Five Brown Kids

I grew up eating these cookies and I haven't found anything else that even comes close. Every now and then Tryone and I try a different cookie recipe and we always come back to this one - it's the best. CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES · 1 CUP SOFT BUTTER · 2 CUPS BROWN SUGAR · 2 EGGS · 1 CUP COCONUT · 1 CUP CHOCOLATE CHIPS · 2 CUPS ROLLED OATS · 2 CUPS FLOUR · 1 tsp. BAKING POWDER · ½ tsp. SALT · 1 tsp. BAKING SODA Cream butter and brown sugar, add eggs and beat. Add coconut, choc. chips and rolled oats. Sift dry ingredients together and add to above. Drop by teaspoons on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for about 8 minutes*. I like to add dried cranberries to 1/2 the batter for a tart/sweet killer cookie combo. The key to making these cookies great is taking them out before they are done. They need to be cooked but still soft and shiny. As they cool they will become moist and chewy instead of hard and crunchy. Take it from Tyrone - he's the cookie master/monster!

Here's the long awaited sneek peek. The number$ for fiscal year 2008. Biggest scare this year: Private Health Insurance paid with after tax dollars: $6404.03. Items paid for with cash because they were not covered by insurance: $2132.67. Grand total health budget for a year in which no one was seriously injured, hurt, sick or had to go to the hospital for any reason: $8, 526.70 Here's a question, if we have pathetic health insurance, life insurance and disability insurance to save us from going bankrupt if something bad happens, what happens if the very things that should save you cost so much that they make you go bankrupt? Biggest suprise of the year: Car maintenance. Other than a few oil changes we had no car issues this year. No surprise for the 07 Odyssey but our 98 Accord was making us proud this year too. (Hopefully the engine doesn't drop out tomorrow) Grand total: $236.36 Best Entertainment : A years worth of movies from Blockbuster.com. Grand total: $192.97 Most...

Here are the last of the snow pictures. Sledding down the hill up at the golf course, and sliding on a frozen mud puddle. Great fun! Sledding down Hole Number 12 on the golf course. This hill was long and low, so even Scotia liked going down. A few trips all four of us got on the sled! Now, no more cold til next year please.

A long time ago in Provo the Swims cooked this dinner for us. We've been hooked ever since. This is one of Tyrone's favorites! Four salmon steaks (I usally just have one big piece of fish from Costco and I cut it up to fit the bag) 1/4 cup brown sugar 3 tbsp oil 3 tbsp soy sauce 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated (you know I add way more) Add all the ingredients to a gallon size Ziploc bag and marinate in the fridge for several hours. You can grill this outside or cook it in the oven (350) just until it's flaky and cooked through evenly. About 30 minutes in the oven. We serve this with a big bowl of brown rice and salad.

This was from one of our "cold spell" days. In our sunny playroom it was just about right.

So the Christmas cards were cute, but the real purpose of the farmers market pictures was art for the dining room. Here it is. I finally got the big canvas prints. Love them! Thanks Crickett .

(Becuase no one can drive in the snow) Be still my beating heart. Will the excitement never end?

Snow today, like we haven't seen around here in a long time. It was beautiful and the perfect day to play in the snow and then cuddle on the couch to watch the inauguration. (Of course school was cancelled, long before it even started to snow)

Monday is Martin Luther King day and in most parts of the country it will be a day off of work and school. I hope you plan to make it a "day on" - involving your family in some small act of service that pays respect and appreciation to a great many people who fought and protested and marched and suffered and died so that we could live equally today. My kids and our new president (this very week!) bear witness to the fact that MLK's dream is slowly coming true. I know that we stand on the backs and shoulders of men, women and children who worked and Worked and WORKED so that we could live that dream. I just wanted- today - to say Thank You..... "And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. (Amen) That's a new definition of greatness." "And this morning, the thing that I ...

