what a monkey!

jake likes to help in the kitchen.

jakes first steps

fun times

we just spent a week in park city (well it was over thanksgiving, but i am a little slow). it was so much fun! we stayed at new park resort, so we were next to lots of shopping, 20 minutes from salt lake city and the best part, cafe rio is part of the hotel :) what could be better!?!



the shampoo and conditioner bottles became jake's favorite toy. if we were in our room, he was holding them. we brought a bunch home and he still loves them.




we went to hogle zoo. fyi...winter time is not the best time to go to the zoo. all of the animals were sleeping or inside the buildings (no elephants...boo), but jake sure loved the squirrel that ran around and around in his cage. he was probably looking for nuts for the winter.

we participated in the park city turkey trot (3.4 miles) the morning of thanksgiving. these pictures were taken before the race. see how all three of us were smiling? that is not how we looked when we finished. jake pretty much cried for 3 miles of it. it was 18 degrees. i think that his hands and feet were freezing and his core was sweating. oh....lessons learned.

we had a hot tub on our balcony and a great swimming pool downstairs. jake learned to "splash". he would giggle and giggle. he loved the audience of strangers at the pool that would watch and laugh. he would splash, look at them and then giggle. what a show-off!

we went to the surface of mars at the clark planetarium.

and watched "under the seat" in 3D at the imax theater.

we also went to the living planet aquarium. jake loved watching the fish swim around and around.

the best part of all was just being together as a family. these two boys make me so happy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

i hope you are being nice.

jake says hi

he likes to cross his first two fingers...who knows why

videos of jake, grandma jorgensen these are for you

eagle powers

halloween was fun this year! we had a child to dress up and we acted like children as well. matt was a good sport and wore what i told him too. not that he really had a choice. jake didn't have much of a choice either, but he made such a cute little chicken (thanks vanessa for the costume!). everyone kept saying, "oh what a cute little duck"..whatever, he was poultry and he looked cute. the costume was so warm and perfect for the weather.

i dressed up as sister encarnacion from the oaxaca parish convent of the immaculate heart sisters lady mountains of guadalupe or something like that (i tried to memorize it, but my brain ain't what it used to be).

and matt was...nacho libre

no one knew who that sexy man was under that mask at the ward trunk or treat and they thought he really didn't have a shirt on. pretty funny!

after the ward trunk or treat, we attended a halloween party hosted by kacey and loren. what a party...donuts on a string, pinata, food, food and more food. fun times! kacey dressed up as the octo-mom and loren was her fertility specialist.

tauni and jared were hillarious as kip and lafawnda (you know, napolean dynamite). jared can talk just like kip, i only wish he would have talked like him all night. very funny.

this is nacho summoning his eagle powers.

nothing better

i can't think of anything that i would rather do than spend everyday, all-day with this kid!

good times with the girls

we (jake and i) spent saturday with the rass and bell girls. the girls include my mom, my aunt sabrina, cousin brooke, stacy, maddie, jenell, emma, kim and anna. jake and miles (brooke's son) tried to pretend that they weren't surrounded by women. this is an annual event. we usually spend the whole weekend together, but this year has been crazy so we got together for the day. we met at the spin cafe in heber (yum-yum!)



we celebrated mom's and sabrina's birthday

even miles celebrated.

we then went to midway and shopped at "all that stuff in the barn". we love that store. i controlled myself and only spent $12.

it was so fun to be with all you girls! thank you so much! can't wait to do it again!

a new skill...

and as parents we are scared.

happy halloween

go here to watch us dance...http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/zlgnwKcNId1eum8N

first bath in the big boy tub

i think he like it!

cookies

jake saw the cookie and really wanted it.


one taste was not enough.


he showed matt that "yes, that is the cookie that i want"

and he got it!

i am glad that he realizes that i am the one that made the cookies!

happy fall

do you see all of those pumpkins and squash on my front porch??? they are from our garden and there used to be a lot more of them. do you know what happened to them??? well, i am obsessed with cooking with them. (remember i was obsessed with canning too - by the way - right now i am making apple juice). there are a couple of things that i have recognized about myself. i love to cook and bake, especially new recipes, especially in the cool fall air. the other thing is that i think i was raised during the depression in a previous life because i hate to see anything waste. anyway, here are a few of the recipes that i have tried (and liked) lately.

spiced pumpkin waffles (source: chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com)

1 1/2 C flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 pinch salt

2 eggs

1/4 C packed brown sugar

1 C pumpkin puree (i used sweetmeat squash)

1 2/3 C milk

4 T butter, melted and cooled

directions:

1. mix together flour, baking powder and soda, spices and salt in a large bowl.

2. in a second bowl, add eggs, sugar, pumpkin, milk and butter; beat well.

3. gently fold in the flour mixture.

4. cook according to your waffle iron directions.

5. serve with maple syrup or honey butter.

winter squash rolls (source: allrecipes.com)

1 1/2 C pureed winter squash (i used sweetmeat)

1 C scalded milk

2 T yeast

1/2 C warm water

6 C flour

1/2 C sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 C shortening (i used half canola oil and half butter)

directions:

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees. in a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.

2. in a large bowl, combine 5 cups flour, sugar and salt. stir in the yeast mixture, shortening, squash and milk. mix well. stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition. when the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 8 minutes (i am lazy so i use my kitchen aid). lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

3. divide the dough into twelve equal pieces (or more - makes 12 big rolls) and form into rounds. place the rounds in a lightly greased 13 x 9 pan. cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

4. bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

pumpkin muffins

1 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or your own combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C pumpkin (i used sweetmeat squash)

1/3 C oil

2 large eggs

1 1/4 C sugar

1/2 C coconut (optional)

preheat oven to 350 degrees. line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

in a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. in a different bowl whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar. stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. do not over mix. stir in coconut. scoop batter into muffin cups, dividing evenly.

bake 20-25 minutes.

spaghetti squash pie or mock coconut pie (source: allrecipes.com)

makes 2 pies

1 c sugar

3 eggs

1/4 c butter, melted

1 T lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

3 c cooked, shredded spaghetti squash

2 (9 inch) pie shells, baked

1 pinch nutmeg

1 pinch cinnamon

whipped cream

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. beat the sugar and eggs together in a mixing bowl until light and frothy. beat in the butter, lemon juice, and vanilla until well blended. stir in the spaghetti squash. pour the mixture into the prebaked pie shell. if desired, dust the top with the nutmeg and cinnamon.

3. bake the pie for 40-45 minutes, until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

4. garnish with whipped cream if desired.

this last recipe, i don't have a picture for, sorry. it basically looks like a cooked pumpkin :)

dinner in a pumpkin (adapted from a recipe given to me by vanessa - thanks vaness!)

small to medium pumpkin

2 T oil

1 chopped onion (optional)

garlic (optional)

1 1/2 to 2 pounds hamburger or sausage (i used a low-fat sausage)

2 T soy sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup (98% fat free) with 1/2 can of water

1 1/2 C cooked rice

1 can sliced, drained water chestnuts

slivered almonds

crunchy chinese noodles

1. cut off top of pumpkin and clean out seeds and pulp

2. preheat oven to 350 degrees. in a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. add meat and brown. drain.

3. add soy sauce, soup and water. add cooked rice, water chestnuts and almonds.

4. spoon into the pumpkin shell. replace top and place on baking sheet. bake until pumpkin is tender. may take 1-3 hours.

5. serve with crunchy noodles.

all these recipes have been really good. even those that seem really weird (like the spaghetti squash pie - what the heck!?!). give them a try and let me know what you think.