A Much Needed Announcement

So I’ve disappeared for a while for two reasons…

1.        I graduate in less than three weeks, so I’ve been working my butt off to stay alive and pass with at least decent grades.  Although, being honest, at this point I’d be happy with any passing grade.

2.       I have had some really exciting news and because I wanted to wait to share it… I simply have had to just keep my mouth shut or it will come exploding out!

Kenny and I are expecting a baby BOY on September 9^th!!!

It all started on our second anniversary when we were celebrating by picking up some groceries on our way to Park City.  Suddenly in the middle of Wal-Mart I explained to Kenny that I desperately wanted to eat some tomato soup (if you know me at all, you know I HATE tomatoes of any kind).  Kenny laughing at me told me we had better buy me a pregnancy test because if this was not a sign of pregnancy he didn’t know what was.  Well laughing and joking we snuck over to the you-know-what-aisle and embarrassingly I made Kenny go buy THE TEST.  We went home to put away our groceries before we set out on our trip and Kenny reminded me of the test.  Still laughing at the whole situation I went and did my business on it and turned it face down on the sink.  You see, this has been our plan for a while, to find out together if we were pregnant.  So we set a timer for three minutes and waited.  Kenny went to flip over the test and as I was expecting to see just one line…. I saw two.  We are pregnant!  We both looked at each other and laughed, so I took two more.  These only proved twice more that we were really pregnant!  We were so happy beyond all reason we could just not stop laughing and smiling.  We drove to Park City a little later and bought a very gender neutral baby outfit.  Our checks were literally sore from smiling.  We had to tell someone but knew it was too early… so Kenny told the cashier at one of the stores we went too.  If only she knew that she was the first to know, I think she might have felt a little more special.  So now here we are 17 weeks along and we already found out that it is definitely a boy!  We couldn’t be more excited!  So now that the news is finally out, maybe I can start writing a wee bit more without having to hold myself back! 

Getting Into the Spirit!

I am not really a crafter.  If you think I am... I've probably lied about something I made.  But for real this year I want to try to start making decorations to really get into the spirit since I am so excited for so many family members that are going to be coming over to visit!  I want our home to feel... festive!  So this is my first addition!  TA DA!  Super easy... All I did was buy a wreath for two dollars at JoANNs then used left over material for the flowers and hung it up with some ribbon! 

Back in the Game

One of my homework assignments is to listen to ten podcast.  Which in turn means TEN HOURS that I have to sit near my computer.... so hence here I am trying to not go crazy by listening to hours upon hours of podcast!  Plus I really have a lot to update on....  Kenny and I were joking about how fun this semester has been because we have gotten to go to Lake Powell, Star Valley, and then Hawaii!  I am almost disappointed that we don't have a big vacation coming up now, but I guess it is about time we start living normal lives.  I think at this point pictures will say it better than words. 

Here is us at Lake Powell where Kenny was the one driving the house boat

This here thing is called... "The Blob"  feast your eyes upon this.

After Lake Powell we waited a month until it was time to fly to Hawaii!  I work at Lone Peak Dental and this is the doctor's second time taking us to Hawaii and this time Kenny got to come which made for so much more fun!

 One of the things I love about Hawaii is just how perfect the scenery is.  It is such a beautiful peaceful place to be.

Having Kenny with us this year meant waking up at the crack of dawn and running down to the beach before anyone else is even starting to wake up!

The boys loved boogie boarding even though it gave them nasty rashes and chafing in places that won't be mentioned. 

The best part was being able to spend so much time together in such a fun place!

A little bit of everything...

So now that I have been thrown back into a whirlwind of late night homework, teaching tennis, volunteering for grad school hours, actually attending class, and working on people's teeth in between all of this I have let my blogging start to diminish into well.... OK it is just nonexistent right now being completely honest. So for now I'll let the pictures do the talking. (With maybe a little commentary) :)

 Dirty faces after four-wheeling in Wyoming over Labor Day Weekend

 Kenny finally got to meet Evan!  The newest addition to our family

 Kenny got to have some fishing time

 Kenny is continuing to give me lessons on shooting. I'm pretty much Annie Oakley now.

Not sure what this face means... but we did have a fun trip with the family in Wyoming.

Then the next weekend we were off to Lake Powell with Kenny's office...

Good times with good sunburns. 

Back to Life

I have risen from the dead and am living back in Utah.  Okay I wasn't really dead, but not working a job or going to school and laying by the pool everyday pretty much makes you feel like you are dead.  So I am happy to say that I am living real life now!  Back at good ole UVU loving my new classes and I even love working back at Lone Peak Dental and seeing all the awesome girls there!

But before we left we had to say goodbye to a good friend who started going to church with us...

She was such a hoot and the most giving person ever.  (She kept on giving me gifts for our future children!)

Once I flew home I got to go to my good friend Lindsey's beautiful weddings! Such a happy day for her and Bradley!!

