In mid December, this was my first attempt at making gingerbread! It really turned out to be a fun adventure! I made them for my cute kindergartners at school. We had been reading different versions of the gingerbread man all week long. Then Thursday night I made these wonderful gingerbread men (one for each class). I took them to school with me on Friday and He ran away! Can you believe it? He ran away! He did leave us some clues so that we could find him again! The kids were so cute. They loved it! When we found him, we ate him of course! :) I just love Christmas time and fun activities (and excited 5 and 6 year olds). I got a cute picture of each class with the gingerbread man--great memories!
This year I have thought a lot about family traditions. Cranberry ice is one of the traditions of the holidays for the Gardner side. For Thanksgiving and Christmas we make it to go with the wonderful food! It is one of my favorite things to look forward too! :)
Cranberry Ice Recipe
1quart fresh cranberries (12oz bag) 2 cups of water
Put water and cranberries in saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat when cranberries pop their skins. Allow to cool slightly. Pour liquid and cranberries through a wire sieve into a bowl. Rub the cranberries through the sieve with the back of a large metal spoon to push the pulp through, scraping the pulp off the outside of the sieve as needed.
Add to the cranberry juice and pulp: 2 C cold water 1 1/2 c sugar 1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice 1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice
Stir until sugar dissolves. Pour into heavy plastic containers and freeze. When ready to serve, slush up, fill cups half to two-thirds full with slush. Pour lemon-lime soda or sparkling water over the slush, stir to desired consistency, and serve.
Happy Thanksgiving! :) This year all of my siblings were at their in-laws so my Aunt Lori invited my parents and I to join them in Vegas for the holiday! It was so much fun to see the cousins and their cute little ones! :) This picture above is Janelle, Brandon, and Janelle's cute Josie. Janelle, I couldn't resist and had to share your famous picture! I love it! :)
Karalee, Reese, & Janelle- Cousins
Mom and Dad
Janelle, Reese, & Gma Bev
This is the turkey right out of the oven! And Janelle's husband Steve also smoked a Turkey! The company and food were great! Happy Thanksgiving!
So I really need to play catch up on my blog! It is December and I am posting Halloween pictures! :) Halloween was a blast, I got to be a pirate for work! We were all Buccaneers it was fun! I'll get a cool picture of that to put on here soon!
My roommate Courtney and I
The friends! Chad looks creepy!
My cute niece Dylann! :)
The Ott Family= cutest pirates ever!
Shelly and Melissa at work! I guess it was a pirate year for a Halloween this year! :) At least for the parade at school my cool boots helped to aerate the whole field! :) The kindergartners were so excited to dress up and go to the parade!
This year we stayed in Oceanside California for our annual family vacation. The weather was more on the cool side so we didn't end up at the beach, but we did get plenty of shopping, eating, and relaxing in! :) It was a super nice getaway from reality (since my life is pretty busy right now). I can't believe we are in the middle of October! Halloween is almost here! Enjoy the crazy fun pics from our trip! I do love spending time with the family- you're the best!
View from the balcony :)
Oceanside Harbor
Baby Dylann was so excited to be on vacation, but after a little shopping she was out! :)
Checking out La Jolla Cove and all the cool seals.
I made it to 50 days on Tuesday October 5th ! 50 days of working out consecutively for 30 minutes a day (except Sundays). This has been a great goal for me! I have never been good at working out on a regular basis. I'm now on my way to 100! It has been fun to have friends to help motivate me with this goal! My friend Chelsie started this consecutive idea and she has been a great motivator for me! :) I have lost around 7lbs from where I started. I have also been counting calories since the middle of the summer (thanks to my awesome app on my phone).
In mid December, this was my first attempt at making gingerbread! It really turned out to be a fun adventure! I made them for my cute kindergartners at school. We had been reading different versions of the gingerbread man all week long. Then Thursday night I made these wonderful gingerbread men (one for each class). I took them to school with me on Friday and He ran away! Can you believe it? He ran away! He did leave us some clues so that we could find him again! The kids were so cute. They loved it! When we found him, we ate him of course! :) I just love Christmas time and fun activities (and excited 5 and 6 year olds). I got a cute picture of each class with the gingerbread man--great memories!
