Christmas

For Christmas this year, we drew names, and for something new we decorated our presents as animals or objects. Here's a photo of our creations!I made the monkey, Dad made the lion, Mom made the aquarium, Leslie made the rubix cube, and Breanna made the . . . well I don't know what is it.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We decided to walk through downtown Bellingham on Thanksgiving weekend. After doing some window shopping, we visited a train museum. Lisa and I enjoyed driving the toy trains, and once in a while they would run into each other. . . . oooooops :]

Lisa and me!

Trying out chairs at the furniture store, lots of fun!

Dad watching me and Lisa play with the train sets.

Almost Roca

1 c butter

1 c brown sugar

1 package saltine crackers.

1 package chocolate chips

1 c chopped almonds

Line cookie sheet with foil. Place single layer of crackers on sheet. Boil butter and brown sugar for 3 minutes. Pour boiled ingredients over crackers. Bake at 350° until bubbles appear (5-10 minutes). Sprinkle chocolate chips over top and spread. Top w/ nuts. Place in fridge until cool. Break into pieces.

Yum!! Now we can make it again : )

Cartoons!

These are a few of the cartoons that I have draw over the past couple months :]
What is your favorite?

This rooster almost got stepped on by a cow, that's why he looks so surprised ;]

The grumpy ape

What???

The rattler

The repair man!

Tornado!

This frog is eyeing a tasty looking fly.... Ymmm!

 

Summer Photos

Leslie, Sarah (my cousin) & Me!

My family at Leavenworth!

Leslie and Emily(my cousin)!

Me and Cocoa-the baby goat!

Leslie :]

Whiskers!

Biscotti

Here are some photos of Biscotti when she was a baby. She is almost 2 years old now . . . . not to be biased, but she is one of my favorite goats.

Just born

1 day old

Biscotti now :)

Baby Goats!

Our goat, Summer, gave birth to three adorable baby goats on August 1, 2009.

She had two girls and a boy.

Here is a list of things that I like about the baby goats:

1) They love to play, dance, run and just have fun!

2) They don't have any worries in life.

3) They love food-- I do, too : ]

4) They follow me almost everywhere--which always surprises my Mom and sister when I take

them in the house : ]

5) They are always happy to see me.

6) They are soft and they smell good.

7) They are very adventuresome

8) They sigh a lot after they are fed and it sounds really cute!

Leslie, pretending to be a goat herder! [:

Fresh Lemonade

Serves 6-8
Prep time: 15 min.


1 lemon (sliced)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
7 cups of cold water
2 cups of fresh lemon juice (or 12 lemons, squeezed)
(note look for large lemons that are slightly soft to the touch- they tend to be extra juicy)


Mash the lemon slices and sugar in a large/deep bowl until the slices release their juice and when the sugar begins to dissolve. Stir in the water and the lemon juice. Keep stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.


Pour over ice before serving.


Variations:


~Mint lemonade~ " I really like this variation of the recipe!"
Mash 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves along with the lemon slices and sugar.




~Berry lemonade~
Mash 2 cups of fresh or frozen berries along with the lemon slices and sugar.

Overnight Camping Trip on Mount Baker

This September my dad, Leslie, and I went on a overnight hiking trip on Mount Baker. We went hiking on a trail called Yellow Aster Butte that was 3 miles one way. During our hike we enjoyed beautiful scenery, wildlife and wild blueberries.

It was lots of fun and I really would like to do it again!

Beautiful!!!!

~Mushrooms~

The Hikers!

Our Campsite with a gorgeous view

of the mountains.

Our tent the next morning (the fog was so thick!)

A marmot--they were cute, but when you got too close they would make a loud, whistling noise, which was surprising!

Photos Summer 2009

White Rock BC. where we went for fish and chips for Breanna and Leslie's birthdays.

Someone was balancing rocks last time we went to White Rock.

A close-up of our goat Biscotti-she's very cute!

My Parents!

Me, Leslie and Breanna

Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies!

Makes about: 30 cookies
Prep. Time: 10 Min.
Total Time: 1 hour and 15 Min. plus cooling time

These cookies are delicious! I found the recipe in The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

"When it comes to chocolate.... resistance is futile."

Ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
4 large happy eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. instant coffee
10 Tbls. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups of packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar
16 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 (12 ounce) bag of semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and instant coffee together until the coffee is dissolved.

2. Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Beat in the melted chocolate, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in chips until incorporated.Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the constancy is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

4. Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time, scoop the dough into balls and lay in three parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and the tops are cracked but the centers are soft and underdone (peek through the cracks to check the centers), 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking.

5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.