Holiday Bowling...

Today was such a blast. C.C. invited our entire family to go bowling, including the grand kids. We had a great time, although it took nearly 2 hours to bowl one round. Here are a few highlights of the day....

Joe, Ju-ju, Lindsey and baby Edward....

C.C. is an awesome bowler and thought it would be fun to start a bowling league with us.....that was until she saw me bowl :(

C.C. and Marie (Lindsey's daughter)

Max, Joe and Danny

Miley and Hazel

Lindsey is always happy and cheery. She's just a happy, fun person to be around and we are thrilled to get to spend time with her..... and her darling kids.

Max, Vanessa, Ju-ju, Danny and Marie

Joseph and his best friend were amazing bowlers....

The girls... Me, Lindsey, Ju-ju, Vanessa and C.C.

So, at the end of the day, Joe took the gold and scored a 173 -- Whoo-hoo!

AND.......

I took last place--scoring a whopping 82 :( It's really sad when your 3 year old daughter scores higher than her momma, with bumper pads!

We had a lot of fun laughing, eating greasy food and catching up with cousins. It's hard to say good-bye and return to "real-life" after such a fun weekend. 

Thanks again C.C. for keeping us together. We love you!

Gotta love tradition...

What a fun Thanksgiving we've had this year. We have a tradition where we participate in two full Thanksgiving feasts, so we packed up the car and drove to the Spence's Wednesday night for dinner and then to the Pia's Thursday for another enormous meal. We've eaten more than our fare share the past few days, but well worth it...... delicious! Here's a short re-cap of the big event.

All the boys hangin' out after a couple rounds of food.

Wow Jer, we're gettin' old :( -- (Me with little bro. Jeremy)

Hazel trying to avoid her uncle Chad-- (my older brother)

Joseph getting ready to chow down! 

Thank-you Mom for such a fun night! We love you....

Well, in between cooking and eating, Joe, me, Angie, Gwyn and her little bro. Grant ran the Cottonwood Heights Thanksgiving 5k this morning. It was such a great way to start the day. We had a great time and felt justified in eating a few extra slices of pie. I think we might make this apart of our yearly tradition. Come join us next year.

Next, we make our way to the Pia's house and do it all over again.... tasty!

Thank-you CC for another wonderful evening!

Max rolling around on the floor with Hazel and Spence

Joe, CC, cute little pregnant Ju-Ju and Spence

Me with my cute honey and running buddy...

Hazel, Ju-Ju, Danny and Marie

Looks like we had another successful year. I'm looking forward to my bed tonight. Isn't it true that Turkey makes you sleepy??? 

HAPPY

 THANKSGIVING!

Oh Great!

Well, today has been an interesting day for me and Hazel. I've been a busy little bee in the kitchen trying to prepare for the BIG feast. Hmmm..... it occurs to me that I haven't seen Hazel in a while. Oh Great! I know what this means. There's a big "A" mess somewhere in my home. So, I go on a search and it doesn't take long to find the disaster area. Hazel decided to get into my make-up and dump a bottle of Brown glitter eyeshadow (brand new bottle) all over her and the cute pink rug in her play room. I took one look at the mess and lost it. I scolded her and put her in her room to think about what she had done. 

Next thing I know, Hazel is peeking around the corner, trying to get my attention. Once she sees me noticing her, She comes running to me, wraps her arms around me and says,

 "momma, I forgive you". 

What? My heart just melted and I'm not upset AT ALL. O'well, the rug is ruined and my make-up is completely gone, but I love this little sweet heart so much and I'm thankful for her impeccable timing. Let's get back to baking shall we?

Thanksgiving recipe of the week....

Have you ever eaten lunch or dinner at "The Inn at Temple Square"? Their dinner rolls are simply the best in town. This is their tried and true recipe including their famously delicious raspberry butter. I've made these rolls many of times and they are perfect every single time. Enjoy!

The Inn’s dinner rolls

2 ½ T. dry yeast

2 C. warm water

1/3 C. sugar

¼ C. butter, softened

1 T. salt

½ C. dry milk powder

1 egg

6 ½ C. flour

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar, butter, salt, dry milk, 2 C. flour and egg. Beat together until very smooth. Add 2 more C. flour, one at a time, until smooth. Add about one more C. of flour, ½ C. at a time (in your mixer if it will take it, or by hand) until it is well mixed. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth and satiny. Gather dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl. Let rise in warm place until double in bulk. Use last of the flour as needed on the board for rolling a shaping the dough. ( don’t use it all unless you need it.) Cut or mold into desired shapes. Place on greased baking sheets or pans. Brush surface with butter. Let rise in warm place until ready for oven ( about 1 ½ hours.) Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or until browned to your satisfaction. Makes about 2 doz. Rolls.

The Inn’s raspberry honey butter

1 lb. butter, softened

8 oz. raspberry preserve

8 oz. honey

1 t. vanilla

I am Thankful....

