Happy Halloween

 As tradition for the past few years, we went trick or treating with the Richael family. Jody and I took the girls around the neighborhood (our old stomping grounds) while the guys manned the door.  It was pretty funny coming back and seeing Paul giving the kids candy - where was Craig?  Vivian was an easy cat and Olivia dressed up as Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter (Olivia read the whole set in just a few weeks).

Corbin Takes the Girls on a Date

Corbin was so kind to take Olivia and Vivian on a date to Linder Farms (where he worked the past month).  They were thrilled to see part of the corn maze and to buy a few treats.  Thank you Corbin for being such a good big brother!

Menu Monday

I am making a couple repeats (Zesty Ravioli Skillet and White Chili) and the others I didn't make last week.  Who knows what we ate instead?

Zesty Ravioli Skillet  - this is a delicious meal all in one skillet. This is my second time making it.
Coconut Curry Soup  - I didn't get to this recipe last week.
Creamy White Chili (crockpot) - this was a delicious soup enjoyed by my family.  It's a keeper.  Next time I need to quadruple the recipe so we have leftovers.  I 2 1/2 x the recipe and it was only enough for dinner that night and for the kids to take soup in their lunch thermos containers.
Jalapeno's Spinach Enchiladas - it looks good.
Spinach Artichoke Pasta (from the Pioneer Woman - it looks delicious)
Smothered Pork Chops (crockpot)  Hopefully I remember to plan ahead this Sunday!

Attempting a Ruffle Scarf

Today I got my sewing machine out for the first time in years!  I thought this would be a 15 minute project, but it wasn't, isn't that always the case.  I saw this ruffle scarf (or a similar one) at My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe in Logan, Utah. I thought it was cute so I bought some ruffle fabric and attempted it today (just in time for Halloween).  I followed the directions found here (click on the photo) that they demonstrated for Studio 5.  I thought I knew what I was doing from the short video.  However, it took me a phone call to the quilt shop to understand that there are slight variations that you can do with this scarf.  On my scarf (5 ruffles wide), I sewed down the scarf three times with the stretchy elastic in my bobbin (I wouldn't have known to do that from the video....I thought it was one time down.  But when my scarf looked a little strange I called the store for further instruction).  The one shown on display was down with a narrower scarf (only two ruffles wide) just doubled up with another scarf.  

I made a flower out of a sweater (that shrunk) using the technique she used in the video segment to make fabric pumpkins.  My flower turned out a little big with the 5" square, next time I would reduce it to a 3 or 4" square.

Time to Clean out the Fridge

I've been stuffing the fridge for the past several weeks so today was the day to clean it out!  I just hate seeing how much food that I have to throw out because it goes bad.  Deseret News had an interesting article back in June 2012 about this "food money pit", which suggestions that we waste 14% of our food purchases (read a segment below).  The article gives suggestions of ways to cut how much we waste.  Today I saved some food by giving it a new life in the freezer. 

I learned that I can freeze jalapenos, fresh ginger root, tomatillos, and spinach (which usually goes rotten in the fridge).  I put together several freezer bags with ingredients for green smoothies!  Now instead of finding these items stuck in the back of my fridge rotting, I can find them fresh and preserved in the freezer. 

From the article:  "Food waste costs each family in America big time — growing by 50 percent since 1974 according to a study inPLoS ONE by Kevin D. Hall, Juen Guo, Michael Dore, and Carson C. Chow.

And how much is being wasted?

A 2004 study by Timothy W. Jones, who was an anthropologist at the University of Arizona at the time, put the national food waste figure (including all the food wasted in production, food manufacturing, restaurants, etc.) between 40 and 50 percent. He found households waste 14 percent of their food purchases.

American households spent an average of $6,129 on food in 2010 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If Jones' figure of 14 percent waste is correct, that is about $858 per year or about $71 a month wasted on food thrown out. Some food waste experts say the food waste figure is as high as 25 percent or about $1,532 a year."

The Mouse Wins

After losing Smokey our beloved cat, we rescued a cat from the animal shelter.  This new cat, Ninja, has made himself right at home.  He is a nice, loving cat BUT he can't catch a mouse and that is what we need out here in mouse country.  We are having to use mouse traps again.

This mouse has me baffled!  Are all mice like this?

Soccer Season Ends

 Porter enjoyed another season of soccer at M.Pal.  He had a coaches and teammates - he is looking forward to playing again in the spring.  Porter usually played half of each game as the goalie.  He did a great job and got after that ball.  Way to go, Porter!  

