Mr. Photogenic

Nick is such a "poser" these days. The other day I pulled my camera out and this is what I got from Nick. Too, Too, CUTE! He was quite the photogenic kid and I got a bunch of cute pictures of him.

Merry Christmas...
To: Mom
From: Nick

Now That's A Snow Storm

It's beginning to look a lot more like Christmas where we live.

School was cancelled yesterday due to the massive amount of snow we received. I measured about 30+" last night, but it kind of depends on where you measure. Regardless, it was a good storm.

(on the right side of the above picture you can see how

high the snow comes up on my little gate to my garden)

AND...like all good holidays, Barrett has strep. Had to make the trek to the doctor's office in the snow yesterday morning. It was some white-knuckle driving. It wouldn't be a holiday unless one of my kids was sick.

Merry Christmas!

Really, what are the chances?

And now Barrett and Nick match. (See previous post)
Less than 48 hours after Nick's accident, Barrett also fell off the couch and fractured his wrist. I'm ready to sell the dang couch! It's a pretty sad deal at our house these days. The two boys are pretty miserable and I think the broken limbs have made them really mean. Is that possible (let me know if you've experienced this at your home)? Barrett can't walk, so therefore, he cannot crawl now either. He puts up a huge fit when I sit him down. I guess he'll either learn to walk real soon, or he'll just be a grouch for the next three weeks.
We're going to see the orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday for Nick's break to make sure it's healing correctly. If it isn't, he'll need surgery.

Ah...never a dull moment in the Stanworth household.

If this kid doesn't have the worst luck...

If Nick didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all.

Last night Nick and Ryan were rough-housing on the couch and Nick fell off. That seems innocent enough, but he was still crying over it an hour and a half later and he wouldn't let me touch his arm. Long story short, he broke a bone in/near his elbow and now we are waiting on an appointment with a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon. His been pretty grouchy and really wants his temporary cast "Off." Thank goodness that our good buddy Peyton was available to come play today and distract us.

And yes, Nick still had his pajamas on because I didn't want to have to deal with re-putting on the temporary cast...and yes, he should be wearing a sling, but I can only battle so many things this morning.

Elk Slayer (aka: Britta)

I freakin' LOVE this girl.

My sister-in-law, Britta, shot her first elk this year & supervised Jeff while gutting it.

And I totally love my sweet husband for gutting her elk so that she wouldn't have to do it.

(How convenient that Craig forgot his knife at the 4-wheeler???)

Feeling Crafty

So, I've been on a bit of a crafty kick lately (it doesn't happen very often anymore).

More than TWO YEARS ago, my wonderfully talented, creative, and inspiring sister-in-law, Erica, posted this about a Christmas Advent calendar that she made:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/advent_calendar/

I loved it, so TWO YEARS later, I started in July and finally finished one that I modified a little. I put it on sheet metal and put magnets on the back of the tins. I'm so glad that another Christmas hasn't gone by before I did this project.
My very crafty and smart neighbor, Amber, taught herself and then me to make these gems. Naturally, I've made about 12....one in every color that the girls could possibly need. Love them, thanks Amber!
I also made these while camping. Thanks for crafting while camping with me Britta.
Jeff and my brother Craig were out hunting this:

WAY TO GO CRAIG!!!

Updating Sidebar Pictures...

So, it has been a year since I've update pictures on my sidebar and even longer on Cassie, Shawn, & Sierra's. I've finally changed them to these (Shawn is still to come, he is always too busy for me to take pictures)....






And seriously...isn't Cassie gorgeous??? She is growing up way too fast.

Pork Tenderloins with Creamy Corn

I'm a sucker for new recipes and this one's a keeper. Really, you have to make it..this week. Go buy some fresh corn on the cob, you'll be glad you did. Also, I didn't know how good grilled pork tenderloin could be and it only takes about 25 minutes to grille. Mmmm, it's making my mouth water....

Sorry, no picture because we ate it so fast that I didn't get a chance to photograph it. So, So, So Yummy!

