Cookie Baking 2017

For at least the past five years my mom has gathered me and my sisters, my mom's best friend, the girlfriend/wife of her best friend's sons, and occasionally others for a day of baking and a cookie exchange. My mom and I spent the last week making our dough and then baking ours so that the oven would be available to the other five ladies coming. My mom made her delicious cranberry chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies and cut out sugar cookies. I went with monster cookie bars and snickerdoodles. The big kids "helped" by cutting out the sugar cookies and getting their fingers all over them, and spreading their germs by licking the beaters. ("It's so good I just can't stop eating it!" -Noelle)

Well in typical unpredictable Maryland weather the forecast called for snow starting at some point today. By 10:00 when the flurries had just started, all but my sister had called out, worried about the weather getting worse. But no worries, the three of us will still walk away with close to six dozen cookies. Heather baked her cookies while we chatted in the kitchen and listened to Christmas music. Luke took Noelle and Jonah to Noelle's school where she cheered at her first basketball game!

Once they came home, and Holden had woken up from his nap, we bundled the kids up to play in the two or so inches of snow. Jonah wore hand me down purple snow pants and pink gloves, and Holden sported a light pink winter suit. I took Clara out for a short bit so she could experience her first snow. And as usual, she loved watching the big kids run around and throw snow.

After that we cozied up by the fire, "helped" Nana decorate her tree, got Ledo's pizza for dinner, and ate about 1000 cookies. After all the food, we braved the (not bad) snowy roads to enjoy the train garden at the local fire station. It was a pretty idyllic Christmasy day!

And of course what made today the best was because daddy got home last night from his first week working down in Tennessee!