CHARLIE-ADDITION TO THE FAMILY

I decided it was about time I let everyone meet our newest family member.  As you can see she is the cutest puggle ever.  After falling in love with Honey (Ashlee and Jed's puggle) I decided I really wanted one. For those of you who don't know anything about puggles, here are a few facts.

pug·gle (pug'gle) n.
A small hybrid breed of dog created by mating a male pug and a female beagle; thereby producing an energetic hound having a thickset body, a short-haired smooth coat of fawn, tan, and black coloring, a deeply wrinkled forehead, short legs, a curled tail and drooping ears.The Puggle appeared around seven years ago when a resident of New York crossbred a pug and a beagle and the rest is puggle history.

Character
Puggles are sweet-tempered, playful, very intelligent, social, and affectionate.  Puggles truly do inherit the best of the Pug and Beagle and the combination makes for a truly remarkable pet.

Size
Puggles generally grow to be 15-25 lbs. and approximately 13-15 inches at the shoulder.  Puggles can, of course be upward of 30 lbs, or as small as 12 lbs.  This depends on many factors such as the size of the parents, as well as the size of the litter. 

KITCHEN REDO-OAK TO BLACK DISTRESSED

Our kitchen redo has been a major on going project and we have finally finished everything except painting the walls so I decided to do some posting.  As you can see we started with oak cabinets and formica counter tops and backsplash.  We painted the cabinets black and then distressed them slightly and added 3 inch bead board to a few areas.  We used travertine for the backsplash and then put under cabinet lighting in.  We also tore out the fluorescent ceiling lights and put in can lights. We replaced all of our appliances with stainless steel.  It has totally changed the look of the kitchen and I love it.  It was worth all the work, even though there were times when I was painting the cabinets, I was questioning my sanity.

Happy 30th Sarah!!

I've decided a year off is enough so I decided today would be a good day to get back into blogging since it is Sarah's 30th birthday so wishing her a very happy 30th.  It's been wonderful spending the last week with her and Kurtis.  We were also lucky to have Jed here for a few days too.  The only thing  that would have made it better is if Ashlee could have joined us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH

Happy Birthday Sarah!!  Only 1 more year before the BIG 30.  Hope you had a great day.

JACKSON BROWN CONCERT

Last night we went to the Jackson Brown concert at Deer Valley with Kathy & Dave, Lee and Bill and their daughter Andrea.  We packed a picnic, had a great bottle of wine and sat on the hill side listening to Jackson Brown.  It doesn't get much more relaxing than that!!

TRIP TO MINNESOTA

Frequenting the "Dew Drop Inn", the only place to eat in Hoffman.


My godmother, Marion, and my sister Diane.



A few of my nieces and nephews.


We had lunch at this great Italian place in Alexandria.


Rebecca and Jeff's wedding. Her mother and I were high school friends and were room mates when I went to Moorhead State.

I spent 6 days in Minnesota with my mom and siblings. Sarah also drove up from Omaha. We packed a lot into 6 days. Everything from going to a wedding, doing some painting and cleaning for my mother, checking out a couple of new restaurants, and visiting with my godmother and one of my college room mates.

IF YOU DON'T WANT COOKIE CUTTER ARRANGEMENTS

If you don't want the typical arrangement placed in a glass vase let us do  your wedding or special event.

CHRIS ISAAK CONCERT

Total amazing!!!  I love Chris Isaak!  His concert is the best.  It was an outdoor concert at Red Butte Gardens in SLC.  We were really worried it was going to rain but it only rained while we were waiting in line  and then it was the perfect night!  We packed a picnic and had a great bottle of wine and Chris Isaak was wonderful.  If you get a chance to see him in concert,  don't miss it.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

LIME BARS

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp baking powder, divided

1 cup butter

5 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Garnish: powdered sugar, lime sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl. combine 2 cups flour, powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp baking powder. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press mixture into prepared pan.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until mixture is lightly browned.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, sugar, juice, remaining 1/4 flour, and remaining 1/2 tsp baking powder. Pour over hot crust. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting into bars.  Garnish with powdered sugar and lime slices, if desired.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KURTIS & SARAH

Happy Anniversary Kurtis and Sarah. I can't believe it's been 4 years! We love you both and wish you many more years of love and happiness.

