These are my favorite brownies along with the rest of my family. Except for Allison who ranks these as #2 (mint ones are #1). The recipe calls to make this in a cookie sheet but I usually use a 10x15 inch pan and cook it for 5 more minutes.

Best Ever Brownies

Mix: 1 c soft butter, 2 c sugar, 1/3 c cocoa

Stir in: 4 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 c flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 1/2 c chopped nuts

Bake at 350 degrees in greased 1 inch sheet pan for 20 min.
Cover with 1 lb of mini marshmallows. Bake for 3 more minutes.
Cool completely!
Mix frosting of: 1 2/3 c powdered sugar, 1/2 c butter, 1/3 c cocoa, 1/3 c evaporated milk. Frost brownies. Easier to cut if you let it set for awhile.

This is my favorite chili. It is served over rice with cheese, avacado, sour cream, green onions etc on top if you want. It is more of a stew than a chili and is extremely spicy. This recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart magazine. You can skip the chiles step by just adding 1/2 c chili powder to the onion mixture and cooking for one minute. The chile step though is pretty easy and makes it taste so much better.

Texas Red Chili - Makes 8 cups, serves 8
8 whole dried chiles (5 ancho and 3 guajillo or all ancho)
3 Tbsp oil
3 lbs beef chuck cut into small pieces, 1/2 inch or smaller
salt and pepper
2 large onions, chopped, about 4 cups
7 to 8 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapeno or serrano chiles, seeded if desired (I always seed), minced
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, pureed with their juice
4 c water plus more if needed
2-3 Tbsp white vinegar, to taste

1. Toast dried chiles in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and blistered, 2-3 minutes per side. Remove stem and seeds; discard. Put chiles in a large bowl and cover with hot water and soak for 30 minutes. Remove from water and puree in a blender with 1/2 soaking liquid.
2. In a large pot heat 2 Tbsp. oil. Season beef with 2 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Brown beef in batches, about 10 minutes for each batch. Transfer to a plate.
3. In pot with the remaining 1 Tbsp oil, brown onions, garlic and minced chiles for about 5 minutes. Add spices. Stir in beef and chile puree. Add tomatoes, water and 1/2 tsp salt. Reduce heat and simmer gently, partially covered until meat is very tender and chile is thick, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add water if it gets too dry. Season with salt and vinegar. Serve or freeze for up to 3 months.

Dear Family and Friends,

For starters, I had a WONDERFUL birthday. Thanks to everyone for calling, writing etc. After being able to sleep without constantly coughing Friday night (more on that later), I woke up full of energy. I was able to go cheer on Spencer's basketball game. Kicked Spencer off to a birthday party for the afternoon. And then Allison and I went up to Sundance to ski for the afternoon. It was fantastic. My biggest worry is always the parking lots as last year when I took Spencer it was an ice sheet where I just slid out of control most of the time. This time the roads were clear, ski was blue, crowds were gone and Allison and I just had a great time. This was her first time skiing. And I think my 6th. By the end our skill levels weren't that far apart! Came home tired and happy to make a huge salad and get Kneader's sourdough bread. Then off to a friend's 40th birthday surprise party for a quick visit. And then back for hot tub and cheesecake. What a great day!

This week went much smoother. Taylor and I had cold most of the week so we did the hacking around the house routine. Taylor just mostly had a congested nose that made for some stupendous sneezing incidents. I had that dry cough that just wouldn't stop. Worst was at night when I just could not stop coughing. Felt better Thursday night and went with the stake to another ward's temple night. They are having every ward in our stake do a special session with the temple presidency after all the regular sessions. Was a really neat evening even though 8:30 to start seems really late. I did great until the last 10 minutes when despite the constant sucking of butter rum lifesavers that dang cough reappeared and didn't leave. I had it seemed like every lady on the row digging in their pockets for cough drops. I had quite a supply by the time I was able to run back to the dressing room, still coughing! for a drink. Hence why being able to sleep now feels so luxurious!

