10th Anniversary - **Dix ans de mariage**

Cam & I just celebrated our 10th Anniversary! We went to Ruth's Chris Steak House in Salt Lake. We've been there several times. They pamper you when you're celebrating a special occasion :) They have excellent steaks. And their chocolate custard is amazing!

Now allow me to utter a few mushy words on this husband of mine. I consider him a gift from God to me. He makes me feel understood and cherished. It's a joy to give him my best because he is so appreciative. He's funny and smart. He has a pure, generous heart and will never try to lift himself above another person. He'll actually do the opposite to make people feel good. He's an outstanding trampoline-jumping, video-gaming, fort-building, paper-folding father. He made me an even happier woman recently by embracing health. He changed his eating habits, discovered exercise, lost 60 lbs! It was extremely hard for him. I'm so very proud of him! I love being part of his team, at home and also at work. I could write a lot more but I know this much public praise is already making him uncomfortable ;) I'll just finish by saying I am looking forward to an eternity of living and learning by his side.

**Cameron & moi venons de célébrer notre 10ième anniversaire de mariage ! J’aimerais dire quelques mots à propos de mon mari. Il est un cadeau des cieux. Avec lui, je me sens comprise et chérie. C’est une joie de le servir car il exprime toujours sa reconnaissance avec sincérité. Il est rempli d’humour et d’intelligence. Il a un cœur pur et généreux et n’essaie jamais de se faire paraître supérieur à quelqu’un d’autre. En fait, il fait le contraire pour mettre les gens à l’aise. C’est un super Papa qui passe beaucoup de temps avec nos enfants à sauter sur le trampoline, jouer aux jeux vidéos, construire des forts et plier des papiers. Il m’a rendu encore plus heureuse récemment en consacrant son temps à sa santé. Il a changé ses habitudes alimentaires, incorporé un programme rigoureux de sport et perdu près de 30kg ! C’était extrêmement difficile pour lui et je suis d’autant plus fière de lui. J’adore faire partie de son équipe au foyer, comme au travail. Je pourrai écrire des pages mais je sais que ces quelques mots en public le mettent déjà mal l’aise. Je finirai juste par dire que je suis remplie d’enthousiasme à l’idée de passer l’éternité à vivre et apprendre à ses côtés. **

Pioneers Day

We celebrated Pioneers Day with our friends the Browns and...the Browns, we call the second set the Jimdys to avoid confusion :) The kids always love playing together. "Can we do fireworks now?" is what we hear over and over until the eagerly awaited nightfall arrives.
**Nous avons célébrer la fête de l'état d'Utah "La fête des pionniers" avec des amis. Les enfant adorent jouer entre eux et attendent toujours impatiemment la nuit tombée pour pouvoir enfin faire des feux d'artifice!**

Also check out Cam's Blog for a great post and cool trampoline action shots.

A Day at the Beach - **Journée à la plage**

We do have sand beaches in Utah! The Cemetary Point Beach at Pineview Reservoir is my favorite.
**On a des plages de sable blanc en Utah!**

Herman's Hermits Concert with Grandpa

Grandpa took us to see Herman's Hermits, a band from the 60s, in concert. Cam grew up listening to their songs because his Dad was a big fan. I was initiated a while ago as well. Next, Grandpa worked on the kids who immediately caught on to several songs, especially the "Henry the 8th". They actually think Peter Noone's name is "Henry". We had a great time with Grandpa!
**Nous avons accompagné Grandpa à un concert de Herman's Hermits, un groupe musical des années 60. Cam a grandi en écoutant leur musique car son père l'aimait beaucoup. Hal m'a initiée moi aussi il y a quelques années. C'était donc le tour des enfants qui s'y sont donnés à coeur joie :)**

Dinner at "In & Out Burger" **Hamburgers pour le diner**

We all ride in the minivan. **On y a va tous dans le minivan**

Grandpa got us nice seats, the best in my opinion! **Grandpa nous a pris de très bon sièges. **

Herman's Hermits

Peter Noone still knows how to entertain his audience.

Shopping List App

I recently switched from a paper to an electronic shopping list using the "Shopping List" app by Hensoft. I did upgrade to the paying version so I could have more than one list (one for each store) and so I could customize my categories. You can even change the order of the categories so they appear on your list in the same order as the aisles in the store. No more ugly paper on my fridge, no more ineligible handwriting and best of all, no forgetting my list at home!! Great thanks to my sister for giving me the idea!

Wonderful Veggie Savers

I often have half a lemon or part of an onion left over after cooking. I used to wrap them up and toss them in the vegetable drawer where I would often forget about them. When I saw the lemon saver at Wal-Mart, I decided it was a much better way to store left over lemon. It's very visible and it's BPA-free (plastic wraps aren't always). It also seems to be keeping things fresher than wraps. I am loving it. I saw the onion saver at Macey's. It actually keeps the onion odor from leaking in the fridge! They also make a tomato saver that I'm planning on getting.

