Christmas 2010

This year we spent Christmas in Newcastle with my parents, Matt and Kristen and the girls, and Bonnie.  It was a beautiful weekend.  After opening the mountain of presents in the living room we rode the Razr and pulled the kids in the sled.  The only thing that could have been any better would have been if I hadn't gotten a cold and lost my voice!  When we came home on Sunday, we put away our Christmas decorations, took down the tree, and unpacked all of our Christmas loot!

Our tree

Our tree with a few presents around it. 

Alanna opening presents.

Makenna opening presents.

Jake checking out the presents and Miley chewing on Jake's present!

The girls!

Family picture!

Makenna, Alanna, and Addie in the sled.

Brad pulling the girls in the sled.

Makenna and Alanna showing off Jake and Miley's new coats.

The Best Pumpkin Pancakes!

I made pancakes the other night for supper and these are the BEST pumpkin pancakes I have ever had!  You can find the recipe here; give them a try, they are quick and easy to make!

Picture taken from http://www.weelicious.com/

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving this year we stayed home and had some family and friends join us.  This was our first Vegan Thanksgiving and I think it turned out great!  Everyone seemed pleased with the food and the company was a lot of fun! 

Thanksgiving Menu

Stuffed acorn squash

Mashed potatoes

Mushroom gravy

Green bean casserole

Fruit

Veggies

Cider

Mulled wine

Pumpkin brownies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Cranberry salad

Bread/rolls

Thanksgiving casserole

Cajun chex mix

Muddy Buddies

Apple pie

Cherry pie

Thanks to everyone who made our Thanksgiving so nice: Matt, Kristen, Addison, Abrie, Richard, Skylar, Bonnie, Pam, Pearl, Sophia, and of course Brad and the girls!

The last couple weeks...

I kmow I haven't been keeping up with my blog very well, so today I decided to take some time to post and let everyone know what has been happening the last couple weeks. 

Two weekends ago we went to Spearfish with some friends and watched a BHSU basketball game and did some Razr riding in the snow.  We also headed over to Rapid for some shopping.  We had a great weekend. 

Makenna reading her book all the way to Spearfish.

Alanna listening to her ipod all the way to Spearfish.

Makenna jumping into the pool.

Alanna being launched into the air.  They did this over and over again until the guys finally got tired of throwing them!

Alanna had her very first orchestra concert on November 15th.  They combine all the orchestra students from all schools for the concert and there were a little over 100 students!  They played very well, and there was very little screeching!  

On November 19th, Brad left on a 6 day road trip with one of his friends where they rode the Razr in Texas and Okalahoma.  It sounds like he had so much fun he could hardly wait to do it again!  (Even if he has been complaining non stop about his back and neck hurting)

The girls put together a ginger bread house on Sunday when it was cold and snowy outside.

As usual, we have been staying busy, and as usual I will say that I will try to do a better job of keeping up with the blog!

Food Matters

This was a film made in 2008- I recommend EVERYONE watch it!!

They also have a website about the movie with many resources.  Check it out!  http://www.foodmatters.tv/

One of the doctors in the documentary, Andrew Saul, has a website that is very interesting.  http://doctoryourself.com/

Also, you can watch this movie on Netflix if you have an account.

The Best Nachos!

These nachos are so good that we made them twice in one week.  The girls even told me they could eat these every night!

Ingredients:

Black Beans

Chilli Beans

Brown Rice

Taco Seasoning

Lime

Diced green chilles

Tomatoes

Olives

Avocadoes

Green Onion

White Onion

Salsa

Cilantro

More Green Chilles

You can use as much of these ingredients as you need depending on the number of people you will be serving.

Cook the rice and add black beans, chilli beans, taco seasoning, juice from 1-2 limes, and diced green chilles-heat through.  Spoon this over your chips or put in a tortilla shell and top with remaining ingredients.  ENJOY! 

Vegas Murder Mystery Party 2010

We attended our second Murder Mystery party at Luke and Amanda's on Saturday.  We had a blast as usual.  The theme this year was Murder in Sin City!  I was a cocktail waitress and Brad was a lounge singer.  Who knew dressing up and playing pretend could be so fun?

Me and Greg's Amanda

Me and Amanda (aka, the hostess with the mostess)

Brad playing the air guitar and Kimi trying to sing a Katy Perry song!

Me and the Amandas