the last gift....

..not to be opened until July!!

we wish you a merry christmas...

We heart having our new CA cousins with us for Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!

Snuggled up in our new Christmas pjs :)

Cute Christmas babies... Sydney & her cousin, Teo.

Megan showing off her new gear

Davis got a LeapPad from Santa..and we haven't seen him since!

Sydney gives cousin Bella a lift 

Megan & Mommy got matching santa aprons for Christmas.  Thanks Albright Family!!

Elfie strikes again!

We just never know where this mischevious fellow will turn up!

Homemade marshmallows.  Yum!

http://indulgebakery.blogspot.com/2011/08/vanilla-marshmallows.html

Davis meets the big guy :)

Bring on the Nutcracker!!

o christmas tree...and other holiday fun

Little cupcakes with little friends at the Christmas Tree Lighting.

We found the perfect tree...in 10 minutes or less! (in hindsight, perhaps we should have spent a bit longer looking....)

It didn't look too shabby once it was all dressed up..the first time.  Yes, the tree fell over & we were so lucky we got to decorate it twice :)   

Baby it's cold outside!

Super fun Christmas craft...Shrinky Dinks Christmas tree.

Does everyone remember these?  We all watched with amazement as they baked & curled & shrunk & became tiny perfect versions of themselves!  Why aren't these still as popular as they were in the 80s??  We loved them!

christmas traditions

Something Old...

I inherited this mistletoe from my grandparents when they passed away.  You could find them together under it every Christmas.  It is a sweet memory from my childhood.

...and Something New

I made an advent calendar for us this year and every day the kids open it to find out what kind of merriment the day will hold.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out and I am even happier when I watch their faces light up as they find out what holiday fun is in store! 

tis' the season...

...to be baking!

While I'm on the subject of baking, I thought I would post these super cute stained glass window snowflake cookies that the kids helped to make.  Megan found them in a magazine & was excited to give them a try (she is quite full of good ideas lately!). They may not be the tastiest cookies I've ever had, but they certainly are pretty!

hot chocolate-revised

So the cupcake challenge came around again and this time Megan inspired me to try something new. She suggested a hot chocolate cupcake (shocking for my non-chocolate girl) and I went online and found this recipe.  It was delish..and quite fun to make, too.  For any of you out there looking for something new to try this holiday season, I would certainly reccomend giving these a try.  Especially if you like mint!

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Cream Filling and Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

(I didn't have the right tool to toast but eating it gooey was tasty as well!)

Cupcakes (Makes 24 cupcakes)
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 ¾ cup flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
4 oz. melted semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 cup boiling water
Instructions:
1.Preheat oven to 350°F, line muffin tins with cupcake liners.*
2.Sift together dry ingredients into mixing bowl
3.Chop about ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate chunks in a double boiler
4.Add all wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
5.With a paddle attachment, mix on medium/low speed until incorporated. Be careful not to over beat so that the finished cupcake consistency does not turn out bread-like.
6. Ladle mixture into cupcake liners
7. Bake for 20 minutes (or until toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean)
8. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before filling. I put mine in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Peppermint Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
1 Pint heavy whipping cream
4 Tbs confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
Peppermint Extract to taste
Instructions:
1. Put whipping cream in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until fluffy, adding the confectioners’ sugar by the tablespoon.
2. Once the cream is approaching the fluffy consistency you want, add vanilla and peppermint. Peppermint can sneak up on you and become overpowering very quickly. I added it by the ½ teaspoon until it was minty enough, but didn’t mimic my Arm & Hammer. I ended up adding about 3 teaspoons.
3. Cut holes out of the center of each cupcake with a paring knife. Fill a pastry bag with the whipped cream and pipe into the center of each cupcake and recap with cake cutouts.
Toasted Marshmallow MeringueFrom Martha Stewart Living
Ingredients:
8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.
3. Pipe onto cupcakes using a wide circular tip. To toast hold a kitchen torch an inch or two away from marshmallow to brown the edges.

thankful for road trips

I am way overdue for this post!  We took an amazing trip over the week of Thanksgiving to Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Phoenix to visit my sis & then back through Palm Springs.  We saw so many breathtaking views and had a ton of fun moments...it was a great family trip.  We have been so busy having Christmas fun since then that I haven't had a chance to put these pictures up. But I need to do it now so I can start putting up all the new Christmas fun we are having!  Enjoy :)

Death Valley

 Salt...not ice!

The Grand Canyon

Sedona

Phoenix

Palm Springs

(we took an aerial tram to the top of Mt San Jacinto...hence the snow!)