Hunter's First Birthday

Tennis vs. Uintah

USU Moonshine Run

 Jordan, Mariah, Kennedy and I ran the USU Moonshine 5k.  It was a late night, glow in the dark race filled with music, costumes, clowns, and lots of rain.

 It was a fundraiser for USU students going into teaching.  There were about 200 people who registered and about 150 who actually showed up in the rain.

 We had some dry moments and some extra time to kill as we waited for the 10:00 p.m. start.

 We watched some dance contests.

 We thought the finish sign was cool and Jordan imagined what she would feel like when she finished the race.

 It all began without rain, but when we hit mid course, it began to pour and pour.  Kennedy won the entire even and got a nice moonshine jug.  She was also lucky enough to miss the rain.  The rest of us wished we could have been as fast as she!  Needless to say, we all got drenched.

Mariah's Tennis Team

Union High School sure has a cute tennis team.  It's Mariah's freshman year and she is excited to be playing.  On Tuesday's picture day, no one had a camera.  I just happened to have one and got volunteered to take the pictures.  The sun was bright and the ground was hard.  This was the best we could do.  Don't mind the lurking shadow in the foreground!  Those things can be Photoshopped.

Puebla Has Nothing On Us!

Last week Cado sent us a picture of him standing in the rain.  He said it was like someone was dumping five gallon buckets of water on you.  Well, little does he know that the Uintah Basin has been hit with rain like never before and here it actually feels like someone is dumping 10 gallon buckets of water!  We are going to need rain boots too!

Hunter Time!

 Dave and I spent last week in Logan for our USU meetings.  That meant that we got to go visit Hunter every single day after them.  We're pretty sure he was quite surprised to see us again and again and again.  But, we are also pretty sure that he LIKES us!

 On Thursday, we got to take him for the whole afternoon while Brooke got a break.  We went and hung out in our air conditioned hotel room.  Fed him and then we went to Willow Park.  Hunter seemed to enjoy his leisurely stroll through the park while looking at the animals.

 The reindeer were the coolest animals there.

 Then we just hung out on a blanket and fed him a little more and sang a lot of "Wheels on the Bus."

Then we gave him an early birthday present.  He loves trucks and so he got his first Tonka one.  He seemed quite pleased until he tipped it over on his leg and about started to cry.  Dayton and Brooke report that he is really liking it at home.  He spends his time putting blocks in it and then dumping them out.  This grandparent stuff is working out just fine!

Brooke's Zucchini Recipes!

These are Dayton's favorite Zucchini recipes. Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil (or unsweetened apple sauce. I like this the best because it's healthier and makes the cake extra moist).
1 2/3 cups (12 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Greek yogurt or sour cream. (I usually use vanilla yogurt just because it's what I have on hand).
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) flour
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounce) Dutch-process cocoa
2 1/2 to 3 cups shredded zucchini (about one 10-inch zucchini –  12 ounces)
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips

Chocolate Ganache Topping
6 oz heavy cream
9 oz chopped chocolate (semi-sweet or milk). I use semi sweet just because it is pretty rich.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly coat a 9″ x 13″ pan with baking spray

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until each is incorporated.

3. Stir in the sour cream or yogurt alternately with the flour, starting and ending with the flour. Stir in the cocoa, mixing until smooth. Finally, fold in the zucchini and 1 cup of chocolate chips.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 35 – 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack. (I usually have to bake mine for over an hour. It seems like it takes 75 minutes or so, but I check it every five after an hour and I do it on 375).

5. To prepare the frosting, heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Wait 3-5 minutes then stir to combine. It may take a few minutes of stirring for the ganache to come together… but it will.  It will thicken as it cools… when warm (but not hot) pour over cake and smooth with offset spatula. Allow frosting to set for about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups zucchini, washed and dried, ends and stems removed, cut in half lengthwise and seeded, and grated
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 20 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2.In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, allspice and cinnamon; set aside.
3.In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, butter and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk, zucchini and chocolate chips. Gently stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
4.Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and muffin tops are springy to the touch, 20 to 24 minutes; rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Yields: 20 standard muffins

***Mine usually makes around 24 muffins. I cook it for 10 mins at  400 and then 10 minutes at 350.  I think it helps the muffins "poof" up. 

Zucchini Bread

2 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

2 eggs

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. oil

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Mix wet ingredients.  Mix dry ingredients and add to wet.  Stir well. Pour into greater loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour at 350.

Hunter's Birthday Present

Dave went to Draper today and took apart this swing set (with Stephen Lewis' help) and brought it home.  We have been looking high and low for a swing set for Hunter and found that they sell like hotcakes!  We are so glad that we nabbed this one from ksl.com before it was gone as well.  Now the task is to put it back together again.  I've always wanted a swing set!  My dream is finally coming true.

Wicked

 I got to go to Wicked with Maria and Betsy.  We all met at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and then went to the matinee.

 My most favorite friend was Mariah though and I was so glad that she came too.  The last time we went, we found out that her glasses were out of date and she literally could not see the show.  This time, she could actually see what was happening and that was a good thing!

Duchesne County Stock Show

 Mariah, Kennedy and Nate spent the week at the Duchesne County Stock Show.  They had plenty of time and lots of opportunities to wash their lovely sheep.

 We are still not sure what Kennedy thought of the whole thing but she was a great sport.

 Nate is one smart kid to be wise enough to hang out with "older cute and smart" girls!  I'm sure he was the envy of the other boys!

 These were the moments when we missed having our camper there.  The back of the car and our measly snacks were just not that impressive.

 Zoe Knight and Mariah were in the same showing class.  They ended up right next to each other and they each earned blue ribbons.

Mariah on sale day.  The best day of the week.  Although it was extremely long!!!  They didn't even begin selling the sheep until 3:00 and didn't finish until almost 7:00.  By then, most of the buyers had left.  Mariah was very lucky to have gotten $825.00 for her lamb and she was very happy.

Arrival in Puebla

UBIC Concert in the Park

 Saturday night we went to the ever famous UBIC concert.  The first band was FARM and the second was Keith Anderson.  They were both really good and great entertainers. 

 Erica and Mariah kind of looked like twinners and the crowds at UBIC were packed!

Getting Ready for the Stock Show

 Kennedy Powell, Mariah and Nate Wallace spent Saturday afternoon getting their sheep ready for the stock show.  It took about 4 hours to get them all washed, dried and sheared.  Kennedy's back was about killing her by the time she was done but she was such a great sport.  We are so grateful to have her as one of Mariah's very best friends.

 Kennedy did not even complain about having to wash the poop off of her lamb's butt!

 Mariah could not get her lamb to turn to the other side no matter how hard she pushed.  It simply wanted to look at the other lamb and was not budging.

 By the time they get through washing their lambs, you can tell that the lambs are really quite enjoying their spa day.