Brad and I decided to go get Macy's ears pierced yesterday...I love little babies with their ears pierced.  Brad wussed out and walked out of the store before it happened so he didn't have to watch.

 I hated having to hold her down...that was probably the worst part. 

 Her huge crocodile tears afterwards

 Calming her down afterwards...she only cried for about 30 seconds. 

Brad looks angry in this picture...I swear he wasn't.  He swooped right in after it was finished and took her from me so he could be the good guy. 

 She fell asleep about a minute and a half after Brad got there.  But she looks so pretty!!!

So we had a long and horrible drive to and from Washington this last weekend.  We left Thursday right after dinner and didn't get there til Friday night for the viewing.  It took us 18 hours to get there and about 20 to get back.  The roads were horrible, Tyson had car problems, and it was freezing cold.  But we did have a great time seeing family and celebrating the life of my grandfather.  He will be greatly missed.

 We took a drive by the place where my dad grew up for the first time.  It was a pretty barren place, but this is a picture of the house he grew up in.  He showed us where they farmed and where some childhood stories took place.  

 Cohen thought he was allowed to drive.

 I was the only one with these pictures.  They did a full veteran honors at my grandpa's funeral. Afterwards, I was fortunate to get a shell casing from one of the shots. 

 I literally ran in heels, shin-deep in snow to get these pictures for my mom because there wasn't any time to get my snow boots on. 

 This is a picture of most of the grandkids and great-grandkids.

Thanksgiving was a bit rushed this year!  We ate at noon ( i know, very early) and then we had to leave on the road by 3:00 to leave for Eastern Washington.  But, we had a great dinner at my moms house with my grandma and grandpa Mackay, and Bret and Barbara's family.  My favorite part, of course, was the pies.  Which we were cutting into before people were even finishing their dinner because we were in such a hurry to eat and clean up.  Here are some pics:

 Cohen loving Macy

 Again with the love...

 One of the tables...

 Erica did a great job with the place setting.

 The centerpiece of the other table.

Since Erica doesn't keep up her own blog anymore, I guess I will post a pic of how cute her little guy is getting.

Brad had his 26th bday on Thanksgiving.  Although it was kind of a rushed day, we were able to celebrate a little bit.  On Wednesday night, we went to dinner and a Jazz game.  I got him the new Apple TV, a nice poker chip set (for the nights he plays poker with the guys, he doesn't have to borrow chips anymore), and some socks.  Yes, socks.  I know, I'm pretty much an awesome wife.  But there is nothing like putting on a new pair of socks!

 We put candles in the raspberry pie that I made because we didn't have a cake.

 Singing Happy Birthday!

Don't mind the huge scratch on Macy's cheek...she did that to herself in the middle of the night. 

Happy Birthday Brad!

So I finally got curtains for my family room and piano room...I still have a long way to go with these rooms, but here is a peak and what they look like right now:

 My family room

My piano room...new curtains and new clock

 Right now I'm loving antique skeleton keys...so here is my new key rack coming in from the garage into the kitchen.

And here is a cool lock that i hung up in the downstairs bathroom.  I am probably going to hang a black frame around it.  I love it.  

More to come!

Hey all!  I'm back with this weeks Top 10 Christmas List!  This weeks list:

Top 10 Signs it's the Holidays in the Happy Valley:

10. People say "Merry Christmas!" before cutting in line at the mall.
9.  Mistletoe is banned by the BYU Honor Code.
8.  Holiday shopping with dollar store gift certificates
7.  You go bankrupt giving out neighbor gifts to your entire ward.
6.  The eggnog at FHE is spiked with caffeine.
5.  Polls show regifting reaches new heights.
4.  Being rebellious and going to Starbucks to get their Peppermint Hot Cocoa.
3.  Kids sing “Over the crick and around the mountain to grammas house we go...in American Fark. (mountain is pronounced without the T)
2.  There’s an annual Lighted Pickup parade in Payson
1.  The lighted deer sold at Cabellas have bullseyes on them.


Next weeks Top 10 Christmas List:  Top 10 Favorite Holiday Traditions

I made this the other night.  It's Chocolate Cobbler.  It was pretty amazing.  Mack had 3 helpings.   Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Cobbler

• 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/2 cup
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons cocoa, divided into 3 tablespoons and 4 tablespoons
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 & 1/2 cups hot water

Preheat oven to 350°.

Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Pour into an ungreased 8-inch square glass baking pan.

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, and 4 tablespoons cocoa. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour hot water over the top. Do not stir.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes, then serve. Use the chocolate sauce in the bottom of the pan to spoon over servings. Garnish, if desired, with ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 8 servings.

Courtesy of Bakeorbreak.com

Brad's Rating:  4 out of 5 stars.  Enjoy!

