick of it.

Mini loaves, Karl and Ethan delivered to the widow ladies in the neighborhood.

Zucchini banana Bread: ( from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients

3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup grated zucchini
2 bananas, mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch bread loaf pans.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light yellow and frothy. Add oil, brown sugar, white sugar, grated zucchini, bananas, and vanilla; blend together until well combined. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the cranberries and nuts. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Allow to cool in the loaf pans on a wire rack before removing and serving.

What do you do with your zucchini?? :)

Kids in the Kitchen

2011-08-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

The kids have loved making a mess in my kitchen this summer. And No I don't have a dishwasher (besides the boys). I am ready for school to start simply for the fact that I will have a ton less dishes to do.

Ethan and his friend needed a snack so they made a red velvet cake almost all by themselves.

They used a recipe from Paula Deen
Ingredients Add to grocery list
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter
2 ounces red food coloring
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vinegar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs; add sugar. Mix cocoa and food coloring. Add butter and egg mixture; mix well. Sift together flour and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine soda and vinegar and add to mixture. Pour into three 8-inch round greased and floured pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tests done.

For the frosting we just used a basic buttercream frosting.

It was Yummy.... definitely needed a cup of milk with it.

A few of my Favorites

2011-08-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

Here are a few Random Pictures... but some of my Favorite.

Kaden and Porter doing dishes. Kaden's soap beard.

Ava in her Pixie doll dress and shoes.

Ethan helping me bake cupcakes.

Porter had to get out his fancy plate and goblet to eat his lunch.

We went with our neighbors to the ski resort Snowbasin. It is beautiful this time of year. We had a picnic and then rode bikes up the bike trails. Here is Porter riding on the practice trail. It was a lot of fun.

And of course my handsome husband, just getting off the bike trail up the mountain.

But my favorite is when the boys are gone and Ava is asleep! So cute.

Yard Work/ Gardening

2011-08-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

I like our yard, but it is high maintenance. A lot like me I suppose! hehe :)
Here is a back section of our yard at the beginning of the summer.

Our house is over 100 years old. And the old barn has got to be close behind. Half of this stuff has been back in the back yard probably that long as well.

The boys have been so good at working everyday in the yard to clean it up and make a beautiful garden this summer.

Porter and his little friend asked me one day if they could grow their own garden, not thinking much about it I said sure. It's growing good. Porter has weeded and watered it consistently. Then he took pictures of it for me.

Here is his watermelon plant.

Ethan Weeding.

It's been good for the boys to learn how to work in the yard.

Ava loves being outside. It is honestly her favorite, next to bath-time.

We are still a long ways from this yard being my ideal victorian garden, but a small step closer.

Grandma Johnson's Brown Sugar Muffins

2011-08-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

These brown sugar muffins are a hit at our house. Grandma Johnson introduced them to us about three years ago. She would make them all the time for her kids when they were growing up.

They go good with any meal and they are easy!
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
mix together put in muffin tin with or without paper liners whatever you prefer. Put in oven at 400 degrees for 5-7 min. until the middles of the muffins bounce back when you lightly press on them.

Try it with dinner tonight.

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-08-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

My Favorite Memory: Coming home from school to smell freshly baked Chocolate Chip Cookies. Thanks Mom :)

My Kids are always asking me to make Grandma's chocolate chip cookies.

Easy And Yummy.....

Cream together
2 cups shortening
2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Then add
4 eggs
dash of vanilla
1 tsp salt
1tsp baking soda
4-5 cups of flour ( I am not sure I never measure, just when the dough looks right)
About 1/2 a pkg of chocolate chips I like Semi-sweet.

Put in oven at 350 degrees for about 5-7 min. Pull out when just barely starting to brown. Leave on cookie sheet, let them finish cooking for a few minutes, this is the secret.

Perfect After School Snacks!

My Oven is Fixed ..... Yeah!

2011-07-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

Keylime Coconut Cupcakes......

Recipe from: Food Network
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/key-lime-coconut-cupcakes-with-white-chocolate-frosting-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 2 eggs, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 heaping teaspoon grated key lime zest
* 1 1/2 tablespoons key lime juice (bottled or freshly squeezed)
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 cup buttermilk
* 1 1/3 cups loosely packed sweetened coconut flakes (3.5 ounces)

For the Frosting:

* 5 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped into small chucks
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
* Pinch salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon key lime juice (bottled or freshly squeezed)
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* Finely grated key lime zest, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, key lime zest and juice and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 5 parts total, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold the coconut into the cupcake batter.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners and fill each liner almost to the top with batter. A spring loaded 1/4 cup ice cream scoop works great for this and ensures the cupcakes are all the same size. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer cupcakes to a baking rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling you can make the frosting. In a small heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, carefully and slowly melt the white chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool until just slightly warm. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar until well combined. Add the salt, vanilla extract, key lime juice, and sour cream and mix until very smooth. Add the melted white chocolate and mix just until incorporated.

Frost the cupcakes and garnish with a bit of grated key lime zest. Enjoy!

And of course Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes.

Butterbeer Cupcakes
Recipe from: Amybites.com
http://amybites.com/?p=623
Makes 18
.
For the cupcakes:
.
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda
.
For the ganache:
.
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy cream
.
For the buttercream frosting:
.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup butterscotch ganache
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
Splash of milk or cream (as needed)
.
For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream your butter until light and fluffy. Add your sugars and beat until well-combined. Beat in your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then beat in your vanilla and butter flavoring.
.
Alternate adding your buttermilk, cream soda, and dry ingredients in batches until all are well incorporated. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. Cool completely on wire racks.
.
For butterscotch filling: In a double boiler (heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Fill a squeeze bottle with ganache and insert into the center of each cupcake, squeezing until filling begins to overflow.
.
For buttercream frosting: Cream butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add in ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt and mix until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until reaching desired consistency. Add milk or cream by the Tablespoon as needed. Frost cupcakes and top with a drizzle of butterscotch ganache.
.

We have sure enjoyed having our oven fixed..... more to come, we have been busy.

Angel Moroni

2011-07-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

So my husband is the project engineer on the Brigham City Temple being built. On July 12th we went and watched the Angel Moroni being put on.
Q-Why is the Angel Moroni Put on top of Temples?
A- Moroni is the angel of the restoration. He appeared to Joseph Smith for the first time on September 21, 1823 in answer to the prophet’s inquiring prayer. This great vision is recorded in the Pearl of Great Price. I’m sure you know the history of how the Angel Moroni appeared each year thereafter for four years, schooling the young prophet. Then he delivered to Joseph the plates upon which the Book of Mormon was anciently written, which contain the fullness of the everlasting gospel. The statue of the angel Moroni on the temples is cast in the act of sounding a trumpet. We may take this to symbolize the sounding of the gospel that is to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. (askgramps.org)

The Angle Moroni now days is made out of fiber glass, so it only weighs about 300 pounds.

And is Coated in real gold.

His trumpet comes equipped with it's own lightning rod.

The day turned out a little stormy so they were a couple of hours late getting him on.
Thousands of people gathered on the outside of the construction fence to watch the event. They closed down half the town for the raising of Angel Moroni.

It was cool to hear the thousands shout for joy, as the Angle took it's place atop the spire of the temple. It was a fun memorable day.

For me and the kids.

Quick Summer Meals

2011-07-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

I love fresh vegetables, especially when they are out of our own garden. Here is a recipe that I just kinda threw together, but worth making again it was yummy.
Vegetable Spaghetti

~First I put the Whole Wheat noodles on to boil.
~Then I put a spoonful of butter in a frying pan and sliced up a whole squash in it.
Covered it with a lid on medium heat and let it cook for about 12 min.
~ Next I added an orange bell pepper and let it saute in with the squash.
~ Then I added a tsp of garlic. More if you really like garlic.
~ After those vegetables are tender, I grated in a zucchini.
~ Lastly I added about 3/4 cup of vegetable oil and a package of Italian seasoning
mix.
Simmer the flavors together and put on top of spaghetti. Grate Your favorite Cheese on top. Here I used Australian Swiss. Yummy and oh so Easy. My two favorite words together when talking about food.

My All time favorite easy Yummy recipe is one my hubby found. It is Chicken artichoke. I had my doubts at first but I have been made a believer. Yummy!!!!

Ingredients

* 1 (15 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
* 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 3/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1 pinch garlic pepper
* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic pepper. Place chicken in a greased baking dish, and cover evenly with artichoke mixture.
3. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear.

Sorry that is the only picture I have. We all ate it too fast before I got a better picture. This is a must try.

