Quiet Day

Do you hear that? No, I don't either. Ahhhhh. Peaceful and quiet. Good Sunday. Lot's to learn and talk about. Lasagne for dinner. Josh and Mere came to eat with us. Always love when any of the kids can come to do that. Talked to Lisa. Talked to my mom. My parents are at Auntie Tia's. Uncle Bob continues to decline. Wendy had to be taken to emergency. She is not doing well. I think the cancer is winning in all ways. She is physically down, and now emotionally spent. She's been battling this breast cancer for 10 years now. Auntie Tia sure needed a break and it is good grandma and grandpa are there. Caregiving is HARD stuff, and she has her husband and daughter to care for.

4TH OF JULY-- THE BEGINNING

We woke up to a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, a slight breeze, the wind chimes singing. It's gonna be a warm one though!

Some swimming mid-day at Mere's parents. The water was perfect.

A good game of Ticket To Ride and some lunch.

What would a holiday bbq be without some potato salad?

Back over to our 'abode'.

Dessert ready. Well, just the accompaniment to the star of dessert: homemade ice cream.

Red velvet cupcakes, patriotic style.
btw: Have you seen the newest thing in the baking aisle in the grocery store? They now have frosting in a tall can with a push spout like whipping cream. I used my pastry bag, because that is what I'm used to, but what a great idea. I'm going to try it some time.

Yup. I think we're ready for a holiday bbq.

4TH OF JULY-- COLORING CONTEST

Coloring just brings out the 'kid' in everyone. So since we had a youngin' among us 'older' folk, we had something he could have fun with too.Here are the choices. Tough pick, huh?

Some pretty good ones!

Do you spy the winner?

Uncle Duffy was the judge. We had a very anxious crowd and a nervous little boy awaiting the announcement.

I think he was VERY happy being the winner! Here he is pointing to the top picture. His prize: a cute certificate and a pack of Icebreakers gum!

4TH OF JULY-- CROQUET CHALLENGE

When I grew up, Croquet was a very popular backyard game to play. My grandparents had a set and I remember we played over and over. Lisa reminded me we had a set at home too.

Darla, who doesn't know she is a dog and wants to be in the middle of everything we do, learned quickly that she didn't want to be near those wooden balls and mallets. She picked a spot and watched from the sidelines.

Hmmm. Tricky shot.

Shaun lining up on the way down.

Mere's mom taking her shot.

Action shot of Nick's ball going right through the first wicket.

Robert keeping us straight with the rules. The official 'judge'.

Duff. Notice his ball is BLUE. I wonder why???

Just want you all to know, I made this.

Mere, Morgan, and JT lounging on the hammock.

Josh = won.

I = came in last.

But we all had a great time!

4TH OF JULY-- THE ICE CREAM THROWDOWN

On Memorial Day, Mike said he was getting 'tired' of always having plain, vanilla, homemade ice cream every time. All the kids were throwing out ideas of flavors that would be better than plain old vanilla. So I challenged them to come up with their own. Thus, the Duffy 4th of July Ice Cream Throwdown was born!

The White Mountain freezer. In our opinion, the best one out there. And we've had many brands over the years. It's a bit on the pricey side, but well worth it.

Our throwdown table.
Robert 'protecting' their entry, and Dad picking in it. He said since he didn't get to judge (because he was a contestant), he needed to sample. Yeahhh.
This picture qualifies as Entry A. I accidentally deleted the official photo from my camera. Natalie and Robert.Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. This is a change from the Rocky Road they had originally decided on.
Entry B.
Plain Old-Fashioned Vanilla. Which had been good enough for 30 years, until now. Haha!
Created by Mom and Dad Duffy

Entry C.
Mint Oreo
Created by Josh and Meredith.

Entry D.
Ben and Jerry's Raspberry.
Created by Mike and Adrianne.

The Judges.
Everyone who didn't have a vested interest a.k.a. those who didn't throw-down.
Criteria on the judging cards:
Best Texture, Most Creamy, Best Presentation, Best Overall.

The Contestants.

Tallying the votes.

Announcing the results:

BEST TEXTURE: "B" Mom and Dad
MOST CREAMY: "D" Mike and Adrianne
BEST PRESENTATION: "C" Josh and Mere
BEST OVERALL: "A" Natalie and Robert

FYI: We have some pretty dang good new recipes. I don't usually choose mint for my ice cream, but that mint oreo was very refreshing. And if there would have been a fruit category, the raspberry would have won hands down. And who can resist anything with chocolate chip cookie dough?

For our first family throwdown, it went well. We had tons of fun, and learned a lot!
Besides the fireworks, it was a great way to end the 4th.

Bobby Flay would be PROUD!

(We found out on Sunday, that a family in the ward learned we were having an ice cream throwdown. They made their own homemade ice cream. It was mint chocolate. They almost came over to bring a dish of theirs and challenge us to beat theirs. It would have been so fun if they had! Next time Pat and Rachel, okay?)

4th OF JULY--THE FINALE

After the throwdown, the kids decided they wanted a sibling picture.

The traditional look to the side, picture. I don't know when this started, but we always have to include one of this pose.

Then they conferred and decided on an old fashioned straight faced picture. The problem was they couldn't keep a solemn face. The boys finally got it, but the girls were having a hard time! Maybe we should separate them.....

Take 22. Natalie still had a bit of a smirk. But this was as close as they got. Check out Josh's sumburn. He and Mere went to the beach on Friday with some friends, and he thought he didn't need sunscreen because he was under the umbrella. He learned that just like water, beach sand reflects the sun too. Right on to unprotected him. Ouch. His knees and feet are the worst.

