Dinner Fiasco!

So a friend and I decided to do a dinner exchange one night a week. Sweet! And I thought I would start off the fun. So yesterday, I decided to make this:

And this:

And some of these. . . yummy!

Delicious! However. . . things did not go as planned. First, I made the base of the brownies earlier in the day. I baked them in your typical glass Pyrex plan. Well, when I took them out I set them on the countertop. It had probably been sitting there for a full minute or two and I wasn't even touching the pan, when it shattered into pieces. And not just a couple of pieces, it broke into tons of tiny pieces on the counter and floor! Ugh! So I had to sweep and mop while keeping a 15 month old out of the kitchen.

Ok, I could have dealt with just that. But as I was cooking everything, our power went out! And didn't come on for about 5 hours, by the way. So, the sandwiches I just had to assemble as I thought she might want to cook them in her George Forman at home (aka panini grill) so they were fresh. But the soup!- it was cooked, but you are supposed to blend half of it to make it good before you eat it. Well, no power, no blender. And at this point I am doing everything in dim lighting as it's getting darker.

So, OK- I have half finished soup and half finished sandwiches, but the brownies are complete. I pack it all up and head over to her house. But I'm in a hurry and do I remember that I have a bowl of soup on the floor-no! Soup-everywhere on the floor of the car! Ugh!

I figure it can't go any worse next time. It can only get better!

Hawaii, Encore!

So. . .Danny had to go to Hawaii for work. I know--HAWAII! They were completing a job on the Hawaii temple. He asked me if I wanted to go, and at first I said "No way!" Taking a 15 month old on a 6 hour flight there and back after I swore I would never do it again was just not appealing to me. But then the thought of Danny calling me from the beach while sipping some POG (papaya, orange, guava juice- so delicious) while I was stuck here in the snow was too much to handle. So I decided to go.

However, two days before going, I got strep throat of all things. My mom was still here from her Easter weekend trip so she took care of Shayne for me while I laid on the couch both of those days. You are a lifesaver mom! Then, a few hours before my mom was supposed to fly home, she suggested that she could take Shayne home with her while we went to Hawaii (we were leaving the next day). Perfect right! You would think with all my doubts about taking Shayne with us, my illness, and the fact that we don't get offers like this often that I would have jumped at the chance, right???? I COULDN'T DO IT! Everytime I looked at Shayne and thought about it, I started crying thinking how much I would miss her. Danny told me after my mom left that I made a "big mistake!" I know! I blame it on being sick.

Not sure why I can't get these pics in order, but this was the after effect of a red-eye flight and a 4 hour time change. We are still adjusting.

But once we got there and adjusted to the time change, we had a great time. We stayed on the north shore of Oahu at Turtle Bay Condos. I would totally recommend it for anyone. Heated pool just out of our condo with the beach only a few step beyond that. The north shore is true Hawaii- no shopping, not a lot of restaurants, tons of surfers, and big waves. We did go to the PCC show and dinner one night, to town to get a snow cone, and drove around BYU Hawaii once, but otherwise it was the beach and the pool for us.

On our way out of town, we went to Pearl Harbor. Danny's true calling in life:

Beach girl:


Sunset beach:
Turtle Bay:

We had a great time! And I am now putting this in writing-- I will never take a 15 month old on a 6 hour OR red-eye flight again. Standing in the back of the plane with a wiggling kid on your hip for 2 hours is not all that fun.

Easter Weekend

So I begged my parents to come and visit for Easter weekend. I played the guilty "don't you want to see your grandchild?" card. Totally worked. Shayne loved my parents and especially my mom who stayed a few days longer. Soon I found her following my mom all around the house instead of me! Sweet! My mom had been telling me I needed to get Shayne a haircut, so we went to a little kid's haircut place and got her hair done. However, despite the balloon and sucker in her hands, movie playing, and cute car chair to sit in, she had an absolute fit!

On Easter Sunday, we had my parents, Danny's parents, my grandmother, and Danny's grandfather over for lunch in between conference sessions.
Shayne got a kitty movie (Aristocats), bunny potato head, and some empty easter eggs from the Easter Bunny. She couldn't have been happier. And her favorite gift was. . . . the empty easter eggs!
Cute dress my mom got for her:

St. George Trip

We took a trip to St. George in March. Danny had to go for work and so I wasn't about to be left behind! We loved escaping the winter to get some sunshine in. Our friends came down too and we did some hiking, shopping, eating, and swimming in the pool. It was a great break from the usual schedule.

Cutie kids: