The Great Pumpkin Taste-Off of 2023

 The Annual Larson Family Pupmkin Taste-Off took place on Saturday evening, September 23rd, 2023.Participants included all 7 Larsons, each one a seasoned judge of pumpkin treats.

Entries this year were numerous (way too many! some not pictured!) and included hot and cold drinks, snacks, dairy items, and baked goods.

To shake things up a bit, we introduced a freestyle short-answer rating system.  Some judges still also rated on a scale of 0 to 10.  Props to Katelyn who stuck with this endeavor the longest.  Some of us couldn't finish.  Word to the wise: pace yourselves.  Even 10 is too many!

Here are the results:

YOGI PUMPKIN SPICE HERBAL TEA

Herbal tea is mostly the flavor of dirty water.  This type is no different.  Its only redeeming quality is that it's warm.  So that's nice. 1/10.    ~Doug

Someone walked through the muddy pumpkin patch on a cold smoky day.  Then they washed their shoes off in a bucket and I drank the dirty water.    ~Rebecca

This tea is my ideal man: warm, sweet, and a little nutty. And kinda brown.  8/10.    ~Katelyn

Tastes like fog?  Like the fog version of pumpkin.  2/10.    ~Emily

Looks like pee, smells like pee, tastes like pee.  3/10.     ~Lauren

No pumpkin? As far as herbal tea goes, this didn't make me wanna vomit.  But it made me want to want to vomit fs.    ~Hannah

What I imagine washing the pumpkin off tastes like.  2/10.    ~Olivia

SWISS MISS PUMPKIN SPICE HOT COCOA

Feels like broken "word of widsom" but pretty tasty.  6/10    ~Doug

If the Word of Wisdom includes this hot drink, I'm in trouble! LOVE! Will start my day with this all season.    ~Rebecca

I feel like a pumpkin chocolate man just kicked me in the teeth.  3/10.    ~Katelyn

If you didn't tell me this is pumpkin/chocolate, I would think it was neither.    ~Emily

Shlurppp. 7.5/10    ~Lauren

Like a tiny little pumpkin chocolate hug. 8/10.    ~Hannah

Mmmmm buss buss.  7/10    ~Olivia

DANNON LIGHT-N-FIT GREEK YOGURT PUMPKIN PIE FLAVOR

Tastes like regular greek yogurt. 5/10    ~Doug

Bait + Switch.  One tiny burst of sweet turns more and more sour and chalky.    ~Rebecca

Am I really about to eat something called greek yogurt?  2/10    ~Katelyn

Please pay the pumpkin whatever ransom it demands for the release of that poor yogurt.  1/10.    ~Emily

Greek yogurt is almond mom food & the pumpkin flavor comes from a delusional malnourished state.  2/10.    ~Lauren

Who is gonna tell someone that his leftover jack-o-lantern concoction is a 0/10 fumbs down    ~Hannah

The greeks need serious help. 1/10.    ~Olivia

KNEADERS PUMPKIN BREAD

Tastes like a Kneaders knock off.  10/10.    ~Doug

Never have I ever enjoyed nutmeg so much.  The texture is better than a donut. And I really love donuts!    ~Rebecca

Wonderful bake. Perfectleh prooved.  10/10    ~Katelyn

I am biased to love my own creations, but also I'm so sick of this. When I close my eyes all I see is pumpkin bread.    ~Emily

The spirit of Fall posessed my soul with that bite. 9/10.    ~Lauren

I would like to keep this delightful lil pumpkin treat close to my heart - just like Emily. 10/10.    ~Hannah

I found the perfect Sacrament bread.  Hallelujah. 10/10.    ~Olivia

ENTENMANN'S LITTLE BITES PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Tastes like the kind of fall vibe that is manufactured in a 200K sqft food processing plant.  3/10.    ~Doug

Enten-Eww.  No likey.    ~Rebecca

This is why God invented tongue scrapers. 3/10.    ~Katelyn

Nah. 2/10.    ~Emily

The Spirit of Fall left the chat. 5/10.    ~Lauren

This is like sending up Rosie to go compete in a singing competition right after Beyonce.  7/10.    Hannah

