Gingerbread Houses

So I love decorating cookies, so this year I decided to go bigger and make Gingerbread houses! After a little adventuring in cooking I got the gingerbread to work, made a cut out, and baked the houses! Turned out that I didn't have enough Gingerbread so one of us had to use sugar cookie dough (the gingerbread was a pain and I'm a pro with sugar cookie dough).

To make it fun (and also kind of copy Caitlyn) try and guess who made which one. You can guess from Nate, Diane, Rachel, Sherise, and Kye. Good Luck!

House 1

House 2

House 3

House 4

House 5

Snow!!!

I am now completely convinced that this whole global warning thing is crap. For the second time in one year we had almost a foot of snow! It was fabulous! Mom and dad were out of town so we had Rachel, Sherise, Kye, and Lucy (the dog) staying with us! We transformed our laundry room into a snow prep room and had a fabulous time! Norman LOVES LOVES LOVES the snow and anyone who knows me knows that this is just perfect for me. I love how quiet and perfect the world is when it snows and this time was no different! Here are some pictures of our snowy adventures!
The view from our back door!

Norman having fun digging for the snowball we told her to fetch! Cruel but fun!

Christmas Time is Here Again!!!

Yes, I am aware how shamefully long it has been since I posted and that you are all dying that you have missed out on the many exciting events that have happened since the middle of October, but that is not today's post. Today I want to tell you about all the things I love about Christmas.


I love Christmas. The music, the decorations, the smells, the movies, and well, everything. I love that Christmas music can make me sooooo happy...especially when I start hearing it for the first time in November and then Nate gets in the car and is mad that I'm listening to it already, but I don't care, cause I never get sick of it. It's just awesome.

I love Christmas decorations. I love sitting on my couch and staring at my tree and just enjoying the yummy tree smell (thank you White Barn Candle Company) and the quiet beauty of a Christmas tree.

I love Christmas movies. Nate has indulged my love of them so much this year that we have quadrupled our collection and I never get sick of them. I don't think I could name a favorite, they are all so fun, but I really enjoy the Muppets, the Grinch (animated, not Jim Carey), and most of all Mickey.

I love Christmas baking. IF you know me at all you know about my obsession with decorating cookies, and Christmas ones are so fun. I like that I can get away with making 6-10 kinds of cookies because I can give them away without protest from friends and family. I also love gingerbread houses. They are so cute and fun, despite the fact that they taste gross!

Most of all I love the way people change around Christmas. I love buying presents for people and watching their excitement when they open a good gift! People are more generous and loving around Christmas. They take time to remember other people and spend time with their families. I just love it.

So what are some of your favorite things about Christmas....do you share any of mine, or are yours different?

My Best Friend

I've been working from home on a fairly regular basis over the past few weeks, and Norman has gotten quite used to it. She follows me everywhere I go. If I'm sitting on the couch, she is to. If I'm in the kitchen, she is too! You get the point. If she wants to go somewhere else, rather than just doing so, she whines to let me know we should go somewhere else. It's adorable and annoying all at the same time! She is definately my dog!
We've had her for over a year now and I'm so glad we got her! Here are some pics. When she's not with me she likes to sit on the brown chair looking out the window, so she can see what is going on outside.

New Dinner Blog is Finally up!

So I was finally able to get the dinner blog up and running! Here is the link. If you would like to contribute (and I need everyone to help!!!) please let me know and I will add you as an author! Enjoy!

http://takethatmartha.blogspot.com/

Sick of the same old Dinners?

So Shannon and I were talking the other day about how we are sick of making and eating the same meals. So Nate and I took the time to write down the meals we eat and know how to make. I was suprised to learn it was over 50, but at the same time still dissapointed. Nothing on that list is new or adventerous. I would really like something new, but don't want to have to go through the pain of trying a new cookbook. I also find that most of the recipies from my favorite Food Network Chefs are not exactly budget or hip friendly. Oh I am aware that some are, but the majority use expensive or hard to find ingredients or have so much butter I can feel myself getting bigger! My next thought was using recipies online, but again that makes me nervous because I never know how it will turn out. I'd rather try new meals from people I know and can trust.

Now comes my idea, but before I actually go through with it I want to know what you (my friends) think and if you would be interested. I thought we could create a blog where we can all post our recipies. Not a ton at a time, but as we make them. For example, If I make my apple cranberry pork chops tonight and realize they are yummy and not too expensive, I would take a picture of my dinner, then blog the recipie. Everyone else could do the same. Of course we will all still make tacos and spaghetti that we won't post, but then when we want an idea we can see what our friends are making, and perhaps change things up just a little bit. Just a thought. Not sure if anyone would be interested, but let me know.

Love,
Diane

Summer Update: Beware Long Post!!

