Packing

Packing for a trip is quite honestly one of the greatest banes of my life. There has to be a proper balance between needs and wants and I have never been able to find it. I over pack for everything and because it's my own fault I have to lug it around the airport on my own with little sympathy or assistance from kenny. I am currently sitting on my living room floor listening to Glee surrounded by stuff, lots of stuff, trying to pack for our vacation tomorrow (and its a good thing its a vacation because I'm going to need one after the stress of packing). Despite my luggage woes I am definitely very excited to get out of Dodge with our friends and head to the Caribbean!

Cupcaking

So to beat the winter blues, Deborah, Jamie, and I got together to make an all time summer favorite...Pink Lemonade but with a twist. These cupcakes were so fun and we got to practice our Martha Stewart decorating techniques. I think they turned out pretty cute for a first attempt!

the baking process...as you can tell Jamie looks just thrilled!

the colors...

the decorating...

the final products....

PINK LEMONADE CUPCAKES

• 1 pkg white cake mix without pudding in the mix
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup thawed frozen pink lemonade concentrate; thawed
• 2 TBSP oil
• pink food
• (otional)
  

FROSTING

• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup pink lemonade concentrate

1. Beat cake mix, water, egg whites, 1/3 cup lemon concentrate, oil and food coloring. Medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon batter into lined muffin cups.

2. Bake 18-22 mins. Cool completely before frosting.

3. Beat icing sugar, butter and 1/4 cup lemonade concentrate, until well blended. (Add more concentrate to thin frosting if necessary.) Add pink coloring to desired color.

*Just a note, I added almost 1/2 cup of concentrate to my frosting because I found it quite thick and I really wanted it tart. I would keep adding and tasting until you like it.

They bake up so lovely and even. And flavor aside, they were honestly the most moist and delicious cupcake I have ever had.

Frost and add a straw for garnish.

I thought it was spring...but I was mistaken

So this weekend was beautiful! The snow melted and the sun came out and my wintery gloom went away but then BAM it snowed again. I guess I cant expect much else while living in Logan. So to take my mind off of the snow outside I am focusing on our CRUISE! We're going in May so of course I'm already planning what to bring and what kind of excursions we can do. Jamie and Derek, Mario and Melissa, Kaylee and Bryce, Dallas and Melissa, are all coming, oh and two single guys we don't really know but who are friends with Derek. I am getting so excited!

Merry Christmas Everyone

This Christmas we headed down South for the holidays stopping in Centerville at Kenny's dads (Ray)and then in South Jordan (so it definitely wasn't south enough to have warm weather). We had Christmas Eve dinner at Ray's home, his wife Julie is Hispanic so we had tomales and rice, not your tradition eve dinner but it was really good. And after everyone has eaten their weight in food they move all the tables and turn and the music and dance!

We spent the rest of Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family in South Jordan and did all the old traditions we did when we were younger. We had eggnog shakes on the eve and opened matching PJ's to wear to bed that night and watched The Christmas Story.

Oh and a couple of weeks ago we made a craft with just the girls of the fam and I am finally putting up pictures of that.

It's easy to be Thankful in Hawaii

This year for THANKSGIVING my grandparents took the whole family to HAWAII for the week, here are some of the pictures from the trip.

We have arrived!!

This is the view from our hotel room and the most amazing resort in Ka'anapali, we were literally right next to the ocean.

Our first day at the beach

Even though these waves look the small, apparently they were strong enough to keep Kenny from standing up

This is the top of the volcano called Haleakala, the crater was huge! It was 10,000 feet high so it was almost as cold as Logan is up there.

The sunset was beautiful on Haleakala because it set into the clouds, pretty huh?

These last three pictures are this look out rock that we had to hike down to. When Kenny and I were posing for that picture right after it was taken a huge wave crashed up and soaked us!

The jungles of Maui

Our Thanksgiving Feast = Luau!

These three tables are my family before the dinner started. They made hawaiian style turkey, stuffing, and potatoes but they also roasted a pig in the ground and had all the fun hawaiian food like poi (which tastes like wallpaper paste).

The dancers told the history of the Hawaiian islands but mostly they just shake their hips

Awww... this is the sunset right before the luau started

Summer dreams make me feel fine

Recap of summer 2009:

Our One year Anniversary! Kenny gave me 7 days full of surprises and gifts one of them was a shopping spree check for One MILLION dollars! Well, that's what the check said but it wasn't worth quite that much. It was a wonderful week.

This picture was taken at Kenny's little sister, Shantell's, wedding. They got married the end of June and are now expecting their first baby!

We moved at the beginning of the summer right across from the Freckleton's, whom (as their name alludes to) are great neighbors. 

Harry Potter Party

From left to right: Mad eye Moody, Professor Trelawney, Remus Lupin, Nymphodora Tonks, Hogwarts students 1, 2, 3, & 4, Winky the house elf, Dobby the house elf, Professor Trelawney #2, and Severus Snape

 Bear Lake

Fun in the sun

This contraption is a floating volleyball or badminton net,

it worked great until a wave came.

Graduation

I finally graduated on May 2, 2009 and even though I still have the same job I had before as a receptionist, I still consider graduating an accomplishment. Hopefully someday I can find a job doing something with my degree!