Zilker Park, Austin, Texas

On Saturday we decided to take our friend Larry, visiting from Oregon, to one of the coolest places in Austin...Zilker Park. This place is acres and acres of beauty and all kinds of fun. Here you can see Benson diving into the Barton Springs Pool (water is 68* year round). The guys wanted to ride the long boards around the park and hit the pool. Xander and the girls wanted to throw rocks in the river and frolic on the massive play scape. They also have a very cool little train called the Zilker Zephyr. We didn't ride it this time, since we did last time we were there just a couple of weeks ago.

Xander and Madison loved throwing rocks in the water.

Xander begged me to let him swim in his underwear. And his argument was strong enough to convince me to let him do it.

Natalie slipped on the algae covered rocks and got a wet bum.


Even Xander bombed the hills at the park.

It was an amazing day, cloudless and temp in the high 60's. We had a blast and we vowed to find ourselves there more often.

Has it really been 10 years?

Yep! Ten years ago today I survived a very short labor in order to bring one Madison Jane Hinze into this crazy world! She is something else. We just got home from a fairly lengthy shopping excursion. Tomorrow I will post a picture of her looking all grown up and lovely. I am so blessed to have these kids. Sometimes I think they will drive me crazy. But most days I just love being their mom! Happy Birthday Madi!

Quite the eventful week!

I should have known when Eli Manning broke those 4 or 5 tackles and threw that amazing pass recieved by David Tyree with an unbelievable catch, ball trapped between helmet and hand, to win the super bowl in the last minute, that this would be a week worth remembering.

It started with watching the press conference on Monday where the new First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was announced. I loved watching the Giants of men be exactly that, men. Human in every sense of the word, sometimes grasping for words, not perfectly polished, but undoubtedly called of God. I loved to hear them talk of the importance of education, a world wide church reaching to every culture, all the questions the media had to ask. I love to know that they are human, but with a unique mantle and a keys that no one else has that make them men of God.

That night Josh and I went to watch Benson play his last home basketball game. It was early in the second quarter when the man he was defending jumped and and reared his head which land squarely in the middle of Benson's face. The blood sprang instantly, I could see he was dizzy and off he went to the locker room. He was followed by a coach, who was followed by Dad, who was followed by a trainer for the high school athletics department who was there watching his son play. I sat calmly, not wanting to over react. He came back at half time, ready to go back in the game. The coach and trainer agreed that the nose was most likely broken. He came home and took a generous dose of Motrin.


The next day we called the pediatrician who sent us for x-rays and made us an appointment for later that afternoon. The picture was pretty clear. Even Benson and I could see the break in the pictures the tech handed us. When the pediatrician got the films they called and said, "We can't do anything for you. You'll have to see an ENT." Oh dear! That sounds fun! And so we are headed there on Monday morning to get the scoop.


These photos were taken today, Friday, four days post injury. He didn't get the raccoon eyes we thought he might, but you can see the bruising on the inside of the eye sockets has started into the green/yellow phase.


It is hard to tell in the pictures but his once perfect nose is now a little crooked. We just hope the septim isn't too deviated. So far he has broken his arm twice and now the nose. Just the beginning of a list in a very active young man's athletic history.

Don't have photos for our Tuesday, but the girls and I went to Hannah Montana in 3D with our friends Haley and Cathy Cumming. We had lots of fun! We rushed home to take Natalie to her first official Young Women's activity...New Beginnings. It is weird to think that in May she is officially headed into those youth years. Wow!

Wednesday night Xander and I went to the local high school production of Suessical the Musical.
It is a smattering of many of the Dr. Suess stories all rolled into one. He really enjoyed it, but was exhausted and ready to head home at intermission. He was asleep before we got home.

Thursday evening I lived out a childhood dream, thanks to my little sister Tara and brother-in-law Byron. Since I was about 8 years old I have wanted to see the Harlem Globe Trotters. Tara and I had talked about that dream and so she surprised me with tickets as an early birthday present. It was so fun!! We laughed our butts off! I felt like a 10 year old kid. And my jaw hurt from smiling for two hours straight. It was all I thought it would be! I absolutely loved it! Thanks again guys!

Tomorrow night Josh, Benson and I are going with our friends Jill, Stan and Sam to see U2 in 3D at the IMAX theater. We are big fans! Josh has every cd they have put out I think. Benson has been listening to them since he was in utero. It will be such fun!

I am excited for next week to come so I can be home every evening, but this crazy week has been a great one. We are very blessed! Life is good!

Did you say Pecan Pie Cheescake????

Recently we had Uncle Kyle over to celebrate his birthday. We made his favorite dinner, Shepherd's Pie, and a new fabulous dessert. He said his favorite dessert was Pecan Pie, but many times when we have been to his house there is a cheesecake present. Hmmm.....my brain started churning. I thought to myself, "Self, I wonder if there is a recipe on line for some sort of Pecan Pie/Cheesecake combo?" And so off to Google I went. And sure enough, there were several. I chose this one, and I must say, it got rave reviews. Try it and let me know what you think!

