Fail

Last weekend I got ambitious and decided to try all new recipes for the weekend. Three nights in a row I made three new recipes that I had never tried before. Miraculously, they all turned out! It was a ton of fun and really very rewarding. The problem is, I must have gotten cocky. How could I help it? Three new meals turning out not only edible but kind of yummy, quite frankly. Clearly I am getting pretty skilled in the kitchen. :) So when this weekend rolled around I thought I'd branch out again. This time though I went for homemade bread. My mom has always made bread and it has always been delicious. So I called her up and I told her that I have made banana bread, cheese bread, and spaghetti bread. What's a step up but still something I can handle was my question. She assured me that her white bread recipe is a walk in the park. So I got it from her and went for it. It was enough to make two loaves so I planned to leave one plain white and the other cinnamon swirl. Long story short....it didn't rise. I waited. And waited. And waited some more. It was suggested that maybe my house was too cold. So I put it in the oven on warm. That helped a little, but it still wasn't doing much. Several hours, many phone calls, and a lot of frustration later the rather pitiful looking loaves were put in the oven. Here are the results:

It is edible, which is more than I hoped for when I put it in the oven. But it's pretty dense. Brennan tried to make me feel better by saying "It's like two slices of bread in one." Thanks, Brennan. :) So all I can figure is I must have gotten cocky (I really don't remember feeling prideful about my cooking abilities) and it was time to learn a little humility.
Lesson learned.

Duke

I like dogs. And I kind of really want one. The trouble is that I sort of already have one. I bought Duke when I was in 8th grade, certain that he would be my best friend, like the kind of dogs you see in movies haha. Well, it didn't quite turn out that way but he was/is a pretty good dog. And pretty cute too. But he is still at my parent's house. I left him there when I went away to school 4 years ago. They have offered to let me take him now that we have a house, but I almost think that would be mean. I think Duke would be pretty sad if he had to leave their house. He is kind of spoiled. But at the same time I kind of feel weird getting a new dog when I already have one. So what do I do???? Good question. The jury is still out. I have no idea. But here are some cute pictures of Jade and Duke meeting for the first time. Duke was pretty funny about steering clear of all the kids while they were around. It was like he knew they would just cause trouble for him.

Saying hello.

Trying to shake hands. He really just doesn't get why people don't like to have his paws on their lap.

Procrastinating

Caden on New Year's Eve

I wish I felt like Caden clearly did when that photo was taken. Unfortunately, I don't. I feel tired and extremely extremely lazy. Extremely. There is a slight problem though, I have a whole list of things I NEED to do!! So what do I do? Why, I blog of course, so as to further procrastinate doing the things that actually need to be done. Like the dishes in the kitchen, or the pine needles that have been waiting all week to be vacuumed up, or the kitchen floor that needs to be swept and mopped. Nah, forget all those, let's blog! But wait, I don't even have a decent idea for a post... No worries, I'll just upload tons of random pictures from break. I would apologize in advance for the abundance of photos you are about to view but first of all, almost no one reads this blog so who would I be apologizing to exactly? And second of all, I love it when I can check out new posts on other blogs, especially when pictures are involved. So nope, no apology. Sorry folks.
Jade was certainly a high light of the break. But unlike my visit to Arizona, this time there was some competition for holding her. I was happy to share though.
Check out our bowling form.
He looks like he's having fun, doesn't he? :) We got a beautiful snowfall on Christmas Eve and were able to go sledding at Cornell (photos are of a different sledding adventure). It was the perfect kind of snow and weather for sledding.
All dressed up for Church. Loved that outfit!!
Lots of time spent in the kitchen making yummy food and of course consuming it as well.
Jade all snuggled up against the Iowa winter. It was a rude awakening after spending her entire life in sunny Arizona.

And finally, my favorite picture. Brennan took a picture of me, my dad, Ben, and Mara right after midnight on New Years Eve (or I guess New Year's Day since it was after midnight). Then Mara had this genius idea:
She's a clever girl, that Mara. How creative! ;) And we don't even look like dorks at all...

Well, I think I have sufficiently procrastinated. Time to stop being lazy and get off the couch. Happy Wednesday!

A Cardon family band?

Between Christmas and New Year's we were able to have everyone over to our place for a day. It was fun to be the hosts for once. Kind of made us feel like legitimate adults for a minute. But let's face it, our house doesn't really have a lot to offer. Aside from some Cafe Rio style salads, the Wii was the other popular item on the menu. Band Hero and Wii Fit Plus were the games of choice. After hearing/watching everyone perform I'm pretty sure we could make a family band. We'd make it big, no doubt. Wii-style drums have to be pretty similar to real drums, right? Alright, so maybe we won't be hitting the stage as a family anytime soon, but we sure rocked out in our living room.

Check out her concentration. Impeccable.

Even mom got in on the fun. :) Speaking of mom and the Wii...I captured a great video of her doing Wii Fit. Be on the look out for that in the next couple of days.

We are rockstars.

Merry Christmas...a little late

Not surprisingly the last month or so was pretty busy, pleasantly busy, but busy nonetheless. So here I am, trying to figure out what to blog about when it has been over a month. Well, since Christmas is pretty much the greatest thing ever, I guess I will start there.

Caleb, Marci, Gavin, Henry and Wyatt were able to come into town several days before Christmas and stayed until a day after. It was fun to spend some time with them and have them around for Christmas. We even got to share our discovery of a delicious gyro with Caleb. It's no Moondoggy's, but I'd say it's a close second. Mara, Ben and Jade were able to come in from Arizona on Christmas Eve and spend the following week in the area. Since Mara and Caleb's trips overlapped we were able to have four of the five siblings and families together for Christmas. It was wonderful to have so many of us together, but Nathan and Stacy and their kiddos were sorely missed.

On Christmas Eve, the tradition is to read the scriptures and sing Christmas songs. I've always enjoyed it and this year was no exception. Mom even played her harp along with us. We of course proceeded to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol. I love that movie!!

Christmas morning got started a little later than it did back in the day, but still plenty early as far as I'm concerned. It's always fun to have little kids around on Christmas morning. Their excitement is contagious. It was a wonderful day!

Without further ado, the pictures to tell the story...
Enjoying some Christmas carols.
Papa and Jade enjoying their first Christmas Eve together.
Sporting our new Christmas Eve PJs! :)
Christmas morning!!! Thank goodness Santa came.
Lots of Hawkeye gear was given this Christmas.
Caleb working hard on Perplexus. Kelbie got it for Christmas from her brother and sister. It provided hours of entertainment for everyone in the house for the rest of the day. It was surprisingly addictive.

And last but not least, the aftermath of Christmas....
As you can see, Christmas was an exciting and fun-filled day but took a lot out of us. :) Good thing we have a year to recover before we get to do it again.