banana bread

It's been a great first half of the week! The BYU women's tennis team had a home match yesterday so I got to enjoy that all day! I love that the matches are outside now. Mike had a BYU intramural basketball game last night, and once again... they dominated. His team is so good, which makes watching the games even more fun. After his game, we went to dinner with the Weekes family at our favorite place, Outback. I love getting together with everyone, we have a great time. Especially with cute little Gwen running around! That girl is an absolute doll. McKenzie told me the first thing she said when she woke up from her nap Sunday was, "Where's Whitney?" Talk about making my heart melt!

UVU intramural football started last week, the boys won their first game and have another one tonight. I love basketball, but football is where my heart belongs :) So happy my athletic hubby is great at both. Their games get me excited for Fall!

I made cinnamon banana bread last night, it was really good! I posted this picture on my Instagram and some friends asked for the recipe. Here it is!

Cinnamon Banana Bread:

For the bread:
- 3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- dash of salt
- 1 1/2 cups flour

For the cinnamon "swirl":
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a loaf pan. You can use a 9x5 or I used three smaller ones. Keep a close eye on it in the oven and adjust the time as needed.
2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. Sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!
3. In a small dish, mix together 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.
4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half (or a little more, it tastes better IN the bread than on top) of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes (for a 9x5) and 35-40 minutes for the smaller pans. I did mine for 40 minutes but it probably could have been taken out a little earlier.

Enjoy! I'm off to my piano lesson, I'm hoping one day I have something to show for it. When your parents encourage you to take lessons when you're younger, do it! (Sorry mom!) It's so much easier than learning now. It takes a lot of practice, but I enjoy it. There's something so beautiful about music! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

weekend

This weekend couldn't have been better! The weather is warming up and that's a sure way to bring a smile to my face! I love summer. Our friend rented out a theater at the new Thanksgiving Point Megaplex for the Hunger Games movie and invited us. They recently redid the place and it's so nice! I haven't read the books but will definitely be reading them now! Saturday, I worked the BYU women's tennis match while Mike and Trygve went golfing. The weather was perfect and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to play tennis and BBQ. Tryg cooks the best tri-tip! I love spending time with my sister and Tryg. On Sunday, we had the special blessing of going to Preston's (Mike's cousin) son Everett's baby blessing. What a sweet experience to be a part of! Sunday kept getting better as we kidnapped our niece Gwen and took her home with us. On the way home, Mike thought it would be fun to teach Gwen to drive. I can't wait to see the many fun things he decides to teach our kids :) Sunday night I went to my old apartment and it was so nice to be back! I got to catch up with the most amazing girl in the world - Whitney Floisand. I couldn't ask for a more amazing friend and example. She lights up every room she walks into and always has a smile on her face. It's impossible to be anything but happy around her. I hope to do as much good in the world as she does! Can't wait for another amazing week.

1.12.12 {wedding}

Thank you Christine Olson for amazing pictures!

For a little more on my wedding, view 'a real life fairy tale'.

little piece of heaven

In honor of getting our wedding pictures back any day, here are some pictures from our honeymoon. Mike took me to the most beautiful place - Kauai. For the first half of our trip, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt (with the most incredible pools you'll ever see!) in Poipu (on the south side of the island) and spent the second half in Princeville at the St. Regis (north island). The two sides of the island are so different so we were happy to be able to enjoy both. The south is home to the world-famous Poipu Beach while there is nothing that compares to the breathtaking views of the north and its Napali Coast. Mike spoiled me with a Hawaiian Luau, horseback riding to a beautiful waterfall, and a helicopter ride I'll never forget. We loved traveling into town every night to our favorite little restaurants and taking in as much fresh fish as we could. It was the perfect trip and just what we needed after a busy winter. We can't wait to go back!

What a hunk!

sugar cookies

My best friend Sky Sefcik came to Provo for the weekend and my sister and I couldn't have been happier! The three of us have grown up together since birth - she's a sister to me! Her and her husband live in Texas and we love every chance we get to see them. We're hoping they move back soon :) We always have so much fun, there's never a dull moment!

When the three of us get together, we love to bake. My sister makes the BEST cookies and cupcakes you'll ever taste. She has a great sugar cookie recipe but had been wanting to try a new frosting. To say the least, it definitely passed the test! These were so good!

Here are the links to the recipes: sugar cookies & frosting (we used almond extract instead of vanilla)

dutch babies

My mom makes the BEST Dutch Babies/German Pancakes. We decided to try it out Saturday morning, and they did not disappoint!

Mike was intrigued with the way they "puffed" :)

Here's the recipe, it's so easy!

1. Melt 1 cube of butter in glass pan while heating the oven at 400 C. Make sure to watch so the butter doesn't burn. I set a timer for 5 minutes to remind myself. 

2. In blender, mix: 5 eggs, 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 1/4 cups milk, and 1/4 tsp salt. Put eggs in first, then part flour and part milk, mix, then add part flour and part milk (3 times). Add salt. 

Optional: Add an extra egg for a little bit of extra fluff. I used six eggs in the pic above. 

3. Pour mix on top of butter and bake at 400 C for 20 minutes. Check at 18 minutes. 

Serve with fruit, syrup, powdered sugar, jelly, or my personal favorite: mix together freshly-juiced lemon juice and powdered sugar :)

happiest place on earth

Mike and I will forever be kids at heart... and Disneyland will always be one of our absolute favorite places! After an incredible trip to Hawaii with the Weekes, we were lucky enough to spend the second half of Christmas break with my family. After a few adventurous days at home on the ranch, we travelled down to Disneyland. We spent New Year's Eve (Mike's birthday!!) at the wonderful world of Disney. We capped off the day ringing in the New Year with an incredible Disney fireworks show. Of course, around 1 a.m., Mike and I were still ready for more, so the two of us stayed and enjoyed the new water show. It was unreal! I love that my cute husband loves those things just as much as me :) It was the perfect way to the end the day.

Our faces are priceless

Who doesn't love the happiest place on earth?!

just believe

I absolutely love the Christmas season! From gingerbread houses, sparkly lights, cuddling up for Christmas movies, reading classic stories, being with family and friends, remembering the birth of our Savior... everything about the special time of year is magical! I know this post is a little late, but this year's Christmas was even more special because I got to spend it with Mike. Every year his family goes to Maui but they changed it up this year because we wanted to welcome our adorable little niece into the world. (We missed you McKenzie!) We had a little Christmas at the Weekes house before we took off to the beautiful island of Oahu! I was so sad to not be with my family on Christmas for the first time, but was blessed to be with my incredible in-laws. We had the best time!

At the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki

The BEST acai, definitely worth the mile walk!

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

Sunday at the temple

Turtle Bay

Crazy Mike and David cliff jumping

The boys golf tournament

One of my favorite Christmas songs!