Now This is a Must!

Forget the pool that I want so badly in my backyard,

this is what I want now. . .

SPLASH PADS!

Di and myself had a wonderful day with the kids yesterday.

We ventured to M&M World and splash pads at Town Center.

Of course mixed in with shopping at Gap and H&M.

Topped off with pizza and a crepe.

What a perfect day!

{except when my phone fell in la toilette}

Totally Redeemed Ourselves

So I have this problem. I always want to try new recipes {doesn't sound like a problem I know}, but I always want to try new recipes when I am asked to bring something for a party, a potluck, or some other gathering that involves hungry people counting on me. I figure if I have eaten it or been in the same room as someone making it, I should be able to make it. Wrong!

Quincy and I were asked to bring dessert to Fish Lake for the family reunion and I thought we should make ice cream. We have an ice cream maker that we got from our wedding. It has been sitting in its original box in our garage ever since we said "I Do". Quincy's mom just made it the week before for the Fourth of July and it was delicious. I tasted it and was in the room when she made it. There shouldn't be a problem. Right? Wrong!

We were set. We packed all the ingredients in our cooler, packed the ice cream maker in the car and I made sure to write down the recipe to have at Fish Lake since there isn't any phone service there to call my mother-in-law. Nothing could go wrong. Wrong!

At Fish Lake, Quincy and I mixed up the ingredients. Quincy spent an hour feeding the machine ice and salt. Finally after wasting lots of gas in the generator, it was done. We opened it up. Hmm, not the same texture as my mother-in-laws. Oh well, it probably tastes alright. Wrong!

It tasted like cold milk. Not the luscious vanilla that it was supposed to be. My family, my sweet family, ate it anyway. Well they took it, not sure if they really did eat it. Maybe there were little piles of white stuff in the bushes that melted before I saw it. To make things worse it was cold that night. So it wasn't even refreshing cold milk. My family was huddled around the camp fire eating cold milk. Very wrong!

When Quincy and I got home we made sure we asked his mother what we did wrong. Well the family recipe was for a 4 qt. ice cream maker. We have a 6 qt. one. She kindly gave Quincy the recipe for the bigger machine. This gave Quincy motivation to try it out again last weekend. We got all the ingredients and made it Friday night instead of our normal run to McDonald's or Sonic for a treat.

It turned out so good! We totally redeemed ourselves. We probably ate 2 quarts by ourselves that night. Now the problem is we have about 4 quarts of ice cream in our freezer and I know I will be the one eating it all. Quincy will forget about it and since I am home all day in this Las Vegas heat I will eat it till it's all gone. This goes back to why I don't try new recipes just for Quincy and me. He eats a little bit of it at first and then forgets about it. leaving me to eat the rest before it goes to waste. And now you know why I am as big as I am. The pregnancy is just a cover!

Storytime at the Library

So I feel like a real bad Mama. We took Jensen to the library for the first time last night. Quincy and I had a little cabin fever so we headed out to get dinner. On our way I had a brilliant idea, let's go to the library! I reminded him that it's free. Quincy stopped.

While we were checking out some board books and Baby Einstein DVD's {of course I ignored the sign that says. . . it is not recommended for children under two to watch TV. . .whoever said this must of never had children} I asked for a calendar of storytimes and they were on Tuesdays at 10:00.

So trying to repent of my bad ways, Jensen and I got ourselves ready for the library this morning. We were even on time {if only that could happen on Sundays}. The librarian read the kids some stories and did some songs with actions. Jensen is still a little too young for it, but are you ever too young to hear stories? We both enjoyed getting out of the house and interacting with others, not just Einstein characters, but to be honest I was a little let down. Now I will admit I am kind of a library brat. I worked at one all through college and am spoiled by the Provo City Library. They would hire real storytellers for storytime, not just the reference librarian to read to the children. I remember putting away books and stopping to hear the storytellers tell stories that would even capture my attention. They would dress up in fun costumes, have puppet shows, and real musicians. I knew that when I was a Mom I was definitely taking my children to storytime. I guess that will have to be on our list of fun things to do next time we spend a week in Provo but for now we will be happy with a story and song in Las Vegas.

