Make Your Own Gingerbread House

Making your own gingerbread house is a very fun thing to do as a family and SO much better (tasting, fitting, looking) than any kit I've ever tried.  I got most of my instructions for building the house and the gingerbread/frosting recipe here.

Here's how we did it:

First we made the gingerbread and rolled it out on parchment paper.

I then cut out some shapes in card stock and we cut them out with a plastic knife.  You can get the patterns on the website or just cut your own like we did as long as they fit together with paper they'll fit together when they are cooked. Don't push down too hard on the card stock because it'll stick to the gingerbread.

 Then cut out the shapes with scissors and place them right on the cookie sheet.  It makes it SO easy and you don't have to pull off the gingerbread from the paper.  Once you cook it they come right off!

 With any extra gingerbread you can make some cookies- people or dogs as we did:)

 Once the gingerbread is cooked you then wait for it to cool and get a bunch of your favorite candies and you're ready to decorate!

 Peel the paper off the pieces and trim any extra edges.

 Make some royal icing (it takes a while, but is very strong) and start putting the house together- it's usually good to have two people for this job.

 We used a freezer bag with a hole in the edge to pipe the frosting and had fun putting candy on all of it!

 A fun holiday tradition and actually pretty easy... just a little time-consuming.

 Have fun and good luck!

Things to do with Kids in Salt Lake City

I've wanted to make this list for a while now, for myself and for others looking for fun things to do with kids while you are in Salt Lake City (or in the surrounding areas).

PAY PLACES:
Discovery Gateway Children's Museum
Tracy Aviary
Lagoon
Living Planet Aquarium
Boondocks
Hogle Zoo
Wheeler Historic Farm
Raging Waters
Utah Museum of Natural History
Paintball Planet
FastKart's Indoor Track
Desert Star Playhouse
Pioneer Memorial Theater
South Towne Mall- carousel and train rides
Heber Valley Railroad- Heber City
Hill Aerospace Museum
Salt Lake Bees Baseball
Utah Jazz Basketball
Salt Lake Real Soccer
Utah Blaze Football
Utah Grizzlies Hockey
Alpine Slide- Park City
Dimple Dell Splash and Swim Pools
Golf in a Round
Hollywood Connection
Laser Quest
Little Miner's Park- Park City
Antelope Island State Park
Red Butte Garden
Gallivan Center Ice Rink
Dinosaur Park- Ogden
This is the Place Park
Salt Lake City Sports Complex
The Children's Theatre
Kennecott Copper Mine
Salt Lake County Equestrian Park
Timpanogas Cave
Redwood Drive-in Movie and Swap Meet
Color Me Mine
Nicklecade

FREE PLACES:
Liberty Park
Gateway Mall Fountains
Clark Planetarium (pay for lazer shows but rest is free)
Temple Square
Benjamin Farms Tour
Great Salt Lake State Park
International Peace Gardens
City Creek Canyon
Gilgal Sculpture Garden
Jordan River Parkway
Sugarhouse Park
Topaz Mountain Rockhounding
Utah Olympic Park
Hiking in the Wasatch Mountains
Story Time at Local Libraries
Fort Douglas Military Museum
Pioneer Memorial Museum
Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldren
Church History Museum
Family History Library

Remove Car Window Tint Stickiness

So, to get our car to pass inspection they told us we needed to remove the tint on our driver and passengar windows.  We bought the car in one state and the state we are in now thinks the tint is too much.  So the hubby went out with a razor blade and removed the tint in a few minutes.  We thought, "Well that was easy!" and went on our merry way.  We then discovered that our windows were incredibly sticky!  So much so that we couldn't even open them... which is a problem- especially at toll booths...

After trying a ton of ideas that we found online that involved everything from ammonia to hair dryers we finally found something that worked like a charm!

All you need is some Windex and an S.O.S. pad and you're set!  Spray a little Windex and begin rubbing with the pad and it will come off wonderfully and in a lot less time then the other methods that we found. Good luck!

Cute Watches and Necklaces

Check out http://www.beadsbanglesandbands.blogspot.com/ to see cute beaded watches and necklaces and to enter their giveaway!

Free Nursing Cover

This week (August 1st - 7th) is World Breastfeeding Week and UdderCovers wanted to show their support for breastfeeding so they are running a promotion where you can get any of our nursing covers (regular price $32) free! The code is "Breastfeeding". If you're not currently nursing, this is your chance to stock up on great baby shower and Holiday gifts and a great promo code to pass along to your expecting friends - (they will thank you)!

Once you get to www.uddercovers.com, click on "Shop Now" and select the cover you would like. Type Breastfeeding into the promo code box and it will bring your product total to $0. All you pay is the shipping fees. You can use the code more than once - you just have to open a new browser window to do so.

Electrolux Versatility Upright Vacuum Cleaner giveaway

Minnesota Mama Must Haves is giving away an Electrolux Versatility Upright Vacuum Cleaner worth $400. I need a new vacuum cleaner and I'm so excited about this one. A nice and easy to use vacuum with power and all sorts of great features. Go to this blog to enter.

Outdoor Playhouse Giveaway

Minnesota Mama's Must Haves is giving away a Step 2 Gather and Grille Outdoor Playhouse worth $400. A cute playhouse that is nice and durable and perfect for summer fun. I think this would be perfect for my son and all his friends to play with. Go to this blog to enter.

