Cutest

I absolutely love it when Mae smiles, her eyes are so cute!

Fun

Wes got these crayon rocks for Christmas and has had some fun coloring and eating them.

Best gifts

I think my favorite and most unexpected gift from Christmas was my Wusthof chef's knife from John. Way to go for thinking of something that I would love but didn't even know I wanted! It is super sharp (will cut through anything) and very well made.

I have to say in close second is the bread making supplies and class that Rose got me, again, I love it but didn't know I wanted it. I have been dreaming of bread and rolls and braids all week and made my first batch yesterday, it turned out ok but I will definitely be perfecting as time goes on.

Some other things I received and am excited to use soon are my cast iron skillet, food processor and baking sheet. I will be busy in my kitchen for the next six months at least. Thank you to everyone who gave us wonderful gifts for Christmas, especially Wes' exciting gifts which keep him busy so we can get things done.

In the Kitchen

This is a really good article from the New York Times about organizing the food in your pantry and keeping up healthy habits. Some of these things I already do but most of them I'm excited to try. Check it out.

Holiday Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the holidays. We have moved in and finally have internet so I will post more pictures soon.

Day 365

For New Year's Eve I thought I would try using our double stroller for the first time, I got the kids all bundled up and we walked up to John's office for a fun visit, Wes managed to find the dirt in the potted plants and all the hidden candy in peoples drawers as soon as we got there. Then we headed up to Salt Lake and met Joel and Natalie for dinner at the Dodo, it was great food and we topped it off with a delicious coffee cake in a bowl of caramel, yum. Later we met up with all the Collettes and played games and hung out till it was 2009.

Update: We still haven't moved! We are sitting in a house full of boxes using paper plates waiting for someone on the other side of the country to write up the paperwork!

Christmas

Christmas was in beautiful snow covered Idaho this year. We decorated the tree, shopped, played games, went bowling, made snowmen and snow caves and snow tunnels, watched Son of Rambow, the Dark Knight, and Mama Mia, made pizza, caramel apples, and a gingerbread house. We spend Christmas Eve with the Jones' and had traditional manicotti and played Christmas Bingo, then John and Nathan spent a few hours setting up Wes' kitchen. Christmas morning we opened presents, had a delicious breakfast, played games and watched A White Christmas.

Wes had so much fun playing with his Aunts, Uncles and Grandma and playing in the snow with Grandpa. Mabel's present to us was sleeping through the night once we got there and being extra smiley. We had a super fun time and were sad to leave and come home to a house full of boxes.