Mark's new look!

These are the before and after pictures of Mark today. He got dentures on the top today. It was really hard for him to finally make the decision to do that. But, he looks great! And he is not in to much pain.

Before...


After. Love ya lots Mark!!! Doesn't he look great?

July 4, 2009. Because we had already signed up for this next cook off, they told us to go ahead and cook in it. It was in Layton for their 4th of July activities up there.

Neither one of us slept very good the night before, we just where so excited that we had won the day before, and still in shock that we had won.

Anyway we got up really early to get packed up again. We left the house by 6:30 am. We had a few problems finding the place, the Google map turned out to be wrong. (That was a first for me, having the Google map be wrong.) Got there and got all set up. There was one other team there that was cooked with the night before.

This time we cooked, Praline cheese cake (so Mark could prove that he could do it without burning it.), Orange blossom rolls, BBQ Beef Brisket. Everything turned out good, except I need help cooking meat. I need lots of practice on that.

Mark taking a rest before it gets really busy.

Me, just having fun!

The Beef Brisket. One of the field judges told me how to make it more tender for the next time. You are supposed to soak it in Ginger Ale for an hour before you cook it.

This is a picture of us, after we won this contest also. They never did say with person won with each dish, just who took the over all. We won $100 for this one, and $25 gift certificate to a grocery store (that will come in handy!) Another great experience, getting to know more new people and doing something that we enjoy doing together.

In the spring we helped at the World Dutch Oven cook off. It was a really neat experience to be there. And Mark & I decided that we wanted to cook it that next March 2010. So, I decided that we where going to get a life doing something together....it seems I go one way and Mark goes the other way with our Church callings. So, we needed fun things to do together. I started signing us up for every Dutch Oven event or cook off that I heard about. We have really enjoyed doing this together. And we have learned a ton.
This is the West Jordan cook off for July 3, 2009. There was 8 teams, and when we got there and saw the people that was cooking, I thought...this will just be a very good experience. Jesse, Gwyn, Jeramiah, DeNell, Sam & Megan all came to support us there. We acually took 1st place at this cook off. I was never so shocked in my life! That was a $200 cash prize, they will also pay the entrance fee for the World cook off. And then we got a Wok to use on the grill for a door prize. That was awsome.
We cooked, BBQ baby back ribs, German Chocolate cake, Buttermilk dinner rolls. They said that none of our dishes took a 1st place, but that we where consistant with our dishes. That they all scored really good. Just way exciting that we won our 1st cooking contest, that would qualify us to cook at the World Dutch Oven cook off in March of 2010.

Getting set up. We had lots of table space to use.

We have started cooking! Looks like I am shaping the rolls and putting them in the pan to rise.

Mark is making the coconut frosting for the German Chocolate cake. It turned out really good!

All the cute kids that came to support us! Sam, Megan, Gwyn & Jeramiah. They all got their faces painted.


Cute little Gwyn!

Your ruff and tuff little boy. Jeramiah.

The cake we made. The flavor was really good...the chocolate frosting we can still work on it a little bit. It was a bit to thin. I was worried about getting the frosting to thick and it tearing the cake up, when I frosted it.

The flavor on these was really good, but can you see the roll, that was not round?

BBQ Baby back ribs, these turned out really good. The judges ate most of them. I sort of forgot about getting extra's for the presentation. But, you do what you can, with what you have.

Pictures of us after we won. It was so wonderful to have Jesse & his kids there support us all day long. I hope they had as much fun as we did!

June was a very busy month for us. Every weekend we had something going. On June 27, 2009 we asked Brodie to come with us to Idaho to cook for a Taste of Dutch up there. You cook dishes and the public comes up and tastes it. Someone put it like...Costco only with Dutch Ovens. Anyway it was a fun time to spend with Brodie, and he was such a great helper. He helped load up the truck, unload when we got there, and then load it back up when we where finished and then unload it again after we got home. We where all tired when we got home. Then the next day Brodie came to Church with me. He is a great kid!

I have to tell you the funny thing that Brodie said to me when we where driving to my house after I picked him to come with us. He said, "Do you mind if I take a shower when we get to your house?" I said, "sure". Thinking this is pretty weird. You know how 9 year old boys are, I think sometimes they see who can go the longest without a bath...his was 8 days. I think he might have won that one. LOL

Brodie filling up the water bottles.

