The Holidays Are Here!

I still can't believe it's already December! It makes me kind of agitated to see Christmas displays or to hear Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but now it makes me happy! Jer and I had a fun Thanksgiving with Jeremy's family. They flew in for a couple of days from Texas, and Jeremy's brother from BYU. We went to Longwood Gardens for their Thanksgiving buffet dinner
They had a yummy mashed potato bar and a fun mini dessert bar with miniature creme brulee shooters and apple pies. We had a fun time walking around and looking at all the beautiful Christmas displays
a few days ago, Jeremy and I decorated for Christmas and put up our own Christmas tree. We decided to get a real one for the first time this year. I've decided I really like having a real tree. They make the house smell so nice and it just really feels like Christmas now. Here's a picture of our tree

Christmas Cards

I never really know what to do about Christmas cards every year. We did a newsletter last year, but I feel kind of silly doing a newsletter just for the two of us. This year I think Jer and I will order some from Shutterfly.com. I saw a post on a friend's blog recently, and they have some really cute Christmas card designs this year. Here's a link to their Christmas cardshttp://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards They also have really cute photo card designs, which is what I think Jer and I will be doing this year. Here's the link to those ones http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards. On their site, you can also make picture calendars. We have pretty much all of our Christmas shopping done this year, but I thought that might be a cute idea for another year. They're pretty cheap too! Jeremy and I have had good experiences with Shutterfly in the past. They do a really good job with everything. Shutterfly is doing a promotion now until December 14th, that if you post about them on your blog you get 50 free Christmas cards. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me! Here's the link to the promotional offer http://bit.ly/sfly2010. Look for our card in the mail!

Favorite Pumpkin Recipes

Here are a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes. I love the way the house smells when you make any of them. You know fall is here!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

3 1/2 cups pumpkin
2 cups Sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil

1 t salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda

Combine first four ingredients, then sift dry ingredients. Combine wet and dry. Bake in 2 9 by 13 pans for 20 minutes at 350.

Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese

Pumpkin Doughnuts

4 1/2 cups flour
4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 cup sugar
1 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
2 T melted butter
1/2 t vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin

mix the dry ingredients. Combine the remaining ingredients and add to the dry ingredients, stirring only until just blended. Roll onto a well floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Fry in oil until brown. Put granulated sugar in a paper sack. Shake warm doughnuts in the sugar sack. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

3 cups white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chip (I don't mess around with the semisweet chips, yuck)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake for about an hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean

Fall Festivities

Two weekends ago, my parents came out for a visit from Boise. On Saturday, we spent the day at Longwood gardens. We were all really impressed by the giant lilly pads. Apparently, they can support up to 100 pounds.
It was a perfect fall day to walk around longwood.

It was fun to see all of their fall displays. They had a bunch of huge pumpkins. I think the one above weighed over 600 pounds! We had such a great time with mom and dad. We think you guys should just move out here.

Last weekend Jeremy and I drove up to Vermont to see the foliage. This has been something I have wanted to do for a long time, so Jer decided to take me there for my birthday. It really was as pretty as I had hoped it would be. We stayed in a bed and breakfast in Manchester, Vermont. All of the residents were very proud that it was voted the "foliage capital" of Vermont this year. It was a really cute little town

That night we went to a restaurant in town called the "Reluctant Panther." I was a little bit sleepy on our drive into Manchester because I had worked the night before, and I kept accidentally referring to it as the, "Awkward Panther." Despite the name, the food there was amazing. We stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Wilburton Inn, just outside of town.
It was built in 1903 and is owned now by a psychologist with a real passion for unique art.

At night, it actually got a little bit creepy. Definitely the most interesting place we've ever stayed. This was the view outside our window when we woke up in the morning. It was a little bit overcast all day, so you can't really see how bright the colors were.



