Hannah Says...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of the wonderful traits I inherited from my mom is her love for baking. I have fond memories of coming home from school and finding chocolate chip cookies cooling on the counter. So, when Emmett asked me today if we could make cookies, of course I said yes! We had a few different chips to choose from and he couldn't make up his mind. So, I beat up some plain cookie dough, split it in half and let him put mini reese's pieces in one half and mini chocolate chips in the other. (My favorite recipe at the end!)

The dough

He had some serious concentration as he scooped the cookies on to the sheet.

Of course, a little taste!

Looks like a little boy scooped the dough, right? I fixed them when he wasn't looking!

Starting to bake.

Unfortunately, these got a little too dark.

And I took these out a tad early.

But after a few more minutes in the oven they came out perfect.

Here's the recipe:
1 cup shortening (yes, shortening!)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Beat these three together for about 3 or 4 minutes.
2 eggs, 1tsp each salt, baking soda, and vanilla
Beat these in, another 3 or 4 minutes.
2 or 2 1/4 cups flour
Beat this in, maybe a minute. Start slow and then increase the speed.
1 cup chips of your choice (chocolate, white, butterscotch, mini m&m's, mini reese's, etc)
Mix these in, just until mixed.
Scoop onto cookie sheet. I like to use an ice cream scoop, but you don't have to. And bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes. Look at them after 10 and then decide if they need anymore time. And leave them on the pan for a few minutes right after you take them out of the oven.

A trip to Idaho

Last week Brent, Emmett and I took a quick trip to Idaho. Brent had an interview with Idaho State University! His interview was in Pocatello which is in the middle of nowhere, about 3 hours past Boise. (I imagine the way that people feel about moving to Yakima, is how I would feel if we have to move to Pocatello.) Fortunately, Boise is right on the way to Pocatello, so he dropped Emmett and me off at the Hoefer's house. Emmett had a great time with his cousins! And Abby and I had a little time to ourselves, as Scott managed to care for all 5 kids Friday afternoon. I only took a few pictures of the kiddos and this is the best one.

This was them roasting marshmallows, as you can tell. Emmett seems less than thrilled, but I know he had a wonderful time.

So, now we wait. The part I dislike the most about this whole process.

Happy Birthday Sadie

Sadie turned 5 this week! We celebrated last week with a party at her house. The kids painted on canvases and played pin the fairy on the flower. Sadie is such a sweet girl and we had a great time helping her celebrate!

The birthday girl with her cupcake.

Grandma Ruby with a few of her great-grandkids.
Emmett, Audrey, Ella, Roc and Sadie

The two boys.

Skyping

When Brent was away over the summer, we would skype with him every evening. Now Emmett likes to skype with his Grandma and Grandpa. Even thought they live just across town.

Belly laughing over something.

Showing them something. (We're working on holding things up to the camera, not the computer screen.)

Looking intently at something they are showing him.

Talking about his new cars.

And yes, my desk is that messy. And I even had just cleaned it!

Playmobile

So, I'm usually not into toys that have a million pieces. However, I saw this PlayMobile set at Costco and thought it looked like a lot of fun. After a lot of internal deliberation, I talked myself out of it. Well, a few weeks later, my mother in law called me from Costco. She thought Emmett might really like it for Christmas and just wanted to make sure. So, I took that as a sign that maybe it really would be a great toy to have. We went out to their place on Christmas night (while Brent was working) and they gave it to him. He was elated! We were waiting for my brother and sister in law to arrive, so I conned Steve into helping me put together the farm vehicles. Just so Emmett could play with it a little bit. Well, one thing led to another and we ended up putting together the entire set! It is the coolest farm I have ever seen! And you may think I was exagerating when I said a million pieces, and I was. But there are 771 pieces! (According to the box. And a good portion of them were little connector pieces that we used to build everything.) It's definitely not a toy that we have just sitting out, but it is a ton of fun to play with.

Just a few of my favorite details!
The front of the farmhouse.

The stove, complete with hood and two covered casserole dishes. And the sink, with a sprayer and dishwasher.

The farmer, pushing a wheelbarrow filled with veggies from the garden.

What my table looks like when we get it all out!

A peek into our week

I'm not quite sure that any of these pictures warrant a post to themselves, so I'm going to combine them into one.

I can't go to bed at night without checking on the little boy. He goes to sleep with his lamp on, and this is what I usually find. A big pile of blankets and stuffed animals. There is evidence that proves he is in there...the little giraffe leg sticking out from under his quilt.

"Hey mom, did you see this? I'm doing conjastics. Can YOU do this?"

A little snow that was supposed to turn into the storm of the century. (After doing some fact checking, this snow was from the previous week!) But after one morning of icy roads, all that was left was sunny skies and not-so-freezing temps!

What I usually find on the floor of our family room. A road made of blocks and a whole lot of cars. His new favorite, the Mac truck, followed by not one but two Lighten McQueens.

Him taking a picture of me, as I took a picture of him!

Pink sunrise, followed by a little boy with bedhead. Drinking some milk with just a splash of coffee in it.

Sunday Afternoon

This time of year, in the afternoon our family room and kitchen get a really warm glow from the almost setting sun. That has nothing to do with this post, except that it's the time of day that we took these pictures and I love the light shadows that are cast.

Anyways...Emmett and I were looking for a fun activity. Since I had been burning candles, and had mini marshmallows in the cupboard, I got an idea. Not a super unique idea to some, but to Emmett it was. We decided to use toothpicks and roast marshmallows over the candles. He thought it was pretty great! He enjoyed eating the warm gooey treats, as well.