Camping

So we got back from our family reunion (Larsen) about a week ago, it was so fun to do nothing! I thought I would get bored and want to read Kindle...thats right, we call her by her name, Kindle lol...but it never happened. We spent time talking, crafting and playing games, so nice and relaxing. Although I can't say the same for Jared, I don't think he can stand just sitting around doing nothing. He made his daily trip in town with my dad (bless both their hearts) to keep from getting too bored. But I was so glad he came and stayed the whole time with us.

While he was in town he happened to run across nothing other than A HORSE RACE! Thats right! Here is a video he shot of part of the first race...

You can hear them say a rider fell of his horse and then a guy in a white shirt running after him, poor thing. The sad thing is, that was the horse Jason thought would win :P

What a fun trip, for both of us! My mom was able to blog and document pictures from the trip HERE

The wedding!!!

Ok, so as you might know, I catered my cousin's wedding reception a few weekends ago. It was so much fun and it turned out beautifully! I am so honored that she would consider and trust me to do the food for one of the most important days of her life :) Her photographer took a ton of pictures, that I am sure with turn out much better than mine, but here are pictures I have!

over 400 S's I piped by hand with chocolate to top the chocolate cupcakes...

 over 400 cake pops...

 over 550 cupcakes...

 The day of...80 chocolate circles hand painted with edible silver luster dust...

 The white chocolate mousse, raspberry, milk chocolate (toblerone) mousse, heath bar bits trifle...

 Strawberry shortcake trifles...

 chocolate covered grapes, blueberries and strawberries...

 The finished cake pops, a light pink tinted chocolate and silver glass sprinkles...

 The carrot cupcakes...

 The chocolate cupcakes, topped with the hand piped S's, and chocolate ganache filled red velvet cupcakes...

 Gluten-free cupcakes...chocolate chocolate and orange vanilla cream cheese raspberry...

 The cream puffs, fruit platter, fruit dip...

 The finished bar from all angles...

 The set up...the tables were so beautiful and covered with beautiful flowers and a picture of the bride and groom...

 The hutch was covered with the bride and groom...(the bridal picture in the back far right is my fav favorite...she is in a tunnel...GORGEOUS!

 Right by the back door...

 Over the range...

 Her beautiful cake...

 The sign in area by the front door...

 The going away carriage...

 A real life Cinderella fairy-tale!

 Awww...kissing before leaving!

It was such a fun weekend, a little busy and chaotic, but so so much fun. I am so happy for Katie and Steve. The best part is, the reception (on my end) went off without a hitch...almost. Minus the minor scare of running out of frosting, and Jared getting a flat tire right in the middle of this moment, and having to remake the mousse on sight...it was perfect :)

The best PASTA ever...aka Vodka pasta...but don't be worried!

Tomato Cream Vodka Pasta

Serves 2 large portions or 3 average...

1 can Progressive tomato basil soup
1 can diced stewed tomatoes
1/2-1 cup vodka
1/2 cup Heavy whipping cream
pinch cayenne
1/2-1 tsp garlic powder
1/2-1 tsp onion powder
1-2 hot dog
italian cheese
dollop of Boursin cheese
bowtie pasta (GF or Regular would work!)

While you wait for the water (pinch of salt and oil) to boil for the pasta, mix the tomatoes and soup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the vodka and seasonings and continue to boil and reduce (this will cook the alcohol out and sweeten the sauce). By this time the water should be boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package. Stir in the cream and continue to cook down. Now slice a hot dog on an angle (to look a little fancy and disguise the hot dog), put in a saute pan and sprinkle with olive oil, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Lastly, mix the sauce with the cooked pasta and a little Italian cheese, place in a bowl or on a plate and top with the sauteed/caramelized hot dog slices and a dollop of Boursin cheese. ENJOY!!!

side note: I thought for sure that Jared would hate this considering he doesn't care for tomato soup. This was my attempt to disguise tomato soup that I bought for 0.49 cents! It worked better than I thought, Jared said it was the best thing I have ever made, and that it is the best pasta he has ever had. Then I had my parents over to try it...my Dad wouldn't stop eating my dinner...it was very comical! Definitely a recipe for the books!

Questions??

4th of July!

This year we spent the 4th with my family...well sort of. We went up to Heber City the weekend before for a 4th of July celebration up there. It was fun to be with the whole family. We then spent the real 4th with our neighborhood (no pics, sorry). I made homemade ice cream and we all gathered around with our camping chairs and watched the great firework show, lead by the kids, while enjoying our ice cream. I love my neighborhood and I am so happy we do get-togethers as often as we do.

Here are pictures from Heber...you can also read/see more on my mom's blog, the face painting was my fav!
Our little table guests, we sat with the Browns...

The table across from us...boy were they noisy ;)

 There was time after dinner for the kids to roll down this big hill (you can't tell this is a big hill, but it was!) and get their faces painted...

