Stay at home with Abbi

Dance Party

2012-01-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

Daniel got this video last night. Marston and Hazel love to have dance parties to Kidz Bop music. It's really fun to watch. Hazel insists that she dance on the coffee table.

My 31st Birthday

2012-01-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

For my birthday this year, Daniel took me to Napa Valley. You might think, why go there when you don't drink wine. But it was so much fun just to have time alone with my husband. We drove up Hwy 29 to Calistoga. There was so much to look at, I was really glad I wasn't the one driving. Rolling hills, vineyard after vineyard after vineyard. All with beautiful homes. One thing I really wanted to do was to drive by the French Laundry. It's a fancy restaurant that believes in eating small courses with each course featuring a different ingredient. A meal there would be a once in a life time experience. For an evening there you need reservations months in advance and it's around $250 for a nine course meal. Not in the budget.
We continued to drive north to Calistoga where we walked around cute shops and art galleries. It was a wonderful couple of days. Thank you Daniel for taking me away and thank you grandma and grandpa Anderson for watching our little monkeys while we were gone.

The French Laundry garden. They grow almost everything they serve. Amazing. They even had a chicken coop with very pampered chickens and a couple of bee hives.

That's it. The French Laundry.

One of the only original wineries left in Napa. This house was built in 1884. Gorgeous!!!

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

2012-01-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

I love love love this all purpose cleaner. I make it myself and it saves me tons of money. I have black granite counter tops and they are very hard to clean without the help of an all purpose cleaner. I was using this J.R Watkins one and I loved it but it was $6.00 a pop. I go through a bottle in about 2 weeks so it was getting a bit expensive. My lovely mother-in-law gave me an all-purpose cleaner recipe that worked for her so I gave it a try. Now that's all I use.

All-Purpose Cleaner
2 cups water
3 TBSP vinegar
1 tsp Borax
Whisk together and pour into a spray bottle. Add:
1 TBSP dish soap
Shake.

I've been refilling this bottle with my homemade stuff for about a year now. I think it's held up nicely.

Darlene gave me a baggie of the borax becuase it comes in a huge box.

best of 2011

2012-01-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

Here it is, our year in a nutshell. I am very blessed.

Our Hazel girl joined us in November of 2010 but we are still so happy she's here. She really is a doll.

Her first food.

Daniel fashioned up a paint booth to paint the kitchen cabinets.

Took a long time to paint but we are still happy with our kitchen.

Sweet boy with his curious george that used to be his uncle Ben's.

Our Yosemite trip and the bear we got to meet. Yikes!

Trip to the Idaho ranch in May. Best time of year to go there. Just gorgeous!

She is the cutest when she gets up in the morning.

My beautiful garden.

Cowboy Marston getting ready for the Preston Night Rodeo.

Marston turned 3!

Went boating on Lake Tahoe with Daniel's family.

Picking raspberries at the ranch with Grandma.

Cowboy Dan at the Preston Rodeo.

Bishop's pumpkin patch.

Completed 4 races in 2011. American River half marathon, Eppies triantholn, Ragnar Relay in Napa, and the Santa Barbara half marathon.

Got to host Thanksgiving this year. Loved it. Loved all the family.

Hazel turned 1!

Family pictures in a walnut orchard. Thanks Brooke!

This little guy is now potty trained! WAHOO!!!

I turned 30!

One magical Christmas

2012-01-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Hope you did too.

My little man and a hammer

2011-12-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

Marston and his grandpa Harold made a bird house together last Saturday. It was so cute. Marston was such a good little wood worker. He hammered in the nails and screwed in the screws. I think he did a great job. We are going to paint it this week and hang it outside to see if any birds want a nice little home to live in. Thanks grandpa Harold!

Lincoln Christmas Parade

2011-12-09T14:20:00.001-08:00

Every year we love to go to the Lincoln Christmas Parade. It's a super small parade but it's a lot of fun to kick off the season. Lots of goats, horses, Mexicans on horses, lights, candy and santa. What's not to love about that?!?!

She's Crafty

2011-12-03T14:38:00.001-08:00

I've been feeling crafty lately and here are some of my projects for Christmas. I love pinterest and I found a picture of this letter wreath a little bit ago and I got a chance to make it with a few of my girlfriends the other night. I think it turned out cute. Me likey. I also dug out a half-way made advent calender that my mother-in-law started for me a couple of years ago. I just got the pattern and all the stuff to finish it. I have all the ornaments (25) to sew/glue and a few more deer and birds to make on the tree. Easy...right? We'll see if it gets done this year or next but for now I think it's cute enough to hang.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T15:05:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was a blast. I got to have my parents, Bethie and Isaac and Jenn come into town for a couple of days. It was great to have my family here and play with my kids. We had a great time visiting, eating, shopping, eating, visiting, shopping and eating. I love having my family visit. Marston and Hazel loved it to. Thanksgiving day was a lot of fun. Bethie and Daniel and I went on a 4 mile Thanksgiving run with a group of friends. I had a great time. It always feels good to exercise on Thanksgiving. Then we came home and began cooking. Everything turned out beautifully. Harold and Darlene and Erik joined us and we sat down to a lovely meal. I have a lot to be grateful this year. We have a steady job, cars that run, healthly kids, food on the table, the gospel and a great ward, and wonderful, supportative family and friends.

This year I made a thankful banner and had everyone write what they were thankful for on leaves. I'm happy how it turned out. Maybe next year I wll actually paint a tree branch for the leaves.

Rubbing the love into the turkey always makes it taste better. Beth, Dan and I did a thanksgiving turkey run that morning. That is way I am still sweaty.

Jenn working her stuffing magic.

Dan and Erik making butter.

Beth and Marston.

Isaac and my dad making butter. It looks like my dad is still saying to Isaac, "when are you going to get it?"

Hazel in her new outfit from my mom and Bethie.

There's the pirate smile.

This year I made crock pot mashed potatoes. They turned out wonderfully. To save space in the kitchen, I put the crock pot in the garage on Dan's work bench.

Thanksgiving table.

Beautiful meal along with beautfiul company.

Isaac and Jenn

Erik, Mama Darlene and Daniel

Harold and Erik

We played charades with everyone and it was a lot of fun.

Any guesses?

So full we all needed to lay flat.

Erik resting before pie.

The pies-apple, pecan and pumpkin.

Bethie enjoying her pies.

This is the day after Thanksgiving. She and Daniel shared a piece of pumpkin pie. She loved it.

Hazel and ranch grandma enjoying each other.

Pre-Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-22T09:07:00.001-08:00

I get to have Thanksgiving at my house this year. I love hosting Thanksgiving. I've only done it a couple of times but I actually love all the planning and shopping and decorating that goes into it. This year my parents, Isaac and Jenn, Beth, Erik, and Daniel's parents are coming. That's 10 adults and 2 kids. A perfect number. I am going to try a couple of new recipes this time around. Here's the menu:

Turkey-Alton Brown from the Food Network has a recipe for turkey that people are raving about. I figure I'll give it a try. He brine's it over night then stuffs it with an apple, cinnamon sticks and herbs. Looks amazing. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

Stuffing- My mom make this for us every year. I really like her recipe. It's a basic stuffing recipe but I love it.

