An unexpected Christmas...

So, Evan and I packed and woke up at 4am for our early morning flight Monday morning. We got one of the last parking spots and got through security spotlessly. We were at our gate about 40 minutes before it was time to fly out, and then heard the dreadful news. We had to wait another 40 minutes to confirm that our flight was really cancelled. Seattle apparently was not prepared for the blizzard they were in and had no de-icer to help us land. So I cried in the airport while Evan ran with all the other passengers up to the customer service desk and got our flight changed. Unfortunately the soonest flight was 6pm on the 26th. I was sooo bummed, but there was nothing we could do. We waited another 2 1/2 hours to get our luggage back, and then headed home. Evan was soooo sick, we barely made the drive back...we immediately got into bed to take a nap when we got home, and I woke up to Evan throwing up, something he hasn't done for over 8 years...he was trying to make the ten year mark, but fell a little short. Poor Evan:)

It was actually a blessing to have to stay home because Evan had a little left to do for his Master's program. He had his Oral defense on Tuesday, and then woke up this morning and realized that he is now Master Evan!! YAY. He is finally done!!! We love that he is finally done! YAY hooray! Words can not describe how elated we are.

After losing 11 pounds from being sick, Evan decided that he wanted to eat for Christmas Eve dinner later on. We went to the mall and roamed the mall, and had lots of fun. Shared a smoothie since that is all either of us could handle, I was starting to feel sick too. We went home and had another afternoon nap:) In the evening I sat and cried for a little bit, sad that I wasn't with my family and enjoying the Christmas traditions that I had grown up with and planned on for this year, I guess change isn't my forte. Well, Evan was sweet, rubbed my feet, cleaned up a little around the house, and then we went to the closest restaurant open, Applebees:) It was really busy, slow service, but I was happy to have a warm meal, not cereal:) We got home and played yatzhee, Evan won every game, but I got pretty close. I fell asleep on the couch as Evan relaxed, and then went to bed.

We slept in and woke up to Christmas morning. We had already opened our gifts to each other before Monday since we didn't want to carry them on the airplane, but Evan had a surprise gift, a special pillow to help my aching pregnancy woes:) We ate crepes, talked to family on the phone, watched tv, played more yatzhee and some scrabble. Now we get to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Yay for Christmas!!

Well, I guess it is time for a new beginning. New traditions, and we are excited to have something new to share with Lucy next Christmas. YAY for change, I guess it is about time I learn to deal with change:)

So Happy Merry Christmas to all!!! I love Evan and am so happy that I got to spend this special holiday with him! I love that we get to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What a special and incredible blessing to have in our lives!

Evan's 29th Birthday:)

So, it is Evan's last year in his 20's...yikeS! WE are getting older...

We started out with yummy pancakes...and his big boy vitamins:) I love getting the buttermilk pancake mix and adding fruit or tons of cinnamon and vanilla to make tasty pancakes.

Evan went off to work, and then picked me up for my 21 week appoinment. Our baby girl is healthy and active. If you haven't heard we are thinking of the name Lucy Elise.

We stopped off at Bed Bath and Beyond and bought a hand crank pasta maker and then to the grocery store. When we got home Evan played video games while I made yummy homemade cheese ravioli and blueberry cheesecake..YUM YUM. Evan helped me fill the ravioli, and learned that he isn't a bad cook:)

We had ravioli with pesto sauce and red sauce...Evan loves Pesto!

I couldn't resist getting him Wii pajamas:) Isn't he a great model..haha

Last Saturday we went to Boondocks, I will have to post his Dance Dance Revolution picture...he is actually really good. We also enjoyed some yummy ribs from Damon's Grill, a place he went to out in Ohio on his mission, and has wanted to eat there ever since:)

Christmas Traditions

I love the traditions my family had growing up. I love hearing about traditions of other families, cultures, etc. So if you would like to share some of your favorites, I would love to hear them. I would love to get some ideas to implement for my little budding family next Christmas when Evan and I will have our first Christmas at home with our 8+ month little girl:)

Some traditions in my home growing up:(My mother is from Denmark so some of them are based from there)

Christmas Eve
We would start out with a yummy dinner, sometimes with friends from Church or the neighborhood to share with:

Clam Chowder (the best ever!!!)
Salad
Pumpernickel and Rye bread with liver-paste
Crackers
Olives and pickles
Yummy Punch

Then we would clean up and meet in the Family Room to read the Christmas story from the scriptures. (My dad and mom would be very emotional while it was read) Our beautiful tree would be next to us, and we could admire the beautiful decorations. We would follow that with Christmas songs. Every year we drew a name of a sibling, and on Christmas Eve we would exchange that gift. We usually had a $5-$10 limit, since the kids were buying the gifts with their own money. We would sometimes have a gift for our parents too.

