Our Family Project

Okay, okay, I know it's not Tuesday. I got a little caught up in a book I was reading. It was pretty good ... but, I'm glad it's over (it kind of ends like Jack Weyland's Charly , for those of you who've read that one, or seen the movie). Anyway, this week I thought I'd post my favorite roll recipe. I got this recipe from my friend, who also, incidentally, showed me how to shape the rolls the easy way. There's no kneading necessary, which makes these super easy. These rolls freeze really well too, so make a batch and freeze some for later! DINNER ROLLS 2 Tbsp. yeast 1/2 cup warm (105º-115º) water 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 cups hot (120º-130º) water 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter shortening 2 eggs 2 tsp. salt 7-8 cups flour butter, melted Mix together yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 2 Tbsp. sugar. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to proof (get all fluffy). Whisk in large mixing bowl 2 cups hot water, 1/2 cup sugar, shortening, eggs, and salt. Add yeast mixture. Add flour one c...

One of the things I love about Jon is that he always tries to be active with the children. We had stopped at a rest area on our way home from our vacation. I was changing my clothes, and when I got out of the bathroom I saw Jon on the green grass near the restrooms playing tag with the children. I love that he thought to get their energy out and to give their legs some exercise before we all piled back into the car. ** The video doesn't have any sound because I had my still-picture camera with me at the time. Hopefully, it's not too boring; it does depict how much fun everyone was having though.**

While we were on vacation we decided to hike Rocky Mouth Trail. It had an amazing view of the valley. And, the hike itself was pretty short, but steep; and, it ended at a waterfall. Which I thought would be perfect for my family considering how young everyone is and now inexperienced we all are with hiking in mountains. My mom was going to meet us there, and while we were waiting we checked out some of the ginormous homes being built right at the trailhead. This first picture I took because I loved the look of the stucco on this house ... and this was only a quarter of the house. I'm telling you, they are huge! Here's another picture of the homes right there on the mountain-side. My children had a blast at the waterfall: Papa and I just had to sit back, watch them have fun, and relax. I knew there would be a waterfall, but I wasn't sure what to expect; so, I put all the children in their swimsuits under their clothing. They got really wet, but I'd brought towels with u...

I don't have a picture for this recipe, but I totally wanted to share it because I like it so much better than regular French toast with maple syrup. I've had this exactly as the recipe is, and then I made it according to my liking. First off ... if you make it exactly like the recipe, it is really yummy; but, it was a little bit soggy for my tastes. I like my French toast to be a little crispy. So, I just make regular french toast (out of the egg mixture of this recipe), then layer it in the 9x13 pan and bake it for about 8-10 minutes with the caramel sauce. But, I'm sure the baking is purely optional if you make it using this method. Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think! OVEN-BAKED CARAMEL FRENCH TOAST 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup 2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream (optional) 1 cup chopped pecans, divided 12 slices French or Italian-style bread (I like homemade bread) 6 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 1/2 ...

Call it being obsessive, call it saving money, call it "going green," or just call it plain fun. Yesterday I spent my afternoon making a few of these little packets. School is starting in a few weeks, which for me means making two lunches every morning before I send my girls on the bus. To answer the question: Do I make their lunches everyday? Yes, usually. I think in the past two years Una decided she wanted hot lunch maybe four or five times a month. I just have a hard time buying hot lunches and then hearing that she ate the chicken nuggets, tater-tots, and a piece of bread! Okay, okay, maybe it is a little obsessive ... but, I want to know that I'm giving her the food that she needs ... and only that food. Plus, I portion it just right so when she is still hungry after eating all the "fun" foods, she has to eat the "good-for-you" foods to fill up her stomach. But, I'm not that much of a stick in the mud! Seriously! I always try to match her co...

One of the things that I loved about being at my brother's house was that they had what we call "potato bugs" outside on their stairs. I don't think I've ever seen a potato bug here at our house, and I wanted my children to experience the fascination of a bug that rolls itself into a ball. Tres just thought they were so cool. At first I showed him a dead one that was just lying on the sidewalk. Then, the next morning as were packing up the car I heard Tres yelling, "Mama, mama! I found a potato bug!" I came outside and there he was holding this little critter. It was so much fun to show him how the potato bug rolls into a ball, and then unrolls. I think we spent a good ten minutes just playing with this little guy. I think that's some kind of theme for our family trip out west: sharing my childhood memories with my children, and letting them experience some of my favorite things about where I grew up.

Tonight at dinner I was finally introduced to what Tres's imaginary friend, Golly, looks like. This is what he said: "Mama, Golly doesn't have a mouth or eyes. He just has holes. He's a bowling pin. I mean, he's a bowling ball because he has three holes." (Oh, in case you're wondering ... the picture was one taken when we went to the dinosaur museum ... it has nothing to do with the story.)

Another of my favorite things we did on our trip was visit with my Grandma on my dad's side, and then go visit with my Grandparents on my mom's side. My Grandma has almost always been known to my children as the "White Grandma." What I loved the most about this trip to visit the "White Grandma" and again when we went to the "Y" Grandparents' house is that my children were able to experience first hand some of my most fond memories of visiting my grandparents. As soon as we walked in the door at the "White Grandma's" apartment, she offered the children some cookies and juice. I don't ever remember a time when I went to visit my grandma without the cookie jars having cookies in them. And, it was almost always the first thing she gave us. That same day we also visited Temple Square -- a first for my children. In the past we'd always wanted to take them, but never made it a priority ... always figuring we'd be back someday...

Okay, so I know those two types of food really don't sound good together ... so thankfully, I didn't make them at the same time! The first thing I want to put on here is some grilled red potatoes. Before I prepared my potatoes I lined my grill with foil, and then turned it on to heat it to medium-high. First I cut my red potatoes into roughly 1-inch cubes. Then, I put them in a ziploc bag and poured about 1/4 cup of Kraft Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette (YUM!) and shook that around. Once those got coated well enough, and my grill was ready, I poured them onto the foil. Just a few tips that I discovered while I was grilling the potatoes. DON'T keep opening the grill. I was also grilling some corn, so I was opening the grill around every three minutes or so to turn my corn. But, it took my potatoes much longer to cook because I was letting the heat out every time I opened the lid. DO turn the potatoes occasionally to prevent sticking to the foil, and burning. You want them to loo...

Okay, after taking over 500 pictures on our vacation, I thought I wouldn't bore you with all of them. I mean, seriously, do you really want to look at that many pictures of our family having fun? Probably not. So, I'll just share a few of the highlights (my highlights ... everyone else in my family probably has some different times in mind). I'll start with our drive through the Badlands in South Dakota. (BTW, we did go see Mt. Rushmore, but I enjoyed the Badlands more.) We decided to get out of the car and take a little walk on a trail. It wasn't so much a trail as it was just a wooden-planked walkway, but we got to see several wild rabbits (each one the boys saw was almost immediately scared away because they started jumping with excitement ), and even a deer, up close. This deer we saw was just grazing. Really cared less that we were walking so closely. At first we were shushing the children, making sure they walked quietly, tried not to get too close. Then, I decid...

I haven't posted anything recently because we are on vacation in Utah. We got here late (very late) last Friday night and we'll be packing up and leaving this Saturday. We've had so much fun so far ... stopping in the Badlands and seeing Mt. Rushmore in SD, then visiting family and temple square (a first for my children; we've never had the time in the past), birthday parties, and so much more! I have so many pictures to share ... and really wish I could put them up now, but don't have my card reader (I know, I should have remembered that). So, be prepared for pictures galore next week!