My Sister's Boyfriend

My niece, Lauren, who is 1 1/2 years old  is someone, who, like other young girls her age, only wants to be with her mom. She needs more than a little coaxing to be moved away from her mom especially when she is in a grumpy mood. This is not the case with my sister's boyfriend, Mike. Lauren seems to fancy him. It was really cute to watch her sit on his lap and color and then later, she let him put on her shoes and socks. Here is photographic evidence of the cuteness factor involved.

February B-day Celebrations

We celebrated February b-day people yesterday. Caden turned 9 on Valentine's Day. Allie turned 6 on the 11th and Emma turned 4 on the 19th. We enjoyed ice cream and cake and a generally good time together, as always! Happy Birthday!

I've been tagged...

So I guess I have to write a few things about me. 

10 years ago I was living in Taiwan teaching English.

5 Things on my "TO DO" List:

1. Finalize my shopping list.
2. Read
3. Sleep
4. Run the dishwasher.
5. Study this week's Sunday School lesson.

Things I would do if I became a billionaire:

1. Pay tithing.
2. Pay off my student loans.
3. Travel and pay for my friends to come with.
4. Establish a savings account for all my nieces and nephews.
5. Pay off my sister's house for her.
6. Buy a brand new car.

Three of my bad habits:

1. I bite my nails.
2. I sneeze into my shirt sleeve.
3. Watching TV and talking to someone on the phone.

Places I have lived:

1. Provo, Utah
2. Ft. Meade, Maryland
3. Indiana
4. Massachusetts
5. Columbus, Georgia
6. Ft. Huachuca, Arizona
7. Augsburg, Germany
8. American Fork, Utah
9. Jonesboro, Georgia
10. Eugene, Oregon
11. Midvale, Utah
12. Ephraim, Utah
13. Logan, Utah
14. Ploiesti & Bucharest, Romania
15. Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China
16. Murray, Utah
17. Riverton, Utah

Jobs I have had:

1. Village Pet Center
2. Chick-Fil-A
3. West Jordan Care Center
4. S.E.P.S. Learning Center (Tutor)
5. English Teacher in Taiwan
6. Tester for Jordan School District
7. Educator

Things most people don't know about me:

1. I had long hair when I was younger.
2. I still have my wisdom teeth and my tonsils.
3. I seriously thought about joining the military when I was in college.

Okay, Julie, you're it!

I also tag my cousin, Kristal.

The Kiss

Cousins, pt. 2

It's always fun when family gets together. The kids pair up with one or two of their cousins their age. The boys always find a space, DS in hand and play away their time. Even though Craig and Kavyn are twins, when Caden is in the picture, they are just like triplets. The younger girls go off and play with each other or color or find an adult to read to them (very often it's me, which I love). The older girls find a place to play or choreograph their own dance routine to be performed later. Here are a few pictures from the last get together.

Fun With Young People

Last weekend I got to spend time with most of my nieces and nephews. It was a great time. I rarely tire of my time with them. The keep me young and feeling needed.

This is Lauren Madison Hunt. She is one of the most photogenic children I know. She's 1 1/2 and as spunky as can be.

This is Brian Monroe Abel. He's the youngest of my 11 nieces and nephews. He's 6 1/2 months old and the spitting image of his older brothers at that age.

I am pictured here with two of my nieces...Emma and Saydee.  We always have a lot of fun together.

Almond Puffs Recipe

Pastry:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

2 TBSP water

Mix it all up and divide the pastry into two halves and spread each half length-wise down both sides of a cookie sheet.

Puff:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

Put water and butter in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Make sure the butter is completely melted. 

Add: 

1 cup flour to the butter/water mix. Add a cap full of Almond extract.

Beat into a ball.

Add 3 eggs at one time and mix it all together really well.

Spread that mixture on top of each half of the pastry as evenly as you can.

Bake at 350 for an hour.

Frosting:

Make a typical white frosting, adding about 1/2 a cap full of Almond extract.

Spread that on top of the cooked pastry/puff. Top with sliced almonds.

Yum!

Almond Puffs

Almond puffs are a favorite dessert in my family. My mom makes them every year at Christmas time for the people with whom she works. She makes them other times, too. We usually try to put one of our cute nieces or nephews up to batting their lashes and begging grandma to please make almond puffs. Well, Kathryn wanted to make some for the Super Bowl so she asked me to get the ingredients. I did (we recently put ourselves on a food budget) and we went over our budget a little. I was determined not to waste the money, almond puffs were going to get made. I called my mom for the recipe and made my first attempt ever at almond puffs. While they were not as good as my mom's, I have to say they weren't bad for my first attempt. I don't have the recipe with me... that's for another blog.

Snow is a 4-Lettered Word