Good Friends

Tonya, me, Andrea, Mica, Vicki, Eleanor (with Sierra)

Andrea Dailey came to visist with her four darling kids and we had a little luncheon for them. It was so great to catch up since they've been gone for 8 years. Her husband passed away a year ago and she has been such an amazing inspiration and example of living the gospel and trusting in the Lord.

The Fletcher's Came to Town!

My sister and her family came to visit for their Spring Break in March. It was so great to have them here and to have the cousins all together. They were glad to get away from the frozen Alaskan winter and we were so happy to see them! We missed Aaron because he is at BYU.

Alaina and Ryan played hooky when we went to Alcatraz. It was a beautiful day and everyone was fascinated by the audio guide.

On Saturday we went to Discovery Kingdom. It was Opening Day so I was worried it would be crowded but it was the only day we could all go so we went anyway. It turned out to be the best day! No lines at all, warm enough but not hot, almost all of the rides were working...just perfect.

The bumper cars are always a hit. (ha!)

I had gone with Andy to get dippin' dots and when we got back to the Lion Show everyone else had just bought frozen lemonades from the vendor. Next time we'll wait!

I'm so glad they came to see us!

Dangerous Question

I recently went away for the weekend and when I came home I asked everyone (individually) what they had missed while I was gone. This is a dangerous question since the responses could be seen as a reflection of my importance at home.
Here is what they said:

Ryan: airplane rides (on my feet)
Becca: you; the food, well not really because we got to go out all the time; waking up to find fresh lemonade in the fridge
Alaina: omelets
Andy: clean P.E. clothes
Dave: everything (I'm thinking that was a cop out because he was afraid if he said specific things I'd question him why he didn't miss other things!)
So, I guess what my kids need me for is omelets, fresh squeezed lemonade and laundry. Hmmm.

Miscommunications

A few weeks ago when we were in Tahoe, I got a call from a friend who had said she had seen a stranger walking our dog, Cabo. I immediately called another friend who was looking after him while we were gone to see if she knew what was going on. She said she had just come back from checking on him and found our sweet Cabo tied to the tetherball pole with a business card at his feet. Her first thought was to write a mean note to the guy for trespassing and tying up our dog while looking at our property (the business card was for a realtor). Luckily I called her before she did that because it turned out that our very clever dog had taught himself to jump against the gate to unhook the latch and squeeze through before it slammed shut, and the stranger who my friend saw walking him had found Cabo wandering around down the street! He had tied him up so he wouldn't get out again and left his business card so we'd know how to find out what happened.

THEN

This morning I came home from being away for a few days to find every single towel, pillow, blanket, air mattress, sleeping bag, sheet, and pillowcase in two huge piled up forts at opposite ends of our upstairs hallway. My first thought was, "Why is everything out? Put it all away, quick!!" But my visible reaction was, "Wow, looks like fun. Let's make sure you get it all put away after church because we need to get ready right now."
I thought Dave had made forts with the kids last night and that they had slept in them.

BUT

After church Dave came upstairs and said, " What is all this?!" I told him I thought he'd done it with the kids and he told me it wasn't there when he left at 8am. So he thought the huge mess was on my time. The kids cleaned everything up and it was absolutely not a big deal, but I was instantly reminded of how we often jump to conclusions and create misunderstandings due to lack of knowledge!

SO

The lesson learned is practice patience then get the scoop before you get psycho!

Balloon Fun with Cabo

Cabo is the most playful dog! And, yes, he did pop all of the balloons.

Scrumptious Speedy Suppers...

Dayna's Mediterranean Chicken

A few weeks ago I taught a class for our Stake Women's Conference on "Speedy Suppers". I probably sounded more like an infomercial for my favorite gadgets that make my life easier, but I also brought 3 dishes so people could sample the food and I gave everyone a packet with 4 complete quick and easy menus.

Roasted Carrots

I am the first to admit that I often do things the hard way so my husband thought it was ironic that I titled the class "Scrumptious Speedy Suppers" and went to bed at 4am after preparing everything! In my defense I must say that the recipes really were speedy but I had to make enough for over 100 people, so that's what took so long. And as long as they are scrumptious...that's the most important part!

A few of my favorite gadgets and quick cookbooks

Things I can't cook without:

Cuisinart Smart Stick Chopper/Grinder/Processor

Smartfork

Microplane

Mandoline

Sea Salt Grinder

Silicone Tipped Tongs

Silpat Pan Liners

and don't forget to keep your pantry stocked for the dreaded "stop by"!

Tempting Toffee Bars

These amazing treats are like Seven -Layer Bars or Hello Dolly's but instead of butterscotch chips, they have two kinds of toffee bits, and instead of making a crumb crust, you just melt the butter right in the baking dish in the oven, then layer everything in order. So quick and easy!

Toffee Cookie Bars

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups toffee bits
1 1/4 cups English toffee bits or crushed English Toffee Bars
1 cup semisweet (or milk chocolate) chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1/4 cup coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Place butter in 9 x 13 baking dish and melt for 4 minute or until butter melts. Layer graham cracker crumbs and all other ingredients in order in baking dish over butter. Press firmly. Bake at 325 F for 25 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely in dish, then cut into 24 bars. We like them best cold, but they do not need to be refrigerated.

Tuesdays...

2:00-2:15 pick up at elementary school
3:00-3:15 pick up at middle school
3:10-3:45 orthodontist appointments
3:00-5:30 high school track practice
3:45-5:00 cub scouts
4:20-5:30 soccer game in Concord
4:45-5:15 flute lesson
4:00-6:00 baseball practice
5:00-6:15 St. Mary's track practice
7:00-8:15 Young Men's/Young Women's/Activity Days
7:00-8:30 soccer practice

In between all of that, I had the electricians and garage door repairman out and made snacks for 7 girls.
I used to say our afternoon activities were like puzzle pieces, but today the puzzle doesn't fit together!!

***update: cancelled ortho and flute, rain cancelled baseball, we all survived***