Week in Tahoe

We got to stay in Tahoe last week. It was great. We just relaxed and did everything at snails pace. We walked around Tallac, skipped rocks at Fallen Leaf Lake, ate lots of ice cream and visited the pool daily. It was lovely!

Marston with his brand new Strider bike. He loves it!

Throwing rocks at Tallac.

Fallen Leaf Lake. 

We did a lot of rock throwing while we were there! 

Skipping rocks at Fallen Leaf Lake.

Maternity Pictures

I am lucky enough to have a sister in law (Brooke Trogdon) who is a super talented photographer. I got to take some maternity shoots a couple of days ago with her.  I surprised myself and actually had a good time. I am usually pretty shy with stuff like this but it was kinda fun. I am 33 weeks and feel like I am ready to pop. I actually had a doctor's appointment yesterday and he said I'm measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. So, we'll see what happens. 

Not-So-Snappy Ginger Snaps

One of Daniel's favorite cookie is ginger snaps. I have been making these for a couple of years now and I must say they are pretty tasty. They are not crispy but soft and chewy and they have the perfect amount of spice. I love to double the batch and make ice cream sandwiches with them. Plus, they make your house smell wonderful.

Ginger Snaps

¾ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2 ¼ cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

  

Cream together butter and sugar. Stir in molasses and egg. Add 1 cup of flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and ground cloves. Stir until combined. Add remaining flour. Chill dough in freezer for 15 minutes. Shape sough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar.

Bake on greased cookie sheets at 375° for 10 minutes.

A day in the life of a two-year-old

So I thought it might be fun to take lots of pictures throughout our day. This is what we did yesterday.

Marston helping me water the blueberries. Yes, one of them got fried on one of the really hot days here so we're trying to bring life back into it. 

Reading books while I do laundry.

Grandma Anderson came over to watch Marston while I got to go to lunch with Daniel. Thanks Grandma! 

Grandma and Marston playing games. 

Marston fell asleep in Grandma's arms almost the whole time I was gone. I took him up to his bed when I got home to give Grandma's arms a rest. 

This is how Marston wakes up from his naps. It takes him a little while before he is fully awake and happy. 

Eating lunch at 2 pm. 

Playing.

Coloring. He loves to peel off the crayon wrappers.

Playing in the garden. 

On our way to the dry cleaners and grocery store. 

At the grocery store, eating grapes. Love this look.

Daddy finally home. 

Daniel and Marston wrestle every night when Daniel gets home. 

Dinner time. 

After I shoved food in his mouth and he was done. 

On a walk to the park. Marston has to walk on the curb. 

We wanted to speed things up so Daniel put Marston on his shoulders. That was fun for about 1 minute, then Marston wanted to walk by himself. 

Climbing climbing climbing.

Down the slide. 

Bath time. 

He loves that hat we got for free in a kid's meal in Preston during the rodeo. 

Finally time for bed. He always starts off in his big-boy bed but gets out so many times we end up putting him in his pack-and-play. 

Ready for prayers. 

Randomness

The past couple of weeks have been filled with jet skiing, canning peaches, putting toys away, Dan studying, painting the bathroom, organizing the garage, growing a baby, going to the pool, growing stuff I don't really eat, drinking lots of water, having disputes over the AC, going to the park, painting the mantle, picking up toys, doing laundry, watching Curious George, canning salsa, reading stories, putting Marston in his big-boy bed, taking Marston back to his big-boy bed, finally putting him in the pack-and-play, laughing, and sweating for no apparent reason.

Life is grand!

Homemade Pizza

One of life's treats is pizza. We probably have pizza once a week in our house. Yes, I know, it's not the healthiest but it sure is tasty. I have tried many different pizza dough recipes and I think I've found a winner. This one comes from a blog called Annie's Eats and it's super easy to make. I have also tried a number of pizza sauce recipes as well as many store bought varieties. Last night I made the sauce using tomatoes from my mother-in-laws garden and it tasted wonderful. I think when I have the energy, it would be a good idea to make a ton and put them in jars for the months to come. Not this year though. It had a wonderful fresh taste you won't be able to get from any store bought pizza sauce. One last thought on homemade pizza-don't be tempted to buy the pre-shredded mozzarella. Sure it's a whole lot easier and it's one less thing you have to wash but it doesn't melt as well. Buy it in the cube and shred it yourself, you'll be happy you did.  Try out these recipes and let me know what you think.

Pizza dough ready to be cut in half and rolled out.

Marston "helping"

Basic Pizza Dough

From: http://annies-eats.com/

Printer-Friendly Version

Yield: enough dough for 2 medium pizzas or 4 calzones

Ingredients: 
½ cup warm water
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1½ tsp. salt
1¼ cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions: 
Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend.  Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture.  With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil.  Mix until a cohesive dough is formed.  Switch to the dough hook.  Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball.  (If freezing the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this point.)  Cover with a damp cloth.  Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes.  Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal.  Shape the dough with lightly floured hands.  Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil.  Top as desired.  Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

Abbi's Pizza Sauce

1 TBSP Olive Oil

3 cups (or 1 big can of crushed) pureed tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste 

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano 

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp garlic salt 

Heat oil in sauce pan. Add all ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. 

Adventures in Idaho

Our little family at Masa Falls, a beautiful and surprisingly huge water fall outside of Rexburg. 

We got to drive out to Rexburg to help Erik (Dan's brother) get settled at BYU-Idaho. We love it there. It's been 3 years since we've lived there and it was so fun to see all the new things in the town. We spent a couple of days there then Daniel drove home with his parents and Marston and I drove down to Preston to visit my family.  I love my parent's ranch in the summer. It's so beautiful. Sounds of birds, chickens, dogs, flies, cows, and horses and the smell of fresh cow manure and wood smoke make the sweetness of the ranch. We got to spend 2 and a half weeks there. Daniel flew back for about a week. We went on long drives in the mountains, went swimming, chased chickens, went to the Preston Night Rodeo and all the festivities that came with that, and ate lots and lots of ice cream from Big J's. I grew up doing that same things with my grandparents and I hope my children will have wonderful memories of Idaho like I have.

Bear Lake in the nude. 

My parents at Bear Lake.

We had some troubles with skunks this summer. My dad caught and released (somewhere in the mountains) 4 of them. 3 babies and 1 big mama. 

This calf was born that morning. 

My uncle owns a big dairy farm. 

Tuckered out. 

Dairy farm in Preston, Idaho.

Zana had her 10th birthday out at the ranch. We all went to Aggies in Logan and got a sink filled with ice cream. Jonas and Marston had the good idea of "eating" it with a straw.

Daniel and Marston ready for the Preston Night Rodeo. My two cowboys.

Marston, Erik and Daniel at the rodeo. Marston loved it. He cheered, clapped and gazed at all the excitement.