Tim & Kaitlyn

Moving on...

2010-07-28T01:17:00.004-06:00

Well, this will be our last post to this blog (at least for now). Kaitlyn and I have started up a web site where we plan to post pictures, bio's, videos, and a new blog.We will be posting each week on Sunday. Feel free to venture on over to that web site and check out what we're doing.

Morning Surprise

2010-03-08T21:06:00.003-07:00

This morning Kaitlyn started for work and

noticed that there were two moose in our backyard. As you could imagine, we both were quite surprised. We don't see moose in Rexburg very often, especially in town. Today was a "Teacher Workday" for me, so I didn't have to be to work at the usual time. I used the opportunity to follow these poor moose around and take their picture, whether they liked it or not! If you are unfamiliar with our back yard, it's not really a yard at all. It's a field, full of mice and probably hobos. The field is fenced off near the back where the field turns into an actual productive alfalfa field in the summer. So, I decided it would be

okay to walk into my side of the field and start taking pictures of the wild beasties (don't worry, there was a fence that separated us). Because the snow was still a bit deep in the field, and me being in my hous

e slippers, I didn't make it too far. Luckily, living in the Ghetto that we do there are a lot of old cars and trucks parked indefinitely in the field. So, I got up on one of them and started taking pictures. Funny, the height actually helped with the pictures. After about 20 min, the moose wandered off into another property and I decided to let them go. It was fun to watch them. Even better, I got to go outside and enjoy the outdoors in the early morning while it was still early without anyone around, I love that!

New Years Eve Party Dips

2010-01-16T18:45:00.006-07:00

So, New Year's Eve came and went and it's been two weeks since we had a great party with the Harts in a reserved LDS Rigby chapel (thanks Karen). I told everyone that I would post my French Onion Dip Recipe and Kaitlyn's Guacamole recipe. Well...sorry it's taken so long, but here they are.

Tim's French Onion Dip Recipe

1 1/2 cups - Sour Cream

3/4 cup - Mayonnaise

1 1/2 cups - Onion, chopped fine

1/4 tsp - salt

1/2 tsp - celery salt (normal salt will do also, this just adds another dimension)

1/4 tsp - pepper

1/4 tsp - garlic powder

Instructions

1. Combine sour cream and mayonnaise in a bowl.

2. Cook onions in a skillet for 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt to onions to help pull out moisture. (Don't rush this, we need to pull out all the sugars and essential flavors of the onions, and to give them some color so they will color the dip later.)

3. Once cooled, add cooked onions to sour cream and mayonnaise mixture and add celery salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Kaitlyn's Awesome Guacamole

1. 5 small avocados (2-3 large)

2. 2 tbsp onion, chopped

3. 1 roma tomato

4. 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

5. 1 tsp salt (can add more for flavor)

6. 1/2 key lime, juiced

Instructions

1. Get a wicked cool "molcajete" (stone mortar and pestle) and smash up all but a few of the avocados. (leave 1 or 2 not so smashed so it will still be chunky!)

2. Add the rest of the ingredients, minus the lime juice.

3. Allow the guacamole to "mello" for about 20 minutes (if you can) while all the flavors get to know each other.

4. Add the lime juice at the end and adjust as needed. Salt can also be added a bit at this time if you need it, but use a chip because they could be pretty salty.

2009-12-21T18:31:00.003-07:00

On Thursday of last week, I finally finished my last semester of classes on BYU-I campus! The light at the end of the tunnel has now appeared. Although, I am down with classes on campus, I am not done with my undergraduate degree. I still have to complete student teaching, which I will begin on January 5th. Once this has been completed, and my passing all the requirements, I will graduate and walk on April 9, 2010. I’m terribly excited. I started school in January of 2004, not including the summer semester I attended before serving a mission. It’s been a long road, but I’m glad to say that we are debt free! It took me a while because I opted to work in the summers in Alaska and pay for school instead of attending classes. I am on a Winter/Summer schedule instead of the sought after Fall/Winter schedule.

Another reason I am glad that I am finished with this semester is because I can now enjoy Christmas. Attending one’s last semester of classes is not usually an easy task. There are portfolio’s to assemble, paper’s to write, and certification exam’s to take. Attending to all of the assignments doesn’t lead for much time to enjoy the Christmas holiday. I never felt that I could give too much attention to celebrating Christmas without falling behind or forgetting something important for my classes. So, you could imagine my sigh of relief as those classes reached their end and I could shift my focus from not failing to enjoying the spirit of Christmas.

Proform Airborne Extreme Show

2009-10-22T21:19:00.005-06:00

Last year the Proform Airborne Jump Rope Team that Kaitlyn and I coach restarted a show that we put on for the community. Our jumpers went door to door, contacted family and friends, and sold tickets to anybody to help send our team to the National Competition in Texas. Last year, after counting pre-sold tickets we were planning on about 300 people for our 45 minute show. When the doors opened we were surprised when there was a line at the door going down the street. When we started we were filled past fire code for the building and had nearly 1,000 people watch our show. It truly was a great thing for our team.

