MS Charity Boutique

If you have a minute on Saturday - please come. Sunni is one of my good friends. We lived by each other in Draper and have had our kids together (except the last). I love Sunni. She is one of those good friends who has always gone above and beyond to help me. And she is so good to my kids. They LOVE going to Sunni's house. She always has something fun to do with them. She always amazes me.

Sunni was diagnosed with MS about a year and a half ago (sorry Sunni - I can't remember exactly when). It is a dumb disease. It takes such a toll on your body, but she is managing quite well. There are some great treatment options out there that help but they don't cure it. Sunni is preparing to ride in the MS100 ride and is raising money to support MS research.

This boutique will be great! Come support MS research and do some fun shopping!

**UPDATE: Jane and Kristine (my sisters), my cousin, my sister-in-law, and probably yours truly will have some items for sale as well.

Rhubarb

Do you like rhubarb? You should. I have too much rhubarb so I will give you some. I got my rhubarb starts from my grandma who got them from her mother-in-law (my great-grandmother). They have been moved many times and it just keeps going.

>

One of our favorite treats is rhubarb slush. Teague would drink that every night if I would let him.

But our newest favorite rhubarb treat is Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp. I got this recipes from my Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking cookbook.

For the Filling:

6 medium stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise

1/2 cup sugar

For the Topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the filling: in a large bowl, stir together the rhubarb, strawberries, and sugar until will mixed. Pour into 2 1/2 quart glass or ceramic baking dish.

Make the topping: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, rolled oats, sugars, cinnamon, and salt.

Stir in the melted butter until evenly moistened. Spoon crumb mixture evenly over the filling.

Bake the crisp until the rhubarb is tender and the juices are bubbling. 35- 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm. Serve with ice cream, frozen yogurt, or whipped cream.

Seriously? This is so yummy. I have already made it twice in a week.

Do Lunch

The last two days I have had YUMMY lunch.

Here are a couple of good places to try....

Hagermann's Bakehouse Cafe - I had the California Turkey - grilled.

Flour Girls and Dough Boys - I had the Tarragon Chicken Salad sandwich. I wanted to try this place a long time ago. But somehow it never happened. Remember the offer? I should not have waited so long.

Really - it is worth the drive to get good food. And it is always fun to have good company as well (so call me if you want to do lunch). The sad thing is that preschool ended today. So the peaceful days of lunch with a friend and no chatty 5 year old are over. At least until fall... But then I will have a restless 10 month old.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Obviously there isn't anything good about having cancer but people are so super thoughtful and sometimes we get do something special. Last week the Oquirrh Mountain temple (just a minute away from our house - we can see it from our bedroom window) started doing special tours for church and community leaders. There was a slow day, so our friends the Wrights and Morley's invited us in to a special tour. It was AMAZING! All temples are amazing. The workmanship is incredible and every detail is perfect. I love that even though the temples throughout the world are the same in purpose, they are unique in their looks and design.

I loved being able to walk through without the crowds. It allowed us to take our time as well as have our friends, who serve on the temple open house committee, explain a few things to us an the kids.

If you are in the area, come to the open house. It is open to the public for free tours during June and July. After it is dedicated in August, it will be open only to worthy members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who hold temple recommends. You can get tickets here.

If you want to know why Mormon's build temples - watch this youtube video. We feel so blessed to have this temple so close to our home.

Check this out!

I love this video of another adoring Aunt babysitting Quinn and Gavin while we went to WICKED with Teague and Elise.

http://esquaredhouse.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-am-good-at-babysitting.html

Aren't my kids lucky? They have so much more fun when they are with their aunts or grandparents than when they are with me.

Random Mother's Day Photos

Jane and Kristine are pretty much obsessed with all things Quinn. And I love it. How could you not be? Really. She is pretty squishy and slobbery and smiley. Hard to resist. Thanks for being such cute aunts. They brought gorgeous flowers, fruit, salad, and treats for me. By the way - Sophie the Giraffe that Quinn is holding is pretty much the coolest toy I have ever bought and I just might buy it for you if you are having a baby. Quinn and I both LOVE it.

I mostly just want you to notice that I have gorgeous sisters and I am inspired to do a little work on my appearance. Looking a little worn. But I really want you to notice this cute little brooch that Gavin made for me. Love it.

Do you like our Sabbath day activity? A pediatrician or ER docs worst nightmare!

I loved this idea on Stephmodo and so I had to copy. These little vases were $1 at Target. Go get some. They are so perfect.

And lastly - but most importantly - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. I wish I was in Italy with my Mom. She is living the good life. :) She is the best mom. She continues to teach and inspire me. I want to be like her. Check out this super cute picture of her as kiddo.

Thanks to all the good mothers out there who surround me. I appreciate your example. I am working on it.

Can it be?

Yep - SIX months have passed by since Quinn was born. Dang, I wish they would stay teeny tiny a little longer. She loves to sit up. That is her new trick. But she refuses to put any weight on those legs. So it maybe a while before we see her standing.

Tulip Festival

It's over now, but you should still go. The Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point is one of my most favorite things to do in April. After living in London and I owning a pass to Kew Gardens, I have loved going to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. When I lived in Draper (and life was simpler), I owned a pass there, too. But even without a pass, I make a couple trips a year (thanks Aimee).

This trip was particularly good. The flowers were AMAZING. And the company was great - we were minus a few kids and it was so pleasant. AND they were selling super yummy fresh kettle corn.

Could it get any better?