Trimming the Tree!

Hurray! It's Christmas time! Last night I made a batch of muddy buddies and we got all of the Christmas boxes out of the closet. Ty put up the tree (I have always thought of that as a husband job.), Max set up the nativity, and we all helped decorate.

Mia broke her jingle bell!

Here is Max finishing up our gingerbread man tree. After the decorations were up we watched Home Alone. I love Christmas!

Thanksgiving in Charlotte!

We just got back from our quick trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a beautiful city! We stayed with our friends, Adam and Tina. They live in a very trendy highrise apartment complex. We kind of felt like we were visiting a fancy hotel. We spent most of Thanksgiving at this park. It was so fun to let the kids play and relax. We had the greatest dinner! Adam brined the turkey overnight and it was perfect. After dinner Ty and I boxed on the Wii and I totally knocked him out! We had a great visit but we were so glad to come home today!

Ty and Adam swinging at the park

Max!

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

We have been baking cookies and freezing them so that we will have enough to give away when Christmas cookie time rolls around. Today we made chocolate dipped peanut butter cookies, Max's favorite! Here he is using up the leftover chocolate.

Couples Tag

This tag is similar to one I have done before but I thought it was really fun!

What is your husbands name? Ty Jacob Newman

How long have you been married? 5 years

How long did you date? 9 days

How old is he? 27

Who eats more sweets? Me, by several cookies and hot chocolates a day!

Who said I love you first? He did

Who is taller? Ty is 6"3 and I am 5"5

Who can sing the best? me

Who is smarter? Ty is brilliant!

Who does the laundry? me -always.

Who pays the bills? the nice people at the loan company

Who mows the lawn? At the moment - the gardeners (but when we get into a house again it will be Ty, or one of the young men in the ward)

Who cooks dinner? Me! I love to cook.

Who drives? Ty never lets me drive.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Ty ( I am never wrong :) )

Who kissed who first? Ty kissed me without asking.

Who asked who out first? I confessed my feelings for Ty and we decided to date

Who wears the pants? Ty is our righteous leader and protector!

I tag: anyone that thought this tag was fun!

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we are headed for the East Coast. We will be visiting Charlotte, North Carolina and our good friends, Adam and Tina.
After this trip we will have driven from coast to coast this year alone! We live in a beautiful country. Every place we have been along the way has been wonderful in some way. I am thankful that no matter where we go the gospel is true. I am thankful for the peace that comes with the knowledge of my Heavenly Father's plan and the Atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
I am glad for the opportunity to reflect each year on the many blessings in my life. I am excited for this great holiday season. I can't wait to put our Christmas tree up and I can't wait to make my awesome fudge recipe.
I hope everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Date Night!

Ty and I got to go out on a date!
I love spending some alone time with Ty. It is so fun to talk and hold hands and pretend he is Edward Cullen...just kidding
We went to see Quantom of Solace, the new James Bond movie. It was all very action, fight scene, kill people oriented, but I was glad to be out with Ty and he was all smiles. After the movie we went to Brixx pizza. We had salad, an amazing pizza, and drinks for less than $20.00! I thought it was a pretty good deal.
Overall I give the evening a 10!

Twilight!

I just got back from a special screening of Twilight! It was amazing and so much fun. I was able to go with a bunch of great girls. We were in a theater with 500 screaming Edward fans! I loved it! I can now go on living.

Dinner Rolls

I made the best rolls with dinner tonight. They were really buttery and I ate too many of them.

1/4 cup warm water
2 packets yeast
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
6-61/2 cups flour

1. Place water in a small bowl and sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy. Whisk together milk, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs. Whisk in yeast mixture.
2. Stir in 6 cups flour. Knead until smooth and elastic. Butter the inside of a bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled (1 1/4 hours)
3. Butter 2 13x9 inch baking pans. Divide dough in half. Form each half into a 15 inch rope and cut into 15 pieces each. Shape each piece into a ball and arrange in prepared pans. Cover pans and let stand in a warm spot until doubled (1 1/4 hours)
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Brush rolls with melted butter. Bake about 20 minutes until golden brown.
Brush with butter, again, while still warm!

We Are Family

It has been so long since we have had a family picture taken. here is our attempt to take our own. Where's Max? I love it anyway!