Mashed Potatoes-A couple of years ago, I had everything ready for the big Thanksgiving meal and I forgot to do the potatoes. That memory haunts me. So this year I am going to try a crock pot mashed potato recipe. I made it a couple of weeks ago and it was delicious. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-mashed-potatoes/

Sweet Potatoes-Years past I've has a recipe with brown sugar and pecans but I think I'm going to wing it this year. I love them just peeled and cubed with butter and brown sugar topped with marshmallows.

Green Beans-Steamed with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Jello-Every year we make the jello salad that my grandma used to make and it is yummy. But this year I'm going to make a jello that my friend Holly made for a relief society activity a while back. It has a sweet pretzel crust, cream cheese center and raspberry jello top. It really is the best.

Cranberry Sauce-I grew up on the canned stuff so anything homemade is great to me. I made a Martha Stewart recipe with orange and ginger a couple of years ago. It was really tasty but a bit strong on the ginger for me. This year I'm going to try a recipe I found on Our Best Bites blog. It has cinnamon and cloves in it and you bake it so you don't have to watch it on the stove. http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/11/cranberry-sauce/

Rolls-Harold and Darlene have a terrific roll recipe. They are going to bring the rolls so I don't have to worry about that.

Apple Pie-Darlene is making this one. She makes a beautiful apple pie.

Pecan Pie-I tried to make a chocolate pecan pie a couple of years ago and wished I had just made the plain old pecan pie that everyone loves.

Pumpkin Pie- I love making pumpkin pie. My recipe has cream cheese and half and half so it is creamy and delicious. Topped with fresh sweet cream is heaven in my book.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake-I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites and thought it might be fun to try. Looks amazing. http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/11/layered-pumpkin-pie-toffee-cheesecake/

So I think that about covers it. I'll keep you posted on how things turn out.

Sick house

2011-11-19T15:57:00.001-08:00

For the past 2 weeks we have been all been sick and we can't seem to shake it. I am getting real tired of it and hope that we are putting in our time so that none of us are sick for the holidays. Here's hoping.

Santa Barbara Half Marathon

2011-11-13T21:13:00.001-08:00

I finish my 4th half marathon in 2 years. I am a little disappointed in my performance but I must say I have been sick for over a week. I had bad chest congestion that made it difficult to breath. But I did it and feel good about having another race under my belt. Santa Barbara is gorgeous! The course was beautiful. Through nice neighborhoods, paths through parks and the last 3 miles were a decent down to the beach. It had rained the night before so the air was crisp and clean and it smelled of eucalyptus and salt ocean air. That part was wonderful. My goal was to make it in under 2 hours and I kept that pace (about a 9 minute mile) for the first half but then it hit me and I had to walk some of it. My time went in the toilet at that point. I finished at 2 hours and 14 minutes. My worst official time yet. Oh well.

I got to leave the kids and husband at home and enjoy some girl time with my sister in law, Brooke. It was great to have some time to build our friendship without distractions from the little ones. I was so happy to have her support at the finish line! I really enjoyed the trip.

The finish line. Thanks, Brooke for standing there for so long!

Right after my race. Smiling because I'm sitting.

This was across the street from the finish line.

My 5th race metal.

This was the view coming into the finish. Beautiful!

Hazel's birthday

2011-11-09T21:30:00.001-08:00

My sweet Hazel girl turned 1 on the 7th. We decided to go to Fairy Tale Town in Sacramento for her birthday party. We went the Saturday before her birthday. Fairy Tale Town is awesome. It's a giant playground perfect for toddlers. It has a giant shoe slide for the lady who lived in a shoe, a rabbit hole slide, Christopher Robin's tree house, Robin Hood's forest, a giant foot slide for Jack and the beanstalk, a pirate ship, King Aurthur's castle, farm animals, a barn with a slide, Cinderella's pumpkin carriage and more. Hazel, Marston and my nephew Evan had a blast. It was a chilly day but still fun. After we went to the park outside Fairy Tale Town and had a picnic. It was a nice day. Simple. By the time we sang Hazel happy birthday she was so tired and a little sick, she didn't care about her cake and presents.

On her actual birthday, the poor girl had the flu, feel down the stairs, choked on an apple, and fell and busted her lip on the coffee table. It was kind of a horrible day for her. I'm glad she won't remember it.

Yesterday she had her 12 month check up. She is 20 lbs and 29 inches. In the 30th percentile for both. She also got 6 (yes 6!) shots. And I still need to take her to get her to get a blood sample from the lab and a flu booster in a month. Poor girl.

Our house has been sick with the flu since Saturday. Runny noses, coughs, and throwning up have been our days. Not fun at all.

I have a half marathon in Santa Barbara this Saturday. Considering the past week of illness and not making all my long runs, I think this race is going to be tough. We'll see how I do. I wanted to make it under 2 hours but now I just want to be able to finish it. Low expectations.

Cinderella's coach at Fairy Tale Town.

Fairy Tale Town.

The fear in my face! Hazel is as cool as a cucumber. Makes me laugh.

Hazel looks so excited.

Once again, really excited.

We made sure Marston and Evan got to open a present too.

I made cake pops for everyone. Hazel likes to crawl under the computer desk and eat.

Evidence that we tried to make Hazel's birthday fun. Balloons are fun, right?!?! PS-we were all wearing stripes. Obsessed with stripes-maybe.

Pumpkin patches and Halloween

2011-11-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

We got to go to several pumpkin patches this October. My kids loved it. We went to a small one in Granite Bay, Zittel Farms in Folsom and Bishop's pumpkin farm in Wheatland. It was so fun. Marston loved to climb on the giant pumpkins and jump off. We got to ride the train at Bishop's and pet the goats at Zittel's. For Halloween this year, Marston wanted to be a puppy. I made his costume from a picture of a costume from Potterybarn Kids. It turned out kinda cute. He loved wearing it and that was a first for him. Hazel was a mermaid. She was adorable. Good colors for her. Trunk or treat at our church was Saturday night and Marston had a grand time going from trunk to trunk saying trick or treat. Then the fun continued on Halloween. We went to Dan's parent's house in Grantite Bay and had a yummy dinner and went trick or treating around their house. After every house, Marston would ask "more trick or treating"? It was really cute. I'm a little sad October is over.

25 ways to wear a scarf.

2011-10-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

I found this video on a design site I like to visit every once and a while, http://jonesdesigncompany.com/. Thought it was fun. I love wearing scarfs and video gets me excited for cooler weather.

Napa Valley Ragnar

2011-09-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

I made the mistake of letting Marston play with our camera and it is now broken. So I have no pictures from my Ragnar race. Okay, I have a few from the other girls but I have none of my own. These I copied from facebook. Hopefully I'll get more later.

