We have been going up the the mountains out past Enumclaw on 410 to get our tree for quite a few years now. I love this tradition. I love that there is almost always snow there. I love that Aaron cuts it down himself. (He may not love that part.) I love most of all that it only costs $10! While we don't always have the most beautifully trimmed and shaped tree, I love that we can get a Noble for a small price and how it really doesn't end up mattering too much once we get all the lights and ornaments on.
This year we headed up Thanksgiving weekend with our friends, the Bachs.
The boys all enjoyed playing in the snow and sledding.
Here is our tree in it's natural state...
And here it is after we cut it down...
The boys always seem to get snow down their pants, shirts and boots despite my best efforts at keeping them bundled. Here is how I found Landon trying to thaw his feet when we got back to the car...
Boys will be boys. Some day I will learn this!
In all reality, I really should buy a fake tree since I am pretty ridiculously allergic to the tree, but I just can't do away with this tradition! (I will admit the idea of a pre-lit tree is very tempting, however! Our strands of lights were a superior pain in my rear this year...ughh.) But alas, I want our kids to have memories of mom and dad taking them up to the forest to cut down their tree. And so it will be me and the claritin and kleenex for a couple more weeks!
PS. I'm still on the search for a replacement star for the Pottery Barn one that we've had until now. It got a crack in it last year. :(
If you have known us for any length of time then you will know that we have lived in quite a few places. I believe this is our seventh place of residence. Yet, we have NEVER had a mantel! Every year at Christmas I find myself just wishing we had a mantel to decorate, to hang the stockings from and to have a cozy fire beneath. Well, while it may not have come through the means I would have preferred... we now have a mantel! So this year I was feeling particularly crafty and decided to make my own garland from clippings from our tree, our yard, and the holly bush at Amy's. Here is what it looked like when I finished.
And here's a view of the whole mantel.
The reason why I said, This is what it "looked" like, is because unfortunately it is not looking so hot these days. We use our stove for a main source of heat and as we have had to keep it pretty stoked lately with the 12 degree temps, the garland I worked so hard on is not fairing the heat too well and is getting a little brown, wilted and shriveled. Bummer! Well, at least it was free!
Today the entire first grade class at Rock Creek Elementary celebrated Thanksgiving with a Feast. Each class made one portion of the meal and Levi's class made the Cinnamon Apples. I am fortunate enough to get to go in and work in his classroom so I was able to come help the kids make the apples on Monday and then I also helped out with the Feast today.
The kids made their own Turkey hats, which double as Indian hats if worn backwards (Levi's favorite). 
Levi and Joshua. Joshua is in Levi's class and he also played basketball on his Upwards team last year.
Levi and Cheyenne. Cheyenne also goes to our church so she and Levi see a whole lot of each other!
It was fun getting to meet some of the other moms in the class and try to put more names with faces. One particularly funny thing that happened was when I met Hannah's mom. She said, "Who's mom are you?" and when I said Levi she said, "OOOOHHH!!! LEVI!!! Hannah talks about Levi all the time!! I think she likes him!" This totally cracks me up. Of course, I had to tell Levi about it and he just got all embarrassed!
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Well, the title of this post has a double meaning. I did indeed eat too much chocolate cake tonight. But the actual name of the cake that I ate was "Too Much Chocolate Cake." It was to die for. I made it today for my sister's birthday. If you are in need of a chocolate cake recipe, this is it. Look no further. Here's the recipe:
Too Much Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
- 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate. If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar or glaze.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
- Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.
I think Aaron put it best, "This is the best chocolate cake I've ever had." And it was so easy to make!
Mmmm.... DELISH!!!
I've been realizing that this blog pretty much focuses on all the GOOD memories in our life and leaves much to the imagination regarding the BAD. I might mention some struggles here or there, but when I look back on these posts in years to come, I want them to match up with my mental memories. And as much as I will remember the good times, I know there will be some bad times that will stick with me as well. So, here's some UGLY for you...
I could have died this week. It came quickly and unexpectedly. And it was scary. How's that for ugly? I will put this experience at the top of the list of worst times, right along with my labor and delivery of Levi.
What started out as your average run-of-the-mill sinus infection ended with me in sheer agony, being in 2 hospitals, 2 clinics and seen by a total of 8 doctors. I now know that I have a SEVERE allergy to the sulfa family of drugs. I have learned that many people experience some sort of adverse reaction to these medications, but my reaction was so severe that it was life-threatening. The official diagnosis was Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Type that in to Google Images if you're interested, but I'll warn you, it's not for the faint of heart. My body was covered in painful swollen hives/welts. They were in my scalp, on my eyelids, in my ears, armpits, palms of my hands, between my fingers and toes, are you getting the picture here? Here is a glimpse of what my ENTIRE body looked like.
This is my left side and left arm. As the spots on my arm, chest and shoulders spread, it ended up looking like I had a bad sunburn. But this made a sunburn seem like nothing.
Here is my stomach and right arm.
The doctors say that the very next step in my progression (which was happening quickly) was for blisters to form all over my body, followed by my skin literally falling off. Blisters would form over my eyes, causing me to go blind. I would have to be treated like a burn patient and could easily die. But they had a strong medication to try that would hopefully reverse the process. I'm now on a drug that suppresses my immune system (oh goody!... swine flu anyone?) in order to stop the reaction and the hives. I'm told that it may take anywhere from 1-2 weeks or 1-2 months for the red spots to go away. I also started peeling on my face today and am told my whole body may peel. So if you see me, I really don't have dandruff! Yet, today is my best day yet. I actually drove myself to the drug store to get some prescribed anti-itch lotion which is now my new best friend. I must say, it was a good little dose of humility for me, walking into that drug store with splotchy red marks covering my face, neck, hands (the only skin I left exposed!) , or sitting in one of the many waiting areas in doctor's offices where people stare and slowly move to the farthest away seat. It really has made me see other people in a different light and has encouraged me to have more compassion. Hmmm.. is there a lesson in all this???
Today, I'm thanking God for a husband who stood by my hospital bed in the middle of the night, who set his alarm regularly through the night to wake me for my meds, who took care of the kids and got them off to school (OK, so maybe I was yelling from the bedroom, "THE BUS IS COMING IN 2 MINUTES! YOU BETTER RUN!), who prepared meals, AND kept the house clean! Today, I'm hugging my kids a little more and thanking God for them and for my ability to care for them. And today, I'm thanking God for my life. The Good. The Bad. And the Ugly.
In honor of the recent theme over at the Edwards Everyday Moments blog, here is my Hailey post! Landon and Hailey have become pretty good buds over the last year or so. They play together a lot and get along really well. Besides the fact that they have regular "play dates"at various places their mothers drag them to (the park, the mall play area, the beach, the church and maybe an occasional Old Navy dressing room) , they now attend preschool together as well. Since some might say that their mothers are at times a bit photo crazy, there are a myriad of photos of the two of them that I think would make an amazing slide show at their wedding... I mean seriously, how awesome and how stinkin' cute would these pics be if these two got hitched???
Yeah, I know, it's a big shot in the dark. They're only four and five. I'm just sayin...
A couple weeks ago I was thinking of what to get my friend for her birthday. I just wanted to bring something small since it was a "no gifts please" party. So, I thought it best if I made something. I decided to copy my friend Andrea and make this set of cute little magnets. Andrea had made a set for me and included them on a cute magnetic framed board. (Did I mention that it's all really CUTE?)
Here's a better look at how they each turned out.
They were pretty easy to make and I liked how the packaging turned out. Ahhh... I wish I had more time to spend creating fun things!
I am a total slacker. I admit it. I'm going to work on this. The End.
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