Pin and Tried!

I have been busy trying recipes from Pinterest. I realized that I might hurt the originator's feelings if I am not so nice about my reviews, I don't mean to be rude or hurt feelings, I am just sharing my personal opinion. I want the originators to know that I am not personally attacking you or your posts, just sharing with other's my take on your recipes. I hope you aren't mad at me :=)

so, with that being said... here we go with the latest pins:

1) Buttermilk Pancakes - these were fine, nothing to write home about. But I didn't use the Buttermilk Syrup and I am sure if I did, they would have been out of this world. I am sure the syrup makes the pancakes.

CONSENSUS: DELETE PIN (I am sure I can find a better pancake recipe out there in the wide world of the web).

2) Rachel Ray's Southwest Chili Co Queso Pasta Bake - I didn't like this recipe. And the only reason is that i have a hard time mixing mexican flavors with pasta. Pasta should be reserved for Italian flavors only. Mixing the two ethnic flavors just doesn't work for me.

CONSENSUS: DELETE PIN

3) Delish Chicken Marinade - I really liked this marinade. It was super yummy and I could taste all the subtle flavors in each bite. It definitely is delish.

CONSENSUS: KEEP IT PINNED

4) Cinnabon Popcorn - this was good, but not my favorite when it comes to caramel popcorn. I loved the flavors (cinnamon, pecans, chocolate, caramel all together - how could you not, right?). But the caramel popcorn part was a little to crunchy for me. I prefer my caramel popcorn a little more chewy.

But what I would do is use my favorite caramel popcorn recipe and then add the cinnamon, pecans, chocolate, etc. Then it personally be the best popcorn ever!

CONSENSUS: KEEP PINNED (but use my own caramel corn recipe).

5) Mashed Potato Skins - I really liked these. They tasted great and so easy (you don't have to peel the potatoes). They were nice and creamy and because of buttermilk, not as fattening. I would definitely make these again.

CONSENSUS: KEEP PINNED.

Trip to Zion's National Park

After some time in SLC, we headed to St. George to see my parents. The weather was beautiful for July in St. George. They had a huge rainstorm the first night and it was crazy. So much rain and wind and thunder and lightening. It caused major flooding around their community and the next day we were going to go swimming in Veyo, but the rainstorm caused so much damage that the pool was closed because the pool was full of mud! So, we headed to St. George to play in their water feature in the middle of town. My kids favorite thing to do.

Then on Saturday we headed to Zion's National Park. It was the perfect day. 82 degrees and overcast. Such a great day to go hiking in Zions. It ended up being a great day with the family. The kids did so great and we hiked a bunch!

Playing at the Reservoir

After the reunion, we went to SLC and played with the cousin. We went to a splash park, had lots of dinners with family, visited BYU campus and showed the kids where we lived and studied on campus and went to Uncle Kyle's family Reservoir on Peterson, Ut. The kids had a blast hunting for frogs, snakes and salamanders. They went canoeing and walked around the reservoir looking for anything living they could find.

Jake fell in love with the frogs and salamanders. He just sat at the bucket full of frogs and played with them for hours. He would pick them up and play with them, but apparently he played with them too hard and squished on of them to death. His cousin came to me to tell me that a frog had white curly things coming out of his side after Jake played with him. So, we had to teach Jake to be gentle with the poor things.

He also loved the Salamanders and kept playing with it and talking about it for days after. Another fun day in utah!

I forgot to mention that the kids ran all the way back from the reservoir. It was 2 1/2 miles from the house to the reservoir and the kids ran a lot of the way. We picked up many of them along the way in our ATV and dropped them off when they wanted to run again. But Hannah was a trooper. She ran most of the way and did it in flip flops. She needed a ride for about a 1/4 mile because her side hurt... but other than that she ran and was a great sport!

Reunion Hike

During the Reunion, everyone went on a hike. (Again, I didn't make it), but it sounded like a good time had by all. My kids loved it. There were rocks everywhere and they came back with a ton of them to take home. My kids loves rocks.