Ragnar was awesome. It's a relay race that went from the Golden Gate Bridge to Napa Valley (a little under 200 miles). There are teams of 12 and each teammate does 3 legs. We run for 30 plus hours straight. I was runner number 10 and I had a total of 20.8 miles. My first leg was 7.8 miles through the hills north of San Francisco on Point Reyes/Petaluma Rd. It was beautiful. I got to run past the Cheese Factory where Dan and I went when we were first "friends". After my leg I felt pretty good. Tired from the hills but okay. A couple hours later, I started to feel really sick. I began to throw up and didn't stop for hours. I couldn't keep anything down. I think I throw up 8 times. At one of the exchanges we ran into my home teacher and he gave me a blessing. After that I went back to the hotel and slept. They just drove through my second leg. I was really bummed. I was looking forward to my night run but I think if I had not slept I would not have been able to finish. After some rest I got back in the car and continued on with my team. I felt much better, not 100% but okay enough to finish. I ran my third leg of 6.8 miles and had my team van stop often to cheer me on. It was incredible. I ran on this road that went stright through the most beautiful vineyards I've ever seen. I finished it, hot, sweaty and tired. I'm still sad I didn't get to do my 2nd leg. I was so sick. I still can't figure out why. I did everything right. My body was ready. I drank lots of water the day before and that morning. I had a good breakfast and energy bars. I carried water on my run and ate a package of Stingers. I don't know what happened. Part of me thinks that I needed to go through something like that so that I would have faith and trust in a Priesthood blessing. I know that's what allowed me to feel well enough to do my third leg. I felt lifted up when I should have been totally energy zapped. The power of prayer. Heavenly Father knows each of us and is ready to support when asked. There were many prayers on my behalf and for that I am thankful. It was a very rewarding weekend. Good times with girlfriends, pushing our bodies to do something incredible. Well worth the sweat and tears.

i phone pictures

2011-09-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

We came home from our trip to Idaho and found this. I had my neighbor come by to pick veggies while we were gone. I guess they miss this one.

We went to Tahoe for the day with Daniel's sweet parents. We love burgers from this dumpy place. And shakes too, of course.

This is the first time we saw Hazel pull herself up on the table. She is hard to keep up with!

My Dear Friend

2011-09-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

My heart aches. My dear friend and mission companion passed away last Sunday night. She lost her short life to cancer. She was such an amazing person. She was always smiling and making people laugh. We were companions while I was in a small village called Wollerau. We were together for 5 months there. We has a grand time together. I have many great memories with her. She has touched my life and taught me to smile when I don't want to and to see blessings everywhere. I will miss my friend.

Going up some ski slope in Chur Switzerland.

Camping in Tahoe

2011-09-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

We went camping at Lake Tahoe to celebrate Darlene's birthday. It was fun...mostly. It's hard camping with 2 little ones. The best part was boating. Daniel's dad rented a really cool speed boat and we spent the day on the lake. It was beautiful. Just breath taking.

Marston never wears clothes.

Love our tent. It can fit an aerobed air matress, a pack and play, a sleeping bag and still have room for our gear.

Still just in a diaper.

This is in emeral bay at Vickingsholm. Dan is swimming to the island with the tea house.

This is beginning to be a joke.

2011-08-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

I like blogs. I read blogs all the time, everyday. But for some reason I'm having a super hard time keeping up with my own blog. There are a couple of reasons, really, just plain excuses. Number one, I see other people's blogs and think; how in the world did they make theirs so cute. Cute backgrounds and beautiful photos. I decided it is time for an upgrade on my camera. I want beautiful photos. Especially of my kids. I think I'm ready for an actual lens camera, looking at the Canon Rebel series as a gateway lens camera. Not too expensive but I still have to save for it so it might not be till Christmas. I can wait. Number two, I can't figure out blogspot. Stupid-I know! I'd like to think of myself as being a smart and fairly computer savy but for some dumb reason this stuff is comfusing to me. Sometimes I can add pictures and videos and sometimes it won't let me. Today, it's letting me. And I just want a simple background, large pictures and text. Oh well. I'll settle for this. And number three, I have a beautiful life. I have wonderful kids and a sexy husband that provides enough for me to stay at home. I am an overall happy person. Heathly and happy. I cook, clean, change diapers (more than I'd like), wake up early and run and have fun with my kids. Nothing really that interesting to write about. Nothing that will send anyone into deep thought or reflection. Nothing that will change the world.

Okay so here it is, I am going to do better. I am not going to care that my blog might be boring to some people. I think it is good for me to share my life with my family and friends that don't live near me. And that happens to be a lot of people. There. Enough said.

These pictures are from our recent trip Idaho for rodeo weekend.

Our Yosemite Trip

2011-05-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to go to Yosemite for about a year now and I finally booked the trip. I just got a unheated tent cabin in Curry Village for 1 night but was super excited. I was hoping for a peaceful couple of days, relaxing in one of the most incredible places in the world. But I forgot that I have a very busy almost 3 year old boy and a 6 month old baby. Marston got so excited to be in dirt and have a world of sticks and rocks to throw it made it a bit hard to hike. He had to touch every single rock he came across and he wasn't keen on sitting in the stroller. This made things difficult when hiking. Okay - maybe not difficult but very very slow. It was beautiful nonetheless. A perfect time of year to go. 65 and sunny, waterfalls everywhere, and not so many people. We hiked the whole time we were there. We went up to Yosemite Falls, to Yosemite village, up to mirror lake, to the Awahnee hotel and back to the village. Between the 2 days I think we hiked about 15 miles. The night was cold. Marston and Daniel slept soundly in their very own sleeping bags, while Hazel and I had 8 wool blankets. Hazel woke up 6 times and was not happy. I nursed her for what seemed like the whole night. I was pretty tired the next day but happy to have the night over. It was a good trip but I was glad to come home and sleep in my own bed.

By the way, we saw a bear. Check out the photo!

Yosemite Falls.

"Must throw rocks! Must throw rocks!"

It's terrible but to settle Marston down we brought our dvd player. Always does the trick!

Our tent cabin. Very comfortable.

On our hike to Mirror lake we came across a very large bear. Scary! We backed away slowly and let it have it's space.

In the first 10 minutes, Marston fell and busted his lip.

Has it really been almost 2 months?!?!

2011-04-21T10:55:00.001-07:00

So I've had some problems with my blog and just could not figure it out. I've let weeks turn into months and I still can't figure out the problem. Daniel suggested that I try to use the chrome browser and not explorer and problem fixed.

Let's see. Hazel is now 6 months and rolls all over the house. She has 2 bottom teeth and loves food. I can't believe that a half a year has gone by with her. She is still such a doll. Marston is busy. He is such a good brother. The other day, we were at Daniel's parents house and little Evan (our nephew) took a toy from Hazel (which she could care less about). Marston snatched the toy back and did a basketball block so he couldn't take it again.

We have been painting our kitchen cabinets. It took us about 6 weeks but it looks beautiful. I am so happy how it turned out. Daniel took off the cabinet doors and drawers and painted them with the sprayer and I painted the frames with a brush. We painted the outside cabinets white (same white as base boards) and the island pottery barn terra cotta. It totally changes the whole house. I love it. Thank you Daniel for your hard work. It makes me happy to have a white kitchen. The next thing on my list is a curtain for above the kitchen windows and a new kitchen sink faucet. The faucet I want is really expensive so that probably won't be happening soon and I have an idea for the curtain but I need to find the right fabric.

Daniel has also been working on a motorized bike. He bought a beach cruiser and attached a motor to it so he can ride to work without all the sweat. He painted it orange and likes to call it his "creamcycle". It gets 100 miles to the gallon and he can ride in the bike lane all the way to work. Brings a silly smile to my face every time I think about it.

I ran my 3rd half marathon last Saturday. It was so much fun. I got my personal best with 2 hours and 4 minutes. I felt really good for the first 10 miles and then the last 3 were a struggle. But I did it and feel really good about finishing. My next race is the Ragner race. It's from the Golden Gate bridge to Napa valley. 200 miles, I think, we are in teams of 12 and run for about 24 hours. Each person has 3 legs. It's in September and I'm super excited about it.

