The latest and greatest

1. Sledding: We went sledding on the dunes a few weeks ago with Matt & Paige and Adam & Stephanie. There were some steep hills- and we had a paper thin plastic sled. We had a great time. Dane and I were just a teensy weensy sore the next day.2. New couch- My brother Andrew has as rich friend who offered him this lovely leather couch. Andrew didn't have room so he gave it too us. It is fancy. The only problem was the corner of it was in front of the TV- a little awkard when we were watching a movie, we finally moved it.

3. Dane grinded deer meat with a hand crank meat grinder the Nielsons let us borrow, after hours of unclogging the grinder he was finally done- and we still have a freezer full of deer meat.

4. New years- Dane and I went to Salmon with my parents for new years. My friend Courtney hosted a get together. It was so fun to catch up with Courtney, Charlotte and Marisa. We were going to play games but we ended up talking all night instead. We also were able to spend New years day with Gma Kay and Gpa Clyde.

5. Reception- Andrew and Tara's reception was a huge success, lots of friends and family traveled from all over to come.

This is Grandma Patsy with Avery - My sister in law Brielle took all of these wonderful pictures!

The happy couple

This is my Uncle Ray and Aunt Diane, they came all the way from Seattle for the reception, It was so good to see them!

6. Brielle's cake- Brielle is in a cake decorating class this semester and she made this lovely cake for Dane - it was a huge hit

7. I love this picture of my dad in his sheep skin coat. He wore it the day it was -20 in Rexburg.

"Doesn't matter what you look like as long as you are warm..." -Dad

8. We celebrated my mom's Birthday January 27th. I love my mom because she is a great listener ( and you know she is a great listener because she always looks deep into your eyes ) , she works hard, she is full of energy, and she is always fun to be around.

9. I lost one of my shoes last week, totally random right? ONE shoe. I changed into a skirt for devotional ( Elder Christofferson came! He was wonderful ) and I could only fit one of my sketchers in my backpack so I was carrying the other one- and now I can't find it- I am pretty sure I left it on campus. I have checked the campus lost and found every day with no luck- who would steal one shoe?

10. My new plant Frank - it's actually supposed to grow into a tree. They were selling them on campus and I really wanted one, I have never had a plant before! Dane was not too excited about it, especially when he found out it is a tree. He said if we bought it I would have to carry it the rest of the day, so I did.

11. Recipe's- Garlic Chicken 'n' Gravy

I made this chicken the other night and it was a huge success! It tastes great, and its easy to make - I've realized I have been spending way too much time cooking

Recipe: prep/total time 25 min.

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp chicken broth, divided

1/2 cup white wine or additional broth

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook chicken and garlic in butter over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until browned. Add 1/2 cup broth, wine or additional broth, basil and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 7-9 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and keep warm. In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining broth until smooth; stir into pan juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir into pan juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over chicken.

Yield: 4 servings

Chocolate Chip Cookies - I was looking for a really good chocolate chip cookie recipe- this one had great reviews, as you can see, mine didn't turn out so good. Don't worry I won't give you this recipe

Cinnamon Syrup - We bought the cheapest syrup we could find at Albertsons and Dane won't eat it because he thinks it's nasty- So I found a recipe online and made it. He liked it much better.

It is very easy and quite tasty!

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup water

Stir together the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Stir in vanilla extract and water. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Continue to boil and stir until mixture thickens to syrup consistency. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes before serving.

Stir together the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Stir in vanilla extract and water. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Continue to boil and stir until mixture thickens to syrup consistency. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes before serving.