"The Hole"

Life.....
Brings.....
Stuff.....
Like....
This.........

A Broken Sprinkler pipe. Lovely! Not exactly how we wanted to spend the day, but luckily today was actually a pretty nice day to be outside. Not to Hot, not to Cold. And thanks to help from Kip and Jake, Jared's been able to get the problem fixed.

What was interesting was that we had to cut the water off to the house for a couple of hours today, and it really made me aware of how unprepared I am for an emergency where we would not have running water. I think I could handle a power outage. Mostly what you need is to open the windows, and then have flashlights and stuff like that on hand. But to not have plumbing! or the ability to have running water for cooking and cleaning....now that is hard to prepare for. We need to get some of those big buckets, and then I think there is something that could be like a toilet bucket or something. None of this is fun to think about, but definately needs to be.....before it's to late! So here's to one more thing for the "to-do-list". Try to get some more water storage!

And hope that the pipes don't ever give us problems again!

"the After"

HERE IS OUR NICE WHITE KITCHEN! Doesn't it look great!?!! I'm so grateful to Jared who had to take over when I got pregnant. These cabinets were kindof a pain to paint, but it is so worth it. It is a huge improvement that will look a lot better... at least until we can afford to do the kitchen remodel that we really want! But for now, I'm thrilled with my white kitchen cabinets!!!

"the Before"

Here is what the kitchen looked like before the cabinets were painted white, the window treatments came down, and the wall paper came off....

Nelson's Grove Park

Spring Break means some time off to have fun! And we finally got some decent weather. So we went to this fun park.

Easter at Grandma Mortensen's

Because of the weather, the kids went on a scavenger hunt for their treasure! It was a lot of fun. And they were all thrilled with the fun treats and toys that they recieved from Grandma and Grandpa!

And after they went on the treasure hunt, they played out in the hail/snow. What an Easter!!!

Thanks Grandmas!! (I didn't get pictures of all the fun things that Grandma Jardine gave the kids, but she also gave them goodie bags.)

EASTER!

Easter was fun, and IN DOORS this year. Cause it snowed! And was cold....but that didn't stop us from having lots of fun, and doing all the traditional stuff!

Here are the kids decorating their Easter Eggs.

See the snow out the window, behind Eli.... Yep. So the kids had to hunt for Eggs inside the house. They had a ton of fun.

Now it's time to enjoy the treats!!!

"How Sweet It is!".....

"If you give a woman some Cream....."
(Just trying to be cleaver and do a "play on words" with that cute book about giving a mouse a cookie.) Anyway, because we made the butter.... we had some cream that I just couldn't let go to waste, so I figured I would try making caramels. And I must say that for my first try...they turned out fabulous! But maybe that is because I had pretty detailed instructions from my mother-in-law's cook book. Jared loves them!! And I thought they would make for a fun Easter treat. Who knows....Maybe this will become an Easter tradition! They are certainly yummy! Especially when I covered them in some chocolate!!! Wow...the joys of sugar!

MAKING BUTTER!

For Family Home Evening, Jared thought it would be cool to show the kids how Butter is made. (He was also showing me.) It was really cool, and really easy! We got heavy whipping cream (from Costco...they had the best price on it), and then Jared separated out a little bit for everyone to have their own jar to shake. (You could do this with less mess..by only having one container, or by putting it in your kitchen aid or blender....but the shaking is fun for the kids activity.)



And then you SHAKE!


And SHAKE!

And SHAKE some more, until the cream becomes butter. (Believe me, it works! And we only had to shake for like 5-10 min.)

Then you have to separate out the buttermilk.

And then you have to wash it with cold water... to make sure all the buttermilk is off it. (You have to rinse it like 7 times, until the water comes off clear.) And then you mix some salt in it, if you want, and finally...shape into logs, or whatever with cling wrap.

It is actually pretty easy, and then we made wheat pancakes with the buttermilk, and put our fresh made butter on top of them! It isn't something we'll be doing all the time. (It really isn't cost effective. It's less expensive to just buy butter already made vs. the cream.) But it made for a really fun family night, and hopefully the kids gained a better appreciation for how butter is made. I know that I did. And thanks to a dishwasher...the cleanup was pretty easy! If felt a little "pioneer", and really made me grateful for all the modern conveniences that we enjoy! But I totally recomend you try it sometime!