Random Conversation

Chris (from in the bathroom): What do you call a disoriented ninja? Me: I don't know. What? Chris: Kung-fused. Me: Are you reading Boys' Life again?

Spring is Here

The goldfinches are in town. We put up a new fancy birdfeeder a few weeks ago. So far we've seen goldfinches, housefinches, and cardinals. There are others but I don't know what kind they are. Whenever we get close, they hop right up to the tree overhead and hide in the leaves. Somedays the white goldfinch "sock" is covered with birds but as soon as I get close with the camera they disappear.

Here We Go Again

It all started August 16, 1994 when Caitlin broke her arm. The UPS man had pulled up out front and Erin and Caitlin were running to the front window to 'see.' The sofa was in front of the window and as the girls ran to it to climb up, Caitlin hit it a little hard and ended up with a buckle fracture. Since then we have had 11 fractures in our little family. Caitlin has broken both arms twice (sofa, big wheel, bicycle, hurdles) and her nose (basketball). Jace has broken an arm (falling out of a chair trying to save his graham cracker). Benj has broken an arm (falling out of his crib). Stefanie has broken her leg (toddler fracture--don't know how it happened), a buckle fracture in her left arm (don't remember how it happened), a very bad break in her right arm during Hurricane Rita (the ER was fun that day), and yesterday she broke her clavicle. We were having a pretty good day yesterday. Erin was on the other side of the city at a HOSA competition. Caitlin was on her way back from an orchestra trip to San Antonio. Stefanie was at a friend's house. Jace was at a brithday party. Benj was playing over at a friend's. The house was quiet--it was weird. Chris and I were HOME ALONE. Then, just 10 minutes after Stef had left, we got the phone call. She and her friends had been jumping over each other and Stef had landed on her shoulder. ouch! As you can tell from the x-ray, it was a pretty good break. We went to the Emergency Clinic where they gave her a shot for pain, a shot for nausea, and took x-rays. They also gave us a sling and a prescription for more pain meds. That's all they could do. We have to follow up with our favorite orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. We're going to ask him for a discount.

Ranger Cookies

We love cookies!
At our house, we love cookies! Almost every Sunday, Caitlin (or sometimes someone else--we all love being in the kitchen) bakes a batch of cookies. For years, our favorite has been the recipe for chocolate chip cookies found on the package of the butter-flavored Crisco sticks. That's a good one--lots of brown sugar and we bake them on stoneware. Sometimes we use M&M's instead of chocolate chips. YUM! Then, about a month ago, I found this recipe for Ranger Cookies. I don't know where the recipe came from. It's been in my untried recipe file for a while (blog idea--how I organize my recipes). It is our new favorite and we've made them every week since! They are very hearty and a little bit oversized. The pecans and coconut toast up very nicely in them. Once we were out of Corn Flakes and used Rice Krispies--still good! We took a plate to our piano teacher and her husband called us for the recipe. They are so good we can't get enough of them. Give them a try and enjoy!


Ranger Cookies
Liz Merrell
2 c. flour
¾ t. baking powder
¾ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
2/3 c plus 3 T. butter (8 1/3 T.)
½ c. shortening
1 1/3 c. light brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
2 large eggs
2 ½ t. vanilla
2 c. rolled oats
2 c. corn flakes
1 ¼ c. chopped pecans
1 ¼ c. shredded coconut
10 oz. Chocolate chunks (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Grease baking sheets.
In medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and shortening until lightened. Add the brown sugar and the sugar and beat until very smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until evenly incorporated, then stir in the flour mixture until it’s incorporated.
Finally stir in the oats, corn flakes, pecans, and coconut. Let the dough stand for 10 minutes.
Shape the dough into golf-ball-sized balls with lightly greased hands. Place on the baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart and pat down to about ¼" thickness.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 11 minutes, or until brown. (note: the original recipe didn't include the chocolate chunks, but what is a cookie without chocolate?)

What we do with our free time now. :)

Thanks to Santa, we are now the proud owners of a Wii. This is new for us--never had a video game system before. We are enjoying it immensely! Some of us take it too seriously and some of us don't like that our athletic ability is labeled as good as an 80-year old. Benj has made Mii twins--two tall thin men with black spiky hair, white t-shirts, and both named B-man. Sometimes they play against each other in baseball. We don't know which one is better. We all have our favorite sports--I actually enjoy golf and bowling and Jace is learning the ins and outs of 'Madden 08'. Erin has had friends over for a Wii party. Fun times ahead!

Finally!

Less than a week until Christmas and we finally got it together! Yes, that's Jace in shorts. It was in the 70's yesterday. Merry Christmas to all of you New Yorkers and Utahns!!!

Disney World

... Cinderella castle at night ... great family fun! ...
rides ... Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride ...

Jace on the teacups...

Benj captain of the Jungle Cruise... Woody and Jesse ... rock band in the street ... Country Bear Jamboree ...

Tower of Terror...

Lunch break....Epcot at night...Dinner break... stunt shows ...

Princess overload....

cute Caitlin telling her friends all about it (ha, ha, I'm out of school)...

Laughing ... waiting ...Tower of Terror ... hugging Donald Duck ... parades ... fireworks ...shows and more shows! ... "Let's ride it again" ... Big Mountain Thunder Railroad ... Splash Mountain ...hands up ...screaming ...Jace's hat flying off ... tired feet ... shopping ...Tower of Terror ... street shows ...duck duck goose in the middle of the street ... Winnie the Pooh ... safari ride ... MGM studios ... more laughing ... Chinese food for Thanksgiving dinner ... shrink the audience ... Philharmagic ... Animal Kingdom ... Expedition Everest ... Tower of Terror again ... Epcot ... more shopping ... tic tac toe ... German ornaments ... African carvings ... Magic Kingdom ... Space Mountain ... Splash Mountain ... tea cups ... t-shirts ... pins ... Haunted Mansion ...smiles ... tired ... long drive ... taking a bagful of oranges home ... and grapefruit ... let's do it again!