Pioneer Day

I know it is a week late, but I had to post about our trip first...On our way home from California I got a phone call reminding me that I needed to bring a salad to the Community Celebration for Pioneer Day. Luckily I had everything I needed to make my Sister in Law's super yummy potato salad. It was so good that I didn't even want to take it! Her recipe will be at the end (as well as some things I did differently)


Our community does a BBQ and water party every year. There was so much delicious food and homemade root beer with dry ice. I was so glad I got a big helping of my own potato salad before it was all gone. They usually have an inflatable giant slip and slide thing and at the end of the party the fire trucks spray everyone they can. The kids had so much fun, and loved getting soaked. 

THIS is Melissa recipe she adds lots of goodies, but I am a little picky so I left a couple things out (onions....) and here is how I do it.


Red Potato Salad with Sour Cream & Dill

8-10 medium potatoes, scrubbed 

7 hard-boiled eggs, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

4 Tablespoons dill pickle relish

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon mustard

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or 2 tsp. dried

salt

black pepper

garlic powder(to taste)

Scrub potatoes and boil in salted water until tender.  Drain and let cool completely. Peel (do not peel if using red potatoes) and cut into medium- sized chunks. (I have used both red and russet potatoes- I leave the russets a little bigger since they are not as sturdy as red potatoes). You can also peel and chop them first, then boil in salted water, they would have more flavor, but I opted for more vitamins/nutrients by boiling them whole.

In a large bowl, combine celery, relish, sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, dill, salt & pepper. Gently fold in eggs and potatoes.  If it looking too dry add some more mayo or sour cream. Taste and add garlic, salt, and pepper if desired. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serves 8-10.

Thanks Melissa for such a scrumptious recipe. I seriously LOVE this stuff!!!

California Part 3

After doing so much walking for two days, we thought it would be a good idea to relax a little so we headed to the beach.

 The drive to Santa Monica Pier is only supposed to take 20-30 mins (it is only 15 miles from Gma's house). It took us almost 2 hours. By the time we got there it was already lunch time, so we had a little picnic.

The weather was much cooler then it had been on our trip, and it was pretty breezy. I instantly got an earache, and was shivering so bad. The kids could have cared less that the water was freezing. They splashed around and had a great time. Tyler took Nathan out on the boogie board, and jumped waves with the kids and I was so surprised that Tyler got in the water as deep as he did. I got in to about my shins and that was enough for me! We had fun playing in the sand, and relaxing at the beach.  Since it was so cold and overcast I forgot to put sunblock on all of us so we got pretty toasty! I felt so bad that I forgot~it was in my bag the whole time, but the weather threw me off.

Here I am doing the same thing 25 years ago when we lived in California:

And for all you BMX fans out there....

I was sitting there trying to record Tyler and the kids in the water, when this guy totally stands right in front of me and starts skim boarding. His little girl had been playing with Ava until she hurt her foot. Then his Mom comes over and just starts talking to me. We had been talking for awhile and she said they were all there taking a break, and that her son does BMX competitions. Next thing I know there are these teenage girls asking to take pictures with him. So I asked her if he was famous. She was like "Yes! Didn't you see him on the X-Games?!?! He just finished...." I got some great video of him eating it while trying to skim board. It was so hilarious to watch. Anyway his name is Cory "NASTY" Nastazio - he is way better at BMX then he is at skim boarding....

After we left the beach we picked up some pizzas and headed to, Zilpha's (Gma's 98 year old friend) house for a swim. These 2, 90+ year old, ladies swim every single day, and have been friends forever!

The beach and swimming was a perfect way to end our vacation. We had such a great time hope we get to go back soon! Thanks Gma for letting us stay with you during our trip! We love you lots!

California Part 2

On Wednesday we woke up, got ready and headed off to Disneyland.

(Collages should enlarge if you click on them...)

We rode lots of rides, saw Princesses, and had a great time. We were there for nearly 12 hours. We didn't get to ride a few of our favorite rides because there were SWARMS of people. When we went last year (in April) we only had to wait in line for a few rides. So at least we got to do everything last year. We will not be going in the summer again if I can help it.

The only bad thing about the day was when we went to ride Splash Mountain. The wait was 2 hours, so we grabbed Fast Passes. They said to come back 5 hours later. We went to ride some more rides, headed to California Adventure, had dinner there, then went back to ride Splash Mountain. Nathan couldn't wait-he loves this ride, and since all the Fast Passes were gone for Star Tours, his favorite ride, we had to at least do this one. We got to the line and waited at least an hour. I nearly lost it when we got to the front and I told the girl we needed a rider swap. She told me I would have to take it and we would all have to go back to the END OF THE LINE! What the?!?! I could have sworn. By this time we had been waiting 6 hours for this ride! I was so mad. They wouldn't just let me ride with Nathan, and then have Tyler hand Ava to me so he could ride. So stupid. If someone can explain to me in plain English how the rider swap really works I would greatly appreciate it. I asked another worker when I exited and he confused me even more. But he did say that since we had been waiting all day she should have let me go with Nathan and then let Tyler go.

The kids lasted all day with really no tears. It was super humid but a tad bit cooler then the zoo so that helped. We loved the laser light show and the fireworks at the end of the night. It was such a magical day. I felt like a little kid myself. We were all so exhausted, and Ava fell asleep before we left the parking garage, with Nathan falling asleep minutes later. Luckily we planned to relax the next day.

California Part 1

We had a great time on vacation in California! We left Utah on Monday. Traffic was horrible before we even got to the Agricultural Check Station in Yermo. It felt like it took forver to get there. We arrived at Tyler's Gma's just in time for yummy dinner of soup she had made for us. That night we just visited and played outside. Gma's neighbor and his little girls stopped by and we had fun getting to know them (and hearing about all the celebrities who live on their street). This neighbor is a photographer for all sorts of magazines, and hangs out with famous people all the time. I was so loving the cool night time air. The nights in Cali are the best.

