Santa's Arrival

Yesterday we had a great Thanksgiving day meal with a wonderful family, the Andersens. We love this time of year and have a lot to be grateful for: family, health, home and friends (and so much more).

For Black Friday, we kept things simple and went to see Santa's arrival at the University Mall in Orem. Above you might be able to make out Santa's hand waiving out of the window of the helicopter. We were a bit surprised at the force of the wind that stirred up. Benjamin was a little scared, but handled it all well.

Here are Santa and Mrs. Clause being assisted out of the helicopter and below, we got another wave.

While we waited for Santa to come round to our area, Benjamin saw the Build-a-Bear and went right up to him for a bear-hug. He was so adorable, not wanting to let go of the bear, but cuddled happily in his arms. So sweet!

When Santa arrived at our group, he picked Benjamin out of the kids around for an individual shot. Lucky Benjamin! We were happy that he didn't freak out or cry, but was curious.

We even saw Mrs. Clause. She was trailing behind Santa a bit and we heard him call out "come along Mrs. Clause". It made us chuckle. We had an overall good experience and think Benjamin enjoyed the festivities.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

 

I bought some fresh cranberries and thought I'd try something new with my pie pumpkin. This combination of pumpkin and cranberries is tastey.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

2 1/4 c flour
1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 c sugar
1 pie pumpkin, baked and pureed
1/2 c canola oil
1 overflowing cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1 c walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 2-9x5 loaf pans. Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking power and salt in large bowl, set aside. In small bowl combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until well mixed. Add to flour mixture using wooden spoon. Gently fold in cranberries and nuts. Spoon into loaf pans and bake 50-60 minutes until done. Cool before slicing.



Make sure to chop up the cranberries. I learned that if you microwave the cranberries first, then they will be easier to chop. I microwaved mine for two 30-second intervals. If you leave the cranberries whole, they will expand and pop when baking, leaving holes. Also, I added a bit of flour to the cranberries so they wouldn't stick together. It is important to gently fold them into the batter as they may turn the batter red/pink.

Walking In Daddy's Shoes

Here's Benjamin trying to walk in Daddy's shoes. He didn't get very far, but he had fun trying.

Fun Art Project

I finally got around to putting some art in Benjamin's room. I had fun making his name with all those monkeys hanging around.