Girls Camp and Secret Sister Gifts

2011-07-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

Being a Young Women leader, this year at Girls camp I was over one tent in particular, the best girls were in my tent of course. My neighbor also went as a leader so we got together and made little gifts to give the girls with a little thought each day. The first thing we made was
Rice Krispy Treat Cupcakes, Chocolate dipped of course.

Thought attached: Be careful of the words you speak, make them kind and sweet. For you never know from day to day which ones you'll have to eat.

I got the recipe from Kellogs Web-site
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
- OR -
4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®
Why use Kellogg's® Rice Krispies®?

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.

We put them in a box, kept them in a cool area and they lasted fine for a couple of days.
For testimony meeting we gave them individual packages of tissues.

I can;t remember the exact quote attached, something about testimonies sometimes make you cry, this only makes your testimony grow. But said much more eloquently.
We also had secret sisters. These are some of the things I did for my Secret Sister.

Baking items

My Secret Sister really likes haloween, I mean really. So I felt this appropriate.

We had a lot of fun this year.

Fathers Day and Serious Vanilla Ice Cream

2011-07-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

For fathers day this year we had our traditional Steak dinner....

And corn on the cob and scalloped potatoes. Yum!
Then my new favorite Ice Cream.
Home Made Vanilla Ice Cream
Here is the liquid ready to be chilled. I love the vanilla bean bits mixed throughout. I think this is what made it so yummy.

Serious Vanilla Ice Cream

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time:
10 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
1 hr 0 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
1 quart
Ingredients

2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons peach preserves (not jelly)
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Directions

Combine all ingredients (including the bean and its pulp) in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Attach a frying or candy thermometer to inside of pan. (see note below) Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the hull of the vanilla bean, pour mixture into lidded container and refrigerate mixture overnight to mellow flavors and texture.

Freeze mixture in ice cream freezer according to unit's instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once the volume has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 times, and reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer at least 1 hour before serving.

NOTE: If you do not have a thermometer, bring the mixture just barely to a simmer. As soon as you see a bubble hit the surface, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil

I did not put any preserves in mine. Here is the finished product.

This is a must try sometime this summer.
And of course some chocolate dipped strawberry chasers.

The boys then helped me put together a card with candybars on it for Karl.

And what's Fathers Day without being on the cover of Field and Stream.....

It was a fun day. Thanks Karl for being such an amazing Husband and Father.

Alabama II

2011-07-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Alabama is where my husbands family is from. We visited his Mom and dad, aunts, uncles and Grandma.

Ava is not one to go to people she doesn't know. But she eventually got used to being passed around to all the Uncles and Aunties. They love babies, everyone wanted to hold her.

There was a lot of family....

Aunt Jean, Great Grandma Johnson, Grandma Johnson, Me, Ava, Aunt Kat, Grandma Gardner

Grandpa Wayne, Uncle Ricky, Great Grandma, and Karl
Lots of Porch Sittin.....

Crocodile hunting well looking anyways.....

And of Course Fishin....

We took Grandma Gardner Fishin for her first time ever.....

And she caught herself a big ol'........

Stick!
Better luck next time.
Then my camera battery died and I forgot to pack the charger. The trip was a lot of fun, and I am glad my boys got to spend time with family they have never met before.

New Orleans and Alabama Part I

2011-06-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

Family Vacation this year...... Las Vegas - New Orleans - Alabama
Ten days and four kids, a lot of work, but a lot of fun.

First stop Las Vegas, Circus Circus.
Then we flew to Louisiana... Yep we missed our first flight. It is really hard to get a baby with her food and formula through security, and yes Ethan's scriptures caused a problem. We took forever to get through security. But the new flight they put us on was actually better. Thanks Delta, they were actually really great.

Met up with Kat, Mom and Kym In New Orleans.
Ate our first breakfast at Cafe Du Monde. They make French Beignets. So yummy. It is open 24/7 been in business for 150 years.

The boys loved the Big City Park

Street Car

Mom and Kat trying to get a job
b
Karl Teaching his son about the finer points in life. Actually we were pretty good about putting the blinders on him. Only in certain areas, we had to.

Bourbon Street

Hot and Humid but a lot of fun things to see, especially the architecture.

Ava Bug Party..... (Lady Bug Party)

2011-06-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

Our little Ava Bug is now a year old. Here are some of the pictures from her Party.
Here are her invitations that we sent out.

Her invitation with her little lady bug outfit.
For her outfit, I just got a spool of red netting cut it into strips and tied it onto a black ribbon. Soo easy. Then I bought a little black onesie and a lady bug stencil and painted a lady bug on it. With a pair of wings that I got at a garage sell, and one cute cheap and easy lady bug outfit.

So my oven was still broken so I had to buy a cake and the cupcakes. Truthfully it was kind of nice to not have to worry about making them.

I was having a hard time finding lady bug things for the party, so for the cupcakes I put buttons on top. They were cute, but was sure to tell the guests not to eat them.

Kaden was so cute, he made this cake for Ava.

The day before he had gone to a garage sell and bought this baking kit. It was a no cook bake set. You just add water and the powder turns into this spongy cake stuff. It is so nasty, but he was very proud of it. It's the thought that counts, right .

We gave Ava a pretty big slice of cake. I then served everyone else. By then I noticed she had almost eaten it all. I took the rest away from her, for fear she was going to get sick. She was so mad at me. She is just like her momma, loves her treats, especially chocolate. That's my girl. It was a fun party. We are so happy to have our little cute Ava bug in our home.

Teacher Gifts

2011-06-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOORAY!!!!!!!!!
(Well that's what the kids are saying anyways. I might not be so excited ;)

Teacher gifts? What do you give your kids teachers? Can you guess what we did?
That's right...... Cupcakes!
We made Chocolate Peanut Butter and Hummingbird.
I am sure I have posted humming bird cupcakes before, but here it is again.

From Martha stewart

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans
1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
Cream Cheese Frosting
Dried Pineapple Flowers
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.with rack in center. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Beat at medium speed until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in flour mixture.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with dried pineapple flowers, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

They might not look that moist, but they really are. These are Ethan's favorite. They get better after they sit for a day or two. Ohh so yummy.... I highly recommend this recipe.

Then The packaging. It's all about presentation right?

The Bag had a blanket in it that Kaden and I made for his teacher who is having a baby.

The boxes came from Micheal's. They have the cutest cupcake boxes, all different colors and prints. I chose the plain ones, they were the least girly :)

I would like to hear your ideas for teacher gifts.

Gingerbread Cupcakes and Candy Cane cupcakes

2011-06-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

So I was going through my old pictures, and I remembered these yummy treats I made in December, but I don't think I ever posted them. So here they are.
Gingerbread Cupcakes........

These are oh so yummy!
From Epicurious.com

I doubled this recipe to make 2 dozen-

* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
* 1 large egg, beaten lightly
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

Into a bowl sift together the flour, the ground ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves, the allspice, and the salt. In another bowl cream 1/2 stick of the butter, add the granulated sugar, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy. Beat in the molasses and the egg, beating until the mixture is smooth. In a measuring cup combine the baking soda with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir the mixture to dissolve the baking soda. Stir the mixture into the molasses mixture (the mixture will appear curdled) and stir the molasses mixture into the flour mixture, stirring to combine the ingredients well. Line twelve 1/2-cup muffin tins with paper liners and spoon the batter into the liners, filling them halfway. Bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. (The cupcakes will be flat or slightly indented on top.) Transfer the cupcakes to a rack and let them cool.

For the frosting I just used my favorite Cream Cheese/ whipped cream frosting.

Whip 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream in mixer until it forms stiff peaks. In a seperate bowl mix room temperature cream cheese (8 oz) with 1 cup of sugar. Once that is creamy mix it in with the whipped cream.

Pipe onto cupcakes and dust with cinnamon

So Good a must try!

Candy Cane Cupcakes.......
I took these to a ward party, they didn't last but 2 minutes once I set them down.

This is from Cupcakerecipes.com
Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 ounces melted unsweetened baking chocolate

This is from Cupcakerecipes.com

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Combine all ingredients into large mixing bowl. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds, and scrape bowl. Mix at high speed for 3 minutes.

Fill liners 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes in pans then remove from pan, and place on wire racks to cool completely.

Frost when chocolate cupcakes are completely cool.

For the frosting I just used a buttercream frosting. I don't really use a recipe, it's just a scoop of shortening and an scoop of butter. Mix it with heavy cream or milk. And add powder sugar to consistency. On this one I put in a tsp of peppermint flavoring.
Then take half of the frosting and add some red food coloring. Put in piping bag half pink on one side and half white on the other. It makes a fun color swirl on top. Then just add a small candy cane. This one is a definite repeat too. Sooo good. Even though it is summer these would be a fun treat to make. Enjoy!