Then we returned to the dining table to have our dessert, which was a game with Danish Almond Rice Pudding. The pudding was made into a creamy pudding, that we sometimes added a strawberry or raspberry sauce to. It had many blanched, chopped almonds mixed through the bowl. Then, with everyone sitting at the table, my mother would show the desired WHOLE almond and mix it in the bowl. Starting youngest to oldest, the bowl was passed around and we could only take one scoop to place in our bowl. When my mother said go, we all ate as fast as we could trying to find the almond, and careful not to bite into it. If you finished your bowl, you could get another scoop in hopes of finding the almond. Many years, my dad would get it, keep it in his mouth and then sneak it into one of the younger kids bowls. Some of the family would hold it in their mouth the entire game to trick us, until the rice pudding was gone and we all wondered who had it. Now that our family has many grandchildren added, my mother will sometimes do 3-4 almonds. Whoever finds the almond gets the "almond gift" which is a small toy or candy. I LOVE THAT TRADITION!!

We usually have ongoing puzzles, dominoes, scrabble or some fun game to play, and we just hang out the rest of the night. After we all go to bed, Santa comes out to put presents under the tree. All kids know they HAVE to stay in bed for the rest of the night.

Christmas Day
Our rule is that you may open your stockings, but not your presents. So that way, those who want to sleep in can, and others won't be wishing they had more sleep, like Santa and Mrs. Claus. You also could not wake anyone up..we didn't want any grumpy kids on Christmas Day:)

My mother had Grapefruit, scrambled eggs and Julekage(pronounced Yulcah) for breakfast. It was the best!!!! I guess it depended on the year, whether we ate first or opened presents first, or when you woke up. The Julekage was the best! It is like a flat cinnamon roll, made with cardamom(a spice similar to cinnamon) and we would slice it up, broil it and spread butter on them...YUM YUM!!!

Once the whole family was together we would open presents. We would take a picture of each person opening gifts, and we did it one person at a time so we could all enjoy the time together. I like that rather than everyone just opening and finishing in 5 minutes. We would hug the person it came from and it was fun seeing what everyone got. I loved to see Mom and Dad open presents, they would get very emotional.

I rememeber a few gifts from childhood. Link bracelets, a pink and purple tape player, my own bag of HUGS candy, Levi jeans and some shirts, books, cabbage patch dolls, my little ponies, a watch, I am sure a lot more, I just can't remember right now(I guess I can blame the pregnancy:)) Some years growing up in South Texas, we would all get an envelope with money and then we would make a day out of going to Mexico or the Ropa Usadas(used clothing stores) to spend our money, I think it was usually $10 -$20. I loved spending those days with my family!!! While we only got one or two presents, it seemed like the best thing ever!!! I remember one year in Logan, Utah, I was younger than 6 years old, and we just did not have money at all, and a man from the ward came dressed as Santa, and delivered BAGS of gifts for our family..what a sweet thing. I was too young to know what was happening, but it was truly a very charitbale thing done for my family.

After present opening, we all cleaned up, showered, played together or with our gifts, and hung out. Our turkey would be cooking in the oven all day long, and we would have our Christmas meal, which resembled Thanksgiving.

Turkey
mashed potatoes
cranberry salad
cranberries
stuffing
rolls
green bean casserole
yams
yummy punch
pies
and other sides

My mom is one of the best cooks I know!!! She would also have danish cookies made up for all to snack on, and some years we would go carroling and deliver cookies to friends.

I remember some years, where we just didn't have money at all for Christams, and our hometeacher would bring us a Christmas tree, and we would magically have a present for each of us. Some years my parents would ask us if we would like to have presents or get presents for other families in need. Those were some of my favorite Christmases. I am pretty sure my parents still had something for us, but it was so special seeing others get presents and be sooo happy. I love having people over and sharing meals with them as well.

One Christmas imparticular, we had a woman and her two twin sons stay with us for a few days. They were living in a place that was a beginning of a home never finished. It had three walls, concrete and cinderblocks held it together. They had no heat and no food. We also had a man in similar circumstances stay with us, I loved playing chinese checkers with him. It was great seeing all of them open their gifts of sweat pants and blankets and heaters and other things. I will never forget my parents sacrifices or their willingness to serve others. I learned about service from watching them, and seeing them do it out of love and expecting nothing in return. I know our family has been blessed and helped out many times(we are a family of ten children), and I know they loved giving back when they could.

Anyway, sometimes our traditions change, but each year is wonderful and special.

