Peppermint Meringue {Kisses}

I have a new found favorite!  I am sure many of you already know of these light sweet little morsels of yumminess, but I have just discovered them...

Not only are they yummy...they are pretty easy to make --that makes them sweeter!

Here is the recipe:

2 egg whites                      1/2 Cup white sugar
1/8 tsp. salt                         2 peppermint candy canes, crushed
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar      * optional and super yummy addition:  handful of white morsels.

1.  preheat oven to 225 degrees F.  Line cookie sheet with foil.

2.  In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar to soft peaks.  Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until whites form stiff peaks.  Drop by spoon-fuls 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle crushed candy over the cookies.

3.  Bake for 1-1/2 hours in preheated oven. Meringues should be completely dry on the side.  Do not allow them to brown. Turn off oven.  Keep oven door ajar and let meringues sit in the oven until completely cool. Loosen from foil with metal spatula. Store loosely covered in cool dry place for up to 2 months.

* I have had these with white morsels...some people call them white chocolate chips but I can't taste or see how they are related to chocolate, so I refuse to call them that. 

Toss in a handful and stir a couple of times to mix them in before dropping on the cookie sheet.

{Little boy}

 This is our caboose...

 The runner up...

 (We considered naming him Dunn.) 

 

JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE!  He is such a charmer...his grin is contagious, especially with the sparkle in the eyes! and to top it off, he is just as sweet and easy-going as his smile is cute. 

 

From 1 to 2 years can be trying at times.  They are finding they can do and say things on their own.  They push their will and needs above everyone else.

 

Since he is our tail end of the pack, I watch him differently than I did my older children.  I watch a lot more.  I laugh a lot more and I stress about things a lot less.

I have seen my kids go through stages, have high points and low points and yes, exert their will?...most definitely!  One thing I have noticed that appears around Sean's age is that they love swords and things that make noise...things very gun-like...and they like to pack them around. 

A most handy place is the back of the shirt.  Makes sense. Easy to reach and remove, yet close to you as well.  Kaleb and Joel would pack their {Jaggy's} around in there for hours. 

Sean calls this aluminum foil sword his {shing} --think of what a sword sounds like when coming out of the scabbard.  He really wants his big brothers Master Sword, but it is off limits.  Joel loves to makes swords out aluminum foil.  In fact, a great present for him is his own box.  A sculpture-r in the making! 

What else can I say? I love our {little boy} and I love that my {Big Boys} look forward to playing with him when they get back from school. They play nerf guns and swords and make funny noises to get Sean to giggle.  They watch him in the tub...making great splashes and crashes. They even change diapers!  Can you believe it? I am convinces that my boys think they are getting big. Not little kids anymore. There are days that I agree.   

However, even when they are taller than me, I will think of them all as my {Little Boys}.

Quickest Tree Adventure Yet

Our Christmas Tree Tradition has been to go out into the snowy mountains, hike and play in the snow, drink hot chocolate and then find a tree.  That tree is usually bigger than the height of our ceiling and we have to make some adjustments, but over all it is an all day experience. 

This year we changed that tradition --slightly.  To get a tree tag from a ranger station is quite a drive from here. We didn't want to drive a super long ways because of one particular reason.  The trees -in the forest- are WAY different!
They are more like this:


Ponderosa Pine

With needles like this: 

 

So I went looking for Christmas tree farms....the next best thing...

 

There aren't any!

 

So I went looking for a Christmas tree lot.

 

There was ONE!  With a couple of bushy-Grandma Gibb type trees.

 

Hmmm...so...for our family night --in the cover of darkness--...we went here: 



They had a couple varieties to choose from. And so we went with a more 'traditional' looking tree, the noble fir.  Actually we bought two.  The small second tree is for our outside entry. 

 

It holds two strands of lights --compared to 5 to 6 from previous years.

And it was done in about 40 minutes.  Compared to a lot more in years past. 

It smells great and looks pretty cute---such a tiny little guy!

It is downstairs this year.
There is a great little room off the
family room.

Here are some pictures of our simple ideas of holiday cheer in our home.

Upstairs family room.

Entry:  The felt  tree to the right is our thankful tree.
Joel's idea:  we will 'decorate' it with things we
are thankful for.  Smart boy!

Downstairs...