Oven Still Broken

2011-05-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

So my oven is still broken, so I pulled out the old sewing machine. But before I show you what I made for Ava's One year birthday which we just celebrated Let me show you a couple of dresses I made for her a while back, I don't think I posted these already. If so sorry.

So I took a sewing class for a couple of months after Ava was born, there is just so many cute little girl dresses I want to learn to make and I don't sew.

But no worries.....Kaden was on hand to help me. He loves to create.

I made a couple of these dresses for my nieces baby girls. I like to go onto Etsy and see all the creative ideas then try to make them myself, much cheaper. Maybe not as professional but I don't think the babies care.

Ava's Birthday dress. Just some scrap material sewn together no pattern needed. Sew-easy. If I can do it sew can you :)

This is called a pillow case dress. Once again no pattern needed. Another idea borrowed from Etsy. I just got a stencil and fabric paint and painted these cute flowers on here.

Karl always calls Ava his little bug, because she is as cute as a bug. So we had a lady bug party for her. Here is her lady bug costume, which she hates by the way. Once again just a stencil and fabric paint to make the ladybug. And a spool of red tulle.

I realized I had never made Ava a blanket but I did for my boys, so I decided I had better make her one. Really easy I just lay it on the ground, because I don't have quilting stands. The binding is always the hardest. I mess it up every time.
So the moral of today's story is. I don't sew. If I decide to try, it has to be a quick couple of hour project, that's all I have the patience for when it comes to sewing. I hate picking my stitches out, so usually I don't and it doesn't look that great. But my sewing instructor was great and taught me some neat tricks and techniques. So go find something to sew today.

Baking

2011-05-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

So my oven went out on me... in the middle of making bread, brownies and a casserole for my neighbors, not good timing. So here is a couple of older recipes that I use a lot and love. Hope you do too.
Bread:
This is the best recipe ever.
This is my friend Lori Farnsworth's recipe. She is the kind of woman who can do everything. She is amazing.

Fast and Easy Homemade Wheat Bread

4 cups hot tap water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons saf-instant yeast

Put hot water in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and yeast. Stir. Let rest about 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Next add:
2 tablespoons potato pearls
2 tablespoons oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey or sugar

Stir all together.

Then add
5 cups of red wheat flour
4-5 cups of white wheat flour

Can be any other combination of flour. But this is the combo I like the best.

Mix all together with wooden spoon until you get a soft dough. Dump onto a kneading surface and knead in additional flour until a nice stiff ball is accomplished. Cover with damp towel and let rise for 20-30 minutes.

Split dough into 3rds and form loaf for bread pans.
Spray bread pans with non-stick spray. Also, spray top of bread.
Cover again with damp cloth and let rest 10 minutes.
Bake in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool. I have found this bread gets moister with age.

(This bread was made with all white flour)

Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cupcakes:

VANILLA BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini-muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a mixer bowl. Transfer bowl to mixer, and add egg, yolk, water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until mixture is well combined and smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Divide batter among liners, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks for 30 minutes. Invert cupcakes onto racks, and let cool completely. (Cupcakes can be stored for up to 3 days.)

I also added my own Bourbon Vanilla Beans:

I bought these off of Amazon, it is way cheaper then the ones I bought at the whole foods store.

Simply take a sharp pointed knife and slice down the center of the bean. Then take the back of your knife and scape out the seeds,(it looks for like mush)
then add it to your recipe. It really adds to the flavor and I love seeing the little black flecks in the batter.
Once the cupcake was cooked and cooled, I cut a little bit of the center out and filled it with this.
Berry Cream Cheese Marshmallow filling.

I don't really have a recipe for this. I put in some marshmallow cream, cream cheese, powder sugar, heavy whipping cream, strawberry and blackberry preserves. Until it was the right consistency and taste. It was yummy, sorry I don't have exact measurements.
And then I topped that with Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting.
Whip up one cup heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
In separate bowl, cream together one cup sugar, with 8 oz room temperature cream cheese. Add this to the heavy whipping cream with a dash of vanilla. Ohhh so yummy.

Then of course the final touch.... Chocolate dipped strawberries.

OK - so I am totally craving one now :) Maybe I'll go make some more, oh that's right my ovens out. I should lose weight if I don't get it fixed :)

Ava Marie is getting big!

2011-05-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

Ava is now 11.5 months old. I can't believe it has already almost been a year. She is so much fun. She is a very happy baby, as long as she likes you :) No but really she is a content baby and she adores her daddy and her brothers and they adore her back.

Porter and the Bug.

Only Karl can get her to snuggle and fall asleep in his arms. I have to put her in her crib.

Easter Dress and first little purse.

"Ok guys, enough with the pictures, I need my beauty sleep".

I know, you thinking, "What hair"?

Ava on her new Bug-mobile.
She is such
a joy to have in our home.

I'm Back

2011-05-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yes I have been busy, so blogging was pushed to the back burner. I am now finished with student teaching, my baby in now 11 months old and I am done with my Masters degree in Secondary Education. Life should slow down a bit now. This month was also busy with three birthdays. I think April is almost as hard as December, except in December you only have to Celebrate Christmas on one day. In April we have to throw three separate parties. But we are happy to do it. Here are some of the cupcakes that I made for Karl and Ethan's Birthday. It took me hours because I made enough for Karl to take to work and share with all the Management and field workers.And anyone that knows me I believe boxed cupcakes are just not as good as ones from scratch.

Cupcake #1 (Karl's favorite)
Peanut Butter Delight.......

It is a thick fudgy cupcake base. This is my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.
Ghirardelli Recipe:

2- cubes butter (1 cup)
2- 4oz 100% Ghirardelli Chocolate bars
Melt these together on stove over med. heat. Set aside to cool a bit.

Cream together
3- cups sugar
5- eggs
vanilla

Then slowly pour chocolate mixture in.
Slowly add 1 1/2 cups white flour and a pinch of salt.
Put in oven at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 min. Not really sure my oven is so old it works different then most.

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes I think.
The middles will sink a bit

* For these Peanut Butter cupcakes I put a peanut butter cup in the center and then cooked it.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting: (From Food.com)
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, don't use old-fashioned or natural brand
* 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1 pinch table salt
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

1. 1 In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter and peanut butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners' sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

I then refrigerated for a little while. Melted a bag of 60% chocolate chips in microwave stir every minute. Once smooth, dip cupcakes in like a dipped ice cream come. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Put back in fridge until chocolate sets up.

Cupcake #2
Hi-Hat

Same Chocolate cupcake as above.

For the frosting - From Martha Stewart

Prepare the frosting: In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Using a hand held electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.

Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch-high cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.

Prepare the chocolate coating: Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.

Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

I will post mare cupcake recipes later. Here is is Porters (popo's) Batman party.

Party Favors, Karl and I made at midnight the night before. Cape, mask and batman pouch filled with candy.

It was a fun party, we ate pizza, brownies and ice cream, (porter doesn't like cake, and that was fine with me). And went to the movies and watched Gnomeo and Juliet. Loaded the kids with pop and popcorn, they were all so well behaved. It was a fun day.

Creative month of October spills into November

2010-11-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

The season here still feels creative. Here Porter is painting his pumpkin...

Karl has been cooking up a storm... I love that! Here was last Sunday's breakfast... Yum

Then proceeded to make his traditional Sunday lunch. He always seasons everything so good, I don't know his secret, but I figure I would rather not know it, I just want to be there to eat it.

I was asked to do the bulletin board for Kaden's classroom for November. It's a lot harder then it looks. I have a whole new appreciation for teachers bulletin boards all over the world now! :)
Here is what I came up with....

Ava even helped me make those little monsters...

Kaden took my leftover paper and made crowns for Ava...

What have you created lately?

Pumpkin Cupcakes

2010-11-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

Pumpkins just make me Happy! I don't know why, the color the shape the season they represent. I'm not sure, but they do- Pumpkins make me feel great! I know weird, right!

So at the beginning of the summer Karl took these award winning pumpkin seeds that we got from the Pumpkin Growers of America and passed them out with instructions on how to grow an award winning pumpkin to all of our neighbors. We were to have a friendly pumpkin growing contest. Well the sad story goes, no one had much luck. The growing season was so short this year, all the crops struggled. Karl had two pumpkins that started to grow and then for no apparent reason rotted. But he went to clean up his garden a few days ago and look what he found.....

He told me it was a pumpkin so I guess I believe him. :)
Anyways we invited all of our friends and neighbors to come sit around a cozy fire, drinking hot cocoa....

