Finishing 2016 with the Suns

Marcus and I had talked about going to a Suns game in New York City the entire time we lived there, but we never were able to make that happen.  When we moved to Utah, we decided we'd definitely be able to go to a Jazz vs. Suns game.  Marcus looked up their schedule and saw that they played on New Years Eve, so we decided to celebrate the new year with the Suns (and the Jazz).  

#sunsfanforlife

This picture doesn't do our seats justice

It was a fun game!  The Suns almost had it several times, but they lost it in the last few minutes.  Bummer.  Next time ;)

We enjoyed a delicious Iceburg shake during the game. 

And don't worry, the boys enjoyed the night with Noni & Grandpa.  

And none of us made it all the way until midnight...

New Years

We made some pretty big plans for this New Years holiday:  Play with the boys.  Make some food.  Enjoy dessert.  Sleep.  Have a fun breakfast.  Clean up the apartment (okay, that was just mine).  And it's been pretty great.  

While I cooked dinner, the boys were baking too - and playing with Chase's helicopter

Our fancy desserts :)

Sadly our cute little guys both have colds, but that meant they were both exhausted by about six.  They went to bed early!  So Marcus and I spent New Year's Eve with some new friends:

I blame Brian for this new obsession.

Our cable wasn't really working anyway, so the Times Square concerts weren't coming in clearly.  We were able to watch the ball drop, so somehow we made it to midnight.

It still makes me laugh that we are only four to five miles away from the biggest New Years party, but we never go.  If our TV connected better with local stations, I would say we have a better view here.

In the morning, I got the productive bug and cleaned up a little before making our traditional New Years Day breakfast.

Bread Pudding (recipe: the Pioneer Woman)

Ty petting Chicago - she loves her baby boy

Getting ready for naptime :)

And some bossy coloring time

Now here we are, eleven hours into a new year.  So far, so good :)

New Years

Here's a run down of how we celebrated the New Year!

First, a picture just for my dad :)  No pants (!) in our elevator.
He wanted to go help get the mail.

CooperKatz gave everyone a half day on New Years Eve, so Chase and I rode in and met him.

We even got to ride on one of the new 7 trains!

We spent some time saying hi to the people in the office before walking to lunch.  

We had a gift card, so we splurged a bit.

Chase did a good job eating his lunch.  He was actually full of smiles.

 Then we did a lot of walking.  We had to start working off the calories.  We walked from probably the most southern part of Midtown all the way up 5th to the Rockefeller Center and the corner of Central Park.  I was determined to see some of the Christmas lights and decorations before the holidays ended.

New York Public Library

We walked by a lot of police officers setting up for the crazy Times Square New Years celebration.  Crowds were starting to gather.  They are all pretty nuts because it was already really cold!  I can't imagine how cold it was once it was dark outside!

Blocking off streets

The great tree!  Yay!  Made it.

It's so amazing!  I love going to see it every year.

It had sparkling lights too, which were so pretty.

I can't imagine how pretty it is at night.

Nice and toasty, with no idea where we were :)

Our fancy cameraman :)

And then we continued the our walk up 5th Avenue.  It was so pretty.  It was really the perfect time to be out, minus the cold, because the lights were really bright.  It did start snowing a little, but only enough to be pretty-- not enough to stop our walk.

Some fancy Christmas decorations

When we got home, we made some soup and watched some of our movie clips from the past year.

He liked seeing the baby on TV :)

The boys watched very attentively :)

And check out his super cute freckle on his hand!

For dessert, Marcus made some really good blackberry shakes.  Sadly, Chase didn't get to participate because he was in bed, but we enjoyed them while we waited for midnight.

By midnight, I was so tired.  I bet I was asleep by 12:30.  But we had a fun day together and definitely a great year.

We decided to start off 2014 with a yummy breakfast.

Bread Pudding from The Pioneer Woman's holiday cookbook.
It turned out really good.  I wish it was easy to get more of it, but it's obviously quite heavy.

We also had some music time.

And a quick park excursion.

All bundled up.

It wasn't anything too crazy, but we had a fun time celebrating the New Year together.  

Happy New Year!

25 New Recipes in 2013

I think this tends to be how most resolutions go...

...especially in the health and fitness category.  Well, my 2013 New Years resolution was to try 25 new recipes, and I did it!  Finished on Fathers' Day actually :)  I tend to make the same couple things over and over, so I was searching for some new recipes to add to my favorites.  And I think I was searching for some confidence to try new recipes because I tend to shy away from anything new that could turn out a bit, well, off.  I wish I had taken pictures of the meals, but I just keep a running total, more for my own knowledge.  But if you're interested, here's what I tried in the past 6 months:

1.  Delicious Ham and Potato Soup from allrecipes.com
Really good!  Has quite a bit of pepper in the recipe, so it can clear out your sinuses if you don't watch out :)  We made this all winter, for everyone who came over.

