Family Photos

Over the weekend we (I) decided to take our family pictures. We borrowed my parents tripod and went to  an old run down tennis court and did our best to capture as many photos in a short period of time. We promised Cohen we would go to the park if he would allow Mommy to take pictures of him. Which is a win win because I like going to the park, especially in nice weather. And Cohen surprisingly smiled for the camera. And also made many many goofy faces.




This is Avery's sassy face. She tends to make it a lot, especially when she sees my dad, which is the funniest thing. And I actually got Cohen to look at the camera and smile. Although I don't know what  he is doing with his shirt.



I love this one of Cohen kissing Avery. It may just have to go in a frame for all to see.



I am so thankful for my husband taking pictures of me with the kiddos. I barely have any with them. I love how he puts up with me! He's so good.



Looking back I wish I would have gotten a few more of the kiddos. But really, I am glad for the ones we did get.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a pretty low key and relaxing Thanksgiving this year. I spent the morning making pumpkin bread and later sweet potato casserole. And before we headed out to Jason's parents house we bummed around the house catching up on shows and overall being lazy. I think it was just what we needed before the very busy weekend ahead of us.

Like I mentioned before we headed over to Jay's parents house and had a pretty uneventful rest of our day. Except for the incident. But we'll get to that in a minute. The first thing I wanted to do when we got there was take some pictures. The sun was going to be setting soon and I didn't want to miss another opportunity to get a family picture. The one below is the best there was. (I took way more photos, but I haven't gotten around to them) Then we had a delicious dinner. I didn't overstuff myself. I'm kind of sad about that but at the same time not. So back to the incident. While we were all eating, Cohen decided to get up from his seat and try to get Avery's attention. He pulled a little too hard down on her highchair and the whole chair, with Avery in it came, came toppling over onto him and leaving Avery trapped in her chair face down. Talk about a heart attack. Avery was not hurt and after a little crying was back to herself. Cohen on the other hand had a huge knot on his head. It's still a small bump today. We continued to watch him the throughout the night and he turned out fine. But oh man was that scary. The whole thing kind of killed the fun, but we are thankful nothing worse happened. Now it's just a story to tell in the future.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

These cookies I made for the the second Halloween Party we went to. I've never made a snickerdoodle before and surprisingly I really liked them. The pumpkin was not overpowering at all, there was just a hint of it.



Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
very slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:


For the rolling sugar:
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg (the original called for allspice, of which i had none)

For the Cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3/4 cup pure unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups wheat flour
1 3/4 cup all purpose flou
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
For the rolling sugar -
Mix together ingredients in a shallow bowl and set aside until ready to use.

For the cookies -
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the pumpkin and mix well. Next, Add the egg and the vanilla and beat until mixed well, make sure you scrape down the sides as you go.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. A little bit at a time, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Cover dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat ove to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop out 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll into a ball. Then roll in the sugar mixture. Place onto a cookie sheet leaving space between them.

Last, gently press each cookies down slightly. You can use the bottom of a glass dipped in water then the sugar mixture to do this. If desired, sprinkle a little of the sugar mixture on top.

Bake cookies for 12-16 minutes or until beginning to golden. Remove from oven and allow to set up on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Disney Camping

This past weekend we went camping at Fort Wilderness with about 500 people from our church. The church does this every year; we've only camped about 3 times, but we go every year. It's just an amazing time to just enjoy God's creation and time with friends, with no distractions. Although some have been known to bring a t.v. and some modern day amenities. Just not us.

We were blessed tremendously when we got there! There was a tent that was put up on our site by Disney, that wasn't suppose to be there and, well, we took advantage. It was so helpful, it allowed us to put the pack n play up for Avery and gave us all our own little areas and held our luggage! Thanks to God for an unexpected gift!



This is Avery telling us what to do.



Cohen helping Spencer put up the tent.



Spencer and Travis put up some old school Christmas lights. They provided so much light it was really nice.



