Pioneer Buttermilk Donuts

For family night we made pioneer donuts.  We had a lesson on the early saints of our church.  Their faith and courage was so strong and helps us learn to find ours by reading their stories.  We have been preparing for the pioneer trek that we are going on this week with the boys.

Here is the recipe if you want to try them out.  They are so yummy and very fun to make as a family.

Brigham Young's Buttermilk Donuts
A favorite with President Brigham Young, the donuts became so popular that they were eventually sold at the Zion's Cooperative Mercatile Institution (ZCMI) department store in Salt Lake.

2 c buttermilk                                  1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten                                 1 tsp nutmeg
1 c sugar                                         1/4 c melted butter
5 c flour                                           oil for frying
2 tsp. Baking soda                           1/2 c sugar for coating (you can add a little cinnamon)

Combine buttermilk, eggs, and sugar, mix well. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg into a large bowl. Stir in buttermilk mixture, then melted butter, then melted butter.

 Roll dough out about 1/4 inch thick on floured board. Cut with donut cutter or a cup.

 Fry in hot oil (375 degrees) until golden brown on both sides.  Drain on paper towel.

Place 1/2 sugar in a small paper bag.  Place donuts, one at a time, in bag and gently toss with sugar.

Enjoy!  Yum!

BYU Roommate Reunion

Living in Arizona has so many benefits, but the one I really enjoy is catching up with my friends from the past. We decided to get our families all together for a barbecue, swim party. Noel Wood Frame, Katie Phelps Kunzelman, Missy Zaharis Fletcher and I were college roommates at BYU.  Missy and I were from Mesa, and Katie and Noel were from different parts of California.  Even Todd Stevens came who was close friends with Noel and I growing up and was also on Wade's mission. We owe Todd greatly for Wade and I getting together because he was the missionary who Wade stole my picture from.

When we get together all we do is laugh till we are sick remembering all the funny events from the past. Literally I came home with my stomach muscles hurting from laughing so hard. There is nothing like the bond, when we get together. We truly pick up where we left off. My family told me they loved seeing us together, seeing our fun, crazy, silly sides. While we were sitting around talking our 15 year olds decided it would be fun to go to the stake dance together. Who would have ever imagined when we were in college that some day our children would be friends and enjoy hanging out together.

Family Reunion 2010

Our Family Reunion this year was at the Haycock Hide-A-Way over Labor day weekend.  Being all together as a family is what makes life's journey all worth it. We had Nana and Paul, my brother Tom and his wife Holly and my nephew Waylan and our whole family, which made for the best of company. I am aware that I say every stage of motherhood is my favorite, but this stage has to beat them all!  To have my children's spouses join our family is so wonderful and an incredible bonus and addition.  We have so much fun all being together!  We spent 4 days in the mountains, hiking, splashing in waterfalls, cliff jumping, rope swinging, visiting llama farms, going to the pine days festival, playing outdoor as well as indoor games, riding the quad, attending church together, family sharing of ancestral history,  and lots of eating along with lots of laughs!


Our Family
Tom, Holly & Waylan Young, Joslyn and Justin Pattee, Monica, Wade, Jacob. Jacque & Paul Haycock, Mitch and Laurisa and Grafton Milne



Family togetherness at it's best, relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

We love to play games together as you can tell.  Laurisa and Grafton brought up their bean bag toss, it was a hit.  We couldn't stop playing it, and even played couples competition.

Fossill Creek made for a day of fun and and adventure.  We had a picnic lunch and played in the water.  We had some dare devils in the group that jumped off the tall cliff. Mitch realized it was a lot higher once he climbed to the top and didn't think he could do it until his sister jumped with him.  His whole family and everyone watching cheered him on.  Jake did back flips off the rope swing which entertained us, but we put a stop to him wanting to cliff jump backwards. 

The water was so refreshing and so beautiful.

The breathtaking scenery.  Such a beautiful place.

We were around the table playing games when we had the greatest suprise ever! Joslyn and Justin, after a drive up the canyon, walked in the door holding her hand out for us to all see a very large sparkly object on her finger.  We all screamed in unison.  The conversation the rest of the night was all about the surprise proposal.  Justin surprised us all and was so calm that entire day.  Way to be keep it a secret!  Mitch toasted the couple in true Mitch style.

Joslyn gave the boys all haircuts, including her fiance. As always it is always hard to leave this hide-a-way.  Thanks Nana and Paul for hosting a wonderful family reunion that we will remember with fond memories. And I think Joslyn will have it engraved on her heart forever.

A family that bowls together has a "BALL" together

 We know how to have fun and bowling is one of those fun family activities that we love to do together, so for family night we headed to the bowling alley. We love to bowl and cheer each other on.  How did I get such amazing bowlers for children...I love how excited they get for each other when they get a strike.  You can tell by their faces how well they did each round and their enthusiasm for each other.

I actually enjoyed playing the couples round, especially since Wade was my teammate. Mitch and Jake played against us. Very stiff competition...I'm so glad Wade was my partner...I married an incredible bowler.  If Pfizer doesn't work out he can always be a professional bowler. 

Trading places

Do these brothers look like twins?...well apparently their teachers on the first day of school thought so. They decided it would be fun to trade places for a day and go to each other's classes.  Their friends in their classes knew what was going on but the teacher's had no clue.  One teacher had Mitch prior, so when he sat in Jake's class on the first day of school and answered to Jake the teacher said, "you and your brother could be twins, you look so much alike, so how is Mitch doing?"   He had all the answers since he was Mitch.  The kids relished in the whole prank and it was the big talk around town.  Even Laurisa heard about it in her ward when her young women came up to her and said, Guess what your brother's did today?"

There was a close call when one of them got called to the career center to fix a scheduling mishap but they text each other so they both could leave class and then when Mitch went back to his class where Jake had been he sat in the wrong seat but corrected it when he saw Jake's back pack on the floor at a desk in front of him. When Jake went back to his class as himself the same hour the teacher didn't even notice.

When Mitch had to answer questions about things that would be discussed in the year he answered them all right since he had taken the classes previously.  The other students loved the points he earned for their group.  It was a day they will always remember but the teacher's obviously didn't....thank goodness for Mitch and Jake's sake.

Luau Family Night

 Our back to school family night Luau.   Joslyn, Mitch and Jake decorated in pure Hawaiian style.  I was surprised how the whole family went all out to make it a very authentic night, even dressed up.  We had Hawaiian haystacks for dinner, pineapple coconut desserts and Laurisa and Jake entertained us with a hula dance.

We even set up the volleyball net and had a competitive game of volleyball!  It was an Awesome family night and a great way to end the summer.

Amazing Jake's

Okay, we all know Jake is Amazing, but when a theme game center came into town named after him it became his giant playground.  Nana has made sure every year that Jake has his fill of "Amazing" fun at Amazing Jake's.

She called to see if he wanted a day at Amazing Jake's before school started and asked who he wanted to bring, Mitch and I were the lucky ones!  This place is jam packed full of fun and adventure from bumper cars, rides, games, miniature golf, bowling, dining and all with different themed rooms.

We spent almost the whole day going from one room to the next maxing out all the fun and adventure we could. Jake thanks for being so AMAZING, and Nana you are AMAZING for spoiling us with a whole day of nothing but fun!