Sorry about my lack of blogging. Elanor got sick first on Friday and threw-up a ton. Then, on Saturday she seemed better, but she got worse again on Sunday. Then, I got sick Sunday night. It was horrible. I really despise throwing-up. We were supposed to leave on Monday to head to Oregon, but we did not end up go going since Elanor and I were quite sick. We are both feeling a lot better today and are flying out at 2pm. I am so thankful Tyler did not have work yesterday so he could help out and take care of us. Elanor and I slept most of the day and when she was awake we watched Winnie-the-Pooh. She has not watched much or really any TV until now, but she loves Winnie-the-Pooh!
Elanor and I will be in Oregon all week. We are going back for the dress rehearsals of my mom's play Mulan and I need to be there since I did the choreography. I will watch the dress rehearsals and give any last minute corrections, and I get to see the play too! It should be a fun week!
Here are a few pictures of Elanor and Tyler playing on the hammock last Monday while I was teaching ballet.:
Yes, these cookies do sound a little odd, fancy and all yuppie-ish, but they are tasty. I was quite a bit skeptical myself, mostly because I am not not all that into adding dried fruits and nuts to my cookies.
These cookies are delightfully crisp around the edges and soft on the inside. The combo of chocolate, pistachios and dried cherries, was unique but oddly satisfying and complementary. I got this recipe from Luscious Chocolate Desserts by Lori Longbotham (so close to being Neville's relative). I got the book at my wedding shower from my very good friends, Caitlin and Mallory. I am so glad you two got me this cookbook---it has some delicious recipes.
So, I have been thinking lately about how there seems to be a lot of stuff out there about what husbands and fathers need to do, but not so much for women. For example there is this great video, which comes from Sis. Dalton's awesome conference talk.
While I completely agree and love this message, I think women need to remember that this message goes for them too. We need to love our husbands and show our daughters how a lady is supposed to act and show her the qualities she should value in a man. Likewise, we need to show our sons an example of what a wife should be, loving, equal, hard working, fun. Women make just as many mistakes as the men (not always the same) such as nagging, spending more time with the children, being too busy, and then more serious stuff as well. I don't think women should take for granted the man they chose to marry and really, many women need this message more than the men.
I found this great article called Wake-up Call for Wives. I think it is awesome and every woman should read it. It helped me to remember to always strive to be a better and more loving wife.
Happy Mother's Day! I know..... I normally do this post on Fridays, but since it is Mother's Day, I wanted to do one of my mom's recipes and post it on Mother's Day.
My mom is a great cook/baker. She taught me a lot and let me spend a lot of time in the kitchen from an early age. One of the most amazing things about my mom as a cook is that she can make a delicious dinner out of almost nothing. She is creative and her meals are always tasty. I have learned a lot from my mom and am so thankful to have been blessed with such a wonderful mom. She really is the best.
I chose to make my mom's caramel corn, partly because I was craving it, partly because it reminds me of her because often when watching a movie with my family or if friends came over she would make this delicious, soft, sweet caramel corn. I am sure you want the recipe. So here it is:
We went to Bryce Canyon this past weekend with some good friends of ours, the Byrds (Evan, Mikaela & Malachi). We had a lot of fun on this short trip. For some reason, I had no idea Utah had so many National Parks. We are going to try to go to as many as we can while we live here. We camped for two nights in the park, spent all day Saturday hiking and came home on Sunday. Bryce Canyon was beautiful and so unreal. It was not anything like Zion, but it gave me that same sort of awe-inspiring, Disneyland type feeling. Does Bryce Canyon look like the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland to anyone else?
Again---as I said before with Zion---words do not do this beautiful place justice. I took so many pictures and this is only few. Enjoy!
Malachi and Elanor all ready to go hiking, Elanor loves Malachi. She could not stop saying "Mali".
Tyler and Elanor at the top, ready to go down into the Canyon (love her funny lips!).
I am a bit ashamed it has been so long since I have done one of these food posts. However, I do have a delicious pasta dish to share with you! It is one of my favorites and is a a perfect spring/summer dish as it tastes so fresh and light.
Here we go!
Pasta Primavera
(adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)
