And it's not even Christmas yet!

Look at all this loot!!!




Here's someone who just can't wait to get her hands on it all.

Eva Video

Just took this of Eva. She really wants to get out of the saucer and is on the verge of crying so it's not as good as it could be. Sorry about my silly talking-to-babies voice.

American Faces

These photo's were taken by my grandfather during the 40's-60's. Fantastic, aren't they?

Costumes

I mentioned in the post before this that we went to a nativity display yesterday put on by the Spokane Stake. It was truly amazing to see so many nativities in so many different styles in one place. I could have spent hours in the main room, but it was not at all kid friendly. Luckily, there was a kid friendly room with plenty of things for the kids to do. Here are some pictures of our kids playing dress-up. It took a bit of talking them into it because none of the other kids there were doing it. However, once they saw how much fun Sam and Grace were having it became the most popular activity in the room! What can I say, we're trendsetters. Eva did not like her sheep costume, but she makes a pretty cute one, don't you think?

The Santa Conundrum

Do your kids believe in Santa? Mine do; though with Sam I think it is more that he wishes, almost desperately, to believe rather then that he really does believe as Grace does. His poor, logical, 1st grade self has been assaulted with too many inconsistencies and realities and he's been trying so hard to ignore them. Grace has no doubt that there is a jolly and kindly old man who lives at the north pole and spends all his time devoted to making toys for good little girls and boys. Let her see three different 'Santa Clauses' at three different locations in one short span of time and she has no questions. I don't have a problem with my children believing in Santa Clause. Belief in the joy of selfless giving, whether or not it is embodied in something 'real' can't be a bad thing. I'm kind of sad that this is probably the last Christmas that Sam will even kind of believe, but more because this means he is growing up and out into the world.

What does Santa mean in your home? Is he an example of service and charity or of strictly commercial value? Or is he used as a disciplinary threat i.e. only good children get presents from Santa? Last night we attended a nativity display put on by one of the stakes here in Spokane. It was amazing with hundreds of different nativities and depictions of the birth and life of Christ. ( Incidentally there was one with Santa kneeling by the manger.) They also had a children's room with the more hardy nativities that the kids could touch and other activities such as coloring and dress-ups. We had a lot of fun there. Just as we were leaving, another family came in. The mom started getting her kids dressed up in the costumes so she could take some pictures. One son, about Sam's age I would guess, did not want to participate. She started arguing with him and I distinctly heard her say as I was going out, "Do you want Santa to bring you any presents?"

That's really want got me started thinking about this whole issue. I've tried not to use the idea of Santa in this way. In fact, its more my kids that use it on each other, which is pretty funny to hear sometimes. Anyway. It's in issue that many families have to deal with at sometime or another. So, what does Santa mean to you?

Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints

These cookies are probably my favorite of all I've made in the past few weeks. The dough comes together easy and fast and the dab of Nutella on top and hazelnuts on the side are just heavenly.

Ingredients

• 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Stir egg yolks with a whisk, adding espresso, if desired. Add the yolk mixture and vanilla to butter; beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.

3. Turn dough out onto a sheet of wax paper; knead 6 times or until smooth and shiny. Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls. Roll sides of balls in nuts, pressing gently. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving an indentation. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Spoon a scant 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut-chocolate spread into center of each cookie.

Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava

I made this for Thanksgiving weekend. They were really easy to put together and came out really well. They taste even better the second day, I think. Anything with Nutella is bound to, right?

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
• 1 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup blanched toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray
• 24 (14 x 9–inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Preparation

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat; stir until honey dissolves. Increase heat to medium; cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 230° (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat; keep warm. Discard cinnamon stick.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. Place hazelnut-chocolate spread in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds or until melted. Combine hazelnuts and next 5 ingredients (through salt). Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), place 1 phyllo sheet lengthwise in bottom of prepared pan, allowing ends of sheet to extend over edges of dish; lightly brush with butter. Repeat procedure with 5 phyllo sheets and butter. Drizzle about 1/3 cup melted hazelnut -chocolate spread over phyllo. Sprinkle evenly with one-third of nut mixture (about 1/2 cup). Repeat procedure twice with phyllo, butter, hazelnut-chocolate spread, and nut mixture. Top last layer of nut mixture with remaining 6 sheets phyllo, each lightly brushed with butter. Press gently into pan.

4. Make 3 lengthwise cuts and 5 crosswise cuts to form 24 portions using a sharp knife. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until phyllo is golden. Remove from oven. Drizzle honey mixture over baklava. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover; store at room temperature.

