Thanksgiving 2015

It was our first Thanksgiving away from family and we were lucky enough to have family come to us! Nephi's parents drove up from Idaho Falls and spent the week with us here in Denver. We went to IKEA, watched Christmas movies, cooked (well, I cooked), ate, looked at Christmas lights, and Marlo played hard.

She must have played a little too hard because she ended up getting sick - saddest thing I have ever seen! She got sick in January this year at 4 months old and was just rhaspy and stuffy but didn't act very sick. This time, she was lethargic, cuddly, stuffy, sleepy, and did I mention cuddly? It was a whole new baby and although it made us sad, we were happy to cash in on some overdue cuddles from that baby. She got to a temp of 100 so we did a luke warm bath (she hates baths now apparently), essential oils, humidifier, diffuser with essential oils, and kept her in blankets all day. It was really only a day before we started seeing improvements - we survived! She is just about 100% now but still has been giving us some cuddles so I think she sees the value in them now :)

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, but I think after doing all the cooking (besides the rolls) and all the dishes (Nephi helped a little bit) I don't know how I am going to cook anything this week. I am sure everyone feels the same way so I feel validated in my complaints. Also, we are ready for a major sugar detox! I ended up feeling a little sicky last night from all the junk food and lack of sleep from a sick baby so I stayed home from church with Marlo, took a long bath, drank lots of fluids, Nephi made turkey noodle soup (I made homemade turkey broth), and I am feeling better. Tomorrow will be rough though.

2015 Thanksgiving Menu:
Turkey - (18 lb. turkey that Nephi's parents got for free) Squeezed a fresh lemon over it, rubbed it with fresh rosemary butter and stuffed with onions, apples, rosemary, and lemons - I will repeat this every year!

Stuffing - I have never made homemade stuffing so I read through the basics of making it but made up my own recipe. I made homemade multigrain bread (dried it out in the oven), added italian sausage + ground beef, celery, onions, fresh parsley and fresh rosemary. It was SO good, but, next time I won't cook it as long in the crockpot.

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes 

Sweet Potato Souffle from @cleansimpleeats on Insa - SOOOO good and healthy (except I did rice krispy cereal with butter + brown sugar on top so that part wasn't so healthy)

Gravy (Nephi's specialty)

Connie's Rolls

Veggie Platter

Apple Crumble Pie (my Mom's recipe and SOOOO good and quick to make!)

Pumpkin Pie with the best crust

Also - for breakfast I made this banana pumpkin bread (minus the glaze) - can you tell I love this food blogger? She's my fav.

Nephi did such a great job carving the turkey! It was a big one - 18 pounds! But I am so happy to say that it did NOT burn and that we used the leftovers to make turkey broth (I ended up making 8 cups) and used that in our turkey noodle soup today. PS - If you aren't making broth with your leftover carcasses, you are missing out! I am a believer now. 

Got out the fancy dishes. We got this set for our wedding and it still looks great - timeless.

Fun group picture - thank goodness for self-timers on our iPhones! We loved having time with Boyd and Connie. 

This was Marlo pretty much all day on Friday. Whoever was holding her she was cuddling. 

It was weird to decorate a new space for Christmas (after being in out other place for 3 Christmases) but we are happy with how it turned out! We love our mini tree. I am so happy we don't have to haul a huge tree and store it with us wherever we go. And every year I get a few new ornaments and this year I found them in the dollar spot at Target! They are actually present tags - they are the perfect ornaments too for pretty cheap (they came 2 to a pack). So I'm using almost all my ornaments from the past 4 years and I have kept them matching and timeless colors and style to use for our future big tree OR just use it on this tree in a different part of the house. 

Drove to downtown to look at the light on all the buildings! This was our favorite one. When you come visit us (When I say you I mean my Mom because she is the only one that reads this) we will take you downtown and it will remind you of a mixture between San Fran and NYC - I love it.

My sweet sicky baby. Let's pray she doesn't wake us up a million times tonight...

