Graduation and Girls Camp

I counted and we have officially only been home about two weeks so far this summer and I am pooped!

Alex graduated from high school on May 27th. It was a bittersweet day because he has been asking me when he doesn't have to go to school anymore since he was in first grade, so it has been a long twelve years! It was so fun to see him so happy and having fun with his friends that day. That night we went to the high school and helped with the all night grad night party. The kids had a ball! I am so grateful for the wonderful people who put it all together so the kids had somewhere to be instead of out getting in trouble.

Girls camp was amazing! We took the girls to the Relief Society building in Salt Lake and one of the general young women board members, Sister Sagebin, gave us a tour of the building. The spirit was overwhelming in that building from the minute we walked through the front doors. Sister Sagebin talked to us about giving one hundred percent of reading our scriptures for five minutes each day, saying our prayers twice a day and attending our church meetings each week so we could be worthy to go to the temple. Then she had each of the girls sit at the General Young Women President, Elaine Dalton's desk with a crown and had us take pictures of each one of them. It was a wonderful experience for everyone. We toured temple square and made sandwiches in the park to take to the homeless shelter. Several of the girls were really bothered when we saw two homeless women begging for money outside of the temple. We don't have homeless people begging on the streets in Vernal, so this was new for them. One of the girls saved a couple of the sack lunches we made and gave them to these women on our way back to the car. It made me happy that she realized she could do something to help.

I took the fourth years to the Bonsai Steak house and made them try octopus sushi then we went to Scuba Utah for their high adventure experience. Several of them were very uncomfortable with the idea of breathing under water and taking their masks off etc., but one of the girls, took off like crazy and wants to get certified now. It was fun to see them do things that took them out of their comfort zone.

Tuesday we spent the day doing camp certifications and crafting. Wednesday we spent all day at the Park City Ski Resort playing on the Alpine slide, Alpine Coaster and the zip line. Several of the girls were terrified to even go up on the ski lift, but once we got them to the top and they went down the Alpine slide, we couldn't stop them from going up. It was wonderful to see all of the older girls cheering the younger girls on who were struggling and watching them conquer their fears.

We had a great testimony meeting that night then the next day we got up early and drove down to BYU to meet with President Samuelson. He talked to the girls about getting an education and the requirements to get into BYU. He had just come from talking with President Monson at the MTC and he was glowing! RoseAnna Batty said, "He still had Prophet dust on his hands!"

We were given a tour of the BYU campus and then treated to lunch in the Cannon Commons. The girls absolutely loved it! President Samuelson gave each of the girls a presidents pin - which made them feel VERY special and they wear them proudly now!

Last month we went to one of our neighbors houses for an Eagle Court of Honor. Sherilee Woodward made these yummy tarts for refreshments and they were gobbled up in a hurry.

Sherilee's Tart

Using a cup, cut circles out of your favorite pie crust or in my case, the premade pie dough and put them into greased cup cake tins. Bake at 350* for five minutes. Then carefully spoon a dab of raspberry (or your favorite kind) of jam in the center. Pour a little cake mix - prepared according to the directions - just until the jam is covered and bake according to the cake directions on the box. When they are cooled, cover with a little powder sugar frosting and enjoy!

Annual Powell Neighbor Trip

You would think after spending four days at girls camp with the Peterson's and ten days in Navuoo, we would have been sick of each other but we were having so much fun together we decided to hit the road four days after we got home from Navuoo and go to Lake Powell. Our other neighbor's - the Baum's and the Caldwell's met us down there on the Caldwell's house boat and we had a ball! We have spent the last two years doing this trip and it is always full of laughs.

Dar took us one hundred and fifty miles on an adventure and we ended up in a cool slot up Anasazi canyon. It was fun to stop at Dangling Rope for caramel ice cream and a little break.

We got everyone up on the surf board - except Ken,(maybe next time he said). Russ Baum doubled with Logan Peterson and got him up which was very exciting.

Rob Caldwell rode by the back of what he thought was our house boat and sprayed what he thought was Dar fishing on the back deck. Ooooppps! Wrong house boat. So he sprayed a poor stranger trying to enjoy a few quiet minutes of fishing. He said he realized it wasn't Dar when the guy let loose a whole string of explicit swear words. He should have known it wasn't Dar in the first place because he doesn't fish!

Friday night we had Margaritaville night. None of us drink, but we love to use the Caldwell's Margaritaville drink maker to make non-alcholic drinks. Rob Caldwell's nephew Andrew had the music jammin' and everyone was dancing and laughing and having a great time! My favorite drink was Carrie's pinacolada.

Carrie's Pinacolada

Fill up the blender pitcher half way full with pinacolada drink mix, add in pineapple juice and sprite to fill it up the rest of the way. Blend with a bunch of ice and enjoy after a long hot day in the sun.

Summer Road Trip

Four days after we got back from girls camp at the cabin, we left with a bunch of our neighbors to go to Navuoo, Illinois. We were going to stop in Nebraska at Winter Quarters, but had a little mishap on the way. One of the front tires on the McCormicks motor home came off while they were driving down the road and it took a long time to get a tow truck to come get it. They ended up having to rent a car and we put all their bags in our trailer so they could stay in a hotel. We called AAA to help with the towing cost. Earlier that morning we had called AAA to unlock the door of our other neighbor's truck because the keys were locked in, so thank goodness for AAA!