I can't wait to go home this year to spend it with my mother and a few of my sisters.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!! and I will post pictures of this Christmas fun in a couple weeks:)

It's a girl!!!!

We went in today to find out the sex of the baby. I laid down on the table, and waited for the warm jelly to be rubbed on my belly. I was laying down with one hand on my head and one on my chest. When she started the ultrasound she noticed that the baby was imitating me
:) Well, after all of my dreams about little boys, and finally settling on a boy name, and all of our family members starting out with a boy, we are having a GIRL! We are excited and a little shocked, but after seeing some gross teenager boys the other day, we are quite pleased:) YAY hooray! And as of now, I am still due April 29th, and am 20 weeks today. YAY for little girls! I guess the funny thing will be that the technician was wrong and the baby really is a boy. She was doing the splits though, so we are pretty sure the technician was right:)

Too close to home:)

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Here is a yummy soup recipe, easy and can also be made in a crockpot.
My sister-in-law introduced this to me in college, and I have loved it ever since. I am making it today on this cold snowy day:) Yum Yum!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

6 cups water
10 oz frozen broccoli (the tree part tastes best in the soup)
1 large package hash browns 32 oz
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1 can cream of broccoli soup
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 1b Velveeta cubed

Boil water, broccoli, bouillon cubes and hash browns. Simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft, mash with spoon or potato masher. Add soup and cheese. Simmer for 20-30 more minutes. Stir frequently.

Settlers of Catan and Crab Dip, what more can you ask for:)

So we just had a great dinner, with great crab dip and learned the coolest game from Amanda and Steve Biles!! Settlers of Catan! It is a must buy! Definitely worth giving for Christmas this year!!!:)

This is the crab dip recipe..sooo yummy!!!

Crab Dip-Amanda Biles

8oz cream cheese
whip in mixer with garlic and worcestershire sauce(your own desired amounts)

once mixed, spread in dish
cover with cocktail sauce
spread broken up imitation crab on top

Serve cold with club crackers or ritz...YUMMY!

Sugar and Spice or Snails and Puppy Dog Tails?

We are going in to find out the sex on December 9th..any guesses? We would like either one, I have been dreaming about boys, but girl names pop to my mind..we shall see:)

Snow, and why I love it so!!!!!

So if you didn't already know, I am in LOVE with snow. Evan and I have MANY great memories in the snow, and here are a few more reasons why I LOVE snow!!!

1.It is beautiful, especially the first snow
2.It is like starting over, a clean slate
3.You can keep cold food outside and not worry about it spoiling
4.Hot chocolate goes on sale, today at Albertson's Nestle is 4 for $5, and I have coupons on top of that!
5.People don't tease me as much for listening to my Christmas music (that I started listening to in the Summer)
6.It means Christmas time is near, the birth of our Savior is celebrated, and I get to see my family whom I miss!
7.I get to make Julekage(a danish dessert, my mom's from Denmark)
8.Even more reason for making homemade soup and bread
9.I don't have to rake leaves for a while;)
10.SLEDDING!
11.Evan's warm kisses and cuddles when we are outside
12.Christmas lights come up
13.I get to stay inside and curl up in front of a nice movie, especially chic flics or Black and White movies.
14.Coats, mittens, scarfs and hats....so cute!
15.Snowmen
16.Snow Angels
17.Egg Nog, the best kind is at WholeFoods! Yum My sister-in-law and I tried at least twelve different brands last season, and we found the best! It is at Whole Foods, and in the glass milk bottles...YUMMY!!!! (to bad this year I can't have any since I have a baby growing..until next year:))
18.Christmas break, and hanging out with Evan
19.Shopping and sales become more fun!
20.Silence, watching the snow fall, feeling peace and joy and the love of our Savior. He is real! We are not alone, and like the clean slate of the snow on the dirty ground, He is there to clean our slate if we take advantage of the Atonment, and ask for forgiveness, and to feel the peace and love from our Savior!

There are many many more, and for those of you who need to hear some negative;)....
1. Hard to drive in
2. It turns mushy and black
3. Flip Flops are harder to wear in the snow;)

Amy and Hilary

Happy Garage Sale Day!

So we decided that since we are going to rent out the basement, we needed to find a place for our belongings, and since we haven't touched our stuff since April, we decided to sell it, so we are in phase one of de-junking and selling. We are posting on craigslis, having a two day garage sale, and will eventualy ebay the things we know we can get lots of money for.

Being pregnant and sick all of the time, I have not had the energy or physical ambition to prep for this weekend. So from all of the things that Evan, Linwood and Ben helped carry up from the basement, Amy Cobbley came over to rescue and help me:) YAY We laid out and priced everything, and as I write the sale is happening. So far with the early birds, I have made $90. Off to sell more to my next customer.

