2011 was a very blessed year. Here are just a few highlights...



1. We started a family tradition of visiting local parks/trails. Unfortunately this is as far as it went. 2. Jason turned 31. 3. Went to Kentucky with my parents to welcome my brother home from Afghanistan. 4. Started making new yummy recipes.



1. Had a relaxing Valentines with lots of chocolate. 2. Avery celebrated her half birthday on 3. my 27th  Birthday



1. Avery tried her first solid foods. 2. We watched Discovery launch for the last time. 3. Visited Colorado to see our best friends and also our first snow. 4. Bought a playground for the kiddos which has been a great blessing.



1. Avery went swimming for the first time. 2. Went to pick strawberries with Andy and Lisa who were visiting. 3. Celebrated our risen Savior at Easter. 4. Celebrated Mother's Day and dedicating Avery.



1. Took Cohen bowling for the first time. 2. Celebrated Cohen turning 3 by going go karting.



1. Painted with Cohen for the first time. 2. Celebrated Father's Day. 3. Cohen's first time at VBS 4. Avery trying spaghetti for the first time.



1. Celebrating the 4th of July. 2. Rock Springs. 3. 7 Years of Marriage. 4. The splash Park



1. Avery's first time at the beach. 2. Avery turning 1!



Spent lots of time outdoors.



1. Fall Festival 2.  Pumpkin Patch 3. Pumpkin Carving 4. Superheroes for Halloween.



1. Camping at Fort Wilderness. 2. Thanksgiving with Jason's Family. 3. The Corn Maze. 4. Family Photos



1. Visiting Santa Claus. 2. Decorating cookies. 3. Christmas with my family. 4. Disney's Hollywood Studios

I made a Christmas Card

This year I decided to make a Christmas Card. But really, that is as far as I got. I haven't printed them, so clearly, I haven't sent them out. And Who knows if they will ever make it out. But that's the story of us.

I just used the photos we recently took and worked a little in photoshop to make something that was very simple and clean.

We're actually taking some more photos once my brother gets here and I just may like those better, so that's really why I'm not so set on sending these out. But overall I do like how these turned out.

Maybe people will get a card at the first of the year!

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

I got this recipe from Food Doodles, one of my go to's. I didn't change anything about it. I really liked it how it was.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Adapted from Plum Pie who adapted it from Ina Garten

Makes 12 to 16 bars

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup smooth natural peanut butter(or any other nut butter you would prefer)

1 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (I used a mix of dried cranberries and dried plums)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or butter a 9×13 pan.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together in a small bowl.  Using a food processor, pulse half the almonds, oats, and coconut mixture. Toss the ground oats mixture with the other half of the oats mixture and spread on a sheet pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the flaxseed.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute and take off the heat. Stir in peanut butter, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the chopped dried fruits and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers or use the back of a spatula and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares.

*I let mine cool for about 3 hours and they were still a little crumbly. I’m not sure if I should have let them sit longer or packed them in tighter. They were still really good; they just weren’t a bar anymore.

A Visit with Santa

While Jason was working on some stuff for our Church Christmas Play, I decided to take the kids to see Santa. I wanted to change up our little routine so that it didn't feel like another weekday. Well, our little visit with Santa was pretty much an epic fail.

I was so worried Avery would immediately start crying that I rushed everything. I didn't fix her dress. The settings on the camera were all wrong and I didn't shoot in RAW which gave me a really bad photo that I couldn't fix too well. And Avery was crying. But really I think it's kind of funny to have a pic with Avery crying on Santa's lap. I just wish her diaper wasn't showing and that the 4 Disney employees standing around would have said something. Oh well. It'll be fun to look back on and laugh. We may even try again. Maybe she'll have a different reaction. But if we do go again. I'll bring help, like Jason, and pick the right settings on the camera.

Energy Bite

I found this blog through Pinterest. And what drew me to it were these energy bites. They are so good! And such a great snack before or after a work out. Or really any time of day.

Energy Bites

makes approximately 2 dozen depending on size

Ingredients:

1/2 C nut butter(almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or any other nut or seed butter.  Anything will work here)

1/3 C honey(I believe brown rice syrup would also work.  I’m not sure of thinner sweeteners such as maple syrup and agave though as they may not hold together as well)

1 C old fashioned rolled oats(you can toast for a nuttier flavor at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes)

1 C shredded unsweetened coconut(you can substitute any dry ingredients for this, wheat bran or germ, oat bran, some ground flax seed(I wouldn’t recommending using an entire cup!), any kind of ground nuts or seeds.  For a cookie dough type bite try adding a few tablespoon of your favorite whole grain flour)

1-2 tsp vanilla

pinch of sea salt if using a natural nut butter with no added salt

1-2 tsp your favorite spices or spice combinations(optional)

1/2 C other addins(any kind of whole or roughly chopped nuts or seeds, dried fruit, good quality chocolate chips, etc)

Directions:

In a large bowl add the nut butter, honey or other sweetener, vanilla and salt if needed.  Use less vanilla if yours is very strong or more if you really enjoy the vanilla flavor and don’t buy an alcohol based kind.  If all your ingredients are room temperature you should be able to stir to combine.  If this is difficult you can warm in the microwave for a few seconds or even place the bowl in an inch or two hot water for a few minutes to soften everything.  Once this is combined add the remaining ingredients. (I used peanut butter and for my add-ins I used pumpkin seeds and chopped almonds.)  

