Ranch Red Potatoes

The picture doesn't do them much justice, mostly because they really aren't that beautiful. With these potatoes it's all about the flavor and the crock pot low and slow!

Mike gave me this for Christmas...

I'm a HUGE crock pot fan anyways, but this book is amazing! Probably one of the best gifts because I like it, USE it, and everyone is eating dinner more regularly so it's a win, win, win.

This is the recipe for "Ranch Potatoes" from page 55

2 lb small red potatoes, quartered

1/4 C. butter

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 env. ranch dip mix

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 C. milk

Potatoes and water in slow-cooker. Slice butter, sprinkle butter, salt, pepper, and paprika over potatoes.Cook on high 2-3 hours or low 5-6 hours. Mix together ranch dip mix, cream cheese, and milk until smooth. Pour over potatoes during last hour of cooking time.

After making this twice, I knew I needed to share it! I'm generous with the paprika and the longer these potatoes cook the better it seems. 3 hours high, then add the ranch mixture and let it go for another hour on high and then you can switch it to low and serve it whenever after that. They are the best "make ahead" potatoes so you can have that done and focus on everything else with the meal. Oh, and they make great leftovers for lunch the next day!

Try it, enjoy, and BUY this book! It's available at http://deseretbook.com/Slow-Cooker-Cookbook-Debbie-G-Harman/i/5051416, but you can find it at Deseret Book and other stores. I think Costco might have even had it here in Utah.

Sisterly Love

The fun these two have together makes me wish I had a sister. Having girls makes me realize how the bonds of sisterhood really work. They fight over things, they play, they scream, and then they're best friends again all in the space of about 5 minutes and that is repeated frequently throughout the day.

The latest fun thing they've come up with is to dig through my closet for the crazy heels and parade around up and down the hallway like it's a runway showing off their shoes and cute clothes. They picked out their own heels and they patch their little outfits perfectly! The necklaces were added, "because I want to."

That's Brooke's new answer to everything, "because I want to." We're not sure where she's getting that from. After answering the, "Why?" question a million times in a row, I'll give up and respond with, "because I said so." Never, "because I want to," though.

Make Over

It's still a work in progress, but here's a glimpse of the make over that our master bedroom is getting. Eryn LOVES to paint and to help. Mike just paints behind her and lets her feel accomplished. Isn't he just the best Dad?

Feeding Ian

Since he's growing so fast, it was recently time to start the rice cereal and the dreaded "solid food" experience of sitting in the high chair and using a spoon. The adventure goes as follows...

"So... What are we doing?"

"You want to feed me what?"

"I hate it!!!!!!!"

"How did you find me hiding under my sister's bed?"

The last picture was from a different day, but I couldn't resist putting them all together. He literally rolled himself under Eryn's bed and was stuck there. Needless to say that Ian is an adventure everyday and that little boys are so different than their female counterparts. The girls never went under a bed to hide from me!

Christmas Revisited

This is us at Mike's company's Christmas party. No Santa this year, but it was still fun. I was wearing ridiculously tall heels in order to be even remotely close to his height. Since there are not many pictures of just the two of us, I figured it was worth posting.

He-Man

Thanks to Netflix my girls have been enjoying watching old episodes of He-Man. We watched the movie that introduced She-Ra awhile ago and saw "Masters of the Universe" (the movie with "real people") and it seems they can't get enough.

Eryn said that she saw, "Skeletor on the mountains!" I told her that if he was here, He-Man would save us. She gave me that blank stare and said, "But you said that they weren't real..."

Watch the Birdie

While out and about I've been seeing a lot of very large birds these days. Often in pairs pretty close to each other. I'm convinced that they are preparing to nest soon. I used to be so good at identify the bird games with my Dad, but I'm struggling these days. (Bird watching is much more difficult while driving! Still don't know how Dad used to do it without driving into a ditch!)

2011 switch to 2012

Christmas and all the craziness of the holidays and numerous family gatherings and events have all blurred together and will probably be blogged about in retrospect at a later time. For now, just a quick blurb on what happened in 2011 and what I'm looking forward to in 2012.

2011 brought our little family...

a promotion

2 weddings to photograph

a mini van

a preschooler

a potty training nightmare (still in the middle of that)

a baby boy!

Hopes for 2012...

Vegas with my best friend for my birthday- fingers crossed!

2+ weddings to photograph

pay increase (Who doesn't want that, right?)

Visit with MY family

NO More potty training for awhile

running/jogging/walking quickly again when it warms up