Our Son's New Friends

Alright, sorry for the delay in posting everyone!  I've been...well, busy...ok, so I've really just been lazy.  Sue me!

Last week, we went over to Jayla's house for dinner, dessert and puppy play time.  Jayla made a delicious dinner of chicken kabobs, kielbasa and fresh fruit.  Dessert was provided by yours truly, but you'll have to visit my cooking blog, Sara's Sweets, to see what I brought. :)

We were really excited to go over to their house because we wanted Diesel to meet Jayla's two dogs: Nico and Alfie.  Nico is a mellow, 115+lbs Neapolitan Mastiff and Alfie is a fun loving, 90lb St. Bernard mix.  Jerm and I were curious to see how Diesel would interact with two dogs that large and wouldn't you know it...it didn't really phase him.  He was a bit intimidated by both of them at first, but soon enough, Alfie was playing with Diesel and a fun evening was had by all. 

The dogs played rough for awhile, Diesel went potty outside in the yard (and in the house...sorry guys!), the big dogs chased him and he'd seek refuge under the patio table, they all rolled around in the dirt and Diesel decided to lay down in a dirty puddle.  Awesome!

Meeting Alfie.

Playing in the yard.

Diesel thinking about laying in the puddle.  Alfie waiting for food to drop.  Jake grilling.

 

Good boy, Diesel.  You lay down in that dirty puddle.  NOT!

Nico, Alfie, Kayla, and Diesel.

Nico and Alfie playing.

Diesel nibbling on Alfie's ear.

Of course, we had a great time hanging with Jayla (we always do) but Diesel had an AWESOME time!!  He was exhausted and absolutely filthy when we got him home.  He went straight into the bathtub (because when you'd pat his back, a puff of dirt would come up) and then to bed. 

Thanks for a fun night, Jayla!  Diesel has already asked when he can go back and play with the boys. :)

Juliann and Tom's Wedding!

Hello friends.  Life had been pretty busy the past few weeks and I apologize for my lack of blog posts.  Diesel had been keeping Jeremy and I busy (more about him in a post to follow), plus this weekend was my dear friend, Juliann's wedding!  Juliann and Tom got engaged over a year ago and I was quite sad that I had to wait A WHOLE year to see them walk down the aisle...but of course, their big day was here before I knew it!

 

The joyous, wedding festivities started Thursday afternoon with the rehearsal dinner, so I took a half day off of work and Diesel and I drove to Phoenix.  On Friday, the bride and us maids went to get manicures and pedicures, followed by lunch, gelato and Sprinkles cupcakes...YUM!  Saturday was the BIG day and us girls hung out all day at the wedding location, getting ready for the event and taking pictures.  At 5pm, the ceremony started and the wedding was absolutely beautiful!!  Everyone looked gorgeous, the colors (pink and orange) were fabulous and the atmosphere was so fun.  I didn't take a ton of pictures because I figured that's what the professional photographer was for, but here are some pics for the wedding day! 

 

Juliann getting her makeup and hair done.

 

Alli and me, plus Jules and me, after hair/makeup.

   

My groomsman and me walking down the stairs.

 

The best part = the kiss!

 

Yummy cake!

 

The candy "bar."

 

Jerm and me.

 

Aren't my parents so cute?

 

Beautiful flowers.  I got to take home a centerpiece!

 

Jerm practicing blowing bubbles for when Juliann and Tom left.

Congratulations Juliann and Tom!!  We wish you nothing but a lifetime of happiness.

How About Them Cardinals?

What a great Super Bowl yesterday, huh?  Can you believe that last few minutes of the game?  Alright, I'm not going to kid myself or you by making you think I know/like football.  I could give you all my input of the game but it'd really just be nonsense because the truth is: 1) The Super Bowl is the only football game of the season that I voluntarily watch. 2) I really only watch it for the commercials. 3) I don't even understand football and I was in marching band for all four year of high school. 