Summer Adventures:

Yes, I know, it's been two whole months since I posted last...and I was doing so well. As I'm sure you deduced by now, the lack of posting has not been for lack of things to post; quite the opposite. So here is the best travel log I could muster of our summer adventures.

Trip to Michigan:

Over the 4th of July we drove to visit Nate's Family in Michigan. It was a great trip, albeit quick. We got to meet our two BEAUTIFUL new nieces as well as spend time with the family. I think my favorite part was the fireworks (with the family of course). We all walked over to the local small town fireworks and they were so much fun...they took me right back to when I was a kid watching them. It was great to see everyone.

Girls Camp:

As soon as we got back from Michigan I was off Girls Camp (As Manchester Ward Girls Camp Director). I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Lots of time with the girls, including some cliff hiking with rattle snakes (didn't enjoy those so much)!!! I also enjoyed spending free time on the Archery field with my sisters. They are both WAY better than me, but I'm chalking that up to it being my first real time...yeah, that's what it was. ;) My favorite part was spending Friday night with the Girls and Brother McQuade (in place of the Bishop) talking about all kinds of different things. It was a great spiritual experience, and I didn't know how much I needed it until I got back.

Shelly's Wedding:

The first week in August we trekked out to Utah for Shelly's wedding. After getting stuck overnight in Atlanta (long story) we finally made it to Utah. The first day we went down to Provo to Visit friends and give Courtney Smith a tour of BYU. It was the first time I had been back since we moved and I didn't realize how much I missed it. It totally caught me off guard! Pretty much the rest of the week was devoted to the wedding. We all went up to Logan Wednesday (the temple of choice), checked into the hotel, and then off to the temple for Shelly to take out her endowments. Afterwards we split up from the boys and took Shelly to the local pizza place for her last night as a single lady. Thursday was wedding day. It was a beautiful day and Shelly looked GORGEOUS!!! The only downside was the wind. It was so gusty we could hardly keep our skirts down, literally!!! Then up to Idaho for the reception and back down to Ogden, all in one day. Friday we got to see Nate's brother Richard from Hawaii who flew in to go to Las Vegas. Then the rest of the day we spent with the family. All in all a very good trip.

Shelly's VA Reception:

Once we were back in town it was time to think about Shelly's VA reception. It was really more of a charming little open house at my parents home. My big hurdle for that was making her cake. It turned out just fine, but I still need to learn how to use fondant in humidity. I also helped with some of the cute little appetizers. My mom's friends Lisa Baldwin and Sherry Andelin turned out to be life savers when they showed up to help chop, dice, pour, and stir things the day of. We couldn't have do it without them! My favorite part of the whole open house was the chalk messages on the driveway for the bride and groom (Shelly loves sidewalk chalk, so we thought this would be cute).

Outer Banks, North Carolina:

Right after the reception (and I mean the same night!!!) we headed off to the outer banks for what I have dubbed our real vacation. It was fabulous!!! We went to our wonderful friend's beautiful beach house with the Jury's. Basically it was three days of waves, sand castles, sun, and relaxation. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect ending to our summer!! The weather was perfect!!! It reminded me how much I love the beach...

Cubs Game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:

To finish up our summer Nate and I drove to Pittsburgh over the Labor day weekend to see the Cubs play the Pirates. It was by far my favorite trip of the whole summer! We stayed in the beautiful Hilton Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh! It couldn't have been more perfect! After a nice drive down Sunday night, we checked in, got some pizza, and just watched movies. The next morning we slept in, then had a lovely breakfast at the hotel restaurant, then off to the game. Because we stayed downtown we were able to just walk over to the game. Our seats were great! The only downside was the rain, but with our umbrella's (which we used as blankets since we couldn't put them over our heads) we were able to stay pretty dry. The nice part was that the rain cleared out the people in front of us who were blocking our view!! Oh, and the cotton candy was amazing...we ended up having 2! The Cubs won and it was overall a great game. I did feel kinda bad for the Pirates since there were almost as many Cubs fans in the stadium as Pirates fans but oh well...go Cubbies! Our drive home was great. We took the back roads through West Virginia (and I mean back-roads) and saw some beautiful country! Even though it was a whirlwind trip, it was amazing!!

Now it's back to real life. Nate is back in school taking a full 18 credit hours and work has never been busier for me! But the weather is cooling down and the leaves are starting to turn and that means fall...my favorite time of year!! Hopefully I will be a more faithful blogger this season!

Love,
Diane

Jamestown! Complete with Indians, Pirates, and Soldiers!

So we will be doing our tour of Jamestown by picture, rather than just words.

First, we will skip the Indians, because we didn't have any great pictures. They were there, they did stuff by hand, it was dirty but cool, enough said.