On November 14th, we will be hosting our big community show again, which we dubbed "The Extreme Show", here in Rexburg at the high school. We hope that once again we will be able to surprise ourselves and have even more than last year show up for the show. This show is a great opportunity for the jumpers on our team to make money for themselves that they can put forth towards paying their way to the new $1000 cost of jumping at the national competition in June. It is also a way for our team to give back to the community that has supported it for so many years. Rexburg loves the jump rope team and our jumpers love to perform, so it's a great combination.

Kaitlyn and I would love for any of you to come see our jumpers perform at our community show if you can make the trip to Rexburg. Tickets are $5 for Adult, $3 for kids, & $20 for families. We hope to see you there!

Proform Airborne Highlight Video

2009-09-08T18:12:00.002-06:00

For those who don't already know. Kaitlyn and I coach a community jump rope team. The team is located in Rexburg, Idaho and includes jumpers from the surrounding communities and ranging in age from 8-20 years old. The team competes yearly at a regional competition and a national competition. They also perform at various school shows and half times around Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Check out this video of highlights from this past year compiled and edited by one of the team members parents (John Allred). I hope you enjoy discovering the competitive world of jump rope!

Wedding Pictures Proofs

2009-08-31T21:39:00.004-06:00

I have received a few emails and blog comments wanting to see more wedding pictures that I shot. I didn't realize that my taking wedding pictures would be so popular among the family members. Thanks to all who have shown interest. I have attached a few photos to give you a glimpse. I have a long way to go before I reach Julie status, but I like them. Enjoy!

Wedding Pictures

2009-08-29T23:27:00.002-06:00

I just finished shooting my first wedding for a friend. I was a bit worried, mostly because I like to take pictures of mountains, which don't typically move, and a wedding is full of variable situations. None the less, I made sure that I learned as much as I could and I did my best. I felt it went well. Kaitlyn thinks that the pictures I took are better than our own wedding pictures, which is a compliment. My final tally was 2300 pictures taken for that day which encompassed 18 Gigabytes of space on my computer. It was a good experience and I'm glad I had the opportunity and was trusted enough to take pictures of such an important event.

Welcome to the Nursery

2008-10-19T21:12:00.003-06:00

Today, Kaitlyn and I got new callings. We were sustained as Nursery Leaders in our ward. Neither of us have been the Nursery since we were under the age of 3. So, you could imagine our excitement as we went to class today. As we went into class today we were informed that there are 6 nursery leaders. There are 6 leaders because we have 15-20 kids in nursery. Nursery was tons of fun! We played with toys, sang songs, had lunch. It was great. Granted, kids were screaming, kicking each one another, and tackling each other. Oh, well. To our surprise, the nursery is really organized. The kids don't do one thing for more than about 10 minutes before we switch to something else. We will be working out of the new "Behold Your Little Ones" Nursery Manual. We haven't receive ours just yet, but everyone else seems to like it quite a bit. Anyway, we look forward to our new calling.

Washington Vacation

2008-09-30T20:26:00.001-06:00

As the bell rang on Friday afternoon Kaitlyn began her Potato Harvest Break; a two week break her school district gives to students and teachers. As soon as she got home we began our 9 1/2 hour drive to my parents house in Zillah, Washington. We finally arrived around 1:30 am MDT exhausted. My parents were so excited to see us that they got up and chatted with us until 3:00-3:30 am; I’m not sure how coherent any of us really were.

Saturday Morning we got up and ate a prepared pancake and eggs breakfast that my dad made for us. Our plans were to go to the Central Washington State Fair with my family and make it back in time for Kaitlyn, my mom, and my sister to watch the General Relief Society Broadcast on TV. Just as we were heading out the door an old family friend, Darrel & Linda White, knocked on the door. Darrel & Linda have been friends with my parents since before my parents were married. Darrel was also the first Zillah Ward, where we went to church, and was my wrestling coach in high school. They just returned from a mission in Seoul, Korea. We visited for about 1 1/2 hours and then headed for the Fair.

At the Fair we spent a long time looking at exhibits and trying out the good fair food. One exhibit Kaitlyn and I were somewhat excited about was a model of a “double” wide manufactured home! We walked in and toured the home and couldn’t help but gawking at how big it felt. I guess that’s what happens when one lives in relatively small mobile home. :) Hillary, my younger sister, and Kaitlyn and I took the last hour of our time there to ride some of the rides. We went on a hang glider style ride where we flew through the air on our bellies. It was fun, but about as much as I ever want to do for rides. I’m not much for rides. That being said, I agreed to go on a ride called the “Ring of Fire” where you ride a roller coaster in a circle upside down. I have to say that it wasn’t my favorite ride of the day. I think I’m done with rides for a while.