The Easter bunny came!!!

The Easter bunny brought Hazel mum mums.

Our little family Easter Sunday.

She has to be the cutest girl ever! My mom made the skirt. Too cute!

Marston had a lot of fun hunting for eggs at Grandpa's house.

American River Parkway Half Marathon-CHECK!

Kitchen before.

Kitchen after.

Daniel made a spray station in the garage. He was out there almost every night for weeks. Thanks dude!

Hazel's first food.

My little Hazelnut.

2011-02-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

Hazel is a doll! She is just so sweet and we are thrilled she is in our family. She is 3 months here and rolling over already. Cute as a button!

Can you say cords? Daniel was mounting our tv to the wall the day I took this. How many cords does one man need...sheesh!

Perfectly Spring

2011-02-26T17:26:00.000-08:00

One good thing about California living is spring comes in February. I got to decorate a relief society activity and I used a lot of burlap. This is what the centerpieces looked like. I think I'll keep one out. It makes me happy.

The month of January and then some

2011-02-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

Boring. Uneventful. Vanilla, no toppings.
But beautiful, even joyful.
Content.

Over the holidays

2011-01-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

It's taken me this long to post Christmas pictures...

We had a lovely Christmas. Christmas Eve we had Daniel's family come over for a big ham and potatoes meal. We played games and read Luke 2. Dan's parents and brother Erik stayed the night so we could have Christmas morning together. It was a lot of fun. I loved watching Marston come down the stairs to see that Santa came. I can't wait for more years to come.

I got to have 2 of my brothers visit. Isaac and Jenn and Adam and Julie came a couple days after Christmas. It was so fun to laugh with them. I miss being around them. It's always an adventure-never a dull moment. We hung out, went into the city, went up to Placerville and just visited. I feel really lucky to have brothers that would take the time and spend the money to visit their sister.

January 2nd we blessed Hazel. She was a doll. Slept through the whole thing. Daniel gave her a beautiful blessing. I feel blessed to have a worthy priesthood holder as a husband to bless the lives of our children. We had family and friends over after for a little lunch. I loved it! Lots of people and lots of yummy food.

Christmas is over. Decorations are down. Another year has started. My house feels a little cold and empty but it's nice to have a new beginning.

Christmas morning.

Marston would open one gift, want to play with that one and forget about the rest. It was really cute to watch.

Sweet baby girl at 7 weeks.

This is the only proof that I have that my brothers Adam and Isaac and their wives, Julie and Jenn came to visit. We spent the day in San Francisco. Here we are riding the cable cars.

Marston loved riding the "choo-choo".

Hazel and mama on the day of her blessing.

The Gnome

2011-01-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

I threw a party in 2006. We played silly games and won prizes. Daniel bought the prizes at the dollar store. My dad won a gnome riding a frog. He left it at our house. We took it and hid it in their house. They found it and hid it in our house. We found it, took it back and hid it. This has been a sneaky battle for the past 4 years. The game continues.

What a wonderful life...

2010-12-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for my beautiful family. I have the great fortune of being a part of a wonderful family, with great brothers and sisters (yes-that includes my in-laws too) and lovely parents (and in-laws) who show love and friendship constantly. I also am extremely lucky to have landed such a man as my Daniel and together create a family of our own. I am in love with our little red headed babies. They are so fun to watch grow and discover their world. It really is difficult to find words that properly describe my feelings about being a mother. I love it-and it makes me kinda crazy-but I love it. Marston is so sweet with Hazel. Every morning he wakes up and the first thing he says is "baby?" and we have to find Hazel and make sure she is alright. He is growing like a weed. Loves to jump, wrestle, throw balls, and play with trains, planes and automobiles. Hazel is cooing already. She is getting into a nice routine and smiles a lot. Really really sweet. She looks at you with a look that she is knows so much and just can't say it. It's amazing. I have much to be grateful for. I have a warm home, I have a refrigerator with food in it, I have a car, I have a husband that has a job that provides enough for me to be a stay at home mommy, I have a healthy family, I have the gospel. What a wonderful life!

Brooke took Hazel's newborn pictures. She is 4 days old here.

Marston loves to play in my flower boxes but always needs a good wash down after.

Daniel turned 28 this year.

I sent Daniel and Erik to Lowe's for our Christmas tree this year while I took a nap. Teeheehee!

Started running again. Feels wonderful!

Marston ready for church.

Cute Hazel!

We met Ben and Telia in San Francisco. Our boys love each other.

Hazel and Eliza.

Harold and Darlene in front of a giant castle made from sugar.

Trying to get Christmas pictures was a bit of a mess. This is one of the best...

Marston looking dapper.

Say Hello to Hazel Abigail

2010-11-13T22:37:00.000-08:00

We are happy to announce that our baby girl is finally here! I went into labor, 6 days late, last Saturday night. We went to the hospital and 8 hours later, we have a new member of our family. She was 10.1 pounds and 21 inches long! A big baby! I am still in shock. I only pushed for about 15 minutes and everything seemed very calm and relaxed. It was very pleasant- as far as birthing goes. She is a beautiful little girl with lots and lots of red hair. In fact, it is exactly the same color as Marston's hair when he was born. Who knew that we would get 2 kids with beautiful red hair. She is very sweet and we are thrilled to have her here.

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This is William, Hazel's cousin, born only a day after her.

This is Marston when he was about a week old. Same color hair as Hazel.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween weekend. Friday we joined Daniel's parent's ward trunk-or-treat in Placerville. We mostly ate chili and hotdogs and socialized with Dan's old ward rather than collecting candy with Marston-he would not keep his costume on. It was a lot of fun. Saturday was our ward's trunk-or-treat. We made Marston wear his costume and once he figured out that when he had it on he got candy, he kept it on. It was combined with 4 Lincoln wards and there were a ton of families. Daniel went as a cowboy and I went as mother earth (I made a felt earth and pinned it to my tummy). We had a really good time. Sunday we just handed out candy to our neighborhood kids. Every time the doorbell rang, Marston would run to the door ready to put candy in the kid's bags. I'm a little sad Halloween is over. It is really one of my favorite holidays. Now I have to wait a whole year for the festivities to begin again.

Apple Hill-about a week ago.

Our little monkey.

The only way he would keep his costume on is when we were collecting candy at our ward's trunk-or-treat.

Marston's loot.

And he called me Mama

2010-10-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

For the first time yesterday, Marston called me mama. My heart melts for those moments and makes me happy to be a mother.

38 Weeks LARGE

2010-10-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

I'm now 38 weeks pregnant. I had an appointment yesterday and the doctor told me I was dilated to 3 cm but her head was not engaged. Last night was miserable. I had irregular contractions the whole night, enough to keep me up but not enough to warrant a hospital visit. I guess it's just a waiting game from here on out. Come on baby!

38 Weeks - day of my baby shower

Making applesauce

2010-10-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

I decided this was the year for canning - for some odd reason. I've done salsa, strawberry jam, peaches and a couple of days ago I did 22 quarts of applesauce. I'm tired of canning.

Applesauce is surprisingly easy but it took me all day. The day before, Marston and I went up to Apple Hill to an orchard to get our apples. I bought 2 bushels (80 lbs) of golden delicious seconds. Because they were seconds I got them all for $24.

I really do like the idea of knowing exactly where the food my family eats comes from. I think that's the main reason I do it. It also saves a lot of money in the long run.

