Christmas Treats

Every year we have a Christmas tradition of making yummy treats for our neighbors and friends.  This is a tradition that I learned from my Mom.  How she did the cooking each year with eight kids, I just don't know, but she did and it was fun for all of us.  We all enjoyed running plates of yummy treats around the neighborhood and, most of all, enjoyed eating the goodies.

The goodies my Mom would make each year without fail are her famous peanut brittle, home-made fudge, and rice krispie squares.  Have you ever made peanut brittle?  It's tough.  I don't know how she manages to get it just right every year.  I've got her recipe but I seem to burn it each year.

So, as I mentioned, I've continued the tradition making goodies.  I don't always make the same treat each year because I like to try new recipes but typically I make something chocolatey (it's not a treat if there's no chocolate involved, right?).

This year I'm making Merry Mint Fudge, something I've made in the past and is my absolute favorite kind of fudge because it's got mint cookies in it.  I just love chocolate and mint together.  Here's a link to the recipe I posted last year.... Merry Mint Fudge Link.

I'm also making chocolate-dipped pretzel sticks, which is a super, easy treat that anyone can do and most everyone loves the combination of salty and sweet.  The pretzels can be dipped in milk chocolate or white chocolate.

Lastly, I'm making Peanut Blossoms.  All three recipes are easy, yummy, and involve chocolate so I'm happy.  Hopefully the neighbors are happy also.  Either way, it's been a great tradition to continue.

Peanut Blossoms
1 cup shortening (I actually substitute butter for the shortening and think the cookies taste much better with the butter.)
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar for decoration
2 (9 ounce) bags milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and stir in the milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture until well blended. Shape tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. 
3. Bake for 10 to12 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from oven, and immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie. Allow to cool completely; the kiss will harden as it cools.

Christmas Lights

Just after Thanksgiving we headed up to Salt Lake City to spend some time with Spencer and Ashley. I miss that boy so much and was so happy to spend a day with him.  The original plan was to have the whole family together but unfortunately both Todd and Evan had to work that day so it was just me and Tori with Spencer and Ashley.  No matter, it was a wonderful time.

The day after Thanksgiving is the traditional lighting ceremony of the Christmas lights in Temple Square, Salt Lake City.  Have you ever seen the Christmas lights in Temple Square?  If not, I highly recommend making it a family tradition.  It's a beautiful sight and puts you right in the Christmas spirit.

Spencer and Ashley, such a cute couple.

Some of the sights at Temple Square. 

Can see why it's a great suggestion for a family tradition?  If you go, be sure to bundle up, it can be cold.

Thankful

I am so thankful.  So thankful for my husband and children.  So thankful for my parents and siblings.  So very thankful for our freedom, our home, the beautiful area we live in, the home we have, for our health, and so much more.

This Thanksgiving we spent the day at my parent's home and I sincerely appreciate their hospitality.  Four of my sisters were there and it was just so much fun to spend time with each of them and their families.  It seems that I never get enough pictures.

Me with Kayce and Alison.  Missing is Carol and Nan who were also with us.

It's always so nice to see the cousins enjoying time together.  In this picture are three of Kayce's daughters with Tori enjoying a board game. From left is Emily, Tabitha, Katy, and Tori.

It's also fun to see the men in the family together.  It seemed they were either in the living room waiting for the food to be ready or downstairs watching a football game after gorging on Thanksgiving dinner. Seems to be a tradition. :-)

My sweet Evan.  When did he get so tall?

My sweet Tori.

Tori with her cousin Emily (Kayce's daughter).

As I mentioned, we are so very thankful for each other.  After Thanksgiving, we were able to spend the day with Spencer and his wife, Ashley, visiting Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  I really missed them at Thanksgiving but I'm very thankful to spend time with them.  Next post, I'll share the pictures.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Yum!

I'm always in the mood for pumpkin cookies around Thanksgiving time.  Add chocolate chips and I'm in the mood for these cookies all the time!  Need a good recipe?  Here's a great recipe from Libby's Pumpkin brand.

Pumpkin Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour (high altitude add additional 1/4 cup)
1 1/3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup raisins (optional)


Preheat oven to 350° F.  Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts and/or raisins. Drop ¼ cup dough onto prepared baking sheet; spread into 3-inch circle or oval. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Enjoy!

