Taking a stab at photography

Still learning . . .

This is some of my friend Shalyce and her family and my friend

Candace's baby, Jonah who just turned one.

Basketball

James is obsessed with football, he just started basketball and I am hoping he

loves it just as much, we sure love watching him play. The photo is fuzzy, but I love the one of James and Aaron talking sports

Today's Adventivity

Temple Square

Tonight our family got to see the lights at Temple Square.

There are hundreds of thousands of lights and I took lots of pictures of them.

Such a pretty sight.

This photo turned out to be my very favorite, one with no Christmas lights.

Simple. Beautiful. The Nativity.

She is amazing . . .

and she is my cousin.

(don't think her talent is hereditary, I can't sing a tune to save my life)

Click here to visit her website and click here to listen to her music.

You can also find her cd's at Deseret Book stores.

She will be visiting our ward this Saturday morning for our Enrichment

Christmas activity, if you are in my ward you don't want to miss it.

If you aren't in our ward, you are welcome to come, email me for details. It will be good.

Thanksgiving at the cabin

We went to my sister and her husbands family cabin for the weekend with my mom and two sisters and their families. It was too much fun, I simply couldn't narrow my favorite things down to just a few photos so here are some collages with lots of pictures of the highligts:

Our gorgeous views:

OK, so this is probably my favorite part,

meeting my new nephew, Calvin.

Can you say perfection? :

Spending time with the kiddos, and laughing until we cried:

Crafts, slime, jewelry making, cookie decorating and more:

Snowball fights, snowmen, swinging and
enjoying the gorgeous snow:

Adventures on the 4 wheelers:

Karaoke, charades and dancing:

cousins, sisters, brothers and best of friends:

Playing until we crashed:

My first attempt at a photo shoot

Yesterday I took some pictures of my cousins two gorgeous girls.

Who doesn't want a girl with red hair and blue eyes? Seriously!

This was my first "real" photoshoot for another family.

I just wanted to share how cute these little dollies are. I love them so!

( **Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim to be a professional. I am not trained and I do not have fancy lenses or other equipment. I hardly know how to use my camera. I am a total amateur and just do this because I think it is fun. Please don't critique my work or compare it to a "real" photographer. I realize I have no idea what I am doing, I am very slowly learning a few things. Hopefully someday . . . )

It is easy to take cute pictures when these are your subjects:

Mini Photo Shoot

I had an opportunity to practice a little with my camera today with my girls.

Here are a couple of my favs.

Mischief Makers

What did YOUR two year olds do today?

It is a mighty good thing they are so cute and that I love them SO.

(And 8t is a m8racle 8 can f8gure out wh8ch key 8s wh8ch.)

Lucky me

I have always dreaded the thought of having twins learn how to climb out of thier crib.

I learned a few mornings ago that it really isn't such a bad thing.

I got to wake up to this:

bajio chicken green chile salad!

I don't know anyone that has tried Bajio chicken green chile salad that does not like it. I found a good copycat recipe and tried it for dinner tonight. People, we have a winner. Make this and if you don't like it, well then, we can't be friends. You can have the chicken in tacos, quesadillas, or a salad. I paired it with my pico de gallo, black beans, shredded lettuce, cheese, tortillas and the famous Cafe Rio dressing that everyone loves and adores. (Bajio serves this salad with lettuce and the chicken and really just that alone is superb. I guess I just feel like the more calories I can add the better. Like my aunt Kathleen says, if a little bit is good, a lot must be better)

Green Chile chicken (this is sweet)

4-5 chicken breasts
1/2 cup salsa
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 cup brown sugar (more to taste)
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
6 oz. Sprite (1/2 can)
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot and cook 1 more hour. Thicken the juices with a little cornstarch mixed in water.

green tomatillo cilantro dressing
mix the following in a blender:

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (dry mix)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 small jalapeno (remove seed)
1 cup mayo
1 tsp. lime juice
1 tomatillo
1 garlic clove

Dress Party !!

Dawn & I are having another dress party on Wednesday! There are 1000 dresses to choose from, sizes 2T-14 and also infant dresses. They range from $20 to $37. This year she has a sale rack of $20 dresses from previous years. She also has separates on her sale rack (skirts, blouses, velvet jackets) for $10-12 each. Of course the photos that I have are all from SPRING dress parties. She only brings WINTER/Christmas dresses to this party. She will also have Baptism dresses available.I have done these for years now, and always find great dresses for the girls. You can find matching dresses for all ages, and she can mail you any sizes she has out of stock. I always get many compliments on the girls unique dresses from the dress party.

