Blue & Gold, Cakes and a contest

This last week our cub scouts had their Blue and Gold Banquet. This will be our last year to attend one of those - for J will be in 11 year old scouts next year. One of the traditions that they do here is have a cake decorating contest and then we get to eat them for dessert. So we once again racked our brains to try and come up with one - last year we did a race track.

There were lots of good entries this year as you can see from the pictures. So on to the contest - Everyone who leaves a correct guess in the comments will be entered into a drawing for a little prize. And who doesn't like getting a surprise in the mail? So leave me a guess by Wednesday-the 4th- at 8 pm to be eligible for the drawing on Thursday.

Good Luck

PS - here is a list of the cakes from left to right:

top pictures: Volcano, campsite, fish, baseball hat/balls, Jurassic Park, round w/sprinkles

bottom picture: treasure chest, hot air balloon with army guys and a police car.

Do you remember Dick & Jane?

I remember learning to read from the Dick and Jane books in elementary. While I was in Utah last weekend I was able to go into the greatest quilt store ever - The Stitching Corner. They had the cutest fabric that had Dick and Jane on it and I just couldn't resist. They had a package of all the different fabrics that went together already cut and ready to go. I picked up some extra fabric with hopes of making something out of it. Hopefully one day soon this cute fabric will be hanging on my wall in the form of a wall quilt. Check back to look at the results (hopefully it won't take me forever)

Quick trip...

I was able to make a quick trip to Utah over the weekend. I left on Valentines Day and returned last night (the 17th). The reason for the trip??? Well, my second oldest nephew is heading to Spain for two years to share the gospel. He is so excited to be among the people there and teach them our beliefs. I know he will do great. Here are a few pictures from the day:

My niece (Lindsey), the proud missionay (Aaron), and my nephew (Tyler):





My Sister-Lynette, me, my brother-Nate, My dad and my sister-Heidi. One brother (Joe) wasn't able to make it and was missed by all.





My dad, Aaron and his mom (my sister)

I was also able to spend some time my oldest daughter and her little boy (isn't he a cutie?). We took him to visit his great-great- grandma Jane. Here is a picture of the oldest and youngest generation on Carl's side of the family:

It's Muffin Time....

When Pam asked for us to share our muffin recipes, I really had to search high and low. I'm not one to really make muffins much. But I decided maybe it was a good time to try a few new recipes. So off to the cookbook cupboard I went in search of a good one. I tried a couple before we decided that we really liked these. So here is the recipe and a picture:

White Chocolate Macadamia Muffins:

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup vanilla or white chips
3/4 cup macadamia nuts

Glaze:
1/2 cup vanilla or white chips
2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the chips and nuts.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

For glaze, in a small microwave-safe bowl, melt chips with cream; stir until smooth. Drizzle over warm muffins.

Yield: 1 dozen

Color My World......Red

Every month I thought it would be fun to do a little "house" shopping and see what colors are around. This month with it being Valentines, I thought it would be best to start off with RED. Here are a few things in my world that are red.