Who Knew?

Who on earth knew that brussel sprouts were so tasty?! I don't think I have ever had them before. My mother was a very good mother and did not make us eat many vegetables. She even made separate dishes without onions and peppers for us kids!! I know, we were spoiled. So at the grocery store I saw them and wondered what do those taste like? I was really excited about making them too! I checked with trusty Alton Brown and he suggested a simple steam with Kosher salt. Amazing! It looks like they can also be sauted, roasted, grilled, and wrapped with bacon. I can't wait! What do you do with brussel sprouts?

On the topic of learning something new... I saw the coolest video on YouTube about darning socks!!! Usually we throw holey socks away, but Seth has a nice pair of wool socks he's been wanting me to repair. I honestly didn't know how to darn socks. It is very fascinating, you should check it out!

The Year of the Elephant

So we painted an elephant on his wall, he was an elephant for Halloween, and so it was pretty easy to decide what kind of cake to make. Once again, I got the idea from my favorite website (coolest-birthday-cakes.com) I was pretty happy with how it turned out, except for the dry frosting. I tried a new recipe and must not have added enough milk. Oh well. The best part was seeing Benjamin's face when he saw it. In this picture he is making the elephant noise.

We had his party at a bowling alley and it went pretty well for his first time bowling. He certainly didn't last a whole game, but he had fun.

The best invention for kid bowling, it was the only way he knocked pins down.

Aunt Samantha came and Uncle Jeff and Rose too!

Plenty of presents.

And blowing out the candles.

Happy 4th Birthday Benjamin!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Warning: Several Pictures Ahead

It's been a while since the Grandparents have seen the kids, so I thought I would post a few of my favorite recent pictures. Such a good little Mommy! She always knows where her baby is and takes such good care of her.

I love how much she loves her Daddy. She gives great kisses too.

Jeff and Rose reading Maggie a book on Sunday night. She loves books and will sit on your lap and let you read them over and over. I love it!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Benjamin in the last couple of months. He is such a boy!

When I was at school Seth told me how Benjamin saw him reading a book in the bathroom. Personally I just get in and out, why spend leisurely time in there? Anyway, I guess he thought it was a good idea so Seth was able to get a few pictures. I think I'll be scrapbooking this one.

Since I bought a fun box of bandaids he's been obsessed with using them whenever he gets hurt, or where ever he gets hurt. I didn't let him put one on his tongue, but I did let him learn the hard way with the bandaid getting stuck in his hair.

Sneaking out of his room when it's suppose to be bed time! Too cute to get mad.

Well, I guess I'm all caught up. I'm sure I'll post again in about a month.

Christmas at Home

We had a very nice and relaxing Christmas in our new home. It was the first time I was the host! Grandma Stephenson and Samantha came to spend the week with us. And Gretel too, Maggie was very happy about that. On Christmas morning she by passed her presents and went straight to Gretel and said "puppy!"

Santa brought Maggie her first baby doll and buggy. She's been such a good Mommy. Benjamin got his first Nerf gun. Dad got one too. I have to admit they are a lot of fun.

We even got Grandma in on the fun!

Aunt Samantha gave Benj this awesome lion! He loves it and it goes great in his jungle room. Thanks Sam!

Thanksgiving Trip

We spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas where Seth's side of the family gathers every year. Before the kids came it was easy to zip right down. Since the two munchkins we have not been, so after four years we knew it was time to make the trek. Luckily Melissa decided to come along too so we had extra help and it was just really nice to have her with us. We first spent a day in St. George and went to this new park because it was like 70 degrees! My new goal in life is to become a sun bird ASAP!

Maggie's new best friend...Gretel. Seriously, she spent the whole trip pointing at her and saying, "puppy, puppy, puppy" It was so cute I might have to post a video.

Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful. Benjamin especially enjoyed his Turkey M&M. He did eat some traditional foods too.

Mom slaughtered everyone at Tribond.

You can't go to Las Vegas without hitting the strip. So Melissa and I took off. We found what is apparently the largest chocolate fountain. It was a little underwhelming, but we had some descent chocolate ice cream. We also met up with my good friend Shelley who was visiting another friend in Las Vegas for the week. We got all caught up on teaching stories and getting to work on our masters projects.

Then we caught a show of the dancing waters (seen below). We did some shopping AND some random guy asked us if we wanted to go clubbing!!! I only wish I could see the terrified face I gave him, I don't even remember what I said as we walked on.

And the highlight of Seth's trip...In and Out came to St. George. He got to go twice. On our way home we waited in line for a little while. It reminded me of when Krispie Kreme was huge in Orem around 2001. It was worth the wait. Pretty tasty hamburgers for the low price.

A Jungle Halloween

Just before going Trick-or-Treating we got this great pose! Overall he did a great job but much to Mom and Dad's dismay he did not last long. He just wanted to get home to start eating his candy. And the very first thing he wanted to eat was a package of fruit snacks! Crazy kid! We tried so hard, but he just did not realize how many houses were out there ready to give him more candy. Here is Maggie as the sweetest Lion ever! She is greatly enjoying pieces of a cupcake at the ward party.

The full shot of the Lion. I let her play with her toothbrush to distract her from the obnoxious hood I made her wear. It really didn't take long for her to get use to it and she wore it the whole night!

Benjamin had tons of fun decorating his pumpkin. Way better than last year when he threw a fit because we wouldn't let him use the knife.

At the ward party all Benjamin wanted to do was the Cake Walk, which was great, it entertained him for a long time. And he only needed one cupcake. In the pose above he is really playing the elephant part well; holding up the trunk while making the elephant noise.

Benjamin and Maggie with neighbor friends at the ward party.

The Weekend

On Saturday we took a little trip to a small Pumpkin Patch we had never been to. It was pretty cute with a big red barn and a large field of pumpkins to pick your own. At the Patch they had this cute set-up to take pictures. Great scrapbooking material was exactly what I was thinking! And I guess blogging too.

Although his face doesn't show it, but he was way more excited about picking a watermelon than a pumpkin.

Maggie's first pig tails!!! I made the bows to match her dress and I plan to make hundreds more.

Benjamin running around the house keeping from getting his picture taken. This was the first Sunday wearing a white shirt. The tie will come later, we are taking small steps.

Fun Halloween idea! Not my idea, totally Martha Stewart's. Nutter Butter cookies, melted white chocolate, and mini chocolate chips. Cute, uh?

This has been the best semester because it's the first one that Samantha, Jeff, and Melissa are here all together! We love having them over most Sunday nights. Sorry Sam, you didn't make the blog; next time.

Maggie loves to feed us her bottle. I guess Jeff didn't want any.

Thanks Mom for the super cute pj's!