Can We Talk About...

Matthew just turned on the national spelling bee. Did you know that it is played on ESPN every year? These kids are INTENSE. And also I have never heard of any of these words. Don't judge me. You haven't either. The current word is [soboliferous]. What?! Dictionary.com says:

Soboliferous
Sob`o*lif"er*ous\, a. [L. soboles + -ferous.] (Bot.) Producing soboles.

Which brings up my next question.... What is a sobole? Don't worry:

Soboles
Sob"o*les\, n. [L., a short.] (Bot.) (a) A shoot running along under ground, forming new plants at short distances. (b) A sucker, as of tree or shrub.

A TREE SUCKER.

Also, a girl from Bountiful, Utah just got up and heard her word and said.... What.

Enough about that.

I actually finished a summer project. It is actually something that I found on pinterest and wanted to make for myself. I made one but it was too small for my liking so I made another...

So I actually finished a project before pulling out my new one. Matthew should be so pleased. This next project is one that I have had for at least 10 years. [Sorry Grandpa] But I've pulled it out to actually do it now. I don't know who started sewing it before, but the way that it has been put together, I cannot finish it. So first I get to take it apart and then put it back together.

Joy, time to get to work. Happy summer projects.

1st Year A Winner

Can you believe that a year ago, this was us?

Me neither. But we made it!! Guess how much I love this boy....

Ready for the reveal of the big surprise? I enjoyed it. After church, we relaxed for a while and for dinner we went on a cute little picnic. To a park that I've never been to. Matthew drove, obviously. Had a good little married talk, talked about our first year, ideas for the second. After our picnic we went to the Hampton Inn! My uncle Rod hepled me book a cheap room. And there were only like 5ish rooms taken so they upgraded us to a suite! It was sweet... ha. We got to go swimming, lounged together, and stuff. We had a good weekend.

We've seen a lot of movies lately. Last weekend we saw 'What to Expect When You're Expecting,' and 'Dark Shadows'. What to Expect was hilarious to us, that may be because we saw it at midnight, but we're not for sure. We think that neither of our mothers would enjoy it though. That probably tells a lot. Dark Shadows was entertaining, though I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Today we went and saw 'Pirates! A Band of Misfits.' Very Wallace and Gromitt-esque, so I enjoyed it. Matthew, not so much. Thats ok. Um... Eventually I can get some pictures of the gift I made for Matthew on our anniversary. Till then... :)

Della Brownies

Della Brownies helped me live past infancy. So now you really want to make them. I needed to make/ promised a treat for our Sunday school boys. These are easy, and DELICIOUS. Rebecca, you'll be jealous that you weren't there Sunday night at dinner.

DELLA BROWNIES
1 Cube Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
4 Eggs
1 Cup Crunchy Peanut Butter
2 teaspoons Baking Power
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1 Bag Chocolate Chips

Cream together the first 5 ingredients until they are mixed well. Then add in the rest. Spread into a greased cookie sheet (yes it makes a lot of brownies, thank you). Bake for 22 minutes at 350 degrees. They may not look done after 22 minutes, but they are. Take them out and let them cool.

I cut them with a star-shaped cookie cutter, thought it would be fun. At Claudia's house we can go through a pan in about an hour, if that. With this pan, I shared with 3 different groups. Funny how much just two people can't eat.

Next Sunday is the anniversary... Details have been planned, with the help of my uncle Rod (SHOUTOUT). Can't share until they've taken place, ITS A SECRET PEOPLE. No worries, just I'm excited. Matthew has no idea.

Holy Cow

Now that we know we made it through one of the craziest months we've had since we got married (My birthday, my grandma passed away, Matthew's birthday, finals) we can a little bit relax for a few months.

Matthew passed his class! I got the gpa! We each are now older... holding out for wiser for next year. Got to spend some time with all of the Mortensen clan. April was a fun month, busy, but fun.

In between homework, observations, classes and work I did get to cook for Matthew a few times. Two recipes shared from Danielle and that we liked will follow...

Crockpot Chicken Tacos (YUMMMMM. We loved this)
-1 envelope Taco Seasoning
-6 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
-1 jar Salsa (16 oz)

Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

For tacos, serve the chicken with soft flour tortillas, lettuce, shredded cheese and sour cream.
(I only used half of the chicken and taco seasoning. We are only two people! We ate this in a tortilla with rice, corn and cheese. Matt had ranch, I had sour cream. Like I said before, YUMMMMM.)

Pepperoni Rolls
-3 cans Buttermilk Biscuits (10/can) (I used 2, the small biscuits)
-56 Pepperoni slices (Ish)
-Block of Cheese (Colby Jack) (I used shredded cheese, cause that's what we have)
-1 beaten egg
-Parmesan Cheese
-Italian Seasoning
-Garlic Powder
-1 jar Pizza Sauce (I used Marinara that I had in my fridge)

Flatten out biscuit with a rolling pin, place pepperoni and cheese on top of buscuit. Gather up edges of biscuit and pinch together. Place pizza biscuits into a greased 9x13 pan. Once all of your biscuits are in your pan (I squeezed them and fit 20) brush the rolls with your beaten egg. (I didn't have a pastry brush until a couple days ago. Because of this recipe. I tried to drizzle and kinda just dumped my egg instead. So that is why I purchased the pastry brush.) Sprinkle the rolls with parmesan, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Bake at 425 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Matthew ate his with ranch, duh, I ate mine with the heated up marinara sauce. Both good choices.

So, for now, We both work like crazy. Matthew has started a regular softball game with some guys from work. I have an on-line class this summer. And other than that, we are working on getting ready for other exciting things to come... like our second cruise in December!!! Wish us luck, we'll wish it right back.