I've posted before a little about my brother, Eric. Now I've decided that we should all gang up on him and find some women we can set him up with! He's a pharmacist at the Clinton Albertson's and makes the big money (I'm talking six figures); owns a huge, beautiful home in Syracuse and is a great guy. He's 28 years old, 5 foot 6, with auburn hair and brown eyes. He doesn't smoke or drink and would be interested in women who don't. He stays in shape by lifting weights, swimming and doing kick boxing on a punching bag. He loves movies, especially action and sci-fi, and enjoys comedy (like "The Colbert Report" & Conan O'Brian) and mixed martial arts or cage fighting on T.V. . If you know anyone who would be interested, please send an email to the blog (the address is at the top of this post!). Include a picture and return email or phone number and I will forward them on to Eric. We'll get him married off!

On June 3rd the kids and I headed up to the condo in Park City. Our favorite thing to do there is swim, and even though it was not very hot (low 70's I believe) the heated pool felt awesome.




After swimming, we did some shopping at the outlet stores and then my dad treated us to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.
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The next day we had breakfast and then shopped some more. Here are the kids with baby Lily, she's growing up so fast!
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Christian took this picture (hence the weird angle) and I thought it

actually turned out pretty well! All of his other pictures were close ups of the floor or couch or something, but this one showed the cute decorating style of the condo--mountain lodge.

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Unfortunately, when Christian woke up from his nap that evening, he was so congested that he could hardly breathe and I drove him straight to Wee Care in Layton. They didn't know if it was a sinus infection, a new cold that he caught over the top of the one he'd had for a week and a half, or just some weird ending to his original cold. Anyway, they gave him an antibiotic and he's now doing much better.

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Tammy took this week off to do some fun outings with the kids and she had Zach and Faith sleep over Sunday night. Monday morning Christian and I met them at IHOP and then we went to the Dinosaur Park. Here they're checking out some bunnies they have in a hutch there.

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The kids had fun matching their own feet to the dinosaur foot prints.

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It was Faith & Zach's idea to act like they're scared that the dinosaur might eat them :D

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Christian loved to watch the fish in the stream from the bridge,

and he was a little nervous about these dinos that move and make sounds.

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We had a great time and the weather was beautiful.

Christian got so pooped at the end that he fell asleep in the swing!! Before coming home, we stopped by my old workplace, the animal shelter. It had been almost six years since I'd seen it and nearly eight since I'd worked there. It felt strange being there as a "customer"!

On Tuesday we all went, with the addition of Lana, to the Hogle Zoo. We ate a delicious lunch of Chic-fil-A nuggets and fruit cups that Tammy brought and then went to see the bird show. Christian LOVES birds and was in complete awe the entire time.

As we left to see the animal exhibits, Faith remarked that her favorite thing at the bird show was Buttercup, a Cockatoo that she had seen the previous year there. I said that my favorite thing was the guy who narrarated the show (see pic -->) and I asked her if she would marry him someday. She said, "Nooooooo!" so I said that maybe I would. "Noooooo, you're already married!" she told me. Then I told her that maybe Tammy should marry him. "No, Tammy's too old for him." Faith replied. Tammy said that if you ever need an ego boost, don't look to the kids for it! ;) (Tam, I think he is the perfect age for you, you should totally ask him out during our next zoo trip!)

Here's the white alligator. Notice how Christian can't look away from it even for a picture.

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Sorry about this pic, I definately should have forced a flash. When we were there watching the elephants, some keepers brought out carrots and some kibble and had them do tricks for their snack. It was so fun to see!

At every single exhibit Christian would cry and cause a scene when we went to leave. We kept telling him, "there are more animals to see at the next one!!!"

Lana remarked that she had never seen such a young kid be so enthralled with animals. Ususally after you see a couple they get tired of it, but not Christian. Zach was such a helper to push him around in the stroller, and when grandma had him, Faith got a ride as well!

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What a sweet sister, helping her brother get a drink at the lion water fountain!

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Christian especially loved the giraffes and was so tired at that point that he had a total meltdown when we left them.

