Happy Birthday, Brian!

Today is Michelle's husband, Brian's birthday. An all- inclusive list of his best attributes is just too overwhelming to me . . .that's too overwhelming on anybody's birthday. So, let me just tell you one favorite story about Brian: I had the privilege of helping Michelle and Gabriella fly to their new home in DC. Brian and his dad drove the truck with their belongings. They arrived on Tuesday afternoon, unloaded the truck and carried everything up two flights of stairs, set up the essentials like the beds, found there were no overhead lights, so had to make a trip to IKEA for lamps and other furniture, unloaded and assembled that and finally fell into bed around 1:30 am. Brian had to pick us up at 7am on Wednesday at the airport, so you see he had very little sleep. When we all arrived at the apartment, it was a sea of boxes and belongings. We were exhausted, having slept very little on the plane. Michelle put Gabbi to bed and told me to get in their bed as she wanted to work for awhile before sleeping. So I lay down where Brian had slept. I was so touched to see, there on the bookstand, his open scriptures- evidence (circumstantial, though it may be, Mr. Law Student) that sometime in the midst of all that craziness, he had found time to read his scriptures. He doesn't even know I noticed that, so I hope I'm not embarrassing him (or that he'll get over it if I am) but it just gave me such a peaceful feeling to know that that little family is going to be okay because they put the Lord first. Happy birthday, Brian!!!

Mom's Tamales

Mom and Dad made up this recipe. Proof: I just spent a long time looking through google images trying to find something that looks like it. This is the closest I could find. My girls remember going on Saturday mornings to clean their condo for them and then they'd often feed them these for lunch. They are really good and really easy. 1 tamale per person, (they used to buy canned tamales, but they no longer exist. Sometimes they would buy tamales from a Mexican restaurant. I buy the fresh tamales from Costco. They come in bags of twelve- you can freeze them. We've tried both the pork and chicken and both are good) heated in the microwave still in the leaf. 1 egg per person 1 can tomato sauce per 2 people onion, diced Tabasco Sauce grated cheese Remove the tamale from the leaf and put it on the plate, then a fried egg, then onion, then 1/2 cup tomato sauce, Tabasco sauce, then grated cheese. Yummy!

Christmas Carols/Songs

I'm immersed in Christmas music right now. I know, it's four months away, but I have to have Christmas music chosen and ordered to start Keynotes in a couple of weeks. I decided to do the program with the most popular Christmas songs/carols. I've hunted through many lists and blogs online, but found they don't include many sacred ones. So, I decided I need to make my own list. Would you please tell me your five most favorite Christmas songs/carols? Thank you!!!

Fresh Peach Pie

'Tis the season for peaches, and this is a great way to use them. We have two peach trees, so this has become a yearly tradition. Slice 3 or 4 peaches into a bowl. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and stir gently. Put into a baked pie shell. Mash 2 large or 3 med. peaches and put in a saucepan. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar, 5 or 6 T. cornstarch, and 1/2 cup water. Cook on med. high heat about 5 minutes. It should be at a full boil. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. almond extract and about 2 T. butter. Stir well and pour over peaches. Chill for several hours. Serve with whipped or ice cream. You can add more peaches, but be sure to add more cornstarch, too.

I Love To See the Temple

Today we had the privilege of attending the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication via satelite. It was wonderful. In honor of that, I'm posting the opening song of our FHE when the kids were here. Brielle was in charge of song and chose her favorite. Don't you wish your sacrament meeting music leader used this "dance" style of leading? It's Nathan's favorite song, too. Notice how he joins in. I love how at the end, Brielle sings, "This is my secret beauty." When you think about it, she's right. People who are preparing for the temple are beautiful. I like her version!

Sara's Mexican Rice

MEXICAN WHITE RICE 2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed and drained 2 small garlic cloves 4 T. canola oil 1/2 small onion chopped 4 c. canned chicken broth 3/4 cup frozen peas 1 tsp. salt Heat oil in large pot and add rice, garlic cloves and onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until rice is lightly browned. Add chicken broth and salt-- stir. Bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, cover and reduce heat to very "low" setting and start timing for 30 to 45 minutes. Ten minutes before rice is done, add frozen peas, cover and finish cooking until rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is tender. If rice has absorbed all liquid and it's not tender, add 1/8 cup water to it. Makes 8servings.

Crockpot Chicken Salsa Tacos

In a Crock-pot, put 4 frozen chicken breasts. Top with 1 cup of salsa. Cook all day. Shred with fork. On soft flour tortillas put: Some of the chicken mix, cheese, avocado (opt.), lettuce, green onions, olives, tomatoes, raspberry-chipolte sauce (this is what makes it. You can get it at Costco) and sour cream. Fold up taco style and serve with black (or refried) beans and Mexican Rice (Sara's recipe- I'll put it on here if you want it)

Happy News!

