Jumpin' Jacks

Last Friday my parents took the kids to Jumpin' Jacks in Washington City. It's a big warehouse full of bounce houses that are blown up. The kids went nuts! They had been there once before with my parents when Bryan and I went out of town. So I hadn't seen the chaos that is a bounce house warehouse. Courtney has no fear and went down every tall slide she could get up. Ethan took off so I didn't get a whole bunch of photos of him. I just couldn't keep up with him and I didn't pay to play so I couldn't follow him either. After an hour they were both sweaty and tired, so we called it a day. But they loved it!!

Cute Girls

Here is a photo of Courtney and her friend, Hayley, at preschool. I thought they were pretty cute girls. The day I had preschool at my house there were only two girls and the two boys. It was hectic and wild, but I think they had a lot of fun.

Poor Courtney

I am trying to get a business license from Ivins City so I can make wedding cakes in my home. Side note: If you think you would like get your own business license, beware!! There is a lot of hassle involved. Now back to the story. I had to have a fire inspection of my house before the process can move on. I scheduled it for today during Courtney's nap. She was really late napping so when I was putting her down we hear a really loud truck drive up. We looked out the window and there was a big ambulance in front of our house. Great! So Courtney wouldn't go down after that because she was nervous that there were fire fighters here and she thinks they START fires not PUT OUT fires.

During the inspection one of the fire fighters had to check a fire detector to see if it was working. It worked! Courtney had her ears plugged and the fire fighter thought it would be a good time to teach Courtney fire safety. He explained to her that if she hears that noise, she needs to immediately run from the house so she will be safe. He said that the alarm means there is a dangerous fire in the house. Courtney looked at me, screamed "I want to get out now!!" and went running for the door. It took a long time to calm her down and the fire fighter felt so bad.

Anyway, the inspection went well and now I just have to wait for the City to call me and have me appear before the City Council. It shouldn't be too bad because the City Attorney is our neighbor, the Zoning guy is in our ward and the Mayer is Bryan's boss. But you never know.

Buckin' Dad's Rodeo

Ethan came home from school with a flier announcing the "First Grade Buckin' Dad's Rodeo" to be held on Friday at his school. So on Friday, Bryan took a few hours off work to go and watch Ethan be a cowboy. (I didn't go since it was a "dad" thing.) We don't have cowboy clothes but we found a bandana that we tied around his neck so he sort-of looked the part. He rode a stick horse, did some roping and dressed up as a rodeo clown. Then it was time for the buckin' broncos...the Dad's! Yeah, we didn't have any warning but Bryan ended up being a horse and bucking kids. Too bad he was in his nice work clothes! But he was a good sport and the two of them had a lot of fun.

Ethan's Soccer Games

Ethan's soccer team has been doing great. They are 2-1 so far in the season. The photos are from last weeks game, which they lost. But this week they played great!! Ethan made 2 goals...maybe 3, Bryan and Ethan can't decide...and they won 8-1. The boys have been learning strategy and how to play positions and they really have been learning a lot! He is loving it, although he is asleep right now because he is just worn out!

Banana Bread

I found this recipe in the back of the book "Gladys Goes Out To Lunch" by Derek Anderson. It's a funny book that my kids like about a monkey who goes in search of the source of a wonderful smell. After an adventure all through the town following the smell, it ends up being banana bread. At the end of the book there is a recipe and it works out really well.

Gladys' Banana Bread

Cream together:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening

Add and mix well:
2 cups bananas
2 eggs

Add:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
3 Tbsp milk

Optional Additions:
1 cup nuts
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup raisins

Mix together well and pour into a loaf pan (makes 1 large loaf). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Best Ever Crescent Rolls

I found this recipe in the "Friend" magazine November 2007 and it's great. I thought I would share it! It's really easy but you spend a lot of time waiting for it to rise. I just make the dough in the morning, let it sit, roll them up in the afternoon, let them sit and cook them right before Bryan gets home from work.

1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup warm water
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup warm milk
5 cups flour, more as needed (I use 1 cup wheat flour and then 4 cups white flour)
1/2 cup butter, melted

1. In a small bowl, mix the yeast, tablespoon of sugar and warm water. Set aside for three to four minutes, allowing the yeast to activate. In a separate bowl, mix the salt, oil, and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the eggs and warm milk. Slowly stir in the flour. Add an additional 1/2 to 1 cup of the flour if the dough is too sticky to form a ball. (I use my KitchenAid for this)

2. Cover the dough and let it rise for three to four hours.

3. Divide the dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about 1/4 inch thick. Brush the dough with melted butter. Slice the dough like a pizza into 12 wedges and roll up each wedge from the wide end to teh narrow end. Place the rolls on baking sheets with the narrow tip of dough tucked underneath. Cover the rolls with a clean dish towel and let them rise another two to three hours.

4. Brush the tops of the rolls lightly with butter and bake them for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 2 dozen.


I also use this receipe to make cinnamon rolls. I just add 1 extra cup of sugar in place of 1 cup of flour. I roll the dough into a rectangle, put butter, cinnamon and sugar on it and then roll it and cut as for cinnamon rolls. They are pretty good.