Here's the update!

We did it! Dave graduated in April with his MBA, we moved to Portland, OR where Dave will be working at Intel, and had a new sweet baby boy Christian. A lot has happened but hopefully we will be settling into a more consistent routine. Although it's good to be starting a new chapter in our life, I must say I miss my sister like crazy! I was so glad I got to be with her the past two years. Such a wonderful thing that I will remember forever!

My kids are excited to be in the new house and make new friends. Although Grace really misses her dear friend Ella. They met in their dance class, and had preschool together as well. Those two were two peas in a pod. Hopefully we will have them visit together soon. Matthew is into observing the new house and the surroundings. He is such a sweet boy. He always has a fun story to tell me. One night he came down and told me about the clouds he saw, with "booms" and a dog outside, that was Patrick's(our dog) friend. I couldn't understand what he meant by booms. I thought maybe lightening? Then Dave realized Matthew was talking about balloons. I love that kid and his creative mind. Christian is such a sweet boy. Super feisty and super cute! He loves to just be snuggled. He is probably the biggest snuggler out of all the kids. Can't wait to see his personality develop more and more.

We love our home and are so excited to get going with this next chapter in life! Hopefully I can keep up!

Well I know it has been a while, but we have been a busy little family. Dave has started his internship and is working hard. He is looking forward to gaining experience and finishing his MBA program by next April. Matthew and Grace are getting bigger by the minute. I can't believe Grace will start preschool this August and Matthew will be 2 this August.

I have been busy with well, KEEPING UP with everyone! haha. I think I am so lucky to be a mom and I am happy that my kids love each other. Such a wonderful thing to see.

Here are some funny little stories that have happened recently:
1. Grace: Mom where did you get those clothes?
Me: My closet, why?
Grace: Well, I don't really like the shirt, but I like the skirt Mom.



2. Matthew: Knock, knock
Me: Who's there?
Matthew: Knock, knock
Me: Who's there?
Matthew: (blows bubbles)
Me: good one matt


3. Matthew loves to have his aunt Lauren and Uncle Andy around. Although he calls his uncle "Nandy."

4. Matthew was in bed, so we thought, until he breaks out of his room, goes down the stairs, and then books it to the back yard door. So I run after him and he continues to run outside and goes and tries to hide behind one of his toys. Ahh little boys. So clever.


5. Grace loves to dance, and she loves music. Most of the time she can't just walk from one room to the other, she has to dance on her tippy tippy toes. She loves to sing songs as well. Such a little beauty.


6. We put the kids together in one room to sleep now because they just wanted to be in the same room so badly. Well, I had to go and check on the kids due to the fact that they sometimes get out of bed, weird I know. Well I go in and there is Matthew, who had climbed into Grace's bed, and Grace is rubbing his tummy and he fell asleep. My little girl is so nurturing and kind to her brother. He just loves being around her.

Our life this past year

Wow! So much has happened this past year. Dave, the kids and I moved to Provo, UT so Dave could attend the MBA program at BYU. He has been doing incredibly well, and we as a family are very proud of him. He works hard and is always on top of his studies. He has had some health issues come up but hasn't let that slow him down and is doing well. He is on the corporate finance track in the program. With his IT background and the corporate finance track it will make for a great combo.
Grace is 3 1/2 now and is growing so fast. She is my sweet beautiful little ballerina. She loves her dance class and her ice skating lessons. She loves playing with her little brother Matthew. I can hardly believe that next year she will be in preschool. She saw that her cousins were in school and now is just dying to go. This year I just wasn't ready to let her go. I wanted another year with my little girl. I think it was a good decision. I have enjoyed the time with her and watching her grow.
Matthew is 16 months and that boy is going to be trouble! Ok, not really, but I have caught him doing some mischievous things. For example, playing in the toilet water (sometimes Grace forgets to flush...you get the idea), hiding the remote controls, pulling out all his clothes out of his drawers (and I do mean all), and then there's always playing in the dog's water bowl and food. I haven't seen him eat any of the food, and truthfully I don't want to know. But one thing is for sure, this little boy is just the cutest. His sweet blue eyes and beautiful smile just light up any room. He has brought such a wonderful spirit to our home. Our family wouldn't be complete without him. I treasure the rare nights when he will sit on my lap with his special blankets (wont leave his crib without at least two) and rock-a-bye with me.
As for me, I am adjusting slowly to the Provo life, but am grateful to have extended family members around to make that adjusting easier. I have enjoyed taking a french cooking class and look forward to more, when I can fit it in that is. I continue to make up new recipes and someday I hope to make them into a cookbook. I love being with the kids. They are so sweet, even when some days are rougher than others, I still love being a mother. So happy they came to our little family.
As this year closes and a new one begins I am so grateful for everything I have. Seriously. There have been trials, but there have been big blessings that follow. I look forward to making New Year resolutions. Specifically I will continue to make healthy lifestyle changes. I am coming to understand that it's no longer a diet that I need to be on, but a healthy life that I need to form and keep going. I love my life, and I look forward to see what the year brings us.
Happy New Year
Love, The Boyd's

