Christmas Morning

Okay, so for the real good stuff! Christmas morning pics and vids!

I love wrapping presents and making them look beautiful!  I consider it part of the decor for Christmas.  As soon as I buy a gift, I must wrap it and put it under tree ASAP.  It works for now, but I can only imagine it becoming a pure crime waiting to happen when I have children old enough to know what it means to sneak a peek.  Until then, they will be beautiful!

The morning started bright and early at 7am.  Little children coming from a time zone 8 hours ahead definitely know how to wake early for Christmas morning, even without understanding the excitement of an early Christmas.  We taught Maya & Ethen the traditional Kimball song, "Here we sit like Birds in the Wilderness" as we waited to go in to see what Santa brought.  My grandmother learned this song as a child and taught my dad, who made us sing it 3 or 4 times while we waited and now the new kiddos are learning it.  What a fun, strange, tradition!

And then to the presents!

 Star Wars characters cookie cutters and pancake molds

 The super cute purse I got my mom.  Totally impractical so she would never buy it for herself, but she loved it!

 Ethen playing with his remote control car... for ages 8 and up.  He's almost 2.  Such a little man

 Maya got a Little Mermaid princess dress and fin suit.  But don't the forget princess heels!

 Shirlee and Ethen

Dave and the kiddos

Christmas

This year was an "on" year for our family during Christmas.  Unfortunately for me, the siblings now have old enough children that they all prefer to do Christmas morning at their own homes.  This would leave me and the 'rents only.  Don't get me wrong, I love my parents, but Christmas without kids is only so fun for so many years.  But... this year my brother and his family are between homes (more specifically between countries) over the holidays so we had a few more bodies for Christmas morning! 

But, before the awesome pics from Christmas morning, let me humor you with something totally awesome from Christmas Eve!  Because of the "on" year, we had a big Christmas Eve dinner, complete with a crown roast, unique stuffing, delectable salads, mashed potatoes, and my dun... dun... dun... cherpumple.

Success!
Can you believe I finally pulled it off after a mere 3 tries?

 

Sadly, the two hours following my successful construction were spent eating dinner and chatting.  During this time, the weight of the two top layers took out the bottom layer so you can only see the top two in the above picture.  Regardless, it was totally awesome!  Probably not worth the time, but awesome nevertheless!

I would maybe consider a "pumple" again in the future, but not all three layers.

For all you ambitious chefs our there that might possibly want to make this, or part of it, here is how you do it.

1. Bake frozen pies as directed on the box.

2. Let cool really long.  For instance, put in the fridge over night.  This avoids loosing the pie during the cake transfer.  Trust me...

3. Mix the cake batter just as directed on the boxes.  You can make a combination of any that you prefer.

4. Cover the bottom of a greased 9" round cake pan (extra high sides) with cake batter.  Carefully transfer the cooled pie into the cake pan, without the tin of course, and pour a layer of cake batter over the top.

5. Bake the cake for 1.5 hours at 345 degrees.  TAKES FOREVER!

6. Let cool, or better yet, put in freezer to solidify.

7. Carefully remove from cake pans and stack using cream cheese frosting between layers and around the edges.

8. Cut soon and serve your awesomeness!

Next post, the legit Christmas pics.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Love, Rachel

Kitchen Successes & Failures

Wow!  Has it really been almost a month since my last post?  A lot sure has happened since then.

First, you should all know that I got released from being Relief Society President in my ward.  It was a long, but fantastic 2 years!  Now I get to relax a little.  Haha, who am I kidding?  This is me we're talking about it!  It only took one week before I'd completely filled my life with new adventures.  There is just something about feeling productive and busy that makes me happy.

On my list of new adventures, I decided it was time to try honing in on my cooking skills.  I've never done a whole lot of cooking for lack of time and desire, but that has changed now.  In Oct/Nov, I spent a couple Saturdays with my mom and sister, Rebecca, and her son, Gus, canning applesauce from our very own Golden Delicious Apple tree in the backyard.  I haven't done any canning since I was a wee child, and let's be honest, I probably didn't do much then either, except maybe create a mess for my mom...

Blueberry sauce and me as a 1 year old probably aren't the best mix :)

This year was different though.  We canned a whopping 40 or so bottles of homemade, perfect applesauce.  It is the most delicious applesauce!  My mom prides herself on the fact she doesn't put ANYTHING in to sweeten or preserve the applesauce.  It is as pure as applesauce can be.  Let me tell you, its the best I've ever hard!

Note: I've chronologically placed my pictures from canning more for my remembrance in future years than anything else...


Step 1: Pick apples            Step 2: Slice the 8 boxes of apples

 

Step 3: Render (or boil down) the apples

 

Step 4: Smash the apples in the cool tool that I can't remember its real title

 

Step 5: Pour into many bottles and place the lids on tight

 

Step 6: Seal the bottles in boiling water, then carefully remove so they don't break



Step 7: Let cool and finish sealing.  Long day, but the taste is worth it!  No added anything, pure applesauce.
Day 1 is complete!