Lauren's entry if her and Emily were in a cook off. 4/10.    ~Olivia

TRADER JOE'S PUMPKIN STICKY TOFFEE CAKES

Trader Joe's slid a couple notches in my book.  2/10.    ~Doug

Pumpkin treats should include orange color, NOT orange rind.  Nice after taste.    ~Rebecca

Like walking, open-mouthed, through a muddy pumpkin patch.  5/10.    ~Katelyn

If I had lowered my expectations by a couple miles I might be able to eat more.    ~Emily

It's a no from me.  2/10.    ~Lauren

Somebody stirred this stiffy pudding batter with a car battery.  3/10.    ~Hannah

Who fished that out of the toilet? More like sticky tofee poopy.  0/10.    ~Olivia

PREMIER PROTEIN PUMPKIN FLAVOR SHAKE

I used to like it.  Tonight it almost made me barf.  1/10.    ~Doug

Better be good for you if it tastes that bad.  This is not a treat.    ~Rebecca

I imagine that if your mom drinks a PSL and then breastfeeds you.  2/10.    ~Katelyn

Like a bile flavored jelly bean.  Satan makes people drink this.    ~Emily

People who hate themselves would get off on this.  1/10.    ~Lauren

Tastes like milk that caught the flu. 1/10.    ~Hannah

Smells like Big O Tires and tastes like the Big O Tires bathroom.  2/10.    ~Olivia

FUNKY CHUNKY PUMPKIN CARAMEL CORN

Dougie likey--but I tasted no pumpkin.  7/10.    ~Doug

Never worried about breaking my tooth on anything pumpkin before.    ~Rebecca

Did I forget what pumpkin is?  3/10.    ~Katelyn

I like this but I can't tell if it's because it's the least pumkiny thing tonight.    ~Emily

Might need braces again.  5/10.    ~Lauren

This is the kind of food that my dentist finds and asks me how often I floss. 5/10.    ~Hannah

Didn't taste bad but will add 2 years to my braces.  5/10.    ~Olivia

DEWEY'S BAKERY PUMPKIN SPICE COOKIES

Not bad for a boring, plain biscuit. 5/10.    ~Doug

Smells like a candle.  Tastes so much better than it looks.  Unassuming and good.    ~Rebecca

I yike dis.  7/10.    ~Katelyn

You will never find me eating this if there is decent food around.    ~Emily

I'm pretty sure soldiers kept these in their pockets during Civil War times.  5/10.    ~Lauren

It's a good thing we had all those juicy farts cause this was dry af. 6/10.    ~Hannah

It's giving Fantastic Mr. Fox it's really making me wanna go {messy eating noise gibberish}.  5/10.    ~Olivia

PUMPKIN PIE FLAVOR POP TARTS

Gross. 3/10.  Can't believe I liked Pop Tarts as a kid.    ~Doug

Tastes like frosted pie crust.  That's all.    ~Rebecca

Pop Tarts are the worstest creation.  3/10.    ~Katelyn

My tastes buds are on strike apparently because I didn't taste a single thing.    ~Emily

If my mom gave this to me as a child I would think it's because she didn't love me.  2/10.    ~Lauren

Dis is candle wax I fink.  4/10.    ~Hannah

Mmmm made me want to pop-fart.  7/10.    ~Olivia

ENTENMANN'S PUMPKIN POP-EMS DONUT HOLES

Not bad for a  donut hole.    ~Doug

Once an Entenmann's, always an Entenmann's.    ~Rebecca

Very fall vibes.  Put me in flannel and gimme a hot chockee. 6/10.    ~Katelyn

Forget junk food, this is punk food.    ~Emily

Would eat at least 2 more.  8/10.    ~Lauren

The second most dangerous hole.  7/10.    ~Hannah

DARE PUMPKIN SPICE SANDWICH CREME COOKIES

Yummy yummy with milk.  6/10.    ~Doug

The cookie part is good, but then you get to the candle wax creme... No thanks.    ~Rebecca

Bleghhhhh.  0/10.    ~Katelyn

Feels like I'm eating ash but in a fun festive way.  7/10.    ~Lauren

Like a lil pump sauce sandwiched between two wet concrete cookies.  4/10.    ~Hannah

