Stephen's Surprise Visit

Stephen was lucky enough to go to a conference in Monterey, California. He was all prepared to go but didn't receive the okay until the Thursday before the week he was to leave. It was no problem packing up and leaving. He was ready for a little California sunshine.

The conference was great especially the location with its beautiful beaches and warm breezes. But the highlight really was that Stephen rented a car and drove to see Hamish. Elder Macpherson was at that time in the southern most part of his mission which happened to be only about two hours from Monterey.
Enjoy the pictures.
This was a rare opportunity for Hamish to have his dad visit his missionary apartment. I wonder if he cleaned before Dad came.

Hamish is on a biking mission so he is really getting both spiritually and physically fit!!!

THAT'S ONE PROUD PAPA!!!

A Chocolate Fix

I found this great recipe for a chocolate lava cake. You make it in a mug and cook it in the microwave for less than a minute. Mixing this up is so easy. I'm WARNING you though, you might find yourself making this too often. It's great for when you are really craving something chocolaty and homemade.

Try it you'll love it!!!!!
INSTANT CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE
2 T. sugar
2 T. flour
2 T. cocoa pwdr
1/4 tsp. Baking pwdr
3 T. (soy)milk
1 T. oil
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1 heaping T. of choco chips
1.In a mug, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa and baking pwdr until well mixed. Add milk, oil and vanilla, whisking just until smooth and no lumps. Add choco chips and mix a little more.
2.Place the mug in the microwave and start with about 40 secs (my micro is 900 watts and it takes about 5o secs). The exact time will depend on your microwave. The cake is still cooking for a while so let it sit for about 5 minutes. This is really good with ice cream.

Microwave Cake

I tried to microwave a cake in my new silicone cake pan and it worked out great. Bonus was that it only took about 9-10 minutes. It looked so nice Olivia said we should show it on our blog.

Olivia and William are always excited to share my successes in the kitchen. I do like to experiment and it isn't always to their liking so it's nice to see them this excited. You can never be sure what I'm going to do next. But I always try to keep things interesting. Microwave cake was one of my more successful baking adventures.

Happy 14th Birthday William

William had an amazing B-day weekend. He had his two friends come and visit from out of town. They spent the time just hanging out playing video games and just doing the boy thing. They arrived Friday the 26th of March evening and William B. left Sunday morning and Austin left Monday evening. I didn't take pictures but the boys went bowling which they mostly sucked at. William B. got the hightest score and sadly the birthday boy had the lowest. They also went to see the movie How to Train your Dragon which they said was awesome.

It was awesome hanging out with his buds. And now with summer coming they will be able to get together more often. It's hard to believe that he is 14 already the time is going so fast. William is a great kid who loves to read and play video games all day if I'd let him. Sadly I'm a mean mom. He's very keen on these Keva planks that we played with in San Diego so I'm ordering him some. Check'em out!!

Random Things

How great that it is now Spring. The snow has disappeared and left the ground bare and yellow and the trees naked waiting for spring buds. This past weekend we have enjoyed such warm weather that we know that summer is on its way. We are all filled with hope.
As I looked through my pictures that were downloaded I just couldn't help noticing the silly ones that Olivia and William often take. I wanted to share some of them with you hoping to bring you a chuckle or at least a smile.




The Epic Doll