Yesterday evening I tried out a new cookie recipe that Ben had found last week. He wanted me to try it out, because they looked so good. Anyway, they did turn out quite delectable. ;) I've decided they would make great Valentine's cookies to give out to friends. Anyway, I recommend making these yourself as a February treat. They're a little time-intensive to put together (but what do you expect from a Martha Stewart recipe?!). Anyway, I had a fun time making them. For the recipe, click here. I really love Valentine's Day... for many reasons: 1. a romantic date with my Ben 2. red and pink 3. tasty desserts 4. Valentine cards 5. hearts... particularly those funny conversation hearts... I don't like the way they taste, but the phrases on them are funny. One of my favorites is "Fax Me".
I was recently enjoying browsing around the Valentine's page on the Martha Stewart site and it was really getting me in the mood for this upcoming holiday. To peruse the page yourself, click here.
Once again... large gaps between posts.... sorry about that. I'm probably losing readers because I'm less than consistent. ;) Well, we've had a fun and busy week, much like most weeks. Emma keeps us both busy and Ben is always extra busy with school work. Emma also keeps our lives full of fun. We embarked on a short visit to the park earlier this week as part of a Family Home Evening activity (oh! I'm so proud of us!). We played with Emma on the playground and then later took a walk around the park and collected leaves. This was in an attempt to teach Emma about nature and Heavenly Father's beautiful creations. I also learned that there are a lot of different types of foliage here in Arizona. Sometimes I think of it solely as cactus country, but I was proved wrong, as we discovered 9 different types of leaves from various plant life just from our short walk around the neighborhood park. How very interesting. Below is a short clip of Emma showing off her park playing skills.
Last night we had a sort of furniture switch with the Lee's. Some of the furniture we currently have and use is more or less on loan to us from Ben's parents or the Lee's (Ben's sister and family). Anyway, they so generously lent us a table that they currently didn't have a place for in their home. Well, with some layout changes they were ready to make it fit in their space, so we traded tables. Now, we are using their round table instead of the rectangular one from before. We are quite happy with it. It seems to fit the space well, and change is always fun. In addition to this switch, we also traded out the vanity/desk and dresser, so we are currently enjoying a much appreciated change in our bedroom furniture. Both pieces are much nicer than what we were using before. So anyway, we are pleased with these new additions... and also look forward to the day when we have more money and a real house so that we can actually have space for all the furniture floating around. :)
Well, this post seems well overdue. I've been distracted lately with my day-to-day living and haven't been leaving myself any time for blogging. But, now I am. So, let's see... it's been over a week since I posted last, so I should have plenty to write about. Well, this past Martin Luther King Day weekend was very enjoyable. Ben had the day off of school for the holiday... and he usually has tests on Monday, but since he didn't this time around, we played all weekend. It was so fun. On Friday afternoon we went to the temple with our friends Aubree and Craig. Emily watched Emma for us, of which we were very grateful. After the temple, our friends went to spend time with family that were in town visiting and Ben and I went out for dinner. At this point, Ben's mom had taken over watching Emma, of which we were also very grateful (it's always a joy to have a babysitter!). We went to The Cheesecake Factory - Yum! We went all out and ordered appetizers, meals, and dessert. I chose the strawberry shortcake for dessert, which was delicious, along with all the rest of the abundance of food we ate. The Cheesecake Factory is well known for its ridiculously large portions. But, Ben and I never split meals, because we can never agree on what to get... and there's nothing worse than going out to eat and settling on something that you're not that excited about. Anyway, there were plenty of leftovers to take home.
On Saturday, we went to IKEA and ate lunch and shopped around. I was shocked that we got out of there only spending about 10 dollars on random items. One of the small things we purchased was a cute little bedside clock. However, we didn't really realize till we got home that it was a wind up clock, meaning it ticks like crazy. Of course, we couldn't have that in our bedroom, so it was banished to the living room. But, we didn't have a clock out in the main area of the home except for the microwave, so it's been put to good use.
Saturday evening, we spent some more time with Aubree and Craig. They came over for a game night at our place; Emma slept in her room, and they put their little girl down to sleep on our bed. It worked out well. We had lots of fun snacks from Trader Joe's, while playing Settlers of Zarahemla, a game they got for Christmas. It's very much the same as Settlers of Catan (a game we really love), but with some amusing additions, such as the option to buy stones toward building the temple. :) And, oddly enough, I actually found a commercial for the game, posted on YouTube. So, here you go....
On Monday, we went to Makutu's Island. It's basically an indoor playplace. Like, think of the McDonald's playplaces, but imagine a much cooler one. There are some great tunnels and huge slides and climbing structures. It's great fun. I had been there once before and really enjoyed climbing around myself. However, now that I'm getting rather pregnant, it wasn't my kind of sport, so Ben took it upon himself to take Emma up into the maze of tunnels and slides. We had a great time. We went with Carol, Emily, and Adam as well.