 We goofed off too...while in line holding places for the kids to get their face painted...

The fireworks were beautiful, we cuddled up on the golf course with our big blankets and enjoyed a wonderful evening...

 What a wonderful celebration. I am definitely grateful for the freedom won on this day so many years ago. I love America, and I am proud to be an American!!

SPAIN!!!

So after our joyous cruise we met up with my parents in MADRID! We spent a WHOLE week visiting my mission and seeing people I met there as well as enjoy some of the cultural events I couldn't see as a missionary. So here are all the pictures from that trip:
Our hotel...

Day 1 we went to Villalba, where I lived with a family from Ecuador. While we were there we went to one of my favorite monuments, Valle de los Caidos. It was a gorgeous day...
Taking the train...

The view from the front of the monument...

 The tallest free-standing cross in the world...and the church inside the mountain is gorgeous too, Mass was fun too...

 El Escorial, a huge castle/monastery/now museum that was built for the king...

 I really wish you could see the HUGE gardens behind/below that wall...

 They are all mazed shrubs!

 The church in Villalba...

My family in Villalba...

 me and my 2 moms!

 I love and miss her way too much!

 Aww...I love her, I swear, she kept me on my mission...

Day 2 My MTC teachers...they were the best...we went to a famous paella restaurant, delish!

 Day 3 Riding in the metro!...oh how I do NOT miss that!

 Banco de Espana! A fun day of wandering/sight-seeing and tapas...

The prado museum...

 The church next to it...

 The toledo store...the boys and their toys...

Flamenco...it was outrageously AMAZING!! I wanted to go back every night...not to mention Jared said it was the best meal he has EVER had...it was pretty good! Jared agreed that this was one of the coolest things he has ever seen in his life!
A few snipbits of what we saw...(make sure to pause the music on my playlist first...)

*I know the bottom picture is blurry, but I wanted you to see how close we were to the dancers!*

The opening act of 3 girls...

 They also had musical numbers with 3 different men that play guitar (this guy was the star of the show) and 3 men singing...one would sing his little heart out, it was so funny!

 The stars of the show...

Our favorite dancer, she was the most graceful and poised! You could tell that she had technical background, and the skill! She was gorgeous!

 Walking out towards the metro we saw our favorite dancer taking a break so we asked for a photo opp!

Day 4 Sol and Palacio Royal.
A Spanish tradition, Chocolate and churros...YUM!

 We were told this was the most famous chocolate and churro place in Madrid, I can see now why they are so famous!

 Streets...

 We found these men who dress up at statues, its incredible...we couldn't resist...

Palacio Royal

 The royal cathedral...

 Walking towards Sol..

My favorite pastry shop in Madrid...the Napolitanas are out of this world!

 Me and our lovely purchases...

 The clock tower in Sol...It is here that everyone meets on New Years Eve, and when it rings in the new year at 12 it is tradition to eat one grape at every ring, for good luck!

After naps...ready to go again...

Alcala de Henares...my first area...
We went to my favorite restaurant there...thats right McDonalds! They have this sandwich called the CBO, it is INCREDIBLE! Its just too bad they don't have it in the states...

In front of Cervantes' house...

 The streets in Alcala...

 In front of my old apartment building...

 The park we would exercise in...they have really fixed it up nice since we lived there...

 This tree has been there for who knows how long...I alwas

Day 5 Visiting my last area, going to church and to temple square...
My old apartment building...

The obispo...

HESTROBEL...how I love this man!

Ana...a ray of sunshine!

Temple square...the temple was closed for cleaning while we were there...the saddest thing of the whole trip. I was really looking forward to being there with my parents...but at least we could enjoy the outside :)

Day 6 We tried for Segovia or Toledo...didn't work out...so we wandered the city and found...Armin? lol. This man is from one of my other areas, but he was headed to the library and we happened to run into him.

Dad wanted to find this Argentine Polo store...it was fun. He saw a pair of Polo boots in a magazine at the hotel and thought they looked really cool...until he saw the price tag..lol. The best tho was once we got in there my mom found several pair of boots that she wanted, we tried to get her to try on a pair for fun (because the price was outrageous) she wouldn't, because she knew if she had done that she would fall in love with them even more...it was too cute.

Day 7 Coming home. We spent the whole day on a plane...and got home to Jared's surprise for his birthday...he had no idea he was getting any of this! Thank you Kenzie for setting it up for me :) His face was perfect!

It was an amazing trip. It was a little bittersweet for me, because I loved my mission so much and to return reminded me of the trials I went through. It brought up a ton of emotions, good and bad ;) I am just happy I was able to return and share it not only with my parents who suffered through it with me (in a sense) but also my eternal companion. It was amazing to share this with him so he could relive in a sense what has greatly shaped the person I am today.