Gingersnap Cookies

we love to make gingersnap cookies this time of year.

and the house smells so delicious!

the recipe: ( i always seem to make these a little different every time, but here goes...)

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening or oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon groundcloves
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
small amount of white granulated sugar

Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg in a bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Form into a ball. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets lightly. Remove dough from the fridge and form into small balls about 1-2 inches. Dip the tops in white granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheets.
Bake 10-12 minutes. (makes 4 dozen)

(it's funny to me writing down recipes from my paper. there are always little nuances that aren't included. like the fact that i use a spoon to mix and stir everything up instead of an electric mixer. to me it makes a difference. or the fact that after i take the cookies out of the oven, i drop the cookie sheet on top of the stove or counter to flatten them out. is this the same for you? do you have little "tricks" you do when baking and cooking?)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The Raging Virgin

this is our view of the virgin river.

she is raging.

Two Dances

the first dance is zoe's. she's in the back for the beginning, but then moves up to the front around the middle of the dance.

the gingersnaps


the second is aryn's dance. it's a long one.

the dance of the flowers

Nutcracker 2010

the girls performed in The Nutcracker again this year.
i love to watch them dance.

Our Home Now

i've been called a tease...so i'm finally posting some "after" pictures of the casa. (remember the before?)

we moved back into our home just before thanksgiving. honestly, it was good to be home, but it didn't feel like the home i was used to.

now that we've been here a little while, it's starting to feel like our home again. there are still a few things to be finished and we haven't moved into all the spaces yet, but we are making plans for them.

two of my favorites:

downstairs: we moved the fireplace to another wall and put a window in its place. this opened the entire room up and now we can see the whole backyard. we changed the color to a happy yellow called pale moon (benjamin moore).

upstairs: the family room. this space is especially appreciated when i am making dinner and everyone else is playing upstairs. and i love the color we used. it's called lively yellow (sherwin williams), but it's definitely more of a chartreuse green.

p.s.   don't these pictures make it look like i keep a spotless house? well, you would be wrong to assume that. this home is certainly lived in by 7 people.
(this post is dedicated to you, mubeen. hehehe)

Calico Chili

this past summer aryn took a cooking class from Nicole. she learned all sorts of valuable skills and brought home dinner for the family every tuesday. (what a wonderful relief for me.)

she loved the class. she felt like a chef. we decided to keep tuesday night as this amazing girl's night to cook. even while we stayed at my mom and dad's house, she cooked.

when i was her age, i never really learned how to cook meals. i am so happy that she is learning. it's a sure sign that my not.so.little girl is growing.

wonder what she cooked for us last night?

 it's a recipe from Misti. you're gonna love it. shhh! it's a secret!

Here's the chili recipe:

1 lb hamburger (brown it of course)

1 or 2 cans chili beans

1 or 2 cans pork 'n beans

1 can stewed tomatoes (or go the extra mile and put a pint of bottled tomatoes instead)

1 pint salsa (the real recipe calls for half a bottle of picante sauce but I like my (that would be misti) salsa better)

chili powder to taste

1 tsp. sugar

Morse Code

.--/.  .-/.-./.  -.../.-/-.-./-.-  ../-.  ..../-.-/..-/.../.

-./ ---  ../-./-/./.-./-././-  -.--/./-

.--/---/.../-  .../---/---/-.


for a translating help, go here.




just kidding.

we are back in house
no internet yet
will post soon

A(nother) Haircut

 this morning on the way home from taking the kids to school, the above pictured boy told me he wanted a haircut. again.

..."so that people can see my eyes." (and maybe so that he can see their eyes, as well?)

yep. today was the morning for that very haircut...

remember the last time i cut this boy's hair?

well, i have learned a few things since then. namely, haircutting tips viewed at an enrichment night months ago. and an upgrade in scissors... from green kid scissors to red craft scissors. oh yeah.

 after quite a few snips, drinks, door interruptions, buzzes, and "hold stills" this is the result:

oh, how i love those beautiful eyes!

p.s. maybe haircutting scissors should be on my christmas list. and i do still need LOTS of practice. especially on the back. and it does sort of look bowl-ish...baby steps, people, baby steps.

The Hunt

{all pictures by my daddy-o: the grandpa}

isaac got to go hunting with his grandpa this year.

they didn't get a deer.

he did bring home some antlers. he's pretty happy about that.

Our Pig

meet our pig. he's the black one with the pink feet.

last sunday my grandpa asked us if we wanted a pig. we said yes.
we haven't come to a consensus on the name, so i don't know what to tell you. i, for one, like pig.

i'd just rather not turn him into too much of a pet. i'm thinking that won't be too difficult, since he will be staying at my grandpa's.

This Moment

Blair Home Addition

 since we last met...

Green Beans

Let me tell you a story...

Once upon a time there was a girl that loved to garden. She loved the planning, and the planting. The watching and the waiting.

But one year, the girl didn't grow a garden. 

In the beginning, there were too many things happening all at once, and it just didn't seem quite possible. Then the spring came and went. And then the summer came and went too. And then the fall came.

The girl was sad. She missed her garden.

Luckily for her, she had a grandpa. A grandpa that loved to garden. Every year. Without fail.

This grandpa also loved to share. And so the girl was blessed.

(not) The End

 This recipe is from a girl in my ward that was kind enough to share it with me. Her husband, our bugman, raves about these green beans. So I thought I'd better give them a try. My grandpa has more beans coming on, so I will most likely be bottling more later this week. Next time I'm doing pints.

Angelene's Green Bean Recipe

1. place washed green beans into quart jars

2. sprinkle 1 tsp. sugar then 1 tsp. salt

3. fill jars with water

4. put lids on jars

5. place jars in pressure cooker with appropriate amount of water   (check the instruction booklet)

6. steam for 10 minutes

7. then cook for 25 minutes at 15 pounds pressure (depends on your elevation)

(the cooking time for pints is 20 minutes. halve the sugar and salt as well.)

This Moment

Enter If You Dare

keep in mind these pictures are dated...

This is the sign that greets the workers each and every day. (gene and i read it and chuckle every time we enter the house as well.) Made by Isaac.

 Now that the roof is on the inside feels different than the above pictures.

Drywall this week sometime...



Moving Right Along

things are moving really quickly on the house. you would be amazed. i am! the new ceiling to the downstairs and then outside walls were framed up not too long after that picture. and then the interior walls were framed. the roof was actually done over the weekend!!

i am at my sister's house the week working on some things for christmas (which i'll be sharing later). so it may be a minute before i get some current pictures of the house...

has anyone local done a drive by? if so, maybe you'd be willing to share your thoughts.


for those of you wondering...our contractor is Joel Timo.

This Moment

A New Trick

(i know. i know. more baby. but i just can't help it.)

So two days after she rolled from her back to her tummy, little miss g figured out how to balance! She also just turned six.months.old. This not-so-little baby is such a sweetie. Seriously. A little sweetie peetie.

In other news...we'll be moving in with my mom and dad this week for about a month. We've decided to build an upstairs addition to our home. The decision has not been an easy one or a quick one (like any BIG decision). It does feel right to us. And now that everything is signed I feel like I can breathe and talk about it. I am anxious and excited. All at the same time.

the end

This Moment

The Real Deal

This morning Zoe came along with me to take Aryn to the bus stop. During our conversation she mentioned that one of her friends had a REAL microphone headset.

Apparently, that is WAY better than toenail clippers and tape.


you know, for when you're pretending to be a rockstar? and you have to tape the clippers to your cheek? (gene didn't get it, so therefore the explanation.) i might want to remember this since christmas is coming!

This Moment

it must be good to be this boy