Where the men are...

Okay, so me and my homegirls went to a LDS MidSingles Conference in Huntington Beach. And why do we do things like this that has great potential to be depressing, humilitating, and damaging to the self esteem??? That's right, to find us some men! Some days I wonder if all the available single men (the non-crazy ones, of course) have fallen into a black hole in the middle of Kansas with Dorothy's house. So we get up our courage to go to things like this in the hopes that an email was sent to the black hole, and they might show up! (a girl can dream, right!?!)
So the 4 of us went, and it was great! I came back with a tan, feeling great from running on the beach, and a renewed hope in finding Mr. Right (no great stories to tell about that yet...)
But we look like total Hotties in the pics, and that is what counts. Yeah!


Beach Clean-up Activity


Mixin' and Minglin'

I am addicted to crack

Kari, this is for you...

So, I make this mean dessert. They used to be called Congo Squares or Blond Brownies, but that is not an accurate name. Someone renamed them Crack Bars because they are sooooo addicting. I have unfortunately shared this recipe, and I apologize for any addicts I may have caused. :)
For those of you wanting to take your chances, here is the recipe. Good luck!!!




3/4 c butter
2 1/2 c brown sugar
2 1/2 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 c chocolate chips

Melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Then add flour, baking powder, and salt. Add choc chips.

Bake at 350 in 9x13 pan for 25-30min.

Let the good times roll!

The 5th Annual J Tree Good Times Havin' Trip lived up to its name! It was stinking fantastic!!!

It got off to a great start when I got to spend time with one of my favorite people, Karen! I am lucky enough to have her for a cousin and I miss hanging out with her more often. But.... we spent lots of time talking until the wee hours of the morning to try and catch up on our lives!!!






The next day, I was off to Joshua Tree National Park. Long drive, but sooo worth it! We pulled in around 5pm and set up camp. That night, I think a tornado was circling the camp. The gale-force winds were enough to blow everything around. It was too dangerous to even get close to the fire to get warm for fear of catching a rogue flame! At a couple points, I swear the tent was about to take flight!
Having survived the windy night, the next morning we went climbing. Super fun, but still cold.
I must admit that at this point, I was worried about the trip fulfilling the "good times" name due to the weather. BUT, by the next morning, the weather turned for the better. Game on!
We took a day off from climbing and went for a hike out to the Lost Horse Mine. We found the mine, and saw beautiful scenery. I think the desert is unique, but until this trip I didn't appreciate its beauty. The trees and wildflowers were in bloom and I loved it! This picture doesn't even do it justice.



We then went outside the park to take showers (gotta love those!) After the shower, I was looking across the dirt road, and I found something the world has been needing... the Worlds Famous Crochet Museum. That's right, you read that right. Its placement in the middle of a dirt road and double-wides made me convinced... NOT!



But, I digress from the climbing....

The next three days were full of climbing, climbing, climbing. Yahoo! I was in heaven. I climbed easy stuff and even a couple of insanely challenging routes (this is a 5.11a, if you know the lingo...Yeah!!).




I came home dirty, scraped up, tired, and happy. There is something so therapeutic for me about nature, a physical challenge and leaving all this technology behind. I returned with a clear head, cramped muscles, an appreciation for my bed, and a need to go climbing again real soon!

Thank you Easter Bunny... bock bock!

Those Cadbury commercials still crack me up!

But, since I didn't see the cabury bunny commercial this year, let me talk about what I did see....
Stinkin' cute niece and nephews!


Nathan and Audrey did the traditional Easter egg hunt, and then the big kids had an egg hunt too. My favorite! I love that my Dad didn't just forget about us big kids. He is so creative is making different versions of egg hunts each year (must be exhausting to keep thinking of new ideas!). This year, we each had a color egg, and when we found one, we would open it up. When we found all the eggs, we unscrambled the letters to find Easter messages. So fun!! (Thanks Dad!)

Such cute family photos!



Nothing like a great family day!