Sunday we went to church with my family. It was fun reuniting with friends of my old ward.

Monday morning we went to my dad’s school and visited his classroom. It was a lot messier than I remember it. I think Kaitlyn felt a little better about her room being somewhat messy or disorganized after seeing my dad’s room all a mess.

Monday afternoon we left my parents house and went and stayed the night with some friends of ours, Isaac and Breta Johnson, in Spokane. Breta just had a baby, so it was fun to see her new son and play with him a bit. We went to dinner, played some games, and explored Isaac’s parents 10,000 foot mansion, where they are currently living (we had the option of sleeping in the “secret room,” where we had to enter through a book case, or in the theater). We enjoyed our time visiting them.

We spent most of Tuesday driving back to Rexburg and are very glad that we are back in our own home again!

The Best Cinnamon Rolls in the World!

2008-09-15T11:51:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Kaitlyn and I spent the day with her family. We went for a picnic out at the Nature Park, then took the whole gang out to our house and put a puzzle together that Gus and Cindy and their kids gave us a while back (which I might say was quite difficult because it was holographic). We ended our day back at the Hart Home for dinner followed by cinnamon rolls. I've been searching for a while for a good cinnamon role recipe (one that could rival Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls), and I think I found one. They were delicious, if I do say so myself, and were a big hit among the Hart Clan. If anyone wants to try them, here's the recipe:

1¼ hour prep - 12-25 minutes bake time

SERVES 12 - Good Sized Cinnamon Rolls

* 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast or 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
* 1 cup warm milk
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup butter
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 4-5 cups flour

FILLING

* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
* 1/3 cup butter, softened (can use less butter to cut down on fat)
* Add Raisins or walnuts to the filling if you like sort of thing.

ICING

* 8 tablespoons butter
* 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
* 1/4 cup cream cheese
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
2. Add sugar, margarine salt, eggs, and flour, mix well.
3. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.
4. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide.
6. It should be approx 1/4 thick.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
9. Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface. (Tip: dust the top of the filling with flour to keep the filling from just melting away onto your pan. This will also prevent scorching on the bottom of the pan.)
10. Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
11. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan.
12. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. (The center rolls might not be slightly doughy still. If this is the case cook for more time uncovered or cover with aluminum foil to keep the tops from over browning.)
13. While the rolls are baking combine the icing ingredients.
14. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
15. When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

School Books Return

2008-09-08T21:37:00.002-06:00

Today was the first day of the Fall Semester at BYU-I. This is my first day back since April. One thing rings familiar at the beginning of every semester; I am in way over my head. After looking at my class schedule's and rules I feel the urge to simply run and hide (things not easily achieved in a trailer 10' X 50'). I guess that's what one gets for being a Social Studies major. I am taking the majority of my classes ON-LINE, because I am considered an "off-track" student, which basically means I'm not supposed to be enrolled, so if I want to be, I need to fork out the extra dough. Being "off-track" I am only allowed certain classes, either ON-LINE or at night. It's pretty bogus, but that's for another day. I am not the most excited for this semester, but It'll be over with soon (in approx. 3 months) and I'll be allowed back on campus as regular person again.

Back from Alaska

2008-09-06T14:05:00.000-06:00

Kaitlyn and I have recently returned to our humble little trailer after having spent the last 4-5 months in Alaska. For the past five years I have spent my summers in Alaska driving tour buses to help pay for school. The past two summers Kaitlyn has joined me. We have many opportunities to get out and enjoy life when we are there. One of the highlights of this past summer was hiking the Chilkoot Trail, a 33-mile trip up and over a 3,800 foot mountain. We retraced the steps of 60,000-70,000 stampeder's who made the same trip up and over the mountain in search for Klondike Gold. It was an amazing trip, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to do it.

Now that we're back, our focus has changed and we are into back to school mode. Kaitlyn started teaching this Fall at North Fremont Middle/High School. She is teaching 8th-9th grade math and science. She is finding out that it is harder than it looks, but I have full faith and confidence that she'll soon find her stride. I am attending another semester at BYU-Idaho. This semester I am considered "off-track", which means that I'm not suppose to be attending school now, and if I want to I have to pay the university extra. I'm taking nine credits online and three credits in a night class.

Kaitlyn and I were fortunate enough this summer to get another car. We decided that we wanted to get something that would handle the snow a little better, as well as something with extra seats. We ended up finding a 2005 Toyota Highlander for sale in Bountiful, Utah. We found the listing for this car when we were still in Alaska. So, we enlisted the help of our good friend Warren and asked if he'd be willing to go test drive it for us. He went and everything else is history. We both love it and the fact that we have two vehicles.