McBride Family Reunion

Please see the video presentation I made for Ramon Mcbride 80th Bday/McBride Family Reunion/Hoggan Family below....ENJOY!
P.S: The lighting was horrible, so forgive me if some pics didn't look so flattering ...

The Hoggan Family decided that while in Idaho for the McBride Family Reunion we would go to the Twin Falls Temple. On the way to the Temple, Daren & I stopped at Hansen Bridge and Shoshone Falls, what an amazing places, breath taking views.
Please be advised that the quality of the photos needed to be reduced in order to fit here...sadly.

Here is a photo presentation for you!

General Conference Weekend

April 2nd, 2009 (Thursday)
We had George Robert & Rosemary Hoggan (my dear parents-in-law) staying with us for a few days. I am always so happy to see them, especially this weekend as I was feeling down, missing my family so badly. Sometimes I see some of my friends going through hard times with their parents-in-law and I feel so lucky to have such wonderful parents-in-law. Bob & Rosie are the best, it’s so comforting to know that we can always count on them; their support, love and example have kept us on track so many times.
Bob & Rosie are always are like a cool breeze on a hot summer day.

We love you, Mom & Dad Hoggan!

April 3rd, 2009 (Friday)
The house got a little fuller today as our nephew Thomas Hoggan and his friend (Shalis) came to stay with us for a few days as they were planning to attend the General Conference.
Tom is a sweet, smart, wonderful son/grandkid/nephew/friend and we know he will have tons of girls line up waiting for him when he comes back from his mission, and besides that he is a hunk (I guess it runs in the family)… hahahaha…

Shalis, Tom, Rosie & Bob

April 4th, 2009 (Saturday)
We spent the day watching General Conference today, isn’t it amazing that they always know what to say to make us feel better and that bright days are ahead?
We went as a family to the Distribution center as Mom & Dad Hoggan, after a long discussion, convinced us that they would be offended if we wouldn’t accept their gifts of Temple bags as they received the same gift from their parents. The good part was that as first-timers, we received 50% discount. Cool, huh?
In the evening we had the Matavaos (Liae, Roseanne, Tapá, Krae & Kalea) joining the rest of the family at home for dinner and a movie. Roseanne is Daren’s sister and her little daughter (Kalea) was so cute the whole night dancing for us, but don’t take my word on that, check out the video we made of her below….
You will love the video GRAND FINALE…. (and you neck will hurt as I made the mistake to take the video on vertical mode, instead of horizontal... ops! I will try to fix it, but I don't know if it will work...hahahahaha)

Kalea Matavao (adorable as always)

April 5th, 2009 (Sunday)
Today we watched the 2nd part of the Gen. Conference and enjoyed some good food together. Pot roast and chicken pot pie was the perfect complement to our weekend. Tom & Shalis drove back to Idaho.

April 6th, 2009 (Monday)
Mom & Dad Hoggan left to go to Idaho today and we already miss them, however we will survive as we will see them again next week at the McBride Family Reunion.
Daren is back to work and me back to doing taxes….yack!

Date weekend 03.27 to 29, 2009

March 27th, 2009

Tonight my sweet/adorable/amazing/lovely/cute/romantic hubby took me Provo for a two day date. Oh, I needed it so bad. We were so stressed out with so many things going on in our lives lately that a break from all of that sounds like a blessing from heaven. Daren used his travel agent connection and we were treated like royalty at the Provo Marriott, including breakfast and ski passes… Ok, all of you that know me well know too that I have never skied before, so I knew I was up for a big surprise.

March 28th, 2009
Here is me refusing to get out of our warm bed after looking out the window…brrrrr….

The whole weekend of cuddle time at the hotel with my hubby was worth the trip and who would have ever thought I would be able to trick my hubby to not go skiing for 10 years (yes, I am that tricky…) I couldn’t find a way to convince Daren that skiing wasn’t necessary, he was so excited for me and was thinking that he would get a ski partner out of the deal… So equipped with our Spider ski outfits and looking like US ski team members, we were off to Sundance Resort.
Daren was the best ski teacher ever, patient and very instructional and according to him I did very well.
So my ski adventure started this way…..

This is the video my hubby did for me so I wouldn’t feel left out on the higher runs…

Isn’t he the best?

And ended this way….

Summary: I hated skiing, so cold, too white and not so interactive. I will stick with tennis, running, swimming and martial arts.
On the way back to Provo we stopped to see cousin Shelly and her husband Dave Freeman at their new home. Cool house, by the way, couz!

