Christmas 2011

Wow. I'm sorry about the lack of posting, but our break was so wonderful, I didn't even think about blogging! So, here is the short version of our Christmas vacation!

December 16-24 we were with my family in Pasco. Here are some pictures from our stay! We opened gifts with my family on Christmas Eve.

All Claire really wanted to do was touch that Candy Cane ornament and a little one shaped like a fire truck the entire time we were at my Mom and Dad's. Other than that, she left everything else alone!

Wasn't my Mom's tree beautiful??

One of Claire's gifts from us. Even though it is supposed to stay magnetized to the fridge, she prefers hauling it everywhere around the apartment.



His favorite cologne. Very Sexy for Him by Victoria's Secret




Can we say CHEESE? :)

All the kids were making shadow puppets on my mom's wall so I had to take a picture :)





"Cowboy Santa" This guy came trotting through my parents neighborhood passing out candy canes on Christmas Eve. The kids loved it!

December 25 to January 7 we spent with Dallin's family in Ellensburg.

Christmas morning!

Can't ya tell? She's super excited! :)

Christmas PJ's

Her new favorite toy. She walks around with it all the time.

I love how it looks like she's asking him a question about the train. :)

Colt and Claire. She loved him! He had fun being the bigger, stronger cousin. :)

Claire steals our Camelbak water bottles all the time, so we were very excited when Uncle Derek got her one of her very own. As soon as she opened it, she stuck it straight in her mouth. :)

She had just woken up from a nap...

Hillary made this amazing hat for Claire and she made an adorable one for me as well. We LOVE them!

Dallin's Grandma, Jane, sent us all gifts this year even though she is serving her mission in New Orleans right now. She is a super woman! Thank you, Jane! We loved everything.

This is the gift we gave Jeff. A canvas of a picture that Dallin took with his phone. Pretty amazing, huh?

Valerie's gorgeous tree! She and my mom had totally different styles of decorating for their trees, but I love them both every year.

This picture just speaks for itself. :)

On the 29th, we went to Suncadia Resprt in Cle Elum with Dallin's family and swam at their indoor water facility. I think we have a water baby on our hands. Look at the pictures. I'll let you make your own judgement.

It was a wonderful Christmas break and we feel so blessed for all we have been given. Thank you Mom and Dad and Jeff and Valerie for all the gifts, food, entertainment and love! We love and miss you already!

Oh Hey, Remember Me?

Before I posted about the Butternut Squash Soup, I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted... Sorry! So, here is a total picture dump. Oh, and Thanksgiving Vacation? Didn't pull out my camera once. Yup. Epic fail. Sorry folks. Anyway, here we go!

These pictures are from Claire's birthdays. Yes, birthdays. Jeff and Valerie came for her actual birthday weekend and then my parents and Tara and David came down the next weekend for the BYU v OSU game and to celebrate Claire's birthday. The pictures are in no particular order :)

Claire's first birthday cake. A White Pumpkin :)

These next are just random pictures of Claire

Girlfriend LOVES lemons! She will eat and eat and eat as many as you give. One night, Dallin left his cup with some lemons on the ground and Claire discovered it the next morning. :)

These are family pictures that Ashley Henry took for us back in October. We LOVE how they turned out! Thanks Ash!

Anytime I get out the camera or camcorder lately, she crawls toward me to try to get the camera. :)

The Beautiful fall trees outside our window.

My Birthday! For some reason, Blogger won't let me upload certain photos, so this is the only one from my birthday that you get to see! :)

Spinach, anyone? As soon as the fridge door opens, she bolts toward it and plays inside. I turned around for like 2 minutes to start making bread and when I suddenly realized it was too quiet and turned around, this is what I saw. :)

So, that is life for us right now! Claire is getting into everything, has taken a few steps, but refuses to actually walk, and Dallin is wrapping up his first semester of school. Life is fabulous and we're grateful for this wonderful season where we are able to reflect on all our blessings and the beautiful gift of our Savior's atonement.

Butternut Squash Soup

This is one of Dallin and my new favorites! We eat it like every two weeks :) Andrea Calaway was the first person to introduce us to this soup, but I didn't have her recipe, so I found a similar one online and then tweaked where I saw fit! Here's my recipe for all interested parties.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 1/2 Butternut Squashes, peeled and diced
1/2 Onion, diced
3 Cups Water
2 Cubes Chicken Bouillon
1 Can Chicken Broth
Franks Hot Sauce (or your favorite hot sauce) to taste
2 tsp Basil
2 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Marjoram
1 1/4 8-ounce Packages Cream Cheese
Bacon

In a soup pot, mix together all ingredients, minus the cream cheese. Let boil for 25 minutes or until squash is tender. In food processor or blender, puree the squash mixture with the cream cheese until smooth. Pour back into soup pot on low heat and heat through, but don't boil. Serve with crumbled bacon on top and enjoy!

This soup really is delicious, pretty fast and very easy! The longest/hardest part is just peeling and dicing the squash, but it is totally worth it! Hope you all enjoy it on those cold winter nights. :)

(This is a very filling soup, too.)