Squeaky Cheese and the Polygamists

My mom and Becca stopped by for a visit on Monday and Tuesday on the way home from visiting my cousins in Arizona. It was a nice, but short little visit. With not much else to do on Tuesday, we decided to go for a little drive to Colorado City (yes, that Colorado City). I've driven past Colorado City a couple of times, but I've never really stopped or driven through the town. But, it turns out they make cheese; even better, they make squeaky cheese (i.e. cheese curds - a family favorite). So, we decided to take the little 35 minute jaunt to check it out.

As expected, the town is full of large to very large, unfinished houses (this is intentional, so they don't have to pay taxes). The women and children are dressed in old-fashioned dresses and attire (bluish gray dresses made from the same pattern are most common among the women and cotton button down shirts for the men and boys). But, in the middle of town, there is a nice big dairy. Since this was truly our destination, of course, we stopped. And the cheese curds were deliciously squeaky (very fresh!). It turns out there is even a small Community College there, too. Very interesting.

But, did you know there are actually two different Polygamist groups in that area? I didn't. If you keep on going another 1/2 - 1 mile or so past Colorado City, there is another completely different Polygamist group in a city call Central. The feeling is very different in Central. The houses are very, very large (mansions) and beautiful and finished! They have huge yards with very nice fences, playhouses, cars, and stuff. The yards and town are all very nicely manicured with expensive landscaping. And the women and children appeared to be dressed in more modern attire. I found this very interesting as well. (Apparently, my mom had seen a special on this group on a talk show or something. I guess they are very educated and modern there. They just simply choose to live a polygamist lifestyle, but they send their kids to college rather than marrying them super young and the kids get to choose whether they want to choose the lifestyle for themselves or not).

Anyway, I guess I have a better understanding of the different types of groups there are. And, although I don't agree with their lifestyle, I can understand them better when I see them at the store or garage sales or whereever. And I can definitely appreciate their cheese!

St. Paddy's Day

Tyler found the Pot O' Gold!

Being the not-so-creative mom that I am, I usually don't do much for Tyler on holidays (sad to say, but unfortunately true). But, luckily, Aunt Becca (and my mom) was in town for a brief visit, and she came with a totally cute and fun St. Patrick's Day surprise. She brought a "Pot O' Gold" (green bucket with gold wrapped candy) and we sent Tyler on a treasure hunt to find it. Here's how it worked:

We put a sticker on his cheek before he woke up, and, when he woke up, we told him it looked like the Leprechans had visited. Maybe they had even hid their pot of gold in the house. It just so happened there was a Leprechan trail (of green four-leaf clover confetti), so we told Tyler to follow the trail. Tyler caught on surprsingly fast, and laughed and shouted each step he found more of the "trail". At last, he found the "Pot O' Gold" and dug right into eating the candy (before breeakfast). He loved it!

Thanks, Becca for the great idea!

Tyler's Obsession

Ever since he was a baby, Tyler has loved shoes. In fact, I think it was like his fourth or fifth word. Who knew my son would take after me in my love for shoes? He's been putting his own shoes on for over 6 months (gotta love Crocks) and he even went through a phase of trying our shoes on. But now he's back to that phase, and only this time he's walking in our shoes. It really is very cute, so I had to share.

Tyler Turns 2

My baby turned 2; I guess that makes him not a baby anymore. He's doign big things now like talking in short sentences, repeating what we say even when we don't want him to, tearing up the house, wanting to help us with everything we do, and even sleeping in a big boy bed (which he is very proud of).

Although my cake decorating skills are lacking, this was really the best chocolate cake I've ever tried. Truth be told, I don't usually like cake that much, but this one was dense, moist, and yummy! Even Chris, the chocolate lover in our family, loved the cake enough that I thought I should share the recipe with everyone.

Since balloon is one of Tyler's favorite words, I couldn't leave them out of the celebration. He stared at them all day long and even made up a song about them (yes, my little buddy is a singer and loves to make up songs with the words he knows).

We decided to get him a big wheel for his birthday, since he loves to play outside. He was so excited when Chris put it together for him. I don't think he got off it until bedtime, and, even then, that's all he could talk and think about. It was a fun day for the Hoods!

Now, for that cake recipe.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

1 cup baking cocoa

1 cup boiling water

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream

FROSTING:

2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 1/2 to 5 cups powdered sugar

1. Dissolve cocoa in water; let stand until cool. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well. Add cocoa mixture; beat well.

3. Pour into greased and floured 9" round baking pans. Bat at 350 for 30-35 minutes (I swear it was actually more like 40-45 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

4. In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat; cool for 5 minutes. Place in a large mixing bowl. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat until blended. Add powdered sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. Store in refrigerator.