Gender Reveal Day

I've had this balloon for about seven years. It was given to me when Karen found out she was having a boy. I've kept it all this time, and now I can use it to show you what Laura is having in November. 

It reminds me of the card game, Go Fish. Did you ever ask for a number only to be denied and then you pick the right number from the pile and say, "Got what I wanted!" Yep. That's us.

My Favorite Cookies Ev-ah! Edited!

Sadly, this post must be edited. I made these cookies my own self tonight. I bit into it when it was cool enough to handle. What? That wasn't the same irresistible cookie I ate a few days ago when I couldn't stop eating them. What happened? 

Luckily, Laura was here when I made these tonight. I asked her why they were different. She then had to CONFESS! She didn't follow the recipe exactly. What was different? Twice the zest and twice the lemon juice. I even doubled my recipe, so I had four dozen cookies that were only meh-okay. I take away my rave review from Lauren Brennan and give new credit to Laura Read for the most incredible cookie ev-ah! The recipe has been edited to the new and improved recipe and I rescind former credit and now give credit where credit is due, to Boo (aka Laura). 

(This was the original posted text, but the recipe is revised.) A couple of weeks ago, I pinned these cookies. When my sister saw the pinned recipe, she asked to taste one. I had hoped to make them for Bud's birthday party, but it didn't happen. I was away for just under an hour today, and when I came home, Laura was in the process of putting these on the cookie sheet to be baked. I tasted some of the dough, just as Laura was letting Eliot play with the last bit of dough. I was envious, because I wanted more. I would just have to wait for the finished product. 

When they were cool enough to bite into, I did so and Laura asked how they were. I said, "They are DIVINE!" I immediately sent a text to my sister asking if she was home. She said she was just getting into the car. I told her to stop by on her way out (that's one of the things that is so neat about living in the same neighborhood). I gave her a cookie. She bit into it and Laura asked how it was. She said, "DIVINE!" Laura and I laughed, since that was the very word I had used. These are indeed divine! Laura said, "As soon as you finish eating one, you want to start eating another one!" The (adapted) recipe comes from an unexpected source, LDS Living Magazine. I would suggest doubling this recipe since it only makes two dozen, and that doesn't leave any to share. At least that's how it worked around here. 

Lemon Crinkle Cookies (by Laura Read)

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
zest of one lemon
fresh lemon juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 T)
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour (by weight this will be 180 grams of flour)
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly (excluding the powdered sugar) until just combined, . Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 8-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte (not melty or shiny). Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Happy Birthday To My Oldest's Youngest!

Happy Birthday, Mia! I haven't shared many photos from my trip to California and visiting with my son's family, and since today is a special day, well- there's no time like the present. 

This little one has personality-plus! 

Helping to hold up the welcome sign they made for me

Sharing a chair with Grandpa Bud. 

I hope you are having a super-fun day, Mia! I know she is because I just tried to call her but she was not home. She was at a friend's house, swimming! I love you, Mia!

Eliot's Creative Cake

Eliot received a snorkel and mask as a present. Olive looked pretty cute wearing it. 

Chocolate Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix 

3.4 oz instant chocolate pudding 

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

Mix all ingredients together. Fill three 8-in. round cake pans with the batter (about 14 oz. of batter by weight, into each pan). Bake for 18-20 minutes until tested with a toothpick and it comes out clean. 

Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
milk (or heavy cream) if needed

Beat butter and cream cheese together for about three minutes, scraping down the bowl if necessary. Add cocoa powder, vanilla extract and slowly add 3 cups of powdered sugar. Check the consistency and sweetness, adding more powdered sugar if necessary. If it is too thick at any point, add a tablespoon of milk or heavy cream. 

Chocolate Cream Filling

1 tsp unflavored gelatin (Knox)

1 T. cold water

2 T. boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

Mix the gelatin and cold water together to soften gelatin. While that's getting soft, put some water in the microwave and bring it to a boil. Measure out 2 T boiling water and add it to the gelatin. Make sure the gelatin is completely dissolved, returning it to the microwave for 10 seconds, if necessary. Set that aside until it is cool but not set.

