The Best Banana Nut Muffins

Banana Nut Muffins

Makes 12-15 muffins

2 C flour

1 C sugar

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

3 very ripe bananas- mashed should be about 1 1/2 C

1/3 C buttermilk

2 large eggs

6 T butter- melted and slightly cooled

1 t. vanilla

1 C walnuts- chopped finely

Oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin tins by spraying with non-stick spray or you can use liners.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix bananas, buttermilk, eggs, butter, vanilla and 3/4 C of the nuts. Fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients. until just combined- batter will look lumpy. Be careful not to over mix!

Use an ice cream scoop to drop the batter into the tins. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 C nuts on the tops of the muffins.

Place in oven and drop the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake 20-23 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool in tin 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack for 10 more minutes of cooling before eating.

Happy Birthday to Kelle Belle!

Aren't school pictures great?

Happy, happy birthday Kelle! You've sure have gotten old fast! Where does time go???

Fudgy Goodness!

Wes' mom gave me this recipe shortly after I met him. Next to chocolate chews, these fudgy babies come in second on his list of favorite treats his mom made. I added my own little twist...hidden Mickey's! Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Revel Bars

3 c. quick oats

2 eggs

1 c. butter-softened

1 t. soda

2-1/2 c. flour

2 t. vanilla

2 c. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Mix oats, eggs, butter, soda, flour, vanilla and brown sugar together in the mixer. Press 2/3 of the mixture into a lightly greased sheet pan.

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1-1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 T butter

2 t. vanilla

In a saucepan, melt together the milk, chips, butter and vanilla over low heat. Stir until smooth. Pour over mixture in pan and spread evenly leaving 1/4" edges. Dot with remaining oat mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes until edges are set and lightly golden.

Visiting the Bear

Wes invited us to go for a ride with him to Randolph...with the promise of stopping at Bear Lake on the way back. He said he would need to fix a wheel on a swather and then take it down the road from where it was at to a different farmer so he could demo it. He said,"Shouldn't take longer than a few minutes." We couldn't turn down that offer.

We picked up lunch on the way and after a long ride to Randolph-and the first SuperFriends disc watched, Wes had the tire fixed in record time. We stayed in the truck...It was @99 degrees outside and there were these HUGE black bugs there that could carry off a toddler. Poor Wes had to wear a long sleeved jacket in that heat to keep the bugs from assaulting him. Anyway, It took roughly 45 minutes to follow him to the farmer's field where the swather was to be left. He promised that it would only take @ 15 minutes to show the guy how to run it. Funny thing, on the way down this DESOLATE dirt road there was suddenly a traffic jam. Eight vehicles not including myself and the swather! STRANGE.... SURPRISE! ALL the farmers in the trucks were on their way to demo the swather.....EIGHT of them. I realized right away that it was going to be longer than 15 minutes.

At first, we had the windows down for the breeze...the big black bugs finally smelled our blood and showed up in swarms...Windows up! GREAT! Now we have to run the A/C in short blocks of time to keep from over heating while we're sitting there. Next comes the "I'm Bored!" from the back. SuperFriends was not going to keep their attention much longer...Wait! I remember I have a deck of cards stashed in the truck somewhere- (You never know when you may need a deck of cards for a spontaneous game of poker...) At least 50 games of Go Fish later, Wes was finally ready to go. Good thing, Katelyn REALLY REALLY needs to GO! Poor Wes was drenched from head to toe after having to wear that long sleeved jacket for 4 hours- he drank all the rest of the water we had in the truck.

On our way back to the lake, we talked about the pioneers and how they must have thought that Brigham Young had lost his mind when they traveled through this area. Swamps, big black biting bugs, mountains in the distance that you just knew you were going to have to cross... We decided that we would have made terrible pioneers...Oh and about 15 minutes down the road we had to turn around...the swather was making a funny noise. Woo Hoo! More Go Fish!

After the stop at the icky blue boxes it was off to the lake for a while...

Katelyn and Ryan looking for shells.Ryan picking up rocks to throw in the lake, (notice the respect that he gives me??? Pretty brave since he was a long way from home!)Ryan trying to skip rocks.Wading out as far as Dad will let them. Ryan walking on water...

All in all, it wasn't too bad. We picked up dinner at LeBeaus on the way out. By the time we made it home it was time for bath and bed. Good thing, it was a looooooooong day!

OOooooo...The Claw.....

These were super easy and tons of fun to make! The Littles have been standing over them repeating "The Claw..." and then stealing one to eat.

