It's Hot Chocolate Weather

Well...for today it is, and I love it! Rain showers, a few bolts of lightning, and cuddling up with a big mug of hot chocolate and fresh peanut butter cookies. A little slice of heaven.

I know this is fake Fall, but I won't complain. That's the beauty of California. We'll get a couple of days of rain and then by the weekend it'll be 75 and sunny. Perfect combo. And then by Halloween it'll be real Fall, and I'll be ready for it.

Speaking of a slice of heaven...I got a triple helping this past weekend! How did I get so lucky to have such a wonderful family?! I just wish that Boise was about seven or eight hours closer to Sacramento. Who can fix that for me?

I accidently left my camera in Idaho and won't get it back until Sunday, so instead I'll fill you in on some of the memorable moments of the trip.

1. We hit a coyote. And I'm pretty sure that we not only hit it but that we smashed it to pieces. It ran out of nowhere on a dark Idaho highway and Dad was going somewhere in the neighborhood of 80. Who wins? Not the coyote. It did some damage to the car, but luckily no one was hurt. In fact, we didn't even stop to check on the coyote.

2. It was so fun to have Kallie read a Pinkalicious book to me! Usually I do the reading, but she's getting so grown up, and she totally read it to me. And...her handstands and cartwheels rock. Mine and Mollie's aren't too shabby either.

3. I love being the grown-up who gets to go in and get a baby out of the crib. Claire took a few minutes to warm up to me the first time, but then it was all hugs from both twins. There's something wonderful about a 15 month old being SO HAPPY to see you come into their room. Arms outstretched, laughing, cuddling terrific-ness. I loved it so much that I even broke down and changed a poopy diaper. That's big for me.

4. We had dinner at Fuddruckers on Saturday evening, and the twins were really tired and unhappy. So Mollie bought them each an ice cream cone. Say what you will about the nutritional value, but those things were golden. Plus, they were hilarious with them. Neither wasted any time diving right in.

About half way through their cones, we looked over and Claire had eaten part of her cone, but it was taking too long to get to the ice cream. So she held the cone in one hand and used two fingers from the other like a shovel - scooping the ice cream from the cone and depositing it into her mouth.

Dylan, on the other hand, turned his cone upside down and smooshed it onto the (plastic, thankfully) tablecloth. He then set his cone to the side, ran his hands through the ice cream on the table, sucked it all off of his fingers, and then laughed at himself.

Two very different, but equally effective and humorous methods. And, let me tell you, they didn't waste any of that treat. :)

5. I got to skype with Kari - TWICE! I haven't gotten to talk to her since she left and it was so good to hear her voice. In fact, we had her on skype on Sunday evening when we called my grandpa for his birthday. We put the phone on speaker and grandma and grandpa got to talk to Kari through a phone via computer. Technology is so cool that it might have made several of us cry.

More vacation stories tomorrow, but I'll end with my sister's super easy and delectable peanut butter cookie recipe that I whipped up tonight. Enjoy fake Fall!

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix ingredients and roll into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use a fork to make the cool criss-cross design. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Don't overbake! Let them cool for a few minutes or they'll crumble. For best results, enjoy with a glass of cold milk or a mug of hot chocolate.