My first bread..heavy or light.

Someone in my ward was getting rid of some old food storage (old not bad) that needed to be put to use. For the longest time I have been wanting to make bread. I just wanted to know I could do it in case the time ever come that I was required to do it. Besides that, I love to buy those rustic looking rounds from Liberty Heights Fresh. They are fabulous!!

So last Sunday I tried. I looked up a peasant bread recipe online. The ingredients were basic. It told me to knead the bread on a floured surface. I did, it was messy. One thing, my house is cold, so it took forever to rise! My mom was also out of town so I could not ask her advice. So the first loaf, it looked OK, but it was super heavy and kind of tasteless. We ate it though.

Tuesday I tried again and added dried onions to the mixture. I also kneaded the bread in the bowl. Why make a mess? I made four smaller rounds and handed them out to the neighbors. Taste was much better, not so heavy, but still not light.

Thursday Mom is finally home. I asked her if I could raise the bread on my heaters (I have the old fashioned cast iron water heaters), she said yes and she also suggested I cover the top of my bowl because my dough was drying out and that is why it did not raise. Perfect!! OK, not perfect. I do not think Liberty Heights would buy them. However Kate ate it and if you know how my Kate eats, that in itself is a sign that the bread turned out pretty good. Two cans of food storage flour later I am confident I can make bread.

Bea's Baptism

Bea was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on February 6th. It was a happy day for our family. She is the last member of our immediate family to be baptized. It seems so odd that we are done with that part of our life already. We were not just blessing the kids as babies?

Bea was baptized by her Dad. She was also given the gift of the Holy Ghost by her Dad. In the circle stood Grandpa Jon, Grandpa Pete, Uncle Ian, Sean, Eric, Sean (really there are two), oh and there is Sean Foster form the yard too, Bishop Pat, George, Jeff (Fej), and Dave. George is our home teacher and he deserves a post all his own.

Bea invited several friends so our house was crammed for lunch. I was happy that she invited her friends though. I think she may be my missionary. After all was said and done I have often thought of something Rachel Fletcher Bea's primary president said. "You will probably not remember the thins that happen here today very well. But I want you to remember the feeling you have." I already am fuzzy about the events of that day. But I do remember the spirit. It was present. Confirming to me and hopefully my daughter that this was the right thing for her to do.

What?! I have not published since August?

What a slacker I am! Let's see, what could have happened in August that has brought my life to a screeching halt. Oh yea. At the last minute (two weeks before school) I became PTA President at the kids elementary, Hawthorne. I had avoided the position, knowing I did need to have a turn, but it finally came to me. I am just grateful I have all these wonderful ladies on my board who do excellent at their chosen jobs. I could never do it on my own! So I will have to update my blog, but right now it is dance lessons. Isn't it sad that once Monday is over and you did not accomplish your list, you know it will all have to wait until next week.

She's JP's kid!

So Everitt may look just like JP, but Bea is the child of his soul. Bea is hilarious like her father (think the Magna or Bishopric blues). Sometimes it is hard to get mad at her because I am laughing to hard to discipline her. Her pre-K teacher once told me she had a very dry wit and understood many of the jokes she and the other teachers shared (think any conversation JP has with Jeff or Dave). She also loves to ride the bike. So much so that she now has her very own helmet! She is always asking me if she can go on a ride and I am always reminding her to ASK her DAD!

Collin and Uncle JP

My nephew Collin supposedly loves his Uncle JP. He asks about him at home and requested a picture of him to be put on the "cousins" picture board.
However when ever Collin visits or we have some Casey function, Collin clings to his Mom and Dad and wide eyed with fear avoids JP at all costs. He said our dinner prayer tonight and the whole time stared JP down to make sure he was not going to make any sudden moves (yes, I peeked). It cracks me up!!

When Everitt was little we had this hand puppet of a T-Rex. It had a button to push and the T-Rex would growl. Every time JP came home from work or Uncle Fej showed up he would go and find this thing. He would hand it over then run to the couch and sit wide eyed with fear. JP and Fej would approach him growling and he would cry and laugh at the same time. BOYS !!

A Summer Read

I have made an effort to make reading a part of every day summer life this season. It has become a favorite thing to do now that the hammock is up.

Cherries

I canned cherries this year! They are so beautiful! To bad there are grubs in them every where! First canning lesson learned. Pick the fruit, can the fruit.
Don't wait a week in between.