On July 23, Skip and I started a road trip to Utah. Natalie had flown to California the day before to visit the Branvold family for a few days, and Kara needed to stay in Virginia to work. So that left the two of us to drive out to Utah to see our kids and grandkids that live out there. We're pretty used to that drive now, and many of the rest stops and gas stations looked very familiar. Skip was able to do some work along the way, and we kept ourselves entertained with movies and Sirius sattelite radio. We arrived in Utah on the evening of the 25th. We stayed with Ryan and Dara in their basement apartment near BYU, and spent a lot of time with Laura, Kart, and kids. Here are some of the highlights of our time in Happy Valley:
We had Sunday dinner with Kart's family in Springville. Skip grilled pork chops.
Laura made apple pie for dessert.
We laughed at Aiden and Emma swinging on Kart's legs.
Beth drove up from Las Vegas to join in the fun for the week. We went shopping together at IKEA.
We went to the pool.
The kids surprised us with a birthday picnic at Kiwanis park. Emma had fun there playing with rocks and water.
I liked watching the kids play outside. One morning I took them to a playground.
Emma loved trying to unlock the door. I had never hiked to the Y before, so one day I woke up early and decided to try. It was hard for my out of shape body, but I did it. One afternoon we drove into Salt Lake City. Skip wanted to do some family history research, so the girls and I spent some time in the church history museum and temple square. We rode the train to the Gateway mall and had sushi at Happy Sumo. Beth, Dara, and Laura went back to Provo then, and I caught up with Skip to have dinner with him. Then we went to the airport to pick up Natalie who flew in from California. She was able to spend a day with everyone before she had to fly back to DC for cheer camp that started the next Monday. On Saturday morning, Ryan, Dara, and I dropped Natalie off at the airport (5:30 am), then went to the Salt Lake temple for a session. It was my second time there, and as before, I was awed by the beauty and spirituality of that historic place.
After we got back on Saturday, we continued helping to get Dara and Ryan packed up and ready to move back to Virginia. We got a few more pictures that evening before saying goodbye to the Barnetts.
On Sunday morning, we finished packing our van and Ryan and Dara's car, then drove straight through to Virginia. We are blessed to have Ryan and Dara living close to us now - as close as a room downstairs!
One of my favorite Fourth of July memories was a flag waving musical production by the Baird Kids. We were never the Von Trapp Family Singers or the Osmonds, but we sure had fun.
I always like to set big plans for the summer, and then feel like they never get done. So I thought I'd try to document my progress on my projects. Here's my first project - beautifying and organizing a wall of my kitchen:
Here is the before picture:
And now the after picture:
Thank you to my amazing husband that helped me with the first shelf (after I messed it up) and gave me better instruction on putting things into a wall. Hint: Break off the end of the anchor to allow a longer screw to easily go through.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Here is my latest yummy chocolate addiction:
Double Chocolate Crinkles
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Directions
1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. 2. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar creamy. 3. Add eggs one at the time. 4. Add melted and cooled chocolate and continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture is smooth. 5. Gradually work in the flour-mix. 6. Add the chocolate morsels. 7. Chill for 1-2 hours until the mix is easy to handle. 8. Preheat oven to 350°F. 9. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar to coat all the way. 10. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. 11. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges set and tops are crackled. 12. Let cool on rack.
TIP: To keep your hands from sticking too much, keep dough cold and dust your hands in powdered sugar.
Yes, I guess it’s time for an update.I’m still trying to figure out what kinds of things I should write in here, so to help me along Laura encourage me with a prompt yesterday, so here goes:
I love Sundays.Yesterday was a particularly long and full one – not crazy busy full, but just full as in fulfilling.In facebook last night, I wrote that it felt like three days in one.Here’s what I mean:
DAY ONE:CHURCH.Sometimes getting ready for church can feel like a day in itself, but that went fairly smoothly.It was fast Sunday, so food was not an issue for me, but I made a breakfast sandwich for Skip before I left.As you probably know, he is recovering from knee surgery and needs to keep up his strength.Natalie and I arrived at church at about 10:55.Apparently, nobody had panicked yet about the organist not showing up, so I played five minutes of prelude.A few testimonies were heartfelt, and it felt really good to fast today.My fasting and prayers were mostly for Skip and his recovery.I went home right after sacrament meeting to help him.(Kara had been there while I was gone, and she had to leave for church at 12:30)While he was asleep, I went outside and finished a book I was reading (The Secret Life of Bees).A great book, by the way.When he woke up, I read a conference talk to him by Elder Pearson on Faith in Jesus Christ.He will be our visiting authority next Sunday in Stake Conference when we get a new stake president.
