Those darn Guthrie's

Lamentation of a Cat Killer (not the cat pictured)

2012-01-26T23:46:00.001-07:00

I had one of the worst days in a long time on Monday. I finished dropping Nick off at work and was heading toward Layton to get Luca to the doctor when something horrible happened; a black fluffy cat (Ben at Nick's work said the cat was probably suicidal, but I'm getting ahead of myself) came charging across the on ramp on I-215. I was going to fast, I swerved, I tried everything short of rolling the car and I thought for a second I missed the kitty but then there was a horrible thump. I started crying immediately and got off on the next exit. I called Nick because I was so upset with myself and with what had just happened. Nick is the stable part of my life. Everything could be falling down around me and I look to him and get the support (often his support comes in the form of relentless teasing) that I dearly need.
When I called Nick I was in a terrible state and should not have been driving so he told me to come back to his work and calm down. Once I got to his work he asked me again what happened because he couldn't understand me on the phone. I related the whole ordeal to him, feeling even worse the second time. I felt bad for the cat. This was an amazing cat. He crossed 7 lanes of traffic only to fall short the last 10 feet. I guess life feels that way at time too. We do so much, crossing all the lanes of traffic dodging cars and watching for others but in the end we fall short. Life is hard and I know I am preaching to the choir but I feel better getting this out of my head and letting if float somewhere on the web.
So the week went on and I started to forget about my horrific Monday, today is Sharee's son Carson's birthday and Luca and I were heading over to her house to drop off Carson's present. Let me paint a picture of what happened next.
Luca was sitting in the back seat of the car babbling away while we listed to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on CD. It was raining slightly but nothing to impair vision or vehicle maneuverability. As we neared Sharee's house a black cat was sitting in the middle of the road. Horrible flashback started and I confess, I was a little nervous. I stopped as soon as I saw the cat sitting there. The other drivers probably thought I was crazy but as I looked at the cat and he looked back at me I knew he knew what I had done earlier that week. I waited for the cat to cross the road and he took his sweet time doing it and every so often he would stare right at me and I would almost shiver. Finally he was out of the street and quite a distance from the road before I could start driving again. I know... I've lost it... It was going to happen eventually...
I told Nick about the demonic cat out to destroy my life and he just chuckled at me and walked away. I guess my drama today was pretty silly and now I think I can go on with my life. I've probably wasted everyone's time with my stupid story, so in order to make up for it I'm going to post a picture of a cute cat who is not dead.

Sharee "The Inspiration"

2012-01-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

Well, Sharee has done it again. Even with her super busy schedule being a mother of two she has time to sit down and write a blog post (which was very good, by the way) and take care of everything else in her life. For shame Shauna, for shame. All I have is one little boy, who until recently was not very mobile. Yes, my life has gotten considerably more challenging and I've never said "no" so many time in my life, but I digress. I have been shamed into starting up my blog again and working to keep it up to date and awsome (not that it was awsome before but at least I have a goal of awsomeness now).

Christmas Pictures 2011

2011-12-06T23:50:00.000-07:00

Luca is such a good helper. I can't believe that he got all the way to the top of the tree with only a little bit of help.

Guthrie Family Christmas Photo:

Nick, Luca, Shauna, Sammy Charleigh & Kody

I love my happy little elf, Luca

Fall Family Pictures

2011-10-23T22:02:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who helped us take our family pictures this year. We really appreciate the help!!! Thank you Michelle, Linda and Shawn!!!

I know I ready posted this picture but I ran it through a editing program and it turned out so cool!

We love our happy little Luca

Happy Family 2011

Luca looks like he is either confused or concentrating

All I can say is... CUTE!!!

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-04T17:57:00.000-06:00

Today Linda, Sharee, Carson, Brookly, Alicia, Addison, Beckum, Luca and I went to the pumpkin patch in Farmington. We had such a great time. Luca picked out a pumpkin and he and daddy are going to carve it in a few days.

L-R Beckum, Addison, Brooklyn, Carson & Luca

Little Luca in the Pumpkin Patch

Carson in the corn stalks

Luca looking for the Great Pumpkin

Such a cutie!!!

Luca & Brooklyn

Sharee & Carson looking for the perfect pumpkin

Sharee & Linda

Addison with a scarecrow

Little storm cloud Luca with a little pumpkin

Luca & his momma

Temple Square

2011-09-27T22:49:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday we were in Salt Lake and decided to go to Temple Square. It was very nice, Luca was a huge hit with all the sister missionaries (our little stud)!

The cutest little Luca ~ EVER!!!

I love this picture

Littlest Luca and his momma

Luca's first football game

2011-09-27T22:43:00.000-06:00

Nick, Luca and I went to Weber State's football game against Sacramento State a few weeks ago. We had a great time. Luca stayed awake for most of the game, just a little nap during the second quarter. He got startled a couple of times when the crowd would cheer. One time the special teams ran a return back 60+ yards, everyone was excited and yelling. It scared Luca but when the guy ran past us Luca got super excited and he started kicking and yelling. It was way to funny.

Luca getting ready for the game to start

Luca during the second quarter ~ as you can tell he is very excited

Happy football lovin' family

Fun Family Pictures

2011-09-20T22:26:00.000-06:00

We were in a silly mood and thought it would be fun to take some pictures around the house.

Me and my little Monkey

Happy Family

Silly Daddy with the Silly Monkey

Sharee's New House

2011-09-11T21:26:00.001-06:00

Well, I am jealous!!! Sharee has a new house and it is amazing!!! Sharee and her family really deserve it, they are such a wonderful family and we wish them the best. There is a garden patch in the back of Sharee's house that has little frogs in it. All the guys (except for Grandpa) were outside trying to catch frogs; I think that Jake and Carson were the most enthusiastic about the whole adventure. Nick was getting pretty involved too, carrying Luca around and trying to catch frogs one armed. Nick put a frog on Luca's hand but he could have cared less, I was a little worried that he may try and put it in his mouth because everything goes in his mouth right now; either that or he drools on everything. Poor frog!

Jake, Carson catching frogs and Shawn & Linda watching them have fun

There is Matt's butt on the left and Nick's butt on the right

The frogs

Carson, Nick & Luca looking for frogs

Luca and his frog

Weber River Walk

2011-09-11T21:05:00.001-06:00

It was terrible, Nick and I went to lunch at one of his favorite restaurants, "Zupa's" and he had the crab melt and absolutely loved it. Later that night I got a call from Nick at work saying he wasn't feeling well and I needed to pick him up from work. I picked him up and he slept all the way home and when we got home he went right to bed. This was Friday at 4:00pm. He slept all day Saturday and he said that he felt so sick. Sunday he slept in and said that he was feeling a little better. My poor Nick got food poisoning, it was so sad. Once he started feeling better on Sunday he wanted to go out and get some fresh air so we took a walk down the Weber river walkway. It was so nice, we saw some ducks and a quail and some people riding the rails, (they were kind of scary). It was a nice walk and it was good to see some color in Nick's face after being so sick.

Luca was actually a little interested in these ducks

I told Nick to have Luca throw the stick in the water so we could play pooh sticks, Nick thought I was crazy

There was a whole family of quail but I was only able to get a picture of this one

This is the first try at getting a family picture this day ~ I love Luca's face

Finally succeeded in getting all of us in the shot

Stomach Sleeper

2011-09-07T20:27:00.001-06:00

I feel like the worst mom ever (I'm probably going to be saying that a lot for the next 20+ years) but Luca has taken to sleeping on his stomach. The doctor said this was probably going to happen once he started rolling over but I worry. (I'm also going to be saying I worry a lot for the rest of my life) Since he did come early the chances of SIDS is higher and if a baby sleeps on their stomach it is higher still but I can't keep that little boy off his stomach. He won't go on his stomach if he is awake, but as soon as he is asleep, right on the belly. This little guy is going to teach my patience and I love him for it.

Like father like son, Nick sleeps the same way

Sad Baby

2011-08-28T20:11:00.001-06:00

Somehow Nick found out that if you sing the Little Mermaid song or sing in a funny opera voice it makes Luca sad and cry. It doesn't happen all the time Luca has to be in the right or I guess wrong mood for it to work. I know we shouldn't laugh when he makes his sad face but it is so cute.

I think this is the cutest face!!!

Hiking Adam's Canyon

2011-08-27T22:29:00.001-06:00

I did it!!! I hiked Adam's Canyon all the way to the waterfall. Nick didn't believe I could do it but I proved him WRONG!!! Luca had a great time, he loves hiking (well actually being carried in the pack), he probably thinks he is doing tons of work and that he is in charge. (He really is in charge)

Nick & the Luca monster

My boy's

We finally reach the waterfall

Me and my Luca

Happy Family

Didn't quite make it all the way down

Old Indian Trail - Ogden Canyon

2011-08-14T22:21:00.000-06:00

Nick decided we needed to go for a "walk" after church on Sunday; I probably should have been worried when he started filling up the camel backs and told me to put on good shoes. I though we were going to walk along the Weber river but he had other ideas in mind. We drove to the trail head of the Old Indian Trial, got out and Nick decided on a trail; a trail that went straight up. I think he was trying to do me in because I thought that stupid trail was going to kill me in spots. Yes, I am out of shape but this hike was a little too much to early on. I know I should stop complaining because I wasn't even carrying Luca. Nick had Luca in a front carry pack. Nick and Luca are cut from the same mold because every time I wanted to stop for a moment Nick would be nice enough to stop but Luca would get frustrated and start whining. I did get some great pictures on the hike and I'm going to try to do it again in a few weeks, just to prove to Nick, Luca and myself that I can hike the stupid mountain.

