Lance turns Seven

Lance's Lego Cake, moms act of desperation.

Rise and shine birthday boy it is time for:

Breakfast in Bed!!!

Present Time:
Claire got him a Kung Zhu, and Reese got him a bey-blade top.

Dad got him his first "real" model car.

Mom's gift was the greatest of course: His bey-blade stadium.

So my baby boy is now seven. I am having a hard time with it because I realize what pressure I am now under to make sure that he is ready to be baptized next year. Lance is such a delight to have around. He is smart, funny, kind, and understanding. My favorite thing about Lance is that he is always so happy for others when they accomplish things. He is always building others up. He loves to read, and he reads anything he can get his hands on. He loves to play play-station, bey-blades, ride his bike, and be with his sisters. He loves Family time and is grateful for whatever time that he gets with us. He has lost seven teeth and at the present his smile is rather endearing because it is so toothless. I love my little man and I want him to have the best year of his life. I sure hope that at least it was the best seventh birthday he will ever have. It started with breakfast in bed, presents, lunch at the BYU creamery, then a movie: Gulliver's Travels, afterwards we all played play-station together and then ate pizza and watched Mega Mind. It was a long day full of fun and a whole lot of tears. That is just how birthdays go. It is my party and I will cry if I want too, and they all did.

Pear Pie

What do you do when life throws you a bushel of pears? You make pear pie. I have never had or even heard of pear pie, but I have to tell you that is was heavenly. So much better than apple pie, or cherry pie for that matter. I highly recommend that the next time life throws you a bushel of pears(or they are on sale) you make a pie.

Filling:
seven pears sliced peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 cup Flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
throw in a bowl and mix together, then dump into a uncooked pie crust. (I always buy mine because I have not perfected pie crusts. That is my goal for this year.)

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Melt butter and pour over other combined ingredients and mix well. Crumble over the pie and bake at 325 degrees for 50 min. Cover the crust with tinfoil for the first 35 min then remove and let bake for another 20-25 min.

Best Cocoa Brownies

I have always been a fan of brownies, and until a few week ago I thought that a good brownie had to come from a mix. I have to say now that I know better. I have discovered that one can make a delicious, even better than a box brownie, right from scratch. I don't mean a cake like brownie but a real fudge, dense brownie. I found this recipe on one of my favorite websites to visit; foodgwakers.com. Here it is: So easy, so simple, so yummy.

Best Cocoa Brownies
1 1/4 sticks of butter
1 1/4 cups of sugar
3/4 and 2 TBSP cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour

Melt the butter in the microwave. Add in sugar, salt, and cocoa and microwave for 30 sec. more. Stir vanilla, add in eggs one at a time stirring until each one is incorporated. Pour into a 8x8 greased pan and bake at 325 for 25 min. Yummy.

These brownies are so good that you will find yourself, making them just so you can eat the whole pan all by yourself.