Yosemite postcard #4

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Yosemite postcard #3

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Yosemite postcard #2

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Yosemite digital postcard #1

Today was our first full day of vacation!   (click images to enlarge)

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74 degrees and sunny

A beautiful Californian springtime afternoon…

Playing “long ago”:

Then running through the sprinklers:

sock puppet

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I found this on the dining room table:

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Jared said he made it this morning before anyone else got up- a Harry Potter sock puppet!

He’s starting to become a lot like his big sister.  

what the kids are doing right now

Jared “practicing for his Jog-a-Thon”

Goodbye, Nana & Papa!

On March 4, we said goodbye to Nana & Papa (Tom’s parents) for eighteen months. They are now in Oaxaca, Mexico, serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will be working in the Oaxaca Temple.

We are so proud of them for making the effort and wanting to serve so badly. We have never seen them happier than right before they left, when they were preparing to go. We know they will have the time of their lives and that they will have many wonderful experiences with the people of Oaxaca.

We love you and will miss you, Elder and Hermana Hinds!

pineapple upside-down cupcakes

I altered my favorite Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe today to make Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes!

Prep: 25 min    Bake: 18 min    Stand: 1 min    Cool: 30 min

• 6 Tbs butter
• 12 Tbs brown sugar
• 2 cans sliced pinapple in juice, drained and juice reserved
• 12 maraschino cherries, without stems
• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 cupcake pans with non-stick spray. Cut butter into tablespoons, then cut those into quarters. (So you end up with twenty-four 1/4 Tbs of butter.) Place one piece in each baking cup. Place in oven for a minute or two to melt butter. Sprinkle 1/2 Tbs brown sugar over the butter in each baking cup.
2. Drain the juice from the canned pineapple (save juice!). Cut 12 pineapple slices into quarters. Arrange two quarters and 1/2 cherry in each cup. Press fruit gently into brown sugar. (To save time cutting cherries in half, or if you just like cherries!, use 24 whole cherries.)
3. Make cake mix as directed on package, using oil and eggs except use 1-1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice instead of the water. Cut up some of the leftover pineapple slices to make 2-4 Tbs crushed pineapple and add to batter. Pour evenly over the fruit in the 24 cups.
4. Bake 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. immediately run knife or toothpick around sides of baking cups to loosen cake, and turn pans upside down onto heatproof serving plates (or cookie sheets). Leave pans over cakes 1 minute so brown sugar topping can drizzle over cake. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or cool. 12 servings (or 24 petite servings).

What will lure me out of a nearly 3-month blogging break? Food. Beautiful, delicious food.

Snow!

Today the forecast was perfect for a snow trip!  It was Naomi’s first visit to the snow.

We made snow angels…

went sledding…

ate icicles like candy…

went exploring…

and enjoyed being together.

p.s.  The scenery was beautiful.