Us.. Right Now!

    So many great things have happened these last few months in our family. First Alex and I have been married longer than Kim Kardashian! Our friends told us that and I find it kind of funny. It has been so much fun. Just last night he took me bowling and we went and saw "Safe Haven" and it is a WONDERFUL movie. I'm not too big into Romantic movies but I couldn't resist the urge to go see Julianne Hough. She's amazing! I stopped watching dancing with the stars after she left. Anyway, we went to Fatcats here in Rexburg and we planned on just going bowling but for $8 each you get unlimited bowling, unlimited billards, and a free 9 o'clock movie from 7-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays! We bowled a couple of games (Alex won one and I won one) and we headed to the movie. Next Tuesday we plan to go. We like to go on dates on weeknights except Mondays which is Family Home Evening nights in Rexburg and everywhere is packed. Fridays and Saturdays are just as packed. That's why we love weeknight dates.
     We normally try to go to the LDS Temple on Thursdays, but we've been finding time on Saturdays. We have a lot of work to do since Alex has been doing my Dad's family history. My mom's side is pretty much done, or from what we've looked at. That is our second thing that is exciting in our family. Starting on my mom's side: My grandma is made up of Brady and Britt. The Brady's are from Ireland and they're named changed from O'Grady and the Britt's come from England. Of course I could go into so much depth, but it is extremely hard to explain if you aren't looking at my family tree chart. We just noticed that my grandpa needs a lot more work on his than I thought. My grandpa is made up of Nation's and Ashley's. Alex loves family history and I love temple work so we are just two peas in a pod. Now for my dad's side: Alex has worked so hard. He secretly loves to hear how excited my dad gets when we find a missing link or a missing relative. My dad is made up of Wallace's and Walker's. Alex found out that the Walker's (my other grandpa's side) are made up of Walker's and Braswell's. The Walker's are pure English until they married some German and Swiss. The Braswell's are from England too, but with some Scottish, German and even French. It's crazy. The Wallace's (which is my other grandma) is made up of Massey and Wallace. The Wallace's married into the Collin's which are Irish, but the Wallace family has only been traced back to the 1700's where they were in South Carolina. The same goes for the Massey's. Genealogy is very time-consuming, but very important. We still have a lot of work to do.
     My sister-in-law, Lindsey, decided to go on a mission! She got her call to the Albuquerque, New Mexico Mission and she leaves April 17th! I'm so excited for her. Alex and I passed through there when we drove my car out to Idaho and it is so beautiful. We left early one morning and we ran into a balloon race! My family there is so amazing and funny! I can't wait to go again! Lindsey will love it!
     I officially was accepted into Dixie State University!!! I'm so ready to leave this cold city of Rexburg. We are looking for good apartments down there. Our contract is over in July so we expect to be moving out as soon as Alex is done with his last few credits here at BYU-I for the spring semester. He has worked extremely hard and has been making excellent grades! I'm so proud of him! He's excited about going into the CIT program at Dixie. We will be adding classes next month so if you have any suggestions on professors please tell me! I hate mean teachers. 

Our kitty!

     My brother will be getting home from his spanish-speaking mission in Los Angeles, California! His official release date is at the end of May and I'm SO SO SO ready to see him! We are so close and I miss him so much! I'm ready to see all of my other family too in Mississippi and some of my friends. We will probably move down south more after we go to college. 

     My Grandpa is turning 70! I can't believe he is that old. He is a hard working man and he is so funny. Roy Nations is the most inspiring man I've ever met. I've always been a grandpa's girl. I miss him so much. 
     Alex and I love our family so much! Alex keeps me entertained. He's hilarious! He has mostly online classes but he has two on campus. He came home with a cat one day and we love her so much. We named her Zelda and she is like our baby. I love cooking and trying out new recipes and doing some Pinterest crafts. I'm a preschool assistant two days a week and I love those little kids! So this is our life right now summed up in a few paragraphs. It changes every semester. Oh, and we love Taco Bell.
 This will be funny when we look back on it in a few years.




Love,

Ashlan

Chocolate Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

     I have many dessert recipes that I have never used. I always stick to the same ones that I've known my whole life. I decided to venture out and try a more difficult recipe that I found on Pinterest. The difficult part was having to be patient! As they say, patience is a virtue! It took a lot of time to make this cake, but the finished product is AMAZING! Alex loved it and he is not big into sweets. It is extremely rich and moist and all of our friends loved it too! I will definitely be making this again! So so so yummy! Here is the recipe:

This is the final product after Alex cut a huge piece!

Chocolate Layer Cake
Adapted from Hershey's

2 cups sugar
1 & 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Spray each pan again and coat with a thin layer of flour.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the boiling water; the batter will be very thin.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean. Cool the layers in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Wrap each layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Make the cream cheese filling and chocolate buttercream (see recipes below). When you're ready to assemble the cake, remove the layers from the refrigerator. If needed, level each layer with a serrated knife or cake leveler.

5. Place the bottom layer on a cake plate. Evenly spread about 3/4 cup of the cream cheese filling over the cake, leaving about 1/2 inch margin around the edges. Top with the second layer and repeat. Finally, top with the third layer. Apply a thin layer of chocolate buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. This is only a crumb coat, so it doesn't need to be perfect. Refrigerate the cake for about 30 minutes.

6. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and apply a final layer of chocolate buttercream, as well as any desired embellishments.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup cream cheese
3/4 cup butter
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
6 cups powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed for about one minute. Add the vanilla and beat one minute more. Reduce the mixing speed to low, and add the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time. Once the sugar is completely incorporated, beat at medium speed for about two minutes or until fluffy.

Chocolate Buttercream

1 cup butter (8 ounces)
1 & 3/4 cups cocoa powder (5 ounces)
6 cups powdered sugar (25 ounces)
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium speed for about one minute. Reduce the mixing speed to low, and add the sugar/cocoa mixture about 1/2 cup at a time. Halfway through this process, add the milk and vanilla. Once all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, beat at medium speed for about two minutes or until fluffy.

Thanks for reading! 

Love,
Ashlan