We visited several orchards while we were at Apple Hill. Love that place!

2 bushels of golden delicious.

I would chop the apples and Marston would put them into the pot.

Victoria strainer-made making so much applesauce so easy.

Daniel helped with a batch when he got home from work.

The finished product. Yummy applesauce.

Week in Tahoe

2010-10-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

We got to stay in Tahoe last week. It was great. We just relaxed and did everything at snails pace. We walked around Tallac, skipped rocks at Fallen Leaf Lake, ate lots of ice cream and visited the pool daily. It was lovely!

Marston with his brand new Strider bike. He loves it!

Throwing rocks at Tallac.

Fallen Leaf Lake.

We did a lot of rock throwing while we were there!

Skipping rocks at Fallen Leaf Lake.

Maternity Pictures

2010-09-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to have a sister in law (Brooke Trogdon) who is a super talented photographer. I got to take some maternity shoots a couple of days ago with her. I surprised myself and actually had a good time. I am usually pretty shy with stuff like this but it was kinda fun. I am 33 weeks and feel like I am ready to pop. I actually had a doctor's appointment yesterday and he said I'm measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. So, we'll see what happens.

Not-So-Snappy Ginger Snaps

2010-09-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

One of Daniel's favorite cookie is ginger snaps. I have been making these for a couple of years now and I must say they are pretty tasty. They are not crispy but soft and chewy and they have the perfect amount of spice. I love to double the batch and make ice cream sandwiches with them. Plus, they make your house smell wonderful.

Ginger Snaps

¾ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2 ¼ cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

Cream together butter and sugar. Stir in molasses and egg. Add 1 cup of flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and ground cloves. Stir until combined. Add remaining flour. Chill dough in freezer for 15 minutes. Shape sough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar.

Bake on greased cookie sheets at 375° for 10 minutes.

A day in the life of a two-year-old

2010-09-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

So I thought it might be fun to take lots of pictures throughout our day. This is what we did yesterday.

Marston helping me water the blueberries. Yes, one of them got fried on one of the really hot days here so we're trying to bring life back into it.

Reading books while I do laundry.

Grandma Anderson came over to watch Marston while I got to go to lunch with Daniel. Thanks Grandma!

Grandma and Marston playing games.

Marston fell asleep in Grandma's arms almost the whole time I was gone. I took him up to his bed when I got home to give Grandma's arms a rest.

This is how Marston wakes up from his naps. It takes him a little while before he is fully awake and happy.

Eating lunch at 2 pm.

Playing.

Coloring. He loves to peel off the crayon wrappers.

Playing in the garden.

On our way to the dry cleaners and grocery store.

At the grocery store, eating grapes. Love this look.

Daddy finally home.

Daniel and Marston wrestle every night when Daniel gets home.

Dinner time.

After I shoved food in his mouth and he was done.

On a walk to the park. Marston has to walk on the curb.

We wanted to speed things up so Daniel put Marston on his shoulders. That was fun for about 1 minute, then Marston wanted to walk by himself.

Climbing climbing climbing.

Down the slide.

Bath time.

He loves that hat we got for free in a kid's meal in Preston during the rodeo.

Finally time for bed. He always starts off in his big-boy bed but gets out so many times we end up putting him in his pack-and-play.

Ready for prayers.

Randomness

2010-09-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been filled with jet skiing, canning peaches, putting toys away, Dan studying, painting the bathroom, organizing the garage, growing a baby, going to the pool, growing stuff I don't really eat, drinking lots of water, having disputes over the AC, going to the park, painting the mantle, picking up toys, doing laundry, watching Curious George, canning salsa, reading stories, putting Marston in his big-boy bed, taking Marston back to his big-boy bed, finally putting him in the pack-and-play, laughing, and sweating for no apparent reason.

Life is grand!

Homemade Pizza

2010-08-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

One of life's treats is pizza. We probably have pizza once a week in our house. Yes, I know, it's not the healthiest but it sure is tasty. I have tried many different pizza dough recipes and I think I've found a winner. This one comes from a blog called Annie's Eats and it's super easy to make. I have also tried a number of pizza sauce recipes as well as many store bought varieties. Last night I made the sauce using tomatoes from my mother-in-laws garden and it tasted wonderful. I think when I have the energy, it would be a good idea to make a ton and put them in jars for the months to come. Not this year though. It had a wonderful fresh taste you won't be able to get from any store bought pizza sauce. One last thought on homemade pizza-don't be tempted to buy the pre-shredded mozzarella. Sure it's a whole lot easier and it's one less thing you have to wash but it doesn't melt as well. Buy it in the cube and shred it yourself, you'll be happy you did. Try out these recipes and let me know what you think.

Pizza dough ready to be cut in half and rolled out.

Marston "helping"

Basic Pizza Dough

From: http://annies-eats.com/

Printer-Friendly Version

Yield: enough dough for 2 medium pizzas or 4 calzones

Ingredients:
½ cup warm water
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1½ tsp. salt
1¼ cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. (If freezing the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this point.) Cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

Abbi's Pizza Sauce

1 TBSP Olive Oil

3 cups (or 1 big can of crushed) pureed tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Heat oil in sauce pan. Add all ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Adventures in Idaho

2010-08-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our little family at Masa Falls, a beautiful and surprisingly huge water fall outside of Rexburg.

We got to drive out to Rexburg to help Erik (Dan's brother) get settled at BYU-Idaho. We love it there. It's been 3 years since we've lived there and it was so fun to see all the new things in the town. We spent a couple of days there then Daniel drove home with his parents and Marston and I drove down to Preston to visit my family. I love my parent's ranch in the summer. It's so beautiful. Sounds of birds, chickens, dogs, flies, cows, and horses and the smell of fresh cow manure and wood smoke make the sweetness of the ranch. We got to spend 2 and a half weeks there. Daniel flew back for about a week. We went on long drives in the mountains, went swimming, chased chickens, went to the Preston Night Rodeo and all the festivities that came with that, and ate lots and lots of ice cream from Big J's. I grew up doing that same things with my grandparents and I hope my children will have wonderful memories of Idaho like I have.

Bear Lake in the nude.

My parents at Bear Lake.

We had some troubles with skunks this summer. My dad caught and released (somewhere in the mountains) 4 of them. 3 babies and 1 big mama.

This calf was born that morning.

My uncle owns a big dairy farm.

Tuckered out.

Dairy farm in Preston, Idaho.

Zana had her 10th birthday out at the ranch. We all went to Aggies in Logan and got a sink filled with ice cream. Jonas and Marston had the good idea of "eating" it with a straw.

Daniel and Marston ready for the Preston Night Rodeo. My two cowboys.

Marston, Erik and Daniel at the rodeo. Marston loved it. He cheered, clapped and gazed at all the excitement.

The Last Couple of Weeks

2010-07-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy couple of weeks. We went camping at Fallen Leaf Lake near Tahoe but had to come home early due to rain, we had a really fun family reunion, got to visit with Ben and Telia and their two adorable kids, and took Anderson family portraits. I just love summer time!

Marston's 2nd birthday

2010-06-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Marston turned 2 last week. I can't believe it! We had a great time celebrating his birthday. I hung the birthday sign, we had balloons, lots of presents and a mini cake just for Marston. We had all of Dan's family over and had a BBQ and went to our pool. I think Marston had a really good time.

IT'S A GIRL!

