Delicious Pie

I discovered this pie recipe last Christmas and it became an instant family favorite! So for all the other choco-holics out there, here it is! (http://www.meals.com/Recipes/Chocolate-Lovers-Chocolate-Mousse-Pie.aspx?recipeid=29755)

Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Mousse Pie

Ingredients

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 3/4 cups (16 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels,divided
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COMBINE graham cracker crumbs, cocoa and granulated sugar in 9-inch pie plate. Stir in butter until moistened; press onto bottom and up side of pie plate.

BAKE for 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 cup morsels over bottom of hot crust; let stand for 10 minutes or until all morsels are shiny. Spread chocolate over bottom and up side of crust. Cool to room temperature.

MICROWAVE 2 cups morsels and 3/4 cup cream in large, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Cool to room temperature.

BEAT remaining cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in chilled small mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Fold 2 cups whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Spoon into crust; swirl top. Garnish with remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate until firm.

MICROWAVE remaining 1/4 cup morsels in heavy-duty plastic bag on HIGH (100%) power for about 30 seconds; knead until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle chocolate over pie. Llet stand a few minutes before serving.

Remlinger Farm

Yesterday we spent the day at Remlinger Farm, which has a Fall Festival every year for kids. They have corn mazes, haunted houses, rides, a petting barn, pony rides and tons of other stuff. Joshua's favorite activity was riding the real steam engine train. At the end of the day we took a tractor-driven wagon out to the pumpkin patch and got our pumpkin, which was also a thrill for him (he is VERY into tractors and heavy machinery!)

The best thing for me was just being able to watch him have so much fun. I'm not sure why but I have a feeling this winter might be kind of boring for him ;)

In other news, we found out that Josh's eye prescription isn't strong enough and he has to get bifocals! I noticed he was still crossing his eyes while wearing his glasses so I took him back to the doctor. He said if the bifocals don't get the job done the next step is surgery :( Hopefully we won't have to go there... We should know by December.

August/September

It's been a busy few months for us, but I wanted to give a small update on things in our family. The pregnancy is going well, I'm now 23 weeks along. I'm doing a very modified type of bed rest as a precaution right now(Just for a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon). This is VERY manageable compared to the other kind, so hopefully I will stay on this schedule for a while. This baby is SO active! He kicks all day and all night...hopefully this doesn't indicate energy levels for after he's born :)

Joshua is growing up so fast! He speaks very well for his age and with the exception of accidents and night-time he is potty trained! Eric competed in another Triathlon in August with his dad (pictures on that will come another day). Also, Eric and I were released from primary and both have new callings; I teach the Beehives in Young Women's and Eric is in the Sunday School presidency. Here's pics of some other stuff we've been up to:

We went to the Seattle Aquarium, which Joshua LOVED!

With Football season under way, we had to get Josh a Huskies shirt :)
Jumping on the mini-trampoline is a favorite past-time
We crammed in lots of days at the park while it was still sunny...
And Josh got a hair cut! He loved sitting in the chair with a steering wheel. Did I mention we have watched the movie "Cars" about 1,000 times?? The kid is OBSESSED! :)

Baby Update

It's a BOY!!!!!

I had an ultrasound to follow-up on the bleed, and it looks like everything has resolved and baby looks good. Even though I'm only 16 weeks they were still able to tell us the gender, which we are VERY happy about! I'm sure Josh will love having a little brother to play with! Pictures soon to follow.