Nick and Luca ready to start out on our adventure

The cutest little guy

Family Photo

Love that Luca

Nick can not ever be serious

Luca loves to read

2011-08-07T21:47:00.002-06:00

Nick and I are trying to instill the love of reading in Luca at a young age. We are always getting him new books and we ready to him daily. I am currently reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing" by Judy Blume to him a chapter a day. I know he doesn't understand or even care but at least I am starting good habits early. There are a few series of books that we have for Luca and we like them and hopefully he will like them someday too. They are the "Skippy John Jones" series and "Scaredy the Squirrel" series.

Luca reading his Fuzy Farm Animal book

He got to the exciting part

Luca's first "solid" food

2011-08-06T20:51:00.001-06:00

Nick and I went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse and Luca slept through most of dinner but woke up towards the end. We were going to start giving him solid food the next day but Nick wanted to start that night so he gave him a lemon. Luca, our loving and trusting baby, starting sucking on the lemon and he made the funniest face. We though he was going to start crying but didn't and just kept sucking on the lemon.

We started his real solid food the next day and he had peaches, which he loved, but he didn't understand how to keep the peaches in his mouth or what to do with them when he was able to keep them in. He has really gotten the hang of eating and has turned into a great eater. I'm dating this posting on the day he actually started eating. I have a video of him eating but my computer won't let me turn the video.

Luca getting ready to have his first meal

The Cutest Luca EVER!!!

2011-07-19T22:43:00.000-06:00

Nick and I got Luca a jumparoo a few months ago and he is finally starting to be able to use it. He is still super short but Nick put a pillow under his feet so he can jump and move around, now he really loves playing in his jumparooo. We place him in front of the fish tank and he is even more entertained. He just loves the simple things in life.

This was taken at Shawn & Linda's a few days ago. Addison dressed him up in the hat and but the bracelet on him. Addison sure loves her little cousin.

4 months and counting

2011-07-19T22:26:00.001-06:00

We have been a super busy family as of late. Luca hit the big 4 months on Saturday and I think he gained a pound over night. He is really chunking up and we love it. He is getting fat and happy. One sad thing is that Luca is starting to get his teeth already and this is making him grumpy but he is still a really good baby overall.
Nick started building a room in the basement almost 2 years ago when my sister moved in with us; the room is framed and wired with electricity but it doesn't have any walls. Nick finally realized that I am capable of helping him hang drywall even though I am an out of shape weakling. We hang about half of the ceiling and one complete wall. We are going to try to finish the dry walling this Saturday so that I can work on taping and mudding after I get home from work during the week while Luca is sleeping. We were going to put Luca's playroom down there but Nick doesn't like the idea of him maneuvering our steep stairs so we are probably going to be moving his study down there. The room is a lot bigger than what we have upstairs so we are going to be able to get the extra bookcases we need so I can finally get that room organized.
We took a drive a couple of weeks ago up skyline drive in Bountiful trying to reach the ponds so we could have a picnic and go exploring but the road is still closed from the slides that happened earlier this year. I did manage to get a couple of pretty pictures but none of Luca (he was asleep for most of the drive). Well I guess that is enough for now.

10 pounds of cuteness

2011-07-03T23:13:00.000-06:00

Well, Luca has finally hit the big one-oh in weight. I know he still looks small but he has gotten huge from where he first started. He is "talking" a lot more now and he is starting to smile a lot of the time. We are just so happy and he is such a cute little guy.

Walking the Weber river trail

2011-07-02T23:22:00.000-06:00

We decided to get out and go somewhere different and I remembered Alica talking about this great trail that they walked along the Weber river. Nick knew where the trail was at because this is the same place he and Jake went tubing and had a great adventure loosing most of what they had with them. But I digress. We weren't able to walk too far because Luca got upset with everything. We had him in the stroller, Nick carried him, I carried him, but nothing could sooth the crying baby so we headed back to the car. We did get a 2.25 mile walk and some alright pictures. (I didn't bring our good camera, so the pictures didn't turn out too great)

There is a quail in the trees

Nick & Luca in front of the Weber river, the water was originally a lot higher this year but it has really subsided

This is where Luca decided that he had enough of the great outdoors and wanted to go home

A neat picture of the trail and some of the trees & grasses

Visiting the old folks

2011-06-25T21:38:00.001-06:00

After we went to the museum we went to see Grandma and Grandpa Guthrie. Alicia and her little ones were there and Shawn did one of his favorite things, pose Beckum and Luca together. I have the funniest father-in-law. (Good thing he doesn't read my blog or that last little sentence would go to his head =P ) After Shawn had us take pictures of the boys he got really worn out and had to take a little nap.

Shawn and Beckum

The happy boys Beckum and Luca

Shhhhhhhhhhh, be still

The longer you stay married the more you have in common

Hill Air Force Base Museum

2011-06-25T21:36:00.000-06:00

We went to the Hill Museum today and we had a great time. Luca is still clueless but he is good natured enough to go with us and put up with all the pictures we take of him.

Nick & Luca in front of a replica of the Wright Brother's plane

Nick & Luca in front of a 50 cal machine gun

Nick is helping Luca reach greater heights by getting him ready to be an astronaut

Shauna & Luca in a ejection seat

Luca getting ready to blast off in a sim

Just so small

2011-06-16T23:28:00.000-06:00

I wanted to take some comparison pictures of Luca growth and how big he has really gotten. The first one is when he was in the hospital and we got him a giraffe for his isolet and then a follow up picture with his giraffe two and a half months later. I took some more just because he is gotten so cute and funny.

Luca in the hospital with his giraffe

In the hospital

Luca at home with his giraffe (two and a half months later)

Luca chillin' on our bed

Sunday Dinner

2011-06-12T22:13:00.001-06:00

We had Nick's parents and little sisters over for dinner tonight and we tried new recipes for everything. Nick made a pork tenderloin that everyone really liked. I made a potato salad that no one really liked (Linda was being the great mother-in-law she really is and said it was good. I know she was lying but she made me feel better). I also made some lime shrimp that was a little on the spicy side but everyone really liked them and I also made grilled peaches. We watched Narnia - Voyage of the Dawn Treador and it was really good, much better than the last Narnia movie Prince Caspian. We then bored the family by showing them pictures. They were good natured and it probably helped that I made candied pecans too. I've been in a real cooking mood lately since I've started my diet again. I know it is weird that I make tons of food that I can't even eat. I guess that since I can't enjoy it someone else should.
I am so happy to have Nick around. As I posted a few weeks ago, our dryer went out and I had to get another one. After he new dryer was delivered it worked for half a cycle and then kicked the circuit breaker. Every time I tried to dry anything it would kick the breaker. We called Lowes (where I bought the dryer) and they were supposed to send a maintenance crew out. By this point I've had the dryer a week and haven't dried a thing. Well the maintenance guys never showed up, so Nick called them back on Monday and they said, whoops. So the maintenance guy was scheduled to show up on Tuesday by noon. He called Nick at 11:50 and asked Nick what was wrong with the dryer. Nick explained what was wrong and the warranty maintenance guy said he would have to charge us if he went out because it sounded like there was nothing wrong with the dryer but with our circuit breaker. So Nick read up on how to replace the circuit breaker, he bought the part and replaced it; this was on Thursday (the first day he actually had a minute to get to it). I am happy to report, the circuit breaker is brand new and working wonderfully, my dryer is awesome, and I've done all the laundry in the house. Not just washed and dried the clothes buy folded and put everything away. I love Nick - I know I don't tell him enough and since I've been I this diet I haven't been the most pleasant person to be around. I just hope he can bear with the mood swings and grumpies just a little longer.
PS. I'll post the good recipes in the recipe section.

The Zoo is Fun

2011-06-10T21:41:00.000-06:00

Today we took Luca to the zoo for the first time and he was so excited (as you can see from his pictures). He was actually awake for most of the adventure but fell asleep right before we made it to the elephants. There were so many people looking at Luca while we were walking around, it was like he was his own exhibit. Look at the human baby, please remember not to feed it because it is on a special diet. I think he like everything (as much as an almost 3 month old could like anything) except the dinosaurs.

Nick & Luca standing in front of the wolf pin (the wolf is asleep in the background)

Nick & Luca (in the stroller) in front of a T-Rex

Just so excited to be here!

Happy Little Family

Almost as big as an infant gorilla - there were a couple of other people taking pictures of Nick & Luca here

Shauna feeding Luca to a T-Rex, Luca's not too happy

This is a mommy Lemur with one of her twin babies

We got Luca a new friend at the gift shop. The giraffe is bigger than he is

Cute Elephant

Happy Rino

Scary!!!

