Jeremy's Share-me-not Mints!o

If you know Jer, you know he loves, loves, loves butter mints.  I learned how to make them early on in our marriage and will make them at Christmas time or other special occasions.  They have come to be affectionately known as Jeremy's Share-me-not Mints from his siblings.  The story is different depending on whose side you hear so I will set the record straight with the "right" side of the story.

When Jeremy was younger the family would all pile in the car to take a family vacation.  Along the way, when they would stop at the gas station, Mom and Dad would ask if any of them wanted to pick out a treat.  Jeremy would jump in and say yes, pick out his butter mints and be in the car in a flash.  Siblings - chose no treats or at least not very good ones.  Then as they got back on the road they all wanted Jer's butter mints and of course, he, loving them so fondly, never wanted to share!  Hence the name Jeremy's Share-me-not Mints.

Now I make two batches, one for his very own and one to share.  So in case we haven't shared some with you, I will share the recipe so you can make your own!

Jeremy's Share-Me-Not Butter Mints

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. mint extract

food coloring

Heat water and butter until melted.  Add sugar and stir with a WOODEN spoon until dissolved. After this point, DO NOT STIR!  Cover and bring to boil.  Remove lid and scrape sugar crystals off side of pan with a wet pastry brush.  Continue cooking until it reaches 260 F.  Pour onto a cold buttered marble slab.  DO NOT scrape pan.

Sprinkle mint and food coloring over mixture.  Right away start to fold sides over into the mixture and as soon as it is cool enough to handle (you can't be a wimp or it will set up too fast, you have to pull it while it is still really hot.  I always get a little burned) pull it like you would pull taffy until it is firm but elastic and looses it's gloss.  Then pull it into a long snake and begin cutting it into pieces.  You can use kitchen scissors or a knife.  It will go really hard (sucker like) but just keep going.  Put in an air tight container and wait at least a day for them to cure.  If they are still hard, keep waiting a day or two and they will soften up and melt away in your mouth!

Like all candy making these are temper mental.  I think it all has to do with humidity, temperature of kitchen, accurate thermometers, etc.  But usually they will always turn out eventually.  Sometimes I make them and they are perfect the next day.  Other times I have to wait a few more days for them to become soft.

Good luck and don't forget to SHARE!

My Joy!

One of my very favorite things at Christmas time is hearing from those that we love.  I love to see what everyone is doing from year to year and have kept in contact with some people for a long time.  One letter I look forward to each year is from a friend I have had since elementary school.  I haven't seen her since  the fourth grade but we have always stayed in touch at Christmas time! As I receive Christmas cards and letters I put them up on my pantry door so I can see them often throughout the season.  I took down our Christmas last Saturday but just can't seem to bring myself to take down the cards and pictures yet!

Christmas

Nikki and Clint waiting to open presents.

Jeff and Richelle got to open first!

Circe and Ruby waiting patiently!

Ryan and Jennie running out of patients!

Santa Scott

Kayla and Daddy looking at Santa in disbelief!

Neeley and I having a good laugh at Santa!

Christmas came and went so fast, I still feel my head spinning.  Like Grandpa said on Christmas Eve, the older you get the faster the year flies!  It was fun to get together on Christmas Eve to open the mountains of presents Grandma Marlene always has for us and eat all of the yummy treats.  This year as we were waiting for the event to begin, in walked Santa.  Neeley knew in an instant that that strange talking Santa with the square belly was not for real and said, "Who the heck is that??"  We had to quickly explain that it was uncle Scott playing a joke.  Most kids figured it out but I think Cade still thinks it was the real Santa!

We had fun celebrating Christmas this year with the girls.  You can just feel the magic over again as if you are a child when you see it through your kids eyes.  We loved driving around looking at Christmas lights, going to Layton park with our popcorn and hot chocolate to walk around the lights, sitting on Mrs. Clause's lap at the ward Christmas party, going to Grandma's house to help make Christmas treats, going to Aunt Janell's house for the annual Neeley Christmas party (forgot the camera so if anyone wants to share pictures!), going to Grandpa Greyhair's Christmas Concert, Neeley's tumbling recital, making Daddy's butter mints, putting up the tree together and of course watching the girls as they checked out their loot on Christmas morning.  Oh, how I wish time to fly again to next year.  I am sure it will!

Santa Came!

It is 9 p.m. and Santa has already made his delivery at our house.  I guess the girls were good this year because... Kayla got her dolly that opens and shuts her eyes.Neeley got her 'real' camera.

Santa was really glad that we sprinkled oats and glitter in the driveway to twinkle and add an in'sent'ive for the reindeer  to stop at our house.  He also loved the magic glitter key we put on the front porch so he didn't have to shimmy down the chimney!  And those cookies, he knew in an instant they were Grandma's special sugar cookies.  He gobbled them down so fast he left a few strands of his beard on the plate!

I just love all the magic!

Sleep tight little ones, at least until 4 a.m.!

Nothing done!

I just haven't been able to figure out why I can't get anything done lately.  THEN, it 'drooled' on me!

NO WONDER!

And where are the toys? Neatly in the basket, never been touched! I guess I'll just tell Santa to bring me more stuff because that's all she likes to play with anyway!

My little Sunshines!

