Wordless Wednesday

NOT!Those eyes! They get me every time! And can I have those eyelashes?

Careful girls! a cute little girl at church has dibs on him and even offered a dirt bike for his hand when he is older! He just finished a donut, we got some on the first day of school, a nice tradition we have!

I can't ever do the wordless Wednesday, I want to know about the picture and I have to much to say. I don't get to talk to big people that much so this blog is good for that unless mister UPS guy comes and then I'll go talk to him (j/k I am not that desperate!) I do have my 3 year old to keep me company, we talk about Superman and how he helps people unlike Spider man who just uses his web. And if I start to use my powers while he is playing he just loves it! I shot him like Iron man does and he played the part not missing a cue! He went down and said "oh man you got me!"

I guess I am board, not having to pull the kids apart or tell them to share or be nice, that takes up a lot of time in between feeding mister chunker! He is asleep by the way so I am taking advantage and playing on the computer, and Z is watching some toons. I guess I could be doing laundry or cleaning my bathroom that is a disaster. But as soon as I do I know M will wake up, so if I don't do those things he will take a nice long nap. Who needs clean clothes anyways? I don't go anywhere but Wal-Mart or HEB and we all know how people that frequent Wallie world dress! And Zander will ware the same thing all week.

I did have a great day yesterday, I went to meet a friend for lunch, to the grocery store and book store (again!:) I got Jessica Seinfelds book "Deceptively Delicious" Looks good, its all about sneaking vegetable purees into your kids foods, and my kids don't eat near enough veggies so I am going to give it a try.

I got a book in Utah about writing motherhood, it looks so interesting and since I have this blog I want to be able to write good posts, I guess this one of those "I should have listened to my mother things" She is a writer and tryed to get us to be good writers, but like most things when I was young it just didn't interest me. So now that I want to I have to help my self(which she also taught us to do!) Its hard to put in words all the things that I think of or want to write about, hopefully this book will help. For one thing Justin thinks I do to many run on sentences, but that's how I talk so I will work on that to! I think I did that a lot in school, maybe its a Texas thing cause we all talk fast! Or poor schooling(mom!) Or pour listening(me!!). Any hoo that's what I am into now just thought you might want to know, this is my journal in life right now so must document life and happenings.

How long does it take after a life changing event do you get your brain back? I guess I had two this Summer so it feels like never am I going to be sharp or on top of things again! Some days are great and productive and then there are days like today and I cant get motivated to do anything. And everyday I have an urge to just pick up the phone and call my sister. Its so weird, I know shes not gone just not here on earth.

Well this post was Much Adi about nothing! But thanks for listening! I think I will go make some cookies and banana bread and play with the boys!

P.S. have I ever told you my best friend is spell checker?

Apple Pie Love

Justin LOVES apple pie and I'm in love with Justin, so I made him a pie with love and hearts!

This is one my throw together recipes.

You can use a ready made pie crust or make your own, I made one, had a new recipe where you add a teaspoon of vanilla,yum! I'm on a vanilla kick ;)

then I slice up about 6 med. apples into a sauce pan, add 1/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Heat until the sugar is dissolved and Apple's are a little soft. Pour into your crust, put your top crust on, poke some holes on top, brush with some egg wash and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake 400 degrees until golden on top.

*

Pie Crust

1 2/3 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 sticks cold butter, chopped

1/3 cup ice water

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place flour,sugar and baking powder in a food processor and process to combine. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With motor running, gradually add the water and vanilla and process until the mixture comes together to form a smooth dough. wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes before using.

I just noticed the ingredients list looks like a Christmas tree!! :)

It's the simple things people!!!

First day of school

Can you here that?? That's right nothing! It is so quiet this morning! My baby girl went back to school this morning. I was so excited for her to go back and start doing something constructive. But now that she is not here and the house is all quiet I miss her! Its just me and my boys now!
She was so excited to start 2nd grade, I can't believe I have a second grader! She is growing way to fast. I didn't get a picture of her before she went off, I had to get them all in the truck and off early because I had know idea where her class room is and who her teacher was. My brain has been in such a fog that I missed meet the teacher night. But all is well, she likes her teacher and her little friend from church is in her class this year, I think it is just the two of them at church to! I am also sad that I lost my baby helper :( She was such a big help with Madden if I was trying to get something done she would hold or play with him.

Zander doesn't have anyone to play or fight with so we will see how he does today!

So much to do today but all I want to do is crawl back in bed! Someone still gets hungry at two in the morning!! Madden!

I want to do some more baking this week, baking is so comforting to me and I guess I am still in that mood! I found out that you can make tea breads in the crock pot, and I have some bananas going bad so I am going to try that, also want to make these chocolate pillow things, so hopefully ya'll will have some tasty things to look at this week!

The Bebe wants some MORE milk and a nap so gotta go!

Americas next top model?

Calvin Klein here we come!

Yes his "unnawares" are on backwards.

Yes his sister is teaching him to pose!

Yes he is a Texan.