2011-06-09T22:11:00.000-06:00

It was pointed out to me that there is a definite father/son resemblance in their facial features in these two pictures. We now have a pretty good idea what Luca is going to look like in the future.

Nick

Luca

SCARY!!!

Elizabeth's High School Graduation

2011-06-03T21:42:00.001-06:00

We are so proud of Elizabeth for graduating from high school on Friday June 3rd. As you can see from some of the pictures she played in the orchestra during the ceremony. She was also very excited that she was the last girl to walk. YEAH ELIZABETH!!!

Elizabeth waiting so patiently (there is a lady behind Liz's right -our left- yawning)

The graduates were getting ready to start walking and Liz was playing amazingly

Now Liz is getting ready to go stand in line to receive her diploma

Almost done!!!

Liz & Alta

Here she goes...and

YEAH!!! Graduated - The happy graduate is pictured here with her dad and mom

Beckem Pruett

2011-06-02T23:34:00.001-06:00

Alicia had her new little bundle of joy on Monday the 30th of June. His name is Beckem Pruett and he weighed in at 6 pounds 14 ounces and is 20 inches. Alicia got out of the hospital on Wednesday the 1st of June and went to her mom's where Nick and Luca were. I think these pictures are so funny. Beckem is 2 days old and Luca is 2 1/2 months. Poor Luca is just so little. We are so happy for our new little friend!

Beckem & Luca

Beckum & Luca pose 2

Beckem and Luca pose 3

Beckum, Luca and Beckem's big sister Addison

Visiting Grandpa & Grandma Christensen's Over Memorial Day

2011-05-30T21:35:00.000-06:00

Nick, Luca, Elizabeth and I went to Grandpa & Grandma Christensen's over Memorial Day weekend and we had a great time. The first night we celebrated Micaela's birthday at Grandma & Grandpa's house; Cindy, Micaela's friend Justice, Gary, Susan, Nathan, Becca and their little guy Reese were there having cake and ice cream. (I didn't get any pictures that day).
The next day (Sunday) we went to church with Grandma & Grandpa but had to leave in the middle of sacrament meeting because I completely forgot my brain and left Luca's bottle and pacifier at the house. We made a quick dash home and made it back to hear the last two speakers. After sacrament we went looking for the St. George new airport so Nick could introduce himself to the people he works with so he could put a face to a voice. That took two hours because we couldn't find the stupid airport. They put it in the middle of nowhere. After that we went to dinner at Nathan and Becca's. They have an amazing house that Becca has decorated so beautifully.
Monday we just took some time to relax before heading back home. It was such an amazing trip and we are so glad that Grandma & Grandpa let us come and visit.

Luca is riding the rocking horse @ Nathan & Becca's house

Silly Nick, Poor Grandma - Nick just loves teasing his poor grandmother

I'm not sure if he is scared or confused - but whatever he is, he sure is cute

Grandma and Grandpa, working on getting Luca fed

Nick, Shauna & Luca going 4 Wheeling

Luca - Master of the 4 Wheeler

Just hanging out with dad

:Luca is learning to cast

Silly Grandpa

Silly Grandpa - Part 2

Silly Grandma

Silly Grandpa - Part 3

U2

2011-05-25T22:06:00.000-06:00

I work at a flight school at the Salt Lake City airport and yesterday U2 flew into Million Air's terminal so they could get to their show. A lot of celebrities fly into Million Air and so far none of them have ever stopped to sign autographs or take pictures with fans. So you can imagine the shock I was in when the SUV limo pulled out of the airport gates and stopped. Bono and The Edge got out and started meeting people. I went out side to see what was going on. They were both so nice to everyone. I snapped a quick picture with my phone and just hung around in the crowd. I had Luca in a front baby carrier, Bono and The Edge came over and said "Cute Baby" then they went on to the next group of people. I though it was pretty cool. Take that Dean & Karen!!!

The Edge, Bono and their bodyguards

Chillin'

2011-05-25T21:22:00.000-06:00

Little Luca is starting to play with things. Not really play, he just likes to hit things and watch them swing. He got a play mat for Christmas from his grandparents and he is just starting to like laying on it. This made the cat a little sad because the cat loved playing with the toys.

Elizabeth's Seminary Graduation

2011-05-25T21:11:00.000-06:00

Well it is official, Elizabeth is a seminary graduate. The ceremony was held on Sunday the 22nd of May. One more graduation to go and she is all done with high school!

Elizabeth with her diploma

Shawn, Elizabeth and Linda after Liz's graduation

Bryan's Birthday

2011-05-25T20:59:00.000-06:00

Sunday May 22nd was Bryan's 26 birthday. I made lasagna and Shell made some pumpkin pie for Bryan. Kelly played "Happy Birthday" on her cello and we all sang along. It was a lot of fun.

Luca being held by his cousins Kelly and Trevor

Bryan holding Luca

Trevor is explaining something to Nick but we aren't quite sure what

Grandpa Ted helping Luca wave "goodbye" to Trevor

Grandpa Ted and Luca

Uncle Bryan home from war

2011-05-25T20:43:00.001-06:00

Bryan got home from the Middle East on Saturday the 14th of May. He has been gone for 9 months and we really missed him. He looks great and he got to see his nephew Luca for the first time. (I was going to title the posting "Uncle Bryan home from Army, but I didn't think anyone would get that unless they watched Arrested Development)

Bryan and Luca at the National Guard base in Salt Lake City

Bryan and Luca

Bryan and Nathan's little boy Trevor

What a month!

2011-05-25T20:24:00.000-06:00

Well, we've had a interesting few weeks. First off, on the 5th of May Nick was driving home from Weber State when a maintenance worker pulled out and hit the car. Nick was ok but the car had to go into the body shop to get some work done. OK, minor issue but hey, life goes on.
The next Thursday we had another little adventure. My sister, Michelle, came over to visit and she was helping out by letting the puppies in from being outside. When she came in the house she said Kody was having a seizure by the stairs. Kody has minor seizures every once in a while and the vet told us not to worry unless they became more frequent. I went outside and I though Kody was dead. He wasn't breathing, his eyes were glazed over and when I picked him up he just flopped in my arms. The only way I knew he wasn't dead was because his heart was still beating. Shell said she would stay and watch Luca so I jumped into the car and headed towards the vets.
I went to our regular vet because when I talked to the nurse I didn't know there was a special animal ER in Sunset. After I drove to Layton I had to backtrack to Sunset and Kody wasn't doing any better the whole way there. I just kept praying that he would be okay and he could be his normal silly self again.
I arrived at the ER and by this time Nick was on his way to the Animal ER to make sure Kody was ok. Kody was still seizing when I got him to the ER. They gave him some medicine to stop the seizures and relax him but he was going to have to spend the night. I called in the middle of the night just to make sure he was doing alright. The nurse said that he didn't want to spend the night in the kennel and he was doing better.
The next morning I went to the Animal ER to pick him up and the nurse said he was doing just fine, he kept everyone up all night because he didn't want to be in a kennel. (At home all the puppies sleep in dog beds under our bed). I got Kody home but he still seemed very disoriented and he kept stumbling. I made an appointment for him to see his regular doctor on Monday so I was very anxious the whole weekend. Kody didn't seem to be making any improvement and I was so worried.
When Monday rolled around Nick & Luca took Kody to the vet. The vet explained why Kody was acting funny and stumbling. The Animal ER vet prescribed too high of a dose of medicine for Kody, so in essence Kody was drunk all weekend. The vet fixed his dosage and Kody is completely back to normal.
The Friday after the vet appointment I got a call from the insurance agency letting me know that the car was totaled. I though "Oh joy, what more can go wrong", I had the agent call Nick to give him the good news and let us know how much our car was worth. Our car was worth more to us since it has been paid off for 3 years than totaling the poor thing. Well we started the search for a car for Nick. As most of you know, Nick is usually very easy going, but when it comes to his car he gets kind of "weird". I searched the internet for 4 days looking for anything that he would remotely consider. He turned everything down and we were running out of time because we only had 1 more day with the rental car. I was getting desperate.
I talked to our insurance agent over the phone and she recommended a website that members of our insurance company could search for vehicles on at a reduced price. I had 1 day to find a car. On the website I found a car that I though looked pretty cool, I hadn't heard of this make before so I asked Nick what he thought. He was very interested, to say the least. I found out where the dealership was and we made plans to test drive the car the next day.
So Saturday morning we turned in the rental and set off to look at this car Nick seemed interested in. We got to the dealership and I though they had made a mistake about the car because this car was nice. I wasn't expecting anything too fancy but this car was pretty cool. It was fully loaded with a sunroof and this and that.
Well we test drove the car and Nick was sold, there were a few we-owe items we wanted fixed so we presented our offer to the sales man. He took our offer to the tower (slang for where the office manager hangs out and makes car deals) and our offer was declined. We bid them good day and took our leave.
We made it out to my car and had Luca buckled up when the manager came running out trying to get our attention. I really mean running and this was no little guy, you could really tell he liked McDonald's. Anyway, they decided to accept our offer and at the 23 hour and 59th minute we got Nick a car.
I'm going to get a picture of Nick, Luca and his car this weekend but just use your imagination until then. Nick has an 04 Saab Sport Sedan that is dark blue and the car goes fast. You can ask Nick's dad how fast this car went. When we took the car to show his parents Shawn took it out for a test drive and I was worried about him getting a ticket, he was so speedy. Well Nick is happy and so am I because I don't have to look for a car anymore.
Well there are only a couple of more days left in this month so hopefully nothing else decided to go wrong. ( I had better go find some wood to knock on)

P.S. As I was writing this my dryer died. I get to go look for a new dryer this weekend. I guess I didn't knock soon enough.