He had two sets of grandparents cheering him on this last game along with two cousins, Lacy and Braden.  Thank you for all your support.

  Corbin played JV soccer for KHS.  It was his first year playing school soccer.  He had a good season and got in great shape with their daily practices (M-F).

Way to go, Corbin!

Menu Monday (late)

Here is my menu for the week

I don't always follow my plan, for instance, we had the Zesty Ravioli Skillet on Sunday!  I cook according to my mood or time restraints so often times I re-shuffle the days or I don't cook at all.  So don't feel like you have follow your menu 100% of the time; be flexible.

Note:  These are all new recipes to me.
Creamy White Chili (crockpot) - this was a delicious soup enjoyed by my family.  It's a keeper.  Next time I need to quadruple the recipe so we have leftovers.  I 2 1/2 x the recipe and it was only enough for dinner that night and for the kids to take soup in their lunch thermos containers.
Zesty Ravioli Skillet  - this was a delicious meal all in one skillet.  It's a keeper.  
Creamy Swiss Cheese Chicken Bake
Smothered Pork Chops (crockpot)
Coconut Curry Soup  - I stocked up on coconut milk during my last grocery trip (23 cans).  I love curry!
Southwest Chicken Stacks (crockpot)
Spinach Artichoke Pasta

Our Temple is Almost Ready!

From the LDS newsroom:  The First Presidency has announced a public open house beginning Saturday, 13 October and continuing through 10 November 2012, excluding Sundays. Tickets for the free tour are available by visiting www.boisemormontemple.org or by calling 1-855-537-2000.

The temple is located at 1121 South Cole Road in Boise, just north of the I-84 Cole Road exit. Tours, consisting of a 12-minute video presentation followed by a 30-minute walking tour through the temple, will begin at the meetinghouse adjacent to the temple.

Following the public open house, the temple will be formally dedicated on Sunday, 18 November 2012. Three dedicatory sessions will be held, with the services broadcast to Latter-day Saint chapels in the surrounding area to accommodate Church members who are unable to attend in the temple. The dedication will be preceded by a cultural celebration featuring music and dance by the youth of the Church on the evening of Saturday, 17 November.

The Boise Temple is the 27th operating temple of the Church’s 139 temples worldwide. It is one of four temples in Idaho, with others in Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, and Rexburg. A fifth temple in Meridian is currently in the planning and approval phase.

The temple closed in July 2011 for an extensive renovation of the grounds and the interior. The temple’s exterior has been replaced with white granite. A new gold-leafed statue of the angel Moroni sits atop the temple’s tallest spire. The temple’s interior now features a syringa flower and trees motif, which can be seen in the art glass and decorative painting. Beautiful grained hardwoods from Africa and the United States add warmth and ambience.

 Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord” where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. Inside, members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to serve Jesus Christ and their fellowman."

 I am totally on fire about the temple being open for public tours!  The very first day that it opened, we were there!  Then I was able to go with Danielle, my sister-in-law and again with my friend, Kim.  Then I went a fourth time on Saturday with my family (their second time) since we had extended family in town.

 It is absolutely breath taking!

 I can feel the spirit there and I look forward to it's dedication on Nov. 18th.

I am getting excited to return to the temple, I have felt a void of not being able to attend as frequently as I would like. I look forward to making it a weekly commitment again.

My Salsa Stash

I came home from my trip and canned another 21 quarts of this salsa recipe.  My family loves it.  We have already eaten several quarts and I have given 5 quarts away.  As of today I have 50 quarts of remaining salsa downstairs that are waiting to be eaten (not too fast kids)! 

The Girls Utah Trip

The girls and I had a great week long trip to Utah to visit family and attend a session of General Conference. Our first stop was Chay and April's home, where the girls played with their cousins (Julia, Kenzie, and Xander) until it got too cold!  Then we were treated to pizza and pumpkin pie!  

Saturday morning came early as we got up and ready to meet everyone at Uncle Larry and Aunt LaDawn's home.  They had an extra parking ticket for me!  Hallelujah!  I didn't have to brave a parking fiasco, instead I was able to park in the special underground parking across the street from the conference center.

We LOVED our experience Saturday morning as we were able to sit up close during the first session of conference.  It was an extra special session because the prophet, Thomas S. Monson made a big announcement about the lowering of missionary ages for young men from 19 to 18 and for young ladies 21 to 19.  An audible "ahhh" was heard in the conference center as this was announced.  Wow!  