Jensen did find a new Maisy book to check out. He loves these books because they have flaps that he can lift up. So we had a pretty successful day without spending any money {besides gas to get us there}!

Reunion Part Deux

For this reunion we headed up to Fish Lake for our annual camping trip with the Knudsen Family. We have been having our reunions up there for seven years now. Last year we didn't make it because Jensen was only a couple of months old and I had to finish the last couple of weeks before school got out. So I wasn't going to be a party-pooper this year.


It was great to be with my family in the mountains even if it means camping. Luckily my brother Matt and his wife Missy let us sleep with them in their trailer so we didn't have to tent it out. Too nice of them. They probably regreted it after we nicknamed ourselves "The Duprees" because we were the bad roommates with a whiny child.


Jensen got a new nickname this trip too, "Piss Pot Pete"! He wouldn't go to anyone except his parents. Not even his Grandma Cindy. Which made it hard since he still isn't walking and if we did put him down he got all sorts of dirty. He did love playing with the rocks and dirt (and by playing I mean tasting).

It wouldn't be Fish Lake without rain of course. Jensen was taking a nap in his playpen and it started to rain so we just put this water resistant tablecloth over him and it worked. He didn't even wake up till the sun was shining again.

Later that day Jensen did some fishing. Well the fish pond kind. We have found that there are no big fish at Fish Lake so this is the kind of fishing we do. Fine by me!

Also it also wouldn't be Fish Lake also without some crafts. The kids creatively decorated Fish Lake T-shirts. We all made lip balm for our dry lips up there. The girls made scrabble tile necklaces that turned out pretty cute.

Matt was nice and rented the family a pontoon boat for half a day. He took the kids out on the first ride. When we got there, of course it was overcasted. We pretty much got our pictures and then headed back to the marina. Jensen loved the boat ride and even let Grandma Cindy hold him until the rains came, then he was ready for the ride to be over. He is not use to the foreign substance that comes from the sky and gets you all wet.

Our Skipper Grandpa Ivie

We have to get the annual picture after church. Let's just say this will not be my Christmas card this year.

The three pregnant mamas again. I might get in trouble for posting this but this might be the last time that we get a picture of us with our bumps. I think we are all feeling that it is getting to that time.

After church we were enjoying a nice dinner when the rains came again. This is us with the same tablecloth over our heads trying to stay dry. One thing we have learned is that it never last long. You just have to wait it out and then the sun comes back.

All the cousins posing for our final picture of the reunion. We had a blast even though it went way too fast.

It's That Time of the Year . . . Reunions

Last weekend we headed up to St. George for Quincy's extended Jensen Family Reunion. We spent most of the reunion in Pine Valley where Quincy's Great, Great, Great Grandfather was the first bishop there. The LDS church is really unique with its three levels, shiplike ceilings and religious pictures in the chapel. It was built in 1868. It even has a bell for town emergencies. You can see the rope next to me in the picture below. I asked if I could ring it and I think I sent the elderly missionary into a breathing fit. That was a no.

It wouldn't be a reunion without fun and games. Quincy did the participating from our family since little Jensen was having a hard day. Quincy had fun winning the potato sack race, dressing up girly in the relay race, participating in a pie eating contest, and seeing how many marshmallows he could stick in his mouth. His limit was 10. His Brother Kevin made everyone gag with 21.

We even had a history lesson from Humpy Henderson at Mountain Meadows.

Saturday morning was spent at the Rec Center in Washington. Jensen waded in the swimming pool for three hours while his mother went to Tai Pan. That is why there is no pictures of the pool. After swimming we had a picnic in the park. Below is Jensen's Idaho cousin Kyler that is a month older than him. We don't get to see him too often but they are going to be best buddies.