Vintage Family Portraits

In April this year, we had the opportunity to take some vintage style family photos.  I was pretty excited about this and they turned out great!  Here they are:

Christmas Card Photos

About 3 weeks ago, our good friend and adopted family member, Scott Sanders, came over and took some pictures for our Christmas cards.  I had planned to do it in the morning because that is usually when Makaila is the happiest, but of course, this particular day she was in a somber mood and didn't want to smile much.  It took some coaxing to get her to warm up, and then getting Jack and Tigger to look in the general direction of the camera at the same time was nearly impossible!  Scott did a great job though.  You will have to wait to actually see the finished product, but here are some candids to give you a taste of what to expect.  And not surprisingly, Makaila steals the show :)

Busy Bean

One of Bean's favorite activities is emptying my bag to see what goodies I have 

I often tell people about how busy Makaila is.  Here is a glimpse at the truth of that statement :)

Running around with one of her birthday cards, which she found to be almost as exciting as the gifts they came with!

Kaila loves this shirt.  She loves carrying it and feeling how soft it is.

Always on the move!

Bean tackled me while trying to get the camera

She loves her books

Talking to dad on the phone

Jazz Game

A couple of weeks ago, Trip's boss gave him some Jazz tickets, and I was lucky enough to be able to go to the game with him.  My grandmother, Grammy, is largely to thank for that!  She came over with very little warning to watch Makaila so that I could go.  These tickets were nothing to sneeze at...they included dinner before the game, which was amazing!  We sat in the second row, on the floor, which made the game even more exciting.  Sitting there made it seem like we were a part of the action, and the players would even respond to some of the shouts or comments made by those around us!  During half time we also got to go to a VIP room and have even more food...it was pretty cool.  This was a very unique experience and we were grateful for the opportunity we had to be a part of it!

After dinner at the top of the stadium

View from our seats

Big shoes to fill...

From Summer to Winter

We have had some beautiful fall weather this past week!  The temperature has been low 70's and the days have been sunny.  Kaila and I have been taking advantage of this since Utah weather tends to turn cold and snowy in the blink of an eye.  We've had lots of fun playing with the dogs and swinging in the backyard as well as taking nice afternoon walks.  Here are some pictures and videos of cute little Bean enjoying the great outdoors.

Kaila-isms

Makaila is in that phase where she wants to imitate what other people do.  For example:

• The other day, she pinched her finger and after I kissed it better, she stared at her hand and then started kissing her own fingers.

• I couldn't tell if she had a messy diaper, so I leaned over to smell her.  She turned around, stuck her nose in my face and started sniffing me back!

Some other cute things that Bean does include:

• Bean almost always makes "woof" or "meow" sounds when she sees or hears a dog or cat.  These can be real, or just pictures.

• When she sees a horse, she clicks her tongue and bounces up and down (as if she were riding on a horse).

• Blows kisses and waves goodbye.

• Says "hi" and waves to almost anything, especially household decorations.

• Likes to kick up her feet and lounge while looking at her books.

Eggnog Custard Pie

That just sounds intriguing, doesn't it?  That's what I thought when I first came across this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book.  I just had to try it!  It turns out to be very similar to pumpkin pie, only with the flavor of eggnog.  The first time I made it was for our ward Halloween party, and since we didn't really get to try it, I decided to make another one just for us.  Yeah, it's that good :)

Ingredients

• Pastry for a single crust pie (see recipe below)
• 4 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups dairy or canned eggnog (I used dairy)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp rum extract (or 2 tbsp light rum)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Prepare and roll out pastry.  Line 9 inch pie plate with the pastry. Trim and crimp edge as desired.  Line pastry with a double thickness of foil.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 8 mins, remove foil, and bake for 4-5 mins more until pastry is set and dry.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees when done.
2. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with a rotary beater or fork.  Stir in eggnog, sugar, rum, vanilla, and salt.
3. Place the partially baked pastry shell on the oven rack.  Carefully pour filling into the pastry shell.  Sprinkle with nutmeg. (This will help you avoid spills if you pour the filling in while it is on the oven rack)
4. Cover the edge of pie with foil to prevent overbrowning.  Bake in the 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Remove foil.  Bake for 15-20 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
5. Cool for 1-2 hours on wire rack.  Refrigerate within 2 hours.  Serve with whipped cream.

Pastry recipe:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 4-6 tbsp cold water

Stir together flour and salt in medium mixing bowl.  Cut in shortening using a pastry blender, until pieces are pea sized.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork.  Push moistened dough to side of bowl.  Repeat, using 1 tablespoon of water at a time, until all the dough is moistened.  Form dough into a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 12 inch circle.  Transfer pastry to pie plate.  Trim to 1/2 inch beyond the edge of pie plate, fold under extra pastry.  Crimp edge as desired.

Happy Halloween!

This was Bean's first year really participating in Halloween, and she loved it!  Whenever I pulled her Tiger costume out she would get really excited and want to carry it around, so putting it on was really fun for her.  She also LOVES walking around outside, so trick-or-treating turned out to be a success as well.  She would just start moving and we would help steer her to the doorstep.  Kaila didn't really understand what people were putting in her little pumpkin bag, but when she realized she was gathering stuff, she had to stop and examine each piece.  She did the same thing in the car on the way home.  It was so fun to watch her running down the sidewalk, waving to the pumpkins, and checking out her loot!  I may be biased (I don't think so!), but I think this little girl is just so darn cute!