Sugar Cookies Take 2

I made homemade sugar cookies a few posts below and I was a bit embarrassed as to how the shape of my "Christmas" cookies turned out...lets be honest they were ugly. I sought out advice and voila!!! A fantastic woman (that I have the pleasure of knowing who shall remain anonymous) was kind enough to share with me her recipe for the perfect sugar cookies. Not only were they fabulous tasting but they came out darn near perfect after my little family spent the evening decorating them.

I really should get back to packing since we leave tomorrow for California for Christmas and New Years (so excited!) so here I go!!! Happy travels to us and Merry Christmas to you all!

Because I Had To..

So I pretty much balled today. I had a list of things that I wanted to get accomplished before we leave on Friday for CA to spend Christmas and New Years with family. One of the items was to update the kids' photo albums meaning print off photos and organize them in their photo albums. I didn't have much to print off and organize, just the past few months. I really, really, really dread this chore. Why?
I ball my head off every single time because I can't help but look back and see how much they've grown especially my first born. My eyes flood with tears as I look back at my precious baby Brooke. To see how much she's grown into this sweet, loving, smart and witty little girl that is 4 going on 16 breaks my heart. How can she be four almost 5 already??? She was supposed to stay my baby forever right???? I feel old, and trust me I don't think 27 is old but I feel old because time seems to be passing by me at warp speed...and this is what I am reminded of every single time I complete that dreaded chore of updating the kids' photo albums. Time passes by at warp speed and I really would love it if it would slow down.
The photo above is one of my many favorites of Brooke...this was taken in June of 2006 at Bryan's graduation from CSUN. Brooke was 4 months old.

December Doings

I love these two so much.

Cookie Decorating

Last night we ( I should say I ) made homemade sugar cookies. Yum! I had picked up some cute sprinkles and cookie decorating stuff and we spent the evening decorating the sugar cookies. It's been so cold here in Utah that I've been trying to come up with some fun indoor activities. We definitely had fun!
I can't figure out why my sugar cookies don't ever stay true to their shape, if anyone can share some helpful hints I'd appreciate it!

Chicken Chili

Utah is cold....really, really, really cold and I don't think I've seen the sun since we came back after Thanksgiving.
I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes that we have been enjoying in this cold weather. It's super easy, tastes delicious and is great leftovers for the next day.
Enjoy!

Chicken Chili

Ingredients
2 cooked chicken breasts shredded
2 cans of chicken stock
3 cans of white beans
8oz block of pepper jack cheese grated
2 teaspoons of ground cumin seed
1 clove of garlic chopped
1 16oz can of salsa (I use medium sometimes hot)
tortilla chips crushed
dash of salt and pepper

In a large pot combine the chicken stock, beans (do not drain the beans pour the entire 2 cans in), salsa, grated pepper jack cheese, cumin seed, chopped garlic, shredded chicken, dash of salt and pepper.
Mix and place on stove top medium to high heat and cook for about 10 minutes. It should start to boil and bubble and the cheese should be entirely melted. Turn heat to low and add the crushed tortilla chips. I usually add about 2 cups worth or almost 1/2 of the bag of tortilla chips. Mix and let the tortilla chips absorb in the chili and serve.
It will appear to look more like a soup or "stewp" at dinner. Refrigerate the leftovers (which will be a whole pot full) and the next day heat it up on the stove and it will be thick just like the consistency of chili.
Enjoy!!!

The Brody Bear

This little man is growing up way too fast for mommy. It seems like everyday he is adding new words to his vocabulary. Some new fun things he can say include....
baby
pretty
beep beep (while he is playing cars)
please
no
tree
night night
pray
hello, who is it?
bye bye

Brody will be 16 months at the end of December and he is turning into this wild and daring little boy. He's a climber, a huge eater, a cuddle bear and a kisser. Brody LOVES giving kisses and has the most delicious lips perfect for kisses.
My little man has turned into a full fledged Linus. His "blankie" now goes everywhere he goes, it drags behind him as he explores and plays all around our house. I try to wrap it around him as to prevent him from tripping and falling but we've already experienced our first and second goose-egg on the fore-head.
We love our sweet little boy so much.

Lucky Number 8....

Bryan and I have been married now for 8 years, we've moved 7 times to 7 different rentals with the exception of one, we lived with my parents for a little over a year while Bryan finished up school in the second year of our marriage ( yes that was way embarrassing and yes we were made fun of a lot but it was one of the best decisions ever ).
Lucky number 8, our 8th move, is so special because its our first home...our first home purchase, we are property virgins no more...as soon as escrow closes which is set for January 31st.
Our new home was built in 2010, 4 bedrooms plus loft, 2 and 1/2 baths, 2190 sq. ft. I believe it truly is the perfect house for our family and it was waiting for us because it was the last new house on the street to sell. I love the surrounding green belts and trees, catch and release lake and the park 6 houses down from the house. I also love the fact that our neighborhood or housing community is front yard grass only..I'm not a fan of the dessert look at all which is common in some other surrounding neighborhoods and communities. We are so excited to settle down and plant our "roots" in Arizona. Arizona really is quite beautiful and green to my complete surprise. Our city and neighborhood instantly reminded me so much of our hometown of Santa Clarita California.
Brooke has already requested her room be pink...I'm hoping to talk Bryan into a new dining room table that will seat more than just us four...and the backyard is dirt for now and will be a fun project to work on...I cannot wait to pack up and make our new house our home.
So cheers to hopefully a headache free escrow!

