A French Toast To Heaven...

Well, that's what we call it around here anyway. Other people call it...

IHOP French Toast

2 eggs
½ c. milk
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 T. flour
6 slices of thick sliced French bread

First beat eggs, then add remaining ingredients with electric mixer. Dip both sides of bread and place in hot buttered pan. Flip over when browned. Serve with Coconut Syrup.

Coconut Syrup

7-8 T. butter
¾ c. buttermilk
1 c. sugar
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp coconut extract

Place butter, buttermilk and sugar in a pot. Then turn stove on medium and stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat and add soda and flavoring. It will bubble up; just continue to stir and give it a few minutes for the 'fizz' to reduce before serving.
(sister's cafe)

You must know the syrup makes this meal. And every meal, you will want to drink it. But don't cause that would be gross. But do try it, you will love me the minute the coconut gold starts a party in your mouth. And you catch yourself saying Mmmm more than once.

Forts

For some reason forts are cool.



We are lacking in the fort supplies. Meaning clips and ropes. So yeah, that is the broom as the main support with a hair rubber band wrapped around it. Someday we might move up in the world.

Friday Letters

Dear Husband, you went out of town this week again. Dear Dr. having giant professional portraits of newborn babies hung all over the walls of your office is very tricky. I sat there in the waiting room with tears in my eyes desperately wanting another baby, which is impossible. And that is not why I was there, but I bet this creates more business for you. And I bet you know it too. Dear Neighbor, who I thought was nice. Two visits to my door to complain about my children splashing water out of their blow up pool because it was running under the fence into your backyard kind of made you the annoying grouchy neighbors. You would think that their laughing and playing would be an improvement from my yelling out the back door getting after them. Dear Lake Tahoe, I Love You. You entertained my FOUR children for hours and hours and made them happy. They were literally running around laughing and smiling while being swallowed up in your beauty. It made me happy too. WAY better than any swimming pool. Dear Sis, just in case you were losing count. You will be here with me in three and a half days at 3:25pm. But I'm warning you, you will fall in love with this place and not want to leave. Dear Kade, you are at your friends birthday party. You have been so excited all week, you love anything that has to do with boy stuff. Dear Big Brother, we won't talk about how old you are. But I hope you had a Happy Birthday! Dear Crushed Red Pepper, inhaling near you and having you caught in my throat was a burning experience. The kids asked if I was choking on my own spit, gross and no I wasn't. Oh, and no one seem concerned or anything even though I sound like I'm dying. Dear Self, I know I think I will not live through this and come out a whole person in the end, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Pretend like you are strong enough and then maybe you will be. Fake it till you make it, right?

Swimming?

Haha! This is what the kids did before we went to Tahoe. They had been begging to play in the water.
The water that comes out of the hose is not HOT like Arizona's, it is COLD. And the day was overcast and windy.
But those little squirrels wouldn't stop begging so I sent them out.
Looks like fun huh.

The next day was much warmer and they laughed and played splashing all the water out. The neighbors came over twice to complain because the water was running under the fence into their backyard and made a comment about how loud they were laughing.
Yeah why do you think I sent them outside.

Tahoe

We went to Lake Tahoe today with some friends.
It was fun.
It was a good day.
And now I officially am in love with Lake Tahoe. Even more than before and I was in love with it before.


The kids just played their little hearts out. It wasn't nearly as stressful as a swimming pool or any worry about them getting carried out to sea. Just sandcastles and fun and COLD water.


Our friends had this boat that the kids played in almost the whole time.


This is the before of my blindingly white legs and feet. And the crystal clear water.


And the after of the swollen fiery lobster legs. And I applied sunblock 3X.

