Washington Christmas

We are finally back at home in Michigan (after some flight delays and lost luggage). It's been forever since I have posted, so now I feel like I have to play catch up. We had a wonderful and eventful Christmas break in Washington. We had such a good time with our family and feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. Here are few pictures and highlights of our trip...

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with all our Gamblin cousins

It just wouldn't be Christmas Eve without matching pajamas!

Preggo Steph!
The whole fam....out to dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Thanks Paul and Bev!

Us at the EMP (Experience Music Project) A music museum in Seattle



As their Christmas gift to us, Steph and Matt took us to a Sonics game. It was a great idea, we had a blast!

Eating a Maggianos before the game, where Dustin and I had our wedding luncheon.


Dustin enjoying the best doughnuts in the world!

Perry making an intersting face

Gingerbread Fun

So one the packages that Josh and Amanda sent were all the necessary tools needed to construct a gingerbread house. We had some fun making them while eating the candy at the same time. I'll let you guess which one is mine and which one is Dustin's...

Thanks Sherwoods

Dustin's brother and his wife Amanda had us for Christmas this year. They gave us a bunch of little presents to open on specific days. Amanda was so cute and individually wrapped each present with hand make tags as well. I could tell she put a lot of effort and time into it. So far we go this Christmas binder with a song, story and quote for each day in December. Also a CD, a book and a really cute Christmas ornament. We can't wait to open the rest. Thanks so much you guys!

Great Message

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and speak it again. Christmas is a celebration, and there is no celebration that compares with the realization of its true meaning - with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended itself unselfishly in the things that matter most." - President Hunter, Ensign, Dec. 2002 I stole this from my friend Mindy's blog who is on a mission in Washington DC. I love this quote. Hopefully we can take this advice and use this season as a reminder to be alittle better.

Winter Is Here

I love snow! So I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to this outside our door. Although I enjoy winter and snow, I do not like really cold weather. It's been very cold here this week and got down to 25 degrees yesterday with high winds...not fun. But I guess it's a sign of things to come. We here the winters here are brutal. I thought nothing could get worse than Idaho winters. I think we are in for a treat.





As for us, we are pretty uneventful, hence not posting anything for over a week. Dustin is really busy preparing for finals that are coming up very quickly. We can't believe our first semester here is almost over. Our time here goes by so fast!

Paula's Yummy Pumpkin Bars

So I love Paula Deen's show on the the Food Network. I think she's absolutely hilarious. I saw her make this recipe and I had to try it. They are the best pumpkin bars ever! But make sure you share most of them and take them to friends or neighbors because if you don't you'll end up eating the whole pan yourself. Enjoy! Bars: 4 eggs 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 15-ounce can pumpkin 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda Icing: 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars. To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars. PS- So I don't think 30 minutes baking time is enough. The 2 times I've made them I've had to leave them for 40 minutes or else the middle isn't done.

So lately my digital camera just hasn't been working the way I want it to. I got it for Christmas 3 years ago and it's seen better days. So Dustin knew how bad I wanted a new one, especially for the holidays and surprised me yesterday with this hot pink Polaroid digital camera. It was supposed to be for Christmas, but Dustin is the worst at waiting for things like that so it came early. He gave it to me the second he came home from the store still in the plastic store bag. I was so excited!