Patterson's chocolate mug cake

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil ..or try real butter...worked very well
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mixthoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).So we all have 5 mintues and we can make a cake and eat it to in that time so thats why this is so DANGEROUS HAHA!

Spring Fever

Ok, so I have a foot of snow on my roof that seems to think that it should be melting and coming in through an ice dam and onto Colton's window sill and bed. It is time for winter to be over. Now. Not June like last year. GRRRR.

Anyway, I have spring fever and am trying to feel better about the NON receding snow line in my yard by making plans. I have a dress pattern picked out to do for Liv, and a bag I want to make for myself. I am thinking about what to do after I take after my front yard with some ROUND UP. Easter will be here soon (but the downside is that by then I will be another year OLDER). And horse 4-H is starting up again for the spring. The horses need some excercize so badly! If we are still around I am going to finish my chicken coop project and get the hens off the farm and over to our place.

We are already making plans for a Memorial Weekend ride/camping trip, and are thinking about what night to go to the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo ( a spring tradition ). We might even go twice one time with family and kids, and another on a ...get this....date...(gasp!) with friends. Chris even has plans for this years first white water trip with his cadets, and has a big paint ball thing planned with the ROTC that he has invited Braden and maybe even Dallan to go on. Lots of fun later. None now. Must wait. Groan.

FOOTBALL

Braden is on the Rigby Junior High soccer team. He is really excited (as teenagers get in front of their rents). He has played 2 games so far, and hopefully we can post some of him next weekend defending.

And then the fun began....

As I said, Savannah wasn't feeling good on the white water trip around lunch. We just assumed it was from being in a bobbing boat and that she had motion sickness, which true or not was just the beginning for her week.

Sunday morning she was exhausted and she and I stayed home from church since she had a sore throat, so did Livvy, and so did I. Men went to church, girls stayed at home and ran to the Community Care to get her checked out. We all went home with meds for Strep Throat....YAY.

Monday (Labor Day) Chris and I decided to catch up on a few things (like replace a microwave that broke in May and haven't had the chance to replace, and buy school clothes for Braden now that school had been in session for a week + some). We left Savannah at home in bed, and called my Mom to let her know that she was there. She opted to get her and let her be ill on her sofa, which turned out to be a good thing. I got a call from Grandma while we were at the Mall, asking me how long Savannah had been panting. Panting? My first thought was that she was being a big drama queen for Grandma B. We finished up and headed to my Mom's house, and sure enough... Savannah couldn't say more than 2 or 3 words without losing her breath. Afraid that it was a reaction to her meds for strep we opted NOT to wait until morning, and went to the E.R. at Madison Memorial Hosp.

It was a really long process getting her treated as there was a huge (horrible) accident in Island Park with people being treated, and a house fire, heart attack etc. at the same general time. I was thinking twice about being there, but when they hooked up the pulse/oxygen monitor, she was really low. In fact ON oxygen she dropped as low as 78% (NOT GOOD).

Savannah was in the hospital for 5 days with Strep AND Pheunomia. What fun. Not so much.

Job perks ROTC style

Saturday, Sept 6; Braden, Savannah, Colton and I joined Chris, the rest of the ROTC Cadre, ROTC MS4's and guest and we went white water rafting. I was lined up to baby sit a Captain's baby, so that they could participate. When the group assembled at the college, they told me that the baby was ill and they wouldn't need me to babysit. It also opened up a slot on a raft. I was pretty reluctant to go, but I relented and am really glad I did. We were on the Gallantin river between Big Sky and Bozeman, and it was so pretty!!! The Cadre (Chris included) complained that the river was milder than when they went last, but it was great for me as I didn't have to worry about the younger kids as much, and got a taste for it without being freaked out. We lost several rafters during the "Mad Mile" right after "House Rock" but my kids and I weren't among them and it was a BLAST!!! I took a lot of pictures on someone elses camera, so I am hoping that I can get copies soon.

