I Love Missionaries

Alright I know I already wrote a post today, but I had something else to say :)
Yesterday was Easter, it was also my cousin Charlie's mission farewell :( I am so proud and happy that he is going on a mission, but he is like my twin brother. We have grown up with each other all our lives and we have done so much together. My mom and aunt wanted their children to know each other and feel like they had an extra set of siblings so growing up we got together ALL the time, at least 2 or 3 weekends a month.

My mom's side of the family all lives so close to each other. She has 1 sister who lives in SLC about 10 minutes from their parent's home. Her 2 brothers live within 1 mile of us. We create a triangle of love :) We have done so much together. From the spur of the moment get-togethers, which happen at least once a month, to Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Baptisms, Blessings, Easter, Valentines day, 4th of July, Halloween, to the 3 week trip to New Zealand. We pretty much do EVERYTHING together.

It is hard to imagine holidays and birthdays without Charlie, but the only thing that makes it alright in my mind is that I know he is going to serve the Lord and he is going to make an amazing missionary. In his talk yesterday he told everyone about why he was going on a mission. He said that he had never even considered not going on a mission, but one night after he got his mission call he wondered why missionaries were needed. He was reading the scriptures and came upon Alma 29:9. Going on a mission is not for us, it is for the Lord and those who we can bring to the restored gospel. Although going on a mission is not for us it brings us indescribable joy. Just hearing him read about missionary work was a testimony builder to me.

I have seen many people go into the mission field, but I have never had anyone so close to me leave. I am sad and happy all at the same time. I am so excited to see the way he changes on his mission and the new man that comes back in 2 years.

Charlie I love you!

Krumkake

So I decided I wanted to make a Norwegian treat for my roommates before we all departed and went our separate ways. I have grown up eating sweets and goodies from all over the world, but one of my grandma's favorite to make is Krumkake. It is like a cookie from Norway. I borrowed my grandmas pan, you have to have a special one to make it, that she got about 60 years ago while she was on her mission.

You put just a little batter on the pan, which is on the stove, you push the handles together as hard as you can because you want the cookie to be as thin as possible. When the cookie has cooked for about 1 minute it is done. Before it cools you have to make a cone with it. This is the part that hurts. I can remember having blisters on my fingers from doing this when I was little, but now I have callouses so it doesn't hurt anymore :) This is what the cookie looks like before it has been rolled.

You can eat the Krumkake plain or you can put whipped cream and berries in it. I haven't decided what I like more so I do both ;)

I think Marissa like them :)

I don't know which part Amber like more...the whipped cream or the Krumkake.

Chelsey liked it without the berries.

Apparently Matt couldn't figure out how to get the whipped cream in the cookie...whoops:)