On The Road Again

I meant to post this about a month ago, but better late than never, right? I've been getting back into running again. It's so nice to be outside and get the heart rate up! These are my cute little running buddies. Olivia usually falls asleep, and Nina likes to get out of the jogger and do a little running herself. Funny, huh? Even in her Dora nightgown, so sporty. We count animals that we see while we are out...one day we counted 17 horses, , three llamas, three goats, two chickens, one rooster, eight airplanes, and a thousand million potato bugs. "And no pigs," says Nina. I love being able to run now, I always miss it when I'm pregnant.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Peach Ice Cream

Try this, you'll love it.

1 c. strawberries, hulled and larger ones sliced in half

1 c. peeled, sliced fresh peaches

1 c. sugar, divided

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 3/4 c. half-and-half or light cream

1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium saucepan combine the berries and 1/2 c. of the sugar. Cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is very soft. Place the mixture in a blender or food processor. Cover and blend until mixture is smooth. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours.

In a small saucepan combine egg, 1 c. of the half-and-half, and the remaining 1/2 c. sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture coats a metal spoon. Immediately strain through a mesh sieve over a medium bowl and stir in remaining half-and-half and vanilla. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours.

Transfer half-and-half mixture to a 1-qt ice cream freezer and begin freezing according to manufacturer's directions. After 5 minutes of freezing, add the fruit mixture. Continue freezing until it is thick. Cover and place container in freezer for 4 hours to ripen. Makes about 1 quart.

Soccer Game

Trying to catch up here! We've been so busy this summer, I have so much to post. This was from July 3rd...we went out for pizza with our awesome friends Chris and Natalie, but they had to get home after dinner.

We didn't have any idea what we were going to do after dinner, so as we were driving on the freeway wondering what we should do, Clayton noticed that the lights were on at the Real Stadium. "Wanna go to a soccer game?" he asked. I actually love soccer games (it's about the only sport I like to watch) so we went even though the game was half over.

There were these huge human bubble balls out on the field at half-time (that Clayton is now dying to get his hands on), and during the game someone tossed a few smoke bombs out on the field. Since it was the 4th of July weekend, they had a great fireworks show at the end...complete with Neil Diamond "Coming to America" of course! Olivia loved it, and blinked in slow motion at all the big explosions.

Twelve!

Clayton and I just celebrated TWELVE years! Yep, July 17th, 1997 was the big day. We aren't newlyweds anymore, are we? Kerstin and Brian (my wonderful sister-in-law and brother-in-law) offered to take the kids for the night...yay! So we bought tickets for Harry Potter (yes, we love Harry Potter, laugh all you want, it's so much fun) and planned to go out to dinner. But, as our luck would have it, Clayton called just as he was supposed to be getting home and said, "Quick, drop off the kids and come pick me up in Orem, my car broke down!" Crap!

He managed to get it to the BMW dealership in Pleasant Grove, and we miraculously made it to our 7:05 movie. We just grabbed dinner afterwards instead.

It makes me so happy adding up the years with Clayton...it's always an adventure and I wouldn't trade it for anything or anyone.

Sunday Backyard Picnic

Yesterday I tried some new recipes, and since the weather was so nice in the shade, we ate our dinner on a blanket thrown across the back lawn.  Clayton said, "That a little weird," when I took a picture of my dinner on the grass, but what does he know?  Sheesh!  Gotta enjoy summer while it lasts! 

I got these recipes out of an old kids' magazine, and made a few adjustments to the recipes.  Click here if you want the original recipes, or to see how cute the article was!  Completely over the top, but fun to look at anyway.

Chicken Wands with Mango Dipping Sauce

 1/3 cup soy sauce

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

4 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons rice-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

12 chicken tenders

Mango Dipping Sauce (see recipe below)

Directions:

Whisk together soy sauce, ginger, sesame seeds, honey, vinegar, and oil in a large bowl. Add chicken to marinade; refrigerate, covered, 30 minutes. Soak 12 wooden skewers in water for at least 20 minutes.

Heat a grill or grill pan to medium high (if using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill for just 3 to 4 seconds). Thread chicken onto skewers, dividing evenly. Grill, turning once, until chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve warm or at room temperature with mango dipping sauce and rice.

 

Mango Dipping Sauce

1 1/2 mangoes, peeled, pitted, and sliced

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

 Directions:

Puree mangoes, honey, vinegar, and lime juice in a food processor or blender until smooth. Sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 day. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Summer Salad with Green Beans and Tomatoes

2 handfuls green beans, trimmed

2 tomatoes, diced

4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil; add salt. Cook beans until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the ice-water bath to stop the cooking. Drain, and pat dry with paper towels. Cut beans into 1-inch pieces. Transfer to a large bowl. Add tomatoes and mozzarella; toss. The vegetable mixture can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 day.   Just before serving, whisk together vinegar and oil in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Toss vegetable mixture with the vinaigrette. 

Roses Are Red

I just wanted to share this because I love it so much.  Hannah gave this to me almost 2 years ago, and it's my favorite thing she's ever made for me.  I have it at my desk all the time, so I figured it was worth adding to the blog!

Kewpie Babies

I had to do these pictures since Olivia's hair seems to grow just like my old Kewpie doll's hair.  It was tricky getting her to hold the doll in just the right position, and even trickier getting a shot without her slobbering all over it and shoving it in her mouth!  I love this baby.

Purple Belt!

This was at Ben's promotion to purple belt at the karate studio over Memorial Weekend.  Papa Steve and Gramma Ruthie came to watch.  He did such a great job.  Go BEN!!  Now he is in a new class at karate where he gets to do sparring.  It's a lot different from what he is used to, but he seems to really like it.

Ben's Golf Course

This was a school project (aka parent homework) for Ben, back at the end of May.  All the 3rd graders had to make a hole for a miniature golf course at school, and it had to have a theme and involve a "simple machine."  Okay...so after procrastinating up until the night before it was due (because we had no clue what to do), we finally pulled this off.  We borrowed the board from my dad's garage.  Ben wanted to do a gardening theme, so he glued on all these little pots and garden gnomes, and painted little vegetable patches all over it.  I helped Ben make a windmill type thing for the ball to spin through at the beginning, using Tinkertoys.  Clayton made a contraption at the end that made a pot fall and trap the ball, rather than having it fall into a hole.  Everyone loved it at school, Ben was excited about it, and he got an "A"!  Phew!  Glad that's done.  Maybe we should save it for Hannah to use...

The neighbor kids had fun with it all day after school!  This is our friend Bronwyn, with Hannah and Olivia as the spectators.

Thumb Plus Binky

Does that equal a "thinky"?  This was taken a month ago, but MAN, what a fun and busy summer we are having!  I have so much to add to this blog.  Coming soon...