CHS Glee

Kate has been working hard all year in her show choir. They are ready to take their act to Albuquerque to compete. They did a great job performing tonight. Way to go Kate! I took the video with my phone, but it gives you an idea of what they sound like. I'll take a better video camera to ABQ.

Our new friend Nikki Heat

The storing of Nikki Heat

I had to peek...

My first batch wasn't very pretty, but they tasted great.

Hayden came back for more.

Say hello to our new friend, 'Nikki Heat'. Our friend has a twin that lives in Lubbock. My mother-in-law posted about it on her blog. Nikki Heat is the name she has given to her sourdough starter. This sourdough stater was given to her by a friend. It has been in their family for 25 years! When she suggested that she might share it, I felt a little unsure if I wanted to accept her gift. The tending, feeding, stirring...it sounded worse than having a new puppy to me. Um,... no thanks! I'll just get my stale old bread at my little grocery store.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, but cooking is way different than baking. When I was a kid and my dad would work late, I would go to the pantry and throw a can of this, a can of that, a pound of this and a little of that together, and voila, my brother and sister thought I was the best chef ever. I loved being creative in the kitchen and still do. Baking is a whole different ball game and I don't know the rules. If you get too creative with your baking, things could go terribly "a-rye".

After going to Lubbock and spending the weekend learning all about the care and keeping of Nikki Heat, I soon began to like her. I felt like maybe I too could make luscious cinnamon rolls and tasty breads. What once seemed to elude me felt attainable. I could bake and it could be good and my family would eat it. Okay, give me some! I'll do it.

And so, I return home with my little bucket of Nikki Heat. (She travels well if packaged properly.) Eager to see if I too could make some delicious baked goods, I set out to feed her and then mix together a batch of....cinnamon rolls. There, I said it, "I am going to make cinnamon rolls". That is something I had never done before, ever. Sunday afternoon, I carefully followed the recipe. I measured everything just like my MIL taught me. I covered the dough and prayed that it would rise. Just before bed Sunday night, I took a peek under the towel covered bowl. Much to my surprise, it was a fluffy ball of risen dough! Step one, check! Next, I had to roll it out, turn it into a cinnamon roll and say another little prayer for it to rise a second time. This time in cute little stone pans ready for the baking. I got up early Monday morning to check on my precious dough. Yes! It did it again, and I didn't even have to do anything. Like magic, the cinnamon rolls were double their size, slightly touching each other as if not to crowd, ready to go for a little baking. Step two, check! Fifteen minutes seemed like an eternity that Monday morning. I waited, and waited... Oh, I almost forgot step three, the frosting. I hurried to make the frosting while they finished baking and by the time I was done, my first ever batch of homemade cinnamon rolls came out of the oven. While they were still warm, I frosted them. They glistened like a new pair of sparkly Toms! By this time, my children were eagerly awaiting their yummy breakfast treats. With oohs and ahhhs, they delighted themselves by eating fresh hot cinnamon rolls for breakfast that day.

Well, my friend, if baking has eluded you, fear not. You too can make delicious baked goods right in your own home. All you need is a little Nikki Heat and some coaxing and instruction from your mother in law and you too can achieve baking success.

CBA Champions

Well, since the day Hayden turned two, he has been prepared for this moment. For Hayden's second birthday, we bought him a little basketball goal. We handed him the ball and he took his first shot and made it! He has been ready to play basketball ever since. When we moved to Canyon three years ago, he saw the sign for CBA and was ready to play. The bad thing is that you had to be in second grade. So, this year, CBA sign ups came around and Hayden was ready to play. The time had come for some real basketball. John was asked to coach and he led the spurs to a Championship victory. What a season! The spurs went undefeated in the tournament. Way to go Hayden. We can't wait to watch you play for the Canyon Eagles someday!

Comfort and Joy!

What a wonderful time we've had spending Christmas with family. It brings me great Comfort and Joy to know and love this family of mine. We spent several hours playing games, lounging in our pajamas, watching movies, building lego stuff, creating art and craft items, cooking, eating, playing Kinect... Okay, I've done a little cleaning and organizing too. I have enjoyed my time off and have really loved spending it with family!

