Dan's Birthday

One of Dan's favorite things is sushi. So I decided to learn how to make it and save some money. I had to find an oriental market and search high and low to find the weird ingredients (seaweed, wasabi, short grain rice, raw fish, etc.) Then I discovered that it is not as easy as it looks on youtube. You can see here Zanya's opinion. The rest of the kids at least tried it. The big kids even like it. As it turns out, it is possible to make sushi for a fraction of the cost of buying it, but it's not very fun. Maybe if I get better at it. . .
Hanna's masterpiece. She chose the colors and design, all from scratch and delicious.

Dan's mom, Joanne, was staying with us so it was a regular party.
We love you Dad!

My First Wedding

To provide cupcakes, that is. This order was for 200 mini carrot cake cupcakes. I didn't have a recipe that I loved, so I made one myself. They turned out pretty tasty. They were the grooms favorite! Last week, I was flattered when the bride called me for the recipe. She wanted to make them for Valentine's Day.

Christmas PJs

Christmas Eve 2009

We were so happy that the Macnabs could join us for the nativity this year. We were in desperate need of a Joseph. Chandler had to do it last year and he is really too big for the costume. So Mitchell was our Joseph and Ruthie was excited to be Mary.Our shepherds were Hanna, Danica and Rachael, Queenie was a sheep. Angels were Andria and Kindyl
Wise Men: Brenley, Zanya, and Maranda
What a fun night topped off with hot chocolate, caramel corn and cinnamon rolls from Elaine/Mom/Grandma.

Happy Birthday to our newest Adult

Chandler turned 18 in December. We are still getting used to all the ramifications of having another adult around. One nice thing: I was able to send Chandler to the store to buy dry ice for my food buckets. Chandler was also the person that exploded water bottles with the leftover dry ice.

Isn't he so handsome?
Chandler got a new phone for his birthday, just the one he wanted.
Then he had cheesecake (his favorite) for dessert. Eighteen is a lot of candles.
Chandler is in a tough spot in our house because he is surrounded by women. He handles it pretty well and we think he will make a great husband one day. Chandler likes to wrestle with his baby sister Zan and she thinks it's pretty fun too. Chandler is very smart and he reads constantly. He has eclectic music preferences and often enjoys the same music as his Mom and Dad. Chandler is usually found on his bed reading while he listens to his Zune. Chandler has a job working at Harkins so his movies are free but he will never let us in the back door. We are so grateful to have you, Chandler!
His choir had a concert at the Mesa Temple that night, he doesn't usually dress up for his birthday. It was a great concert.

Ballet Recital Winter 2009

Hanna and Maranda had a beautiful dance recital in December. I wish our camera was so great that it would actually take pictures of the dance while it is being performed on stage. Or I wish we could post the video recording of the performance. Oh well, here they are before the recital started.

Gingerbread Houses 2010

Every year, in December, we make gingerbread houses out of graham crackers. We start one day with the frosting that works like glue. We let the houses dry overnight so they are strong when we decorate with candy and buttercream frosting the next day. I love to see the new inventions that the kids come up with. This year Maranda made a garden in front and Andria made a flat roof garage with a car inside. It is a crazy, messy, fun tradition that the kids will not let me forget :)