Best part of being sick is that kids were extra helpful. Came home from preschool carpool to find that Spencer and Allison had beat me home and were putting away groceries. Or Friday morning after being up most of the night I just wasn't functioning so I went back to bed after kids were up. They got themselves ready for school and Allison brought me toast and tea in bed so I could snooze for an extra hour.





Jeremy continues to work hard and put in the extra hours. He had a friend this week make Spencer a new retainer and another friend come over and fix his quad just in time for another snowstorm. Friends really do make the world a better place. Besides working he put up with my coughing in his ear all night and chipped in as much as possible to help out. Favorite moment with him this week is Saturday night when Robyn straddle runs down to the kitchen to ask him to wipe her bum as the poop won't come off (I pulled the birthday card on this one). Afterwards Robyn tells him "I knew you could do it Daddy" Jeremy thought it was nice to have his skills appreciated. This is after spending the day watching Taylor and Robyn and then taking apart and fixing the garbage disposal that had been gummed up by rotten fish parts - a smelly and disgusting task. What a guy.

Spencer had a big week this week with scouts receiving his Arrow of Light. They made a big deal out of it which was cool. He continues with basketball and although his skills are weak they are getting better. I just have to admire his coach - the patience of Job I tell you. Friday we went to the pet store to stock up on our animal life. Spencer got a hermit crab for his friend's birthday present and was excited to set up a little home for him. Then he also picked out a new fish and frog for his aquarium. His aquarium was a toxic chemical experience which is why the garbage disposal broke. But it sure looks cool now. I started painting Spencer's room this week. It already makes a big difference. It is taking longer than I thought but I am planning to have it done this week. He has been sleeping in the basement and I want him back in his bed and all his stuff out of our room.


Robyn continues to be a bubbling, energetic piece of personality. My favorite moment this week with her is watching her run out to me from preschool, first in line, holding her Chinese lantern craft in her hand, with the biggest smile on her face. She got to play with a lot of friends this week which she loves and I appreciated. She is always asking what she can do to help. Makes me stretch my mind a bit trying to come up with suitable tasks and its not always cute. But a lot of the times it makes me smile.

This is how Allison and Robyn eat their breakfast. Need I mention that they both fall often!

With the trip to the pet store....Allison is now a proud owner of a new baby hamster. The hamster cage is now in her room. She says she is old enough not to get scared by hamster noises in the middle of the night. And the doors have twisty ties on them to keep the cats out.



I realize how obvious it is which pictures were taken by me and which by Jeremy! It was nice to be able to talk to family this week and I am already dreaming about beach time!

Love, Heather

Mimi - this is for you. Robyn loved the video of Claire, just watch and see.

Dear Family and Friends,

Rough start this morning. Jeremy came downstairs to find Mickey torturing Storm, Allison's hamster. He rescued Storm just to watch him do his death spasms for a few minutes and for Allison to be woken up to say good-bye. As you can imagine there were lots of tears this morning. Storm is currently curled up in a small box on our counter awaiting a hamster funeral. He has lasted 2 1/2 years which is a record in our house. There has been lots of second guessing as to how the hamster got out. Spencer has come up with some creative ideas on how to punish the cats until he was informed that gruesome cruelties were not OK to even talk about. So instead he and Allison broke out his forensic science kit to look for clues. Much better channel for all the emotions around here.

This has been a week of high emotions. I will start with the bad so I can finish with the good. Friday was not the best of days. It also made me realize what a good man I am married to! Let me set it up for you by telling you that Jeremy has been bringing in lunch every day and working at his desk. Without his usual hour break of going out to eat and talking with his co-workers it makes for some long days of hard work and stress. Thursday after spending an hour waiting at the dentist and taking the boys to school late, Spencer had his new retainer. Thursday afternoon I picked up Spencer's new prescription to find out that our co-pay was $260, just for one of his meds. Thursday night Jeremy spent the evening making posters for a stake event for me.

