Give Aways

They're doing three different give aways at Give Away Today. Go check them out!

A Treat to Try

You really should try this. They're so yummy!

(click picture to go to Bakerella's full explanation of how to make these)

You get the best of both worlds...brownies and cookies!

All you do is:
1. Mix up a brownie mix as directed on the box (or do it from scratch if you're ambitious)

2. Pour your brownie batter into a 9x13 pan

2. Mix up your favorite chocolate chip cookes (or do it from a mix, Bakerella used Betty Crocker mixes for both.) I used chocolate and butterscotch chips...yum!

3. Place blobs of the cookie dough into the brownie batter randomly. You'll want to use more than you think...probably enough dough for over a dozen cookies. If you do it from a mix, use the whole thing.

4. Gently press the cookie dough into the batter so there's not huge bumps sticking up.

5. Bake according to brownie directions.

I personally didn't do the ganache, but I'm sure it would be delicious! These are super easy, and like I said...best of both worlds!!!

THIS is spring

Friday was SO warm that we had to play outside. Actually, it got pretty hot! We all got some sun, and it felt so good.

First off, we planted grass in an Easter basket. Hopefully it will grow! Kaden loved spraying the seeds with the water bottle. He was quite upset when the water ran out.

Next, we went on a walk. My intention was to have Kaden tell me what to take pictures of because he's so fascinated by all the things we see. He didn't want me to take many pictures, so here's what we ended up with.

He did specifically ask me to take a picture of him running down the "great big hill."

This is the pinecone he found. We have collected a LOT of pinecones on our walks.

For some reason, he just plopped down on the sidewalk and played dead. I have no idea why. He asked for help getting up, then took off running again.

Happy Spring!

p.s. it's snowing again today, but luckily we won't be getting the two feet like we did a couple of weeks ago.

Good Game

The aggies lost, but only by 1 point! The first half was NOT good, but wow, the 2nd was awesome! Even though we lost, it was a good game!

Name The Movie

With graduation fast approaching, one movie in particular gets quoted quite a lot around our home. It has taken Jaron 8 1/2 years to graduate (Don't worry, he'll have two full bachelor degrees, so it's all worth it, right?). And with that, can anyone name this movie, the characters being quoted, and the actors who play them?

Actor 1: Did you hear I finally graduated?
Actor 2: Yeah, and just a shade under a decade too, all right.
Actor 1: You know a lot of people go to college for seven years.
Actor 2: I know, they're called doctors.

p.s. if any of my siblings don't know this, you may be disowned :)

Playground (yes, again)

Through today you can personalize a picket for the Adventure Playground for only $20! The normal price is $30, so it's not a bad deal! This is the email I got today, with a link to donate:

Hi,

I'm writing to let you know that we have extended the opportunity for you to get a discounted personalized fence picket through today (Thursday). The cost is only $20 - that's 1/3 off the normal price. Please visit http://www.whittiercenter.org/playground/donate/disc-pickets/ for a link to a secure server for a credit card donation. We process our donations through PayPal, but you don't need a PayPal account to donate.

Since I sent out the newsletter, dozens of pickets have been personalized. Still, we have almost 900 left. We've already paid for all of the play equipment. In addition to paying for the cost of the picket, your donation will cover the hardware needed to put the playground together (a cost that must be paid this week).

It would be nice to have the time to talk to you directly about the park. I'm sure you recognize its value to our community. I hope that you can take a moment to make this donation today. I can't imagine anyone saying to themselves, "if only I had those 20 bucks back...," but I do see you bringing your family, children, grandchildren, and friends back to the park for a picnic or a reunion and saying, "We had a part in this incredible project. See... there's our picket."
That's why I donated. I invite you to do the same. Call me if you have any questions.

Yours,
Kendall Andelin
General Coordinator
Adventure Playground
(435) 753-9008

I know most of you who read this don't even live in the area, but I figured it's worth a shot to keep posting about it!

Photo Tag

I don't usually do tags, but I love the picture that came out on this one. Here's how it works:

1. Go to your My Documents/My Pictures
2. Go to your sixth file folder
3. Go to your sixth picture
4. Blog about it
5. Tag 6 people

Kaden was barely 1 and I think this was the first picnic we had up the canyon after moving back from Iowa. This is on the boardwalk at Second Dam.

I'm not going to tag anyone specific, but it's kinda fun to see what picture might come up!

Dang Bugs

I give up. Spring isn't coming. Those dumb bugs came out too early. We woke up to about a foot of snow, and it's supposed to keep going all day. I was just bragging to my parents yesterday about the beautiful weather we were having while they had a blizzard. We played outside on Saturday and it was too warm for jackets. Today, not so much.

Blessings in Disguise

We ran out of milk last night. No big deal. I was going to go to Smith's because it's the closest grocery store. For whatever reason, I decided to go to Lee's instead. It's a little bit farther away, but not too bad. Besides, Smith's has been trashy, had long lines, and bad service for a little while now.

On my way to get the milk, I had a prompting to check to see if they had any of this heavenly dessert item.

(FYI, the brand is Dryer's in this area, but I could only find an Edy's picture. Same stuff, though)

I really didn't expect them to have it. Last year we chased around to every grocery store in the valley trying to find some. Well, I wandered to the frozen section and they had it! And not just one or two, they had a whole row of it! Sadly, it's an expensive indulgence priced $5.59 for 1.5 quarts. I decided to get just one, and wait for a sale to stock up. They always go on sale eventually.

Heading to the check-out, I wished I could justify spending almost $6 each to get more, but I refrained. That is, until the cashier mentioned that when the last person purchased some, it rang up for only $2. Shocked, I said, "Well, if it's really only $2, I'll go get more!" I Expected her to need to call a manager, or check the system or something. However, she rang it in, and it was only $2! So yes, I went and got more. But only 2 more because I knew our freezer was a bit full.

I'm so glad I decided to go to Lee's instead of Smith's. What a great deal! I did have remorse though when I got home a rearranged the freezer a bit and realized I could have easily fit 1 more in. If we drank some juice, I could have gotten 2 more in. Oh well, we are stocked with a delectable dessert for a little while now.

(And no, this is not an invitation to come over. Sorry, this is one thing we just don't share!)

Signs of Spring

Some people say when they've lived in an area long enough, they can tell a change of seasons is close because of the geese migrating. I haven't stayed anywhere long enough, or even paid attention to geese to have this method work for me.

Some people know spring is coming when they see buds on trees and flowers. Our strawberries started turning green back in January. I haven't seen anything turning green since then, so this one doesn't work for me either.

So, how do we know Spring is around the corner?

Yup, these dumb Box Elder bugs. I know they're harmless, but they get EVERYWHERE. I saw the first signs of them last week when our neighbor already had about 10 crawling around on her door. Then I noticed one in Kaden's window. Garth and Laura (Jaron's brother & Sis-in-law, live upstairs) said they've already had several inside. Luckily, the sun doesn't hit our door as directly as it does theirs, so we don't get nearly as many. But, the signs are here, the bugs are out, Spring had better be soon!

p.s. I would definitely prefer these bugs in abundance to the spiders we've had in our apartment. There was another one last week, and I ended up calling Garth to get rid of it. I couldn't get it to stick to the tape. Thanks, Garth!!!