FHE Crazy Dress Up

Just in case you can't tell by the acting and our awesome costumes, this is the Spendlove Family acting out the The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant - Matthew 18:21-35.  Matthew had a lesson on this in Sunday School and taught it for Family Home Evening.

GREAT Grandma Visit

The girls, Jacob and I visited Great Grandma Rachel.  

Rachel and Lauren gave her a nice massage. 

And everyone enjoyed being visited by baby Jacob.

Monarch Palm Summer Pool Parties

Every Friday during the summer is MP POOL PARTY day. A little bit of sun, some cool refreshing water, great BBQ and awesome friends, makes for a great way to end these hot summer weeks here in Bakersfield.

Emerson's Baby Blessing

On our last day in Utah we were able to be a part of Emerson's Baby Blessing.

This is Baby Emerson David Spendlove born on April 27, 2011.

 We went to church in Cottonwoods Heights with Shawn and Brooke. It is always nice to have such wonderful family support during these special occasions.  They live right across the street from their church and just down the street from a a great park where they had a delicious luncheon for family and friends. It was our last meal together before we had to say good-bye, make sure we were all caught up with everyone and head back to California.

This family picture brings back great memories for me.

Something about having to take a family picture brings tears to some eyes.....

The cousin's saying good-bye!

Jacob just chillin in Grandpa's lap while Grandpa is just chillin in the pew.

 

LUVS

Lunch @ the park

One thing I remember most about this luncheon was the delicious cookies and salad that Brooke's friend brought.  Soooo YUMMY, I had to share.

THICK AND CHEWY TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

(from Cooks Illustrated)

It is worth buying parchment paper for this recipe. Resist the urge to bake the cookies longer than indicated; they may appear under baked at first but will firm up as they cool.

2 cups flour
½ cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
16 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
 4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
10 Tbsp (1 ¼ sticks) butter, softened but still cool
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
12 oz (about 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, set aside. Melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice until smooth. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork, set aside.

 Beat butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in sugars until combined, about 45 seconds, mixture will look granular. Reduce to low and gradually beat in egg mixture, about 45 seconds. Add chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over beat.  Stir in chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoop-able and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets with 1 ¾ inch ice cream scoop spacing about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets 10 minutes then remove.

PENNE WITH BROWN BUTTER, ARUGULA AND PINE NUTS

(From Giada De Laurentis)

Dressing:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pasta:

1 pound penne rigate pasta
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature
4 cups baby arugula
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup tasted pine nuts (see Cook's note)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained(optional)

Directions:

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper until smooth. Set aside.

For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

In a high-sided skillet, whisk the butter over medium heat until melted. Simmer until foamy. Continue to cook until the butter has a nutty aroma and turns a caramel color, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the pasta, dressing, arugula, tomatoes, Parmesan, pine nuts and capers. Toss until coated, adding the reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time to loosen the sauce, if needed. Transfer to a large bowl and serve.

Cook's note: To toast the pine nuts, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until lightly toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely before using.

Little Cotton Wood Canyon

At Grandpa Cannon's request for a BBQ in the canyon and our request for Uncle Ryan to take us rock climbing, here we are in Little Cotton Wood Canyon. This was our last night with the Cannon's before we headed to the Spendlove Family Reunion.  Thank you Uncle Ryan for always being such a good sport and Thank you Dad for Dinner.

Everyone did some good climbing, but I think Rachel wins the award for being the bravest and going the highest.

Yep, even Grandpa and Steve did a little climbing.

Lauren & Friends

Just some cute pictures of Lauren with her neighbor friends, Nicole and Michelle. They love to play dress up and Barbies.

They are missing one of their good friends, Kya.  It is her birthday today so they made a video sing Happy Birthday to send to her.

Michelle just let the girls go to town decorating her arms with markers.  How fun is that?

 

Another dress up day!

I think she thinks she is all that and more!