Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got the craving for chocolate chip cookies over the weekend so I made some Monday night. The only problem is that Evan doesn't like them so I have to eat all four dozen cookies. I know, I could have halved the recipe, but I didn't think about it until I had already started making it.

After talking to my sister-in-law Page about how she used an ice-cream scoop (her blog posts on this: Ice Cream Scoop-Part I and Ice Cream Scoop Part II) to make cookies the other day, I was inspired to break out my cookie dough spoon for another try. As part of our wedding present from my parent's neighbor (who is an amazing baker) we got this cookie dough spoon. Here are some pictures of it in use:

  

It is supposed to help you spoon the perfect cookies. When I first got it, I was intrigued because I had often wondered why my cookies didn't look like the ones I would see on TV. They tasted fine but never looked like I wanted them too. So I tried the cookie dough spoon and I couldn't get it to work because the dough was always too sticky and I couldn't push it out of the spoon. I gave up using it for awhile. I then tried it on refrigerated (pre-made) cookie dough and it worked great! Although I was bummed I couldn't get it to work on home-made cookies, at least I could use it and the cookies looked great.

Well after talking to Page, I almost wanted to buy a ice-cream scoop like the one she has to try with my cookies, but I resisted. Instead, I tried spraying the cookie dough spoon with non-stick cooking spray before using (Page gave me the idea) and it worked much better. I had to spray the spoon pretty frequently, but I got it to work and the cookies turned out great. I don't know why I didn't think to use the spray before but oh well!



The only problem is that I may have gotten into using the cookie dough spoon a little too much because I poked a hole through it with my nail when I was spooning out the last couple of cookies on Monday. It still works so I will probably continue to use it.

Party, Party, Party!

This past weekend, we went to San Antonio to see family and for two parties! My brother, Eric, is getting married in a little over three months and Evan and my Dad gave him a tool shower on Saturday. I wasn't there except for the very end where they opened presents but Evan said it was a lot of fun. Actually, he said it wasn't as fun as HIS tool shower, but that it was still pretty fun. This is for the obvious reason that he got to take home tools after his shower. Here is a picture of Eric opening gifts. Right after this picture, he lifted up the shovel to put it behind him and we were all nervous that he was going to put his new shovel through our father's TV!!!



While the boys were are the shower, my Mom, Aunt Bernadette, sister Lisa, and I went to dinner and then for gelato. Evan had the camera so I don't have any pictures of us on our girls outing but it was a lot of fun. My Mom and I have talked before about how different and how much fun it is for her to interact with her children as adults. I have agreed that I have really enjoyed this latest stage of our relationship. Saturday night was a perfect example of this. We told funny stories, caught up on recent events, and just enjoyed each other's company.

On Sunday, we went to our nephew James' 1st birthday party. It was just a family birthday party but there were still about 14 people there. Anytime we get to hang out with our niece and nephew is a great time and the party was no exception. Here are some pictures:

The theme of the party was "Bouncing Balls" so Page (Evan's sister and James' Mom) made sure all the food was ball or circular shaped. It was really tasty and incredibly cute!



James crawling out of the ball pit. Yes, they have a ball pit in their living room! It takes up a little space, but it is one of the kids favorite toys.



James was not real sure about the candle. "My cake is on FIRE!!"



James with his cupcake version of the cake. This was only the second time in his life that he ate sweets other than fruit. The first time was on his actual birthday a couple weeks ago when he had a similar cupcake.



"Why is everyone staring at me and taking pictures of me?"



After the cupcake...the sugar is starting to set in!



Elizabeth and I in their new tent. My siblings and I had a tent similar to this one when we were growing up and it was definitely one of our favorite toys. Ours was the same size as a twin bed so you could put it on your bed and "camp" inside. It was a Pound Puppies tent....anyone remember the Pound Puppies??



Elizabeth, James, and Page reading one of the books we got James for his birthday.

August?!?!?!

Wow, is it already August? The entire month of July just flew by for me. Between our trip to Alaska (almost have all the pictures up for viewing) and my sister Lisa staying with us for two weeks, the whole month just disappeared.

Lisa flew back to San Antonio Thursday since our parents got back from their trip Wednesday night. It was the first time she had flown by herself and she did a great job! We had a lot of fun and I was sad to see her leave. I am so thankful for the time we had to hang out and bond over the last two weeks. We went to an Astro's game, went shopping at Harwin, the new outlet malls in Cypress, the Galleria, got her hair cut, practiced driving and parking, and cooked, cooked, cooked! Lisa and I both like to cook and bake so she make a cookbook in preparing to come visit us of recipes she wanted to try while she was here. We made most of the recipes that she brought including pimento cheese from scratch, strawberry buttermilk sorbet, blueberry muffins, garlic mashed potatoes, along with some of Evan and I's favorites. I would have to say that all the cooking we did together was my favorite part of her being here. My other favorite part is that we went walking almost every morning. I decided once school was out that I was going to get back to exercising regularly but I really hadn't done it. Lisa walks with our parents most evenings so she pushed me to go with her. I am really thankful because I really think that I will keep it up now. She gave me the jump-start that I needed! She also gave me a much needed jump-start on assembling a recipe binder that I have been wanting to make for almost two years now. We both subscribe to Southern Living and I love tearing out recipes from the magazines. I started putting the pages in clear plastic sheets to protect them and then got the idea of organizing them and putting them all in a binder after seeing that my mother-in-law had organized all of her recipes that way. Judy, my mother-in-law, is the one who gave me a subscription to Southern Living many years ago for Christmas and has thankfully continued doing so because she has got me hooked! Anyway, I told Lisa of the binder idea and she thought is was great so she made me sit down and work on it one day. She helped me sort all the recipes I had torn out and put them in sheet protectors. We didn't finish it that day, but she encouraged me to stick with it and before she left, I was able to finish it! I know it sounds silly that I would be so excited about finishing such a task, but it has been waiting for me for almost TWO YEARS!! Of course it is not really finished, and it will never be, because I will continue to add to and subtract from it for years but the initial work is completed. Lisa even made a cute cover for me :) Here are some pictures:



