Mia and Ethan Play Ball

Had to share these cute pictures. This was Mia's second year and Ethan's first. A funny Ethan story.....AJ and Cam used playing T-ball as an incentive for him to get potty trained. They told him he had to use the potty before he could play ball. As the baseball season approached, Cami worked at getting him to use the potty but with little success. Before the first game, being the obedient son, he used the potty before putting on his uniform. He had literally "used the potty before he played ball". Now with the season over he is still not interested in making a habit of using the potty or wearing "big boy pants".
When Mia brought these pictures over for us to see, she pointed out that Ethan was not smiling. Maybe he had on soggy diapers!!!

Brisket 101, per Bubbas request

So, Bubba wants to try brisket this weekend. He requested a more detailed how to guide. I thought I'd post it here in case anyone else wants to try it. I promise it's worth it. Texas style brisket is more savory compared to Kansas City style which is sticky sweet. This is a Texas style recipe.

The recipes.

Dry Rub
2 T Salt
2 T black pepper
2 T paprika
2 T garlic powder

Mix all ingredients well before applying.


Wet Mop

1 t. salt
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. chili powder
2 t. paprika
1/3 c. veg. oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large (or 2 small) bay leaf
1 t. red pepper sauce (franks, tobasco, etc.)
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c. cider vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
3 1/4 c. beef stock

1. In a med. saucepan, combine salt, dry mustard, chili powder, paprika, and veg. oil. Stir to make a paste. Add remaining ingredients, stirring constantly.
2. Place over med. heat and bring to boil. Remove from heat, allow to cool.
3. Store in airtight container in fridge until ready to use.


Lone Star BBQ sauce. This is a great recipe. I love it. Goes well with sausage and brisket. Makes 3 cups, I'd double it since it's so good.

1 1/4 c. ketchup
1/3 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. yellow mustard
1/4 c. water
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 stick butter
3-4 dashes of liquid smoke

1.Combine all but butter in med. saucepan. Place over very low heat and simmer, stir occasionally, 1 hour. *careful not to let it burn*
2.Stir in butter and cook additional 15 min.
3.Let cool, store in refrigerator in airtight container up to two weeks.

Ok, lets get down to it.

The Beef.
Buy the brisket. Quality is the key word. Untrimmed. Make sure it looks fresh and red. Look for about a 10 pounder. The bigger it is the longer it takes to cook. Plan on about 1 hour 15 min per pound. The last one I smoked was 10 lbs and took 12 hours to reach 180 degrees. A raw brisket looks like this.

Trim the fat cap to about 1/4 in thick if needed. Do not cut down into the meat. Rinse of the meat and use paper towels to pat it dry. Don't dry it off too much as you need it to be moist to hold the rub. Speaking of the rub, now is the time. Rub it in with some force, coat it evenly all over. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place it on a cookie sheet, or similar, and place in the fridge overnight or 8 hours minimum.

Get cookin'
3 hours before cooking- Pull the meat out of the fridge to allow it to come to room temperature. Never put cold meat on a hot grill!
1 hour prior, prep the grill.
-Coals: plan on using a big bag, about 18 lbs, of charcoal, I use Kingsford, nothing fancy. It costs me about 8-9 bucks. Also do yourself a favor and get a chimney coal starter. It pays for itself in a few uses by not needing lighter fluid. Just use a couple crumpled up newspaper pages under the chimney to get the fire going. After 10-15 min or when a white ash layer has formed, put the coals in the grill. This is a pic of the chimney.

-Wood: Buy a big bag of Hickory chunks. Soak 12 or so medium sized chunks in a bucket of water. Remember, wet wood smokes, dry wood burns. Soak at least 1 hour before placing on coals.

-Grill: Here is my grill layout. Brisket and oven thermometer in the middle, drip pan under meat to prevent flare ups. Put coals on both sides of the meat, as far away as possible. Old bread pan full of flavored water over one side of the coals. I put half a cut up onion in the water.

- Other tools and supplies: Oven thermometer or two, instant read thermometer, heavy duty tin foil, leather gloves, food handling gloves (latex or they make rubber insulated gloves for bbqing. Also, get a decent spray bottle for mop, it is much easier this way. And metal tongs to handle hot coals and wood chunks.

