From our Kitchen: Sweet as Pie *UPDATED*

Today is a day to be thankful...and to eat lots of pie! Jay and I are heading up to Tara and Jeff's house this afternoon with three deliciously homemade pies to share.

This Thanksgiving, I wanted to try something new, so decided on a Shoo Fly Pie. Shoo Fly Pie is a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch molasses pie and since Jay and I love molasses, we thought, why not give it a shot?! Wikipedia explains that the name is commonly thought to arise from the fact that the molasses in the pie is so attractive to flies that they have to constantly be "shooed" away. Here is a photo of my Shoo Fly Pie:

I found the recipe really simple to make and will let you know how it fares at dinner today. UPDATE: Overall consensus was that the pie was way too sweet. By the end of the day, it had melted into a tar-looking mess. Unless you like to eat molasses out of the jar, I'd say pass on Shoo Fly Pie. Looking forward to better luck in next year's choice.

In addition, we are bringing pumpkin bread, a pumpkin pie and, of course, Jay's Famous Apple Pie (we'll do a From Our Kitchen post on that one at a later date).

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you take the time today to realize and be grateful for all the beautiful things life has to offer. Thank YOU for being a part of our lives!

Love, Jay and Amie

Weekend Update

Not a hugely exciting weekend, but it surely was relaxing! Yesterday we went up to Westgate to see the movie Twilight with Jeff and Tara. Tara and I had read the book and the boys were along for the ride. It was a special day because it was the first time our friends were away from their little Alistair. Cellphone in hand, they managed to get through it while Grandma Kathy watched him at home.

After the movie, we headed to Sweet O for lunch and enjoyed some wine while munching on sandwiches, cheese and finally a pumpkin gingerbread chocolate that Jay selected for us. Delicious!

Speaking of delicious, we made a Barbeque Chicken Pizza for dinner Saturday night. I had to take a picture because it was so pretty. We made it with Boboli, barbeque sauce, chicken, cheese, and sauteed red onions. After it was cooked, toss on some chopped cilantro. So good.

I was excited to see Jay helping with clean-up by washing the dishes. He turned on the water and I quickly heard a loud "OUCH" and thought the water was too hot. Nope - not hot - he sliced his index finger with a very sharp serrated knife. In his words, "I could feel the serrated edge bouncing off the bone". Nice. I headed to Walgreens to get some supplies to patch my man up. Here's the result:

Today was a very domestic day for me - I did a few loads of laundry, baked some more pumpkin bread, started (and finished!) a sewing project, and shopped for a friend's wedding shower gift. All the while Jay had a very manly day - he watched several hours football and drank beer with the boys. 

Now back to work for only 3 days until we can enjoy a nice long weekend. 

Wedding Photos

It has been just over 3 months since our wedding day, so I thought I'd share a few more of my favorite photos with you! Here are some group shots from the big day:

Jay and the Ladies

Amie and the Boys

Our Wedding Party

The Whole Wedding in front of the Church

I can't believe how fast the time has flown by and will be sure to share more photos as I continue to go through them! Enjoy!

Weekend Update: Flying High

The weekend isn't quite over yet, but I'm already convinced that it's been a pretty awesome one! 

Saturday morning, Kathy and I carpooled to Kiera's baby shower which was a lot of fun - great to chat with the ladies and see all the cute things that little baby Blech will enjoy in a few months! I had to jet a bit early due to a very important event: Ryan was taking me flying!

It has been 2 years since my last flight and as you readers know, I have been quite upset about my lack of air time. My recent birthday presented the perfect opportunity to go fly the friendly skies like the good ol' days with none other than my smelly friend Ryan. For those of you who don't know, Ryan and I did 99% of our flight training together. Our many adventures included long cross country flights around the southwest, navigating over dust storms and around forest fires, 110+ degree sweaty flights with no air conditioning, extremely windy approaches, and landing upon squirly landing! We made it through training alive and well with a ton of great stories to tell! Thank you Ryan for an amazing afternoon!!

Here are some pictures from yesterday's flight:

Me and our airplane for the day

Lake Pleasant up ahead

Me concentrating on holding altitude & airspeed - it came back to me pretty easily!

Friends at 4500 feet

Deer Valley Airport (DVT) on downwind

Our final approach to land - don't worry, Ryan had the controls while I took this pic!

This whole time we were flying, Jay was in the car listening to the Nebraska game :) Luckily they won and we were all happy!

After the flight, the three of us headed to Jeff and Tara's to visit Alistair. He was wearing the little onesie that I made for him! How cute!

He's sooooo tiny!

Jeff's mom got them this kangaroo baby holder thingy. It was so cute how he stuck his little leg out!

The big kids made nachos and enchiladas for dinner. Very tasty!

Ryan holding baby Alistair

So here we are on Sunday afternoon still in our pjs. It's a welcome rest after a long Saturday. We might, just might leave the house later today to do something productive...but if not, I'm fine with that. It has been an awesome weekend already.

An Honor and Privilege

Jay and I are pleased and excited to announce the birth of our Godson, Alistair Travis McNeill. Our great friends Jeff & Tara welcomed him into the world yesterday at 1:02am after a long night of labor.

We stopped by the hospital yesterday during lunchtime to meet this little angel and see how Jeff & Tara were holding up. Everyone looked great! We are looking forward to seeing them again this weekend after they settle in at home.

Daddy & Alistair

Mommy & Alistair

It is such an honor that Jeff and Tara selected us as Godparents to Alistair. We look forward to being a part of his life and to help guide him in his spiritual and "worldly" journeys ahead!

Weekend Update: Colorado

Jay and I went to Denver this weekend to visit his parents and friend Shawn. It was a great time to get out of Phoenix as it has been warmer than normal for this time of year. We were excited to enjoy some cooler weather as well as q.t. with family & friends!

We arrived Friday night and went out to dinner with Shawn, his girlfriend Juvy, and her sister Jenny. The restaurant they took us to is called the Cheeky Monk -a "Belgian Beer Cafe" as they call themselves. It was fantastic to say the least. We shared delicious fried cheese croquettes (balls) to start, then I had a nice thick beef stew while Jay enjoyed mussels. Of course, the beer was amazing. We all sampled a couple different options - my favorite was the St. Bernardus ABT 12. If you are a beer lover, check out their beer menu & give one of these beers a shot. Belgians really know how to brew!

Jay, Amie, Jenny, Shawn, Juvy

Saturday morning, the 4 of us got up early and headed to Castle Rock (about 40 minutes south of Denver) where Jay's parents recently moved. We were welcomed with not only hugs, but also chili, vegetable soup, 2 pies AND homemade chocolate chip cookies - now is that a welcome or what?! We got comfy on the couch and enjoyed several hours of football. Poor Cornhuskers - it was quite a hard game to watch. Hopefully next week will be better! Besides Jay's smelly contribution to the night (ahem), it was a blast...no pun intended.

Sunday we enjoyed one of Jay's famous egg breakfasts and headed out to check out Red Rocks Amphitheatre. What a beautiful venue!!

After Red Rocks, we headed into the mountains to visit Evergreen, Colorado. It was a beautiful drive and to top it all off, we came upon a golf course that had been taken over by some hungry elk!!




After watching the elk for a while, we ate at a delicious pizza spot that Juvy recommended since she used to live in town. It was great and more than anything I was impressed by this:
I have never seen anything like this at any restaurant - a grid breaking down where allergens are used in their menu! This is something that should be at every restaurant!!