Bottom of the stairs:  Kid art...nothing can top it!

Grandma Grangers stitching adds great color!
Downstairs



update

Driving --officially now--
Can you believe they got him to do
this? A whole day at school?



talking up a storm...
loves Buzz and Woody



Growing like a weed
Still conquering the world

14...taller than mom
 ...Best 'movie-quote-r' ever!

Losing teeth  and still dancing around

December 1st

I don't really know where we went today.  We left about 11:00, took a lunch and headed into the mountains.  The area isn't too far from our home...kind of... it was a 2 hour drive.  We went out to find a trailhead or two and 'explore' the area for future camping and hiking adventures.  It was great!  We saw a river!!  You may think...yeah, so what...Alas, we don't see rivers here.  Maybe a stream...maybe...a dry river bed --yes. So it was so refreshing to see a largish river with Anglers doing their thing.

We also saw the aftermath of a forest fire. We do not know when it happened, but there are not many 'baby' trees around there yet, so the landscaped look naked. 

We drove and drove and drove and then stopped to have lunch and explore.  You know, it really doesn't take much for kids to enjoy themselves in nature.  I think the hard part is getting them out in it.

 

Sean doing his thing



Keno, Kameron, and Kaleb...cooking?

Sadie drawing...of course

4-6 inch ice...must try to break with rock!

First attempt...take a guess

gluten
Crossed out...   eliminated...     moving on...    'it's not you, it's me'...  looking back isn't a good idea...

It started when I was pregnant with Sean.

Now it is just better to stay away from all those things I loved... 
--homemade bread and butter, fresh out of the oven
--crackers
--warm toast with peanut butter and chocolate chips
--gravy
--most things you love and didn't realize has wheat/gluten in them.

So sad...

I tried making ________________ with the substitute flour from Bob's Red Mill -- don't forget the Xanthum gum.  (I had no idea what Xanthum would even look like...gum?...liquid?)  Turns out it is an extremely fine powder that leaves your pocket book smaller than it started out.  About $13.00 a pop for an 8 oz. bag.

I have not jumped into the gluten free world of breads, cookies, crackers, etc.  I have just kind of avoided it.  Tried some blueberry muffins...4 muffins for $5.00.  I eat only 1/2 a muffin at a time. It is nice to actually feel full. 

We'll see where I go next.   If you guessed that they are cookies...you are right! They did taste pretty good.  I think it helps to have the best, big, milk chocolate chips in them.

Thanksgiving -- 65 degrees

Thanksgiving was spent in St. George Utah with my brother and his family.  It was our first time on that section of highway so it was interesting...most of the time.  Big...Huge mountains...stunning red, white and black rock...very impressive plateaus...and some flat land, too.

Palm tree by the front steps

St. George Temple

We visited the St. George Temple, Brigham Young's Winter home and Zion National Park. It felt like we went back in time a month and half.  The trees still had leaves and were beautiful gold and red. The grass was still green and it was about 65 degrees.  Not bad for the end of November.









 

All the kids on
 or by a huge tree

All together we had 11 children to keep track of - ranging from 16 years to 10 months. Are we crazy?  Maybe! They all played nicely together and they had a fun time.

View of the temple from the back
with an amazing old and huge tree.

The St. George Temple is the oldest operating Temple in the Church today.  It is stunning white and was very simply landscaped. The palm trees kind of through me off, but I love their look!

Kaylee, Kaleb, Sean, Josh,
Rachel, Emily, Reed, Kameron

Lower Emerald Pool

Beautiful Towering mountains in Zion National Park





Zion National Park--We drove through all that we could and then we stopped and took a bus to a trailhead.  It was a 3 mile hike, round trip, to an area called the Emerald pools -- lower, middle and upper.  We all made it the whole way with only Sean and Sarah needing to be packed.  We left late in the afternoon and so when we made it back down it was nearly dark. While we waited for the bus to come back through and pick us up a herd of deer walk past us--about 15 feet away.  The busses stop at 6pm, and after that you are stuck in the park.  We had a plan, if that happened,  Kam was going to run back to the Suburban and drive it back to rescue us.  The whole time the kids were amazing...little complaining or bickering...and it was pretty chilly in the canyon without the sun. 

It was a great trip!  We loved sharing the holiday with Reed, Jessica and the whole Gibb crew!