That morning we went on a five mile hike to lye brook falls. It was just gorgeous



That afternoon we browsed through some of the shops in town and went to Manchester's annual pumpkin festival. It was great, they had a public judging of a pumpkin dessert contest, and hot apple cider and apple cider doughnuts. Thanks Jer, for a really fun weekend!

Fun Fall Visits

The last couple of weekends we've been really lucky to have people come out to visit. Two weekends ago, Jeremy's mom, Phyllis came out for the weekend. On Saturday, we enjoyed a beautiful fall day in New York City. We went to the French Culinary Institute for brunch, and saw Mama Mia on broadway and took the elevator up to the top of the Rockefeller Center

The view from the top is pretty amazing! That afternoon we went for a carriage through central park. That's something I've always wanted to do. Along the way, our driver pointed out where various scenes from Home Alone II were filmed. I think we all left there feeling a little bit more complete as human beings.

That night we went to Serendipity for dessert, and it definitely lived up to the hype. The desserts were delicious and HUGE! We got the broadway blackout cake, the ultimate creme and the frozen hot chocolate.

We were tempted, but decided not to go with the $1,000 dollar golden opulence sundae.

Last weekend, my good friend, Brooke, came to visit from Boise. On Saturday we went on a double date out to Amish country. We went to Cherry Crest Adventure farm for the annual potato festival. I love little places like this. They had a petting zoo with little baby chicks that you can hold.

They also had a potato sack slide, a corn maze, potato slings, potato sack races, and potato eating contests. We got in on the action during the potato sack races, but the potato eating contests were more fun just to watch and bet on who was going to win each heat. Another favorite from the day was this blow up bubble thing you could bounce on. All the little kids loved it when Jeremy got on, we could hear them all saying to each other, "Get ready, here he comes!"

It was really great to spend some quality girl time together!

Hawaii

The last couple of weeks have kind of been a blur for us. Last week we took a trip to Hawaii with my family and then we moved 2 days after we got home. Jeremy and I had been looking forward to this trip for months and months. It was really great to see everybody. Jeremy hadn't seen our nephew, Luke, since he was only a couple of weeks old. We had an absolute blast in Hawaii. On one of the first days, We went on a hike in the Waimea valley. All of the trees and flowers were gorgeous
There was a little waterfall with a pool at the end that you could swim in.

We also went out sailing on the Ko Olina Cat, chased dolphins, and went snorkeling.
One of my favorite things that we did was visiting the north shore. We went body surfing at the bonzai pipleine. I love seeing people get knocked over by all the big waves. Although, out of all of us, I am pretty sure I'm the one who ate the most sand.

At the North Shore, we also went snorkeling at Shark's cove. Jeremy and I both agreed that this is the best snorkeling that we had ever done. We were only inches away from a sea turtle. I really like them, they are very wise, kind looking animals.

Another highlight of the trip was the Fia Fia luau with "the chief." It was such a pretty night

On our second to last day in Hawaii, we drove to Waikiki to take surfing lessons. As I was paddling out for the first time, I got hit in the face with someone else's surf board. Jer and I had to take a little trip to the emergency room in Honolulu to get stitches. It seems to be healing really well and I don't think it will scar too bad.


This picture was taken on our last day in Hawaii at the Pali Lookout ( I was having a hard time smiling at this point in time). We were both really sad to leave Hawaii and come back to real life. Hopefully we'll all be together again before not too long.

A hero of mine...

Robert E. Lee that is. Melody prepared an incredible birthday surprise for me last December by getting tickets for the 147th Anniversary Gettysburg Reenactment. We arrived on Friday and enjoyed staying at the Battlefield Bed & Breakfast. This establishment delivered in all three areas providing a bed in addition to a breakfast the next morning--all within sight of the battlefield.

The event actually takes place north of the actual battlefield. There was a Confederate camp and a U.S. camp and everything. Some of the reenactors took this division very seriously as can be seen in the "arrest" of Joshua Chamberlain by General Pickett for loitering in the Confederate camp:


As for the battles themselves, we were able to watch the "Wheatfield" portion of the battle which took place on the second day between General Sickles' 3rd Corps and General Longstreet's First Corps. This wheatfield changed hands up to seven times within a few hours and some of the most vicious fighting of the war took place here.