Okay. Now time for silly. Mike didn't get the memo.

Ooooo. A full moon for the coming fireworks!

Pretty sunset.

We took the truck up the street to the top of the hill and put blankets in the back and watched about 4 different shows going on.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, EVERYONE!

Prep Day

I am determined to enjoy the 4th, so today is my big prep day. The day I want to get as much done as possible. Duff and I were up and out early on our way to Costco to get what was on our list. The going early was a good choice, because by the time we left it was a mad house. The place was jammed and there was not a parking place anywhere. We were parked out in the 'lower 40' and had people actually stop and ask us if they could have our space! Cars were not so patiently looking for a stall. Shopping at Costco is an event. There is so much to take in.

Got the cupcakes made. Can I just say that from scratch or box, red velvet is RED. The darling cupcake papers I got became red from the dye. I was so disappointed. But while I was plating them, I decided to use another paper to set them in and I'm pleased with the presentation.

Natalie and Robert got their ice cream made since their freezer is in Utah in storage. We have gone through a variety of ice cream makers in our married life, and our favorite is the White Mountain. It has a good heavy duty motor, and the can is taller and narrower so it has more surface area that chills faster. This combines to make the freezing time faster and a really creamy, smooth texture. All of our others are in the garage cupboards, but they were determined not to have to use a 'lesser version' when it came to a 'throwdown'!

Paper goods. Check. Platters. Check. Water pots. Yes. Wipe down bbq island. Done. Canopy up. Check. Chairs washed. Yep. Awards and coloring pages printed. Check. New bbq brush!

Taco salad for dinner.

I think we're ready for tomorrow!

Like Old Times

Cameron was flying in and had a 24 hour layover. He flies for JetBlue. Mike and Adrianne went to pick him up and brought him down for dinner and took him back to his hotel. The whole family came over for tacos. I made 60 and they were ALL gone. How did that happen? I thought I'd planned that pretty well.

We haven't seen Cam in about 3 + years, since he started flying and his family moved to Utah. He wasn't able to come to any of the weddings, so the face of our family has changed a lot for him. He got to meet Meredith, Adrianne, and Robert, and see Natalie pregnant. Lots of changes since we were together last.

Even though we only had a few hours, it was just like old times. He looks great and is doing well.

We love and miss you, Cameron. And I didn't even take one picture. What's up with that, Aunt Cindy?!

Reminder: ICE CREAM THROWDOWN

Ready. Get set. GO!

The Duffy family homemade ice cream Throwdown is only 2 days away now. Do you have the winning ice cream????

Mom and Dad: Traditional Vanilla
Mike and Adrianne: Raspberry
Natalie and Robert: Rocky Road
Josh and Meredith: ???????

Some tips:

--Great recipe

--Proper mix of salt and ice

--Just the right amount of time

--Good 'ripening'

Who will go away with the prize? It might be YOU!

July Provident Living~~

Hola Mi Familia--

Yes, it's that time again. Switch gears and spend some time on emergency preparedness/provident living. I promise, you will be happy you did! Go to the side bar and add these things to your grocery/errand lists. Just one, itsy, bitsy thing each week. Okay?

We are hopeful things will begin to turn around, but in the meantime be prudent and save and put away. Last night was Christine's night for dinner. She needed to make rice to go with her orange chicken and we were out. It was so nice to be able to go to the garage and get a can of rice from the storage!

Love You All--

SUMMER'S HERE!

Today is July 1st. Wow!

When this day arrives, it finally feels like we can start celebrating summer. How did our fore-fathers plan that so well? At this point we are all getting ready for the 4th of July parties, the beach, lazy days, books, sleeping in, and beating the heat. I could sip lemonade, have homemade ice cream, eat ripe, juicy tomatoes, watermelon, and corn on the cobb every single day and not be tired of it.

Ahhh, summer.

7 THINGS ABOUT ME

I've been tagged by my cousin, Berta, and awarded this Premio Meme award. 7 not so commonly known things about myself. So here goes:

1) I was a dancer. I have medals from different levels of ballroom dancing from judges from England. I was on the BYU ballroom dance team. Alas, I married a non-dancer, so I've lost my 'dancing touch'.

2) I LOVE soggy Raisin Bran cereal. I have to let it sit in the milk until it is really soggy. Oh, it's the best!

3) I have a fear of road/street/freeway bridges. Because I'm scared that an earthquake will happen and they will collapse while I'm on them. Worst ones for me: 15no. to the 91 west/beach cities; 60 no. to the 91 west/beach cities; Crown Valley Pkwy east over the 5 fwy. If I don't make the lights there I get antsy. Weird, huh.

4) I regret that I ever stopped taking piano lessons.

5) I am a NIGHT person. I'd rather stay up late into the night and do things than get up early to do them.

6) I once won a crazy hat contest. It was mother/son night at the elementary school and I took red ball caps and sewed a wiffle ball, red vines, a baggie of popcorn, bubble tape to them and Shaun and I won first place! They were pretty dang cute.

7) I'm generally not a competitive person, EXCEPT for board games. Watch out! My kids will attest to that. If they want to eat, I better win. hahahahaha!

Now, I tag: Lisa, Natalie, Adrianne, Meredith, Kristin, Jennifer, Erika. Go girls. Give the award (cut and paste it) and then tag 7 others.