Home for Good!

Ryan was able to make it home a day earlier than scheduled, just in time for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. 

Today I am thankful for no more long separations.

Something to be Grateful for

Allie, Corey, Sara, and Mom. Brookie was there in spirit :)
Erinne wasn't there because she isn't much for baking...

I was able to bake Thanksgiving pies yesterday morning with my mom and sisters. It was the first time in 4 years that I have been in Utah to participate in this annual tradition and it might be awhile before it happens again. It was just like old times, with Christmas tunes playing in the background while we worked. The only thing missing was my Louisiana sis, Brookie!

We were able to whip up 8 pies in all: Two caramel pecan, two pumpkin, two sour cream lemon, and two baked apple. Allie is hosting her in-laws tomorrow so she will take half of the pies with her. My aunt Shelly isn't pictured but she was there as well, helping entertain the babies while the older kids destroyed the basement by making forts out of couch cushions.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Let it Snow!

We've just been hit with what they are calling "The Blizzard of 2010" here in Utah. As inconvenient as the snow can be, all I keep thinking is how mild this weather seems compared to winter in the Midwest.

I miss Iowa dearly and the people in it even more, but I could do without their ice storms and subzero temperatures. 

The kids are giddy with excitement and Isaac just told me that his new favorite food is snow. Here he is feeding a chunk of it to Davis:

Bring on the hot chocolate!

{Modified} Mississippi Mud Pie

While living in Colorado, Becky and I would rotate cooking meals. It was fun because I was able to get some new dinner ideas from her, I learned a ton, and I only had to cook half the time. Totally win/win. Hands down my favorite dessert was when Becky made Annie's Eats version of the  Mississippi Mud Pie. She modified Annie's version by using chocolate ice cream instead of coffee flavored. We celebrated my dad's birthday on Sunday with two different mud pies and I made a few modifications of my own.

With this pie I followed Annie's recipe, but replaced the toffee chips with cookie dough chunks and the coffee ice cream with cookie dough ice cream. This pie was the most popular among my family members. 

And with this pie, I used crushed Heath Bar in place of the toffee bits and replaced the coffee ice cream with Ben and Jerry's "Everything but the..." This was my personal favorite of the two. 

The possibilities are really endless here...peppermint, peanut butter cup, orange chocolate, caramel...and the ganache is  heavenly, I tell ya. My one piece of advice when making this pie would be to use higher quality ice cream. As Gavin would say, "No froo-froo ice cream will do." Steer clear of the fluffy stuff. This dessert is time consuming because you have to freeze the pie between layers, but it isn't difficult at all. I was nervous about the ganache because I'd never made it before and it ended up being very simple. 

So if you are looking for a nontraditional pie for Thanksgiving, I would highly recommend this one. 

A picture of the old man celebrating 59 big ones. 

Advent Calendar Ideas

A couple of years ago we started the Christmas tradition of buying the kids those cheap chocolate advent calendars. They loved getting to open a door each day and they loved eating the chocolate even more. I still plan on buying them each a calendar this year, but I found a few ideas online that focused on doing activities together instead of just eating candy. I thought I would share them for any of you who are interested in doing something similar:

§  make paper snowflakes

§  drink cocoa from our Christmas mugs

§  decorate the Christmas tree

§  bake cookies and deliver them to loved ones

§  call Grandma and sing Silent Night

§  Visit Temple Square or Christmas Village

§  go for a drive to look at holiday lights

§  take silly pictures in our Santa hats 

§  Drink eggnog.

§  Color a picture using only red and green crayons

§  Watch a Christmas movie

§  Make chocolate-dipped pretzels

§  Make our own stockings to hang over the mantel

§  Make ornaments 

§  Make a count down chain

§  Make homemade snow globes

§  Make homemade red and green glitter play dough 

§  Make gingerbread men with our cousins

§  Make wrapping paper

§  Check out Christmas books from the library

§  Write letters to family members or friends who live far away

Some are simple and some will take a little bit more prep, but I think each of them is reasonable. Now I need your ideas so that I can have at least 25 different activities. Do you have any simple traditions that center around the holidays?