Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Bryn turns 7!


Bryn's 7th birthday was on Monday.  She helped me pick out one picture from each year of her life, but we didn't have one of her when she was 7 (she didn't want the cute one I took last week because she was still 6).  So I have finally uploaded one of her taken on Monday when she was officially 7.


2001

2002


2003


2004


2005


2006


2007


Monday, November 24, 2008!

She got a wii and picked out a new friend at Build-a-Bear.  It was a great day!

Have a happy Thanksgiving!





Friday, November 21, 2008

Good Friends

Last night some friends of mine got together to say goodbye to our friend, Jen.  She and her family are moving to Utah this weekend.  We will miss her!  We've had other friends leave us in the past and some others who are leaving soon.  It's always sad to see them go, but I'm so grateful to have always been blessed with such great friends.  Even in my youth I had good friends who never led me astray and I'm so thankful for that.  I only pray that my children are also blessed with wonderful friends who stand for truth and righteousness.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Forgiving makes us happy?


Bryn colored this picture at church on Sunday.  She brought it home laid it on the counter and I didn't even notice until later that evening that the girl in the middle doesn't look too happy.  I guess forgiving makes MOST of us happy.





Fun Christmas Commercials



Check out these fun Christmas commercials from the Gap.  They put me in a good mood.


Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Recipe for Pesty Rolls


Yes, I'm calling them Pesty Rolls.....only because they came from "The Pest" aka, Ann Chandler.  After my post about the rolls, a friend asked about the recipe.  So, here you go.  They are easy to make and taste yummy!


PESTY ROLLS
1. Soften 2 Tablespoons dry yeast in 1/2 cup warm water to which you have also added 1 Tablespoon of sugar.  Let proof.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 sticks butter (I use real butter) in 2 cups of milk.  Cool to lukewarm.

3. In a large bowl, place:
6 eggs, beaten well
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons salt

4. Add the lukewarm milk mixture.

5. Add 1 cup of flour; beat well.

6. Add softened yeast mixture.

7. Add more flour (approximately 7 more cups) to make the dough workable, but not stiff.

8. Place ball of dough in a greased bowl.  Let rise. (Julie's secret:  I turn my oven on to 350 for just a min or two and then turn it off.  I then put my hand in there to see if it's really hot or just nice and warm.  When it's just nice and warm, I put the bowl (an oven safe bowl:-) of dough in the oven and close the door.  Things raise faster this way!)

9. When double in size, divide into 4 equal-sized balls and roll into large circles.  Cut each circle into 16 triangles (I used a pizza cutter); roll up.

10. Place on greased cookie sheet.  Let rise until doubled.

11. Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven approximately 12 minutes.  You may need to adjust time or temperature if your oven differs.

ENJOY!!

Deborah's Poll


The votes are in.....17 people voted for Deborah to stay in Avondale and no one voted for a move to Peoria.  Will this keep Jeff & Deborah here?  I guess we'll see.....they haven't moved yet.


Princess Uno

Last week Dave had to work late, so I put Nick to bed early and Bryn and I pulled out the Princess Uno cards.  She's my little tomboy, but she loves the Princess Uno game.  I think it's because of the dragon card.....that's when you have to keep drawing a card until you find a prince to slay the beast.  She even took a picture of it while we were playing.

She's so funny when we play.  She likes to slam the cards down and say "take that!" or "look who's here to see you"
She's my little card buddy and I love it!

Pesty Rolls

My "pest" friend, Jessica sent me the recipe for her mother's yummy rolls.  They were surprisingly easy to make and turned out perfect!  I'm very excited to make them for Thanksgiving.  Thanks, Jessica!!


Saturday, November 15, 2008

Late Flashback Friday: November 1996

I know it's just minutes away from Sunday, but I've been out of the house a lot this weekend, so here's flashback Friday even though it's late.  This is a picture of my brothers, Steve and Dave.  The guy in the chair is my cousin Josh.  This picture was taken at a surprise birthday party for my Grandmother's 80th birthday.  Steve and Dave were both living in Portland and my Grandmother lives in Bountiful, so they flew out and surprised Grandma at one of her favorite restaurants (Robintino's).  We later went to my uncle Bob's house for cake and ice cream.  I actually have the surprise on tape....it's great!  Grandma had no idea they were coming and she was so happy to see them.  Brings a tear to me eye every time I see it :-)


Tuesday, November 11, 2008

New Poll


Be sure to cast your vote in my new poll to the left.  If you don't know who Deborah is, then vote for her to stay in Avondale.  I'm hoping this shows her how much we love her and then she'll stay here.  Peoria isn't really far away, but far enough to be inconvenient.  Plus, I don't think there's a Chick-fil-a between here and there.