Christensen Family Reunion

We went to Ephraim for the every-other year Christensen Family Reunion. I was sick for the whole thing this year. I don't know what happened, but I came down with a horrible case of the flu (i think) and was knocked out for 2 days. But Chris took some pictures at the family farm (which is the central focus of the reunion)... I will let the pictures speak for themselves, since i don't know what happened that day :-)

4th of July Weekend

We got back from our summer trip to Utah. It started with the 4th of July. We woke up and headed to Moroni, Ut for their parade. It started with a ping-pong ball drop from an airplane. Which the kids love. Then the floats with tons and tons of candy being thrown at the kids. They love that more. Unfortunately, Jake took a dive onto the street road and had a big, fat, bloody lip. It was so sad, but again the candy made him forget his pain.

Then we went to the local park festivities both in Moroni and Manti. We rode rides, played put-put golf, we took a little train ride and made rockets and launched them into the air. We had yummy Italian Ice and wonderful utah watermelon.

Later that night, we went to Manti and saw another parade and then went to the high school stadium and watched fireworks with the beautiful Manti Temple in the background. It was a great small town 4th of July!

Craftopolooza

Hi Ladies,

I hope you are able to come to the first annual neighborhood Craftopolooza. It is going to be Friday night October 19th from 7:00 pm until whenever you want (although I might kick you out at midnight).

We will be doing three craft projects. You can do all three or one or two. It is completely up to you. Here are the projects to choose from.

Craft Project #1 - Girls Jumbo Beaded Bracelets


Price $10 for 3 bracelets.

We will be making a halloween-colored bracelet, a christmas-colored bracelet and then you can choose between a valentine-colored bracelet or a WOODS-colored bracelet.

I will provide all of the supplies, you just need to let me know if you want a Woods bracelet or a valentine bracelet.

The CRAFTING 411:
I got my beads from ebay.  I searched using "18mm acrylic round beads".  or you could search 14mm or 16mm for more selection.  Most beads come from China, so you need to give 2-3 week delivery window.

You can also look at these two sites.
pandahall.com
white mountain gems and beads

Here are the instructions I made for the party.

A FEW MORE SPECIFICS:   The string is elastic I bought at Joanns.  I used 9 beads for my 5 year old and 10 beads for my 8 year old.  I used a coordinating ribbon and tied the bow around the knot.  And to keep the ribbon from fraying, I used a lighter to burn the edges (just ever so slightly).

Craft Project #2 - Tabletop Framed Chalkboard


Price $18 for a 8X10 frame

I will provide the paint and frames and chalkboard paint. We will be painting them in an old white color and I will have stuff available to antique them if you want.

THE CRAFTING 411
I bought the frames from Cut it Out Already.  These frames are awesome and for half the cost.  The frames come with a cardboard backing.  So, you will need to go to Lowes and have some thin wood sheets cut for the frames in the size of the opening.

I used Annie Sloane Chalk Paint.  Here is a post all about this great paint.  I bought Old White and Graphite for the chalkboard.

Here are the instructions I made for the party.

The backing of the frame is the wood you purchased at Lowes.  The Dark Wax is from Annie Sloan.  You don't have to antique the frame if you don't want to.  I gave it as a choice for the girls to do.  And again, painting the frame with the clear wax isn't necessary.  We actually didn't do it.  

Craft Project #3 - Holiday Wreath



PRICE $12 (not including fabric or felt)

There are two choices for wreaths. They both will require you purchasing the fabric or felt before the craft night. The fabric wreath is a very simple and quick wreath to make. The felt wreath will require a lot more time. It is still very easy, just more time consuming.

Fabric Wreath - bring one yard of whatever fabric you want to use. It would be best to use a thinner fabric (not something too heavy, like twill or corduroy). HINT: A light airy fabric will make it look similar to the picture, but it would look good with a nice cotton fabric too.

Felt Wreath - one yard of heavy weight felt. Definitely use a heavier-weight felt. It's more expensive, but well worth it. I found mine at Joanne's for $6.99 a yard. The lightweight felt will require you to use more, which means you'll need to cut and cut and cut more circles. The heavyweight felt also gives the wreath a more quality look.

