Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Yesterday was Jon's birthday.  It was hard to make it special since it was Sunday and most of our day was spent in church and preparing food for dinner.  I took Jon out on Saturday, instead, for lunch and then a relaxing couple's pedicure!  Obviously this was something I planned without Jon's knowledge and I knew he'd be worried about it if I told him what we were doing so I kept it a secret until we got there.  He ended up enjoying it and found it relaxing, just as I told him it would be.  Really it's just a glorified foot massage, right?

I made his favorite cake for dessert last night and was very pleased with the result. I've graduated from cake from a box and frosting from a container.  I made the most amazing chocolate cake from Barefoot Contessa and added some homemade coconut and pecan frosting.  I made it into 4 layers so that I could add a couple layers of dark chocolate frosting to the inside, which really made the cake even more moist and delicious.

The kids sang to Jon last night before bed and it was the most precious and special thing to hear.  I think that topped any birthday present we could have gotten him.  They certainly love their daddy.


Chocolate Cake (To Die For) 

Ingredients
nocoupons

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (instead of coffee I used my mother-in-law's chicorée, you could also use postum) 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.


Coconut and Pecan Frosting
  
Ingredients

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup flaked coconut

Directions 

 

In a large saucepan combine evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, margarine and vanilla. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut. Spread on cake while still warm. 

 

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband.  I love you.  You are my best friend and I'm so happy to be with you for eternity!

My baby is all grown up!

Today was Jon's first day of school. Even though he didn't have any classes, he was still a little anxious about it all. Last night I cut his hair and this morning he woke up early to iron his shirt. He had to wear a suit today and wanted to look as sharp as a pin for his official MBA picture which will be hanging in the Tanner Building "for years to come" (as he put it).

I decided to drive him to school this morning so I could have the car for the rest of the day. As we drove up to the front of the building, I insisted on taking his picture. We said a prayer and he got out of the car, grabbed his briefcase, and headed in with the rest of the suits. I was so proud. I had to choke back the tears. It was as if I had dropped off my first child at school. I wanted to get out and hold his hand and walk him inside to make sure he got adjusted quickly and comfortably.

So begins a new phase in our lives. Doors will open and exciting things will happen! (Maybe I'll write fortunes for fortune cookies to make a few extra bucks.)

Cougars for LIFE

WARNING: I'm about to brag/give over-the-top praise to my husband.

Ready. Go.

I'm so very proud of Jonathan and all the effort he has been devoting to his applications for grad school. He has been exhausted since Sophie's arrival but has still managed to put a lot of hours into GMAT study and filling out enormous grad school applications--all while working full time and being an awesome dad and husband.

Jon found out last week that he has been accepted to the BYU MBA program. This was very good news for us and we're very excited for him to start school again in the fall. This does mean that we'll be staying in Utah a bit longer. I love Utah for many reasons but I'm a Colorado girl at heart and would love to go back one day. But for now we'll continue to enjoy having Jon's family so close and my lovely sister close as well!

OK. Bragging complete.

Bon Anniversaire!

Jonathan turned 29 last Friday. I can't believe he's almost 30 (Sorry, Honey)!!! We spent the day in Colorado with my parents. We hung around and then went to dinner at Red Robin with Jeff and Audra.

This year for his birthday, Jon wanted a Wii. So we combined forces and got one with his birthday money. I figured the Wii is something we can all do together. We even got 3 controllers so Jonah doesn't feel left out if we happen to be playing it when he's awake. I'm pretty anti-gaming so this was big for me. My justification was that it's more active than normal video games and the games are family friendly (at least the ones we'll be buying).

In honor of Jon's birthday, I decided to write a short poem.

J is for joyous
O is for observational
N is for neat
A is for accumulator of receipts
T is for Tabasco Sauce
H is for hard-worker
A is for always a hard-worker

N is for noticeably hard-worker

Here's to a wonderful father!

Here's to my best friend who loves the same things I love!

Here's to my wonderful Jonathan!

Dearest Jonathan, thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father! I can't wait to spend eternity with you! Happy Birthday!