October Happenings.....

Piper got a present from grandpa Stewart a little jacket with Lil' Monster on it. He really didn't like his picture being taken, can you tell? But we had to show the folks!

Izzie by our front yard tree - it was so pretty with all the red leaves. Now there is only about a hand full on the tree. Still no snow though.

Last Friday we went hiking with some neighbors. Bear Creek Trail. 3 miles. I carried the girl the whole way and boy was I sore! Can you say Jello Legs!

All rock and trees and a nice waterfall.

Shrunken Heads PART 1

I found this idea from Best Bites and the kids and I HAD to do it.

So we got 3 granny smiths and 2 gala apples (I wanted to see which apple worked the best) Dipped 'em in lemon/salt water and cut their little faces out. I used whole cloves for eyes and rice and barley for teeth. They are so cute - and then we put them on a cookie sheet and waited.....up to 2 weeks to see their transformation for Halloween!

Here are my little guys.......aren't they adorable....ha! you just wait!!!

Shrunken Heads PART 2

Here they are 2 weeks later. I kept them mostly in the oven (out of my way). The only bummer is the granny smith apples were so large that they got moldy. A little gross, but hey that just makes them a little scarier! My gala apples were the stars of the show -I will remember that next year!

He is so ugly (cute)!

Poor dude!

Rest in peace little guys - the kids LOVE them and want to show them off to all the kids in the neighborhood.

Batter Three Ways (Muffins, Pancakes and Waffles)

I had to make a snack for my boys preschool class and tried these - they were so yummy. Even the batter was so yummy. I made the whole batch muffins - chocolate chip and blueberry!


Batter Three Ways (Muffins, Pancakes and Waffles)
Recipe created by Tyler Florence

Ingredients:
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar (I cut this down by 1/2 cup)
• 2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 lightly beaten eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted, then cooled slightly
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Muffins:
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup toasted, chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries or other dried fruit

Pancakes:
• 1 ripe banana , peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
• 3 Tbsp. whole milk , if needed

Waffles:
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions for the batter:
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In another bowl, add the eggs, milk, butter and vanilla, and mix well. Fold the wet ingredients together with the dry until well blended. Divide the batter in half. Use half for the muffins and the remaining half for both the pancakes and the waffles.

To make muffins: Preheat the oven to 375°.
Take half of the prepared batter and fold in the cinnamon, nuts and dried fruit.
Brush the inside of each cup of a nonstick, 12-cup muffin pan with some of the melted butter.
Divide the batter equally into each cup. and bake for 20 minutes or until tests done when pierced with a skewer.
Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
Makes 12 muffins.

To make pancakes: Fold both the banana and the walnuts into the batter, and thin with little milk if needed.
In a large, nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over a medium heat. Using a medium ice cream scoop, pour equal amounts of the batter into the pan.
Cook the pancakes until bubbles rise from the middle of each pancake.
Flip and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes. Keep cooked pancakes in a warm oven as you cook off the remaining batter.
Makes about 8 to 10 pancakes.

To make waffles: Preheat a waffle iron. Fold the chips into the batter until well blended. Drop equal amounts of batter onto the heated waffle iron. When bubbles rise from the center of each waffle, close the top and continue to cook until crisp, about 3 minutes.
Keep cooked waffles warm in a 200° oven until you have cooked off the remaining waffles.
Makes 6 to 8 waffles.

Ode to soccer

Soccer we are glad you came around, but man am I glad to be done with you!

Game 5 was the same as game 4 and 3. But only 32 degrees- FREEZING!!! Thank you for the teaching and experience soccer, but the mommy and daddy was bored to death at the end!

Recent pictures of us

Me with the kids and of course Piper.



Izzie so cute with her smile.



My two happy kids...they keep me busy and happy!




Our family just being silly. Matthew is 4 1/2 and Izzie is almost 2 1/2. Not telling you how old we are - but young at heart!




This is my niece Stefanie who I love SOOOOO much. When her mom (my sis) was pregnant with her I knew it was a girl (they didn't find out till she was born). I loved her instantly. She is the kindest, sweetest and most beautiful girl in the world and I hope Isabel is just like her older cousin.

Matthew riding his bike. He loves his bike and has to ride it everyday without fail. I don't know what he is going to do when it starts to snow. It is now getting so cold, that I freeze watching him, while he is out riding-I almost have to jog in place! Ha! What my neighbors think!

Dang - this picture is turned weird. My beautiful girl - can't get over how big she is getting.

Fall treat! Love it!

This is so yummy! I can make this almost every night! Try it - it makes Fall even yummier!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin, canned
1/4 - 1/2 C milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
1-2 graham crackers

Pop everything but graham crackers in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. I used somewhere between 1/4-1/2 C.