Navuoo was beautiful and the spirit was strong there. Saturday morning we got up early and took the kids to do baptisms for the dead in the Navuoo temple. All of them enjoyed it and we had a great experience! That afternoon,the kids road their bikes around and went to the Fudge factory for treats. We visited the brick shop and got a brick and the blacksmith's shop to get a handmade ring. We went to several shows but my favorite was Brigham Young's home. I haven't ever had a connection with that prophet until that day. He was a great man!

We went to a concert that night put on by an accapella men's group from BYU called, "Vocal Point." They were amazing! Sunday we went to the Navuoo ward and it was fast Sunday so several people stood up and bore their testimonies. One of the people was my favorite high school seminary teacher, Brother Quiltor. He is an amazing man who helped me through a hard time in my life. He is a sculptor who has made all but eight of the Angel Moroni's for the tops of the temples around the world. I ran up to talk to him and another guy was standing in front of me talking to him about how he was his seminary teaching eleven years before he taught me. It was fun to see him even though he had no clue who I was. That afternoon, we drove to Carthage, Missouri and visited the jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were shot and killed. It was heart wrenching to see the bullet holes in the door and the fireplace mantel. It was a very humbling experience.

Monday was the fourth of July. The guys got up early and went golfing. They had a blast! Dar and Mark Peterson couldn't quit laughing when they told us about "Obi One" (Mark) hitting the ball so hard that he fell on his butt. Then Alex hit poor Josh McCormick square on with a golf ball and he had a huge welt on his leg. We went to a buffet in the Old Navuoo hotel and then watched fireworks over the Mississippi River. It was a wonderful day!

Tuesday, the adults got up and went to an endowment session. WOW is all I can say - it was amazing! The boys went golfing again. Jordan Peterson lost the truck keys somewhere on the golf course so the Dad's spent all day driving back and forth between the nearest city to try to get keys made. Finally a lock smith had to come to the truck and cut them a key. The twelve girls and one guy shopped and rode around in the only car we had left. I'm sure if anyone saw us all pile out of the car they would think we were polygamists. It was quite the sight!

Wednesday, we got up early and drove to Kansas City where we visited Liberty Jail, Far West and Adam-ondi-ahman. I loved Adam-ondi-ahmen. It was so peaceful and beautiful. We had a little fireside and the spirit was very strong.

Thursday we spent at an amusement park called, Worlds of Fun and a water park next to it called, Oceans of Fun. The kids loved it and it was a nice break from all of the traveling.

We got up at 4AM and drove all day to get home that night about 10:30 PM. It was quite an adventure on the way home. Darren ran out of gas a couple of times and we had two flat tires on the camp trailer so we were extremely glad to get home!

Every night on the trip we took turns cooking dinner in the dutch ovens for the whole gang. My favorite dinner was the night Mark and Julie made their dutch oven potatoes and fried chicken.

They made the fried chicken with a mix called Dixie Fry. Then we used the extra batter to make blooming onions that were to die for!

Blooming Onions

Place a package of Dixie Fry in a large plastic or paper bag. Slice an onion down most of the way but not all the way through. Get it wet then put it into the bag with the Dixie Fry. Place the whole onion into hot oil and fry until it is crispy. Serve with this dipping sauce:

Equal amounts of your favorite barbecue sauce and mayonnaise.

No More Braces!

Last week was an epic week in many ways. Brayden finally got his braces off! So now he has a beautiful smile with straight white teeth. I can't wait to see how long he can keep his retainer before it gets thrown away or lost and I have to buy a new one!

The boys went to a father's and son's camp out on Friday night where they did guy things like barbecuing, fishing and shot at clay pigeons. I think they all had a great time. Alex came home with a nice bruise on his shoulder from the gun kicking back and hitting him.

My friend Dee Ann came out and stayed with me on Friday night because her little boy had a soccer tournament in Vernal on Saturday. We stayed up until 1:45 AM catching up on life. We have been friends since fourth grade so we had a lot to talk about.

Saturday night, I threw a "Honey Do" shower for one of Alex's friends, Brandon Woods, who is going to get married right after he graduates. We had all the men bring a tool or gadget that would help Brandon get his honey do list done after he is married. This was a totally new experience for me! The guys carried their presents in Ace Hardware bags or just handed him their gifts. There were no frilly bows or cute bags involved. I wanted to decorate the house with bee hives to go along with the "Honey Do" theme and make cute bee hive cakes with sugar bee's on them but Darren told me not to bother because the guys wouldn't appreciate it. There weren't any cute foods involved, they just ate barbecued stuff, chips and cowboy caviar. Instead of playing games, the guys went riding on their motorcycles and four wheelers in the hills by our house. They had a great time, but it was definitely a "guy" night!

Cowboy Caviar

Combine one can of corn - drained, one can of black beans - drained, 1/4C. sliced onions, three medium tomatoes - diced, one bunch of cilantro chopped and 1C. Italian dressing. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, then add one chopped avocado right before serving and stir in 1/2 package of dried Italian dressing. Serve with tortilla chips.

