BANANA BREAD

I have had a surplus of bananas, so I've been making my favorite banana bread recipe ( it's so easy and it's vegan - yay for me.)
Today I served it on a platter that belonged to my 2nd great-grandmother, Harriet Maria Vincent Smith.

Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup oil
2 bananas, mashed

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and bananas. Stir to combine. Put batter in an oiled loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Cool 30 minutes then take out of loaf pan to continue cooling.

Our loafs disappear within minutes, so I have no idea how long the bread lasts if not eaten straightaway.

I'M NOT SAYING ANY NAMES OR WHAT

exactly happened to our bathroom screen.BUT, the perpetrator may or may not be male, the first initial may or may not be 'L' and a homemade flame throwing device may or may not have been tested.

Never a dull moment around here.

I HAVE A GRADUATE

No more kindergarten for this bloke.He is so excited that he gets to eat his lunch at school next year. Ahhh, the simple things....

MY AUNT AND UNCLE ARE SERVING

a mission for our church on Temple Square. They are amazing and I'm so proud of them!
Jill took us downtown to stroll the temple grounds and find them.If you're downtown in the next 6 months, stop by and see them, and tell them hello. You're going to love them.

PS - I have another aunt and uncle who are serving a second mission in Palmyra, New York. If you are in that area, look for Elder and Sister Young. They are awesome. I was lucky enough to see them in the mission field in 2007. I love that area of New York; it's absolutely beautiful.

I WAS IN PERRY THIS

weekend with my family at the Jeff Young Fun Run.We had perfect weather and a gorgeous view.
Believe it or not, I did not finish the 5K last.
We wore a t-shirt Jeff designed, there was a silent auction, bake sale, Mexican food, snow cones, face painting, raffles and a candy cannon.

Photo on bottom left taken by Ivon

We had so much fun celebrating Jeff and being with family.
One of the best parts of the day was imagining that Jeff was laughing at us because he had so many women in an elk t-shirt.

MY FATHER HAS A FEW THINGS

he has saved from his younger days.
One item he kept was a bowl he made, when he was a junior, in high school. It's made of pine, stained and has a thick coating of shellac.

My brother, Derek, still has a bread bin he made in wood shop.

Have you saved anything you made in high school?

HAVE A SWEET WEEKEND

IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY TO

celebrate the birthdays of Michael Squared.Michael Sr is funny, loves his family, loves his job, is interesting, hard working and has a great laugh.
Michael Jr is sweet, loving, smart and is adored by my wee ones.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL SQUARED!
WE LOVE YOU!!

THEY SEE HIM ONCE A WEEK

Sometimes he is sporting gifts or treats.
He plays with them.
My wee boys think Uncle Ivon is rad.

We are so blessed that our boys have awesome uncles.

CAMEO BROOCH

Petrea Christoffersen Daniels was born in Denmark in 1868. She lived 93 years and died in Utah in 1961.

Petrea was my 2nd great-grandmother and this cameo brooch belonged to her.

My favorite thing about this brooch are the stains. I'm seriously in love with them.

PS - I hope that I inherited her genes to live a long life.

THE INVENTION YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING

for has arrived and our six year old is so proud he invented it.
Brace yourself - THE WEDGIE MACHINEHe will show anyone and everyone how it works.
Uncle Michael tested it and we are waiting for his review.
He wants to patent it and sell it in stores.

I love his mind.

IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY TO

celebrate my birthday.
So go eat some cake!

BIRTHDAY EVE

I had a lovely lunch at Venti's with my Soul Sisters. They bought me this bracelet, made by Fig Jewelry. Love!

I got a hefty speeding ticket and cried.

I had a wonderful dinner at Marco Polo with Steph and Kim, where I received some eye candy to go along with my eats.

THE LADIES LOVE HIM

I had a quilting day with my father this weekend, at Purple Frog Quilt Shop, where we took a class to learn how to make a star log cabin quilt.He is a very good quilter and the quilting ladies love him. Who knew there would be a day that I would learn to quilt with my daddy. I'm so glad I am; it's really fun.

PS - The ladies may have invited him to go on a weekend quilting retreat.

BULLFROG HUNTERS

Yes, you read that right, my man clan have decided to be bullfrog hunters. Hmmm, maybe we could get a reality TV show about this.Once the sun sets, they are ready with their flashlights, nets, spear concoctions and handmade bamboo gigs (I call them stabby thingies.)
The first night they came home with no bullfrogs but the second night they came home with four.
Do you want to learn how to make deep fried frog legs? There are six easy steps.

1. Catch bullfrogs and skin them.
2. Soak the legs overnight in salt water.
3. Drain, then soak the legs in milk while you prepare flour mixture.
4. Flour mixture consists of flour, garlic salt and salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Dredge the frog legs in the flour mixture and fry in olive oil until golden brown.
6. Put on a plate lined with a paper towel and eat.

They said it was deliciouso and tasted like chicken.

HAVE A PLAYFUL WEEKEND

You are the master of your fate, you are the master of your destiny.
Be a superhero and have fun.

WE ARE WORKING ON A

project. It's not fun yet, but it will be.I can't wait to show you.

LEMON CURD

When I was forced to go vegan, I have to admit, lemon curd was one of the foods that I lamented about.
If you want a fabulous recipe for lemon curd, I was in love with Martha's.
I've been looking for a vegan lemon curd recipe online. After combining a few recipes, I have found a combo that my taste buds delight in, but I feel it still needs a little work.
Back to the kitchen I go, to try, try again.

PS - cheese, I really, really, really miss you.

IT'S GROWING A LITTLE AT AT TIME

We are looking forward to enjoying the fruits of our labors.

What's in your garden?

LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN

The Yayas kicked off the birthday celebration for Kathy and I, and we were spoiled!

Photo taken by Adrienne

I had so much fun, I think I'm going to be celebrating my birthday all month long.

CAPTAIN BLUEBERRY

is Lily's new cousin, who is also a Coton de Tulear. They met this weekend for the first time and were instant BFF's.Their cuteness is killing me - they are so fun!!

IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY TO

celebrate Jill's birthday.If you don't know Jill, you are missing out on one of the sweetest and nicest people ever. She is gorgeous, a wonderful mother, daughter, aunt and sister-in-law. She is a hair stylist with mad skills, thoughtful, brave, interesting and interested, strong, loving and can get a teenager to do homework like no other. I have a lot to learn from her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL!
WE LOVE YOU!