Home Sweet Home

Last month I had the privilege of going home to go through the temple with my little sister, Lauren, in preparation for her mission. I got to be there for an entire week and although the weather was cooler than I was hoping for I had a blast! Everyone in the immediate family was there except Joe and John Michael. We played games past midnight every night, stayed up even later talking, ate great food, celebrated my birthday, went to the temple, and got to go to an Imagine Dragons concert.

The awesome cookie cake Emma made for me. 

Us waiting for Imagine Dragons to start playing. Did Alta Genius REALLY need to play for so long?

 Some great pics my Mom took of Aja and Dan while they performed.

 After party at Whataburger. I'm so glad I made it here during my stay, but unfortunately I wasn't so lucky with Chick-fil-a.

Our ward family and immediate family outside of the temple after Lauren went through for the first time.

I truly had a blast seeing everyone back home. Lauren reported to the MTC the following week and from her letters she sounds like she is having an amazing time. She is thrilled that her companion will go running with her every day, has spotted Elder Holland, and has already sang in a small group in front of all the girls in the MTC for Relief Society. All she needs to do now is get Spanish under control and she's on her way to Cali!

Date #5: Tchaikovsky and Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day early since I was flying down to Houston to see Lauren one last time before her mission. We decided it would be fun to have Valentine's Day on the same night I had planned our date to see the Spokane Symphony play Tchaikovsky at The Fox. Joe treated me to chocolates and roses and surprised me with a sweet, but short video he had made.

In return I had made Joe a box full of compliments and candies for his use on days when he feels low. After treating ourselves to some chocolates we left for our dinner reservations and then on to the Spokane Symphony. From the outside The Fox doesn't look like much, but as soon as you walk inside you are transported to the early 30's. We were blown away by the unique beauty of this theater. Plus the music was sublime.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

See my review of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith here.

The Chosen

See my review of The Chosen by Chaim Potok here.

The Magic of Recluce

See my review of The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. here.

Date #4: Chocolate Chip Cookie Blind Taste Test

This chocolaty date left us in a food coma. There were 3 competitors with great qualifications:

1. "Best-Ever Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies" - This cookie was all over pinterest - if I had a nickle for every time I saw it I would probably be a millionaire. It's famous for having one secret ingredient - cornstarch. 
2. "Oatmeal Chippers" - This cookie is a family favorite. My mom has been making it for years and it even won over my husband who previously didn't like cookies with oatmeal in them. I've gotten loads of compliments on them.
3. "Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie" - Apparently there has been a NY Times article about how great this cookie is. Well if the NY Times says it's good, it must be good enough to be in our taste test.

We took turns blindly eating and rating cookies A, B, and C. My mom's recipe stuck out like a sore thumb because of the oatmeal though and in all fairness it probably should have been done in a separate test for oatmeal cookies. In the end Joe rated the cookies 1,3,2 and I rated them 1,2,3. They were all good, but we both agreed that the cornstarch cookie was the best. It was soft, fluffy, chocolaty, and chewy - the complete package. 

I will definitely continue making my Mom's recipe and will start making this new cornstarch cookie as well, however, I do have to admit that as far as cookie dough goes my Mom's recipe is still the best and that's a big deal for me. All-in-all this was a delicious date.

"The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love."