Then dawned Friday. Snowstorm blew in so everything was icy and wet. Robyn continued her week long streak of spending breakfast time either whining or crying. Spencer had a ski trip with his class which he was excited for and left with high emotions and forgetting all his stuff. So Jeremy ran him back to get his gloves etc. He had a great day snowboarding and then spent the afternoon shoveling the basketball court so he could practice for his game. Jeremy showed the condo then ran to Costco to pick up the poster prints he had made for me. Had to wait an hour an a half as they were 3 hours late getting them ready. Then he comes home to find Robyn had ripped off one of our kitchen cabinets. We just have to smile about how when you are trying to save money, it always comes up that things break etc. Then we looked at Spencer's mouth and asked where his new retainer was. Much wailing, gnashing of teeth resulted. It had been less than 24 hours! We think he left it on the bus to go up to Park City. After all the screaming, crying and self-recriminations we sit stunned on the couch trying not to be angry. We had talked so much about how with this 3rd retainer he needed to always put it in his case if it wasn't in his mouth. And of course he chose not to bring his case with him. Then just as we start watching Fame, Allison comes down to show us how she broke her glasses. Movie was so bad we just turned it off, had to laugh at how bad things had gotten and went to bed. Best part of the evening. Saturday was MUCH better.

So now on to the good stuff:

Robyn is officially 4. On Monday there was no school so we had 12 little girls and boys over and 4 "helpers". There was no real theme as Robyn wanted to do a hodge pile of events. Spencer and Allison and their friends divided up all the activities and they were in charge. It was great as they all had a good time. Spencer, Conner and Garion set up all the play-dough. Helped the kids make their shapes and then cleaned it up afterward. Girls directed puppet making and making necklaces. The boys taught them how to play duck, duck goose. I just had to supervise and cut the cake. Robyn then went home with her cousin Kayla and Garion stayed here. So we spent the afternoon cleaning up while the boys had a wii fest. Made a bunch of cupcakes for Robyn to take to preschool. Picked up Allison from gym where she said all the bending hurt her stomach and drove out to pick up Robyn and drop off Garion. On the way I hear those horrible sounds from the backseat that just makes me gag. Yep, Allison lost it. Luckily she aimed into an empty glass so the puke didn't go everywhere. And then she spent the evening and early morning hours in her bed and in the bathroom. I am so grateful that she is old enough to make it to the toilet and take care of herself without waking me up. Early morning puke calls are at the top of my hate to do list.

Tuesday we sent Taylor off to school and took Robyn to a friend's for the morning. Spencer, Allison, Jeremy and I headed up to Ogden for my Grandma's funeral. I have already told all my siblings all the details but it was really a nice day. The early morning sleet and snow pushed away the inversion so the afternoon at the Salt Lake Cemetery was full of blue skies and sunshine. It was neat to see all my extended family as its been a couple of years with most of them. And I was able to remember how much of an influence my grandparents had in my life.

Robyn had a great birthday playing with friends and going to preschool. She opened her family presents that night and we all enjoyed left over cupcakes. She went to bed a very tired and happy girl. And that chased away any lingering sadness I was feeling over the day.

Rest of the week is the regular laughter, tears, work and sometimes play that makes up our lives. Allison still enjoys her dance classes and has one more gymnastics class. Spencer got to dress up and go home teaching with Jeremy. He was in charge of a game for the little kids. We have been cleaning out Spencer's room prepatory to painting it. It has been a gross experience and we will NEVER let his room get to that state again! Kids had a Primary activity. Spencer had basketball practice and a game. Jeremy and I were able to go do sealings. Our neighbor was in a horrific car accident so we were able to bring them dinner.

It was just one of those weeks that was good but sort of left you feeling shell shocked. Thank goodness everyone is willing to laugh about things and that tomorrow is always another day! Love to you all. Lots of pictures to follow.

Heather



Spencer took this video so its a little choppy.

Still doing yoga. Robyn loves "helping" me.

Tuesday morning Robyn channeling Dr. Seuss is ready for the day.



Allison made Robyn a crown to wear for her party.

