For Aunt Missy

I haven't been able to get this to load forever. It is from last month. We miss you Aunt Missy

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Ever have those days that are just .... ugh. or a string of them.

Something feels weird.

Girls Camp

I am still not sure how I ended up agreeing to go to ALL of girls camp this year, but I survived! We only had 6 girls from the Spanish Branch go, and I wanted to make sure I didn't have any of my girls come back and complain that they didn't have any fun, so I went to keep an eye on them. It was actually pretty fun most of the time. There were 135 girls total so they were able to meet some new friends. The picture below is of all the girls on Thursday. We went from Tuesday morning to Friday afternoon. Wednesday night was "skit night" and I got some cute pictures of some of them

It was really hot Wednesday and Thursday and we had a 5 mile hike on Wednesday but overall my girls were troopers!!!

They made some new friends, and I made some new friends. Unfortunately, this is where the leaders hung out most of the week (the kitchen)... this was Friday morning eating the rest of the Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake!!!!!

When I got home Friday I crashed for 2 1/2 hours and then went to a job interview and then to work at Mona Lisa... LONG WEEK!!!

Creepy!!!

I cant get rid of this big space, but I saw this on another blog and had to try it... We used to do this for hours during church! I was shocked when I married Chris, and he was an Epay Pros Millionaire (its the new company he started with) and we drive his favorite car and live in Hawaii, where I would love to have a home! Cross your fingers!

		I will marry Chris Henneman.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Hawaii in our fabulous Shack.
		We will have 5 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a red Porshe 911.
		I will spend my days as a Epay Pros Millionaire, and live happily ever after.

Soccer

Funny Story:

I had to run to Target to pick up a couple things for girls camp this week, and Cody was lucky enough to get to tag along... he doesn't like to sit in the carts anymore so I let him walk along beside me. WELL, as we were walking out, there were cars from every angle stopped to let us cross so I turned around to tell Cody to hurry and he was running towards one of those REALLY BIG balls you see in the picture above... I couldn't stop him in time. He kicked that ball SO HARD!!! The look on his face was absolutely priceless. He had flip flops on and he looked up at me with this bewildered look of... "why didn't it go anywhere and geez that really hurt mom." He didn't cry, he was just upset that the ball didn't go anywhere. When I looked up EVERYONE had seen it and was laughing at him. I have to admit I could hardly breath I was laughing so hard too, but I did kind of feel bad for him.

Update:

So, I feel really silly even posting this...

In all honesty, I expected Potty Training to be one REALLY BIG NIGHTMARE!!! I read a book that I got online called Potty Training Made Easy, Fast and Simple. I got it a while ago but since I wasn't very serious about potty training at that point, I didn't read it. When my friend Nichole blogged about getting an ebook to potty training he daughter, I realized it was probably the same one, so I opened mine and starting reading.

I was pleasantly surprised with what I read... Very useful information. So we plunged head first into the world of potty training!

Day 1:(Wednesday)
I bought some "big boy underwear"
But we didn't use them really that day... we started after his nap taking him to the toilet every 15-20 minutes. The book says 20-25 minutes but he got too excited and that was how the whole "I go poop again" thing got started.

Day 2: (Thursday)
I had a chance to wash the underwear so they stayed on him a little better, so we started the real process that morning. I took him to the toilet every 20 minutes or so... and we didn't have a single accident ALL DAY! well #1 anyway

Day 3: (Friday)
I waited this morning to see if Cody would come tell me that he had to go potty without me saying anything, but he didn't. He wet his pants, but told me about it right after it happened. Then he went #2 in his underwear and sat down in it... Chris was seriously grossed out! I laughed. THE GOOD NEWS! no more accidents the rest of the day. He doesn't even tell me when he has to go potty anymore, he just goes. AND he woke up from his nap with a dry diaper!!!

