Wedding Date

May 22!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

It is a white Christmas this year! We have had an enjoyable family day, opening presents, playing games, eating and eating some more, and best of all, getting to talk to the missionaries. We were surprised this morning with a phone call from Grandma and Grandpa Rees in Romania! It was amazing to be able to talk to them as if they were next door, and hear that all is well with them. About an hour later we heard from Drew. He, too, sounded great and wasn't ready at all to talk about coming home in the spring. He loves being a missionary! He is currently serving in the city of Raleigh and was a bit envious of our snowy weather. He said it was sunny and 70 degrees there today. It was fun to share Travis' good news with him. Wonder what next Christmas will bring!

An Announcement

It's official! Travis and Caitlin are engaged. They plan to be married the end of April or first of May, shortly after Drew gets home from his mission. Our family is thrilled to be gaining a daughter/sister! Caitlin is everything we could hope for in a daughter-in-law, and she makes Travis so happy! There are so many arrangements to make, not the least of which is finding a "mother of the groom" dress, so let me know if anyone sees something that might work. I'm sure everything else will just fall into place!

Winter Wonderland

It just keeping dumping snow. It started at 9:00am this morning and there is no sign of stopping. Travis, Caitlin, Megan, and Todd went skiing at Sundance this morning. Fortunately, they made it home safely, before they closed the canyon due to avalanche danger.

Sleeping Beauty

Nothing like a Sunday afternoon nap. If only I could look like a princess when I sleep!

First Snow

Well, it was late coming this year, but SNOW and COLD are here! It is perfect timing, as the kids are now out of school for the holidays. I'm trying to prepare myself for a winter of kids and dog tracking WET and MUD throughout the house. It is pretty, though.

Hot Tub Fun

Rees and Lindsey decided to warm up in the hot tub. There was a beautiful full moon out that kept peeking through the clouds just over the mountains.

St. George Tennis Retreat

Kim, Pam, Tammy, Stacy, Jana, RaeAnn, Ruthanne, Pam, Sandy, Marilyn, Robin, Debbie, Linda




Highlights from our two-day ladies getaway:

TENNIS LESSONS WITH CLARK
JIMMY JOHNS
CONDO TOURS
TEXAS ROADHOUSE
TAIPAN/SCOOKIES
WATCHING TENNIS
RAEANN'S FAMOUS CARAMEL CORN
CROCHET LESSONS
PLAYING MORE TENNIS
IGGYS
SHOPPING FOR GRANDBABIES

STAYING IN ROBIN, STACY, AND TAMMY'S BEAUTIFUL CONDOS - THANKS FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY!

TONS OF FUN AND LAUGHTER!

CAN'T WAIT TILL NEXT TIME!

Saturday afternoon fun

Rees catching a touchdown pass.


It is a beautiful fall day. We had Rees' football team over for an end-of-season party. Of course, they wanted to have a football game. Meanwhile, the dog discovered the joys of a water bed, when she accidentally walked across the pool cover.

I Do Not Like Halloween . . .

For Halloween, Rees was required to write a poem and recite it at school while dressed up in his costume. Here is his poem, inspired by Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham:

I do not like Halloween
I do not like scary things,
I do not like pumpkin stew
I do not like witches brew.

The taste of pumpkin makes me ill
I'd rather take a great big pill.
I do not like ghosts or bats
I do not like wizard's hats.

I do not like ghosts that fly
And vampires, well . . . they make me cry!
I am not fond of wizard's charms
I hate getting lost in corn maze farms.

I hear witches fly on a broom
But only if there is a full moon.
I tremble in the dark of night,
Afraid of some Halloween fright.

I do not like vampire blood,
I do not like guts or crud.
I feel a bit like Icabod Crane,
Afraid I might lose my head or brain.

I do not like scary witches,
I have nightmares about Frankenstein's stitches.
I do not like to dress up cute,
Like the Cat in the Hat or a Redneck Ute.

I do not like to knock on doors,
It gives my feet great big sores.

Hey wait. . . .Did you say there will be candy?
I think Halloween's just dandy!

Preparing for Obama

Tonight we had a little civics lesson with the kids on what "redistribution" means. We figured the Halloween candy worked perfectly for an object lesson. I got all the chocolate! Yum!

More Ward Bulletin Recipes

Skor Bar Cake

1 cake mix (Devils Food or German Chocolate)
1 - 16 oz jar carmel butterscotch ice cream topping
1 - 8oz cool whip
2 - Skor candy bars

Bake cake as directed in 9 x 12 pan. While still warm, poke many holes in it with a wooden spoon handle. Pour ice cream topping over top. Cover and let set in fridge for several hours or overnight. Cover top with Cool Whip. Crush 2 Skor bars & sprinkle on top.

Peanut Butter Brownies

6 eggs
3 C sugar
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1 C peanut butter
1/2 C shortening
1 T vanilla
4 C flour
1 1/2 T baking powder
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 C peanuts

Mix together and bake at 350 for 25 min.

Baked Chicken Breast Supreme

This is from our ward bulletin.

6 chicken breasts
1/4 C lemon juice
1/4 C worchestershire sauce
4 t celery salt
1 t garlic salt
1/2 t pepper
2 C sour cream
4 t paprika
4 t salt
2 C dry bread crumbs
1/2 C melted butter

Cut chicken breasts in half. In large bowl combine sour cream, lemon juice, worchestershire sauce, salts, paprika and pepper. Add chicken, coat each piece well. Let marinate in fridge overnight. Remove from mixture, roll in bread crumbs, coat evenly. Arrange in shallow pan, lined with foil. Spoon some melted butter over chicken, bake 45 min at 350 degrees. Spoon rest of butter on chicken and bake 10 min longer. (Until tender and nicely browned)

A Fun Halloween Recipe

I know Halloween was yesterday, but I made this today and it turned out really yummy!

Almond Cream Cheese Caramel Brains

1 C. sliced almonds, divided (I used pecans)
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 C sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
24 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but cold
1/2 C butter, melted
1/4 C brown sugar

Glaze:
1 T butter
1 C powdered sugar
2 T water
1/2 t almond extract

Coat a 10 inch bundt pan with cooking spray: sprinkle with 1/4 C almonds, set aside. Cut cream cheese into 24 equal cubes. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Roll cream cheese cubes in sugar mixture until coated.

Place 12 filled, coated rolls in the prepared pan and sprinkle with half of the remaining almonds. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds or until sugar is dissolved, stir to combine. Pour half of the brown sugar mixture over rolld in pan. Place remaining rolls in pan. Sprinkle with remaining nuts and any remaining sugar mixture. Top with remaining butter mixture.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough reaches the top of the pan. Remove wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. To prevent over browning, cover with tin foil the last 15 minutes of baking. Invert pan immediately onto a serving platter, (it is natural for the bread to settle). Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over warm bread.

I'll be having nightmares about this . . .

So, here it is, my very first blog entry! It took something so awful, so terrible . . . that I was compelled to share it with all interested parties. Today I went out to check on the pool (we were partially draining it for a repair), and on the step spotted the largest, ugliest, scariest spider I have ever seen in real life. It is hard to tell from the picture, but it was seriously as big as the palm of my hand! It sent chills up and down my spine--my teeth started to chatter, and I think I may have actually gone into mild shock. I considered putting it into a jar, because I knew that no one would believe the size of this thing, but it was in the corner and I couldn't figure out how to capture it without risking heart failure, should happen to move suddenly. So I did the only rational thing, I took a picture and then left it there, hoping someone braver than I would come along to dispose of it. Lucky me--when the pool guys arrived, one of them quickly took care of it (with a sledgehammer, I think).