For the felt wreath you probably won't finish it all that night, so you can either start it at the craft night (and finish it at a later time) or pre-cut your felt circles before the craft night, so you can assemble and finish your wreath that night. If you are interested in pre-cutting and having everything ready to complete that night, let me know and I will tell you what to do. it is super easy, just cutting is involved (like a 150 circles, so you know what you are getting yourself into :-).

I will have the wreaths, pins, glue etc. You just bring the fabric or felt.

The Crafting 411

I bought the 14 inch wreaths at Hobby Lobby.   But the Extruded wreaths, the pins stick in them better.   And then I bought #17 stick pins.  they are a bit longer, so they stick into the wreath further.

Here are the instructions for both wreaths.

For the ruffle wreath, here is a link to show you a bit more of how to assemble it.

*****************************************************************

What would be a gathering without food. It would be great if everyone could bring an appetizer or dessert to share with the group to keep our energy levels up while we craft through the night.

So, I think that is it. If you are interested in coming to CRAFTOPOLOOZA, please RSVP as soon as you can (or by Sept 30th at the latest) with which projects you want to do, so I can gather up the supplies and be ready for the big night. And if you can make it, please let me know the following:

1) what projects you want to do
2) if you want a WOODs or Valentine's bracelet
3) which wreath you want to do (so I can get the right wreath for your project).

Hope you all can make it... it will be a fun night of crafts, friends, talking and eating. Not a bad way to spend a friday night!

THERE YOU GO.  A FUN CRAFT NIGHT WITH FRIENDS. I WILL POST A FEW MORE PICTURES OF THE NIGHT IN A FEW DAYS.

Read it. Pick it.

I saw this on pinterest and fell in love. I have a grid 1-100. I picked a number and for every 50 pages hannah reads she gets to choose a number. If and when she chooses my number she gets $10. Fun and motivating, perfect!!

Pinned and Tried

I have tried a few more recipes I have pinned on Pinterest. Here is my report.


Best Burger. I am not an expert when it comes to burgers, but these hamburgers were really good. I will keep trying different burger recipes, but I have a feeling I will be keeping this one and using it again and again.
CONSENSUS: KEEP PINNED


Strawberry Lemonade Cake. I made this for Father's Day. The presentation of this cake is worth it alone. People see this cake and they think WOW! As for the taste of it. It is good (I am mean how could it not be), but I felt like the tastes were a bit lopsided. Maybe too much cake. It was good, but I don't know that i would make it again. I think I will keep looking for something a bit better.

CONSENSUS: DELETE PIN (but if you are looking for a "make a statement cake" that is still edible... you might want to try this one!



Pineapple Chicken Sandwiches. I made these last night and was disappointed. The way the originator raved about them. I am not sure if it was because I used canned pineapples or what, but not that great. It was missing something (specifically a sauce of some kind). I added barbecue sauce and it was better.) Overall, it was so-so.
CONSENSUS: DELETE PIN

PS - the images come from the blogs that I link for the recipe. The credit goes to them!

Buzz invitations

I forgot to post a picture of the invitations I sent out for Jake's birthday party. Here you go.

Buzz Lightyear Party

Jake wanted a Buzz Lightyear Party and has been talking about this party since Ella's birthday party. I was so happy that it had finally come so he could have his very own party. Here is what I did.






The kids decorated their own rockets. We used Crayola Neon Explosion Paper which was really neat and stickers. Then we went outside and the kids throw rockets through a hole in Gamma Quadrant Four. We played Buzz Bingo and then ate lunch and had cupcakes and opened presents.

The party favors where this sphere balls I got at PartyWorks and filled it with Toy Story pez, a squirt gun, suckers and starburst. It was fun as alway with good friends!

Birthday Boys

My husband and son share the same birthday. It is always a fun day to have them celebrate together. One of these days i am going to throw a party that celebrates both of them, but for now, Jake gets the party and Chris get the birthday dinner, favorite birthday cake and presents.