2010-06-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to find out that we are having a baby girl. The ultrasound went perfectly. It was great to see her move and that she had fingers and toes. We are one blessed family!

Oatmeal Applesauce Blueberry Muffins

2010-06-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning thinking MUFFINS, I must have MUFFINS. I found this recipe a couple of days ago and thought I should give it a shot. It has whole wheat flour, oats, applesauce and only a couple tablespoons of oil in it. Really healthy. I was a bit skeptical about how they would taste - but to my surprise they were terrific - yummy even. I think I will actually keep this recipe and make it often; they are that good. It was a great way to start my day.

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

source: adapted from Joy the Baker

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup blueberries (fresh are highly recommended)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases or spray with nonstick cooking spray. I simple greased and floured a muffin pan, saving the paper.
In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl combine applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil and egg. Make a well in dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Yields 12-15 muffins.

Hiking on Memorial Day

2010-06-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

We decided we needed to get out and explore the area some more so we went on a hike. I found it in a book I have I got at REI a while ago called, Easy Hiking in Northern California. We decided to hike to a place called Dry Creek Falls. It's in between Grass Valley and Marysville. We had a good time. Marston was busy and tired from not getting a nap. He had a hard time knowing what he wanted, like most 2 year olds. Anyway we hiked in about 2 and a half miles to the falls. It was beautiful and huge. I think the book said it was 50 feet tall. We looked at the falls, ate some trial mix and turned around for another 2 and a half miles back to the car. It was a nice day and it felt good to exercise.

Our new backyard.

2010-05-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of months we have been working on our backyard. We have a very small space so we wanted to be careful about the plans for it and using the space most efficiently. We decided to concrete most of it and line the fence with planter boxes. That way we can have a patio set, Marston can drive trucks and cars on it and we can get a kiddie pool for those hot summer days. Plus I can try my "light green" thumb at gardening. We started with the concrete. We concreted most all of the yard. We left out the space for the planter boxes and that's it. We had a good friend do it and it turned out beautifully. When that was done, Daniel got out there and designed and created a drain system for the boxes and added water bibs at each end of the boxes. On another Saturday, he built 12 inch redwood planter boxes and the week after we filled them with dirt. I planted tomatoes, a green pepper, a red pepper, cucumbers, onions, strawberries, some herbs, marigolds, snapdragons and a shasta daisy. I have also put a couple of blueberry bushes and a mandarine tree in pots on our new patio. We bought a new grill which I have loved cooking meals on. I think it turned out wonderfully. I love having the extra space for Marston to play and being able to get my hands a little dirty. Thank you Daniel for all your hard work. Let's be honest, he did most of it.

Blueberry Crisp

2010-05-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

This blueberry crisp recipe is wonderful. I got a ton of yummy blueberries from costco the other day and wanted to make a dessert with them. I came across this recipe on the food network site. It's from the Neelys. I've never made anything from them before and in fact I have never seen their show but it got good reviews so I tried it. It is delicious! I halved the recipe and didn't have the right size pan so it looks kinda funny but tastes great. I would also double the crumb topping next time. It seems like the fruit to topping ratio was off.

Ingredients

6 cups blueberries, rinsed and lightly dried
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt

Topping Mixture:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 stick room temperature unsalted butter, cubed
Whipped cream, for topping
Ice cream, for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Toss blueberries, cornstarch, sugar and a pinch of salt together in a bowl.

Combine flour, oats, brown and white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and pecans in a bowl. Add butter and pinch into chunks. Mix until it looks crumbly.

Add the blueberries into a 2-quart baking dish. Top evenly with the crumb mixture. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream and whipped cream.

Our trip to Michigan

2010-05-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

We got to go out to Ann Arbor for Daniel's brother's dental school graduation. We had such a great time. I grew up out there so I loved seeing familiar places and showing Dan my old stomping ground. We got to spend time with Dan's brother, Ben and his wife Telia and their two adorable kids. We celebrated a lot while we were out there. Ben graduated and is now a doctor, mother's day, our 5th year anniversary and Ben's 30th birthday. It was one big celebration trip. I loved it!

Marston loved to play with Aeden's car. I'm keeping my eyes open for one at garage sales now.

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson with all four adorable grandchildren.

We went to Greenfield Village in Detroit. It's a living history museum and a lot of fun. Daniel is pushing a turn table for trains.

Marston and Aeden were so serious on carousel at Greenfield Village.

Greenfield Village.

We drove out to my old childhood home in Clinton. It was so cool to see everything exactly the same. I loved it.

Farmer's market in Ann Arbor.

My first blueberry!

2010-05-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

I planted some blueberry bushes a couple of weeks ago in some pots and didn't think I would get fruit for a year or two. BUT I found this little beauty under all the other green ones. I was so excited, I got the camera out and took a picture then ate it. It was really sweet. I can't wait for more.

It's True!

2010-04-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

We are expecting our second baby November 1. We are so excited to welcome a new little one into our family! Here are the ultrasound pictures we got at our first appointment. They really are not good pictures at all but it is proof that there is a baby in there.

Our trip to Idaho

2010-04-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Marston and I had so much fun on our trip to Idaho and Utah. We got to see most of my family and I even got to see some old friends from Southern Virginia College (I was there when it was a college and not a university so it will always be college to me.) We spent most of our time at the ranch. Marston loved loved loved all the open space, the chickens and the horses. Every morning he would go out with Papa to feed the horses and let the chickens out, I think he was in heaven. Whenever we were inside he would find someone and pull on them till they took him outside. We got to go up to Rexburg to visit my sister Beth and my brother Zack. It's amazing how much that place has changed. Plus the students looks like they belong in junior high, what happened to me? We got to go down to Pleasant Grove and visit my brother Adam and his lovely wife and my other brother Aaron and his family in Sandy. It was so much fun. I consider myself very lucky to have such a great family that it takes weeks to visit them because I like and love them all. Marston is also lucky to have fun cousins too.

While we were there an old friend from my college days in Virginia got married. I got to see a lot of my old girlfriends. It was so nice to catch up with them and remember all the silly and straight up stupid things we did. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. Hopefully I will get to see them more often than every 10 years.

We're home now. Ready to get back into our routine and loving life.

Marston and his big cousin (by only 1 month) and their Papa.

Remmy, Gabe and Marston playing in a play house at Wheeler Farm in SLC.

Marston feeding the wild turkeys.

While in Rexburg, Bethie made us help her in the green house. Isaac and Marston just liked to play around.

Marston loved to help Papa feed the horses.

We took a trip to the Bean Museum at BYU with Aaron's family and Adam and Julie.

My old roomies at SVC.

Friends from SVC.

Do two halves make a whole?

2010-03-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

I ran my second half marathon last weekend. It was called the Shamrockin' Half Marathon in Sacramento. It was a lot of fun. I finished in 2 hours and 7 minutes. That's 6 minutes faster than the one I ran in November. I'm thinking about doing another one in May so maybe I can get under 2 hours then. We'll see.

Here's what we've been up to lately...

2010-03-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot has been happening in the Andersen home lately, which is both good and bad. I have been training for another half marathon and taking an art history class. Daniel has been working hard on preparing taxes at work and Marston has just been growing growing growing. We took a day and drove out to the coast to Point Reyes (a national park just above San Francisco). It was a beautiful day and really nice to get out of the house.

We are happy and enjoying life and looking forward to our trip to Idaho in a couple of weeks.