Macadamia Nut Butter Cookies

I made these cookies for the first time last christmas. They have a different taste then regular butter cookies because you grind your nuts into butter and use that instead of normal butter. I think they're great.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Place nuts in a food processor; process until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping sides of bowl once. Combine macadamia butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add vanilla and egg; beat well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and ground nutmeg, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until combined (mixture will be very thick). Stir in chopped cranberries. Chill 10 minutes.

Divide chilled dough into 30 equal portions; roll each portion into a ball. Place 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in a small bowl. Lightly press each ball into sugar; place each ball, sugar side up, on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Gently press the top of each cookie with a fork. Dip the fork in water; gently press the top of each cookie again to form a crisscross pattern. Place 15 cookies on each of 2 baking sheets.

Bake cookies, 1 baking sheet at a time, at 375° for 9 minutes or until golden. Remove cookies from pan; cool on a wire rack. Repeat procedure with remaining cookies.

Sweet potato buttermilk pie

I have finally admitted to myself that I just don't like pumpkin pie. I try, oh how I try, to enjoy it every year. And every year I am disappointed. So I've turned to sweet potato pie to fill in the pumpkin void. This recipe is by far the best I've tried. It's from the blog smittenkittchen.com which, if you like to cook, should be at the top of your cooking bookmarks. Nothing I have tried from this site has been anything less then extraordinary.

Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pie
Adapted only slightly from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Whipped egg whites give this pie a frothy texture, buttermilk gives it a tangy flavor and together you end up with a sweet potato pie that’s less leaden and more cheesecake-like than the tradition. Yes, I know you read that whole sentence and only registered the word “cheesecake”!

Oh, and Alex and I don’t see eye to eye on the lemon juice in this recipe. I find the lemon distracting, and slightly clash-y with the cinnamon and warm spices in this pie, and possibly overpowering the sweet potato flavor. Alex likes the extra tanginesss. I’m going to leave it up to you depending on where you want your pie to be on the acidic scale. I believe the buttermilk alone will give you some brightness but the lemon will take it a step further.

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes), peeled and chopped into a 1/2-inch dice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpoe flour
3/4 cup full- or lowfat buttermilk (or, you can make your own)
1 All-Butter, Really Flaky Pie Crust (a half recipe will yield a single crust), prebaked (instructions below)
Whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Pour 1 1/2 inches of water into a 3-quart stock part with a strainer basket suspended over it and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, cover and steam until fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Place the steamed sweet potatoes in a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Mash them into a smooth puree with a fork or potato masher (though I suspect that a potato ricer would also do a great job). You should have 1 1/4 cups puree; discard any excess (by topping with a pat of butter, sprinkling with salt and making yourself a most-excellent snack). Add the butter, lemon juice if using, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula after each addition.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a whisk, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until they’re a creamy lemon-yellow color, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the egg mixture to the sweet potato mixture and stir until the eggs are thoroughly incorporated and the filling is a consistent bright orange color. Add the flour a little at a time, stirring after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. Add the buttermilk and again stir until smooth and even.

With a cleaned whisk (or electric hand mixer), whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a clean, dry bowl. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the sweet potato-buttermilk mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the prebaked crust and bake on the middle rack of the oven until the center is firm and set, 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove the pie from the oven and cool completely on a rack. Serve at room temperature (or cold from the fridge; you can cover it with plastic wrap before chilling) with a dollop of whipped cream.

To pre-bake your pie crust, choose a method: “Proper” method — Lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the dough and carefully scatter pie weights, dried beans or pennies over it. Bake on the middle rick of your oven at 325°F for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pie weights and the foil, prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, and bake for 10 minutes more.

Deb’s “Cheater” method — Freeze your rolled-out pie shell for 20 to 30 minutes until solid. Press a piece of buttered foil, buttered side down, very frozen shell and blind bake it at 325°F for 20 minutes, then carefully pull back the foil, press any part of the crust that has bubbled up gently back with the back of a spoon, prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, and bake for 10 minutes more.

Pear and Walnut Muffins

These may be my favorite muffins ever and coming from a family that specializes in yummy muffins that's saying something. I just whipped up a batch today and so help me I've almost polished off half of them on my own! This recipe is from Cooking Light.

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) carton plain fat-free yogurt
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups finely diced peeled pear (any kind; I use bartlett)
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (or regular sugar if that's all you have)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Place walnuts in a food processor; process until finely ground.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. Stir in ground walnuts. Make a well in center of mixture.

Combine brown sugar and the next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a small bowl; add to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in diced pear.

Spoon batter into 15 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle batter with turbinado sugar. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove from pans immediately. Place on a wire rack. Serve either warm or at room temperature.

