Thursday hike

Elliot and I took a little hike this morning in the hills. Elliot usually stays in the kids carrier until the summit, but this time he actually hiked quite a bit. He hammed it up the entire way too, huffing and puffing as he walked up hill. Ah, it's so nice to be in a place with mountains. This is what we've missed for so long.

Peach cake tatin

We've found a new favorite dessert. Nice thing about this cake is you can use almost any fruit: plums, peaches, bananas, apples. This is the peach variation, which is probably the best simply because peaches work so well in cakes.



Here's the recipe (this is only a slight variation of Ina Garten's plum cake tatin recipe):

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the dish
• 4 large peaches, cut in half and pitted
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and arrange the peaches in the dish, cut side down.

Combine 1 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it turns a warm amber color, about 360 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Swirl the pan but don't stir. Pour evenly over the peaches.

Meanwhile, cream the 6 tablespoons of butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, add it to the butter mixture. Mix only until combined.

Pour the cake batter evenly over the peaches and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. If a peach sticks, ease it out and replace it in the design on top of the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

The joys of summer

Watermelon: one of summer's little joys.

It's official: Dem's a Ute

Today was Demaree's first day of teacher assistant training at the U. Her day was filled with meetings about the basics of teaching. Needless to say, she was bored. Apparently, all meetings having to do with teaching, whether at a university or public school districts, are less than useful. She'll find out what her teaching assistant assignment is tomorrow. We think she'll probably teach voice lessons (at least we hope she does).

Today was also our orientation meeting for Elliot's daycare. As is his wont, Elliot loves the place. He loves the kids, the toys, the whole deal. It's nice having a son who is so flexible and accommodating.

Welcome to the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. This one, like all the others, should be great.

Why did the chicken go down the slide?

Our friends Natalie and Randy have decided to raise chickens on their land. When we were over for dinner one night, the kids went to play in the back yard with the chickens. This is what ensued.



Yep, that's right, Elliot was all about putting the chicken down the slide. The chicken was okay, by the way. No need to PETA.

Millcreek Canyon

Last week we spent some quality time up in the canyon, which is conveniently quite close to our place. While hiking, we happened upon a wedding party in the valley below, complete with karaoke singers. Elliot got bored in the kid carrier and decided to play a little game called "let's make babbo run every time momma comes close to me." Each time the running began, he would laugh and laugh. When Dem would approached, he yelled, "Run! Run!" and the game started all over again.

And here are some photos.

Jared's Sealing

We recently went to Jared's sealing in Vegas. This has been a long time coming, but all that time spent as a single was apparently worth it because he married a wonderful girl: Lindsey. It was great to see Jared's family as well. It had been a while. Well, here are some highlights.





Congrats, buddy.

Time with Lisa

Lisa (Denis's wife) decided to surprise her family by flying from Florida to Utah without notice. During her visit, she helped her family with their yearly ritual: making and selling frybread at the Salt Lake County Fair. We went by the stand and visited her. We got a free dinner out of the deal, and Lisa was able to see Elliot. In the end, we all won.

And then there was the pig racing.

Elliot's pig one both races so they gave him a blue ribbon. He wore it all night.