Fud Feud 2012

This Saturday was the 2nd annual Fud Feud!  For those who are unfamiliar, the Fud Feud is a cooking competition for the amateur chef.  It was created by Chase's cousin Lindsey Smith, so I have been lucky enough to participate in this competition from the beginning.
This year the competition was held at the fabulous Orson Gygi's store.  There I, my three sisters-in-law, and mother-in-law, enjoyed competing, tasting, and winning prizes.  My favorite thing about this competition is that you, along with some judges get to vote on which foods you like the best.  That means you have to TASTE the food, and since everybody brings their very best, it was an afternoon of yumminess!

My entry:  Chocolate Pot de Creme.  And yes, it was as yummy as it sounds!  Thank you Julie's sister-in-law, for letting me get that recipe from you.

Here I am next to my entry in the "Dessert Wing" of Gygi's kitchen displays.

 Here I am with my sister-in-laws and Lindsey Smith, creator of Fud Feud.

 Chase was awesome, and watched both kids the entire time I was here.

Here is the best part of the competion . . . the sampling!  There wasn't a bad dish here, and the recipe book will be coming out soon.  I think I will purchase one. . .

Now it's time for the bragging portion of this blog.  This year we England girls represented ourselves pretty well.  I won third place in the dessert category, Cassidy won second place in the side-dish category, and Chelsea won the "Taster's Choice Award" for the side category.  So prizes were won, glory was had, ideas were shared, and food was feasted upon.  It was a great day.

Jammin'

This week the strawberries were on sale.  I have been waiting for this for a long time.  One of my favorite childhood memories was coming home from school or play to the warm, sticky smell of my mom canning peaches, applesauce, cherries, apricots and, yes, strawberry jam.  I think that homemade jam is so, so, so yummy, and so when the chance came, I bought myself a case of strawberries, convinced my mom and Julie to come up to my little kitchen, and there, we proceeded to relieve my childhood memories.

Not bad for an afternoon's work.

Mckay Turns 2!

Two years ago on May 1 at 11:28 a.m., weighing 6 lb. 14 oz. and 19 inches long, Mckay Chase England was born into our family!  After a brief stint in the NICU, he was returned to us healthy and happy, and our lives have never been the same since.  We are so glad he came into our family!
Mckay is such a fun little boy to have around, and he is getting so big and so smart.  He can say a lot of words now and loves to speak.  Sometimes we even understand what he is saying.  Some of his favorite phrases are, "I did it!", and "That's awesome!"  He also uses the words "no" and "mine", like a typical two-year-old.  He can also identify most parts of the body, and most animals and their sounds  (how many times have I heard the words, "Horse!  Eeeeiigghh!" while driving to my parents house or to Kamas?)
Mckay loves to play.  His current favorite toys are still the choo-choo-train and Legos (which he likes to call Logi's).  Sometimes he gets so busy playing that he forgets that he needs to eat or have his diaper changed.  Those are mere distractions to him.  He has been known to spend hours (and a whole box of wet wipes) wiping down his toys.  These cleaning tendencies, I believe, are from his Mom:)  His love of putting things together and then taking them apart (or vice versa) are from his Dad.
Mckay loves his family.  He is a wonderful older brother to Logan (or, as he calls him, "Logi!"), and will give him lots of smiles and attention.  He is still a Daddy's boy through and through, and would shadow Chase all day long given the chance.  He still likes to call his Dad "Chase", even though Mom has been very diligent in calling Chase "Dad" lately.  He loves his Grandmas and Grandpas, and adores his aunts and uncles.  He also has lots best friends who live in our court that he loves to play with.
Mckay had a wonderful birthday spreading over the course of three days. One party for the England side, one party for the Sainsbury side, and one party at our court's weekly barbecue which happened to fall on Mckay's birthday!  He is so blessed to have so much love and support, and we are so blessed to be a part of his life.  We love you Mckay!

 What else would his cake be?

 Loving his new legos!

 We got him a bat & some balls for his birthday.  Mckay loves to swing that bat, and even manages to hit the ball sometimes!

Playing with his buddies outside on his birthday.

Easter Egg Hunts

Easter weekend found us in beautiful Orange County, California.  While there, we did lots of great things, but best documented was the Easter Egg Hunts.  Mckay is old enough now to grasp what is going on, and this year, he had a fabulous time getting the eggs.  But even more fun than hunting is eating whats inside!