Real Grass

Some more pictures of the Bebe in real grass, it amazes me that you can actually walk on the grass up there in Utah and not get bit or have your feet get cut up! I always have to take my shoes off and walk around on it!

When I first put him down he thought it tickled! I think he liked it! His new thing is sucking on his bottom lip!

The boy is also representing with his shirt!

A Wedding!

With all that has been going on I forgot to mention that my little brother is getting married!! To a very sweet girl Allie. They are getting married the day before Thanksgiving at the Mesa Az Temple. So excited for them! Hope we can make the trek over to be there with them.
That's my baby by the way! R.J. is so good with my kids, he can always put them to sleep.

Rainbow

Yesterday evening it rained again, so I took the older 2 kids out on the 4-wheeler and made a mess of the yard! We had a blast getting all wet, we didn't get as muddy as I wanted because the new 4-wheeler has mud flaps on it. So next time I will take the red one out and see how muddy we can get! My view is why have land, 4-wheelers and summer rain and not use them!!! :)
Anyways the whole reason for the post is that we saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky!

Oh my!

These little things came out better then I thought!

All ready to go in the oven with the pearl sugar on top, which looks like pretzel salt, but actually gives it a sweet little crunch on top.

Mmmmm...... is all I can say, so buttery good!
A perfect comfort treat on this dreary rainy day

Swedish cinnamon rolls

Dough

2 envelopes dry yeast

3 sticks butter

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

6 cups flour

1 teaspoon cardamom(optional, but I think it gives it a little something!)

Filling

4 tablespoons butter, softened

5 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Mix all these together.

1 egg lightly beaten

Pearl sugar

Melt butter. Add milk and heat until lukewarm. Put yeast in large mixing bowl. Pour in butter/milk mixture and stir until yeast has dissolved. Add remaining sugar, salt, cardamom and most of the flour. Work together until elastic. Place in warm place and let rise 30-40 minutes. Place dough on lightly floured surface and kneed using remaining flour as needed. Divide dough in half. Roll each piece of dough to form a square about 1/3" thick. Spread each square with 2 tablespoons of the butter cinnamon mixture. Roll each square to form a log and cut log into approximately 24 pieces. Place on a cookie sheet , muffin pan or in muffin cups. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Let rise for 20 minutes.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with Pearl sugar. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Buns in the oven

I have some Swedish buns in the oven!

I found a recipe for some Swedish cinnamon rolls and thought I would give them a try.
What makes them Swedish, also called Bullars is the cardamom in the dough. They are actually pretty easy to make. I got the pearl sugar it calls for at Ikea when I was in Utah last week.(still waiting for our Ikea!!!) The recipe is actually on the back of the box, I think you can also find the sugar at World Market, you don't have to have the sugar to make them it is just nice and decorative on top.

While mom was gone....

Annalyse got her ears pierced.

Zander grew a mustache.
And while up in Utah with Mommy Madden got to lay down in real grass with out getting eaten up by ants or who knows what kind of bugs! Notice his shirt? Just had to get that one!! :)

I am so glad to be home!

Orem Cemetery

We had some beautiful arrangements.

I love this picture of my handsome brothers, Rj is on the left and Simon on the right.

Wife, Sister, Daughter and to many of you friend.

The grave side service was beautiful, there old bishop did a wonderful job.

Life

Roshelle and her sweet husband Jeremy, at the Jorden River Temple.

Roshelle and I.

Roshelle and a very little Annalyse.

Life is good, life is sad, life is exciting, life is challenging, life is amazing, life is beautiful.

My sister Roshelle lived a challenging life, she was born with Cystic Fibrosis and did an awesome job battling it and keeping it under control. It was two years ago that it really started to get hard for her. She went on oxygen full time and it just really hit her hard after getting out of the hospital that time. But you would never know by the way she acted, she kept going and fighting. She even would still try doing things for others, she was always doing things for others, I think she put others before her self all the time, I know she was always thinking of me and how she could help me when I was down here sick to my stomach knowing I couldn't do anything for her. The one thing she did love and want me to do for her was to keep up my blog, which is why I did so many posts last month, they were all for her. She absolutely loved blogging, it was her insight to what was going on in the real world while she was suffering in the hospital for over 50 days!

I can't describe what a fighter and spiritually strong person my sister is, she fought everyday to breath and I never once heard her complain about why she had to be like this and deal with all that she had to. She just did it and did it to the best of her ability. She is such an example of how one should live their life- never give up and fight, fight, fight!

I could go on and on about the wonderful person she is but the best word to describe her is Christ like. She put Christ first in her life and it showed. He gave her the strength she needed to endure all that she had to. I have no doubt she is one of his special daughters up there in heaven. She will always have a special place in my heart, I love her like no words can say, I feel like I have lost my very best friend, but gained a greater testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and his plan for family's to be together for ever, because I know with every fiber of my being that I will see her and my two brothers that passed on before her again! And it will be glorious! All I have to do is live this earthly life of mine the best I know how and I will be with my dear sweet sister again. You never know what this life holds for you. All you can do is lift up your head and fight for that ultimate goal of returning to our Heavenly Father's arms. That is what my sister did. And now that she is free from her pain and so happy, she is probably working hard doing the Lord's work. Here on Earth I will miss her more then I can express until we can be together again! I love you Roshelle, you are the strongest person I have ever known, you are my hero!