Friday Letters

(ladybug hunting in the back yard)

Dear Husband, you worked some strange hours this week, I hope this = overtime pay. Dear Children, you seem excited about our new chore chart, I like that. You also have been whining about being bored, not liking that. So bored in fact that the 7yr old swallowed a penny just to prove to the 5yr old he could. Dear Dr office scale, yikes! The last time I weighed this much was when I was 9 mo pregnant. That is pretty depressing. I think it's time to put a new battery in my scale and start using it. Dear Sis, you will be here in 11 days! We have a count down calender and are super excited. Dear Kids, you spent hour hunting for ladybugs. Now you have a jar full and fight over who gets to hold them and who's room they get to sleep in like feisty little animals. Dear Sun, yesterday I lay in your warm rays on my pool chair in the backyard listening to the wind in the trees. The best 20 min before the kids found me out. It resulted in a strange stripe sunburn on the front of my legs,ha. Dear Self, life is hard and it's going to get harder, but I am trying to remember that the Lord must think I can handle it, right.

Uuhhhhhh....

When I cook I use a recipe and things usually turn out just fine. It's not that often that I really botch things up. And I am my own worst critic.

This is one of those times.

I was trying to follow a recipe that I had scribbled down for one of my favorites, Pumpkin Pie Cake. I don't usually like cake, but this is different. It's June you say? So? Who says I can't use pumpkin in June? And I ate it in a snowman bowl too.

Anyway, I wrote things down in a really confusing manner and this is the result. And by the way, this is not what it is supposed to look like. My family, who knows what this is supposed to look like, might think this is funny.

Luckily it tasted as yummy as it should and me and the kids ate it four days in a row topped with fresh homemade whipped cream.

Sweet Things

I can't tell you how much I LOVE my kids drawings. This is 5yr old Avary's. She likes to draw. And they always make me smile. This one is a teddy bear, just for me.

purple flowers

Look what popped up all over the front yard! I've never seen these before, but I love them!

Friday Letters

Dear Husband, you have been working late during the Temple closure. Dear Avary, you roller bladed three miles, and rode a ferris wheel when you are afraid of heights, you are an awesome 5yr old. Dear Rain, I love the sound of you pouring down while I am cozy and dry in my house. Dear School, you are out for the summer!! 20min. after school let out one of the four children spent all their time complaining and whining about being bored. I hope this is not a glimpse of what's to come. Dear Kade, you are such a sweet boy, I can't live without your hugs. Dear Morning, there's nothing like waking up to the kids running all over the house because they let a stray cat into the house. They wanted to keep it. Cleaning up cat hair made me glad for the no pet rule here. Dear Hailey, you did awesome in the talent show dancing to Firework, cute girl. And those straight A's with some 100% are pretty cool too. Dear 3yr old, somehow you don't seem to need as much sleep as I do. And you seem wired at bed time every night. Dear Sis, 19 days till you fly into Reno with your little boys! Dear Lukey, Happy Birthday! Dear Kidney Stones, yes that is plural. After passing one of you this week with great pain and four children to care for, I am sad to realize there is still another one. Dear Reno, you are getting prettier every day, I love all the full trees. And can't wait to see if we get any cherries or apples in the backyard.

Kids

I love it when I catch my kids playing together...nicely.



Broom Hockey. They think they invented it. And I guess they did at our house.

And it's always good to find out were all your brooms are.

Friday Letters

they are so cute

Dear Husband, this week you took the kids on a fun bike ride. Dear Hailey, you rocked at your 4th grade recorder concert. Dear Kade you are at pump it up for your end of the year field trip. That's a pretty awesome field trip if you ask me. Dear June, you are the coldest June I've had ever, yes I would say ever. I am not complaining though, cause I love it! Dear School, three more days till summer vacation. One child is excited and the other is sad. Dear Reno, I have grown to love you, your mountains and even your crazy wind. Dear Public Library, I have a feeling we are going to be good friends. Dear Life, parts of this week were some of the worst ever, but I am grateful for the little reminders that I'm not alone. Dear Ric, I left for an hour and came home to a destroyed house and the babysitter was asleep...oh and you were the babysitter.