Ken the Fish

On Saturday, we spent most of the day in the community pool in Rangely, Colorado helping Ken pass off a lot of his scuba stuff. He was sooo.... excited to finally get to do this. He has been asking when he could scuba dive since he was eight or nine. I dare say we have found his calling in this life... to be a scuba man! He loved every minute of the lesson. He acted like an eighteen year old when he demonstrated that he could take off his mask under water and put it back on and clear it. The only thing he struggled with was being able to take off his b.c. vest and put it back on in deep water, but I struggled with that as well. Next month we will take him to the crater in Midway so he can do his final two dives. This whole experience has been wonderful for him. He made a list of all of the sea creatures he wants to see when he gets to go scuba diving in the ocean. So he actually wrote a report without having to be told to do it. He has been reading his scuba manual and dive magazines faithfully so we have logged tons of reading hours for school.

I wonder if he loves to be under the water because he doesn't have to talk and struggle with his "bumpy" words?

For Mother's day yesterday, I got breakfast in bed, waffles for lunch and steaks and potato's for dinner. My wonderful husband surprised me and had my wash sink in our mud room finished while we were gone to Salt Lake on Friday for a friends wedding. It was such a nice surprise to come home to!

I'm grateful for my Mom and for the amazing lady she is! She gave me this wonderful poppy seed salad dressing recipe a while ago and I can't wait to try it.

Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

Put the following ingredients into a blender and blend well:
2/3C. vinegar, 1 1/4C. sugar, 1C. olive oil, 2t. salt, 2t. mustard, 1 green onion (chopped), 1T. poppy seeds.

Chill for an hour before serving with your favorite lettuce and toppings.

Sam and Me

seniors walking across america: DAY 97: HIGHWAY 62, COLORADO DESERT - VIDAL, CALIFORNIA - PARKER, ARIZONA

We came across a man named Bruce Maynard who is walking across America on our way to Mexico. He was a riot to talk to. He has a little cart thing he named, "Sam" that he takes with him everywhere. He is walking across America raising money to send to villagers in Africa so we had a common bond with our love for the African people. He was quite the character! Go to his blog: seniorswalkingacrossamerica.blogspot.com and look at his blog from April 21st. He posted a picture of us and talked about meeting us.

Easter Break in Mexico

We just got back from a ten day trip to Mexico. Everyone freaks out when I tell them we went to Mexico over spring break because of all of the violence that has been happening on the border. We stay in Darren's Dad's beach house which is in a little village called, Puenta Bufeo in the middle of no where and we didn't ever feel like we weren't safe. In fact every night we slept with all the doors wide open to cool off the house.

Right before we left Sancho, the horse, decided to play linebacker and knocked me down hard from behind when he was trying to get through a gate that was closing to be with his buddies. I had a few bruises on my left hip and my whole left side was sore. So the nineteen hours in the car was brutal going down. Dar kept loading me up with muscle relaxers which helped make the trip go by really fast!

The weather was perfect! It was in the 80's everyday and 60's at night. The boys had a blast riding their motorcycles on the beach and around the sand dunes near the house. One day we got the wave runners out and toured all of the islands in the bay. One of our favorite things we did was go to an island full of sea lions and snorkel with them. Then we went to another little island with a hidden bay we named, "Bikini Bottom," so Ken could go snorkeling.

We had our annual Easter egg hunt on the beach. Some birds tried to steal a couple of the eggs and took the contents. I wonder if they can digest skittles and jelly beans? Darren had brought some bubble wands, which were a huge hit. It was pretty windy that morning so everyone stood up on the upper deck and let the wind do the blowing. It was really fun to watch!

One of the boys favorite things to do while we are at the beach house is to go to a nearby village and eat fresh fish and shrimp tacos at a place called Alfonsina's. I'm not a fish eater so I stick to the refried beans and quesadillas. They serve a wonderful white sauce with all of their food so I asked our waiter how they make it. He told me it is made with a little mayonnaise, milk, consomme (I'm assuming he meant chicken broth, he didn't speak a lot of English and I don't speak a lot of Spanish)and some finely chopped green stuff called, "perejil." When I got home I asked my Spanish speaking friend what that was and she said parsley.

At night, Ken's favorite thing to do was to go out into the ocean with everyone and play games with a beach ball. It was nice having the water warm enough to get in. Last year we went during March and it was icy cold.

On our way out of Mexico, we stopped at a little taco stand and I got to love this little three month old colt. He was so tame it was amazing! It made me miss my caballo's back home!

After the wonderful weather we got to enjoy, it was hard to come home in a snow storm. We were all wearing our flip flops, shorts and short sleeved shirts. The roads were a sheet of ice near Strawberry reservoir and several cars had slid off the road so we stopped to see if we could help one poor man who was clear down an embankment. The boys toes and legs were freezing when they helped him up the steep hill so we could give him a ride to his home in Myton. It's always an adventure with the Christenson's!

It's A Party!

My friend, Melanie Starr worked her magic and made an amazing scuba man cake for Ken's birthday party. Ken was so excited! I thought he would want to eat the scuba man, but he was more interested in the sharks. The cake was out of this world and I would recommend Melanie to make any cake you might need.

Yesterday, we went to the Woodward's for a homecoming party for Andon Merkley. Kirk's Mom had made these yummy tarts that Sherilee shared how to make.