So, why do I feel silly posting this... because it was WAY TOO EASY! and I wasn't ready for this! It was such a spur of the moment decision that I hadn't prepared myself. I am barely 23 and I have a child that is potty trained! Wearing UNDERWEAR! I realize I should be grateful that I don't have to buy diapers anymore, and it makes me smile everytime I see him run through the house in his underwear but it breaks my heart that he is getting so big. I wish I could freeze him right where he is and have him like this forever, he is always making me laugh, giving me kisses and telling me he loves me.

Anyway probably TMI for some of you, but for anyone who is interested... there you have it. I would say we are about 75% potty trained in 3 days.

I Go Poop Again!!!!

Potty training Cody has definitely been on my mind for the last couple months, but we have been so busy that I never got around to doing anything seriously. I take Cody to the Potty occasionally just so he knows what it is, and he will push out a few drops but never a real "serious" pee... However, over the last 3 weeks everyone I know has Potty Trained their kid, and blogged about it so I decided it is our turn. I bought "BIG BOY" underwear and let him run around the house without a diaper on all day... eeek! He is pretty predictable when it comes to knowing when he has to go because with #1 he stops where he is at and starts concentrating really hard... with #2 he just tells me that he has to "poop again" hence the title of the post. I can't tell you how many times I hear "I poop again mommy" because he has to sit on the toilet even to toot!!!

So... so far today he has 2 big stickers on his "Potty Chart" because he went potty in the toilet, and not just drops, but big boy pee-time! (Side note- I think he just tooted, he told me that "Cody Stinks") I have noticed that if I let him stand up to pee in his little potty that he pees more, I think they can relax more that way.

We will see how this goes, I have girls camp all next week and he will be dividing his time between my mom and my hubby so who knows!!

Wish us luck and if you have any advice for potty training boys... please share!

Daddy's little helper

He refused to help on the corners... (I have no idea why?!)

More Recipes: COOKIES!

Let me preface this by saying... HALLELUJAH!!!

Ok, now for my story... I have never made a batch of chocolate chip cookies that turned out even remotely soft and chewy, which is exactly how I picture chocolate chip cookies in my head... so I had just about given up hope when I found a recipe that had a GREAT picture to go along with it, so I decided that if she had a picture it really might work for me too.... and here was the result!!

Big Fat Copy Cat Cookies

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold – cut into chunks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour (13 ½ oz)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts)

If using dough right away, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars just until creamy. Don’t over beat. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just until incorporated.

Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended. Stir in chips and nuts. Dough should be neither too sticky, nor too dry.
Divide dough into 12 big 4 oz lumps. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time).

Bake times:Put the cookies in a 375 degree oven and set timer for 8 minutes. When timer rings, without opening oven or removing cookies, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until cookies appear set.Otherwise, you can bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until done.

I got this recipe from Jersey Girl Cooks: at http://jerseygirlcooks.blogspot.com/search/label/cookies%2F%20brownies.

I guarantee there are other chocolate chip cookie recipes that produce deliciously plump and chewy cookies, but this has been the only one I could find that worked for me.

Even my hubby liked them... that says A LOT!

AND!!!! I forgot about these delectible little delights!!

I have not had a homeade ginger snap cookie in who knows how long, but they are my absolute FAVORITE cookie! I found a recipe and HAD to try them... my mouth is watering just thinking about these babies!!! Soft and chewy in the middle and a light crunch on the edges!!!

I searched everywhere to find the blog that I originally pulled this recipe from with no success, so I apologize to whomever I stole this from

Heavenly Gingersnap Cookies

1 cup butter softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tbs ginger

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp salt

sugar for rolling cookie dough in

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Stir in the molasses.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Slowly add the flour to the creamed mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the cookie dough into 1 in. balls and than lightly roll inthe sugar. Place on a cookies sheet lined with parchment paper.

4. Bake cookies for 12 min or until golden. Cool slightly and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

SERIOUSLY, I ATE 3 DOZEN OF THESE BY MYSELF!!! (I am still trying to work those calories off.) I dont have any pictures, because I ate them faster than I could bake them! (serious!)

