Thanks for a wonderful Birthday!

Everyone was so kind on my Birthday, it was such a great day. I asked Nick if he could be that nice everyday, he went out of his way to do the dishes, watch the kids, and let me decide what to do during the day. We went to the movie as a family and just played all day, it was lovely. We ended the day with a homemade Texas cake, it was so sinfully delicious. Nick used his Mom's recipe, it was the best cake I've ever had.
Besides being at my beckon call, Nick gave me a make-up mirror for my birthday. I've wanted one for a while, and I really love it and will get some good use out of it. Thanks baby!
Angie was sweet and sent me the cute Birthday banner you see in the background,she made it herself, isn't it cute? I'll use it all year for each family member's birthday. Angie also gave me a collection of cute ribbon, which I love!

Chani and Ryan sent me a beautiful purse, I really love it. It's the perfect size to fit everything I need. I've received compliments already on it. Thanks a lot guys, I couldn't have picked out a better bag myself!

Meridy made me a wonderful card set, I know that it took a lot of time and effort, and I really appreciate it. Now I'll have some cute Birthday cards on hand, but I won't want to give them away because they're too cute. Thanks Meridy and Nate.

My kind and generous Mom and Dad sent me a nice card with a really nice gift inside. I'm saving it for a rainy day, or a pair of shoes.

I'm very blessed to have such a great family, it made turning 35 a little more bearable. I also appreciated all of the phone calls I received, I love you all.

Delicious and Refreshing

This is our new favorite dessert, it's fat-free and only 110 calories. There's nothing diet tasting about it, it's creamy and yummy. Cheers!

Skiing with my boys

Nick, Isaac and I just got home from an adventurous day of skiing. We went to Snowy Range, which is about an hour and a half from Cheyenne. We had so much fun together, and Isaac and I are actually improving each time. Isaac had ski lessons from Kevin, for the second time. He's doing a great job, he'll pass me up very soon. Nick shows us all up, but he's still patient with us. It's great to see Nick and Isaac spending time together doing something they both like.

Cooking with whole wheat

This post is mostly to motivate Angie to use her new wheat grinder. She called today while I was grinding wheat, I told her I was going to make cookies and bread. She asked me to post the recipes. I love the bread, especially toasted, it's dense and chewy-oh so yummy! Everyone likes the cookies (except Isaac, if it's healthy, Isaac stays far away). You can eat the cookies without feeling guilty. Here are the recipes-Enjoy!
The cookie recipe is from Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook "Deceptively Delicious". This is a great cookbook, and gives healthy options. You sneak veggies into recipes, and most kids won't even notice. I've adapted the recipe a little, I make a bigger batch, and I use half applesauce, half margarine. I also add milled flax seeds, and oat flour. Just adjust it to your family needs. The bread recipe comes from a Vita-Mix cookbook, which is also a great one to have. I love this recipe because it's easy and fast.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 C. firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 C. trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
2 large egg whites (it won't kill you to throw in the whole egg!)
2 t. vanilla
1 can drained and rinsed chickpeas(garbanzo beans)
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups all-purpose flour(I use wheat flour)
1/2 C. oats
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
Beat the sugar and margarine until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Mix until a thick dough forms. Drop by Tablespoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes.






Whole Wheat Bread
1 1/4 C. warm water
1 T. Yeast
1 T. honey or brown sugar
2 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
1 T. olive oil
1 t. lemon juice
Combine yeast, honey and water, let it sit for 5 minutes. Add flour and then all other ingredients. Mix until combined. Place dough in a greased bread loaf pan. You can use a wet spatula to smooth out the top. Let rise for about 15 minutes. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Isaac on the piano

Isaac is making great progress on the piano, he has a great teacher. I hope he does better at sticking with it than I did. Nick is a good example to him, Nick has been playing a lot lately. I love it when they fill the house with good music.

America

Isaac's class watched the inauguration of President Obama at school on Tuesday. Nick asked him what he learned at school and he said "Barack Obama." We were impressed that he even knew the new Presidents name. I decided that we would have a family inauguration party (hey, any excuse for a cake!) We talked about the stars representing each of the 50 states, and Nick asked Isaac to name 5 of those states. Isaac did it with ease, next time we'll ask for 20. We continued to talk about the flag, and then sweet Savannah peeps in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. The girls say it at preschool every day, but I didn't know that they could recite it. It was so cute that I had to get it on video. I really hope that President Obama lives up to all of the hype and makes a positive impact on America. We could use a good leader right now. I'm so grateful to live in such a wonderful, free country. God Bless America!