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Crust
1 & 3/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9″ springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Pecan Filling
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.
Cheesecake Filling
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 & 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Also, for the local Blog readers, the bread is at the Mrs. Baird's Bread store in Round Rock by the Academy, Big Lots! (of crap) and Pluckers Wing Bar (just off the IH-35 frontage road between Louis Henna and McNeil Rd.)

Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall

Today we took Madison to school and went into the office to see some of our favorite ladies. And Xander, in his all too unique fashion captivated them with a stimulating analysis of the classic Mother Goose Rhyme Humpty Dumpty. He asked such stirring questions as, "Why was Humpty sitting on that wall in the first place?" and how did he manage to fall off? "Maybe he just sat back to relax and fell off the back," he decided. And "what were the king's horses doing there?" He had these ladies, who were trying to run the office of a school with a thousand kids cornered and pondering such important questions as these. What a kid!

Now, another thing I need to celebrate: The Bread Store! I will admit to you that I make my kids eat whole wheat bread. And not the fake kind that has less than one gram of dietary fiber either. I am talking a minimum of 3 grams of dietary fiber a slice. Now, often this is associated with saw dust or particle board, but I have found this yummiest Country 100% Whole Wheat Bread made by Oroweat that is simply delightful. It is so soft and yummy you would swear you are eating white bread! (Well, almost!) Here is my dilemma. We make sandwiches for lunch almost everyday. And of course you gotta have toast once in a while. So at $3.59 a loaf that is killing my food budget! Well, my friend Jennifer was headed for the bread store the other day, which I knew existed but had never taken the time to visit, and she checked it out to see if they had our bread. Can you believe they did? And they sell it 4 loaves for $5!! 4 loaves for $5? Are you kidding me? I went and bought all they had today and put it in my freezer! I got 5 loaves for less than what I pay for 2. And the kicker, I got a free loaf on top of it all because I bought more than 4 items. I think I love the Bread Store!!

And one last thing: The passing of our prophet, Gordon Bitner Hinkley. This is an amazing man. I have had the privelege of being in the same room with him a handful of times in the last several years. I will tell you that he absolutely is a prophet of God. He has changed many lives. He has set an amazing example of love and acceptance and living life with true joy! I celebrate him today! I celebrate all he has done to bring many temples all over the world. I celebrate that he has done so much for bringing a positive and upbeat light on many things as the "mormons" contiue to be viewed as a peculiar people. I celebrate that today, he is holding hands again with his sweetheart and best friend Marjorie! I will miss hearing his words, but I know he is one even happier and more joyful man today!

S.P.O.T. (Students Performing On Target)

At the kids' middle school they have a program called S.P.O.T. It is for kids who are working hard, are good citizens, using integrity, and working at their potential. Each teacher in the school chooses one of their students per semester and then there is an assembly and they take photos. (We pathetically forgot our camera so we don't have a photo to post here.)

Well, Mr. Benson was honored by his math teacher, Mrs. McKinney. This lady has been great for Benson this year! She has really helped him see and reach for his potential. I know that some of his 6th and 7th grade teachers were surprised to see him there. Not that he has been awful for anyone, but I think all of them could see his potential when he maybe didn't, and so he wasn't exactly "performing on target". Well, it was a proud moment for Mom and Dad! He is a great kid! We are blessed to have been sent him. Somedays I wonder if I am the Mom that can most effectively help him reach his potential, but I will give it my all!

Way to go B! We are very proud of you and we love you so much!!

7,6,5,4,3,2,1....Happy New Year!!!

I don't have pictures because of course I forgot my camera, but wanted to tell you a little about our New Year's Eve. Natalie, Madison, a friend for each and Xander hung out at home with Grandma. Natalie spent her own money on napkins, plates, a table cloth and some junk food. They watched some fun movies and danced the New Year in with Grandma cheering them on the whole time. Xander was up until 1:30am the girls just after 2. Wow! They were amazing!

Josh, Chrissta and Benson headed to our friends the Smith's to ring in the New Year. They have a son just a year older than Benson and so they had fun together. Also, our friends Darren and Karen Hyatt and their daughter Taylor and her friend Ali were there. We enjoyed panini's with my new panini press (thanks Uncle Kyle), veggies, and snacks of all kinds. We had a tournament of games. We shot pool and free throws, played Guitar Hero and Singstar, board games Apples to Apples and Scattergorries, and threw darts. After each event we were rated from 1-10 and awarded points accordingly. Stan and Jill, our extraordinary host and hostess, even gave out prizes. I won a movie gift card and some movie candy (which I used the next day when Jill and I and our friend Lynn went to see "Juno"). WOW!! What an event. We rolled in about
3 a.m. Haven't done that since the last chick movie night where we saw Becoming Jane and then went to "breakfast". Josh and Benson got up at 9 on New Year's day and went swimming in Barton Springs, an outdoor swimming area that is part of the Colorado River. They loved it and want it to be a new family tradition...the jury is still deliberating on that idea. Xander, on the other hand didn't roll out of bed until 11:30. Sweet!

It is a good time to celebrate the year past and look forward to what lies ahead. Oh yeah, and kick it up a notch or two with some new goals. Happy New Year Y'all!!