family review

Thanks to my parents, they let us borrow their laptop while we are still trying to figure out our laptop situation. The guys at the computer place were not able to save anything on our computer (still very upset) But we have a few more options before we just replace the hard drive to go through. And of course, when I really need to post pictures, I can't! (I tried mom, but your laptop won't let me do anything!! I will talk to you about it later)

So in the meantime, here is a run down of what we have been up to.

Gabe: He gladly went through ALL of his toys and picked out the ones he wanted to give to Goodwill. It wasn't easy for him, but he kept smiling. He has been helping me bake, spending time with Grandpa at the park, going to bed without coming out the room (maybe with a little bribing) and spending every other minute of the day outside digging......he is already the darkest (tan wise) in the house....obviously he has James' genes.

Nolan: wow.................he is all tantrums right now. I know what you guys are thinking "not Nolan! he looks so darn sweet"..............no..............he may look sweet, and he often tricks us with those sweet eyes, but he is currently entering his terrible twos. yay for me. The days have been very long with him, but I do have to say that in between these fits he throws and the whining he is doing, he is the best cuddler and gives the best hugs. Nolan for the last two weeks has been playing outside non stop and pointing out every airplane he can find. Remember his bee accident a month ago? Well, he is still OBSESSED with bees. And last Friday while outside, Nolan would not leave the bees alone (my lavender bush is blooming) I not only warned him once, but I warned him about 10 times and removed him from the situation. Finally after about 15 minutes he came running/crying/screaming to me, and I immediately knew what it was.
He got stung............
Not once...............
twice..........
at the same time..........
both hands.............
You could tell he went to GRAB two bees at once. I had the lucky job of pulling out the stingers and comforting him. And what did he do right after? Went back to that darn bush!! He went right back to trying to pick up the bees! I am keeping him away from the bushes for the time being until the bees die down.

James: I am so proud of James, he tested again for Richland and did really well. He was #3 on the list last time, hopefully he will be higher this time. All that dieting and exercising payed off. James is starting to plan all of our summer excursions and getting ready for his birthday on Saturday (we are actually celebrating on Thursday since he is working all weekend)

Me: yup, more baking. I did two cakes last week. A baby shower cake (pictures will be posted at another time) that was lemon cake with almond buttercream.
We also had our second wedding cake! yay! I think it turned out really good. The bride wanting pretty much exactly what we did on our first one but all different colors. The cake ended up look really elegant. There are some pictures on Heather's blog if anyone wants to see them. It was an almond cake with a vanilla Bavarian cream filling. The great thing about this cake? It took us 45 minutes the first night to get them all covered!! That is like 3 hours faster than when we first started! lol. We were actually looking for things to do on it! I am also spending a lot of time playing with the boys and going to the park. And now I get to start preparing for my second lesson for Relief Society. I can't wait to start traveling and enjoying more time outside!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far! please keep in touch!
**Pictures to come shortly.**

Ugh.

So for those who do read my blog, and to those that just check in every once in while, I will not be on for quite some time.
Our hard drive on our laptop is gone. We have it in the shop and they are working on it to see what they can recover. I am very upset about this because it has ALL of our pictures and videos on it.

I know I know, I should have backed it up on a CD or something similar.......but no......I am a procrastinator and although James and I said many of times to each other that we need to get the pictures off the computer "just in case" something happens...............it never happened.

Pictures are gone.

Videos are gone.

I find myself crying when I start thinking too much about certain special pictures that are no longer to be seen.

The technician guy said that he is going to keep our laptop for a few days so he can keep trying, but he didn't want to get our hopes up. He wont be able to save all the pictures, but he is going to see if he can save a few. There are sooooooooooo many pictures on it, especially one of Nolan when he was only a few days old on my dad's chest. It was the first time he held him, the colors in the photo are perfect, and such a special picture to me.

Ugh.

So for now, we are computer-less. It is probably for the best, I have gotten so much cleaning done, I am sure James is debating even getting another computer after seeing how darn clean our bathroom was :)

Things I can do while without the computer:
Play more with the boys
Clean
Do more new member visits
Read more books (anyone have any recommendations?)
Read my scriptures more
Call friends that I haven't talked to for a while
Plan some camping trips
Plan our trip to Utah (right Becky?!) :)

Well my break begins....at least it finally isn't windy out and maybe I can get the boys to the park! :)

And I also leave you with an adorable picture of Gabe that I havn't seen in like 4 years off of Judy and Steve's computer..............gosh he is cute!

its a zoo.......cake!