7 Months Belly - Mon ventre à 7 mois de grossesse :)

Moroccan Chicken Kabobs

Wow, flavorful! Recipe from Familyfun.com -
I served the kabobs with whole wheat couscous and zucchinis (cook medium size chunks in covered saucepan in 1/4" of water with salt, garlic, onion powder and olive oil until tender ).

Ingredients
1 small onion, quartered
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon paprika
4 cloves garlic, minced
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped
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Instructions
Put all the ingredients except the chicken and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Thread the chicken onto bamboo skewers (presoaked in water) and place in a large, shallow glass or pottery casserole dish. Spread the pureed marinade over the chicken, turning the chicken to coat it well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Start your grill, and when it's hot, lightly season the chicken with a bit of additional salt and grill until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes, turning frequently. Transfer to a platter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve right away. Makes 4 to 6 servings

Family Fun.com Recipes

I got bored with most of my usual recipes so I went hunting for new ideas on Familyfun.com. They have quite the repertoire of fresh & fun summer recipes. I'll be posting my favorites.

Grilled Chicken Tostadas

Oohh, so good! Recipe from Familyfun.com

Ingredients
MARINADE:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 to 4 limes)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil (plus more for brushing the tortillas)
1 tablespoon honey - (I left it out)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
TOSTADAS
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 ounces each)
8 small corn tortillas (5 to 6 inches in diameter) I think tortilla chips would work well also.
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack, or more if desired
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, green onions
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Instructions
Place the chicken thighs in a gallon-size zip-lock bag and add all the marinade ingredients. Press the air out of the bag and seal it. Turn the bag to thoroughly coat the chicken, place it in a bowl, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight), turning the bag occasionally. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 20 minutes before you want to start grilling.

Prepare a charcoal fire or set a gas grill to medium-high, close the lid, and heat until hot -- about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the thighs from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until it's no longer pink inside, about 4 to 5 minutes per side on a gas grill. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting it into 1/2-inch strips.

Lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with vegetable oil. Grill them on each side until they turn slightly brown, about 1 minute on a gas grill. Before removing the tortillas from the grill, sprinkle each one with 1 tablespoon of cheese.

To serve, layer the tortillas with shredded lettuce, the chicken strips, the remaining cheese, and any additional toppings. Serves 6 to 8.

Lagoon - Bounceback!

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**Cliquer sur le diaporama pour voir les légendes**

Patriotic Celebrations

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**Cliquer sur le diaporama pour voir les légendes**

Lagoon

My sister & I went to Lagoon with the kids. We had a wonderful time. I didn't go on most of the rides due to my present state but I thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance and the kids excitment.
**Je suis allée à Lagoon avec Cathy. Je ne suis pas allée sur la plupart des manèges vue mon état mais j'ai bien profité de l'ambiance et de l'enthousiasme des enfants**

Lehi Parade

We got back from camping, switched cars and, still all smoky smelling from camping, rushed to catch the Lehi Parade !
**On est rentrés à la maison, on a changé de voiture et, encore embaumés de l'odeur du feu de camp, on s'est dépéché vers la parade de Lehi! **

Diamond Fork Camping

The web album (Picasa) I'm using for the slide show has some kind of glitch with the captions so II disabled them for now. Double-click on the slide show to go into Picasa and view the captions. Sorry about the inconvenience, I'm working on it.

Double cliquez sur les photos pour accéder à la légende.

Sesame, our rat

We got our family's first pet a few months ago, Sesame,a rat. We all love her. She's fun like a dog but a lot easier to take care of. And she eats by holding things in her cute little pink hands. The plague and sewer stories gave rats a bad name but rats are actually very clean animals. Here is an adorable video of Sesame grooming herself. **Nous avons adopté notre premier animal domestique il y a quelques mois, un rat! Sesame. On l'adore. C'est comme avoir un chien sans tout le travail. En plus, elle mange en tenant les choses entre ses petites mains roses. Les rats, contrairement à ce qu'on a tendance à penser, sont très propres. Voici une adorable vidéo de Sesame entrain de faire sa toilette.**

Gabriel is 4 - Gabriel a 4 ans!

It's already been 4 years since Gabriel came to join our family! We feel so blessed to have him. He's such a perceptive and sensitive little boy. I love the way he expresses his feelings, happy or frustrated, and the way he tells me what he would like me to do about it. He's also very meticulous, he'll spend hours outfitting his Playmobil men & vehicules with their gear. He's disappointed he's not getting a little brother but I have no doubt he'll be a loving and protective big brother for his little sister.

**Ça fait déjà 4 ans que Gabriel est venu se joindre à notre famille! Nous sommes tellement reconnaissants de l'avoir parmi nous. C'est un petit garçon sensible et rempli de sagacité. J'aime comme il exprime ses sentiments, heureux ou frustrés, et la façon dont il m'explique ce qu'il aimerait que je fasse. Il est aussi très méticuleux. Il passe des heures à équiper ses bonhommes et véhicules de Playmobile. Il est déçu que le bébé ne soit pas un petit frère mais je n'ai aucun doute qu'il sera un grand-frère aimant et protecteur pour sa petite soeur. **