IMAGINE DRAGONS AND LONGBOARDLARRY

Larry made a custom 56" Cruiser for Dan Reynolds, lead singer of Imagine Dragons.  You know us well, if you know Imagine Dragons is one of our FAVORITE bands.  We were beyond excited to make this longboard!

We had tickets to see them in concert Friday night, as part of a Portland weekend for Larry's birthday, so this beauty was packaged up and we took it with us Friday morning.

There was a special private acoustic performance at Kink FM in the afternoon, in the Bing Lounge, that we were invited to, to do the hand off.  To be honest, we were giddy!

Of course, they were amazing and it was super fun to watch.  After the meet and greet, we unveiled the custom longboard.

photo taken by Ryan 

photo taken by a cute and super nice Kink FM gal

photo taken by the same cute and super nice Kink FM gal

you guessed it, taken by the cute and super nice Kink FM gal

They are really nice, super friendly and down to earth.  Larry and I smiled the rest of the afternoon and were even MORE excited to see them in concert that night.  Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of summer we're still smiling.

PS - We had another "highlight" at this performance.  Kink FM gave everyone at the performance tickets to see Imagine Dragons, on May 27th, at the Rose Festival RoZone Concert at Waterfront Park.

Local friends, you must, and I mean MUST, get tickets to see them on the 27th.  If you don't, you're insane in the membrane.

A VEGAN PASTRY TASTE TEST

is planned for tonight.

Lucky for me, Pure Decadence Pastries carries vegan pastries.  I got one of everything vegan and for Family Home Evening, we are going to be putting our taste buds to work.

Needless to say, I am excited.  SO excited.  Oh, happy day.

SUNDAY PICNIC DINNER

It was such a nice day today and it's rumored to rain all week, so we had a dinner picnic at the park this evening.

The kids and dogs played, we ate yummy food and caught up on schedules and shenanigans. Although we all live in town, we sometimes don't see each other as often as we'd like, due to busy schedules and LIFE.

What a fun evening we had!  I can't wait until summer when we can do Sunday dinner at the park more often.

PS - that last photo.  Lach couldn't find his shoes so he improvised.  So cute.

T-BALL

Landon had a t-ball game today.  His team was playing an undefeated team but his team won - yay Braves!

It was one of the funniest games I've ever seen.  Four children on the opposing team repeatedly fighting over the ball,  young athletes contagious enthusiasm and a hilarious young player named Dwight who was, according to him, "on fire!" being the highlights.  It just might go down as one of the cutest games in t-ball history.

IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY

to celebrate my brother's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVIE-POO!

WE LOVE YOU!!

MY NEW BEST FRIEND

I've been having problems with shin splints.  Thanks to guidance from my Gallagher Running Clinic leaders and compression socks, they are healing quite well but they could be better.
We have come to the conclusion that my calves are the culprit of my shin ailments, so I purchased The Grid today.

I had NO IDEA my calves were so tight!  After 5 minutes of "YOWZA!" and some achy face expressions, I couldn't believe how that hurt made me feel so good!  I was so excited with the difference, I used it full body.  I can't wait to notice the difference on Monday from today.  My muscles are going to be on their way to Loosey Goosey City and I'm so happy!

Trigger Point is my new best friend.  Shin splint riddance is afoot.

MORMON WHISKEY

We love ginger beer, not the super sweet kind but the ones with spicy heat.  Larry has been experimenting with making our own and he almost has the perfect recipe.
It's not your mama's ginger ale.  This is a sipping drink, and woo wee, does it have spicy heat - that is why we have named it Mormon Whiskey.

NEYSA'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

was a yummy, fun lunch with the Soul Sisters.  Do you remember when Dwight showed up with roses and a smooch at our last lunch?  Well, Jared showed up with a birthday balloon with two candy bars that red "you get to SKOR with a BIG HUNK" and a bouquet of flowers for Neysa, his beautiful wife, and chocolate kisses, balloons and three yellow roses for the rest of us.

