Bang Bang

Watch out!

On Thursday morning, Jakob took the Chris (below) & Jared (above) out shooting with Chuck. They shot a good range of guns including and AR15 with FMJ bullets (or so they tell me.. those are just some numbers and letters to me) which just so happens to be illegal in Canada.

The first time Jakob took them shooting last summer they were simply amazed that he could purchase bullets out in the open on Wal-Mart shelves. That is unheard of back home. Needless to say they had a wonderful time shooting at clay pigeons, frying pans and an arrangement of other things out in the desert.

Jakob is using a scope & spotting for Chuck who is on the ground. These look a little to high tech for my taste. Having never shot a gun I think I would want to start off with something as small as possible. I'm horrified of loud noises. Yes, fireworks do scare me so I think baby steps are best!

For my guy however I think big guns suit him well.

Easter Weekend

Happy Easter Everyone!

Can you guess where we're spending our Easter weekend?

What a Sight

For the past few days Jakob and I have been enjoying my family's company. Even though it is spring break there is never any rest for the weary. Poor Jakob had a TON of homework assigned to him over the holidays. Trying to give him some peace and quiet I took the family to sight see.

Oh look where we landed : Las Vegas Blvd.

I love the Belagio! I think it is my favorite hotel on the strip. If you come to visit be sure to stop by their botanical garden. This snail was made out of roses. Stunning!

Mom finally got to see her chocolate fountain. Pretty cool eh?

Isn't Jared a stud? And he's only 16! (17 in June) Watch out ladies!

I love pictures and I love goofing around. Thankfully my brothers are cool enough to join me in my escapades of immaturity. I love being able to tease, joke and laugh with the family. I've thoroughly enjoyed having my family visit! The boys got to go shooting today pictures shall be revealed once Jakob fixes my camera. (He dropped it in the sand! Oops.)

SURPRISE!

Last night I got a phone call at 8:30 that went something like this:

Momma v: So what are you doing next week?
Myself: Not much, church & leaving for Salt Lake on Friday
Momma v: Would you like some company?
Myself: Sure??
Momma v: I was thinking that the boys and I could drive down tomorrow morning. We'll be there in two days.

My mother is anything but a spur of the moment kind of gal. Yes she thinks up crazy things but normally changes her mind at least 4 times. This was something else. They are on route to our place as I type. I'm quite exited & a little shocked. This Spring Break should be a blast!

Buttermilk Cranberry Muffins

Exhibit A: Cranberry Muffin

Last night after taking my 3 hour nap, I had a mad craving for a cranberry muffin as shown above. Jakob looked at me and cocked his head to the side and said "A cranberry huh?" and then made me Google it to prove the existence of such a thing. One of the things I dearly miss from Canada would have to be the food such as Tim Horton's (where we find said cranberry muffin) and a fair few junk food items like chips and chocolate. After some research we found we can purchase said muffins at Starbucks, but I thought baking my own would be a much better plan.

The Recipe:

Buttermilk Cranberry Muffins
Ready in: 30-60 minutes
Difficulty:3
Serves/ Makes: 12
Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
1 1/2 tea spoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1.2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup dried sweeten cranberries (I used WAY more!)
Directions:

Beat egg, buttermilk, and oil with a whisk. Add remaining ingredients and stir just until blended. Spoon 3/4 full into muffin cup prepared with non-stick spray. (I used paper cups for quick clean up but edges weren't crispy) Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Mini ones I did for 15.

When we went to our neighborhood Food For Less I asked him for fresh cranberries he about laughed in my face, little did I know they are a Christmas delicacy. Note to self, research when cranberries are in season before going to the store. We made due with dried ones which obviously do not have the juices but came out wonderfully anyways. I had to make some bite sized ones for Jakob's lunch & I added some blueberries to half of the batter because blueberries are my favorite! So delicious!

Stu's Toys

What was Stu (Courtney's Hubby) doing while we made eggs? Playing with Jakob's figurines. Just goes to show you are never to old to play with toys.

"Tie" Dye

No Joke! I found this marvelous idea on uCreate. It originally came from a little old lady featured on Martha Stewart. How do people come up with these sorts of things?

Supplies: SILK ties (We tried to bend the rules and it didn't work... go with silk)
An Old Pillow Case
1/4 c. Vinegar
Eggs (Raw)
Some Fabulous Friends!

Step 1: Purchase some "egg" looking ties. We got ours at Good Will and D.I for 2.00 each. For next year I'll simply scout out yard sales.

Step 2: Destroy the ties. Cut it along the seams and remove the padding & lining.

Side Note: Meet Jenna and Courtney. They are the fabulous friends I listed as supplies. Love them!

Step 3: With silky side IN wrap egg as tight as you can without breaking it. Secure with string. twist tie, or rubber band. Do yourself a favor and go with the rubber band :). Eventually your pieces will get too small to wrap around, in that case whip out your sweing machine and stitch some multicolored ones.

Oh these babies make my heart sing.

Step 4: To avoid running to your husbands favorite pillow and cutting up the pillow case, I would suggest buying one at D.I or Good Will. For us girls however, Jakob's pillowcase was simply more efficient. Wrap up those little eggs a second time tight, tight, tight.

Step 5: Bring 1/4 cup vinegar and some water to a boil and place eggs in. Fill enough to cover eggs. Boil for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Remove from boiling water and let sit until cool enough to handle. We stuck ours outside on the porch to speed up the process.

Step 7: Reveal... Oh we were SO exited!

Presto!

What we would have done differently:

-I think next time I'll add more vinegar for a better vinegar to egg ratio.
-I would also use 100% silk ties. Those colors transferred better.
-I'd wrap them much tighter

Some eggs didn't turn out so we had no choice but to eat them!

Hope yours turn out great. Let me know how it went for you. I'd love to see some pictures! Happy Crafting!

Spring Has Sprung

For Christmas this past year I made some blocks for a mantle piece & I fell in love with the idea. Somehow I forgot to blog about it so those pictures will go up this Christmas instead. For a whopping $4.00 at Lowes (2 2x4's) my fabulous husband was able to cut me enough blocks for Easter, Halloween & Christmas.


I am far to cheap to purchase actual stencils so I printed off some funky letters off of my computer and cut them out with an exacto knife. From this past Christmas experience I glued the paper to the block with a glue stick this time. The letters came out much crisper and left no residue on the block.

I am quite pleased with the result and even more impressed with the price. With our house colors being black and red, my little blocks look a little out of place. I think I need to make a wreath or something funky to add to the Easter feel. Any ideas?