Discovery Toys

I was introduced to Discovery Toys a few months ago by my sister-in-law. I loved the toys and the fact that they are educational, sturdy, have a lifetime guarantee, and each toy is labeled based on what skills it develops... not to mention they are colorful and FUN! Anyway, I threw my first party in Feb. and from that I got a bunch of toys for TJ. Every day since that time he has literally played with one of his Discovery Toys. I thought I'd share a little bit about some of his favorite toys:

Busy Farm

This comes with a set of colorful little farm animals that are in and of themselves fun to play with. It also comes with 20 or so cards that are really fun to play with and teach all sorts of things. Right now TJ can maybe play with half of the cards since they get progressively harder, but it's nice that it will grow with him. Some of his favorite cards are matching cards (put the orange duck on the orange duck), sorting cards, alphabet card, and the one that has items that the animals produce, such as wool, and then you match the animal to the product: sheep on wool.

Roll and Play

This is the best game for toddlers/preschoolers that I have ever found! This is definitely TJ's favorite of his Discovery Toys and he plays it at least twice a day. There is a big soft cube (about 8 inches big!) that has a different color on each side. You roll/throw/kick the cube and find a card that matches the color you got. You then do the action pictured on the card: ex- flap your arms, play hide and seek, hug Mommy, draw a picture, put on a hat, etc. TJ can play this by himself or with us (it's a GREAT family night game). I'm also excited to have the colored cube if I ever teach primary again....

Playful Letters

This is a pack of traceable sturdy letters (one uppercase and one lowercase) that TJ loves to get out and play with. He'll use them to make words on the carpet or put them on his paper and trace them to write his name. He thinks its wonderful to be able to write letters and he uses these quite often. They also hook together, but TJ hasn't figured that out yet. My only complaint about these is that he uses them so much that we are constantly picking them up... but I guess that is a good teaching moment too:)

Wipe Clean Books 123s and ABCs

I wasn't sure if TJ would like these books right now or if we'd have to wait a while for him to use them. He loves being able to color on these books and then clean them off (he can do both great!). These have turned into great church books and they keep him quiet and entertained for a long time. They also come with stickers to put in different places (I think they come off again, but I'm not sure). We are just saving the stickers for when he is older since he has so much fun with it as it is right now. (Notice the playful letters in the picture- he loves to trace those into this book). My only problem with these books is that TJ uses them SO much that we had to buy more dry erase markers, but even after all the time he used them they still clean up great and look brand new.

We also have these toys which TJ likes, but I don't have pictures of:

Zip Track- TJ loves this Zip Track and it works great, the car is self powered and the track is easy to assemble, change, and take apart. I think Jeff has as much fun with it as TJ does.

The Potty Train (book)- This book is SO cute and the pictures are just wonderful. TJ loves reading it and gets so excited about going potty when he does. I love how it talks about how it can take a while and sometimes there can be accidents or nothing happens, but that's ok. Whenever TJ goes potty he likes to say, "Chugga-Chugga Poo-poo!!" (Now, if we can actually get him going poo-poo that would be great).

Labyrinth (game)- This is a great game for older kids and adults. It's easy enough for school-age kids (though TJ plays it with us with help), but fun enough for adults. Also another fun game for family night.

Baby books and cds- I also bought a bunch of baby books and cds for gifts. I have a lot of friends that have just had babies, or are going to have babies, and these have made such great gifts. The books are so cute and of high quality and the cds are really sweet. I LOVE that I have something nice to give them instead of going to Wal-Mart and trying to find a nice baby book there...

Happy Easter!

New Book Contest by Matthew Buckley!

Those of you who have read Chickens in the Headlights know what a great book it is and are already smiling while you think about it. Those of you who haven't read it are totally missing out! Here is a NEW book from Matthew Buckley that needs enough copies pre-ordered before they will actually publish the book. You can help out by posting this widget (go to his site to get) on your blog and you'll be entered to win 1 of 10 signed copies! Please help out- I was totally excited when I heard about this and am going to pre-order my book today!

Help for Haiti

The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appealed to members today to send help to those suffering in Haiti. Anyone wishing to donate should go to the Church Humanitarian Services site and send money directly that way.

The people in Haiti also need our spiritual help through this hard time so please take the time to pray for those in need and ask for those souls to be watched over during their suffering and challenges. Our hearts go out to those in need and any help that you can send would be greatly appreciated.

To read the First Presidency's statement and also to learn more about how the Church's Humanitarian efforts go here.

50% off Ramada Hotels

Hurry up! If you book between Janurary 19-26 and you'll get 50% off your Ramada Hotel booking! You can only use this link (and then the other link) to use this coupon. You need to complete your stay by April 30th, 2010. So if you are planning on staying in a hotel between now and then this is the perfect time to book! It can be used for hotels in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Good luck and happy traveling! (We're going to try to get to Mt. Rushmore... with us luck!)

What Kind of Message are They Really Sending?

What do you think about this?

“If ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray” (2 Ne. 32:8).

If you'd like to learn more about the Book of Mormon watch this or click here to request a free copy.

Free Download of "UP" Soundtrack today only

Go here to get a FREE download of the UP soundtrack and use the code LATIMESDISNEY.  Good luck!