Cherry Walnut Banana Bread Bars

I make this recipe all the time so I thought it was time to share it with the world. I love it because its a nice treat that is really healthy, no oil, no sugar, no white flour and salt is optional.

6 ripe bananas smashed
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 C of unsweeted applesauce
4 C whole whear flour (I like to use coarsly ground it gives it a nutty texture)
1 1/2 t Baking powder
1 1/2 t Baking soda
1 t salt (optional)
1 C Dried Cherries (or I use raisins or any other dried fruit on hand)
1 C chopped nuts (I usually use walnuts)

Grease a 9" x13" dish pre-hear oven at 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together pour into pan bake for 50 mins. Let it cool completely before eating (this is espeacially important because the whole wheat flour will soften around the edges as it cools)

Funny Luke Quote of the Day

Sara " Luke you have to put your underwear on."
Luke "Why mom!"
Sara "Because if you don't you might get an ouchie."
Luke throws himself to the ground folds his arms and says "Mom you just broke my life."



Sara "Luke where is you your happy face?"
Luke (with a very grumpy face) "Someone stole it."
Sara "Who stole your happy face?"
Luke thoughtfully says "the wind"

Garden Box

Bella being totally silly and trying to ride her bike around the box

Do you ever just feel so blest? I have been feeling that way lately, I have been thinking to myself that Heavenly Father is really in tune with my family and our needs. James and I have really been wanting to do a garden this year, we eat so much fresh produce that if we got things growing well it would come in really useful. The only thing is neither of us has any experience with this and we didn't want to invest a lot of money doing it in case we didn't grow anything. Anyways I decided that I wanted to do a raised bed because I heard they are easier to care for and to keep weeds out of. I didn't however want to spend money on the wood to make one. Well one day after visiting teaching I was walking home and saw men loading up these large pieces of wood into the back of a truck, so I decided to stop and ask them what they were going to do with them and they were just going to take them to the dump! so of course I asked if I could have them. They were so nice they even brought them over and help unload them into the back yard. Then last week my friend Kathryn called and said she had some extra dirt and wanted to know if we wanted it. Hello so awesome! Now all we have to do is till up the ground underneath, throw the new dirt in and plant some seeds.

Fort Worth Zoo

This was a few weeks ago but I am catching up. Good times at the zoo. The kids favorite part was a bird atrium where they had a ton of parakeets and other small births flying around. It was so funny to watch them chase the birds. Bella ran around the whole time saying "I want the burdee"

You know you are in Texas

You know you are in Texas when you are leaving the state park and there is a sign that says...

Luke's New Bike

So we have been promising Luke a new Bike for a couple months. He really wanted one that would go fast so he can go for bike rides with us. We were at the local thift store and found this one. He loves it! He still falls over every once in a while but he is a tough kid and just gets up and goes agian. I can't believe my baby actually has a big boy bike!

Easter Egg Hunt

Afterwards we went to get Pizza and the kids pretended to play in the arcade. We decided its better to let them think that they were playing.

A city near by held their Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday and the kids had a blast. We met up with our friends Kathryn and Colt and their 2 boys. They had a bounce house that the kids of course loved! The kids maxed out to the point where the eggs were overflowing. On the car ride home they opened them all and Luke stuck the stickers all over the car window. I couldn't help but laugh when I opened the door to an egg covered, candy smeared face.

Funny Quote of the Day

Sara "Luke go to time out for pushing your sister"

Luke "I'm busy"

Sara "Wheres your happy face Luke"

Luke "Someone stole it"

John and Becky's Wedding Ut trip

We went to Utah on March 10th - the 23rd. Our main reason for going out there was for James brother John and his sweet wife Becky's wedding the were married at the Salt Lake Temple and it was an awesome day! We are so happy for them!

My sister Michelle is getting married in Oct so she was able to fly out from Ohio and we were able to pick out our bridesmaid dresses with all but one of her bridesmaids present.

Its always fun in Utah because there is so much family fun around. We stayed at James sister Heather's house and the kids just love playing with their cousins. The day after we got back to Texas (its about a 20 hour drive each way) Luke asked if he could get and the car and go back (I am pretty sure its because he wanted to see his cousins not just that he wanted to watch shows)

We when up to my sister Heather's house in Heber where she pretty much has a farm. Luke officially fell off a pony for the first time but he was a brave boy and got back on it later. We helped her collect her eggs from the chicken coop and feed the baby sheep. She had tons of new baby chicks and brand new puppys. Just like a week old (sooo cute) to say the least we were sad to leave!

Intorducing

When we were in Utah we went to visit my sister, Heather, who breeds Golden Retrievers. She generously offered us one of her puppies and to say the least we could not resist this adorable little face. So in way of announcement we would like you to introduce you to Oscar (Oz or Ozzy) Chop Chop Mortensen (the Chop Chop is what my nieces and nephews called him in Heber so we thought it was appropriate to leave it as part of his name). He was born Dec 23, 2009 and is just as sweet and smart as Golden Retrievers are rumored to be. He is already training well, his only two vices are he likes to nibble a little to rough and has not been house broken. He is definitely already a member of the family and the kids absolutely adore him!