s'Mores the Nielsen Way

Monday for Family Night treats, we had S'Mores the Nielsen way. It has taken us years to perfect our technique. We didn't like the traditional way because the marshmallows squish out the sides and you end up with just unmelted Hershey's bar and dry graham crackers. My cousin's family taught us to make the with Fudge Striped cookies, and that was better. Then we had a friend show us how to make them with the marshmallows squished between two Deluxe Graham cookies. This was good, but you still ended up with chocolate all over your fingers and the marshmallows squished out the sides. So, Sean decided one time to roast his marshmallow (slow roasted so it gets big and brown) and then push the Deluxe Graham cookie up the middle. It is perfect! You hold on to the end of the cookie and eat it all at once. The hot marshmallow melts the chocolate and it is just perfect (according to us anyway!) We also like them with Grasshopper cookies in place of the deluxe grahams.

So sad

I just have to say that I am really bummed that Will got voted off "So You Think You Can Dance" last night. He was my favorite guy. It should have been Mark that got the boot. That's all I have to say.

Grandpa's Birthday

We were so excited to get to go to the new Payson Swimming Pool for Grandpa LaMarr's birthday party. All of the family including the cousins came to play. Trevin loved the Lazy River and Travis and Tyrel loved the slides. I loved all of it and especially that the bottom of the pool is kind of padded and squishy. Sean didn't come because his arm is still recovering but after all of the water fun, everyone came up to our house for a dutch oven cookoff. There was tons of good food and we had a lot of fun. Sean made Hawaiian Chicken and it was so yummy!!! We also had ribs, cheesy potatoes, melons, green salad, corn on the cob (yum), baked beans, and peach cobler and ice cream for dessert. It was fun to get to see everyone and be able to just visit out on the deck all evening.

Here is the recipe for the chicken for those of you who requested it

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN

Boneless/Skinless chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and paprika sprinkled on them

Mr. Yoshida's Teriyaki sauce

Chunked pineapple (drained)

Sear the chicken on the grill and put a layer in the bottom of dutch oven. Top layer with 1/2 can of pineapple. Drizzle with 1/4 of the bottle of teriyaki sauce. Keep repeating layers. We got four layers in the dutch oven. Put lid on dutch oven. Put coals on top and bottom of dutch oven. Let cook with coals for at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

In other news, Sean started his new job today with Plaza Home Mortgage and that's about all the news we have since the last entry.

Steadfast and Immovable, Abounding in Good Works

The YM/YW theme for 2008 was also our theme for Youth Conference . We started on Thursday by heading up to Welfare Square for a tour and a treat from them of cheese and chocolate milk. We then toured the Humanitarian center. I thought both places were very interesting. I am amazed how much the church gives to other countries, people, and other churches in need. We had lunch in the park and then watched the Joseph Smith movie. It was amazing! You should go see it if you haven't already. We then went back to the park for a short talk by Justin Haskell regarding the church Perpetual Education fund about the Best Buddy program he is involved with. He even brought his Buddy along. We then headed up to Heber for a Pizza dinner and relay races relating to people from the scriptures that were Steadfast and Immovable. We talked about Daniel and his friends in the Bible that refused to eat the kings food but ate vegetables and fruits and water instead and had a relay with dipping a carrot in a cup of water (way funny). Also had relays related to Ammon rescuing the sheep (running with a pillow between the knees and under each arm with a sword in hand, the pillows were the sheep) and the four sons of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon (4 people tied together kind of like a 3 legged race except it was 5 legged). Then we headed to Strawberry Reservoir where the girls stayed in Haskell's cabin and the boys set up tents in the campground. On Saturday morning we had breakfast and did a service project for the Forest Service chopping weeds that were too close to campsites for them to spray. After that we all went to the cabin where the Smith's from our ward came and talked about the school they run in Mexico 9 months a year with their own funds and funds donated by our ward. Ann Johnson then talked about her brief stay in Panama and Ghana where she took hygeine kits and taught them about good health. She had us bead bracelets (called Weenies) while she talked. She had learned about them in Panama. Then we had lunch and headed to the boats and the beach.
After all the fun we could stand in the cold water, the Badders' from our ward came up to make us dinner (tri-tip, corn on the cob, brownies, watermelon). Then we all headed over to the amphi-theater for a fire and testimony meeting. It was great and spiritual. On Saturday we had breakfast, broke camp, had a presentation where each of the kids were given some money to use how they wanted, but hopefully after the weekend, they will use it to serve others. Then we broke out the super soakers that Sean and I had brought along and gave one to everyone so they could all be sopping wet for the ride home. It was a fun weekend and I'm glad I could be there with Sean, Travis and Tyrel.

Brand New Nephew

Our new nephew/cousin is here! He had a rough start but is home and doing well now. Trevin is the only one who has seen him so far because we were at Youth Conference, but we hope to see him sometime this next week. His name is Jaron Michael Evers and belongs to my brother Brett and his wife Andrea. Congrats! You will make great parents.
We spent the 4th of July at Shar's place watching the Stadium of Fire fireworks, but I forgot my camera so maybe someone who was there will send me photos with my kids in them.
Indymac bank got taken over by the Fed's last week, so Sean is looking for a job. He actually had multiple offers from other lenders within about 15 minutes of the announcement, he just needs to decide where he wants to go now.
Sean, me, Travis, and Tyrel spent Thursday through Saturday at Youth Conference and had a great time. Miraculously I did remember my camera, so I will try to post some layouts later.
That's all for now.