In the bowl of a standing mixer (or not, if you don't have one) add the sugar, cocoa, cream and vanilla. Beat it until medium peaks form. Add cooled gelatin; chill mixture for 30 minutes.

You'll need about 18 snack-sized Butterfingers, chopped

I split the three layers of cake in half. To do this easily, put a toothpick in the top and bottom edge of the cake, one right below the other. Draw your knife through the cake, between the toothpicks. Leave the toothpicks in the cake. Put the bottom part of the layer on your serving plate. Fill with some of the chocolate cream filling and then add some chopped Butterfingers. Lining up the toothpicks, place the top of the split layer over the Butterfingers. Now you may remove the toothpicks. Spread some of the chocolate frosting on the top of that layer and then repeat the process of splitting the next cake layer and filling and frosting as you did with the first cake layer, finishing by frosting the outside of the cake with the chocolate frosting and pressing chopped Butterfingers into the cake. 
So the cream filling goes between the individually split cake layers, and the frosting goes between the three separate cakes. Or, just do it however you feel like doing it! The cake ends up being about five inches tall. 

Eliot is Five!

Happy Birthday, Eliot! I hope you enjoy your breakfast burrito, your lunch at Tucano's and your dinner...hmm, what did you want for dinner? Anyway, I know what you want for dessert- chocolate cake stuffed with Butterfingers and chocolate frosting. I'll see you at 5:00PM!

Almost a Century Old

I don't know if you can read this, but here is a letter to my mother-in-law from her father, Joseph F. Smith. This letter is nearly 100 years old.

The last page is especially hard to read because of the writing on the front of the page coming through to the back. It's still totally cool. 

San Diego Wedding

Bud's granddaughter was married in the San Diego temple on
June 1, 2013. We headed south for the event.

Here is the bride's side, with her siblings kneeling at her feet. 

Whitney is Lori's oldest daughter (Lori is Bud's second oldest child)

After the sealing, we headed to the ocean in La Jolla.

I think this guy was hoping for a free lunch. 

You may kiss your bride, Nathan! 

Let them eat cake! Lori decorated the cake with the ribbon and flowers. 

It was a lovely wedding. We're glad we went! 

Memory Lane

 Saturday we went to my brother-in-law's house and came away with a trove (what's a trove? A collection of discovered valuable items or a discovery of great importance or monetary value) of family pictures. I thought I'd share a few gems with you.

Joseph F. Smith and his wife, Julina, after a trip to Hawaii

"Cruising" to (or from?) Hawaii

Joseph F. with a wife other than Bud's grandmother

Bud is in the middle with the big smile

Yellowstone- shy of age seven by three days

Bud's high school graduation picture.

Wasn't that fun? Except with all these (and about 50 others) new photos, his biography is that much further from being finished. And we were so close before...

Baseball, Ice Cream and Ducks

A couple of weeks ago I went to Provo for a fun day.

We started at the library and the kids got a free book of their choosing. They had fun stuff for the kids to do, and a couple of owls for them to meet. 

Then we went to the football stadium at BYU for games where the kids won a lot of free stuff. 

Next was the baseball game where BYU creamed the team from St. Mary's

The kids had their faces painted (or stickered) before the game started. 

We left the game a little early because Olive had had enough. Speaking of creamed, we went to the Creamery for some ice cream. That was the best orange sherbet I've had in a long time. 

After ice cream, we ended up at the duck pond. It was a little smelly, 

but the kids loved watching the ducks. 

Here's Eliot with his sticker face

If you saw my video on Facebook, you will recognize these pants as the ones that didn't stay up. 

There were turtles at the pond too

Agnes thought this was funny. Duck bums. 

Hello, Cutie! 

Hello, two Cuties! 

And there we have more proof that the pants just wouldn't stay up. 

Laura's energy level was on empty at this point. 

Fun day with fun kids!