Sunday, October 9, 2011
An Eating Adventure
We started to give Josie a plate and utensils sometime towards the end of July. She loves having her own plate and such, but sure knows how to create wuite the mess!
Rain Storm
This is a storm we had back on July 10th. It rained and rained and was coming down pretty hard. We had houses that flooded and Delphia wanted to wander the street seeing where Shane was off to next to help.
We went downstairs a little bit later that evening and found a frog in the window well.
We went downstairs a little bit later that evening and found a frog in the window well.
Spencer and Melody's Wedding
My younger brother Spencer got married to Melody Fico on July 30, 2011. It was a busy few weeks leading up to the wedding, as I made my dress and the girls dresses. The night before they had a rehersal and a dinner at Buca de Beppo in SLC and Shane's sister Amanda came out to watch the girls.
I love this picture because it really shows that Josie is a Grandpa's girl!
Delphia waiting for the ceremony to start!
Grandpa and Grandma before the ceremony with all the grandaughters!
Dallen standing for the ceremony as one of the groomsmen.
Spencer and Lance his best man with the judge.
Spencer and Melody during the ceremony.
Josie just wandering around doing her own thing before the reception.
Their wedding cake that Spencer made. He also made the stand.
Cutting the cake....
Delphia dancing with one of Spencer's mission companions. I think the best part of the whole evening was the dancing! The girls loved and and Josie loved the flashing lights. Delphia and Josie pretty much dance until 11:00 pm and even then Delphia was upset that we had to stop. If Shane wasn't on the dance floor dancing with her, she was pulling someone onto the floor to dance with her.
She was even on the floor during group dances and tried to imitate what everyone else was doing!
I love this picture because it really shows that Josie is a Grandpa's girl!
Delphia waiting for the ceremony to start!
Grandpa and Grandma before the ceremony with all the grandaughters!
Dallen standing for the ceremony as one of the groomsmen.
Spencer and Lance his best man with the judge.
Spencer and Melody during the ceremony.
Josie just wandering around doing her own thing before the reception.
Their wedding cake that Spencer made. He also made the stand.
Cutting the cake....
Delphia dancing with one of Spencer's mission companions. I think the best part of the whole evening was the dancing! The girls loved and and Josie loved the flashing lights. Delphia and Josie pretty much dance until 11:00 pm and even then Delphia was upset that we had to stop. If Shane wasn't on the dance floor dancing with her, she was pulling someone onto the floor to dance with her.
She was even on the floor during group dances and tried to imitate what everyone else was doing!
Feed the Ducks
One of Delphia's favorite things to do is to feed the ducks at Gardener Historic Village. My mom and I took the girls down towards the end of June and Delphia had a ball feeding the ducks!
When we first got there we couldn't find the ducks so we had to walk around and look for them. Eventually we found them and then had to lure them to the bank on the other side with bread.
Josie was a little leery of the whole quacking ducks things so she settled on Grandma's lap.
Even after the ducks and birds had their fill of stale hoagie rolls Delphia kept on throwing. She was down to part of a roll left and a full roll. Josie reached out for the other roll and I thought she was going to throw pieces to the birds.
She however had other plans and put it to her mouth and took a big bite!
Delphia waiting to finish feeding the ducks.
When we first got there we couldn't find the ducks so we had to walk around and look for them. Eventually we found them and then had to lure them to the bank on the other side with bread.
Josie was a little leery of the whole quacking ducks things so she settled on Grandma's lap.
Even after the ducks and birds had their fill of stale hoagie rolls Delphia kept on throwing. She was down to part of a roll left and a full roll. Josie reached out for the other roll and I thought she was going to throw pieces to the birds.
She however had other plans and put it to her mouth and took a big bite!
Delphia waiting to finish feeding the ducks.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping
Base:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
Cream Cheese Layer:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup caramel sauce (homemade recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.
Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.
Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).
