Olivia recites the Pledge of Allegiance

Last night I was getting Olivia ready for bed and she just starts reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.  I could not believe that she knew the whole thing!!  Apparently she's been working on it in preschool.  All I can say is WOW.

Gingerbread Cookies

These were so fun to make!!  The dough was really soft and easy to work with.  Surprisingly, the royal icing I used to decorate with did not go rock hard. 

Gingerbread Men

• 1 cup butter   
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup dark molasses
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. nutmeg
• 1 t. cloves
• 1 t. ginger
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 1 t. white vinegar   
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda    

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large saucepan, cream together the butter, sugar.
2. Add molasses and spices – mix well
3. Stirring constantly bring to a boil.
4. Remove from heat and allow let cool to a lukewarm.
5. Stir in eggs and vinegar.
6. Sift flour with baking soda into molasses mixture to form smooth dough.
7. Chill several hours or overnight.
8. When you are ready to bake roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness.  Cut with a gingerbread cookie cutter.
9. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper 
10. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly brown on the edges. Do not over bake.
11. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before placing them on a cooling rack.  Let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting use Royal Icing.

You can cut the recipe in half if you on outline them.

This recipe will yield approximately 3 Cups of Royal Icing.

Ingredients o    3 Tablespoons of Meringue Powder o    1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract o    1/2 Teaspoon of Lemon Juice o    4 Cups of Confectioners' Sugar o    1/2 Cup of Warm Water	Equipment o    Mixer o    Pastry Bag or Plastic Bag

In the bowl of the mixer, whip together the sugar and meringue powder.

Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice.

Add the water. Beat for approximately 5 minutes or until stiff peaks begin to form.

Transfer to a pastry bag.

Savannah and Olivia both received personal messages from Santa ... check these out!!
Olivia (click her name)
Savannah (click her name)

Do you really think she knew what she looked like?

April Fools

I played the best joke on Savannah and Emily for April fools day.  Someone told me to put plastic food in their lunch so I did.  As soon as they got on the bus I ran to the school and gave their teachers their real lunches.  I put a note in their lunches that said "April fools!!  Your teacher has your lunch"  Savannah opened her lunch and started to cry because she didn't read the note first.  Emily said she was a little worried, but was immediately comforted by her teacher.  I felt bad for Savannah, but it was a hoot to hear about her reaction.  We all had a good laugh whe they got home that afternoon.  For dinner that night I served "mock" cupcakes.  I made meatloaf and topped them with mashed potatoes and put them in muffin cups.  I thought they were fun too.

Chores

This is how Alisha and Whitney think that chores are done.  They're supposed to be cleaning out the stalls and pig pen.  Do they look like they're working much?  I think they have the wrong idea.  Work does not mean "go to the barn, sit down on the chair and wait"

Pioneer Days Parade

Alisha and Whitney got the opportunity to go down to Salt Lake with the band and be in the Days of '47 parade. I think the parade is almost 2 miles long. It's on July 24th, so you can imagine how hot it is. They love it and have a great time.

The National Anthem

Alisha got asked to sing the National Anthem for one of the basket ball games last year. I think it's pretty flattering. She did an awesome job.

Halloween 2010

Here's my girls standing out front of our house for Halloween this year. I only had 3 that dressed up this year. Emily was little red riding hood, Savannah was a vampire and Oliva was a fairy. We went to the trunk or treat at the church. Actually Lane had to take them because we had a band competition up at Utah State. We sat in the pouring rain for 2 hours waiting for Mountain Crest to perform. I think I would have rather been trick or treating.

Senior Ball 2010

Alisha's first "real" prom. Doesn't she look gorgeous? Her date's name was Chris Duvall. I think they had a lot of fun.

Our Mischevious Daughter ...

Olivia and her black eye!! Oliva and her stitches! She pulled a stocking holder off of the fireplace last new years' eve and cut her lip. My cousin is a P.A. at the E.R. and had everything she need to stitch her up on her dining room table.

Olivia found the mascara and drew all over her face!! She must be child #5

Olivia got into the markers and had a great time on her own face ... doesn't she know any better?

School 2010

Here's the first day of school. Our girls are getting so big! I can't believe how fast time goes. Alisha is a junior, Whitney is in 8th grade, Emily is in 5th and Savannah is in 3rd.

Curls, curls and more curls

Here's another funny picture. Whitney thought she'd be creative and put the girls' hair up in curlers. The next morning when they took them out, this was the result. Savannah seemed to be find with it, but Emily was really mad. We got a good laugh out of it. By the end of the day, they actually looked really cute.

Savannah and the onion

I just had to post this one. It's really old, but we laughed so hard when she could not figure out why she kept crying. I finally told her she was cutting onions and she decided that was enough for her. She stopped and let me finish.

Today is my 39th birthday. Two weeks ago, my sister and I completed a half marathon. What a great day it was. We had so much fun. I hope someday we can do it again. This is a picture of us right before we crossed the finish line. I think the thing I enjoyed the most was spending time with my sister. I miss her. I wish she lived closer, but oh well. It gives us somewhere to visit when it's cold in Cache Valley.