We were talking about how we are going to be disappointed when we don't have a husband show up at one of our lunches with a surprise for us!  Larry needs to put his thinking cap on....

RECO

I'm gushing with friend pride!

Do you remember my post about my high school friend, who is now an award winning film director? If you want to have a looksee at his award winning short film, Reco, it's on his website.

"Fear of the unknown.

We all face it daily. How often are we afraid to seek or reveal truth for fear of the knowledge it brings?

The story of Reco explores this as Annie embarks on a destined journey on horseback across Utah's back country. Sent to fetch her adoptive grandmother, she meets a woman and confronts a past that leads her to a life changing discovery.

But first, she has to come to terms with the vivid and fearful dreams that have haunted her for most of her life and risk asking the questions that could bring the truth she's been seeking."

It's a wonderful film and the scenery is breathtaking. Click here to watch.

DAISY

is Lily's two month old sister. She is my parent's dog and is quickly becoming best buds with Lily. Isn't she adorable!

T-BALL SEASON

has begun. I love the cute uniforms, their attention spans and watching them learn the game. It's so fun!

BRUSSEL SPROUTS

After all these years, I finally tried them.I roasted them with olive oil, salt and pepper. I was so nervous to taste them - I felt like I was five!

Asking people about brussel sprouts, I've concluded you either love them or hate them. And guess what, I liked them!

FOR HER FIRST CLASS

she did really well.She's not too keen on the big dogs in the class. Neither am I.

For the most part, we stay away from them, but when we have to walk in a circle and practice different commands, we can hear the big dogs behind us breathing and panting. We know they want to eat us.

We survived the first class - yay us!

WHO PUT THEIR CHOCOLATE IN MY COOKIE BUTTER?

Who put their cookie butter on my chocolate?
Oh wait, I did! And, it's delicious!

Next time you are at Trader Joe's, put this in your cart. It's heaven in your mouth.

HAM RADIO

Larry and I have been in a class all weekend so we can get our ham radio license. Our test is in a week - we have a lot of studying to do!

THE WORLD PREMIER OF

Detention of the Dead is going to be Friday, April 27 at 6:00pm at the Newport Beach Film Festival.Lookie at that beautiful LongBoardLarry board in this film still. It makes our heart skip a beat or two.
The six main characters are played by Jayson Blair and Max Adler,
Jacob Zachar and Justin Chon,
Alexa Nikolas and Christa B. Allen and the movie was directed by Alex Craig Mann.

"Comedy and horror unite in this "The Breakfast Club" meets "Shaun of the Dead" tale about a group of oddball high school students who find themselves trapped in detention with their classmates having turned into a horde of Zombies. Can they put their differences aside and work together to survive the night? Fat chance! This is high school after all."

Seriously, who doesn't love zombies? This movie is going to be awesome. We are so excited!

OBEDIENCE SCHOOL

has begun. In nine weeks, our dog will be more obedient than your dog.

GOTYE CONCERT

Last night we took the older boys to the Gotye concert at the Crystal Ballroom. It was such a great evening! We took them out to dinner to P.F. Changs, then arrived early to stand in line.Kimbra opened for Gotye and, wow, was she was incredible. Fun, energetic, unique, whimsical, and she makes the cutest facial expressions when she sings. She was adorable and a joy to watch.
Goyte blew us away. He is a drummer with mad skills, has an amazing voice and had the crowd lingering on his every word. He had a large screen behind him and his band that projected short videos and in a few of his songs had the audience singing - boy, girl, left and right audience parts. Nothing hard - ooh, ooh, oh's and eh, eh's - it was fun!
We were in the third(ish) row, you know how standing room only gets, soaking it all in.

When the concert was over we were hot, our feet were throbbing from being on them for six hours, our ears were ringing and we had the hugest smiles on our faces.

I asked the boys on a scale of 1-10 what they thought, and I got an enthusiastic "10!" and "20!"