It was another beautiful day, about 72 degrees with a breeze, and the clouds waited to move in until we were just about to leave. Tammy let each of the kids get a souvenir and I got one last pic at the waterfall in front before heading home.
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I think I've posted a picture of Christian with two binkies before, but I thought I'd include this one because . . . two weeks after this pic was taken (May 15th) we said goodbye to the binks!!! The day of Faith's dance review, we forgot to clip it onto his shirt, and he forgot to whine for it that evening when he went to bed, so I hurried and dumped them all in the trash. Now when he asks for it (which isn't very often) I just tell him that they were "guck-guck" and they went in the garbage. Yay!
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Here the kids are later that day after Faith got home from tumbling class. Christian was doing pretty well on his own with the scooter (yes, I know mom, we need to get a non-princess-y one) and then Faith offered to pull him around on it. It's so funny to me that Christian was just born obsessing over bikes (he calls scooters bikes, too), cars & trains?
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On May 16th my friends & I had a baby shower for fellow book club member Becky Christffersen who had moved to Colorado a few years ago.

She's pregnant for the first time and having identical twin baby girls!! Even though Becky couldn't make it, we wanted to celebrate and send back a card & a gift. While I was baking some goodies for the shower, Christian decided to lick the emptied "dry ingredient" bowl while wearing it on his head. I can't imagine the flour & baking powder mixture was very delicious!
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On a sad note, we found out a few days later that Becky had been admitted to the hospital that same night with the complication of a leaking amniotic sac. This was especially scary because it can cause premature labor and the babies were only 27 weeks gestation. Happily, I heard from her a week ago and she had made it to 29 weeks and said all three of them were doing well. We have all been praying that the babies can wait until at least 32 weeks and that they will be born healthy. You hang in there sweet girls!!!!

We usually go over to my parents' and then Tony's parents' every Sunday evening. Lately, we've been enjoying the beautiful spring weather at Braeggers' out on their back paito. Here Faith and Christian have stealthfully theived some butterfly garden ornaments and are making them "fly" all over the yard.

Faith is continuing to draw and make three-dimensional art. Here she has made elephant trunks for herself and her brother. I know he's younger, but I hope Christian doesn't get a complex for having a trunk that short :D



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I told you a few months ago that I would try to get a picture like this, and I finally followed through! Actually, Christian must have been wanting it done because he, all on his own, got naked and started walking around in Tony's boots. All I had to do was go and find the hat and snap away.
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And although it may someday be used as blackmail, right now he loves the picture and when I would show it to him on my camera, he would happily shout, "BUM"!!

We managed to get in yet another Lagoon trip, but since you all may be tired of pictures of the kids on rides, I included just this one. We sure have been enjoying the heck out of those passes!
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Here are the kids on May 25th,
outside at Braeggers' again. I just love it when I can get a picture where both of them have a cute expression.


On May 28th Faith became a kindergarten graduate!! Her class, along with Mrs. Schaeffermeyer's morning class, did the cutest program featuring songs they had learned throughout the year. My favorite was "I Can't Spell Hippopotamus" but it was hard to pick because they did a lot of cute ones! She got a folder with her "diploma" and a lot of great work that she had done, a balloon and a medal on a lanyard where they can keep pins that they earn each year at Heritage Elementary. Faith's standing in front of the school's front doors painted with pictures from the Dr. Seuss book "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" which was this year's theme.

That evening we went to Davis High for Faith's dress rehearsal for her tumbling and dance review. While we were waiting outside, Christian was running around and having a great old time. He was trying to copy the kids who were practicing tumbling moves on the grass and at one point fell down. I hurried and clicked and got this adorable GQ shot of him!

The next day, we arrived for the review with Faith all ready for her tumbling display which was during the pre-show. I didn't love how this dance studio held the review, in the gym with onlookers seated on small, cramped bleachers. Her old studio held theirs in the auditorium and I thought that was much fancier. My mom said that this one reminded her of Tigerette dance team competitions when she went to watch Sarah & Joy. The focus of this school is their competition team, so maybe that's why they did it this way. Anyway, Faith did an awesome job with her tumbling!
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I got Faith dressed in her costume and then we had a long wait for her turn. After numerous competition team numbers, dragging the tumbling mats back out for the upper tumbling class review and lots of solos, it was finally time for Faith's class. My dad was taking pictures, but the batteries died right in the middle of the performance so he switched and videoed the rest. Here is the second half so you can see my baby in action! (You'll want to scroll down to the bottom of the blog and press pause on the playlist music before clicking the triangle here or you'll have two songs playing on top of each other)



