Christmas Eve -n- Chocolate Pecan Pie

Each Christmas Eve we head over to Andres' parent's house to spend time with family and enjoy a nice dinner together. This year Andres' Mom made a scrumptious Chocolate Pecan Pie - Mmmm... it was so yummy, I had to write down the recipe:

-Chocolate Pecan Pie-

3 c. sugar

6 jumbo eggs

1 cn. evaporated milk

3 tbsp. cocoa

3 tbsp. flour

3 sticks of butter melted

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. pecans (chop up to add to the filling mix)

Makes 2 deep crust pies (western family pie crusts).

*Mix ingredients together, pour into pie shells, top with whole or half sized pecans & bake for 1 hr. @ 350 degrees.

Elli took this cute picture of McKynlee on a manual setting with my camera. I was trying to pick her brain for all the knowledge I could on how to use my camera. She is so talented... I REALLY need to take some classes so I can better use all the different options my camera has to offer. 

McKynlee had a really good time considering that she had just had surgery the day before. Her conformer started coming out of her eye socket over the weekend and we had to get her in asap to reposition/re-stitch it into place. 

Just before going to bed we got out our "Cookies for Santa" plate and put out some cookies and milk for old St. Nick!!! 

Anybody Else???

HoLy BoUnCin' LoLLiPopS!!! 

I am so ready for a NeW YeAr, NeW SlaTe, NeW GoaLs, NeW OrGaNiZinG, NeW PrOjEcTs, NeW ME...

...and I'm so glad I talked to my BFF&A tonight, cuz we have the same gritty calendar by Lang and I SO wanted to yank my 2008 one right off the wall today and put up my new 2009 one, and I held off.. Well- she said she DID do that since there wasn't really anything going on for the rest of December anyway!!! So guess what, I'm inspired and going to do just that when I wake up in the morning!~

I hope all of you are as excited as I am for the new year and all it has to offer... hence my greeting-

HaPPy NeW YeaR 

{a little bit early!!!}

*pssttt- If all else fails... Be Silly =o)

It's a MaRsHmAlloW WoRld in the WiNteR~

When the SNOW comes to cover the ground 

It's the time for play, it's a whipped cream day

I wait for it the whole year round.

Sydnee & Jade's Fancy Gingerbread House~

Anniversary Visit to Temple Square

Sunday the 21st was Andres & my thirteenth wedding anniversary. The past two years we've kind of considered our Platinum trip a way to celebrate our anniversary since it's so close and we get all that time to ourselves, so we went out on a date Friday and then Sunday we took the kids up to Temple Square to see the lights and celebrate our anniversary as a family where we got married that wintery day thirteen years ago, it was just as beautiful, glistening in fresh snow.. as it was that Dec. 21st in 1995.~

Annual Christmas Slumber Party at Grandma & Grandpa's House

Last year, we started a new tradition in our family! I love traditions... We decided that it would be fun for the kids to look forward to having an "Annual Christmas Slumber Party" on the day they get out of school for Christmas break. Both years now there has been a huge snow storm and have wondered if we'd be able to make it up there, but we got 'em all packed up with their Christmas jammies, drove nice & slow and eventually we made it safe and sound. 

Grandma's house has gleamed with Holiday Cheer all through the years! In recent years, she's taken on a theme of snowmen some short-n-plump & some tall-n-thin... here's a few snapshots of her oh-so gritty decor that decks the halls of her & Grandpa's home at this time of year! The kids laughter and shouts of glee expresses their love for the warm-cozy feeling they have while spending time at Grandma & Grandpa's house.~

I think that Santa Clause on the couch is as old as I am.. and the couch too, actually the couch is older than me. LOL Grandma made that Santa Clause at a R.S. activity many, many years ago. It's fun to see my little ones loving and doing the same things with some of the decorations that I enjoyed when I was their age. :o)

Gingerbread House Success - At Last...

For the record: We have NEVER had good luck when it comes to putting together gingerbread houses at our house! We've tried a few, one Christmas and one Halloween and the frosting was just never thick enough to hold the pieces of the house together. After much frustration and finally throwing the whole kit away unfinished, we haven't embarked on the project of making/decorating another gingerbread house since although, we really wanted to. After seeing my nephew and his wife's, and my BFF's cute gingerbread houses they made this year I decided it was time to try again, especially since my BFF said that theirs was from Costco and the frosting was thick-fabulous!!! 

I bought two and let the boys invite a friend over to help make one of them one night and then Sydnee had a friend over just yesterday to  make hers. It was so much fun, I'm so glad that we finally found a kit that works! = ) Thanks to Costco, I think we might finally be able to incorporate a "Gingerbread House Tradition" into our holiday celebrations each year!

 

*Sydnee's gingerbread house pictures coming soon, I haven't uploaded them yet.

TANNER'S ChRisTmaS ProGraM~

TANNER had his Preschool Christmas Program last week. Oh my goodness, I think I was smiling from ear to ear the EnTiRe time. He is so dang cute.... It's been a while since I've had one this age participate in a preschool program and I'd forgotten what a JoY it is to watch. We drove through a BLiZZaRd to BYU for the program, it took us a half hour to get there, but it was fun. We listened to Christmas music the whole way and enjoyed the look of a winter wonderland all around! 

 

SyDnEE's OrCheStRa CoNcErT~

~Sydnee Addison~

I think the picture below is so cute with her feet up off the ground. The school orchestra program is for 4th-6th graders and Sydnee is in 2nd grade so technically she's not supposed to be in the orchestra program, but because at the beginning of the year she was so self-motivated and went right into tell the music teacher that she REALLY wanted to do orchestra with much determination and he knew that she already takes lessons, he allowed her to do it! 

Sydnee & Grandma

Sydnee & her music teacher, Mr. Peterson.

HappY BiRtHdaY ANDRES!

Andres' birthday was on Sunday and the kids served us breakfast in bed. Andres' tray is the first one and they placed the silverware in the shape of a "D" for Dad, and on my tray they made an "M" for Mom - they used celery sticks for part of the letter, how cute is that! Notice the eggs are different, they made Andres' runny (cuz they know that's the way he likes them) and they made mine scrambled. 

That evening after church we had Grandparents over for a special birthday dinner. The kids helped set the table with our fine dishes and Marcus folded up creative napkins at each place setting. On Andres' napkin he wrote on it: "Happy Birthday Dad! From: Marcus Open it up!" then on the inside of the napkin he wrote: "I love you Dad and I wish you a good birthday and I wish you a good Christmas. We love you so much Dad. Written by Marcus. From: Marcus and Chanman and Sydnee and Tanner and Mom (he forgot to write Kynlee's name).

Amidst the preparations for the party the kids went around the house and each came up with a gift for Andres from things we already had, wrapped them up & made a card of some kind. It was fun to see what they came up with when Andres opened them up. Chandler gave him a big grasshopper in a gold box and the note read: "Dad, this will remind you of a memory. {with a drawing of a grasshopper} Love, Chandler."

Sydnee made him this big card and gave him a rubber band bracelet, some coins, & some small pictures she got at the visitors center in Nauvoo.

Marcus gave him a Star Wars pen, an eraser, a prehistoric dinosaur book, and a pellet gun. = )

I was lucky enough to find a sitter Saturday night, so just the two of us were able to go out and celebrate! We went to dinner at Andres' favorite italian restaurant Carraba's, did some birthday shopping at the mall and went to a late night movie!

~Xoxx-Ooo-xo-xXo~