PEPPERIDGE FARM MILANO PUMPKIN SPICE COOKIES

A very small tweak to a regular milano cookie.  8/10.    ~Doug

How does this taste like toothpaste?    ~Rebecca

Fishy cookies are not a good idea.  3/10.    ~Katelyn

If that was a dog treat I would've loved it.  1/10.    ~Lauren

I'm about to pop.  Don't serve the protein shake at my funeral.  5/10.    ~Hannah

TRADER JOE'S PUMPKIN SPICED TEENY TINY PRETZELS

Pretzle---it's good.  8/10.    ~Doug

A little salt goes a long way to make this a true pumpkin treat.    ~Rebecca

TJ's reigns as pumpkin king.  9/10.    ~Katelyn

Don't miss.  9/10.    ~Lauren

These won't be served at my funeral either because I would like to be buried with the rest of them.  10/10.    ~Hannah

JUST THE FUN PART PUMPKIN WHITE CHOCOLATE WAFFLE CONES

Not enough to make me happy.  0/10.    ~Doug

I think I just licked a dusty pumpkin candle and it was crunchy.    ~Rebecca

Just the not fun part.  These guys must sell carrot tops and orange peels.  1/10.    ~Katelyn

Straight up candle wax.  1/10.    ~Lauren

They found these in the back of the dressing room at TJ Maxx.  1/10.    ~Hannah

WERTHER'S ORIGINAL PUMPKIN SPICE SOFT CARAMELS

8/10.    ~Doug

I chewed and chewed and found no sign of pumpkin.    ~Rebecca

Salt is alw.....    ~Katelyn

Pumpkin is a fun little flavor until suddently is a grody form of torture.    ~Lauren

Eugh. 4/10.    ~Hannah

TRADER JOE'S PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE CROISSANTS

2/10.    ~Doug

Take an old McDonald's "holiday pie" past its expiration date.  Sell it to Trader Joe's.  Call it pumpkin cheesecake croissant.    ~Rebecca

They didn't stop long enough to ask whether they should.    ~Katelyn

Suspiciously less gross than it should be.  6/10.    ~Lauren

Empoonada strikes back.    ~Hannah

TRADER JOE'S PUMPKIN SCONES

Aftertaste.  1/10.    ~Doug

I liked chewing three times until the taste of that stinky rental truck attacked me and almost made me hurl.    ~Rebecca

My mouth has no moistcha.    ~Katelyn

Where is the flavor?  4/10.    ~Lauren

TRADER JOE'S PUMPKIN MINI ICE CREAM CONES

My forever fall favorite.  And I don't always love ice cream.    ~Rebecca

Still the best. 10/10.    ~Katelyn

What would happen if I started blogging again?

I just realized that my blog died at the same time I got a smart phone.  It drastically altered my need for a computer.  I most often use my phone for checking e-mail/Facebook/(and now Instagram), reconciling my financial transactions, and checking the news and weather.  I almost never sit down at my computer.  But blogging is not very convenient on my phone.  So it died.

I kind of miss it.

Maybe I'll resuscitate this poor old blog.

Let me try to think of something nice to say...

Happy Birthday to Me

The day before my birthday, I was in a slump, I've gotta say.  I was in a reflective mood, and I wasn't finding many happy thoughts floating around my head.  One thing that struck me was that, even though I don't feel old, I don't feel young anymore, either.  When I was young, I was always looking forward to the future.  There were always landmarks in my life that I was anticipating.  But now, I feel like my birthdays don't feel like one step closer to anything exciting.  They just feel like one step farther away from the most exciting times of my life.  I guess this is what "over the hill" really means--even though I'm not!

HOWEVER...