Afterward, she got a trophy for her participation in the tumbling review and her aunt Tammy brought her a bouquet of roses that were pink with glitter, just like her costume! Grandma & grandpa Braegger also brought her a gift which was the little Willow Tree Dancer statue. We are all so proud of Faith for doing such a great job and putting in all those hours of training and practice.
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The next day was Faith's last day of school and they got to have a water party! I was kind of worried about the temperature outside because it only got to the mid-
seventies, but she didn't freeze and had a great time. After school, she went to the neighbors' for another water pary and later I brought Christian and it turned into an impromtu potluck barbeque.
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We had a great time, but as you can see from this picture taken the next morning, Faith had gotten quite a bit of sun. (It didn't help that I forgot to put sunscreen on her until three o'clock that afternoon. Bad mom!)


On June 2nd, I took the kids to the ball park behind Riverdale ShopKo to watch Zach play.

Unfortunately, his team didn't win, but he did a great job as catcher and even hit one ball!

Faith wasn't that into it and spent part of the game over on the playground equipment, but Christian loved it and just camped out on Grandma Braegger's lap with some trail mix. I can't wait until he's old enough for tee ball, it will be so cute!

Speaking of sports, Faith is so excited to start soccer that she is wishing that it was already fall! I hope she actully likes playing, because it seems like she is most looking forward to seeing what her uniform looks like. She hopes that the shirt is pink, like her cousin Celeste's, but I told her not to hold her breath. Fashion above all else, that is so Faith!

And again more time has passed than I wanted to between posts! Oh well, at least I'm consistent in my lateness. Here are the kids on April 30th playing dress up while I worked on my blog. Hey, Christian's not in girly clothes!! Faith has so much fun dressing up her little bro.





Another fun activity is riding the three wheeler in the house. Not a big hit with mom & dad, but at least it keeps them busy.




Here they are getting in a tickle fight session with dad on May 3rd. It's so fun to have a daddy that loves to chase, tickle and wrestle. I get in a little myself, but I definately don't have his stamina.




We have been spending more and more time outside lately when it's been nice. Faith's been getting pretty good at hula hooping. I'm surprised that in this picture she doesn't have her tongue sticking out and making a funny face. Observing her, I have noticed that she does much better like that than when she's making a cute smile. I think that's her secret tip :D




We put up two hanging baskets of petunias on our front porch. So cute and springy!


Faith had her dance pictures May 7th and then we came home and I took some myself. Faith looked so cute, but she remarked after I got done doing her makeup (as instructed by her dance studio), "I don't even look like myself! How will anyone know which one I am in the group picture"? I also tried my hand at altering the picture a little in Paint Shop Pro X. It's not Photoshop, but I'm starting to pick up some tips from people who use that and then figure out how to do it in my program. I've especially been inspired by the Pioneer Woman. You have to check out her awsome pictures in her gallery (click here). I especially love her horse, cow and ranch pics. Speaking of Pioneer woman, if you're interested in getting addicted to the love story of how she met her husband, it's here (start at the bottom and work your way up, chapter by chapter) and she has an AWESOME (and surprisingly funny) recipe site here.

Anyway, back to me. Here are the before and after.





















Not too bad for a beginner, eh? Well, if you can get past the creepy JonBenét-ness of the makeup, anyway.







Here Faith is giving Buddy a ride in her arm-powered "boat". She finds so many ways to keep that little guy laughing.








On May 9th we met up with Ann & kids and Natalie & girls at McDonalds. We have so much fun at our "mommy playdate"! The kids have some fun, themselves. Here are Ella, Faith, Christian & Kynan holding hands, making their way to the play equipment.





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That evening we went to the "Heritage Hike" which was a 5K and carnival at Faith's elementary. The kids did lots of games and this giant inflatable slide. It took FOREVER for Christian to climb the ladder part of this, the rungs are just a little too far apart for him. His sweet sister hoisted his little bum all the way up the thing!







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Faith got her face painted and was a white kitty,
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and Christian scarfed an entire cotton candy in no time flat.










The next day, Faith lost her other top front tooth! Then we went to Lagoon.










I LOVE this picture!! Just as I snapped it, Christian did a giant sneeze and I got the end of the air intake part. Isn't it hillarious?