Caramel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cups half-and-half or cream
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
Mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.
Base:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
Cream Cheese Layer:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup caramel sauce (homemade recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.
Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.
Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).
Caramel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cups half-and-half or cream
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
Mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
A Little Bit Josie
This is Josie and she is our silly girl!
She loves to play at the table and I think she plays 10 times more that she eats.
If anyone is downstairs, even if we just ran down to get something and are coming right back up she has to follow us down.
She loves her mom and dad and hates for us to leave her in Nursery or with a neighbor.
She still only has 8 teeth, with one more coming in.
It is amazing how different she is from Delphia. Josie is fighter and very determined and knows what she wants. She is very happy and loves to dance and spin on her head. She is a talker and chats when we go places in the and she loves to sing to the songs that are playing in the car.
She loves to play at the table and I think she plays 10 times more that she eats.
If anyone is downstairs, even if we just ran down to get something and are coming right back up she has to follow us down.
She loves her mom and dad and hates for us to leave her in Nursery or with a neighbor.
She still only has 8 teeth, with one more coming in.
It is amazing how different she is from Delphia. Josie is fighter and very determined and knows what she wants. She is very happy and loves to dance and spin on her head. She is a talker and chats when we go places in the and she loves to sing to the songs that are playing in the car.
Let Me See If It Fits!
Last Tuesday while Delphia was at Preschhol, Shane and I went through boxes of clothes and put old clothes away, got new shoes out and got longer dresses out for Josie. While we were going through bins of clothes I saw this Halloween costume that my sister-in-law gave me. We brought it upstairs and tried it on Josie and decided that's what she would be for Halloween.
We had to run to Wal-Mart to get more hangers after Delphia got home, so it was laying on Josies bed. Delphia picked it up and wanted to see if it would fit her. I laughed and told her that it was too small (it is for 18-24 months and fit Josie pretty well) She was bound and determined to try it on and it fit, I was amazed!
Getting caught in the butterfly net!
We had to run to Wal-Mart to get more hangers after Delphia got home, so it was laying on Josies bed. Delphia picked it up and wanted to see if it would fit her. I laughed and told her that it was too small (it is for 18-24 months and fit Josie pretty well) She was bound and determined to try it on and it fit, I was amazed!
Getting caught in the butterfly net!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Awkward Sleeping
Last week Delphia came upstairs from watching Sesame with Josie. Josie was nowhere to be found and so I asked Delphia where Josie was and she told me that she was asleep. I couldn't believe that she had fallen asleep downstairs. I hurried downstairs to see if she was really asleep because when I went upstairs she was laying on the bed playing and I was afraid she would fall off if that's where she had fallen asleep.
Sure enough, this is where I found her!
Sure enough, this is where I found her!
Skating
This is what my girls do most of the time when I make dinner. Josie doesn't have slippers that stay on her feet, so she wears a pair of Delphia's fuzzy socks!
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It's Off to Preschool She Goes
Delphia had her first day of preschool on Tuesday September 6th.
She was excited and woke up at 6:30 ready to go. I asked her why she was up so early and she told me she was excited for preschool. She had her backpack on by 7:00 even though she was still in her pajamas. She ate with it on, got her hair done with it on and played Disney Jr. with it on.
It was finally time to go so we headed out the door. She was so excited about everything, playing on the slides, playing with toys, learning and meeting new friends!
When we walked in the school we saw some kids sitting calmly, some with teary eyes and others hanging onto their parents. Next thing I know Delphia walks over to the steps, duck under the rope that they hang onto to go to their class and sits down. That's all there was too it....no hugs, no kisses, no worries that she was on her own and that we weren't going with her. However, it made me cry seeing her so grown up and so ready to go and learn!
We watched the class walk out and onto the playgroung to their cubicle and we went home to be with Josie. I was fine after that, but it is still hard to believe she is off to preschool!
