Back from the dead

Hey remember that one time I had a blog? I do... barely. Sorry that I have completely abandoned this thing... although I'm sure no one reads it anyway. I am going to try to be better.

A lot has happened in the mean time! Here are some pictures to show what we have been up to.

We bought a house which we LOVE!

This is the tree in our backyard.

We went to many Utah football games.

 We painted us a kitchen table.

We got a cute housewarming present from my mother-in-law.

I painted a rug.

We played pickleball in the freezing cold because we love it so much.

My little sister got married.

We went to Logan for an anniversary/Valentine's Day getaway...

Ate at the best pizza place EVER...

Went to the Logan Temple...

Went to Hardware Ranch and went on a sleigh ride to see the elk.

(Said elk.)

Oh and a week ago we got baby chicks! We love our little babies so much already.

Oh yeah and did I mention that Sam and I both started graduate school? And got fairly significant callings in our ward? He is the Ward Employment Specialist and I am the Young Women's President. Needless to say, our lives have been kind of crazy lately... but we are loving it!

Masters of Bread Making

Last Saturday Sam and I decided that we wanted to try to make homemade bread. We were getting tired of store-bought bread so we thought we would give it a shot. We wanted to make somewhat healthy bread and found a recipe for Multigrain Bread on ourbestbites.com. We pretty much use their recipes for EVERYTHING... all of their stuff is fantastic! And this recipe certainly was no exception.

Of course, making this bread was like a whole-day ordeal, but it was totally worth it! Sam and I were nervous because we put so much effort into the bread and we were going to be really disappointed if it didn't turn out well.  It seriously turned out great and exceeded our expectations... so much so that we ate almost an entire loaf after it was done baking! Haha.

Doesn't it look so yummy??

As an added bonus, you do not need a breadmaker to make this bread! Which is a plus for people who don't have one. We actually do have one but we don't use it very much.

Anyway, Sam and I have made some different types of bread lately (rolls, banana bread, and this multigrain bread) and they have turned out REALLY GOOD so we like to think we are bread-making professionals now. Or maybe we are just really good at following recipes :).

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend seems like forever ago now but we did such fun things so I have to share! The night before Labor Day we went camping... in our front yard. Daniel (brother-in-law) thought it would be fun to set up tents and camp out in the yard. So we did. The front yard at our house isn't terribly big but we made it work.

Our tent is the cute little gray and orange one.

I really did not help much with putting up the tent... but Sam sure did a great job!

I played with little Whitters instead :)

We all had a good time chatting and hanging out together. 

We even made our own campfire and roasted s'mores in the driveway!

Sam with cute baby Matthew.

It was so fun to see Lucy enjoy "camping" so much. In the morning she came and cuddled with Sam and I in our tent and told us the cutest things (like that we are her "best friends"). She is a doll.

I also have to note that Sam and I slept on a blow up twin-size mattress in our tent. I was not too excited about our sleeping arrangements at first but it actually wasn't bad! Sam kept me nice and toasty and I actually had plenty of room to sleep. Camping in the front yard was a pretty good time.

On the actual holiday Sam and I did the usual chores, bike ride, etc. Later that evening, though, we decided to make grilled pizza for everyone... and boy did it turn out to be delicious! We were nervous because it was our first time making pizza on the grill but it turned out to be a huge success! We made all different kinds of pizza... hawaiian, pepperoni, bbq chicken, and a super veggie one. What a great ending to a long, fun, relaxing weekend!

Sam in one of his mom's aprons. He thought this one was pretty cool because it had a towel on the front to wipe his hands on. I personally just thought he looked so cute in it!

The delicious veggie pizzas. We had grilled zucchini too (which is so so good)!

Some of the other beautiful pizzas.

What a great weekend to spend with our family and enjoy one another's company! Can't wait for another long weekend!

Sam's 24th Birthday

Sam just recently had a birthday! His birthday was on August 23rd. Sadly it was the second day of the semester and Sam had class late that night so, as a family, we celebrated Sam's birthday the following Friday night... we had steak, baked potatoes, grilled asparagus, pistachio salad, and all kinds of delicious food! I also made Sam a birthday cake... that began as a complete disaster. I tried twice to bake two 9" round cakes but the cakes did not come out clean either time. Luckily we were able to save the second attempt and turn it into a pretty decent cake!

It might have not been the prettiest looking cake, but it sure tasted good!

The very cute birthday boy :)

Lucy helping Sam blow out his candles.

Sam holding Whitney.

As for Sam's birthday gift, he was in GREAT need of a bike jersey, so naturally I had to get him a Utah jersey.

We rode up Emigration in our matching jerseys and thought we were pretty cool :). Needless to say, I think it was another successful birthday!

Baking and Cooking

Today I do not have school OR work... which pretty much never happens anymore. One of the beauties of the end of the semester. Therefore... I spent the morning baking!!

I made my mother's DELICIOUS banana bread (seriously it's the best... AND has no butter or shortening!) and then tried a new recipe for oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies. Last time Sam and I made oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies they were DELISH but would not stay together at all. Thus, I tried a new recipe. These ones do stay together a little better. And are delish as well! 

Anyway, so far today has been lovely. Baking is just so relaxing, I love it. I don't get to do it enough so I decided I would take this opportunity to make some yummy treats. Which will be going to Sam and I's work tomorrow... so they will be the judges of it all. AND... later I am going to try out a new recipe for baked potato soup and twisty breadsticks. YUM! I absolutely love to cook so I am excited to try these out... they look wonderful!