Warm Weather and Weiner Roasts

It was a warm spring day in Vanderhoof and there were weiners to be roasted, soda to be drunk, and baked beans to be consumed. Add a bunch of kids and a playground to the mix and you have yourself a wonderful spring day!

We all roasted hot dogs ... well, all of us except Kyle of course. The guy can't stand hot dogs! So instead he roasted himself a .......



Chicken!!

The boys enjoyed their food...
And a lot of faces became VERY dirty!
The sandbox was a favorite hangout for the 5 year olds...
and Nolan was a big help trying to get Luke to look at the camera...

There were two super cute girls at the hot dog roast too!
And what would a party be without a little 'manly' competition? The men had to find out who could jump the farthest off the swing...

I think Kyle won.

And we found out there is a new pregnancy in the family too!!!
Guess who!!!
Oh. Um.....
Ya. This is just my brother, Kaelen. He's... well, let's just say he's NOT pregnant.

I'm sure glad the Jensen's don't have pigs. Otherwise I'm pretty sure Luke would have caught the dreaded Swine Flu! He was kissing the dog something fierce!!!

Seattle Fun

It was so much fun seeing out family in Seattle a few weeks ago! The boys are already excited for the next time we will be able to get together.

We visited so many different places and did so many different things! I was going to make this a multiple post thing but since I am so far behind on all things blog-related, you're getting the whole she-bang!

Many great and wonderful things came to pass in the few days we spent in Seattle...

The entire Hurren family, ---minus Doug Jr.... sad :( --- met us there...



The boys found a fountain to play in...

Walker got to play with Jesse on a whales back...
The Space Needle was visited...
(Walker was a little sick of the Space Needle pretty quickly!)

Porter posed for A LOT of pictures with his favorite aunt Diana! (Sorry Jana, Kara, Becky, Rochelle, and Mindy, you weren't there to compete!)
Lot's of rides were ridden on...

And the flowers.... oh the flowers!

We spent some time at the Science center where we went through a Butterfly house. The butterflies were everywhere, landing on shoulders and heads etc... Pretty cool.
Porter and Walker even got try out a rocket ship!

We spent a few hours at the Experience Music Project...
where we discovered that Walker like Jimi Hendrix...
and Luke loves 70's style curtains!
Walker showed off his guitar skills...
and we found a super cool, HUGE guitar tower that played music.
We visited the Seattle Aquarium where Walker tried out his scuba skills...
and Porter got attacked by a killer octopus!

Pike Place market was hopping and we saw some beautiful flowers!!
These packages of flowers were EVERYWHERE and only $10-$15 per bundle! Pretty sure I would have a fresh bunch of flowers on my table every other day if I lived anywhere near here!

Pictures that are missing...
- Our visit to the Microsoft Campus (soooo cool)!
-Countless hours in the hotel pool
- Science Fiction Museum
-Visit from the Eater Bunny
-Many hours in the car (about 24)!!
and many many more!

Playlist Help!!!

As many of you know, I am currently training to run my first half marathon!! Yay me!! Anyway, what I am in dire need of is some new running music. I have a great playlist that Mike made me and I LOVE IT, but lets be honest, I'm getting a little tired of it and now that our runs are getting longer, I find myslef cycling through the playlist often.

I need something new.

Something upbeat.

Something... PEPPY!!!

So help a girl out. If you have any music that you LOVE to listen to while running or working out please leave a comment. I could really use the help!!!

Playin' Outside

My mom and dad are redoing their kitchen so Mike and I went over to help sand cabinets the other night. We brought the boys and their bikes too, since Grandma and Grandpa have a great driveway for riding. It was a beautiful evening and we had a ton of fun! Plus the lighting was prefect for some fun photos of the boys.

This is Max. He belongs to my brother Kaelen and his beautiful wife Rochelle. And I LoVe his blue eyes!

And HE loves his fingers!

We ate KFC on the bed of the truck and the boys thought that was just about the coolest thing they had done in a while!

And I got a ton of pictures of Luke. Please ignore the filthy face! If you've ever been to Vanderhoof in the spring then you understand how hard it is to keep a small child clean and runny nose free. If you've never been to Vanderhoof in the spring then please don't judge me! :)

Luke loved riding on the tricycle. He couldn't peddle but loved it all the same. Plus he looks like one of those little toad stool people on Mario Bros.

He also loved riding in Emma's pink convertible!

And as he sat drinking his yummy root beer he noticed some geese flying overhead and thought they were pretty neat.

Cute Chick Cake Pops

Since I'm leaving to go to Seattle for Spring Break bright and early tomorrow morning I thought I had better leave you with a little something to remember me by.

I have seen some of these type of cake pops before that were made in cupcake shapes but when I saw these cute little chicks I couldn't pass them up!

Have a very merry and happy Easter!!

Can't Wait Until October!

So.... a good friend and faithful reader of mine has a super exciting announcement to make... and I'm waiting for her to tell the world via her blog.

It may or may not have to due (haha... play on words there!) with a certain something joining her family in oh... say... October!!!

Ok, here's a hint... 'cause I know you're dying to know.......






This is what the surprise looks like right about now...

I won't give her away cause I think she'll want to be the one to announce it (you know who you are!) but I can't keep quiet for much longer!!!

And just to be clear here.... it's NOT me! :)

100 % Pure Maple Syrup!

I like to craft. I like to try yummy new recipes. I like to spend some time on my pretty red laptop now and then.

The bummer of it all is that this is what sometimes happens when I do the above things...

The little blighter got into the cupboard that housed the syrup and used his little teeth the get the top off. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it though. And I'm ok with that cause hey, everybody needs a little sugar now and then!

Chicken Scallopine

PW's Chicken Scallopine

1 pound linguine
6 boneless, skinless, trimmed chicken breasts
Flour
Salt & Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 cup Chicken broth (I used this instead of 1 cup dry white wine)
1 Lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 heaping tablespoon capers
chopped fresh Italian parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Flatten chicken breasts to uniform thickness. Salt and pepper both sides...

...then dredge in flour.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Fry chicken breasts until golden brown.

(about 2 minutes on one side and 3 minutes on the other)


Remove to a plate and set aside.

Take the mushrooms...

and throw them mushrooms into the pan and stir.

Immediately pour in chicken broth, (or wine if you so choose), then squeeze juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon.

Stir to deglaze the pan, then cook vigorously for 1 minute, until sauce reduces.

Pour in cream and stir, then add capers and parsley and stir.

Turn off heat. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Don’t undersalt!

Place pasta and chicken on a platter and top with every last drop of sauce.

Generously sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the top.

Um, ladies and gentlemen... be prepared to be amazed! It is so, so, so goooooood!!!