 

Mom and me in the kitchen

 

Gus "washing" the apples.  Aka, dropping them in the water

 

Day 2 finished products, including three cinnamon applesauces


Also on the "Must Bake" list is the incredible Cherpumple. The name stems from a combination of CHERry, PUMpkin and apPLE.  I saw this on msn.com one day and thought it would be fun to try. 
A Cherpumple consists of a Cherry pie baked inside a white cake, a Pumpkin pie baked inside a yellow cake, and an Apple pie baked inside a spice cake.  All 3 layers are to be stacked and cemented together with cream cheese frosting.  In a perfect world, it would look like this.

Apparently someone did have a perfect world, and therefore a perfect cherpumple.  Just not me!

Here is the history of Rachel's Cherpumple attempts

• Attempt #1 - A complete and utter disaster!  Ended with cherry pie filling dripping down the side of the countertop and down my front (reminder: ALWAYS wear aprons!).  Also not where it belonged was the pumpkin pie strewn across the floor and down my mom's front  Sitting on the countertop were two seperate bowls of cake batter, mixed but then untouched, and burnt cupcakes forgotten while cleaning up the pumpkin pie. On the up side, the apple pie was a hit at my FHE Pie Night after I decided to scratch the idea of continuing this cherpumple!
• Attempt #2 - Two weeks later and surrounded by friends for a hilarious night of grilled tri tip dinner and dessert.  My cherpumple came close to awesomeness, but ended in a presentation failure!  Sure tasted good, but the look left much to be desired...and a lot to be cleaned up. 
• Attempt #3 - Has not happened yet.  But, the list of those wanting to see the completed masterpiece is growing.  Before I know it, I'll have the whole ward waiting for the grandiose completion or the comedic destruction of my 'tri-pie' #3.

Documentation of my failure...

Camera Time

Here's the scoop.  I really want a new camera soon, but I don't know enough about cameras to make a good choice.  Plus, I need to know how much I'll be spending so I can save it up, which is why I'm asking now instead of later.

Please Help!

 I feel so camera-challenged

Let me tell you what I want out of a camera; and those of you that know your stuff can tell me what to look for! 

1. Super Red-Eye Reduction, or just complete elimination!
2. Anti-shake
3. Good zoom
4. Small enough that I don't feel like I'm lugging my life everywhere, yet big enough that when I take pictures randomly people don't think I'm a creeper with a hidden camera (such as at ward activities)
5. Crisp color and lines (I know this has a lot to do with the photographer, but I'll work on that!)\
6. Good low-light pictures - mine goes super grainy

This is how ancient my current camera feels to me, only lighter!

What's wrong with THIS picture?

You think I should have maybe looked in the mirror just ONE MORE TIME before heading to work this morning?  I sure do!

Don't mind my ugly hair in this pic.  It was pulled back for ease of finding my mishap. :)

What I Love About Halloween

Halloween always brings out another side of people.  There is always the guy who doesn't dress up, the girl who simply puts a hat on, the guy with the same costume every year, the girl with little clothing on and calling a costume (ridiculous!), and then there's the "go get 'em" people.  Personally, I think Halloween says a lot about the person... ya know, the way they choose to "transform" themselves, becoming their alter egos.  But all in all, its mostly just fun to see the variety of costumes!

Pictures from Deb's annual Halloween party, courtesy of Sarah

This year I went as Medusa and took my friend, Andrew, as Perseus.

Then of course, we all dressed up at work and invited the entire building to come to our office for treats and kids to trick or treat.  It was a fun Friday!

The two receptionists on the left were each other.  It was great!  We're also missing a few people in this pic.

Fall Beauty

Monday morning, as I was driving to work, I actually opened my eyes and realized just how beautiful the drive to work is these days.  All too often I forget to look around while I drive.  Instead, I'm watching for cops to show out of no where or I am anxiously waiting for the light to turn green after the slow driver in front of me has finally turned right.  But this day, beauty could not be hid.

Sunday night's windy rain/storm created the most beautiful natural sight.  The leaves had blown off the trees and were scattered across the road, some still in the trees, and the mountain tops were tipped with the first light snow of the season.  From where I was driving I could see the mountain tops through the tree lined street.  I drove it again on my lunch break.  Unfortunately, by the time I was finally able to break away from work, the leaves had blown back to the side of the road by the wind of the passing cars and the morning light was no longer glistening off the snow.  But the sight was still picture worthy.

Utah really is a beautiful place!

Masquerade Ball

Last week I got invited to a private masquerade ball. Super exciting, right?  Any girl loves to dress up, plus it's October so adding a mask is perfect!  Minor detail... no dress.  I spent the week trying to locate a good formal dress with really no success.  I tried on several of mine and my sisters' high school formals, none of which fit (by the way, that is NOT a good sign).  Then I asked around to some friends and located a few that fit, but didn't work so well with my G's.  Tough game finding a modest formal on a budget!

It was Friday, the day of the ball, and I still didn't have a dress OR a mask!  What is a girl to do?  I'll tell you what she does...