It wasn't very busy and the weather was perfect, so it was a great trip.



Tony doesn't do merry-g0-rounds, so he had the camera and snapped this pick while the kids and I were waiting in line. I wanted to crop myself out, but I resisted the temptation ;)


After Lagoon, we went to Krispy Kreme for a treat. Faith wanted a churro at the park, but those things are like three bucks there!! The kids love watching the donuts being made.



Amusement, great donuts and free dress up, you can't beat that! We especially love the free sample, hot & fresh.

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Last Monday, I watched Joy's kids for a little while. Christain loves Lily so much, he is just staring at her with his head twisted upside down. He also loves to hug her and hold her (with me helping, of course).



And that evening we met up with Lana, Tammy & Zach at Arctic Circle in Roy for some dinner and playland fun. Here Christian is showing grandma how much he enjoys eating ice cream cones.

And the newer pictures have not been uploaded to my computer yet, so I'll have to catch them next time. Off to get in at least a little house cleaning!!

Several of my friends have been posting recipes on their blogs recently and this has inspired me to do a few myself. On May 2nd, I decided that I had better get to making Tony his favorite birthday dessert, a little late since his birthday is on April 20th. (If you recall, his sister Tammy had made him a cake since we had been in Park city earlier that day.) So here is the recipe for our family's beloved

Chocolate Lush:

1 stick butter or margarine
1 c. flour
1 - 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
2 sm. pkgs. instant chocolate pudding
3 c. milk
1 - 12 oz. container of Cool Whip
1 chocolate bar

Cut butter and flour together with a fork or pastry knife and then press into a 9"x13" pan. Bake until light brown (about 15 min.) at 375°. Cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold in 1 c. of Cool Whip. Spread mixture over cooled crust. Mix pudding with milk and spread over cream cheese layer. Spread remaining Cool Whip on top and shave bits of chocolate bar over dessert with a potato peeler. Refrigerate 3-4 hours.

Make sure after you're done mixing the pudding layer that you clean your utinsils immediately:

And here is a side view of a piece that I took using the macro setting on my camera and I thought it came out looking very luscious:

A couple of days later I decided to make crêpes. My dad learned how to make them while on his mission in France and made them often when I was young. After I got married, I asked for the recipe and he told me that he didn't have one, but that he would teach me how to make them. By the way, we pronounce them "crep" instead of "crape" like most people do here because it's closer to the French pronunciation which is basically "crep" but with a rolling "r".

I'm just going to be guessing on the recipe here, because I didn't decide to document this until after the batter was made. Next time I'll have to dump the amount I use into a measuring cup before it goes in the bowl so I can have a better idea of the amounts. The thing is, it's not a precise science and the final result tastes amazing with quite a large difference in amounts and/or ingredients. So here goes:

Crêpes

2 c. flour
2 T. sugar
1/4 t. salt
Mix these together with a wire whisk and then make a well in the center. Add
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. milk
and start whisking these into the dry ingredients. Keep adding more milk until the batter is the consistency of heavy cream. At this point I always taste the batter and add more salt and/or sugar.

Heat a non-stick skillet on medium to med/high heat and then wipe the bottom and sides with waxed paper.
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Using a 1/4 c. measuring cup, pour some batter into the middle of the skillet and immediately tilt the pan around in a circular motion



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so that the batter coats the bottom in a thin layer. If it doesn't spread thin enough, whisk more milk into your batter.






When batter has tiny bubbles and the edges are starting to brown (maybe about a minute or so, loosen the edge with t a butter knife
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then grab the edge with your fingers and flip it! Caution--it is pretty hot.
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Wait for about 20-30 seconds and then slide your finished crêpe out of the pan.

We usually eat them with a little butter and powdered sugar (my mom & dad love to also sprinkle lemon juice on the top) and then rolled. Of course you can use any kind of fruit filling and whipped cream or go the savory route and fill them with eggs, ham & cheese (if you are doing a savory filling you might want to lessen the sugar in the recipe and omit the vanilla).

I hope that if anyone is brave enough to try this that the ingredient amounts aren't completely off. Not only was I trying to estimate in my mind what I dump in, I also lessened it by about a third. I usually have two pans going at once and make lots because they freeze and reheat modestly well. And I almost forgot, kudos to Faith who was the photographer for this recipe!!!