Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thanks to my little sis Haley, I have found a foolproof recipe for delicious chocolate chip cookies. Just don't add too much flour, and really do only cook them for 9 minutes. You can also get creative by adding different kinds of chocolate chips. I like mixing milk and white chocolate chips or adding toffee.

Enjoy!

Cream together:

• 2 cubes of melted (not just softened) butter
• 2 eggs (room temp.)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar

Add:

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp (or more) vanilla
• 3 - 3.5 cups flour
• 1 bag chocolate chips

Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes on the middle rack - one tray at a time.

*Bake at 325 degrees if using the convection bake setting.

Our New Pets

Meet Rudy the Racoon and David the Deer. (Or Daphne, if this deer is in fact a lady.)

My allergies might stop me from having a little puppy, but at least these guys make regular appearances in my backyard to keep me company!

Boy or Girl?

We'll find out on July 6th.

Cast your vote on the poll!
(And add a comment so I can know what you guessed.)

Escape to Cactus Land

I went to visit my sister Jen who lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband Mike and their baby (3-year-old) Tanner. We wish they still lived here!

It was my mom, three of my sisters and I - the ultimate girl getaway. Besides Jen having the most horrible cough ever, we had a pretty rockin' time. Some highlights:

• Right when we got to my sister's house, I walked in and Tanner said, "It's Kimmy! My Kimmy!" We were at dinner one night and he started making funny faces on his own. I captured this one on camera:

• Eating at In & Out Burger (confession: I love cheeseburgers! At least during this pregnancy I do! Does anyone share this love with me?)
• Laying out by the pool in beautiful weather
• Seeing a thick canopy of stars at night (confession #2: I am obsessed with stars. Yes, I frequent the Clark Planetarium on occasion.)
• Eating Haley's famous chocolate chip cookies. You should probably ask me for the recipe.
• Being the beneficiary of Jeni's closet clean-out
• Watching Penelope
• Running to catch our flight home - and being the last ones to board.
• Going to the Reid Park Zoo. I think I enjoy zoos more than little kids do! We fed the giraffes - they had long, grey tongues and they'd just stick them out at us, waiting for food. We also saw a crazy bird - watch the video and listen to the sound he makes!

Jen and fam will be moving to Utah for the Summer so she can have her baby here instead of sweating it out in 100+ degree weather. I'm excited to have my sister/prego partner closeby again!

We bought our crib last night!

I've had my eye on this for awhile and the store had one left, so we decided to get it. We figure its a good idea to spread out the major purchases so they don't all sneak up on us right before the baby is born.

Our little baby is now the size of a lime.

Today I went to the library and loaded up on pregnancy books. A few of my favorites:

Your Pregnancy Week by Week

The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy

Healthy Eating During Pregnancy

Any other recommendations?

We're having a baby!

He/she will be born close to Thanksgiving.

We are so excited!