Happy Halloween!

...from our family to yours!

Boy we had a fun night!  Halloween music cranked, Bree and Jenna handing out candy wishing everyone a "Happy Halloween", Aidan and Maelle trick-or-treating, lots of silly dancing, and a whole lot of giggles. 
Hope your Halloween was a lot of spooky good fun too!

Halloween Eve

As tradition holds, every year we venture out a few days or so before Halloween and do a very impromptu photo shoot of the kids in their costumes.  It's always fun to grab a few cute pics, but it's also a whole lot of fun to let the kids run around and play in their costumes.  Each year, our photo shoot seems to get harder as the kids get older, and well, crazier too.   So, I have learned to let go of expectations and just "go with it".  Here's how we did:

Truth be told, it was a lot of fun.  I mean how can you not have fun dressed up, outside on a gorgeous day, and not have a mom nattering at you about where you should be and what you should be doing.  Just go with it I tell ya.  Just go with it!

Family Pumpkin Carving

A HUGE thank you to Brent (aka The Cat In The Hat) for taking all (yes, all) of these munchkins to the school's Halloween event yesterday evening.  I was sad to miss it, but it looked as though everyone had a fantastic time!  Thanks Brent!

Thing One & Thing Two...

...pop in to say "how do you do?"

Tomato Soup

The kids and I made this homemade tomato soup recipe today, and let me tell ya....it was yummy!  It was so good that I decided I needed to share it with everyone! 
And yes, those are cheddar Goldfish floating in my bowl....gotta keep it kid friendly now right!
This was a recipe from "Giada's Family Dinner's, a cookbook that I rediscovered over the weekend and now am hooked on!  I made a few alterations from the original and that is what's below.  Enjoy!

Tomato Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
4-6 slices of bacon, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3-4 slices of bread cubed (I used sourdough)
5 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp crushed rep pepper flakes (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sour cream

-heat oil in large pot, add bacon and saute until crispy
-add the onion and saute until tender
-add bread cubes and toss to coat with drippings, toast until golden
-add broth, tomatoes, basil, oregano, and pepper flakes.
-bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low, simmer uncovered about 20 minutes or so
-season with salt and pepper
*I pureed mine so the kids didn't see all the chunks of tomatoes and basil and such.  The bread helps to thicken it up too.  I was a bit skeptical about the bread being in the soup, but it's totally worth it in the end.

You can dollop a bit of sour cream on top which makes it even more creamy and delicious.  Helps to cool it down quicker for the wee lads as well.  We also made some Parmesan cheese crisps to go with it!  Yum!

Oh, and don't forget the Goldfish!

farm day

A glorious albeit chilly afternoon to spend at Kayben Farms today.  I really do hope to get in a few more visits to this place before the snow flies, but just incase, this is how we spent our sunny Friday afternoon.

The corn maze was a HUGE hit.  I mean how could you not have fun running through passages in a corn field trying to scare each other and giggling non-stop?  Actually...I honestly think Aidan and Maelle tried to loose me, but I am much to quick for that.  Ha ha!

There was a lot of jumping today....both at the Straw Jump,

and on the air trampoline.

Then "the boys" got involved with the air gun, shooting plastic balls at my clan of bouncin' gals.  Sheesh....boys!

Bree had a go with "cowboy croquet" or hockey as she called it.

Such a fun afternoon!  It always amazes me how fast you can loose track of time when you are out doing something so totally fun.  After seeing how much fun Aidan and Maelle had in the corn maze, I am thinking about taking them to a larger one not too far from our home.  Apparently they have a flashlight one you can do at night!  That is, if they don't try to loose me again.

capturing fall....through the lense

Just pictures today.  Glimpses of favourite places, and special moments.

We've been very busy in these parts.  Spending our days outside, taking in some very enjoyable fall like weather.  We've been hiking, walking, exploring, and playing.  Oh how I do love fall!

SPUD

Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery.  Yes!  My very first "grocery" order online.  A very happy man proudly waving at me today on my front step, arrived in the pouring rain with my first bin full of grocery items.  It was kind of like Christmas in a way.  Yes....and only I would be excited about getting a bin of groceries delivered to my house. 
I came across this website last week, and basically what SPUD does is sell organic, clean, and healthy grocery items online.  A healthy grocery store if you will.  And...they will deliver for free as long as you meet the minimum order.  How awesome is that?  Not only am I reducing my carbon foot print, but I am getting totally healthy and not to mention yummy groceries delivered by oh so friendly people right to my door!  Love that!

 

I kept my first order rather small, as I was (I admit) a little skeptical of the whole thing.  But now as my first order has arrived, and I am learning more about this fantastic company, I do believe that this may be part of my regular planning and shopping.

One of the product lines that led me to SPUD, was this locally (from Calgary) produced line of environmentally friendly cleaning products called "Small Planet".  All natural.  No crap.  And, it smells great!  I cannot wait to give these a go!  I have been researching how to make my own cleaners, but now that these products are so affordable, I may just use these.  At least for now.

Well....that was an exciting day.  I just blogged about groceries.  And cleaning products.  Did I mention the fabulous recipes that they have on their website?  Go on now, check it out!  Visit http://www.spud.ca/

a fave fall hike

Oh what a day, what a day!!  How I do love a good fall hike, and this one, Jumpingpound Summit, is one of my most favourite ones of all.  Especially in the fall when those leaves are such a brilliant yellow, and the air has a slight crispness to it.  I know I have mentioned (a lot!) that I love fall, but it is also my favourite time of year for hiking.  Today was spectacular!  Auntie Ky joined Aidan and Maelle and I for a day out in the mountains and as you will see below, a great hike.

Testing out the balance skills on a bit of a run down bridge...err...plank.

The summit, and lunch, are not too far away now!  

Ahhhh.....resting those tired feet and enjoying our view over a yummy lunch.  Food always tastes better outside.  Agree?

At the true summit!  It is so amazingly gorgeous from up here!  I honestly could have camped here all day!

To further entice the kids and add a bit more fun to our hike, we did a little geocaching at the top.  Why is it that kids can never make a speedy decision on what they are going to take? 

What a great day!  So glad that Auntie Ky could come along on our little adventure.  And a big thank you to the hubbies who stayed behind and watched the remaining kidlets whose legs are just a little to short for the big hikes yet!  Next year though.  Next year.  I am so looking forward to the day when both of our families can venture out for a day in the peaks!  How fun!