Primary Bike Parade

We had a Primary Bike Parade to celebrate July 24th. Our ward does this every year, but it is the first time that Delphia has been able to participate.

The kids can decorate their bikes and they ride around the ward. They even had a fire engine lead them through the neighborhood. We cheated and took a shortcut along with some other parents whose kids couldn't keep up.

After the parade we had a ward breakfast cooked by the bishopric!

Sunday Cooking Adventures

We have been doing an activity a day for our Halloween Advent calendar. Today we made popcorn pumpkin balls. They were so cute when I found them online! The recipe however didn't work real well. It didn't want to hold together, so we ended up with orange popcorn minus the tootsie roll stems and green laffy taffy leaves.

Delphia didn't care though, she just had a ball making popcorn balls and then remaking them again and again. She actually wanted us to set a timer. We set a timer, but even when it went off she didn't want to stop.

Josie tried the popcorn, but decided that she preferred the no bake cookies from a couple nights ago.

Rapunzel

Delphia earned the prized Rapunzel after she stayed dry for a whole month morning and night. We bought it back in April or Msy nd it seemed like she was never going to do it. When we went camping she started to stay dry and it continued from there, even though she had a couple accidents and had to start completely over.

She had waited and waited for that doll and was so excited to get her down off the shelf.

Fun on the Stairs

Towards the end of July the girls were loving playing on the stairs. The would crawl up, crawl down, lay on the, tickle backs etc. They just had fun, so one day they were playing and I had to get some pictures!

Delphia loves to go and get Josie up from her nap. It's funny because when we would go and get her she would make sure to hand us her bottle and say, "Ba-ba!"

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!