Oh What do you do in the Winter Time?

On Tuesday Jeff and I were both sent home early from work because of a winter storm emergency. Weather reports were saying that 6-8 inches of snow were expected to fall through the night and into the next day and that high winds and subzero temperatures would hit the city. As a result, neither of us had to go into work on wednesday! We ended up only getting a few inches (at least where we live) but we were glad to not have to leave the house to brave the frigid weather.

So, what do you do when it's too cold to go out?

1. Give your immune system a boost: Fight those winter colds with some healthy foods! We have loved trying new recipes and mixing up our favorite fruits and veggies to make delicious smoothies.

Here's the recipe for one of our go to's - the Tropical Tango Smoothie:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 lime, peeled
• 1 banana, peeled
• 1 cup spinach, lightly packed
• 2 medium apples, quartered & seeded
• 1 cup ice cubes
• (any additional fruit you want, I added a mango this time)

Place all ingredients into the blender in the order listed and blend until smooth. Yields 4 cups.

Yum!

2. Do some baking: We've been trying to eliminate unnecessary sugars and saturated fats from our diet lately, but of course we still get cravings for sweet treats and baked goods. In my search for a healthier alternative I found a recipe for oat flour cookies online and decided to try it out. 

Broke in our new Bosch with this recipe. Thanks to Jeff's parents for the awesome christmas present!

The cookies were a great success. So quick and easy to make and you don't feel too guilty eating two... or three ... or four of them! The recipe for these little goodies can be found here.

3. Change it up: I was way overdue for a fresh coat of nail polish on my toes, so I picked out a new color and it brightened my day. Remember when it was summer and your skin actually saw the sunlight?? Sigh. 

4. Get some work done: Despite having a "day-off" Jeff still had to work. It is busy season after all. But it was nice just having him in the house and to share lunch and dinner together.

The happy auditor. Yes he has two computer screens - he just has that many numbers to look at : )

I tried to be as little distracting as possible while Jeff was working, so I occupied myself with a project I have been putting off for too long. Finally got around to hemming the curtains that are in our bedroom. They were way too long and all bunchy at the bottom ever since we moved in, but now they are much improved. It feels good to scratch that off of my household to-do list.

5. Plan a Warm Weather Vacation: This is one of our favorite talking points as of late. Hoping to be on a Caribbean Cruise this April! 

So that's how we spent our day at home. What do you do in the winter time?

Holiday Work Party

Jeff's holiday work party was actually scheduled for after the holidays. We didn't mind though, it gave us something to look forward to during the post christmas depression that inevitably befalls everyone during the first weeks of January. Besides, any reason to dress up and go out on the town is cause for excitement.

The party was held in the federal courthouse which is a really cool building right on the waterfront. Considering we were in a room full of accountants it was a pretty good time. 

I sure love this guy. So proud of him. 

Christmas Vacay Part II

Before I go into detail about our post-christmas adventures I wanted to post the pictures we took on christmas eve with the Stewarts and Roberts. Confession, I stole these pictures from Caitie's blog. Sorry, not sorry.

I miss these girls! Can't you guys just move to Boston?

Best Buds 

Christmas Eve brunch with the gang. We love you guys!

Our flight back to Boston was out of Salt Lake, so we went back to Utah a couple days early to spend some quality time with friends that we miss every day. Jeff's dad was very kind and drove us to Ogden where Nate and Caitie picked us up and took us back to Provo with them.

Jeff and his dad.

We stayed with them for a couple days and had a great time. We made the most of our short stay in Provo. Nate and Caitie were great hosts and took us to all the silly places we wanted to visit.

We went to the Swig (a fun drinks and cookies place)  for the first time and got the dirty dr. pepper. So good!

No trip to Utah is complete without Cafe Rio. Love that sweet pork salad.

Also played some pool at the Wilkinson Center. Weird to visit campus now that we're no longer students.

Played some more pool when campus closed on Nate's mini billiards table.