That funky mood couldn't last long, because I had a great birthday.  Here's why:

• It was Spring Break for the girls, so we all slept in late almost every day last week.  I love sleep!
• We didn't go anywhere for the break, but we did have some fun at home.  One night we went to dinner and ice skating as a family.  Everyone loved that activity!  In fact, they've been begging to go again.  Another day I took the girls to see "Mirror Mirror."  (It didn't quite live up to my high hopes, but it was a decent movie.  And we had popcorn.)
• I went to lunch and strolled through City Creek with my friend, Lindsay.
• Doug commented to a friend that we hadn't had a home cooked meal for quite a while, and it's true.  I didn't do much cooking last week!  I usually enjoy cooking because I enjoy eating, but I don't enjoy the mess it makes!  That's what I like to take a break from!
• We had some really nice weather!  Sunny and warm, bordering on "hot."  My favorite!
• Katelyn and Emily made a delicious breakfast for my birthday, while I slept in.  (And of course they cleaned it all up, too!)
• Doug took me on a fun birthday date.  He had big plans (snowmobiling), which didn't work out, but we had a good time anyway.  When he takes time off work to hang out with me, I really appreciate that.
• Last but not at all least, I got what I wanted for my birthday: a pool!

So I'm not really looking forward to my next birthday, but I am looking forward, more than ever, to SUMMER!!!

Dinner and a Show, and another Show!

Friday night, Doug and I enjoyed a doube date with daughters, Katelyn and Hannah, to see the traveling Broadway production of "Beauty and the Beast."

Almost ten years ago, some generous friends gave us tickets to see this show.  Doug and I took Katelyn, and without any preconceived expectations, we were blown away!  The actors were excellent, the costumes were clever, the dancing and special effects were magical.  And the lines we had memorized from the Disney movie were susprisingly hilarious when delivered live!  It remained at the top of my list of favorite Broadway shows I've seen.

So, when I saw it was returning to Salt Lake City this year, I had to buy some tickets!

Katelyn was super excited because she remembers seeing it last time, and because she is playing Madame LaGrande Bouche in her school's production of the same show this Spring.  Hannah was super excited because she got to wear her Belle dress, and I did my best to give her Belle's hairdo.



We headed downtown and looked for someplace close to the theater to eat.  Katelyn was craving Chinese, and Hannah would have been happy with a hamburger.  But we ended up at Benihana.  We figured it would be more memorable than any of our other options.  The food was good, and the chef was better.  Being able to sit down at a restaurant with your children and enjoy a nice meal is the best!

After our dinner show, we walked half a block South to the theater, just in time to sit down and enjoy the show.

Hannah got to sit next to her friend Jayde--also in her own Belle dress--and one of the best parts of the show was seeing those two little blondies squeeze each other, with huge grins on their faces, during the thrill of the final scene.

Epiphany

 - a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

I keep coming back to this blog, wishing I had something cute or endearing or comical to share....and coming up with writer's block again and again.

I guess I had better just accept and admit that some posts need to be bittersweet.

This has been a tough winter.  Weather-wise, it has been mild.  I don't know if there's any cause&effect, or just a correlation (Sarah!), but health-wise, this winter has been wild!  We've been struck with everything from colds and coughs that linger, to stomach issues, to strep throat, to cavities (I think Olivia has had 6 worked on now!!!) and other dental issues (Emily's got some major oral surgery scheduled soon),....  The list goes on and gets much worse, believe it or not.  But there are good things happening, too.  Katelyn got her braces off, and Hannah finally let her top tooth fall out, and they both look awesome!  We are grateful to have generally healthy bodies and minds. 

Doug keeps working at a mad pace.  As he says, it's like "sipping from the fire hose."  Doing the taxes this year has been much more stressful than ever before.  And yet, we're so grateful for his employment and he and I are both glad that he enjoys what he does.

I've been looking back at what I posted two or three years ago, and feeling nostalgic for some of those times, when my girls were so much younger.  A couple of years makes such a huge difference in the life of a child!  I miss the way things once were, and yet I sit at the dinner table and soak in the people and conversation around my table, and I think I wouldn't change a thing.  It gives me such a feeling of joy sometimes!

Lately I have become more keenly aware of the opposites in my life, and how much richer my life is because of them. 

When Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, and were being cast out of the Garden of Eden, scriptures record that God told Eve, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children."  And to Adam, he said, "cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life."