Pork Tenderloins with Creamy Corn

• Serves: 4 to 6
• Prep time: 25 minutes
• Marinating time: 1 to 3 hours
• WAY TO GRILL: direct medium heat (350° to 450°F)
• GRILLING TIME: 25 to 30 minutes

Ingredients for paste

• 3 large garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves and tender stems
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each

Ingredients for Creamy Corn

• 5 ears fresh corn, husked (you may get the same taste from frozen corn?)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced crosswise, we used green onions
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
• Hot sauce, optional

Directions

1. Roughly chop the garlic, and then sprinkle the oregano and salt over the garlic. Continue to chop until the garlic and oregano are minced. Periodically use the side of your knife blade to press the garlic on the cutting board and create a paste. Transfer the garlic paste to a bowl and mix in the oil, vinegar, and pepper.

2. Trim the pork tenderloins of surface fat and silver skin. Brush the paste all over the surface of the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours. Allow the meat to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat.

3. Lightly brush the ears of corn with oil. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the corn over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until browned in spots and barely tender, about 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Using a sharp knife, cut the corn kernels off the cobs.

4. In a medium skillet over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and scallions; cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the corn kernels, cream, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until about half of the cream has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the oregano and a couple dashes of hot sauce, if desired. Set aside.

5. Grill the pork over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until the outsides are evenly seared and the centers are barely pink, 15 to 20 minutes, turning about every 5 minutes. The internal temperature of the tenderloins should be 150°F when fully cooked.

6. Remove the pork from the grill and let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before slicing. Meanwhile, warm the corn mixture over medium heat. Cut each tenderloin crosswise into slices about ½ inch thick. Arrange the slices on a platter or individual plates. Serve warm with the creamy corn.

Turning One

Can't believe my baby is turning ONE today. It's bittersweet because I want him to grow up (and sleep), but I'm also a little sad that my baby days are growing shorter and I'm watching my last baby grow up way too fast.

Group Pictures are Ov-er-rat-ed

So seriously, I've given up all hope of being able to take pictures of my three boys together. I've decided that if I get one or two shots of them individually once in a while I'm doing pretty good. Barrett's almost 10 months old and my pictures of him are sorely lacking for sheer volume. I feel like I take fewer pictures of him than Nick and Ryan. I'm pretty sure I documented every last thing with Ryan (from sneezes, to messes, to going up stairs), but with Barrett I'm lucky to just document the major events. I feel like times just flies by and I wonder where the last few months and years went.I did finally get a few pictures of Barrett, but the fuzz he was sitting on was much more interesting than looking at the camera, so I ended up giving up after a while. I'll have to enlist Jeff's help for trying to get Barrett to look in the right direction next time.

Summer Clothes!

So today is literally the first day that it has been warm enough here for shorts (my boys are much more into the winter clothes than the summer and would happily wear snow boots and long pants year-round if I would let them.) When I put shorts on Nick this morning he went around saying, "Pants! Pants!" for an hour until I took him outside and distracted him.

I was trying to get a good picture of Nick since it's been like a year since he's allowed me to take a decent picture...I guess the quest goes on as he was being, how-shall-I-say, two-ish!

Angie's Bridals

Where else but my blog can I blatantly pitch for friends and family to look at my novice photography skills and actually get people to look? My cleaning ladies are often nice enough to give a courtesy glance at my recent pictures, but honest...I pay them, so they have to!
We took Angie's Bridals at the Tulip Festival last week...I think they turned out pretty darn good for an amateur.

The Bestest Gram EVER!!!

