Birthday Bash and Out the door!

I love my dad, and for most who have met him... they would say the same thing. He is a genuinely loving person with a kick of 'Goof' in him. With a surprise we all wished him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY this weekend! If I had to pick 3 things that were my favorite about him it would be:

1. His jokes... usually so corny you still have to laugh!
2. His affection... he is always one for giving hugs just to let you know you are loved.

3. and His generosity... seriously, he'd give his arm to you if you needed it.

We love you dad, goofy and all! :)

P.S. On the way out the door this morning I had to grab my camera and take a couple of pictures of the kids all dressed in their Christmas outfits. It was a very short session. :)

Even though I got some decent pictures most of it was like this:

and when it was over I felt like this:

CanDy? WhaT cAndY?

It's tradition in my family to get together and make gingerbread houses or trains during the Christmas season. I LOVE this tradtion and most members in my family do too. What made it so fun for me this year was that this was the first time my kids were able to participate in the tradition. Thanks mom and dad for making this whole event happen!

He looks so proud of hiswork of art!

Cami hard at work while getting ready to pop in a tasty treat.

Cami's final project.


When all of them are finished, we always use them as centerpieces for the rest of the holiday. :)

Now part of this tradition is that you were to give your creation to someone you love. And Cami chose to give it to her kindergarden teacher. Cami has the most wonderful teacher! It's always a delight to see someone's eyes light up when a gift is given.

The Chef is in the HOUSE!

I have often contemplated on the thought to switch seats with Jeremy. He can sew better than I, is handy at just about everything, a wonderful teacher and father... but above all that, I think he should be our all time cook! My poor kids get leftovers often, an occasional creative meal, cereal or pancakes for dinner, boxed dinners, 'snack' (miscellaneous foods) dinner/lunch, and every once in awhile pizza. But man, if Jeremy was cooking, it would be 'A la Gourmet' every night! (or so it would seem, cause every time he cooks it's fantastic!) The other night I wasn't feeln' the whole whip something up to feed the family thing... I was starting to think of what we had left in the fridge that I could pull out, when Jeremy started pulling out some ingredients. What was he making?... homemade Alfredo sauce poured on some tortelloni, seasoned chicken, and steamed broccoli! Mmmmm... I'd order that over any Olive Garden dish... it was divine!

The Best time of the YEAR!

Before it's too late...

I just had to post our big get together. I love having Jeremy's family over because they are a set of personalities that I have come to love, adore, appreciate, and respect. And some people can't say the about their in-laws. They sincerely are just wonderful people. Everyone piled in, pitched in, and ate as much as we could!

AND... the newest nephew in town! It was so fun to hold Peyton, you just forget how little they come.

WINNER here: Ugliest Apple Pie award!! My in-laws sweetly reminded me it didn't matter, because it was just for the taste buds anyway. :)

Where's Waldo?

This last Saturdy my dad and the kids made a HUGE pile of leaves. We all know what that means... Geronimo!!! My brother, (up above) came into town and joined in the fun. :)

FIRST.... the big pile.

SECOND... the big jump. (Or in our case, a huge toss from Grandpa!)

LAST BUT NOT LEAST... a huge roar of laughter! :)

It didn't matter how cold or wet the leaves were, they all piled in! :)

As I have become a mom, I have come to regain the excitement for each new season and any kind of weather it brings. It is such a delight to watch kids get such a thrill out of the simplest things. Like a leaf pile... and it's free, nothing to it! They weren't kidding when they said 'children are your greatest treasures.' I thank God for these little treasures.

TriCk oR tReaT!!

I have to say, Halloween this year was quite memorable for me. I'm usually pretty reserved when it comes to dressing up, but this year we went all out! In our house we love the Incredibles, So since our family is a perfect fit this year we decided we would transform ourselves in to some 'Incredible' superheros! Mr. Incredible, Elasta Girl, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack... Incredible!!

Every time I see this picture I just laugh!

They were so excited to finally get their costumes on! It took me all day... from the time I woke up to about 3 o'clock in the afternoon!

Now this little boy was the one who got this whole idea started. Ever since he was a little baby everyone called him Jack-Jack because of his spiky hair... he made it a complete 'Incredible' family!