Fire it up!
20 min prior to putting to meat on, fire up the grill. The coal rack should be at the lowest setting. Temperature in the pit is controlled with coals and vents. I started with 28 coals, 14 on each side and fully open vents. That got me to about 225 degrees. You have to play with it to learn what combo works for your grill. Remember, open vents to increase temp, close to lower. It works by increasing or decreasing oxygen to the coals. So keep the lid closed while you are figuring out temp control. Put oven thermometer in center of grill, as close to where the meat will be as you can. Do not fully rely on your grills temp. gauge. Once you know what combo works, try to remember it for next time. Also, wind, outside temp and humidity affect pit temperatures. Keep that in mind especially in the heat of the day, and put grill out of windy areas.
*In fact, do yourself a big favor and get a remote thermometer or two. One for the pit, one for the beef. Some are even wireless which is real nice. They have probes that can be left in the pit or beef, and it is more accurate and gives you some freedom. Maybe for Fathers day Remington will buy his old man a couple.* This one is at target for about 15 bucks.

I keep one of the top vents open, the other closed. I put my wood on the side of the closed vent so smoke will pass over the beef on the way out.
Put the water pan over the coals, I wrap the outside of the pan with tin foil to help with cleanup, smoke puts a dark film that is tough to get off on it. Put the drip pan under the meat area, I buy a tin disposable pan from the grocery store. Make sure it is big enough to catch all the drippings.

ONCE YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED TEMPERATURE!!! Put the meat on, fat side down for 30 min, then fat up the rest of the time. This gets the juices flowin'.

Add 1 good sized (or 2 smaller) wet chunk(s) of wood directly to the coals, opposite the open vent. After 5 min or so, they will start smoking. Smell it, if it smells wrong, take the wood off and put another on. Do not use pieces with bark on them. Bark smells different. Remember the meat is absorbing the smoke flavor, good or bad, it will absorb it. Make sure the smoke smells good or you can get bitter beef. Keep adding wood chunks to the water as you use them so you will always have wet and ready wood.

Keep the dang lid closed! If you want it to cook right, limit the number of times you open the lid to as few as possible.

Monitor temp continually the first hour. After an hour the temp will start to drop and you will need to add coals and a wood chunk. Prep the coals with the chimney. You don't need to add as many since there will be some small coals in there still, add about half what it took to start it, again, every pit is different. All trial and error. Coals are cheap, don't feel like you have to use all you prep. Don't worry about ash removal until it gets too high, after 6 hours or so. Add another chunk of wood and mop the meat.

Mopping- Every hour, or when adding coals, mop the beef, both sides. I filter the mop sauce in a tight strainer, or cheesecloth, and put it in a spray bottle. Shake before each use. It is much easier to spray it on than to brush it. Use the mist setting, not the stream, you don't want to blast off the rub.

Now, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.

After 6-7 hours you have a couple options. Every pit boss will tell you something different. Do what you want. To prevent the meat from possibly drying out, wrap it tightly in tin foil, keep in mind you will be mopping it still, so wrap it to make it easy to undo every hour. And you can put it in an oven at 225 until it is finished cooking. It will cook faster, but many people think it is cheating and it yeilds a lesser flavor. I don't know or care. I leave it on the pit. I also keep smoking it, Some people say after 7 hours or so the meat will not absorb any more smoke flavor. I do it anyway, what's the harm. (so, in case there is confusion, I personally wrap it in foil after 7 hours or so, mop it every hour, and continue to use smoke.) Just my own preference.

It should develop a dark "bark" on the outside of the meat. Don't worry, you didn't burn it. It is a good thing.

Once the beef reaches 180 in the thickest part, its done! Others say you should be able to put a fork in it ans twist it with ease. Whatever, 180. Let it sit, off the heat for 30 min or so before cutting. If you are not ready to serve for while, Wrap it in another layer of foil, then a couple old towels and put it in a cooler. The insulated cooler will keep it warm. It can be left like that for a couple hours if needed and will not loose much heat.

Cut it up. The brisket has two parts, the lower, or flat, which is more lean, and the upper, also called the point, which is fattier. They are separated by a fat layer. It is pretty easy to cut it by feel, just go slow and don't cut in to the meat. The flat and the point meat grains run different directions. Always always cut against the grain. Thickness depends on what you like. A tip though. If the beef is so tender it is falling apart, cut it thicker so it holds together better. If it is a little tough, cut it thinner. I'd say 1/4 inch is a good average slice. Also, I cut off as much fat from the flat as I can, then I flip it over before I start slicing, It gives it a better presentation. Serve with warmed up BBQ sauce so the beef stays hot. Sooo good! Now, the point. Cut off as much fat as you can. Find the grain direction and cut against it. If the flat will fill up your guests, you may want to finely chop the point to make sandwiches later, or for the kids at the bbq so parents don't have to worry about choking, And I think kids would like it better. Chopped beef smothered in BBQ sauce is devine on a hamburger bun.
Our favorite sides are:
Bush's baked beans, brown sugar and bacon style.
Bev's mac and cheese (search that in recipezaar.com)
Hawaiian sweet rolls
Salad
Tony Sacheres Dirty rice, box mix