Cheers!

Loving Life!!

There are so many reasons to love life!! Here are 12 of them in no order:
1.I am so happy that I am who I am.
That Evan and I are sealed together for eternity!
2.I love the new bread that I discovered at Costco, and like switching off from baking to buying.
3 I love that I saw the Moon this morning, what a great welcome to the day.
4.I love fried eggs, toast and strawberries for breakfast.
5.I found out that they sell pancake batter in a whipping cream canister(I will have to find a picture). http://www.batterblaster.com/
6.I love that I am pregnant despite the sickness and other things that come along with it.
7.I love that Evan loves teaching and is good at it!
8.I love friendly faces and warm hellos.
9.I love my family.
10.I love finding money I thought was lost or spent.
11.I am a daughter of God.
12.I get to laugh.

Homemade Bread!!!

I owe my mother sooo much for teaching me how to bake bread and other great meals and desserts! She has taught me so much that I have used in my everyday life, to her, I will always be grateful!


On this cold and wintery Friday, I decided to use my brand new wheat grinder for the first time and make some wheat bread. It is sooooo yummy. Right out of the oven with butter and homemade jam. What more can you ask for!?! If you want a piece, you will have to come on over or order some from me;) If you ever want a bread making lesson, just give me a ring!

Cheers! and Happy cooking. (I got that from a cooking show:))

Denver Aquarium

So I got to plan our surprise date, and decided that we should go to the Denver Aquarium. It was ok overall, overpriced for what the food was, and when you drink the tap water, you smell the salt water and it all seems to be the same thing. Oh well, it was a fun date, and we got some great pictures!



Evan was sooo cute! We were looking at the dessert menu, and we got to a picture of the Peanut Butter Pie, and I thought he was reading, but it was his own reaction to the picture, "A pie, devoted to peanut butter!!!??" I couldn't stop laughing..he loves peanut butter so much, and that was the cutest reaction.






We ended the tour and dinner with Evan petting the stingray. The smell was getting to me, so it was a quick tour:) Evan is a great date! I am lucky to be married to him!!

My Mom's Favorite Dill Bean Soup

I remember trying this soup for the first time when I was a little girl. It is a simple recipe with so much flavor and taste! Sometimes I fry up bacon for a garnish, but it is really tasty without anything added to it. Here is the recipe, I usually put what I think looks good in the pot, close to the recipe, so follow what works for you. It is a cheap soup to make and freezes well.

Favorite Dill Bean Soup:

1 cup sliced celery
2 medium carrots shredded
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp butter

4 cups chicken broth
3 medium potato (3 cups)
2 tsp dry dill

15 oz cannelloni bean (great northern or navy beans)
1cup sour cream or yogurt
1 tbs flour
1/8 tsp pepper
dash of salt

In sauce pan sauté first 4 ingredients. Stir in next
three ingredients and boil.
Reduce heat and simmer about 20-25 minutes.
With the back of spoon (or potato masher), mash potatoes.
Add in beans drained and rinsed. In separate bowl mix last
ingredients and stir into soup. Cook until thick and bubbly.

Enjoying Starbucks without the coffee or tea:)

I love Fall!! I wanted to give another example of why.

THE Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino® Blended Crème

It is a delicious blend of pumpkin and traditional fall spice flavors combined with milk, blended with ice, and topped with whipped crème and pumpkin pie spices. No coffee, and it is soooo delicious. Many memories tie back to this wonderful drink! Go and try it, and if anyone has the recipe for it, please oh please I beg you for it..Starbucks is expensive! Make sure you get it without the coffee:):):)

Baking in the Fall season!!!

I love Fall! Anyone who knows me knows I think Fall is the best time of the year. I love wearing warmers clothes, scarves, mittens, drinking pumpkin spice drinks, eggnog, the crisp feeling in the air, putting pumpkins out on the porch with Mr. Potato Head faces. I listen to Christmas music all year round, but I increase it starting in the Fall. I love that people are nicer, better tv programs and movies come out. Sledding, harvesting your garden, snowballs, snow angels, Christmas lights, cold noses, cinnamon and harvest smells, pumpkins, corn mazes, roasted almonds, and carolers. Food that holds all memories past comes out and is shared with old friends and new friends. Baked Pumpkin seeds, Julekage, Mom's fajitas, burritos and enchiladas(you wouldn't think she is from Denmark, but rather South America), homemeade bread, jams, cookies, soup, soup, soup, hot chocolate, (I am not the cider type). I love this year especially that Evan and I are pregnant, we are preparing to bring in one of God's beautiful children that He is entrusting to us. We are saving for a house, hopefully we will be homeowners in about a year:) We are slowly putting together our baby crib and looking for free baby stuff on freecyclelittleton yahoo group. Evan will finish his Master's program this Fall. I feel very blessed that we have support from family and friends, good doctors and church leaders. I am excited for the election process to be over with. I know who I want in office, but I know that whoever is elected is not all powerful, and the our Heavenly Father is still in control, and we need to have faith, so with that said, I will support whoever is in office, whether I voted them in or not. Well, I have blabbered enough, so I will end and post the eggnog pictures and others that made me excited for fall!

