a little getaway.

We've decided to try & make the most of our time on the East coast and do a few things we've been wanting to do. First, we headed to Niagara Falls for a little fun. Can you say R-A-I-N! That was the official word for our trip. It was pouring most of the time we were there, which made things a little more interesting. But, we had a good time despite the weather. Our little troopers...

Good thing we were supplied with HUGE ponchos for the Maid of the Mist. We couldn't tell what was from the waterfall and what was the rain.

that's our baby, named hazel, which appears to be a bag of binkies in these poncho pictures.




pretty cute, i know.

riding the trolley to the aquarium to see the sea animals and seal show.

Next stop on our trip was to Palmyra, NY to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. What an amazing show and experience. Unfortunately, we got poured on halfway through, so they had to stop the show. Maybe we'll get to go back next year to catch the full show! I hear we missed out on a lot!

and then on to some church history sites--

Joseph Smith's log home

the Palmyra temple

The sacred grove--an amazing place. I felt the spirit so strong, as we walked through the forest. It was so quiet and peaceful. My testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God was confirmed and strengthened while we walked through this sacred place.

After all the years I lived on the East coast, I'd never been to either of these places. What a great little trip we had!

Fourth Festivities

We had a great 4th of July! We started the day with a birthday party for our friend's little girl. "Born on the 4th of July..." I have that song stuck in my head when I think about her. Anyways, then we headed home for Cam to take nap. When he woke up, we went to see "Up", which was a daring move with 3 kiddos, but went pretty well. We made sure to have lots of treats on hand, which we ate so much of that we didn't even have room for dinner. What a bad mommy I am! My mom would NOT be proud. Then as it turned into evening, we headed downtown to watch the fireworks. We found a good parking spot and slipped away pretty quickly after the show, which is always a bonus. We enjoyed a good show, yet I still miss the days growing up when we would go to Herndon High. Nothing seems to quite compare (even the ones I saw in DC). They always seemed to have the best fireworks...so close you'd get hit with little pellets. What could be more exciting than that? So here are our pics from the day.

Camden was quite camera shy all day.

Doesn't matter what color it is, a bike is a bike.
A rare photo of Benny & I...

Shy Cam once again

I've never seen such a cool 4th of July ( I had a big sweatshirt and blanket for the fireworks!). I think I felt a drop or two of rain during the day, but other than that a very coolish, windy day--hence hazel's hair (are you loving my alliteration?)

Is it just me or is she getting WAY too big...and by big I mean old. She's such a skinny little thing.

Cam snuck away to play with some trucks...maybe he didn't want to share??

Wish I'd gotten a better photo of the kiddos...they were so cute at their little table

And then there was Cam...
(he insisted on sitting by himself at this table...and then he invited me and only me to join him. Guess the hustle and bustle of the party was too much for him.

Daddy & his Hazel

Cam perked up when the sprinkler ball was turned on. What a hit!

Enjoying her Daddy.

And that was that. Hope you all had a great day!

In clippy news...

Guess who's in a magazine this month?? That's right...me! One of my pacifier clips made it into a magazine called Viva La Moda on page 43 of the July 2009 issue. Somewhat new & online only, but cool none the less. Check it out here and go to page 43...#7 Pretty crazy, huh?

Recipes to Remember

I haven't been very good at keeping up with my blog lately, so shame on me. I 've had good intentions though, to share two recipes with you that our family has enjoyed lately. The first is a yummy french toast recipe I got awhile back from a friend, but had never made. Sounds fancy, but so easy to make. Ben made it for me for Mother's Day and we loved it so much, I quickly knew I would return the favor and make it for him, for Father's Day. So, here it is...SO yummy! It will definitely become one of our favorite breakfast recipes, which is a growing list.

Crème Brulee French Toast
½ cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 loaf French bread
5 large eggs
1 ½ cups half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt

In a small, heavy saucepan, melt butter, brown sugar and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 glass pan. Cut bread into thick slices and trim crusts. Arrange slices in one layer in dish, squeezing them slightly to fit. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla, and salt and pour evenly over bread. Chill, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Bring bread mixture to room temperature. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until puffed and edges are pale golden. Serve with fresh fruit (we used strawberries) and whipping cream.

The next is another easy recipe I got from the mother of a missionary serving in our branch. Kinda weird, I know. But we've become very fond of our missionaries and have them over often for dinner or trampoline jumping. When one, Elder Warr, was about to be transferred to a different area, I asked what he would like as his last meal. He suggested his mom's beef stroganoff. So, I was able to call his mom & get it. It was SO simple, yet so yummy. It will also become a permanent recipe in my collection. Here it is:

Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. hamburger

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 packet dry onion soup mix

1 package egg noodles

Cook hamburger until brown, pour off fat. Add 1/2 packet dry onion soup mix near end of cooking hamburger. Pour in soup and sour cream. Serve over egg noodles.

Told you it was easy!

Here is Elder Warr & Elder Pererya below at their last dinner together.

I just couldn't resist...

getting a picture of this bum.

and a clothed one as well.

success!

well, it's that time. hazel has been watching my every move when i or anyone else is eating lately. so, today at lunch when she almost beat me up when i didn't share my water bottle with her {i think she thought it was a bottle}, i decided to see if she liked rice cereal. it was a success! she is such a big girl...or maybe she's just not getting enough to eat. makes a mom wonder...

yummy.

In two days our little baby will be 5 months old. I could just eat this little hazelnut, she's so yummy! After a long nap at church, she was so happy, so I thought I'd take a few pics. Once again I got a little carried away {thank goodness for digital cameras}...

the classic Hazel perma-scowl

Her siblings were not as excited to have a photo shoot. Very typical of their personalities...Cam is not focused and playing, Maddie is giving me a little attitude and Hazel is trying to eat her chair.

Maddie just can't get enough of her sister.

told you i got a little carried away.