Friday, July 16, 2010

Fav Summer Shows

Not in any particular order...

Eureka- (SyFy) - This is such a fun, witty show. If you have Syfy you should check it
out. A regular guy in a town full of geniuses
Doctor Who - BBC America
Bachelorette -ABC
SYTYCD -Fox
Burn Notice - USA
Royal Pains - USA
White Collar -USA
Warehouse 13 - SyFy
Community re-runs NBC
30 Rock re-runs - NBC
Wipeout - ABC

I love love love summer TV

What are yours?

xoxo
Apryl

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Recipes

Friends,

I made the most amazing dinner last night and I just wanted to share it with you. I love love love it when new things that I try to make turn out well and boy did these two recipes, both obtained from Mel's Kitchen Cafe at www.melskitchencafe.com. They're both easy and delish! On the potatoes, I didn't use the green onion because no matter how many times I try to like g.o.'s I just don't :) We used our grill to make the pork chops and I can't tell you how happy it made me to smell the smell of a grill!

Tender Grilled Pork Chops

*Serves 4 (if you slice them and serve them with other sides, you could probably get away with serving 5 or 6 children/adults)

4 boneless pork loin chops
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon steak seasoning (such as Montreal Steak Seasoning or make your own*)

Mix olive oil, soy sauce and steak seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and pour into a one-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork chops and set the bag in a baking dish in a way that the pork chops get a healthy dose of the marinade (it may be advantageous to flip the bag over halfway through the marinating time). Marinate in the refrigerator for 3-8 hours (no more than 8). Heat the grill to medium and grill the chops 6-8 minutes per side (depending on how thick they are) until they are no longer pink in the center. Remove the chops from the grill and tent them with foil and allow them to rest for 5-7 minutes. Slice the chops in 1/4 to 3/8 inch slices across the grain and serve.

Recipe Source: my sister-in-law, Angela


Twice-Baked Potatoes

*Serves 8 (as a side dish)

4 large-ish russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
4 green onions, white and green parts thinly chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce each potato three or four times with a fork and place in the oven (or on a baking sheet). Bake for about an hour, until a fork can easily be inserted into the potato. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Let them cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Carefully cut each potato in half lengthwise, so you get two “boat” shapes from each potato. Using an oven mitt or potholder, hold the potato in one hand and with a spoon scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Leave a thin border (a little less than 1/4-inch) of potato innards around the skin so that it isn’t too fragile to hold the pumped up potato mixture.

Mash the potato flesh with a potato masher or fork until mostly smooth. Stir in the melted butter, 1 cup cheese, green onions, sour cream, milk, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Preheat the broiler and move an oven rack about 3-4 inches away from the broiler heating element.

Scoop the potato filling into the shells, mounding each potato shell full of the good stuff. Sprinkle the potatoes with the remaining 1 cup cheese and broil the potatoes until the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com)


PS On a totally unrelated note; Levi proposed to Kim! We're so so happy for them!

Loves to all,

Apryl

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Favorite things about summer....
- World Cup! Go England! Also loving Diego Forlan (URU) after today's game
- My backyard. Sean worked so hard and did an AMAZING job!
- My lounger chair that is perfect for reading and getting some sun while the kids play
- Bachelorette nights.
- Eclipse
- BBQ's
- The water park. I can spend hours there
- Smoothies. I love smoothies, especially making them but I think my blender is dying :(
- Campfires and camping
- Doctor Who
- Preschool. So glad that Vaughn is doing that for an extra month.
- Free summer movies. Went to Rave at Town Square today with Mindy & Connie and it was awesome except for when Pax froze and wouldn't get on the escalator. That was scary!
- Running; I need a race though
- My new paint. It looks awesome and I feel totally vindicated after all the dubiousness I got regarding my grey's.


Happy Summer Y'all! XOXOXO

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Easter Eggs

Finally dyed eggs today! It's ridiculous really. I had them hard-boiled the Friday before Easter so that we could do it as a family on Saturday. It didn't happen and I could smell my fridge being taken over by hard-boiled eggs. Today I finally got out the dye and the cups and the stickers and the eggs and let the kids go to town. It was really fun and for the rest of today Vaughn has had the fridge open so that he could see his eggs.