Ethan and friends...

and everyone brought some kind of pumpkin treat.

It was a delightful evening. Here is what I took.....
Pumpkin Cupcakes
(this recipe is from Nova Scotia out of the Taste of Home cook book)
* It's actually pumpkin bread that I just made into cupcakes*
1- 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts ( or instead I use chocolate chips)

*Combine the sugar, pumpkin, oil,water and eggs. Combine the dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts or chocolate chips.
* Pour into greased bread pans or cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees. Bread will take about 50 min. cupcakes about 10 min.

And then I topped them with my new favorite Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting....

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

This was so much fun we will have to have another pumpkin growing contest next year!

Sugar Cookies

2010-11-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

At Halloween and Christmas its the Law you have to make Sugar Cookies. Even if it means you will gain 5 pounds.
I had my good little kitchen helper assisting me in making a double batch of big soft sugar cookies for Halloween.

I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com
original Recipe Yield 4 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

* 2/3 cup shortening
* 2/3 cup butter
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, stir into the creamed mixture until dough comes together. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in sugar. Place them on an unprepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottom is light brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

You know how when a cat is happy it purrs? Well when Porter is happy and content he hums. I love he hums all the time. I worried that it would be a problem at school, but so far his teacher said he is doing good. Here is a short video of Porter working and Humming. Once he noticed I was back in the room he stopped. He had been humming for about 5 min straight before I grabbed the camera.

(OK, it's not letting me download the video for some reason, I'll try again later, just trust me it was cute though!)

Here is what our cooked cookies came out looking like.

Here is Ethan helping frost our yummy cookies.

What a fun family tradition my mom did with us and now I get to do with my kids.
Thanks Mom!

Beauty Nature Walk

2010-10-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

Porter Ava and I headed out for a Nature Walk taking in the last few nice days of fall.

I then handed Porter the camera and told him to take pictures of things he thought were beautiful.

Then I took a picture of what I thought was beautiful! My sweet kids!

A Baby Brings the Family Together

2010-10-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law always says, "don;t you just love how a new baby brings the family closer together"? She is right. This little Ava Marie is so loved and adored. I think she is the most kissed on baby there ever was. Ava and I spend a lot of time out on our new porch swing. But we are never there too long until one of the brothers finds us and joins us.

Trying to take pictures of just Ava is impossible.... Porter has to be right there next to her.

"Wait guys not without me...!"

"OK, I'm Ready!"

This is where you will find the boys in the mornings. The minute they hear one little peep out of Ava they all go running....

Ava fell asleep on the couch next to Ethan and he was so fascinated by her, he took this video.

Our baby Ava has sure brought a special spirit into our home.

Flowers

2010-10-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some flowers that my neighbor has been teaching me how to make...

Sweater Flower....

Wired Ribbon Flower...

Lace flowers...

Scrap material Flowers......

Real flowers from another neighbor, after they rescued me off a mountain... an embarrassing story for another time. :)

October the month to Create!

2010-10-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

This October has been much nicer weather vs. last year. I do love the fall it is such a creative month don't you agree. It is also a time when I love to bake a lot....

Porter's favorite - Chocolate Minty's he calls them...

2 Cups sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Cups Shortening
(Creme together)
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cooking cocoa
(Mix all ingredients together well)
4-5 cups flour (until cookie doughish :)
3/4 bag of Andies Mint chips, found by chocolate chips
Bake at 325 degrees until done about 7 min.

Kaden's creativity has been going strong this month as well....
Here he has made a mask for Karl and insisted he wear it...

Here Karl is making us Sunday breakfast. yum!
Kaden made this beautiful crown for Ava.

Karl, Ethan and Wayne are making more rocking horses this month.

And look what I made... A beautiful Ava.. OK with a little help!

It's time... go Create!

5K

2010-09-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

This past April I signed the boys up for a 5K at the school. It is a fundraiser they do every year.

I for obvious reasons did not participate...

I was impressed at how well they all did, especially without ant training.

OK- well Porter lasted about half a mile and most of that was on Karl's shoulders. I followed in the car expecting he wouldn't last long. Kaden and Ethan though pretty much ran the whole way.... good job boys.

So our little town had another 5K fundraiser to help a little girl in our stake that has cancer. Karl and his sister Ashley decided to run in it this past week.

Go Karl....

Go Ashley...

Most races offer only free water...

At this race they truly understood that the key to getting a lot of participants in a 5K is to offer free massages after the race. Table set up at the finish line. Karl said that was the highlight of the race.

Good Job Guys! I'm a great Cheerleader! :)(Hey someone has to do it)

My Boy the Prophet!

2010-09-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

OK- or rather my boy the prophet impersonator.
Here is Ethan playing the part of Brigham Young in Utahoma.

Ethan did not want to be a part of the Rodgers Theatre Youth Program, but his mother who is a teacher there insisted that he participate. After much whaling and gnashing of teeth he agreed. Then after the first couple of practices he seemed to really enjoy it, he said he had nothing to do with the fact that there was 20 girls and only 4 boys in the production, uh huh!!

His director said he was a natural.... he must get that from his father :)

So after all was said and done, he was glad his mother made him participate....Remember that my Boy!

Kaden too was part of a production at the Rodgers Theatre. He, unlike his older brother though was excited about it.

They did a play called "Ella -Girl from the Cinders".

Kaden played the part of Sir Rufus, the interactive narrator.

Kaden was quick to memorize all his lines. But I as well as his director was impressed at how quickly he picked up the tap dancing.

Unlike Ethan's age group, Kaden's group did not have a cast party after the show. So Kaden and I went out for special time after his show. I think he liked it better anyways.

So after a semester of Theatre Karl insisted on signing the boys up for Karate... I'll post those pictures later. :) Good Job Boys!

Karl's Camera

2010-09-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Karl Just gave me two discs full of photos from his camera, thought I would share a few.
Visiting Dad at work - Spring 2009

Downtown SLC- jobsite...

Waiting for the train to take us back home...

Christmas 2009 - this is Kaden's present to Karl....

A beautiful painted sliver of wood :)

All these presents......

And what is Kaden playing with???
Ok- besides a knife!

The box Karl's golf clubs came in.

He made himself a robot costume!

Porter's 5th Birthday...

Birthday boy sporting an awesome crown made by our very creative Kaden.

Out of 300 photos - here are a few of the fun ones!

Random Thoughts

2010-09-17T15:44:00.001-07:00

Porter's lunch!

This boy cracks me up. He loves "fancy" dinners. Every Sunday we set a nice table with all the formal table settings and TRY to teach the boys proper table manners. This is Porter's favorite thing to do. If I don't get the dishes put up right away Porter attaches himself to a goblet and will use it all week.

Karl's Happy Surprise!

Mid-Summer Karl was bummed realizing he had forgotten to plant cucumbers in his garden. Well he was pleased when amongst the vines the other day he ran across some very large cucumbers. He must have planted some. The joy of a bad memory... you get pleasant surprises sometimes. This could be fun. I think I will try re-gifting his same Christmas presents this year.

Summer Veggies on the grill with bacon Yummmy!

Ava trying to drag he younger cousin Talmadge around. She thinks she's in control seeing as how she is 6 days older!

Ava and her teddy....

Porter is always putting a teddy in Ava's arms. He thinks she looks so cute with it. He's right she does. (this is actually the bear Mike and Trish brought to the hospital when Ethan was born).

I'm thankful for all the time Grandpa Wayne spends holding baby Ava!

And he appears to be thrilled that I'm taking his picture!

I know....

Random...Right?

Birthdays!

2010-09-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

I am now 34. Thanks to everyone for all the great birthday wishes and wonderful presents. Karl brought home a yummy chocolate cake and a porch swing for me. I will have to post pictures of the swing later. I am so excited.

Idon bought me this really pretty bowl, it looks even prettier with my little Ava in it.

I got a really cute sweater and skirt and bracelet from my mom, well a gift card that purchased the new items anyways.( I'll post pictures of that later as well.) Thanks mom.

Kaden turned seven and he had a fun birthday week. Every morning we gave him a couple of little gifts, (from the dollar store). But he thought is was great non-the-less. Then he got some roller blades, that he practically sleeps in. He is always out the door on his blades no matter the time of day.

His grandma Johnson bought him a cake and this yellow sweat shirt. She thought he needed candles to blow out on his birthday, since we weren't having his actual party until the next day.

Then there was the Pirate Party..... Aarrgghh
Here Karl is making the invitations...

Kaden and Friend (Captain Jack Sparrow)

Then there was the treasure hunt!

