MARCH MADNESS!

We went down to St. George for the weekend to support the boys in the March Madness Baseball Tournament! It was nice and warm, and perfect weather for a few or a lot of Baseball games. Mitchell and Kade had a great tournament and both of their teams did very well. Mitchell hit his first ever homerun and had a smile from ear to ear. The next day Kade was able to hit a homerun and he too had that same grin from ear to ear.
Sadie was a trooper through the MANY, MANY games and we treated her to swimming in the swimming pool at the hotel each night after all the games were over for the day. It is so fun to see the boys play with their teams and have such a great time while doing what they love.














We always love St. George. You always can count on spring weather in March. The kids LOVE to see their cousins, and we were able to swim with them and they even came to watch a game, which was so cool for my boys. The kids could not leave St. George without doing a little hiking on the red rocks. That is always a highlight with our trips.

They both play on great teams and we are proud of them and how hard each of them worked. JOB WELL DONE BOYS! I am sure there are many more games for ALL of us in the FUTURE~ Bring it ON!

1st BIG SNOW STORM of 2012!

A few weeks ago we woke up to Kade telling his dad that we needed to wake up and break out the Snowblower. We have had a very mild winter and Scott and I have not really been complaining about it. Well, this storm was a doozie and we definitely needed the snowblower. There were 3 foot drifts in our driveway. All the kids were excited and headed out doors before school even started. They were such great sports, Scott even got out the Ranger and took them on rides around the neighborhood.

Sadies' Note to Kade

Sadie was mad at Kade a few weeks ago. We could not find her. She had made a hiding spot for herself and hid there for 1/2 hour. Finally she came out. Later on when I was cleaning up, I found her hut with a note attached.


The note said: You can not come in If you do you will have to give me 6 dollars KADE!

It gave us all a good laugh. Sometimes we all need a little hiding spot to call our very own!

Sunny Cancun Mexico

Scott had yet another business trip and we were fortunate enough to go. We were excited to get out of the cold and enjoy some beautiful, SUNNY weather in Cancun Mexico.

This was the view from the pool. We spent many of the days, relaxing by the pool and enjoying the view of the beach behind. It was wonderful and we DID NOT GET SICK OF IT.

This is just one of the many, many big Iguanas we saw while on our Book Of Mormon Tour in the Tulum Mayan Ruins.

A picture of the Mayan Temple from our fishing boat while we were snorkeling.

Our tour Guide, Helaman, from Helaman Tours took this wonderful picture with the temple and the ocean in the background.

This is a fresh, water senote that we jumped in to freshen up and clean off all the salt water from the ocean after snorkeling. It was refreshing, clear and such a beautiful clear green color. Scott loved every minute of this.

Scott swimming and relaxing in the senote.

On our way snorkeling and our little fishing boat. Lacy, John, Scott and Natalie. We were able to see a lot of underwater life, the water was pretty ruff that day, so we were glad to be back on the ground when it was all said and done.

These were some of the old fishing boats they take for deep sea fishing.

Scott and I enjoying our time together in Mexico!

Scott had to do a little business on his business trip. I caught him working from the pool a handful of times. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.
We had a fabulous time and we really were able to slow down, relax and enjoy each others company.
Gracias, Cancun, Until next time!

Happy Birthday McKade! Big #9

McKade turned #9. His last year in single digits for the rest of his life. He is such a great kid and he brings so much joy and laughter into our home. He has a fun, spunky personlity and we love everything about him. His birthday wish this year was to have a Jimmer Fredette jersey and a icecream cake. He had a fun day at school and then he and is dad were off to a Utah Jazz game and were lucky enough to sit on the 6th row. He thought it was awesome and even cooler that he was close enough to catch a basketball they were throwing out.





McKade you are a growing up to be a wonderful young man. Thanks for helping keep dad and mom humble and thanks for all the laughter you bring into our home. WE LOVE YOU! Happy Birthday Bud.

Heavenly Chocolate Cake With a Twist!

With the new year in stow, I or (we) have been trying to eat healthier. Scott always says my HEALTHY food taste good, but not as good as a chocolate piece of cake would taste. So, with that being said, I was determined to make a healthier chocolate cake. To all of our surprise, it was a huge success even with or without the normal chocolate cake ingredients.





Healthier Flourless Chocolate Cake with a Twist

Makes a 9" one layer cake

Ingredients:
1-15 ounce can of unseasoned black beans
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 c. sugar of choice
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9" cake pan with extra virgin olive oil cooking spray, or just grease it with a thin layer of butter. Cut a round of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan, then spray the parchment lightly.

Drain and rinse beans in a strainer or colander. Shake off excess water. Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla and salt into blender. Blend on high until beans are completely liquefied. No lumps! Whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat butter with sugar. Add remaining two eggs. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and mix. Finally, stir in cocoa powder and beat the batter on high for one or two minutes, until smooth. Scrape batter into pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cake is done with the top is rounded and firm to the touch. After 10 minutes, turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to a cooling rack. Let cool until cake reaches room temperature. Cut cake in half horizontal, and frost the center of cake, then put other layer on top and frost the entire cake. ( I found it easier to put both sides of cake in freezer while making frosting, take out cake and then frost. Can top with chopped nuts if desired.

You could dust with powder sugar for even a lighter touch.

Go ahead and try this cake, I promise, you will not be disappointed.
So Moist, So Chocolaty and So Yummy!

Even my hardest food critique gave this Cake an A+. (mitchell)

RINGING IN 2012

We rang in the New Year up in Salt Lake City. It was a wonderful night with our family. We started the night off with ice-skating. It was really fun, but it has been a while and we all seemed a little rusty at first. It didn't take long before we were all doing pirouettes. Not really, Scott, Mitchell and myself held our own. Sadie put her whole heart and sole into it, and even though she fell on her poor little bottom a 100 times, she loved it and didn't want to stop. McKade did not think it was the greatest thing he had ever done in his life and thought the ice was way to slick. Go figure Kade, we are ice skating!
Next, we hit the pool. It was nice and warm and the kids had a blast. They swam there little hearts out for a couple of hours and by this time we had all worked up a healthy appetite to go and hit Tucano's. It was super yummy, we all ate way to much. Mitchell was brave and tried a piece of everything. Sadie could not get enough of the grilled pineapple, I think she ate a whole pineapple herself. McKade was a little hesitant at first, but after a few rounds of meat he found out his favorite thing was the spicy wings and he stuck with those the rest of the night. After all the food we needed to walk it off. We walked around the Gateway for a little while, then headed over to the festivities at the Salt Palace. It was hopping with a lot of teenagers, so we decided to walk over to Temple square and check out the lights. They were beautiful as always. It was around 11:00 so we walked back to the hotel and have a little party of our own. We played games, ate treats and watched the fireworks from our window of our hotel. It was a fabulous night and a great way to welcome in the 2012!













We are so blessed in our lives. We had a wonderful and healthy 2011 and are hoping for a FABULOUS 2012!