Cake!

So, I decided to try something new. Cake decorating. Here goes. I haven't taken any classes or studied a book on how to make roses out of gum paste, but I figure why not give it a try anyway. So I went to Joann's, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby to find all the right tools.

The pictures posted is of my first attempt at a wedding cake. I learned a lot from this trial run. I know I need to double or even triple each layer and I think that using a different, more stiff frosting will help show the pattern's from piping.

If there are any suggestions out there of classes, tools, or books I should read to help with the cake decorating, then I am open to it! I am no professional by any means, so feel free to comment with any advice you might have!

Happy Cake Decorating!

Cooking Diva

Over the past 11 years I have come to love to cook...shocker I know. I love coming up with different recipes, taking old recipes and refreshing them, or making food to bring the family together. The other night I made a bbq beef brisket with a potato gratin and had Dave's family over. It was so nice to have a family party for no reason other than to visit and enjoy each other's company.

Marion brought her delicious raspberry spinach salad and homemade rolls. Steve and Nancy brought a delicious apple cake and Steve's famous chocolate chip cookies. It was quite the feast!

I think it would be so much fun to have a cooking club. How about..."The Cooking Diva's?" It has a nice ring to it, right? For one of the cooking night's it would be fun to have a chocolate night. Anything chocolate. I would love to see how many things we could make with chocolate being the star ingredient. From chocolate chip pancakes to chocolate pasta in a raspberry sauce to chocolate cheesecake. What a way to spend a day.

I have heard of people not liking chocolate. To those people I say...are you kidding me? I mean I have my likes and dislikes too but come on, it's chocolate people! You just haven't found the right chocolatey treat. For those out there that are skeptical, maybe you should start with a classic chocolatey brownie. I highly recommend Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownie's. They are to die for!

Outrageous Brownies:

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

I hope the few people that actually might read my blog will give this recipe a try. You wont be disappointed.

Bon Apetit!

Crazy Times!

Well, I relize it has been quite a while since I have posted something, but I am here now, so grab a snack and sit down and read on...
The Summer consisted of many pool trips while very pregnant and then we ended the summer with having our sweet baby boy Matthew in August. He was so cute when he was born. He had a lot of blond hair which was very different from his sister. She was a baldy. Ha! While I was still in the hospital, Grace, Dave and my sister Lauren were visiting. Grace was entertaining herself by counting some coins and while the rest of us were talking. Then al of a sudden I see Grace become quite silent and I turn and say, Grace Elizabeth, did you swallow those coins? She replied, umm yeah momma. SO luckily since we were in the hospital Dave took her down to the ER and they took an x-ray. Sure enough there was a coin. The doctors told Dave well just keep an eye out when you change her diapers. Yikes! Luckily Lauren was able to help out with that. I still owe her for that!
At four weeks he was starting to smile and has brought such a wonderful spirit into the home and I feel so fortunate to be their mother. Now he is four months and rolls over, and is getting his first couple of teeth in. Why must kids grow up so fast? Can't they just stay tiny forever?