Isaac skiing

This was at the end of Isaac's lessons. He had a great instructor and enjoyed every minute. Hey Isaac, do you think when you're a pro, you don't have to wear your goggles? He was amazing, and surprised us all with his skiing ablilities, good job Isaac!

Our Trip to Utah

We had such a great trip over the long holiday weekend. We drove 7 hours to South Weber to stay with our dear friends Mike and Mindi. It was great to see their family and to catch up with them. Nick and Mike spent all day Friday skiing, we wanted to let them go at their own speed and not have to wait for us beginners. The rest of us did what we do best, we went shopping and to lunch. It was fun, but chasing kids around wore us out fast. That night the adults went out to a hip Mexican Grill for dinner. It was like old times when we lived in Wichita together. I wanted to get a picture of us, but the waiter I asked had apparently never taken a photo before and after the 3rd attempt, Nick was done posing, and we didn't get one picture. I then asked another waiter to do the honors, and by this time, Nick was done with the whole photo moment. The one and only picture we got was Nick storming out of the scene. This shows how patient Nick is with photos. After dinner, we went to Ifly Utah, and watched people defy gravity by flying in a wind tunnel. It would be fun to do someday, but the fact that it was $50.00 for 3 minutes discouraged us from trying it. Saturday morning, we woke up to a beautiful sunny day, and headed to Snow Basin ski resort. We left the little girls at Mike and Mindi's with a responsible babysitter, but Isaac was up for a fun day with us. Mike was extremely patient with Isaac, and helped him down the bunny slope numerous times. We had lunch at the lodge alfresco soaking up the sun and just enjoying the beauty surrounding us. After our power lunch, everyone but Nick, Mike and myself went to ski lessons. I would have benefited from lessons, but Mike was patient and gave me some pointers. He and Nick stuck by my side and led me down the mountain. The most satisfying part of all was watching Isaac ski. He has only been once, and wasn't really into it, but this time, he really took to it. He had one on one lessons, and his instructor said he did great. His favorite part about the day was riding the ski lifts. It was a magnificent day! After this fun adventure with the Smith's we drove to Midway, Utah to celebrate Marilyn's birthday. It was nice to visit with Nick's family. We went out to dinner, and then went back to their house for cake and ice cream. Savannah enjoyed her cake so much that she went back for more when nobody was watching. We stayed the night at the Zermatt resort, where the kids had a blast swimming. We left first thing in the morning to make the 7 hour drive back home to Cheyenne. It was a fun-filled trip to Utah.

Thanks Meridy

My wonderful, talented sister-in-law Meridy updated my background. I'm glad that someone takes care of my blog when I neglect it, who knows how long we would've had to look at the Christmas background! Thanks Meridy!

Visits from Santa

The kids had many visits from Santa this year. Santa came to the girls preschool and promised them a barbie horse and a doll house. Santa made a showing at Isaac's school party, he even brought his wife, Mrs. Clause. On Christmas Eve, Santa made a surprise visit to Grandpa and Grandma Reeve's house. He brought candy canes for all of the kids and told them to go to bed so he could come back later with their gifts. Grandpa Reeve even got to sit on Santa's lap, I wonder what he told Santa that he wanted.

Family Night

We went to Utah to visit my family for Christmas, it was so nice to see everyone. We also got to visit with Nick's family during the Larsen Family party. Spending time with our families makes us realize how much we miss all of you. These photos are at the temple in St. George, we went as a family to see the nativity, then we went to dinner. It was a rainy night (week for that matter!), but we bundled up and stayed warm.

Isaac's Christmas Program

I only took one pathetic picture of Isaac's 2nd grade Christmas program, but I've got it on video if anyone's interested. The other photo is of Isaac's buddies from class, they are such good kids. Isaac has been blessed to have buddies that look out for him at school. They are dressed as Who's from whoville.

Run, Run as fast as you can...

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man. As you can see, the gingerbread house decorating went rather well. Isaac helped by accessorizing the roof, Sophia pitched in by decorating all of the windows, and Savannah did her part by eating frosting. The gingerbread house was on display for a few hours before Isaac started picking off small pieces of candy, and then just busted the roof off to enjoy the hard, stale gingerbread. What a fun family project.

Cute Hats

Aunt Venna Rae made these adorable hats, she made a handsome one for Isaac, but I couldn't get him to pose. I don't have the patience to crochet, so I'm glad she does. I'm sure they will get lots of use this winter, it has been bitter cold here. Thanks Aunt Venna Rae!

Family Photo Shoot

I finally convinced Nick it was time for family photos, he wasn't happy, but he consented. A very talented photographer, Carin Barnett followed our family around the park taking pictures of us. She was patient with us, and she got some great shots. I want to share a few of my favorites.