The beginnings of bread making

I have always been a want-to-be bread maker. Something about the love that goes into making it, the aroma filling up the kitchen, and the gathering around to eat it hot out of the oven has been part of my "picture" of a happy home since I was young.

My first attempts at making bread were in high school. I followed the recipes exactly and they always turned out like solid bricks. One of my mission companions whipped bread out in 20 minutes. I watched, I tried, and the dough wouldn't rise. Over the years I watched others who made bread effortlessly, and time and time again it wouldn't work for some reason or another. I haven't been able to figure out how millions upon millions of people make bread around the world and I can't seem to get the hang of it. Admittedly, I've become a little intimidated by the whole thing. And then we learned nearly four years ago that all of us are gluten intolerant so we haven't really gone near the stuff since then. But my good friend Cherstyn Stockwell taught me how to make a bread that is more easily digestible, and last week when Geoff's sister Emily came from Utah she brought me some of Cherstyn's starter/leaven (that has been alive since 1830!) So I gave the bread a try. I made some mistakes along the way, and thought I was in for another flop, but the bread rose! It did everything the recipe said it would do! And the loaves turned out beautifully! Hooray for me!

Before I get too proud of myself, though, I have to say that it was unanimous that the bread didn't taste just right. It was a little more "sour" than it should be. I have no idea why but I'm sure I can figure it out. I still feel like I'm an official Bread Maker.

Hand putty

Ceci thought it was funny that she stuck putty on her forehead. "Look, mom!" she said. She now has a little row of bangs...

Rubics Cube

Remember the Rubics Cube? Adele found one and has carried it around with her every day trying to get sides matched up. I told her I wanted a picture of her and her latest little carry-along and she said no, she didn't want any "comments" (referring to the blog). So, she agreed to a picture...no comments, please...

Geoff's parents, lovingly known as Mormor and Poppop to the grandkids, took the girls to the Auburn Rodeo yesterday. Auburn is a fabulous small town. The people are salt of the earth. And one-in-three own a cowboy hat. It was only fitting that the girls go to their first rodeo while here. They loved it. Adele emphatically exclaimed it was the best outing she had ever been to. I wanted her to think more critically; I asked if it was better than the Monaco Circus, or Carnival in Venice. Without hesitation...YES! Deep down in Adele's heart she is a true cowgirl.

The girls had so many stories to tell when they got home, of bucking broncos, silly clowns, wild bulls and drill team beauties. They all picked a female rider and competed through her. They came home and got out all of Adele's Breyer horses and re-lived the afternoon.

While the girls were in their big-buckle heaven Geoff and I went on hiking on a nearby trail and had some uninterrupted conversation. Thank you to Mormor and Poppop who provided us with a perfect day...on their anniversary!

A visit from Aunt Em and Bailey

Geoff's sister Emily, and her daughter Bailey, came for a few days this week on their way to Geoff's grandmother's in Oregon. This is Ceci's favorite little playmate. We were so happy to have them visit, and so sad to see them go!

A raid on Mormor's dress-up box

Saying goodbye...and where was Ceci?

Trying to stow-away in Bailey's car (not an uncommon thing for Davis girls to do...)
NOTE: Sorry for the sideways picture, just realized I didn't rotate it before downloading it...you get the idea.

Visitors

On of our favorite friends, Becca Archibald, and her cute kids came for a visit during their spring break. Her husband Jared was on a business trip and we missed him. This great couple is so easy to be around, so interesting to talk with, and always ready for a good laugh.

A little evening clay mask for weary adults...
(We brought this pure clay from France where it sells for about $2 a box.)

Our kids love and enjoy each other as much as we parents do. With all of the space and exploration around here we only saw them when we called them in to eat. They begged for a longer stay.

Nathan, Tennie, Kate, Ceci, Eliza, Adele and baby Andrew (not shown)

We are so grateful for Geoff's parents who not only generously share their home and space with us, but are willing to share it with our friends too!

Catching up...

Geoff was in Utah this past week doing all sorts of things...with our computer. I am, therefore, very behind. I'm going to skip most details to keep myself from not getting around to posting, and just get the general ideas on record.

As I mentioned, Geoff's sister Ingrid and her family were visiting for Spring Break/Easter Week. I say Easter week because Geoff and I are campaigning to make Easter the biggest holiday/week of the year. The events of Easter are the center of everything we believe in so we're trying to create a lot of tradition and learning around the last week of Jesus' life.

We had a daily devotional that corresponded with Jesus' last week, and acted out the stories as much as we could. More kids made it more fun, and more chaotic at the same time! We made clay lamps to use in our reenactment of The Ten Virgins, as well as to adorn the Passover table. We had a Passover dinner where we talked about the symbols of the food (which mostly "passed over" the kid's heads), and had a yummy lamb feast to follow. All week we tried out "Jesus foods" and on Sunday finished up the week with a fish dinner with honey(comb). It was a fun week. The kids were still most excited about the Easter bunny, which is to be expected, so as a comprise to their excitement and anticipation and our desire to separate Easter from the Easter bunny we had our egg hunt Saturday morning. It was a rainy morning so we had 120 eggs hidden throughout the downstairs. The Easter bunny hid them well this year and it took the kids a good hour to find them all.

General Conference, the semi-annual conference of our church, was over Easter weekend. Ingrid prepared little packets for the kids to keep them engaged, and she prepared a snack buffet during the mornings. Geoff made our second annual spring conference "Mormon Tiramisu" (which Ingrid told us means "pick me up" in Italian...quite fitting for a conference traditional food!) Oh my it was delicious! Conference was full of great counsel, the house was full of great people and food, and activity...we were all nourished temporally and spiritually!

Being with Ingrid and Trent's family was so delightful. We learned a lot from observing how they do things. They are great parents with some great kids.

Ceci sharing Milkshake with cousin Taeya

Working with clay

Lots of free time with cousins...here Adele, Ceci and Taeya had broken legs.

Each child goes for a particular colored egg and Ceci's were pink. I love Ceci's face here.
The magic of childhood...

This past week has been a week of catch-up after several busy weeks, which tail-ended some very busy months. It feels nice to have limited outside demands again.

Geoff was in Utah reconnecting with some old contacts, doing some consulting with the LDS Perpetual Education Fund, and judging a Business Plan Competition at BYU. He squeezed in a little time with his siblings who kindly chauffeured him around, and provided him with dinner and a bed each night. We girls are severely out of practice having Geoff gone and are so overwhelmingly happy to have him home again!

The remains of Willy Wonka

While the girls are sad to see their Willy Wonka days end, I'm pretty happy with the extra time! Overall this was an awesome experience for all of us. Geoff and I loved working backstage; getting to know the kids. The girls were energized by their new friends, belonging to something bigger than themselves, and hearing a crowd laugh and clap and cheer. Cinderella is the next play in the fall and the girls are claiming roles already.

You've seen some pictures in a previous post, but here are a few of the girls in action:

Tennie had three short lines in the Candyman scene

After the final show there were a lot of hugs and exchaging of phone numbers.

The girls with our friend, and the director, Dana Sanders

The shows are over, but the songs still linger throughout the house...