Kristy's Blog

We are going to keep this blog our family blog. I still want to post some of the recipes and things I attempt so they will be on my old blog. Keep posted on both!

Sunny Days

I married into the right company that’s for sure! Ben’s work took us on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. We left to Florida early Saturday morning. Florida was COLD! The iguana’s were freezing and falling off of the trees. It was crazy. That night we went to dinner then off to bed to get some rest before the big sail away!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Florida

Our view from the hotel

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Board the Emerald Princess

I karaoked to "You're So Vain" our first night.

It did NOT happen again.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Day at sea

Princess Cays cancelled due to weather

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Day at sea

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

St. Maarten

St. Maarten has a Dutch and French side. We toured around both. It was an interesting place to see. We went to a mall that was like being at Saks in New York. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything.

A fort at the top of a hill

The elementary school

Thursday, January 14, 2010

St. Thomas

Today was so much fun. We took a catamaran to the middle of the ocean and snorkeled. Then the catamaran took us to another island where they had a bbq lunch cooking. It poured rain for a little bit but it was so nice and warm. The sand was silky white and the water was warm. It was the best day!

Sea turtle

BBQ lunch on the island

The guys spent over an hour playing kind of the hill on the floating dock.

It was so much fun to watch.

We were quite entertained.

Our ship

The boat was rocking so much tonight.

Ben jumped in the pool with their shorts on.

It was like being IN the ocean.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Grand Turk

Today we swam with the sting ray!

We heard if you kiss one it's seven years good luck.

Together it looks like we have fourteen years coming!

The Bod Boy of Magic

HILARIOUS magician and comedian

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Day at Sea

Acrobatic guy in the plaza

English fish & chips and more

Yummy apple pie

My favorite food from the whole trip

We had such a great time and look forward to cruising again!

New Years Day

We had such a fun day! We watched FOOTBALL at the Hodgkinson's all day long. Ben's sisters helped me and we got about half of our wedding thank you cards done. We had a yummy lunch and lots of fun with the family. Let 2010 be a great year for everyone!

New Years Eve

Last year New Years Eve didn't turn out quite like we were planning. We didn't even see each other. You would think this year we would want to make up for it. Alas, we had dinner at Ben's friends house. Left early. Fell asleep watching a movie. Maybe next year I'll get my first new years eve kiss from Ben!

Ben's Birthday

Christmas

Christmas this year was amazing. Ben was so wonderful and thoughtful. I woke up to Clark's antique train going around the lit tree. Ben woke up in the middle of the night and set the train up. It was a great surprise. After spending the morning together we went to Rich and Rose's for the famous Welling Christmas casserole. It was delicious! We then went to both of our parents houses to visit. It was a perfect day.

Christmas Eve

Dinner at Grandpa Welling's. We had lots of yummy food and lots of fun!

Bott Christmas Party

Tolman Christmas Party

Gingerbread House

Ben is doing the 12 days of Christmas for me. He's so sweet. Tonight we made a gingerbread house together. We learned on the food network (probably our favorite channel) that if you decorate the pieces before you put it together you can get a lot more detailed. So that's what we did. When we put it up it was so heavy that it fell. We did manage to get a few pictures before the destruction. Even though the house fell, we had so much fun doing it.

Holiday Baking

We had lots of fun (and lots of peppermint) baking today. We made caramel chocolate pretzels and a new found recipe, peppermint pinwheels. (thanks to Alton Brown of the food network). I love to try new things. Sometimes they don't quite work out. Ben is a great cook and mastered the cookies and dipping. I love cooking with my love!

Peppermint pinwheel recipe can be found here.

Temple Square

We went to the lights at Temple Square with Ben's family. We had a yummy dinner at CPK then froze our buns at temple square. It was cold but beautiful!

Light Parade

I have lived in Bountiful my whole life and had no idea that we had a light parade! It's being going for about 6 years. It is a delightful little parade. It really got me excited for the holidays!

Holiday Bruschetta

I was very pleased with how this turned out! Everyone loved it. Here is the recipe if you want to try it. I made it up so change it as you will.

Holiday Bruschetta

Ingredients

1 baguette

white onions

pears

fresh cranberries

brown sugar

sparkling cider

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

gorgonzola cheese

6-8 hours before you want to serve the bruschetta...

-thinly slice onions, put in a crock pot with a little oil and brown sugar

-slice pears, in a separate crock pot put pear slices, fresh cranberries, and sparkling cider

(if you don't have two crock pots you can cook the pears and cranberries on the stove, just cook it all until it gets bubbly and hot)

Before serving...

drain the liquid if there is a large amount in the onions or pear/cranberries

slice baguette into cracker size

toast both sides in the oven

brush olive oil on one side of the toast

sprinkle balsamic vinegar on the toast

place a small spoonful of onions on toast

place a small spoonful of cranberry/pear mixture

sprinkle gorgonzola cheese on top

if desired, sprinkle more balsamic vinegar on top

ENJOY!

Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving together was perfect! We were in charge of appetizers and a dessert. We had so much fun staying up late cooking. We ate at the Hodgkinson's then visited my family later that night. We have so much to be thankful for. It was a great day spent with family.

The shrimp was a hit, mostly with the little girls!

Classic celery & cheese, deviled eggs, and the infamous holiday bruschetta

Ben's cranberry almond tart...delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving!