2013 Recipes Updated

For the pdf, click here:  http://www.stephacob.com/Compilation.pdf.

Let me know if you find any typos.

If you want to buy a paperback version so you don't have to print it out, here is a link:

http://www.lulu.com/commerce/index.php?fBuyContent=13610244&fBuyProductType=print&cid=en_email_pt_pubcomplete_add-to-cart

Luke's Baptism and More

Luke turned 8 in December so it was time for his baptism.  He's a good boy and I'm so proud of him for all the good choices he has made.  He can be so crazy full of energy, but he is so sweet and I sure love my special little guy.

Jacob's parents did the long drive to be here with us for the big day.  I was really, really hoping the house would be done by now, but it's not hard to fit a couple more people in this house.  When we took them to see the new house, I told them that we could still let them stay in the new house if they want, it just might be a little cold.

As soon as they arrived Luke was driving us crazy wanting to play Scum. He's a little obsessed with that card game right now.  Grandma, Grandpa and Drake were very accommodating and played it with him many, many times.

One of many rounds of scum.

Our stake does the baptisms once a month, so you never know how many other kids are going to be baptized the same day.  We lucked out and had only one other boy there to be baptized.  I decided to do the accompaniment so I practiced the two songs nonstop for two weeks before the baptism. I was super duper nervous, but it was a nice goal to shoot for.  Grandma was the chorister so we were able to be nervous together.  The first song went so so.  "Baptism" is definitely difficult.  The second song, was much easier.  Grandpa gave the talk on baptism.  We had to wait for a few minutes for the first boy to be baptized and then headed back to the font room.  It was wonderful to have so many friends and family there with us.  I definitely felt the spirit during the ordinance. 

Here is the slideshow we watched while Luke and Jacob were drying off and getting dressed (be warned, it's pretty long):

Uncle Robert gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and then Jacob gave Luke a wonderful blessing after conferring the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The whole crowd.

Michelle gave Luke some delicious cake pops.  Probably the best part of his day.

After the baptism we had family over for some delicious pulled pork.  Thanks to my dad for such a yummy recipe. Thanks to my mom too for the delicious Gone with the Wind recipe that we had for dessert.  Speaking of which, I've done some more tweaking to my recipe and finally figured out exactly how the custard needs to look before you mix it with the other ingredients.  Recently I've been having more problems with it separating into layers while separating.  Turns out I just wasn't cooling the custard enough sometimes.

Gone with the Wind

1 c. graham crackers (about 7), crushed 1 c. vanilla wafers (about 23), crushed ¼ c. brown sugar 3 tbsp. melted margarine 1 Tbsp. gelatin (Knox--about one packet) ½ c. cold water 4 egg yolks, beaten

2 c. milk 1 c. sugar 4 egg whites 1 tsp. salt 2 c. whipping cream 2 tsp. vanilla 5 tbsp sugar

Mix first 4 ingredients well and pat ½ into 9x13 inch pan.  Reserve ½ for the topping.  Soften gelatin in cold water.  Make stirred custard by cooking and stirring milk, sugar, and egg yolks in microwavable dish on 30% power.*  Check every couple of minutes.  Custard is done when the mixture coats a metal spoon (it is a very obvious change).  Mix gelatin in until well dissolved.  Cool the custard in the refrigerator.  Be sure to stir periodically.  The custard must be thoroughly chilled before mixing with other ingredients (otherwise will form layers while setting).  It is properly chilled when the custard mounds when stirred. Whip cream and vanilla till stiff, whip in the sugar.  Beat egg whites and salt till stiff.  Fold both into custard (thoroughly with a whisk) and turn into pan.  Sprinkle topping on.  Chill overnight.

*When making custard, cooking times and power levels will vary.  Be sure to not overcook the custard or the egg will cook into little chunks.  Best rule of thumb: start on a lower power and bring it up if it’s not cooking.

White Without Snow

We had a few super cold days recently that resulted in some pretty cool frost formations. I let Elle take the camera out to catch a few pictures.  Here are a couple:

Silly boy.

This willow tree is one of the few things I'll miss about the rental.

What We Did Over Christmas Break

Turns out not much.  I was about as lazy as you can get.  I felt bad the last vacation day we had before school started so we headed down to the Evergreen Air and Space Museum.  I've been wanting to visit there for awhile and with reciprocity it was free!  They just added an indoor waterpark within the last couple of years, but we didn't go to that yet.

The kids seemed fairly impressed with all the planes, etc.  I was a little nervous that they were going to be whining about being at museum, but there was a good balance of interactive displays and cool exhibits.  The spruce goose was definitely the coolest attraction.  That thing is huge!  The museum is setup in two different buildings, one for the airplanes and one for the space exhibits.  I was pretty impressed that little old McMinnville has such a nice museum.  We'll definitely have to head down there again soon.  Can't beat free!

Inside the cockpit of the spruce goose.

The spruce goose has the longest wingspan of any plane in existence.  Amazing it could fit.

Before heading over to the space building, a tour guide told us there was an exhibit that simulated a rocket launch and it even shook a little. The kids were extremely excited for that one. It was not quite as great as we were expecting though. It was just a control room that counted down from 10 minutes and then had the slightest vibration when the rocket took off on the video screen.  Sorry kids, gotta go to Disneyland for something better.