We also saw a cavalry battle, which I won't post right now. This fight took place during the third day during and after Pickett's charge.


All in all, this was one of the coolest experiences I've had. Almost since Melody and I met (but not right at first, because let's face it, it would have just been creepy), I've been telling her that I want to be a part-time reenactor. I think she actually started believing me as I asked Major Pickett (i.e. General Pickett's bro) how one got "in" with the reenactor scene. Bring on the beard and banjos I say!

On a more serious note, Melo and I were able to walk Pickett's charge from Seminary Ridge to Cemetery Ridge. It was July 3 2010, exactly 147 years to the day after. The field is very similar to how it would have been that day- uncut grass, Emmitsburg road cutting down the middle, about a mile and a half slightly uphill. For those of you unfamiliar with this final episode of the battle, over 6,000 casulaties were reported alone for the Confederacy. We were very impressed with gratitude for those that came before us and sacrified little or all for our freedom. May God bless America, and we wish you a Happy Independence Day!

A Wicked Fun Anniversary

This past Monday, Jeremy and I had our second wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we took a little trip to visit New York this weekend. On Friday night we went to the temple and then took a little walk in Central park


The next morning we took the ferry and went out to visit the statue of liberty and Ellis Island

Ellis Island was so interesting. We went on a ranger tour when we got there and followed him from room to room. He gave us a pretty good idea of what it was like to be processed through Ellis Island. One of the most interesting things he told us was that as the immigrants were walking up the stairs, they would watch them really carefully and then put different chalk marks on the clothes of the people, depending on what they thought might be wrong with them. If they put an X on your clothes you were "likely insane." If they put and X with a circle around it, you were "definitely insane." (We saw quite a few people on the New York subways that I think might have gotten that mark). The main building at Ellis island is beautiful, it's crazy when you stop and think about how many millions of people came through there.

After Ellis Island, we went to see "Wicked." It was fantastic, we loved it!

Afterward, as we were leaving the theater some of the cast came out to sign autographs,

This is the actress who played Glinda, she was my favorite! As we were window shopping on 5th Avenue after the show, we just happened to see Glinda and Elphaba again, hehe
Definitely my favorite part of our trip was our dinner that night at L'Ecole, the restaurant associated with the French Culinary Institute. The food there was some of the best I've ever had. Here is a link to the menu for the night we ate there: http://www.frenchculinary.com/pdf/TRS060710.pdf. They even brought us out a special dessert for our anniversary!

Row Row Row Your Boat

Yesterday, Jer and I went to Fitzwater station in Phoenixville and rented a canoe to take down the Schuylkill river. To get to the river, you row to the end of the canal and then walk over a portage to the river. That canoe was actually really heavy. I was not a fan of the portage. The rest of the trip was really fun though. The river was beautiful and there was a lof of wildlife.



Captain Jeremy!

There were a couple of little islands along the way. We thought it might be fun to take a picnic next time.

Ocean City

Last weekend we took a little road trip to Ocean City, New Jersey with some friends from the ward, the O'Farrells. I wasn't sure what to expect from a New Jersey beach, but it was actually really pretty. There was a cute little boardwalk with an amusement park, shops, and every kind of fried food imaginable. I think something about being next to the ocean makes it taste even better. We had heard rave reviews about one of the restaurants along the boardwalk, Mack and Manco's pizza, so we made that our first stop.

Very yummy! After that, we spent some time on the beach.

It was definitely a bit chilly. Jeremy and Mike actually got all the way in and went body surfing. They were just about the only people in the water. I heard the people next to us on the beach saying that they "must be from Canada." Afterwards, we took a walk along the boardwalk


and tried a few more of the restaurants. The funnel cake, fried oreos, and salt water taffy were amazing. I think we all left the boardwalk very satisfied!