Future Firefighter

Sorting through all sorts of spring photos & events.. this one is my favorite today:

Kyle. Preschool field trip to the fire station.

Moab

Every spring, Russ has a work obligation that brings him to Moab. I always look forward to this as a chance to enjoy some warm sunshine and red rocks.. This year, we had the red rocks, and a little bit of sunshine, but unfortunately it was COLD for most of the trip. We had some fun despite the unfortunate weather though..

Josh is not a bad photographer.. he took these two:

Before & After

After much deliberation and careful consideration, we decided it was time to cut the boy's hair. Why is it so difficult for me to let it go?

BEFORE

THE HOSE-DOWN

THE NEW LOOK

Who is that kid? And yes.. he's working on some molars. Its been fun.

Happy Presidents Day

This is a picture of George Washington that Josh drew in preschool. I love children's artwork!

After I posted this, he came home with Abe too, so had to add this:

A picture, a story and a recipe (all unrelated)

(This picture has nothing to do with the post. It just makes me laugh.)

Josh came home from preschool the other day all excited about Valentine's Day. He wanted to make some Valentines and leave them on someone's pillow. We got out the construction paper, markers, scissors and some stickers. Josh cut out two construction paper hearts and snuck in to leave them on Neil's pillow. Then I helped Neil made a heart with stickers on it and he left it on Josh's pillow. So sweet.. and so much love. Later that afternoon, I came in to the room to find Josh and Neil with scissors cutting the Valentines into little tiny bits. All that was left was a pile of cut up paper. I love boys.

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I have had several requests for this lemon cake recipe. Its embarassing how simple it is and that it comes from a box. Try it though. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Christie's Embarassingly Easy Lemon Cake

1 box Betty Crocker lemon cake mix

1 small box lemon pudding (just the dry mix)

4 eggs

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. water

1 c. lowfat plain yogurt

Mix together. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour into pan (any shape- 9x13, 2 rounds or cupcakes). Bake at 350. Use the time on the cake box depending on the shape of pan you use. Cupcakes are 22-25 minutes.

Top with cream cheese frosting or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Homemade cream cheese frosting is my fave:

1 stick butter

8 oz cream cheese

1 t. vanilla

~3 1/2 to 4 c. powdered sugar

a little milk to get it to the desired consistency

Make sure butter & cream cheese are at room temp. Mix together with a hand mixer until smooth. You could add a little lemon juice or zest to make it extra lemony, but I just use it as is. This makes more frosting than you need for the lemon cake, so eat it on graham crackers or make some sweet rolls to go with it :-).

Birthday Highlights

Kyle's birthday was celebrated with a quaint little family affair.


Potato heads lovingly created by his brothers were presented over breakfast:

Later, we dined at Hires Big H (a family favorite) and played at the children's museum at the Gateway. Here are the kids in action. Kyle does not yet walk unassisted, but loves to walk around pushing something for support.. such as a shopping cart filled with a fake flower and a plastic loaf of bread.

Josh spent most of the evening dressed as the mailman. It was awesome.

We ended the evening with panda cupcakes. Kyle has earned the nickname "poe"(from Kung Fu Panda) because of the kung fu moves he does with help from his dad. (Ask Russ if you would like to see his moves)

This picture cracks me up. He was having a grand time and then all of the sudden he was done.. tired.. ready for bed.

One

My favorite newborn picture of Kyle (taken by Valerie Bateman)

He's 1 year old today(and really, this year has gone way too fast). The boys are most excited about his birthday. I have big plans to update this blog with Christmas, Disneyland, Kyle's birthday and some favorite new recipes. We'll see how it goes.