Southwestern Butternut Squash Soup

We tried this recipe out last week and it is fantastic! I love squash soup anyway and the spicy kick is amazing. It's from Cook's Illustrated.

1 medium butternut squash (about 3 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
3 medium shallots , peeled and quartered
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Sour cream (optional)
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Toss squash, shallots, oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large bowl, then arrange in single layer in large roasting pan. Roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden brown and softened, about 45 minutes. Add ½ cup broth to pan and scrape up any browned bits with wooden spoon. Return to oven and cook until liquid has reduced and vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes.

2. Working in 2 batches, puree squash mixture and remaining broth in blender until smooth. Transfer pureed squash mixture to large saucepan and stir in honey, lime juice, cumin, and cream. Bring soup to simmer over medium-low heat, adding ¼ cup water at a time as necessary to adjust consistency. Just prior to serving, stir in cilantro and chiles. Serve with dollop of sour cream, if desired. (Soup can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)

We didn't use the sour cream and it was great without it. Probably even better with it. I highly encourage you to try!

Eva moves

This is mostly for the grandparents. Eva really likes her car seat (when she's not strapped in it) so we keep toys in it to amuse her. Sorry the picture gets jiggley at the end; I'm trying to scoot across the floor so she can't quite get me.

My Girls

Here's a picture of Grace sporting her new outfit. Notice especially the knee high black boots. We bought them because, not only should every girl have a pair of knee high black boots, (though her mother does not) but they look especially killer with her spider-girl costume for Halloween!



I just walked in on Eva looking like this:


Seriously, how can she be old enough to be standing!

Do you think his teacher will notice?

I hope this picture is big enough for you to see what's going on. Sam's school is doing a reading challenge and the parents are supposed to sign off for every 20 minutes read. Sam decided to just cut the parent out of the whole equation.

click on the picture to see bigger... you're looking at the bottom left side of the orange paper.

We had a little talk about right and wrong after this.

ps- Sam did in fact do the reading that he signed for. He just got tired of waiting for me to sign the paper.

New Dress

Thanks so much to Aunt Whitney for this cute gingham dress! (the wet spot comes from Eva)

Trip to Utah

Yesterday we got home from a very quick and very fun trip to Utah to visit my older sister and her family. My mom and youngest sister also drove up from AZ to be with us. It was great to see everyone and I just wish we had had more time and less distractions (such as school, dogs, babies). Here's some pictures from the trip.

Grace and Eva on the trampoline. The trampoline was a great hit with my kids, especially Sam. He spent more time on the tramp then doing anything else, except maybe sleeping.

Eva also had fun on the tramp. She mostly just rolled around and put leaves in her mouth, but she enjoyed every minute of it!

The kids with Grandpa Murland at the Hill Airforce Base Aerospace museum

Jeep from WWI

Grace loved this lady in the lobby of the museum. She's wearing a dress made from parachute silk.

There were TONS of planes at the museum, both inside and out.

The cousins at the top of Ensign peak. It was so windy but the view was incredible.

Grace taking a rest on the hike up.

Eva likes her back pack.

At the SLC temple reflecting pool.

Pretty Sophie

Rob thought it would be fun to have a bubble gum bubble blowing contest. Brother-in-law Marc is incapable of blowing bubbles with gum. Here's a picture of his best try.

Sally was the clear winner. This picture is just a second too late to catch her truly awesome accomplishment.

Whitney did her best.

All told it was a great trip. We got to spend time with Great-Grandma Budge which was a treat (kicking myself that I neglected to take any pictures!) and it was fun to hang out with my mom and almost all my sisters. Thanks again Whit for taking care of us!

Cross Country

The elementary schools here in Spokane received a grant this year to run a cross country program free for all students. Sam's been working hard and having fun at the practices. He's always been a fast runner, but not a far runner so its been a challenge for him to learn to pace himself. The first meet was this last Wednesday and he did great! I was really surprised at how far the kids had to run! He did walk parts of the course, but over all pushed himself and had a great experience and a good sense of accomplishment. Here are some pictures from the meet and a little video of his finish.

Hydrating after the race

All Bundled (likes to eat zippers)

Arriving at the park with his team

Having fun while waiting for the meet to start

Go Sam Go!

Another Eva Video

Sisters

Grace at 6 months



Eva at 5 months



Budget wise it is nice to have two girls in a row and both born about the same time of year so I can reuse Grace's clothes for Eva. Being a second daughter myself, I know that this will be a source of conflict in the future when either Eva rebels at having to wear hand-me-downs, or Grace will be upset with sharing her clothes with her pesky little sister. Of course, with 4 years between them by the time they are close enough in size to be sharing (stealing) each others clothes Grace will probably be about ready to leave for college.

