Sweet and Sour Pork

My mom wanted me to post the recipe from my date night dinner in the last post. The recipe is from Marjorie Hinckley in her book Small and Simple Things. It's really good. More on the sweet side than sour which is how I like it, although it's not the quickest meal to make, so plan time to make it.

1 lb. pork (cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 Tbsp., 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp. flour
1 egg white
pinch of salt + -
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup sliced carrot
1 sliced green pepper
1 cucumber (cut in long strips)
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
4 Tbsp. catsup

Mix pork with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, flour, egg white, and salt. Fry in deep, hot fat(I just used oil) until brown, set aside. (When I was done I just put it in our strainer and it just sat in the sink)

For sauce, combine sugar, 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch. Stir into vinegar and water. Whisk to remove any lumps. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Set aside.

Heat another pan. Using 3 Tbsp. oil, saute onion, carrot, pepper, and cucumber. Don't overcook, they should remain rather crisp.

Combine pineapple, the sauteed vegetables, the fried pork, and the sweet and sour sauce. Stir in tomato catsup. Mix thoroughly and serve hot with rice.

A Date on Tuesday

Brett and I don't get out very often, but Brett suprised me with movie tickets to see Angels and Demons. He's been wanting to see it since he read the book, and was very happy that they cut some of the 'grosser' parts of the book out. Anyway, our date started with a delicious Sweet & Sour Pork (I thought it would compliment Angels and Demons) compliments a recipe from Marjorie Hinckley in her book. Then we all played outside for a while before Hyrum went to bed. It was fun to have family time and then get out. I thought the movie was pretty good, but not one that I'll probably see again. Mostly it was just great to go out and do something together. Noah came too, and slept through the whole movie. . . It's funny because I think the last time we went to see a movie in the theatre was when we saw Harry Potter with Hyrum when he was just 6 weeks old. I guess we initiate our boys into the movies at a young age.Today Hyrum discovered some new friends outside while we were doing some weeding. Here are some pictures with his friends Mr. Worm and Miss Rollie Polie:

Our life through pictures.

Hyrum has been such a great helper this week. I've been working like crazy on our front yard and he has followed me around with his garden tools and helped me dig and plant. Sadly I didn't get more pictures, because I didn't want to get the camera all dirty. But on Saturday we got some pictures of Hyrum helping with his favorite job, watering the plants. He's so dilligent and focused when he does it too.

In case your wondering why Brett has a 'strong man' face on and what he's holding I'll tell you. The other night Brett was scooping up some ice cream when the scooper suddenly just snapped in half! Brett says it's because he's so buff. It was crazy! We've had that scooper since we got married. Goodbye, oh faithfull scooper, you will be missed.

Recently Hyrum has become more aware of Noah as a person. He now wants to hold him and play with him a little more frequently. Whenever he finds his pacifier on the ground he says 'uh-oh' and takes it to Noah. He usually puts it in backwards for some reason, but still very thoughtful.

I just love little baby bodies. Noah is getting bigger and cuter every day.

Happy Late Mothers Day. Aren't these flowers beautiful? Thanks Brett!

Hyrum revealed

Sleeping: I never reported this, but Hyrum moved into a big boy bed when we moved into our new home. He did GREAT with the transition. We were expecting armegedon and were pleasantly suprised with a very easy transition. He's never fallen off (that we know of), and he seems to really like the freedom of being able to just get in bed. He's so good about going to sleep at night. We have a 5 minute night routine with him and then shut the door and he's out. Although, I have to say that he's been having nightly wake-ups the past couple of weeks that haven't been fun for us. We're hoping with limiting his daytime naps and keeping him outside during the day longer he'll get back on schedule. People: Hyrum usually just does his own thing. Although if he wants Brett or I to do something with, or for, him he just grabs our hand and pulls us somewhere and puts our hand on what he wants. He even will lift our feet up for us if he wants us to step in a certain place. It's really funny. His independence does scare me sometimes though. Today we were playing outside with a bunch of the neighborhood kids when I realized I couldn't see where he was anymore. I was looking around when a women a few houses down came out to see if I was missing a son. He just walked into their house and went in their basement to follow their cat. He is our little explorer. Entertainment: Hyrum's favorite word lately is "WOW". It's so cute when he says it because he over-pronounces his w's. He says wow frequently and it makes me remember to be grateful for all the little things. For example, every Monday night after he goes to sleep I go grocery shopping, which means a full fridge on Tuesday. So, on Tuesday morning when he looks in the fridge he just stairs inside and says "WOW" as if the magic food fairies filled it in his sleep. Another favorite of his is the washer and dryer which he loves to watch on laundry day. In this picture he decided to make the dryer his lunchtime entertainment. Eating: He goes through phases of things he likes and doesn't like. This week his love is corn. I had to start limiting him to 2 cobs of corn a day, otherwise he just wouldn't stop and eat anything else. As you can see by his pajamas, this cob was his breakfast supplemented with cereal.