She goes to J.C.Penny's where first of all she gets triple the reward points on her debit card, and secondly, she miraculously happens upon a door buster sale.  Formal dresses at 50% off!  I totally scored!

Next, I was off to find the perfect mask!

Me and Kristina just about to head out to the ball!

The night turned out pretty well if you ask me.  Plus, Kristina introduced me to a great guy who got my number at the end of the night.  We'll see if that actually goes anywhere!

Fall Ride

Last year, after our bishopric changed, I found myself riding through Dimple Dell on the back of a beautiful horse!  My bishop has several horses and felt like it would be the best way to get to know my presidency... He was right.  Well, the last year has been full of fun and exciting things, including two of my presidency members getting married.  This, of course, resulted in two new members!

Now it is fall again, and Bishop has a few more presidency members to know better.  Oh how I love the perks to my calling!  Again, we took his horses to Dimple Dell and rode through the beautifully changing leaves.  There is nothing that compares to the excitement I feel when I can just ride.

Unfortunately, not all my presidency was able to make it.  Mandy's right foot has been in a cast since August following a bad wakeboarding accident and Annie got called into some last minute meetings for her job.  But for those of us that went, we had a wonderful time!

(L to R): Elizabeth, Shelisa, me, Bishop's wife

Pumpking Picking

There is a joy to be had when kids are around!

I loved spending the afternoon at the pumpkin patch with my sister, Becca, and her two boys.

The beginning maze thrilled the boys!  It was tough to get them to stop running long enough for a picture.

It was nearly impossible to get them out of the maze.  We had to lure them out with a ride in the wheel barrow.  It worked for a little while.  :)

But riding in the wheel barrow wasn't enough, they had the most fun running through the pumpkins.

And I loved spending the day with them!

I Run Because I Can

I run because I can.

This is my new motto for running.  For a long time, I hated to run.  In fact, I vividly recall an afternoon in high school gym class.  While I was rockin' it on the stationary bike, Coach Hymas came by to ask me to join the track team.  I just laughed saying "I'm not fast." He didn't mind, he suggested that all I needed to be was flexible so I could do hurdles. Yep, apparently he hadn't seen me trying to touch my toes earlier in the year.  Not so flexible...
Needless to say, I didn't join.

My lack of excitement for running continued through college.  It wasn't until spring of 2007 that my sisters convinced me to join them for the Deseret News 10k on the 24th of July.  Maybe I said yes because for the first time I wanted to follow in my sisters footsteps.  I ran it again in 2008, but took a running hiatus in 2009.  And then it was 2010.  Wow!  This has been a year of running! I ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay, Deseret News 10k, Dirty Dash 10k, and most recently the Wasatch Woman 10k this past weekend at Thanksgiving Point.  And I'm already signed up for a couple races in 2011!
Earlier this year, I saw the phrase "I run because I can" and decided that is why I do it.  When I started running, I hated it.  My body ached and I was tired from getting up early to run before work.  It seemed impossible to find any joy in it.  I even invested in an iPod shuffle to help motivate, but decided I liked running without music better (plus, its much safer for street running).  And then while training for the Ragnar, something happened.  For once, I was running enough that my body didn't ache.  It was summer and the sun was rising at 6am or earlier so getting up early enough to run before work didn't seem so early anymore.  I made friends with other runners who were encouraging me without even knowing it!  Running was fun!

Now the seasons are changing and its getting cold.  I'm finding it hard to get up and run before work again.  But, I have a motivation.  I've finally reached the point that that running feels good and I don't want to lose this goodness!  So I get up, put on my running clothes, throw on my reflector vest and tighten my head lamp, avoiding my pony tail.  It's cold, but it is very peaceful running in the dark.  Fewer cars to avoid, crisp air to breathe, but the best part is that I don't psych myself out with the view of the distance ahead.  I find I can run longer in the dark.  I just go. I run.

In the end, I run because I can.

The Dirty Dash

Dirty Dash

Wipeout meets Boot Camp - Soldier Hollow style
(if you are unfamiliar with Wipeout, click here to watch what I mean)

This was one of the most difficult things I've done!  10k (6.2 miles) of hills, trails, mud, obstacles, water, laughter and fun!

Team member, Carole, got some great pics of us as we ran; and of course we got some other good ones from Flo Foto! By the way, you'll notice in the pics that we took our SWEET time finishing.  No point rushing through such great fun, right?

Squeaky Clean Start - 80s style :)

Andrew, Oscar, Rachel, Carole, Kristina

The Hogbails

tons of hills

Razorback Alley

The Pig Pen

We totally sank in the mud. And yes, we hurdled these walls.  Remember the boot camp analogy?

 

 

Hog Wallow

Secret Obstacle - smelled like duck poo.  I had to plug my nose while I ran so I didn't lose my breakfast!

Uphill to the Slop n' Slide

(Note: I did slide, but I only made it about half way down so I had to stand up to run again)

Pig Sty

And the FILTHY FINISH!