Twinners

Last weekend Jeff and I went up to SLC to do some shopping. We then went to dinner up at Market Street Grill. Can I say YUM. !!! I love seafood and it was soooo delicous. On our way back we made a stop at one of our frequents, Cabelas.
Jeff and I have been getting the fishing itch latley. I really can't wait for summer to get here for this very reason....well... and a lot of other reasons too.
I had bought Jeff a new fishing reel for his birthday in October. Well, I started feeling the smoothness of all the fishing reels there, and decided that I might enjoy a new reel myself. We ended up getting the best deal on the exact reel that Jeff got. I got a new rod and we were able to get Jeff that exact same rod as well on a great deal... I am not meaning to bore you with all this fishing pole talk, so bottom line... Jeff and I have TWINNER fishing poles. Yes... we are really BIG dorks, but we don't care. And one thing will be different, I am going to catch a lot more fish on mine. Anyways, here are the pics of our brand new, TWEENER fishing poles. Can't wait until we can get out to use them.

It was a nice long weekend, and we finished it out by snowboarding at Brighton on Monday evening. The snow was AMAZING. We had so much fun. I hope we can hit the slopes a few more times this year. I can't believe it will be March this week.

BTW, I hope I am proving some of you wrong by posting more often on my blog. HA! Didn't think I could do it, Did you????

Love Day!

Jeff and I went to Sakura grill for Valentines Day this year. We are saving our money up for a big trip... well and a lot of other things too, so we decided to go small on the gifts this year. Valentines gifts are overrated, and I woudn't mind one bit if that was our tradition every year. Dinner was fantastic and I ate so much I made myself sick, but whats new.??? I always do that. Jeff suprised me that morning with the funniest Valentines card I have ever seen. He is always so thoughtful and sweet. He is always prepared with the perfect something. I was scrambling around that morning after my workout to see what I could find to make him a Valentines card. I ended up making him a card in the few moments that I could find at work. He then suprised me with some flowers. They are still alive and beautiful in our living room. We went to dinner and came home and relaxed and played games. That is my kind of Valentines date. If I hadn't have cooked three huge meals in the days prior, I would have actually preferred to stay in and cook our own dinner. But Sakura was really yummy, and due to my own laziness that is what we did.

This is Jeff with his v-day gift. He loves root beer in the bottles, any bottled soda at that. However, he has a bet going with his sister, and he is trying to go off carbonation this next year. If he makes it we get a whopping 100 dollars. I am super impressed with him. He has made it 6 day as of today. I am being serious. In all the years that I have known Jeff, there has not been one day that he hasn't had a caffinated/carbonated beverage. We will see how he fares. He told me that if he doesn't feel like a super human being after two weeks, he is getting back on. Even sweet little grandma Robins told him to just live life and enjoy what you like. She is very wise, and I agree with her. But I also support Mr. Jeffy with whatever challenges he wishes to take on.

This is me after dinner with the flowers that Jeff got me. I have the best husband. So glad that I have the best Valentine... EVER!!!! Thanks for a good day.

Valentines treat

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have always somewhat enjoyed baking and cooking, especially around the holidays. However, I have recently become ADDICTED to the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. Some of my favorite programs are: Chopped, Cooking for Real, Giada at Home, Worst cooks in America, Cake Boss, At Home with Pillsbury, and Paula Dean. I know, I know... you are all probably thinking I am the biggest couch potato ever... Not true. I catch maybe a couple of programs a week. Between work, school, and homework there isn't much spare time for tv watching. But when I do have the time, I love to cook.
Since Valentines Day is right around the corner, I figured I would try something new. We were having some friends over for dinner and it made for a perfect excuse to make a Valentines Treat.
In an internet browse session, I came across the recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes. Needless to say, they were delicious and fun to make. But lets be honest, anything made from sugar and butter with cream cheese frosting is always delicious... and a healthy addition to the bootaayy. But who cares right. There is always the rest of the week to work it off. LOL.
If anyone is interested, I have posted the recipe below, just in case any of you want to try it. Valentines day is tomorrow so you still have time. I found this recipe at http://www.thejoyofbaking.com/.

Cupcakes:
1 1/4 C sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 T cocoa powder
3/4 C white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 C buttermilk
1 T red food coloring
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C confectioners' sugar
1/3 heaving whipping cream

I am really going to try to be better at this blog thing, and hopefully post more fun easy recipes at least once a week.

Below are some pictures of us all hanging out after dinner. We have started a new tradition of doing dinner each month at one of our homes. Jeff and I hosted the first dinner. It was so fun to have everyone over to our place. Our little place is tiny and it was a bit of a crunch, but turned out a okay. I made pizza for dinner and then we watched the boys play Soul Caliber on the wii. It is way more enternaining than any movie would ever be. Its amazing how these boys never "really" grow up. I love it. As you can tell by Jeff in the picture below.

Stockton was a little champ, and was so good all night. It is so fun seeing all these kiddos grow up. And if anyone is wondering.... YES! Jeff and I are plagued with the question "So, When are you guys going to have kids??" all the time. Ha Ha. Well, the answer is.... nunya. LOL.

