merry christmas and happy new year

a wonderful merry merry christmas was had 

although you'd never know it by my pictures. 

since there are 5. 

i'm fired. for reals.

BUT, i guess i'd rather have had a great christmas with a family i love

 and no pictures to show for it,

 than a no good family or holiday with lots of pictures! -- right?

 (just trying to make myself feel better.)

and no pic from our fancy new years dinner with g+p.

and that's a shame cuz we were looking good... 

happy 2013 to you and yours! 

o christmas tree

this is our first year to get our own christmas tree! 

(i can't remember if we had one on eaton... so i'm thinking we didn't).

for one reason or another, we've never really had a chance/space to, 

and we're usually gone most of the holidays so it's not really worth it, 

but i really wanted one this year. 

we drove to a little tree lot, ivy picked one out, and they delivered it to our living room. 

gramma strung on the lights and ornaments when she was here. 

and ivy colored a little star to put on top. 

then she got really into ornaments, adding things here and there.

an angel she made in preschool, 

a red and green wreath from church, 

a pack of gift tags that she got from a saleslady at jcrew. 

i love it.
perfectly imperfect. 

so colorful and bright.

now if only i had anything to put under it!

whistler

  kevin whisked me away to vancouver for a long weekend for our anniversary 

and it was the loveliest time. 

 he told me just the night before where we were going, although i had a feeling.  

so gramma and cc came to stay with the kids, and we were off! 

i love the snow and mountains, especially this time of year. 

so beautiful and romantic. 

we spent two nights in vancouver

and two in whistler. 

kevin skied, 

i spa-ed (i just made that a verb)

we slept in,

and it was all such a treat.

what's better than sleeping in and waking up to snow covered mountains?

it was really nice just being on our own clocks

and having nothing to do.

it was beautiful, relaxing, quiet, slow. 

perfect for us.

maybe next year we'll pick up the pace :)

it was also soooo fun coming home to the kids 

who seemed 14 and 4. 

(how does that happen?)

ivy was so giddy to show me all the fun stuff she did and made. 

i know they had the best time.

 mom and cindy decked the halls

and had our house perfectly cozy and festive.

as well as a minor house-lift 

and total car clean-out.  

i can't thank you enough!

tis the season to be jolly!! 

happy 5!

this picture has potential.... if we were 8 feet closer. 

oh well, it looks like we are about to say our vows again, so it's kinda appropriate :)

five years!

it's hard for me to believe it's only been five. 

it's just hard to remember my life before kevin. 

we met when we were 15. 

so we've known each other for 13 years! 

that's crazy. 

i guess it's hard to separate our knowing each other from actually being married. 

plus it's been an eventful ride. 

2 countries, 3 states, 4 cities, 5 residences

plus 2 adorable children

 and a bazillion plane rides.

i'm glad it's only been five though-

we are still young

with hopefully a lot more to come.

i love him so very much.

i always knew i'd marry him.

i'm glad he came around and made me his wife.  

i'm the luckiest!

five things you probably didn't know about us:

1. we slept in a double bed for 2 years, thinking it was a queen

2. we almost moved to idaho

3. we met at kevin's 16th birthday party, which i wasn't invited to

4. kevin has a pacemaker, i had a hearing aid, making us the oldest young couple :)

5. i can't think of any more! this is hard!  

happy anniversary us!

happy thanksgiving!

we had a wonderful thanksgiving last weekend in cabo. 

(aside from passing on a bug to every member of my family. so, so sorry.) 

we had the best time, and ivy was in. heaven.

she loves playing with staples and esther and being their mini teacher. 

it's the best watching them together. 

they're the cutest, smartest, funniest, sweetest little girls! ever. 

the weather was beautiful, and the weekend was relaxing and perfect.

(except for the sick bit. sorry again.)

these times are so dear to me, as we're far away and our family is ever growing! 

i'm so thankful for such a beautiful place to spend some time with them. 

thank you mom & dad! 

{olive, staples, eli, ivy and esther. minus baby truett}

the only picture of the whole weekend. i officially am the worst.

pleeeeeease do better over christmas, chaiss!!  

hope y'all had a very happy thanksgiving! 

bacon minestrone

this was dinner last night and it was easy and good. 

super duper healthy, and the kids ate it.

winner in my book!

i got it from this blog, with a few adjustments. 

6 slices of bacon

1 small onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 cups of chopped kale

handful of baby carrots, sliced

squeeze of tomato paste

1 cup of pumpkin puree

1 TB fresh thyme

2 TB fresh oregano

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup of small pasta (I used elbow)

1 can of white beans 

handful of grated parmesan cheese

 + a small piece--about an inch--of Parmesan cheese rind (optional)

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups of water

(it may seem like a lot of liquid, but the pasta absorbs some)

salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in your soup pot until crispy, remove from pan.

Add onions, kale, and carrots to the bacon drippings and sauté until they begin to soften.

Add garlic and sauté for a few minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in fresh herbs, bay leaf, tomato paste, and pumpkin puree.

Add chicken broth, water, beans, parm rind and pasta. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. 

Reduce heat and simmer until you're ready to serve, or turn it off and then heat it up again when you're ready.

Remove the Parmesan rind.

