Halloween came early this year

We went to Napa over the weekend to visit Grandpa Jed and Kathy. Always a favorite thing of ours to do. It was a beautiful weekend to go. While we were there, Jed had arranged an event for his corvette club. It was amazing and Brett and I were so happy to be able to go. We went to this car museum that is unlike anything we have ever seen. You truly have to see it to believe it. It is a privately owned museum by this man in Napa who is an avid car collector. His cars are in pristine condition and beautiful works of art. We had a great time checking it out.

The boys also got to try out their costumes early this year. We went downtown to go trick-or-treating. All the shops and businesses there were passing out candy to the kids. The boys got quite a stash! It was a fun way to kick off Halloween. I also managed to finish the cowboy costumes for Cam and Austin, however, Austin wouldn't wear his. I sure hope he will come Halloween night.

Our "nothing" morning

Sometimes the weeks go by so quickly, but this has not been one of those weeks. I am so glad that it is finally Thursday and I am really looking forward to the weekend. So yesterday was one of those days for me where it was all I could do to pack lunches for the boys and get them out the door, and I just didn't feel like cleaning up the house, so after Brett and the boys left, Austin and I had a "nothing" morning. We lounged around in our jammies until noon and we watched "Chicken Little". Then I figured that I had better get ready for the day so begrudgingly we got cleaned up and dressed, had some lunch and so the day wasn't a complete waste, we did manage to clean up the kitchen and the downstairs. I had good intentions of washing a load of laundry, but that didn't happen, and you know what? It was OK, because Austin and I enjoyed our "nothing" morning. Today however, is a different story. There is much cleaning to be done and a trip to Costco on the agenda, so off we go to get started. I can see the weekend coming!

Sunday night treats!

On Sunday nights, we like to have a special dessert. So Brett was reading the paper today and he saw an ad for BJ's (a restaurant in CA) and he saw that they had a new " Triple Chocolate Pizookie". It was a big chocolate cookie baked in a pizza pan topped with scoops of chocolate ice cream and fudge on the top. So of course, we had to make our own version with what we had on hand. So I found a recipe for chocolate chocolate chip cookies, then I took the dough and baked them in our skookie pans . When they were done Brett piled on triple vanilla ice-cream and drizzled caramel sauce over the top. Needless to say the boys devoured it like a pack of hungry wolves! Brett and I managed to get a couple of bites ourselves, and I have to say that it was pretty delicious. So our treat to you....the recipe so that you can make one for yourself.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar (I used 1 C white sugar and 1/2 C. brown sugar)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate
chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
(optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

If you don't have skookies pans, just spread the dough in a metal pie pan and bake until cooked through completely. Pile ice-cream and whatever toppings you want on top and eat! Enjoy!

Waiting patiently:



Digging in:



Cleaning up:

More fall decor

Today I actually had about 45 minutes of quiet time. The boys were at school and Austin was taking a nap, so instead of taking advantage of that time to clean my house, I sat down finished yet another project. This one is so simple and so cute. I made these cute applique pumpkins and placed them in this frame that I painted black and distressed. I found the instructions for this little project here. Be sure to check out the rest of Vanessa's blog, because she is very talented and she creates such darling things! I have never appliqued before, so this was a fun project for me. I love learning new techniques. Now with this, I think that I am done with all my fall decorations for the year (unless I come across something that I can't live without). Now I'm off to clean my kitchen!

Another quick pumpkin craft

I love all the wheat arrangements that I have seen this fall, so of course I thought "hey, I can make one of those and I think I'll try to do it with a pumpkin." So here is what I came up with.




Here's how you can make one for yourself:

Get yourself a fake, carvable pumpkin and some pretty fall ribbon from the craft store and while your there, don't forget to grab a stem of wheat and grass before you head home.
Now, get ready to craft.

1. Using a screwdriver, poke holes evenly around the stem of the pumpkin.
2. Place a small bundle of wheat and grass into each hole.
3. Wrap your pretty ribbon around the base of all the wheat to about half way up the stalk and tie it into a pretty bow.
4. That's it! Now you have a cute pumpkin, wheat arrangement to decorate your home for fall. Enjoy!