After the first session we met with the other family members in attendance ( Keith, Mom, Aunt Sheryl, Uncle Larry, Aunt LaDawn, Aunt Marilyn,Uncle Wade, Aunt Jerilyn, & Uncle Reese - as pictured above) for a boxed lunch with Uncle Larry and Aunt LaDawn on the third floor of the church office building in the Temple Department conference room.  

In this room, there is a world map with all the temples dotting the globe.  On the other side of the room, there are pictures of the temple presidents and when they were called.

The girls and I stayed for the second session of conference, which we watched in the Legacy Theatre of the Joseph Smith Building.  It was awesome to watch it on a giant screen - that is when I saw that the prophet had a cupful of chocolates by his side!  

We walked through temple square.  I always like to stop by the North Visitors Center to see the Christus statue.  What a wonderful spirit dwells there.

 I love this photo!

Tara and Niels were kind enough to let us stay with them four nights!  We loved up the babies and played with Gage.   Dad and Luanne stopped by Monday (after their trip with their Corvette gang) and took us out for lunch.  The kids had a great time playing together.  By the end, Jenna was my friend, which is a rare treat.  Carter was my buddy from the beginning.  

Then we were off to Logan to visit Tami and Jeff's family.  Tami had a full day of activities planned for us because the kids were out of school for parent teacher conferences.  We picked apples at Mike and Kris's house (Jeff's bro.), we had a Wendy's lunch on the grassy hill by the Logan Temple, we then ate ice-cream cones at the Aggie's Creamery, oohed and aahed at the quilt store, My Girl Friend's Quilt Shoppe (owned by Mike and Kris), and went to their little zoo (this has a special place in my heart). 

We actually went to the quilt store twice!  The next visit I bought fabric to make the quilt of the Ghastly family, shown above.  I thought it was so unique that I am going to give it a try some day.  Don't ask me when, though!  I also like the chevron quilt and the cool fabric wrapped tree in the children's play area.

Ice-cream, please!

 I was also able to attend the temple, which is a rare treat (because our temple has been closed for a year).

  The kids had fun eating push up orange pops, making caramel apples, jumping on the trampoline, playing in the sand, and playing the Wii.  Cousin time is great!  We don't want to go home.....plus not to mention all the good meals we were served.  Thank you to my sisters who took such great care of us.

 This is my kind of zoo because it is small, cheap, and interactive.  The kids feed the hungry ducks after we found a few stray dimes in our purses.  We saw an albino raccoon and porcupine, along with many other cool birds and animals.  This colorful pheasant sure loved all the attention.

 Casen and Clayton are anxious to be the first ones in the bus line.  Here they are off to school!  

 Our trip ended with a night at grandma's house.  We stopped by to visit my Clark grandparents and then we had a nice dinner out with grandma.  The girls also squeezed in time to play with the neighborhood dogs that just roam around loose (they can in the country).  Mogi is still loves attention, even though he is very old and hard of hearing.

 We ended the night with the VP debate of Biden vs. Ryan, that was frustrating.

All in all our trip was wonderful, we were able to make more memories with family members and experience General Conference.  I was anxious to get home and reunite with Paul and the boys.  They "survived" their week while we were away.   It ended up that the girls had a fall break, but the boys were still in school.  Maybe next time they can join us.

Bye, Bye Babies

This summer we bought a billy goat, three does, along with three baby doelings from the owners who originally sold us our fainting goats.  Now we have the complete family!  

The girls say their goodbye to the baby goats who were sold to another goat lover.  Later we also sold three of our wethers (boy goats who can't reproduce) so now we are down to seven goats, consisting of Dumbledor (the billy goat), Oliver (a Nubian wether, and obnoxious clown), and five does.  We are hoping to have a bunch of fainting baby goats in the spring!  

Milky (the black and white goat shown above) was a favorite because he was very sweet to people and like to shake your hand.  Patches was also a nice boy.  However, Milkshake was the least sweet even though he would eat out of your hand, he didn't love people as much as the others.

Absolutely Uncertain - Do we have Israel's back?

This youtube video is going viral with over 750,000 views.  It is a mini-documentary about the U.S. relationship with Israel.  This should be a concern of every American, especially if you understand the goals of the Islamic Manifesto (you should really watch "The Project").