Best Ever Peanut Butter Cookies

Yesterday, Brent went with Larry and David up to Wyoming to cut wood for the winter.  I wasn't able to go because I needed to be at school...but still wanted to send along some yummy treats.  I found this recipe for the yummiest cookies I've tasted in a long time.  I sent some with Brent, and took the rest of the cookies to school to share with the faculty.  They were a hit!  You've got to try these!

Peanut Butter Candy Cookies

3/4 c. chuncky peanut butter
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. flour
2 c. miniature peanut butter cups (cut into quarters)
1/3 c. milk chocolate chips

Beat peanut butter and butter together until well blended.  Beat in sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.  Add egg and vanilla.  Add flour and mix until combined.  Stir in peanut butter cups.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

Form dough into balls on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool.

Place chocolate chips in plastic bag.  Microwave at 30 second intervals, kneading bag between heatings until chocolate is smooth.  Cut a very small hole in one corner of the bag.  Pipe chocolate onto cookies.

ENJOY!!

Our List of ABCs

It's the first week of school!  While it's a very busy time, I've been reminded by the passing of a couple of dear acquaintances of the importance of taking time to be grateful for what we have been blessed with.  I've been reminded of the importance of family, of faith and of the little things.  So, tonight I've taken a few minutes to reflect on some of the things I love and things I'm thankful for...and since it's the first week of school and the ABCs are on my mind...here's my list!

A: AROMA CANDLES! I spend too much money on them. I love how “comforting” they can make you feel. The sense of smell is definitely a powerful one.
B: BRENT…my hubby and very best friend! He’s an amazing husband, father and son!
C: COTE D’VOIRE…it’s amazing how much we already love the people of Africa and look forward to learning more about them, praying for them and serving them as Bailey serves as a missionary for the next two years.
D: a DAY started early with lots DONE before lunch! The trick is not sleeping in (which I also love to do sometimes!).
E: ELDER SHAFFER serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We pray for his success, health and safety several times a day. Our hope is to follow his example.
F: FREE TIME! It’s always great to discover a couple of hours in the week to plan something to do to relax, have fun or learn. (It just doesn’t seem to happen often enough.)
G: my GIRLS…truly two of my very best friends. We always have so much fun when we are together. They are there to jump in and help me out whenever I’m in a bind! I’m so blessed to be their mom.
H: HARVEST. It is our life…both spiritually and temporally.
I: INTERNET…what would we do without it? In addition to online shopping and web searching, I love that we’re able to hear about Bailey’s experiences from Africa just a second or two after he pushes send!
J: JOY GIVERS…I love being around people who are “joy givers.” Too many people these days are negative, pessimistic and zap your energy. It’s so refreshing to be around others who are happy and positive. They seem to build you up and leave you feeling better than when they arrived.
K: KNOWING how to COOK…I love cooking! One of my favorite TV channels is the Food Network. I love planning menus and trying new recipes. I always wish I had more time to spend in the kitchen.
L: LETTERS in the mail….LETTERS from loved ones….LETTERS from a missionary! LETTERS from a missionary in Africa!
M: MONSON (PRES. MONSON)…having a prophet to lead us is a blessing every day of our lives. We love him and are so thankful we have a living prophet to guide us.
N: NICE PEOPLE…like the guy who helped us at Sam’s the other day. We were loading three new filing cabinets into the back of Brent’s pick-up. He just hopped up into the truck and helped Brent and then just hopped back out and went on his way. Being nice should be a way of life for all of us. Something I need to continually work on.
O: ORGANIZED CLOSETS, DRAWERS and CUPBOARDS! I’m so much happier when everything’s straightened and organized. I love feeling organized and can’t stand it when things are a mess or are unorganized…DRIVES ME NUTS!
P: PRINCIPAL…hmmm…a principal. I can see in my mind’s eye what a “principal” image might be, and it isn’t one that I want to embrace. I want the school(s) that I work at to be better because I was there! I want to be a positive force for better educational opportunities for every child.
Q: QUIET ANGELS…people who continually walk into our lives, unannounced, help us however they can and quietly leave. We’re blessed by “angels” everyday.
R: the RISING of the SUN! It seems like everything’s always better after a good night’s rest. I love being able to see the sun rise every morning…it’s the best thing about my drive to work. I’m reminded of having a fresh new start and new opportunities every day.  I always am able to put things into a better perspective after sleeping on it.
S: SCHOOL! Love it! Always have!
T: TRANQUILITY HILL…that’s what our home teacher, Ted, officially named our home. To us, it’s the perfect name!  One of my favorite places in the world.
U: UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY AGGIES…Love them! Go, Aggies! Go, Aggies! Hey! Hey! Hey!
V: fresh VEGETABLES from the garden. There’s nothing better than a summer supper of corn-on-the-cob, cucumbers, watermelon and a tomato sandwich…all grown in the garden. YUM!
W: WHEAT…reminds me of two of the greatest guys in the world…Brent and my dad! It reminds me of their hard work, their faith, their efforts and willingness to trust that every season will be better than the last.
X: X-TRA AMAZING SON-IN-LAW have blessed our family. Jordan adds a lot to our family. He is such a hard worker and good husband to our daughter. We’re sure grateful for him.
Y: YOUNG children…seriously! I just love them! They seem to be able to always brighten my day.
Z: ZUCCHINI from the garden. We love it dipped in egg, fried and served on saltines. We love yummy baked treats using it…especially zucchini bread and zucchini chocolate cake. And, this year we even tried bottling zucchini relish.