Tarts

Make your favorite pie crust,(or in my case,) buy premade pie crust dough. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out several round pieces of dough and place them in the bottom of a greased muffin tin. Then add one table spoon of raspberry jam. Make sure it is in the center of the circle and doesn't touch the edges. Then make your favorite vanilla cake batter,(again in my case, follow the instructions on the box,) then spread a thin layer over the top of the jam and bake at 350* for 10-15 min. Let them cool for a few minutes then top with some powdered sugar frosting. Sherilee said you can use a different kind of jam, but the raspberry is thicker and sets up better so if you decide to use strawberry or grape add a little corn starch to the jam to thicken it up a bit.

The Frogs Have Sung!

A few nights ago when Dar opened the door to let the dogs out one last time, he heard a wonderful sound. Frogs croaking! That is the first time we have heard them since winter set in. Spring must be around the corner! With all the crazy we have had lately, I was beginning to wonder if it would ever come!

I got a new ipad for my birthday. I am so excited to try to use it with Ken, my almost thirteen year old who has a mild form of autism and who stutters. I found all kinds of applications I can download onto the ipad to help with his communication disorders. It will be interesting to see if any of them help, but it's worth every penny if it helps Ken even a little bit!

I have heard about delayed auditory feedback implants for people who stutter. They are expensive and children sometimes don't want to leave them in or they out grow them. I found an app for my ipad called, DAF assistant. When the stutter puts on head phones with a microphone and they talk, it helps the person slow down his speaking rate and trains the central auditory processing disorder which they have. Once the person takes off the ear phones, they don't have the help like the implants do, but hopefully they are learning to slow down their rate of speech.

During the past few months, I have been making the three hour trek to Salt Lake every other week to take Ken to a stuttering specialist for two hours. I feel like we aren't making any progress though. The trip to Salt Lake is a great excuse to see my family and I have been able run around and do things I can't do in a small town. But with the price of gas plus the cost of the therapy it is costing us a small fortune. As a very proactive Mom, I am willing to try anything to help my poor little guy.

Ken's IQ test results were lower than the specialist expected last time we had him tested. She said she felt like they weren't accurate because he couldn't communicate the answers, so he said, "I don't know" instead. This is a common answer when he is asked questions because it is easier to say that then to try to get all of the words out. He won't pray in church, read in groups at school or church and very rarely will he answer questions in school.

There are a ton of apps on the ipad for younger autistic children. But what about the older kids? I haven't been able to find much to help Ken in that area. I wish these applications would have been around when Ken was first diagnosed because we have struggled through everything they claim to help with. He has made huge progress since he was diagnosed, and I am looking forward to all the new developments in technology that will hopefully help him in the future!

Even though Ken has his challenges, I feel so blessed that he can see, hear, walk and talk.

His thirteenth birthday is next week. I was going to try to make him a scuba diver cake out of homemade fondant, but I don't have the time because I'm trying to burn all the weeds, trim trees and get ready for a fun spring break trip. So I asked my friend Melanie Starr to help me. She is an amazing cake decorator. I can't wait to see what she dreams up!

Here is a recipe I found for homemade fondant - one day I will try it!

Rolled Butter Cream Fondant

In a large bowl, mix together 1C. shortening and 1C. light corn syrup. Mix in 1/2t. salt and 1t. clear vanilla extract. Then gradually add 2 pounds of powdered sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. Otherwise, knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, add more powdered sugar until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.

To use, mix in a few drops of desired food coloring and then roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with powdered sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick.

Cowboy Up

OUCH! On Monday I was leading Darren's horse, Cheyenne, to the pen next to the stud to see if she was in heat so I can breed her and Lilly, the wonder dog, came from behind and did an amazing job of herding her.... right over my foot! And then to make matters worse, she came at her from the other side and Cheyenne when back over the same foot. My the side of my foot and my big toe are swollen and the toe nail is black, which means it is definitely going to fall off. The worse part about this is I just got that same toe nail to grow back from the last time Cheyenne stepped on my toe!

So much for having beautiful pedicured toe nails this summer! I have been limping around the last two days so now my calf is sore from walking funny. I would love to just crawl back into bed and let it heal, but there is too much to do so I guess I have to cowboy up!

Tuesday was my birthday and I received so much love! It started out with breakfast in bed. Dar had run to 7-11 and bought me a cake doughnut with sprinkles and pink frosting and then put candles on top. Dar took me to lunch and shopping and then for a two hour horse ride in the fields around the house. It was a little breezy, but the sun was shining so it was wonderful! That is the first long ride I have been able to take Rebel on. I got him during the middle of winter so we have had to just ride in the arena. He was absolutely amazing! Cheyenne kept spooking, as she always does, at rocks, fences, holes in the ground (you name it, it scares her), but Rebel was steady and sure the whole time.