I know. We are getting old. Jeff's mom told us the other day that we need to quit having fun, and start having kids. And my mom is not subtle about dropping hints at all. It makes for some funny conversations. But to put all minds at peace... Jeff and I are going to have a baby.... one day. :)
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Well it was a fun weekend. As you can see little Stockton is one of the guys already. thanks for the fun time everybody.

1 year

Friday, February 11th, marked a year since our sweet Leo left us all behind. It has been quite a year filled with much happiness and much sorrow. Not a day goes by that we don't miss his jovial presence, his contagious smile, his quick wit, and kind heartedness. I am reminded often of how blessed we all were to have him in our lives. I am thankful for his example and for him raising such a good son. I am blessed each day in my life because of him. I see so many traits of Leo in Jeff every single day. I am one lucky lady.

On friday we got together as the Thomsen family. It was nice to be together. We went to dinner and then went to an art exhibit at BYU. There is an art exhibit there right now by a Danish artist named Carl Bloch. He was a religious artist from Denmark in the 1800's. My father-in-law immigrated from Denmark to America when he was sixteen years old. It was a good way to spend the evening.

Much of the art is used today by the church. I was suprised. I recognized quite a few of the art pieces. Many of them were large art peices from Lutheran churches in Europe. They were unreal. If any of you haven't been, you SHOULD go.

There was a good feeling there. It was good to be with the family and remember the many good times we had with our sweet Leo. We miss him very much, and love him "all to pieces".

gRovER and PatRiOTic fEstiVitiES

Every year over the Fourth of July we go to Wayne County and stay in my Uncle's cabin in Grover. This year our weekend was filled with a lot of the usual traditions, such as : fishing, four wheeling, parade, eating, shooting, arrowhead hunting, and of course eating some more. It was so much fun as always. This year, Jeff and I decided to go to the dance at the Big Apple in Torrey. The Big Apple is an outside facility where Wayne County holds thier dances and other festivities. There was a live band, and they were actually really good. They played a lot of Chris Ledoux, Tom Petty, and pretty much just about everything there is. Jeff and I danced until our legs wouldn't dance anymore... and when our legs wouldn't dance anymore, we sat and watched all the interesting things there was to see around us. With the dance being in Torrey, there is a good mix of cowboys and tree-hugging hippies. Ill just put it this way, it made for an entertaining night of VERY interesting dance styles. Ha ha. Jeff and I have already decided that we are going every year.

Every year that we go to Grover, Jeff and I try to make it on our favorite four wheeling trail. It is called Sulfur Creek and it starts just a few miles from the cabin. This trail is so awesome. It takes you through such pretty scenery, where you eventually end at some cascading waterfalls and slick rock. Its the perfect place for a little picnic. Also on your way there, you hit sage brush that is at least ten feet tall. It is the biggest sage brush I have ever seen. These pictures are of Jeff and I when we reached the waterfalls. The pictures don't do justice of how cool these little falls really are.

We went fishing at Lower Bowns on Boulder Mountain. We caught about 20 fish, and they were pretty nice sized. It was so much fun. I have to give thanks to Mike's Glo Bait. It seems to always be the trick, and we always catch ton of fish when we use it. I love fishing, and I even touched one this time. I am getting better. I will usually do everything, but touch the fish. I will get my pole done up, and bait my own hooks, but I will NOT get my fish off the hook. Jeff gets all my fish off for me. Thanks, honey. You are the best.

This is my nephew William and brother Jeramy catching a fish. I think this was Williams first fish, but don't quote me on that. He is so much fun. I love his little smile. Good job Will.

This is me. I caught the first fish of course. I made all the boys sooooooo jealous. What can I say. I always out fish. I caught more than anyone this night.

This is Jeff and I and the Fourth of July parade in Torrey. We go every year. This parade is so awesome, that they go down both sides of the street.You have to love small towns. It made me think of the good old days at the Wasatch County parade in Heber. Parades are good, only when they go down both sides of the street. Jeff made his annual march with the Wieners of Wayne County... at least long enough to get a good picture. People in Wayne Co. must really love thier weiner dogs. The dogs are behind him on a float, which you can't see.

The first night we got to Grover, we went out to shoot our guns. This was James first time shooting a gun, with his dad's help of course. Jeff bought me a 22 this past winter so we were all trying it out. This trip was so much fun this year, minus the fact that we all started to get sick at towards the end of the trip. The Grover plague struck us again, but it was worth the fun trip.

Garden Weeks 5-6

Week4

Week 5

Our garden has taken off these past few weeks. We are actually into the 6th week now. I watered the garden this morning before I went to work, and there are green beans all over the place. Yum. I am thinking we will be eating those by the end of the week. The beets and cabbage probably won't be ready until August. The cumcumbers are blossoming and will probably be ready for picking in August too. I have loved planting a garden. It is so much fun to go out everyday and see how much its grown. But the best part of course, will be the fresh yummy veggies that we get to eat out of it.

Thomsen Garden Weeks 2-3

Week Two

The two above pictures are from week two of our garden . We had little sprouts just five days after we had planted all of our seeds. WHo would have known that we Thomsens would have such green thumbs... or maybe just good poopies in our soil. But it is coming along better than expected.

Week 3

Our little garden is really starting to take off. Hello veggies. That massive snow storm that came in to nicely at the end of May took a toll on some our our little bean plants, but we have replanted and replenished. For the most part, the little guys really pulled through.