Bunco Night

In Idaho Falls we used to have a group of girls that played bunco every month and it was my favorite! I loved the time I had to be around other women and loved the game - it's easy and literally anyone can play it and that's MY kind of game.

I got a few of the ladies I have met here (who I LOVE) to come play with me this week and it was a blast! We only ended up with 8 girls but we played anyway and I think everyone loved it. Hopefully we will be able to keep it up for a monthly or even every other month tradition!


I decided to do a waffle bar because I reeeeeaaaaallllly wanted to make some liege waffles after I had some legit ones in AZ. Not quite the same, but pretty close!

Toppings: PB, Nutella, Whipped Cream, Syrup, Buttermilk Syrup, Salted Caramel Sauce, Berries, Chocolate Chips, Sprinkles, and Cinnamon Sugar. 

The black paper is chalkboard wrapping paper from the dollar section at Target. I may never do a buffet any differently - it was perfect. 

And of course a blog entry from me wouldn't be complete without pictures of my Mina (new nickname, don't know where I came up with it but she responds to it now). 

We went and hung out with some friends on Friday night and had dessert and Marlo flirted with her friends Milo and Tyler - she loved it. I got these boots for her this summer and they *almost* fit! They make her look so old though! 

Snaps from Nephi are the best.

Went to Burger King with Daddy and loved it! All the workers kept coming up to her and giving her toys and the crown and couldn't get over how cute she is - that's my Mina!

Wedding Time in AZ

End of June we went to AZ for a weekend for Sheridan and Tiffany's wedding! It was a fast but fun weekend with endless smiles and yummy food. We can't say enough about how much we love Tiffany and how happy we are for her and Sheridan. Tiffany is such a great fit in our family and seeing them together makes my heart want to burst - Sheridan is so happy!

We flew in on a Friday just in time for the rehearsal dinner. We stayed up late of course helping Gird with the final details. They got married on Saturday morning and then they had a beautiful luncheon on my parents house and then we drove to Tucson for the gorgeous reception. I wasn't aware of any blunders throughout the day - in my eyes it was perfect!!

Cutest little flower girl in the town! She was so hot and lethargic - poor girl! That AZ heat kicked our butts! 

They are my favorite! 

Love my husband. 

One of the many reasons I LOVE going home or being with my family is because they are obsessed with Marlo. I can't even explain how it feels as a mother to have people love your baby. I hardly see Marlo when they are around. We were told countless times of how such a good baby she was. She never put up a fight and was so happy the whole time. She loves being around lots of people so it's like a gold mine at events like these. She is a lucky to have all these aunts and uncles obsess over her!

On the flight to AZ she was a little squirmy but on the way home she was out like a trout. Every time we have flown with her people have complimented her/us. She's our travelin' babe!

Can't wait to go to AZ for a MONTH in August! :)

Ice Cream Recipe

For our wedding, we got a ice cream maker. In fact, we got 2! We returned one and have yet to touch the other one until last weekend...

I was running errands and passed by a little piece of heaven called Reed's Dairy. (All you Idahoans know what I am talking about.) I was just going to grab a chocolate milk for Nephi and a scoop of ice cream for me (naughty, I know) but then I noticed they have "Ice Cream Milk". Whaaaa? I had to get it because Nephi recently commissioned me to use the ice cream maker--fine, if you make me!

It was delicious! I threw my ice cream bowl in the freezer for 1 day and then on Sunday we had friends over (had a Costa Vida type of dinner) and we took the bowl out, poured the milk in, and pressed "on" for 20 minutes and viola! Incredible ice cream.

My Mom (the best cook I know) makes fried ice cream and I had it when in AZ and have been craving it ever since! I made a modified version but I just wanted to share.

Easy Fried Ice Cream

2 Cups of Rice Krispie cereal 

2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar

2-3 tablespoons of butter

Melt the butter, then add the brown sugar and stir. Slowly add in the cereal and mix until it is evenly coated. Sprinkle on your ice cream and enjoy! 