Snow Play

Yesterday while Brody took his afternoon nap Brooke and I went outside to play in the snow. We had so much fun throwing snow at each other, building a snowman and I even got some much needed exercise pulling Brooke around in our garage sale find sled. Both of us were pooped after a few hours of play so we headed inside for snacks and I made myself a warm cup of tea.
I drove in the snow for the first time a few days ago..not sure if it really counts as driving in the snow because its was not "snowing" and the roads were plowed days before but I survived..the only major thing that happened was that I backed into a wall of snow as I pulled out of our garage. I also learned that just because the sidewalk has been shoveled and there "appears" to be no snow...don't wear ballet flats....you get the picture.

Under Construction

I'm trying to make changes to my blog so the blog is going to look a bit weird and unfinished for a while since I'm still learning how to use blogger...so come back soon!

Arizona Wedding

Last week Friday my brother-in-law was married in the Mesa Arizona Temple. I was SO sad to have left my camera uncharged..hence no photos of the adorable couple or Temple.
The two of them were so incredibly adorable as they emerged from the Temple doors. It got me thinking back to the day Bryan and I were married and of course it was hard for emotional me not to hold back my tears as the two of them danced their first dance together as a married couple.

I was not able to blog on our 8th Wedding Anniversary because we were still in Arizona on the 16th of November. I'm a very blessed woman to be married to the most incredible man ever. I could sit here all day and list off all of the great talents, and qualities that Bryan has, not to mention how loving of a husband and father he is to myself and our children. How blessed I am to share an eternity with him.
I love you Bryan Albee~
Happy 8th Wedding Anniversary.
xoxo~

On The Road Again...

LOVE this photo. We had family photos taken a little over a month ago and I'm so in love with them. I plan on re-vamping my blog when I get back to Utah, so this is a little sneak peak.
If you are interested our photographer Nickell is wonderful..check out her website:

www.nickellphography.com

On Thursday we will be leaving CA and traveling to Arizona. Celebrating a wedding and our 8th wedding anniversary! I cannot believe that Bryan and I will be celebrating 8 years on the 16th.
So here's to safe traveling!

Halloween 2010

Halloween was great!!
Brooke was Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and Brody was a dinosaur. The kids had a blast trick-or-treating, Brody tried his best to keep up with his big sister and it was so fun watching him understand what was going on. After 2 houses he knew the candy goes in the orange pumpkin bucket. It was adorable.
The kids had a blast and the day was great and was spent with both our familes and wonderful friends.

Disneyland!!!

The day before Halloween we were invited to go to Disneyland & CA Adventure. We were SO excited!! Brody spent the day with Oma and Opa while Brooke had a mommy and daddy date.We kept it a surprise from Brooke. She had no clue and we gave small hints here and there..we even listened to Disney princess music on the drive down. Brooke knew right away as soon as we exited the freeway. The girl was SO excited.
The day was perfect as was the weather. The crowds were big but we were able to get on so many fun rides, and have front row seats to the new Disney parade and fireworks show.
The day was wonderful and we tried to stay as late as possible but Brooke was out at 10:45pm so that was our cue to head home with our sleeping princess.

More Fun Stuff

Never a dull moment with these two. Yesterday I caught Brody eating dog food. Awesome. Yeah right.
Later that day Brooke proclaimed to me, and I quote,"Mommy when I grow up I'm going to run away and find my prince."
Excuse me?

Brody's hair is a bit on the wild side in the photo above, I love it. Brooke is just my girly girl....I love her sweet smile and outgoing personality.

These photo's were taken at our friend Kinglsey's 1st Birthday Party. (One was taken before the party at my parent's house.) I have to say that that was one of the best 1st birthday celebration's I have ever been to. It was so much fun and I was so happy we were able to go.

In other fun news..on Saturday the 23rd Bryan and I went to the annual Kravitz holiday party. SO MUCH FUN! I should mention Kravitz is the firm Bryan works for. This was our 5th holiday party. They did a casino theme. Everyone was given tickets for the raffle and a bag of chips to play casino games with to try to score more tickets. We did ok...the first hour before dinner we were on fire!! After dinner not so much.
SO did we win anything???? YES!! we banked all of our tickets for a 200 dollar Disney gift card and WON. We were so surprised and way excited...looks like Santa Claus will be doing a disney theme this year???
It was a great night out for us and I love visiting with the other Kravitz wives and Bryan co-workers..I only see them once a year and it's so great to see them and catch up.
We are having such a great time visiting CA and we are really looking forward to a fun Halloween!

