Thanksgiving in Photos

I don't know if I've written on here that I just finished a photography class through UVU.  I LOVED it!  I learned so much and the class motivated me to practice and try out new techniques.  

Our Thanksgiving meal was perfect for me to shoot only in manual and to explore my camera and my creativity!  

My Aunt Kathy outdid herself and served us a meal straight out of Williams Sonoma magazine!

To start:  a mild pesto brie. (among other cheeses)

Oh and not pictured: Gravlax! (cured salmon, caught by Uncle Ken in Alaska)

Salad: Pecan pear with blue cheese and balsamic 

They were so nice to have Martinelli's for us, and plenty of other specialty drinks in the kitchen for us non-wine drinkers :)

Moist turkey baked to perfection:

This is my favorite shot of the night:   

And THIS was my favorite dish:  This recipe really was out of Williams-Sonoma:  Brown sugared yams with Granny Smith apple and roasted pecan and almond.  Really REALLY amazing!  (Don't worry, I got the recipe...)

Green beans al-dente with bacon bits and a light honey glaze:

Kathy kept pecans as the common thread between all the dishes. You better believe we learned how to roast pecans to perfection!

Stuffing with re-hydrated fig and cranberry, and pecans of course!

My next favorite photo of the meal:

We really splurged and got Ruby her first on-brand baby food.  Flavor: Turkey, rice and vegetables!  She liked it just fine, but we'll stick to straight veggies for a while...

  For dessert: 

Pumpkin cheesecake with dulce de leche gelato

and

Lemon Lime Meringue.  

Blow torched for beauty :) 

Fabulous food and fabulous company!

We ended the night with some "Gangnam" fun!  

(pictured left to right:  Aunt Kathy, BestaGirl, Uncle Ken, Mom, Bry)

Crawling

Update

Scott is doing Top Chef University's culinary school.  He comes home every day so excited to do his next lesson!  I just have to be sure I stay up on the ingredients list.

I have been getting ready for the holidays... travel itineraries, Christmas shopping, making outfits and other paraphernalia for Ruby.

Ruby had 2 teeth break through this week!  She is pulling herself up to standing position against everything in sight: dishwasher, kitchen table, mirrors, dresser... you name it, she is UP!  Her 6 month appointment went great, she is growing well and the doctor even said she is highly intelligent (based on her ability to self soothe and being ahead of the curve in terms of mobility.)  She crawls across the room in 20 seconds; The Hathaway family now has a fully functional baby gate.

Times are good.
Minus the FREEZING weather :)

Relief Society to Nursery

Well, my days in the Relief Society have come to an end for now.  I have really loved serving as the education counselor (organizing Sunday lessons and meetings) with our past two presidents, Candice and Christy.  I have learned the importance of teaching pure doctrine, helping people feel valuable, and most importantly, how to love each sister.  I will miss our presidency meetings and the unity I felt with those sisters.  I will miss looking out at the faces of 60 women who need the gospel in their lives, and try each day to live it.  I am grateful for the opportunity I had to know and love the women in my church and neighborhood.

And it's a good thing I have their support, because I have now been called to serve as our ward nursery leader!  Our ward is composed of 3 apt/town home complexes of primarily young families.  That means LOTS of little kids :)  We have 85 children, age 18mo- 2 years on our rolls.  And, we have just about 100% attendance in the nursery.   (You should see our Primary!!!) There are 4 nurseries, and lots of busy little kiddos!  When the Bishop called me to serve in the nursery I said "Toys, songs, and snacks?  I've been called to the right place!"  Last week was my first Sunday and I came home wiped out!   The 2 hours FLIES by!

I hope that I can help these kids love coming to church and have positive experiences with us there.  I know that Heavenly Father loves little children.  I am excited to befriend each child there and hopefully practice the most basic principles of the gospel with them!