Cooking In The Kitchen

Sunday Nights have become one of our favorite nights. We always spend time together as a family. Everyone helps with dinner. Ella like to prep, by helping to set the table. Abby likes to cook, pour, cut veggies etc. Kate loves to wash dishes. Everyone has a job, so it works well. A few weeks ago we made real spudnuts. We made mashed potatoes for dinner and saved some to put in our doughnuts. The kids couldn't believe that we could make doughnuts out of potatoes! That makes them healthy? Right?

Thank's for the recipe Launi!

SPUDNUTS

Makes approximately 8 dozen donuts.

4 C milk

1 C sugar

1 C shortening

Heat the above until warm only, then add the following:

1 tbsp salt

1C mashed potatoes

½ tbsp lemon extract

4 tbsp yeast

5 eggs

10 C flour (approx.)

Let rise twice.

Roll out onto table approx. half inch thick, cut into donut shape. Scraps can be re-rolled.

Deep fry in healthy oil such as canola. Correct temperature is when a drop of water sizzles, then turn down temperature slightly.

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Glaze:

Pinch cream of tartar

2 C powdered sugar

1 C water

Add flavoring of your choice to taste. Chocolate or maple are favorites.

Sugar Cinnamon coating:

Put 1 – 2 C sugar and cinnamon to taste in a gallon freezer bag. Put 3-5 hot donuts in the bag and shake. Remove from bag and repeat.

See How Our Garden Grows

This was our third year growing a garden in our backyard. Each year it gets a little bigger. This year we added pumpkins and raspberries to our garden. J and I both have fun memories of picking raspberries in our backyards as kids. We want our kids to have that same fun memory....so the tradition goes on. In May we planted 10 raspberry bushes. It is November and we are still getting raspberries! Yum!

3 Little Cutties

Cool purple cast! It has been a crazy 5 weeks of cast life. No gymnastics, soccer or dance. My favorite memory with Abby's cast is the night she slept with me. J was out of town, so I agreed. In the middle of the night, she rolled over and whacked me in the face with her cast! Ouch! I never knew how hard a cast is!!!! Good thing I love you Abby!
Kate loves preschool. She loves her teacher, her friends, and playing with toys. Her favorite toy is the beauty parlor toy set. One of the things I love about Kate is her natural eye for fashion. She tells me how to do her hair, which boots she wants to wear, etc. She even gives me tips on what I should wear (I think I should listen), and always compliments me when I wear ruffles or skirts! Thank you Kate!
Ella's favorite past time is to follow me around the house. Wherever I am, she is 2 steps behind, or ahead, depending on the day! She loves to play barbies, to dance to music (with pom poms), and to play outside. Ever since Halloween, she has been really into dressing up. She loves everything frilly, especially to twirl. In this picture she has some toy scissors and a toy curling iron, as well as a daisy hair clip. She is ready for the next client! Any volunteers?

Boo

This High School Musical Cheerleader, got her cast off just in time! Not only does she look the part, but she can do everything from headstands to cartwheels!
This Fancy Nancy is extraordinarily fancy! She loves to eat with her pinky up, and to call her friends, darlings!



I'm a Princess! I'm Snow White. This little Princess loves to dress up and continues to dress up everyday. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White are her favorites.

Halloween PJ's

I love these Glow In The Dark PJ's. It made Halloween last all month long!

American Girl Place

American Girl Place was everything we hoped it would be. First, we searched the 4 story store, looking for the perfect doll. Abby knew before we stepped foot in the store that Kit was the doll for her. She has talked about Kit since the day we planned our trip to New York. We dined with Kit, we took Kit to the beauty parlor, found a movie about Kit, found matching clothes for Abby and Kit and $500.00 later we were out the door! It was magical and so much fun!

Girls Weekend in New York

I love to travel! It was fun for me to get to spend a Girl's Weekend in New York with Abby, My Sister Amy, and our friend Janene. Our favorite trip highlights: Central Park, The Statue of Liberty, Dinner at Rockefeller Center, Times Square at night (couldn't get enough of it), Mary Poppins on Broadway (WOW!!), and of course American Girl Place.