Jake's favorite gift was a book. He has the "little blue truck" book and it is his favorite. I found the companion book "little blue truck goes to the city" and he loved it! He said it was his favorite gift.

Here are some pictures of the two of them celebrating their special day!
pictures of his buzz lightyear party are coming soon.

End of school Festivities

The Last day of school was a crazy day full of fun! Here is what we did!


Ella had a end of the year program. Her class sang "My daddy is a baker". it took awhile for Ella to get into it, but by the second half of the song, she was acting it out and singing. We got to say good-bye to her wonderful teachers. I love the preschool she goes to and the great teachers the just love my children and do so much for their educational and spiritual development.

Then of course we had to pass out goodies to the teachers and friends. This year I gave the preschool teachers these gifts (click on link to see them).

I gave Hannah's teacher this summer kit gift. It has a beach towel, magazine, sunscreen and treats. I included the tag I used, in case you wanted to use it too.





And all the kids in their classes got these adorable gumball treats. I of course got the idea from Pinterest and this blog! I changed the tag up a bit and I am including it if you would like to use it.





Then we had to take Grandma to the airport and say good-bye to her. That is always our least favorite thing to do. Then when the girls got home from school I had this banner waiting for them. Again, found it on Pinterest. Loved it and whipped the thing up quickly. They weren't really sure what to do with it. I told them to run through it. Hannah has hesitant, she didn't want it to get ruined. But I told her it was okay and they went for it.

Then I let the kids watch a movie with popcorn and just veg out for the rest of the afternoon. Nothing like a great start to the summer!

help!

I am turning to all you moms out there to help me out if you can. It has been 6+ months since i have had a good night sleep. And most nights, I average getting up 4 times a night. I am slowly questioning if I will every sleep again. (I know I will, but not anytime soon). So, here is what is happening....

Child #1 (3 year old boy) = he gets up every night at 3:30ish. He doesn't' have to go to the bathroom. He just wakes up, yells "mom", I go in and say "it's okay, go back to bed" and he rolls over and goes back to sleep. (But now I am up and it takes a while to get back to bed). This has been going on for months now and it is consistent every night. How do i get this to stop? Any ideas?

On the positive side, he used to be getting up at 6;00 am, so that wake up call has stop, thank heavens.

Child #2 (6 month old boy) = he typically wakes up after 4 1/2 hours of sleep and I have to let him cry it out and he eventually goes back to sleep and then wakes up after 6-7 hours (but typically 6 hours). I feed him than and he goes back to sleep. I know he can sleep at least 7 hours (because he has done it before (usually once a month he sleeps through the night), but I think it is an answer to prayers, more than anything.

If I let him cry it out, it usually works for about 4 days (we sleeps and doesn't wake up until 6 hours) but then we start all over again and he wakes up after 4 1/2 hours and I have to let him cry it out again. A cycle that has been going on for months.
Any ideas on this one? Am I alone out there with a baby that "Crying it out" doesn't work long term?

Please help this sleep deprived and tired mom!

On a good note my first born is still asleep and it is 9:30 am... why can't they all sleep like her!

Baptism Dessert Table

For hannah's baptism, I did a fun dessert table to celebrate with friends afterwards Since we weren't able to have all the cousins and aunts and uncles around for her baptism, i wanted to make it an event for her friends to it felt extra special for Hannah on her extra special day. And boy did it ever. She loved it and so did all the kids. It was the perfect ending to a perfect occasion!

Hannah's Baptism Day

Hannah has been waiting for this day for quite some time. She was very excited to baptized.
When she had her interview with the bishop he was very impressed with how much she
knew about baptism and what she was doing. That is because she was so excited.

Grandpa Brimhall gave a talk on baptism, Grandma Brimhall played the piano. Uncle Brian and Grandpa were the witnesses. And you primary teacher Sis. Pittam gave the closing prayer. Three other children were baptized with you that day. We also asked Claire Evans' dad and Kyle Kriebel's dad and the Bishop and Brother Pittam to be in the confirmation circle. it was wonderful. I was a proud and touched mom.