Mother's Day Dinner

2011-05-09T21:56:00.000-06:00

This was my first Mother's Day as a mom to a real baby not just a mom to puppies. We went over to Nick's parents house at 3 so we could talk to Jared, who is serving a mission in San Paulo Brazil. It was wonderful to be able to talk and see him. After we talked to Jared we had dinner and the husband's were in charge. Shawn made pork roast, Nick made garlic mashed potatoes and Jake made a Cesare salad, but he was in a creative mood and put a peanut butter cup in the salad. I was a little afraid when he said there was a surprise in the salad. The salad tasted fine, and while I was eating dinner I was reminded of a salad I've made with chocolate in it. The recipe is posted in the recipe section and it is called, "Strawberry Salad". Since I forgot the camera at the house I'll post more pictures of Luca and how cute he is.

This is the day we brought Luca home from the hospital

Just hanin' out with dad

He love his suckie

Bad Mommy Moments

2011-05-09T21:23:00.000-06:00

I knew being a mom would be hard and different but I didn't know how many times a day I would feel like a bad mom. It seems that every time I pick up Luca someone is telling me that I'm doing it wrong or that I should carry him some other way. I know I just need to grin and bear it but sometimes I wish they would just sink into the earth to never been seen again. I also love it when older people tell me that if it weren't for modern medicine Luca would be dead. I love those people too. It doesn't make it any better when I'm giving Luca a bath and he screams as if I killing him and not just cleaning out his little fat folds so he doesn't smell like sour milk.
Talking to my mother-in-law and sister's in law really helps because when I talk to them they help me feel normal and that it is alright if my baby screams while I am giving him a bath. Enough complaining. Here are some of Luca's first bath at our house pictures.

Easter 2011

2011-05-02T17:00:00.000-06:00

Nick is helping Luca get Easter Eggs in his Easter basket, Luca seems super excited, so excited he can't wake up.

Nick, Luca, Carson and Savanna (in the back) are looking for eggs in Grandma's flower garden.

Nick and Luca after getting tons of Easter Eggs, also his Easter puppie is in his basket too.

Addison, Streator, Savanna, Brooklyn, and Carson holding Luca after the Easter Egg hunt.

Luca's Blessing Day

2011-05-01T20:17:00.000-06:00

Luca was blessed on April 10th at the Davis Hospital. We decided it was probably better to get it done sooner than later. Our bishop was very excited to attend the blessing because he said he never blessed a baby in a hospital. We would like to thank all the family who were able to attend and help Nick bless our little Luca. We missed those who weren't able to be there.

Nick & Shauna holding Luca after he was blessed

The proud papa holding his little guy

Shauna with her little guy

Luca in NICU

2011-04-25T19:55:00.000-06:00

After Luca was born he stayed in NICU for one month and five days before getting to come home on April 18th. We were so happy to finally get him home.

Luca hanging out with his giraffe buddy

This is the first time Luca wore clothes and he did a show and tell at the nursery window for his family to have a peak at him. Saturday March 26th

The Day Luca Came

2011-04-25T14:08:00.000-06:00

Wednesday March 16th 2011 was a very stormy day turning into a even stormier night. I was on bed rest at the hospital waiting to have my baby; I was anticipating a 2 week stay at the hospital due to the fact that the baby was so early and I was having issues with my blood pressure.

Nick had just gotten off of work and was hanging out at the hospital with me. I had to go to the restroom so Nick helped me unhook all of the monitors and he walked me to the bathroom. I noticed when I was in the bathroom that my underwear was wet and I knew that I didn't have an accident so when I went back to bed I told the nurse. The nurse thought I had an accident but she indulged my anyway by checking the fluid to see if it was urine or amniotic fluid. The nurse pulled out the test strip and checked, then she checked again, and just to be sure she checked one more time. Nick asked what the color on the strip meant and the nurse said that if it was urine the color of the strip would be yellow but the strip was blue, a pretty dark blue and she said that it was amniotic fluid.

The nurse quickly left the room and called Doctor Hall; he was at the hospital within a couple of minutes and he checked me himself. He then said, "OK, this is as far as we go, how would you like to have your baby today?" I asked him if we could just pretend there wasn't any fluid and go on with me on bed rest. He chuckled a little and told the nurse to start prepping me for a c-section in about an hour. I was scared and I think that Nick was a little scared too. I was worried because our little guy was going to be so early and so little and that he may not survive the ordeal.

After Doctor Hall left my room I asked Nick to call his parents and see if his dad could come down and help Nick give me a blessing. After that call everything happened so quickly. My nurse came back in and started prepping me and she found out that I had eaten lunch earlier that day. (A person is not supposed to eat at least 6 hours prior to having anesthetic, due to the fact that it can make them sick and if they were to throw up they could aspirate and possibly die.) I had to drink the yuckiest stuff to neutralize the stuff in my stomach in case I did get sick during the surgery.

Shawn, Linda and Katie showed up and I got my blessing. Becky from NICU showed up and told us what was going to happen once the baby was born and what to expect in the NICU. Then the anesthesiologist's assistant showed up and went over everything that was going to happen during the surgery. At that point Doctor Hall came into the room and said the surgery was going to be delayed an hour due to there being an emergency c-section. After that we just waited.

At 8:00 pm my nurse Nichole and the anesthesiologist showed up and told Nick to put on his surgical clothes and get ready. I was then wheeled into the operating room. After they gave me my epidural Nick showed up looking like a lost tourist because he had the camera draped around his neck. I was so happy to see him. The epidural started working and I felt strangely numb all over and I felt this weird tugging sensation and I asked Nick when they were going to start. He looked over the sheet and said they had already started. I didn't feel any pain, just some weird tugging, but from what Nick saw he thought is was pretty cool.

At 8:38 pm Doctor Hall pulled a screaming baby with tons of dark hair out and handed him to the nurse. Nick and I were able to see him for about 15 seconds before they whisked him away to be checked and made sure everything was alright.

Luca was born at 8:38 pm, weighing 3 pounds 5 ounces and 16.5 inches long. He had tons of dark hair, a good set of lungs and was absolutely perfect.

Shawn & Katie in the Labor & Delivery room before Luca was born Nick in his surgical outfit Shauna during Luca's c-section Luca in NICU after he was born

Third Trimester

2011-04-25T13:44:00.000-06:00

The third trimester is where the trouble really started in my pregnancy. The day I started my third trimester I got food poisoning from eating chicken fingers from Harmons and I got admitted to the hospital that night but I was released at 4 in the morning. My doctor was called when I was in the hospital and he told the nurse that I needed to be seen in his office the following Monday.

Nick and I went to the appointment and Doctor Hall was concerned about my blood pressure and he said it is probably nothing but he was going to watch it anyway. We went a week and a half before being admitted to the hospital again. Late on a Friday night I woke up feeling horrible, I got sick in the bathroom, had a horrible headache, my left hand and foot was very swollen, and I had horrible abdominal pain, I though I was going to die. We were only in the hospital for a couple of hours again before being released. Dr. Hall wanted to see me again the following Monday.

At this point Dr. Hall realized we may have a problem with preeclampsia and that if my blood pressure didn't get under control the baby would be coming sooner than later. Long story short, Nick and I visited the doctor three times a week and I was being admitted to the hospital at least twice a week.

After one of the really bad readings (210/104) I was admitted over night and they started me on blood pressure medicine. The baby was only 30 weeks along then and the doctor was very worried they were going to have to take him that night. But our luck held out and I was released the next day on the condition that I was on strict bed rest.

The weeks slowly pressed on and I had a paranatologist (baby doctor specialist) visit at the hospital on Monday the 14th of March and he and Doctor Hall decided the best thing to do would have me be admitted to the hospital until the baby came. I was 32 weeks along and they wanted me to try and make it to 34 weeks so the baby would be a little more developed. So when Nick and I came to the hospital the last time before having the baby I was under the impression that I would be on bed rest for 2 weeks but the baby, Luca, had other thoughts completely.

Forever Again!!!

2011-04-22T16:09:00.000-06:00

Well it has been forever since I we have blogged and really had anything to blog about. I guess I need to play catch up for the past year +.

We have been doing well, still living in Roy and loving our house and back yard. The puppies are still the same but we did get an addition to our little family last June when we got a kitten. He is half Siamese and half bobcat (we aren't too sure about the bobcat part but it fits his personality).

