Birthday Happenings . . . . .

Weeks before Benjamin's birthday, he wrote a wish list of things he wouldn't mind getting for his birthday. While I thought it was a bit presumptuous on his part, I have to applaud his ingenuity! Among the things he asked for: breakfast in bed, Lego millenium falcon, and probably a video game of some kind or another. In principle, we don't believe in giving our children everything they want, that would just not build enough character now would it. But, I have to admit, it was fun to see the look on his face when we brought him breakfast in bed, and he even got the Lego toy he wanted.

Our sweet boy, is not so little anymore. He was pretty gracious about his day though, and even liked the less-exciting clothing gifts.

The day after his birthday, he got home from school, went in his room and was very quiet and focused for an hour or two. When he came out, this is what he brought. Thanks for helping with it Nanna and Grandy, can you tell he's a fan?

Halloween-ee festivities . . . .

Lily's dance classes had dress-up practice complete with fun Halloween dances. She went as a cute witch to this one. . .

For the ward Trunk-or-Treat Lily went as a Diva with a bit of make-up, and one of my neclaces (which made her look fifteen to me, not ready for that yet!) and Grace as a "poople princess." They were pretty sweet. As you may have noticed, Benjamin is kind of into Star Wars these days? Well, unfortunately I didn't get a picture of him in the costume he put together: a dark t-shirt worn inside-out and backwards, (darker that way), dark cape, and lite saber--Luke Skywalker.

Halloween night, the girls wore the same costumes, and Benjamin went as Mr. Bones. Herman even got in on the action in his Pirate costume, did you see his sword at his side? We took Herman with us to one house, and then he watched the house while we went out.

We went to a fun neighborhood and joined friends for Trick-or Treating, tasty food, excellent caramel apple cider, and great company. Thanks, and Happy Halloween!

Apples and pumpkins.

Okay, so I know this bread might not look that spectacular, but trust me it's good stuff! We've been thinking of creative ways of using our apples up to prevent them from wasting. This apple cranberry bread is one of the favorites we've enjoyed. Trust me, you'd like it. Very moist, with a deliciously sugary-chewy crust. Okay, enough about the bread already.

We also tried caramel apples. First time making them on our own, but definitely worth the time required to open the caramels (which Benjamin and Lily were very good at helping with by the way). Don't they look slightly wicked? Like maybe a witch was trying to offer you one? Mu ha ha ha ha ;)

We also finally got around to letting everyone choose a pumpkin to carve, and trying higher-skilled-carving methods. Lily was very eager to get in there and remove the seeds and slime, her favorite part! She even helped out in other pumpkins than her own, just because she loved the adventure. Oh, we learned that pumpkin openings should be significantly larger than the circumference of your hand! I don't know what I was thinking, other than PAINFUL! Good thing Lily was so helpful. :)

Goose chose a more traditional lantern . . .

Lily's was a bit of a Lizard . . .

And Benjamin's was a cyclops, just like in the Riardan books. Let's just say we have a Percy Jackson fan on our hands, and his pumpkin was really thick and difficult to maneuver! Jeff put a lot of elbow grease into helping with this one. Five pumpkins later . . .

We finally enjoyed the rest of the caramel apples that were made a few days prior to carving. From Left to Right: a witch (mine), clown (Jeff's), Grace's, Lil's and Bud's. Not too bad eh?

A day at the farm.

Grace and I have been part of a co-op preschool with other moms and kids in our area. Recently, we went to a farm in the area to learn about the animals, and the farming way of life. I have to chuckle to myself that people pay to go to farms and experience things that were everyday life growing up, but I really enjoyed it myself, so I'm not sure why I should be surprised.


We saw chickens (learned that green feed, like grass and collards, makes egg yolks more orange), a milk cow named pretty girl (learned places in the area where one might find a dairy or beef cow for sale to bring home), a pig named bacon (learned why their ears get little notches in them, basically for identification), some goats (learned that there are "meat" goats and "dairy" goats), and chose pumpkins from several laid out on a cut field. I think we all had fun, and I enjoyed seeing how Grace interacted with her peers.
Grace loved choosing her pumpkin, and playing with her friends. Isn't that what everyone needs? Good friends and a perfect pumpkin? ;)

State Fair 09

We decided to go to the state fair again this year. The weather was perfect, and the day was just right to go and see animals and consume foods that are not normally eaten, or thought to be very healthy. Isn't that the point? Anyway, we tried the "pig lickers" this year. What are those you might add? Well, go buy some of the bacon that can sit on the shelf in your pantry, melt some chocolate, and almost completely cover the bacon in said chocolate. There you have it! Normally, I'm pretty excited about trying new things. I think the pig lickers were definitely a one time deal!