One busy week. . . with a happy ending

1. After 5 1/2 years of tough, fun, crazy, and busy school schedules Brett has finally finished! On Friday he graduated with a Masters Degree in Computer Science. I'm so proud of him in accomplishing what sometimes seamed like the impossible with everything else going on. He still has his Thesis to defend, but that's just a matter of waiting from his board to schedule a date. Way to go Brett!!! Here are some pictures:2. Noah was blessed today. We love our little man so much and are amazed at what different personalities we can already tell our boys have. Noah is our starving man. We had a really hard time getting Hyrum to gain weight. You would think by the way Noah acts sometimes that we starve him. He just can't get enough. He seems very patient and mellow (especially with Hyrum as an older brother). Here are some pictures:As I was taking this picture, Hyrum reached in to give Noah a cheeto. . . his facial expression is almost saying "Mom, save me from this crazy man!"
These are the bookcases we got at Ikea a few weeks ago. I love having an Ikea so close, and thanks for all the help placing things and decorating them Partridges.
3. Last but definitely not least, all of Brett's family came into town this weekend for graduation and the blessing. What was most amazing about the visit is that they used this vacation time to all work their tails off for us to get things put together in our house. They patched holes, removed a door, hung pictures, built closet shelves, put together a book case, and . . . I think you get the idea (there is a lot more that I haven't listed). They did so much to help us get a jump on the move-in process. Last week I was feeling like it would be months before we could get all the things done that they accomplished in one weekend. We are so grateful to have such great families. THANK YOU PARTRIDGE/GROVER/FARNSWORTHS!!! With all the organizing, building, decorating, and stuff I forgot to take pictures. Luckily, Brett got this one of his Grandma watching the kids. It takes one strong and patient women to watch all these kids so that we could get more work done upstairs. Thanks again!

Easter

We are still alive and busy. This past week has been filled with unpacking, painting, and Brett finishing schoolwork like crazy. Noah is getting better from his double ear infection and Hyrum is still trying to get two more teeth in. We love our new house and neighborhood. I'll post more once things have settled down, but for now we wanted to wish you all a happy Easter.Hyrum hates getting his hair combed. . . I just had to take a picture to prove that I do comb his hair. 5 minutes after this picture he had messed it up to his liking:)

Noah has been smiling since the ear drugs kicked in.Bubbles make everyone happy.

The crazies

So, a lot has happened in the past week or so. We started moving a few things over about a week and a half ago. . . nothing big, just stuff we had in storage. The plan was to make the big move after Brett graduated. Well, last Saturday at about 10 am Brett was working on homework and I was watching the kids when suddenly Brett said, "What do you think about moving into the new house today?" We had absolutely nothing prepared to move and no idea how we would do it all, but when Brett has an idea there's no turning back. A few phone calls were made and then we were off to craziness. With some help from some friends THANK YOU RYAN, SAM, CHAD, NAOMI, and JASON. We moved everything over to our new home, except for a few things that we picked up on Monday. I couldn't believe we did it. We were in such a hurry to get things over that there wasn't a whole lot of organization. . . so now that we're here we feel the craziness. The house is a mess of bags, boxes, and random stuff all over. I really can't wait until we find homes for everything. With Brett busy with school and work and the boys busy with my time it makes moving slow. The good new is that the bedrooms and bathrooms are almost fully put away. The basement is also pretty put together, but the rest of the house is a bit scary. Over the next few weeks we're going to be pretty swamped, but I'll try and stay ontop of putting updates on here.

This is what you see when you walk in our house:Yay! One empty suitcase!