New Family Pictures

Mary Jane thanks for taking all these pictures for us! You're the best!

Happy Birthday Shane! Big 31 :)

Shane and his favorite Key Lime Pie

Caleb as "Peter Pan" (the vacuum attachment is his sword)
Pretty Smile

Happy Trick-or-treat!

Jessa the Witch "I'm a nice and cute witch"

Chloe the Kimono Princess and Connor as Indiana Jones

Caleb the Pirate

Jessa and Caleb's cousins from NY came to visit and the kids went trick -or-treating together.

They had so much fun running from house to house getting candy. About half-way through our walk, I realized Caleb's bucket was about twice as full as everyone else's. I was busy talking and didn't notice that after everyone got their candy, Caleb would stand and stare at the person handing out treats. He would usually get a second treat by doing this! Ooops! He's a smart cookie - he knows how to work the system! :)

I want a piece of chocolate! (the candy corn I brought as a bribe was not what Caleb was hoping for)

I'm cold and I need to go to the bathroom!

Beautiful Jessa

Yikes! We tried to take pictures again...the kids lasted maybe 10 minutes. I just need to make an appointment at Target. :)

Dressed Up

I am so proud of Shane and I! We dressed up for a Halloween Party. This is the first time we have ever tried to dress up for Halloween. We were trying for White Trash, but we ended up looking like this. I don't know what we are, but we are definitly dressed up, right? Shane's wig and moustache was the best. Check out the full head of hair. My lovely pink and purple frock was $5 at the DI. I am glad we have a whole year till next Halloween - because we aren't very creative and it took us forever to come up with what we did.

My Mistreated Curtains

Here it is! My first mistreatment. I folded the top and poofed it, then glued the fringe and seams. I used 'Liquid Stitch.' Ahhhhh....it was so fun gluing curtains...and it was very easy.

When I brought home this fabric, Shane said "what are all those pictures on it?" I said..."Ummm...just people dancing, making butter, you know stuff like that." Shane just laughs. I don't think most guys understand toile. :)

Navajo Taco Pizza

My good friend Trisha gave me this easy, yummy dinner idea! You make or buy your pizza crust, cover it with sauce, cheese, and taco meat then bake. When you take it out of the oven you can add lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, or whatever you like. Shane and even the kids liked this dinner.

Here's a great recipe for the crust. I've even used it to make breadsticks. It's really easy. Can you tell I like easy things? This recipe came from Recipe Zaar.

Ingredients
1 package fast rising yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Directions
1 Combine the yeast and the water, stir until dissolved.
2 Add the remaining ingredients to a bowl.
3 Add the yeast mixture and mix using a dough hook.
4 Knead dough until it forms a nice ball, using extra flour if necessary.
5 Let rest for at least 1/2 hour.
6 Bake at 450* for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

It's a Girl!

We're having a girl! We are so happy. We want to name her Emry. I am so glad it's a girl because I couldn't think of any boy names. I can go wash all of Jessa's baby clothes now! :)

Photo Shoot One

So I have been itching to take some nice pictures of my kids. I am not a professional, but I figure with the right lighting and my digital camera, after 200 pictures one should come out nice. Shane and I drove out to Fielding at sunset for a nice little photo shoot. I read up on taking pictures and learned that the sun needs to be at your back when you shoot. Only I thought they meant the subject you are shooting...dang...So the lighting for the pictures wasn't that great. I didn't figure out the problem till I got home. Out of 160 pics, here are some of my favs. Will have to trek out to the middle of nowhere some other time for a second try.

Butternut Squash Casserole

This is one of my favorite fall dishes. I could eat it all by myself. It's from The Essential Mormon Cookbook.

Butternut Squash Casserole

3 lbs butternut squash
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 egss slightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
1 cup grated cheddar sheese, divided

Cut squash into large chunks. Cook in boiling water until tender (about 20 minutes). Drain well. Remove peel and mash. Set aside. In a bowl microwave butter and onion for two minutes. Stir into squash. In a bowl combine remaining ingredients, using only 1/4 cup of the cheese. Add to squash and stir together. Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Caleb's Preschool Buddies

Here are pictures of Caleb and all of his little preschool pals. Caleb is the on having a meltdown.

Our Pretty Princess is Growing Up!

Jessa turned 5 on September 2nd. She had a great birthday. Dad played duck duck goose, red rover, red rover, and red light green light with her and some friends. They made crowns, played dress up and took whacks at a Strawberry Shortcake Pinata. She is so proud that she is now a "whole hand."

Jessa misses the kindergarten cut off so she's going to preschool this year. She's lovin' it. She would love to go everyday if she could.

Darling

My sister Mary Jane made these curtains this week. They are like the previous post, only they are rodless. I think they turned out darling. Did I mention NO SEWING? Glue gun, clips, and upholstery tacks. Sweet. My kind of project.

I am in love with these curtains!

I love these curtains! I found these on 'The Nesting Place' and I totally want to copy them. There was no sewing involved in the making of these curtains...isn't that wonderful? I can do the no sewing thing anyday...However the fabric I love is like 24.00 a yard, so I think I'll wait...and either find cheaper fabric or just splurge. So to distract me I am going to refinish an old desk for Jessa's room.

I think being pregnant is making me want to nest. Since I don't have a nursery to decorate right now, I'm finding other outlets. If I actually make these curtains I'll post some pictures. :)

Raspberries and Scriptures

I have decided that picking raspberries is like reading your scriptures. If you don't do it everyday, you will miss some berries. When I skip picking raspberries for a few days, many of the berries are overripe or shriveled on their stalk. Seeing these yucky berries always gives me berry remorse. When I forget to read my scriptures I sometimes wonder what great berries of inspiration I might have missed...Also, picking berries in the morning is the easiest. If you wait to pick them you have to fight the wasps. The wasps are always asleep in the morning. When I wait to read my scriptures I have to fight all the other things I have to do during the day...

Chocolate Milk Before Bed

"Daddy I just really want some chocolate milk before bed."

It looks like he said yes. :)

Altered Art

Hey ladies! Check out this sweet blog. My sister's good friend in Texas makes these darling bracelets, necklaces, hair clips etc. I love the fabrics and colors she uses. Check it out!

http://www.alteredartdesigns.blogspot.com/

Sweet Summer

Just add water for hours of fun...
Coloring, cutting, glueing...Caleb can go through a gluestick in just 10 min.
"If you don't hit me on the head, you can come to my tea party Caleb"

"More water please!"

The Best Kind of Pet

This is a picture of Caleb and his pet snake "Thunder." I can handle this kind of a pet.

Yellowstone Adventures

Camping in Logan Canyon

Playing with Grandpa.
The girls playing with princess dolls.
Connor, Caleb, Jessa
Always time for ice cream...
Great Grandpa Carlson and Chloe