My children in 50 years...

It's a strange comfort to know what your children will look like when they are older...even if it's not exactly how you had hoped... :)

Jackson starring as Slughorn in Harry Potter...

And Lincoln starring as Dr. Emmett Brown from Back 2 The Future ...

A new recipe...

So I think it's fun to try out new recipes every once in a while. I love it when I can find fast, new, and delicious recipes...thanks to Pinterest we've succeeded! :) This pork chop recipe was really yummy and very easy and fast to make, it will definitely be repeated at our house. We have church from 1-4pm so when I can find crock pot recipes that will be done when we get home I'm all for that! Anyway, enjoy!


Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops w/ Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick

1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup
4 lbs peeled, cubed potatoes
5 Tablespoons real butter
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
6 cloves roasted garlic (directions are below) - I used garlic powder instead which is equivolent to 1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1- 1 1/2 Cups warm skim milk (any milk will do, I used skim)
1 Tablespoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, or to taste

Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.
Place potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Place onto stove top over high heat and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and transfer to the work bowl of a stand or electric mixer. Mix on low until potatoes are mashed then add butter, Parmesan, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Season to taste if needed. For thinner mashed potatoes add more milk, slowly until your desired consistency.
Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. I put a little parsley on top to serve.

Roasted Garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place bulb of garlic with skins on, wrap lightly in tin foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove from foil and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove garlic from skins, place in a bowl and mash with a fork until completely mashed. Set aside. One garlic bulb will have around 12 cloves.

Then for dessert I made something I've been wanting to try for a while...Fruit Pizza!  It was a hit, Don and I loved it, it was very tasty and I thought it was super easy to make! It was one of those things you make and before you can start eating it you have to wait a while because you need to admire your work! :)

Spring Fruit Pizza

1 Pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker suger cookie mix

1/2 c. butter or margarine (melted)

1 egg

1 c. whipping cream

1/2 c. Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy cream cheese frosting (from 1 lb container)

Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly spray 14-inch pizza pan or 15x10-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, melted butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.In chilled medium bowl, beat whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gently stir frosting into whipped cream. Spread over cookie pizza. Arrange fruit on top.

Both of these are on my Pinterest account, so if you are interested in these recipes you can also find them there!

Fun videos...

I don't take very many videos with my camera because the quality is so bad.  But I've decided that even if the quality is bad there are some moments that just need capturing! :)

This video of Jackson makes me laugh.  Don and I were in the front room and we could here Jackson laughing. We peeked into the laundry room to see what was going on, and found Jackson going to town in Lincoln's swing.  He loved it!

In the video below we were eating dinner and decided to put Lincoln in his bouncer.  I wish we would have thought to pull out the camera earlier because Jackson was laughing hysterically.  He thought it was so funny every time Lincoln used his tiny feet to bounce around.

Lincoln had been loving his bouncer.  I think he loves the fact that he can look around on his own and see new things.

 This little boy's hair is seriously out of control...there is not taming it, but I LOVE it! :)

Gratitude...

Do you ever have days where you are completely overwhelmed with gratitude for everything you have been blessed with? Well, today is one of those days for me! I can't believe how much Heavenly Father has blessed me and my family. I know that life isn't perfect and that there are a lot of trails, tribulations,  and disappointments and in those moments it's sometimes hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But each and every time Don and I have made it through.  And that just starts the beginning of the list of things I'm grateful for...

1. I am so grateful for Don. I never thought it was going to be possible for me to find such an amazing guy.  I look up to him so much, he is such a good example for me to follow.  He makes me want to be a better person, because I think he deserves the best I have to offer. He treats the boys and I with such love and devotion. Going through trails with him by my side makes me feel like together we can do anything.

 

2. My sweet, sweet boys. It's amazing how fast and how much you love your children when they are first placed in your arms, and its even more amazing how fast that love continues to grow. They bring so much love and happiness into our home and lives.  I don't know what I would do without them. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be a parent. I hope I never take these moments for granted.

3.  I'm grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The list of blessings that have come from the gospel goes on and on and on, but one of the things I love most is knowing that Families are Forever not just "death do you part". It's unbearable for me to imagine going through this life thinking I couldn't be with my family forever. (below is the  Rexburg LDS Temple, the one Don and I were married in)

4. I'm grateful for my parents and siblings. Every family has their challenges and difficulties, but I feel like everything my family has faced has made us stronger. I wouldn't change my family or anything about it, to me, it's perfect! :) One of my favorite things about my family is their acceptance and love. No matter the choices and decisions you make they will love you for you. Below is a picture of my family oldest....to youngest! :)

  The list of what I'm grateful for goes on and on...but I think I better stop there because I'm not wearing waterproof mascara! :)

Washington's Idea of Children....part 2!

Some of you may recall us doing a part 1 to this sequel...you can find it by clicking here.  We were able to scrounge up some more pictures and we have been anxious to put them on because we think they're funny! :) It never ceases to amaze us what Washington people do to their dogs...in many cases they really do treat them like children. See the pictures below to discover what kind and loving parents live in Washington...

They take their children for rides in their stroller....

And so do we!!

They take their kids to the playground to play...

We do too!

They carry their children in their arms.... (notice both dogs)

Yep...we do that too!

They also "strictly enforce" cleaning up after their children...

And so do we...

Last, but not least they show true love for their children, by carrying around their "messes" when going for walks... lovely

And so do we....when we are trying to measure up the Washington parents...

4 months old!

Well I can't believe it, but yesterday our sweet baby Lincoln turned 4 months old!! I can't believe he's already that old, it's bitter sweet watching them grow up before your eyes.  I know you're probably thinking, Seriously Kelsi, he's still a tiny baby.  But I'm serious, he has already changed so much! He was such a colicky, fussy, needy baby up till about a month ago...and since then has slowly gotten MUCH better! We love him to pieces, he is so sweet.  All you have to do to get him to smile is look at him and he will just light up.  If you talk to him, he talks back...a lot!  He loves making noises! He has such a beautiful smile and I can already tell he's going to be another easy to please baby, just like Jackson! We are so blessed to have him in our home and lives. We love you Lincoln!! :)

It's hard to believe he started out like this...

 And has already grown into our blue eyed, dimply, smiley, curly haired, sweet boy!!

Father's Day

Well we had an amazing Father's Day here at the Fryberger Home! We had a lot to celebrate, because my boys have the best dad in the whole world. :) They love him to pieces, and so do I. We are so grateful for him and all that he does for our family. I remember  in college, before we started dating, I was hopelessly in "like" with Don and I wanted him to like me back so bad....I'm so glad he finally came to his senses and did! :) I don't know what I would do without him, he is the love of my life.

Don recently started a new job, and he can't wear t-shirts to work. He only had 3 shirts that weren't so I bought him a bunch of shirts...and I made him try them all on! He of course looked smoking hot in all of them! :) It was kind of like Christmas for me, I couldn't wait for him to open his present, so I made him do it the very first thing in the morning! He loved his present....he was getting pretty tired of wearing the same shirts over and over again!

Jackson of course wanted to get in on all the fun....

The gifts were nice, but the best part of Father's Day....playing with the kids