A glance at swim lessons in July

My cute Josie took right to the water and loved it. Josie and Aly went before noon and Maddie and Josh went in the late afternoon. It was a bit of running back and forth, but not too bad for the two weeks it lasted.

By sheer wonderful luck no one else signed up for Maddie's afternoon level 5 class, so she had PRIVATE LESSONS for the same price. How cool was that.

Josh did great and was so excited to find out a couple weeks ago that he is tall enough to touch bottom at his grandparents pool!

Alyssa probably had the greatest improvement this summer in her swimming---way to go, gorgeous!

Girls' Camp (A month ago)

I won the lottery and was able to attend Girls' Camp this year as one of the nurses. How cool is that? We went to Heber Valley. It was wonderful. This is me on the ropes course. I am smiling here because I was still climbing and it wasn't very high yet. I was pretty darn scared at the top when I had to walk across the wire---but I did it! And enjoyed the zip line down.

This is the group of girls that I did the challenge courses with. Times this group by 3, for how many girls we had at camp. I could go on and on about what a terrific group of girls these are. I really love them.

Me with two beautiful ladies, Jan and Jake. Being a leader at camp rocks!

Everyone was given blue and orange shoelaces to wear at camp. Our way of keeping Amanda and Alexis a part of us. It was a comforting way to remember quietly and feel united.

Baby Ethan

Look at my handsome new nephew!

Yes, I'm cheesing a bit. I was just so dang excited for my little brother Kyle and his lovely wife Heather to have Ethan arrive safely into their arms. They will be fabulous parents! I was near the hospital during her labor visiting my cousin, so I got to hold Ethan shortly after his delivery.

Here is the proud papa making phone calls---even wearing his cougar pride---Ethan will know the fight song before he turns one I bet.

This is the sign in the delivery room welcoming the bundle.

Josie looks pretty pleased doesn't she? I brought the kids down the next day to meet their new cousin.

Family reunion time---my side

Cousins, cousins, everywhere! Here is Maddie with her second cousins, Hannah and Emilee. Then Josie, Alyssa, Caleb and Devan play.

We met in July as extended family on my dad's side. We had cousins from Texas and Nebraska with us. Here I am with my grandparents Gordon and Phyllis up above and with my "had a ton of sleepovers" best cousin Shanyn below.

Here is my sweet cousin Joy and her youngest son, Logan and her sister Gayleen. Joy is battling cancer and our prayers and our love are with her!

Tracy and Xander in the park. My sister Erica.

Bryce in the pine and Jaycie is all smiles!
It was great to see everyone and strengthen family ties.

Pink Pancakes

Now when I say pink, I mean bright magenta pink, pancakes! My food stylin' in this picture isn't the best, it was a rather impromptu picture. I wasn't planning on blogging this breakfast when I started, I just wanted to try using the beets from my garden in a new way. The recipe is from Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook. I've gotten pretty good at roasting beets this summer, so to take the beets and puree some was not too hard of a stretch for me. (I am sure this would work with canned beets too.)

Anyway I wasn't sure what my crew would think when they saw how bright they were. Mike said "Whoa!" when he came out to the kitchen, but Josh and Josie were right on board with the idea of eating something almost neon in color. Alyssa had to be told what was in them---after I asked her to take one bite first. (Maddie missed this first adventure. I will be making them again so hopefully she'll try them then.) Anyway all my kids loved them. I loved them. Mike still couldn't get past "whoa." Oh well, his loss. Maybe he'll eat them on Valentine's.

Here's the deal---these pancakes have beets (bet you couldn't guess that one), ricotta cheese (completely hidden) and grated apple in them. They are good for you and nicely filling with the added low-fat protein from the cheese. They have cinnamon in them and I felt like you tasted that flavor more than anything else. Josh ate four pancakes, Josie and I ate three each, and Alyssa ate two. We enjoyed them with butter, syrup and powdered sugar.

You mix 3/4 cup water, 1/2 c. ricotta cheese, 1/4 c. beet puree, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in a blender or food processor. Pour this mixture into a bowl and add 1 c. of your favorite pancake mix and 1/4 c. grated apple (I used Golden Delicious) and mix together until moistened thoroughly---but don't overmix. Then you cook on a griddle like regular old pancakes, flipping them over and all that. That's all there is to it.

It feels great knowing I can use my beets in such a fun way and that my kids appreciate it. Well, good luck to all you moms out there who try this deliciously pink breakfast!

Saying Bye Ya'll

I so enjoyed having my sister Tammy and her beautiful family here during the first part of July. I miss the "real life, face time-in the same room" with her. It isn't quite the same on the phone or even webcam (although, thank heavens for both.)

The night before they left and the morning of the departure, I put these t-shirts together for them. (Yes, I know NOW that I spelled Oquirrh wrong---it just makes them more special.) Anyway it was a quick list of the things they did on their trip. I hoped it would be a fun little reminder for her kids.

Speaking of two of those kids, Jeff and Nate---Josh misses you guys very much!

4-wheelin' Fun

We traveled to Grandpa and Colby's property to go four-wheelin' as a family. We had four ATV's so most everyone was able to have time riding around. It was great and the views were so pretty when we got higher up on the summit. Here is Josie, Emmie, and Ian ready to go!

I drove Josie and Alyssa to the top of the mountain. (Thanks again Jamie for the driving lessons last summer!) The girls loved it. Thanks uncles for driving Maddie and Josh around, too. Mike had to work that morning---missed you, Sweetie!

It is so nice to have somewhere to get away from the city. And it was so fun being with extended family (especially our Texas clan!!)

Up the Canyon with Cousins

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

At the Balloonfest

Make a Smilebox slideshow