1 1/2 weeks to go....

The countdown until I come up to Salt Lake has begun... YAY! I'm SOOOO excited!! Trace-did you like the stroller/car seat mom had? I really don't want to lug a bunch of Max's stuff up there. rrf4xvtytytgf (That was from Max) Mom-thanks for having all of that great baby stuff!! I'm so excited to come up there that I can hardly stand it! Maybe if it wasn't so hot down here it would be harder to leave...and maybe if I got to see Morgan for more than 10 minutes a day....

Good advice!

HELLO!! I love reading the posts!! Sorry I have done such a poor job of adding my thoughts! Great job, Aaron!! I loved your picture and addition. What a guy! As per your request I am posting the recipe for the chocolate cake made in the angel good cake pan. May I suggest that when you serve this, you slice it very thinly. It is very rich. You can top it with drizzled carmel, powdered sugar, or both. 2 and 1/2 Cups sifted flour, 1/2 t. baking soda, 6 squares semi-sweet chocolate, 1 Cup chocolate syrup (from the can-found in ice cream topping isle), 1 T. vanilla, 1/2 t. almond, 1 Cup butter, 2 Cups sugar, 4 eggs, 1 and 1/2 Cups apple sauce, and 1 Cup nuts.

Grease and flour an angel good cake pan. Sift flour and baking soda. Melt chocolate. Stir in chocolate syrup, vanilla, and almond. Cool. Cream butter and sugar and eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in cooled chocolate mix. Stir in flour mix in 4 additions with applesauce alternating beginning and ending with flour. Add nuts. Bake at 325 degrees for at least 1 hour and 15 minutes. After that keep checking with a toothpick. I think it is more like 1 and 1/2 hours. Good luck!

Now your mothering tip! If only I knew then what I know now!! You guys are all GREAT moms by the way!! It seems like it is for toddlers only, but it isn't. There is some very valuable language and advice here.
Here are some tips on ways you can use chores to teach responsibility:

1) Let your child have some choices. Allow your child to choose whether to walk the dog or fold the clothes. Offer choices about when your child works on chores.
2) Do not do anything for your child that she can do for him/herself.
3) Make sure your child picks up after him/herself.
4) Praise your child for effort. Say, "Good job!" (NOT "Good boy/girl!") This is really important. Same for negative responses ("Bad behavior, not "Bad boy/girl") Can you see the difference??
5) Break large tasks into small ones. This is a skill to teach your child for homework as well as for chores.

With the exception of a few side notes, this is not my work. It is from the Parent Institute. Thanks for all of your good work. I LOVE reading what you put up!! SO FUN!! LOVEYOUALLTONSMOM

Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Artickhoke & Spinach Dip

4 cloves garlic
1 (10 oz.) package of frozen chopped shinach (thawed and drained)
1 (14 oz.) can of artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
1 (10 oz.) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
1 Cup Mozzarella chesse (grated)
1/3 Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese (grated)
1/2 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (softened)

Preheat oven to 350. Place garlic in small baking dish. Bake for 20-30 mins, or until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to tougch, squeeze softened garlic from skins.

In an 8"x8" baking dish, spread roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, pasta sauce, and all three chesses. Cover and bake in preheated oven 30 mins or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm.

RECIPES

Okay, does anyone have a good artichoke/spinach dip recipe (without sour cream)?
And mom, can you post your recipe for that chocolate angel food cake? After seeing my pix you took from down here, I realized that no working out in the world is going to make me a size 6 again, so why fight it?! Just kidding!! My friends and I down here decided that 1x a week we are going to share different recipes and make them at our house while watching a movie. Just something to do while the boys are in school.
And Tracie, you never posted your Taco recipe!?!
I wanted to tell you guys about this thing I saw on the food channel the other day. The lady (no CLUE what her name is, she's italian??) anyways, it was cutting bananas the long way and strawberries just in halves and mixing them in a bowl with a 1/4 cup of sugar, then grilling them until they were golden brown. They looked SO good!! I'm going to try them this weekend when we do hamburgers and I'll let you know how they turn out. I'm just going to grill them on our skillet, I think she did hers on a George Forman grill, so I don't think it really matters.
-Linds

"Lightning Striking again and again and again and again..."

To all of you who missed the roadtrip- here's a little taste of the fun we had in the car. Kathryn and her gramma had such a fun bonding experience! I just hope that she can remember a little of this trip!
Linds, we love you to pieces in spite of your thousand degree weather. Trace, if only you didn't live 36 hours away!!!
Talk to you all soon. My teething daughter is in need of her "yellow" mommy.
Love, Jenn

Can I post on this?

So I know this is the "Lewis Girls" Blog so I hope you guys don't mind me posting to it, but if you do too bad!! I want to post some pics of Spencer for all to see. Here are some pics of him when he got a hair cut and getting ready for the Utes football season...go Utes!!!

Aaron