We are experiencing some "extreme weather" down here. Yesterday the high was only 29F (-1C) and the low was 12F (-11C). It's only the third time this decade things have been so chilly around here. In Jaxon's preschool class they left a bowl of water outside Thursday to see what the result would be Friday morning. Frozen of course! And the mittens and hats and moaning around here. Oh my. Tyrone was nice enough last night to remind my three children, while they were all snuggled under blankets on the couch watching ET, that when Mom was a child it was as cold or colder than this all winter long, and she had to walk to school! Thank heavens for places like North Carolina.

This recipe comes from the Orem Park 6th ward again! And of course it's made in a crock-pot but I'll forgive them becuase it is so good! In the morning toss a few (4) frozen chicken breasts in a crock pot along with: 1 small can of enchilada sauce 1 cup of salsa 1 package of taco seasoning (I just use half) Let it cook on low all day (6-8 hours). The wonderful aroma bowls Taye over when he walks in the door after school. He can't wait for supper. When you are ready to eat take the chicken out and shred it with two forks. Serve with rice, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Heaven on a tortilla!

My boys wear jeans and t-shirts everyday and if the big toe doesn't stick out of a hole in their sneakers they are content. But Scotia - she knows I have a secret longing to be stylish and she's willing to let me live through her. Here, a few of my favorites. Thank you Cheryl, ebay, neighbour with two little girls and of course, Tyrone's wallet.

Scotia and I obviously spend a great deal of time together becuase she's turned into my little mini me. She loves to help me set the table, and always has to stir while I'm cooking or hold the dust pan while I sweep. If we are walking to the park and I have my hands in my pockets, then she does too.

So I know you're dying to know just how much Tyrone spent on gatorade in 2008. Stay posted for the year in numbers....

My kids like to play in a little stream in a neighbours back yard. They have a camp back there, with rooms for all the friends. During a wind and rain storm last week a huge tree feel smack over the stream. I hear that it makes a great bridge.

Here's another killer lime and cilantro dish. It's the perfect relish for enchiladas or other meat and cheese Mexican dishes. Thanks to Emily who has never made a salad I didn't love! 3 avacados cut into small squares 1 large tomato cut into small squares 1 can corn, drained Mix above ingredients and apply dressing: 1/4 cup olive oil 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (or more!) juice of two limes a shake of garlic salt, to taste

Happy birthday to the man who showed me how to work hard, love salads and keep the great outdoors great (among other things). Thanks! This is my dad skiing in Lebanon in 1967.

Well, thank goodness for wireless internet! Remember the good old days when everything was attached by wires! Ha! Before After As far as I can tell I just have more wires now! I spent a good half hour the other day trying to sort it all out. Too bad I didn't get a before (found one!) or in-the-midst-of picture. That would have been much funnier. Half way through my wire fixing Taye and Jaxon collided heads downstairs and Taye got a big cut on the inside of his lip. Of course he came screaming up the steps to find us, dripping blood every second step. (After I finished with the wires, I started on the carpet) I had to laugh as Tyrone was helping Taye get everything under control. Taye was still very concerned because there seemed to be a lot of blood. Tyrone, the ICU nurse who deals with half dead people everyday kept telling him, "Don't worry Taye, you're not going to die!" True enough.

This is an easy recipe that I serve with homemade chicken nuggets or meatloaf - anything that needs a good side of potatoes. Mix together in a bowl: 6 cups of potatoes cut into bite size pieces (I use plain and sweet potatoes) 2-3 tbsp of olive oil a few good shakes of garlic salt salt and pepper Place on an oil sprayed cookie sheet and cook at 420 degrees for about 40 minutes. I don't quite remember the time - take them out with they are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Serve with ketchup and BBQ sauce for dipping.

We had a great day with the Ure's on Tuesday. They were friends back at BYU and a few years ago Brittney's parents were called to oversee the mission here in our area. It has been so fun to catch up with them when they've been out to see her parents. Tuesday we met at the science museum for Meet the Animals. The kids all seemed antsy though - like they needed to run so we invited them back to the house for lunch and some football in the back yard. That was perfect! They had a great time playing ball, playing wii, walking down the greenway, more ball, more wii. They spent the whole afternoon playing and the adults actually got a chance to visit. I watched my neighbour all day since his mom had to work and on our way home from supper at Moe's he fell asleep. It was a long, busy and fun day!