Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

So I found this recipe (credit goes to The Sugar Duchess) for the best Chocolate Cake ever. Actually it was a bunch of suggestions on how to dress up a cake mix so that it tasted more homemade and fancified. Well it worked. So I decided today since it was rainy and we were all couped up inside the house that we would try making cupcakes out of it. They turned out so yummy and even a bit pretty. Granted they are not bakery beautiful but for me the look fabulous. So hear is what you do.

Take one chocolate cake mix (I prefer Betty Crocker) stir in 1 1/8 cup milk, 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, 1 4oz pkg of chocolate pudding, 1 tsp almond extract, 1 pkg of mini chocolate chips. Stir it all together. Spoon in to paper lined muffin tins and bake at 350 for 18-20 min. Frost and enjoy!! Warning if you don't like chocolate these cupcakes are not for you.

World Superbike Race Day

On Saturday May 30th (a day that Zack has been looking forward to all year) we packed up the coolers and the kids and headed off to The Larry H Miller Raceway in Tooele for a day at the track. Every year Zack has taken the kids, but this year I was forced along. I usually reserve these things so Zack can have bonding time with the kids, and I can have a break, but this year Zack insisted on me coming along. Much to my surprise it was a fun day. It was not too hot, a little loud, and really crowded but we all enjoyed ourselves. We finished the day out by watching the last race from the car because of some rain and wind, but at least we were warm and dry,

Classic race pose. If I had a dollar for every picture I had like this, well I would have at least 20 dollars.

This is what Reese spent most of the day doing.

Proof that I was there.

First wreck of the day. It is always a good wreck when they can get up and walk away. We saw one wreck were the guy got up got back on his bike and rode off just like nothing had happened.

Lance and Claire posing in front of a Alfa Romeo "Mito". We had to take this picture considering Zack's love of Alfa's and because they gave us our tickets.

The first thing the kids noticed the moment that we got to the track was the cotton candy. They didn't stop asking for it until we finally gave in a got a bag. Who can put a price tag on silence. Well for $5.00 you can get 30 min of quite time, a blue face, and really sticky hands.

We saw a crowd gathering around someone, with curiosity I walked around and stuck my camera in the air and snapped this picture. Come to find out, this was Rebuen Xaus who rides for BMW.

This is the BMW stunt driver that was preforming at the race track that day. He was really quite amazing to watch. What a great day. Until next year. ( I am quite sure we will have to go again)

Trip To Colarado

Bitter Beer Face

What can we say about our trip to Colorado. We went to see Brittin graduate and we infected the whole house with the flu. The day we left Reese threw up. She however traveled real well with the help of modern medicine aka Dramamine. She then threw up again Tuesday morning, and for the finally time on Tuesday night. When she finally started to feel better, Grandma, Anjeanette, Olivia, and Brittin all got sick. I am so sorry for all the we made sick but we had a great time none the less.

Reese's first meal after she had been on a restricted diet (if you can call fruit snacks and whatever else she would eat restricted). Really this breakfast plate was meant for Grandpa, but Reese got to it first.

Reese really liked Anjeanette's kittens. Maybe she loved them a little to much. The mother cat finally wised up and moved the kittens to a well hidden spot of the garage.

Even after eating a Ding Dong covered in catsup and mustard Gavin didn't get sick. What a waste of a good Ding Dong.

Yummy!!

Grandma still sick!! What a trooper. Really Grandma we are truly very sorry.

Lance peddles for the first time on a two wheel bike with no training wheels.
GO LANCE!!!


Finally, after 12 years of school and a great deal of hard work, Brittin finally graduates from High School. With honors and several scholarships. Who knew graduating from High School could be so lucrative.

My Plants

For Mother's Day this year I got three tomato plants, some geraniums, and some basil. Claire got a purple flower to replace the hole in the front yard that she was watering and calling "Her Bean Plant" I am amazing how fast they have all grown. It looks like we will have fresh tomatoes of our very own in a few weeks. This week I harvested the basil and made fresh pesto. It was so very yummy. Today we made some gnocchi and ate the pesto on top. It was so very good that I ate way to much. The after picture of the basil was taken after I took three cups of leaves off to make the pesto. It sounds very silly but watching these plants grow makes me happy.

Before

After