Thursday, February 25, 2010

Flotsam and Jetsam

I don't have much to report but I don't want my latest blog to be my Christmas letter. It feels wrong and annoys me for no good reason.

We're doing good. We're in the thick of busy season. Sean got an iphone for his birthday that I think he loves more than me right now. I haven't seen him this excited about something in forever. He's so cute about showing me how the compass works.

Pax turned 3. She had the sweetest Princess Party. I really need to get thank you notes written and sent out. I'm terrible and I know better.

Vaughn and Gage are boys to the core and Vaughn's current obsession is Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender" that aired on Nick a few years ago. He drew arrows on his arms, legs, and head like Aang has. I love the vividness of his imagination.

Alright, so I guess I had stuff to say after all. :)

xoxo

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Christmas Letter 2009

I’m way behind on cards and such so I figured I would post my Christmas letter here on my blog where all can see it.

We’ve had a crazy busy year! We bought our house in May and finally painted the first room over Thanksgiving when we had all my family down here in Vegas (truthfully my mom and Sean did all the work!) It was amazing to have us all together. I got to see family that I had not seen in ages! It was such a great week.

It’s a gorgeous home and we love, love, love it! It even has an office where I can work and a room that is just dedicated to toys!

Sean- Is an accounting rock star! He passed his CPA exam this year! We are so very proud of him. It was a huge accomplishment and he worked really hard for it. He is still working at Piercy, Bowler, Taylor & Kern. He likes it there. He has lots of side projects and he is a fantastic father and husband. He takes the kids out on hikes in the desert, wrestles with them at night and helps out around the house so I can have a break. He’s really great about babysitting so I can work on school or go out on girl’s nights. He’s just amazing.



Apryl- I am still working for RC Transcription and I love it! It’s a great company with great people and it accommodates my ever changing schedule. I love that I can work from home. It’s a huge blessing! I’m also still working on my Bachelor’s degree from BYU. I promise I will finish! I have 3 classes left and am working on 2 of them now. I still run in the mornings and chase after my babies who are growing up too fast! Sean and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary on New Year’s Eve.



Vaughn- V is 4-1/2!!! He is such a great kid. He started Preschool this fall and loves his teacher, Miss Jenn. He played soccer this fall and loved practice but games were weird for him, he mostly sat and picked the grass at the beginning but by the end we had him running the whole time. It was really fun to watch him learn though Sean called me “Richard” a few times and threatened to ban me from games! He loves swords and can make a sword out of most anything and he loves to tie knots. He loves to play with his brother and sister. My kids are totally adapted to the Vegas heat. It took me 2 weeks to convince Vaughn he needed to wear pants, in DECEMBER!



Pax- Pax Bennett is 2 going on 20! She’ll be 3 soon and is such a fire cracker. She spent most of the year potty training and almost has it down. She loves Princesses and makes a wand out of just about anything. She is so adorable, such a girl, but a fearless girl. She can make me so frustrated and then look at me, say something sweet and my heart just melts. She is a great snuggler and can keep up with Vaughn which is a huge blessing. They are great friends.



Gage- Gage is my baby! He started out the year by ending up in the hospital with RSV in February. It was really scary but he was a trooper and recovered quickly. He is the most cuddly, adorable, sweet baby boy on the face of the Earth! He just makes me smile. I have watched him grow this year with a mixture of joy and sadness since he’s my baby! He is now almost 20 months. He started walking this year and he is starting to talk. He has his little blankey that he LOVES and cannot sleep without. He loves to try to play with Vaughn and Pax. He’s a big bruiser, never without some facial scar or bruise despite my best efforts. :)



We have had a great year filled with many bounteous blessings. We are so grateful for all we have, for wonderful friends and family. I love this time of year and the reminder of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Love always,

Sean, Apryl, Vaughn, Pax & Gage