That night we had our parent camp meeting so I spent it with the young women. I received several packages with sugar cookies and cokes - (Do my friends know me well or what?) and then Jenny Peterson led everyone in the birthday song. I kept thinking, "Can't we just skip this part of it?" I hate to be sung to! On Monday, my presidency took me to a little Mexican restaurant called, Don Pedro's, for a birthday lunch. Thank goodness we didn't have to endure the big sombrero and song then! They have the best refried beans there. I could just eat the chips, salsa and beans and bag getting a meal! Someone (I can't remember who,)gave Dar this recipe to make refried beans like they do:

Refried Beans

Open a can of your favorite refried beans and put them into a pan over medium heat. Add in a spoon full of Mexican lard (or you can use regular shortening.) I personally like to stir in a tablespoon of butter because I usually don't have Mexican lard. Heat until bubbly and then sprinkle with chirozo cheese or crumbled goat cheese.

We're Off To See The Wizard!

For girls camp this year we are going to take the girls to my cabin above Park City.
I'm excited because we are going with the Wizard of Oz theme which ties in great with the thirteenth article of faith which is the mutual theme this year. We are seeking to find a way to our Heavenly Home.

The first day of camp we are going focus on how Dorothy was seeking to find her way home while following the yellow brick road and each of the young women are seeking to find their way to their eternal home while following the path that our Savior laid for them to follow. We are going to Salt Lake to visit one of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's General Young Women's board and they can hopefully tie in how each young women is a daughter of God. Then we will tour temple square and have a picnic at the park near the church office building. Because we live three hours away from Salt Lake, a lot of the young women in our group haven't ever been able to see temple square, so I am very excited! Then we are going to possibly tour Welfare Square and do some kind of service project.

The next day, our focus will be on the tin man and we will talk about how we need to be able to have a bullet proof testimony to stand against the adversary. The way to gain that is to develop love and charity towards others. We will spend most of the day doing camp certifications and pass off the hikes and cooking requirements. I'm excited to do the hike because I think we will do some kind of a Wizard of Oz obstacle course on the way back to the cabin. The girls will encounter situations that will require help from each of the young women values to make it home.
We are also going to decorate flip flops that day with silk and organza flowers like the ones I found on this fun blog: www.craftysisters-nc.blogspot.com.

The girls did a spaghetti dinner fund raiser and silent auction a few weeks ago and earned enough money so on Wednesday we can spend all day at the Park City ski resort playing on the alpine slide, alpine coaster and the zip line. They will need to have courage like the lion to try hard things that day. That night will be the skits, bishopric's night to cook us dinner and have testimonies.

The last day, we will go to Brigham Young University and visit with President Cecil Samuelson. Then tour the BYU campus. This will tie in with the scarecrow and represent the knowledge and wisdom the girls will gain as they work through life. Like the scarecrow, they are filling their brain one straw at a time with things that they want to excel at. I know three young people, (and I am sure there are more) who are getting married right after they graduate in June because they think that is their only option in small town life. I want my girls to know they should try to do good in school so they can get the best education they can and experience life before they get married.

We will end the girls camp by celebrating at the Brick Oven Pizza place in Provo for lunch. (That right there is worth the trek to the big city!)

Tomorrow night we are going to have a meeting with the Youth Camp Leaders to finalize our plans and I am going to make them some suckers because they will be the "Lollipop guild" and be responsible for making camp fun. This is the best sucker recipe because it is so easy! A few years ago I got some sucker molds at Orson Gygi's in Salt Lake so they will be perfectly round.

Lollipops

Over medium heat, combine 2C. sugar, 2/3C. light corn syrup and 3/4C. water in a sauce pan. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook until the temperature reaches 260* (with a candy thermometer,) then add a few drops of food coloring. Keep cooking until it reaches 300* then remove from the heat and add a few drops of the desired flavor. Pour quickly into greased sucker molds on a greased cookie sheet and add sticks. Do not remove the molds until the candy has completely set up.

A New Little Business

Tailwind Traders


While I was in Las Vegas in March, we went to a trade show so I could find purses for my little business called, Queen Bee Bagz. During this trip I found some wonderful handmade clothing from the Himalaya's that I fell in love with and decided to start a new little business called, The Tailwind Traders. I have the beginnings of a website: www.tailwindtraders.com, that shows some of the things I bought but it is just in the beginning stages. It is hard to set up an online business because the pictures don't do the clothing justice! They are so comfy and unique. (As a side note, the cute model on the website is Alex's new "friend," Tabitha. He says they are just friends but really?)

Last Tuesday, I went to the Antelope Point Marina on Lake Powell and some of my clothes will be in their little marina store in May. They are unique clothes and bags that everyone notices whenever I put them on.

That night we rushed home so I could have an activity with my Laurels for mutual. The wonderful young woman who was supposed to be in charge of the activity forgot to set things up, so at the last minute so I threw together an activity. Lori Tolbert had told me about the best fondue ever using melted Toblerone candy bars so I tried that. It was fantastic!

Toblerone Fondue

Melt one regular sized Tolberone bar very two people you are serving in a fondue pot. Add in a little half and half so it stays smooth. Cut up strawberries, bananas, apples, angel food cake squares and rice crispy treats or use cream puffs (the kind you find on the frozen food aisle)to dip into the chocolate. It was so easy and so yummy!