During the Thanksgiving season, I try to reflect on the most important things in my life. They include: family, the Gospel, friends and good health. I hope we can all ponder the blessings we have received in our lives and take a moment to give thanks to our Heavenly Father. 

You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair is white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be "How well have my children done?"

 --President Gordon B. Hinckley

I am so grateful for the ever inspiring words of our dear beloved Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. I want my children to know how much I love them and how thankful I am for the opportunity to be their mother. Nothing in this world means more to me than these four little spirits. Here are just a few pictures that make me smile.

Hazel and Spence

Hazel

Spence 

Joseph

Spence and Marie

Marie and Hazel

Hazel

Joseph

Marie

Spence

Hazel

Hazel

Pia Family 2008

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...

Great day....

What an eventful Saturday.... 

It all started with a "Girls on the Run" 5k at Sugar house Park. This is such a wonderful program geared for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade girls learning about self esteem, nutrition and all around health. The goal, for the girls, is to take classes every Tuesday and Thursday after school and then run a 5k race at the end of the season.  I feel very passionate about this program because I think we have a problem with kids not understanding the basic concept of Healthy food choices, nutrition and fitness.....it scares me.

This is the 3rd season I've participated in this cause. I plan to continue supporting it for many years to come..... As a running buddy, my job is to encourage my girl in a practice run and then during the final 5k. I run with her and push her to reach her highest potential. This year we had about 90 girls. (it's growing every year) These are just a few of the running girls from Backman Elementary School.

My friend in blue (Angie Welder) is the director of Girls on the run for Utah. She is an amazing lady and a wonderful example to the girls. Also, Tiff joined us this year....... I think she's hooked!

This is my sweet girl, Alex.... I have to brag about her for a minute. Alex ran her 5k in 31 minutes coming in 5th place..... just under 10 minute miles. Did I mention she's in 5th grade? I was soooooo proud of her and fell in love instantly. If you are interested in joining the Girls on the run team and becoming a running buddy, go to www. girlsontherunsaltlake.org  

I promise, you won't regret it!

After the 5k, Angie, Tiff and I raced home to get ready for another VERY important event. 

The Annual Chocolate Show

Have you heard of a Chocolate hangover?? Well, I think that's exactly what I'm experiencing right now. Headache, hands shaking, and extremely sleepy...... I never thought I could tire of Chocolate, but I HAVE! Check out the shelves of chocolate in this picture...... it was truly amazing!

We had such a great time devouring every vendor's chocolate. We even went back for seconds. 

Me..... Angie......Tiff..... in Heaven.....

Awe..... for the love of chocolate....

BYU vs. U of U...

Today was a really fun day at Butler Elementary School. Decisions, decisions.... What should Marie do? The teachers asked the students to represent and choose their team by the way they dressed. If you are a BYU fan, wear blue. A U fan, wear red. Well...... Marie is BOTH. So, she decided to represent both teams. This way she wouldn't hurt her daddy or Grandpa's feelings (BYU) and also wouldn't hurt her aunts, uncle's and Grandma CC's feelings. (U of U) Isn't she thoughtful? Very diplomatic if you ask me...

This side is for the Pia's.... Go Utes!!!

and this side is for the Spence's..... Go Cougars!!!

Spence isn't quite as concerned with diplomacy, nor would he EVER put anything BYU-ish on his body. He is a Utes fan through and through.... so is Joseph!

All I can say is, -Freedom of choice people-

girls night...

Twilight has come...... and gone.....

We had such a fun night just hanging out, people watching, drinking LOTS of Diet Coke and eating yummy, greasy, fattening theatre food. (in the middle of the night)  What more could you ask for? The movie itself was definitely geared for junior high and high school kids. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. I do love the fact that they kept it quite clean. It's about time we let our teenagers be teenagers and nothing more....

I tried to snap a shot of the party going on, but it was pretty dark. I think you get the gist of it all. Tons and tons of people or should I say Jacob's, Edward's, Bella's, and all sorts of weirdos dressed up for the event.

I'm so glad we did this, it was definitely worth the loss of sleep.

Crazy girls...

left to right..... Monique, Nicole, Tiff, Kellee, Lori, Me, and Britney. 

We saw many home-made t-shirts....

and Britney was sporting one of her own....

Michelle met up with us around 11:oo. Sorry for the bad pic Lori, but it was the only one I had of Michelle.... Plus, look how much fun Nicole is having? hmmm.... 

Prom dresses a plenty...

All in all I think we had a pretty great night. Having this type of experience is priceless....  and so was the ride home listening to all our bickering back and forth.  This is why it's for teenagers. Women have way too much of an opinion. Especially at 3:30 in the morning! Ouch....

If you're not sure you want to see it, GO.... it's worth it!  Unless, of course, you're a man.