It came! It came!

guesses on the map

Anique (and the rest of us) has been waiting for what seems like forever for her mission call to come. Actually once she decided to move forward it went pretty fast. It just feels like forever. On the appointed Friday it was expected to arrive Dan was out of town and it was raining like it was monsoon season. Which was very convenient for me. The girls (Toran) usually meets the mailman by the side of the road to get the mail but on this day they didn't want anything to do with outside. So I put on my shoes and a hoodie and headed out to get the mail. Well low and behold there it was, just sitting in the mailbox. Anique at work and Dan in a different city, I seized the moment and hid it in my jacket and came in with the mail like no big deal. The girls were all a twitter and asking if it had come. I handed them the stack of mail and they went through it like they were looking for buried treasure. Very disappointed that it was not in the stack. Notice that I didn't say anything I just let them assume it wasn't there. I hid that letter in my room and said nothing. Anique texted later asking if it had come and all I said was sorry, again not actually commenting either way just letting her make her own assumptions. The only person I told was Jonna, we make such a great team of secret keepers. Saturday the girls were going to the water park with the Sandoval's and Dan was coming home that afternoon. We had hoped to have the Barnaby's and Sandoval's over when we opened it and since I had told Jonna she can and said that Saturday night was the best time for them. So I ask Anique if she  would like to open her call and she looked at me like "yeah, but it isn't here yet". I handed her the envelope and we started texting people to let them know we were opening it at 8:30pm. Everyone started making their best guesses and putting their post it on the map. We called papa and grandma and then the moment arrived, the opening of the envelope. She was so excited her hands were shaking. She read the letter with a very shaking voice and then it came the place were my daughter would be serving the Lord and teaching the gospel, Colorado Fort Collins. After all of the excitement and anticipation we finally knew and the excitement changed to we only have 60 days to get ready and go. 59....58....57....
I better get to reading the lists and planning the days. August 7th will be here much to quickly.

I love strawberry season

First batch of homemade strawberry jam. This is the only strawberry jam I will eat. I don't know exactly what they do to mass processed jam but it is the worst tasting stuff on the plant. I don't think I can do my usual turn the kitchen into a home production plant and make hundreds of pints of jam this year but I can make enough to get us through for awhile. There truly is nothing better that homemade bread with homemade butter and homemade jam.



Except maybe strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream.

My Massachusettes

                                                 Concord and the Old North Bridge.

March and April in pictures

Kali's 10th birthday breakfast

Kali having her nails done for her 10th birthday

Kali's candy cake

Kiah's felt garland

first banana split of the year, won't be the last

gingerbread scones, yummm

Toran waiting to get her ears pierced

Mezcal guac. nuf said

I sure hope this barn falls down before we move. I don't want to miss it.

Homemade hamburger buns

I have wanted to  make hamburger buns for a long, long time so I finally did. I found a recipe on FindingJoyinMyKitchen.blogspot.com and gave it a try. Well I liked them so much that I don't think I will ever buy buns again. As a matter of fact I have made them three times already and they have only gotten better. The recipe calls for white whole wheat but I have used my own stone ground whole wheat and they were still fantastic. I have not used just plain old white flour but if you do, let me know how the turn out. Enjoy!



homemade whole wheat hamburger buns tasty

100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Rolls
1 1/2 T yeast
1 C + 1 T warm water
1/3 C oil
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 C White Whole Wheat Flour

Begin by dissolving the yeast in the water. Let sit for 3-5 minutes until yeast is foamy.

Add in the oil, sugar and salt.

Then, add in the flour, 1 C at a time {I did this in my kitchen aid} stirring until incorporated.

Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, until the dough is well formed and easy to work with. Add additional flour as needed to get the dough to become workable.

Divide the dough into 9-12 sections and roll into balls. {9 if you'd like larger rolls, 12 if you'd like smaller ones}.
I have found that we liked the size of them when we rolled them into 9 rolls.
Place the rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover with a tea towel.
Set in a warm place and allow the dough to rise/rest for ~20 minutes.
I smooshed them down at the 10 minute mark to get a more flat bun look and feel. 

Then, bake at 425* for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. DO NOT OVER BAKE.
Cool on a wire cooling rack for 5ish minutes.

I bet that if you make these you won't buy buns again either.

It must be Valentines day

and here are the crafts to prove it. The candy pops will be given to friends and the art will hang in the entry. Then it will be time to start on Easter. There is never a dull moment is there.

Oh what do you do in the wintertime...

when all the world is white? Do you build snowforts and snowmen? So do I.