Zucchini Brownies...Yum!

Kennedy and I made these yesterday to take to a party, and they were AWESOME, very moist and chocolatey, and the best part is, they are healthy...they have zucchini, they have to be.

RIGHT?

...we added chocolate chips and baked them in a 9 x 13 pan for about 3o mins. They were delish!

Recipe below...

We had FHE with all of the nieghbors that live around us last night. We were the youngest family by, oh, minimum of 20 years, but it was fun! We have some great people living around us, and of course, Dustin being the old-at-heart guy that he is, fit right in. The only bad part was that Hudson, being the TWO-YEAR-OLD that he is, stuffed so many Oreos in his mouth at the same time, he puked...luckily I caught it, (only partly in a napkin, don't you love motherhood??? and why do old people always have white carpet???) We were supposed to take a 5 minute lesson/story, and, being the spiritual giants that we are, here was our spiritual message:

Bran Muffins

The couple were 85 years old, and had been married for sixty years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies.

Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade. One day, their good health didn't help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.

They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. A maid could be seen hanging their favorite clothes in the closet. They gasped in astonishment when he said, 'Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.'

The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. 'Why, nothing,' Peter replied, 'remember, this is your reward in Heaven. '

The old man looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on Earth.'What are the greens fees?,' grumbled the old man.'This is heaven,' St. Peter replied. 'You can play for free, every day.'

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood to steaks to exotic deserts, free flowing beverages.'Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to the man. This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy.'

The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife. 'Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods, and the decaffeinated tea?,' he asked. 'That's the best part,' St. Peter replied. 'You can eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like, and you will never get fat or sick.This is Heaven!'

The old man pushed, 'No gym to work out at?''Not unless you want to,' was the answer.'No testing my sugar or blood pressure or...''Never again. All you do here is enjoy yourself.'

The old man glared at his wife and said, 'You and your bran muffins. We could have been here ten years ago!'

Zucchini Brownies

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, soda, cocoa, and sugar. Combine eggs, zucchini, oil, and vanilla; blend into dry ingredients.
Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven. Cool in the pan, and then cut into bars.

Little Squirrels...

Sorry, more on our garden...We have yet to have any tomatoes ripen on the vine...what the lick? We are pretty much little squirrels around here, "putting up" any fresh produce that we can for the coming winter, it's pretty funny. So, to use up all of the green tomatoes, we found a salsa verde recipe. I LOVE salsa verde, and I have to say, this recipe tastes just like Bajio's...I was hoping for something more along the lines of El Toro in Logan, but this works :) And, for those who asked, please notice my beautiful, darker hair color, thank you Jenna!

We really probably didn't need to bother with the bottling part of it, I will probably eat it all in the next month...yep, pretty tasty.

We found a great website, FreshPreserving.com, and we are hoping to try out more of the bottling recipes we've found. This is so fun, I feel very Martha Stewart-ish, labeling all of our jars of homegrown stuff. (Luckily Dustin thinks I have better handwriting, so I get to do that satisfying last step. He actually does most of the work. He is king Squirrel, I'll just eat it...)

I'm pretty sure we couldn't live on pickles and salsa, but still, food storage is food storage, so we are pretty proud of ourselves.

In non-garden-related news, I have been volunteering in Kennedy's class once a week, and it has been so fun! Fun, but holy cow, I was SO not cut out to be a Kindergarten teacher. Once a week for an hour is just about the maximum amount of time I could spend with 21 5 year-olds.

Hard at work...

Last week, they took a fieldtrip to the post office and I was there to help. We walked there from the school about a block and a half. It was a little like I suppose herding kittens would be like.

The whole class. They mailed letters to Grandparents.

Isn't she cute? I have to confess, I dressed her that morning knowing there would be pictures...she is still my little dress-up doll.