Beautiful Sunset

Thought I'd share a sunset view from our deck...

We've had some breathtaking ones this summer!

Jail....

Here's a story that Debbie related to me. She has all the funny ones of Ryan and Katelyn. Last week, Debbie's dad (who used to be the chief of police) was at her house. Ryan and Katelyn love Grandpa! Somehow they got on the subject of Ryan and Katelyn reading this last school year.

Debbie told her dad that they would bring home "baggie" books. Baggie books are loaner library books that the librarian picks for them at their grade level- the kids have no choice in what they get. If Ryan and Katelyn didn't want to read the book that was picked for them because maybe it looked to hard, or the pictures were not so good, they would write my initials, or Debbie's or Wes' on the card.

Debbie's dad told them that they shouldn't do that. He told them it was against the law and they would go to jail for forgery. To which the conversation proceeded something like this:

Ryan: So, I want to go to jail.

Katelyn: Yeah, me too!

Gpa: No you don't want to go to jail. All they have is a bed to sleep and sit on, a toilet in the room, and all they get to eat is moldy bread and water.

Katelyn: Oh, you mean like church???

Out of the mouthes of babes!!!!

A New Friend

I took Katelyn to the new neighbors house to meet their little girl. Katelyn and Savannah are the same age. I thought that they may like to play together.

While waiting for them to answer the door Katelyn took a look around the front porch.

"Mom, I just don't think I'm going to like this."

"Why not?", I asked.

To this she put her hands out and did the "Vanna White" gesture to the items on the front porch...

DOLLS!

Birthday Time!!!

Well it was birthday time again at our place. Ryan and Katelyn are finally two...ok seven, they just act two sometimes. It must be a twin thing.Here's Katelyn with her cake... Wonder Woman...who would've guessed????Here is Ryan and his cake. Batman...he almost didn't get the cake. He threw a fit because it wasn't chocolate. It started out chocolate but due to a technical issue I had start over...don't ask!Here is Katelyn with her haul.

Here is Ryan with his...don't you love the pose?

I attempted to post a few pictures of all the nice gifts they received at their party...like the new Zhu Zhu pets, the games, the sidewalk chalk, the cute clothes, the bike helmets, the Superfriends DVD, and the Wonder Woman complete series DVD...BUT...google just did not want to upload any more pictures for me tonight. Five must be my limit when I don't post everyday! Thanks to everyone for the nice things that I will likely get to clean-up nearly everyday for the next year. (Except for the sidewalk chalk. They plan to use that at Aunt Becs!)Wes and I got them bikes for their big day. I REALLY wish they could already ride them. It's going to be a loooooong summer. Do you know how hard it is to balance kids on bikes these days? What ever happened to banana bike seats with a handle on the back? I can't quite figure out where to hold them...handle bars or shoulders????? I just may give in and buy training wheels yet...

A Bit of Embellishment

Here's my welcome that I put in my entry. Anyone know where the saying came from? I had tons of fun putting it up. I'm excited to put more up...Julie, I'm gonna be calling you!!

Spring Soccer Pics

Here's a few pics of spring soccer. I froze...Ryan and Katelyn had a blast!Ryan dribbling toward the goal.Katelyn trying to get the ball turned around!

A big kick to get the ball outta the cluster of competitors!

Katelyn at goalie...making a save! Way to put your whole body into the game!

What did we get for all our troubles??? Two participation trophies- $50, two team pictures with Ryan's eyes closed- $22, Fighting off pneumonia for the next month-PRICELESS!

Cake with the Topper

It turned out way cute with the topper! Lisa seemed to really love it. I'm glad she was happy...

Lisa and Jack's Wedding Cake

Well, here is the finished cake. I didn't get the cake topper out for this photo op. It's one of those really cute Precious Moments toppers. I was afraid that I would drop it because I was so tired. That's the last thing I would have needed last night.

I'll take some pics of it tonight with the topper.

Sorry to All My Faithful Followers...

All five of you...

I am sorry for putting off updating my blog. I have a million excuses to list, but for times sake I'll only list a few for your entertainment.

1. I was sick. Ok- not the entire time, but a cold on top of allergies makes for one bad headache and a terrible attitude.

2. I've been reading...a lot! I found a bookstore in Logan where you can buy used books (most are in excellent condition) for only $7. That's $7 for as many as you can stuff in a plastic grocery bag! Terrific deal!!!! I've been there three times now and can't wait to finish what I've got now so I can go back. I decided that I'd better read as much as I can now...the little people will be out of school in just a few weeks. When they're here, I get to referee, not read.

