My Dad, the Patriarch

Dad has always been the patriarch of our family, but recently he received a new calling. He has been called as the new patriarch of our stake! How wonderful that we live in the same stake! Of course, he could give his grandchildren blessings no matter where they live, but it's really great to be close.

I am so proud of my dad. The call was so unexpected. I don't think one ever expects to receive a calling like that. Dad says he's a little overwhelmed, but knows that with the Lord's help he can do the job. He will be ordained and set apart this Sunday.

Amazing Mint Brownies

I usually don't like mint brownies. I think often they taste like they have toothpaste in them! However, at a bridal shower recently, I found a mint brownie that was amazingly good! I finally got the recipe and I'm posting it here.

When Alex made the brownie part of these, he got distracted and made two mistakes. He didn't put enough cocoa in it, so the brownie part isn't as chocolatey, and he added twice as many chopped nuts as the recipe called for. The kids said we should call them mint tannies, since they aren't dark brown. They were still amazingly good!

MINT BROWNIES

3/4 cup butter or margarine
3 squares unsweetened chocolate or 2 Tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mint Topping:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup canned milk
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
2-3 drops green food coloring

Chocolate Frosting:
6 Tablespoons butter
1 small package semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup), melted

Melt butter and chocolate squares or butter and cocoa in small sauce pan. Mix sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl with melted butter and chocolate until well blended. Add flour, salt and nuts. Pour into greased and floured 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Cool and frost with mint topping.

Mint Topping: Combine sugar, butter, milk, peppermint extract and food coloring in small bowl. Blend well. Spread on cooled brownies and chill. Frost with Chocolate Frosting.

Chocolate Frosting: Combine butter and melted chocolate chips in small bowl until well blended (I put both butter and chips in a bowl and microwaved them until melted, then stirred them together well). Spread on cooled brownies.

Muffy's Visit to the Groomer

Muffy, now 6 months old, had her first visit to the groomer's today. We think she looks So cute!!

Dupaix's Law Camping

I've decided that if Murphy can have a law, so can the Dupaixs. Our law would go something like this: "Whatever you are least prepared for will likely happen." That seemed to be the theme of our overnight RV camp-out.

So, here are some things we learned from this experience:

• You should take the generator, even if electricity is provided at the campgrounds. We didn't bring ours, and the power was out of service the whole time we were there.
  
• You should make sure the batteries on the trailer are well-charged before beginning your trip.
  
• Even if you don't think you will need them, take flashlights and extra batteries. Cell phones do work in a pinch, but not as well, and only until they run out of power.
  
• It's a good idea to bring winter-weight sleeping bags, even if you're inside the trailer, in case the heater doesn't work. Fortunately, we did have warm sleeping bags 'cause we didn't have heat!
  
• Consider bringing ice, just in case the fridge doesn't work. Our fridge didn't.
  
• Be flexible in meal planning--you might have to revise things. We had to eat perishables pretty quickly, as the fridge warmed up.
  
• Consider not wearing makeup. That way, if the water heater doesn't work, you don't have to scrub your face with cold water for too long.
  
• Remember to bring and apply sunscreen. Early in the season, nobody has built up a tan yet. This is particularly important around water.
  
• Remember to put chemicals in your RV toilet. I'm not going to explain that one.
  
• Make sure the towing vehicle is in good running order before you leave for vacation. Had we done this, we would have made it all the way home, instead of most of the way home.
  
• Always treat your extended family kindly. They may have to rescue you some day. Thanks Becky, Mike & Dad!!
  
• Kids are amazingly resilient. In spite of all the things that went wrong, ours considered it a grand adventure and never complained. They kept talking about how much better we had it than the pioneers did!

The kids search for tiny shells along the bank of the river.

This was supposed to show the mist rising off the water. It was a hot springs. The water was quite warm.


Andre caught a fish! We think it was a yellow carp. Unfortunately, because the fridge didn't work, we had to give the fish to our cats when we got home. The cats didn't complain!

Spring Break

Wouldn't you know it, just as soon as our kids got off for spring break, it started snowing. It snowed a little here and there, and melted rapidly. On the night of the 15th, however, it REALLY snowed! Paul and Michelle had to get up super-early to take Michelle's roommate, who has been staying with us, to the airport. We had about a foot of snow on the ground! It looked like Christmas. They had to be out the door before any snowplows came by, too. The amazing thing was that once they got past the point of the mountain, there was no snow on the ground! It really concentrated on our area. These are some pictures I took a little later that morning.

April Family Celebrations

We've had numerous extended family members come to town this month. The first week of April and into General Conference weekend, we had my sister, Sue, and her family in town. They were here to listen to their son, Zachary, give organ and piano performances prior to his graduating from BYU. He also went through the temple and was ordained an Elder while his family were here. He has been called to serve a mission in the New York north, spanish speaking mission. He leaves in just a couple of weeks.


While they were here, they were thrilled that it snowed. Being from Las Vegas, they don't get much opportunity to enjoy snow. This is little brother, Aiden, beside a snowman he and Ben created in the back yard. They used almonds for the eyes. Aiden and his sister stayed at our house all week. It was too bad their spring break was a week before our kids' spring break!



For Easter, my brother, Alan, and his family were visiting from Minnesota. Their purpose in coming to Utah was to help their BYU-student son get ready for his mission to Brazil. The younger girls got to dye Easter eggs with our kids and other cousins on the Saturday before Easter. Lisette and her cousin, Alyssa, really hit it off. They became fast friends. The two of them collected the eggs our ducks have started laying.



We had a houseful for Easter dinner. We had two of my siblings and their families, and also my parents over. The food was the extremely tasty, and the company was fine as well. It was a great day.