Daren & Shelly

The cute Sophie Freeman

The Freeman's crib

Daren surprised me with a sushi dinner at our hotel room and some romantic set-up.

Lucky girl, huh?

March 29th, 2009

Sadly everything was done by Sunday afternoon when we came back home and besides the good memories of our romantic weekend, Daren brought a flu back home with him...poor baby...

Crêpe Suzette - For my dear Mother (Suzete)

Je T'aime Maman!

(Te amo Mamãe!)

Merci pour les magnifiques souvenirs dans mon enfance.

(Obrigado pelas memories maravilhosas de minha infância)

Crêpes
100g plain flour
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp sunflower oil
300ml semi-skimmed milk
splash of beer , about 2 tbsp (optional)

Method:
Put the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs, oil and 2 tbsp of the milk, and beat together with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Slowly start to pour in a little milk, mixing as you pour, to keep the batter smooth.

Pour in the rest of the milk, a bit more quickly now, until it looks like single cream. Finally, add the beer.
Heat a 15cm/6in crêpe pan.

Measure 21⁄2 tbsp of the batter into a jug, then pour into the pan, moving it around so the mixture swirls and fits the bottom of the pan. When the crêpe is golden underneath (in about 15 seconds if pan is the right temperature), turn and cook for a further 30 seconds, until spotted brown.
Slide the crêpe on to a plate. Wipe the pan with oiled kitchen paper and continue frying until all the batter is used, stacking the crêpes on top of each other as you cook them.

***You can freeze the pancakes at this stage, wrapped in cling film and foil. Or make a day ahead, wrap and keep in the fridge. To reheat, put on an ovenproof plate, cover with foil and warm in a 180C/Gas 4/fan oven 160C for 10-15 minutes. (If using for Crêpes Suzette, warm through in the sauce.)

Sauce
100g butter
100g golden caster sugar
150ml freshly squeezed orange juice (about 12 large oranges)
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3 tbsp Grand Marnier
2 tbsp cognac

Method:

Heat the butter and sugar in a deep frying pan (about 25cm/10in) over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar begins to dissolve; turn up the heat and bubble quite fast, until the mixture just starts to go brown and caramelise (about 4 minutes), stirring only towards the end. Pour in the orange juice ; add the orange and lemon zests, letting the mixture bubble for 3-4 minutes to thicken slightly.

(OPTIONAL ) Add the Grand Marnier and cognac, heat for a few seconds and lower the heat.
Put one crêpe into the juices and, holding it with a fork, coat it well in the mixture. Fold it into quarters and push to one side of the pan. Continue the coating and folding with the remaining pancakes. Serve 2-3 crêpes per person with the sauce.

Nutrition Per serving
373 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 40g, fat 19 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 1g, salt 0.46 g

Merci d'avoir suivi cette recette et bonne dégustation !

P.S: I love mine with ICE CREAM on the top :)

Las Vegas 02.11 to 16, 2009

Kaitlyn (our adorable, cute, teenager hormone-powered daughter) was in town today, after work Daren and I went to pick her up at the McCoys to have some fun. Kait was craving a hamburger and no better place to go than FIVE GUYS (yummy, yummy…). After we were stuffed to the max and happy, Kait convinced us, using her beautiful puppy dog eyes, to take her to the Zumiez store to the sadness of our pockets. Isn’t it amazing how our kids can leave us poor and happy? To finalize our night we decided to go watch a movie (KNOWING): great movie, it makes you think about your life and how short it can be.
We miss Kait so much, after she moved to Hurricane we spent 03.11th to 16th with her at St. George/Las Vegas, it was her first time in Las Vegas and we had so much fun. Ayaka, one of our past exchange students, came to visit us from Japan and according to her it was a dream come true.

Night Out 03.19,2009

Hello, There!

On 03/19, our dear friends Matilde & Tony Wosnjuk celebrated their 13th Anniversary treating 100 of their dear friends to a concert with the Spanish singing sensation Montserrat at SLCC’s Amphitheater.

