6 Years

Yesterday Brian and I celebrated our 6 year annimersary. We take turns planning our anniversary celebration and this year it was Brian's turn. We stayed close to home and Brian planned a great day exploring downtown Sac. We had breakfast at a wonderful crepe shop that was super delicious. Then we took a tour of the Leland Stanford Mansion that has recently been turned into a museum and state park. We took in a production of Beauty and the Beast at the B Street Theatre and ended our day with dinner at Lucca Resturant. It was a wonderful day. The only bummer is that we didn't take any pictures of our awesome day. I can't believe how quickly 6 years has gone by. I'm truly grateful to have a husband who really is my best friend.

Opening Night at Raley Field

Go River Cats!!

Our Backyard Project

We have debated over what to do with our tiny backyard ever since we moved to our house. We never liked the landscaping they put in and have always thought the way they designed our patio was just weird. One year we planted a mini veggie garden (http://simmonsfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2008/10/gardening.html) but other than that we haven't used it much.

Brian has always wanted to enlarge our patio and I have always been hesitant but I finally agreed to let him do it and basically redo the yard. Here's what it looked like before the project.

Brian laid some pavers to put the bbq on.

Then Brian, with the help of his brother Scott, poured cement to enlarge and square off our patio.

Finally, we finished it off with some new plants.

Here's the final result.

I think it turned out pretty good.

Easter 2010

Brian and I are blessed to live close to our families and love that Hannah can spend holidays with her grandparents and cousins (at least on my side, but with Brian's parents coming home from the mission soon we'll be spending a lot more time with the Simmons side). Easter weekend at my parent's house this year was so much fun. Don't you love my mom's Easter Egg tree?

The Easter bunny came to visit both Saturday and Sunday so Hannah enjoyed lots of treats and got plenty of Easter egg hunting with her cousins.

Every year we make chocolate Easter Eggs (it's our family's favorite Easter tradition). Here's the recipes courtesy of my mom.

*Warning: These are super yummy and definitely diet busters. It's impossible to eat just one.

Chocolate Easter Eggs (3 fillings)
Fudge Filling:
2 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C evaporated milk
16 large marshmallows
1/4 C butter
1/4 t salt
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 t vanilla (the real thing, not the fake stuff)
1 C chopped nuts
*Mix sugar, evap. milk, butter and salt in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat to an all-over boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and marshmallows until completely melted. Add vanilla and nuts. Spread into pan to cool. Roll into egg shapes ready for coating. Best to chill over night.

Butter Cream/Coconut:
1 stick butter (1/4 lb.)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 C coconut
4 C powdered sugar
*Soften butter and mix. Roll into egg shapes and chill until ready to coat.

The Ever Famous Peanut Butter Filling:
1 C powdered sugar
1 C crunchy or regular peanut butter
2 C Rice Krispies
1/4 t vanilla
2 T oil
*Mix, roll into shapes, and chill.

Chocolate Coating:
Melt 5 or more Hershey bars in a large pan over simmering water (double boiler if you have one). Add a few semi sweet chocolate chips to thin it out a bit. Using forks of chop sticks, roll chilled balls in melted chocolate. Place on wax paper or a greased pan and chill. Wrap in cellophane of foil, or decorate with royal icing.