A Little Preview

Have I mentioned I love being an aunt?  I could seriously steal this little guy!

Picture a Day week 8

Sun, Feb 19

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Winter decided to show up.  Wasn't much of a showing though.

Mon, Feb 20

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The kids were out of school today for President's Day so we decided to take advantage of what little snow we had and went sledding.  More pictures to come.  I realized I didn't have any pictures of me, so here is my first self portrait.  It is reflected on my dirty van window, so its a good one.  And yes, I am wearing Sydney's bear hat because it was seriously cold (or I am just a wuss this winter because it has been so nice) and she didn't want to wear hers (she is tougher than me).

Tues, Feb 21

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My cute nephew, Marshall, got to spend the day with us.  We love having him over.  Seriously, look at that cute face!

Wed, Feb 22

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Okay, I had to throw 2 in there.  Connor and I played Lego's, Batman Lego's to be exact.  He built a lot of it himself.  He is getting so big!

Thurs, Feb 23

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In the words of my brother, "I got in a fight with a tree and the tree won!"

Mitch went night snowboarding Wednesday night and tried to avoid one tree but the back of his board hit it and sent him flying into another one, face first.  He got a pretty good concussion and cracked his cheek bone in 2 spots under his eye socket.  Thankfully that was all of the damage and it wasn't worse!  We love you Mitch and are glad you will be okay.  I am also happy that I am now not the only one with brain damage :)

Fri, Feb 24

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We took dinner down to Mitch and Linsey and made some Thai Peanut Noodles and Wontons.  So yummy!  You should try it.  (Thanks for the recipe Dave)

Wontons

1 lb ground pork

1 T minced garlic

1/2 T minced ginger

2 T sugar

1/2 T oil

2 1/2 T Soy Sauce

Mix all together and put about 1/2 tsp mixture in wanton wrapper.  Fold like a triangle, then fold sides up.  Deep fry until golden brown.

Don't forget the Sweet and Sour Sauce to dip it in!

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 c pineapple juice

2 T soy sauce

1/2 c ketchup

1 1/2 T sugar

2 T corn starch

1/2 c water

Combine and simmer until thickened.

Sat, Feb 25

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Loved the lighting from the sky, so I thought I would experiment.

Picture a Day week 7

Sun, Feb 12

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We had our traditional V-day fondu at G-ma's because we thought Dad was going to be gone on V-day.  He wasn't, but that is okay because we had a lot of fun doing it with almost everyone.  We missed you Matt and Jodi.  I guess that means we just have to do it again!

Mon, Feb 13

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I made sugar cookies from here for John's office.  They were super yummy! Probably my new favorite recipe.  Notice the teeth :)

Tues, Feb 14

Happy Valentines Day!

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I stole this idea from  my sis-in-law a few years ago and we love this tradition.  We make a fancy dinner (this year was crab and filet mignon) and eat it by candlelight.  I sure love these guys!

Wed, Feb 15

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We finally got to meet my cute nephew, Will.  I seriously could steal this boy!  So.  Stinking.  Cute!  I am so glad that he was able to come home to his mom on Valentines Day and that he is doing better.  He was still on the Bili-lights so I couldn't get a great picture of him, but he is a strong kid, so hopefully I will be able to get some soon.

Thurs, Feb 16

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Lots of V-day candy.  Dad will love those blue teeth!

Fri, Feb 17

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Uh, kind of looks like my  mom and Lynn are burying bodies in their backyard.  Don't worry, they are just getting their garden ready since it seems winter forgot us. Hope we have enough water to water that scary looking garden.

Sat. Feb 18

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We finally took Hurley for a real grooming.  John told them to go short, so ya, they went SHORT!  Well, except his tail.  What is up with that?  Why don't they every trim his tail?  So, I fixed that myself.  Anyway, he looked traumatized the rest of the day, like he had been a little violated.  And by the looks of it, he was.  Poor guy.

Picture a Day week 6

Sun, Feb 5

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Jordan loves to climb all over Hurley.  He is such a good dog, he usually just lets her.

Mon, Feb 6

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Connor and I did some puzzles today.  The end. 