Oh, we're so blessed!

One Last Package

While Bailey's been in the MTC, we've tried to send some sort of a package every week.  We know that sending packages to Africa may be few and far between...so we thought we'd really try and make an effort to make sure Bailey got package at the MTC.  Well, Bailey is scheduled to head to Africa on Monday, so last week we put together his last MTC package.  David (our nephew) had been staying with us for the past week and helped us put the package together.  Here are some of the things we included:

• an ipod and charger (loaded with lots of church approved music, conference talks, and podcasts...and thank goodness David was here to help out his old aunt and uncle)
• a really cool CRT ring
• a card reader (so Bailey can just put his camera card in and download his photos to a website)
• a photo book (filled with photos of family and life around the farm)
• an harmonica (missionaries can have a musical instrument in the Ivory Coast)
• food like trail mix, granola bars and poptarts (just in case there really isn't anything too recognizable for him to eat when he gets to Africa)
• and Dave's favorite addition to the package...TOILET PAPER!

Farmer's Market

Since January, Whitney has been making plans for the Farmer's Market in Logan.  She was finally able to take produce over to the market last Saturday.  She's made plans to take produce over every Saturday until Halloween.  The Farmer's Market is such an interesting place and there are a lot of people who take time each week to stop by.  Whit had to recruit David and me to help her out this first time.  It was a very successful day and she pretty well sold everything!  Fun!

(I especially love the cute corn bags!)

Harvest Time

August...what a month!  It's just such a crazy, busy time...but one that we love.  All of Brent's hard work and effort come to fruition.  Not only does he continue irrigating and caring for crops that are still growing, but is busy harvesting sweet corn and grain.  I've never taken many photos of the grain harvest, but we wanted to create a little book for Bailey to take on his mission showing what his home and life in Utah are like.  I got to thinking that I really should document more of just our normal day-to-day life...it seems like I always try to wait for the "special" or "outstanding" things.  But, you know, I'd LOVE to have stories and photos from my dad's everyday life now that he's passed away...maybe everyday life should be more memorable than we sometimes think...maybe it's really more "special" and more "outstanding" than we believe it is.

                           

Bubba's Produce

It's officially been 10 years since Brent and the kids started Bubba's Produce.  They've come a long way from those first few rows of sweet corn!  That first year they earned just enough money to purchase everyone a new pair of skis.  This year, Brent's planted nearly 40 acres of sweet corn and they've added a hoop house full of tomatoes.  He's also planted all kinds of pumpkins, beans, potatoes and peppers!  Quite a "garden!"

Each year, Brent and Bailey have tried to become more efficient.  Last year, they purchased a corn picker and this year they spent a good part of the spring designing and building a sorting wagon to pull behind the corn picker.  Brent had to put on the finishing touches after Bailey left on his mission and today they used it for the first time.  Other than having the kids on the wagon get motion sick because of all the movement of the conveyor belt and the wagon, it worked perfectly and should really speed up the picking process.  This is a picture just before Brent painted the wagon.

And here's a picture of Brent on the day that he sprayed the red paint.  The wind would not quit blowing! I'm sure he won't be very happy with this picture, but it's pretty funny. 

Disneyland!

Jess, Jordan, Whitney, Mom and I took a quick trip to Disneyland over the weekend of 24th of July.  We had amazing accomodations in the Disneyland Hotel and we were able to spend time with Mom (Grandma) seeing all of the sites.  Todd's family joined us and we met them for dinner a time or two.  Of course, the kids had to ditch Mom (Grandma) and me once in a while to enjoy the fun rides.  It was perfect weather and we had a great time. 

...Our Disney Top Five...

1.  SUPPER AT THE BLUE BAYOU...more for the experience (inside Pirates of the Caribbean) than the food.
2.  DISNEY CHARACTERS...no matter how old you are, you still LOVE Mickey and the gang!
3.  YUMMY AMUSEMENT PARK FOOD...cotton candy, caramel apples, churros, and even hotdogs!
4.  ESPN ZONE...truely a guy's heaven on earth!
5.  CALIFORNIA SCREAMIN'...one of our favorite rides!