Marston's Room Progress

2010-02-23T16:27:00.000-08:00

It's taken us a really long time to get this far but here's what we did last weekend in Marston's room. I finished painting and Daniel put up the chair rail. We decided not to go with bead-board because we don't have the right tools and it is more expensive. I think it turned out beautiful without it anyway. This weekend we are going to finish up the room with crown molding. Wish us luck.

The color blue

2010-01-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

The next project I want to start is decorating Marston's room. This is my vision so far; 4 feet high b-board in white then a dark blue wall and finished with a white crown molding. The trick is to find the right color of blue. I have narrowed it down to 3 shades of blue. When I put them all on the wall, the color dusk (the far left color) looks really gray but alone it has more of a dark blue feeling. Perhaps it is too mature for a child's room. Still undecided and would love any input. What do you think?

French Chocolate Mousse

2010-01-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe. I have been wanting to try my hand at mousse making for a long time now. I looked at several different mousse recipes and decided to try one from Tyler Florence. First of all, I love Tyler Florence. I have tried many of his recipes and all of them have been absolutely delicious. This one was surprisingly easy to prepare and a perfect ending to any meal. It has the sophistication of a fancy restaurant dessert but easy enough for any common cook to make. I do have one question that I have not yet come to a conclusion; what makes this mousse French?

French Chocolate Mousse

Food Network-Tyler Florence

6 ounces semisweet baking chocolate

3 TBSP butter

3 eggs, separated

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar

1/2 heavy whipping cream, cold

1/2 tsp vanilla

Place chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan over simmering water (double boiler). Melt chocolate and butter stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add the egg yolks 1 by 1, beating with a whisk. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

In another chilled bowl, beat heavy cream until it thickens. Add 2 TBSP sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat until it holds soft peaks.

Gradually and gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then carefully and very gently fold in cream. Be careful not to over work the mousse. Divide mousse into small glasses. Cover and chill for several hours.

Car Accident

2009-12-31T08:49:00.001-08:00

Monday night we were in a terrible car accident. I had just picked Daniel up from work to go up to Placerville to his parents to drop Marston off so that we could go to an ugly sweater party in Cameron Park. I was driving and Marston and Dan were in the back seats. We were headed up a back but very busy road when suddenly a SUV was in my lane and I T-Boned her. The van spun half a circle and the SUV flipped a couple of times. At the time I had no idea what happened. I was driving and the next thing I knew there was a car in my lane. It happened in a matter of seconds, I didn't have time to swerve or break. We hit hard. Daniel grabbed Marston and got out first and I just sat in the drivers seat covered in glass and airbags screaming. I finally came to and slowing got out to find my baby and husband. There were many people on their cell phones calling for help and the woman in the SUV was screaming for help as her car was on its side. Marston was terrified. I just wanted to comfort him but it was so hard for me to hold him. In minutes there were fire engines, ambulances and a helicopter. Dan and I had to get taken away on a stretcher. They took Marston in the ambulance in his car seat and the woman we hit got taken away in a helicopter. Marston screamed the whole way to the hospital. I think he was just so scared to see his parents strapped down an unable to hold him. I have never felt such a huge desire to hold and comfort my little boy in my life. It was awful! We got to the hospital and all 3 of us were separated. They checked us all out and we had x-rays and Dan got a CT scan but we were all okay. Daniel has a huge bruise right where the seat belt was, I have huge bruises on my hips and chest and Marston has a small bruise on his neck where the seat belt rubbed him. We were incredibly lucky! Marston is completely fine and Dan and I are fine with some aches and pains. In the ambulance I noticed the diamond in my ring was gone and the ring is a bit bent up but my hand only had a very small bruise. We were totally protected! We were blessed. I don't know why but I am extremely thankful.

Thinking about it later and putting the pieces together with the tow company and the police we have a pretty good idea what happened. There was a woman wanting to turn left into a neighborhood. This road is a busy road and there was no turning lane. She was waiting for a long line of traffic to clear when a teenaged girl driving too fast tried to go around her off the pavement and clipped her SUV hard enough to send her into my lane and I T-boned her at about 50 MPH. I pray that she is okay and that the teenage girl gets her license revoked.

Christmas Excitement

2009-12-31T08:22:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was the first one we've had in our new home and it was so fun to start our new family traditions. Christmas Eve we went over to Brooke and Joe's place (Dan's sister and husband). We had yummy soup and lots of treats then went over to see the lights on Dove Court. It's a street in Orangevale that every house has a billion lights. Each house seemed to have some kind of theme too. One had Charlie Brown's Christmas theme, there was one with a giant carousel in their garage. It was amazing. Then we headed home to wait for Santa. It was so fun to bring Marston down the stairs on Christmas morning and see that Santa came. Marston got a very cute radio flyer tricycle, lots of books and puzzles, some cool balls, a little tool box and a peg and hammer toy. He loved opening the presents. I can't wait for more Christmases to come.

Christmas Tree Adventures

2009-12-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

We went searching for a Christmas tree last Saturday. We started at a little Christmas tree farm about 10 minutes from here. It was unimpressive. We got there right when they were opening the gates (it was like 9:45am...if that was your business and you only had to welcome customers for about 4 weeks out of the year, wouldn't you get there early?) and no one said hi or welcome, here's a saw and a wagon, we stood there waiting for a few minutes then we grabbed a wagon and saw and hiked up the hill. The trees were not groomed. There were some with branches way longer than the rest of the tree. So we let Marston run around for a bit then we took off with no tree in hand. After that we decided to go to a Christmas tree lot. They had some really nice trees but they were all so expensive. We were just looking for a 6 to 7 foot tree and they were charging $80-$100. So we hopped back in the car with no tree and went to Lowes. We found a beautiful 7 foot douglas noble fur tree for $40. We love it.

Later that day we went to the Lincoln Christmas parade. It was so much fun. There were all kinds of floats, people, and animals. Really cool horses and dogs and a ton of goats. We had a really good time and are really happy we live in a small town that holds nice family friendly events.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving, I got to have my family come out. Well, some of my family. We had my parents, Isaac and Jenn and Bethy, plus Daniel's parents and Brooke and Joe. It was so much fun. We had a wonderful feast. The table was beautiful, the food delicious and the company even better. It truly was a wonderful day. While my family was in town I got to show them around our new town, Lincoln. I tried to get them to move to California the whole time but I don't think I've convinced them just yet but I think they really liked Lincoln. We mostly just hung out. We shopped a little, went to Grass Valley, played games, watched movies, baked and baked some more. I loved every minute of it. Now my house is quiet again and I have only a little 18 month old to talk to (which I love but is not the same). Marston loved all the attention. About a half hour after they left, Marston ran upstairs and looked in every room for his grandparents and aunts and uncle. It was really sad. But we will look forward to the next trip.

Bethy wearing my dad's very out dated glasses.

Daniel got a pack of head lamps so my dad decided to become an alien.

Beth had to throw a Greek dinner party for one of her classes. This is her preparing dinner while Isaac and Marston watch.

Thanksgiving dinner. Dig in everyone!

Would someone please say the prayer so we can eat!

Brooke keeping Marston busy.

Brooke ready for some grub!

Brooke and Joe

The roll king!

Every year we churn our own butter.

As a kid I thought it took hours but it seemed like it only took about 30 minutes and we had fresh butter.

Daniel and my mom clipping coupons for black Friday.