As for the rest of the meeting, it was pretty rough. The rest of the kids
were horrible. Jake cried the whole time, ella had to leave crying and Graham was
passed around to everyone pretty much through the whole meeting. It was a bit rough
and really quite unpleasant, but Hannah had no idea and got to enjoy the meeting so that
was good.

But for the record, the reason the kids were so bad is they were up until 11:00 pm that night before,
basically woke up early and then went to the zoo and it was 95 degrees and no nap and
had they had reached their max. Jake couldn't handle it, so he went bonkers (literally).

Spring Dance Recital

Last week the girls had the spring dance recital. Ella danced to "Surfin' USA" and Hannah danced to "Girls Just wanna Have Fun". They had a great time and did so well. The best quote of the day was that Hannah said "I am sure people are looking at me wondering why I am dressed so old-fashioned". I told her she is not old-fashioned... she is vintage!

baptism invites

Hannah is getting baptized this weekend. She has been so excited for this day for months and months. And since we have no family where we live (although we are lucky to have a few coming to town) I wanted to make sure that the people that were important to Hannah knew she was getting baptized. So, I made this invitation and had them printed on to postcards for her to give to her primary classmates, teachers (school and church), friends and other instructors (dance, piano, etc). She was so excited to pass these little invitations out. My hope is that since we can't have all her cousins there to celebrate her big day that she will be surrounded by friends that will make this important day all the more special.

Cute boy

Okay, I need to post this now that Graham is 5 month old. I wish I could say time was flying (and it is), but he is the worst sleeper at night that sometimes to be honest he isn't getting old fast enough. But then I look at pictures like this and I realize that I will miss him being so little, so I try to enjoy it as much as I can (even through the sleep deprivation).

Some things about Graham:

He has found his voice. There is a lot of screaming and squealing. You can tell he likes to hear himself and he is trying to figure it all out. He even does it at 5:00 am... better than crying, right?

Because he is the youngest of 4 kids, there is always excitement and attention, so when he doesn't have it... he wants it. He gets upset when no one is with him.

I love the way he looks at me. You can just tell that when he sees me, he gives me this smile like I am the most important person in the whole world. I sure feel loved and that is one thing for sure I will miss as he gets older.

He loves to grab his toes and suck on them. It is so funny and one of my favorite things to watch him do. I have to admit, something I help him out and "feed him his toes."

He only takes a pacifier when he is going to sleep. And he sucks on his thumb/fingers but not with any consistency. Sometimes i wish he would commit, but maybe it will be good because I won't have to have get rid of anything in years to come.

So, that is my little update about our Graham. I love taking his picture... he is so darn cute!

Pinned and Tried

So, I figured I would share some of the goodies I have pinned from Pinterest and have actually made. There is so much out there - that I figured I would start trying some of them and see if they are worth keeping. Friday has become "dessert testing day". Something my daughter and I can do together while the boys take a nap.

Now, I realize that opinions are all subjective and if I say there are good, you might disagree (that always happens to me when I make desserts other say are the "best in the whole wide world" and then I think to myself "what were they thinking... not that good".

But if you value my opinion :-) you might want to at least give some of these recipes a try and see for yourself.


The first one is Butterscotch Marshmallow Bars. I really liked these. They remind me of blondies with a bit of chocolate. I would say these are great brownies to make when you need a little something sweet. I wouldn't make them to take to a party (I wouldn't say they are that WOW-worthy... but they are good and definitely hit the mark when I needed a little sweet something-something.
CONSENSUS: KEEP PINNED


The next thing I tried. Salted Caramel Pecan Bark These two were good. Probably more just okay. Now you can't really go wrong with pecan and toffee, but I think I have had better with saltine crackers. And I think I would have preferred more toffee and less graham cracker. But again... still good enough to snack on during the day.
CONSENSUS: DELETE PIN

So, there you go. I am slowly starting to go through all the dozens and dozens of yummy "pins" I have collected and actually make some of them to see what is worth keeping pinned.

PS - the images come from the blogs that I link for the recipe. The credit goes to them!