Connecticut, New York City, and Family

Evan and I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Connecticut to visit my sister Lillian and her sweet family. We miss them so much. While there, we took the opportunity to head into New York City during our visit. Fun, fun, fun.

Evan was so much fun to travel with, such a sweet, young man.  He just went with the flow and didn't get too worried when we took the wrong train into the city or took the subway in the wrong direction, which, I'm sorry to say, happened more than one time.  It was fun to explore the big city with him.

The unfortunate thing about the trip is that we happened to be there during very unfriendly weather. It rained and snowed and was super cold. However, we didn't let it stop us.... we toured the city and enjoyed every minute.

Of course, we took some time to visit the new 9/11 memorial. It was beautiful.

One of our main goals in visiting New York city was to take some time to have a yummy, frozen, hot chocolate at Serendipity.  Even though it was snowing, it was in fact a record-breaking snowstorm we were braving, we had to have the frozen, hot chocolate.  'Cause that's just how we roll.

New York during a snow fall.

 


The best part of all was spending time with my beautiful sis, Lillian, and her lovely family. We loved spending time with her cute kids and getting to know them a little better.  The cutest kids ever.... except for my kids, of course.

A big, big thank you to Lillian and Matt for their hospitality, for sharing their home and food and kindness.  Also, a big thanks to cute Jackson for letting us take over his room.  Evan and I had a great trip.

Hello Fall

I love the fall season in Utah, I love the beautiful fall scenery all over the beautiful valley we live in, and I especially love fall at Sundance Resort. 
 

Todd and I decided to take a drive to Sundance and check out their fall farmer's market a few weeks ago and take in the gorgeous mountains and fall leaves.  It was lovely.  Fall in Utah is such a beautiful time of year.

And of course it's always a wonderful time spending a Saturday with Todd.

Holding on to Summer

We recently had the chance to travel to California for some fun in the sun and on the beach.  Todd's Dad invited us to spend a week at his home while he was away on a vacation of his own, giving us the chance to hold on to summer just a little longer.

Todd grew up in Manhatten Beach, CA and his Dad is currently living in Redondo Beach, just next door to Todd's old stomping grounds.  What a fun way for us to say good bye to summer by spending a week in sunny Southern California.  While there we did..... a whole lot of nothing.  It was just lovely.

We did this.... 

A little of this......

Evan and Tori learned how to do this.....

I can't seem to find a picture of Evan surfing but he did it.  Both of them tried surfing for the first time this trip and they both got up for a few seconds.  Very impressive!

I guess I shouldn't say WE did a whole lot of nothing... I think it was just me. 

In addition to enjoying the sun and the beach, we also visited with Todd's Mom, Grandmother, and Uncle; something we don't do enough.  It was such a pleasure to spend time with them and share our lives together.  We appreciate their kindness and hospitality while we were there.

Thanks again to Tim and Letty for their generosity.  We had a blast holding on to summer a little longer.

Back-to-School, already?

It's back to school.... already?  Where has the time gone?  Evan and Tori started back to school a few weeks ago and, it's crazy to think this, but they are both in high school now.  My babies are growing up so fast.  (Yikes, don't tell them I call them my babies.  They do not like that at all!)

Each year I like to take a picture on their first day of school.  This picture has been getting harder and harder to take as they both try to avoid pictures strenuously.

Evan was kind enough to slow down and let me take a quick picture.  Love that boy... so handsome! He's now a junior, driving, working, and just a well-rounded, wonderful young man.

Tori wasn't so patient with the idea of a picture.  This is the best I got.  Still love this girl of mine.  She's now a sophomore, very excited to get her license, and has a very active social life. 

I'm excited to mention that Spencer is also planning to head back to school the end of September.  A great decision to get his degree beyond high school.  Good job Spencer! 

Yet another year gone by and yet another year full of blessings.  We have been blessed to have three wonderful children, they are the light of our lives. 

End of Summer

It's tough saying good-bye to summer.  Not that I don't look forward to the lovely fall weather every year, it's just tough knowing that yet another season is over and life is moving forward.  Sometimes I feel it moves forward much to quickly.

Before we say good-bye to summer, our family made it to lovely Jordanlle Resevoir for our annual camping trip.  We just love Jordanelle for it's beautiful, clean, cool resevoir and the excellent campground.  Their campgrounds have clean bathrooms and private showers.... I'm not the camping-with-no-running-water kind of gal.

We also enjoy Jordanelle because it's never overly crowded, like many local lakes.  Here's the view from our camping spot, that's our boat.  Isn't it peaceful?

