Christmas Tree 2011

Once again we went with the fake loaner tree for mostly financial reasons, yoy!  Real tree for sure next year. After fussing with the lights and adding new lights to the "pre-lit tree", fluffing branches and finally adding ornaments we decided this is just as much work as a real tree without the fun of finding and cutting it down and the lovely smell. We had a good time after all was said and done, now Brooklyn as to learn to keep her sticky-from-candy-cane fingers off the ornaments and presents. Feeling relieved that there are only 4 1/2 days till Christmas. 

Merry Christmas to you and your family!  We sure do enjoy Christmas with two little ones running around. Christmas through a kids eyes is priceless.  It's sometimes chaos, but it's organized chaos. :)

$1.00 Summer Sandals at Wal-Mart

For those of you with baby girls, thought you might like to know that we found summer sandals on clearance at our Island City Wal-Mart for $1.00 and $3.00. Pretty excellent price to get ready for next summer.  I purchased a pair for Brooklyn, she still has some of Hailey's sandals too, so she should be good. Grab some if you can find the right size.

Living Nativity

We were able to take the kids to the living nativity today at the Seventh Day Adventist School, it was so neat. We have lived in this area for 6 1/2 years now and have never been. Hailey was slightly scared of Clyde the Camel, but she loved the lamas, goats, cow and horses.  There was a carpenter, a black smith, a potter, candle making, rugs, a market and countless other areas to see how the various things were made, and what Bethlehem would have been like when Jesus was born.  There were Roman guards at the entrance to welcome you into Bethlehem.  Every character was dressed the part, and there was even a census taken on a scroll "from Cesar".  Cute little books for Hailey to collect stickers at every station.  This is really a great thing that the community puts on every year.  We are excited to go back next year and make this a part of our Christmas tradition.  Such a great learning experience for the kids and for us really. Brooklyn loved the little bon fire pits, it was brrrr freezing for sure. 

Feeding baby Jesus

Angels singing

Arc of the covenant  

Clyde the Camel and his Wise Man 

Giant! 

Sassy all bundled up

Line of people coming into Bethlehem 

Chewy Caramel

Trevor came home from work with a candy thermometer and a pound of butter. His mission was to create homemade caramels. (Thanks to Dutch Bros La Grande for their new salted caramel mocha flavor and fb post) They turned out very yummy, and I don't even like caramel. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 pound light brown sugar
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Cook for 2 minutes at that temperature. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
2. Meanwhile, butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. When the caramel is ready, pour into the buttered pan. Allow to cool completely at room temperature. Remove from the pan and cut into squares using scissors. Wrap individual pieces in waxed paper or cellophane.

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Unbelievable Chicken

Trevor is not a big fan of chicken breasts, but even he liked this one. The girls will just about any kind of chicken. We really liked this one.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons prepared coarse-ground mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. In a large glass bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the prepared grill, and cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear. Discard marinade.

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Easy No Bake Cookies

I like these cookies, they are simple and we almost always have the ingredients in our home.  Even Hailey eats these, and she's rather picky these days. :)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.
2. 
   

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To Die For Blueberry Muffins

We made these muffins for a yummy morning treat before our trip out to the Tri-Cities last Friday. I made a batch with blueberries and a batch with chocolate chips, they were both delicious. They are, of course, best when they are fresh out of the oven, so I made them up the day before and left them in the fridge already poured into muffin pans, then baked them Friday morning. Love that this recipe is so interchangeable, you can substitute any kind of fruit, nut or chip (chocolate is our favorite) and they turn out delicious! Fresh fruit gives a much better taste than canned or frozen, but still a great base recipe for sure.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk (we used buttermilk)
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

 2/3C brown sugar

1/4C flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2T butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk (or buttermilk) to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together  2/3C brown sugar, 1/4C flour, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 2T butter. With fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

*~*We made the regular (12 count) sized muffins: Fill 12 regular-size muffin tins about 2/3 full and lightly placed the streusel on top. I then baked them in a 400F oven for 18 minutes.

*~* One review said: I doubled the blueberries, and turned down the heat to 325 because the blueberries were frozen. The only things I'd suggest doing is to double the recipe (only made 6 jumbo muffins), but make only a single recipe of streusel (I was heaping on streusel topping until it was falling off, and there was still alot of streusel left over). 

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