Staining the deck

The owners before us PAINTED the deck - probably for a 'quick' sale, eh?

So, we finally got around to pressure washing, then sanding it:

And we stained it - ahhhhh, so much nicer:

I asked the boys to pressure wash some of it and Brady (proudly) spelled his name out with the pressure washer. Yeah, it's still visible, even after we sanded and stained it - I couldn't get it to show up in a photo, but it's just funny how parents just can't think of everything to tell their kids NOT to do while doing a task. I guess it's good to look at the positive because I only thought to cover how to avoid the dangerous scenarios! And we didn't have any of those - hehe

Coconut Cream Pie

I made up a recipe for coconut cream pie =) Sorry - you'll have to make 2 pies . . . because it's tough to cut in half! I was thinking you could freeze half of it before you start cooking it and that would probably work great.

1 can coconut milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

-Pour all the milk into a big liquid measuring cup

then add enough cream cheese to make it 6 cups

-Add the above ingredients to your mixing bowl and mix together until blended.

6 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn starch

1/2 tsp kosher salt

-Add the yolks and mix in for 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, corn starch and salt and stir well. Add it to the mixture and beat for about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a cooking pot and add 4 Tbsp butter. Cook together until thickened and bubbly - maybe 10 minutes or so.

-Remove from heat and add:

2 tsp vanilla

-Pour into baked crusts and add toasted coconut.

1 pkg coconut, toasted

Makes 2 pies or 48 mini ones . . . or 1 pie and 24 mini ones ;)

Beehives

Our ward split and we're the Big Rock Ward now. We had church for 1 hour the first week, stake conference the second week and for 2 hours the third week as it's being organized - a lot of callings have to be made! I am the advisor for the Beehives, this will be my 3rd year with a lot of the same girls as I was their primary teacher for 2 years previously. When the 2nd counselor and myself went to welcome the girls we had a little something to give them:

It has the 2009 youth theme on it and then the 3 things the Bishop talked about today as a combined YW/YM group: Strengthen each other, Get to know each other & Love each other. One of the dads of the YW we visited came down while we were talking with his daughter and when we were leaving, he was like 'where are the treats?' - he totally thought we were bringing goodies and he wanted some - LoL Both the counselor and myself are known for bringing food! The really nice thing about our new bishop is he is all about food for the kids - that is rare these days =) Our Bishop wants us to 1) have fun 2) love the kids & 3) teach the gospel - in that order! We are all really excited and thrilled to be part of such a neat ward!!

I just got a letter

that catchy tune from Blue's Clues was in my mind when I got a letter from Nat:

Nat made me a bracelet from embroidery floss:

Uncle Jonathan tied it on and in one day I lost it - it wasn't my fault! Thanks for being precious Nat! Love you =)

Hollandaise Sauce

I threw some ingredients together as a hollandaise sauce and it turned out yum!

2 eggs

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cream cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 whole bulb roasted garlic, chopped

In a blender, blend eggs, lemon juice, mustard, salt and butter together until creamed.  Add mayo, sour cream and cream cheese and blend again until mixed.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and chopped up garlic, bake for 30 minutes on 200 degrees while you make the rest of your dinner.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups:

It did turn out looking like a souffle - you can certainly not bake it as long. . . but it worked great as a dip for our artichokes - I just stirred it around.  Great served warm.

Adult Baptismal Gift

My good friend Ann Marie husband's getting baptized today! So awesome and neat for their family =) I made this for him:

It's a chocolate flower bouquet. It says Baptism, my first covenant at the top. On the chocolate nuggets that are glued to a skewer and poked into craft foam,

there are 5 that say At my baptism, I promise to:

-Come into the fold of God

-Stand as a witness of God at all times

-Take upon me the name of Christ

-Serve others and keep his commandments

-Bear one another's burdens

and 3 that say Because I was baptized, Heavenly Father promises to:

-Pour his spirit more abundantly upon me

-Forgive my sins

-Give me Eternal Life

The flowers have a different piece/size of chocolate in between 2 punched flowers.

I'm so excited for their beautiful family and I that I can share in their special day!! Love you guys =)

If I only had a heart!