Clifford

Max and Mia love cartoons. I let them veg out in the mornings after they wake up while I am getting ready. Here they are enjoying Clifford the big red dog. I thought they were adorable!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Max and I were freezing today!! I turned up the heat and turned on the oven. We both stood in front of the open oven door warming our hands. Ty would have thought we were insane! I decided the best thing to do would be to make a chocolate cake. Max helped clean the beaters (as you can see by his chocolatey face) We are feeling much warmer and soon we will have cake!

Family Night at Opryland!

Ty came home from school early last night so we decided to go and check out the Christmas lights at the Opryland resort. It was freezing cold - which was great because it made it seem all Christmas like. We bundled up Max and Mia in hats and scarves to keep warm.
The hotel was amazing. We had never been inside before. The decorations were beautiful. Max loved the water dragon in the river holding candy canes in his mouth. There was a place where kids could get an email from Santa. I think it was the highlight of Max's evening. He carried his letter the rest of the night.
After leaving the hotel we came home and had hot chocolate with whipped cream. It was a great evening out together!

Tis The Season!

I grew up drinking eggnog at Christmastime. It was a special treat and it was always gone so fast! Ty does not like eggnog. This means more for me. I bought some for the first time this season today. I put some in Mia's bottle and I think she is going to be an eggnog lover as well.
Eggnog aside...I love Christmas! I took the kids to Target just so we could walk around the Christmas decorations and listen to the Christmas music. Max loved the little villages with the ice skating people and moving trains. Mia was intrigued by the twinkly gold lights. We will have to move up from the aisles at Target to the lights at the Opryland resort eventually, but for a weekday afternoon it works just fine!

Girl's Night (with my one year old!)

We had a great time! We ate Ghiradelli peppermint bark (the best!) Mia loved it. We watched girlie movies and slept in. This morning we went to Panera and brought home bagels. I got a gingerbread bagel. It was amazing. It made the whole house smell like Christmas while it toasted. We watched more tv - Rachel Ray (banned when the boys are home.) It was fun to just be girls for a while.

Razzle Dazzle Campouts

Ty and Max are going camping with the scouts tonight. Max is super excited. He has only been camping once before. He has his little panda backpack full of clothes and snacks. I get very excited about campouts when I am not going. I am looking forward to my girls night with Mia. In preparation for the big night I made a big batch of "razzle dazzle" to eat and to send with the boys. This is an amazing recipe that was posted on a blog that I follow, "Get off your butt and bake". It is a great change to the usual muddy buddies that we like to make!

Lion House Razzle Dazzle

YOU WILL NEED:

9 1/2 Cups Rice Krispies cereal

8 1/2 Cups Rice Chex cereal

7 Cups Corn Chex cereal

4 1/2 cups Wheat Chex cereal

1- 10-ounce bag stick pretzels

2 1/2 cups slivered almonds, slightly toasted*

2 cup brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup butter

1 pint (2 cups) cream

Dash salt

2 teaspoons good vanilla

NOTE: I cut the recipe in half when I made it!

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the cereals, pretzels, and almonds in a large roasting pan; set aside. Combine sugars, corn syrup, butter, cream, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Adjust temperature to maintain a steady boil and cook, stirring constantly, to firm-ball stage, 245 degrees (mixture forms a firm ball when dropped into cold water and won't flatten much when removed). Mix in 2 teaspoons Vanilla.

Pour cooked syrup over cereals and stir gently until coated. Pour on cookie sheets or table lined with waxed paper until cool. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

*To lightly toast almonds, toss almonds with 1 teaspoon melted butter and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Gingersnaps!

Tonight for relief society we are having a cookie exchange. I decided to bring gingersnaps (because they make everything feel so holiday!) The kids always lend a hand in the kitchen. Here is Mia really getting into the preparation. I hope people still want to eat our cookies!

The Pantry

This is Mia hiding in the pantry eating graham crackers. I had to quick pull the door open to get this picture. She was loving being hidden!

Puffy Vests

I took Max and Mia shopping for winter clothes today. They were both in desperate need. We got these vests at Target. I am a big fan of the puffy vest. I think Ty and I need to get some and we can take a family picture!