The Scuba Man

Last week, my youngest brought home a paper saying he needs to career shadow someone at their job for an assignment in one of his classes. I suggested he go to McDonald's or somewhere easy that he enjoys going to. But he said he wants to be a Lego designer or the scuba diving man. There are no Lego designers that I know of in our small town so we are going to have to pass on that option. We live in the middle of a desert but thank goodness there is one scuba shop in town. (How it stays in business I would love to know!) Anyway, we talked to the owner and he said Ken could shadow him. We also decided to have him do his pool work to certify for his scuba license that day. Ever since he did the scuba trial when we were in the Bahamas last fall, Ken has been bugging us to let him certify. The last two days we have gone over all of the online scuba class lessons and now he is ready to do the pool work and hopefully pass the test. He loves sharks and dolphins and maybe this could lead to a career one day. Who knows!

Dar went to San Carlos, Mexico with his Dad last month for a humanitarian trip with his rotary group and found a dolphin therapy place there. We really wanted to take Ken to do the two day therapy over spring break, but of course the facility doesn't do the dolphin therapy in April or May. So maybe sometime this summer or fall we can make a quick trip to see how it will go. I'm not sure how but there have been studies that dolphins can really help kids with autism. No wonder he always loves to see dolphins!

Tomorrow we are going to one of our good friends, daughters baptisms. I get to take brownies to the party afterwards. Brownies are not one of my specialties. Even when I add an extra egg to make them more cake like, they still turn out gooey. I found this recipe on line and hopefully it will be the magic one!

Best Brownies

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour and 8 in. square pan. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2C. butter. Remove from heat and stir in 1C. sugar, 2 eggs and 1t. vanilla. Beat in 1/3C. cocoa, 1/2C. flour, 1/4t. salt and 1/4t. baking powder. Spread this batter evenly in the pan and bake for 30-36 minutes.

To make frosting, combine 3T. butter, 3T. cocoa, 1T. honey, 1t. vanilla and 1C. powdered sugar. Add in a tiny bit of milk or half and half until it is creamy and spreadable. Frost the brownies while they are warm.

Rebel

I realized I haven't posted any pictures of my new love, Rebel. He is the most amazing horse! After I sold Lakota, I haven't really had a horse at the barn which I absolutely loved, so I haven't wanted to spend as much time up there. That is until Rebel came along! I was up cleaning stalls the other day and I told Darren, I forgot how much I love being at the barn. People think I'm strange when I tell them I love to clean out the stalls. I turn on my ipod and muck away with Rebel. It is absolute heaven!

A couple of weeks ago, I knew a friend was not feeling good and I decided to make some cream of potato soup for her family. I found a great new recipe and wanted to try it out. I had all afternoon to spend at the barn so I hurried and made it and the instructions said to let it simmer. While I was at the barn I kept having the thought that I needed to check the soup. I was enjoying the smells and the sounds of the barn and I didn't want to leave, but I kept having that thought. Finally I decided to just check on it so the thought would go away. As I walked in the door, I immediately got a whiff and knew something wasn't right. When I walked into the kitchen, I could see the smoke coming up off the pot and curling along the ceiling from my soup. Just then Kennedy, who was laying on the couch watching t.v. said, "Something stinks Mom." I yelled, "Yeah, it's your dinner! Open the sliding door so I can get it out of here!" I thought I had put the flame on simmer, but it was a full out torch under my potato soup. Thank goodness I came in when I did or we would have had a fire. I ended up throwing the pot away because it was so scorched. The smoke damage was bad enough in the house that we thought we were going to have to call the insurance company, but I bought an ionizer and wiped down all the walls, aired out the house and odorized everything. What a mess! Even though it has been a few weeks, I still get a whiff every now and then and I get a knot in my stomach as I remember what could have happened.

I'm grateful I kept having the thought to check the soup. I know it was the Holy Ghost prompting me to go and when I didn't listen, it got louder and more persist ant.

Here is the recipe.... just make sure you turn the flame down to "simmer" not "raging boil!"

Cream of Potato Soup

In a large saucepan, boil 4 potatoes, peeled and quartered, 1 small carrot finely chopped, 1/2 stalk of celery, finely chopped and 1 small onion, minced in 1 1/2C. vegetable or chicken broth. REDUCE HEAT, cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender. Then mash the mixture slightly. Add in 2 1/2C. milk.

In a small mixing bowl, blend 3T. melted butter, 1T. flour, 3T. dried parsley and
1t. pepper. Let simmer for several hours over LOW heat.

When ready to serve, add 1C. shredded Swiss cheese and let stand for 5 minutes.

Tortilla Soup Taco's

Sorry I have been a bad blogger Mom, I just have too much going on!

Since my last blog, I have been all over the place including to Las Vegas for a trade show. We went with our friends Dave and Amy Bain, and Richard and Lori Tolbert. They are always a blast to travel with. We laugh our guts out!

When we got to Vegas on Sunday night, Lori, who is a caterer, pulled out a whole spread of stuff so we could have an "Academy Awards Party." Pulled pork sandwiches, spinach and greens salad with apples and the best brownies and lemon bars I have ever had in my life! I tried to get the recipe but I was told they are "TOP SECRET". I will get the recipe one of these days!

Because Lori is a caterer, she is a major food connoisseur and we eat at the most amazing places. She took us to the Olives restaurant on the patio that over looks the fountains at the Bellagio one night. It was sooo.... good. If you go, order the fiery chicken sausage flat bread - it's like a pizza and the madiera chicken.

