Cinnamon Rolls

Yesterday I made Cinnamon Rolls and this morning I am still eating them! I should have taken them to someone else, but they did make a yummy breakfast. Here is the easiest recipe for Cinnamon Rolls- start to finish is 1 hour!

Mix together & let rise in bowl or mixer:
3 c. warm water
1 c. sugar
6 Tbsp. yeast

Add:
1 c. oil
3 eggs
3 tsp. salt
9 c. flour

Knead for 6 minutes in a mixer. Making sure the dough doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl. Split dough into two parts. Roll out on a rolled surface until dough is ¼ to ½ inch thick rectangle shape. Spread with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. Starting with the long side, roll up the dough and seal the edges. Cut into slices using thread or dental floss. Make slices about ¾ inch thick. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Let rest for 10 min. Bake at 350 for 10- 12 minutes or until golden brown on top. Frost while still hot.

Frosting:
1 lb. powdered sugar , ¼ tsp. salt , ¼ c. milk , 1 tsp. vanilla , 1/3 c. butter, 8 oz. cream cheese
Beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy.

If I had a Girl . . .

I was looking for felt flowers to pin on bags and sweaters. And I love these felt flowers that I found (etsy.com)- too bad they wouldn't work too well on my boys.

{Booties= Joujoux.etsy.com}

Red Rock Hike

Last week I joined some friends at Red Rock for a hike. . .

All the boys had a great time. Although, I was unaware that there was a waterfall at the end of the hike. My boys were excited about this discovery!

Matix was trying to follow Krew and cross the pond- the water was freezing- and he missed a step!

Both the boys ended up shirtless for the hike back.

Priceless

Comfy Mattress $$$$
Soft Clean Sheets $
Krew at school all day $$$
Unused alarm clock $

Two kids + Dog asleep when I am awake ... A rare and priceless morning in my house.

House Inspiration

I want to get my house organized and decorated!

I am just too busy, tired or straight up procrastinating for the perfect moment that never happens. But if I ever get it pulled together here is my inspiration:

I love the colors and style of these- they are just porcelin measuring spoons from Anthropologie but I love them.

Spring Break is Over!

Krew went back to school yesterday and it was nice to be down to 2 kids for a short moment.

Leadership Broadcast

I went to the leadership broadcast a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time President Monson spoke since being called as the prophet. The meeting was great. The theme was

"Building Up a Righteous Posterity"

There were a couple of statements made by Elder Oaks that I especially love:
1. Homemaking is not just baking bread or cleaning a house. Homemaking is to make the environment necessary to nurture our children toward eternal life, which is our responsibility as parents.

2. There are probably a lot of housekeeping tasks that can be delegated, but there aren’t any homemaking tasks that can be delegated. We don’t delegate conducting a family home evening. We’re not going to delegate family prayer. We’re not going to delegate the love of a mother and a father for the children or that individual time that’s so essential for growth. Let’s make a distinction between housekeeping and homemaking.

President Monson:
May I offer three guidelines to help ensure that our homes will be havens of happiness.
1. Let us establish a pattern of prayer
2. May our homes be a library of learning
3. May we enjoy a legacy of love

Grandma & Grandpa Phillips

My Dad's parents have a winter house here and we like to go and visit. The boys really liked my Grandpa's skooter and walker.

They are loving old people's transportation.

Easter Cupcakes

Aren't these cupcakes cute?

Starbucks has a seasonal banana frappuccino and it's finished off with whipped cream & toasted coconut. So I made the yummy banana cupcakes that I love with honey cinnamon frosting. The topping is just toasted coconut with a milk chocolate egg. Variation on a favorite treat.

Krew's First Easter

So I did want a girl before any boys ... usually on Easter (and Christmas) you get new church outfits that match or coordinate. Since I didn't have a little girl I made Nate match Krew. It was sweet, they both wore blue & white seersucker suits. After all the compliments at church Nate would never let this happen again!

My Helper

Matix decided to help me crack some eggs while I was upstairs, at least he put some of them back in the carton.

Raccoon

Yikes! At least he knows that mascara goes near the eyes . . .

Matix decided to finish getting ready on his own this morning- I wish you could see the chunks of hair gel that are in his hair!

Happy Birthday Nate!

Happy 28th!

I am so lucky and happy to be married to such a wonderful & energetic guy.

We love you!

Cupcake!

I am in love with cupcakes right now. I think that they are adorable and fun to decorate.