Smoked Sausage- You don't actually smoke a raw sausage, just throw a couple quality pre-cooked/smoked sausages on the grill with the brisket the last hour or so of cooking to heat them up. Slice in about 3/4 to 1 inch pieces. Smother with BBQ sauce.

Put a D in front of the word anger.....DANGER!!!

I want to share a few things that I have learned recently about Anger that I hope will give you, my loved ones, something to consider and possibly save you from harm. Soon after an episode with a loss of my temper, we were asked to speak in Church. (Kind of ironic, huh!?) I chose this topic. My pondering and research has opened my eyes to this weapon of uncontrolled anger.
What is anger? It is described as a strong passion or emotion of displeasure that starts small but can grow into dangerous proportion. It usually starts with a feeling of frustration, irritation or resentment. If that feeling is not investigated and resolved it can turn in to the emotion of anger which can build into rage (loss of self-control, "lose temper") then into fury (destructive rage verging on madness) and then wrath (desire or intent for revenge). Anger is dangerous and is the mother of a whole brood of evil actions. We speak hurtful words when we are angry, we offend, we inflict deep wounds, and these actions can be followed by years of pain and regret. "Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured" - Author Unknown
What to do when angry?
1) Smile!!! Remember that Primary song: "If you chance to meet a frown, Do not let it stay, Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away". Humor helps too. Remember the time that I was hen-pecking Dad and in an effort to avoid getting angry, he walked away and left the room. But I followed him around and even outside where the hose just happened to be laying. He pointed it right at me and soaked me. Immediately be both started laughing! It was a good lesson for me on how humor, and smiles can turn a heated situation around.
2) Maintain control of yourself - especially your tongue!! It is a lie to believe that we cannot control our temper. No one makes us mad or angry, there is no force involved, but it is a conscious choice or decision to become angry. There are many effective ways to deal with frustrations and irritations, i.e., communicate feelings, express yourself in calmness. It is when we loose control of ourselves that the damage occurs.
3) I find that prayer is a powerful weapon against anger. I sometimes have to pray for help in discovering the root of feelings of resentment or frustration. It also helps me control the words I use to express my feelings.
4) Be slow to anger. Don't be easily provoked or offended. The Savior's words from 3 Nephi: "Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men to anger, one against another, but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away."
5) Be forgiving of others who may be struggling with anger. Frank is one of the most forgiving people that I know. He is so good to overlook my struggles and to forgive me for times when I have foolishly used the weapon of anger.
So to wrap up my ramblings I would say: Let go of the feelings that lead to anger. Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. The opposite of anger is agree-ability, calmness, contentment, enjoyment, good nature, happiness, joy, peace and pleasantness. These are the things that make life worth living and life is too short (take it from a 50 year old) to waste being angry.
Love to you all,
Mom/Beth

Grandma's Flower Garden

Ethan, the fireman enthusiast, was anxious to use the hose to water the flowers. His shorts got a bit wet and were drying out when this photo was taken.
Mia models a lovely flower tucked behind her ear. She was a big help and has a real knack with flowers.
Mia and Ethan came over today and helped to plant some more flowers in Grandma's flower garden. We went to the garden store and they both picked out some flowers. Using the wheelbarrow and armed with hand shovels, they dug dirt,placed the flowers, and watered them. We were treated to a delicious lunch made by Grandpa.

Happy Mother's Day!