I had always sensed shame for Adam and Eve (and for all man, including myself) in those verses, believing that God was angry at their disobedience, and doling out a wrathful punishment.  But recently I was struck with this realization: God was not expressing his displeasure at all.  He was teaching Adam and Eve in that moment, and I imagine he did so with tenderness and love.  Adam and Eve knew that as a result of eating the fruit, they would progress in mortality.  They would begin their own family.  I bet that, as hard as it was to leave the garden, it was very exciting to anticipate their new, more grown-up life.  Eve probably anticipated her role as a mother with incredible joy.  Adam probably looked forward to new challenges.

Yet God wanted to remind Adam and Eve that, because they had eaten the fruit, they would know all sorts of extremes: not just the joy, but also the sorrow.

This was both a blessing and a curse.  Only when we experience the difficult, trying times, can we really appreciate and feel the joy in the good times.  Sorrow, sweat, and trial are not punishments--certainly not punishments from God.  They are a necessary part of reality.  And the bitter helps us seek and savor the sweet.

This & That

I've sort of followed through on my goal to get out of pajamas.  I've moved up to sweats.  ;)

It has been a mild winter (not much snow), but it's still winter (cold and ugly), and I'm getting so excited for March--just because it's that much closer to Spring, which is that much closer to Summer!

Today Olivia and I went to Target, and she picked out a package of fake nails.  I figure that's four bucks that I could have spent on a Happy Meal, and this is less fattening, more lasting entertainment.

Katelyn is getting better at driving.  Showing off turned out to be the ice breaker.  For the first couple of months, it took lots of cajoling to get her behind the wheel for a spin around the block.  But then one day, a friend walked home from school with her and dared her to drive him the rest of the way home to his house.  So she (we) did.  Then, after he showed up for an after-school ride about 3 more times, I told Katelyn this was not cool anymore.  Let him bum a ride off somebody else!  Anyway, it was a good way to get her more comfortable behind the wheel.  And I think I'm a pretty chill Mom when Katelyn is driving, if I do say so myself.  (She doesn't like it when I laugh, but I tell her it's better than if I screamed, right?)

Emily has gotten more, not less, obsessed with horses after a year-and-a-half of volunteering at Courage Reins (a nearby therapeutic riding stable).  She spends one or two afternoons a week, plus most of her Saturdays there.  I think it's 99% a wonderful thing that she's doing.  The 1% I dislike is the smell of her boots when I pick her up from that place--P.U.!!!

Lauren recently participated in her school's story telling festival.  She wants to do this every year, and it is somewhat puzzling to me, because memorizing is not her strong suit.   But I guess that tells you just how much she enjoys performing for an audience--especially if she can get them to laugh.  I am really proud of Lauren for doing this.  First of all, she works really hard to memorize and practice her story, with voices and feeling and all that.  Secondly, it is intimidating to be in the spotlight, no matter what you're doing.  Even Lauren must feel a little bit nervous about that.  So I'm really proud of her for doing it anyway.

Hannah lost one of her top teeth in California on January 1st.  The other one is loose, but not that loose.  So while her first permanent top tooth grows in, I can see that she's never going to have that big gummy gap.  Instead, we've had a couple of months of snaggle tooth grins from her, and that's pretty cute too.

Doug has made a deal with his friend Ryan.  They both have weight loss goals, and whoever loses their weight first gets to have the other guy mow his lawn this summer.  I sure hope Doug wins, because Ryan has a big yard, and we don't have a riding mower.  I guess that would be a fitting consequence.  If Doug doesn't meet his weight loss goal soon, he'll probably lose it by mowing Ryan's big lawn with our old push mower all summer long.

Time to Get Dressed

January is always a mellow month for me.  I think it should be called "Pajamuary" because I spend more hours of the day than usual in my pajamas during this first cold month of the year.  It's dark earlier in the evening, which leads me to get ready for bed earlier, and in the morning I get going later in the day, since usually I have nowhere to go and no desire to venture outside.

I love my flannel pj's, but I'm also looking forward to the end of this month and the beginning of one month closer to Spring. 

Maybe I need to set a goal for myself: to get dressed. 

LLLVWG

Would you like to know more about Livwig?

The first ever LLLVWG - Larson Ladies Las Vegas Weekend Getaway - or Livwig, for short -  took place MLKJr weekend 2012.