And there is no way I would have been able to complete our whole ensamble without our trusty 'Edna'! (Jeremy's mom literally was at my side creating these costumes, despite how dizzy she was feeling.)

My brother Zack found this awesome Gorilla suit! Cami wasn't quite sure of him. :) It was an eventful Halloween... full of goodies, laughter, and fun memories!

P.S. We also had fun this Halloween season with decorated cookies and crafts with my mom... I LOVE this time of year!

The 'Spooky Spatula'! (Which can easily be converted into a snowman for Christmas.)

Anyone Cold Yet?

Absolutely!! Who else has been pulling out their fall and winter clothes yet? Or turning up the heat? Or grabbing a blanket, or 2, when hanging out on the couch with your hubby while watching your favorite TV series like 'Modern Family', 'Dancing with the Stars, or 'The Office'? Brrrrrr... and it's just gettting colder. Alittle while ago my kids and I looked outside and saw this...

The water by our irrigation pipe froze one night.... it surprisingly looks pretty!

I love the expression of Cami's face, because it is the perfect expression that the chilly air brings :) Bundle up your kids good this Halloween! Can't wait to see all your pics! :)

Man vs. Fish

When you have a husband who is an avid fisherman, you tend to see him less when it's fishing season. So this last time he went fishing, he took the whole family! :) We must have been his good luck charms because he was the only one that caught a salmon amoungst the others around. I had fun watching it again, because the little stink of a fish kinda put up a fight!


Isn't it a beauty? Little did this fishy know, it's lot in life was to be smoked! :)

Even Tanner went with us. It was so funny to watch him freak out every time the fish flinched.

And of course the kids just couldn't keep themselves from rolling in the dirt/sand. I figure, it's part of being a kid, and they had a blast! As long as they weren't bothering the other fisherman.

They completely covered themselves in fun! We'll just hose them off when we get home, right? ;)

As for me and my little buddy, we sat back and relaxed. That's all you can do when you don't have a license. I like to think, WE were the good luck charms. :)

HerE a bIRthDay, tHerE A birThdAy!

It seems like October is the month for birthdays. Jeremy is now out of his twenties and still looking good! He got a really fun surprise when his dad came up from out of town and brought his favorite dish.... BAJA FRESH!! Lot's of family came to celebrate this momentous occasion. His mom even flew in to be with him on his birthday. It was such a treat! It just shows how much we ALL love him!

For some reason I can't flip the picture... but Jer asked me to make his favorite,

Carrot Cake!

Next my littlest one had his 1st and I just can't how big he's gotten already! He is constantly smiling and a 'true-blue through n' through' Daddy's Boy! When dad's home he wants nothing to do with me.... unless I have food or he's tired. It's just too cute. :)

Jeremy made the traditional Birthday Bear Pancakes!

Now I'm sure you're wondering why the name 'Jack-Jack' is on the cake. Well... it's one of his nicknames. When he was little and when his hair started coming in nice and full, he had a peice of hair that just wouldn't go down. So my sister started calling him Jack-Jack (off of the 'Incredibles') and it's just stuck. He even responds to that name we've used it so much. Just one of those things.

Carson didn't really get all that messy with the cake. That kind of surprised me. It either went in his tummy... or his daddy's. He likes to share. :)

It's been a fun month thus far, but just for show, here's another cake I've recently done. Actually Cami and I made it for my neice. It pretty much was all Cami's idea and I was the supervisor.... it was alot of fun. :)

FALL HARVEST

To begin with we had a wonderful harvest this year.... many types of produce coming out our ears!!! We feel blessed and I have quite enjoyed learning how to can our tomatoes and a few other things. (Melissa, thank you for taking the time to teach me! Even when you were sick and pregnant. :O]) We counted 41 pumpkins this year! I LOVE PUMPKINS! And we were able to make good use of them this year for the primary children in our ward.

Carson quite enjoyed his mountain of squash to climb. :)

While Cami was at school, Alex was our little harvester, right next to his dad. Thank goodness that squash can store all winter! NUM!!! (At least that's what Carson would say).