New Favorite Chocolate Cake

I signed up for Bountiful Baskets for the first time last Saturday, and was AMAZED at all the wonderful local produce I received for $15!
I had to give some away, we had THAT much.
It was good to stretch my cooking repertoire & find new recipes for zucchini, asparagus, cucumbers, etc. The next time you find yourself with a few zucchini, try this recipe out. It is seriously moist & delish!
Alexander helped in the kitchen today, and couldn't believe that "vegetable cake" could taste so good. {recipe from allrecipes.com}

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk {I used sour cream}
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
4 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
{Alexander peeled the zucchini before he grated it, so you couldn't even tell it was there}
About 1 cup chocolate chips {I used semi-sweet}

• Cream together butter, oil and sugar.
• Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Blend well.
• In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients, then add to butter mixture.
• Add grated zucchini, and mix well.
• Spread in greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
• Bake in a preheated oven {325 degrees} for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Lake Roos

Once or twice a year, the wash behind our house will fill up with water.
All the WONDERFUL rain this week made us some pretty sweet lakefront property!One night after the kids were in bed, Darren opened our windows, pulled up two cozy chairs & blankets, and we just sat & listened to the rushing water.
Not the ocean, but I'll take it.
The moon looked so beautiful reflected on the water.

Pinewood Derby-- Year 3

Our last year of Pinewood Derby {sniff, sniff}--I can't believe it. Alexander's awesome design idea this year was to make his car look like a Wii remote. We thought it was a fantastic idea. The boys didn't have much time to work on it this year, but we thought it turned out great! Darren made a painting booth, complete with string to suspend the car from. That's my engineer!

Alexander's car is on the far right. That darn graphite always messes up the best paint jobs!
We combined with another ward, and it was fun to see so many families from our previous wards {before we all split}. These are Alexander's three cars from the past years. Home Depot, Twins & the Wii.

Zoom! Off in a flash. I think Xander's car was 6th overall.

{It didn't help that during a test run on the tabletop, Mom missed catching his car & it got beat up and bent just before the race} Sorry, bud! We're proud of you!

Rosette Headband

My friend Stephanie made THE most adorable rosette headbands for her girls. I found this great tutorial here and made a few. They're fun to do while you're just chillin' in front of the TV. Courtney loves them!

Hot Pocket!

There were some q-pons + a sale on Hot Pockets awhile ago. I caved for the deal! My kids haven't eaten them before, and asked what they were. We brought the laptop over to the table and watched Jim Gaffigan's take on Hot Pockets. Seriously funny. My friend Sarah introduced me to his comedy on the way home from a late night scrapbook crop. Good times!

Even after watching, my kids thought they were pretty tasty. Go figure.

Laser Tag, Roos Style

After a few wild games of laser tag around the house, the boys decided the best location for their sensors was on their heads. Cute, huh? Seriously sounds like a herd of elephants running around the house when they play. Ugh! This Nikon is not what I expected. My pictures are consistently grainy {especially indoors}. Any tips before I take it back?
This might be the best $20 I've ever spent at Target.

Girly Girls!

Two of my sweetest friends both have their first babies due in February-- and they're both having GIRLS! Just HAD to make matching tutu ensembles for them-- one in aqua & one in pink.
Shannon's daughter made a very early entrance into the world-- Miss Izzy couldn't wait to get here! They've had an amazing and inspiring journey.
Ariane... we're still waiting for the big news any day now:)
Good luck, new Mommies!

Update: Congratulations, Mike & Ariane!!! Their sweet baby Phoebe was born on 2/2! {Destined to wear 2/2s?}

The Great Wall

Just had to get something up there. Darren's still in Idaho, I'm desperate, so I called my girl Karen. TaDa! It says:

Inspiring music may fill the soul

with heavenly thoughts,

move one to righteous action,

or speak peace to the soul.
Ezra Taft Benson

It's a Sunshine Day

What a gorgeous day! The last day of sunshine before our guests had to go back to snowy, drifting, freezing Idaho weather.

We walked/biked around our neighborhood to the lake. Bright sun!

We all played a little basketball... I think Grandpa won HORSE every time!
Played a little soccer...
Ha!!! I snuck in a picture of Dad on my PINK bike.

Rebecca's comment after seeing this photo:

"Where's my cape?"