Just call me Becca Stewart

I have some things going on right now in my life that are very emotionally taxing. So, in order to help keep my mind off things, I have turned to baking. Yes, I have always LOVED to bake, cookies and cakes mostly. But now, I am baking everything I can. I have become quite the Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray.
We had some bananas that were getting too ripe. So I announced to Mike yesterday that while he was at school tonight I was going to make banana bread.

"You know how to make banana bread?"

"Yeah, it isn't that hard!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Probably because then he would always want me to make that kind of stuff. Maybe because I like to feel like I am the modern bride who can cook dinner but isn't little miss crafts, cooking and such.
So after posting on facebook that I was thinking of making banana bread, my friend Jennette (who was like a second mom to me through high school) sent me a new banana bread recipe to try. It has peanut butter and chocolate chips in it. MIKE LOVES IT!
So I thought I would share the recipe with all of you:

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

3 eggs
2 c sugar
1/2 c oil
1/2 c peanut butter
2 large bananas
1 TB vanilla
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 TB cinnamon

1 1/2 c chocolate chips

Beat eggs until light and foamy. Add sugar, oil, peanut butter, bananas and vanilla.
Mix well. Add flour sifted together with salt, baking soda, baking powder and
cinnamon. Mix. Add in Chocolate chips. Pour into 2 greased and lightly floured loaf pans. Bake at 325 for about 1 hour.

I actually found that I had to bake it for more like 1 hr and 15 minutes and then it still was a little too soft (the top sunk a little) but it was very good! (According to Mike. I honestly am not a peanut butter person but he really wanted me to try this recipe.)

I have also made a devils food cake. I have been doing all sorts of crafty things around the house. I have been cleaning like crazy too. Last night I came up with some cool Chicken Nacho concoction. At least it is keeping my mind busy!

More 4th of July Pictures

My sister Cathi just brought me a cd of the pictures her and my niece Danielle took during the 4th of July weekend. They took them, I had a little fun in photoshop with them. But, they should get all the credit for capturing such great photos.

The above shot was taken by Danielle (to my knowledge). All I really did was a little cropping and for fun played with the saturation. These are 2 of my cousins kids. The girl in front is the daughter of Liz, and the girl behind is Liz's brother's (Mike I think) girl.

The shot above was a good shot, but the subject was not that great. Cathi, Danielle, Gregg and Mike and I camped at Massacre Rocks (NEVER AGAIN!) that night. I was walking the trails in the morning taking photos when Danielle spied me, called my name and snapped a picture. All I did was crop this one.

My sister Cathi is who I believe took this picture at Massacre Rocks. I just cropped it and played with the color a little. Was probably better in color but I don't know.

Normally, I wouldn't play around with these photos, but I have led a pretty boring life since Sienna went home and don't have any photos of my own to play with.

Way In Advance But Looking for Suggestions

Mike and I are planning on returning South this winter. Most likely to Texas! YAY! Since our friends in Texas will probably be moving next summer, this will also most likely be our last visit. At least for a while. So I have a list of things I want to do and want suggestions if anybody else knows what we should not miss. They live in San Antonio. We did go last year and we have been to River Walk, La Valitta, Alamo, Six Flags, Zoo, and Sunken Gardens. I do hope to go to the Riverwalk again and the Tower of the Americas. Here are some new things I want to do and am looking for other suggestions. (We also hope to head over to Galveston for a few days)

Natural Bridge Caverns

Moody Gardens (in Galveston)

Institute of Texan Cultures (I love these types of places)

The Missions

I am very open to anything but really enjoy taking in the architecture and culture of an area. If we don't make it to Texas, we still hope to make it down to the south, but of course, we are hoping it is Texas since we really miss the Bolanders.

The Final Crossing

Mike and I took his niece, Sienna, with my sisters- Joyce, Carma, and Amanda- and my parents, to the Three Island Crossing in Glenn's Ferry. It is the 24th and final crossing as the volunteers are getting to old and the crossing is pretty dangerous. We felt very blessed to be able to go. We have been wanting to go for a few years but have always ended up being out of town during the crossing.

They started across the Snake River at the top of the mountain and came down.

The first part was on the Sandbars so it looked deep but it really wasn't.

When it got to the deep part the people in the wagon would stand in the middle to help keep it steady. Then they tied ropes around the wagon for the people on horses to help keep it from tipping. Eventually even the driver of the wagon got inside. Sienna was amazed at the horses swimming and the wagon floating.