Last weekend we trekked up to the cabin so the boys could snowmobile and so we could watch conference. It was one of the best conference sessions I have ever watched. If you missed it, go to www.lds.org and the link is on the first page. If you don't want to read all of the talks, here are a few of my favorites you might want to take a peek at. On Saturday, Elder Ewrings talk about serving others really touched my heart. After going to Africa last summer and seeing first hand those who really are in need, this is a special topic to me.

On Sunday, I loved David A. Bednar's talk about the "Spirit of Revelation." and Lynn G. Robbins talk about "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye To Be?" But my favorite was Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk titled, "Waiting on the Road to Damascuas." He said, "... those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually come to know him."
That has been my goal this year. To come to know my Savior better. It was like a power of shot in the arm to watch conference this year and I loved it!

Alex went down by Green River to White Wash to ride motorcycles with his friends instead of going to the cabin with us. He and three friends slept in a big enclosed trailer and did the camping thing. It got so windy late Saturday night, they decided to go into Green River to get a room, but all the rooms were filled with truckers who were afraid to drive on in the high winds. So the boys ended up leaving at 3:00 AM and drove all night to get home. It was funny to hear their story and they were dead tired the next day.

Brayden and Ken each took a friend to the cabin and they got Ken out riding snowmobiles all day Saturday. He actually loved it! Bray and his friend built a big jump and we had a great time watching them fly over the top of it. Ken even decided to try it.... once. He came down and smacked both of his knees and that was the end of the jumping but I was so proud that he tried it!

While we were at the cabin, I made tortilla soup and Darren's Dad dropped in with a friend so I was afraid I wouldn't have enough for everyone to eat. So I pulled out the tortillas and served the soup, or tacos using the meat, corn, tomatoes etc. from the soup to make it go a little farther. Everyone raved about the tacos so we now have a new family favorite!

Tortilla Soup - Taco's

In a crock pot, cook a beef roast over night. In the morning add a can of corn, (undrained), a can of chopped tomatoes, a cup of salsa, half of a package of tortilla soup mix and simmer for several hours. Use a slotted spoon to dish the meat and other fillers into a tortilla. My family loved to spoon a little of the soup "juice" over the tortilla.

To serve the soup, crumble some tortilla chips into a bowl and top with shredded cheddar cheese then spoon the soup over the top.

Hole in One

Last weekend, Dar and I met our friends, Mike and Shauna Rice in San Antonio, Texas. I was hoping for a warm weekend laying in the sun playing in the JW Marriott's lazy river, but it wasn't warm enough for me to want to wear a swim suit. So... we went shopping and ate instead! Mike's older sister Cindy and her husband, Shelby were there too. Cindy happens to be the queen of shopping and knew where to take us for the best deals.

Friday night, Mike surprised us and had arranged for us to see the musical, "Legally Blond," at the Majestic Theater. It was a great idea, but I was a little fried after hearing the Lord's name taken in vain over and over again and a couple of the songs.

Saturday morning, we went to the San Antonio temple. It was so amazing! I was in awe from the minute we walked in the front doors with the beautiful leaded glass and decor. The celestial room left me speechless because it was so beautiful.

The boys played a couple of rounds of golf and Dar almost got a hole in one. He isn't a big golfer, but his game was on this weekend!

One night we went to a Mexican restaurant called, "Papsittos." For me, this was the "Hole in One" of the trip. The food was fantastic! I came home and found their salsa recipe on line because it was wonderful!

Pappasito's Salsa

In a moderately hot skillet that has been sprayed with PAM, brown one freshly chopped Pablano pepper and one jalapeno pepper that has had the stem removed and has been seeded. Brown and stir until the skins have turned dark. Add eight whole Roma tomatoes and brown them until the skins turn dark as well. Remove pan from heat. Add in 1/2C. diced yellow onion, heat and stir. Then, in a food processor, add 1/2t. celery salt, 1/8t. oregano, 1/4C. fresh cilantro, 1/2t. sugar, 1/4t. garlic salt and 1/4t. pepper. Then pour in peppers, onions and tomatoes and add 3/4C. water a little at a time, and process just enough to chop to a medium consistency but not to a smooth paste, leave a little chunky. Remove from processor and pour into a hot skillet. Turn heat up quickly and stir for three minutes. Serve hot with tortilla chips.

I ordered yummy cheese enchiladas while everyone else ordered fajitas. I tasted some of Darren's chicken dipped in Mexican butter - it was amazing too!

Mexican Butter

Mix one pound of butter, (room temperature), with one pound of margarine, (room temperature), 1 big heaping tablespoon of granulated chicken boullion and 2T. finely chopped garlic. Mix until it is the consistency of peanut butter. Then slowly stir in 1C. white wine. Melt and then serve with chicken, steak or shrimp.

A New Eagle, A New Horse & A Winter Picnic

I know I have been a bad blogger the last month. Life has just been too crazy with the holidays and everything else that has been going on!

We spent New Years at the cabin with our neighbors, the Peterson's and their kids. They were going to help chaperon a Laurels retreat with my young women, but only one of the girls could come (their daughter Jenny,) so we had a party anyway. It was a lot of fun! We played cards until 2 AM on New Years.

It was really cold at the cabin. Poor Mark got frost bite on his face! Thank goodness that was the only causality with all of the snowboarding, sledding and snowmobiling that went on.

