Spring Break 2011: Oregon Day 2

We started off the day with breakfast/lunch at my mom's house in Independence. Here is Brian cooking in the kitchen. We went through way too much bacon :)

Spring Break 2011: Oregon Day 1

Because our schedule will be crazy this year with new baby, we thought we would make a trip to Oregon during Brian's spring break from school. And luckily, it fell on Easter weekend! We initially planned the trip to take two driving days (LA to Salem is 15 hours), stopping in northern California. But last minute, we decided to just wake up early and see how far we could drive before Mariah goes crazy. She was SOOO good in the car! we only stopped twice for gas/food, and she kept herself entertained with movies on the iPad.

On the first full day of our trip, we went with my sister Tina to the Salem Riverfront Carousel. It was so fun.

St. Patricks Day 2011

For St. Patrick's Day this year, I thought I would spare Brian the green-dyed foods and cheesy Disney movies about leprocauns. Instead we were invited to a genuine St. Patty's party.

Valentines Day 2011

We had an awesome Valentine exchange for all the kids in the church gym on Valentines Day. And there were lots of yummy treats!

Superbowl!

We had our traditional Superbowl party this year. It was a good turnout! We had fried chicken, the superbowl cake, chips and queso and other awesome game foods.

Christmas in Boston 2010

For Christmas time we went to Boston to visit Brian's parents. What fun!

A New Food Blog

I know this is a little premature, as New Years resolutions are just around the corner, but I wanted to get a head start! I have started a new blog called Veronica's Diet. Lately I have been reading more and more about how crazy unhealthy people eat in this country, including myself! So this will be my blog journal on how I am progressing (or not progressing) with my personal battle for healthier eating. Please visit and leave some love!

LA Temple Lights and Tito's Tacos

Last night for YW Activity, we took the young women and young men to see the lights at the LDS temple in Los Angeles. So pretty! And it's cool because they let people from the local wards decorate. Last year people from good ol' South Pas. got to decorate some lights.

Ward Christmas Party

This Saturday we went to our church's Christmas party. It's hard for most people to grasp the awesomeness of LDS folks: we all pitch in! We hardly had any budget for this party, but everyone gave a little and it turned out amazing.

Miller 3rd Annual Fondue Party

It's that time again...for our annual Fondue party! This year we fondued four different flavors: cheddar, pizza, chocolate and caramel.

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving this year, we stayed in LA! We had a potluck with friends at the church building. I was in charge of the turkey, stuffing, and a pie (yes, a bit ambitious, especially since we ended up bringing a bunch of extra stuff!). Luckily, my good friend Joan knows how to DEEP FRY turkeys and made one for us.

Cousin Dinner!

Yesterday we went to Bryon and Rebecca's house (Brian's cousin) for our first cousin dinner in southern California. We used to do these all the time in Utah with Brian's other cousins (he's got a lot of them!).

Here are Brian (yes there were TWO Brians there, thankfully they spell their names differently), Rebecca and Bill enjoying delicious pie.

Grandparents Come to Visit

Sorry for my hiatus, folks! It's been a month since I have blogged. We have been super busy (with work stuff, not fun stuff) and sick so I had to put blogging on hold. Here's what has been happening.

In the first weekend of October, Claude and Marlena came to visit us. We went to Disneyland for Marlena's birthday, which was a lot of fun! We got Brian to go on the Thunder Mountain Railroad ride (in the back of the train too!), which was pretty awesome. And he didn't get sick!

French Bread Recipe (Bread Machine)

So today I had a strange craving for French bread but didn't want to have to go all the way to the store, so I decided to make it!

I found this fantastic EASY bread machine recipe from Food.com (I added my own modifications):

Mmm, Pie

I just baked the first apple pie of the season. So good! Trust me, there will be many more to come. Did you know at Thanksgiving, my family bakes on average, one pie per person?? We like a lot of pie. Cherry or apple is my favorite. Gosh I love fall.

Peanutbutter-filled Chocolate Cookies, yum!

Another spin on Rolo or Reeses cookes, this newest obsession comes from my friend Megan's blog. Soooo good. Here's the recipe.

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies
Taken from itwasamazing.blogspot.com

This Past Month: Trying to Eat Healthily

It all started with this book, Animal Vegetable Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. My first impression was that it was this kinda weird, tree-hugging concept that didn't apply to real-life families (especially students) who actually had a budget for food.

This Past Month: Independence Day 2010

For this Independence Day, we got to celebrate for two days, as the holiday was on Sunday. On Saturday, we had a BBQ/pool party with Hayley, who I visit teach. She is fabulous. We just whipped up the party the night before, it was awesome!

Then on Sunday we had a dinner party with the Rudeliches and friends and watched the fireworks on their rooftop. It was cool because we got to see the highlights of all the neighboring cities.

HAPPY (BELATED) FOURTH OF JULY!

This Past Month: Mmm, Donuts!

Since Mariah love donuts already (notice the chocolate Hitler 'stache in this picture??), Brian and I decided to make homemade donuts. From scratch!

Oregon Trip 2010

Last week I got back from my trip to Oregon. It was the first time in FIVE years that the bottom six sisters (my siblings I actually grew up with) could all get together. We had so much fun!