The only down point, was when we stopped at lunch Savannah started feeling a little sick. She gets motion sick easily so we assumed it was from the fact that I made her sit in the middle of the raft where she was getting a lot of motion, not so much view. She was a trooper though and didn't get whiny or anything...

Savannah....Georgia

This is the "beauty" of taking a photo with your cell phone. Spanish moss apparently is TEEMING with little no seeums called chiggers - shudder!!!

You know those times when you are on vacation and you think.....MAN so and so should be here to see THIS!? I had so many of those directed towards Aunt Barb! This place was an antique TREASURE HALL. 11,000 sq. ft of mantles, armoires etc. Mostly large scale, all amazing.

The bar for our rec room?

This garden was used as a medical ward in the Civil War.

More fun things to pave the streets with...purple glass.

Tropical storm Faye moving in.

Old fire bell. 1 bell ring meant the fire was on block one 2 on block 2 etc. going to 24.

Outside doors protecting the "fancy" inside doors.

The man who built this house owned an iron works. He claimed if it could be made from wood, he could make it from iron. The entire house is trimmed in cast iron, window sills steps, and all.

The self proclaimed "Gulla Man"

Mrs. Wilkes...and a happy husband. We came a little late to lunch and we had the whole table to ourselves, with the exception of one man who eats there daily. He owns a high end boutique across the street. Did I mention the happy husband?

High humidity! So much for formal night.

The big crab boil at the Marriott. No crabs. We ditched.

Have you ever seen my husband smile without being forced to? Rare huh. The pic is actually of the stairs he is on. They were knee high in places and went up two stories and came out at the cotton warehouse end of the buildings.

According to the chamber of commerce guy, this road used to make room for two lanes of traffic, the trolley and a row of parking. oi.

mmmmmmm.

Outside the hotel.

It got a little windy with the tropical depression moving in.

Chris was sent to Savannah Georgia for a EANGUS conference at the end of August. He had declined the invite, but was soon "urged" to go and so with just over 2 days notice we jumped in the car, at 3 a.m. drove to Pocatello, flew to Salt Lake, then to Cincinnati Ohio, and then FINALLY and eternity later we arrived in Savannah Georgia.

Despite it being August in the South tropical storm Fay kept everything nice and balmy (to the locals at least) and kept me from having an absolute melt down. It rained a bit, but that didn't keep us from checking out what we could from our hotel room.

They put us up at the Marriott on River Street, which was a wonderful room (down bed, blankets, pillows etc. oh my!) on the concierge floor which was great! The conference was across the river, and we took a water taxi to our meetings which was kind of nice to sit back and enjoy a short jaunt on the river.

We spent most of our free time on River Street and tried some new foods, none of which disappointed, Chris was crazy over anything they could make that had pecans, (Mrs. Wilkes boarding house made him happy for days!) and I was the same way about She Crab Soup.

Savannah had some of the nicest people we could have imagined and the city itself was breathtaking ( the little parts that we saw). Chris being a Civil War history buff, and me well let's just say Savannah had a little of everything that I ADORE!!! I found great antique shops, and art galleries, and the homes and gardens in the historic district made me NUTS!!! We took a few tours, and did a LOT of shoulder rubbing, hopefully making some contacts that will be helpful in Chris' career.

The flight back was LONG, we flew from Savannah to North Carolina, to Atlanta Georgia, to Salt Lake, to Pocatello. All said we were up at 2 a.m., and arrived at home after 6 p.m. that night.

At home, the kids started school while we were away, and thanks to amazing friends and family, no one was in need of therapy from the neglect!

The streets of Old Town Savannah were paved in the most intersting materials. Not that I spent all my time looking down...but one DID have to watch their step. A lot of the old parts of town are paved with rocks that came in the bottoms of boats. When settlers arrived from the Old World, they came expecting to fill their boats with all kinds of exotic things and take them back with them, thus they had to come with SOMETHING in their boats for stability, so they filled them with rocks, that they later used to pave the streets. NOT FLAT....NOT COBBLESTONE.