Neeley and Kayla have loved performing with the Sunshine Generation group.  They both enjoy singing and have become quite the performers!  I wasn't sure if Kayla would even get up on the stage but she did.  She missed her solo the first two performances (partly due to the little girl who went before her) but she finally got it on the last performance for Christmas.  Her part was "a game for brother Dan" from the song Santa's bag of toys.  Neeley on the other hand never missed hers.  She belted it out each time with such a cute little cracking voice.  She had the part of "Me I want a hoola hoop" from the Chipmunks song and she really stole the show with it!  Neeley also introduced the song with this: "Christmas, Christmas, don't be late.  Waiting is such a difficult game.  So here's a song that says it best, from Alvin and the Chipmunks (she said chickmonks) fame."  She never thought she could learn the part when she first heard it but soon learned it and introduced the song with style.  

It was so fun to have grandparents there to cheer them on!

Keeping Lilah off the stage was difficult, she is ready for her turn!

Another Obsession!

I have fallen in love with this cute pink little vac!  I know it looks like a kids toy but it really works good!  The greatest thing about it is that it is small enough for the kids to use.  I have a freshly swept kitchen floor all the time now!  I love it!  We got it at our family gift exchange this year and nobody stole it from us.  Bet you wish you had now that you hear how cool it is!! Too bad, it's all mine!

Finding Christ in Christmas!

Scripture study at our house is two things, short and sweet.  But lately I have found a way to make it exciting too and bring in the season as well.  I have been hiding our baby Jesus figure in different places throughout the house.  Then I find a scripture that goes along with where they can find it.  For example: I hid baby Jesus in the vegetable crisper of the fridge.  Then I read a scripture about eating healthy.  The girls got a good laugh about Jesus being cold but they also payed closer attention and will remember the meaning of that scripture for much longer than if we had just read it.  It has been a really fun way to "find" Christ this holiday season.

Our Christmas Letter!

Christmas 2008
What a wonderful year we have been blessed with, a year full of love and joy!

Our year started out with the arrival of our littlest one, Lilah Ann who was born on January 2, 2008. I can’t begin to tell you what a great baby she is, always happy! She is a great sleeper and loves to eat. Currently she is working on new words but has already mastered Dada (that was first), Mama, Uh-oh, and peek-a-boo! She can walk all around the furniture and has mastered going up and down stairs (mostly in an effort to keep up with her big sisters). When she is getting into something she shouldn’t her lower lip will quiver and if she had more than one tooth, they would chatter.

Kayla (age 3) spends her days following Neeley or knocking down Lilah. She loves them both so much she can’t get enough of them. Being a part of Sunshine Generation (a singing group) she can’t get in enough singing and can belt out Hannah Montana with the best of them. She and I have become buddies; I love having her around during the day when Neeley is at school. Several times a day she will come to tell me that she loves me. Always going straight for the good stuff, skip the cake-go for the frosting kind of girl, she really is my ray of sunshine!

Neeley (age 5) is growing up so fast. She is an amazing helper around the house and is great at following the rules (and making sure sisters do too!). Preschool is always the highlight of her day and what to bring for show and tell is always her dilemma. She too is in Sunshine Generation and had the solo part of “me, I want a hoola hoop” from the Alvin and the Chipmunks song, complete with cracking voice and all. She really was cute at it! Tumbling is also something she has been enjoying and can often be seen doing some sort of trick. She loves Hannah Montana, make-up and Barbies. She is girl to the core!

Jeremy (We won’t tell his age because he is younger than me, ha ha!) is in heaven since the Utes pulled off a perfect football season, much to my families dismay (sorry BYU!). He and his dad and brothers all had season tickets again this year so they got to witness it all! Other than a few fishing trips to” the Lot” and a get-away weekend to Las Vegas with me he has been pretty busy just keeping up with being an Entrepreneur.

Jenny (that’s me and don’t ask my age!) shed over 40 pounds this year (that would be AFTER the baby came out) with a lot of hard working, no brownie eating days. I also shed my gal bladder back in March, which was welcomed after all the pain I had. I keep busy with the kids, a bit of blogging and who knows what else.

If you are getting this letter, we probably like you so we would love to hear from you! Hope this past year was filled with joy and this next year even more!
Love us!

Pie Fest!

I love to make Thanksgiving pies and this year was no exception.  I made 9 pies this year: Reeses, Snickers, pecan, blue berry banana cream, Oreo and eggnog.  My masterpiece was the eggnog pie.  I thought it turned out cute (that is if a pie can be "cute").  Everyone else decided to bring desserts too so we had more pies than you can imagine.  All yummy of course!!

This year was our year to spend with Jeremy's family.  All of us kids were there which made quite a group.  Mom always makes everything so special, right down to the table settings.  She loves holidays and spends so much time preparing for them so they are just perfect.  At the dinner we had a moment when Dad was telling us about how much they both enjoy doing holidays and how sad they will be when they aren't able to any more.  This is why I love traditions.  It gives you a way to carry on the legacy for generations to come.  Some of my favorite holiday traditions come from Thanksgiving.

Marlene told me again this year of why they have Jello cups for the kids at Thanksgiving.  Grandma Hill has always made a raspberry jello with lots of fruit and cranberries in it.  Knowing that the kids didn't like it very much she started to make small cups of jello for them.  She had several of the party sets that come with the little tea cups so she used to make them in those little cups.  Today we just make them in the clear plastic cups but the tradition goes on!

Now back to my diet!  I need it after all that!

Countdown is on!

This morning was finally the day that Neeley and Kayla could start their two countdowns to Christmas. They have been begging me for days now. I told them they were lucky to have their own because when I was little I had to share the advent calendar with all of my siblings so I only got a chocolate every 8 days. They get one every day. How spoiled are kids now!