Blake Sleeping

Here is a video of Blake falling asleep while he was finishing his lunch. The end is really funny.

Labor Day at Lake Powell 2

Elizabeth getting up for the first time on skis! It was incredibly exciting.



We had a great time this year at Lake Powell. We swam a ton, skied, tubed, played on the beach, fished, and had smores every night. Kayla also lost her very first tooth on the first night we were there. She was eating corn on the cob complaining about her loose tooth when Aunt Angie discovered it wasn't in her mouth anymore. We think she swallowed it but she didn't care she lost her tooth! Yay!

Labor Day at Lake Powell 1

Blake did not like to go in the water after the first day. But being the mean parents we are we made him.
Elizabeth caught a few fish, this one is a carp. I think she caught this one with a dough ball. She also caught a few cat fish. Kayla "caught" a fish too because Elizabeth caught it on her pole.
We have an island at Lake Powell we named Dutton Island. Most of it was under water this year. Jared and I had fun jumping off this rock. Elizabeth and Kayla did Ariel shots on the rock. I didn't include Kayla's photo because she way crying because we took E's picture first.
Jared always tries to Slalom but never seems to be able to stay on the one ski. It is really funny watching him face plant into the water. I shouldn't laugh though I can't get up at all.

So I've taken up smoking lately

I recently took up smoking, and after reading mountains of opinions online (analysis paralysis), I've had some success. The smoker I'm using I picked up used (well, not from a store but not ever used to smoke anything) for $10 or so, but have had some issues with getting it up to heat. To deal with this, after many smokings with cardboard boxes over the smoker, I finally added to hotplate to the bottom of the smoker. The ribs and pork shoulder are the first attempt at smoking after adding the additional heat and came out pretty good...better than most bbq from a restaurants.


These ribs were also my first time using mesquite, I usually use hickory. I'll probably switch back to hickory after I use up the rest of the mesquite, I like the sweeter aromatics in the hickory that I don't get with the mesquite. The food was excellent, tender and juicy, but still not perfect. To help with improvements, I added a more accurate temperature gauge to the smoker so I know the actual temp of the smoker, not just whether it is "warm", "ideal", or "hot". Worthless. I'll be sticking it at 220 for the most part now.


I can usually only smoke once every couple months, being covered in smoke all day while out camping is one thing, but around the house it makes me nuts and I crave a shower almost as much as eating. Hopefully with some work on the smoker I won't have to stand out in the smoke messing with the temperature as much.


So here are some pics of the recent smoking:

Here it is from the store, all wrapped in plastic and unrubbed. Speaking of rub, I just cover them with mustard and put a cheap rub on from the store...obviously I'm far from hard core on this.


















Getting the smoker ready, filled the bottom with wood chips (for fast smoke) and wood chunks (so I don't have to put more chips in every hour). Note the two power cords coming from the unit :-).


















Ribs just getting started on the smoker, there are more ribs and the pork shoulder on the rack below them.
















And here they are coming out, they look like they're worth eating now:

The lower rack. We're all addicted to pulled pork, so it's hard to smoke without doing at least a small shoulder.





































And the money shot, yum. I was so stuffed when I got done with these I could hardly finish the pork shoulder.
















so...some other smokings...turkey is always good. I put some olive oil on this one per some site's recommendation, but wouldn't do it again. The last turkey I smoked had a real nice crispy skin and more smoke penetrated the meat.
















Alright...picture of the previous turkey...note the skin texture, delicious.

You did what!

What Elizabeth does Kayla must follow. As I recently posted, Elizabeth got her ears pierced for her birthday. Kayla has been quite upset that she hasn't been able to get her ears pierced too. Well as all of you know that have had your ears pierced you need to "clean" them several times a day. After seeing Elizabeth do this many times Kayla thought she would "clean" her ears also. Her choice for cleaner, super glue. Luckily we have a can of acetone out in the garage and a few nasty smelling minutes later she was all "clean".

The Most wonderful time of the year

Yay! It finally came, the first day of school. I can't believe my little Kayla is going to be gone all day long. Kayla picked out a different outfit the night before so I was surprised when she came out with her green shirt on. It had pink sleeves so we cut them off to make this shirt summer compatible. Elizabeth was excited to go back and see her friends again, she got the teacher she wanted, Mrs. Eurkee. Almost all of her friends are in her class this year, she is growing up so fast already in the fourth grade. Kayla also has two girls from church in her class which is wonderful. This summer she did a phonogram class with both of them so she really has gotten to know them better. When Jared got out the camera to take their pictures Blake had just taken off his diaper. He realized we were taking pictures and went and stood with the girls, butt naked. It was really funny. Though every time Jared tried to get his picture he would wander out of range. Picking the girls up from school was a nightmare. It took me a half hour to get out of the parking lot! I don't know why everyone thinks they need to pick their kid up on the first day of school. Kayla seemed liked she had a good day, she said she had P.E. and three recesses. " I'm so sweaty mom." We stopped by Wendy's on the way home and they both got M&M Frosty's. Kayla is so funny, she isn't used to wearing pants all day long that as soon as we walked in the door she was out of her clothes and into her big pajama t-shirt which she wore for the rest of the day. Blake did pretty well yesterday with just me at home. He even gave us a good scare when we put him in his crib. Wouldn't you know when we went to check on him he was waiting for us at the door! NO!!!! We are hoping it is just a fluke and that he really doesn't know how to get out of his bed! He isn't even 18 months yet! Elizabeth and Kayla never got out of their cribs. Blake has been such a different experience, everyone was right boys are way more work than little girls. :) The first day of school seemed to go really well, hopefully it will be a great year.

Elizabeth's 9th Birthday

A few years ago Elizabeth asked me if she could get a hamster. I told her that when she was in the 4th grade she could get one. Well guess what that day came sooner than I thought. She turned 9 yesterday and for her birthday we went down to petco and got a baby hamster. He is really cute. He is a dwarf hamster and she has named him Spotty, even though he has no spots. :) He has even bit her already! But Spotty was quickly forgiven. She also was able to convince Jared to let her get her ears pierced 3 years early. We had told her not till she was 12, oh well. She chose flower earings that look like diamonds. She was increadibly nervous that it was going to hurt and while we were waiting for the girl to get the guns ready she almost broke my hand from squeazing me so tightly. She did really well though, didn't cry at all. I asked her after we left if it felt like a small pinch, "more like a big pinch mom". Kayla was pretty upset she couldn't get her ears pierced and asks me all the time if she can get them when she turns six next year. After much asking I finally told Kayla that she would have to convince her dad. No luck yet.