I love Nashville!

Today we ventured out to the Green Hills area to visit the brand new Trader Joes! Max was thrilled to be going to T.J's. We have not been since we left California. It is a beautiful fall day, perfect for buying tons of chocolate covered almonds!
I am so thrilled that gas prices have dropped for the moment. I have been able to take the kids on field trips all over Nashville and we are loving it. There is so much to see and do. I think Tennessee is beautiful, and I can't wait to see more!

HUGS!

Max was up early today. He was excited when Mia woke up and came out to join him. They were hugging and I thought it was so cute!

Ready for the Cold

We went to Old Navy today. The Polar Fleece hats and scarves were on sale for $1. I let Max pick some out for himself. He is always excited about new clothes. He wore them all through the mall; even for a picture with Santa!

Super Max!

We were watching Max and Ruby when Max (the bunny on the show) suddenly became Super Bunny! Max thought he should be super bunny too. I decided he should be super Max. Luckily he already had a ray gun. All we needed was a cape!

Brown Bear Brown Bear

"Brown Bear Brown Bear What do You See?" by Eric Carle is Mia's very favorite book. She brings it to me throughout the day to read. She gets the biggest smiles while looking at the pictures. When Max was little it was his favorite book too. He loved it so much that he wore it out and we had to buy a new one!

Peanut Butter Sesame Noodles

We made these today for lunch. Max and I love them!

2 teaspoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 pound spaghetti (cooked)

Heat the peanut butter in a microwave until melty. Whisk in the honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger.
Toss the spaghetti with the sauce. Yum-O!

Some Words of Wisdom

"Never eat more than you can lift!"
-Miss Piggy

Conductor Max

Today we drove down to Belle Mead to visit Phillip's Toy Mart. It was the greatest toy store! Max had so much fun with the model trains. There was a tower the kids could climb into and control the trains from up above. I got to do some Christmas shopping. It was a really fun store. Afterwards we went to Krystal. We just love those 70 cent hamburgers!

Pumpkin Pie

Ty and I love pumpkin pie. We usually buy them, but I decided it made more sense to make them on my own and save some dough :) After a little experimenting I found this recipe and I think it is the best!

1 1/2 cups pumpkin (1 small can)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup real maple syrup
1 1/4 cup half and half
1 teaspoon flour
3 eggs

1 unbaked pie shell

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix the pumpkin, sugar, spice, salt, syrup, cream, flour, and eggs.
3. Pour into pie shell and bake for an hour until set!

Election Day!

We got up, got the kids dressed, and headed out the door. We went to Gateway Elementary School and voted! Max and Mia thought it was really fun because the people working there were super nice and gave them both lots of "I voted" stickers.
After casting our ballots we went to Panera for breakfast. It was fun to bring the kids and go out afterwards. I think we will make it a tradition. I felt really good knowing I had done my part and voted for who I thought would best lead our country.

Gigi's Cupcakes

Today we went to downtown Nashville for Mia's eye appointment at Vanderbilt. The kids were great so afterward I thought we all deserved a treat. We went to Gigi's cupcakes on Broadway, and had the best cupcakes I have ever had! I know cake - and this is the best ever! I had the Hunka Chunka Banana Love cupcake and Max had the Kiddie Kake. Both were amazing. We are so going back!

Swings

Mia loves the swings at the playground. She will sit and swing forever! One day we went to the park and Max ran and played and Mia sat and swang for 45 minutes. I am glad she loves it so much.

Photo Tag!

The idea is to post the fifth picture from your fifth file.
This is Mia eating a chocolate dipped peanut butter cookie. It has been a while since we have made them, but we may have to now!

I tag: Bethany, Trisha, and Jenna

Halloween at Moss Wright Park!

Max and Mia got all dressed up in their costumes for Halloween. Max was a dragon and Mia was Minnie Mouse. We took them to Moss Wright Park for trick-or-treating. It was so much fun! The kids came home with a ton of candy. At the end of the treating there were bounce houses for the kids and free hot chocolate from dunkin donuts. By the time we got home M and M were exhausted. After we put them to bed Ty and I watched Leatherheads and ate chicken bacon ranch pizza. It was a very happy Halloween!