MJ and CJ from Randy's Wedding

Here is a photo from Randy& Jen's wedding day down in Key West. You can sort of see my belly but it has gotten much bigger since then. The wedding and reception took place out on the pier at sunset and was so beautiful. The bride thought to provide pashmina scarves and flip flops for all the ladies so I was in heaven. She's a genius in my book. The vacation we took down to KW was just what we needed for some r&r and sun. I was so pale that I am pretty sure I was transparent. Michael knows KW very well from all the years he spent going down there with his family so he took me to some really great restaurants. I will post more pictures as soon as we get them uploaded.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! I love you all so much.

The "Cookin' with RJ" Show

This is one of RJ's favorite things to do.....He does a "cooking show" while I video tape.

Dairy-free, Egg-free Pumpkin Pie

Holy Cow this is yummy! As you all know, recipes are a little tricky in this household, especially when it comes to deserts. Normally, I have several disapointing failures before I figure how to adjust a recipe to where it works out. Since discovering RJ's allergies four years ago, we have had no pumpkin pie during the holidays and, boy, have I missed it!! Tonight, I FINALLY made a successful recipe and it was SO GOOD! I decided to post this recipe for anyone needing a dairy-free, egg-free pumpkin pie recipe. Enjoy!!

2 cups pumpkin puree

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 1/2 cups water

6 1/2 T. corn starch

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ginger

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly. Pour into pie crust. Bake 30 minutes or until firm.

Saturday Snow Sledding

Ric took RJ sledding today so I could grocery shop in peace. ;) Utah has an amazing amount of much needed snow this year. The kids have been having a blast playing in it. We missed Meggie this weekend, but she was having a great time snowmobiling in Yellowstone with her dad and Summer.

RJ's favorite video

RJ asked me to add his favorite video to the blog, so here it is! :)

Super Tuesday - Rock the Vote!

24 states are holding their primaries and caucases today. What an exciting day in our country!!

So I copied Deb and wrote a little ditty about Michael

His name: Michael Douglas Jones
How long have you been married?: A little over a year
How long did you date?: Almost 4 years. 2 years of that was long distance. Ew.
Who eats more?: Now that I'm preggo definitely me!
Who is taller?: Michael! He is 6'4"
Who sings better?: Definitely me! I am especially good at singing Phantom of the Opera songs. He's really good at dancing.
Who is smarter?: That's a loaded question and I'm awkward about it. Michael's brain is a sponge and he is so smart. I am a genius but I'm also very modest. Ha.
Whose temper is worse?: I have a shorter fuse than Michael. He's very calm and I love that about him.
Who does the laundry?: We both do the laundry. We disagree on how to organize the loads of laundry as we have recently discussed... :)
Who does the dishes and cooks?: Michael is an awesome cook and usually has amazing meals prepared when I get home from work so I do the dishes. I will cook on weekends.
Who pays the bills?: That is Michael's department.
Who mows the lawn?: We don't have a lawn but Michael waters the tomatoes and basil plant on the fire escape.
Who drives when you are together?: I don't have a drivers liscense but I still feel at liberty to sit in the passenger seat and point out all of the terrible drivers that we are surrounded by.
Who is more stubborn?: Definitely Burrito
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?: We always discuss whatever issues we might have immediately so we don't let it get to that point.
Whose parents do you see the most?: We try to make it equal but Michael's parents are close by so we probably see them a touch more.
Who proposed?: Michael did and it was fantastic.
Who has more friends?: We both have a nice group of friends.
Who has more siblings?: I do, I have 2 older brothers and an older sister. Michael has 2 older brothers.
Who wears the pants in the family?: Burrito

Ric, It just wasn't the year for Oakland....

LETS GO GIANTS!!!

Debbie thanks for letting me crash in on your blog, this is so much fun!

Mike Jonez and I in Key West for Randall Pink's wedding. This picture was taken the night of the rehearsal dinner. I ate my weight in shrimp and conch fritters and turned in early while Michael fully took on his duties as best man and kept Randy out until all hours...

I love that my friend Mariah always has these fun little quizzes on her blog. Her blog is where I get all my inspiration (and plagiarism, lol). This one’s all about my man…….

His name: Ricardo (Ric) Gene Hand
How long have you been married?: 5 years, 1 month & 24 days

How long did you date?: Almost 3 years. We were friends for 8 years before we even dated.
Who eats more? He can eat anyone, anywhere under the table on any given day!
Who is taller? Thankfully he is at 6'4''

Who sings better? That would be me. However, with my family as my witness, he can seriously bust a move to Justin Timberlake.
Who is smarter? He's a whiz at math, politics, sports stats, and using BIG words when we’re in a heated debate (lol!). I’m better at networking, the stock market, and computer/technical skills. We both equally love the news and current events. We have great discussions with each other and it’s one of the things I love most about our marriage.
Whose temper is worse? I have a shorter fuse, but he’s got a temper that few but me get to experience.
Who does the laundry? We are even. I'm lucky enough to have a husband who sees when something needs to be done around the house and does it. He is willing to wash, fold, and put away.
Who does the dishes? Mostly him (and I love him for it). I do the cooking and he does the dishes. I’m very lucky.
Who pays the bills? I do, but we have early morning economic summit meetings in the bathroom while we are getting ready for work.
Who mows the lawn? Always him. I wouldn’t even know how to start a lawn mower. :)

Who cooks dinner? As a general rule, me. But he makes a mean chicken taco, the best salsa I’ve ever had, and my favorite breakfast of chorizo and eggs.
Who drives when you are together? Me. This is because (a) he needs new glasses and (b) I have an irrational (he says "rediculous") fear of being in an auto accident. I just feel so much more in control if I’m driving. He has lovingly accepted this about me and allows me to drive.
Who is more stubborn? He says me.....