Some plane tire.

We found the best activity at the end, a flight simulator.  Luke was a natural.

They had a little airplane ride at the entrance to the space museum.

A Mini Jazz Recital

Elle's jazz class wasn't able to participate in the nutcracker, only the ballet classes did, but they did do a quick little exhibition at the end of class right before Winter Break.  That class has been wonderful for her.  The teacher is super kind and a little easier to identify with than her hip hop teacher was.  She still likes hip hop more, but this class is a good standby until she can get back into hip hop.  So, without further ado, here is the show:

Lukie's 8!

Luke had his 8th birthday 3 days before Christmas.  It's always tough shopping for both birthday and Christmas.  I usually end up with not quite enough toys and have to do some last minute shopping.  Thankfully he is getting old enough to read calendars so he doesn't keep asking me how much longer till his Birthday.  His birthday was on a Saturday and I think he felt a little sad because Jacob and I spent a lot of time wiring the new house, but the evening made up for it.  Presents, Red Robin for dinner and a trip to the mall.  Okay, maybe he wasn't too excited about the mall, but Brigham needed new shoes.  His big present was a razor 2XL.  I've given up on buying the cheap ones, they fall apart too fast, especially with how hard the boys are on them.

This was definitely the year of Angry Birds.  His favorite iphone game right now is bike race, but there isn't licensed merchandise yet.  Plenty of Angry Birds though.

I bought trick candles for the first time.  I love his reaction.

Nutcracker 2012

Every year our dance studio puts on a Nutcracker performance.  It utilizes all the ballet classes at the dance studio, even kids as young as Phoebe.  Phoebe's class was given the part of little mice.  I loved seeing the performance and how adorable all the little kids were.  They did a pretty amazing job putting the whole thing together.  For living in such a small town we sure are blessed to have such a great dance studio.

I wasn't sure if Phoebe was going to be able to perform in it because she missed the dress rehearsal. She has caught my strep I had had the week before.  I was able to get her on medication super fast since I knew what it was right off, but not fast enough for the rehearsal.  She was perfect by Saturday.  I was so glad because I knew she would have been pretty disappointed to miss it.

Cute little mice, happy the nutcracker was wounded :)

She wasn't totally confident in what she was doing since she missed the rehearsal, but she was dang cute!

Gotta love stage makeup.  She lives for recitals so she can wear makeup.

Sweet Harmony

Elle's big elective she chose for this year is the girl's choir at the middle school called Sweet Harmony.  They had their second concert in December.  I was very impressed with how much they had improved since September.

Later in the week I helped chaperone their trip to the zoo lights.  I think it was colder that night than when we were in Utah for Thanksgiving.  The zoo lights are gorgeous.  Luckily we had some time to walk around and see them after the girls sang.

Thanksgiving for Families

I swore when I was pregnant with Phoebe that we were never driving down to Utah in the winter again.  I was missing family at Thanksgiving time though and since our house wasn't even close to done I decided it'd be fun to see them over break.  The kids get the whole week off from school so it is easy to take the time to go down.  The weather was beautiful the whole time, perfect for driving and perfect for being out and about.

Our first stop was at Jacob's parents house in Bountiful.  Apparently I didn't take any pictures :(

After a couple days there we headed down to our Provo bed and breakfast (my sister Maren's house).  It is so wonderful having them back in the West.  We only had a couple days there, but we managed to fit in a trip to the Y. (For all you non-mormons, that is the big Y they painted on the mountain next to BYU)

Best t-shirt and ad campaign ever.

Y

M

C 

(Apparently some of us have forgotten the proper orientation)

A

Elle was in love with Baby Logan.  She's such a good little babysitter (except when she changed Matilda's diaper on the bed and she fell off).

This was my grandpa's suit.  A perfect fit!

The last few days we spent at my parent's house in Sandy.  I spent most of my time trying to get Matilda to smile at me.  Thanksgiving dinner was delicious.  We all contributed our best works to it.  

Matilda was the queen of silly faces.

The whole family was there!  We even kind of matched.

The cutest little niece and nephew.

Visiting with the Wasdens. Phoebe is going through the forgotten how to smile phase.

Our last night we visited temple square.  Seems like everyone else in Utah had the same idea, but it was still fun.  It was a little hard to keep a group as big as ours together, but we managed to only lose people once.

Tabernacle at Temple Square.

Baby warmer.  Look at those cheeks!

January House Update

I know its been awhile since we've posted an update, but there haven't been very many exciting visual changes.  The siders put on the finishing touches on Friday.  We're hoping to be done with the electrical and HVAC within the next couple of weeks and then we can dry wall.  That will be a big change!  Jacob's done most of the electrical wiring so he'll be nice and experienced when it is time to finish the basement.  Estimated completion date will probably be March now.  I wish the weather was nicer so we could work on the yard, but it'll just have to wait.  There will be pillars on the front, once we get the front stoop poured.  It is moving along, slowly, but surely.

 Corbels and dentils galore!

Jacob still has a couple more trim pieces to put on the tower.  Tricking it out to the max.

We've been testing some paint colors.  We're mostly happy except the body color needs to be a littler darker.  The color on there right now is the coloring of the siding primer.