2010 at the Bellangers

Ok, so we have been super lame bloggers...again! Computer went kaput and we got busy.

We did have some fun though, and I do plan on downloading all the photos of it. Here is a general "how's life been" for us just to get caught up.

Carl- Depot, Depot, Depot
Chris- School, School, School
Jake- Scouts, Basketball, School
Alex- Wii, PS2, School

Yes, lame is what you call that! But, we have a goal for 2010 to be a more interesting and fun family. So, bookmark this if you haven't already. There will be many photo's to upload and new experiences to share with all our family and friends!!

A thought, by Alex

Not too long ago we were having FHE (Family Home Evening for all you non-Mormons) and were talking about the perilous times we live in. Carl, who was conducting, thought that he should clarify.

"Who knows what perilous means," asked Carl.

"I do," calls out Alex excitedly

"Ok Alex, what?"

"It means you don't have any pears!"

Get it?

Pear-less? Perilous?

Yeah, took me half a second too! Carl got it right away though and couldn't stop laughing.  Gotta love kids!

Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!

Last night the boys and I decided to put together a dessert that they had read about in the story "Cook-a-Doodle-Doo". In it, the great-grandson of the Little Red Hen decides he is tired of chicken feed and wants to cook some real food. He finds great-grandma's recipe book and together with his friends makes the most magnificent Strawberry Shortcake. It is a super cute book, with a great story and lots of cooking facts added in, but best of all was the recipe it included so that you could make you very own strawberry shortcake. So that is what we did!

Here is the book

After they helped me make the shortcake, Alex got to add the whipped cream.

Jacob was the strawberry man

Another layer of shortcake, and then more whipped cream. Yum!

Here comes Jacob with more strawberries

At last it was finished, hooray!

Our two chefs with their creation. After we finished making it, the four of us all sat down to read the story together. They we all got to taste our creation and boy was it good!

So, I highly reccomend the book, but in case you can't get it, I decided to include the recipe for all of you to try for yourselves. Enjoy!

Great-Granny's Magnificent Strawberry Shortcake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk
3-4 cups strawberries, washed and sliced
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees farenheit. Sift flour, then sift together again with dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and milk, stiffing by hand just enough to moisten.  Spread dough in greased 8 X 1 1/2-inch round pan, building up edges slightly.  Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool on rack 5 minutes. Split in two layers; lift top off carefully. Alternate layers of cake, whipped cream and strawberries, ending with strawberries on top.

Our First Thanksgiving

This year, Carl's family came to our home for Thanksgiving and I can honestly say that it was a great experience! I was so worried that the turkeys would end up half-cooked and that no one would enjoy themselves. But all my fears were ill-founded and we all had a great time, with fully cooked food :) Here are some photos of the day:

The first turkey is in! Yes, I ended up making two of them...we like our left-overs! Can I just tell you that I hate cleaning out all the guts?! Nasty, nasty, nasty! I now know what they meant when they said I would not really want to eat all that much after cooking it all day! ha ha

Alex volunteered to peel potatoes. I was very glad for ALL my boys help! Carl was running about like mad, even waking up before me to put the green bean casserole into the slow cooker. I love my husband!

Jake wanted in on the action as well. He peeled some after he had washed off all the sweet potatoes for us.

Here is one half of our post dinner spread. I wanted to get some photos of it all before it was consumed, but you know how it goes...rushing to get it all on the table and once that happens it doesn't stay there for long! The corn pudding is the item closest. It did NOT want to cook! Took twice as long as it should have, and then no one wanted to try it except Jacki and I! And no, that is not wine in the background, but sparkling juice. :)

Here is the rest of it. All in all we had turkey, ham, stuffing, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, impossible coconut pie, relish tray, vegetable tray, rolls, gravy, corn pudding, and I think that is it...there was so much, and believe me, I was not the one who made it all! My fantastic husband, Mandy, Lauren and Jacki all brought something to the table and I was very grateful!

Here is Gramps and Lauren

We had to set up the tables in the livingroom to have room. Wish I would have got a photo of them before we ate. Mandy and Jacob set them really nicely!

Mandy, Carl and Jacki. Dessert time, hooray!

Moen and Jake. (Think you squeezed a little to hard Moen!)

What's up Mandy?!
I wish that more of the pictures would have turned out...we were having some issues with the camera.

Trey trying out our new Wii. This was our main source of entertainment. We also had the game on for a bit and also played Apples To Apples, both the party edition and the junior version. :)

All in all, it was a great day and I think that everyone had a great time. We were glad that we could have the pleasure and experience of hosting Thanksgiving at our home. Next year Carl, I and the boys plan on going to the parade, so it's Mandy's turn!!

Fun with Sparklers

We have been promising the kids for a while now that we would go out "tomorrow" and play with all our leftover sparklers. Well, tomorrow finally came and we all had a blast!  Carl had a great time taking photos of the fun and we loved being his models. But not to fear, he wasn't behind the camera the whole time. He is the "spinner" in photo # 5 and the butterfly artist behind Jacob. Enjoy!

Halloween 2009

Ok, trying to get caught up on my posts. This one will just be pictures as I need to get my sick bootie to bed now. Enjoy!

All about Jacob

Jacob turned ten on the 4th of November! Double Digits as everyone at his school keeps telling him. He is very excited to be growing up and all Carl and I want him to do is be tiny forever!

The picture is from Jacob's school soccer team. Let me tell you that this was great fun! He was only able to go for half the practices due to some interesting incidents on various Thursdays, one being a pillow fight gone wrong which left Carl with a swollen eye (a post for another day) and the flu being another.  When he did get to go, it was great fun. The best way I can describe it is this....picture 30-50 Autistic children, ranging from mild to severe, 9 years to teen, each with their own soccer ball...and GO!  Great fun, I can tell you!! This was just a trial run to gauge intrest, and will be starting up again in the spring. Next up for Jacob, the Knightriders basketball team. This is for boys at this school ages nine to 14 I believe who are too young for the varsity team, but still have a desire to play. We are very excited!  Here are some more pictures from soccer for your enjoyment!