My Big Birthday Boy Brock!

I can not believe that Brock has turned 10! It seems just like yesterday when I was sitting at Primary Children's Hospital waiting to see if I was ever going to get to take this sweet little baby home! Where the time has gone I just don't know, but what I do know, is Brock has grown into a wonderful, thoughtful, kind, and loving young man who I am truly grateful for!

I caught a quick picture of Brock just as he was headed out the door to school on his B-day!

So, for those of you who don't know, we only let the kids have Friend Birthday Parties every other year. So, 4, 6, 8, 10 and that's it! After 10 I really don't see the point in having parties...besides the fact that it cost a lot to have them every year!

Well of course Brock is the kind of kid who wants everything to be an adventure! He can't just go swimming, or have a party at Jumping Jack's it has to be a Bike Obstacle Course or Kite Flying with Tag at the park, or something crazy....well this year it wasn't to bad, but we had lots of kids, and lots of fun!

If you haven't read "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" yet, your missing out! It so funny! All the kids love it, and a movie just came out about it...this was our theme for the party this year!


So here is the cover of the book,


and this is what our invites ended up looking like!
Pretty good job Mom!

For the Party the kids did a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood of things that went along with the book. A piece of tape, a gum wrapper, an empty pop can etc...
The kids were divided up into teams, pink, blue, silver & white then went off to find their stuff!


These are the fun Lunch Boxes we found to put the stuff in for each team during the Scavenger Hunt! Cool aren't they!


We glued the list for the Scavenger Hunt on the front of each box for the kids to keep track of there stuff! *If you hadn't guessed by now "Pink" is Brock's favorite color...a couple of girls gave Brock a pink braclet to his B-day & apologized that they couldn't find one that didn't say "Princess". I got a good laugh out of Brock wearing it anyways!!!



Here are all the tough guys with there teams....Pink Team: Brock, Tanner & Dawson
Silver Team: Zane, Brennan, Rushton, Carson Blue Team: Keegan, Joey & Clayton
White Team: Nicholas, Jeremy, Kaden & Roman....all super great boys!



After the Scavenger hunt we had dinner & cake....then the boys played Basketball, Football & all the fun things boys play when they are in a big group together!

All in all, it was a great Birthday for Brock!


Oh, check out Levi who thinks he's on Brock's Pink Team!

My Tough Honey!!!

Todd's arm after 4 Wheeling Spill...

This past weekend we went 4 Wheeling with the Nelson Family, on our ride we ended up on the top of one of the mountains in Arizona over by the "Gorge" (which takes you to Mesquite & Vegas). On our ride we rode through snow in a few spots until we had to stop when the trail was completely covered. Well of course being extremely careful while 4 Wheeling (the complete opposite of most my Family) I stopped and waited to see if the trail was safe...Todd just kept going right on pass all of us and off into the snow! Long story short, on his way back from being stuck in the snow he hit a rut, the same rut my sister in-law Nikki hit & almost tipped over in, other then she put her foot down to help hold her up. When Todd hit the rut it yanked at his left arm which he held in place to keep Brennan safe who was sitting in front of him on the seat, and put his leg down for more balance. Well the trail won!


By sitting so far back in the seat so that Brennan could be in front, and putting his leg down his pants & foot ended up right by the back wheel which caught him and pulled him off the 4 wheeler, placing his leg under the back wheel. He would of been okay, other then Brennan hit the gas button while trying to stay on the seat, and by Brennan doing that, he ran over Todd's leg! Thank goodness the snow was deep or Todd would have really been hurt! At first I though his arm had been yanked out of the socket, they way it was just hanging & he couldn't lift it, but he thought maybe the muscle had been pulled away from the bone... he just had no use of it!
Good thing it was neither! He does have some pretty good color on both his arm & leg that neither of us would have noticed, other then one of his Track kids asked why his arm was black & blue. I took these pictures last night, more then a week later...so he really was bruised.
I'm so grateful that he wasn't more seriously hurt! L Love You my Tough Honey!

Baked Asparagus!

As a kid I absolutely hated Asparagus....no really, hated it! There was just something about the way you would bit into it and the green water would come squirting out, plus the fact that it felt like I was trying to chew through a bunch of stringy grass....yuck!, Yuck! Yuck!
Well, the good news is as I've gotten older I'm not apposed to trying new things or old things again! Like Artichokes...didn't love them, but I do now! And so do my boys! In becoming a better cook, I've really found that it's all about finding the best way to prepare it, and making sure you use fresh ingredients.

So, if you are not an Asparagus lover, be brave & try it again prepared this way!

Baked Asparagus

2lbs Asparagus
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Minced Garlic
Salt & pepper to taste (I use Kosher Salt, & Ground Pepper)

1. Start with fresh Asparagus!
*Before purchasing Asparagus, try bending the tip of one of the stalk's to see if it snaps & is crisp.
Also, as soon as you get the Asparagus home cut a small slice off all the bottoms & set in a cup of water in the refrigerate. This will help keep the Asparagus fresh for almost a full week!

2. Cut bottoms off!
When ready to prepare, rinse, and cut the bottoms off. (In cutting the bottoms off, use your finger nail and push it into the stalk starting at the bottom and work your way up the stalk. When your nail goes in easily then you know you've reached the tender part. Cut the stalk bottom off there! *You don't have to do this for every piece just do it once so you have a general idea of how much to take off the bottom. I always figure about 2 inches) Remember this is the hard part that is not easy to chew even after you've baked it.



3. Spread Asparagus out on a cookie sheet.

4. Coat with 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil.
The easiest way to do this is by drizzling it over the top, and then using your basting brush rubbing up & down the stalk to coat evenly. *Putting Asparagus in a Ziploc or bowl to coat doesn't work well & makes a big mess....believe me!




5. Add Minced Garlic.
I normally add the garlic by hand because it doesn't sprinkle, it's more like clumps. By doing it by hand I can somewhat control the clumping!

6. Salt & Pepper to Taste.
This is all on you...a lot or a little



7. Bake! Bake @ 425 for 12 to 15 minutes or until you can put a fork in it!

*Remember, like most vegetables Asparagus is served best, Hot!

Enjoy!

(Sorry, If only my Photography skills were equal to my cooking ones!)