Life was going pretty much the same except that in April of 2010 I started on the HCG diet and started loosing weight. That was one of the hardest things to do because of the limited number calorie and foods that I could eat. Long story short, in the end I lost 35 pounds. It felt wonderful!!! I started the second round of drops in late August working towards loosing the last 20 pounds when the drops stopped working. We were a little confused but decided to go off the drops and consult my doctor. I decided I didn't want any surprises when I went to the doctor so I took a pregnancy test the day before my appointment and it came back positive. I was so happy and scared at the same time because I didn't want to loose another pregnancy.

We were able to make it through the first and second trimesters without too many problems. I was sick the whole first trimester but the second was a breeze. The trouble started when I reached my third trimester. But that story is for another time. I feel that we are pretty caught up again and I hope to stay caught up this time.

Our kitty Marshmallow

Our backyard

2009-06-04T09:37:00.000-06:00

Nick & I have been working on our back yard and it is finally stating to look good and have some character. This weekend we have big plans of cutting down part of the trees encroaching our neighbor John's backyard. In two weeks we are going to try to get our new deck built and the week after that get the rest of the rock path and flower beds in. The garden is doing great except the poor spinach, I don't think any are going to come up and the ants ran off with a bunch of pea plants before I took care of them. We planted 6 pumpkin plants that are supposed to produce 90+ pound pumpkins each so I think we are going to have enough pumpkins for carving this year. Nick is super excited!

All the kids together again

2009-05-21T13:00:00.001-06:00

All of the Guthrie kids were at our house on Monday having a barbecue to celebrate Randy & Cassi's visit. Shawn & Linda thought it would be great to have a picture of all the kids because they haven't been together in a while and it will be longer till they are all together again.

Randy & Cassi's visit

2009-05-21T12:52:00.001-06:00

Randy is done with his first year at law school in New Hampshire so Randy & Cassi decided to visit family in Utah for a week. We are so happy they came, we had a barbecue at our house on Monday and played volleyball and I think everyone had a great time. (Jesse & Jake had to work so they weren't able to be there) Nick also had me take a few pictures of his barbecue, he is so proud of it.

New Barbecue & Garden

2009-05-21T12:39:00.000-06:00

Nick and I love our new house and yard. I didn't realize how large our yard was till I had to mow it, but the dogs love it and it really has been great because we have been able to have family over to barbecue and play volleyball. We also put in a garden this spring and I'm happy to announce that my carrots and peas are coming up, the spinach has been a little slow but the peppers, eggplant, spaghetti squash and pumpkins are doing great. These pictures are the day that we planted the garden and the day Nick put together his new smoker/grill.

Winter at the new house

2009-05-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

This is the first real winter the puppies have endured and they had an absolute great time playing in the snow. Sammy probably had the most fun, every time Nick would go out and shovel the drive and walks he would take the dogs with them and Sammy would try and catch the snow Nick was shoveling. Charleigh doesn't really like to get wet so she would follow Nick in the paths he made so she would stay as dry as possible. Kody just love the snow and playing outside.

Making up for lost time

2009-05-21T12:24:00.000-06:00

Today I have time to catch our blog up to date. Tons has happened since the last time I was on here. There have been 3 births since the first of the year - Jessica had Savanna, Sharee had Brooklyn and Alicia had Addison and all three little girls are growing so fast. Nick is finishing up his commercial rating for flight school, that should be done at the end of next week at the latest and then he's trying to go to a school in Phoenix for a week to get his multi-engine rating. He is working so hard and he is also planning on starting at Weber State this fall. I've been working in my garden and flower beds and reading lately and it has been wonderful. Randy and Cassi were able to come visit this last week and it was great seeing them. This weekend we are planning on building a deck of the back of the house; so we have our work cut out for us.

Christmas Eve at Temple Square

2009-01-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

It was COLD!!! I forgot how cold it get here, Washington got cold but nothing like this. I thought my nose was going to fall off, but I'm just a big baby. The Guthrie family has a tradition that on Christmas Eve they gather together, eat crepes, see the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake and open their pajamas. This year Linda switched things around and we had crepes first then open the gifts and then went and saw the lights. This new schedule worked wonderfully, she is always full of great ideas. Nick was excited to see the lights because this is the first time he's celebrated Christmas in two years, the previous years he has been deployed with the Navy. I think that everyone had a great time.
Nick & Me Streator, Shawn & Nick Kaite, Elizabeth & Shawn, and the family: Shawn, Linda, Nick, Me, Matt, Sharee, Carson, Jesse, Jessica, Streator, Jake, Alicia, Jared, Elizabeth & Katie. (Randy & Cassi aren't pictured, they are living in New Hampshire)

Halloween 2008

2009-01-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

K, I'm trying to get post and pictures caught up. We've had computer problems (to say the least) so I'm getting as much done today just in case the computer has stress again. Nick & I haven't been home for Halloween in 7 years and I wasn't sure quite what to expect at the Halloween party. There were tons of people and everyone was dressed up and it was a lot of fun. Jared, Shawn & Nick went through so many costumes that night so I'll put the best of the lot on.
Nick & I are on the left, Nick is an Angle wearing a cowboy hat, Jared is the busty blond, Shawn in the blond in glasses, Katie is an Angle holding Streator, and Sharee is the blond packin' heat.

Family Pictures

2009-01-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Shawn & Linda wanted family pictures done (Randy and Cassie are missing because they are having an adventure in New Hampshire while Randy attends law school. Go Randy!!!) The pictures were taken in the park below Farmington Canyon in the middle of November. The weather was wonderful, Linda was hoping for snow but I'm glad that it was pretty dry. I didn't get any pictures with everyone but here are a couple of picture I did get.
Nick & I being silly, Nick being the Karate Kid and Nick making faces at Streator.

Super Glue

2008-12-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

Super Glue is what holds the world together along with dental floss and duct tape, but sometimes things don't need to be that secure. Let me give you an example of why super glue should be as super. I have been painting and finishing up a Christmas project so I will be ready for next year. Nick and I have been going to craft stores (ask Nick how much he loves craft stores, he actually laid on the ground in the Quilted Bear two weeks ago because he said he couldn't go on any more) looking for a certain color of paint that has been discontinued but trying to find the two colors that mix together to make the one color is also impossible to find. We finally found the discontinued paint at the Ben Franklin down from our house, but I was also looking for Lambs Wool, which NO ONE CARRIES!!! Anyway, I got some doll hair instead to see if that will work (no it won't work) so I decided to just super glue everything together and keep looking for the wool. Nick got me a brand new thing of super glue, so I opened the top and used the poinkie thing to make a hole and the whole stupid tube blew up all over my hands. I yelled for Nick to come help and save the counter top where I was gluing everything, I put my hands under cold water to harden the glue and Nick is yelling the whole time "Keep your fingers apart"!!! Apparently Nick has a 6th sense about super glue, I didn't even tell him that I was going to be gluing. So to finish up my story - Super glue is super when it isn't all over your hands!!! We are going to Nick's parents tonight to drop off some movies and I will see if I can borrow some of Linda's fingernail polish remover.

Long Time

2008-12-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

It has been absolutely forever since I've written, but work has been super hectic and stressful - anyway. Nick finally bullied me into getting a face book account and I've been putting that together tonight.

Last month Nick was able to get some GREAT tickets to the Coldplay concert at Energy Solutions, we were on the 4th row. The show was incredible, they sounded great, the lasers were really cool too. They would show video and live feed on these balloon thing that were hanging from the ceiling. We thought that the band was possibly lip syncing or on a track or something but during one song they messed up and you could tell they were singing live. It was sooo cool!!!

We finally have the house completely set up (thanks to Nick) right now he is studying for his next flight test and listening to Queen (I don't know why) in the "study". All the study really is, is a couple of chairs and an end table in our third bedroom but he feels like this is a sanctuary. Well I need to get ready for bed.

These things that I think, I think.

2008-09-23T20:55:00.000-06:00

Ok here we go.
Shauna wanted me to be a contributer to all of this blog stuff, so I gusse I will do my best to do these things in witch she asks me.
I have a lot of time on my hands right now, and that allows me to start thinking my deep thoughts and contemplate my life as it is. I have come up with a few things that would make the world a better place, so I thought I would share a few of them.
1. All kids that are names Ray Ray must go. Most of the time theese are the most annoying dirty kids, and the name its self just sucks.
2. People who let me know that I am going bald. Do they really think that I dint realize that i was loosing my hair at 25 years old. Yes I am bald and have a nice cu di sac parked on the top of my head.
3. The fox commercials on the radio were they make it sound like the call some looser who just watches House and fringe, and cant wait for the next episode. Do these guys really think we believe they just called them up out of the blue. I hate house any ways. Shauna loves him so I have to watch his whinny butt save some washed up actor from a illness he got from eating food out of a kitty litter box. I hate house.
4. I think it would be nice if when the mail man drops of your mail he also leaves you a small mint to go with it. Then I would check the mail more than once a week.
5. The BYU channel needs to go away.
6. Drivers who swerve every were while they talk and text message down the freeway. I know we all do it but i love how you pass them because they allways slow down to 45 to be safe, and they dont even notice that they are in 2 lanes while they talk about which one of there friends has the bggest butt.
Well I know its only six thinks, I never said i was that deep of a thinker. Plus Shaunas chronice nagging is starting to act up. That and I think thers only 2 people that read this, the guy Shauna dated in high school thats now in prison, and the kid I used to throw apples at during lunch. I hear he is slow planning his revenge.
So if your out there let me know.

