Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Well this week we've been busy getting ready for Thanksgiving. We've had snow Sunday through Wednesday, which has caused some "excitement." It was supposed to hit us really hard on Tuesday, so they actually let us go home early from work. The U and SLCC also closed their campuses in order to allow people time to get home before the storm hit. I was glad I could go home and be w/ Steve since his evening class was canceled also. We went to Red Robin for dinner, since Steve had a free burger for his birthday, then went home, did some homework, and watched a movie together.

The snow we woke up to on Sunday morning


I also went and did initiatories at the SLC temple after work, praying more about who to have as my secretary. I called President after being in the temple and we talked while I was going home on the train. That Sunday we got our new secretary! Now we just need to get organized ;)

A pic of the SLC Temple taken from my phone



We packed Wednesday to get ready to go. I also signed Steve up for a free Birthday meal at IHOP so we went there w/ Steve's parents. Steve then went to work while I cleaned and got ready to go. He didn't get home til about 11 pm, then I decided to let him open his presents since he has to work Monday as well. It wasn't anything too exciting, some thermals, a pair of pants, a tie and a new hair cutting kit. My dad also got him a coyote call, which he's been learning how to use all weekend ;)

Steve w/ his gifts


The next morning we were out of the house by 8 am. We stopped by my uncle Stephen's house to pick up some more temple names for my dad, then continued on. The roads were good in Utah, but once we crossed the state border it was down to one lane due to snow being on the road. We had to travel a little slower, but made it by 1:30pm just in time for Thanksgiving! My sister Barbara and 3 of her kids were there, along w/ my brother Daron and his family, and Dexter and his family. We had a good meal, then watched a movie, chatted, and went and visited my grandma and cousins.


Steve multi-tasking, driving to Idaho AND shaking!



That night we played games for a couple hours, then decided to go to Wal-Mart for the Black Friday deals. Kristi and Haley stayed over and went with us. Steve decided to come also to help me drive (my eye sight isn't too good at night). Wade and Riley just stayed at the house while we went. We got into Mountain Home by 11 pm, just in time to scout out where everything would be and get our spots. We had Steve wait by the movies while we went over to the bedding area. At midnight when they let us take the plastic wrap off the crates and get our "deals." We got some bed sheets and Kristi got some other things, then we went to find Steve. Steve had told us before we separated to make the noise, "Kaa Kaa" so we could find each other. Well shortly after we got our items, we started hearing "Kaa Kaa" and sure enough there was Steve w/ the cart! It definitely made us laugh. We then tried to get in line to check out but it was crazy long! Steve then said for us to wait and he'd go look for another alternative. Pretty soon we hear him again, "Kaa Kaa." We then were able to make our way around others and get in the shorter line he had found. We checked out and were out of there by 12:30 pm! Pretty good timing if you ask me! We then drove Kristi home to Grandview, then brought Haley back w/ us. It was a lot of fun!


Kristi and Haley showing their excitement after Black Friday shopping!


Steve was pretty excited to go shopping as well, can't you tell?


I slept in the next morning of course. Steve went hunting though. I then did some puzzles w/ my mom and Wade helped w/ one too.

The 3-D castle puzzle my mom, Wade and I put together


A puzzle my mom and I put together


Tonight we had steak for dinner and I made a cake for Steve's birthday. After dinner we decided to take the cake down to Grandma's to share it w/ her, and our highered hand and his family who were moving to California tomorrow.


The cake


Steve blowing out the candles

Cafe Rio Pork and Rice

Here is the recipe for anyone interested.....

So....there's a million ways to make Cafe Rio Pork.....here's one that we like, enjoy ;)

Cafe Rio Pork
2 lb Pork Loin or Pork Roast (we use the tenderloin)
1 can Coke, not diet
1 c brown sugar
8 to 12 oz can red taco sauce
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teas minced garlic
1 teas dry ground mustard
cilantro, as much as you like (I used prob. 1/4 cup or so cut up)

Basically put in crock pot on low for 7-9 hrs or high for 4-6 hours. I cut the tenderloin in half to fit in crockpot, then turn over 1/2 way through if you need. Also the last hour or two shed the meat in order to let the juices get inside the meat. This time it turned out just right in terms of not too much juices we I actually didn't have to train any; just let it soak it up!

You can put it on whatever you like, but burritos or salads are our fav! We layer a tortilla, then cheese, rice, black beans. :)


Cafe Rio Rice
1 c rice
2 c water
3 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 teas dried onion
1/4 bunch cilantro

Just put it all in your rice cooker (I just put as much water and rice that my cooker calls for, then add the rest. Once the rice is done you can squeeze fresh lime juice over the rice and mix lightly before serving.

Super Easy Yummy Pumpkin Spice Cake!!!

Ok so I made this super easy yummy pumpkin spice cake on Friday and man was it a hit! I was looking for a recipe to use more of my mom's yummy canned pumpkin and I think I found a winner. The recipe is sooooo easy; anyone can make it. You basically just put everything in, blend for 2-4 minutes, bake, and vhwalah, you're an amazing cook! Check it out!

Pumpkin Spice Cake II




Ingredients

* 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I also added pumpkin spice)
* 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
* 1 cup vegetable oil (I only used 1/2 cup)
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup chopped pecans (I didn't add any)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger. Make a well in the center and pour in pumpkin puree, oil, and eggs. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Stir in chopped pecans. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes (mine didn't take that long), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

I then put cream cheese frosting on top, but it's good w/out too ;)

FYI.............

