YEAR END DANCE CONCERT!!!

The girls had a great time dancing this year!! Here are a few pictures! We are so proud of them, they did a great job!

So far in March...

We celebrated Kimberly's birthday. She is 7 now and I started making a post in January of her so this is a double post I guess. Happy Birthday Kimberly! We love you tons!



Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Andrus
Grandpa hasn't been eating lately and hospice has come into the home. I got an e-mail this morning telling us that they have not seen someone live for more than 10 days once they stop eating and that soon he will go into a comma. I am thankful my kids got to meet him and for my childhood memories of gardening with him and his pharmacy.


Derek having some dental work done

Derek had a customer meeting at Sundance and we were lucky to be able to go up and spend time in the cabins there. Derek was able to take Aubrey skiing also. Derek and I took the kids home Friday so that we could have a night without kids and we were able to go cross country skiing on Saturday.










Aubrey had team pictures for dance


Yummy cookies we made to start the month

Grasshopper Chocolate Mint Cake Mix Cookies

Cookie bottom:
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix (I like the ones with pudding in the mix the best)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together (do not follow the directions on the back of the cake mix- disregard them completely). Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes (don't cook any longer than that! You don't want them to be overdone!). Let cookies cool completely.

Peppermint Frosting:

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 Tablespoons milk

2 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Green food coloring (optional- I added about 8 drops to get the colors of green that I had)


Mix together all the ingredients (add more or less powdered sugar until you get the consistency you like). Spread on top of each cooled cookie.




Chocolate Topping:


2 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 c. butter


Melt chocolate chips and butter together in a double boiler OR in a microwave (I usually microwave for 30-second intervals, then stir and repeat until the chips are fully melted). Spread melted chocolate on each cookie- I have found that it works best to use the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate around.


*These little cookies are super rich! I think that if you didn't want them to be so rich, use a milk chocolate cake mix and milk chocolate chips.

Recipe from sixsistersstuff.com

Kimberly and Carson having a blast playing in the snow

Carson driving his tractor in the snow

A bit of February

This month has been fun with Valentine's Day festivities. We had a lot of fun making a yummy breakfast, valentines for school and dance (which means I made 50 for each girl), the girls had a lot of fun helping, Aubrey had a little Valentine this year which I am a little freaked out by, but it was totally innocent and they just got each other their favorite candy bar. He was cute and sent her home with a thank you note in her backpack the next day. She was afraid to give him his Valentine since it was different from everyone else's so at recess ran in and put it in his backpack. A bunch of the kids picked a valentine so it was just fun. We got our traditional heart shaped pizza from Brick Oven for dinner. Derek and I had their pizza on our first valentine's so it has been a tradition ever since. We had a lovely day and hope you all did as well.
Aubrey also had her Winter Dance Attack where they dance all day for 2 days and learn a ton from famous dancers all over the globe! She had a lot of fun and we had fun waiting for her bowling and eating at In-N-Out Burger. After we took her and her friend Gracie to dinner and to get cupcakes.
Last night we were able to stay in Salt Lake since Derek had to work, took the kids to the pool and dinner at Red Iguana it was delish! We have had a fun month and we are excited for leap year! And I tried to share a video of dance attack with you all, but I can't get it to upload! Happy February!

Strawberry Pancakes

Whole Wheat Strawberry Pancakes

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/8 cup ground flax seed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups milk + 1TBS vinegar (as a substitute for buttermilk, which I never have on hand)
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled, plus more for griddle
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups diced strawberries mixed with a bit of honey


Pure maple syrup, for serving


Whisk together flour, cornmeal, flax seed, sugar, the baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together milk, butter, and egg. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (mixture will be lumpy).


Preheat oven to 200 degrees (this is just to keep pancakes warm until the rest are done cooking)


Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet to 350°F. Brush griddle with melted butter. Spoon batter onto griddle 1/3 cup at a time. Sprinkle with diced strawberries.
Cook until edges are set, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter and strawberries, adding more butter to griddle and keeping prepared pancakes warm on a baking sheet in the oven.

This morning I made these pancakes and felt really good about giving the kids a healthy breakfast! (we usually give them a hot breakfast, and they are usually late to school, such is life.) For you grammar junkies don't check mine because I don't! The oldest and youngest gobbled them up, my middle daughter took some convincing (why are there strawberries in my pancakes?, she is a picky eater) and my toddler is working on them right now...he likes them! My baby has learned to take off his jammies and diaper! The joys of being a mom! Now I need to have a onesie on him at all times and possibly start potty training! This week Carson has been sick. Carson loves his Lego's, tractors, and his fire truck! Monday Kimberly missed school because she says she misses me too much and I hate to send her crying over that! Kimberly is in dance and gymnastics and last night got her back walkover! YAY! It's a big accomplishment for her, she is such a limber little girl. She is also learning to speak French at school and says Bonjour everyday when she gets home, she loves to say Merci also. Aubrey is growing up more and more everyday, she loves doing her own hair etc. She is also in dance and will be dancing all weekend long! She loves it though. Her piano playing is really great also. Rhett will be 18 months on the 13th! He is a smart little guy. He says
Mama
Dada
Up
Cup
Out
Gives kisses
and is a cute little cuddle bug that loves his snuggie.
The past year and a half have been the quickest and maybe one of the hardest in my life! Adjusting to four children has been a lot of work and most days I am in my jammies until 2 cleaning and taking care of the boys. I am still trying to get a routine down! Well that's the update for now!

Brownie Cookies

½ cup butter
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 cups (18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine butter, unsweetened chocolate, and 1 ½ cups chocolate chips in a large heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter and chocolate melt; let cool.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add dry ingredients to egg mixture, beating well. Then add the chocolate mixture and beat well. Stir in remaining 1 ½ cups chocolate chips.

Scoop dough onto baking sheets 1 inch appart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool slightly on baking sheets; remove to wire racks to cool completely.


Today the boys and I made these cookies and they are yummy! We can't wait for the girls to get home for a yummy after school snack!

Our week!

This week has been great! Carson celebrated his 4th birthday on Sunday the 29th. (Pictures will come later.) The rest of the week was pretty normal with school dance piano work and taking care of all of the other family responsibilities! This weekend my mom watched the kids while Derek and I went to an "Executive Retreat" at the Zermatt resort in Midway. I was able to go the spa and do some reading while Derek was in meetings! (rough I know) It was awesome! Then we had a nice dinner and some entertainment from Comedy Sportz. This morning we got to go snowmobiling at Daniel's Summit just 20 miles southeast of Heber! It was a blast and now we are exhausted! (can't wait to go again though, seriously so fun) Derek is getting creative and making braised beef short ribs! We are excited for the Superbowl tomorrow, we will see if the Patriots can pull off another win!?! I checked into taking Derek to the Superbowl and the prices are out of this world! (in other words just a little more that I thought.) I will have to save up for that adventure. Well that's all for now...
Here's an oldie but a goodie for this windy cold day!

Carson is 4!

Our little boy is growing up so fast! He is so much fun and always sweet! He loves "atergade" (Gatorade), Carnation Instant Breakfast, trucks, tractors and trains! And especially playing outside! We love him so much and we are so glad he is a very special part of our family! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARSON! We love you tons!