Nickolas Q Guthrie.

Zoo Day

2008-09-14T17:41:00.000-06:00

Nick & I went to the zoo a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. The zoo workers were doing "enrichment" activities where they place different items in the cages and see how the animals interact with them. They gave the bears flavored, red, frozen ice chunks to eat. They looked like they were having fun. The keepers put frozen watermelon and honeydew melon in the Elephant's enclosure and they really enjoyed that too.

Wolf Enrichment Part 1

2008-09-14T17:35:00.000-06:00

Wolf Enrichment Part 2

2008-09-14T17:28:00.000-06:00

Happy 30th Birthday Nick

2008-08-17T20:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the 16th of August 2008 was Nickolas Adam Guthrie's 30th birthday!!! I got up early and decorated the house putting up a banner, yard sign and some streamers; after that we had some of his favorite things for his birthday breakfast. For lunch family and friends gathered in Salt Lake for lunch at Macaroni Grill. It took Nick forever to eat, he just couldn't stop talking and joking with everyone there. Even though it wasn't the most glamorous birthday it was tons of fun. This year his one big present was a Zune. Luckily I got the Zune a month ago while he was at work and we haven't been able to find once since. Nick thought I wasn't able to get one because he look also and couldn't find one. He was so surprised and happy.

Rock Star Shawn

2008-08-17T20:01:00.000-06:00

This is Shawn playing Rock Star on the Wii. Sorry this video is sideways.

Rock Star Linda

2008-08-17T19:58:00.000-06:00

Linda is rockin' out to this tune. This one is sideways too.

Rock Star Katie

2008-08-17T19:52:00.000-06:00

Here are some videos from today's rock expierence. Sorry, the video is sideways.

Guthrie Family Rock Star

2008-08-17T19:47:00.000-06:00

Well the Guthrie family has turned into a family of rockers. We went over to Jake & Alicia's on Sunday and while we were there Nick couldn't resist playing Rock Star on the Wii. We had a great time and have the pictures to prove it. Enjoy!!!

Avon

2008-08-10T20:35:00.000-06:00

Nick & I spend some time enjoying nature today with the puppies. We took a drive over Avon (by Nordic Valley) and had a great time. We drove to where there is a beaver dam and decided to walk around and let the puppies run. Unfortunately we didn't see any beavers this time. Nick and I went up there about 8 years ago and we did see a beaver then. The dogs had tons of fun playing in the water and it was just nice to get away for a couple of hours.

Randy's Fairwell Party

2008-08-04T21:43:00.002-06:00

On Saturday the Guthrie family gathered together to bid farewell to Randy who is leaving for New Hampshire to attend law school. We had a barbecue and then played volleyball afterward. Everyone had a great time. Randy and Cassi will sure be missed.

The Misadventures of Nick & Jake

2008-08-03T22:53:00.001-06:00

Friday the 1st of August Nick and his little buddy Jake (Alicia's husband) set out on an adventure of a lifetime. As they loaded up Jake's truck with two black inter tubs, a mischievous gleam in their eyes they felt they were prepared for anything the river had to offer, but alas they were wrong. Nick not bothering to listen to his wife left the bottle of sunblock on the dresser, mistake one. The two boys drove to the end point of their mighty adventure in the making and left Nick's car and then proceeded to the starting point in the river. Both boys being as prepared as they were brought water with them on the trip, they also wore tee shirts, swim trunks and flip flops. They jumped over the fence with the "No Trespassing" sign posted and proceeded down to the river. Everything was going well. They removed their shirts and hoped on the tubes and were off. As they approached the first "waterfall" Jake's water bottles top blew off and all of his water was gone. Then as they were rounding a curve Jake crashed into a tree and that's when he lost his shirt. They went back and looked for it but to no avail. The proceeded down the river and Jake got caught in some "rapids" and as he was trying to get out lost his wedding ring. Nick then got caught in a different set of "rapids" and he lost his shirt. They were still going down the river when the rope carrying Jake & Nick's water bottles got caught on a log and as Jake was untangling it his tube started floating down the river. Luckily Nick got his tube and as Jake walked down to Nick he asked if Nick saw his flip flop floating by but Nick didn't see it. The rest of the river was good, nothing bad happened but when they reached the end they noticed 2 kayaking shoots; the first time they went down they were normal, the second time they were on their stomachs and they had a great idea for the third run; they were going to balance on their hands and knees on the tubes. Jake went first and crashed and got knocked off his tube. Nick laughed and said that wasn't going to happen to him. Nick went down and crashed in the same exact spot and then got washed to the second "waterfall" shoot and Nick told Jake he needed to ride down the rest of the way with him on Jake's tube. Jake said "OK" and then he let go of the tube and Nick and the tube went down the second "waterfall". Before the "waterfall" Nick thought he sliced his foot open because something was flapping against his foot, but it ended up being the flip flop (he broke the thong). Nick went over the second "waterfall" which knock off his flip flops and he was able to retrieve one good flip flop and the tubes. Somewhere down the river Jake lost his other flip flop. After that they decided to call it a day. So Jake ended up with no flip flops, no shirt and no wedding ring, Nick ended up with 1 flip flop, and no shirt. Luckily they both ended up with their swimming trunks.

Fun at the Reunion

2008-07-06T23:12:00.001-06:00

This week was the much anticipated Christensen Family Reunion in New Harmony; everyone who was there had a great time. Nick was able to fly down with his company on Thursday and see everyone except Dean (Nick was sad) but when everyone got back today we found out that Dean will be coming up here for a day (Nick is not sad anymore). Nick got this picture of Jared wearing all of the safety swimming stuff at Grandma and Grandpa's pool. Next is his "One Handed Floater" jump. The last picture is Nick sitting in the cockpit of his works plane. Everyone really had a great time.

Jared Displaying Safety Diving

2008-07-06T23:07:00.000-06:00

Flying with Jared

2008-07-06T22:57:00.000-06:00

Nick is still trying to build hours for all of his flying certificates and so he took Jared up to Logan a couple of days ago. Luckily this time when Nick took Jared he didn't puke (the last time Jared went up he was 9 and he puked skittles everywhere). Jared got some great picture though.

Nick playing with nylons

2008-06-19T21:29:00.000-06:00

While we were still living in Washington the puppies got a hold of a pair of my nylons and ruined them so Nick decided to let the puppies ruin them completely.

Getting Caught Up - Mother's Day

2008-06-19T20:49:00.000-06:00

This year for Mother's Day we were at the Guthrie's for dinner and some after dinner Frisbee football. There were tons of people here and it was good to see everyone. Frisbee football was tons of fun and Shawn also got out a bat and some softballs and Grandpa Christensen turned into the pitcher; I think his arm turned to jell-o by the end of the night. One of Nick's cousins (Brittany) and her kids (Kennedy, Kyler) came to visit and it was great to see them.

Shawn, Linda, Nick, Shauna , Randy, Sharee, Matt, Jessica, Jesse, Alicia, Jake, Jared, Elizabeth, Katie, Grandpa & Grandma Christensen, Brittany, Cindy, Kayla, Tyler, Carson, Streeter, Kennedy, and Kyler

4 Ever

2008-06-12T14:14:00.001-06:00

It has been so long since I've taken time to sit down and write about what is going on. It has been a month since I posted last but there haven't been too many changes. I am still without a job and I'm at my wits end. I send out another 13 resumes and applications today and something has to happen soon.
Nick & I are heading out tomorrow to look at more houses. Buying a house is a wonderful and horrible thing at the same time. It is so exciting to finally after all these years get a home but it is terrible because there is always something not quite right about the house. We aren't looking for the perfect house we are just looking for "our" house.
Tuesday was our 8th anniversary and I got Nick a set of golf clubs and he is so happy. He wanted to take Shawn and Jared to hit some balls but the weather got pretty yucky. He did go yesterday with Jared and hit a bucket of balls, they were both like little boys that were so happy. Today Nick had to drive up to Idaho for work and then he'll be flying back later today; I wish he didn't have to do that because he is going to be so tired.
I am in such a cooking mood so I told my mother-in-law that I want to cook dinner and she is so happy; we are going to have Lasagna and the kids are excited too.
I really need to post some more pictures. A couple of weeks ago, I think it was Mother's Day, almost everyone came over for dinner and then we went to the bowery down from the house and played Frisbee football and it was tons of fun. I got some great pictures of everyone.
Nick's brother Randy left to head back east a couple of days ago. He has a really great internship lined up with the Obama campaign and it should be a really good start into politics for Randy. I feel sad for his wife; they decided that for the time being she would hold down the fort in Layton and then he will come a get her in about 6 weeks. 6 weeks is a long time and I wish them the best of luck.
Well nothing else really to report have a great week!!!