3. I've been getting ready to do another wedding cake. Lots of prep work...psychologically.

4. Chasing to spring soccer games. This was a first for us. I did not like it at all. It was way too cold. Mostly I just froze. Ryan and Kate had tons of fun though. I'll post some of those pics later.

5. More reading...I am not looking forward to losing my personal time again...

6. Unmotivated....I don't know why. Perhaps it's because the computer is located all the way down the stairs. If I go downstairs, I can see that the stairs need to be vacuumed. So I vacuum. Then if I vacuum the stairs, the family room looks like it could use a once over. If I'm going to vacuum, I have to dust first. Ryan's room is a disaster...Oh here's another load of laundry on the floor....you know how it is. By the time all of that is finished, it's time to get the littles from school.

7. My Sunday post days are now spent on the back row in Relief Society freezing to death. I feel like I'm the only one on the room who is not having hot flashes. The last week that I went, I took my winter coat and refused to hang it up. (Not that I'm asking for a job in the Primary...)

8. I'm too busy trying to figure out what to make for dinner...For those who don't know, Wes is now on a restricted diet. Low fat and cholesterol. I haven't the first idea how to cook like that. I prefer to use butter, cheese, meats, you know all the good stuff. I do like vegetables too, but Wes doesn't like them... unless you count corn as a vegetable. I keep telling him that it's a starch / grain. He insists that it grows in a VEGETABLE garden, therefore it IS a vegetable. Go figure. If you know any good sites / recipe books for a meat and potatoes low fat diet, let me know.

Ok- enough whining from me. I have a renewed commitment to keeping up the blog. Check back often so you can keep up to how much fun we aren't having during the summer. Two house payments is really a bummer. I SOOOOOO want to go to DISNEYLAND!!!!

FINALLY! Ryan's Big Day!

Saturday night, Ryan came up to show us his loose tooth. I don't know why it is, but our littles like to wiggle their teeth while in bed...

Anyway, sure enough Ryan had his first loose tooth! We were beginning to worry he wouldn't loose one in the first grade. His teacher gives the kids a cool tooth pillow when they lose their first tooth. He would have been devastated to miss out on that cool prize!

It was just a little loose, you could barely wiggle it. Katelyn was excited that it was the same first tooth that she lost. We told him to go back to bed and keep wiggling it. We assured him that the more he wiggled, the quicker it would fall out.

Sunday night after bath time, Ryan was convinced that his tooth was ready to come out. I was quite surprised at how loose his tooth was after just one day. I guess I know what he did in primary!

He called Aunt Bec the magic tooth puller to come remove the loose pearl niblet. He sat really good and when she pulled it out he had a slight look of horror on his face. It must have been from the "pop" sound it made when it came out. Just like Katelyn he was OK until he saw blood. A paper towel and a cup of cool water fixed everything and he was on his way to call Debbie and Grandpa. Thanks Aunt Bec! You're the best! That Tooth Fairy is going to go broke visiting the Pierson household this year!

Miss Kris Has Been Busy Again!

Miss Kris sent home more personalized sodas for Ryan and Katelyn. They were thrilled! They couldn't wait to have one. Katelyn is amazed that Kris knows just what they think is cool. Ryan says she knows what's cool because she's an adult. Funny- they don't think of Mom as cool....

Ryan and Katelyn send their thanks to Miss Kris! They think she ROCKS!...And she has cute puppies too!

Our Friends Out Back

Just about every night, these "friends" of ours wander through the back field. We've counted as many as fourteen at a time out there. Most of them are pretty small. Wes can't wait until they move on. He says it's like having a herd of sheep in the grain field...I think I'll be ready for them to go as soon as the garden is in. Ryan likes his little friends. He tries to get close to them. He's been as close as about 20 feet away in Grandma Great's back yard. If you come to visit, be sure to watch really careful for the deer on the road!

Easter Feast

We went to Sue's for Reed's birthday dinner on Easter. The kids participated in the candy gathering on the front lawn and each came away with a grocery sack of treats. I'm glad that bunny didn't bring a lot to the house...

Brad grilled burgers (he was even nice enough to grill the turkey burgers that I brought for Reed and myself-he did a great job too!), Sue made potato salad, and I made dessert for the gathering. Dawni and Shawn came to our house early to help. Believe it or not, Shawn did help...He stirred the strawberry glaze in the pan over the ice bath!