Our friend that evening at dinner.



This was, I believe, Cohen's first time roasting marshmallows. He didn't let it heat up long enough but he enjoyed it very much none the less.



The next morning, this little lady rose quite early. Thankfully Daddy hung out with her. But after a very late night it made for a cranky mid morning.



While Daddy and some others played football the rest of us hung out at the playground. Until Avery got cranky and was over it all. Then we headed out to see the horses.



All the kids got to sit on the horse, minus Cohen who didn't want to at the time. Avery though was fearless. Like her brother at this age, she is really enjoying animals.



And I think all of the adults wanted to ride this one. At least I know I did.



And maybe even Avery. She tried multiple times to climb through the fence.



While Avery was sleeping, Cohen and I went wandering around the campsites. It was fun to have just him and me time. We don't get a lot of it. And when we do, my love for this little guy grows so much more. Besides the tantrums he throws everyday, he is a delight to be around. I see more of who he is when it's just us. And he's not competing with himself with his sister. I really need to make more time for this.



These two look like the are up to no good.  No good at all.



Later in the afternoon we decided to go with our friends down to the boats and take a little ride to one of the lodges.



It was fun, but I think Avery felt constrained. She just wanted to run around and be free. She was pretty fussy the whole time. I was a bad mom for not bringing food. But seriously the girl had been eating all day. She needed a break.



And Cohen was all kinds of excited.



That evening before heading home, we roasted marshmallows, met Dale of Chip and Dale, and watched Cars 2. The kids fell asleep through the movie and it was fun to enjoy a movie in peace. Even a kids movie.



I am already looking forward to next year. We learned a lot about what we need to do and plan for for next year and I really am excited.

Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies

I made these cookies for the first Halloween Party we went to and they were such a huge hit. The texture I think is what MADE the cookie. It is somewhere between a cookie and a muffin.



Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
slightly adapted from here


Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup of pure pumpkin
3 Tbsp of molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups of all purpose flour (i used about 2 cups whole wheat and the rest all purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon of nutmeg (the original called for cloves but I didn't have any)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl beat the butter and agave nectar together until creamy and smooth. (it may look a little more liquid-y than creamy, and yes I think I made liquid-y up). Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.

2. In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled 2-3 days.

3. When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoon sized balls of dough in sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after removing from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*note: the dough was still pretty sticky after an hour. I'm not sure if that's because I didn't let them sit long enough or because of the agave nectar. so I just dropped them directly into the sugar and formed it into a ball while in the bowl.

Halloween

Halloween Weekend was really busy for us. We had the pumpkin carving Friday and then Saturday and Sunday two adult only Halloween Parties and then a Family Party with trick or treating on Halloween.

For Halloween we went as a family of super heroes. It was fun to make our own costumes out of whatever we could find. I really love how Avery's turned out the most.



This is the first time we had taken the kids trick or treating. We went with probably 20 other kids and their parents. It was a lot of fun. Cohen had to show us after each house what he got. It was cute.



And for our adult parties, we went as Morticia and Gomez. So fun!



*more photos to come

First Ever Pumpkin Carving

The Friday before Halloween we gathered with some friends for a pumpkin carving party. Besides yummy festive food there was lots of pumpkin carving. I hadn't carved a pumpkin in years; since maybe middle school or even elementary. So clearly this was our first time as a family and for Cohen to carve a pumpkin.



Here we are looking at the insides. Our pumpkin wasn't yet ripe but we were still able to carve it.



I asked Cohen if he wanted to help me with the insides. One hesitated touch later and he was not interested at all. Mommy got all the work.



We asked Cohen what face he wanted the pumpkin to have and this is what he gave us. He also said he wanted square eyes and a round nose with a smiley face. I did my best. And I'm pretty sure I succeeded in the eyes of my three year old.



And here is our Pumpkin! So cute.



And here are all of the pumpkins, minus one, from the evening.

I'm thinking this may be added to the list of Holiday traditions.