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? We're even on this one.
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine, but we’d love to see his more often.

Who proposed? He did. He proposed to me and Meggie at the same time.

Who has more friends? Probably me. I'm the "networker." He's more quiet.

Who has more siblings? We are even on this one. We are both the oldest of four children!
Who wears the pants in the family? Meagan and RJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Delia and Raul Garcia!

Married on January 12, 2008....We wish you lots of love and happiness. Congratulations!

January Update.......

I haven't done a lot of posting lately because we've been so incredibly busy. We are 85% moved into our new house and we love it here. The kids are enjoying their oversized playroom. I love how the kitchen and livingroom are all open - it feels like we are all hanging out together all the time. It's so nice. We are so lucky to have found this place when we did.


Ric: has been really busy at True North. January is always a great month for people looking to invest in the stock market. All those New Years Resolutions = sales for us! :) He's had a couple really good weeks in a row. He's working long hours and it's paying off.

Meggie: tried out for a role in the theatre version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Although she was picturing her name in billboard lights as the main character, we were proud of her when she earned the role of Charlie's grandmother. She was also selected to be a peer tutor at her school. She was assigned to a 1st grade girl who has special learning disabilities and needs extra help. It's really fun watching her prepare her lessons and put together special treats for her student.


RJ: is busy being a full-time dinosaur/ninja turtle/power ranger and part-time preschooler. He can now count to fifty and knows all his letters. He is so much fun. I just love being the mom of a T-Rex. ;)



As for me.....things have been changing week-to-week. I enrolled in school and started classes in January only to be offered a really great position at True North. After much deliberation, Ric and I decided that the offer was too good to pass up so, starting next week, I'm back at work! I will be back in the financial coaching department working as an account rep for the Stock Investor and OptionsXpress account. Fortunately, the company allows Ric and I to arrange our schedules to work opposite of each other so we can be available to the kids as much as possible. I will be off work at 3pm every day (I start at 7am which, for those who know me, is going to be my greatest challenge!).



Hope every is well. We love and miss you all.

Debbie, Ric, Meggie & RJ

Here is where RJ sleeps most nights now. He's apparently nervous about his new bedroom.....He waits until Ric and I go downstairs to watch television and then sneaks into her bed. By the time we head to our own room at the end of the night, we find Meggie, RJ, two stuffed dogs, and a bevy of Build-a-Bears all sleeping in Meagan's twin bed.

Happy 2008!!!

Chef RJ and his batch of New Year's cookies!

Ric and I both agree we must be getting older....we chose to stay stay in from the cold and crowds, made cookies with RJ, played Ice Age on the Nintendo Gamecube with RJ, and then went to bed at the same time as RJ. We didn't even see the ball drop on tv! :)

Here's to a great 2008!!! Happy New Years everyone!!!!!!!!!

Christmas 2007

We had a fantastic Christmas in Wyoming with my family. We were buried in more snow than I've seen in YEARS and it was so much fun!

JD - Thank you for building a snow slide that was made even more EXTREME by hosing down with water and freezing overnight (true JD style, lol!). Also, thank you for the snowmobile rides and fantastic food.

MOM AND DAD: First, a thank you for all the food, drinks, and fun (more sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing trips, etc....). But, most of all, thank you for your neverending love and support and for two brother's and a sister who are my very best friends in the world. This family is my heart and my life.

CLAUDIO, ARMANDO, FRANKIE, and LISA: Thank you for sharing time with us this Christmas. It was absolutely wonderful getting to see and spend time with you. Nana Grace, Grandpa Gene, and Marcos - Hopefully we will get to see you soon. We all miss you.

Merry Christmas and love to all!

Debbie, Ric, Meggie, and RJ

Say hello to the "Brown House!"

Whew - what a crazy 12 days!! We moved out of the old house, into the new house, and somehow managed to finish our Christmas shopping and squeeze in a trip to Wyoming for the holiday. I'm not sure I'd choose to move the same week as Christmas (or winter) ever again, but we made it! :) We really like our new house. The home is only a year old so everything is pretty and new. It's very cozy here. We haven't met many of our neighbors yet so it might be time to whip up a couple batches of cookies and start delivering!!! In any case, we're almost ready for visitors so.....let us know when you're comin' over!

Armando, Claudio, Frankie, and Lisa came over on Saturday to open Christmas presents with RJ. It was great seeing everyone and spending a little time together. Hopefully it won't be long before we see everyone again.

I think RJ might have a future career as a JC Penney catalog model - what a ham (isn't he beautiful though?)..... :-)

The next generation of Carper Crazy's!!!

JD, I don't care how old we get (or, more importantly, how old our kids get) I hope we will always continue our summer tradition of spending time together.

Two Beautiful Girls.......

This picture was taken at Cori's bridal luncheon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. That was such a fun and special time for all of us to be together. This pic makes me smile, but also make me miss everyone (especially you Grandma). I can't wait to see you at Christmas.

KIL'R and his baby.....

4th of July pictures

Up and runnin'.......

Here are a couple of pictures from the first day of school. These kids are so precious. Meggie is smart and beautiful. She's such a sweetheart. RJ just has so much personality! He absolutely LOVES school and asks to go every day. His teacher says he is a hard worker and very focused. I'm so proud of both of them. I'm so lucky to be their mom.