Brodie serving up some of the Pizza that we cooked in the Dutch Oven. That day we made: Pizza, Cinnamon rolls, Chocolate swiral cheesecake, Chicken Etouffee. People seemed to like all of it.

This was the Cheesecake. It was heavenly.

Brodie taking a much deserved rest. You can tell by the look of his apron, that he has been doing a bit of cooking.

Loading the truck up to come back home.

Gwyn & Jeramiah got to spend the day with us. And be silly kids. We love it when the Grandkids come and spend time with us!

Gwyn riding the little horse that she is really to big for. But, she remembers riding it when she was little, and how much fun it was. And she can still fit on it, right???

Jeramiah was shooting the goose out of the sky with Grandpa.

June 20, 2009 they a Romrell reunion in Idaho for the Idaho Romrell's. We went up to it, it was a freezing cold day. But, we got to meet more relatives, and Mark was able to talk with them. We took a picture of Mary, she is the oldest living Romrell decendent, and she married into the family. Several years ago, we meet her at one of the reunions and got talking to her, she was close to Mark's grandparents. And we made a few trips to her house in Idaho to hear the stories about his Grandparents. She also shared geneology that she had on our line of history. Really neat lady.

While MaryAnn and her kids where here, we had a birthday party for Clay. I had him choose a cake to make, and he choose the valcano cake. He was way excited to help make it. Gwyn & Jeramiah got to come to the party. The cousins where so excited to play with each other.

Clay is so excited about his Birthday cake. He is such a cute kid. We really have the best Grandkids around!

Grandkids waiting very patiently for dinner. Clay picked his favorite chicken for his special dinner.

They are all loving it.

Looks like the next morning. And cute little Cora, just waking up. What a sweetheart!

Jake, Clay & Addie just waking up. They are all so cute.

This is our very first Dutch Oven Cook off. It was at South Salt Lake, Huck Finn days. June 13, 2009.

Since MaryAnn was in town, she brought the kids over to see how we where doing. They got to go fishing and play a few of the games that they where having at the park. MaryAnn has some of the pictures of them fishing at the park on her blog. I am sorry that I didn't get to watch them fish. But, we where cooking, and having lots of fun.

Mark & I ready to start cooking.

Praline Cheesecake. It looks really good, but looks are deceaving. It was black as black on the bottom. We burned the cheese cake. Mark came home and made one at home, just to prove that we really could make one and not burn it.

Orange blossom rolls. They turned out perfect!

BBQ Baby back ribs. These took the Mayor's choice. That was an extra $50 in prize money.

This contest they didn't just give a first place, they gave out prizes for each category. We took 1st in the main, BBQ Baby Back Ribs & 1st in the Bread, Orange Blossoms.

I had to show all the pictures of the prizes we got that day, they just kept piling them on me. I was totally surprised that we won so much. Or that we even won! We where hooked on cooking in cook offs after that. It was just really fun, and fun people to be around.

MaryAnn brought her kids down about the 12th June, 2009

MaryAnn had her high school reunion to attend. The girls decided that they would not make the husbands attend with them. And the guys where all ok with that. LOL

We where not good at getting the camera out while they where there, that is for sure. Mark did get some pictures of the boys, Clay & Jake shoot the bow & arrow in the back yard. And Mark took the boys to the batting cages, and Clay got hit with a pretty fast ball for a little guy and broke his hand.

Clay shooting his bow & arrow.

Jake's turn to shoot. They sure had fun doing that. They are pretty good at it too.

Dutch Oven Gathering in Logan @ Camp Chef warehouse, June 6, 2009

We took April & Kacie with us...thought they would have fun cooking in the Dutch Ovens. They both like to cook and it seemed like they had lots of fun. After everyone shared their food, Camp Chef let us in their warehouse to buy lots of stuff at a really good discount. We have decided that this is a DOG event you don't want to miss every year.

April & Kacie chopping up veggies for dish to share with everyone.

The girls are cutting up the sausage to put in the Jambalaya

Putting the cinnamon sugar on the apple desert.

The apple desert and the Jambalaya...everyone loved them! We had so much fun cooking with April & Kacie. Thanks for coming with us! Love ya!

Looks like it was a hard day cooking!