Lombardi Ranch

No Halloween is complete without a visit to our favorite pumpkin patch. We took the kids last week to Lombardi Ranch. So, so , so much fun! Brooke and Brody had a blast. Brody was everywhere and Brooke was just so excited to be there. I love Lombardi Ranch. I love how I can go back and flip through Brooke's baby photo albums and see how much she's grown since her very first visit in 2006. Brody too. Last year he was only about 8 weeks now 14 months. Crazy how time flies!
We've had plenty of trips back. Brooke has been dying to do the pony ride, hopefully we will accomplish that on Saturday and pick out our pumpkins!

And we're off....

Our bags are packed, the house is picked up and the fridge is empty. The trash is out, the beds will be made and the toilets and floors are clean.

And we're off...tomorrow, I think. I'm excited to feel the warm weather, I started running our heater 2 weeks ago....it's been cold!

I'm going to try my best to blog while at my parents house, we have so many fun things planned and I'm excited to journal about them.

What's New..

It's been a few weeks since my last post so I thought it was time for an update. We have not done anything too exciting. A couple of weeks ago Bryan set up our camping tent in the living room and he and Brooke spent the night camping in the living room. Brooke thought it was the coolest thing ever and really enjoyed it. Brody and I stuck with our beds/crib mostly because I had my flu shot earlier that day and felt like a truck hit me. I had the flu the next day..bummer!
Brody boy is now an official walker! Holy cow he gets into EVERYTHING. I thought I had at least 3 more months since Brooke was a late walker and as thick as Brody, but no he started before the 13 month mark. Brody's "boy-ness" has come out in full swing. He's a little monster, totally rough and tough and has a pretty good arm as he throws everything in his hands. Brody has his sweet moments though. I love it when he, out of nowhere, will pucker up his big lips and offer me a kiss without my asking.
October is here, one of my most favorite times of year. I've been baking non-stop filling our house with the aromas of pumpkin cookies, banana bread, cinnamon bread and it goes on and on. I love Halloween so much. I bought the kids their costumes in July ( I know, I know, but trust me I got new costumes at cheap prices on eBay). Brooke is going to be a princess ( big surprise ) and Brody a dinosaur. We decorated the front of our house but sadly mother nature is not so kind out here, they blew away within the first week. I was surprised because I thought I did a pretty good job of securing things down.
Next week we are traveling to CA. Awesome! Bryan's company has their holiday party every year the third Saturday in October and I'm way excited for a night out with my hubby! They even have some fun activities planned for the week up to the party.
We decided that since it was so close to Halloween that we would just stay another week and trick-or-treat at home with family.
The next few months have me a bit overwhelmed. We travel back to Utah on the 1st then to Arizona on the 11th for my brother-in-law's wedding, stay a week to scope out the area for a pending move...yes move, then back to CA for Thanksgiving then back to Utah. Since we are spending Christmas in CA, Santa Claus needs to get all of the Christmas shopping done before we head back to Utah. What an adventure right? :o)

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Well not really...but I had a fantastic time!!!
Enjoy reading the new posts below.

"I Don't Have a Prince!"

The main purpose for our trip to San Francisco was to attend my brothers wedding. Brooke was the flower girl and Bryan a groomsman. Brooke was the most adorable flower girl I've ever seen. There are so many fun memories that I will never forget about our short trip to the bay area like..being "frisked" at the airport by security, slow dancing with my Uncle Jim, watching my uncles, cousins, my dad dance and joining in on the fun, fish-n-chips on the warf..etc. I will remember all of those fondly but the one memory I will hang on to involves my firstborn.. Brooke.
So for the last, I don't know, 6 months Brooke has been talking nonstop about being the flower girl at Uncle "Mac's" wedding. Then it slowly turned into "I'm going to be a princess at Uncle Mac's wedding." Weeks before it was "I'm going to be the most beautiful princess at the wedding and I'm going to marry a prince..Mommy who is going to be my prince? I NEED a prince"
Brooke you are too young to need a prince. You are not the one getting married- I'd reply.
"Oh. Can i marry daddy?"
No Brooke. I'm married to your dad.
"Oh. Well I'm not going to get married unless I marry a price."
Ok Brooke.
~while driving to the ceremony~
"I still don't know who I'm going to marry!"
Brooke you are the FLOWER GIRL. PATTY is getting married to your Uncle Mac. OKAY?
"Oh. Well I'm not going to get married unless I marry a prince."
Thats a great idea Brooke, don't rush finding that prince.
"Ok"

So she waltzes down the isle, I'm beaming..she was perfect. About 1/2 way through the ceremony she starts balling. Im thinking, what is going on? She's fearless...maybe she's not feeling well? I call her over to me...
Whats wrong Brooke, why are you crying?
her response.......

"I don't have a prince!!!!!" cries hysterically.

My Brooke thought SHE was getting married and when NO prince was there to greet her on the other end of the isle..she started balling and was totally heartbroken.

I LOVE THAT GIRL...

The Ghirardelli Factory

Chocolate heaven! After lunch we walked on over to the Ghirardelli Factory, sampled some chocolate and I was advised to eat a Ghirardelli Sundae but opted for the Nob Hill Chill which was a blended Ghirardelli Sundae which was so chocolaty and delicious.