Here a little bit about Montserrat:

Montserrat delighted us Boleros com Bossa Nova (Boleros with Bossa Nova), her second album, which is an infusion of traditional bolero with a modern/Latin twist made by the Brazilian composer and musician Roberto Menescal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7PZt8Hiw_8

Montserrat’s second album reached the # 1 in Spain and # 2 in Mexico. Also made “Top Ten” in countries such as France, Italy, Argentina, Japan and Brazil.
Her debut production, Añoranza (Longing)—a collection of Cuban and Mexican boleros recorded in Havana and São Paulo— It featured her collaborations with such musical legends as Jesús "Chucho" Valdés, Pablo Milanes, Pio Leiva and bolero king Mundito González.

Daren wasn’t feeling well, so I invited our friends Guillermo “Gigio” Brunet and Yerley Burgos to go with me. For those that don’t know Latin Music, Yerley was one of the 8th finalists for Objetivo Fama (the Spanish version of America Idol) and she knew all the songs from the concert. Yerly, besides being a wonderful and beautiful friend, is an amazing singer, see for yourself on the clip below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DVG0PPxUi8

Matilde sent me an email today thanking me for coming to their Anniversary celebration and for the Golden Grass earrings we gave her. Her exact words were “I loved it, I loved it, I loved it!” and my words to you Ma are: “Thank you, thank you, thank you for your friendship and the great time you are always providing your friends with. You and Tony are the best!”

Busy Week 03.11 to 15, 2009

Last week was a pretty busy week for us, we were exhausted :( Besides the sad situation with the Sanders, we had the house full this week.

03/11 to 12 -We had the Morris (Shane & Marcel) on the way to Hawaii (yes, we are jealous, but who isn't? It's Hawaii, people!) with another couple (sorry it will sound rude, specially as they were our guests, but we forgot their names).We love the Morris! Marcel is Daren's sister and Shane is a brother to us, we always have so much fun having them around.

Shane & Marcel Morris

enjoying some good subs at Jimmy John's

On 03/13, my dear friend and former co-worker (Renee Hammond) and her better half (Matt Greg) came from Seattle to visit us for 4 days, it was so nice to see them.

On 03/14, we spent practically the whole day helping the Sanders: setting tables, cleaning, cooking, serving... trying to show our moral support anyway we could. We know this won't heal their pain, but I am sure it's nice to know people care about you. The Sanders are an example of faith and strenght for us.
During the night we had two dinners that we had already RSVP'D for so we couldn't miss...First we went to the Mango's (Tarek & Tabitha) and had a nice Italian dinner with good friends/ former co-workers. We had a blast, the Mangos are wonderful hosts and the guestlist couldn't have been more wonderful.

Renee Hammond, Greg Fowles, Charles "Chip" Bullen, Matt Greg and Daren

Sarah Seamons, Connie Lang & Jennifer Fowles

Tarek & Tabitha Mango

After the Mangos, Lisa Fick (Daren's former co-worker and good friend) got engaged with Aaron (yeah, again. we forgot his last name). We got there a little late, but it was nice to be able to share their happiness, we love Lisa and Aaron is a very nice guy. Congrats to them!

Oh, I almost forgot to make everything better : Daren and I got sick, too much food or something, we stayed awake the whole night. We were so exhausted we stayed home from Church and slept.

On Sunday (03/15) we were dying... By the end of the night when Renee and Matt came back home after a fun day of skiing , we were feeling much better. We are glad we didn't make them sick :)To end our busy weekend Daren was so exhausted on Sunday that he snored all night long, which kept me awake trying to find ways to block his noises without any success.One of my neighbors had her husband (who according to her was a chain shaw snorer) do a snoreplasty, a simple procedure that according to her stopped his snoring, only $250!!!http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/archives/Snoring_apnea_snoreplastyupdate2.htm

I will definetely take a look into that :)))

Sad news 03.08, 2009

Today we received some sad news from our dear friends (The Sanders).
On Sunday (03/08) Mara Sanders went to the UofU Hospital for an emergency C-Section.
Baby Elijah was born but with complications... During the birth process a blood cloth went to his brain and he didn't move at all, no brain activity... It was so sad :(((
We went to visit the Sanders and we hope to hear some good news, but instead they informed us that after several exams they decided to turn off Elijah's life support.
Besides hold them, on situations like that you don't know what to say.
I can't even imagine what they are going through right now... What an awful decision to make!
They are devasted and heart broken, I ask all of you that know the Sanders to join us in our prayers for baby Elijah and his family.
Thank you,

Yeah, the Hoggans are online now!

Ok, I need to get better on this blog stuff... It took me ages to change the layout, pics, etc and I thought I was pretty savvy :)))
Now we are online, in keep in touch!
No excuses :)