Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was such a special day for Matthew and I...it was our first Valentine's Day married! He worked hard all weekend studying so that he wouldn't have to study on Sunday because he said that Sunday was "my day". Late Saturday night Matthew asked me, "Wife, what are you doing tomorrow at 4?"...so of course I had to check my schedule...HA! He surprised me and bought me tickets to see the movie Valentine's Day...this was so special because we haven't been to see a movie in sooo long! After the movie we went to Cheesecake Factory and got dinner to-go because the wait was just that...a LONG WAIT! We came home, ate dinner and played with our little girl...oh yeah, and of course ate cheesecake!! What a great day!!

Fun Weekend with the Fam

This past weekend was sooooo much fun! Becca, Jeff and our favorite little boys came to visit us! We had lots of fun riding a carousel, beating on drums, playing chase with Paisley, playing hockey outside and going on walks! Max really loved following his Uncle Matt around, holding his hand, and leading him to the next fun adventure.

On an adventure to the mall, Annie Jo and Uncle Matt bought Max a lego set of "Scoop" (looks like a bulldozer) from Bob the builder. We got it home and played with it LOTS!! On Saturday night Matt and I watched the boys while Bec and Jeff went on a quick run to the store. I was sitting on the couch and watching Max and I asked him, "Max, where's Scoop?" Max was standing right next to the coffee table where scoop was, he looked at scoop and then back at me and said, "Scoop went bye bye." I said "What? Scoop went bye bye?" And Max says "Yep!" HAHA!!! I LOVE this boy soooo much!!!

Rebecca also made me laugh really hard on Friday night during the opening ceremony for the winter olympics. Some girl was about to sing the Canadian national anthem and Becca says, "What's the Canadian anthem...?" and she began to sing "Oh Canada, Oh Canada..." to the tune of "O Christmas tree..." We both looked at each other and just started laughing...it was soooo funny!!

What a great weekend!! I love my family!

Paisley's New Trick

Paisley has a new trick that Matthew and I wanted to share with you!



I didn't say it was a good trick!!



Daddy had to scold her...I don't think she got the idea because we have to hide the toilet paper now.

More Yummy...Cheesecake Factory Recipe!!

The Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
3 x 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 tspn vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
½ tspn cinnamon
¼ tspn nutmeg
¼ tspn allspice
whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 1 tbsp sugar in a medium bowl. Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the butter, but not so much as to turn the mixture into paste. Keep it crumbly.

Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the springform pan. You don't want the crust to form all of the way up the back of each slice of cheesecake. Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set it aside until you are ready to fill itbsp

In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.

Add the pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.

Pour the filling into the pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes. The top will turn a bit darker at this pointbsp Remove from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool.

When the cheesecake has come to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator. When the cheesecake has chilled, remove the pan sides and cut the cake into 8 equal pieces.

Serve with a generous portion of whipped cream on top.

Serves 8.

Yummy Yum Yum

Tonight I was feeling energetic, so I took the adventure of making breakfast ahead of time for Matthew. Nothing says good morning like HOMEMADE BREAD!! It was really fun, fast, and easy to make. I should bake more!