Even though she is 4 I still had worries. Was there a stool for her to get on the toilet? Would she holler for a wipe if she had to go number 2? Would she be able to button her pants? Would she be able to hang her backpack up? Would she be the smallest kid?
However, she had no worries and now after the second day I feel confident that she can handle anything preschool might throw at her.
There are 15 kids in her class and out of the 15 kids there are 13 boys and 2 girls.
When I go and pick her up and asked her what they did her response is, "Had fun and played." However after we get home little things come out throughout the rest of the day such as what they had for a snack (Tuesday the had her favorite Lucky Charms), whether she had milk, juice or water and what they sang.
Yesterday we read a book about school and the girl had to raise her hand so I asked Delphia if she had to raise her hand at school. She then told me that they had to raise their hand during snack time.
I asked her if she used the bathroom and she told me she had, but that she couldn't get the wipes back on the shelf so she just threw them and they fell off, but that it was okay. (What a relief they had wipes!)
Today she said they did spiderwebs (not sure exactly what that is) but she said it was fun.
We will see what the rest of the week brings!
She was excited and woke up at 6:30 ready to go. I asked her why she was up so early and she told me she was excited for preschool. She had her backpack on by 7:00 even though she was still in her pajamas. She ate with it on, got her hair done with it on and played Disney Jr. with it on.
It was finally time to go so we headed out the door. She was so excited about everything, playing on the slides, playing with toys, learning and meeting new friends!
When we walked in the school we saw some kids sitting calmly, some with teary eyes and others hanging onto their parents. Next thing I know Delphia walks over to the steps, duck under the rope that they hang onto to go to their class and sits down. That's all there was too it....no hugs, no kisses, no worries that she was on her own and that we weren't going with her. However, it made me cry seeing her so grown up and so ready to go and learn!
We watched the class walk out and onto the playgroung to their cubicle and we went home to be with Josie. I was fine after that, but it is still hard to believe she is off to preschool!
Even though she is 4 I still had worries. Was there a stool for her to get on the toilet? Would she holler for a wipe if she had to go number 2? Would she be able to button her pants? Would she be able to hang her backpack up? Would she be the smallest kid?
However, she had no worries and now after the second day I feel confident that she can handle anything preschool might throw at her.
There are 15 kids in her class and out of the 15 kids there are 13 boys and 2 girls.
When I go and pick her up and asked her what they did her response is, "Had fun and played." However after we get home little things come out throughout the rest of the day such as what they had for a snack (Tuesday the had her favorite Lucky Charms), whether she had milk, juice or water and what they sang.
Yesterday we read a book about school and the girl had to raise her hand so I asked Delphia if she had to raise her hand at school. She then told me that they had to raise their hand during snack time.
I asked her if she used the bathroom and she told me she had, but that she couldn't get the wipes back on the shelf so she just threw them and they fell off, but that it was okay. (What a relief they had wipes!)
Today she said they did spiderwebs (not sure exactly what that is) but she said it was fun.
We will see what the rest of the week brings!
Josie and Me
Delphia's first day of preschool was yesterday and it was Shane's day off. So, today was the first day that we were on our own. I got a sample of being alone with Josie without Delphia a couple weeks ago when Delphia went to Grandma camp one evening and the next day went to Kung Fu Panda 2 with Aunt Amanda.
I saw a funny side of Josie who loved the one on one time and a really cute silly girl with a fun personality.
I was trying to get her to say cheese, but she was being shy and leaning on the bed.
Love this picture! You have to ignore the red mark on her chin. Yesterday we dropped Phia off at preschool and we came home and Josie put the butterfly net over her head and was walkinh around. The handle hit something and knocked her over and it hit her on the chin and left the lovely mark.
I absolutely am in love with this girl. There is something about the blonde curly hair and those blue eyes that just melt my heart!
She played with the whistle....
Then she looked at a book....
Played with the train set....
