Even a Superhero Needs to Run Errands!

One Broncos player and one caped crusader on the hunt for lumber and painting supplies. Just a routine Sunday morning in Vegas! 

2014 Cooking Adventures

 

I love this quote! Maybe because I love to eat!

I've decided that 2014 is going to be a year of trying loads of new recipes rather than always reverting to the old standbys. Herewith, some of my successful, failed and "eh, probably not again" cooking adventures:

1. Broccoli Cheddar Soup, by The Pioneer Woman - I thought it was ok, but probably not a recipe I'll return to again and again. Of course, I polished it all off over a series of lunches and dinners so it wasn't that bad!
2. Sugar Cookies, by The Ultimate Cookbook - They tasted just as sugar cookies should...but I didn't really care for them. Good, but they didn't ring my bell.
3. Macaroni-n-Cheese by Founding Farmers - DELISH! The recipe calls for 7 cheeses and you can taste them all. Done and done...this is a repeater!
4. Crunchy Mustard Chicken by Ina Garten - Loved this. I dredged the chicken in dijon mustard and wine and then dunked it in a mixture that included panko, garlic, herbs and lemon zest. Yummy!
5. Red Velvet Cake - I found a recipe for "the best red velvet cake ever!" and I have to say it delivered. Totally red, totally moist and totally delicious!

2014 Books

I've been very lazy recently about reading anything other than magazines, so one of my 2014 goals is to read more. Here's my list for the year:

1. War Brides, by Helen Bryan.
2. Labor Day, by Joyce Maynard
3. Flowers from the Storm, by Jane Kinsale
4. Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, by Jennifer Cavallier
5. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

Canadian Family Weekend

Mom, Susan and I made a quick trip to Ontario this weekend to join the Patrick Family Christmas party.

We flew out of BWI, which required us to take the MARC train up to the airport. I didn't take into account the train's holiday schedule, so rather than arrive at the airport with 1:20 to spare - still 30 minutes less than my Mom's comfort level when traveling - we arrived at the TSA desk at 7pm for a 7:20pm flight! Whoops!!

Fortunately, the security line was a breeze and we had time to go to the restroom and buy sandwiches and board with our zone - plenty of time in my book!! Of course, poor Mom had to pop some high blood pressure pills once she was seated!!

We stayed at Uncle Dennis and Aunt Mary's house and then joined everyone at Uncle Tom's house for the party. It was so fun to see everyone - it'd had been 6 years since I had seen a lot of them, which is far too long - so I'm so glad we went up for the weekend!

Aunt Mary & Uncle Gordon

 Mom and her siblings.

 Mom and her sisters, Mary and Jane.

Cousin Brad and his adorable Newfoundland dog, Molly. She's ENORMOUS!! But, now I think I need a Newfie. They're beautiful!

 Uncle Tom and his family.

 Aunt Mary and her family.

 Cousin Hillary Brown, Alex (Dustin's girlfriend), and Dustin.

 Aunt Mary and her family.

 Uncle Gordon and his son, David.

  Brad and his lap dog, Molly!

Christmas

It's my favorite time of year! I have my house all ready for the holidays!

Christmas morning!

Even though our family was separated between Virginia and Wisconsin, we were able to FaceTime with the boys and enjoy some holiday cheer. I love their Christmas Eve pjs and elf hats (courtesy of moi!) and their cowboy get-up (courtesy of Aunt Suni).

 How cute are these? The vests and hats are leftovers from Susan's ward Christmas party. Pretty cute!

A Boy & His Dog

How sweet is this picture?!? Just love this little guy!

Breakfast at the North Pole

Last September, I was asked to organize our ward's Christmas party. Yikes! The RS president and I came up with the idea to do a breakfast vs. an evening event and I think we were super smart to do so! I came up with the idea of doing a North Pole Breakfast at Santa's Workshop and the whole thing came together in the most darling way! It was a ton of work, but the ward members LOVED it! It was such a fun morning for everyone!

When the kids arrived at the church, we gave them each an elf hat (they looked adorable!), a map of Santa's workshop and an "Honorable Elf" nametag.

We also had the kids check to see if their name was on the "Nice" or "Naughty" list! Fortunately, all of the kids found their names on the "Nice" list!

I didn't see this, but apparently one little boy found his name on the "Nice" list and started jumping up and down because he was so excited that he made it! Perfect!! Just the adorable reaction I wanted to see!

We also put up Santa's flight schedule with pins and points of interest throughout the world - pretty cute!

The party started with a yummy breakfast that everyone seemed to enjoy. Anytime I see men heading up to the food table two, three, four times, I know I've scored with the food!

Then, the main event - elf training with Jill Chappell and a visit from Santa (Rob Kirchoffer). They were both awesome sports to do this for me and the kids ate it up!

Amber and Jill may have snuck in some one-on-one Santa time too!

Santa opened up "Santa's Workshop" and then the kids were off and running....

We had a photo booth for kids and families to take pictures with holiday props....

Rudolph's Cafe and Reindeer Barn, where kids could make reindeer food to sprinkle on the sidewalk on Christmas Eve to attract the reindeer....

An ornament making room...

I made dozens of felt ornaments - gingerbread men, trees, stockings and stars for the kids to decorate with jewels, which they seemed to enjoy.

A station for kids to make candy Christmas trees out of sugar cones, frosting and candy. They loved this!

Finally, we had the North Pole Post Office, where kids could write a letter to Santa. I made the red mail box in the corner out of two boxes - it's one of my favorite craft successes!

 I stopped mid-way through the party to see how everything was going and the woman who was "manning" the room told me that her favorite request was a little girl asking her dad, "Daddy, how do you spell accessories?" Hahaha....I love that!

The party was three months of planning and a ton of work, but it was a huge success!