The quality of love and the duration of a relationship are in direct proportion to the depth of the commitment by both people to making the relationship successful. Commit yourself wholeheartedly and unconditionally to the most important people in your life.
_Brian Tracy

FLAMING GORGE

Ashlee enjoying the sun and reading her book.  We both managed to get a book read and several magazines.

One night we tied our boat up and stayed in little cove.  It was much quieter than saying at the docks.
Honey and Jed waiting patiently for something a little more exciting to happen. (and neither one is very patient)

Jed, Ashlee, Honey , Mark and I went to the Gorge last Thursday and spent a few days fishing and even managed to get the dock boys to take us out water skiing and wake boarding.  Jed and Ashlee had no problem getting up even though they had been skiing or wake boarding for years.  I wasn't as lucky. I tried numerous times but never got up.  It was a major blow to my ego. (Ashlee-I guess it's not like riding a bike, once you learn, you never forget!)  Fishing kind of "sucked" according to Mark, the rest of us didn't really care if we caught any or not!  

RANDOM RECIPES

I decided I could no longer call it the recipe of the week since I have been very delinquent in my postings. I got this recipe from one of my colleagues and it is a winner!! I have made it a couple of times and I really like it. I don't put in the mandarin oranges or the water chestnuts though but I add sweet yellow, red and orange peppers. It's fun to experiment with recipes and adjust them according to your liking.

SPINACH, CHICKEN AND PASTA SALAD

16 ounces bowtie pasta, cooked al dente

DRESSING:
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup bottled teriyaki sauce
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper


1 (10-ounce) bag fesh spinach
1 (6-ounce) bag craisins
3 (11-once) cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 (8-ounce) cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 bunch reen onions, chopped
6 ounces honey roasted peanuts
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into small pieces

Blend dressing ingredients together in blender or food processor. ( I just use my mixer) Mix dressing and cooked pasta in medium bowl and marinate for at least 2 hours. Combine rest of salad ingredients in large salad bowl, add pasta and dressing and toss.

WHILE THE PARENTS ARE AWAY THE CATS WILL PLAY

It was pretty funny watching the cats the minute Kurtis and Sarah left for work. As soon as they closed the garage door Hawkeye catapults up to the top of the kitchen cabinets, Henley leaps on top of the kitchen island and Bailey settles down on arm of the sofa. Bearcat behaved himself and went to the basement to slumber the day away.

Weekend in Omaha

We went to Omaha last Thursday and came back on Sunday. Believe it or not their is a winery in Omaha. For a moment(notice I said moment) you thought you were in Napa Valley. Omaha's terrain tends to be rather flat but there was actually some rolling hills. It was an absolutely beautiful evening. The weather couldn't have better. We also managed to go out and have sushi one evening. Pat and Janine joined us so that was alot of fun.

Mandevilla Flower Pots

RED RIDING HOOD MANDEVILLA
MY FAIR LADY MANDEVILLA
ALICE duPONT MANDEVILLA
I bought 3 different mandevillas at Costco at the end of April and transplanted them to bigger pots and then planted a bunch of different flowers around them.  They have grown soooo much and everyday there are more blooms.   I wish I had taken pictures when I first planted them so you could see just how much they have grown.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

These are one of my favorite  treats.  I usually put then in a 9x13 pan but decided to make individual ones in cupcake pans.

Special K Bars

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups special K cereal ( I always use Rice Krispies)

6 ounces butterscotch chips

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Mix sugar and corn syrup in a medium size kettle on stove and bring to a simmer for 1 minute(do not overcook). Remove from heat and add peanut butter and mix well.  Add Rice Krispies and stir until all rice krispies are well covered.  Fill cupcake 2/3 full. Melt chips in microwave and frost each one. It should make 2 dozen.  I place them in the freezer for about 5 minutes to set up the chocolate.   Enjoy!

Bluegrass Festival

Mark and I went to a Bluegrass Festival in an Ogden park on Saturday. We listened to about 10 different bands.  It was an absolutely beautiful day with the temperature in the high 70's.  We brought our blankets and sat on the lawn.  One of my colleagues was in charge of it and she did an amazing job.  Way to go Michelle!

LATEST CREATIONS

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there but especially to you mom!! 

We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves.

 Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. 

 If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much.

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed." -- Bible, Proverbs 31:28

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God willgive you

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JED!!!!

MySpace Graphics

Happy 26th birthday Jed!  Hope your day is everything you want it to be. We love you.