The Next Generation

This is really late but last week a bunch of friends from high school came over for dinner and girl talk... It was crazy to think that so many of us were married with kids!!!! It was so good to see all of them though... too many memories!!!

I didn't get a picture of any of the "big kids" but I sort of got a picture of all the "big kids" little kids. As you can see by the picture... they were all in motion, but its still a picture.

Downtown Craziness

Chris left us for the weekend to go to Utah for business stuff, so Cody and I had to find other ways to entertain ourselves. We went downtown to a "rodeo kick-off" or something like that... more than anything it made for great people watching...

Cody is the little blue and white BLOB under the stop sign... he is fearless.

We missed our Daddy and are so glad he is back!

Go Diego Go!

I may have mentioned that Cody has a slight obsession with Diego. He has started talking about Diego in his sleep...
Anyway, I was starting to get concerned that he watches TOO MUCH Diego until I was watching one this morning with him before church... it was one that he has seen probably ten times now because we just record them and watch them over and over.

Well, this morning the episode was about a Giant Octopus... and they were trying to find the Giant Octopus in the big ocean. First they came to a whale and it asked if it was a Giant Octopus and I asked Cody what it was and he said "humpback whale" WHAT!!!???? I was laughing so hard, he knew if was a "Humpback whale" not just a regular whale!!! I was shocked!! and then when it got the the actual Giant Octopus, that is exactly what he called it... a GIANT Octopus. So maybe he really is learning stuff from this CARTOON! Oh and his favorite animal on the show is a Puma... go figure!

My little boy is growing up...

I had the worst nights sleep last night!!

Chris left town for business yesterday and wont be back until Saturday night. My parents have been begging us to let Cody spend the night, but my husband, as much as I love him, keeps refusing because he gets too stressed out about it.


So I decided that this was the perfect opportunity while Chris was gone to let Cody sleep over. The only other time he has slept at either grandparents house was when we went to Mexico last year. He had no idea that he wasn't at home.

This time was different. I dropped him off at 6 and went to the store to get a wedding gift... when I came back my dad had his big tent set up outside, sleeping bags layed out and they were jumping on the trampoline... it was a full blown camp out. When it was time to go to bed, Cody was not happy. I layed down with him in the tent to try to help but he kept saying, "mommy's car, lets go." "mom's house." I couldn't believe he was asking to go home. (just between us, it made my day) We went outside when he started crying and I put him to bed in a regular bed and then took him back to the tent.

My dad said he woke up at 4:15 and they went inside cause the wind was blowing too hard.

I woke up every hour wondering if he was ok... :)

He had a blast though. I love that we have both sets of grandparents so close.

Absolutely must try these!!!

I have accepted the fact that I will never be the kind of person that makes up recipes, so in the mean time I have NO problem making recipes that other people come up with off the top of their heads. I found this on http://good-eats-n-sweet-treats.blogspot.com/search/label/mexican. I made it twice this week. (Enchiladas are good when you are feeding a lot of people. ) And both times it was a HUGE hit. but you have to use the real skinny tortillas and the green enchilada sauce. (I actually mixed a can of green enchilada sauce with some tomatillo salsa.) OH!! and I added chicken, I just boiled it in a tomato broth and then shredded it and added it to the mixture before it was put in the tortillas!

Pineapple Black Bean Enchiladas

from Pillsbury.com

Photo from http://good-eats-n-sweet-treats.blogspot.com/

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits in juice, drained, 1/3 cup juice reserved
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (12 oz)
1 can (10 oz) mild enchilada sauce ( I used the green sauce.
8 whole wheat flour tortillas (8 or 9 inch) ( didn't use whole wheat but I got really thin ones.)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
8 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in pineapple, beans, green chiles and salt. Cook and stir until thoroughly heated. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cilantro and 2 cups of the cheese.Spoon and spread 1 tablespoon enchilada sauce onto each tortilla. Spoon about 3/4 cup vegetable mixture over sauce on each. Roll up tortillas; place seam side down in baking dish.