This was our contribution:

We made about 150 of these cute little strawberry tarts. They were sure yummy!

Easter Morning 2010

Easter morning at our house was relatively uneventful. Katelyn was the first one up. She came into our room dressed and ready for the day. I love it when I get to sleep in on days off...this was not going to be one of those days.

Ready for the basket hunt...Not ready for the basket hunt! He later thanked me for getting him up...After the great basket hunt, here they are with their goodies. The Easter Bunny decided that since they got a lot of candy at Debbie's and at the hunt they went to with her on Saturday-they did not need candy...Instead the Bunny brought them a few fun things. They both got bubble bath and a small hollow chocolate bunny.Ryan got the movie Astro Boy, a few Hot Wheels cars, and yellow Peeps. If you haven't seen Astro Boy- rent it! It's really cute! Katelyn got The Princess and the Frog, earrings and pink Peeps. Kate and I watched her movie later in the week. I have to admit I did choke back a few tears over a bug.

MUD, MUD, MUD!

Wes got a really terrific deal on fill dirt. They dumped about forty loads in the front and back. When they ran out of room, it was dumped on the bottom of the drive. The first night I couldn't get into the driveway because of the massive piles blocking my way. It's a bit deceiving for pile size- try gauging it to Wes on the tractor...the tractor IS NOT small. Then it decided to change back to winter...SNOW, melt, SNOW, melt, SNOW...you get the idea.

(Notice the dark clouds in the picture?) The next morning, I made it to the truck before it melted since I had to be at work before the sun rises. When I made it home that night, I wasn't a happy camper. I had to help Ryan and Katelyn tromp through the slippery mud- about 150 yards- to the garage door. (Computer bag, lunchbag, purse, backpacks, DS's and crafts from Debbie's-UPHILL both ways- really!) I had six inches of mud on the bottoms of my shoes- Katelyn and Ryan had mud to their ankles! What a mess.

Wes fixed it that night so we could drive into the garage. So, it is a little better. Unfortunately there's still a mud hole at the bottom of the drive...and more fill dirt coming!

Kate Finally Asked!

Well, it's done! Katelyn finally asked to have her ears pierced. Wes told her that she had to wait until she was five...we ended up waiting until she asked. I knew that as soon as Gracie had hers done, Katelyn would want to have hers done too... She was very brave- only little tears for a second- then they painted her nails and all was well. She's already started to amass the earrings...and is counting down the weeks until she can change them.

Anyone remember when she wanted earrings when she was about 4? I bought her some magnetic earrings and sent her in to show Wes. He was furious and didn't speak to me for hours. I egged it on a bit asking him to explain just exactly what I had done to make him so mad. He definitely wasn't amused when Katelyn should him that they were magnets! I on the other hand found it quite funny!!

Vilai's Carrot Cake

Danielle requested that I make her a carrot cake in exchange for Disneyland fudge. Pretty great offer, but we couldn't work out the logistics.

So, instead I am posting the carrot cake recipe that is the best ever! I got this recipe from a friend of mine at Pepperidge Farm. She is the best cook ever! This is a must try recipe AND it has carrots in it (that makes it healthy right?).

PS- I didn't take the picture- I stole it, but it's pretty close to what it should look like (I would frost neater!)

Vilai's Carrot Cake
3 C carrots- grated-must be grated to turn out properly
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C oil
4 eggs
3 C flour
2 t soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
2 t baking powder
1 C walnuts

Mix carrot, sugar, oil and eggs. Mix together dry ingredients and add to carrot mixture. Beat well, stir in nuts. Bake in a greased and floured tube (I use a Bundt) pan for 1 hour at 300 degrees. Cool completely before frosting.

Vilai's Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese- softened
1 stick butter
2 t vanilla
1 box powdered sugar (1 lb)

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Can adjust sugar to desired spreading consistency.

ENJOY!

Jack and Lisa- II

Prom Night 2010

Hunter actually asked a girl out to prom. He said he had a nice time, but dating is too expensive. That's why he's says he's never going to have a girlfriend! Wes is rubbing off on him.

Here's Hunter and Megan- I hope that's spelled right...

Hunter cleans up pretty nicely. (OK he's looking awfully grown up- I can't believe that he graduates next year!

Here they are with the whole group. What cute dresses! Some of the girls wore Keds! Too funny-

Here's what Hunter picked for shoes. Pretty slick!