any ideas?

Since we moved in I have been wanting to do something with the space above the cupboards. I haven't thought of anything that I am excited about though...
Any ideas for me?


And this little monkey... every time I go in to get her from her crib, some body part(s) is/are sticking out of it. I've heard that bumpers aren't that safe... is that true? And if it is, what can I put there to keep her WHOLE body inside the crib at all times? Because, let's face it... that cannot be comfortable!

Sesame Chicken

1/4 C flour
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 C oil
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C soy sauce
2 Tb sesame seeds
1/4 C green onions, chopped
warm cooked rice

Combine flour, salt and pepper. Coat raw chicken with flour mixture. In large skillet, cook coated chicken in oil. In separate bowl mix sugar, soy sauce, sesame seeds and green onions. Pour sauce over chicken and cook until warmed through. Serve over rice.

10 months old

O Pioneer

This past week, Jason and I had the opportunity to participate in Trek. Here are a few pictures of our 3 day adventure.

Pulling our handcart:
This is Oscar. He was very nice to have around. Both nights, we would hear the coyotes, and they were getting closer... and then we would hear Oscar barking, and the howls would get further away and eventually disappear. We liked him. Even the last morning when he walked around for a while with a dead rabbit in his mouth.
One good looking pioneer man... (looking a little modern with those sunglasses)
The crossing of the Sweetwater River.
The second night we survived a horrible storm. It lasted for maybe 30 minutes. It started so fast, not many people were prepared. Probably about 1 in every 3 or 4 tents did not stand the remainder of the night. (There were about 400 people there.) 3 of the 8 poles of our tent came out of the little holder place for them, but the tent was still standing just fine. We found one little rip, but it didn't leak. I guess Coleman makes a pretty good tent!
The final stretch:

We walked and pulled the handcarts about 30 miles in three days. The days were nice and hot, and the nights were nice and cold. Especially the second night, I was wet from being out in the rain, I didn't think I would ever get warm again! (The first night had some crazy, crazy winds, and we thought the tents would fall over. I guess that was just preparing us for the second night of wind, thunder, lightning, and rain.)

We were able to see where the pioneers of the Martin Handcart Company stayed to protect themselves a little more from the winter. It was a very spiritual experience, and I'm so grateful that I was able to be a part of it. It gave me an even greater appreciation for the early Saints and the hardships they suffered to establish what we are blessed with today.

We also participated in the Woman's Pull. This is a tiny glimpse into what the women endured when all the men were asked to join the Battalion to assist in the Mexican War. It was a very short distance we pulled, but it was up a pretty steep incline. The men were standing on both sides at the top, and I was very touched and emotional when I looked at them and saw the emotion on their faces and that they all had taken their hats off as they watched us go up the hill.

I realized in the last couple of weeks that one of the reasons I needed to go on Trek was because I needed to be reminded of how blessed I am, and the good life I have. I knew I needed to be more grateful for my wonderful children. They didn't get to come with, (Livia stayed with a sister-in-law and Sam stayed with Jason's parents. Thanks so much Ashlee and Mom and Dad!!) and it was hard to be away from both of them for three days. I am so grateful for them and the joy they bring to my life.

speak more clearly please.

Sam: Mommy, I want some shee-shus. (fishies)
Me: You can't have any fish until you say 'fish' correctly.
Sam: Shee-shu keckly! (fish correctly!)
Me: Hmmm, that didn't work.

girls night out

Last night I went with some friends to see The Proposal. It was hilarious! Both characters were really funny.
There were a few swear words, and they both showed more skin than necessary for the shower-collision scene... and Ramone, well, he showed way more skin than he should have. But other than that, it was all good! Very funny lines. I laughed out loud a lot.
I'm planning on making Jason take me on a date to see it again! (You're so sweet to say yes honey!)
I had so much fun with the girls... let's do it every month at least!
I love Girls' Night Out! (No offense Jason.)

locally speaking, who are my friends?

that's right... it's amish friendship bread time again!

for those of you who have had it, you know how deliciously yummy it is.
for those who have not had it, you are missing out! this bread is the yummiest bread you'll ever have. (it's not like sandwich or toast kind of bread, but a sweet and treat kind of bread.)

my invitation is for anyone who would like some, don't feel obligated by any means, but if your sweet tooth is hankering for some amish goodness, let me know. i'll have more to give away every 10 days until jason gets sick of eating this every other week!

one final word: delish :)

discovery of the ears

So for about 9 months now, I have been trying to figure out where Livia's ears came from.


Neither Jason nor I have ears that pop out on top like hers.

And then Shelly came back to Utah, and the first morning she saw Livia, after not seeing her since she was about 2 1/2 months old, she said,

"Livia has Dad's ears!"


And I've decided she is right!

Do you agree?

D.I. run

I love finding fun cheap stuff at the D.I. Isn't it great?

the parking ticket (not mine- this was an email)

The other day I went downtown to run a few errands. I went into the local coffee shop for a snack. I was only there for about 5 minutes. When I came out, there was this cop writing out a parking ticket.

I said to him, 'Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break'?

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. His insensitivity annoyed me, so I called him a 'PIG.'

He glared at me and then wrote out another ticket for having worn tires.

So I proceeded to call him a 'doughnut eating NAZI.' He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.

Then he wrote a third ticket when I called him a 'moron in blue'.

This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I talked back to him the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn't really care. I came downtown on the bus, and the car that he was putting the tickets on had one of those bumper stickers that said, 'Obama '08.'

I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired.

The doctor tells me that it's important for my health.

happy firecracker day!

We had a fun-filled weekend for Independence Day. Here are a few of the highlights.

Thursday: We got together with almost all of the Cooks at Seven Peaks. It turned out to be not-the-best-day-to-go-to-a-water-park kind of day. It was overcast and rainy for pretty much the whole day. Even though there was a lot of shivering going on, we still had lots of fun.


This is Shelly's little girl, Skye.


Friday: The Cook girls got together to have a girlie party. We ate some yummy lunch, then a sister of my sister-in-law came and helped us make bracelets, earrings, and necklaces.

Of course Skye and Livia had some catching up to do...


This is the bracelet Livia made... or maybe I made it for her. She was having a hard time getting those tiny beads on the wire...


Saturday morning: We re-visited our favorite duck and fish place.

Are you surprised that Sam and Jason caught lots of fish? Again.


Livia and I just chilled on the blanket.


Saturday afternoon: Jason gave Sam his very first cap gun. He's not quite strong enough to pull the trigger, but he still likes to chase Maggie around and pretend to shoot her.


Happy Cooks.


What's the 4th if you don't have a little celebration beverage?

Hooray for Root Beer!
And Root Beer foam!

We only bought a small amount of fireworks, but Sam loved them all.


And apparently so did Maggie.

And we only got one owie from the whole ordeal.


We call that a successful Firecracker Weekend!