Cedric's First Birthday Party

My nephew, Cedric, had his birthday party yesterday. My sister and brother-in-law really went all out and had the house themed for an alien party.
Sarah's sister-in-law, Jamie, made these cute cakes from scratch.

Great Grandma Walter and Grandma Julie with the birthday boy!
One of the activities my sister had for the kids was making alien masks. The kids loved them. Here is Adelle in her little mask.

Even Lydia got into the fun.
All of the cute little aliens lined up for picture time.
Sarah opened the presents with Cedric. He grew a little impatient though. I think he wanted to wander around. He got some really neat gifts including a full Thomas the Train set.
Then it was time for Sarah to bring Cedric his own personal cake.
He dug right in and enjoyed this part of the party the most. I like this cute picture of Sarah sharing cake with her son. Sarah and Matt really put a lot of hard work to make their little guy's day special. Thanks for inviting us!!

Using the Fruits of the Harvest

So I have heard from a lot of people in the area that their tomato plants have not done well. Now I honestly have almost completely neglected the garden. I shamefully have to admit that most of it is covered in morning glory. I don't know if you remember my earlier post about my tomato plants I purchased from Costco and planted in my garden. Well I have to say they have just been abundantly producing tomatoes for us, despite the neglect. They have been the most delicious tomatoes I have had in years. A week ago I took two huge bowls of tomatoes and blanched them (with Lydia's help). Then I took the blanched tomatoes and made a huge pot of home made spaghetti sauce. It was the best spaghetti sauce that I have had in the longest time. I had enough leftover to freeze three dinners for the future. I highly recommend making sauce using fresh garden tomatoes. Nothing compares.

I had another bowl full of tomatoes on Friday and I decided to try to make home made pizza sauce. Instead of blanching the tomatoes I just cut them up (skins and all) and cooked them down with a little bit of oil, onion and garlic. I had already cut up about 2/3 of the tomatoes before I took the above picture. I have more tomatoes growing out in my garden right now!! It is crazy how many tomatoes have been produced from those 4 plants.

I let it all simmer and this is what I ended up with. A thick, yummy sauce. I also made my pizza dough from scratch. I actually use a home made dinner roll recipe to make the crust. The crust ends up being a little softer than a usual pizza but it tastes so good. The dough I made was enough to make two pizza crusts. If you want the recipe at all let me know. It is pretty easy to make. One pizza was pepperoni. The second was Hawaiian. With the home made sauce and dough the pizza was honestly the best we have probably ever had. We all loved it!! We even ate the rest of it for dinner the next night. There is nothing like using the food that you have grown out of your very own garden. It is an amazing thing. You should try it next year! Even if you don't have an area to have a full garden maybe you could just have a few potted plants. It is well worth it.

We spent the rest of the evening watching the classic movie "Watcher in the Woods". I enjoyed watching Lydia get scared and hold onto me. Does that make me a mean mom?

Blast from the past..

I was looking at Matt and Sarah's website and found these fun pictures from long ago! I just had to share. Lydia's 4th birthday party. She got her very first bike. Sarah, Lydia, Wes and I hanging out on Lydia's fourth birthday at the Sugarhouse pond. I'm the one with the blond hair.
Lydia on Christmas Day 2003. What a funny girl.

Adelle's first birthday. She used to love her binki!

Wes and I when I tried being a blond.

I found this fun picture on my work computer. My girls driving the Barbie Jeep. They are both so young!!!

Looking at these pictures makes me laugh and reminds me of a lot of fun memories.

Wes' Website

So I am super happy to report that Wes' website is up and running! Woo Hoo! He did it entirely on his own which impresses me immensely. He just figured it out. Anyway.. you should check it out! https://www.wesleyoates.com/

Ken and Jackie's Wedding

Tuesday night we headed up to East Canyon Resort for Ken (my step-brother) and Jackie's wedding. We were unable to make the ceremony because we had work and Lydia had school. It was a wonderfully fun reception. Adelle on the way up. How often do your kids do this?? After Adelle had eaten just a few bites of her dinner she said she was full and rushed out to the dance floor.

Grandma Julie loves her grandson Cedric. Ken and Jackie doing the "Chicken Dance".
Lydia and Wes looking on. Lydia looks like she isn't quite sure what to think.

They just had to join in! We all love dancing at weddings.
Julie and my Dad.

Cedric and his daddy Matt! Cedric can now wave and say "Hi". It is so cute!
Lydia enjoying some chocolate wedding cake. Cedric and his daddy again.
Grandma Julie and Adelle rocking out on the dance floor.
Lydia and Allie enjoyed dancing as well.

Roll those arms!
What a cute pair.
I love this picture of Allie and Lydia! Who knew there could be so much energy in one picture.
Ken with his beautiful bride Jackie.
Pinata time! Jackie taking the first swings!

Adelle got a turn as well. In the end Ken ending up breaking it open.
Both of the girls gathered as much candy as they could.
It was like Halloween all over again.
Look at that excitement in their eyes. We will have dessert for evenings to come.
Ken and his loving mom Julie. I found out in the evening that Ken is taking his lovely new wife to Hawaii! Can you imagine. I hope they are having a wonderful time!

I know we had a great time at the wedding. The best part of course was seeing family and sharing in such an exciting event.

Make Believe

So I woke up Sunday morning to little Adelle all dressed up in this beautiful dress. It once belonged to Lydia. She was pretending that she was getting married. Sigh...Must they grow up so quickly. I know someday I will really see her getting married. Thinking of it makes me want to enjoy every little moment I have with my girls now.

Shontelle and Eric's Wedding

Last Saturday Wes' Cousin, Shontelle, was married to her love Eric. They are such a cute couple and seem so very happy! It was energizing just to be around them. I had the opportunity to attend the wedding ceremony in the Jordan River Temple in the morning. It was an amazing experience and the spirit was so strong. Later that afternoon I skipped the wedding luncheon to attend my brother, Phil's, Birthday. I forgot my camera to that event though because Adelle had gotten sick and was at home with Wes. I was worried about her. Later in the evening she seemed to be feeling much better so we ventured out to the cute couple's reception in Orem. Shontelle and Eric, so happy to be married. I think they were tired by the end of the day though.
Wes chatting with his Aunt Kathy and cousin Brandon.
More of Wes' extended family.

My beautiful mother in law, Ellen. She was in charge of the dessert and did a wonderful job! It was super yummy!
Adelle loved roaming around the beautiful backyard where the reception was held. There was even a stream and pond with fish. We missed Lydia. She was with her dad and step-mom in Colorado for the weekend.
These two girls look like little fairies having a tea party.
Wes' grandma Christensen.

Twilight and the end of a beautiful reception.