Noelle's Landing

Here is the video I promised...

Colorado River

We had our first river trip of the summer and it was a lot of fun.

Kate skiied on the boom with the rope for the first time.

Noelle the skiier.

Who got a little to close to shore when she let go and went flying face first in the mud. Video to be posted at a later date.

Matt dropping his ski and barefooting.

Successful ski drop.

And he's done.

The pied piper with the baby's.

Parker decided to finger paint with oil based paint. He wasn't happy about the removal.

Isn't he skilled?

Andrew, Anna and Maggie were so cute all weekend.

Pictures

My cute friend Brittney took pictures of the kids for me a couple of weeks ago. She did and great job. Just a sample of my favorites.

10

Kate turned 10 yesterday.

She started the day with her birthday breakfast:

Crepes made by Dad with fresh strawberries and chocolate syrup, on our Happy Birthday plate.

She took 3 dozen cookies to school. She requested sugar cookies with icing. Last month I tried four sugar cookie recipes to see if I could get one that was soft and chewy, with no crusty bits to it. Below is the winner.

Grandma and Grandpa Teeples and the Andersen's came for her birthday dinner and ice cream cake, presents and birthday fun.

It is hard to believe that she is 10. It seems like just the other day we were living in Springville and planning for her arrival. She is such a great kid and a huge blessing in my life.

Big Soft Sugar Cookies

cream:

1 c. butter


2 c. sugar



beat in:


4 eggs


2 T. milk


4 t. vanilla


2 tsp. lemon extract (this slight lemon flavor really sets these cookies apart.)



add:


4 t. baking powder


1/2 t. salt


5 cups flour



chill 30 minutes to an hour. form into balls then smash down with bottom of floured glass (about 1/4 inch thick, these cookies should be about the same thickness as those pink grandma sycamore's cookies and a little smaller in circumference.) bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes.



frosting:

1 stick butter

1 8 oz cream cheese

2 tsp vanilla

4 1/2 c powdered sugar

Anniversary Adventures

The show this weekend was good. In general I really like early Beatles music. I'm not a huge fan of the music they wrote/sang while drugged up. So, there was a little bit too much of that in it for me. But overall the show was good and entertaining. The acrobatics were amazing and in true Cirque fashion there were a few parts of the show that I just didn't get. Maybe I am not artsy enough.

A few things I learned this weekend on the Las Vegas strip (we don't go down there much, so it is always an eye opener):

1. VERY, VERY, VERY short skirts are in style. No matter the size of the girl, she was wearing a short skirt. I would say 1 in 10 girls looked decent in them. One girl's skirt was so short she had to hold it down while walking, so she didn't show her down there parts. (I have to wonder how sanitary it is to sit down while wearing one of these skirts)

2. Short bubble skirts are also popular. I remember these from when my oldest sister was in high school. I think she wore one to one of her formals. I don't think I will be purchasing one.

3. You don't have to be attractive to get into a night club. When were were walking back to our room after the show, we passed by lines of people waiting to get into a club at the Wynn. Most were not what I would consider cute.

4. I have a sign on the back of my head that says, "Please kick my seat during the entire performance, I love it." What is it with people? Do they not realize someone is sitting in front of them? At one point in the show the girl behind me had her feet up on my seat with her toes touching my head. GROSS!! Matt got up and asked her to put her feet down. She did.

Our room at the Encore was very nice. And I really liked how they decorated the hotel/casino. Not Vegas style at all. Kind of art deco. We had a great anniversary. And even slept in a bit on Saturday. That was a treat.

11 Years

Today is our 11th wedding anniversary...

How could it have gone this fast.

We are off to the Beatles LOVE tonight and staying at the Encore. I may not love living in Vegas, but there are great places/shows to go to for special occasions.