So determined. You bet she made that shot ; ) Not as easy as it looks.

We also made Pizookies with the awesome pizookie pans Caitie gave us for Christmas!

Goodbye Utah.

Our vacation came to a close too soon. But we are so glad we could make it out west to see so many of the people we love. We flew into Boston late on New Year's eve and counted down to midnight in a subway station while waiting for the last bus home. Here's to a splendid new year.

Ringing in the New Year with heavy backpacks and travel worn faces. Happy 2014!

Home for Christmas

We weren't sure if we would be able to make it home for Christmas this year because of our new jobs and not knowing if Jeff would have to work. Luckily Jeff found out that he would not be scheduled and we booked the cheapest flights home that we could find. Turns out the cheapest way to fly when purchasing tickets somewhat last minute during the holidays is on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.

Gotta get a Jamba when traveling.

We flew into Salt Lake City early Christmas Eve morning, thankfully on a direct flight from Boston, and were able to enjoy a fun christmas eve brunch with our dear friends the Stewarts (who live in Provo) and the Roberts (who were in town visiting family). Nate and Caitie picked us up from the airport and we met the Roberts at a nearby Perkins restaurant. Can I just say that I love Perkins. Best breakfast food!

After catching up with our friends, we went back to the airport and hopped on a shuttle headed for Idaho Falls for christmas with Jeff's side of the family! 

We got a call from Jeff's mom saying there would be a surprise when we got there. Sure enough, not five minutes after we stepped into the house a hummer limo pulled up to take the family on a christmas lights tour. Such a fun christmas eve memory! The grandkids couldn't contain their excitement.

 Jeff and I were dead tired when our heads hit the pillow Christmas Eve night. We had the soundest sleep ever after traveling all morning and being awake nearly 24 hours (we stay up too late when we're with family lol). When we woke up on Christmas morning we were surprised to find a quiet house and untouched stockings. We were the first ones up! I guess we were still on east coast time. But everyone joined us soon enough.

Jenni and Dustin brought their faithful dog Zorro with them. He liked cuddling Jeff's dad.

Best stocking gift ever -  world's tiniest tub of Vaseline!

Jack got a new pacifier in his stocking, mustache style.

Very excited about the running shorts his sister gave him.

What could this present be???

The Webbs had a long way to travel home for Christmas as well. So glad they could make it to IF!

While we were in town, Jeff and our brother in law Joe got to play in the Idaho Falls Christmas Soccer Tournament. Their team was made up of a bunch of guys who were home for the holiday, so they had never played as a team before, but they were all really good. It was fun to watch them!

Two of our nieces have birthdays in December, and they wanted a dog themed party. Jeff's sister Mindy has an awesome birthday cake book and she found a recipe for pup-cakes. I was pretty sure I would not be able to make a cupcake look anything like a dog when I saw the recipe, but Jeff's sisters and I each took one puppy design and worked in the kitchen rolling out tootsie rolls, cutting jelly beans, and frosting cupcakes and one sticky mess later we had some pretty good pupcakes! They were good enough for the birthday girls anyway.

Almost too cute to eat!

It's not often that the whole Manning family is together at the same time, and Jeff's parents wanted to take advantage of this by getting family pictures taken while everyone was in town. Getting six kids under the age of five all smiling in the same frame is no small feat, but we had a great photographer who got the job done. We're excited to have some new pictures for our walls at home!

 The day after christmas my side of the family drove up from Boise and met us in Idaho Falls for a fun day together. We had lunch at Garcias (one of the best mexican restaurants) and then spent the afternoon bowling, strolling around the mall, and just having fun together. I was so glad we could see them!

Melissa, trying on a slimming pair of mens trousers.

My brother, looking trendy.

I told Jeff to buy this velvety suit coat, but he said we wouldn't have room in our suitcase ; )

Allie wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home and looked after Tiny Pal. We missed her though!

We had a great time in Idaho Falls and loved seeing everyone. What a wonderful Christmas it was! Part two of our holiday trip to come.