We added some pecans, chocolate chips, and strawberries on the side (I basically grabbed whatever I had in our fridge that would go good with ice cream). Easy peezy! Here is a more detailed recipe if you are interested in taking more time. 

Our March Madness

Yes, our blog still does exist.

We had our very own March Madness over here, sans the brackets.

I got an award at work which granted me a front row parking spot and my photo on the wall in a secluded hallway--felt really special about it. (Okay, okay, I will miss that parking spot come tomorrow!)

Found the time to sneak in some dating with this cute guy. I like him.

I traveled to Vegas for work where we had an event at the JW Marriott. We stayed in 2 bedroom suites--pretty luxurious the whole 5 hours we spent in it. It was a long week but a very successful event! Vegas treated us well.

Hosted a bridal shower for my good friend, Kiley. I barely finished everything in time and I ended up resorting to a lot of plan B, C's, and even a plan D on a few of my ideas but I think it turned out pretty great! I loved her colors and I am so excited for her to marry her cute boy! 

Broke out the spring clothing for Bunco night AND got a new phone cover! I ordered it online and it looked mint green but turns out it's neon green. Guess I will won't lose my phone in my purse anymore!

Got to FaceTime this baby a few times this month, including on her 1st birthday! 

Contributed to the Guymon Easter party with these sugar cookies! They turned out pretty good. Take a good look at all the purple ones--Nephi did those. He discovered a cool technique with his knife when he was helping me frost. Dang him, he is so smart. If PA school doesn't work out--we are thinking culinary arts...

Easter dinner! Since Nephi's family celebrated on Saturday, we had our own little Easter dinner on Sunday with Caitlin! I didn't want to go out and buy a ham so I just used the turkey loin I had, the last few eggs in the carton, potatoes, fresh brussel sprouts, my Mom's traditional fruit salad, and homemade rolls. It turned out great and we were all out on the couch after.

We ended the weekend by going to a special Easter program that Grandma Guymon was part of. It only happens every 5 years so we were so grateful we were able to attend! All the music was composed by a local man and Grandma wrote the narrative. It was a beautiful program!

Through all the madness this month, Nephi still managed to get another job. That's right. Nephi is now paramedical examiner/phlebotomist. He works for a life-insurance company and examines people who are interested in getting life insurance. He asks them questions, takes their vitals and takes their blood. He is a star and I am SO proud of him! I tease him that we can now tell our kids that he worked 2 jobs and went to college ;).

 Looking forward to another crazy month as Nephi finishes up another semester and starts his last semester and I prepared for Melaleuca's National Convention!

Valentines Getaway

After getting home from Minneapolis, we got some shut-eye and then headed out on Sunday to SLC for a quick Valentines Getaway!

First of all, what did we do on actual Valentines day? Well, besides me packing for my trip...

1) Got a care package from my parents--perfume for me & Taco Bell gift certs for Nephi. 2) I wore pink every day last week to get in the holiday spirit considering I didn't put up any Valentines decor (no time this year). 3) Made breakfast for Nephi! PB&J french toast (my family tradition), heart cut apples, and chocolate milk. 4) We didn't want to do major gifts but I got Nephi a tie with pink in it and he got me a TJ Maxx gift card. 5) Ordered food in and watched "Trouble With the Curve" (I didn't love it.) 6) I ate 1 of the prongs from my fork while cutting my broccoli. Yes, I did kind of feel a sharp feeling when swallowing but it didn't hurt. And no, I didn't notice it immediately. Any questions?

Nephi and I haven't been able to spend much quality time with each other this year so far so we decided to head to SLC for Sunday and spend time together shopping and hanging out for a day. We got a hotel downtown, went to dinner, slept in, and SHOPPED--a lot. Hit up the Park City outlets and City Creek.

Nephi (left): Outdoor shoes, Nike casual shoes and shirt, dress pants. Mallory (right): Running shoes (the other one's I just bought hurt my feet.), teal pants for spring, polka tank, green blazer, cheetah shirt, color clock sweater. Total: Under $150!!! Best deals. 