2.  Ham Tetrazzini from allrecipes.com
I had to look up the word tetrazzini...  It's good but a little bland-- definitely add garlic.  But helpful to finish off any ham you had from making the potato soup :)

3.  Home-style Chicken Soup from Taste of Home
Basic, good

4.  Casserole with Ham from allrecipes.com
Not the best...

5.  Baked Chicken with brown sugar from allrecipes.com
I prefer Ritz Cracker baked chicken but it was a nice variety

6.  Chicken Chili in the Crockpot from allrecipes.com
Really good.  Had some kick to it too!

7.  Banana Ice Cream
Yeah, didn't really work out.  Apparently the bananas were too fresh.

8.  Minestrone in the Crockpot
We had so much soup, we had to invite the Martins over, and there were still multiple tupperware containers.

9.  French Dip Sandwiches from my mom
A quick and delicious dinner.  Marcus LOVED it.  We have this all the time now :)

10.  Beef Stew in the Crockpot from my mom
Oh, I love Crockpot Sundays-- stupid 1PM church.  But this was ready right when we walked in the door.  So good on a cold evening!

11.  Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo from AllRecipes
Not my favorite alfredo dish, but good and easy to make.

12.  Manicotti from all recipes
Very simple to make and still good

13.  Chicken Noodle Soup -- Grandma Helen's Recipe
The PERFECT soup for when you're sick.

14.  Sausage and Vegetables in the crockpot from Betty Crocker's Fix It Fast
I think we cooked it a little too long because the veggies didn't hold up well, but it was tasty!

15.  Slow-Cooked Southwest Chicken
Wasn't expecting it to turn into more of a soup, but we liked it.

16.  Rosemary Chicken with White Beans in the crockpot from cookbook
I added a little too much rosemary, but it was still great.  Nice variation to our regular chicken meal

17.  Steak Burritos in the Crockpot
Way better than I expected.  Made a great steak quesadilla too :)

18.  Sesame Chicken from 6 Sisters out of LDS Living
We make this a lot too.  Highly recommend

19.  Chicken Enchiladas from my mom
I can't believe I hadn't made these before.  Still in search of a good red enchilada recipe.

20.  Crockpot Shredded Pork Sandwiches from cookbook
These are all good because you use SODA to help tenderize the meat!

21.  Macaroni & Cheese from allrecipes.
Not my favorite.

22.  Sweet & Sour Chicken from Fix It Fast
Super good.  I've made it a few times now.

23.  Penne with Green Beans & Sausage from allrecipes
Nothing utterly amazing, but yummy

And Marcus helped me reach my goal by some requests he made that I helped prepare:

24.   Ribs with a honey rub
I didn't actually eat any of these

25.  Shish-kabobs with an Italian marinade
Very classic, amazing taste

Moral of the story...  I actually cooked some already this year, and I feel better about trying new recipes.  I'll actually search for new ones and offer to make meals or desserts for other people.  I've decided www.allrecipes.com is one of my favorite sites, and I love Betty Crocker's Fix It Fast cookbook.  Oh, and of course, the crockpot is your friend.  Mission accomplished.

Oh yeah, he likes to eat too...

Sometimes he tries to help.

Chase LOVES to eat feet! :)

New Years

Every year the Page family, stemming from my grandparents, puts together a family history.  I am usually one of the first to finish, but I really like to work on it that week between Christmas and New Years.  It lets me look through the year and many fun memories and then I usually get inspired for a New Years Resolution or two.  Plus, it's easier to remember what happened in late December than the following year.  We've now lived in New York City for a full year.  That in itself is a crazy fact.  But it was fun looking through calendars and pictures of trips to Jones Beach, Virginia, and California and also more local things like Comic Con and Carnegie Hall.  There were many events tied around both our jobs and my schooling.  And of course Chase was born.  Definitely a fun, crazy, life altering year.

This year, by the time New Years came, I had my history finished, unless something crazy happened on New Years Eve of course. :)  We did have a Batman marathon where we watched Marcus' new movies all in a row over the two days.  Pretty intense.  And that night, I had decided on one New Years resolution and a couple goals for the year.  I realize those sound the same, but they're different in my mind.  My resolution was to try 25 new recipes this year.  I figured it would help me learn to cook more, try new dishes, and save some money by not going out much.  So that's where we started on New Years Eve.  I made a delicious potato soup that we'd had once before when a friend made it for us.  One down, 24 to go.  So two a month.  Seems easy enough. :)  And later in the evening, the Martins and Garretts came over while Chase was in bed to play games and watch the ball drop on tv.  (None of us wanted to battle the crowds-- you have to show up in the early afternoon to get a decent spot for midnight!)

I was a fun and low-stress holiday.  Definitely a good way to start the year.  We hope everyone had a great New Years too!