Thankful thing #?

So I've stopped counting and/or trying to come up with a new thankful thing each week, but on Monday as I was attempting to make some cookies for St. Patrick's day, I was thinking that I am thankful for my KitchenAid. I love it. Sometimes I wish it were bigger like the kind with the arms that raise the bowl to the mixing attachment, or sometimes I wish it were a different color, like pink, but then I think how my mom's KitchenAid is over 30 years old and running strong and it is a really ugly olive color, and what was she thinking when she picked it out, and will I still want a pink one in 30 years or shall I be grateful it is just plain white?So here's the long story. When John and I were first married, just as most newlyweds are, we were pretty poor. We had a baby right off and we were both trying to go to school and John worked hard for what we had. John knew I really wanted a KitchenAid mixer. Like I mentioned before my mom had one, and I really couldn't fathom functioning in a kitchen without one. I didn't have NEED of one yet, because there was no one to bake for, but that never stopped me from stopping "just to look" whenever I'd see them. So for our second Christmas, John surprised me with one under the tree. I truly had no idea what was in that ridiculously heavy box. I would have guessed he had lined a box with bricks just to throw me off the sent of a bathrobe or something before I would have guessed a KitchenAid. I cried when I opened that box on Christmas morning. I didn't use it much those first couple years, because John was never around and Nick was a baby, and I didn't need to eat cookies all by myself but I use it all the time now. I even have two bowls just in case (which happens quite a bit) I need it. In fact on Monday I made two batches of cookies, because there never seems to be enough. The kids love them, John always wants to give them to his Home Teaching Families, I was going visiting teaching the next day, etc. etc. So here's a few pictures cause I took a bunch.

Also I need to point out there's this whole Bosch vs. KitchenAid mixer thing going on. Kinda like the whole Mac vs. PC thing. Well I can totally say that a KitchenAid is better. I'm not a bread baker, so I can't really compare, that functionality, but I know cookies and last November I went up to Utah to learn how to make traditional Swedish cookies. John has an Aunt who makes like 120 dozen every year, actually this year I think it was more. She has like 8 different recipes. Some of them are so old they actually have ingredients in them like "washed butter" huh? I guess they used to actually wash the butter to get the salt out. weird. And other ingredients you can only get at IKEA like Pearl sugar cause American grocery stores don't generally carry it. Well we mixed up all these cookies in her Bosch and I wanted to scream. Mixing cookies with a dough hook?!?! It was so slow. I am guessing (because logic would dictate) that you can buy a paddle attachment, but she didn't have one. The cookies did turn out fabulous as usual, but I kept thinking that I wish I had my mixer. The only thing that I can think that might be it's saving grace, is that when they made these cookies way back when there where no KitchenAids then, so maybe properly creaming the butter and sugar isn't so important? Of course the cookies turned out fabulous, as they always do, they're downright sinful, but that's not the point.

So anyway I ended up making like 90 cookies, and the plan was to take them to friends and neighbors for part of FHE, but I totally didn't finish baking til like 10 pm, so they didn't get frosted until Tuesday. Even though technically St. Patrick's day was over, I still frosted them green. (besides I had sprinkles I wanted to use)

Here's the real story. After spending most of the day inside cleaning and mopping, I was ready for some fresh air, so instead of getting straight to baking I took the kids to the neighborhood park to enjoy the especially beautiful Arizona spring afternoon.

I tried to get a cute picture of them together all in green, but it wasn't happening. Zach and Christopher didn't want to sit down, they wanted to play, Madison had hurt her nose and was doing her best not to cry, Nick was trying to cooperate, but in reality was only wrestling with Christopher. Maybe next time.