peace out hop-hops...

We decided to sell our rabbits. Laun put them on craigslist today & they were sold before dinner time. Gotta love craigslist. Plus we only had 2 females left, which = no babies, boring.

We had Salt for over a year, she had lots of cute bunnies:

This rabbit is one of Salt's babies. It looks freaked out-maybe it's camera shy:

We sold the hutch with the rabbits.
When the guy drove off with the rabbits Marlee said "peace out!"

Fiber Chocolate Cupcakes

My sister Laura sent me this recipe she got-Fiber Chocolate Cupcakes. I had to make them for fhe last night (even though we had cupcakes for our last fhe treat) because they had a secret ingredient and I was anxious to see how they tasted. The secret ingredient is... black beans, really. They were very moist and no one could guess what was in them, so I just told them. You have to blend the beans in a blender and I added prickly pear juice (but you can use water)- you blend until it is the consistency of cake batter. This is a great substitute for oil and eggs. Sounds strange, but they turned out really good. I like to double the recipe so that I use a whole can of beans.

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Chocolate Fiber Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold water
1/2 can pureed black beans (Drain can and blend with tap/filtered water. Blend in a blender until it's the same consistency as the cupcake batter)
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle. Combine 1 cup cold water, pureed beans, vinegar, and vanilla in large glass measuring cup or medium bowl. Pour liquid ingredients into the hole in the dry ingredients (there will be some overflow). Using a whisk, stir until batter is smooth. Line cupcake pan with paper or foil liners. Fill cups 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.) Frost with chocolate or vanilla frosting.
Makes 12 cupcakes. (*can be made in sheets, cook 15 min.)

Alternatives:

White Almond cake: omit the cocoa, sub. in for Great White Northern/Canillinni, and add 1 tsp. almond extract.

Spiced cake: Pinto/Canillinni, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. clove (opt.: coconut, pecans)

Sweet spiced: Pinot/Canillinni, 1/2 c. flaked coconut, 1 grated rine of lemon, 1 tsp. almond extract

Jess Bear

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caught red {green} handed

Last night I made red velvet cupcakes {with cinnamon cream cheese frosting} for our fhe treat. Well....they were suppose to be red velvet, but they ended up being forest green since I was out of red food coloring. Marlee obviously didn't want to wait until fhe to eat cupcakes-when I came into the kitchen this is what I found:


How could anyone get mad at her with a face that cute?

p.s. I found the recipe on the blog called Joy the Baker-yum!

"You get a line, I'll get a pole-We'll go fishin in the crawfish hole"

The Allens brought over some crawdads for dinner and we invited Hoa to join us. I made chicken, french fries, and corn-for those who don't like crawdads. Rachel and I were willing to try them, they have a very mild taste. But either of us aren't huge fans of eating food that still has its eyeballs attached. I think we need to have the Allens over for dinner every Sunday because it makes us clean our house:)

Clayton liked pretending that the crawdad claw pinched his fingers:


Notice the curtains^ We went to IKEA yesterday and got some for the kitchen and the living room. It helps it feel more like a home than a rental. Plus we can take them with us when we move. I would paint that ugly wooden panel behind the table, but I don't want to pour time and money into our rental, when I can't take that with me-I'm a lazy cheap skate.

On a side note, it snowed in Tucson this morning and hailed. And I didn't get any pictures to show for it.

Rodeo break

In Tucson we don't get school off for President's Day, but we do get two days off for Rodeo break. The kids had fun staying in play clothes all day. We even danced some-this dance move reminds me of the church dances:
I can't remember what that dance move is called-something fish maybe? Marlee's move looks more like the plank exercise.


Clayton wanted me to take a picture of how buff he was. When he flexed his arms it popped off his glow stick bracelets-very amazing Clayton:)


Laun is back from a conference he attended. We were so happy to have him home. He brought back treats like always-candy rocks. Clayton reminds me of Vanna White- the way he is showing the candy.

It's not easy being green

Marlee decided that this guy would look better with a green face. Porter who is the owner of the $50 bill didn't agree for some reason. Luckily the bank still took it.

YUM

The picture just doesn't do justice for this meal. I made this prickly pear glaze with some of Laun's prickly pear syrup for the chicken. These tasty sweet potatoes were from a recipe I found on Cuisine Nie. And then I made some orzo pasta and asparagus to go with it. This will now be one of my favorite meals. A meal this good has to be documented:)

I am a Child of God

This video was taken on April 10, 2007, at Cooper's viewing/funeral. Porter is just barely 3 and he is singing,"I am a Child of God." I will apologize now that you get to hear me singing with him, he needed help to remember the words. This video is bittersweet for me-one beautiful child singing, while another beautiful child lay in his casket. It is hard for me to imagine what Porter and Clayton were going through, they were just so young when Cooper died. They have really learned a lot more about the gospel and eternal families because of Cooper. Cooper really has been a missionary for our boys, for all of us. I love this video of Porter, he has the sweetest little voice and face.

Pinewood Derby...

Clayton was very excited for his 1st Pinewood Derby. His car was bright yellow and looked like a piece of cheese. Clayton and Laun had a good time making it and they are already talking about how to make a faster one next year:)

The line up-Clayton's yellow car is easy to spot.



How Marlee eats an Oreo cookie:

I think it's time...

to get Marlee a doll with hair.

story time

Some are better at pretending to be asleep than others.
Laun was telling the kids a story about six toes-the bear. I'm sure it's a real story:)

The 2 play pens are the twins, so with our boys bunk bed their room has 4 beds-nice and cozy, or just claustrophobic.