Good to be Home

6 May 2014 - Most of you probably don't know that I spent most of last week in California.  I was attending an emergency operations training.  It was hot but interesting.  It is sure good to be home though.  Traveling without Scott isn't much fun. 

Our Easter Bunny

 

This is Stewart, our Easter Bunny or Stew for short!

  He lives in the old trailer in our back field and we hope that he won't be interested in our garden.

Our Anniversary

18 April 2014

Just thought I would share some pics from our anniversary trip.

This is Bearizona - a drive through wildlife park

 

Then we went to see Hoover Dam and the new bridge

 

On Saturday we hiked Angel's Landing in Zions

 

This is almost to the top

 

Hail the conquering heroes!

 

Checking out the view with our new binoculars

 

This is the 7 Wives Inn where we stayed

 

7 years to the day!

A recipe

Hey family!  I just wanted to share this delicious recipe with you!  We have tried it a couple of times and it is phenomenal!   Enjoy!

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

          6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
          Coarse salt and ground pepper
          1 pound penne rigate
          1 teaspoon olive oil
          2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), halved horizontally
          1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
          4 garlic cloves, minced
          6 cups whole milk
          10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
          1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced
          1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces)
          1 cup finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces)

 DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta, and return to pot.

2.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

3.  In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Off heat, gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

4.  Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes; sprinkle each with 1/4 cup Parmesan.

5.  Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

COOK'S NOTE

To Freeze: Prepare through step 4; let cool. Cover tightly with foil, and freeze, up to 3 months.
To Bake From Frozen: Preheat oven to 400, and bake (still covered in foil) on a rimmed baking sheet until center is hot, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil; bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

 

A Music Poster

I thought all of you might enjoy this!

Our New Bathroom!

Sorry it took so long to get this uploaded!

 

 

 

We put in a new floor and then painted the cabinets.  Now I just need to do a little decorating and it will be complete.

The Birthday Fun!

I am a super slacker when it comes to updating our life but it is never too late to repent!  Eliza celebrated her first birthday on the 30th of January.  I honestly think it is more of a celebration for the older siblings since Eliza didn't seem know what was going on.  She probably thought all of us had gone crazy!  I mean we were encouraging her to rip paper, push all the noisy buttons on her "cell phone," eat her cake, and we laughed when she threw it all over the floor, and she was never scolded for any of these!  Mom and Emma were able to join us and they helped to decorate the house so cute.  Emma did an awesome job at making the make and decorating it.  I highly recommend her although her prices are a little steep.  It was a fun day!  It is hard to believe the our baby is walking all over and getting into everything.  She knows how to hold her own especially against her big brother.  She is still an adorable Gerber girl.  Enjoy the pics of our 1 year old!

Opening the gifts

 First tastes of cake

 Her favorite spot

 Pigtails!