We did enjoy other delights though: corn on the cob, cooked in the husk, fried dough with bavarian cream, hush puppies, the traditional over sized turkey leg, and even a decent fried snickers. Before you start worrying too much about our health, please remember the amount of walking that is entaled with a visit to the fair. We were moving non-stop for five hours or so; it might have just evened out, maybe . . .

The kiddos had fun thrill seaking on the rides.

Apple Pickin'

We've been wanting to go apple picking for several weeks now, so yesterday, we jumped in the car and drove just across the border to Virginia. We enjoyed seeing the beginnings of fall splashed here and there along the way.
Once on site, we each got a bucket, and made our way to the different trees that still held fruit.

We were cautious at first, not allowing the kiddos to climb in the trees . . .

And then we figured, why not?

We all got to climb a little, weather on latter or tree limb . . .

Benjamin was giving out sweet flowers he found along the way, very sweet.

Some of our spoils . . . we picked about a bushel, and got two more. Hope they last a few months! We enjoyed the experience, and look forward to finding more harvest soon.

What a "hoppy" day :)

On a very misty morning, earlier this week, a very special package arrived at our house. Inside, were numberless hops, bounds, flips, laughs, and moments waiting to be unleashed. In less than two hours, the parents had said package open, set up, and ready to greet unknowing young eyes as they awoke from naps, and arrived home from daily activities. The wait, mist, rain, and time were all totally worth it for the looks on their faces, perfect!

Fall family photos.

I really wanted a nice family photo, and with fall clothes, and a little bit of time on our hands we figured, why not? These were all done using a handy wooden post that happened to be located at the end of the bridge, positioned exactly in the middle. Jeff does amazingly well with the timer function. You just never know for sure how many pictures are going to be taken during each cycle. These are some of my favorites :)

Stormy beach fun.

Last weekend, we headed out to the beach for Jeff's work retreat, and were looking forward to playing in the surf and the sun. As the weather had it, we didn't end up with a lot of sun, but we did enjoy our time there. While Jeff was in meetings, the kiddos and I headed over to the aquarium, to take in the wildlife there. The rain was coming down pretty hard, so we took our time getting back to the hotel to check in, and the kids were ecstatic: we had the "kid suite." That meant that although we were in one room, there was a queen size bed, and a divider that held bunk beds and kids entertainment unit. We all thought it was pretty cool.

We decided to try out a local restaurant: Boodles. I won't mention it's sanitation score, because I don't want to, but we were impressed with their food. Granted, we were really hungry at the time we were eating! I had a turkey burger with blue-cheese, sweet potato fries, and cinnamon, sugar, and butter dipping sauce (for the fries). Jeff's burger was pretty conventional, but huge in it's proportions! The children's portions were pretty large as well, and they got ice cream to go. Really, it had a nice mom-and-pop kind of feel to it.

We really wanted to spend time in the water, but quite frankly, it was a little bit scary, frothy and angry. So, we settled for playing in the hotel pool, and being in the sand and surf very close to the shore.

Usually, we try to take nice family pictures on the beach every fall, but the pelting rain wasn't working in our favor, so we decided to try a few inside near the fireplace. By this time, Lily had developed a fever, and wasn't feeling very well. We did have fun wondering how many pictures the timer was going to take.

After a delicious dinner, the kiddos were all feeling pretty poorly, so we decided we'd take it easy in the morning getting back. We had a nice stroll on the beach, beautiful sunshine, and lovely atmosphere, but the batteries were dead in the camera. I know, this sounds like I'm being negative, but I'm totally not, promise. :) We enjoyed being together as a family, and having a different experience at the beach.

I am just a little excited....

If you haven't heard the news , Rio won!