Janes First Zoo Day

What a beautiful and sunshiney day it was today! Perfect for a first day at the zoo! Jane stayed awake the whole time and enjoyed looking around at the many things to see! 

My sister Lara is amazing and brought her few week old boy and kiddos, and my amazing mom and sister Andrea joined in for the fun. 

We had fun seeing all the fun animals, enjoyed being outside and had a great picnic provided by Grammy. It was a fun first day at the zoo!!

And Grammy bought Jane the cutest little alligator toy for her to remember the special day! 💛🐊

Mountain Breakfast

Delicious, pure and simple. We love making Mountains at our house!! Breakfast is a favorite yum yum time!! 

All you need:

6 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

Pinch of salt

1/4 cube butter melted in pan

Cook at 375• for 30 min (or until browned on mountain caps)

Productivity of a Monday

Oftentimes Monday is the least favorite of days. Wether that's because it's the start of a work week, the day after Sunday, or just a no good very bad day, I don't know. Poor Monday. It gets a bad rap. But not here at the Spencer Home. It's Mr. Spencer's 1 day off which means it's HAPPIEST of days! Today has been wonderful: errands galore done in the morning, lots of feeding Jane and a good nap with her, I mowed the whole front lawn, Mr. Spencer got lots of school work done and we had a wonderful outing for Family Home Evening. We took a wonderful trip to the Idaho Falls Temple. I love being close to the temple! They are a reverant place of great strength and peace.

The Visitor Center had an art exhibit of Liz Lemon Swindle's beautiful sketches of the Savior. The tulips were just getting in bloom, the sky was a crisp blue and we had wonderful company: Grammy, Aunt Molly&Andrea. It was a lovely evening and it was topped off with delicious ice-cream at Reeds Dairy. Glorious Monday, I loved you today!!

**If you're ever in Idaho Falls you really should visit both these locations!!**

Building Blocks

We just got these great learning blocks for Jane for a steal and I'm in love with them!! They got me to thinking...what are the building blocks of life? To me there are a few essentials: God, Faith, Family, Choice/Agency, Laws, Knowledge & Love. I know there are probably many more I could add, but these were the dominant ones that came to mind.

I am excited for Jane to grow and learn and develop. The early years of a child's life are essential in teaching the foundation building blocks that can give them a solid foundation to live on. I am grateful my parents gave me a foundation of important blocks to build upon. It has blessed me forever on my journey in life! Think about what building blocks are important for you. Life is beautiful. And blocks are fun!

Awesome Lemon-Almond Bread!!!

Carolyn made the most delicious lemon almond bread this week end. It's moist texture and vibrant flavor soars through the mouth with every bite. You must experience this bread for yourself. Visit two peas and their pod here for the skinny.

For the really quick skinny see below:

ingredients:

For the bread:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3/4 cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

For the lemon glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, for garnishing the loaf

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. In a small bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant. Whisk into the flour mixture. Set aside.

3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the almond milk, oil, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond extract.

4. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until combined. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

5. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Place the loaf on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Loosen the sides of the bread with a knife. Carefully remove loaf from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack.

6. While the bread is cooling, make the lemon glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and almond extract. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze of the lemon almond bread. Sprinkle sliced almonds over the bread. Cut and serve.

What's in a Name!?

The Family Motto

You may wonder why we have the name "TightDish" for our Blog...it seems kinda random, right? Well, it is the theme and motto of our home. Family Mottos are very special. For some it may be a funny phrase they try to live by, for others a deep rooted saying on a family crest and for others a simple little list of things to emulate. For our little family we chose a scripture that holds great meaning for our family.

"And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish."

Ether 2:17

A great people, the Jaredites, had to build barges to cross the ocean and were instructed to make them "tight like unto a dish" so that no water would leak in and they would be able to travel in safety. In our home and family we want to be very close. To have great bonds that can't be broken and to be protected from the things the world tries to leak into our families. There is no greater joy than having a family that is tightly knitted together in bonds of love. And so we choose to live our motto "Tight Like Unto a Dish" to remind us of the great importance of home and family! For there is no greater success than in the home.

We're Back!

Hello World,

We have taken a great long leave of absence sadly from our family blog....but we are back! There have been so many changes in the last year of our little dish. So...there will be a little catch up on Posts of the Past. But there is a new resolution to try and blog daily about our family, our eats, our traditions, our beliefs. Do you realize how much there is to do in life!? I'm sure you do..as you think about all you have to get done today. Instead of letting life be too stressful find one thing each day you did well or that you're grateful for...then everyday counts! Don't look at the To Do List and see all that didn't get done, look at all that did. My hope as the mother of our Dish is to share those things that help me and my family find JOY in life and in the little things. Follow along and hopefully it will help simple little things become big things for you to. There is so much life in each day that goes by, live it to its fullest.

Love,
the TightDish