Email me or leave a comment if you want more info. It will be at my house this wednesday morning. Please feel free to tell anyone, hope to see you there.

I am so in love with a boy

that I have not yet met.

Click here to see who he is

(my sister's blog)

New Recipe Sunday

I'm not gonna lie, this week was not good, is was damn good!

Parmesan Chicken

From Ina Garten, Barfoot Contessa Family Style cookbook

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 extra larg eggs

1 1/4cups seasoned dry bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Unsalted butter

good olive oil

Salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry

lemon Vinaigrette

(1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup good olive oil, 1/2 tsp kosher salt,

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper)

pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4 inch thick.

Combine flour, salt, and pepper on a plate. On a second plate, beat eggs with 1 tablespoon water. On a third plate, combine bread crumbs and parmesan. Coat chicken on both sides with flour, then dip in egg and dredge both sides in bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 minutes each side until cooked through. Add more butter and oil an dcook the rest of the chicken breasts. Toss salad greens with vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra parmesan cheese.

Macaroni and cheese casserole

From Christina Ferrare's family entertaining cook book

3 Tbs. butter

3 Tbs. all-purpose flour

2 cups milk, warmed

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 pound shredded mild cheddar

1 pound shredded monterey Jack

1 1/2 pounds elbow macaroni, cooked and drained.

Preheat oven to 350 derees. Spray 4 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

In small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour then add milk all at once. Cook and stir until the mixture begins to simmer, then reduce heat and cook until smooth and slightly thickneed and starting to bubble. Stir in salt and pepper. Stir in 3 cups each of the cheddar and monterey jack cheeses until melted. Place macaroni in large bowl and pour cheese mixture over it. Mix well and turn into the casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies with browned butter maple frosting.

I loved these, I think I ate at least 3, I mean 4. ok, OK so I ate 5,

there, I said it. 5 cookies. I dare you to eat less than that.

click here for recipe.

Our Halloween Dinner

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I thought soup would be the perfect meal before venturing out to get candy. This was my first time making it and it was a winner. I will be making this often (my kids weren't so crazy about it but the adults in the house loved it) This was so easy and fast to make and it is so yummy (and healthy too)

saute the following together:

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp olive oil

add:
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup chunky salsa
1 can corn, drained
1 large or 2 small cans green chilies
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Top with sour cream, tortilla chips, avacado, cheese, green onions.

Hope your Halloween was fun!

Ava and her daddy
Pirate James

Julia the good witch

Twins and their adorable friend Taylor

These girls can't believe their good luck,

candy at every house!

Halloween Party

Monday was Grandma Susan's (my mom) annual Halloween party. As always, there was a delicious dinner, cookie decorating and a craft for the kids and a glow in the dark treasure hunt complete with lots of treasures and toys! We topped it off with a most delicious Orange cake for dessert , yummy yummy. Thanks mom we had a ball! We had two flowers, Glinda the good witch, a pirate, a bear, Tinker Bella, a TO DIE FOR bat and a cute little bear.

Here are a few photos from the night:

Sunday afternoon

No friend like a sister

Nothing makes me happier than when my kids are happily playing together. This morning the house was very quiet and I started to wonder what everyone was up to (namely the babies) I was pleasantly surprised to find this:

Two recipes to share

Pumpkin bread

(Warning, this is so good, you may eat the entire loaf)

Beat well:
3 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup oil

add two cups pumpkin

Mix in separate bowl:

3 1/3 cup flour

1 Tbs. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cloves
1Tbs. Cinnamon

Add dry ingredients to wet. Grease two loaf tins and divide batter. 325 degrees 1 hour 15 min.

Cream Cheese frosting

1 package cream cheese

1/2 cup sofftened butter (REAL BUTTER- no margarine in this house)

2 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/2 to 4 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Oven French Fries

3 small to medium baking potato
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

kosher salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
Cut potato into wedges. Mix olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder and onion powder together. Coat potatoes with oil/spice mixture and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
Bake for 45 minutes in preheated oven.