Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you want to make these lower in fat, use half applesauce/ half shortening.  These are best the second day.  Cool them then put in freezer bags and they will stay moist for several days.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 and grease all baking pans- these puppies stick like mad.  In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar.  Add in egg and whip until light colored.  Add pumpkin in spoonfuls at a time or it will separate and get gloppy and gross.  Add in spices and dry ingredients except flour.  Mix until smooth.  Add in the flour and mix completely.  Stir in choc chips.  Drop by tablespoons on baking sheets and slightly flatten- it will be really soft dough.  Leave enough room to spread a little.  Cook for about 15 min.

8 Dead Mice

So, we’re having a bit of a mouse problem.  Anyone else?  I’m pretty sure it is due to the new construction both north and south of us.  We caught 4 mice on New Year’s Eve night alone.  Gross!  Then we caught a couple more on New Year’s Day and a couple more the day after.  Thank you to our friends who helped capture 2 in our pantry as they were trying to escape.  Ray then found 2 under the stove in our glue traps.  I think we’ve gone through $20 worth of glue traps in the last month.  And they are really cheap!  Last month we caught 9 within a few days of each other.  This is seriously out of hand.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve vacuumed and bleached the floors.  Really, really disgusting.

4 Months!!!

So after 4 months of not posting, I decided I better get caught up.  Sorry about the lateness.  The passage of time goes so quickly that I’m not quite aware of it.  It’s really strange.  Anyways, I always say I’m going to post more but never do.  I don’t really have anything worth posting in the next couple months.   I really will try to post more often than every 4 months though.

I hope everyone got our Christmas cards, had a nice Christmas, and a happy New Year.  To those of you who didn’t come to my party- you suck!

Family Photo Shoot

Every year I try to get a family photo shoot for us. (then immediately send the pictures to Costco to get our Christmas cards since I’m always late!) This year, I had my cousin Heather take our pictures. Here we are in the back of an old warehouse in a shady part of Salt Lake. I really wanted to do shades of black (’cause that’s all I wear) and grays. Problem is, Sara decided to do the same thing, with the same colors, same place, and at the same time. Jonah is actually wearing the same sweater as Nathan and Gabes hat matches. We may have gone to the day-after-Thanksgiving Children’s Place sale together. I’m not sure though, I just may have.

So poor Heather tag-teamed our pictures and had to deal with all the craziness. We had 8 kids to keep happy and most of the time, it wasn’t working. We got a few good ones in the end, though. So if you see Sara’s pics, that’s why they are the same- Copy Catter!

Still Crazy

Aaaahhhh, cute! Still together after 10 1/2 years of dating and 7 years of marriage. Can you believe it? (you better, or don’t answer) We just celebrated our 7th anniversary 3 days after Christmas (with the flu, that is). We’re doing great and haven’t argued in a long time. Life is good.

Beauty

Ahh, Ellie. My photogenic little angel. Does this girl take a good picture or what? She has tons and they are all good. Maybe she’ll be a model or something, she loves the camera. Well, enough of me gloating. It is a cute picture though. What’s a proud mom to do?

My Little Man

Seriously! You would think a 4-year-old could get a decent picture. Not my Nathan! He was making the goofiest faces and bouncing off the walls the entire photo shoot. We finally got one when he wasn’t paying attention. Seriously, the boy has issues.

Ju-Ju

So Jen really didn’t want Heather to take her picture and hated that huge camera and kept backing up and finding mommy. This is about the only decent one where she’s smiling. She’s scrunching her face and nearly screaming in the rest.

Cutie Pies

We couldn’t get them to sit still for a second.

Christmas

Well, it has been a quick Christmas this year- there is no other way I know how to describe it. It just kinda snuck up on me, then BAM! no more Christmas. I say every year that it doesn’t really seem like Christmas then I get all depressed and blue when it’s over. This year I didn’t even see it hit me. But, I do hate January and feel pretty blue anyways. Anyone up for a girls night? Anyone? I really need something to do!!!!

Anyways, we had a very low key Christmas- not too many presents.  We just gave the kids a couple toys and an outfit and jammies.  We let the grand ‘rents spoil them this year.  They got a ton of stuff!   Thanks Mimi & G-Pa J, and Nana & Papa.  We decided to spend money and buy a new kitchen table instead of buying a bunch of crap.  The table looks great and now we can all eat dinner together.  Finally!  Ray was getting really sick of eating standing up or in shifts.