WooHoo! They made it! There were no problems with the crossing this year!

Carma snapped a shot of the rest of us sitting in our seats right at the bank of the river by where they came out.

Got to love camera remotes. Here is one of the entire group in front of the Snake River.

Afterward, we went over and Sienna got to play in the wagons, pet the horses and we looked around. We were stopped by a reporter who asked us questions about what we thought about the crossing. It was a lot of fun and I am glad we made it. Even though it was pretty cool out and the bugs were awful. (This is a weird cold front, Friday's high temp was 59.)

Unfortunately, our time with Sienna is coming to an end. We have to take her home tomorrow. We have really enjoyed having her these last 2 weeks. From making a belt, coloring, going to Yellowstone and Mike and her Wrestling while I edit, and post, photos it has been a lot of fun!

Yellowstone and Henry's Fork of the Snake River

This week, Mike and I took his mom and his niece Sienna to Yellowstone. Neither of them had been before so it was fun to take them through the park. We left Thursday at 4 am in the morning. We made a stop at my sister Joyce's house to drop off our stuff and then we headed to Yellowstone. The first day we did the more touristy things, like Old Faithful and the Lower and Upper Falls.

(Sorry if the pics aren't that great. I used the small point & shoot and then it got a little wet on the raft and I had to do a lot of work to recover the pictures from it. Only a few are from my SLR camera)



Sienna & Kathe at Old Faithful



While driving, we stopped at Yellowstone Lake and walked on the Sandbar that goes out in the lake.








Day 2 (Friday) We drove up to Mammoth hoping to see bears. (No such luck)
Then we went to Tower and then to Artist Point.



Artist Point



Sienna & Mike at Artist Point

Then Saturday Morning we went with Joyce and rented a raft to take on Henry's Fork of the Snake River. It was a lot of fun, even though I missed covering my back with sunscreen and got a BAD sunburn.



Above: Joyce & Sienna
Below: Me with Sienna






Mike and Sienna in the raft


All the women in the raft. Mike was DROWNING in a sea of estrogen. LOL

Sienna in the raft

After we finished the river we went back, ate lunch, packed up and headed home. All in all it was a great time and we are looking forward to having Sienna here for another week.

5 Things to Be Happy About in August

I am really enjoying making these lists. I even have to hold back from doing them more often than once a month. I may have to start throwing them in here and there. Here is my "official" list for August.

1. Family Time (even if vacationing together can be a little stressful)
2. Fudge Ice Cream Bars....yummy
3. Summer school being done...a true month break!
4. The Fair...what is better than cotton candy, rides, and a free concert.
5. Being able to float the Boise River without it being too cold.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! We sure have enjoyed it this year. Even though Mike has had school I think this is one of the best summers we have had in a while, mostly because he is free Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Remember to keep cool and drink plenty of H2O!

Settlers Park with Sienna

More Pictures of the Cousins~ PORTER

I never loaded up all the pictures from Firth and our time with the family there. So here are some more. The subject of these photos is Porter, my cousin's son. He is so cute! I will load up more pictures as I find them and have time.

The Ball Girls

Last Saturday I was able to go meet up with an old elementary school friend and photograph her 4 girls (all under 8). It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed working with the different age groups. Here are a few of my favorites (most are pretty unedited):

I tried out watermarking the photo above. The 2nd oldest girl cracked me up. She would ALWAYS put her head on her shoulder. Baby girl was not happy that day so this was the only one where she wasn't crying and everyone was somewhat looking at the camera.

Here is a picture of her oldest daughter. I had a hard time getting a smile on her face. She is still gorgeous though.

This is the 2nd oldest...no head on the shoulder here:

The 2nd to youngest was my favorite. Why? Because she was totally oblivious to the camera. Sometimes I think parents "train" their kids to pose or do something they think is cute for the camera. That is how the older two were. They were aware of the camera and no matter how far away I was, the second they saw my lens aimed their way....POSE! Not this one though. She had no clue if I was taking her picture or not. She also has the CUTEST dimple on her chin.

On the one above and below I was playing with some different styles I learned in my photography class I took in May.

I love this picture of her. She loved the flowers, all the girls did. This little one carried one in each hand almost all the time.

I did get some pictures of baby girl but she was not a happy camper most the time so I only got 2 really decent ones. It was a lot of fun and I love being able to apply the things I have learned. Plus, it is nice to get some use out of my camera.

