cousin night

we love spending time with our nelson cousins. this is alex, lindsey, sydney, kelsie, ashlee and zach. tonight they came over around 6pm. we made pizza, chocolate chip cookies, set up the outdoor movie stuff, played red light green light, watch brian regan on youtube, and laughed and laughed. i love it when they come over. it is nice to have a night with just the kids. 

-ash

updating

just in case you were wondering...i am doing a bit of updating. it may seem like we have had the blog for a long time, but not true. very recent indeed. just thought i would clue you all in...

-ash

molten chocolate cakes

i love baking! i got this recipe from a friend of mine. i made it for a bridal shower and it was a hit. easy to make too. here is the recipe for you! let me know what you think...

-ash

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKES-

6 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsley chopped. (also can use 1 c. of semisweet chocolate chips)

1 1/2 c unsalted butter

3 large eggs

4 large egg yolks

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

1/2 c flour

whipping cream

butter 8 6 oz ramekins with 2 tbl butter and sprinkle with 2 tbl sugar, shaking off excess. in a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate with the butter. do not boil! cool slightly. whisk the eggs and egg yolks in medium bowl. whisk in the powdered sugar, melted chocolate and flour. pour into prepared ramekins, dividing equally. place ramekins on baking sheet (can be made several hours ahead. just cover and chill until ready to bake). preheat oven to 450* bake cakes for 10-12 minutes, until edges are cooked but center is soft. remove from oven, while still warm run a small knife around cakes to loosen, turn out onto serving platters, place topside up. serve with icecream of choice, fruit and powdered sugar. serves 8. *you can also make these in a muffin tin to make 12. if you do this decrease the cooking time to 8-9 minutes.

i like to puree raspberries (without adding sugar) and cool. you can also make hot fudge if you don't like fruit. (to make hot fudge, melt 1 stick of butter, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. do not boil!) also a nice serving of whipping cream! these are so fun to make. i loved them. they are even good cold. i hope you all like it...enjoy!

stewart falls

during summer, paul and i don't get out much. paul works really hard. he comes home, eats and sleeps. so when he doesn't have to work on a saturday, we try to take full advantage... the last time i "hiked" stewart falls (really... it isn't a hike!) was when i was in high school. paul had never hiked it before so i thought it would be fun. plus the weather was really nice. we packed water and granola bars and headed off. i couldn't believe how much snow was still there. there wasn't a ton of snow, but there was enough here and there on the trails to make it a little difficult. it is so pretty! not crowded at all. the nice thing is that just when you get hot, the temperature drops and then the falls come into view. paul loved it. sometimes paul acts like a little boy who i have to watch constantly...i turned to look at the open fields and snow, and paul was starting to create a hiking trail on mossy rocks. it scared me to death. i couldn't look! i could have smacked him. he came down for a few pictures, and wanted to climb higher. i went with him this time on a more sturdy path. maybe next time we will attempt to go into the falls. i loved it. it also got me really wanting to get out and be active...

-ash

 

finally blogging!

after a year of not wanting to blog (or better said... not wanting to make time) we finally have one! welcome all... (also with the help of mom telling me how much i needed one 4,000 times) i am actually pretty excited to have one. i am not sure if we will be very interesting to read about but we will give it a try. i have been fighting with time to slow down and realize it won't (no matter how much i try). one of the greatest lessons i have learned this year is to make sure the time i spend is on things i want to and with those i want to be with. making sure i love every moment. my next step is to add a lot of pictures. wish me luck. love you all! 

-ash

paul & conrad may 2008

i get to watch conrad once a week and i love it. it helps me stay relaxed and have a day to do what i want to do. the best part is being able to watch him grow and watch his personality come out. the best part is when paul comes home and conrad smiles and gets excited. i love watching their relationship bloom. paul loves being close to conrad. it is so different seeing them a few times a year. but to see him each day really helps their relationship. i love having it a little warmer too! that means we can go on walks, play outside and see uncle paul at work on  the yard. it is a lot of fun to see conrad look at all the leaves, and touch a pine tree...i hope i can help him learn to love and appreciate nature. he is so fun to watch!

-ash

our 5th anniversary!!!

i can't believe we have been married for 5 years. where does the time go? i got to work that morning, and paul had called. he thought he left a pair of gloves at the counter. i went up to check and there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers (gerbera daisies). i got a little teary thinking how lucky i am. paul doesn't give flowers a lot, so when he does i know he means it. i am so lucky to have married him. i don't know if anyone else could put up with me the way he does. he takes care of me! we both met at home after work. we went to dinner at goodwood (delicious 4"x4" onion rings), then we went to a golf course and played a little mini golf (paul barely won me!). we had so much fun. it is so nice to just be with each other. we seem to be able to talk about anything and everything without getting bored, finish sentences, love snuggling, sitting and reading harry potter, being in the yard together, playing games and watching movies! it is just nice being together. i love my paul!

-ash