Heather and I were very lucky this week. We got the chance to make a cake for a friend of ours who was having a preschool graduation. The theme was "Zoo" because she teaches zoo phonics. She let us just go crazy and do what we wanted. We did an Almond cake (my new favorite) with Raspberry filling with zebra and giraffe print and 50 chocolate cupcakes with Almond Buttercream frosting. The cupcakes have monkey and elephant faces on them that were made out of royal icing. We were so so so excited to do this cake and we are both so happy with how it turned out. I think this was the most fun cake that we have done, which now makes it my new favorite! :)




The rest of the month is pretty busy for us. We have a wedding, baby shower and James' birthday..........................My mind is turning on what kind of cake I should make for James. He wants a M4 Rifle cake...not quite sure it is "do-able", but it is a challenge....and I am always open for a challenge when it comes to cake! Wish us luck! :)

Recipe Box Swap

The recipe box swap is something I try to participate in when it comes up (once a month) click on the box, and it will lead you to a list of fantastic recipes :)

Strawberry Pie

I made this pie for Memorial Day and it was gobbled up so fast. It was super easy to make and a beautiful shade of red.

Ingredients

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1/4 cup chocolate chips**

1 quart fresh strawberries
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 T Butter**

1/2 t vanilla **

** Things I did myself to add flavor, but you do not need to if you don't feel like it**

In a baked pastry shell **I melted 1/4 cup chocolate in the microwave every 10 seconds and stirring until melted, then poured that in the crust before the Strawberries**.

Arrange half of the Strawberries (sliced) in the pastry shell

Mash remaining berries **I just put them in the blender**. Pour in medium saucepan. Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a bowl (it will mix easier). Add water and sugar/cornstarch mixture. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Once at a boil, let it boil for 3 minutes stirring occasionally until translucent and thick. Add butter and stir until melted and add vanilla. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell.

Chill for several hours before serving. **I put it in the freezer because I just didn't have several hours.**

We served with whipped cream and it was so good.

Enjoy!! :)

People who need blogs

This is a post for my family and friends who I know read my blog either daily or every once in a while. This is to call them out to let them know how much I want them to have a blog so I can keep up with their wonderful families.

My mom. She needs a blog. She could keep a journal of how my dad is doing (He has Pulmonary Fibrosis) She could write about the past....the good and the bad and she can post all the cute pictures of herself and my dad when they were youngins. It would also be good for her to keep in contact with some her "grands" ladies from all over the US.

My sister. She is pregnant for the first time at 37. She finally found a man who treats her right and wants what she wants in life. A blog would be a great way to keep note of her pregnancy, especially since she lives in Hawaii and we can't just drive over to see how big her belly is getting! Come on Shannon!!

My sister in law, Christy. Because she has one of the cutest baby girls ever....Although she will probably say she doesn't have any time....you never know!

Cindy, you know you need a blog:) add that onto your already hectic day....a blog is what you need! Honestly though, if you were not so busy, I would love to see your blog! I could get some great recipes from you (like your great chocolate chip cookies)

Emily, yes, I called you out! You need a blog! I wanna see pictures of your precious kids! and your adorable house! I know Becky will back me up on this :) I want to get some of your recipes to try also. (How did the french silk pie turn out anyways?)

My sister in law, Rachel. Please? I know you would have fun with a blog. You love sharing your recipes, and your ideas, good books, and your purses. If you got a blog....all the Sautters will have a blog! :) Only if we can get Judy and Tiff to start one too!

To those who I know have blogs and don't write on them and should.

Tara.........I know you are just starting......but you are my best friend, and I love hearing all the fun things you guys are doing over there in the Barrow household. So start cracking out those posts! :) You know I am kidding right?

Erin.......oh Erin Erin Erin.....you know I want nothing more than to keep up with your hectic week. I want to hear how the life of Erin and Matt (the newlyweds for another month) are doing. I also know you have some recipes you wanna share with me :)

Becky. I know you are pretty busy right now. BUT as soon as you get a little less busy......Do another post!!! I wanna keep up with those cute boys of yours and I know that Gabe wouldn't mind seeing some pictures of Kaiden :)

Any other friends that I accidentally left out that don't have blogs....get goin! I love keeping in touch with family and friends. I love seeing how families are growing and getting bigger. I love seeing pictures of everyone and hearing what everyone is up to. So get started guys!!

week in review

A new picture of Gabe and I

So as always. We have had a busy busy week. I spent last week cleaning and then cleaning some more.