Halloween was a lot of fun. We blessed Matthew that weekend and had many family and friends come and support our growing family. Grace was Belle and Matthew was a monkey. So cute! Grace quickly grasped the concept of trick or treating. It was such a fun night. Trick or treating, movies, family and candy sorting. What more could a kid ask for?

Well among all the holiday's and craziness my husband studied and took the GMAT. He scored very well and is now applying to 6 schools. They range from California to Boston. He has had a couple acceptances and is now waiting to hear from the last few so we can make a decision. Hmmm, ASU, BYU, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and MIT. Where should we go? Waiting for answers from these schools is so hard. I don't know how Dave stays so calm. I am like, ok, when can we knowwwwwwwwwwww????? But one thing I do know, is we are excited and up for a new adventure. Dave is a very smart man and I can hardly wait to see how he will progress in the two years to earn his MBA. Go Dave!

This Thanksgiving was just as fun as any other previous Thanksgiving. Family, lots of food, and of course the occasional nap (napping mostly done by the kiddos). My sweet in laws had everyone over to enjoy a wonderful spread. I was in charge of bringing mash potatoes. But if anyone knows me, they know I love to cook and I can't just bring plain old mashed potatoes (not that there is anything wrong with that). So I came up with a recipe with sauteed leeks and bacon and other creamy ingredients. Some people ask me, what is my secret to my mashed potatoes? I reply...butter. If you add butter to just about anything, I guarantee that you will end up with an excellent result. So, now you know the secret; however it's not that big of a secret, is it?

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches...
This year our family went with some friends to cut down our own tree. What an experience. I had the baby strapped in the carrier, and Grace was walking but kind of scared of slipping in the snow. Well the women decided to stay with the kids while the dads went off to find and cut down the tree. Dave was wearing his vans, which had no traction and were missing parts of his shoe strings...thank you dogs. He refused to wear some boots I had...even though they looked gender neutral, he was going to tough it out. What a man! Well, he found the tree cut it down and was making his way back to us. Meanwhile I was taking Grace potty in the forest. When potty training a child and deciding to take a trip in the forest area, be prepared for some emergency potty breaks. All went well though, wheeeeeewwwww! When we met up with Dave and got back to the car, I asked so I saw the tree but I couldn't tell how tall it was. He said, oh maybe seven feet. Umm, yeah, we got home and it was at least 9 feet. It was so funny. We just stood there and laughed. What a fun memory we made.
During the begining of December my Grandma passed away. She was such an inspiration and I am so honored to be her granddaughter. She worked hard her whole life and lived with great integrity. My family and I traveled to Arizona for the funeral. My sister and I sang a duet and I was so grateful for her support. It was a beautiful service and I was so honored to be a part of presenting a lovely service. We shared memories of how we were all effected by her love and kindness.

Christmas day came so quickly. We enjoyed spending time with Dave's family. All of his sibling's were able to come and it was so nice to visit. Christmas eve was spent flying toy helicopter's or watching movies, or sneaking delicious treats. Christmas day was so much fun to watch the little one's open their gifts with such amazement. Grace got a dollhouse, barbies, and princess toys. She was so happy with the dollhouse it was hard to get her to open up any other presents. What a sweetie! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of roast beef and twice baked potatoes; followed by delicious cakes and pies, and then a couple rounds of card games. I am not very good at playing but I enjoy spending time with everyone.

Well, as you can see I have been very busy as I am sure many other people have been. But I am happy to begin a new year. I hope I can follow through the new goals and challenges I have set up for myself. I am now looking forward to seeing what the new year will bring.

Gracie's Teeth Cleaning

When we were in AZ last, I thought it would be a good idea to have my dad the dentist look at Gracie's teeth. She was so good. We would tell her to open her mouth and she would, but only a tiny little bit. I think it wasn't too scary for her because Papa was the dentist( for those who don't know, that's what Grace calls her Grandpa Tim).

It was a nice trip to see family. Grace had fun with her Papa and Nana and aunts and uncles. Those boys kept teasing her though. They thought it was so hilarious how she would react to them. Silly teenage boys.