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been driving me to chocolate a little more than usual. I have a neighbor who runs when she feels stressed - I need to become like that! We have had a really bad inversion all week which makes the air smell yucky and everything look gray and overcast. You can't even see the mountains. I keep hoping a storm will blow through and bring back the blue skies. But the best part of the week is that everyone is choosing to laugh about things rather than cry. And we got to enjoy pumpkin chocolate chip bread, chocolate chip waffles, hot chocolate and chocolate covered cinnamon bears - bring on the treadmill.

Spencer had a great day Monday. He had a luau at school where he brought 3 dozen cupcakes (Sunday nights' activity) and learned the Haka and ate pork and rice. Than he came home only to leave a few hours later to see his first NBA game (Jazz vs Miami) with Jeremy thanks to his junior jazz BB league. Definite nosebleed seats but they had a great time. Tuesday we got our first "official" call from school. Spencer and another kid ended up having a physical altercation. Spencer's story: he and his friend were playing ball tag on the slide. Spencer was about to fall so he pushed the kid out of the way so he could grab the bar. So his friend punched him, Spencer pushed, it got a little ugly and Spencer ran to tell the playground supervisor with broken glasses. So the two got to spend some quality time in the principal's office. Other kid's story is that Spencer started it and so he was going to finish it. So they both go the official first warning. Spencer was a little peeved to put it mildly that he got in trouble for all of this. Than he developed a bad rash all over the back of his leg that we were worried was a med-side effect. But after investigating further we think its just a hygiene problem :). So nice that all our talks about washing yourself ALL over and wearing clean clothes every day seems to fall on deaf ears. But I think he learned his lesson.

Other highlights from Spencer this week is that he had a great BB game Saturday and enjoyed practice. We watched a movie last week where every time the boy got in trouble in a juvenile hall facility he had to scrub toilets. We had a moment of inspiration and decided that was a great idea. So Friday while I left with Robyn to pick up Allison from choir we heard Spencer banging around in the bathroom, scrubbing away and muttering loud insults directed towards my brilliant idea. I figure if I have to deal with bad behavior I should at least get a clean toilet out of the deal!

Jeremy had a tough week at work. He can give you nitty gritty details if you want it. But short story is that their ability to accept credit cards on their sites was shut down. So they had a week of deciding to pretty much start over, take pay cuts and stick together. As you can imagine Jeremy is a bit stressed but they all are trying to be optimistic about things and working hard. We had bought tickets a week ago to see Avatar this week up in SLC. We got to see it in 3D on an imax screen Thursday night. It was extremely cool. The story line makes you laugh in some of the wrong spots when they spout the sterotypical G.I. Joe style lines. But the imagery takes your breath away.

Then as all my family knows, my grandma up in Ogden passed away Thursday. It wasn't unexpected as she has been hanging on for several years now but it sort of marks an end of an era. I have been remembering what a large figure my grandparents were in my life growing up. I remember taking long bubble baths in her hot tub, going shopping for a BYU formal dance with her, going to Rainbow Gardens for muffins and honey butter, having a cool Indian theme birthday party for Daniel, spending a week or two every summer with her and every holiday getting some cool little envelope/present from her. Its hard to believe that is all over.

This week was a cousin week. They came over Tuesday night while Jason and Kelly had temple night. Then they came over Friday night for an extended sleep over and left Sunday morning after stuffing themselves with waffles. Our kids had a great time. Brynn the 2 year old sort of stretched the auntie love a bit with rough nights and diarrhea. So I think I will be crashing early tonight. But as Kayla said to her mom - they ate and they played and then they ate and played some more. Spencer and Garion had a wii marathon Saturday afternoon. Girls just ran around playing games and making their "creations".

Today I get to teach Taylor's Sunday school class. Because I think every sub should be allowed to give out treats I am well armed with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Tomorrow is Robyn's birthday party so kids are busy making decorations for me. Robyn is so excited about the whole event.

Love to you all,

Heather

Heather already mentioned how the pogo stick has been a huge hit. I took a couple quick clips of Allison showing off how she is already very comfortable bouncing all round on it.