The next morning we had to change up our plans a little bit because some of the places we wanted to go to didn't open until later in the day. Grandma stepped right in with guest passes to the L.A. Zoo, so off we went. We really know how to pick vacation times- let me just tell you, we just happened to be there during the heat wave. Of course the heat wave in California was still like 20 degrees cooler then here. Anyway we had lots of fun at the zoo. Luckily there was lots of shade, and misters placed throughout the park.

After the zoo we drove up to Griffith Observatory to get out of the heat and humidity. The views were amazing. We were all so tired by then so we didn't stay too long. Nathan loves space stuff so he had a blast. Ava was having a good time too until we started down the hall where the "Big Bang" jewelry exhibit is(pictured below):

It had two things Ava LOVES- jewelry, and stars, she got out of the stroller and ran straight into the glass, she had no idea it was a glass wall, and I think she was trying to touch them. Anyway she had a fat lip and hurt her nose. She seemed so confused and embarrassed, and just buried head in my shoulder and cried and cried.  My poor girl!

We left the Observatory, and headed to Ralph's to pick up the fixings for a Mexican feast, and ice cream. We made Gma chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, and beans, and had ice cream for dessert. I was so glad she let me cook for her- she loved every bit and I made plenty for her to have leftovers so she was excited.

Tyler had to leave after dinner to go tutor, so I got the kids cleaned up and ready for bed then we visited with Gma until bed time. 

Birthday Recap

Our laptop fan was on the verge of going out, and the new part was coming from China so it took forever, and I was too lazy to blog on the other computer (since the laptop has a card reader in it...). Anyway the new fan finally got here and now I can blog!

We had a great weekend partying. On my birthday we took it easy. I made my own Birthday Dinner, of California Chicken Club Sandwiches and fries. SO GOOD! It is just a bun with Mayo, Grilled Chicken Breast (pounded thinish) topped with cheese, bacon, avocado, tomato, and lettuce. For my birthday dessert this year I really wanted a Dairy Queen cake, but when I found out home much they are (over $20 for the small one!) I said forget it, and decided to make my own. It was basically the best thing I have ever eaten and was so easy. The recipe will be at the end of the post....

Tyler had to work on his birthday but took a half day off and we met up for lunch at Pizza Hut, then we ran a few errands together, came home and I made Orange Chicken and rice for him, so he was happy. I also made him this cheesecake (Recipe HERE).

The next day was my Grandma's 75th  birthday so we headed up to Kolob to celebrate more.  I love my Grandma so much. She has taught me so much over the years, and I am so grateful for her. When I was little she taught me to sew clothes for my dolls, and has taught me all about canning, quilting, and homemaking stuff like that. She thinks it is important to pass on the pioneer ways and I am so thankful for that. I also got my singing voice (and my OCD about cleaning, haha) from her. She is such a wonderful example to me. Love you Grandma!

It was nice to be away from work, in the cool weather, and to get to see family. The kids had lots of fun riding the Rhino, and we all stayed up really late- me all night thanks to the Kolob allergies I get... We had dutch oven chicken and potatoes, and my cousin Aaron made a potato gun. Nathan and Ava LOVED shooting potatoes across the fields. It was so fun to get away for a night without Tyler having to work.

We had a great weekend, and got spoiled rotten. Thanks for all the happy comments you left us!

Ice Cream Cake

1 pkg of Oreos
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Hot Fudge Sauce (room temperature)

1 Qt Vanilla Ice Cream**
1 Qt Ice Cream (Any Flavor- for this one I used Dreyer's Mint Cookie Crunch)**
Cool Whip

Line a smaller pie tin with wax paper. To prepare oreo crumb coating take 2/3 of the oreos out of the package. Remove the cream from the centers, place cookies in a zip bag and smash them. Place crumbs in a bowl and drizzle chocolate syrup over them. You want them to stick together but not be too wet (mine were too wet this time). Press mixture into pie pan. I then poured a layer of hot fudge sauce (1/2 in thick) over the crumbs and stuck it in the freezer to harden.

(see it is too wet)

You will need to work fast for the next part. Let the vanilla ice cream get soft so you can spread it easily. Smoosh it onto the bottom of a 9in spring form pan, about an inch or so thick, and then an inch thick around the sides.  Place back in freezer if it starts to melt. 

Peel the oreo mixture off the wax paper and put on top of vanilla ice cream- hot fudge side down. I sprinkled extra oreo crumbs on top of this since mine was too wet. Top with another flavor of ice cream (softened), or the same if you are boring, and finish off with a layer of vanilla on top.

Cover & freeze for a few hours.

Frost the top of the cake with coolwhip, drizzle with hershey's syrup, and sprinkle more oreos (or candy of your choice) around the sides. Cover & freeze again. Remove from freezer 5-10 mins before serving.

**You can substitute chocolate for the vanilla, and use any flavor of ice cream  for the top layer.... the next one I do will have a chocolate base, and the Dreyer's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup ice cream, Mmmm! The possibilities are endless!!

One Year Older, and Wiser Too....

Happy 32nd  Birthday Tyler! It is so fun to be able to celebrate alllll week with our birthdays! You are a great husband and father, and we love you lots and lots. You work so hard for our little family and we are so grateful for all you do, you are the best. ♥ 

You've Had a Birthday Shout Hooray!

It's Monica's birthday today! She's 26. She's an awesome wife and mother. Wish her a Happy Birthday!

From Drop Box