Dinner #2: BBQ Jack Chicken

This was tasty chicken and cooked really fast, I was shocked.  It's only 3 ingredients, so simple! Jeff said he'd definitely eat it again. :)

http://mcmitchells.blogspot.com/2012/01/barbecue-jack-chicken.html

Funny Austinisms

I have a portion of our blog dedicated to funny things Austin says, but these next three quotes came back to back and I just had to share them as a formal post.  I've been buying drapes and curtain rods and have had a towel rod ready to put up for over a month now.  I finally pulled out the drill, screwdriver, level, hammer, stud finder and tape measure to put up this little towel rod today.

Austin gets so excited when we do work around the house - he loves tools!  (He got a cute set for Christmas that he loves 'fixing' things with).  I let him play with the tape measure and and stud finder while I was working.  He pushed the button on the stud finder multiple times and said, "Wow!  This tape measure (the tape measure was in his other hand) makes beautiful song!"  A few minutes later I was finished hanging the rod and he tells me, "Mommy hang the towel trod!"  And just a moment after that he picked up his toy hammer and hammered the doorknobs in our bedroom, "I hammer the ding knock..."

52 New Dinners in 2012

A friend of mine decided she was going to try one new meal each week last year and write about it on facebook.  I mentioned this to Jeff the other day thought it would be something fun for us to try this year! When we were living in Provo we tried to make something new at least once a month and it was very beneficial - many of those recipes are our weekly staples today. 
My goal is to make something new each week and write a brief post on how we liked/didn't like the meal.  If the recipes are deemed worthy to replicate for meals in the future I will post them on the Mitchell Family recipe blog which I've been meaning to contribute to more anyway!
With the first week of 2012 underway I have tried a new recipe and am ready to share...

Turkey (or Chicken) Pot Pie with Lion House Pie Crust
This came from a good friend of mine (different from the friend with this fabulous 52 dinners idea) from our new ward in Centennial.  (We've acutally already made this twice because it's so yummy... the first time was a couple days after Christmas and the second time... a few more days after Christmas, New Year's Day!)

"Big Boy" Bed

We finally decided to convert Austin's crib to a toddler bed.  I put it together yesterday before bed time and once it was "fixed" Austin couldn't get enough of his new bed.  He didn't want to play with toys, say prayers, anything!  (I have a really cute video clip but it won't load...)

He slept great last night and didn't fall out.  He's currently taking a nap and I haven't heard him get up to play with toys or anything yet... good sign I'd say! 

He loves his seahorse and elephant...

Ward Christmas Party

Jeff and I were asked to serve on the Christmas Party Committee in our new ward. It was a pretty simple party but everyone seemed to have a fabulous time.

 Austin reacts to Santa just like I did as a kid...

 Baby Gap?

 Seriously - what a cute kid!  Austin loves his hat.  It fell off once during the party and he immediately asked me to put it back on. 

Playing 'Pass the Parcel'.  This is Bro. Lundell, he's in our bishopric and reminds me a lot of Jeff's Dad, Steve.  :)  (All in good ways)

Real Christmas Lights!

Jeff and I were pretty excited to put up real Christmas lights on our new house. We don't have a ladder (yet) but were able to get by with our little step ladder this time. Jeff climbed out one of the bedroom windows to put the lights up on the upper tier. It looks really pretty - he did a great job!

 We did put the lights up the day before Thanksgiving, but they were not lit until the night after!

 Austin loves to help - One day you will be tall like Daddy, Austin, and you can hang the Christmas lights!  (Please don't grow too fast too soon though!)

Fourteen, Fourteen, Fourteen!!

Austin has been such a hoot the last few days. He talks SO much and has so much personality that I have a hard time keeping myself from just sitting and watching him play all day.

 At King Soopers (a local grocery store) they have a mechanical horse you can ride for a penny.  Austin doesn't care much to ride the horse, but he does like to say hello and goodbye to it on our way out.  Last week the horse was broken.  I told Austin the horse was broken and probably feeling sick.  This week the horse was fixed and Austin excitedly shouted, "The horsey is all better!"  I'd even forgotten that it was broken the week prior and was surprised that Austin had remembered.  What a smarty.  Throughout the remainder of the day Austin continued to reassure me that "the horsey at the grocery store is all better."

We hung a string of Christmas lights around Austin's window for the holidays.  He loves having them on and telling us all of the colors he sees.  Today before nap I was changing his diaper and he started counting the lights.  He counted, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14!"   I guess counting to 10 is not so exciting anymore - time to move on!