Mix well.  Once it’s all combined place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  Then remove from the fridge, scoop out some dough and roll into a ball.  I find it’s much easier, and works better to squeeze the handful together to compact it and then roll it into a ball.

If yours are too sticky you can considering adding more dry ingredients into them or rolling them in something like ground nuts, coconut, etc so they aren’t as sticky.  Place the balls in an airtight container either in the fridge or freezer for quick and easy snacks.

Christmas Decorations

Decorating this year took about 2.5 weeks to complete. And I wouldn't say it's complete, it's just all I can afford to do this year.

The mantel is pretty similar to what it looked like last year but I removed the urns and added some pine cone topiaries I made thanks to Pinterest.



The pine cone topiaries are just styrofoam cones with cut pieces from pine cones hot glued on. They took FOREVER. But I really like how they turned out. The mercury trees I got from Target last year a few days before the big day.



I just added some pine cones and ornaments to the curio cabinet and desk in the living room.



I didn't decorate around the tv last year and it just wasn't festive in the living room which was sad. This year I wanted to spruce it up. There's not much to it and I would like to add more. But this is all it's going to get.



The snow globes I made myself thanks again to Pinterest. And the clear glass tree I got from good will for I think a dollar or two. I think it's something fun for the kitchen.



The tree this year is pretty much the same as last year. I did add two new ornaments though and have a few ideas for a couple more.



The ornament on the left I got from the Women's Christmas Party at my church. Jason thought it was a bell with snow on it. I did have a good laugh though. The one on the right I made and the idea once again came from Pinterest. Man, I love that site.



And our Christmas Tree. Nothing too fancy. But I still like it. I have no tree topper this year. I want a new one. And I don't want to put up the old one. But I still don't know what I want. So, there may or may not be anything on top by Christmas.

The Corn Maze

The day after Thanksgiving we headed out to the Annual Corn Maze. My parents joined us again this year and our dear friends Spencer and Christie also joined us. We had really great weather and the kids seemed to have enjoyed themselves.



A story about these boots. When we went to Kentucky to welcome Mike home from Afghanistan, I forgot the carrier in the back of my car, in Florida. So we went to the store and bought one to use and inside the box were these boots. We returned the carrier and kept the boots. So I guess technically we stole the boots. But no one knew they were in there until we opened the box. Oh well. They were just too cute.



My dad sharing his lemonade with Avery. I believe this is the first time she's used a straw and definitely the first time she had lemonade. It took her a bit to figure it out. And I can't remember her reaction to the lemonade.



When we first got there we let the kids run free and play on the playground. They also played in the rock labyrinth and mist maze.



I made sure to get a family picture. As long as we can see their faces it's all good to me.



Cohen really likes trains and cars these days. He was really excited to ride in this one. And even more excited that he got to sit in the very front.



There are a ton of clues inside the maze to help you figure out the puzzle. It's fun and also very tiresome. We only got half way through. I think if we didn't have kids, we would have finished it. It was still fun, and despite the face Cohen is making in the picture above he did behave pretty well. He of course just didn't want to take a picture.



We ended our day with a walk through the market. My parents bought a bundle of sweet corn and kindly shared it with us. It was indeed sweet. We were there a few hours and it was long enough to have fun and not too long that we were overly tired.

Avery at 15 Months

I think I say it every time, but, I LOVE this little girl. It has been really fun to watch this little girl grow up. Her personality is developing so much! Jason and I just look at her and look at each other and just laugh. She is so silly and so funny.

Avery turned 15 months right before thanksgiving. And these are some photos from then. She was more interested in walking around then taking pictures.

Avery still loves her Mommy very much. And I am trying to enjoy it very much. I know one day she will be a Daddy's girl, so I really need to enjoy it now. I'm sure I will miss it later.  She is very girl, but also a little tomboy. She loves clothes and more so shoes! She loves her baby doll and bringing it practically everywhere. She loves to dance and sing, and to be chased around the house. She loves to go outside and to the playground, playing with her brother's matchbox cars. She also loves to Eat. There are days that she eats more than Cohen. And I'm not really sure where she is putting it. But she did gain 3 pounds in three months, which before she only gained 2 pounds in six months. She is growing. She now weighs 20 lbs 10 oz and is 30 inches tall. She has also gotten her two bottom molers.



Avery was saying a few words: dada, mama, dog, duck, yes, shoe, that, which she says all the time. And I feel like I'm forgetting a few. Oh well. She hasn't been talking that much lately. But the other day I did get her to say night night. Avery is signing though: daddy, eat, more, please, thank you, help, all done, baby, sleepy, and again I think I'm forgetting a few. But I know she understands what we are saying and she is learning to communicate. And I'm really thankful for that.



We are continually looking forward to seeing this little girl grow and we are enjoying each and every day we have with her.

December Already

I can't believe it is December already! and already the 5th. Only 20 days left till Christmas. Our schedules have already been packed full and this past week we enjoyed beautiful weather that got down to the 40's. It was divine. So much to blog before I forget and lose the memories in my very full brain. But I leave you with the photo above. A fun little project thanks to my obsession, Pinterest.