Starting Summer

S'mores in the backyard over the weekend.

LJ only had a couple of bites, and then got tired and went to bed.

Up At The Property

Monday of Spring break we headed up to Paris.... Paris, Idaho that is.    It was a really nice day, and we went for a short hike up to where the spring is... to find it covered in snow.    

The kids each got a walking stick.  Leah thought it would be a good idea to peg her great uncle with a snowball...

We used to camp out here when we lived back in Cache Valley.  Wish we were closer so the kids could enjoy it in the summer, when the whole campsite is set up. Everyone enjoys the 4 wheelers, while I enjoy relaxing in the 5th wheel or under the shade tarp.

Undoubtedly the best Grandma (and Great Grandma) in the world.

Worms

I overheard Leah's conversation with a worm she was  playing with on the patio:

"Oh little guy, you want to go back in the soil?"

"I'll let you, on one condition...YOU ARE MINE!"

"See how you're so slow?  I'll CATCH UP TO YOU!"

Then she made a habitat for him in a tupperware and poked holes in the top of some cling wrap for a lid, with plenty of wet dirt, and the worm and his friend are hanging out in the kitchen.

Born in the 1900's

The other day Leah and I were up sewing a pillow for fun and I was letting her do the sewing machine with me, and she said, "Mom, I can't believe you were born in the 1980's! that's so long ago.  I wish I was born then because now I would be a grown up."
I told her it was better that she was born in the 2000's so that way she would be able to see a bunch more cool stuff in the future when she grows up and I won't.  Then she said, "Yeah, I'll be like:  This is a totally awesome camera-- too bad Mom's dead."

BWaAAAAA HAHAA!

Adventures in Bread Baking

Leah and I had a good time making "LDS Welfare Recipe- Wheat Bread"  I am so glad we made the cinnamon roll dough (earlier in the week with my friends, Emily and Leah's piano teacher Susan, seasoned bread baker)  so i  learned that it should be soft.  Otherwise, I'm sure I would have put way more flour in it (as I had in the past with a roll recipe I make for thanksgiving), so I'm glad it didn't turn out heavy at all.  

I had set the timer for 40 min instead of the 45 on the recipe so I could check it early, however before the beeper beeped I started to smell something burning! I jumped up and saw some slightly well done bread and so I quickly pulled it out of the oven and dumped it out on the cooling racks.  The 2 loaves in my tin pans were more well done than the one in my stoneware pan.  However, after they cooled for a bit Matt cut the top off one loaf and we cut it up and luckily it was just fine.  phew!  We each ate a few pieces, I like how the texture was soft and home made bread always tastes better than store bought.

I had extra dough so I just put it on the cookie sheet like Susan suggested, let it rise again, and put it in the oven.  This time being sure to only set the time for 10 min, and then I kept setting the timer for 5 min after that, I wasn't going to burn this one!:)  I don't remember how long I was checking it and resetting the timer for 5 more minutes, when I realized it wasn't baking-- I had turned the oven off! Who knows how this loaf is on the inside, but I turned the oven on and got the loaf to a nice golden brown and took it out.   

I think next time I make bread I should do it in the morning/daytime, and I might avoid the blunders of last night:-)

Leah was in bed when the bread was done baking last night.  So I told her she could have some for breakfast.

I made her a piece with some butter on it, and she came downstairs all excited to try it.  she had 2 bites and said, "It tastes just like the bread we usually get."  HA!  I suppose she thought homemade wheat bread would turn out white:-)  I personally thought it turned out great.  and I wanted to make a good wheat bread so that we could have it for our sandwiches throughout the week and maybe put some in the freezer.  so, for Leah we might make a white bread recipe next time.  I think that cup of brown sugar made it a pretty tasty wheat bread though, and I will definitely be making the recipe again.  I agree, it's surprising what a good thing can come from just a few basic ingredients.

So here begins my adventures in breadmaking:-)  

(I had to cut the ends off so the loaves would fit in the bags.)