Vegas Baby!

I've been thinking and thinking about what to get Jeremy for his birthday and couldn’t come up with anything! We had been thinking about taking a cruise but since, but since I started my job around six months ago I don’t have a lot of vacation time built up yet and most of the reasonably priced cruises are during the week so that pretty much took that idea off the table. And when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, Jeremy being Jeremy only gave me very practical gift ideas. I hate getting people practical gifts! I think a gift should be something fun, a little indulgent, something you wouldn’t normally buy for yourself! So Jer’s ideas just wouldn’t cut it! I was sitting at work and all the sudden Las Vegas popped into my head! I IM’d Jeremy immediately to see what he thought and he said “Heck Yes!”. If you know us at all, you know that we're pretty much never spontaneous so the fact that we just made this decision in a matter of 2 IM’s was CRAZY! That night we shared a bottle of wine and booked our vacation! We are SOOOOO excited! Jeremy has never been and the time I went I was under age, so I fully intend on doing a little misbehaving! I think we deserve it!

Loves!

Neurohr/Sandifer Family Fun Day!

Saturday we had a family fun day with some of Jeremy's family. The cousins spent the day out on the lake tubing, swimming, and wake boarding while the "grown-ups" and Tate stayed behind at my house and relaxed. It was a blast!

When we got back to the house we grilled burgers and hotdogs (and by we, I mean Jeremy! Who by the way did a great job!). All the food was sooo yummy! After we ate Tyler wanted to play some dress up and play in my room. She's so funny! Some of my favorite quotes from Tyler:

1. Kendall: Pet Beckett softly we don't want to hurt him.
Tyler: Yep, we don't want to hurt him. That would make him mad and he would go woof. He would be like a bear and a cricket, they're mad. No, not crickets...
spiders! Bears and spiders are mad!

2. Kendall: Let's go in the other room.
Tyler: Why?
Kendall: Cause Rodney needs to change clothes.
Tyler: Oh my goodness, is he going to be naked???

3. Tyler was looking at a picture of Jeremy kissing me on the cheek and Tyler said to her Mommy: Oh how sweet, he's kissing her. That's beautiful and she's looking at me.

Ha! She's so funny! She's grown up so much in the last few months and I loved being able to spend some time with her yesterday!

And we can't forget about Tate! He's such a sweet baby and always so happy! I didn't realize how much sun me and Jeremy got until I looked at these pictures! We look like lobsters!

Couldn't have asked for a better day!

Almost forgot, Beckett did great too! I was really worried about having that many people over because he can get really anxious around new people, but he was completely fine! He even was good with Tyler and Tate!

Loves!

Summer Desserts

I came across these summer dessert ideas today and I think I am going to give them a try! I'm definitely not the best cook in the world, but I really like to bake and try out new recipes. The last new dessert I made was Mimosa Cupcakes and they were a hit! I'll post the pictures after make them and see if they look as good!

Mixed-Berry Dutch Baby

· 3 large eggs
· 1/2 teaspoon(s) finely grated lemon zest
· 1/3 cup(s) sugar
· Pinch of salt
· 2/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
· 2/3 cup(s) milk
· 2 cup(s) raspberries
· 2 cup(s) blackberries
· 4 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter
· Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425° and heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over moderate heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the finely grated lemon zest, sugar, and salt until combined. Add the flour and milk and whisk until smooth. Add 1 cup each of the raspberries and blackberries.

2. Melt the butter in the skillet and add the batter, spreading the fruit evenly. Bake in the center of the oven for about 22 minutes, until the edges are browned and puffed and the center is lightly browned in spots. Transfer the skillet to a trivet and dust the Dutch Baby with confectioners' sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with the remaining fresh berries.

Banana-Nutella S'Mores

· 8 whole(s) graham crackers
· 1/4 cup(s) Nutella
· 1/4 cup(s) marshmallow fluff
· 2 small ripe bananas, sliced 1/4-inch thick
· 2 tablespoon(s) chopped salted roasted hazelnuts
· 4 8-inch squares of parchment paper
· 4 12-inch squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil

Directions

1. Light a grill. Spread 4 graham crackers with the Nutella; spread the remaining 4 with marshmallow fluff. Press the bananas onto the Nutella and sprinkle with the hazelnuts. Sandwich the graham crackers together. Wrap them in the parchment paper and then in foil.

2. Grill the s'mores over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, turning once or twice, until the marshmallow fluff is gooey and lightly toasted. Remove the foil, peel back the parchment, and serve.


Mixed Berry Hobo Packs with Grilled Pound Cake

· 1 pound(s) (3 cups) mixed strawberries and blueberries, strawberries halved or quartered if large
· 1 teaspoon(s) finely grated lemon zest
· 1 tablespoon(s) lemon juice
· 1/4 cup(s) sugar
· 3/4 teaspoon(s) cornstarch
· 2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, softened
· 4 12-inch squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil
· 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices of pound cake
· Crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

1. Light a grill. In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries and blueberries with the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch. Spoon 1/4 tablespoon of the butter in the center of each sheet of foil and top with the fruit. Bring 2 sides of the foil up over the fruit and fold to form a seam across the top. Fold the remaining 2 sides to seal the hobo packs completely.

2. Grill the hobo packs over moderate heat until the fruit is sizzling, about 10 minutes.

3. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter on the pound cake and grill on both sides just until toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer to plates. Open the hobo packs and pour the berries and juices over the pound cake. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche or ice cream.

Happy Baking!!!

Loves!

Hey Mom look what I can do!!

This morning we took Beckett on a long walk and let him play in the kiddie water park next to our house! He had so much fun. We had a little rest when we got home and then decided to work on some training.

My Mom and Dad brought us over a boxer training book yesterday when they came to meet their granddog. Well the power went out last night for about an hour so it gave me some time to read a little bit of the book and learn some tricks on training our dog. One trick that I've always wanted to teach my dogs was roll-over, but I have never had any luck. So of course I had to try it out with Beckett too. He figured it within just a few tries!

Here's a video of Jeremy teaching Beckett to roll-over! What a smarty pants!



And here's Beckett celebrating his success!



All tuckered out for the mornings events and now taking a nap on Momma's tennis shoes!



Loves!