STOP and REWIND

Don't you wish that you could just make time stand still? The older I get the quicker life seems to move, however I am determined to catch up on my blog and stay caught up.

At the end of June we packed up some of the grand kids (their parents were at the temple) and traveled to Mesa to celebrate my grandmothers 100th birthday!

These boys are the BEST travelers.
Much better than their father was at this age.

It was so wonderful visiting with extended family,

many of whom we have not seen in years.

Not everyone was able to attend Grandma's celebration.

Here are 20 of her 34 grandchildren.

I love that I am still considered a grandchild.

A portion of the great-grandchildren,

plus two of the 11 great great grandchildren.

I have many fond memories of my grandmother.

She is a remarkable woman!

She shared with us a song from her childhood.

It was wonderful to see my parents.

It has been too long.

One more picture with grandma.

Kendrick took a week and hiked down the Grand Canyon.

It was quite an adventure.

Happy to be home!

Ready for a long and well deserved nap!

Shantell's beautiful naturally curly hair.

The next several pictures are of our 4th of July.

We actually attended 3 parties!!!

(A special thank you to the Thomas and Cowley family for the invite.)

Fireworks were banned because of the lack of rain.

Wouldn't you know it, it rained that evening

and God provided us with a spectacular light display.

Off to his first dance accompanied by his sister.

One of our favorite activties in July was our

Harry Potter Party we had just prior to the Midnight showing.

The older children planned everything

from invitations to decorations.

People came in costumes and all of the food

fit perfectly into the Harry Potter theme for the evening.

The Weasleys

Madame Hooch.

I wish I would have taken pictures of all of the food.

Each had a label which creatively described it.

These are my deliciously wicked brownies.

My own creation:

the Nimbus 2000 Cookie.

Another trip to the temple with the family.

A bountiful harvest from our garden

thanks to the rains that have been falling.

This catches us up.........for now!

Dear Natasha,

I hope that it is not too late for your birthday but I will post the Pineapple Upsidedown Coconut Cake recipe next. I PROMISE.

Saying Good-bye!

One of the nightmares of motherhood is getting the following text from your teenage daughter: "Mommy, I was just in a car wreck!" The feeling I experienced cannot be expressed, it is so awful. I felt helpless and so I did the only thing I could, I knelt down and prayed for her and the others involved in the accident and then I waited IMPATIENTLY for news.

We feel very blessed that she is ALIVE and well! Through this experience I can testify that there is not a more important unit on the earth than that of family. I am grateful beyond words that we still have our Shantell with us!

Now comes the task of saying good-bye to an old reliable friend. Our car has been with our family for five years and we have enjoyed many special memories through travel, but the damage is too extensive and therefore we must say goodbye. :(

Father's Day and Forgivness

My children have been blessed by the

most wonderful father in the world.

He is an example of all that is right and good.

When we were first married I asked my "new" husband what his favorite dessert was. He replied, "Pineapple Upsidedown Cake." Every year at Father's day and his birthday I made him his favorite dessert. This went on for over 20 years. Around 10 years ago we were playing a game at a ward party. Several couples were chosen to participate. Each was asked several questions about their spouse while they were out of the room and then when they returned they were asked the same questions. Well, we made it to the finals. In fact we were tied for first place. The final question of the contest was, "What is your favorite dessert, or What is your husbands favorite dessert?" I so so excited because I KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt what his favorite dessert was. After all I had been baking it for him for 20 years.

He was brought in the room. The question was posed. He smiled at me with confidence and said, "Boysenberry Pie." I was in total shock thinking where did that come from. Needless to say I was also a bit angry. How could he not know what his favorite dessert was? More than that I thought, you mean I have been making the wrong dessert for over 20 years and he was too kind to tell me? Well, I have not made him a Pineapple Upsidedown cake since that fateful day. This year I decided it was time to repent and fully forgive him and so we surprised him with a 12 inch Pineapple Upsidedown Coconut cake. It was beyond delicious and he was totally elated because he can now put that unfortunate day behind him.

Actually it has been a source of family amusement for years.

Happy Father's Day!

I LOVE YOU more than anything!!!


If anyone would like the recipe just leave a comment

and I will post it later.

What a Wonderful Day!

There is no better place to spend quality time with your family than at the temple. I only wish I could have had ALL of my children there. Next time I will extend an invitation to the married ones to join us.

Brigitta is not quite old enough to go in so she had fun posing for pictures. Then she decided to take the camera and take pictures as well. So here is her perspective.

In honor of Father's Day tomorrow the girls had their pictures

taken with their "Daddy!"

Families CAN Be Together Forever!!!

Thriving in the Heat

I got a late start this year in planting my gardens and so I am amazed that it is thriving in such extreme temperatures.We have finally started to eat from our gardens and hope that they will continue to produce through the heat.

Squash

Cucumbers

These are volunteer flowers from last year

that help beautify our garden and bring in the good bugs.

Green Beans



Serrano and Anaheim Chilies

Tomatoes

Strawberries

Watermelon

More Cucumbers


I also have beets and onions as well as the

fruit from our trees.

Life is good!

So happy to be gardening again!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

• 1/4 Cup Butter


• 3 Cloves garlic, diced


• 1/3 Cup Onion, diced


• 2 10oz. Packages Frozen chopped Spinach, partially thawed


• 1 14oz. Can Artichoke Hearts, drained and chopped


• 2 8oz. Packages Cream Cheese


• 2 16oz. Containers Sour Cream


• 1-1/2 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese


• Salt to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in garlic and onions and saute. Stir in the spinach and artichoke hearts. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Blend together cream cheese and sour cream. Stir in the spinach mixture. Mix well. Stir in Parmesan Cheese and salt to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm






Instead of using canned artichoke hearts, I went out to my garden and picked 12 ripe artichokes. I started by rinsing them well under cold water. To get them clean use a soft kitchen brush to remove the natural light film that Artichokes produce while growing. Then with a sharp, serrated knife remove about one inch from the top of the Artichoke. Next, trim the stem to 1 inch. Remember that the stem is a continuation of the heart, so leave some of it on. Now take scissors and snip off the thorny end of each tip. This step is optional, but I like to do it because it makes such a nice looking presentation.

To cook the artichokes, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Place the artichokes into the pot and cover. Cook on high simmer until they are tender. It generally takes about 30 minutes for a Medium sized artichoke and 45 for a large one. You will know when they are cooked when a sharp knife goes through the artichoke base with ease.

I fed my family the artichokes for dinner with a butter sauce to dip in and then had them stop when they came to the heart. I then just chopped up each heart and used it for the recipe.

The dip is absolutely evil and should only be made on special occasions and for a large crowd so that you are not tempted to eat the entire bowl.