Unfortunately this was James' "long week" meaning he had to work Monday Tuesday and had Wednesday and Thursday off and then had to work Friday Saturday and Sunday. We missed him a lot this week and weekend. We tried to fill it up as best we could and wish he could have been there!

We had a good Memorial day, we went to my parents where they grilled and we had some great food.

Tuesday was pretty laid back (I actually can't remember what we did!!) But I do know I did most of my cleaning that day :)

Wednesday we grocery shopped and tried out some new recipes.

Thursday Heather and I talked to the girl we are making a wedding cake for. She is so cute and she has great taste in cake (she picked my favorite) We are excited to make it. Then we played some Mario Kart. James also put some great steaks on the grill....it was a pretty darn good day

Friday, Gabe had a play date with a friend from school, we went to the park and played and had lunch. Then we went and got a SLIP AND SLIDE (WOO WOO).....of course James and I had to show Gabe and Nolan how to use it and even put some dish soap on it to make even slipperier.....it was fun.......but I am soooo sore! My abs don't feel so great! lol.

Gabe going down the slip and slide...he hates water in his face and freaks out if it gets in his eyes, so he would only go on his knees.

On Saturday we had a lot of fun!! Gabe, Nolan and I met my dad and my niece Tyler at the park to play and go swimming. My dad usually just picks Gabe up and takes Gabe and Tyler for the day to a couple of parks and then to lunch, well I thought since I didn't have much going on that I would just meet them and let Nolan experience the park with Gabe and Tyler. Nolan had a BLAST!

This picture is great for a few reasons.

1. Gabe's headlock on Nolan

2.The random boy in the background thinking I am taking a picture of him

3. I love seeing my dad with the kids having a good time

Gabe was so busy trying to get off the slide, he would use his feet to get Nolan out of the way.

We went to the little pool there that doesn't go deeper than your knees. There was no one there at all, so it was really nice. Nolan wasn't too impressed at first and spent most of the time walking around eating the SPUDNUT doughnut (my favorite) that my dad picked up on the way.

Finally by the end he liked going in the pool and stepping on the fish.

Gabe and Tyler jumping in. I brought the life vest for Nolan to wear but as I wrote earlier....GABE HATES WATER. He pretends he loves to swim and play in the pool....but he WILL NOT get any water in his face.

My dad in a water fight with Tyler and Gabe....Gabe was not too happy with Grandpa when he got water in his face.

Tyler attempted to teach Gabe how to swim, she even tried to teach him how to kick off of the wall.....Gabe wouldn't let the water go anywhere above his waist, it was so funny, he thought he was actually swimming.

Later Saturday we made Pinatas (or "yadas" as Gabe calls them) since Gabe is always in awe of them at Winco and wanted to have a fiesta ( or "yesta" as Gabe calls it) So we made three, one for Nolan, one for Gabe and one for Tyler.

We played a lot out side while waiting for the pinatas to dry.

Later that night we painted the pinatas.

Sunday was a good day. I don't like going to church by myself, but it is getting easier. The only thing that makes me anxious is the getting ready and prepared. Today the boys were great helps and did what I asked of them. When we got to church the boys did wonderful, the boys folded their arms during prayers and didn't fight over snacks like they usually do. Today I walked Nolan in to Nursery and he walked right in, sat down and didn't care if I stayed or left. He has been having a hard time lately with Nursery and would not stay in there at all. Today was great, I was able to go to Gospel Doctrine and then actually be able to go to Relief Society and stay the whole time! Did I mention it was a good day? :)

After naps, Gabe Nolan and I went to my parents house for Sunday dinner. We took our pinatas over and my dad made tacos and tostadas and I made some Spanish rice. After dinner we went out back and cracked open the pinatas. It was a lot of fun and I am glad Gabe wanted to do it and let us all have some fun.

Gabe with the bottom part of Tyler's pinata on his head as a helmet and swinging away at his pinata.

Nolan enjoying his treats that fell out of his pinata.

Tyler and Gabe with their "helmets" on

Gabe showing me how happy he was with his candy...(looks kinda painful, huh?)
Have a wonderful week!!