Most of you that come to my blog, also go to Shonna's, so this isn't news to you, but for those few who don't- this is our happy news!!! Shonna and Blake are expecting a baby in March- the due date is Ken's birthday, March 16th! We're so happy for them. I thought this was such a cute way to announce it. We're ready for you, Rupy!

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 32nd Anniversary. We're thinking of celebrating at InstaCare since we're both still coughing and Ken's developed a bad sore throat to boot. "In sickness or in health . . . " Oh wait, we didn't take THOSE vows. I totally lucked out 32 years ago. Home is where Ken is.

Whirlwind Week

On Friday, after the wedding dinner, Ken and I headed north. We stayed in Kristen and Jared's apartment, then drove up to SL to pick up Michelle on Saturday morning. We said goodbye to Brian and his dad who drove the truck to DC. We brought Michelle and Gabbi home with us for the weekend, arriving in time for Tiffani and Rick's reception on Saturday night. Kristen and Jared joined us on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday, we celebrated Nathan's 2nd birthday. Kristen and Jared are cake designers extroidinair. They need to get on Ace of Cakes or something. They planned and drew and designed and made the cutest tractor "cake" in the world. They actually made it from rice krispie treats, so it even tasted good, too. It was fun to celebrate little Nathan's two years of life. Tuesday evening, Michelle, Gabriella, and I took the red-eye flight to DC. Gabbi did great. It was fun to cuddle her on our chests all night long. Brian picked us up the next morning and then the fun began. When we walked in their new apt, you could hardly make your way around for the boxes. To see the transformation, see their blog. We unpacked boxes and sorted and cleaned and made a million decisions. We did laundry, cooked, ate and enjoyed little Gabbi. It was a fun few days. I flew home on Saturday, arriving early Sunday morning. Saying Goodbye My Grandchildren Aunt Kristen and Gabriella Meet The Party!

Kristen's Caramel Marshmallow Popcorn

2 bags microwave popcorn, popped with unpopped kernels removed 2 cubes real butter 1 cup brown sugar 30 large marshmallows Place popcorn in a large bowl. Melt butter and brown sugar and stir constantly. Let boil 1 minute (not longer). Remove from heat and add marshmallows and stir until marshmallows are melted and all is well blended. Pour over popcorn and stir. Great movie night treat~Anyone have an idea for an easy way to remove unpopped kernals from popcorn?????

Favorite Brielle Quote

The Mackrorys spent the summer in Wisconsin. Since it is the Dairy State, and famous for cheese, they decided to try and evaluate a different cheese each week and write a review. The other night at dinner, Ken asked Brielle what was the favorite kind of cheese she tasted. Her answer, "Sprinkle Cheese!!" (Translation: grated) Good try, Lu and Jar!

Tiffani weds Rick Smith

Our neice, Tiffani was married on August 7th. They are such a cute couple, and it was fun to see all of the family. All of Ken's siblings were there, and most of the spouses. The reception was the next evening. Ken's brother, Rick and his granddaughter, Emily (Stacy's) Sister Shot Wedding Dinner Brothers visiting at the reception These two six-week-old cousins once removed were born on the same day; same weight and same height. Have a wonderful marriage, Tiffani and Rick!!

How to Eat an Elephant

One bite at a time! I have so much blogging to do. I've been so busy living life, that I haven't had time to blog about it. We've had so many fun events and happinesses in the last ten days, so I'll just do it little by little . . . one bite at a time. So here goes . . . . . . Photography by Jared

Rough Couple of Weeks

We have paid the price for our galavanting. We both came home sick from Alaska and are having a hard time recovering. We cough and cough. Nighttime is interesting at our house. I can easily count on one hand the hours of sleep I get each night. Either Ken or I or both wake up hacking and sputtering and coughing. It's a mess. Several nights these last couple of weeks, I haven't even slept until 4 or 5 in the morning. Though I always have insomnia problems, this is a whole new dimension. I know, complain, complain. Then I look at the pictures of the cruise and ask, "Was it worth it?" Oh yeah!!!! Anybody have any great home remedies that will solve all of our problems?

Some Good News . . . and Some Bad News!

We recently went to IHOP. As Ken paid the bill, he was presented with a Golden Age Card- a nice way of saying Senior Citizen Discount Card. It's our first such experience and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I guess it's good and bad. Good: We get a discount. Bad: We're old! A couple of weeks later we went to IHOP again. We forgot to use the card. So, here's my question: Is that because we're just not used to it yet . .. OR, are we so old that we can't remember, so the card and the humiliation are of nought? I guess it's best to look at it as my dad did: "Old age is better than the alternative."