In small bowl, mix reserved 1/3 cup pineapple juice and remaining enchilada sauce; pour over entire surface of enchiladas in dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Spray sheet of foil large enough to cover baking dish with cooking spray; place sprayed side down over baking dish and seal tightly.Bake 35 to 40 minutes, removing foil during last 5 to 10 minutes of baking, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Top each baked enchilada with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1 teaspoon cilantro.

This was how Cody woke up this morning....

The culprit.....

That is right... we have a slight nose picking problem on our hands!

My Cuddle Bug

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July! I love this holiday because everyone is in a good mood! No work, great weather, lots of food and family!


We bought Cody a swimming pool yesterday, finally. He loves swimming so we finally broke down and bought one. The best part was... it was $20! I thought it was going to be $40 but when I paid for it, it was only $20. I love that!



For the last two years we didn't do much because Cody was not fond of the fireworks... this year we assumed it would be the same so we didn't buy ANY fireworks.



We did however go to the Horse Races!! None of us had ever been to a horse race, the closest I have been is watching the movie Seabiscuit and I fell asleep. We had some friends that train race horses and they mentioned to us that they were racing on the 4th and we should go. I thought it would be a great idea since Cody has taken to animals really well.



It turned out to be "Family Fun Days" at the races.

We got there at about 2:15 just in time for the 3rd of 8 races to take place that day. Rod (the guy we know) had a horse racing in that race and it didn't do very well, but we had read about one of his horses that was undefeated at this particular park name Trackfotogapher. Race 5 had another of his horses that, when we looked at the betting board had odds of like 41:1... meaning not very many people bet on it to win. So Chris told me to run down and bet $2 on Rod's horse... Say what you will about gambling, but we had a blast with $2!!! It made it more exciting to watch the race, long story short... two horses bumped eachother, one jockey hit the dirt and Rod's horse took 3rd!! I got $4.80! even if it was beginners luck, I WON something!!!! Right after that race we found Rod's wife and family and went to sit by them, she told us a lot about the races that we had no clue about. They had a big investor that chartered a plane and brought his whole family to watch trackfotographer race today so they were really nervous for the 7th race. We took our $4 and bet on "track" to win. It was so inte nse, I am a total adrenaline junky! He won by less than a head! and I got $10!!! wooohooo!
















All in all, we walked in with $25 in my pocket, after $4 for admission, $2 soda, $2 ice cream and $2 cotton candy, (SO STICKY!) we left with $24! Not a bad day at the races if you ask me.

Cody even got to go back to the barn to pet some of the horses.

We had dinner with Chris's family and then more swimming in their subdivision swimming pool.
Cody was exhausted! He fell asleep on the way home, but when we got home our neighbors were lighting off their fireworks, so we woke him up to see them. Much to our surprise, and delight he really enjoyed them! From the neighbors drive way we could see literally every firework show in the valley! It was incredible.

inspirational story

Tonight for Young Mens and Young Womens activity, Chris had planned to play "tennis ball baseball" with his young men... so the young women joined them. I had never played this before, you use a tennis ball instead of a baseball so you don't have to use baseball gloves.

We have some pretty spectacular kids in our branch, but one in particular that I want to share with anyone who reads my blog.

His name is Ceasar, he is 12 years old and he was born with 1 arm and no legs. Chris has told me what a trooper he is when they plan different activities that Chris thought Ceasar might not be able to participate in. Like football, he throws his body around and plays just as hard as the other boys. He wheels himself around with his one arm and his opposite "leg". It really is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

So tonight when they were playing baseball he was right out there with the rest of the kids! He played pitcher and first base, and couldn't wait to be the first batter every time!

Makes me grateful for my body and makes me think what a strong person he must be if Heavenly Father felt he could handle being in his body.

Opinions Needed

Chris found this on overstock.com and we are thinking about getting it to put in our dining room. It is 36in x 48in.

Yes? No?