Ever since I was a little girl I was in love with this picture of my Grandma and Grandpa Gilbert.  This was on their wedding day.  Today they were reunited.  They are both missed, but they left an amazing posterity here.  I hope I can live my life even just half as well as they did.  

Hey all!  So this week's Top Ten Christmas List is more for Brad than anyone.  And in all honesty, I am 99.9% positive that I probably won't get anything on this list.  I'm just being realistic.  But here it is anyway:

Top 10 Gift's I'd Like For Christmas (Specifically for Brad):

10.  Cooktop Grill

 My mom has one and uses is all the time and loves it.

9.  Lady Gaga Tickets

 I'm not going to lie...I've heard other people have gone to her show in Washington and loved it...so I wouldn't hate going in February when she comes to town.

8.  Panini Grill

 I LOVE Panini's.

7.  Camera Accessories

 I'd love some accessories for my new Nikon D5000.

6.  Media Center

 I really REALLY want one. I have a huge wall that my TV is centered in and it is completely blank.  I'd love a big media center to take up that whole wall.

5.  A Cruise

 You all know that we LOVE cruises.

4.  "He's Not Here" Painting

 This is currently my favorite painting.  It is so simple yet the meaning is so grand.

3.  Chevy Traverse

 I want this car.  I'm going to be a soccer mom so I might as well get the car for it now.

2.  Jewelry

 Let's be honest...I wouldn't hate some diamonds.

1.  A Yard

So this isn't my house.  My house currently has dirt and weeds for the yard. I'd love a new yard.



For Next Week:  Top 10 Signs that It's Christmas in Happy Valley (for those of you who don't live in Utah, Happy Valley is the bubble that people in Provo/Orem area live in.)

My Snow Princess

BYU uniform+no pants+snow boots=FIERCE

This is what happened to Mack yesterday:

He pulled the wooden stool down on top of him last night right after Brad got home from work.  He started screaming, I started screaming, and Macy started screaming. Brad kept his cool.  Thank goodness. There was blood everywhere but Brad calmly picked him up, got the bleeding to stop, and drove him to the ER.  He wouldn't let me come.  Oh did I tell you he also calmly told me to quit freaking out?  I'm grateful for a level headed husband.  Mack was fine when they got home about 11PM from the ER because the Doctor had given him a teddy bear and Brad had bought him one of those huge pink sugar cookies out of the vending machine. And that concludes our first trip to the ER.  I'm sure it won't be our last.

Gooey Butter Cake by Paula Deen

Hey all!

So I found so many new yummy recipes that I'm dying to try and I thought I'd share them as I made them.  On Sunday I made Gooey Butter Cake.  It's a Paula Deen recipe, so you know it's 1. Delicious and 2. Unhealthy. And it sure did live up to it's name!  It was full of butter and came out gooey!  I loved it.  It was pretty rich though so we served it up with some vanilla ice cream to tone it down a bit.  Here it is!

GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
Ingredients:
Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Prepare Filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.


Brad's rating:  3 out of 5 stars. Enjoy!

Hey all!  I had such a hard time with this one this week.  There are so many amazing, classic Christmas songs out there that it was not only hard to narrow it down, but to rank them in the right order. But I think I finally did it.  Here is my new Top 10 Christmas List:

Top 10 BEST Christmas Songs Ever Made:

10. Where are you Christmas by Faith Hill


I love belting this song out when I'm driving in the car all by myself.

9.  Let it Snow by Dean Martin


His voice is absolutely amazing.

8.  Baby It's Cold Outside by Dean Martin


7.  Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra


I'm a huge Sinatra fan.  His voice is so beautiful.

6.  Carol of the Bells by Trans Siberian Orchestra


I love the electric guitar in this song!

5.  Believe by Josh Groban


Also an amazing voice.

4.  O Holy Night by Josh Groban


There are many great versions of this song, but this one is by far the best.

3.  It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas by Bing Crosby


I'm also a huge Bing Crosby fan.  His voice is beautiful too.

2.  White Christmas by Bing Crosby


This one was hard for me...It's pretty much a tie for first between this one and my #1.  This one comes from my very favorite christmas movie.

1.  The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole


This is exactly how I envision Christmas.

Next Weeks Top 10 Christmas List:
10 Best Gift Ideas for Me (this list is specifically for Brad)

This past weekend was definitely a lot of fun!  On Saturday, Brad and I went to another Jazz game against the Clippers.  let me tell ya...the first half was horrible, but I did predict that the second half was going to be a nail biter.  It was.  We won in Double OT.

This guy is my favorite...he is the midget form of the Jazz Bear.  And his number on his jersey is 1/2. 

Then on Sunday we had a picnic at the park, then drove down to the Oquirrh Mountain temple on the way down to my moms house.  While we were at my moms house, we thought the colors were so pretty on the trees so we took a couple of pics.