I found this oversized cupcake pan and I have used it so much already! I am excited to make a carrot cake cupcake for my Dad's birthday (his favorite cake).

Everyone in my family is getting a huge cupake for their birthday (sorry guys) and by the end of the year I will be a master at the oversized cupcake baking.

Easter Bunnies

My parents have a ranch with horses, bunnies, and more. There are almost always baby bunnies and my boys love to play with them. I am happy with just dogs becuase I can go over here to play.

She's Back!

We got our puppy back about 15 minutes ago! The story is a little fishy, after almost 5 days of being gone plus I took my posters down last night/this afternoon and the lady called at 7:30 saying she had my dog and had just seen my posters . . . but oh well we have our dog back!

Tunnel of Fun!

Nixon is such a crawler. I decided to set up our tunnel and see if he would crawl through it, and he did. He thought it was the coolest thing!

Fruit Bowl

What a cute idea!

A watermelon with balls of honeydew melon.

Food Diary

In the past I have tried to track what I eat each day to see what I could change to eat better & how calories I was actullay eating. I would lose my page or give up on writing everything down and trying to figure caloric content.

I love this website!

www.myfooddiary.com

You type in what you eat each day and the site logs it. It tells you how many calories you have eaten and also what nutrients you are deficient in or have too much of. You also put in exercise. At the end of each day it tells you that if everyday were like that day how long it would take you to reach your body fitness goal. It does cost $9 month, but I think it takes the guess work out of counting calories and all that fun stuff.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Cute & Simple- just frost a cupcake with some yummy buttercream frosting and add a clover on top. Be sure to remove the clover before eating.

Great Job Rebels!

Rebels won the tournament today!

They played against BYU. What a good season.

Chai

Flying Matix!

Nate & my Brother Garrett have fun throwing my boys back & forth! And my boys enjoyed it!

Thought for the Day

A year from now you may wish you had started today.
— Karen Lamb

I am a perfectionist and procrastinator, so this thought is awesome. I always wait for the beginning of the week or month to start a new habit- like working out or eating better. I want to have my house cleaned before I start a project- then I never get started! I run out of time or energy. If I had just started that day I would have completed my goal.

Girls Night- Tuesday!

Town Square Claim Jumper 6pm for Dinner & Movie at 7:50.

Two sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, are driven by their ambitious father and uncle to advance the family's power and status by courting the affections of the king of England. Leaving behind the simplicity of country life, the girls are thrust into the dangerous and thrilling world of court life--and what began as a bid to help their family develops into a ruthless rivalry between Anne and Mary for the love of the king. Initially, Mary wins King Henry's favor and becomes his mistress, bearing him two illegitimate children. But Anne, clever, conniving and fearless, edges aside both her sister and Henry's wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon, in her relentless pursuit of the king. Despite Mary's genuine feelings for Henry, her sister Anne has her sights set on the ultimate prize; Anne will not stop until she is queen of England. As the Boleyn girls battle for the love of a king--one driven by ambition, the other by true affection--England is torn apart.

Let me know if you want to go.

Strike!

Krew has started t-ball and loving it.

He can it the ball far and he gets the concept of running the bases, so it's cute to watch him. Although, he does get board in outfield.

Amy Butler Fabrics

I love the fabrics from Amy Butler. I want to use some of these prints to make fun things for my house. I just need to decide what color scheme I want to use. There are 4 different categories of prints and within each style there are a number of color palettes to choose from. So fun!

http://www.amybutlerdesign.com

Expensive Stickers

Matix found and used a whole book of stamps to decorate his shirt today. That was $8.20 put to good use. Now I just have to figure out who to mail this monster to.

Puppy Love

The boys and I were at Gymboree looking around when I saw this hat. Nixon looked cute in it- I wish I would have seen it earlier this winter.

Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

We made these tonight and they were so yummy!

It was like eating banana bread in cute little wrappers with a rich frosting of cinnamon & nutmeg

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients with a spatula- do not overmix. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely & frost. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake.

Frosting:
1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon milk

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

Mix all ingredients in a mixer until smooth & fluffy.

Go Rebels!

We have really enjoyed this season of games. Nate & I expected the Rebels to do so much worse because they lost so many seniors at the end of last season but they have been good. My boys always cheer for #1 or Wink. It's such a great family outing. I always miss the season when it ends (not when we first were married but now I really do).

P.S. I do think it is goofy that whenever anyone announces the Rebel Girls they lower their voice to sound seductive, but it's cheesy!