DAY TWO:THE KITCHEN.Sometimes on fast Sunday, it’s relaxing to be in the kitchen.It’s rarely a temptation for me to want to break my fast early when I prepare food.I made oatmeal cookies particularly for Skip, then I prepared a dinner of glazed pork loin, roasted potatoes, salad, and leftover mac and cheese.I even meant to make biscuits, but I forgot somehow.Even though it was just me, Natalie, and Skip, I decided we should eat in the dining room which we rarely do unless we have company.I’m always a little disappointed at how short the actual meal is compared to the preparation, but I helped Natalie clean up the kitchen to prolong the family time a little.
DAY THREE:FAMILY TIME.We try to still have Family Home Evening our traditional Monday night family time, but we can’t call it that now.Natalie bristles at the thought (“It’s weird having Family Home Evening when I’m the ONLY child.”)so we just prolong family scripture and prayer time with more in depth teaching and discussion. So we discussed the same talk I read to Skip earlier with Natalie.Then Grandma and Grandpa Condie came over and we had a nice visit with them.Grandma is doing better with her hearing aids.I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be, but she bravely puts it in perspective.We’re glad she’s feeling strong enough now to go with Grandpa to Idaho for their annual meeting on the range.They’ll be back on Tuesday the 16th, and then people start arriving for the Condie family reunion.After Grandma and Grandpa left, Natalie, expressing frustration that the oatmeal cookies weren’t chocolate chip cookies, convinced me to make some brownies.She has to watch the movie , “Their Eyes Are Watching God” for English, and I told her teacher I’d see that she did, and watch it with her.So we made brownies and watched probably an hour of the movie before I started falling asleep.I started to get ready for bed, then realized the trash needed to be taken out, so I went out in my bare feet to pull the trash bin to the curb.The beauty of the full moon against the trees and the damp grass on my bare feet gave me a second wind, so I stayed up for another hour talking to Natalie, reading, and checking email.I was even up long enough to see Kara come home, who spends most evenings with her boyfriend, Andrew Bradley and his family.She was here long enough to pack for a trip to the beach tomorrow, then left to spend the night at the Bradleys so they could get an early start in the morning.
So that's my three-day Sunday. Maybe Monday will be even longer......
I finally finished my Dad's Christmas present - a customized deck of cards to play "Five Crowns" with. I made them with Heritage Makers, an online digital scrapbooking company. I can help you if you want to make your own personalized cards, books, posters, calendars, and more.
I went over to Mom and Dad's last night to present them with gifts - the cards for Dad and a framed picture for Mom (late Mother's Day gift). I stayed to play Five Crowns with them. It was fun, but it took a little longer than normal to play because
1. We often paused to look at the pictures a little more closely. 2. I inadvertently made the symbols in the top corner on the wrong side for someone who's used to holding cards right handed, so it was a little awkward arranging the cards in our hands.
In honor of Mother's Day - a picture from the Baird archives - 1993. Pictured from left to right are Kara, Emily, Beth, Natalie, Ryan, and Laura. Our Baird family Mother's Day/Father's Day tradition consists of everyone gathering in the kitchen in the morning, helping to make breakfast and/or finish cards, gifts, and gift wrapping. When everything is ready, the celebrators line up with breakfast and gifts in hand, then chant on the way to the bedroom, "Boom-shak-a-lak-a-lak-a, boom-shak-a-lak-a-lak-a, boom....." Breakfast is then eaten, gifts opened, hugs given, and tears shed (mostlly joyous).
Thank you all for making this Mother's Day another memorable one. Breakfast was delicious and I enjoyed all your cards and gifts. We were thankful to be able to celebrate another Mother's day with our own mothers as well. We love you Grandma Baird and Grandma Condie!
