Recent Happenings...

Jordan has been working on getting our garden all set up for the spring. He has built 4 planter boxes, and irrigated them, and he has plans to build 2 more. We decided to try them out with some winter crops, and here is our lettuce just sprouting! Clara loves going out and "working" with daddy, she gets all dirty and finds many little projects to keep her busy, like moving rocks, digging dirt and inspecting what Jordan is working on. It's pretty cute and I know Jordan loves having her out there with him...
Jordan's most recent Craig's list purchase is a new bike trailer. He loves to go bike riding and has a road and mountain bike, and now he can take Clara on some rides with him. It even has room for two kids, which will be perfect, and it turns into a double jogging stroller. We tested it out the other morning, and although Clara seemed to have more fun playing in a bucket while he was getting set up, I'm pretty sure she is going to love bike rides with her daddy...
I also had to capture Clara's early morning "look." She has a blankie and paci that she loooves, and she has them with her always in the morning. If I get her out of bed and then go about my business getting ready, she always has to go back and get them. She looks sooo cute walking around all sleepy looking, in her jammies with her favorite blankie and paci. She even pets the blankie and hugs it and she already has a preference with paci's, she'll only take the pink ones. I don't let her take them downstairs or anywhere else though, because I don't want it to be become an unhealthy attachment. They are only a naptime and bedtime thing, and she knows it...
Obsessed...addicted...? You would probably be correct with either assumption. Yes...we went to Disneyland...again! We have gone 4 times since June, and it has just become a really fun free afternoon and evening activity. We even know how to park for free and make it into the park really conveniently (if the monorail is open...which it wasn't this time and I was not happy about that!) We went with our friends Matt & Jeannine, and met our friends Chris & Michelle up there. We also left Clara home with family this time, which made it nice and relaxing! Of course, it was lots of fun and very very festive!

This last week I also went into a baking frenzy, every night after Clara would go to bed I would break out my mixer and bake away! I made a collection of my all time favorite Christmas cookies to give away to some friends, neighbors, and family. Clara helped us go around and deliver the cookies to our neighbors, she loved handing them out, but then she would want them right back, it was funny. It was nice to say hi and visit with our neighbors, we are blessed to have very nice people around us. One of the cookies I made is more of a rice krispy treat that we call Chocolate Scotcharoos, they are not very well known, but they are delicious and easy to make. Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try...
Chocolate Scotcharoos

1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies
1/2 pkg choc. chips
1/2 pkg butterscotch chips

Boil sugar & corn syrup for 2 minutes. Stir in peanut butter and rice krispies. Press into greased pan.
Melt choc. chips and butterscotch chips and spread over.

The combination of Chocolate, butterscotch and peanut butter is absolutely delicious! We have been having a great December, this is definitely my favorite time of year!