It was a very nice day today topped off by a delicious Spaghetti and Meatball dinner prepared by Katie. AJ's family and Grandma Brown came over. Dallin had some fun playing around with Grandma's camera today took these pictures of the gang. His self-photo he called "Dallin in Cheesey-version". It was good to talk to Keith, Candice, Brenna, Mike and Nana today.
Lots of thoughts crossed my mind today as I pondered about mothers. From the time I was a little girl wanted to be a mother. I liked to play with dolls and dreamed about the day when I would have my own babies to take care of. My mom was a wonderful example to me. Watching her helped me to happily anticipate the day that I would be a mother. As a teenager I knew that I needed to take care of myself to give my future children the best possible advantage of health and happiness. I also knew that I would need to choose the best man to be their father. I found what I was looking for in Frank and I have not been disappointed.
All of my hopes and dreams have come true with the arrival of each of my five precious babies. They have brought me untold joy, taught me countless lessons, made me laugh, made me cry and have given me hope for the future. I know that they will improve the good things that we have given them and make an even better life for their children.
Grandchildren are the frosting on the cake and bring an exquisite kind of joy as I watch my babies grow up to lovely care for their babies.
It has been a very happy Mother's day. Thank you, dear children, for all you have given me. Love, Mom/Grandma

A Memorable Anniversay

We have celebrated our 31 anniversaries in a variety of ways but this one, spent in the hospital, was a first. That said, it was a good celebration nonetheless. The best part is that Frank is on the mend.

I have often thought of marriage as a dance where two people learn to move together. Through the years the dance moves change and so does the music. Most of the time it all comes together and we dance like Fred and Ginger! The trick is to try not to step on each others toes and to keep working together to learn the steps.

I love this quote by Hugh Walpole. It captures how I feel.

"The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life."

I look forward to many more years of dance lessons and finally get to dance into eternity with my partner, Frank.

Dreamin' of Randolph

What is it about this picture of my favorite man in my favorite place that makes me smile?!
We haven't been to Randolph since January and we are missing it, big time. Here is a list of some of the things we love most:
It is soooo quiet.
There is no traffic and no crowds.
The stars shine brighter than bright.
The residents are friendly, all 450 of them.
The air is clean.
The winters are very cold. Good snuggling weather!
Time seems to stand still.
We can choose to do projects or just be lazy and it doesn't matter.
Bear Lake is a short 20 minutes away with lots of activities to choose from like renting a Waverunner, sitting on the beach, playing in the water, etc.
Taking the grandkids for a weekend in Randolph.
We will never run out of little fun home improvement projects.
Using scrap lumber to make something from nothing (like barndoors)!
The Rich County Fair & Rodeo every August right across the street.
Learning about raising goats and chickens and dreaming of doing it someday.
Frank usually gets in the mood to cook and serves up some tasty vittles. Which leads me to the next item on the list...
In Randolph, calories don't count!!!:)
How lucky we are to get to have a country home. I am so glad to share the hobby of homebuilding, home fixin', and home making with my Frankie. He is making another of my dreams come true!!!

Frank Gets Some Visitors

Today was a tough one for Frank. With a change in pain medication came allergic reactions that were not at all pleasant. The general anesthesia air rising up through his shoulders and neck are also causing discomfort. Needless to say, he was not his spunky self! They say that the third day after surgery is the worst and tomorrow is day three. We are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. A chat with the doctor made us realize that Frank will not be able to do a lot of the things that he used to be able to do. He will have to let others do the lifting and heavy work.
The day was not all bad thanks to some visitors, namely, AJ, Cami and kids, Brenna and Mike, Jared and Katie and many phone calls from well-wishers. Frank mustered up the umph to play a version of "Chinese Steps" with the grandkids.

Get Well Soon, Cheech!

Frank had surgery today at about 7:30 a.m. All went well. The doctor was able to repair the "swiss cheese" grouping of hernias, large and small, and he is comfortably resting at the hospital until Sunday.
The day started out 5:45 a.m. and we had quite a surprise when just as we drove up to the hospital all the power from Bountiful to Kaysville (20 miles away) went out!! The hospital generator came on for about 10 minutes and then that went out too!!! We sat with the nurses for about 40 minutes before all the power came back on!
Frank asked me to thank all of you who called to check on him. Our bishop came by last night and, assisted by Jared & Mike, gave Frank a beautiful Priesthood blessing. With so many of you praying for him as well as his name being on the temple prayer rolls, he is convinced things will continue to improve. Frank has always been a man of great faith and finds great comfort in relying on his Heavenly Father.
Here are a few pictures to prove that he is doing well and even smiling!!!

Mom and Dad's 31st Wedding Anniversary Video

We discovered the joy of Windows Movie Maker. Mom collected a bunch of photos that nobody has seen before. The video is set to music, Mom and Dad's song. Don't laugh at the funky hair styles and weight changes.....touchy subject....... The movie is 3:18, so let it download first and then watch it. (Unless you have a fast connection, then let it rip baby!!!)

Enjoy!!!