Easter 2012

Unfortunately we got hit with sickness at our house.  Brendan got sick Saturday night, so I took the girls to church by myself on Sunday.  Later in the evening Brendan was feeling well enough to go to Easter Dinner at his parent's house.  We had a nice lamb and ham dinner.  After dinner, we had a little Easter egg hunt in the yard for Hazel.  As we were leaving Brendan's parent's house, Hazel said she felt like throwing up.  Sure enough she did, and we were prepared with a bag.  When we pulled up to our house, she threw up again, but this time all over her Easter dress and the car and her car seat.  She was very concerned that it was all over her Easter dress.  After bathing her, I started to feel sick myself.  Hazel and I continued to throw up the whole night.  It was awful!  Brendan had to leave at 6 am for school, so I called Brendan's mom to come and help us in the morning.  She helped take care of Hattie so I could sleep, cleaned my house (including my throw up bathroom), and brought us soup and 7 up. She was at our house most of the day.  Thank goodness for Naidra!  I've been on the mend today, but Hazel is still sick, and I'm hoping Hattie doesn't get it.  

Me and the Girls

 Brendan snapped some pictures of us today in the yard.  We were all wearing stripes!

 Hazel put these fake glasses on and smiled and said, " I look like a doctor."  I'm not sure where she got that from.  I guess smart people wear glasses.

Hattie being cute as usual.

Business Trip

Brendan had to go to Las Vegas for a conference for work earlier in the week, and we were able to come along.  I'm not a huge fan of Las Vegas at all, but it was going to be warm down there and Hazel loves to swim.  We stayed at Brendan's parent's timeshare that was just a few miles down from the strip.  We were only there for two and a half days, and we just hung out at the pool and went shopping, but had fun.  

Feet turned into prunes.

The Town Square shopping center was really nice.  They had a huge playground for kids with big playhouses, toys, and a splash pad.

Photos here and there

 We've had to get creative to get Hazel to brush her teeth.

 Rat's nest.

 In between conference sessions on Saturday, I went to Deseret Book and bought Stephanie Nielson's (from nieniedialogues.com) book and had it signed.

 We've been enjoying our backyard meals with a little music after dinner.

 The new City Creek Center in SLC opened and it is a beautiful shopping center.  Since Brendan goes to school in SLC on Mondays and Wednesdays we tag along sometimes for fun.

 My little moo cows!

 Enjoying Ike's Cream.

Hazel loves the carousel at Provo Beach Resort.

Instagram Photos

I've been taking a lot of photos on my phone lately just because its so easy when we're out and a bout.  They're obviously not the best quality, but they capture the moment.  If you have instagram you can follow me.  My username is Dainta.

We go up to Salt Lake with Brendan sometimes and we shop and go to the park while he is in class.  Hazel and Hattie had fun at Liberty Park enjoying the 60 degree weather. 

 Hazel has been going to a tumbling tots class and loves it.  Here she is on the bars.

 Hazel was sick a few weeks ago and asked for a bowl to throw up in.  After I gave her the bowl, I came back in the living room to see her bowl all ready to go and she was watching cartoons through it.

 Late night snack on her favorite kitchen stool.  Not sure why she has the hat on.

 Our future soccer player.  Brendan needed to use my soccer bag and emptied my things out.  Hazel found them and wanted to wear them.  

 There is a new park with a pirate ship not too far down the road that Hazel enjoys.

Hattie and Hazel running errands with me.  They like the double seat.

With the warm weather, we have been eating outside a lot in our backyard.

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

My sister, Dawn, gave me this great sugar cookie recipe a few weeks ago and I love it.  The cookies turn our very thick and soft inside.  They might look a little dry from the picture, but I took these pictures when the cookies were 2 days old.  This recipe doesn't require you to refrigerate the dough like most usually do, and it doesn't require cream of tartar.  The recipe calls for sour cream, but I substituted Costco's greek yogurt and didn't even notice a difference.  I love Costco's greek yogurt.  It is thick and creamy and the only ingredient is milk and the live active cultures.  My sister, Whitney, substituted the buttermilk in the fluffy buckwheat pancakes I posted about before, with this yogurt and said they were great.  I also use the yogurt in place of sour cream in my soups.  It is plain, so it has more of a sour taste.  If you want to eat it plain, I usually add a little bit of honey and some berries.  Here are the nutrition facts comparison for 1 cup.

1 cup of Kirkland Greek Yogurt                       1 cup of Cascade Farms Sour Cream
140 calories                                                       480 calories
0 g of fat                                                            40 g of fat
7 g of sugar                                                       16 g of sugar
24 g of protein                                                   8 g of protein


Sugar Cookie Recipe
1 cup butter ( 2 cubes)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
dash of nutmeg (optional) - I didn't use this
1 cup of sour cream (I used greek yogurt)
6 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Blend eggs, butter, and vanilla.  Add sugar and sour cream.  Then add dry ingredients.  Roll out.  I use my pastry cloth.  Love it!  Cut out cookies and bake at 350 degrees fro 8-9 minutes.

This batch here makes over 40 large Valentine Cookies, so I halved the recipe.

Pi Day

Wednesday was 3-14 so my sister threw a pi party at my house.  I made pumpkin and key lime pie, and Whitney made apple and banana creme pie.  They were all made from scratch and the pie dough was made from butter of course.  They all turned out really well, and tasted delicious!  We also had ice cream and whipped cream to go with them.  Whitney had a pi trivia game and the winner got a $10 gift card to Sammy's for pie milkshakes.  It was a fun night with a great turnout!

Standing Tall

Hattie is 8 months old today, and continues to be such a good baby.  She is always so happy.  She can clap her hands and wave hi.  She has been crawling around for the last month, and is now pulling herself up onto everything and standing.

Bruce & Jessica - Engagement Photos

My brother Bruce is getting married in April, so I took his engagement photos this past week.  It was freezing, but they toughed it out and we were able to get some fun shots!

Greenhouse

A few weeks ago Brendan started our garden from seed and kept them on a shelf in our house.  Last weekend we transplanted them outside to our little greenhouse.  It has a heat lamp that automatically turns on and off when it hits a certain temperature inside.  We are so excited for our garden this year.  It did so well last year, and we are going to expand it a little more this year.   We planted zucchini, cucumbers, lots of varieties of tomatoes, snap peas, lots of different herbs, peppers, and I'm not sure what else.  I can't wait for all of our fresh produce.