Whew, he made it to the 1st grade!

Will graduated from Kindergarten this week. Awe...... he is just getting too big. Love that little man's face off! I will spare the mushy Mommy ramblings, but I am proud of the kid.Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. Spiker. She was the best, and we are sad she doesn't teach 1st grade. Seriously, above and beyond kinda teacher. We don't know who Will's 1st grade teacher is yet, because they haven't hired a new teacher yet to replace the retiring teacher so we will be patient.
Will and Faith are such good buds. They are in the same class next year, hooray!

Please Grow!

Here she is... Our very first garden attempt (I don't think the 4 tomato bushes and 2 rows of lettuce in West Jordan counted) Brian has worked so hard, adding junk to the soil so that hopefully it will have some nutritional contribution to the plants and seeds we put in. He also just finished our handy watering system, and with only one geyser/ pipe burst casualty. I only wished I could have seen the actual event, all I got to see was a soaked and laughing, Brian come walking through the door.
Yay for raspberries! These are our raspberries we got from Brian's parents. They really need to start growing so that we can make our own raspberry freezer jam to sustain our family, so that we no longer have to rely on Grandma's supply:)

Mother's Day Highlights

I had a great mothers day and here are the main reasons why....
1. William was so excited to give me his gift he made @ school, and was so proud. It was his turn to say prayer for breakfast and after he finished he said "uh wait, I forgot to say something else" so he bowed his head and blessed that I would have a good mother's Day and that Grandma could drive safely here to have a good Mother's day. I thought it was so thoughtful. Love that kid!
2. At church, I ran into Grey in the hallway in between classes. He saw me and was so excited and he said "Mom, I made something for you..... " and then he burst into tears as he handed it to me.."but it is broken." He had made this cute card, but it had gotten a big crease in it, therefore rendering it broken. It broke my heart, he was so devastated. I got a kick out of his card, so I had to post it.


3. Brian made the most amazing Mother's Day dinner for me and his Mom. Turkey, mashed potatoes, Corn on the cob, rolls, fruit and dip, and Suzie Q cake for desert (Chocolate cake with a creme center and chocolate frosting. mmmmmmmm.) I think he spent over 12 hrs of preparation on this meal, but so worth it. He sure knows the way to his pregnant wife's heart. He also gave me this for Mother's Day. I have wanted a bistro set for our front porch for sooooo long and I can't wait for it to get here. 4. Brian made this adorable card with all of the kids.

I also wanted to post Will's Mother's Day card so I have a digital copy of it.

Ultimate Strawberry Scones

Sorry about posting another recipe so soon. (eh, but not really:) Maybe I should just start a blog for recipes instead of bombarding you all with them, but that will have to wait for another day. When I saw these scones a little while back, I could not wait to try them, I got the recipe from one of my new favorite blogs (mostly because she posts crazy yummy recipes!) http://createdbydiane.blogspot.com. And she posted ANOTHER scone recipe today that I cannot wait to try. If you want all of the photos with the recipe, you can find the link HERE

Strawberry scone

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar
(I am going to add more next time I make these)

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup fresh strawberries, diced

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup buttermilk or {1/2 cup milk and 1/2 T vinegar}

2 eggs

chocolate to melt for drizzling on top

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.(I use my food processor for that part, makes it so easy) Add buttermilk, one egg and one egg yolk {reserve white}, Mix until blended then add strawberries and chocolate chips, mix in but don't crush berries.Drop dough onto lightly floured surface and knead delicately, just until dough comes together.

Flour hands and pat dough into a rectangle and cut into triangles.

brush tops with reserved egg white.

Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

When cooled, melt chocolate and drizzle on top.

Sadness for me, happiness for them!

Grey awoke this morning cheering! I awoke very disgruntled. Grey cam over to me cheering that he could go sledding, and then he laid his head on my knee and said. "Oh Mom, it's okay." We had had a discussion several days earlier about how I wanted sun, not snow. I guess it is hard to be upset when they are so happy, but come one! It is May now, does that mean nothing here in Idaho? It doesn't snow when it is supposed to, and then it snows when it is not supposed to! I was very reluctant to pull out the snow clothes, but I caved and the kids had a blast at my neighbors house, jumping on the trampoline and eating snow.

Booty Call!

Last night, I booty called 911! That is correct, we were out playing games with our friends when I called 911 with my butt without even realizing it! Now keep in mind that there is no speed dial for 911, I am just that talented. They tried to call me back several times. I kept hearing this strange ringtone, and I kept asking my friend if it was her phone. Finally I got up and walked into the kitchen and realized the ring was coming from my back pocket.When I looked at it I didn't recognize the # so I didn't answer. When I hit end, I saw that my phone said "EMERGENCY MODE" (hence the strange ringtone that I didn't recognize). I hit the button to exit and saw my call history and was in utter disbelief! I then realized what happened and decided that I should probably call them back so that they don't send the police or something to our door. The operator was awesome. She thought it was pretty hilarious.Some days, I never cease to amaze myself. With me around, anything is possible. He he he.

Pregnancy cravings = new recipes!

I love trying new recipes and I found a few recently that I LOVE and will make over and over again. The first is a potato crescent roll. These were the best textured rolls I have ever made! I followed this recipe as written, but I did substitute 2 1/2 cups fresh wheat flour and added 2 tbsp of dough enhancer. Instead of fresh, I used instant potatoes, and I did not raise in the fridge for 8 hrs, I just let it raise until double in size. However, this is a fantastic make ahead recipe as you can leave it in the fridge for up to 5 days!
Ingredients

• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and mash.
2. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
3. When yeast is ready, mix in 1 cup mashed potatoes, sugar, shortening, eggs, salt, and 3 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough has become stiff but still pliable. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, and up to 5 days.
4. Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and form into rounds. Roll out each round to a 12 inch circle. Brush generously with melted butter, and cut each circle into 16 wedges. Roll wedges up tightly, starting with the large end. Place on lightly greased baking sheets with the points underneath, and the ends bent to form a crescent shape. Cover, and let rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
   

Peanut Butter! Peanut Butter! Peanut Butter!
I made these twice last week, I cannot keep them around, the fam devours them!
You know, on regular days I like Peanut butter, but this pregnancy, I LOVE peanut butter and I found this simple cookie recipe that is a HUGE hit. I adapted it using my fail proof cake mix cookie recipe.

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used fudge and devil's food and both worked great)
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs

Combine ingredients. This takes elbow grease and makes a thick dough.
Next make filling.
Filling:

1 1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix equal parts of peanut butter and powdered sugar. mix as best you can with a fork and then I just knead it together with your hands. Once combined, roll into approx 3/4 inch balls. 1 1/4 cup each usually makes almost 26 peanut butter balls.

Now take about a tbps of chocolate dough (it will take a couple cookies to get a hang of the correct amount) and flatten into your hand to make a flat circle. Place the peanut butter ball in the middle, then wrap around the peanut butter ball. once covered, roll the entire ball in your palm to smooth out. Roll finished ball in sugar and place on greased cookie sheet. Once the full sheet is made, take the bottom of a glass and press each cookie down. Bake for 7 Min in a preheated oven, 350 degrees. DO NOT OVER BAKE! 7 Minutes is key. If you bake longer, the outer cookie will be crispy instead of chewy. let cool on cookie sheet for several minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.


Lastly, for some strange reason, I was craving grilled shrimp and found this marinade. So easy and crazy good! You don't even need cocktail sauce.

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• skewers

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar. Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to the bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice.
2. Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.
3. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.