What a wonderful way to start the week!

PS - Gotye will be on Saturday Night Live on April 14.

OUR EASTER WEEKEND

Our weekend was a busy one. We are still working on the older boys' room (gosh, was I wrong thinking we'd have it done in two weekends) and managed to find time to color eggs and do our Easter basket shopping late, really late. I unintentionally go overboard every year, so this year I made a real effort to not have this Easter be a Christmas Jr. The man clan woke up to Easter baskets, then we went to church.
Beautiful flowers for the Easter weekend and we had the most gorgeous day on Sunday - and not one drop of rain.
The family came over for Easter dinner. Not one photo of the crazy gang. It was delicious and really fun. My sister ended the evening making everyone Easter smores. Needless to say, that was a huge hit and a fun way to end the festivities.

PS - My heart broke this weekend when our 7 year old found out the Easter bunny and put two and two together and discovered the Santa secret.

HE IS RISEN

"In our hour of deepest sorrow, we can receive profound peace from the words of the angel that first Easter morning: 'He is not here: for he is risen.'" -Thomas S. Monson

I'm so incredibly grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. To know that he has taken on my sins and rescued my soul is overwhelming at times. I'm thankful for the peace that comes with knowing that if I choose to follow him and try my best to be like him, that I can live with him again. I'm thankful for the knowledge that our families can be eternal and I look forward to the day to see my loved ones who have passed.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend!

TASTE TEST

I was at World Market yesterday and got the munchies, so I picked up two bags of Danielle Fruit Chips - mango and pineapple. I opened them in the car, took a bite of each and immediately went back in the store to purchase one of each for a family taste test. They were SO good!Our store only has four of the flavors, but there are eleven flavors on their website.

They have all natural ingredients, free of preservatives, trans fat and low in calories.

The man clan and I are all in agreement on this taste test. Pineapple, mango and coconut were the winners in a three way tie. We couldn't decide which one we liked best. And although the website states that pumpkin is their most popular, we didn't like that one at all, which was surprising because we are pumpkin fans.

Lily liked the pumpkin, so that bag is hers.

We are gaga over these fruit chips, so when you see them at the store, don't even hesitate to add them to your cart. Our taste buds screamed AMAZEBALLS with every bite. And, don't listen to us about the pumpkin chips, you might like them.

THE COLOR RUN 2012

will be in our neck of the woods. I'm so excited!! Seattle's race is May 13 and
Portland's race is September 29th.

CINNAMON ROLL PANCAKES

About a month ago, Larry saw cinnamon roll pancakes on the baker chick and he's been making this decadent breakfast every weekend since. They are amazing!

Ingredients:

CINNAMON FILLING:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 TBSP butter
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon oil

Directions:

Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a quart-sized heavy zip baggie and put it in the freezer while you prepare pancake batter.

Prepare the glaze: In a small pan, heat the butter over low heat until melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until it is almost smooth. Sift the powdered sugar into the pan, stir and add in vanilla extract. Set the pan aside while you make the pancakes.

Prepare the pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk, egg and oil, just until the batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).

Cook the pancakes: Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray. Spread the batter into a 4 inch circle.

Snip the corner of your baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. When your pancake begins to form bubbles, add the filling. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl (just as you see in a regular cinnamon roll).

Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it's golden brown on the bottom, then gently flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon.

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. Re-warm the glaze briefly, if needed. Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze.

ROSEMARY FRIES

This rosemary salt is super easy and SO delicious.

1/4 cup fresh rosemary

1/4 cup coarse sea salt

3/4 cup Kosher salt

Put in a food processor until combined.

When your homemade fries come out of oil, sprinkle away.

You're welcome.

PUT A BIRD ON IT

Stephanie and I decorated a cake for a surprise baby shower for Dani. Purple hibiscus', that Stephanie cut out free hand, and we put a bird on it. Two actually, a mama and a baby.