Beth and I ran a couple of days while she was out. We had matching shorts.

Pumpkin vase.

Beth traced Marston's hand. He loved it!

Playing with Grandpa

2009-11-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

Daniel's parents came over for dinner last night. Marston and grandpa ran around the house chasing each other for almost 30 minutes straight. I'm not sure who was more tired at the end of the night, Marston or Grandpa, but it was sure cute to watch.

Bishop's Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

There is a fantastic pumpkin patch about 15 minutes from where we just moved and so we invited some of our friends from Cameron Park to come out to see our new house and go to the pumpkin patch. This is the most incredible pumpkin patch I have ever been to. There were fields and fields dotted with orange pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. But that was not all. There is a train that takes you around the farm, a petting zoo, giant slides, corn mazes, tree forts, and tons of greasy, sugary food. Totally commercialized but really fun. It will be a family tradition to visit that place every October. I love fall!

I did it!

2009-11-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

My race was this past weekend and I finished! It was so much fun. The air was fresh and chilly. It smelled like eucalyptus and there were thousands of runners. We started at the Aquatic Park, ran through the Marina, up to the Presidio, over the Golden Gate and back. It was foggy when we started but about half way though it all burned off and there were beautiful views of the city. I loved it. It was hard but worth it. I was also really glad I trained on hills because there were some killer hills. I finished in 2 hours and 13 minutes. Next up...duatholn (run, bike, run) January 2nd.

We're moving!

2009-10-23T14:44:00.001-07:00

Blue tape, paint, brushes, rollers, drop clothes, blue tape, driving, driving, driving, busy Marston, packing, unpacking, up ladder, down ladder, blue tape, fussy child, out to eat again, Lowes, tile, crying child, driving, locked keys in car with it on, air mattress, driving, painting, running, driving, driving.

My Little Dragon

2009-10-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Daniel bought a dragon costume for Marston this year. I know... shouldn't I have made him one rather than buy one? No time this year with the move and all. Plus I am trying to train for the race, I don't think I can handle another project. Anyhow, Marston loves it. Every morning he'll bring me the costume and he'll wear it for hours. It is so cute seeing a little dragon playing in my house. I have always loved when I see parents let their children wear costumes in public well after Halloween just because the kid really loves it.

Oatmeal Pancakes

2009-10-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

I am in love with these pancakes! I have been running in the morning around the neighborhood and I often can smell people's breakfasts. I get wonderful smells of pancakes, bacon, and coffee (I don't drink coffee but I love the smell). I come home tried and ready for my own delectable breakfast. I found this recipe on mykitchencafe.blogspot.com and I love love love it! I made the mix a couple of weeks ago and keep it in the fridge. When I must have hot tasty pancakes I mix 1 cup of the oat mix with 1 cup buttermilk and 1 egg and I grill them up. That's it. They are so good and you wouldn't even know they have whole wheat flour and oats in them. Okay maybe you would notice the oats but they are very fluffy and the texture is just like any other pancake you've had. You MUST try this recipe.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Makes 10 cups dry mixture.

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I've never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don't break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it's worth keeping it around!

*1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4-inch pancakes.

In a nutshell.

2009-09-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

I feel like I need to post something profound. I have nothing. Sorry. Lately I have been preoccupied with dreams of a new house, a new town, finishing a long race with hundreds or maybe thousands of people and of course my ever so busy Marston. I love my life. I am tired and my muscles ache but I have a peaceful heart and a calm mind. I guess I can't ask for much more than that. I am using blogging as a form of journal writing but I have been rather boring in my posts. Here's an update.

Marston is learning how to walk. As I watch him waddle along I am in awe at how fast a human can change. It really seems like yesterday that I could lay him on a cloth diaper and he would fit head to toe. Now he is a little boy who is curious and spunky and sweet. I go around all day putting things back where they belong. He will open a cupboard and pull everything out then move on to the next cupboard. This morning I was talking to Daniel upstairs and heard a toilet flush downstairs. "Where's Marston", will be my new tag phrase. And thus it begins.

My house. I have never thought more on a decorating project in my life. I love to decorate but I have never been able to go into a space and make it completely Abbi until now. I have made all the decisions I can make for now and it's driving me a bit crazy that I have to wait to pull it all together. I was at Restoration Hardware today and have decided all of my colors. Silver sage, garnet, butter and the right white are going to be welcome in my home. I have tile for the fireplace finally picked (sage marble 4x4 tiles) and I have an idea as to the kind of knobs and pulls (Restoration Hardware "modern"-look it up) I want for my kitchen. We bought a dining room table, chairs and a bench and we are going to order window treatments on Monday. I am ready.

I am in my 3rd week of training and I feel pretty good. My muscles really do ache today. Up until yesterday I was running completely on a treadmill. It feels so good to get outside. Fresh air and a change of scenery makes a world of difference. I did 4.5 miles yesterday, running an average 11 minute mile. I was so proud of myself. On the treadmill I was running an average 13 minute mile. Today I ran 3 miles with an average 9 minute mile. That's 4 minutes off my mile just by heading outdoors. Saturday I have to run 6 miles. I am rather nervous for that day. I have 7 more weeks of training until the big day in San Francisco.

Daniel is busy at work. He has been swimming laps at the El Dorado Hills sports club and loves it. He is doing really well, swimming 40 laps continuously most days. I have been super proud of him. He has his plate full with school, work, swimming, me nagging him to build me a mantle and making sure to get enough Marston time. Marston loves his daddy. He will often give Daniel kisses and cuddles when he only cuddles with me when he hurts himself.

We have our final house walk through October 7th and we sign the papers on the 15th. Then we paint and move. Start a new adventure in Lincoln.

Tahoe Time

2009-09-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Last week we went up to Tahoe for the week. It was so nice. The weather was perfect and things started to quiet down from all the summer tourists. We swam, rode bikes, took walks, jet skied, and just took in the cool clean Tahoe air. We found this beach just a few miles north of Zepher Cove. It was breath taking. The water was so clear and the sand was dusted with "fools gold" so it had a sparkle to it. It was really shallow for 10 or 15 feet from the shore so Marston had a good time playing in it while I didn't have to constantly worry. It was a charmed day, okay the whole week was wonderful.

Day 1 Week 1

2009-08-31T09:10:00.001-07:00

For some crazy reason, I got it in my head that I should run a half marathon this fall. So I signed up for the US Half Marathon in San Francisco on Nov. 1st. What was I thinking? 13.1 miles. Running for hours. Why?

I have never ran in a real race before. Sure I ran track in high school (sprints, never long distances) but I have never done anything official since then. I googled training programs for half marathoners and found one that I think might work. It's a 10 week program from marathorookie.com. It believes that your body needs ample time to rest and repair in order to build strength and endurance. It also says that on the days where you rest you should be treating your body well by eating very healthy. You never run more than 2 days in a row. This week I will run 13 miles; Monday-3, Wed.-3, Th.-3 and Sat.-4. Anyway today was my first day. 3 miles...check!

House update

2009-08-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

This is what our house looks like this week. They painted the stucco and all the interior walls. They even installed all the cabinets. Before we move in I want to paint the kitchen cabinets white and the walls in the kitchen, dinning room and family room a silver sage color and the den some other color-still undecided. I think I want to paint the island in the kitchen a bright green color, like avocado green or perhaps green apple. Anyway, here it is thus far.