I had to dress up like the Tin Man for our YCL Kickoff, so I made some earrings out of heart marshmallows:

Jonathan made me the oil can with a cabinet pull and an actual empty oil can that he painted silver and I painted a funnel silver (which stayed on with 2 bobby pins) and modernized (made it girly!) with some ribbon:

I made heart ice cubes with frozen concentrated red ruby juice, I only added 2 cans of water to keep the flavor strong when it melted into the sprite:

I made a mailbox that held chocolate nuggets 'if I only had a heart':

here are the nuggets up close:

Maybe I'll bring my funnel hat to Girl's Camp with me - I rather like it still!

Killer's Concert

Ever thought about why fitting room attendants insist on counting garments themselves before you can enter?  Why don't they count them on your way out?  EVER?  

We went to the Killer's concert - which, BTW was AWESOME =)  But the 'search and frisk you' attendants were, let's put it, not trained properly.  I got to the front, they ask 'do you have a camera?'.  I say 'yes' - at that point there was no frisking me at all.  (I had already drank all my water and thrown the bottle away because water bottles were not allowed either)  Were they perhaps more interested that I might take a video and post it to youtube more than if I had a weapon????  I was whisked away, everyone telling who ever they saw also working at the WaMu convention center 'she has a camera!  We need to check her camera'.  Okay, that was the funniest thing ever!  Somehow there was miscommunication about the importance of priorities over 'do we freak out over someone having a camera or something dangerous'?  I also had a backpack - in the midst of all this rushing around leading me to where to check in my camera - no one even asked to search my bag.  Hmmmm, very strange indeed.  Not only that, but there were plenty of people with cameras - not counting how many people were using their cell phones to take photos or record video - but actual cameras of which I just had to check in because they were not allowed at the event??   So, I have concluded: bring 2 camera's and admit to having 1, have 1 camera checked in and you're good to go.  Bring in that second camera AND all the bottled water you want ;)  haha

go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6r4KT8-VX0 to listen to 1 of the songs. 

Brady really wanted to attend for one of his birthday gifts - and this was Jonathan's first concert he's ever attended!  We all loved it!  We are loving their style of music =)

Happy 16th Birthday

H a P p Y   16th   B i R t H d A Y   B r A d Y!!!

We took Brady to Ocean Aire restaurant in Seattle for seafood for his birthday - he likes calamari!  I've discovered a great way to delay dating . . . Brady doesn't have his driver's license, so he won't ask a girl out yet - great tip for parents with kids not at the dating age yet (delay driver's ed school) ;)

a message in a bottle . . . and on a bottle

I made invites for Girl's Camp from recycled frappuccino bottles (freecycle) for the YCL's and we presented them in their wards on Easter Sunday for Kickoff:

The theme:

Follow the Yellow Brick Road was around the lid, raffia tied around the bottle with a star button glued to it and filled with Easter grass and chocolate eggs:

I designed a wrap around label for the jars with all the info (just the detailed info has been deleted):

Who doesn't like an invite with chocolate? ;) I rolled up a survey for gathering their ideas and input inside the bottle too.

ummmmmm, yumminess

Taco al Carbon with Pico de Gallo:

Yes, it was tasty - probably better than the restaurants . . . you know you want some Stacy!  ;)

Brine the thinly sliced beef in water, liquid smoke, pepper and garlic for 12 hours.  Marinade in olive oil, lime juice and southwest seasoning.  Let stand room temperature for 4 hours - grill and slice.

Pico de Gallo:

1 large onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/4-1/2 jalapeno, minced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

8-10 roma tomatoes, diced

2 cups red cabbage, chopped

Juice squeezed fresh from 1/2 a lemon

1 tsp kosher salt

1 large avocado, diced

     Mix everything together and serve!

that sensation

I recently took a CPR, BLS & AED course and have assessed that giving mouth-to-mouth is a creepy sensation . . . on a dummy - can you imagine what it would be like on someone who's basically dead?  The Annie doll feels like a real person, I know that's the intention, but it's still weird ;)  I highly recommend investing in this handy tool:

Those Annie dolls are very lifelike, so much that before I could give it 2 breaths, I actually caught myself looking for boogies in the Annie doll's nose before putting my mouth on her mouth.  This is after I had already swiped an alcohol wipe over the entire face of the doll . . . after being assured that the doll was already sterilized.  Hmmmm, sure it was: I don't know that the person who used and cleaned the doll was as thorough as I would be and I'm positive that the doll was not placed in a sterile package after it was cleaned!  =)