Took some pictures....and then we went to get Delphia. Everytime I would tell her to say cheese she would pit the camera to her eyes, even though it was upside down and say, "Cheese!"
I was trying to get her to say some words that she uses all the time but she was really into her book. She uses what I call useless words. She can say apple, Elmo, book, outsides, downstairs etc, but she won't say milk, more, nap etc that she could use to communicate.
The words she says are: Josie, Dada, Mama, cheese, eat, play, flower, baba, sticks, up, Elmo, book, balloon, fish, baba, belly, ear, eye, head,monkey, nana, cookie and quite a few others.
She knows where her eyes, head, tongue, nose, belly and mouth are.
She loves to climb on chairs and if she falls she doesn't want sympathy, she wants you to put her down so she can climb again.
She loves to tease her sister and I think she runs the roost in that sister relationship. It's not uncommon for Delphia to be crying because Josie took something.
She is a picky little eater and hardly eats anything and still gets a bottle at naptime and bed. Sometimes the things she will eat really suprise me. She likes pizza quesadillas, eheat this sticks, apples, grapes, pringles, raisins and bananas. She loves anything sweet especially licorice, preferably Red Vines. She doesn't really like sandwiches, bread, meat, cheese or pretty much anything.
I saw a funny side of Josie who loved the one on one time and a really cute silly girl with a fun personality.
I was trying to get her to say cheese, but she was being shy and leaning on the bed.
Love this picture! You have to ignore the red mark on her chin. Yesterday we dropped Phia off at preschool and we came home and Josie put the butterfly net over her head and was walkinh around. The handle hit something and knocked her over and it hit her on the chin and left the lovely mark.
I absolutely am in love with this girl. There is something about the blonde curly hair and those blue eyes that just melt my heart!
She played with the whistle....
Then she looked at a book....
Played with the train set....
Took some pictures....and then we went to get Delphia. Everytime I would tell her to say cheese she would pit the camera to her eyes, even though it was upside down and say, "Cheese!"
I was trying to get her to say some words that she uses all the time but she was really into her book. She uses what I call useless words. She can say apple, Elmo, book, outsides, downstairs etc, but she won't say milk, more, nap etc that she could use to communicate.
The words she says are: Josie, Dada, Mama, cheese, eat, play, flower, baba, sticks, up, Elmo, book, balloon, fish, baba, belly, ear, eye, head,monkey, nana, cookie and quite a few others.
She knows where her eyes, head, tongue, nose, belly and mouth are.
She loves to climb on chairs and if she falls she doesn't want sympathy, she wants you to put her down so she can climb again.
She loves to tease her sister and I think she runs the roost in that sister relationship. It's not uncommon for Delphia to be crying because Josie took something.
She is a picky little eater and hardly eats anything and still gets a bottle at naptime and bed. Sometimes the things she will eat really suprise me. She likes pizza quesadillas, eheat this sticks, apples, grapes, pringles, raisins and bananas. She loves anything sweet especially licorice, preferably Red Vines. She doesn't really like sandwiches, bread, meat, cheese or pretty much anything.
Balloon Festival 2011
Before we headed up to go camping over the 4th of July we decided we were going to stop to see the hot air balloons at the Balloon Festival. We had planned to be there to see the balloons take off, but w e were running behind and got there just as they were all in the air. We did get to watch them fly into the air one by one while we were driving.
This balloon was Delphia's favorite along with the flying pig balloon.
Josie was afraid of the sound the balloons made when they are making them rise by releasing more gas into them. She would turn to me and bury her face in my shoulder.
They had fun rolling down the hill at the park and running back up and Josie threw a fit when we had to get back in the car to head up the canyon.
This balloon was Delphia's favorite along with the flying pig balloon.
Josie was afraid of the sound the balloons made when they are making them rise by releasing more gas into them. She would turn to me and bury her face in my shoulder.
They had fun rolling down the hill at the park and running back up and Josie threw a fit when we had to get back in the car to head up the canyon.
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