Roasted Vegetables

Lately I have been obsessed with roasting vegetables. I can't seem to get enough.They are, in my opinion, so much more delicious than the steamed variety.
Some of my favorite veggies to roast are broccoli, cauliflower, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and asparagus.
All I do is add a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. I roast them at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. If I am feeling extra adventurous, I will squeeze some fresh lemon juice or add a pinch of garlic salt when I pull them out of the oven.
When roasting cauliflower by itself, my sister-in-law, Becky gave me the following recipe: add a little bit of Parmesan cheese, some bread crumbs,a couple of cloves of minced garlic, and some Italian seasoning after coating them with a little olive oil and it is a great companion to any Italian dish . Ryan's brother claims that this cauliflower is so good, it tastes like French fries. Not sure I agree with the French fry part, but vegetables really are delicious cooked this way.

No Place Like Home

We are moving from Utah back to Iowa early Saturday morning. It is definitely a bittersweet situation. It has been wonderful to live close to family again. One of the very best things about living near family is watching your children connect with grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. In my opinion, the most difficult thing about living far away is feeling like they are missing out on those relationships. I am so thankful for the past eight months and the opportunity we have had to live so close to so much family. I get a lump in my throat every time I think about how much love and support everyone has given us while we have been here. Some of the highlights have included:

• Long summer days spent swinging and playing in the backyard. 
• Grandpa's awesome tree house.
• Tons of play dates with cousins.

• Celebrating Maddie's second birthday.

• Womens' weekends.

• Grandma's tea set.
• Friday night pizza--always from Papa Murphy's and always the Cowboy (seriously, you don't want any variety, Dad?)
• Cooking with pounds and pounds of garlic and onions because that's what my dad loves--gotta keep the landlord happy.
• Unlimited Cars and Dora fruit snacks whenever we visited Grandma Mary-Ann.
• Anytime Ryan came home, even if it was just for a few days between rotations. Those reunions were always super-sweet.

• Our entire month in Colorado. Living with Ryan's brother and his family was a great experience that I will always look back on with fond memories.

• Dinner at Layla's with Papa and Mama Payne.
• Ben and Jerry's in every flavor imaginable at our constant disposal. my dad is the Devil in disguise, I tell ya.
• Play dates and girls' nights with lifelong friends.
• Red Mango. I had to eat my words when I told my sister that it couldn't be "that good." I'm totally addicted.
• Spending so many holidays with family.

• Playing "Just Dance" on the wii on Christmas Day with all of Ryan's family. I would pay good money to see a dance-off between Ryan's dad and mine to the tune of "Walk like an Egyptian."
• Cookie bake-offs in my parents' sweet kitchen.

• Watching this little guy get chunkier every day.

• The circus with Grandma Maddie, the most memorable part being when 3 of the grandkids (Ike included) stayed on the train while both adults got off...it's funny now, but Grandma didn't think it was too funny then.

• Spending time with the Great Grandparents.

• Being able to attend Grandpa Hancock's funeral and Uncle Mark's as well.

• Having so much family to celebrate with when Davis was blessed.

• A tub big enough to swim in.

• Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with my mom and dad.
• The Payne family Reunion. 
• Playing Celebrity at said reunion and laughing my arse off while Papa P. yelled at everyone on his team, calling them "a bunch of idiots!" for not guessing his uncanny impression of Christopher Walken.

What a fun eight months it has been. I am so glad we decided to come home during this crazy year. As my mom said, "I wouldn't trade the memories for anything."

Me neither.

All 10 of Them

This past Christmas my sisters and I decided to give my parents a picture with all 10 of their grandkids together. Jeni Boston was the photographer we hired and we were all really pleased with how the photos turned out.

I thought she did a great job considering her somewhat-hard-to-manage clients. 

This was the one we ended up choosing to enlarge and give to my parents.

One of my favorites.

This picture cracks me up every time. Maddie just looks so uncomfortable in that position.

Just the boys.

Just the girls. Not sure what is going through Maddie's head in this shot...

Book of Mormon Fiesta!

This morning my sister and I took Ike, Fischer, and Maddie to the new Children's exhibit at the Church History Museum. It's called "Book of Mormon Fiesta" and it is all about the Book of Mormon in Latin America. Everything was in both Spanish and English and there were different stories from the Book of Mormon as well as examples of Latino Saints and how they have applied its teachings to their lives. I think all the kids had a great time, with the only major meltdown happening when we had to leave (ahem....Maddie).

The exhibit is free and will be at the Museum until January of 2013. I would highly recommend it, even for kids as young as ours.

Fischer and Isaac fishing from Nephi's ship. Fischer said this was his favorite activity. 

We had the place pretty much to ourselves when we first got there, so Allie and I even got into it, dressing up in traditional Latina attire and learning how to dance. Not to brag but I was a much better dancer than she was.

Fischer playing one of the many computer games they had to offer.

Isaac practicing his reformed Egyptian.

Harvesting veggies to feed the missionaries.

Checking out the hens in the hen house.

Playing dress up with different Book of Mormon characters.

We might have to take the kids again in a couple of years, just before it closes. I think they will love it even more when they are a little older.

Have you tried this?

Litehouse Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette Dressing.
My aunt introduced me to this salad dressing recently and it is definitely a new favorite. Unique and packed with flavor. And as a bonus, it's much more figure-friendly than traditional bleu cheese, with just 7 grams of fat per serving instead of the usual 15+ grams. You can find it in the refrigerator section of the produce department. We had it with Buffalo Chicken Salads, and even my dad enjoyed it. When my dad willingly eats a salad for dinner, you know it must be good.