Annie looks like a he, perhaps it the nakedness or the lack of breast tissue.  But hey, practicing on a flat chest is probably much more comfortable for all present ;)

Our dental office was offered a free course through another dental office, so I made their office cupcakes (with the texas sheet cake recipe I made up) as a thank you:

And I bought a handy-dandy (blue's clues famous saying) cupcake carrier to transport them in:

From Costco - it holds 3 dozen cupcakes - or if you flip the white tray cupcake holder over (completely removable), it is flat and can be used for other goodies or appetizers - I love it!

if I touch it, will it poke me?

so, even though it clearly appears that it will indeed hurt if you touch it, 6 year old Colten asks anyway =)  But, I didn't consider *is it a plant or an animal*

"Let me see the porcupine!" said in a very demanding tone by 4 year old Andrew:

Porcupines and cacti both have sharp needles - of course they're bound to be confused with one another ;)

through the years

H a P p Y   B i R t H d A y  K e A t O n

Keaton's 15 today!  Time flies - enjoy your little ones =)  Well, I enjoy the teenage years too - but it is different!  Definitely precious when they're young.

Oreo birthday cake anyone?  It's probably only 1000 calories per bite ;)

This is Keaton's tradition, every year I make an oreo ice cream cake for him.  Ice cream sandwiches layer, cool whip, chocolate pudding and cream mixed together for another layer,crushed oreos is the next layer, fudge sauce layer and another layer of ice cream sandwiches - freeze until solid and then frost with cool whip.  Sprinkle more crushed oreos on top.  

Sinfully delicious =)

Blogging about more Hummingbirds ;)

Here is a close up after I got a new hummingbird feeder (okay, I bought 2 of them . . . and 3 more that hang off my deck!  I admit my addiction) that suctions right to my window:

Here he is guarding the feeder from other hummingbirds:

He sits there all day fluttering from one tree branch to another and chases off competition!  Hummingbirds fly extremely FAST!!

Video:

I love hummingbirds!

Girls Camp Theme

I took a few pictures from Ensign Ranch yesterday . . . in the snow . . . but that's where we're having girl's camp this year.  Our theme is 'be thou an example' and 'follow the yellow brick road'.  I designed this from the scripture 1 tim 4:12 and am hoping to use it somewhere along the way:

  

This is the amphitheater:

Tough to see the layout and imagine 150 girls and leaders fitting.  I used the Scarecrow icon and it says 'if I only had a drain'.

These are the tee pees we'll be sleeping in:

I used the tin man icon and typed 'if I only had a tarp'.  There were a few more photos and sayings, but those 2 above were my favorite =)

I also made ruby slippers out of paper from a template I found here:

Stephanie cut out most of them, Jonathan scored and painted the glitter on and I glued them together, tied the bows and added the saying.

The saying says 'somewhere over the rainbow - I lived in heaven a long time ago, lived there and loved there with people I know' from the Primary song. (cause rainbow, ago and know rhyme)

A photo of how the slippers were presented.  We did this all last night and today - it was craziness - wish we would have had more time!  But that's the theme of my life lately ;)

All cutsie Wizard of Oz graphics I used from this site.

Texas Sheet Cake Recipe

I guess some months are for crafting and some are for cooking/baking - funny . . .

Anyway, I baked a cake called Texas Sheet Cake for Enrichment - I've never made one before and I don't recall ever eaten a piece either - so my impression was it must not be that tasty ;)

The recipe was:

Mix 2 cups flour and 2 cups sugar in a bowl

Boil together:

1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup water & 4 tbsp cocoa

Then add:

1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 eggs, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon

I altered it to:

2 cups cake flour - sifted

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Combine all the above ingredients in a bowl.

1 cup butter

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bring the butter, milk and chips to a boil. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Combine above 4 ingredients and add to cooled butter mixture. Whisk together until batter is

creamy.

Add to dry ingredients. Add 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and then to greased jelly roll pan.

Bake 350 degrees on convection oven for 20-25 minutes.