Anyway, I did somewhat enjoy the game yesterday, as I rooted for the underdog, the AZ Cardinals.  Let me tell you a quick story:  I've lived in AZ for 20 of my almost 26 years in existence, and the Cardinals have always sucked.  I remember in elementary school, they used to give us little Cardinals trading cards and we'd all just throw them away.  Sad, huh?  Though I refuse to jump on the bandwagon and start claiming them "My Team," I think they did a pretty good job yesterday and this might be the only time you'll ever hear me say this but..."Go Cards!"

So, for the Super Bowl festivities we had our good friends, Jake and Kayla (or as we like to refer to them: Jayla), over for some snacks and fun.  The company was great and the snacks were tasty.  Jayla made their delicious Touchdown Bean Dip (TDBD) and Lil Smokies in "secret" sauce.  Plus, we had sandwiches, salsa, chips, brownies and lemon cupcakes.  Yummy!

Jeremy enjoying some TDBD.

 

This is an awesome picture of Jake.

Watching from the kitchen, since no food is allowed in the new living room.

Our TV is ridiculously huge!

The gang in the kitchen.

Still speaking of the Super Bowl, while watching the game Kayla and I decided that Jeremy looks like Pittsburgh Steeler, Chris Hoke.  (You can tell we were very into the game...we also decided that Kurt Warner has a nice smile and is a good looking guy.)  Take a look at the resemblance between Jerm and Chris!  They could be related, couldn't they!?

 

Hope you all had a good Super Bowl Sunday!!

Company is Coming to Dinner

I LOVE having people over for dinner!  Mostly I enjoy it because it's fun having friends over to hang out for the night, but also because I don't have to cut recipes in half or make small side dishes since it's usually just Jeremy and me.  Tonight we had our good friends, Jake and Kayla over for dinner, dessert and of course, board games!

On the menu were 2 new recipes and 2 old standbys.  The new ones were: Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers and Frozen English Toffee Cake.   And the old standbys were Cheesy Potatoes and baked beans (from a can). 

I get off of work at 5pm and Jake and Kayla were coming over at 6pm, so right after I walked in the door, I started cooking.  I knew my time was limited before they arrived, so the first thing to do was to get the Cheesy Potatoes into the oven, since they take the longest.  I made a special stop at the grocery store on the way home for the cream of chicken soup for the potatoes...and sadly, wouldn't you know it....in my rush to get it in the oven, I completely forgot to put the soup into the mix.  Oops!  (But they still turned out delicious!) 

Next came the burgers.  The recipe is from Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee on the Food Network!  LOVE her!  I saw her make this recipe last weekend and I thought they looked tasty.   The burgers have onion seasoning mix, teriyaki mix, pineapple juice and  a pineapple ring grilled in them.  YUM!  I forgot to get pictures of the burgers, but here is the link to the recipe.

While the potatoes were cooking and Jerm was grilling the burgers, I finished up my cake.  Since I knew I'd be short on time, I baked the cake and made the ice cream layers the night before.  That way, I just had to assemble the layers, frost it and sprinkle on the toffee chips. 

 

The finished cake, about to go into the freezer.

Playing our new game,"Sequence."

Jake's fancy piece of cake.

Eating dessert!

What a fun night with friends!  Thanks for coming over guys...see you Saturday at the Circus! :)

Frozen English Toffee Cake

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 1/3 cups water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1/2 gallon chocolate or vanilla ice cream (or any flavor)

1 bag (10 oz) English toffee bits

1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip

 

Cake

1. Bake cake as directed on box, in two 8-inch round cake pans.  Cool completely.

Ice Cream Filling

2. Line three 8-inch round cake pans with plastic wrap, allowing 3 inches of plastic to hang over sides.  Divide ice cream equally among pans.  Using rubber spatula, spread ice cream over bottoms of prepared pans, forming smooth, even layers.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of toffee bits over ice cream in each pan.  Freeze for 3 hours or until solid.

Assembly and Frosting

3. Cut each cake layer horizontally in half.  Working quickly, remove ice cream from pans.  Peel off plastic and place 1 ice cream circle on each of the 3 cake layers.  Stack cake and ice cream layers on top of each other on serving platter.  Frost cake with Cool Whip and sprinkle with remaining toffee bits.  Freeze until ready to serve.  Let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 12-16 servings.