We took public transportation, ate at THE BEST waffle place I have ever tried (they taste like HEAVEN), and got something from Anthropology without going into debt.

We had a blast! Grateful we live so close to SLC and have the opportunity to get away for a bit. Work and travelling has been tough and I take off in 2 weeks again for a whole week out of town for work so we really wanted to fit something in before things get crazier. We do everything we can to enjoy the time we have together but understand this time in our life is limited and WONDERFUL!! We are so blessed.


Our next trip together looks like it may happen in August...any suggestions on a cruise line?! ;)

A Recipe Post: Peppermint Macaroons

I am not a baker--I'd rather cook. Mostly because baking is dangerous (calories, carbs, and high maintenance baking times/measurements) but Christmas baking is too fun to pass up. 

For our ward party I made Peppermint Macaroons. We had homemade coconut macaroons at our wedding and I will never forget getting to the hotel with the yummy goody basket my sisters made us with the food from the wedding and eating that macaroon in bed. Pretty sure I melted right there and then. They have been on my radar ever since.

But doesn't the word macaroon intimidate you? Well, don't let it. It was too easy. My co-worker gave me this recipe and it was a huge success!

Peppermint Macaroons

(Makes about 2-3 dozen.)
**I made my notes and adjustments in red.**

2 egg whites (at room temperature) I would add another egg white to help it set up better.
1/2 tsp salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (14-ounce) packages shredded sweetened coconut This is a lot of coconut. Use a big bowl to fold it in so the wet mixture gets thoroughly mixed.
1 cup white-chocolate morsels I only had about a 1/4 cup left and wish I had more! They were the perfect addition.
1/2 cup crushed peppermints The chunks will melt and stick to the parchment paper depending on placement so if your not a big fan, leave out or use flavoring instead of actual peppermint. I loved it.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. I don't have parchment paper so I used wax (don't know how different they are) but it stuck to the paper! Boo! So the second batch I used my cookie liner (which is the best purchase you cookie makers will ever purchase) and they were perfect. I am going to buy another one this week so I can put more batches in the oven at one time.

Mix egg whites and salt until foamy (2 min.). Mix in sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Fold in coconut, chocolate chips, and crushed peppermint.

Use spring ice cream scoop to shape dough onto pan. Bake for 20 minutes, let them cool on pan for 10 minutes, then move to  wire racks. Make sure they are small and round. You can't have the edges stick out because they down flatten or rise, they stay the same and you know they are done when they start to brown.

They turned out great! I took a whole plate to our ward Christmas party and put the candy dish in the middle because I couldn't fill the platter and it was completely wiped clean, candy and all by the time we left! I highly recommend trying it for those coconut lovers.

The Birthday Boy

Happy 26th Birthday to this guy...

Nephi is honestly the coolest person I know. 

Here are a few of my favorite things about him:

He is the nicest most kind man I have ever met. 

His dimples...he has 3 of them in his face. I can't wait till our babies come out with his dimples. And eyes. And huge baby head. I am just hoping they aren't 10 lbs...

His dance moves. 

His teaching skills. He knows how to adjust teaching to peoples needs. Wish I saw him as a missionary.

His random skills. He is great at editing videos, playing guitar, piano, and any other instrument, or random game or useless knowledge of random facts. He's got skills. 

He is really good at staying level headed in a crisis. 

He makes me smile and laugh, a lot.

We celebrated his birthday on Friday with his parents and Neal & Angie. We went and saw Lincoln (great movie) had dinner, opened presents and ate cake! Nephi got a gun from his parents and could not have been happier. Best present ever. 

Turkey burger sliders for dinner! They are his favorite. 

4 layer chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting. Note to self: Never make again. It was too rich for everyone to eat and they hardly ate it and left me with a whole cake. Next year, we will have Jello.  But, it tasted amazing. I liked it.

So glad you were born Phee-Phi!