Just a month before the scheduled event, it was looking like it would be a skimpy turn-out.  But then, just days before it was to begin, 9 of the 10 invited guests had committed to come.  I'm sure our hostess, Sara, was scrambling and maybe just a tiny bit stressed with the last-minute planning, but she didn't appear to break a sweat.  She hosted us all at her home, and magically transformed her husband Thayne (hereafter known as T-Butler) into a very accommodating Guest Services Co-Coordinator.  Their cute little girls, Sage and Calla, probably got sick of the extra tickles and hugs I gave them, but they made excellent stand-ins when I was missing my own girlies at home!

Everyone arrived on schedule Friday afternoon, and after settling in, we kicked off the weekend with some Cafe Rio.  Yum.  That night we caught up with some candid conversation, but I might have been the party pooper who went to bed first.  I hate to miss anything, but I also hate to start drooling on Sara's couch pillows mid-conversation.  Besides, we had an early morning ahead of us!

Most of us got up bright and early Saturday morning, sampled Sara's impressive Continental Breakfast, and headed straight to the park for Boot Camp.  Sara, six months pregnant, must have gotten a good laugh when the first round of Boot Camp exercises kicked my butt, and I surrendered and decided to just walk the pathway around the park for the next 50 minutes.  (But I was not alone!)  Someday I would love to be in tip-top physical condition, and be able to keep up with the pregnant ladies (and other athletes) in their workout.

After a little more breakfast and freshening up, it was time to hit the nail salon for pedicures.  Ahhh, now this is more my speed!

With our piggies polished, we were ready to do some outlet shopping.  Once again, I'm totally digging this agenda.  Shopping made us hungry for lunch at Panera, and that made us tired for a nap.

But after nap time, there was a little excitement--Melaina, the only sister-in-law who couldn't make it to LLLVWG, was actually going to join us!  Picture time!!



I can't handle boot camp, but I can make a pyramid!




My mom will love this.  Here we are in age order of our husbands (not necessarily ourselves--we'll never tell!).  So from oldest to youngest, Left to Right,  Back Row: Scott's wife Kaelyn, Brad's wife Kristine, Doug's wife Me, Thayne's wife Sara, Clay's wife Amy, Bruce's wife Melaina, Clark's wife Liesel, Steve's wife Breanne, and Mark's wife Corinne.
Front Row: Momma Suzanne



Sara tried to introduce us to some Las Vegas culture that night, with a little trip to the Strip.  We had high hopes for the Food Truck fare we had heard would be there, but we weren't quite prepared for the long lines.  We wimped out, headed back to Sara's house with some really yummy thin-crust pizza, dropped by Yogurtland for dessert (that place did live up to expectations!), and then laughed ourselves silly with a game called "The Game of Things."  Questions about lessons learned too late, irritating things about men, and what you should never say to your mother were incredibly educational!  A really great party/get-to-know-you game that I might need to add to my own game closet now.

Sunday was low-key, with some sleeping in, some presents (an un-birthday party for all of us, and a baby shower for Sara - about to have her first boy - and Corinne - about to have her first baby, a girl), and some goodbyes.

That night, I once again fell asleep while the others were watching a chick flick.  Sara warned us not to even pack our party pooper pants, but I was just so wiped out from all the fun!

Monday morning, we experienced one more Las Vegas treat: a $5 breakfast buffet at a nearby casino!  We came late enough and stayed long enough to top off our omelettes and french toast and bacon with a couple slices of pie.  Hoo-boy!

Then it was time to head home.

A Faint Pulse

This blog isn't dead, it's just mostly dead. 

Quick recap:

Christmas was not white.  In fact, we've had hardly any snow this winter!  We had our biggest snowfall last night, and I didn't even lift a shovel, because I knew that it would melt away today--and it did!  I'm quite pleased about that.

Most of our Christmas gifts were electronic this year.  Surprised?  We got a new Wii system, and now all the old games are like new gifts, because it's been so long since we've used them.  Our favorite new game, though,  is Just Dance 3.  Well, it's everybody except Doug's favorite.  He's not a big fan of dancing in front of people, even when those people are his own children.  I'm sort of baffled by that.

Katelyn now has her own phone.  I was still a little nervous about taking that leap, but honestly, the "Kids' Shared Cell Phone" had already become 99% Katelyn's. 