Love to you all!

Our Dancing Baby!!!

So our baby was dancing soooo much! I was crying, Evan was laughing and the doctor was laughing at both of us. We are due April 29th, and our baby is over an inch now, even though it feels HUGE in me. Too cute!

Poor Evan!!

Let's just say that Evan is a good sport!! Well, better than a good sport! I have had a lot of little moments, but last night topped them all. I was craving cookies, and we were already home, and neither of us wanted to go out, so we started calling around pizza places to see if any offered cookies for their dessert, and NO ONE DID!!! So then I wanted pizza, but not any pizza, Pizza Pipeline, from UTAH! Since I couldn't have any of those I started bawling. Evan thought I was joking, and then realized that I was really sad. Then he started laughing because it was funny I was crying over the food I wasn't able to have..so he left me to be sad, and needed to nap so he could work on his Master's program paper. He is trying to finish in a month. So then for the next 45 minutes I sulked and craved my cookies, and finally decided to go to Safeway and indulge. So I spent $44 on cookies, salsa, fruttie and cocoa pepples, spaghettios and salt and vinegar chips. And then on the way out I had to get a jamba juice for Evan and myself. So after Evan woke up, he found me eating all my treats, and just laughed at me. I know...it's the hormones, and I am not controlling them very well right now...we'll try for another day:) Good thing Evan is there to support me in all my craziness!! PS, I only ate a little, and then got bored of the food..I know..I am pyscho!!

Surprise!!!!

Old chicago

If you ever go to Old Chicago, order the King of Hearts.  tomatoes, red onion and artichokes.  YUM!!!!

The Egg and I

So Evan and I love trying new places to eat.  Our recent great find is the Egg and I.  Great food and great price.  They were soooo friendly is was amazing! We love breakfast!

Our amazing garden!!!

We planted a great garden!  So far we have been eating lots of cucumbers, squash and tomatoes!  YAY!  I love the tomatoes the best! I am waiting for my rhubarb to grow already:)

WE LOVE BASEBALL!!!!

So, if you ever need to know anything about Evan, HE LOVES BASEBALL!!! I didn't really know much about baseball until I met Evan, and now I LOVE IT TOO!!! I know, I didn't EVER think those words would come from my mouth, but I REALLY LOVE BASEBALL. We hope to travel around the states and go to all MLB Stadiums! We like that goal!

10 Reasons Why I love Baseball:
1. Evan loves it!
2. The smell of hotdogs
3. You get to throw your peanut shells on the ground
4. It is something all of his brother's enjoy and love!!! Cool family tradition that I hope goes on forever!
5. Evan buys me hot chocolate when it is a snowy or freezing cold game!
6. Evan makes it fun and teaches me about baseball
7. Evan makes the 7th inning stretch sooo much fun! He sings louder than anyone around us:)
8. I get to be with Evan...even if it didn't start out as my favorite..I have learned to love it!
9. We found a free parking spot for every game
10. One day we will get to go to every stadium...VERY COOL EH?

Oh Evan!

Let's just say that this was the funniest day at the doctor...

Let's try this again...

So it has been a while, mostly because I forgot my password, but I am back!! Last night we went out to eat, and the food made me want to blog...so here I am. We went to eat at Bucci's Greek and Italian Specialties. Located in Littleton, Colorado at 8030 S Holly St Littleton, CO. (5 minutes from the Denver Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) If you go to Restaurant.com they have gift certificate deals, so we had to spend $35, to get $25 off. GREAT DEAL!! I know!

So I ordered the Gyro with Feta Cheese that had a side of tomato, onion and cucumber salad and then a side of heavenly orzo pilaf.


Evan ordered a stuffed 18" with Everything! Let's just say we weren't thinking how big 18" really was, we were just trying to spend the money. Well, you NEED to try this place out!!! I can't say enough of how great it is!


Well, I will try to keep up on my blog, hopefully I won't forget my password again:) Cheers for now!!!