Cupcakes - Hot dogs - and ice cream cones.....

More Presents.....

And..... that's when my batteries died in my camera :)

Karl made wooden swords for all the boys and they had a blast painting them... Then using them on each other :)
Here is a picture of some of their finished products...

Happy Birthday Little 'G' or should I say Captain Kaden!

First Two Weeks of School

2010-09-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

Yeah! the kids are back in school! I couldn't be happier :)
First Day of School - Kaden and Porter - First grade and Kindergarten

Porter wanted to make sure I got his muscles and his bellybutton in the picture. He is such a funny kid.

Porter has Mrs. Bittner this year for Kindergarten. This was Kaden's teacher last year. So Kaden was more then proud to show his little brother around the classroom.

Ethan's first day of Jr. High - Big 7th grader!

Anybody who knows Ethan, knows he WILL NOT put any kind of Product in his hair. I even offered him twenty bucks one time - he wouldn't do it. SO a few days before school started I took him to a friend to get his hair cut. SHe happens to have a cute eighth grade girl who was in the salon that day. SO my friend put gel in Ethan's hair and styles it. the "Older" gilr told Ethan it looked good and she really liked his hair that way. So the rest is history.... that's all it took. :)

Porter was a good little helper making the boys after school cookies. He has half day kindergarten.

All the boys got new clothes for school, so Ava had to get a new outfit too!

So that's our fist days of school in a nut shell!

Yep! I was right!

2010-08-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

See- I found proof. It is Karl's side of the family.....

Grandpa Wayne

Grandma Idon

See? I'm just sayin....

It's Not My Fault!

2010-08-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've decided It's not my fault.... My kids came with their own personalities and there is only so much I can do about it, (besides blame my family tree! or better yet- Karl's).

Sunday Baking

2010-08-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

I love to bake on Sundays. Karl always makes the Sunday dinner which Leaves me the opportunity to try out new desert recipes. The morning first started out looking like this....

So for a yummy pick-me-up I made the family some
Creme Brulee French Toast.....

The recipe came from http://www.cheekykitchen.com/
Yes! It is a definite keeper. We will have this many more times. Here is the Recipe...
6 egg yolks
2/3 c. light brown sugar
2/3 c. heavy whipping cream
6 fat slices of day-old french bread
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the egg yolks, sugar, and cream into a blender. Blend until well mixed. Prepare a deep baking dish with a thin layer of non-stick cooking spray. Place french toast pieces into the bottom of the baking dish. Pour egg mixture over the top of each slice of toast, making sure to cover them all very well with the the egg mixture. Place baking dish in oven, and bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes, or until the caramel is bubbling and the edges of the bread are slightly browned.
I love Brooke McLay's Blog as you can see I often try her recipes and they never fail to satisfy.
I ended the day with these...
Chocolate Flourless Cupcakes!

Adapted from a recipe I got from food network
Directions

Vegetable spray, for greasing liners

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Scharffen Berger

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon gray salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Line the cupcake pan with paper liners and spray the liners with vegetable spray.

Shave 5 ounces of chocolate and put it into a bowl. Cut the remaining 3 ounces of chocolate into roughly 1/2-inch pieces, set aside.

Combine the butter and cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the cream mixture comes to a simmer, pour it over the shaved chocolate and stir gently to melt the chocolate.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, mayonnaise, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt just until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and gently mix just until combined. (Mixing too much will prevent the eggs from rising in the oven.) Scoop about 1/4 cup of the batter into each mold, it should come about 3/4 of the way up the sides. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Do not over bake. Immediately while hot, add a chunk of the remaining chocolate in the center of each, by gently pushing it through the top of the cupcake in the center. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and then unmold them. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Then I cut out a small center section of the cupcake and spooned caramel into it. Then topped with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting.

Ingredients

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

This recipe is from allrecipe.com

We ended the day by running around the park trying to burn off all the calories we ate today! :)

Cousin Fun!

2010-08-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Lashay was so good to come out from California to be with us for Ava's baby blessing. She stayed a couple of weeks and we sure enjoyed having them. Ashley temporarily lives here in Farmington, so we all got together one Sunday afternoon for a walk down Lagoon trail.

Lashay and Karl

All the Cousins

Kaden and Porter

Yes, the sign in the background is referring to my children!

Up a tree their favorite place to be.

Ashley and Caleb

Karl, Ava and Kendal (Lashay's girl).
I've always loved Lagoon Trail, It's beautiful and fun to see all the animals and within walking distance of our house.

Seeing Jared Off......

2010-08-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

So Jared (my nephew)was called to serve a mission in Bolivia. All he knows about the country is that it has a temple and is full of drugs and poverty. Good Luck is all I have to say:) So He entered the MTC in Provo today. Last night Brian, Jane, Jared, Kalie and Lyndi crashed at our house. This morning was the big farewell. How many attempts did it take to get him out the door? Let's see.....
First attempt-
Jared dressed in nice white shirt and tie sits down to breakfast. Jane immediately noticed the wrinkled white shirt. So after breakfast Jared changes and Jane nicely presses his shirt. Suit back on.
Second Attempt -
Bags packed, dressed, Fed and at the door.

Just out the door and Aunt Kellie makes everyone stop for family photo op!

Jared proud of (almost) dressing himself this morning, gives us his best GQ pose.

Wait what do you notice? Yes it's his father's sense of style coming out in him. As Brian was once quoted saying, "Your suit coat doesn't have to match your pants". Jane was not going to have her son enter the MTC with two different suits on, no sir. Ordering Jared back in the house he was told to change his pants. And yes she did clarify he couldn't do it in the front yard, much to Jared's disappointment.

Ok Attempt number Three-
Another Photo Op in new pants.

But wait..... That's right Jane still not satisfied and really doubting her son's ability to dress himself for the next two years sent him back in to take of the wrinkled pants. As she was ironing them she expressed her sincere hope that the MTC had irons and ironing boards. (They probably do... but will he use it?)
Brian being extremely patient as we now him to be....

And Jane now repacking the disheveled suitcase that she already once so lovingly packed.

But where is Jared????

With the Kids of course!
Watching Sponge Bob, Playing Etch-a-Sketch, Eating Ice Cream! :)
Attempt Number Four...Out the door!
One last photo op, with son and pop. (They informed me this is a HUG....whatever).

Finally it's Goodbye as they pile in the truck..... (or is it?)

Jumping back out of the truck, Jane rushed back in for Jared's notebook he had left on the table. What are you going to do without your mom, Jared?

Jared, You know she only picks on you because she loves you!!!
Attempt number Five-
Off for the Best Two Years of your life!
Best of Luck Elder Gardner!!!

Festival, Food and Fun!

2010-08-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night we went to the Bountiful Folk Festival.
Porter's favorite part of the night......

The corn on the cob!

Kaden too opted for the traditional overpriced hotdog and corn on the cob. Ethan satisfied his taste buds with authentic Japanese noodles and chicken. Karl and I had southern BBQ, with a funnel cake chaser.

Ava most enjoyed her nap. She fell asleep after screaming along with the Inner City Chinese Performers. She wasn't so fond of their unique sound.
Karl Most enjoyed the Czech Women :)

I enjoyed all the unique traditional dances. But most of all I enjoyed.....

making a night of fun family memories,

All Kinds of Yummy!!!

2010-08-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

To Die For Hi-Hat Cupcakes ( The ultimate Ding-Dong)

From Martha Stewart.com

Hi-Hat Cupcakes

This popular recipe for hi-hat cupcakes is from the book "Cupcakes!"

Ingredients

Makes 12 cupcakes

* FOR THE BATTER
* 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* FOR THE FROSTING
* 1 3/4 cups sugar
* 3 large egg whites
* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING
* 2 cups chopped (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate
* 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Prepare the batter: Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl, and set it over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping sides of bowl as needed, until light and fluffy. On low speed, mix in melted chocolate. Increase speed to medium, and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, and beat until mixture is creamy and color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Mix in sour cream. On low speed, add half of reserved flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Mix in 1/2 cup water. Add remaining flour mixture, and mix until just incorporated.
4. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Fill each liner with enough batter to come 1/8 inch from top, about 1/3 cup. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
5. Use a small knife to loosen any tops stuck to the pan. Carefully invert cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn cupcakes right side up, and let cool completely.
6. Prepare the frosting: In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.
7. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch-high cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.
8. Prepare the chocolate coating: Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.
9. Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
10. Carefully remove paper liners from cupcakes, and discard. Place cupcakes on a serving platter, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let coating set. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours more. Serve cold. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

I made these and the coconut cupcakes for Karl's birthday last year. Both were so good.