The definitely have the same mouth and nose, don't you think?

Eva

Here's a cute video I took of Eva today. I can't believe how big she is!

Aiming High

For about a year, if one were to ask Sam what he wanted to be when he grew up he would tell one that he wanted to be a 'worker'. We've been able to deduce that a 'worker', in Sam's mind, is a builder or construction worker. Which really could encompass many professions, including architect, engineer, contractor, etc. Today, however, he narrowed things down quite a bit. He told me that he didn't want to be a worker that builds things. No, he wants to be a builder that digs holes. That's right. My son, my first born, aspires to be a ditch digger.

Time

1st day for Grace

Grace was really excited to start preschool today. She's been somewhat lonely at home since Sam started school last week. She really likes her new teachers and is especially thrilled with the pink princess plates that are in her classroom for the kids to play with. There are lots of little girls in her class to be friends with and the teachers have fun things planned throughout the year.
So now its just me and Eva at home in the mornings. Though I think she and I are going to be taking some classes ourselves. We'll start out with Regular Sleeping Habits 101!

The Trials of Girls

What little girl hasn't tried to curl her hair by wrapping it around a comb? I distinctly remember trying it myself with a round brush when I was about 6. Grace had this comb wound so tightly in her hair I was afraid we'd have to pull out the scissors and start cutting. Luckily, I remembered a story I heard at the Idaho Jr. Miss competition two years ago. The emcee was discribing how she got her hair wound up in a round brush just hours before the final competition. While she, her mom, and her sister had hysterics, her dad calmly got his pliers out and pulled all the bristles out of the brush and released her hair. So that's what we did with Grace. I had to break the teeth off the comb, but it was a cheap one so it was fairly easy and not a loss to throw it away at the end. She did lose a little hunk of hair during the process, but nothing like the damages if we had had to cut the comb out. I think she learned her lesson so we wont have to be doing this again. At least not until Eva tries it!

1st Day of 1st Grade

Sam was a real trooper, going to a new school this morning with new teachers, new kids, new classrooms without even batting an eye. I was a bundle of nerves and I just had to drop him off, grab a bagel and leave! I think he's going to do great this year, and though he misses his friends (especially Garrick), I watched him start making new friends and putting down new roots. Thank heavens for the resilience of kids!

Images of Summer

Send it Soaring

Last weekend was our annual trip to the Kite Festival. We had a great time and are so grateful to Grandma for taking us! Here are some picture highlights of the trip:

And now summer is over. Sad! Sam starts school on Thursday, and Grace starts a week from today. Whatever will I do with only one child at home?

Rick's Birthday

This last weekend we drove over to the west side of the state to celebrate Rob's brother Rick's birthday. We left Friday and decided to stop for lunch at Snoqualmie Falls. This is just over the pass through the Cascades; about an hour from Grandma's house. The view at the top is stunning, and there's a nice little 1 mile hike down to the river at the bottom of the falls.

Sam and Grace both enjoyed the river and climbing all over the rocks. Sam's grey shirt was almost the same color as most of the rocks there so he blended in very well which made for some heart-stopping moments for me when I couldn't see him anywhere!

Eva was pretty tired by the time we were at the bottom so we didn't stay long.

She was asleep within minutes of the hike back up. Though the trail is short, it gets pretty steep at the end. It isn't easy with a babe in arms. The trail is lined with wild blackberry bushes which were just beginning to ripen. Sam and Grace loved looking for the black ones and we ate quite a bit.

We got to Rob's mom's house about dinner time and got the kids settled in and to bed. It had been a long day so we were all pretty tired. Rob and I had just gone to bed ourselves when Karen, Rob's sister poked her head in the room and told Rob there was a policeman here to see him. Turns out some kids thought it would be fun to throw rocks at windows as they walked down the street. Our car got hit, as well as quite a few others. We didn't get a picture of the window right after it was hit. This is what it looked like after Rob knocked all the broken glass out. We were lucky to find someone who could fix it on Saturday.

Saturday we went to Rick's house for a crab boil. I'm not very fond of these since I don't like seafood, but Rob's family are all quite keen. They are very expensive though so its an only-for-special-occasions dinner.

After the food is all cooked, you dump it out down the center of the table. Everyone has their own dish of melted butter and you just dig in. I had grilled chicken. No butter.

Everyone looks bored in this picture, but it really was a lot of fun. That's the birthday boy in the back in the blue shirt. And I don't think he's really picking his nose.

Eva was very well behaved the entire weekend, except for when we were driving, when she did a lot of this:

And finally, here's a picture of Grace with Auntie Kathryn, and the quilt that she made for Grace. It is even more beautiful in person and Grace loves it!