This lady here is the best mom and Gram anyone could ask for. She goes above and beyond for her family and I wanted her to know that I love her! I know Mother's Day is still a few weeks off and so is her birthday, but Cory & Angie are getting married on her birthday and I may forget to say what a wonderful person she is.
I'm not as great as Britta on being a very thoughtful blogger, but here are some little and well-known things about my mom:
*She's a hiker...she leads hikes for the Biggest Loser Ranch at Fitness Ridge.
*She loves her grandbabies.
*She is in the best shape of her life.
*She took "Flat Ryan" for a whole month and photographed "Flat Ryan" doing all kinds of sun stuff.
*She has beautiful eyes...seriously so blue!
*She has her mother's teeth.
*She has a tropical oasis for a backyard
*She keeps me from having anxiety attacks when I'm overwhelmed.
*She helps me with work in our office when she comes to visit Elk Ridge.
*She beat me to the whole texting world...I'm still going to get on that band-wagon.
*She wears a size 9.5 shoe
*She always loves to hear funny stories about my life and my boys.
*She works wonders as a member of her Relief Society Presidency.
*She spoils us rotten when we visit in St. George.
*She taught Ryan to read when he was 4 by offering him money.
*She taught Ryan to tie his shoes...offered him $5 before she realized that it would only take him about 10 minutes to learn.
*She does my ironing every time she comes to visit (and sometimes it is A LOT).
*She treats everyone as her equal.
*She isn't above doing hard work.
*She thinks she's not creative, but she really is and her home shows it.
*She is someday going to teach me how to do some genealogy stuff.
*She is very outgoing.
*She is almost always positive and tells me to be less depressing when I get in a (how-shall-we-say???) funk.
*She loves to camp in her motorhome.
*She has her own Can-Am four-wheeler.
*She doesn't like her food mixed up...no gravy/corn/turkey mixtures for her.
*She's very compassionate.
*She has a Bernina sewing machine and has used it worth it's weight in gold.
*She is a quilter and a crochet-er. I love the blankets she's made us.
*She can teach any kid to swim, even if they are afraid of the water (luckily my kids are like fish and you can't keep them out of the water. I think Nick will learn to really swim this summer).
*She will share her birthday with Cory & Angie's anniversary (they can never say that didn't remember what day her birthday was on).
*She makes delicious homemade Oreo cookies (my friend Whitney used to beg for them in high school).
*She rides her bike all over St. George.
*She lost most of her toe nails after doing the Maui 1/2 marathon a few years ago....took forever for all of them to heal.
*She knows how to drive her four-wheeling into a barbed wire fence.
*She gives great lessons at Church.
*She always acts on a need when she sees it.
*She let Britta & I play all week long last week while she watch babies and encouraged our crafting and baking efforts.

I'll stop, but I really could go on and on.
Love you Mom!

While the cat's away...

While Jeff was with my brothers doing this....

I spent an entire week in St. George with the boys doing this....

Helping Britta decorate her bedroom, which she's been wanting to get done forever.I wish you could see these shelves in person....so stinkin' adorable.
Britta and I spent the better portion of one morning making the super-cute shelves.
We painted two and cover the other with paper. We distressed them all and they turned out so awesome. Who knew??? inexpensive shelves from Robert's with 40% off could turn out to look so expensive.
We made bread one afternoon...and pizza...and cinnamon rolls...and rolls.
I showed Britta an awesome recipe and we make all four things and baked them in under an hour. Delish!!!
Love the Washington City pool. The first hour was great because there was hardly anyone there. We were ready to go after about an hour an a half anyways, right when it started getting busy.

I had the best time while on vacation...just relaxed and played and shopped and baked and ate and shopped some more.

Mr. Incredible

So...

In editing pictures of Cory and Angie, I realized something....

Mr. Incredible....Cory....look alikes??? You be the judge.

What a Cute Stinker

Don't let that cute smile
& those sparkly eyes fool you,
this kid is Hell on Wheels.
He keeps me busy.

In the last week Nick has:
1) broke open an ink pen all over my favorite chair & ottoman (darn it)
2) fallen in the pond at the bottom of our waterfall in our yard (burr)
3) slept through the night only twice (he's 2 1/2!)
4) tripped in a parking lot and got a raspberry on his forehead (ouch)
5) pitched a fit about going to sacrament meeting (what else is new)
6) done lots of playing outside (even though there's still a bit of snow)
7) insisted I take this picture when my camera was out (Mr. Photogenic)