Evan enjoyed tending the fire.  Todd helped get a good blazing fire going, just like a good firefighter. 

Tori brought along a friend and they spent much of the time together, avoiding the camera.

We had a wonderful time, up until the last night when it started to rain, and rain, and rain some more.  Then the winds picked up, then the thunder and lightening, oh, and some more rain.  Our tent, our strong, sturdy tent, was wonderful..... until after three hours of rain and it just couldn't take it anymore... and started to leak.  What a fun, fun night for us all.  So, our wonderful time ended a day early because we were all very tired and cold and wet the next morning. 

That's ok.  We loved our time the two days we were there. 

Stonehenge and Farewell to England

I can't believe we're standing in front of Stonehenge.  It always seemed as one of those far off places that you always read about but never actually visit, to actually be there was a thrill for both of us.

The history of Stonehenge has always been fascinating to me, or I should say, the unknown history is fascinating.

Our tour guide pointed out that so much of the history is unknown but Stonehenge is believed to have been used by a variety of cultures over the history.  A very long and ancient history, since it's believed to have been created as early as 5,000 BC.  Just amazing to be near so much history.

Stonehenge was one of the many highlights of our visit to England.  Before traveling we talked with many people who had visited England and they gave us many tips to help us navigate this country.  Quite a few people said they didn't think Stonehenge was worth the visit, as you're unable to get close to the stones and touch them.  I so glad we didn't listen to their advice.

My advice.... visit Stonehenge!

Since we're talking advice.  Did I mention we attended Phantom of the Opera?  Did I mention it was amazing?  Ok, so on to the advice.... If you're planning to visit the West End to take in a play, purchase your tickets at the box office.  Don't purchase them online and definitely do not purchase them from a ticket agent in London.  We were given the advice to visit a certain ticket agent for tickets to Phantom of the Opera, which was AMAZING, and discovered the prices were more than doubled from what was available at the theater box office.

I loved every minute of the play, a play that has been running for 25 years straight in London.  It was incredible.

So, this is farewell to England.  Farewell to an amazing adventure.  My final piece of advice.... visit England some day. 

Windsor Castle and the Town of Bath

Our final days in England.  Such an amazing experience!  Before we traveled to England we knew we really wanted to see Stonehenge.  Although we had heard conflicting pieces of advice, some saying it wasn't worth the time and effort and others saying it was wonderful, we knew we couldn't pass up the chance to see this piece of English history.

We jumped at the chance to take a day long bus tour visiting Stonehenge, along with Windsor Castle and Bath.  I'm so glad we took the tour.  This tour was the highlight or our busy visit to England.  We fell in love with the city of Bath and could have spent all day soaking up the history of Stonehenge.

Our first stop on the tour was Windsor Castle.

The beautiful gardens behind the castle wall, had to stand on tip toe to peak over the wall.  Lovely.  Oh, did I mention the Queen was staying at the castle during our visit?  Yes, it's true.  She stays there every weekend during the summer.  Although, of course, we didn't get to see her, it's still kind of cool to say we were there at the same time.

The guard almost looks fake, doesn't it?  Almost like a packaged, toy nutcracker.  (smile)  The guard actually did leave the protection of it's shelter and marched back and forth across the castle walls.

I'm thinking these guards had to have little mini, air-conditioners in their hats, cause, let me tell you, it was hot, hot. 

After lovely, Windsor Castle it was on to Bath; a gorgeous city of honey-colored buildings and ancient Roman baths filled with warm water bubbling from the Earth.

While we were waiting to enter the Roman Baths, we noticed an interesting cathedral across the street.  Along the spires of the cathedral there were carvings of what looked to be angels climbing a ladder, possibly depicting a ladder ascending to heaven.  The interesting thing was there were also angels climbing down, facing down, the opposite direction.  It seemed a little creepy and unusual.  Take a look.

What do you think?  It would be very interesting to learn the story behind this scene.

Now on to the Roman Baths.

The source of the spring that flows into the baths.

Leaving the beautiful town of Bath.  Todd and I fell in love with this beautiful, little town and felt like we didn't get to spend enough time there to see all it has to offer.  If we ever make it back to England, we hope to spend a week in Bath.

I had planned to include Stonehenge, but have run out of time.  Come back to see some fabulous pictures of our visit to Stonehenge.  Another favorite sight on our trip to England.