Friday

2008-05-09T22:44:00.000-06:00

It has been so long since I've been able to post, my life has been very busy lately. I am so appreciative of my in-laws for letting Nick and I invade their house and Elizabeth is so amazing because she has given up her room for Nick & I to use. We are actively looking for somewhere to live and I don't want to impose upon their hospitality too much.
Nick & I went to dinner with Randy, Cassi and Randy's friend John at a Thai place in Layton. I had a very good salad with a different dressing, it was a spicy peanut dressing, it was different but good.
I am so excited for tomorrow. I went to the nursery with Linda and Sharee yesterday and I got some amazing plants and tomorrow I'm potting them and I hope that they are going to grow. Gardening in Utah is very different than gardening in Washington. In Washington all you really have to do is throw some seeds outside and they will sprout and bloom.
I finished a good book two days ago and I can't wait for the next one in the series to come out. The series is Fablehaven and I finished the third book which incidentally came out a month ago so now I have to wait a whole nother year for the next book. I'm also waiting for the third book in another series to come out and it won't be out till 2009. It is the Hood series by Steven Lawhead. I really like the series.
Well I have probably babbled enough for now. Happy Friday.

Hubby Tag

2008-05-09T22:23:00.000-06:00

1.what's his name? Nick
2."how long have you been together? Almost 9 years
3.how long did you date? 9 months
4.who eats more? I do
5.who said 'I love you' first? I had to ask Nick because I didn't remember. He said that I did and then he just said "Oh"
6."who is taller? Nick
7.who sings better? I do but Nick changes the words to songs better than I do.
8.who is smarter? Nick is street smart and plane smart and I am book smart and craft smart.
9.who does the laundry? I usually do but one time when Nick was helping me out he decided to wash the couch pillows. I told him to take the covers off but he decided to put the all the pillows in the washing machine. I got home from work and he grabbed me and said, "I love you!" I said "What did you do?" He said "I love you and I'm sorry!" I said "What did you do?" He told me to follow him up the stairs and showed me a pillow that the washing machine shredded. All I could do was laugh.
10.who does the dishes? I do but when I'm not feeling well Nick helps out.
11.who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do right now because we are sleeping in Elizabeth's bed but usually I sleep on the left.
12.who pays the bills? We do it together. If we can't sit down together and do it we at least discuss what is being paid and when.
13.who mows the lawn? We don't have a lawn right now but Nick is going to mow his parents lawn tomorrow.
14.who cooks dinner? I do. Nick was helping me once and he was making instant potatoes and instead of putting one package in he put in both and couldn't figure out why the potatoes were so thick. He fixed it and was so proud of himself.
15.who drives when you are together? It just depends. When Nick doesn't want to drive I do.
16.who is more stubborn? Nick says that I am but I think that he is. (He really is)
17.who kissed who first? Nick kissed me.
18.who asked who out first? Nick called me the day after he got home from his mission and we went out the day after.
19.who proposed? Nick
20.who is more sensitive? I am, Nick thinks that I'm a big cry baby.
21.who has more friends? We share the same friends so I'm not too sure.
22.who has more siblings? Nick - There are a total of 8 of them. 3 boys and 5 girls.
23.who wears the pants in the family? It depends on the situation.

Moving - Yet Again

2008-04-21T19:46:00.000-06:00

Well it is that time again when I dust everything in my house preparing for our latest move. The moving company called today and they moved up our pack-out day. The company will be packing us up and out on Thursday and that isn't all that happened today. We received a letter in the mail and our rental agency has changed so now there are stupid things we have to do to make the new agency happy. So our stuff will be moved out on Thursday and we are checking out of the townhouse on Friday at 9 AM so I have about 15 hours to get the house completely clean after everything is gone. Nick won't be able to help much because he is scrambling to finish up his instrument rating. He is scheduled to take the written test tomorrow and review with his instructor on Wednesday and hopefully get a review flight on Wednesday also. Thursday (the day the movers are coming) hopefully he can take the practical portion of his test and be all done. I have been helping Nick study for the past couple of weeks and we are studying even harder the past few days. I just finished serving Spaghetti for dinner and am now getting ready to start washing the walls. I really think that I'm going to be relieved when this is all over.

Sunday

2008-04-20T17:45:00.000-06:00

Today was our last Sunday in our current ward. I've been the primary chorister for the last year and the primary presidency was sad to see me go. As a going away present they gave me a vase with tulips from the area. The tulips are absolutely beautiful. They are a cross between a dark pink and a light purple, I absolutely love them.
Nick has been in a bit of a grump mood the past 4 days because when he is concentrating on something and it isn't working out quite right he gets moody and short with everyone. The reason he is grumpy this week is he got a Rubix cube and hasn't been able to solve it yet. The cube came with a seven step process on how to solve the cube. He adamantly refused to look at the "cheat sheet" and has been an ornery as a bear. Today he finally decided that it may be alright if he took a look at the "cheat sheet" - his mood is greatly improving. I also decided to help his mood improve as much as I could so I made him a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Making the cookies helps in other areas too because I need to use them up or give them away in the next 5 days.
The move is coming up so quickly. I've know the date the movers were coming for a long time but today it really started sinking in. I only have 3 days to get everything ready now. It's not like I've been slacking off but I didn't want to do too much because it really destroys the house. I guess that all the pictures are coming off the wall tomorrow and I'm still finding homes for things the movers won't take. One thing that I'm sad to be leaving is a almost new bottle of olive oil. I know that probably sounds stupid, but as many times as Nick & I have moved it get easier but sometime some things you have you can't get in the new area. I bought a great salad dressing at Safeway and I'm almost positive that they only sell it at Safeway. I think I may but another one and stash it away in the car. I just hope the bottle doesn't break when we start traveling.
Well I have probably complained enough. It will be good to be around family and friends and live in a real city again. We haven't lived in a real city in 5 years and I am very excited.

More Pictures of Washington while Flying Today

2008-04-17T23:09:00.001-06:00

First: Cloud cover off of left wing. Second: Puget Sound at 4000 feet. Third: Deception Pass bridge connection Fidalgo Bay and Whidbey Island 4000 feet. Fourth: San Juan Islands 3000 feet. Fifth: San Juan Islands (different area/angle) 3000 feet.

Cross County: Olympia to Bellingham

2008-04-17T22:38:00.000-06:00

It has finally happened. Nick was able to complete his cross country flight after 3 weeks of trying to get it done. Every time we tried to fly there was icing and apparently if you fly too much through icing the plane can fall out of the sky. Today's fight was very cool because there were tons of clouds and we flew on top and through them; I am really going to miss Washington because it is so amazingly beautiful. There isn't too much to see flying through Utah, you either see a crusty looking shrinking salt lake, a couple of trees on a mountain range or sand, lots and lots of sand. We only have about a week and a half left up here and I am taking tons of pictures to remember as much of Washington as I can. Nick only has a few things left to do before he finally gets his instrument rating. We are trying to hurry thing up as fast as we can because we have to get it done before we move. The move seems like it is moving closer faster than it should; I think that ever time you are working with a deadline time moves a lot faster. Well here are some picture of today's flight. First: Nick is doing pre-flight on the Cessna 172 724TM Second: Just checkin' to see how I'm doing (between Everett and Olympia) Third: The state capital building in Olympia. Fourth: Cloud cover over Whidbey Island. Fourth: Nick checking the fuel sumps (just making sure we have enough gas).

Nick's Saturday Landings

2008-04-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

Landing in Olympia (First 2 pictures) Landing in Everett (Last 3 pictures)

Robber Dogs

2008-04-13T19:59:00.000-06:00

Nick and I have way too much spare time. The dogs got a hold of a pair of my knee high nylons and they were shredding them. That’s something that is very normal in the house. We go through sock like crazy because our dogs have somehow found out how to get them out of the hamper. Anyway, Nick got the nylons away from the dogs but then he decided that it may be funny to turn the dogs into robbers by putting the nylons on their heads. We were laughing so hard and the poor dogs weren’t too happy about what we were doing but I had to take some pictures so we would always remember our robber dogs.

Flying with Nick

2008-04-12T23:02:00.000-06:00

Today Nick and I took a flight to Olympia Washington. The weather was absolutely wonderful; this is the best weather we have had since September. Since Nick only had the plane reserved for 2 hours he and Brian (his instructor) decided that they could only do a short cross country flight (50 nautical miles with one landing). Nick wanted to go south so we flew to Olympia. I just love flying over the ocean because there are so many things to see. We flew over Bremerton shipyard and there were tons of ships docked. I also got some great pictures during the whole flight. This flight was pretty uneventful but Nick is one flight closer to getting his instrument rating.