Next were the ships. They have these big bad ships you can actually get on that are replica of the ones the Virginia company would have sailed on. Clearly I was steering this one.
And Nate and this Pirate (okay, sailor, but doesn't he look more like a pirate?) made friends and had a "hommies" picture taken, the pirate's idea of course.
Next is Yen perfecting her Medical Skills with this Pot.
Oh, and this is the gourd I wanted to steal, I mean take as a souvenir, but my purse was too small to hide it. And I would never do something like that....
Clearly this armor did not have Polynesians in mind when it was designed.I got to give the sermon, and I was feeling the emotions of the Boston witch trials, or so it would seem...
Finally this one is Yen firing the cannon. Watch out over there!
We loved Jamestown. It was a great half day trip for something fun to do, and we even took the ferry across the James River on the way home. All in all, this was a great adventure!

Washington D.C

So my FAVORITE place to go and visit is Washington DC, so naturally we spend a day up there with Stephanie. We ended up with a full van because Mom, Kye, Cami, and Zach decided to tag along too. We all drove up together, and then took the metro downtown. We started our day off with the mall. For those of you who haven't been to DC, the mall is NOT a place where you go shopping in DC, instead it is where all of the Monuments are. The only one we didn't get up close and personal with was Jefferson, because he is far off the beaten path and we only had one day.














Next it was off to lunch at the Air and Space Museum. This was extra exciting for the Nuffers of the trip because they serve Donatos pizza there, a Columbus chain that make some of the best thin crust pizza ever! Only pepperoni and cheese at the museum, but we'll take it. It was also nice to get inside out of the sweltering heat. Stephanie had not yet adjusted to humidity, so she was dying (and the rest of us too)!

The last and best stop was the National Archives.













I have never been inside before, even though I've been to DC more times than I can count. They've been closed due to flooding, routine maintenance, etc, so I've never made it in. We were able to see the Magna Carta, The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Having studied these documents many time over, it was humbling to see them in person, to actually read the preamble myself right off the original. It made me extremely thankful for the opportunity I have to be an American, and for what our Founding Fathers did for us!


















There was no Flash Photography allowed, so I'm super impress that Nate's pictures turned out this amazing!


















Kye found this secret door while we were waiting to go inside! It all felt A little like National Treasure or something.

I'm glad we were able to go, I just wish we had a week or more so we could see everything!!

Touring Richmond

Well, the first tourist thing we did with Stephanie was Richmond Proper. Nate took her downtown with my mom and they saw lots of cool stuff. They went to the White House of the Confederacy (yes, there is such a thing, and when you tour it you get a truly Southern Version of the history of the Civil War. It's actually a pretty cool experience). They also toured the Capital Building. Lots if interesting History. In addition to that they saw VCU campus and Hollywood Cemetery. I wasn't there to ensure proper pictures (you know, with people in them) but here are the best ones they got.

This is the Capitol Building. (Lovely Pictures all provided by Yen).

This one is mom and Thomas Jefferson's original model for the building.

This one is mom looking excited and Nate looking ridiculous.

Oh, and we went and saw Transformers on Thursday too, for details see my previous post.

The Greatness of Norman

So this patriotic weekend we are going to Michigan, but we are not taking Norman with us. That is very sad for us, but it will probably be worse for Norman. Luckily Cami will be staying with her so she won't be lonely. The real reason I wanted to post was because I took a great Picture of what happens when you try to go up against my dog.















Diane really likes this picture too, she just about fell over when she saw it.

New Stories Coming Soon....

So we had a pretty busy week last week. My Friend Stephanie Yen was in town, and she has never been to the east coast (or even further east than Utah) so we felt the need to take her all over. Suffice it to say that I have pictures with pirates (okay, sailors, but that sounds more fun and was what this guy acted like), Indians, Lincoln, And a live Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. This week will be another busy one, but I'm working on getting everything up, so until then I know you will be on the edge of your seat....

Transformers Review

Okay, so first of all, I will try not to spoil anything, but beware, I'm not perfect (contrary to popular belief!).

Nate, Stephanie, and I went to see Transformers 2 yesterday. Let me preface this by saying that when I went to the first movie, I was less than excited. I was basically going because of how excited Nate was. I walked out of the theater completely pleased having enjoyed a great movie. This one started out the same. Good action, fun characters, and lots of plot. Then it just got boring. The movie was 2 1/2 hours and would have been much better had they stopped at 2. I actually checked the time TWICE towards the end!! I swear they spend a good 30 minutes at the end just running. It was just ridiculous and anti-climatic. My second issue is character development, not of the people but of the Transformers. I am completely okay with watching a movie about Transformers (rather than humans), but I would at least like to know their names. You get that maybe once, and that's not enough for me. (yes, I knew the basics, but all of the new ones were confusing). They would have done better to focus on a few rather than tons. However, the action scenes, the military guys, and what they were able to do digitally was pretty impressive. It was not a bad movie, just not as good as the first one. Yep, that's what I thought....I dare you to disagree!