Coconut Cupcakes with Seven-Minute Frosting and Coconut Flakes

Ingredients

Makes 21

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut
* 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 1 1/3 cups sugar
* 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites
* 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* Seven-Minute Frosting
* 1 1/3 cups large-flake unsweetened coconut

Directions

1. Make cupcakes as directed in Basic Cupcake How-To, adding sweetened coconut to dry ingredients, and using coconut milk and vanilla for wet ingredients. Once cupcakes are cool, mound frosting on tops. Sprinkle with unsweetened coconut. Serve immediately.

Seven Minute Frosting
Ingredients

Makes about 8 cups

* 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2/3 cup water
* 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
* 6 large egg whites

Directions

1. Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the water, and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, and cook until mixture registers 230 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Meanwhile, whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining sugar. With mixer on medium-low, pour sugar syrup in a slow, steady stream down side of bowl. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff peaks form and mixture is cool, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.

Blessing Day

2010-08-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ava Marie was blessed by her father Karl. Joined by Grandpa Johnson, Uncle Caleb, Alma Marcum, and David King.

It was sweet and we enjoyed having family and friends join us for the occasion.

Aunt LaShay, Kendal and Aunt Ashley
Her daddy got her dressed, while I frantically tried to get myself ready in time.
First the bow, made from hand stitched lace from great grandma Ethel. (Attached with good ol' Elmers glue)

Then the slip...

Next the beautiful dress.

Dress, Slip and Blanket all made by Grandma Idon. Embroidery done by Aunt Caroleen.

Finishing touch, baby bling. Silver bracelet with pink garnet given to Ava by Grandma Gardner

Ava Marie

2010-07-30T09:26:00.000-07:00

Ava is now two months old. Kaden wants to know why she's not talking yet! :)

Ethan is getting to be a good little babysitter. He even changes diapers now.

Porter is probably the one that gives his little sister the most attention. He loves to pick her "uniform" for her every morning. He is very helpful when giving her a bath. You better let him pick her hair bow or he will be mad. He gets excited about the cute things she does, it tickles me to see him so taken by her.

We all come running when Ava cracks a smile.

I pulled this swimming suit out of the closet and hung it on the door knob. Porter saw and giggled, "Mom that's cute". He makes me laugh.

Thanks to Aunt Alli for the cute assortment of bows.

And thanks to Aunt LaShay for the beautiful purple dress.

We are so happy our little Ava Marie decided to join our family.

A Must Try!

2010-07-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hummingbird Cupcakes

recipe from Martha Stewart.com
Makes 24 cupcakes

* 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 2 cups sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)
* 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
* 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
* 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
* Cream Cheese Frosting
* Dried Pineapple Flowers

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.with rack in center. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Beat at medium speed until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in flour mixture.
4. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes.
5. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with dried pineapple flowers, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Dried Pineapple Topper:
* 2 large or 4 small pineapples, peeled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line two baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper.
2. Using a small melon baller, remove and discard pineapple "eyes." Using a sharp knife, cut pineapple crosswise into very thin slices. Transfer slices to baking sheets. Bake until tops look dried, about 30 minutes. Flip slices; bake until completely dried, 25 to 30 minutes more. Pinch center of each pineapple slice to shape into a cone, and let cool in a clean egg carton to form flowers. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Ifind that if you keep them covered, they are more moist the next day, maybe from all the fruit in them. Sooo yummy.

Another Must try....

Any of your favorite recipes cooked right into a tea cup. Put batter about 3/4 of the way full. Turn down the heat just a tad, so the cupcake gets baked all the way through and you are set for a fancy dessert, without any real effort.

This one is a variation of the Mud cake listed on the older post.

oh what do you do in the Summertime?

2010-07-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

This summer has been pretty laid back, with the new baby and all. Here are a few things that we have done.....

Here are Porter and Kaden on the curb of Main Street at the Farmington Days Parade. I had one lady tell me, "your kids are so polite, they just grab a piece of candy or two that is thrown and leave the rest for the other kids". They weren't being very aggressive and that was surprising. Last year an old man next to us had to show the boys how to jump up and run after the candy being thrown. I guess my kids were not accustom to candy being thrown at them. :)

Porter, Kaden and Ethan

The parades here are a big deal. People save their spot on main street the day before and every float throws something. The kids loaded up they got everything from candy, Popsicles, Frisbees, toys to shampoo. The bottom of our stroller was loaded as was the kids pockets.

Steve, Caroleen, Baby Ava, Grandma and Grandpa Johnson

We love to sit on the porch, especially Sunday evenings. Everyone in the neighborhood is out walking. We get to sit and chat with lots of friends.... It's so Mayberry. And the weather is perfect.. For a few months out of the year at least.

And what's summer without baseball?

Ethan

Kaden

Porter played baseball as well, but his game pictures are on Karl's camera. I will have to post them later.

This is our summer thus far. :)

Tea Party Essentials

2010-07-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

French Meringue Cookies
Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

4 egg whites
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Butter and flour a baking sheet.
In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip.
Place the meringues in the oven and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it from closing all the way. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

PINK CUPCAKES

Recipes are from Martha Stewart.com

VANILLA BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES

Ingredients

Makes 4 dozen mini cupcakes

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini-muffin tins with paper liners.
Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a mixer bowl. Transfer bowl to mixer, and add egg, yolk, water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until mixture is well combined and smooth, about 3 minutes.
Divide batter among liners, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks for 30 minutes. Invert cupcakes onto racks, and let cool completely. (Cupcakes can be stored for up to 3 days.)

and

"PURE' CUPCAKES WITH PINK FROSTING
Recipe from Martha Stewart.com

Makes 24 cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs
3 cups self-rising cake flour
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons Mexican vanilla
Sweet Revenge ''Pure'' Buttercream
Turbinado or demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut out twenty-four 5 1/2-by-5 1/2-inch squares of parchment paper. Fit each square of parchment into a standard muffin cup so the edges stick out from the muffin cup; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until softened. With the mixer on medium, add eggs and sugar; beat until well combined. With mixer on low speed, add flour in three parts, alternating with buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla.
Fill prepared muffin cups three-quarters full with batter. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in muffin cups.
When cupcakes are cool, frost the top of each cupcake with a thin layer of buttercream. Fill a disposable pastry bag fitted with a 3/4-inch St.-Honore decorating tip with remaining buttercream. Pipe three waves on top of each cupcake, each slightly smaller than the next. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and serve.

"PURE" BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Ingredients

Makes enough for 24 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
10 cups (from about two and a half 1-pound boxes) confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons Mexican vanilla

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and shortening. Add sugar, and beat to combine. Add milk and vanilla, and beat until well combined.

AND OF COURSE

PARTY HATS....

Trisha

Zoe, Trisha, Ashley, Amy
(Amy and Ashley are wearing real tea party hats that were worn from a great grandma).

Ok Cheryse had on my all time favorite Tea Party Hat

Another authentic tea party hat being sported by
Emily

More party recipes to come...........

Tea Party

2010-07-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

I hosted a tea party..... yes just because!

I had a lot of help.... Like always, I called on family and friends.

Trisha and her cousin Zoe.

and My favorite Mother-In-Law Idon.

We had lots of yummy treats. Chicken salad sandwiches and of course cucumber sandwiches.

Porter

2010-07-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

So Porter was left home while his two brothers headed to Arizona with Grandma and Grandpa. At first he was sad, but he quickly began enjoying his almost alone time. We did have Ava with us.

Porter Loves his little sis. He is so attentive to her needs. He always wants to pick out her "uniform" for the day. Every time Ava gets in the bath Porter runs and gets her towel, and washcloth for her. He then lays out her clothes, socks, bow and all. He is such a good helper.

We picked strawberries......

And played in the mud......

And had fireworks in the street with the neighbors......

Dress up..... The boys had to help the damsel in distress.

Porter did awesome at swimming lessons.... after I bribed him with a toy.
We also went to Toy Story 3 in 3-D it was a lot of fun! Thanks for the fun couple of weeks Porter.

