Strawberry trip!




We took a little 2 day 1 night trip to Strawberry Reservoir this weekend. It was a lot of fun, even if camping was involved.

Tried my hand at real video making, turned out pretty good if I do say so myself for a first timer, definitely learned a lot about what to do next time!

Goodbye summer!

5 Best Pinterest Recipe Experiences


Mongolian Beef: This meal is INCREIBLE. The meat the recipe calls for can be expensive, but its so high quality and flavorful you won't be mad. We've made this 5+ times and I have even taught my mom to make it. It can get messy because their is frying involved, so wear an apron. 



Chicken Chipotle Sweet Potato Boats: I feel so good after eating these, and bonus they taste incredible. They do take a while to make, since you have to bake the sweet potatoes for an hour before you put them back into the oven with the goodies added, but I promise, they are very worth it. 



Caprese Garlic Bread: this meal was super simple and delicious. I fell in love with Caprese everything in Europe and this pizza brought it back. It only took like 20 minutes in all to make and be ready to eat. 



Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos: Once again with the flavor. Im not huge into cabbage, but the crunch it gives it is PERFECT. We haven't made the Chipotle crema sauce, because with the sauce on the cabbage it really doesn't need it, and we are lazy but its probably also delicious. Not pictured: salsa, guac, and tortilla chips.

Recipe


Red Pepper Mozerella Basil Chicken: Ours doesn't look as pretty as the recipe picture, because we buy chicken breast tenders instead of chicken breasts so we didn't stuff them, but kind of made a casserole instead. This recipe is super good for next day left overs.

Recipe

I am super proud that all of these meals had such a variety of fruits and veggies. WIN. We cook full on meals 3-5 times a week depending on if we have dinner time things going on. We love to cook and trade off doing it, most of the time working together. We like to cook as much as we do because A, it tastes a lot better, B, its healthier, and C, we can take leftovers to work the next day!

Check out my other tried and true recipes pinned to a special board on Pinterest. All of these are recipes we make on a regular basis.


Europe Tour 2012: Vatican City











Vatican City was one of my favorite days in Europe (probably why there aren't many high quality pictures). We spent basically the whole day on tour, and our tour guide was incredible. Seriously we had people leaving their own tours and coming up to our tour guide asking for his information so they could come back another day to do it with him. I HIGHLY recommend Through Eternity Tours if you ever do a tour of Vatican city.

I loved seeing the amazing paintings, ceilings, sculptures and architecture I'd only seen in books previously. I had no idea how grand everything was going to be, with so much rich history, a lot of which I hadn't known or heard before. Im not sure I need to go back anytime soon, because of how much time we spent there, but if you have never seen St. Peters Basilica or the Sistine Chapel, its a must see. And a tour with an experienced tour guide just enriches the experience.

I hit the jackpot in the family department

I definitely hit the jackpot in the family department. We all love to hang out and spend time together. We have big dinners or parties at least once a month with this side of the family and it is awesome.

This time we got together for a surprise party for my grandma! It was her 80th and we figured it was time to put her in the spotlight since she tries to be more of a behind the scenes woman most of the time.

My Dad and his siblings concocted the plan, and carried out such a great surprise. My grandma thought she was going to dinner with her 3 sons, but as it turns out, she was coming to dinner with her 3 sons, two daughters (who secretly flew in for the occasion) and a bunch of grandkids! Her faces were PRICELESS (as seen below).

We ate at the delicious and beautiful La Jolla Groves in Provo, and it was a treat. I am so grateful for this family that has always supported me and each other.












 






Check out Martha Keyes Photography if you need some great family, wedding, or event photos!