Yesterday after hitting the gym, I convinced Alex to conquer the Y with me. I decided we should do that before leaving Provo. So after pretending not to hear his whining about sore legs and missing football (blah,blah,blah), we set out and he totally ate it all up. It was the perfect fall day- crisp sweater weather with leaves turning all sorts of reds and oranges. 

Best time of year. 

It was great. I loved it. Alex found a walking stick within 30 seconds and we worked on expanding his one word answers to my thought provoking questions:) I'm pleased to say it's coming along people!

Those appear to be rolling hills, but don't let them fool you- I'm telling you it hurts.

...Which is why we decided to celebrate and most likely ruin all those calories we vigorously burned. But trust me, these were definitely worth it.

Pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon syrup. 

Oh yes. And actually, they're not that bad for you. Relatively of course.

I found this wonderful thing on pinterest, from Here

(yields 6 large pancakes)  

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs vinegar

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Cinnamon Syrup:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or a few...)
1 cup water

Stir all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, stir occasionally until boiling. Let it boil for a few minutes while stirring until it thickens. Remove from heat and set aside until needed.

 

 We also made caprese egg cups to complete breakfast for dinner. Those were good too, but the pancakes definitely stole the show. Enjoy and happy halloween!

Hot Mess

Want to hear something cool? I'm officially Victoria Neeleman Hill. After 10 months of being married, I finally did it! I've been practicing my new signature for some time now, so I'm pretty excited about it. Now I just need to remember to actually do it...

Want to hear something else cool? After Christmas my family is going to Dominican Republic! They are renting a beautiful house on a beach and all nine of us will be there there (plus spouses + kiddos) --it's going to be unreal. Which leads me to the hot mess:/

I need to get my passport renewed with my new name. To get that I need a drivers license with my new name on it. So I'm getting my first Utah drivers license. And I need to take a written test and everything. But not so fast, because to get that, I need my new social security card.

Social security card --> drivers license --> passport = done before Dec 26th? Please, oh pleaseeee!

Soo today I went to the DMV, with a folder full of all the laame necessary requirements for a new drivers license. I even took their online practice test to brush up. I was determined not to forget anything this time! Waited in line for 20 minutes and went to the desk of someone who didn't seem as excited to see me as I was them.

Hi!
ID?
check.
Marriage certificate?
check.
Social security card?
check.
2 proofs of address?
check.
Birth certificate?
check.

I was feeling so smug. Being prepared is just the best, isn't it?

Oh wait, the wallet-sized, laminated version of my birth certificate is considered invalid as of 2006.

Oh okay. No worries, here's my passport.
Lady, this is expired. Next!

FYI, don't even try to fudge your way with those guys. Because DMVers take crap from nobody. And they don't care about your sob story of going to Dominican Republic with your huge family and could especially care less if you think their rules are stupid.

I wanted to scream. Then cry. Instead, I resorted to blasting angry Taylor Swift/country songs all the way home and singing my guts out to it. Yes- so juvenille, but somehow it always does the trick. Try it sometime. Thanks Taylor, you always know just what to say:) ...why you gotta be so meannnn

Sickly

Dearest husband,

I’m sorry you’re sick and feel like you are hacking up a lung every couple minutes. (*By the way, this picture isn't actually candid. That'd be gross. Just one of the many faces he likes to pull out when I say cheese... model behavior everybody!)

But I must confess, it sure has been fun babying you. Making tea with lots of honey. Bullying you to take your pills. Making sure you’re always bundled up in our fareeeeezing apartment. Soup and more soup. And who can forget your irresistible, deep voice that sounds just like John Wayne. Oooo baby, sing to me one more time!

Too bad in a couple weeks I will probably be very angry with you and you will be the one babying/bullying me. Because I’m not very good at keeping our water bottles separate. And I’m really bad at not kissing you. Even when you start hacking in the middle of it. Mmmmmmmm, yum. I’m just praying this immune system of mine will stay as strong as I brag it is. Besides, I don’t think I’ll sound as good with a John Wayne voice- you get me vern?

Reminiscing Summa-Summa

I was really bad at blogging the past few months. We had an awesome summer. Who can say they lived in the {tiny} heart of Edgartown for free? Vineyard, I knew I'd miss you- but I didn't expect it this soon. FYI, this post is going to be picture overload. Making up for lost time you see.

Things I miss:
These guys. Yaaaa front of the house! We liked each other so much we coordinated T-shirts to match. Becky, Parker, Lizzie.


Preppy style. The essence of class I tell you! They know what they're doing over there.

Practically snorting chai lattes… not the loveliest picture for you, but oh. my. goodness. Christmas in a cup right there. If you know of a decaf version, please let me know.

("Did you just sniff that guy's drink?"....awkward)



Coming home after a long tiring day, and NO HOMEWORK! Chillax to the max.





Homemade ice cream. Mad Martha’s, I owe it all to you


Not having to pay for gas. Or rent. Or utilities. Or really anything. Oh, the life!



Our wonderful branch! All 11 members of it.


Cookies at my beck and call. Never again is probably a good thing.

Oh Petra, you temptress.. "And I never thought I'd mean that in a bad way!"
(Modern Family last week anyone?)

Paying homage to the Back Dog. For those of you not familiar, this is pretty much mecca of the east coast

5 minutes to get ready. MacPhails T-Shirt? Check. Hat? Check and done. Now that's a way to live.

Dinner on the beach

Getting Felipe all riled up. For the record, Czech and Russia are NOT the same thing:)

Czech flag. Food art

Tips. Its amazing/pathetic how $20 can change your day.

Witnessing Alex cook all day. So satisfying/amusing/...knowing it will never happen again



Moon walk contests (because I always won)

The beach


Becky, I miss hearing your lovely British accent all day. Oh and witnessing you and Parker’s love and hate relationship. Those really made my day.


Lobster rolls. I crave you on a daily basis



I kiiinda miss getting creative with workouts. Lifting any random boxes we could find, playground circuit training, you name it- we probably did it. It was exciting. Felt like a "Biggest Loser moment" every day. HOOORAHHH

....Those were heavier than they look

Work it short shorts!

Jannae, thanks for hooking us up for the best summer ever!!! We loooove you.