Jordan's 1 Year Pictures

So I know I was a little late getting these pictures taken, but there has just been so much going on this past month. I took Jordan to have them taken last night and they turned out so cute! See for yourself...








He is such a little "man" in his 3 piece suit. He even had a real "clip-on"tie. Of course we had to have the bare feet though! Any shoes and socks just wouldn't have been "him". He would have been pulling at them to get them off the entire time. Plus, what cute little chubby feet!

Duane is really missing Jordan, and me sending these pictures to him last night didn't help...sorry honey! We miss you too!

The Amazing Rocket Grill!!!

No, you have not accidentally clicked on a link to an infomercial, but pretty close. Introducing the incredible Rocket Grill (made by Sunbeam). I was shopping at the Smiths Marketplace in Bountiful and stumbled upon this amazing little appliance that has completely changed the way I cook!

I hadn't seen this 8th wonder of the world before, and was intrigued. Good thing it was on sale or I probably wouldn't have bought it. Here's how it works. You place your food in these single use parchment paper bags that come with the grill (and you can just buy replacements at the store). You can cook anything, fresh or frozen, from steaks and chicken to pineapple, potatoes, or even make grilled sandwiches. This grill cooks the food in a third of the time!!! Fresh chicken only takes 5 minutes. Hamburgers take 3 minutes. Trust me, I've already done both!!!

I was so eager to try it out I took it over to my parents house for the trial run. We made hamburgers and they were awesome! The best part is that all of the fat runs away from your food and stays in the bag. Then you just throw the bag away. No pans or grill plates to clean! This is because you put the bag in the "grill" vertically. (Think of a toaster...the slot is on the top). If you do happen to have something spill out of the bag, there is a small drip tray that you can just toss in the dishwasher. It has revolutionized the way I cook. Now I can play with Jordan instead of spending a ton of time cooking and cleaning up afterwards. Between this grill and the new Ziplock Zip-n-steam bags, I can have a whole dinner done in 5 minutes with no pans to clean up. I'm going to grill everything...I wonder if I can find a way to make spaghetti work ;-)

Anyway, I highly recommend this grill and if you talk to me I will probably try to tell you about it, so just tell me you already read about it here and it will save you a good 10 minutes. You are also welcome to stop on by my house and I will be happy to "grill" you up something (although you should bring your own meat...I've already grilled everything I already had).

Duane is gone...

So Duane is in China, and left on Sat morning (utah time) at 8:00 A.M. He is now in Xiamen, which is 14 hours ahead of us. I am trying really hard to figure out the time difference, but since it is also "daylight savings time" here, it has kind of messed up my internal clock. As bad as I am missing Duane, I think Jordan is worse. I took out the garbage tonight and opened the garage from the outside of the house. Jordan sat at the top of the stairs and "yelled" to see his dad for a long time. He is so used to the garage door noise meaning that Duane is coming home! It just broke my heart. Then he was so "snuggly" with me...like he knows something is just not right.

I am a very independent person (maybe stubborn is a better word) but I actually don't know what to do with myself without Duane being here. Not to quote the Austin Powers movie, but "He completes me" As much as I try to be "independent", at the end of each day I really need Duane to "balance" me out.

I can't wait to see Duane in China, and although I know Jordan will be very well taken care of with my parents (maybe spoiled is the better word), I am kind of glad that I got to see him miss Duane...then I know he will miss me too. I don't know how I will go for a week without him (when I can't even sleep 1 night without him on a sleep-over to my parents house 5 mins away)!