We have been taking care of five horses for a guy named Rick Flohe, who used to live by us. He was moving up to Casper, Wyoming and didn't have anywhere to put them after it snowed because he had to get them off of the mountain where he was keeping them, so we were helping him out. While we were gone to the cabin over New Years, his stud, Hawk, chewed up the wire to the heat lamp on the water trough and it froze up. The boys and I spent hours unthawing and chipping away the ice. I was so mad, I called Rick and told him we were going to have to do something different because it was wearing me out taking care of the extra horses. I also asked him if he would be interested in selling his big black horse named Rebel. He told me he would have to get back to me about it. A few days later he called and said because we had been so nice and helped me out, he would just give me Rebel. I felt so guilty for telling him he had to move his horses. He is the nicest man and can't afford to move them and then he just gave me his prize horse. I was humbled and ashamed for being so selfish. I couldn't believe it! This is a horse that is worth some money and he just gave him to me! He was in one of The Work and The Glory movies and a civil war reenactment movie so he is a movie star. He has a long beautiful black mane and tail. He is part Tennessee Walker, so he has an amazingly smooth ride. I have ridden him more in the past two weeks then I have ridden any of the other horses since September. I love him like I loved Lakota. It is hard to describe this to people who don't love horses. I can't wait to go to the barn to see him and it doesn't seem like a lot of work to get him saddled up to ride. I feel pure joy even when we are just trotting around the arena. I told Rick he could leave his horses here as long as he needed to because I was so grateful.

The first week of January, we received word that Brayden could have his Eagle court of honor so we had a big ceremony on the 9th. Bret VanLeeuwen, who is the founder of Koins for Kenya that took us to Kenya for Brayden's project, came out to speak during this ceremony. He is a big BYU fan so he brought two football players out with him to ride horses. One of the guys named Ross, got bucked off of Sancho Juan Pablo. I was really surprised because Sancho is usually so mild mannered! I told Ross it must be because Sancho is a U of U fan like me. They had a blast riding and it was fun to see Bret again.

Our good friends the Tolberts also came out to support Brayden. Lori is an amazing caterer so she took over in the kitchen to help prepare all of the food. We made different kinds of chicken with sauce, pot stickers, rice and steamed veggies with oyster sauce. RayLynn McCormick made a huge cake for Brayden with an eagle on it. I was so busy trying to get all of the food out, sadly I didn't get a picture of it before it was devoured. I appreciated her sharing her amazing talents and for making Brayden feel so special.

The Tolberts were having so much fun they decided to stay all night with us. We hadn't seen them for quite a while so it was fun to get caught up. Lori introduced me to Koins for Kenya so we talked about Kenya for hours.

On the 11th,Brayden and I went to Salt Lake to talk to my friend Tracy Hansen's ninth graders at Church Hill Junior high where she teaches, about Kenya. The students there are going to do a fund raiser to try to earn $2,000.00 to build a water cistern for the school children in the village of Gona. The first day of the fundraiser, they collected $135.00 in coins! Brayden was amazing talking to the kids and I think the students really enjoyed hearing from someone their age.

We rushed home so I could help set up for our young women's New Beginnings night. My wonderful Laurel advisor, Becky Dastrup, came up with an amazing activity. It was called the Value Mall. Each of the young women leaders took a value and was assigned a "store" to try to sell the value to the girls and teach them why it is an important part of personal progress. I had the value of virtue. My store was Kay Jewelers and I gave each of the girls a sparkly butterfly necklace and I told them it reflects the light just as they should reflect the light of Christ and live their lives in a way that they would not be embarrassed if he was standing next to them.

Once again, RayLynn McCormick, my guardian angel, shared her amazing talents and helped me have an activity the week before to teach the girls how to make her yummy cinnamon rolls. So at the end of New Beginnings we had everyone meet in the "food court" and they had cinnamon rolls and orange julius. It was a lot of work, but the girls learned so much and enjoyed it immensely!

Last Saturday, my good friend Lynette came out from Salt Lake to see me. It was so fun to sit down and talk about all of the fun times we had together. She is so fun and I miss her tremendously!

Yesterday, the boys didn't have school so we took the snowmobiles up Dry Fork canyon and built up a fire then roasted brauts and had a little picnic. The sun was shining and it was warmer than it has been in a long time. Kennedy drove his own snowmobile and did great! He was being pretty brave until he went over a jump and smacked his knee when he came down. After that he stuck to the basics and didn't try anything crazy like his brothers.

I'm ready for a vacation and to escape the cold weather. Dar and his brother started a little oil business called, "Goat and Guppy Oil," with a friend named Mike Rice from high school a few years ago. We are going to meet Mike and his wife in San Antonio this weekend to talk about their business. Even if it is only sixty degrees in San Antonio, at least it will be above freezing! We have been to San Antonio several times and we always love the food on the River Walk. This time we are hoping to make it to the temple.

Here is the recipe for the orange julius. It's pretty basic so of course I can make it!

Orange Julius

In a blender, combine one 6 oz. can of frozen orange juice. Add 1C. milk, 1C. water, 1/2C. sugar, 1t. vanilla and eight or nine ice cubes. Blend until smooth and serve.