Tues, Feb 7

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Yay!  Mitch and Linsey are having a baby boy!  They are going to name him Sawyer.  We are pretty sure he already has Mitch's nose.  So exciting!

Wed, Feb 8

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This sums up our whole house pretty much all week.  Why is it that when mom gets sick, so does everyone else? 

Thurs, Feb 9

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Jordan also loves to drag Hurley around by his collar.  He wasn't as fond of this game.  I think he wanted me to save him at this moment.

Fri, Feb 10

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After being cooped up all week, we just had to get out and enjoy the 45 degree weather.  And I thought I would try my hand at panning.  Kind of fun!

Sat, Feb 11th

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So, it has been unusually warn here, so warm in fact that the black widows forgot to die!  We opened up one of the kids camping chairs to find this lady sitting and waiting. So, I sprayed her with spider spray and it got all over her web, and she drunkenly walked right off the chair.  Gave me the hebejebees!  Hope she died.  We lost her in the grass. 

On a better note, Connor has learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!

Chocolate-Raspberry Dream Torte

This really is a dream!  Love this dessert.  I got the recipe from The Pampered Chef, so I used their torte pans to make this in, but I don't see why you can't make this with two round pans.  The first time I made this I used some raspberry jam that my mom and I made and canned.  So good! I have also used some store bought because I wanted to try it without the seeds.  We tried to get the seeds out of ours, but it was a long process, so we gave up  and still had some seeds in ours.  I also made it with a devil's food cake from scratch and one with the box cake.  I liked the box cake better.  It was easier and it was more moist.  Enjoy!

1 pkg devil's food cake mix (plus ingredients to make cake)
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 c powdered sugar
1Tbsp finely grated orange zest
1 container (8oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/4 c seedless raspberry jam, divided
1 c raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour torte pans; set aside (I also put wax paper on the bottom to prevent it from sticking).  Prepare cake mix according to package directions; divide batter equally between pans. Bake 18-22 minutes (if using round pans, cook according to box) or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Remove from oven to cooking rack and cool 5 min.  Remove cake from pans and cool completely.

2.  Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and orange zest; whisk until smooth (I used the whisk instrument on my mixer).  Fold in whipped topping.  Place one cake layer well-side up onto serving platter.  Spread half of the filling over cake layer.  Place raspberry jam in microwave safe bowl, microwave 10-20 seconds or until warm; whisk until smooth.  Drizzle half of the jam over filling.  Stack remaining cake layer on top of first, well-side up; spread with remaining filling.  If desired, arrange raspberries over filling; drizzle with remaining jam.

Picture a Day Week 5

Sun, Jan 29

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My little sister stayed with us for the weekend and that girl can read!  I am pretty sure she has read more books then I ever will my entire life and she is only 9.  Over the weekend, I saw at least 3 books lying around the house like this at one time.  Yes, she reads more than one book at a time.  

Mon, Jan 30

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Cheap masks from a party store provides lots of entertainment!

Tues, Jan 31

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Why do telephoto lenses have to be so stinkin' expensive?  This hawk looked so cool on top of that ugly tree, but I couldn't capture it the way I wanted to.  

Wed, Feb 1

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I have a new nephew!  He ended up in the NICU so I wasn't able to get any pictures of him so I took a picture of the onsies I made for him and a T-shirt for his big brother.  Oh, I can't wait to hold and snuggle that little guy!

Thurs, Feb 2

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Just one of those moments.  

Love these two!

Fri, Feb 3

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Sydney wanted to use the sewing machine, so I found this fun project on Pinterest.  It involves a little bit of sewing with the machine, and a little bit by hand.  Yes, some are upside down.  I forgot to tell her to string them up by the top.  

PS. Love her pose!

Sat, Feb 4

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I kind of love to eat, so you may see lots of pictures of food over the year.  But hey, you can enjoy it too:

Zucchini Cake

1 1/2 c Sugar

1 c Oil

3 eggs

Mix for 4 minutes then add:

2 c Flour

1 tsp Soda

1 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

Than fold in:

2 c Shredded Zucchini

1 tsp Vanilla

Bake in a greased Bunt cake pan at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.