Emily loves her iPod Touch.

Doug is happy to be able to hook his iPod into his car stereo now.

And I am learning, very slowly, to use my new iPhone.  Someone like me should not have such fancy technology.  It's kind of a shame to let it go to waste!  Probably my favorite thing about it is the nice camera I carry around in my purse now.  But I don't know how to get the pictures off my phone and into this blog yet.  So that's a bummer.

If it weren't for the younger girls, our Christmas morning would have been pretty dull.  Call me old-fashioned, but I find it more magical to see American Girl dolls under the tree than a bunch of fancy new gadgets.

Two days after Christmas, we celebrated Lauren's 10th birthday.  She had a breakfast party, with all her friends in pajamas.

The following day, we all headed to California.  Katelyn left early in the morning, on a bus, with the high school band.  The rest of us took a flight that afternoon and beat her to California by hours!  The highlights of this trip included seeing Katelyn march down Main Street in a Disneyland parade; watching the AFHS Band's field show in the Tournament of Roses Bandfest; and visiting family.  Lowlights were unfortunately abundant, and included: diahrrea at Disneyland; puking in cabs and airports; and a towed rental car just when we should have been turning it in and catching a flight home.

After that crazy trip, I was just a little bit anxious about our next trip: less than 24 hours after coming home from California, Doug and I left the girls home with Grandma L. and went to Key West, Florida.  Doug had a work conference, and I planned to spend evenings with him, and my days all alone, sleeping, reading, and soaking up some sunshine. 

California should have clued me in.  I should have expected the worst.  But I didn't.

I did not expect to be cold in Key West.  But I was.  The daytime high when we arrived was 57 degrees.  Don't worry, it did eventually warm up.  And I did spend plenty of time reading and sleeping.  The day we left, Florida was lovely and warm!

But I was so happy to come back to the cold, just because I was missing my kids, my home, and even my routine!

Before I could get back into the swing of things, however, I had to pack for one more trip.  This time, I left Doug and the girls at home, and headed to Las Vegas for a weekend with the in-laws.  Sounds strange, I know, but believe it or not, I had the lowest expectations for this trip, and it was probably the most relaxing and enjoyable of all three!  It was really a treasure to spend a couple of days with my eight sisters-in-law and my mother-in-law, and to get to know each other and bond better as ourselves, without kids & husbands attached.


Speaking of attached....I wish this little post had some pictures attached, but my laptop is mysteriously dead (more dead than this blog is), so I can't upload anything from my real camera without too much effort; and like I said, I haven't yet figured out my phone.

If this blog wasn't dead before, after this lame post, it really might be.  Sorry!

Candy Houses

Building graham cracker houses has been a Christmas tradition my mother-in-law started long ago, and it has been carried on by most of her sons' families every year.  For me, this has never been an eagerly anticipated holiday activity.  It takes a lot of time, makes a lot of mess, and wastes a lot of candy!  Plus, I hate having my kitchen counter occupied by the candy houses for days at this busy baking season!

Until now.

I tried out a new recipe for icing that made all the difference!  We made our houses in less than two hours, start to finish.  No need to spend hours holding pieces in place waiting for the icing to harden.  This stuff is like superglue!   It made the building process easy, and the decorating more fun.  This year, making our candy houses was a fun activity, not terribly messy, and enjoyed by every single one of us.  Even Olivia.  Especially Doug.

Here's the recipe:

Beat 3 egg whites + 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, until stiff.  Gradually add 1 pound powdered sugar.

That's it.

I made it in my Bosch mixer, and it took no time at all.  Then I scooped it into Wilton disposable decorating bags.  I doubled the recipe and we had enough for each of us to have our own icing bag, with enough icing to finish a small house. 

Now I'm actually looking forward to doing this again next year!  However, Doug likes to remind me that whenever I'm looking forward to something, it never seems to live up to my anticipation.  So maybe it was my bad attitude (combined with the magic icing!) that made this year so surprisingly pleasant!  Also, it may be a glimpse of what life is like once you move out of the baby/toddler stage into the "family with older kids" stage.  That could definitely have something to do with it!