I have loved seeing Kennedy at school, and she is always so happy and proud to see me, it totally makes my day. I've been pretty proud of her myself though, she seems to be very kind to the other kids, and is definitely one of the smartest...I'm really not being biased, I promise. She is still loving school, and is screaming through her homework every night, which we are all loving. Hopefully it keeps up!

Webb Weekend of Fun

I'm seriously a blogging slacker...I've been too busy living to record it, and you know, if something has to give, it's gotta be the blog...sorry...

Yes, another weekend of fun...We are lucky kids! This past weekend was the scheduled Rexburg Webb weekend of fun, although only Mom, Dad, Jenna and Preslie could make it...yeah, Jeff, Garret, this is to make you feel bad you didn't come :)...

We started things off right at the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot. It is a really fun fair, HUGE, with all the requisite treats, animals, souvenir booths and rides.

We took a good walk through the animals, with the horses and goats being favorites, but Hudson's little face didn't really light up until he spotted a Honda booth. FOUR-WHEELERS! Immediately followed by lawn mowers. Talk about best day ever for him. Next, we found the Kid's Pedal Tractor Pull competition just about to start. We signed Kennedy up, and lo and behold, she won! She pulled 150 lbs...not bad for someone who weighs 47 lbs! She was thrilled, and got a ribbon and a T-shirt. She was so cute, she tried so hard, we were so proud!

The Winner!

Hudson giving it a go after the competition...

We wandered around, eating junk and doing some serious people watching before hitting the rides. I loved hanging out with my family, we had a really good time.

With our carmel apples and cinnamon almonds, the whole reason for going to the fair...

*not sure why I look pregnant in this picture - I'M NOT - oh, wait, probably something to do with the carmel apples and cinnamon almonds... :)

Hudson was such an angel, contentedly riding in the stroller, that I was excited to reward him with a fun little ride, but after we walked through all of the rides, getting him all excited to ride something, we discoved he was too short for anything. Luckily we found a little booth, just for toddlers, with ride-on toys. He and Preslie were in heaven. They rode the toys while Kennedy rode the big swings. I hate to sound so old, but we could not believe what a rip-off the rides were. $5 a pop! I hate to say it, but that pretty much makes Lagoon a good deal...jeez!

At least she had fun!

Hudson loved this little motorcycle soooo much. I hope I can find one in the next week or two for his Birthday!

Jenna, Mom and me with Kennedy, Preslie and Hudson. He was not happy stopping for a picture!

We had a great Rexburg Day the next day, hitting all of our favorite joints, including the "D" and the yummy italian place for lunch. So fun just kickin' around. We found a fun new place in Rigby, it is an old Sugar Mill turned into a bunch of cute shops. It'll definitely be a regular. We had a relaxing night the next night, with delicious BLT's courtesy of my dad's garden, doing hair, watching What Happens in Vegas, eating my world famous popcorn. Thanks for coming, guys, we had a blast as always!

We Heart Our Garden

I have been really enjoying the garden this year. It just blows me away to think, "I need a yellow squash for this recipe," and to walk out into the back yard and get one (or 20). Sadly, the snap peas came out the other day, having given their all, and I am feeling a little sad, fearing that the way-too-short growing season here in "Iceburg" is probably on the downhill side. Here is my tribute to our Garden, which really has been a family project this year. Dustin planted, I weeded, and we all enjoyed the fruits (and veggies) of our labor. I've really tried to challenge myself to use as much of our enormous harvests of squash as I could, and you know, I've done a pretty good job...I think Dustin may be getting a little sick of it finally, but hey, you plant it, you eat it, right? We've also put up about 35 jars of pickles, so far, Dustin's little project...how lucky am I? He is so awesome. We've tried to freeze some sliced crookneck and snap peas, we'll see how that works out. Still looking forward to tomatoes, though, but we finally got some corn on the cob for tonight, yum!