Well, first thing is first, I have a new calling. I was sustained in sacrament meeting and set apart after church as our new branch Relief Society President. I was actually called a couple weeks ago, but it wasn't official until today. I also had 2 sisters called as my counselors, but still don't have a secretary. I had the opportunity to bear my testimony both in sacrament meeting and in Relief Society. Steve also is teaching our Gospel Principles class (now that we have an "investigator" and soon to be new member). He does a great job!

I met w/ my new counselors after church; we're going to work well together. I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited to serve in my new calling. I know the Lord qualifies whom he calls. Over the last couple weeks I have felt a great love for the sisters in our branch. Though we're in a branch, and a lot of us will be here only temporarily, we're really trying to get more unity and get people involved. I know we can get a more unified branch if we all just get involved and serve each other.

This evening we also had the Elders over to teach Ryan the 2nd lesson, the plan of salvation. The lesson went really well and Ryan is definitely ready for baptism. We are planning his baptism for this Saturday, the 20th at 11 am at our stake. We're really excited for him! Kind of funny, yesterday the Elders asked if Steve could just coordinate w/ the Relief Society president to make sure everything was taken care of. Steve said he definitely had it covered! Little did they know that I was actually going to be sustained today. So when they came over this evening, they were like, "Wow Steve you really have go it covered." Steve then let them know that I sustained today, so planning the baptism has actually been really easy. :)

Yesterday Steve and I went to the Worldwide Leadership Training meeting. It was good information and the new handbooks will definitely be helpful w/ our new presidency. Since my counselors weren't called til this morning, none of them came to the training. Afterwards, we went over to Steve's Grandma LuDean's w/ Rob. They helped put up the lights outside w/ Dave and I helped Diane w/ the decorations inside. It was fun spending time w/ them and working per say at the same time. Then last night we made some pizza and invited Rob over, along w/ our neighbors Dave and Melissa. We then played a couple games; it was a lot of fun.

Steve has been busy both at school and at work. He definitely liking his job and hopefully can start working full time come the new year. My work has been busy also. We have 2 weeks left of our campaign. So far so good, I just need to finish off strong and I'll qualify for another gift card, yeah ;)

Well, we hope all is well. We're praying for you. We are indeedly blessed. This is Christ's Church and He is definitely at the Head of it. The Lord works in mysterious ways. This is His Gospel! Here's a great quote by James B. Martino. "As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another. As we do this, 'all things [will] work together for good to [us] that love God' (Romans 8:28)." ("All Things Work Together for Good," Ensign, May 2010, 103)

Love ya,
Penny and Steve :)

It's November!!!!

Well can you believe it's November already? Man time sure is flying by. Here are some updates from this past weekend.

Friday Steve had to work late like usual. When I got home I cleaned and did laundry, then made some tacos and took them to Steve.

Saturday Steve had to work again from 9am to 10pm (long day I know). While he was gone I went to his cousin's kid's baptism w/ Dave and Joann. It was a really neat experience and the Spirit was strong. Afterwards, we went to lunch which was nice to spend more time together. When I got home I then did some grocery shopping, then went and dropped some dinner off for Steve on my way to the Temple. My sisters and I decided to go do a session together, but Pauline wasn't feeling too well, so just Rose and I went. We had a great time at the Temple; the Spirit was strong. We then went to Winco and did some grocery shopping. We then rented a Redbox and went home and watched it w/ Steve. Thankfully it was daylight savings, so we "gained" an hour.....since we stayed up til 2 am. :)

Yesterday we had church, which was also fast Sunday. It was a really good meeting. Steve and I both shared our testimonies. We also had an investigator, Ryan, there at church. He has actually been getting taught for about 4 months by other elders and just got turned over to our elders this week. He's been committed to baptism, so we're now just trying to work out the details. He started to study religion at school and his coworker suggested he read the Book of Mormon. Well after he started readying it, he felt the power of its message....and that's how it all started.

So, for Sunday school, we got together a group of people and had a Gospel Principle's class for him. It went really well. Steve and another branch missionary Otto taught the lesson; the 3rd lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then after church, we had Ryan over w/ the Elders. We just went over the baptismal questions. He really has a strong testimony of the Gospel it's amazing! The Lord really does work in miraculous ways. We're planning on the 20th for the baptism and are working on the details.

After the Elders left, I made some rolls and a chocolate cake. We then went up to Stacie and Phil's for dinner. They made a yummy roast, potatoes and carrots. We had dinner, played Blokus 3D, then watched Toy Story 3. It was fun to spend time w/ them and just enjoy hanging out. Here are some pics.

Here are the rolls


Chocolate cake w/ chocolate frosting w/ choc. chips, choc. sprinkles and choc. crunchies


So chocolaty delicious!


Stacie gave London a sprinkle and a little while after she was really fussy. We then realized that she was wanting more sprinkles. So instead of just giving her some sprinkles we gave her a small piece of cake. This we technically London's first piece of cake, but she definitely wasn't shy or afraid to get messy. Here are some pics of her adventure w/ cake.

Trying it, being a little conservative


Fistfuls


Both hands now


Then she got it in her hair


See! She did a great job eating it all up.....besides the parts on her face and in her hair! ;)


Steve is just about done w/ the kitchen, so I'll post those pics once we get it done. Hope you all had a great week and have an even better one this week! ;)