Happy Easter

I know it is a few days late, but here is our Easter report. Note: Just click on the pictures to see them bigger. This goes for all the pictures in past blogs as well.

Saturday Benjamin participated in the aquatic center's Easter Egg Dive with 3 of his older cousins.

Afterward, Grandma and Grandpa treated us all to lunch in a pool party room.

Naomee fully enjoying her chips

Sunday we woke to find the Easter Bunny had brought Sunday clothes, toys and treats and hidden all the eggs we colored the night before.

What a great morning face!

Notice my beautiful woman in red

Then the kids got in their new clothes and we headed to church.

After church Mommy and Naomee enjoyed some bubble, both in their new Easter dresses.

Mommy & Daddy took their picture together.

And then Mommy posed for some glamor shots. Daddy couldn't resist.

Hope you all had as good an Easter as we did!

Favorite Recipe Friday

Sorry I missed posting this last Friday. Post your favorites here or send them to me via Facebook or email. Today's family favorite recipe:

Crock-Pot Fajitas

• Strips of lean loin chicken or beef (1 lb) and/or tofu
• 1 large onion
• 1 each - green and red and yellow peppers, seeded
• 1 can kidney or black beans
• 2 TBS lime juice
• Cumin and chili powder to taste
• Fajita mix packet
• Jalapeños if you like it hot
• 6 inch whole wheat flour tortillas
• Toppings:
• Cheese
• Tomatoes
• Lettus
• Reduced fat sour cream

Combine all ingredients into the crock-pot (minus toppings) on low for 5 hours

Use tongs to serve the fajita filling into your tortillas

Serving size: 1/2 cup of fajita filling

Calories - 235

Fat - 4g

Fiber - 4g

CHO - 3 g

PRO - 16g

And now for something completely different...

The pedestrian bridge in the new downtown mall over Main Street half a block from South Temple is pretty much complete and looks very cool.

Spring Yard Cleanup

Spring is a time for change. On Friday we converted Naomee's crib into it's day bed version. It didn't make that transformer sound (and was much slower than on the show), but Ben thought it should have.

Of course, I finished it just before Naomee's nap. Needless to say to most parents, she did not stay it bed to take her nap. After 5 times of putting her back in bed, we just let her stay up and play. It's actually good therapy for her to keep getting in and out of bed as she plays, as it is a good stretch to climb in and helps her develop trust in herself to get back down.

So that night she was very tired. We put her in bed and went down to watch TV. When we came up to go to bed, we always check on the little ones. Here is what we found...

Then Saturday morning we started our sibling spring yard clean up. Our house was the first to host, and man, did everyone work hard. Okay, maybe not the girls so much, but they are too cute to work, right?

Overgrown bushes were trimmed in the back yard. The side strip next to the fence was rototilled and is ready for planting peas and beans.

The three giant evergreen bushes were removed from the front of the house. We are planning on putting a raised strawberry patch in their place.

Then we gathered it all to haul it off. I'm sure the soccer parents across the street and all our neighbors passing by were a little worried as we created a huge mess before cleaning it all up.

Nathan and his cousin were happy to hop on the roof and clean out the gutters after Nate and I removed and cleared the downspouts. Glad we got that all cleaned out. It has been needed for a while, plus it looks like we will have rain every day this week.

Kira had all kinds of fun sucking up leaves. She put on her MP3 player and rocked out. We caught her dancing a few times. It's great to have fun while you're working!

I was supplying the power. There was so much labor available. Besides directing the work I got to rototill,  run the power around, edge the lawn and haul debris.

What a beautiful day too! We all ended up with varied degrees of sun burn. Of course me and my Danish kids got it worst. I am a redneck! At least for a week or two.

One Year Anniversary

Still at the hospital April 2010; Britnee and her former
co-worker friend that also had a stroke a couple years ago 

At Brianne's graduation in May 2010; she got her smile back

Scan of stroke affected area

One year ago today Britnee had a massive stroke that initially paralyzed the entire left side of her body, wouldn't let her speak clearly or coherently and made us wonder if we would have a wife and mother to take care of us.

365 days later, the Lord has blessed us so much. Since getting the new lease on life, Britnee has recovered all but muted sensation in her left hand, gotten in better shape than ever before and is enjoying life more fully than ever.

From now on April 10 will always be a second Thanksgiving day.

Finishing the Mini-Triathlon, the latest of three races including two 5Ks

Shopping for rain coat last week

Favorite Recipe Friday

On Fridays I am going to start sharing favorite family recipes. Please send me your favorites as well and we can do this every Friday!

Kale & Sausage Pasta
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded green bell pepper
3/4 lb Italian style turkey sausage, casings removed
1 bunch kale, cleaned and chopped
1/3 cup water
1 - 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes
1/2 pound of pasta (any shapes)

Spray a non-stick skillet with non-stick spray and set over medium high heat.
Add onion, pepper and sausage.
Saute, breaking apart the sausage with a spoon, until the veggies are tender and the sausage is browned.
Add kale in handfuls, stirring as each batch wilts.
Add water and cook partially covered until the kale is tender; about 5 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and heat the mixture through.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.
Drain pasta and add to sauce.
Toss to combined.
Serves 4 (395 calories per serving - 10 points plus WW).

And now, for something completely different...

Here is a picture of Kira she took on my phone when I sent it with her to a party. I'll teach her to goof on my phone.  ;)

Orange Conference

We just finished a great General Conference weekend. Britnee and I were able to attend the first session Saturday in the Conference Center. Britnee's mother and step dad had two extra balcony tickets. They took us to Cafe Rio in Bountiful for lunch.

My favorite talk from the first session was Elder Quentin L. Cook's about women's greatness (Watch here: http://bit.ly/fOEo25).

Then we listened to the afternoon session Saturday on the radio while prepping and painting the front room.

That's right, we painted two walls orange. It looks really good in person. Not sure the pictures do it justice, especially since not all the furniture was back in place, nor were the pictures replaced on the wall and some of the new green painting tape remains. That is Nathan lounging, waiting to go to Grandma's house for dinner on Sunday.

Nathan and I attended the Priesthood session Saturday night at our stake center. Following that, we had our bi-annual father-son meeting at Dairy Queen.

As has also become a tradition in our family, Britnee made biscuits and gravy for breakfast on the Conference Sabbath. That is such a nice treat - my favorite breakfast. In fact, when I arrived to pick up Nathan and Kira for the weekend on Friday, the first thing Nathan said was, "Conference weekend, right?" I confirmed. Then he said, "Biscuits and gravy Sunday!"

This weekend we are planning an outdoor spring team-up clean-up Britnee's older brother organized with their siblings. We are going to spend a Saturday at each other's houses to help get our yards ready for the spring. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.