Ladle into bowls, and top with crumbled bacon and sprinkle with cheese.  

Serve with toasted sourdough.

enjoy :)  

mini pumpkin muffins

i usually use cindy's recipe for pumpkin bread, 

but i wanted to make a small batch today 

and my mom brain couldn't half the recipe. 

i saw this one  (basically the same thing) that just makes 1 loaf. 

i made a few adjustments -no sour cream please- and they were sooo yum. 

too bad ivy brings everything we make to the neighbors!

the powdered sugar put them over the top.

ivy loved doing that part :)

do y'all have any good pumpkin/fall recipes!? 

please share!! 

1 cup pumpkin puree 
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup vegetable oil 
1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup  mini chocolate chips
powdered sugar, for dusting

preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

spray mini muffin tin, or loaf pan. 
in a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, oil and vanilla until smooth.

in a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. pour in the wet pumpkin mixture. stir together with wooden spoon  until smooth, but don't over-mix. fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.

fill your muffin tin to the top and bake for about 15-20 minutes. 

dust (drown) with powdered sugar and enjoy! 

ketchup

 

trip home to texas. john newton's wedding in san antonio. great weekend at the ranch with my family and uncle craig. ivy and gus re-unite. eli hopped on too. staples rode big red, who isn't red. estie cheered them on. tiny cowboy boots. it was freezing.  homemade pizzas. random princess dresses.  sweet playing. kevin flew back to california, we went to houston. LOTS of great gramma, papa, and cousin time. chick fil a. kacki. children's museum. dora. aunt gen's house. rattling bones. mama's boy. huge swing. night lights. pink play dough. pappasitas. baby truett. funny staples. sweet ollie. happy 2nd birthday esther! sprinkle party. cutest birthday girl. lacy and mrs. mason. bye ivy. flight back to CA with eli. tired. hello husband. really nice night at half moon bay. room service. thanks palantir. hi ivy + nana! back to CA routine. fall back + time change -- what time is it?! preschool. ballet. park. suzie cakes. library. date night. turkey placemats and crazy headbands. bye nana. weekend! pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies. naps. already monday. and that brings us to today. time for preschool pick up.

and that was leaving out a LOT. :)

1st riding lesson

       

Spring Down Equestrian Center

Portola Valley, CA

i signed ivy up for a mommy & me horse riding lesson

and we had the best time!

it's a little series that goes tuesday mornings in october

that i found online.

and it's a whole other world out there! 

so beautiful.

right around the corner.

she was so excited when we got out of the car

and were walking around a real barn with real horses.

she wanted to pet each one.

then she was fitted for a helmet and boots (too cute)

i got some too (not as cute) and we were set!

there were 4 or 5 other boys and girls.

her instructor was so nice and her horse's name is Oreo.

i didn't know what to expect but it was a real lesson- 

lots of instructions and she really had to concentrate.

kinda hard i thought but it was good for her :)

then they colored horse pictures. 

not sure how long she'll stay interested, but fun for now! 

chocolate caramel cookies

ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

pinch of salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 sticks of butter, room temp

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

rolo candies, unwrapped

sanding sugar, for dipping

directions

preheat oven to 375.

mix together butter and sugars.

add in eggs and vanilla and mix.

combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then mix with wet ingredients.

form some dough around a rolo and make into a little ball, about golfball size, making sure the candy is covered. 

press one side into the sugar, and place on baking sheet.

bake about 8-10 minutes.

you could also leave out the rolos and put something else inside, or just dip in sprinkles like ivy prefers. 

yum!

enjoy!

(i made these for a neighbor whose car i may or may not have hit in my own driveway. darn the luck!)

half moon bay/carmel

last sunday (sunday before? these weeks are flying) we drove last minute to half moon bay. the kids played on the beach and we had a fun dinner looking out on the ocean at sam's chowder house. yum. it was super short and we got home a little past their bedtime, but it was nice getting out. 

yesterday we took a little road trip (hour 1/2) to carmel. 

kevin & ivy have been wanting to visit the aquarium 

and i've been wanting to stay in a little cottage :)  

the weather was absolutely perfect and the ocean was gorgeous.

carmel is charming as can be.  

saturday we visited the aquarium (favorite was the seahorses this time) 

and then we found our cottage in downtown carmel. 

ivy loved pretending like it was her little house. 

"this is my very own cottage with my very own bed!

 look mom.. it has a little toaster! mom look.. this room is darling! 

oh, come on in! 

eli has his own room too?? look buddy! here's your room!

we need some food in our fridge! and what's that fridge called on top? 

oh yeah, a freezer... dad, we need some ice in our little freezer!

bye cottage! thanks for keeping us safe." 

etc. etc.   cute. 

we stopped in cottage of sweets (i got a coconut haystack and the kids got gummy worms)

 and walked down to the beach.

sooo pretty! 

then today we had breakfast, went to the park and

drove the famous 17-mile drive through pebble beach.

again, it was a short little trip but so nice to get out.

and i have to compliment my kids on their amazing travel behavior.

it seems like we're on a plane all the time, but never travel by car and i was

seriously impressed. 

AND they slept til 8.

well done, kiddos.

let's do it again soon! :)

10,000 reasons

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning

It's time to sing Your song again

Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name