Rosario Beach

2008-04-12T22:42:00.000-06:00

On Thursday the 11th we took a drive to Rosario beach. I've been taking as many pictures as I can lately because we are going to be moving in the next two weeks and Washington is so beautiful that it is going to be a little hard to leave. There are tons of tidal pools at the beach but since the vegetation growing on the rocks is so delicate we weren’t able to look at the pools. We also saw the monument to Rosario and found out why they named the beach after her. It is an ancient Indian legend about a girl who is gathering some mussels and crabs and one fell into the ocean. She tried to retrieve it and someone grabbed her hand. The person said that she was so beautiful and asked her to come live in the ocean with him. She declined over and over and finally the man said that he would leave her alone. After he left for the last time all the springs dried up and the fish went away. The girl decided to save her family and village and went to live in the ocean; she was so happy and remained there always. Rosario was supposed to have beautiful hair and when you look at the seaweed swaying in the current it is Rosario's hair waving.

Philadelphia Peaches 'N Cream No-Bake Cheesecake

2008-01-01T23:16:00.001-07:00

2 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs

6 Tbsp. margarine, melted

1 cup sugar, divided

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Peach Flavor Gelatin

2 fresh peaches, chopped

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, thawed
make itMIX graham crumbs, margarine and 1/4 cup sugar; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.BEAT cream cheese and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add dry gelatin mix; mix well. Stir in peaches and whipped topping. Spoon over crust; cover.REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.SUBSTITUTEPrepare as directed, using 1 drained 15-oz. can peaches.

Ultimate 7-Layer Dip

2008-01-01T23:12:00.001-07:00

1 can (16 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Refried Beans

1 Tbsp. TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix

1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

1 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

4 green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp. sliced black olives

RITZ Toasted Chips Original
make itMIX beans and seasoning mix; spread onto bottom of pie plate.TOP with layers of all remaining ingredients except chips. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.SERVE with chips.

Strawberry-Banana S'Mores

2008-01-01T23:06:00.001-07:00

9 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, broken in half (18 squares), divided

2 milk chocolate bars (1.55 oz. each), coarsely chopped or broken into squares

9 JET-PUFFED Marshmallows, cut in half

5 large fresh strawberries, sliced

1 banana, sliced

1/4 cup strawberry jam
HEAT grill to medium-low heat.PLACE 9 graham squares on bottom of 9-inch square disposable foil pan; top with chocolate, marshmallows, berries and bananas.SPREAD remaining grahams with jam; place, jam-sides down, over grahams in pan to make 9 s'mores.GRILL 4 to 6 min. or until marshmallows are puffed and chocolate is melted. Cool 5 min. before serving.

kitchens tips

HOW TO USE YOUR OVEN

Heat oven to 350ºF. Assemble s'mores as directed, substituting 9-inch square baking pan for the foil pan. Bake 9 to 11 min. or until marshmallows are puffed and chocolate is melted.

Fudgy Fruit Dip

2008-01-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

1/3 cup fat-free hot fudge ice cream topping

1/3 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt

1-1/2 teaspoons orange juice concentrate

Fresh strawberries

Directions

In a bowl, combine fudge topping, yogurt and orange juice concentrate. Cover and refrigerate forat least 30 minutes. Serve with strawberries. Yield: about 1/2 cup.

Bread Bowl Cheese Dip

2008-01-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

1/2 lb jack cheese, grated
12 oz cream cheese, softened
1 pint sour cream
4 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
5 oz bacon bits
1 large sourdough bread bowl
1 box crackers of choice, optional

Mix first 6 ingredients together.Cut off top of loaf of bread, hollow out to make a bowl. Save "insides" for later use.
Put cheese mixture into bread bowl, place "lid" on top and wrap entire loaf with foil.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Take foil off the last 10 minutes.
Cut "insides" into 1-inch cubes, use for dipping. Can toast in oven for a few minutes first if preferred. Crackers can be used for dipping as well.

Championship Bean Dip

2008-01-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

1 can (16 ounces) refried beans

1 cup picante sauce

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup sour cream

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Tortilla chips and salsa

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients; transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or until heated through, stirring once or twice. Serve with tortilla chips and salsa. Yield: 4-1/2 cups.

Creamy Caramel Dip

2008-01-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 cup cold milk

1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix

Assorted fresh fruit

Directions

In a bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Add the sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, milk and pudding mix, beating well after each addition.

Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve as a dip for fruit. Yield: 3-1/2 cups.

Enchilada Dip

2008-01-01T22:48:00.000-07:00

2 cups Seasoned Hamburger Mix, thawed

1 can (15 ounces) chili with beans

1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

3/4 cup corn chips

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips

Directions

I In a large bowl, combine the hamburger mix, chili, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce and corn chips. Transfer to a greased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Dollop with sour cream; spread carefully. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve with the tortilla chips. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Chickaritos

2008-01-01T22:44:00.001-07:00

3 cups finely chopped cooked chicken

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 package (17-1/4 ounces) frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed or pie pastry for double-crust 10-inch pie

Guacamole

Salsa

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, chilies, onions, cheese and seasonings. Chill until serving.

Remove half of the pastry from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll to a 12-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Cut into nine small rectangles. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling across the center of each rectangle. Wet edges of pastry with water and roll pastry around filling. Crimp ends with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.

Place seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Refrigerate until ready to heat. Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with salsa and guacamole. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

Cheezy Chicken Wontons

2008-01-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1-1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

3 green onions, chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh tomato

1 tablespoon salt-free garlic and herb seasoning

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 package (12 ounces) wonton wrappers

1 egg, lightly beaten

Oil for deep-fat frying

Pizza or spaghetti sauce, warmed

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the cheese, chicken, onions, tomato, herb seasoning and cayenne. Place about 2 tablespoons in the center of each wonton wrapper. Brush edges with egg; fold corner over, making a triangle. Seal seams.

In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat 1 in. of oil to 375°. Fry wontons, a few at a time, for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with pizza or spaghetti sauce. Yield: about 4 dozen.

Barbecue Chicken Bites

2008-01-01T22:42:00.002-07:00

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

4 cups barbecue potato chips, crushed

1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes

Barbecue sauce

Directions

In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and milk. Place potato chips in another shallow bowl. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then roll in chips. Place in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Serve with barbecue sauce. Yield: 4 servings.

Cheesecake Dip

2008-01-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 pint fresh strawberries

1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions

· In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the sour cream, sugar, milk and extract; mix until smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Place the strawberries and crumbs in separate serving bowls. Dip strawberries into cheesecake mixture, then into crumbs. Yield: about 1 cup.

Turkey Wonton Cups

2008-01-01T22:40:00.001-07:00

48 wonton wrappers

1-1/4 pounds lean ground turkey

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

1 cup fat-free ranch salad dressing

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped ripe olives

Directions

Press wonton wrappers into miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. (Keep wrappers covered with a damp paper towel until ready to bake.) Bake at 375° for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the turkey over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, cheese, ranch dressing, onions and olives. Spoon by rounded tablespoonfuls into wonton cups.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 5-6 minutes or until heated through. Serve warm. Yield: 4 dozen.

Striped Chocolate Popcorn

2008-01-01T22:38:00.001-07:00

12 cups popped popcorn

2 cups miniature pretzels

1 cup pecan halves, toasted

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 ounces white candy coating, coarsely chopped

2 ounces milk chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the popcorn, pretzels and pecans. Drizzle with butter and toss; set aside.

In a microwave, melt white candy coating at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over popcorn mixture; toss to coat. Spread on foil-lined baking sheets.

In a microwave, melt milk chocolate coating; stir until smooth. Drizzle over popcorn mixture. Let stand in a cool place until chocolate is set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 17 cups.

Spinach Stuffed Bread

2008-01-01T22:37:00.001-07:00

1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough

1 medium onion, chopped

1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar or part-skim mozzarella

Directions

Thaw bread dough according to package directions; let rise until doubled. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in spinach.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Spread the spinach mixture to within 1/2 in. of edges; sprinkle with cheese. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; tuck ends under.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack; let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm. Yield: 6 servings.

Cream Filled Strawberries

2008-01-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

18 large fresh strawberries

1 cup cold fat-free milk

1 package (1 ounce) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix

2 cups reduced-fat whipped topping

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Remove stems from strawberries; cut a deep X in the top of each berry. Spread berries apart.

In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping and almond extract. Pipe or spoon about 5 teaspoons into each berry. Chill until serving. Yield: 18 strawberries.

Grilled Peaches

2008-01-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

4 ripe medium peaches
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 to 2 pints frozen vanilla yogurt
Suggested toppings: toasted sliced almonds

Directions

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Slice each half in half and toss them in a bowl with the vanilla extract, almond extract, and brown sugar. Set aside for 15 minutes while you preheat a grill with a medium-high heat. Grill skin side down until skin is slightly charred, about 3 minutes. Turn and grill on the other 2 sides until you get nice grill marks, about 1 minute on each side.

Divide the peaches among 4 bowls and serve with the frozen yogurt and toasted almonds, if desired.

Blueberry Fruit Dip

2008-01-01T22:34:00.001-07:00

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Assorted fresh fruit, graham crackers and/or cookies

Directions

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice until smooth. Fold in blueberries. Serve with fruit, crackers and/or cookies. Yield: 1 cup.