Then of course I had to make my own frosting too:

Frosting was:

1/2 cup butter, 2 tbsp cocoa, 1/3 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 4 oz cream cheese.

Mine:

1/2 cup butter

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla

5 cups powdered sugar

6 oz cream cheese

I melted the butter, chips, cream and 3 oz of the cream cheese together until chips were melted and mixture was smooth. Then I added the vanilla. I let it cool for 10 minutes or so and transferred it from a pot to my mixer. I beat in the powdered sugar and remaining 3 oz cream cheese.

And it's finger lickin' good - forget using that saying for fried chicken ;) Oh yeah, I guess frosting isn't typically a 'finger food' - haha

I decided to decorate the top with some fun layers - chocolate curls, cocoa and roasted pecans (I baked a bag of chopped pecans naked and then added 2 tbsp butter to them, then added 2 tbsp sugar - I know most people add those 2 ingredients to nuts before baking them - but it is super yum this way too).

The chocolate curls photo could be a stock photo ;) I like it! Best tool was indeed the potato peeler.

I measured out some lines and used dental floss as my guide since it's pretty sterile - I use floss in the kitchen quite often actually:

Here's when I had 3 toppings on the frosting:

So, it probably doesn't look anything like a Texas Sheet Cake - but I had fun ;) And I tasted the frosting and it's SO yummy - so I'm really hoping the cake part is good too!

Are you noticing my lines aren't straight? Well, let's move past that - can't wait to taste it at Enrichment on Thursday! I have to remember and save a piece to bring home to Jonathan =)

Now to try and find something to keep it covered without lifting the frosting or toppings off later . . .

Jalapeno Popper Recipe

Here ya go Steph - the recipe! =) We ate these as an appetizer at a restaurant together and I made my own concoction . . . because me always thinks to myself 'I can totally copy this' ;) Everyone else, BEWARE: this stuff is addicting - you could make a meal out of it alone . . . and then you still crave it again the very next meal! Absolutely the yummiest thing out there:

14 jalapenos - sliced in half long ways, insides and seeds removed

Wear food grade gloves when handling this many jalapenos at once - trust me, I learned this the hard way ;) It is a very uncomfortable feeling to have your hands continually burn for 4+ hours!!

Mix together:

4 oz Cream Cheese

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

4 cloves raw garlic, crushed

2 tsp roasted garlic and bell pepper seasoning blend

1 can green chilies

1/2 cup chopped artichokes

Cut in half:

14 pieces of THIN sliced bacon

Stuff filling into each jalapeno halve and wrap 1/2 slice of bacon around it.

Bake it 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes - can even broil it for the last few minutes.

ummmmm, now my mouth is watering for these babies . . .

How tired can you be?

Brady is my 'napper', if he's tired, he'll sleep whatever position he's in when his eyes finally do shut - he actually does resist falling asleep until the last possible moment.  

Maybe it was all the dragging the boys around when they were little - they learned to just sleep when they were tired regardless where they were at.  I didn't keep a schedule . . . mostly because I liked to shop and be social and didn't want to be stuck home bound.  But I've still never met another kid who stays asleep from the car seat, into the shopping cart or stroller and back into the car seat without waking up - talk about a DEEP sleeper ;)

Sleeping just about anywhere and anytime!  This was Brady on the couch last week as I was heading off to bed:

Doing homework, pencil still in his hand, sitting upright - perhaps it was his music that lulled him to sleep ;)  I used a flash for that photo and he didn't even stir!

This was at my sisters last month:

Who can stay asleep sitting up?  Kinks in your neck anyone?

But then again, he's been doing it for a long time:

And if the fish aren't biting, I get bored too and think a nap sounds perfect ;)

But I haven't ever seen a person fall asleep in this position unless they were a baby:

This was a weekly scene when the boys were growing up, mind you this time we've fallen asleep on a love seat - not too comfy for very long but definitely a built-in heat source ;)

The nice thing about never saying 'shhh, the kids are sleeping' is that they learn to sleep when they're tired regardless of what's going on around them.  The phone could ring, I could vacuum and I even cut tile once (that's extremely LOUD) during nap time . . . Brady and Keaton both slept through everything I ever needed to do.  A huge benefit to not keeping a routine?  LoL