*Look for wheat and grass that are individually wrapped together, Mine came together as individually wrapped bundles that where then bundled together into one big bunch.
*Sorry for the lack of pictures with this tutorial, it seemed too easy for a step by step.

We survived...

Seven 5 and 6 year old boys plus a 9 year old boy plus a two year old boy equals chaos! That is pretty much how the day went, but they all had a great time, so it was totally worth it! Actually it went pretty smoothly. So what did we do to entertain this crew for 2 hours? We played pin the face on the pumpkin, had a cake walk, watched "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown", decorated mini pumpkins, went on a treasure hunt, smashed a pinata, ate cupcakes and opened presents. We had a great time at the party!

What do you do when....

you don't want to make dinner and your husband can't taste anything anyway (due to a cold)?...





You make ghost pancakes! Now what am I going to make tonight? Feel free to send you me some of your family, favorite recipes!

Cameron's Happy Day!

Today is Cameron's birthday. I can't believe he is 6 years old. We have had a busy, fun-filled day in honor of our little man. First he woke up to Mom and Dad singing "Happy Birthday" to him. Then it was school as usual, aside from the special "cake" cookies we made to hand out to his classmates, and the cupcake he got from his teacher and having his class sing "Happy Birthday" to him. Next he came home and did a little homework (can you believe the poor kid had homework on his birthday!). Last, to finish off his day, he opened presents, went to dinner at Target/Pizza Hut (his choice) and then dessert at Coldstone. And as if that wasn't enough, he came home and played with all his new toys until bedtime. I don't know about Cameron, but I am exhausted! Now, you would think that with all that, we would be done celebrating right?! Wrong, Cameron is having a birthday party with his buddies on Saturday and he can hardly wait!


Target Pizza Hut





Coldstone

CAMERON AT 6:

Cameron is doing amazing in the first grade, he has already received the Citizen of the Month award 2 times!

Cameron is a very sweet boy who is always willing to share what he has with his brothers.

Cameron gives out the best compliments.

Cameron tries very hard to choose the right

Cameron always has a smile on his face.

Cameron's favorite toys at age 6 are Pokemon, Bakugan, Legos, Wii, and dressing up as Superheroes, ninjas, pirates or cowboys

Cameron may be 6 years old today, but he will always be my baby boy!



Happy Birthday Cameron! We love you!


Batman costume from Grandma and Grandpa

A new use for something old....

While I was in Utah, my mom and I were running errands one Sat. morning and we drove past a garage sale and immediately this little chair caught my eye. I knew that I "needed" it and I knew just what I was going to do with it. So we pulled over, and I made a deal with the nice lady who was selling it ($4), loaded into mom's car and drove home a happy girl. So, I removed the seat cushion, bought a pot and a plant and dropped it into the chair and there you have it a cute new plant stand for my porch. I have been thinking about ways that I could spruce up my front porch and this was just thing to help me do that. So my next question is, should I leave it alone, paint it black or paint it red? Tell me your thoughts, and be sure to cast your vote on my poll.


And of course, I can never take any pictures without a couple of my models jumping in the shot! (But I wouldn't have it any other way.) Austin is all boy, with his dirty shirt and face. Somehow it doesn't even matter, he's still pretty cute if I do say so myself. And Cameron, who can resist that cute face!

He's home...

and he came bearing gifts! The boys were so excited to see Brett. They screamed with delight and practically tackled the poor man as he entered the house. The first question that the boys had for him was "what did you get us?" And of course Brett had a little something for each boy. Erik got a Transformer, Cameron got a Pokeman ball key chain and Austin got Wall-E and Eve figures. Then Brett said "And for Mom....a fine collection of miniature jellies" as he hands me all the leftover, mini bottles of jam from his breakfast each morning to which the boys busted up laughing and have continuously repeated since his homecoming. Nice! Lucky for him, he was just joking. Here is my real gift:




A pumpkin candle from Bath and Bodyworks! I love it! I am so happy that he is home and our family is back to normal.

My "fine collection of miniature jellies":