My New Passion

So I have a new passion. Well, not so new. I have always been someone who LOVES to find a GREAT DEAL! Recently, after several Sacrament meetings and General Authority messages, Mike and I have decided that we really need to begin living more frugal. We have always tried to be smart with our purchases. ALWAYS PAY CASH type thing. (Yes Mike's TV was paid for in cash that I had saved up.) Now, it has become a passion. It started with the day I was able to get a FREE lip balm pallet with 7 colored lip balms on it from PINCHINGYOURPENNIS.COM. That really got me thinking of how many great deals are really out there. We are also following a plan to have our debt (besides a little on the car and student loans) paid off by the end of October.

The counsel from the church has been inspirational. We need to pinch our pennies, do with out and focus on spending quality time with family doing things on the cheap.

So here are a few good deals I know of:

*IMPACT DIRECTORIES COUPONS FOR THE BOISE AREA
There are great deals in here. Our favorites are the 1 hour free paint balling session (includes all equipment) and the Buy 1 Get 1 free for mini golf and other attractions at WAHOOZ (or as I will always call it Boondocks).
*KIZN 92 Half Price Hook-Ups....Just what it sounds like. Go to KIZN.com and type in keyword HOOKUP in the search engine. Every Friday is a new deal. You get a gift card for half price. Sometimes even at 1/3 the price. One week it was $50 to Texas Roadhouse for $25....GREAT DEALS. Sometimes they sell out really fast though.

We have had some friends and family that kind of look at us funny when we refuse to go to a movie that is not matinee or cheap seats, or we decide we can no longer be spending $14 on one brand of lotion and switch to $7 Aveeno (I would get even cheaper stuff but I have SUPER dry skin and have to have special ingredients), but honestly, I don't care. We know what we are doing is right and that by following the counsel the church has given us we will be blessed.

I will be listing some great money saving sights on my sidebar. I hope everyone else can enjoy these money saving offers, because honestly.....don't we all like to have a little extra money? Don't we all love the feeling of finding a great deal? You know you do!

(PS~ If you know a great money saving site please comment so I can add it to my list. In these hard times we need to help each other find great deals.)

Loved This Movie....

Mike and I went and saw this movie on Saturday (Matinee of course)! I loved it! It got me all excited for the last one (well, 2)...that....unfortunately.....I have to wait over a year to see. Dang It!

What I have been up to....

So I haven't posted in a while what I have been up to. I mean a real post. So here it goes:

Tuesday night my friend Sabrena and I went to a FREAKIN' AWESOME concert....

Remember the tickets I won that qualified me to win the CMT trip....KENNY CHESNEY! Opening for him was Lady Antebellum {Love them} and Miranda Lambert (She is CRAZY but knows how to put on a show).

Only at a Kenny Chesney concert do you have as many tailgaters as a football game.

This picture doesn't even begin to show the tailgate story.

Nothing hotter than Kenny in a BSU hat....except my husband in a BSU hat.

Then Wednesday, I woke up feeling like I was hung over (or what I imagine that would feel like). I don't even want to know how all those people who were drinking all those beers felt. I think it was the loud music and dancing that did it for me.

I had the day off work on Wednesday (Thank goodness) so I offered to do $10 photo sessions for friends. Here are some of the pictures (all are the unedited versions).

This young man is blind. I think he did a great job!

This is his little sister. She has {BEAUTIFUL} blue eyes.

This is Alyrie, she is a family friend to the kids and their nanny. (Her sister is my friend Sabrena who I went to the concert with)

This is Edina & Trammel. Edina is {Beautiful}.

I used to work with Edina. It was fun catching up with her and taking their photos.

Edina is 5 months pregnant. She is not showing very much but I look forward to doing maternity pictures for her in October or so.

I also met up with some wonderful ladies from our ward for lunch at good old Delsas.....SO DELICIOUS!

I will have to put another post for the weekend as this is getting a little long with all the photos.

Fanci Freeze!

Tonight we went to our favorite summertime ice cream place...

FANCI FREEZE.

In the fall, winter and spring, we are all about the Baskin Robbins.

But in the summer, soft serve from Fanci Freeze is the only way to go.

Soooooo GOOOOOOOD!

Baby Spencer

Spencer James

Our friends Rachael & Curtis had their baby boy on June 23rd. We finally got over there to see him. He is adorable and so relaxed. Such a good baby. Welcome to the world, Baby Spencer.