~Diane

Garden Update

Well, so far so good. All eight tomato plants are doing wonderfully. We finally staked them up today and they were way too tall for the stakes but it will just have to do for now. The peppers are growing strong, and the squash even stronger! We tied up the beans realized that there are tons there too. The only things that are struggling are the salad greens, but it's so hot outside it is hard for them to grow. We just waited too late in the season to plant them. Here are the pictures (cause we all know that's the best part!). The last picture is one of the butterflies that has been hanging out on our deck. They LOVE our flowers!!

Oh, this is me and Norman chillin while Nate finishes up!




I think this one might be my favorite because it is so pretty!


If anything actually starts growing veggies, I'll keep you POSTED (hehe, get it, posted, like as in another post on the blog....I'm rolling with laughter, I am just too funny!!!)

Cami and Norman Compete!

They had so much fun playing! Enjoy!

Jeni's Baby Shower

My sweet friend Jeni is having a baby girl soon and today we had her baby shower. It was so cute. My friends Shannon and JinHee threw the party and I pitched in a little. It was so fun. There was good food, good people, and fun games. We played this cute candy bar game where you have to guess which candy bar goes with the baby/pregnancy term (baby name = whatchamacallit). It was a blast!
Here is the cute diaper cake and presents table!
Here is Jeni and the food!

Here are the fruit flowers I made.
Here is the cake I made, I'm still not sure I like it, but it turned out alright. Shannon has all of the people pictures on her camera, so I don't have any fun friends ones, but if I get some I will put them up here! Thanks for reading and for all of the comments!!!!

Kye's 5th Grade Graduation

On Thursday Nate and I went to Kye's graduation from elementarty school. He has had a really good school year and is improving so much and we were really proud of them. The best part was that he was awarded the Pat Pagels award. Basically this is given to one 5th grader each year who has show dedication, perserverance, the ability to overcome obstacles, and is basically just a hard working kid. I was SOOOOOO proud of him!!! He got the award in front of everyone and it was amazing!!! To celebrate we everyone came over to our house and mom bought Pizza! I can hardly believe how much he has grown up. Here are some pictures from the graduation!

This one is of him being given his award (we were way in the back so it was tough to get a good picture) This is Kye and his teachers. They couldn't say enough good things about him!

Kye's Baseball Game, well actually snacks at McDonald's because of the Rain!

So today Nate and I headed down to Kye's baseball game. It was his second to last game, and we were really excited to go and watch. We were running a little late because Nate had Webelos. We got there in the 2nd inning, and Kye had already made some great plays. But just as we got there the lightning started so they put the game on hold. We waited about 30 minutes, but the storm just got worse, so we decided to all go to McDonald's for ice cream (Code for Chicken Sandwich and Fries if you are Kye). It was really fun to just hang out together! Here are some pics or us eating (because of course the one time I bring the camera I can't actually take pictures of the game).

This one is me, Kye, and Mom waiting for the lightning to stop.
This is me and Kye being cool...I think he got his posing skills from Shelly.
Here are my cute parents with Kye. Yep, there he is again being amazing! So hopefully I will make it to his baseball game Saturday so I have good baseball pictures! I love that little guy!!

Wedding Cake!!

So as you all know Shelly is getting married. As an attempt to save cost, they are considering letting me make the wedding cake. I've NEVER done this before, so I decided to practice so I would have something to send to Shelly to show her and see what she thinks. It looks nothing like the one she wants (cause she still hasn't sent me the picture) but I wanted to give her some idea of what I could do. I used flowers I had and the cheapest ribbon and beading I could find (since it was only a practice). I also didn't spend much time on the piping because I'm not sure what she wants. Here was the result of today's practice session:
The flowers are WAY too big, but I didn't want to go out an buy something for a practice cake.
The orange flowers are even bigger, but you get the idea. Perhaps this summer I will learn how to make good gumpaste flowers and then I will do my own, but that's pretty ambitious so we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

On a different note, I just realized that I blog a lot about food and cooking, but guess it just goes to show that it's one of my favorite hobbies!

Employment for Nate!!!

So Nate has been working REALLY hard to find a job since school got out. He's sent out dozens of resume's, filled out tons of applications, and nothing. You'd think finding a part time job would be easier than this. Finally, yesterday, he got one. He will now be working for Blockbuster! I'm excited because in addition to Nate having something to do over the summer, it means FREE movie rentals! Hooray!!! I'm also really happy for Nate because he loves movies so I think this is a job that he will really enjoy, rather than just feeling Blah about. This does not mean he's quitting at Barnes and Noble, but they aren't giving him hours, so he'll stay on payroll and balance the two jobs if something changes. I think I may be rubbing off on him, he's had 5 jobs since we've been married! Hooray for Nate!!!