Family & Friends

July

Mini Mission Reunion! Mike's Mission President and his wife (The Ritchie's) visited Las Vegas and we got to spend an evening with them along with one of Mike's companions and his family. It was wonderful to see them and everyone had a great time reminiscing about Sweden.

August

Mike and I met up with my parents in Idaho Falls at cousin Kim & Brady's house on our way to Jackson Hole. It was so fun to see them - the boys are getting so big, they're smart, funny, and cute, and Kimberly is the always the ultimate hostess. Brady, Dad and Mike got to go fly fishing one night and we all ate at Cafe Rio. We were spoiled rotten with comfy accommodations, delicious food made by Kimberly, complete with themed goody bags for the road. Can't wait to see you guys again!

September

Visit from Zach and JP, Mike's two brothers! We relaxed, ate In n Out, played games (mostly Wii and Carcassonne), went hiking in RedRock, visited Hoover Dam and of course the strip since it was Zach's first trip to Vegas as an adult.

October

Visit from one of my best friends Charity! It is ALWAYS so good to see Charity and definitely my turn to visit her in Cali. No shopping or sight seeing this trip, just lost of relaxing and enjoying time together. Can't wait to see you again, and thanks for a fun weekend, friend!

October

Had to say goodbye to Mike and Heather Oliver (sad) because they are moving to Chicago. Mike and I went to grad school together and became fast friends - let's just say we "understood" each other. We'll miss you guys!

November

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year, complete with family from both sides (my parents, grandma, Aunt and Uncle, Mike's older brother, and his younger sister and her family) more pics to follow!

December

Just this weekend we got to reconnect with an old friend! Mike & Brandon served their missions in Sweden together, and Brandon was Mike's best man at our wedding - we've remained close friends over the years but hadn't seen each other since 2007! Brandon just happened to be on his way to CA from UT and stopped by with his new wife and baby - we were so glad we got to spend the evening with them and little Sonja is so cute and has hair just like dad!

Halloween 2010

We look forward to Halloween each year mostly because of the costumes. Highlights from past years have included: Zorro & Elena, Pirates of the Caribbean 1, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and this year...Charlie Brown & Lucy complete with The Great Pumpkin Patch for trunk or treat at the church. Here we are:

4th of July

We took a trip to Utah over the Holiday weekend this year. Thursday night we stopped in St. George to see Cats at Tuacahn - the cast was surprisingly good and the venue was very cool (an outdoor theater nestled back in a red rock canyon - beautiful)! In Provo, we stayed with Jeff & Brie and also got to see good friends (Sara, Kevina, Sam, and Adam). We had a picnic and bonfire in Provo Canyon, watched Stadium of Fire from the Hinckley Center, stopped at IKEA, went shopping in Salt Lake, had dinner at Beni Hana's, played games and relaxed. Mike and I even stopped at Cove Fort (a church historical site) on our drive home to Vegas. It was fun to visit our old stomping ground, and I have to say it was a little sad to leave knowing we may not visit good old Provo for quite some time.

Matt & Jamie's Wedding (June 5, 2010)

June 5th Matt (Jenny's brother) and Jamie were married in Sacramento after three long years of living on opposite sides of the country. Matt & Jamie are living in D.C. until this summer when they will move to Seattle! Matt is an orthopedic surgeon and Jamie is an E.R. doctor.It was absolutely beautiful and so much fun. Here are some of the highlights:

Friday

Mani/Pedis with all the girls on both sides of the family, walking around old town Sacramento, and the rehearsal dinner at Frank Fats (the most delicious Chinese food EVER). Bridesmaid gifts: marching sparkly blue flip flops and bridesmaid tank tops to wear while getting ready, and aquamarine necklaces with matching earrings to wear at the wedding. Groomsmen's gifts: Cuff links with monogrammed initials

Saturday

Wedding, Dinner, and Dancing

The wedding was a beautiful outdoor affair at the Vizcaya Mansion. The dinner was inspired by Matt & Jamie's world travels and the dancing was great fun. Congrats you guys!

Catching Up

If you haven't noticed, we have been sorely neglecting our blog as of late - pictures from some major highlights will be coming soon to include:

Matt & Jamie's wedding June 5th (Sacramento)

4th of July (Utah)

Summer Vacation - August (Jackson Hole)

Visit from Mike's brothers - Labor Day

With the exception of May, we have had a trip planned each month-the turn around time on blogging and posting pics has been intense, thus ignored. Here's to catching up...

Buttermilk Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

This is a favorite recipe (my mom's) that we whipped out last weekend; it's terribly good...

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 C flour

4 tsp baking powder

3 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C shortening

1 egg

2/3 C buttermilk

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt; cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the egg and buttermilk, stir into flour mixture until just combined. On a floured surface, knead 8-10 times. Roll to ½” thickness; cut with a 2 ½” biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425* for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Yield 10 biscuits.

Sausage Gravy

1/2 lb bulk pork sausage

1 Tbl butter or margarine

3 Tbl flour

1 3/4 C milk

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

In a saucepan, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in butter until melted. Sprinkle with flour, gradually stir in milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Serve over biscuits. 4 servings.

9

Last week we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary! Mike surprised me with the cutest card on my steering wheel in the morning, and my favorite flowers delivered to work. We both had church meetings the night of our actual Anniversary but enjoyed a relaxing weekend complete with shopping, dinner at Brio, and a movie at home. Happy Anniversary baby!

BYU Graduation

Towards the end of April, we made our way to Provo for Jeff's graduation from the Maters of Accounting program at BYU. My parents and grandma also came and Brie's parents and younger brother Adam were there too. It was a great weekend and we're so proud of Jeff.

Lemonade

I love homemade lemonade. It's cool, refreshing, and a perfect pairing for those summer barbecues. Here are a few of my favorite recipes.

Strawberry Lemonade

Easy and delicious

Country Time Pink Lemonade drink mix

1 8oz container frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed

Make 1 gallon of lemonade according to package directions

Puree the strawberries and mix into lemonade

Add additional water to taste, stir, and chill

Hibiscus Lemonade

Inspired by their trip to Egypt, Matt & Jamie served this at their wedding, it's elegant, has a nice flavor, beautiful color, and it's fun to eat the Hibiscus flowers

Water

Sugar

Lemons

Dried, sweetened hibiscus flowers

Boil together for 5 minutes: 1 Cup water for each hibiscus flower

Add: 1/8 C sugar and 2 Tbl lemon juice for each hibiscus flower, cool mixture

Thinly slice additional lemons for garnish, pour mixture over ice with 1 flower in each glass

Citrus Lemonade

This takes a little time to juice the fruit, but it's worth it

7 lemons

5 limes

4 oranges

3 Quarts water

2 Cups super fine sugar

Squeeze the juice from 6 of the lemons, 4 limes and 3 oranges; pour into a gallon container. Thinly slice the remaining fruit and set aside for garnish. Add water and sugar, mix well and chill. Serve on ice with fruit slices.

Updates

What's occupied our time the last six weeks:

Mike recovering from sinus surgery

Trip to Utah for Jeff's graduation from the MAcc program at BYU (pics to follow)

Buying a new dishwasher

An awesome Cinco de Mayo celebration with Uncle Kim & Aunt Jeanne

2 Memorial Day BBQs - friends, fun, and delicious food

Mike nursing a few basketball injuries

Trip to Sacramento for Matt & Jamie's wedding (pics to follow)

Work, work, work

Church callings

A crazy amount of appointments and errands

Jenny studying for, taking, and passing her last Board exam!

Hiking at Red Rock

Scrambling to plan summer vacations

Our blooming yard