Viva La STAYCATION

The kids went to Grammy and Paca's (thank you!) while Bryce was in NYC on business which left me to spend two days doing nothing but my own luxurious agenda, which included:

*shopping for new lipgloss and mascara
*pedicure
*decorating the basement bathroom
*salad from Costa Vida
*leisurely browsing at my favorite boutiques...Four and Twenty Sailors, Hip and Humble, Paisley Pomegranate, and Children's Hour
*jewelry making
*Target, of course
*organizing the laundry room (yuck, I know - but needed to get done)
*reading "7 Habits for Highly Effective Families"
*enjoying the silence :)

The family is back home (let the love and chaos resume!) and thus my staycation has come to a close. I hope I used my time wisely. What would YOU do with two days to yourself?

Magnolia Bakery's Second Most Famous Dessert

...is simple to create, amazing to admire, and delectable to devour.

Recipe from More From Magnolia by Allysa Torey

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 1/2 cups ice cold water

• 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers

• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas

1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

3. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours – or up to 8 hours, but no longer! – before serving.

And the Answer is...

...homemade butter (shaken by the hunnies of course). Yes, that's how we decided to celebrate the upcoming holiday; by making Pioneer Whole Wheat bread in our Kitchen Aid and slathering it with fresh butter. Yum! We threw a couple pioneer songs into mix and felt quite festively proud of ourselves. Happy 24th of July!

Can you guess...

...what these four hunnies are doing so vigorously to the
contents of this jar?

What, no Esprit bag?

I'm not much of a back to school shopper for two reasons.

1. It's still SO hot here in the end of August...the kids wear their summer clothes to school easily through September.
2. Admittedly, I'm a "year-round" shopper...so its not as if our closets are empty when the school year begins ;)

But I can tell the older these darling girls of mine get, the more specific their wants are becoming. Instead of "new jeans" its "new skinny jeans". Instead of a new tee or two - its a new Beatles tee. I decided to limit Kalli's requests to 3-5 new items to start the school year with and here is what she came up with. Yes, that's right. This is what my SIXTH grader came up with. It seems so much more sophisticated than the Esprit bag I had to have to start my sixth grade year.

TODAY

Outside my window...hammer hammer; bang bang; buzz buzz. The workers are steadily making progress on our new garage. Can't wait to have a place to park bikes next summer and cars this winter. Simple pleasures.

I am thinking...how much I've enjoyed taking a few minutes each morning BEFORE the kids wake up to gather myself and my thoughts - to meditate and pray. It's been easier to allow myself this time in the summer when the kids are extra tired and sleeping in a little longer.

I am thankful for...a brain FULL and a heart FULL of summertime memories with my kids.

From the kitchen...nothing since Saturday. I made cake pops as part of the centerpieces for Christina's surprise birthday party and haven't wanted to set foot in the kitchen since. Thankfully the fam ate Sunday dinner with Grammy and Paca; I think I'll swindle Bryce into grilling fish tonight.

I am wearing...workout clothes - at 2:56 in the afternoon. I opted to take Kalli to another Apple Camp session instead of the gym this morning so I haven't worked out yet. Hoping to get the gym before sundown.

I am creating...a list of ideas on how to celebrate our Utah pioneer heritage this week. The 24th of July (this Friday) is a huge holiday here in Utah and is the very date we celebrate the settling of this beautiful valley we call home.

I am going...to swim lessons this evening with Max. One of my favorite ways to wind down a summer day: ask Bryce and the girls to clean up dinner while I go one on one with my favorite five year old.

I am reading...a few newspaper clippings I recieved from my mom last week in the mail. She has been doing this for 15 years - since I first moved away from home. The topics vary from child rearing to the latest herbal mosquito bite remedy. They usually come complete with highlighted sections and her personal comments hand written in between the columns. I don't know if she knows how much I treasure them. (I love them mom - keep them coming!)

I am hoping...for a wardrobe "crisis" like Bryce is experiencing. Nothing in his closet fits him anymore since he went a got all skinny. Hence the reason I'm still in my workout clothes I suppose. :)

I am hearing...Novela in A minor - pianist Kalli Jensen Roberts

Around the house...dress-ups are everywhere. We had some serious wins at the D.I. (local thrift store) last week and the kids have dressed up as everything from oompa loompas to Sharpay Evans. Need to kill a bored summer afternoon? Head to your local thrift store and let your imaginations take over.

One of my favorite things...friends. These are just a few of them; but they are ALL wonderful, beautiful, kind, generous, talented, and amazing. I have the BEST friends.

A few plans for the rest of the week...shopping for a birthday gift, another Apple camp (that makes 3!), Discovery Gateway, our favorite neighborhood BBQ of the year, laundry laundry laundry, greeting one of our favorite cousins at the airport after not seeing her for 1 1/2 years!

Now dear blogging friends...its your turn. What does TODAY look like for you?

Who is that?

Things got a little crazy at my friend Christina's 40th birthday party last night...I turned around and this guy was table dancing.

Guess where Kalli and I are today?

I'm blogging this from the Apple store. iPhotos to come later...
*Update: check out my flickr for pics

Sunday Dinner

...is not always a special occasion at our house; but today we had some special dinner guests so we wanted to do something memorable. It only took a slight craving for our favorite harvest holiday to head us in this tasty direction. Here's what we came up with:

A SUMMER THANKSGIVING

Crock Pot TURKEY Breast
(If you've never done this simple protein - you must. Buy one fresh or frozen turkey breast. They're usually around 7-10 lbs. Put it in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. DONE. Moist, delicious, and leftovers for about 2 days.)

SWEET POTATO Fries
Romaine Salad with CRAISINS (our cranberries) and candied Walnuts
CORN BREAD

And for dessert...
any number of frozen PUMPKIN creations, but this one from Epicurious looked the tastiest to me.

Now who's ready for a nap?

If I must rough it...

My girls and I want to be invited to this Five Star backyard campout - complete with that amazing and utterly ridiculous tent.

High for 3 Seconds

My animated niece Lily does a biting impression of this stand-up routine. Seriously, take 3 minutes and enjoy.

Wyoming 2009

Each year over the 4th of July we set aside our city life and find ourselves in the midst of the greatest small town celebration one could ever experience. I have found that one of life's sweetest delights is sharing my childhood with my own children. They get to play in the same creek I couldn't stay out of near our cabin, dress up in their western duds and go to the same rodeo I love, play in my childhood backyard, even eat ice cream on pancakes at 7:00 a.m. on July 4th with many of our family friends - these things I've been doing each and every July since I can remember. It makes me happy to know these are now the traditions my children look forward to - as we've been making the trek to Cody nearly every summer since Kalli was born. These pictures are just a sampling of the 4-wheeling, horseback riding, parading, rodeoing, hiking, campfire building week in our favorite small town.

Home on the Range

So happy to be HOME! Home on the range...after logging nearly more days away than at home so far this summer. Though we've enjoyed copious amounts of fun, we are looking forward to a full six week stint at home sweet home. Let the lazy days of summer begin.

*image of Kalli and Grandpa riding Bandit near Heart Mountain outside of Cody