Biology and Valentine's Day.....

Since being at Eric and Alena's in December I have wanted to make my own yogurt. Okay, that may sound weird, but Alena makes her own and I thought it would be great to give it a try. I use Greek yogurt everyday in my smoothie (recipe for yogurt and my smoothie can be found on my blog: http://sharingtheyums.blogspot.com ) and frankly, I think it's pretty expensive. If I could make my own at a significant savings I would be thrilled. That brings me to the biology part of this post; yesterday I started the yogurt making process. It just takes 1 gallon of milk (I used skim) and 1/3 cup of Greek yogurt (you've got to get the active cultures from somewhere). It takes the whole day, though your actual work time is only 30 minutes. Last night before going to bed I put the yogurt in the fridge to drain.

Now on to the rest of the story....I have developed sort of an obsession with trying to keep one step ahead of Kenneth. I have discovered that it is impossible...I keep trying...and so far...he's always been ahead of me! This Valentine's Day is no exception! We both agree this holiday is pretty overrated, I mean, it's sort of a "forced" day to be nice to your sweetheart. People who may ignore their spouse all year long suddenly rush out to buy flowers, chocolates and a card...all in an attempt to make up for the other 364 days. In our case I feel like every day is Valentine's Day. I am with the most wonderful man whom I adore and feel completely loved and cherished by. We spend tons of time together; dining, watching movies while snuggled on the sofa, hours are spent talking and planning our future, we laugh and play and simply enjoy this wonderful gift we have been given. Every day he makes me feel special and hopefully I am doing the same for him. So how in the world could Valentine's Day top what I already have?

While shopping on Saturday I bought a card for Kenneth! I was ahead of the game! Last night just as we were going to bed I placed the card on Kenneth's desk so he would see it first thing this morning. I went to sleep "knowing" I would surprise him and...and I "knew" he had done nothing...victory was mine! As we woke up this morning we wished each other a happy Valentine's Day and then Kenneth said he wanted to go see the yogurt. What? Why? I knew I was curious to test it, but him??? So we headed to the kitchen where this beautiful pot of azaleas and a very sweet card awaited me! He won! While I was sleeping he had gotten up and not only put my gift out, but also had seen the card for him the night before! I am already plotting to surprise him for his birthday!!! Will I succeed???

After our exchanging of gifts we did check on the yogurt! As if by magic there was thick, rich Greek-style yogurt in my fridge. I compared it to my store bought yogurt and it looks and tastes exactly same....yippee for science...for biology...I have a new skill that I will use over and over.

A weekend of fun and adventure.....

Ron and Jan (Kenneth's brother and sister-in-law) came from Utah for a long weekend with us. This trip was a surprise for Jan. Ron is so creative; each day there was a little clue, written as a poem, left on Jan's mirror. One of the clues told her to pack for warm weather....I'm afraid she was thinking they were going to Hawaii. It wasn't until an hour before they left for the airport that it was announced they would be traveling to Arizona to be with us. I didn't want her to be disappointed so when we picked them up I had a fake flower leis to put around her neck...I figured that along with the palm trees that are here would make her feel like she was close to Hawaii....! Friday evening we had dinner at home and watched the first in the Bourne movie series. Saturday morning Ron and Jan made breakfast for us: yummy Swedish pancakes and bacon. We then drove onto Sedona. Ron and Jan had never been there. What follows are those pictures. I was using the "good" camera this day...having lots of fun playing around and taking tons of pictures. This is one of my goals for this year to be able to take good quality pictures. This was lots of fun for me!

Ron impressing us with his muscles that are shaped like the mountains....

Jan capturing Ron's muscles on her camera!!

A cactus in bloom..

I love this bridge...

Artwork inside the Catholic church...

I thought these candles inside the church were fun to photograph...

Brothers! It is so wonderful to see Kenneth with his family. They are so happy to see each other and have a genuine love for each other. It was fun to listen to them talk about growing up together and the many fun stories.

Ron and Jan...what a sweet and wonderful couple.

Rock stairs we climbed up....

That evening we ate leftovers and watched the 2nd and 3rd Bourne movies. We were all tired from the long day......

Before they every arrived Ron planned that he and Kenneth would make Sunday dinner...and they did! We had delicious Rice Krispy Chicken, mashed potatoes and salad. Dessert was a Swedish recipe that they now call vacuum cleaner cookies. There is a story that goes with the recipe. These are supposed to be a shaped cookie and their mom would use the vacuum cleaner tube to shape the cookies because it had the right curve to it.

Here are the guys in action: Ron peeling potatoes...

Jan patiently waiting at the table....

Ron modeling my apron...

Kenneth ready to cut the potatoes...

The potatoes now going into the pan to boil....

Salt and pepper in hand....ready to season the chicken..

Our dinner was so good. It was fun watching the boys cook together and nice not having to cook. Monday we slept in and I made smoothies for our breakfast. We next walked around our neighborhood and played a little basketball together. It was sad to take them to the airport and send them home. I am so blessed to be part of this wonderful family. Thank you Ron and Jan for coming to see us....we are blessed to have had this time with you both!

December 2011: Christmas in Utah....

I now have a few more pictures from our time in Utah. This is Ron and Clifford, Kenneth's dad.
Kenneth's mom, Els-Marie...

Jan and her son, Matt with me on Christmas Eve.

Lars with his little girls.

Yvonne in her traditional Swedish clothing....

Sonja in her traditional clothing....

Finishing up dinner...

Joel and Laila at their home...where we had Christmas Eve dinner. It was a fun night getting to know everyone better and learning some Swedish traditions.

Welcome to our world.....

The newest addition to our family is little Eve Shalice, born January 30th. She weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces . She is tiny, tiny, tiny!!!

Eve with her Papa...
Eve with me...

The Snowflake, Arizona Temple...

This year our ward's theme is: Focus on the Temple. This is in prepartion for the completion of the Gilbert Arizona Temple (which is about a year away). I have set a goal to attend the temple each week of this year. Today we were at the Snowflake Temple. It is about 3 1/2 hours from our home. We went again with Ron and Jill. This temple sets up on a hill and looks lovely as you drive up towards it.

We took this picture after our session...it was a little windy...

Ron and Jill.

On the east side of the temple there is this arbor. It beautifully frames the view of the valley.

Each time I enter the temple I am touched by the Spirit. I am so thankful that I live close to a temple and have the opportunity to serve others within those sacred walls. I am reminded of what the temple is ~

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.." ~ D& C 88: 119

December 2011: A sweet message...

Due to an accident Kenneth's dad had we were in Utah for several weeks to help his parents. While there it snow, a little, and it was fun to wake up and see white covering the ground.

I was also touched by this message Kenneth left for me.....