Lisa, Me, and Evan at the Astro's game against the Cubs. It was a really close game but the Astro's ended up pulling it out in the bottom of the 9th to win 2-1.

 

We took Lisa to practice parking three times while she was here since she just got her permit. Here is a picture of Evan working with her. Evan did most of the "instruction" and he did a great job of being patient and encouraging. Lisa did a great job and definitely showed progress over the three "lessons" we went through.



Lisa showing off the purse she got on our trip to Harwin. It was definitely an interesting experience :)



Lisa at the airport right before I left her to get on the plane by herself. I went with her to the gate since it was her first time to fly by herself but she didn't really need my help. I think we both felt better that I was there just in case. She looked so grown up with her new haircut, outfit, and jewelry.

I realize now that we didn't get any pictures of us cooking together which is a huge bummer since that is what we spent the majority of our time doing. I guess she will just have to come back soon so we can do some more cooking and get a few pictures as proof.

All in all it was a great two weeks. Lisa, you taught me a lot about you, about myself, and about being a big sister over the last two weeks. I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. Thank you for being patient with Evan and I as we walked the line between big sister/brother-in-law and parents. You are welcome to come stay with us anytime, even if Mom and Dad aren't out of town :)

We're Back!

We just got back yesterday from an almost two week vacation. We went to San Antonio for the 4th of July to celebrate with our families. Then on the 6th, we left with Evan's family to go on a cruise to Alaska. We got back from the cruise on the 13th, spent a few more days in San Antonio, and then came back to Houston. We brought back my sister Lisa with us and she will be staying with us for a little over two weeks. We are keeping her while my parents are going to Alaska for a belated anniversary celebration. We have a lot of fun activities planned for while she is here including going to an Astros game, hopefully going to a Dynamo game, lots of cooking and baking, maybe some sewing, practicing driving (she just got her driver's permit), and going shopping. Her is a picture from when she graduated high school back at the beginning of June.



We are really proud of her and excited that she is here in Houston with us for the next two weeks!

Cousin's Reunion 2008

This past weekend I attended the Espy Cousin's Reunion with my sweet mother-in-law Judy and sister-in-law Page. My niece and nephew Elizabeth and James also went with us. Evan's mom's side of the family gets together every year for what they call the Cousin's Reunion. Originally it started out when Judy was a teenager when her mother and all of her first cousins and their kids (the girls) would get together during the summer in West Texas. It has carried on for over 40 years now and is a family tradition that has grown to include all of the children and grandchildren of Judy and her cousins. I started attending the reunions once Evan and I were engaged. I come from a big family so I enjoy getting to meet and continually learn about this very loving extended family of mine.

While men are welcome, and some regularly attend, they are always outnumbered by the female members of the family. Evan, Dave (Page's husband), and John (my father-in-law) all stayed in San Antonio and hung out this time but they usually attend when it is our group's turn to host the reunion. We hosted in 2005 and should be up again in 2010. This year it was in beautiful Fredericksburg, TX and the attendance was great! While not everyone stayed for the entire weekend, there were about 60 or so people that made it to the reunion over the weekend. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

James amused himself with the air-conditioner in our hotel room for about 20 minutes.



Susie (left) and Elizabeth (right) played with Elizabeth's Littlest Pet Shop toys. Susie and Elizabeth are second cousins but Susie is Evan and Page's first cousin once removed. This was a huge step for Elizabeth who has been VERY shy in the past :)



From left: Elizabeth, Page, Judy, James, and me in our coordinated outfits that Judy made for us. Aren't we cute?!?!



Marietta is the last "original" Espy cousin that still attends the reunion. We had a surprise birthday celebration for here because she celebrates her 94th birthday this week.



These are all of the women from Judy's generation that attended the reunion this year (minus one or two that had left before Saturday night). They have all been so welcoming of me and I look forward to seeing them each year.

Me and Caroline

Here is a picture of me and Caroline from last week that Kim sent me....I love it! Kim, thank you for the pictures. You can also see my new glasses and haircut in the picture.

Lunch Date

Today I got to eat lunch with my best friend Kim and her sweet daughter Caroline. Caroline is only four weeks old! Check them out at their blog, One Moore Day. I have been wanting to go over and take them lunch for a while now but they have had so many people loving on them lately that I didn't want to overwhelm them with another visitor. It was such a pleasant surprise last night when Kim and I both realized that it would work for me to come over today. I had so much fun seeing them both and getting to catch up with Kim. I am really excited about getting to hang out with them both more in the future since I am not working.