Hoggard Family Christmas

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Today, the Hoggard side of our family got together to celebrate Christmas. Our 'traditional' Christmas dinner includes chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy and more trimmings than you could possibly imagine.[ It reminds me of when my brother and I were in high school and on Friday mornings, before the big game, my dad would make steak for breakfast. The coaches got a kick out of asking my brother what he had for breakfast. I think they were hoping to one day be invited.] This was definitely a Texas style Christmas dinner. My dad cooks the steak outside and we prepare the feast inside. I think we could actually feed the entire neighborhood if we wanted. There were 23 of us and we had 48 steaks!

After our stuffing, we exchanged gifts white elephant style. I don't know if any other family does this, but it certainly makes for interesting gift giving. We have come to find many women in our family would prefer knives and tools to all the sparkly foo foo stuff most women want. Also, we are not afraid of stealing other peoples gifts. The best gifts are frequently stolen and end up with a third owner for their final destination. If you don't put your gift away quickly, it might just get hidden in order to go home with one of its previous owners. Some of the gifts this year included a set of knives, a jig saw, an electric griddle, a warm fuzzy blanket, jewelry and a set of bowls.

Hosting our lively bunch is always a treat. We love that they are all willing to come back each year.

Hoggard Family Reunion

Last weekend, we celebrated the Hoggard Family Reunion. The day started with a trip to the Bar-H Dude Ranch near Clarendon, to watch a cowboy action shoot. John's dad is a part of the group that was there for the day. It was great to see him shoot. We got to meet some cousins that came all the way from Tennessee. What fun to meet these great kids that had never been to Texas before. What a welcome! After watching some serious shooting, we traveled to Hedley for the Hedley Cotton Festival. The big town of just over 200 celebrates the fall cotton season with a parade, BBQ, Bingo and craft and game booths. This year, there were about 10 booths participating. That is about double the booths of last year. The weather was much colder and rainier last year. After celebrating the cotton festival, we went back to the Bar-H Dude Ranch for dinner. Talk about the BEST BURGER in the Texas Panhandle, this is hard to beat! Dessert was my dad's famous peach cobbler and homemade ice cream. It was a great day and beautiful weather!

Buff-a-Rama

West Texas A&M held its annual Buff-a-Rama today. Free hot dogs, free shirts, free cokes, free ice cream, lots of stuff and all for free. Lots of fun was had by all!

Welcome to Las Vegas!

Well, what happened in Vegas isn't staying in Vegas. John and I went to Vegas for the weekend. We had a great time! There is so much to do and see; we didn't even come close to seeing everything.
Friday night, we had dinner reservations for Bobby Flay's MESA Grill inside Ceaser's Casino. WOW! The food did not disappoint. The Bourbon Ancho Chile Pork Tenderloin was incredible. We kept saying, "mmm, mmm" the entire meal. It was so good. To end our evening, we watched the fountain show at the Bellagio Casino.
Saturday, we tried the CSI Experience. There are three crimes to choose to solve. We chose the Waitress found by the dumpster crime. We solved the crime and got a diploma to prove it. (not to mention a FREE shirt.) We strolled the strip and went to Le Burger Brasserie inside the Paris Casino for dinner. We split a burger and fries so we could enjoy a little dessert. The burger was delicious. It was perfectly cooked and served on a fresh grilled onion bun. We decided on the dessert sliders for dessert.

Wonderland Park

Riding the Cyclone behind Hayden

A big giant swing for you and 24 friends

They were smiling because we hadn't hit the water yet.

She quickly passed the phone to me to go in my purse to stay dry.

A bird's eye view

Not near as fun with your parents

What is better than going to Wonderland Park? Going to Wonderland Park for FREE! The kids had a great time! Okay, the kids under 12 had a great time. Kate was more concerned with getting to Target and finding her size in low top black converse tennis shoes on sale. What does it mean when you take your kids to Wonderland without your husband? It means you get to ride the rides with your 8 year old son. Bumper cars, the Pirate ship, Cyclone... only a few bumps and bruises for the day.

Future Eagles!

Hayden participated in the Eagle Football Camp this summer and as a result, got to run onto the field at the first home game against Lubbock this week. He talked about this event all summer. He was ready! The whole family went to the school night game on Thursday. Hayden was ready. Not only did he have on his camp shirt, he had on his newly acquired Eagle jersey that a friend of mine gave him. They should have had a sign for them to run through that said "Future Eagles". Those boys were so excited to be in Kimbrough stadium for opening night of the 2010-2011 kick off to high school football in the Texas panhandle. To tell the truth, so were we! We love high school football. And we love being back in Texas! Bring it on! (in the third picture, Hayden is on the 42 yard line- dad, I know you'd be looking for him)