Hudson is so funny. Some days, he loves peas right out of the garden, which thrilled me to no end, because it is, I'm pretty sure, the only vegetable he has ever knowingly, willingly consumed... Other days, nothing to do with them. He is a crazy kid. But pretty cute!

Second day and beyond...

Ok, so yesterday wasn't too bad. She was so excited to get on the bus all by herself, and I just stayed back and took pictures. Tears were streaming down my face, but at least she couldn't see... I can't believe how hard this has hit me. I'm really not a big crybaby, or a really emotional type person, but man! At least I didn't follow the bus, and stay and watch for her at recess, like I really wanted to... She absolutely raved about her day when she got home, so I'm really feeling pretty good about things now, yea!

Getting on the bus, alone!

...And coming home with a smile 4 hours later.

Hudson has been really cute throughout this "ordeal," he loves to watch for the school bus and is so happy to see Kennedy come home. They are buddies, and there have been some sweet reunions in the driveway.

Kennedy specifically asked me to take her picture in her outfit this morning so we could show Jenna. You like, Chin? PS - congratulations that you have a walker now! Hudson has asked to see the video Jami sent me of Preslie running down the hall like 57 times. "Pess! FAH down..."

The Big Day

Well, I did it. I took Kennedy to her first day of school, and I didn't cry...much. I was doing just great, just occasional watery eyes, until her teacher passed this poem out to the moms:

The First Day

I gave you a little wink and smile

As you entered my room today

For I know how hard it is to leave

And know your child must stay.

You've been with her for five years now

And have been a loving guide,

But now, alas, the time has come

To leave her at my side.

Just know that as you drive away

And tears down your cheeks may flow

I'll love her as I would my own

And help her learn and grow.

For as a parent, I too know

How quickly years do pass

And that I have had my turn

To take my child to class.

So please put your mind at ease

And cry those tears no more

For I will love her and take her in

When you leave her at my door.

I was seriously fighting back sobs, it was terrible. But hey, at least I'm normal, right?

The stressed over outfit...it's really hard once they have an opinion about what they wear!

Today was actually really fun, it was very reassuring to see the bus, and the kids who will be riding with her. There were lots of kids I know from our ward, and only 2 highschoolers in the very back. Plus, the bus has a freaking TV. They watched SpongeBob and on the way to school, and the Little Mermaid coming home. Can you believe that? Her ride is very short both ways, which I think she was a little bummed about, what with the entertainment and all.

Riding the bus!

I loved going to class with her today, which was basically just an orientation, and meeting her teacher, whom I feel very good about. Kennedy was so happy and excited all day, which made it fun.

With Mrs. Clinton...

Getting ready to board for the ride home...

Dustin took vacation today and manned the camera (I'm very proud of his work, by the way) and took us out to lunch. Kennedy had a back-to-school party at her friends house this afternoon, which was so fun.

With friend Jenna at the party... you can tell by the frosting/sno cone face how much fun she had!

All in all, a pretty good day for having been so desperately dreaded. Although, tomorrow, when she gets on the bus ALONE, I'm pretty sure will be horrid. I'm trying to talk myself out of following the bus...we'll see.

Kennedy's New Haircut!

Doesn't she look terribly old???


I know, I'm as shocked as anyone that she let me do it. She has always hated haircuts and only allowed trims, and been obsessive about her long hair. I've been wanting to give her a cute little A-line for a while, but she always refuses adamantly.

But last night, as I was giving Hudson a haircut, she said "I think I'm ready for a new school haircut." I said "how short do you want it?" expecting her to say TRIM ONLY, but she surprised me by pulling a strand just below her chin and saying "right to here." I made her look in the mirror to make sure, and she breezily agreed. Then, before either of us could change our minds, I did it. And she loves it! We actually cut off 8 inches, can you believe it? If anyone is having second thoughts, it's me. I was sad to only see a few inches poking out from under her bike helmet this morning, and I think this makes her look very grown-up. But isn't she darling?? All ready for school, she says. Don't remind me!!!