Meringue Berry Bowl

2010-07-12T19:58:00.001-07:00

This is a very yummy meringue It took a few tries to get it right, but well worth the effort. The recipe for the meringue is as follows:

Meringue Berry Bowl

4 egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¾ cup sugar

Heat oven to 250 degree F. Cover 2 baking sheets with nonstick foil.
Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat whites to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar a few tablespoons at a time, beating constantly, until fully incorporated, 5 to 7 minutes; meringue should form glossy, stiff peaks, without sugar granules.
Transfer meringue to large resealable plastic bag. Snip off a corner and pipe eight 3-½-inch round outlines onto prepared baking sheets. Fill in outlines with a small amount of meringue, spreading with spatula. Build walls on top of base at edges using a continuous stream of meringue. Do not pipe higher than 1-¼ inches, as walls may fall over. There should be a total of 8 bowls.
Bake at 250 degree F for 50 minutes; the meringues should be firm but not yet brown. Remove baking sheets to wire racks to cool. Once meringues have cooled, gently peel them from the foil. If meringues are sticking, cut around them and remove from the baking sheet, with the foil attached to the meringue, then slowly and carefully peel the foil from the bottom of the meringue. To prepare ahead, bake, cool and store meringues in airtight container at room temperature for a day or two. If meringues are soft or moist, return to a 250 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

The sauce I got from Cheeky Kitchen Blog - http://www.cheekykitchen.com

Bonnet Berry Sauce

2 c. frozen mixed berried

1/2 c. apricot-mango jam, or orange marmalade

2 T. brown sugar

Heat all in a saucepan until boiling. Set aside until ready to serve.

Then Top With Fresh Whipped Cream!!

Quick Year Review

2010-07-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

If I am going to keep this blog for journal purposes I guess I should do a really quick update of the past year.

The infamous Hungarian tort. Very Yummy! But the making of was not worth trying again. I burned my hand really bad so I asked Karl to come hurry and take over before the toffee on top set up. He got there a minute too late. The toffee was setting up, he tried to cut it. Put the knife in one side of his hand and it came out the other. Me with ice on my hand and him with a bloody towel we headed out to go to the E.R. only to find out his truck was parked behind my car with a flat tire. The neighbors door was open so I ran across the street and asked Chad to take Karl to the E.R. I think the funniest part though was while they were at the hospital the Dr. came in and talked to Karl saying, "You know there are safe houses around here. Don't go back to any bad situations". He obviously didn't believe the whole "Torte" story. Or Chad must have looked pretty gang banger. :) ( and I can't figure out how to get rid of this underline. Aagghh).

Karl went to a hand specialist and his receptionist didn't believe the "Torte" story either. Anyways the Dr. Said it was truly amazing. There are hundreds of nerves in your hand and Karl didn't hit one of them. We are very blessed.

Ethan's first day of sixth grade with Mrs. Enright as his teacher. Kaden's first day of kindergarten with Mrs. Bittner as his teacher.
Waiting for our first ride on the frontrunner from Farmington to Salt Lake City.

Porter and Ethan top car of the Frontrunner Train. (Yes that is Porter's smile.)

Kaden As we were coming into SLC.

Karl took me on a tour of his City Creek Project.
Here we are looking down on all the city.

Kaden took straws, paper and tape and made this creation all by himself for "Reflections" at school. The title of his piece is "The Kite". We are all very impressed by his creativity.

Ethan's piece went onto district. His artwork was titled, "Defining You" Battling what's right.

Recipes

2010-07-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

So I have been into baking yummy cakes and cupcakes this year. I think I should post some of my favorites and their recipes so I have them all in one place. Plus others might want to try them. This is my all time favorite cake ever, and I mean ever!!! I got the recipe off of this blog, http://www.cheekykitchen.com

Here is a picture of the Mud Cake I made. I'm telling you so worth trying. Yum.....

This is a picture of the Conversations with a Cupcake Bloggers cake. And the Recipe. NieNie's Mud Cake Magnifique

with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse & Ganache Bittercream

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate (8 squares)
¾ c. olive oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. powdered sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ c. cocoa powder
1 c. flour
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking powder*
½ tsp. baking soda
In a microwave, melt squares of chocolate with olive oil. Once melted, beat until smooth then add sugars and egg. Beat again until well creamed. Add remaining ingredients. Beat just until all ingredients are incorporated. (If you are baking BELOW 5000 feet altitude, double baking powder and add an additional 1/2 cup of flour). Pour batter into two 9-inch cake pans that have been generously greased & dusted with cocoa powder. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 26-28 minutes, or just until center of cake springs back to the touch. Remove from oven. Allow to cool before inverting on a cooling rack and removing from pan. Before layering cake, use a knife to gently cut away any uneven parts at the top or sides of the cake. You'll want a nice, even surface to begin with in order to have your finished product look amazing.
*
Mascarpone Mousse
1 c. whipping cream
¼ c. sugar
1 c. 60% Bittersweet cacao chips
8 oz. mascarpone

In a large bowl, whip whipping cream until fluffly. Add sugar & mascarpone and whip until smooth. In a small bowl, melt chocolate chips in microwave, stirring every thirty seconds until smooth. Chocolate should not be warm to the touch, if it is, allow it to cool just slightly before spooning the melted chocolate into the whipping cream mixture & beating until light and fluffy. Spoon carefully atop one layer of cake. Spread evenly, then top with the second layer of cake. Refrigerate until ready to frost.

Bittercream Frosting
1 pint heavy cream
11.5 oz. 60% Bittersweet cacao chips
½ c. butter
4-5 c. powdered sugar

In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate chips and heavy cream until a thick, smooth ganache forms, to keep the mixture from burning, stir constantly. Put in fridge until chilled. Remove from fridgidaire and beat in butter & powdered sugar until frosting is a spreadable consistency. Frost. Chill cake. To serve, remove from fridge 10-15 minutes before serving.

Second Favorite Recipe

Ghirardelli Chocolate Winning recipe

Melt 2 sticks of butter
add 2 bars of 100% Ghirardelli chocolate bars till melted
Set aside to cool a bit.

Cream together:
5 eggs
3 Cups Sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Then add Chocolate Mixture
Finally add:
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp salt

Consistency will be thick.
Put in angel food cake pan or cupcakes.
Add half of the batter then spread in the middle:
Toasted Pecans and Ghirardelli caramel or raspberry squares.
Last Put the remainder cake mix in pan or in cupcakes and bake at 350.
Top with powder sugar, favorite frosting or raspberry sauce.

Here are pictures of a couple of different ways I have topped them.

Raspberry sauce and
Vanilla cream filling

Vanilla Cream Filling
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1/2 cup butter (or trans fat-free shortening)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Sir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.
When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until light. Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a large zip lock bag with the corner cut off, and set aside until ready to fill your cupcakes.

Cream Cheese and Chocolate leavesCream Cheese chocolate shavings and Belgian Truffles

I will post more of my favorites later. Enjoy!

One Year

2010-07-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

OK, So I blog as well as I keep a journal. So I haven't been able to blog because something was up with my computer and it wouldn't let me sign in. I finally took my computer into the Apple Store and the nice guy John fixed it in like 30 sec. I guess I should have done that a year ago. ;0 Well as we all know May 29th at 11:20am I gave birth to our beautiful little girl Ava Marie. She was 6lbs 8oz and was 18 1/2 inches long.Ava and Dr. Neil Spencer. He got there just in time.
A very tired but happy momma.
Grandma Gardner flew out from Az. to help out with the kids and house. I don't know if she's smiling so big because Ava was named after her, or because she knows something I don't.
Grandma Idon couldn't wait to get to the hospital to meet her new little angel.
The proudest daddy and brothers there ever was. Actually that day at the hospital, Porter was the only one that would hold her. Kaden said she was too small. And I believe Ethan's exact words were "Sorry mom she's just creepy". But now they can't get enough of her. They are all great babysitters. She is going to be well watched over.
This daddy sure adores his little princess.
Ava with her Construction hat and ballet tutu on. A little bit of dad and a little bit of mom. Ava is now one month old and weighs 8lbs and is 19 1/2 inches long. The name Ava derives from several origins, but it has a Czech origin that her daddy loves and her name means "life". She sure has brought special life to our little family.

It's been awhile

2009-05-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted in awhile, just the same ol' same ol' around here.

Ethan just celebrated his eleventh birthday. We had a knights of the round table mystery party, it was fun.

Porter turned four a week after Ethan's Birthday! Our cheesy little one!

Here he is showing off his muscles! Kaden is the fine photographer!

Lot's of fun treats that Karl made for Easter!

I dyed these eggs using old silk ties, I't hard to see, but they turned out so cool!

Easter Bunny found us!

Porter was excited that the Easter Bunny brought him a picture of Jesus. It was cute!

Ethan was just plain excited!

Kaden and Porter painting their castle for the bugs outside. Kaden is big into recycling EVERYTHING! so this is an old box we had that is now a castle!

We had a fun Birthday week!!!

2009-04-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Do you see the size of those donuts? They are from Bowman's bakery and oh soo yummy. And the cupcakes are a like a divinity topping dipped in chocolate and a 7 min. frosting with fresh coconut. Yeah sooo good.

Creating

2009-02-24T06:09:00.000-08:00

Ethan and Kaden Creating a clean kitchen. Their favorite thing to do together - dishes! :)
Karl gave Porter some old blue-prints to color on, Porter took his ruler and pencil and laughed, ""Mom, I'm making my evil plan." He makes us laugh.
Porter and Kaden, making play-dough shapes.
Here is the cake Kaden made. I told him to put the "m" on the 'm & m' face down. So I was checking on his progress and I noticed a lot of wet M & M's, he informed me he had to lick the frosting off and turn the candy around, because he had put it on wrong. He got to eat that part of the cake! :)
Kaden creating his own snow angel.
This is our sad looking snowman, that we made on Valentines day! Poor thing is about to be eaten by a crocodile.

Karl Creating a Snow Angel. Don't let it fool you this is a delicate operation to make it turn out just right.

Karl and Ethan building a Star Wars battleship together. Ethan won an art contest at Karl's work and they gave him a gift certificate to toys-R-Us for $50, this is what he got.

So some of my friends came over and we made cupcake for new beginnings. One of the ladies used to teach cake decorating classes. She taught us all kind of fun tricks. These were a lot of work, but a ton of fun and ohh so yummy.

We've had a lot of fun creating the last few weeks.

Ok, you have a greased pig and 2 minuteds to catch him!!!!

2009-01-29T07:26:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that was the title of one of my philosophy papers, along with the one about a chicken wearing pantyhose, a box of crayons, next week old fat men in speedos. So I went back to school, I am working on a Masters in Secondary Education. My philosophy class is sooo boring. So two days ago I wrote a paper titled, "Yeah that's what you think!" (Thanks for the idea Kathleen) because really isn't that what philosophy is? I haven't received my grade for that one yet I'll let you know. But 100% on all the others. :)
So for all those wondering, we got the word yesterday that we are NOT moving to Missouri. I don't mind Missouri, but I am glad to not have to pack up and move again, well for now anyways. Karl really likes the project he is on here, so all is well for now.
So we are enjoying the snow here in Farmington.Porter particularly likes getting bundled up and going out to play.

We took our Young Women sledding, it was on ice not snow. It was the scariest most painful activity I have participated in in a long time. I have never laughed so hard either. It was a rush. But it took about four weeks for my bottom to heal. It's painful to land on solid ice, while going 60 mph. I guess the stupid thing is was that I kept doing it. So sledding on the side of our house was much safer for the boys. Karl took them later to a better hill, I still not being able to sit properly stayed home.
For some reason I can't upload the video, I'll keep trying! :)

Karl reading to the boys before bed. 'Captain Underpants', I'm not sure who liked the story more, Karl or the boys?

This is just one of my favorite pictures!

Porter after a hard day of playing and eating candy!

Karl's Talents

2009-01-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

I was scimming over older post and I realized I posted the talents of everyone in the family, but Karl. I promised to post more later so here are some of Karl's talents.
when we moved into this house, we loved the neighborhood and the area. We found this house for rent , I liked the upstairs - outdated- but cozy. But the downstairs had a couple of rooms with some big issues. The owner was more than willing to let Karl fix them and take some rent off. Gotta love that. Especially when we still are paying for a home in AZ. Here are some pictures:This was the Laundry Room sink. Instead of threatening the kids with a swirly, we would threaten we were going to wash their hair in this sink. :0
Grandpa Wayne putting his expert skills to work. Notice the cabinets have a lot of water damage. The house is 100 years old and I think this Laundry is too.
Here is the new and improved laundry room. I actually don't mind doing laundry in here now. Karl is now working on the downstairs bathroom. I'll post it when it's done.
Here are a couple of pictures of some of Karl's other projects.
The wood floors he put in our AZ home.
Karl Made this entertainment center for me. Still missing the front doors. Just missing the right hinges.
Karl is a perfectionist when it comes to building and making things look beautiful. This used to drive me crazy but he always produces a great product.

Christmas 08

2008-12-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

This was the first Christmas in 12 years that we stayed home. I wanted to be with the rest of my family in Az. But actually really enjoyed spending Christmas at home with our own little family. Santa was able to still get to us despite all the snow.
This is taken out our back window.

Ethan likes the fact that he doesn't have to go outside to get icicles. He just reaches out the back window.
Santa brought Kaden a cross-bow. The arrows seemed harmless enough, But the spongy yellow darts have Velcro on the ends of them. Kaden scarred Porters face with one.
Porters favorite gift was a firetruck from Grandma Gardner
Ethan's favorite gift! No not the truck, but the blanket. He keeps thanking me over and over again for it.

This is a shout out to Grandma Gardner!

We went to Karl's brothers house for Christmas dinner in Lehi. We got stuck parking the car on the street, Yeah it was that bad.
But Karl and Steve took it as an opportunity for a good time.

Karl trying to kiss up to the cooks, Liz and Caroleen so he could steal a few nibbles before dinner.
Karl and friend Darell working off Christmas dinner by clearing a path to the cars.
We enjoyed our white Christmas and spending time with friends and family.

Quick Rundown

2008-12-23T06:24:00.000-08:00

I obviously haven't written in awhile , so here is a quick rundown of the last month.
We enjoyed Thanksgiving and Karl's brothers house in Lehi Ut. It was nice to not to have to travel. After Thanksgiving I was busy getting Christmas pulled together and ready for the Dance Studio's Christmas Recital. We went to Arizona for 4 days for the recital and was able to see a lot of friends and family, that made the trip worth it.
The students all did so great at the recital. My teachers are all really great this year. Thanks to Peter for all the amazing pictures.

Thanks also to all my family and friends that helped with the recital. I never can do it alone.

So we have also had a lot of snow here. Ethan couldn't ride his bike to school because the sidewalks are too icy. So those days I usually drive him to school. I'm glad we live close to the school because I went to get the car warmed up and I couldn't open any of the car doors they were frozen shut. Ethan had to walk to school and not happy about it. I do like Utah for one particular reason and that is there are plenty f service opportunities for the kids. Ethan and Kaden have had plenty of opportunities to rake leaves and shovel snow, for our neighbors and Home Teaching families.
Two Sundays ago, Karl got up early and He and Ethan pulled one neighbor out of the snow, shovel our drive and walks, helped with two other neighbors and walks. Then went around the block to help Karl's families that he Home Teaches. Restful sabbath. But all the neighbors are out helping each other and it is good for the kids to learn. Yesterday our neighbor lady had her baby in the car they had just come home from the Dr. He was sick and it had snowed a lot while she was gone and wasn't able to get her car up her drive. So Ethan and I grabbed some shovels and worked on her drive awhile until she could get home.
Karl couldn't get his truck out of the drive himself this morning. I was parked in front of him and he slid right into the back of the car with his truck. He was able to get me car out and just left the truck. We are really thankful for our heated-seats and 4WD . We never had much use for it in AZ. Especially the heated-seats.
And of course Porter keeps us in stitches laughing. He insisted on eating his cereal out of the big red bowl. Big appetite. He actually usually just eats bread and water (that's what he wants, honest) so if he was willing to eat some cheerios I gave him the bowl he wanted.

So that's our month in a nut shell. Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

Mother of The Year Award -NOT!

2008-11-23T17:52:00.000-08:00

Yeah ok, so every time my sister and I make a mistake in Mothering (which is not too often) but yes happens occasionally. We also say "ok so I just won the mother of the year award", meaning we just did something not so great. So Kaden came in a couple of days ago and was crying, you know one of those I am really hurt, not just faking it this time cry. So I picked him up and noticed his bloody hands and scratched up ear and tummy. Between sobbs he explains, " I was riding my bike down the driveway, and when I slammed on my brakes my chain came off my bike and I ran into the back of the four-wheeler". Oops my bad, you know the last post about me fixing the bike and I think I recall a "Yeah Me", well I guess I have to take it back. I felt really bad. He asked if Daddy could fix the bike next time. I think that is a great idea. Here is a picture of our driveway. It is pretty long and slopes down, Kaden can get his momentum really going if he starts at the street, I'm sure he was going pretty fast. But in my defense the bike did work for a few days. Here is a video of him on his bike ramp that he built.

Porter wanted to be fast like lightning, then he decided he asked me "can I put the towel on like Superman"? Here is our little superman.
Here are the yummy cupcakes the boys made.

Do you like the half of bottle of sprinkles on the blue cupcake, no one has eaten it yet, I wonder why! Porter was so excited as he was pouring it on. Ok so I'm not Mother of the Year, but my kids make me happy, so I guess that's all that matters.