Thank you so much for all of the lovely comments on my sister's and my blog. I really appreciate all of the thoughts, love and compassion that has been shown towards my family at this time.

The pictures are some of my favorites of my sister at her wedding 6 years ago, she was simply glowing on that beautiful day!

My Sister

My dear sweet sister just passed away this morning, as soon as I can see to type I will post more.

Little Piggies in a blanket

Before he got toasty in the oven.

Aw www...Twins! All toasty warm.

The new born nursery! All in a row, don't they look yummy?
These little baby's are so easy to make, just get some pre-made dough balls in the freezer section and some breakfast sausage links. Let the dough thaw and then flatten into a square place the sausage in the middle going corner to corner, then wrap one corner over the pig and then the last corner over the whole thing and tuck under. Let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden on top. I sprinkled some with sesame seeds and coarse pepper like they do at the bakery. The kids don't like the pepper so I left some plain for them.

Hubby Tag

1. What is your husbands name? Justin

2. Who said "I love you" first? I think he did.

3. Who is taller? He is, by a lot!

4. Who is smarter? Me of course! But book school wise I would say he is.

5. Who is more sensitive? Me

6. Who does the laundry? Me, he will put it away some times.

7. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me.

8. Who pays the bills? Me

9. Who cooks more? Me, that was a lot of Me's! He works real hard so I do a lot at home.

10. What meals do you cook together? We do a big Saturday breakfast together or he does it by himself if I am tending to kids.

11. Who is more stubborn? He definitely is!

12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? I would say both of us, if we know we are we say so right away.

13. Who is more clean? Me, hands down!

14. Who has more siblings? I do, I came from six and he has 4, we both are the second eldest though!

15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I would say we both do, but I let him do more wearing with big decisions and me more with the kids. But we are pretty much always on the same page.

16. What do you like to do together? Everything from movie nights to 4 wheeling! We just like being together, I will even go sit in the garage and watch him work on whatever just to be in the same room with him.

17. Who eats more sweets? Um.. I guess that might be a tie, he doesn't do a lot of sweets but he likes his oatmeal cookies and pecan pie, I like a little sweet here and there.

18. Guilty Pleasures? Steak dinner

19. How did you meet? At church

20. Who asked who out first? he did

21. Who kissed who first? he did(he asked me first! of course I said yes! I was waiting like forever!)

22. Who proposed? He did, with a ring he made himself(beautiful, and I lost it! but he made me another one!)

23. Best features? I like everything about him! He is the best hubby and dad I could ever ask for. Even though he has another birthday coming up and his getting more gray hair! I think he is like fine wine and only gets better with age-Love you honey!!! :) :) :)

I tag...you, if you haven't done it!

Nature walk to the River

Books

I also went to the bookstore yesterday to use my gift cards I got for birthday. kind of sad that all you can buy with $75 is two books and two magazines! But I got two books that I really wanted! this awesome cookbook by Sur La Table(famous cookware store).

And Lotta Jansdotters sewing book. I am hopping little M. will let me do some sewing soon!

I didn't get this book yesterday I had ordered it weeks ago, it is Amy Butlers new book with the cutest kids pattern ever! A little late coming out for me I could have made a changing table pad instead of buying one!

I just love love love the bookstore! Madden and I spent over an hour there trying to decide what I should get, and he was so good, except for the massively huge dirty diaper he made, maybe that's why he was so happy? Or he just really likes bookstores like his mom!

I think my love for books came form my parents who have over 500 books in there home! And that's after my dad made my mom get rid of a lot of them! They had walls and walls of books, they probably had a thousand at one time! I remember going to the bookstores as a family and we got to pick out a book or two, I would get The Saddle Club because I was all into horses at the time. I don't think any of us kids (all 6 of us) didn't like going there! So thank you mom for the giving me the love for books, hopefully I am doing the same for my kids, who will spend all day with me at the bookstore, just as long as we stop to play with the Thomas Train set!

Monkey on Monkey

He smiled for me! I brought out the camera and he gave me a big one!

Baby's R Us had some cute boy clothes! one of the outfits I got were these super cute monkey Jammie's.
So my chunky Monkey was waring Monkeys!

So you think you can dance?

Okay here they are dancing! This was actually the day before the picture I took, Zander usually does some brake dancing moves but I couldn't get him to do anything, maybe I didn't have the right music for him? Annalyse picked the song if you couldn't guess it is the Jonas Brothers, she is so into all those Disney shows and kids!

Random

The kids were dancing yesterday. We like to You Tube music in the afternoons to pass some time before dad gets home!

M got some new Jammie's he is to long for the 3 mo. size, aren't those the cutest?

Some cards I made with my new Martha glitter stamps
I've done over 200 posts!!!