I sure missed these girls!

Somehow, or maybe it was just good timing, I got to be there for when my sister, Katie had her baby.

 It was so fun to see the almost parents get so excited!  and after 36 hours of labor......

I finally decided to deliver the baby myself.

Introducing .... Evan Paul Garrett. 

With all these exciting events going on I even had time to kill a nasty scary spider in my storage shed. 

It is good to be back! :)

Habitat For Humanity

The other day Kenny's Vivint boss texts us at 11:30 PM telling us that we have the opportunity to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity at 8 Am the very next day. 

Hmmm... the news said that tomorrow was going to be record heat and humidity.  As much fun as building a house in record heat sounds, I was already trying to come up with excuses of how we could get out of this. Good thing I have a husband who jumped right on it and texted him back saying we would both be there before I could even think of one excuse. Darn.  So we got up early the next day and put on some old clothes ready to work. 

We showed up in a pretty run-down area in Wilmington, and after they gave each of us instructions, we got to work.  Before even starting anything I was sweating out of every pore.  I was in charge of being on the ladder and painting the top edges of the walls with Kenny who was painting the ceiling.  After about one hour we were all drenched in paint and sweat.  Ya, it was not cute.

 While we were working we got into a conversation with the guy in charge of the whole project.  He had been working with Habitat for Humanity for almost a year now and gets paid a whopping THREE dollars an hour.  He told us about his small apartment with five other people and how he has less then 150 dollars to spend on groceries.  I will admit my mind started to wonder, why?!  He had been to college finished his bachelor degree but decided he wanted to live his life in a way that he could be proud of. 

I have so many small moments where I realize how grateful I really am for who I am and what I have, and then find myself forgetting them so fast.  I see good and bad each day but it is ultimately up to me to choose what to dwell on.  While we might not be perfect and see the good every single day, we can always start over and try again!  My new goal is to remember how good each day can really be and to choose to be grateful for all of it!  

This is called real concentration.

Makelle and Austin!  He is such a good sport because he came to this even though he was suffering through kidney stones!

Whitney and Eric working hard

The whole group

This is at the beggining before I turned into this beauty...

Yup, sweaty tacos I got myself there.  Please enjoy this nice view of them.

(Pictures compliment of Natasha Hobley, Thanks girl!)

Cheesecake Mistake

So I have this friend Shellena.  She is an excellent baker and cook.  I needed a good recipe for Kenny's birthday to make him his favorite dessert, cheesecake, so naturally I went to her.  She told me about the goddess of all cheesecakes, it is called...

The Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake! (Recipe posted at the end)

I wanted to make a cheesecake to put all other cheesecakes to shame!  So I even went to lengths such as buying a spring foam pan, which I had no idea what it even was at the time!  I even made sure it was nine inches which is what the recipe called for.  Wow, I was being really detailed oriented, ha.  I was all set... or so I thought.

So I started out making the Oreo crust.  I crushed them by putting them in a blender.  The next step was to melt store-bought caramels in the microwave.  CRAP!  I forgot to buy caramels!  This wouldn't be a big deal except I don't have a car out here so it was time to improvise.  I will just home make the caramel!  Brilliant!  So now I had a new project, I had to home make caramels.  (Another thing I have never tried)  After pretty successfully making the caramels I poured a layer of the mixture onto the Oreo crust.

Well finally I made the actual cheesecake and put it in the oven to bake.  The homemade caramel was obviously too runny because it melted out of the cake all over the oven!  Wow as if my oven was not already greasy enough from my last baking experience. 

After that little mistake, I must admit I didn't do TOO bad of a job because Kenny said it tasted pretty good.  Either that, or Kenny is really good at lying! :) 

   Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake

24 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 2 cups)

6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Caramels

1/2 cup milk

1 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans

3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 cups sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

3 eggs

2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Make It

HEAT oven to 325°F.

MIX crumbs and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.

MICROWAVE caramels and milk in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 3 min. or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute. Stir in nuts; pour half into crust. Refrigerate 10 min. Refrigerate remaining caramel mixture for later use.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over caramel layer in crust.

BAKE 1 hour 5 min. to 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

MICROWAVE reserved caramel mixture 1 min.; stir. Pour over cheesecake. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise

Enjoy a serving of this decadent treat on special occasions.

Note

Reduce oven temperature to 300°F if using a dark nonstick springform pan.

How to Cut a Cheesecake

When cutting a cheesecake, use a knife with a thin blade, wiping the blade with a damp paper towel or rinsing with warm water after each cut for best results. Or, try using unwaxed dental floss. Just cut an 18-inch piece of floss, then wrap the ends around your index fingers. Cut the cheesecake in half by pulling the floss through the cheesecake, starting at top surface of cheesecake and keeping the floss pulled tight. Release one end of the floss and pull through bottom of cheesecake. Rewrap the floss and use to cut cheesecake into desired number of slices.