Friday, November 7, 2008

Flashback Friday: This one's for Bryn


This last August, a few of Bryn's cousins came down to stay with us for a week and a half.  She loves to play with her cousins and they had so much fun!  One Sunday afternoon, they were playing games on my computer when they discovered how to use the "Photo Booth" program on my mac.  They took pictures for hours!  Here are a few.........




I'm so glad that we are able to spend time with our family so often.  I know Bryn has lots of great memories and will continue to collect them.  We are very blessed!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

My Grandma

This is a day late....yesterday was my grandmother's 92nd birthday.  She's a great grandmother with an wonderful sense of humor. 




This is my grandmother and Bryn (and me) just a few days after we brought her home from the hospital.  Grandma tried so hard to get Bryn to wake up so she could look at her eyes, but Bryn slept right though the whole visit. 

Happy Birthday, Grandma!


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Get out and VOTE!

Just a friendly reminder........today's the day!   History will be made.  Do you want the government to control your money or do you want to control it yourself?  Cast your vote.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Frugal Gourmet


The other day I was not excited about making dinner.  I hadn't really thought about it and I knew I had to go to the store.  So, I decided to look through what I had to see if I could come up with something and not have to run out to the store.  I must say, we ended up with a great dinner.  

I found lots of veggies that were on the "verge" and I had a loaf of sour dough bread that we'd had around for a few days.  It was still good, but getting really dry.  So,  I decided the veggies would make a good soup, but I didn't want the dry bread with it.  I tried something I'd never done before and I know I'll be doing it again......I cut the bread into chunks, drizzled EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) over them and then add some salt, pepper, and garlic salt.  I tossed it all together and then baked them @ 375 for about 15 mins.  I made the soup and then put the "soup croutons" on top when I served it.  It was sooooooooo good!  It was also pretty :-)  That's why I had to take a picture.








Sunday, November 2, 2008

Thieves!

We noticed today, after getting home from church, that our "Yes on 102" sign was missing.  My first thought was "Good, I won't have to dig it out and throw it away on Wednesday."  But now I'm mad.  There are a lot of ignorant people out there who don't "get" that I can say what I want and I can put a peaceful sign in my yard if I want because I live in the USA.  I don't like all the signs along the road at the corner of Dysart & Camelback, but you don't see me out there pulling them up.  Come on, people!  Stay out of my yard!  If you have a problem with my first amendment rights, my husband would happily demonstrate my second amendment rights to anyone caught taking a sign from our private property again. (thanks for adding that, Dave :-)

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween 2008




Nick was a cute little pumpkin.  I wanted him to be Superman, but Dave liked the cost of this costume a lot more.  My friend, Deborah, thinks we would have saved money in the long run if we had just purchased the Superman costume......she thinks he's going to need a lot of therapy after wearing this.  He wore a short sleeve shirt and shorts with this costume and still came home sweaty.  It's too hot down here!



Our little Brynie is such a tomboy!  She loves Star Wars and so she really wanted to be Obi Won Kenobi this year.  She looked great!  And yes, there are female Jedis in the Star Wars movies.  She had so much fun, and now she has a great outfit to wear when playing with her light-saber.  



DON'T MESS WITH ME!

Flashback Friday: Bryn's Second Halloween

I was going to post this yesterday, but we had a very busy Halloween.  This is Bryn in 2003.  She was almost 2.  I bought her a ladybug costume.  It is so cute, I still have it.  But she wouldn't pose for any pictures.  It has a cute hood with antenna on top, but she wouldn't put it on.  We tried and tried to get her to keep it on her head, but as you can see she wouldn't have any part of it.  These are the only two picture I have....isn't that sad?