Adventures in October

We have been having a lot of fun the last couple of weekends and making the most of this fun time of year! It started off with my family's annual fall get-together. The men went camping while the ladies and kiddos did this:
We went to a nearby farm where we got to pick out our own pumpkins (and actually cut them off the vine ourselves) for super cheap. Hooray! Then the owners were nice enough to do a bunch of other stuff for us for free. The kids got to ride a little train, and most of us took a turn on the Pent-a-Whirl (one of the joys of Sevier County). This is me and my sister Leslie getting ready to puke.

We also got the kids all dressed up and paraded down to Great-Grandma's house to trick-or-treat.
Daniel as a bear, Jordie as Indiana Jones, Lyndi as an Indian, Kayla as a vampiress, Jayelle as the Corpse Bride, Lia as a Mexican girl, Aubree as a pirate, Erin as Barbie the Island Princess, and down in front, Davin as a biker dude, Alex as a tiger, and Jonah as a giraffe. So cute! We missed Courtney, Tyson, and Chase and are excited to see them at Christmas!


Then this last Friday, our complex had our annual Halloween progressive dinner party. We had a great time, and there were lots of fun costumes and creepy food! Josh and I were lazy this year and just wore our robes from Chinatown as our costumes.

Crouching tiger, hidden dragon...or something like that. :)

Our good friends, the Reedys invited us over for a scrumptious pancake crepe brunch on Saturday, and then we went to the Big Red Barn in Santaquin for a hayride and pumpkin patch with them!


We also went to their house later that evening to hang out. Thanks for putting up with us, Joe and Ang, since we were basically too exhausted to do anything but plop down on the couch and watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas" while everyone else did some sweet pumpkin carving.

Hooray for Halloween!

Soup, again.

Those of you who have been our devoted readers since last winter may remember my post about the soup dilemma at our home, also known as "Josh wants to chew food and not drink it, but soup courses through Launi's circulatory system and enlivens her very being." I just wanted you to know that we've had another winner....a soup that Josh even admitted was soooo good and which forced me against my will to consume three bowlfuls, much to the chagrin of my still-looks-pregnant belly. Therefore, I'm going to provide you with the recipe in case you have a jones for a creamy, spicy meal to warm you up on these chilly autumn evenings!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

(Disclaimer: this recipe has lots of "use this or that" in it. I've made it several times, and basically just use whatever I happen to have on hand, and it all works equally well.)

~2-3 chicken breasts
~2 c. chicken broth (thanks, Marseille, for letting me borrow your bouillon!)
~1 can enchilada sauce
~1 t. chili powder
~1 t. taco seasoning (or if you don't have this on hand, throw in a little cumin, garlic, oregano, and salt and call it good)
~1 T dried minced onion or 1/2 medium onion, chopped
~1 c. cheddar or jack cheese
~1 c. sour cream or half-and-half
~1 can corn, drained
~1 small can diced green chilies
~1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (optional...Josh doesn't care for them so I usually do without)
~tortilla chips

Cook chicken in medium saucepan and shred. Add broth, enchilada sauce, onions, chilies, and spices. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes until the onion rehydrates/cooks down. Stir in cheese and sour cream/half-and-half until melted and incorporated. Add corn (and beans if you're using them) and warm through. Serve with tortilla chips (I usually like to crush them in the bottom of the bowl before putting in my soup, while Josh likes to use them to scoop it up. Whatever your preference.) Eat it. Say, "Dang, that's some good soup!" and then think of me kindly.

Thanks for putting up with me and my soup obsession and my love of cooking and my random babblings. I love you all. :)

Violence is funny

Or at least Alex thinks so!