Stroller Conundrum

We have two kids under two, so it follows that we need a double stroller, right?  Well, it has turned out to be a bit more complicated than that.  My mom and dad have offered to let us use the one that is being stored at their house.  Since we are cheap, this is a great thing for us. The only problem is that Logan, up until now, has been a bit too small for this stroller, and has lacked the head control, etc.
In the meantime, here are some of our temporary solutions.

 Solution: #1:  Mckay walking while Logan uses the stroller.  You'd think this would go over fairly well, but Mckay gets stroller envy every time Logan uses the stroller.  He tolerates it for about half an hour, and then has a melt down, which leads to Solution #2 . . .

 . . . Mckay riding in Logan's stroller.  He is way too big for this carseat, but he loves sitting in the stroller, and likes to pull the shade part up over his head and hide himself from sight while Mom pushes him with Logan in tow.  But sometimes, when Logan is fussy, I am less willing to let Mckay take the stroller over, which leads to Solution #3:

We like to call this one the "Cowboy" solution.  It's a tough balancing act (in more than one way!), but it has saved us from some pretty embarrassing meltdowns, so that is something.
The good news is that this weekend we are going to spend General Conference with my parents down in Payson, where at long last, we will take the double stroller home with us!

March

This year was a first for Chase and I in that we got a Spring Break!  Finally, after years and years at BYU, we got a whole week off to play and relax.   It was so nice to have that week to ourselves as a family.  We were lucky to be able to go down to St. George with Chase's brother Connor and some of my college siblings as well, Rachel, Marissa, Seth, and Julie.  Together we made some really fun memories.

This was Logan and Walter's first vacation together.  They were the best of friends.  Their favorite thing to do was sleep next to one another in their car seats.

 My family is often known for the emphasis we place on little, quirky traditions.  One of those is taking a picture at this old tree in Zion's National Park.  Over the years, my parents documented our growth as a family by taking a picture here at this tree every time we came to Zion.  I wish I had a picture of my here when I was Mckay's age.  I think it would show how much our family has grown and changed.

 Apart from our fabulous trip to St. George, we have also taken advantage of the beautiful weather to revisit the Zoo.  Here Mckay and his Dad are enjoying the Carousel.  Mckay's favorite animals to visit are the elephants (which he calls "Jumbo"), the monkeys, and the tigers.

 We bought a kite one windy day this March, and though the wind was sporadic, we did manage to get the kite airborne for quite awhile.  I wish the camera could have captured the many shouts of "Yea kite!" from Mckay everytime the kite was up in the air.

 One of Mckay and Logan's favorite things to do is to take the stickers from our Thomas and Friends sticker book and put them all over the table, walls, chairs, etc.  The favorite place to decorate, however, is Logan himself.  Ah, the brothers' bonding has begun!

Logan continues to grow so fast.  I can hardly believe he is 3 months old now!  He loves his brother Mckay, and will smile at anyone who gives him attention.  We are working on a sleep schedule, and some days are awesome, others are not, but the overall trend is getting better.  He has slept through the night twice now, so I know the end is in sight, though I think it will be a few more months before he really decides to do that regularly.  His favorite activities include playing in his crib, swinging in his swing, and sitting up on the couch with the help of his bumbo.

We love our little boys and have had totally enjoyed this early spring time.

Logan's Baby Blessing

Today was a "Payoff Day."  What I mean by that is just this:  everyone's lives are filled mostly with the routine, mundane, etc.  But every now and then, we get a chance to witness or experience something that puts what we do each and every day into perspective, and remind us just how important our routines are.  Such experiences are what I call a payoff for all the hard work of living.
Today was such a day for me.  I was blessed to be able to see my little son Logan given a very special father's blessing by Chase.  I am so grateful that Chase is a righteous priesthood holder and a loving father. Without him, today would never have happened.  I am grateful for my family who made such an effort to get to Logan's blessing.  Our Sacrament Meeting starts at 9:00 a.m., and today was the first day of daylight savings, so it was an especially hard commitment to make today.  But not only did they come and support us, they brought food for a brunch we had afterwards, helped set it up at the West Community Center here in the University Village, and helped us clean up.  I really didn't have to do anything at all but enjoy the moments we had together.
I am grateful for my little son Logan.  He is such a sweet and special little guy.  He is such a happy, content little baby who will give me beautiful smiles whenever I so much as look his way.  He helps fill our home with the Spirit, and he gives his older brother Mckay someone to play with and be a good example to.  We love you Logan!