Anyway, the rest of this week, since Monday, has been just routine. This weekend will not be as eventful as the last, but hopefully we'll find some time to do something fun together as a family. I love family time!
Well, I just put Emma down for a nap; I always love nap time. I've been often using Emma's nap times to take a nap myself lately. I get so tired after lunch; I'm like a little kid. But, even if I don't nap, I like to use Emma's sleeping times to do things for myself, such as watch a movie, or read a book, or play on the internet - emailing or blogging or playing games. In the evening, I tend to want to stay up too late because I'm enjoying the time to myself a little too much I guess. Well, such is the life a mommy. I sure do love it, but it makes me appreciate the times to myself and the time alone I can spend with my Ben just a little bit more.
Ben and I will be going to the temple tomorrow evening. Ben's mom will be graciously watching Emma for us while we spend some time at the Mesa temple. Ben and I have a new goal to attend the temple once a month, so I guess we're off to a good start at least. Goals can be hard to keep, but even a good attempt at change is a start in the right direction. Speaking of goals, I've set a few others myself, including writing in my journal again. I haven't written regularly in a very long time. My new plan to hopefully accomplish success is to even include printed out emails and blog posts, if I don't get around to writing my hand. I figure that emails I write to my mom and the things I post on my blog are all good journaling methods, so now I just plan to compile my thoughts in a little more organized manner. It should make for an interesting collage of reading material.
On a random note, last night Ben and I watched a part of a long video where they introduce the new iPhone. It's soooo awesome! I think a new 500 dollar phone would be a very reasonable gift for Ben to get me for Valentine's Day. What do you think?
Friday night Emma and I had a fun experience riding the Polar Express! It's true! We rode to the North Pole and visited Santa Clause! What a lucky girl Emma is to already have met Santa Clause face to face. In fact, he even gave her a little gift... a sleigh bell. She's been ringing it a lot lately. I can even hear it... that must mean I truly believe. :)
Anyway, on our adventure, we received hot chocolate and cookies and we listened to the story of the Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Since we traveled such a long way for one evening (all the way to the North Pole and back again), we spent the night in Flagstaff, which is close to where the train returns home. We had a lovely hotel to recuperate from our adventure where I'm sure Emma dreamed of Santa, reindeer, and chocolate goodies.
Alas, the holiday's are over, but a new year has begun! 2007! It's beginning to sound so futuristic. I already reported on our visit to Utah, so I'll enlighten you all on what we've been up to the past week since we got back. We had a second Christmas in Gilbert with Ben's family... good grief... we are so spoiled. Emma was particularly reigned upon with gifts. In addition to the multiplicity of toys and such she received from her grandparents in Utah, she is also the proud new owner of a cute pink retro kitchen set from her grandparents here in AZ. She's been cooking up a storm since then... from soap, to carrots, to imaginary oatmeal. I guess the 'soap' doesn't really belong, but she found pleasure in putting a bar of soap in one of her little pots and 'warming it up' on the stove. She's a cute little strange one. ;)
We saw quite a few movies over the break. In Utah, we saw The Pursuit of Happyness, which made everyone cry, and was a great movie. In Arizona, we saw Night at the Museum and The Holiday. I enjoyed all of them really. Night at the Museum was silly and little strange, but very funny and I was quite entertained. I would recommend it. The Holiday was fun also. By the time it was all over, I felt satisfied with the way it sorted out and my feelings for the characters... In the beginning, I wasn't so sure. But, I would recommend it as well.. as least for the females of the world. It was a very girlie movie.
This past week we spent an afternoon at the children's museum in Mesa (in which Peter and Ben become rather involved in the motorcycles, and children's sized helmets) and we also went to Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo. Zoolights was particularly great. We had hot chocolate and kettlecorn while roaming the zoo which was all adorned with Christmas lights. How lovely! When we were in Utah, we also saw the lights at Temple Square. They were obviously lovely as well.
Anyway, it's been a wonderful holiday break, but we are now ready to get back to real life. Ben is back in school (although, I definitely don't envy him for that) and I am chipping away at getting our apartment clean again and catching up on laundry. Fantastic! ;) Happy New Year!
Yesterday evening I tried out a new cookie recipe that Ben had found last week. He wanted me to try it out, because they looked so good. Anyway, they did turn out quite delectable. ;) I've decided they would make great Valentine's cookies to give out to friends. Anyway, I recommend making these yourself as a February treat. They're a little time-intensive to put together (but what do you expect from a Martha Stewart recipe?!). Anyway, I had a fun time making them. For the recipe, click here.
