Weekend with Grandpa and Grandma Baxter

Samuel didn't have any school on Thursday and Friday, so mom and dad offered to let the kids stay at their house. We had parent teacher conferences on Thursday, so I brought the kids over Friday morning and Samuel, Jacque and Calista got to stay until Saturday afternoon. They had so much fun with grandpa and grandma, and Ellen just loved the one on one attention!

Dad was trying to teach Calista good manners at breakfast (not eating with her hands), but it seems that Calista couldn't get the fork to work, and she knew grandpa said not to use her hands, so very quietly, she bent down and starting eating right off of the plate! Poor Calista, thanks for trying to listen to grandpa.

Mom and dad woke up early in the morning and were lying in bed, with their door slightly cracked, listening to the girls giggle back and forth. Then they heard "Samuel...wake up...come on Samuel...Samuel..." Then their door started slowly creeping open, a little at a time, until the girls came in.

On the way to Ontario, grandpa and grandma played "I spy with my little eye." Someone finds something out of the car and everyone else has to guess what it is. When it was Calista's turn she said, "I spy with my ONE eye." The kids really enjoyed that game.

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Baxter! Samuel, Jacque and Calista had so much fun!!

Yummy Donuts

My mom sent me a cookbook by email that has a bunch of recipes from restaurants and one of them was a Krispy Kreme Doughnut Recipe. I decided to try it out, and they were awesome. I gave a few to some of my friends, and they actually thought they were Krispy Kreme! Here's the recipe. I hope they turn out well for you too! I just did the creamy glaze.



Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Raised doughnuts:
2 pkgs. or 4 1/2 tsp regular or rapid rise yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105−115 degrees)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all−purpose flour
Vegetable oil
Creamy glaze or chocolate glaze


Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2−quart bowl. Add milk, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour. Beat on low speed scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed scraping bowl occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. Dough will be sticky. Cover and let rise in warm place, until double, 50−60 minutes. (Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour. Gently roll dough 1/2−inch thick with floured rolling pin. Cut with floured doughnut cutter. Cover and let rise until double, 30−40 minutes. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees. Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula. Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side.

Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain. Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze, set on rack, then when slightly cooled spread chocolate glaze on top. Can dip in sprinkles or other toppings after chocolate if desired.


Creamy glaze:


1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4−6 tbsp. hot water


Heat butter until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.


Chocolate glaze:


1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4−6 tbsp. hot water
4−oz milk chocolate or semi−sweet chips


Heat butter and chocolate over low heat until chocolate is melted; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.


Makes: 2−3 dozen doughnuts

Post-holiday Cheer

I had almost forgotten about a Christmas card that we had received from the University of North Dakota's Department of Medicine. Jacque had drawn a picture and then brought it to me to show me her artwork, and it happened to be on the card. This Christmas card was like no other one I had ever received, and it gave me a great idea. So I took their idea and created my own Christmas card:

Practice what you Preach

I remember giving Tonya advice on how to help Jackson learn to walk. I figured that I had it down since my first three were all walking before their first birthday. But now comes Ellen. She can balance very well, and she can even stand up on her own in the middle of the room, but she won't walk more than a few steps. I'm not sure what to do to help her see that walking is much better than crawling. I guess I'll just have to be patient.

Samuel the Big Brother

Ellen got sick yesterday. I was reading books to Samuel and Jacque when I smelled something. Jacque thought it was her lotion, but it smelled more like throw up. Sure enough, when I looked down at my feet, Ellen was sitting there with a mess in front of her. I stripped her down and gave her a bath. Then she went to sleep. When she woke up an hour later, she had thrown up again in her bed. She threw up a couple more times before bedtime too. Samuel was getting worried. He asked if there was any medicine that Ellen could take, or if we should take her to the doctor. I assured him that she just had to get it all out of her stomach. Then Samuel said the sweetest thing, "Mommy do you need any help? Since daddy isn't home, if you need help, just call me." He is such a good big brother. Aaron had to work until 9:30 last night, and Samuel was trying to help as much as he could. Ellen slept pretty good last night. She was hungry this morning, so I hope she's all over it now.

Code Anyone?

I know some of you like to decode messages, so here's one to try. We are planning on giving it to James. I don't think it is too tough, but you can tell me what you think. Aaron and his dad send codes back and forth, and they have to follow one rule: It has to start with Dear Dad, and end with Love Aaron. This should make it pretty easy. Tell me if you solve it!

gdg udhg

cwlui vghhq ghui gqd ghui vghhq cwlui
cwlui vghhi ghui gqd ghui vghhi cwlui
grri ghui bcwlu kwlz cwlui vghhi ghui
grri cwlui bcwlu kwlz ghui vghhi cwlui
gldv qhwir vdk ghi qhkz cwlui gqd
ghui ghi cwlui d p’ghui, cwlui ghi ghui d p’l

qrudd hyro

Ward Missionary Activities

I don't know if any of you are ward missionaries or the ward mission leader, but my friend is the best ward missionary that I know. She has a bunch of activities going that are a lot of fun and we get a pretty good turn out of inactives, non-members, or newly baptized.

Activity 1: Ward volleyball night for both moms and dads (of all ages - our bishop even comes) every Thursday night. We bring our kids and have them play on the stage with the nursery toys. We aren't strict on rules, as long as it goes over the net and doesn't hit the ceiling, it's good. You can touch/fall into the net, kick the ball, etc. You don't even have to serve back at the serving line, and you serve until you get it over. The less rules, the more fun. I guess the only rule is that you have to be able to laugh. Every now and then she substitutes volleyball for a potluck dinner and activity like baseball or water volleyball (in the summer). This has worked so well that they actually gave my friend a key to the church and a budget to work with.

Activity 2: Book of Mormon study group. They meet every Monday at 11am with the Missionaries and read a couple of chapters out of the Book of Mormon. They use the Sunday School manual and seminary manuals as study guides, and then read a few chapters and stop to discuss them. It starts and ends with a hymn and prayer.

Activity 3: Ensign Book club. The Relief Society is actually doing this idea. They read the monthly ensign and then the third Tuesday of the month, they get together and discuss what they have read.