Christmas is here

Friday was Riley's class "Winter Party". It was a lot of fun. Our room mom is amazing! She always has the funnest activities for them to do. She made a little ginger bread village for each child to decorate. The trick is in the construction.
If you have ever tried to make a ginger bread house before you know it isn't easy. The walls don't stay together and the icing isn't the best glue. Here's the trick she used; hot glue and an empty milk carton. The milk carton is the perfect size and if you use enough hot glue you can stick anything together. The graham crackers and sugar cones made perfect little houses.

The kids are so excited that Christmas is so close. The proof is in the sugar overload!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Easiest Recipe ever!!!

Turtles

1 bag waffle pretzels

2 bags Rollo's

1 bag pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350.

Cover a cookie sheet with foil. Place pretzels side by side and top with a rollo. Bake @ 350 for about 1 1/2 monutes. Just until the rollo starts to melt. Remove from the oven and press pecan half into the melting rollo. Let cool in the fridge until the chocolate has hardened.

SNOW DAY!

Like I said, school would be closed today. The kids were up at 7 am this morning looking for thier snow gear. Out the door by 8 o'clock and still outside playing. And again I lasted long enough to take pictures.

Riley and her friend singing some holiday cheer!

Our first snow in Tennessee

So all this week it has been raining and the temperature finally dropped low enough that it started to snow. The kids were thrilled. After living in Texas for 5 years they are so excited to live in a place where there is a chance for snow.
By 7 o'clock there was at least an inch of snow on the ground. Lane and Riley couldn't get dress fast enough to go out. It took me a minute to remember where I had packed away the snow gear.

It took most of the snow in the back yard but they got enough to make a snowman. Riley keeps saying that this is her first snow ever. She had been to Utah 2-3 times in the winter but I don't think she remembers. It's been almost 3 years since we have been home for the holidays.

It's amazing how when you are a kid the cold doesn't seem to bother you. Lane and Riley stayed out for 1 1/2 hours playing in the snow. The only reason they came in was because it was late and I made them. I of course only lasted about 20 minutes!

I'm pretty sure the schools will be closed tomorrow. For those of you that live in a colder snowy state you will find that as funny as I do. 1 inch of snow calls for a SNOW DAY!

Christmas Cheer

If you have the time check out Jason Wright's blog spot. He's the author of Christmas Jars and The Wednesday Letters. He has a lot of uplifting and humorous stories.

http://jasonfwright.blogspot.com/

Christmas is here!

I am so happy to be done putting up the lights outside. It has been FREEZING!!! After spending 5 years in San Antonio I have totally wimped out on a cold winter. The last week our highs have only been in the 40's and I was out in the morning putting up lights in a balmy 29 degrees!

Lane and Riley helped decorate the Christmas tree. One of our family traditions is that each one of us gets a new ornament each year. So with 4 kids our tree has it's fair share of Star Wars, Spiderman, Skooby Doo, Hello Kitty, etc. One day I will have a grown up tree.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Tis' the season to be thankful

So I was getting out all the Christmas decoration yesterday (which I LOVE) and I was thinking off all the places we have been to celebrate the holidays. We are so lucky to have all the things we do and I wanted to list a few of the things I am thankful for.

- First and foremost my wonderful husband!
- Even though they make me crazy sometimes.........4 great kids
- Good health
- The country I live in and all the freedoms we enjoy
- My bed after a long day
- Visiting with my family
- The Gospel
- Cool crisp Fall mornings
- Hot chocolate on a cold rainy day
- Wonderful teachers
- A good book
- Friends that are always there to listen
- A clean house
- Watching my kids grow and learn
- Last but not least I am so thankful for my SAVIOR.
I am so grateful for the sacrifices that he has made for me. I feel so lucky to be on this earth and given the chance to return to my Father in Heaven. I hope to show that love and gratitude each and every day.

Recipe of the week

A new twist on Cranberry Sauce

1 pkg cherry jello
1 1/2 c boiling water
1 can whole cranberry sauce (not the jelly)
1 sm can crushed pineapple (drained)
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz cool whip

Mix jello in hot water until disolved. Let set up in the fridge for about 1 hour (this will help keep the cranberries from floating to the top) Stir in cranberry sauce and crushed pineapple. Refridgerate for 2-3 hrs. Mix cream cheese and coolwhip until smooth. Spread on top of Jello. Chill and serve.

Optional: substitute cranberries for fruit or pie filling of your choice.

Thanksgiving

Aw! Bill and Steph.

Lane and Alyssa. Can you believe that she's 8 and almost as tall as him.

Little miss Alyssa.

What a bunch of fish! The kids had fun swimming at the pool.

SURPRISE!!! It's Riley and Charles.

Quack, quack, Austin the Pringles duck!

Tyson and Tyler brushing up on their guitar hero skills!

Letting the kids burn off some energy at the bowling alley!

Monkey man Aaron!

Nancy and Charles just goof'n around!

Riley bowled a 95 and 110 with bumpers. She beat her mom both times

What a fun week we had with all of our family that came to visit!!!

Thanksgiving

Riley got to meet here cousins for the first time. She loved Tyler, she never let him out of her sight.


What a roller coaster ride we have been on all week. Lots of fun and family. We had a house full. David, Michelle and kids drove down from Ohio and Bill, Steph and the boys flew in from Utah. Aaron and Austin came in from Idaho for the holiday as well.

We challenged each other to a friendly game of Catch Phrase. I am pretty sure the girls won.

Dave and Michelle and family. Tyson, Ashely, Alyssa, and Tyler. It's been 6 years since I've seen them. Wow, how time flies.

Bill, Steph, Gene and all the boys went to a Titan's game. Total bummer that they lost.

WMS Band Concert

Lane had his first band concert last night. It was great. It seems like it's been just a short while, but I haven't been the one doing all the practicing. He did great.

The concert was all Asian inspired music. They played "The great wall of China", "Asian Folk Rhapsody", "China Grove", and a few songs from Disney's Mulan.

Prior to the concert we enjoyed a chili dinner at the school. I was amazed that the white shirts stayed white. It was a nice night.

Gone Private

Going, going, gone.....Private!

Children

Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before your were born, I loved you. Before you were a minute old I would have died for you. This is the miricle of love.

-Author Unknown

Sometimes mom just needs a Time-Out!

I was able to attend the Time Out for Women event here in Nashville. It was great. I loved every presenter. Chieko Okazaki was so funny. I loved her personality. Hilary Weeks and Kenneth Cope were the musical talent for Friday night and Saturday. If you haven't heard Hilary's music you are missing out. She has an amazing voice.

I bought "The Wednesday Letters" by Jason Wright and I can't stop reading it. Jason Wright and Chris Stewart were great speakers. I can't forget Emily Watts. She spoke all about the "mom guilt". I know we all suffer from that from time to time. This was the last stop for this year. If you have a chance, go next year. It starts again in the spring.

DeseretBook.com/tofw

Recipe of the week.

Pork Tenderloin with Wild Mushroom Pasta

1 Pork Tenderloin (1 lb)
1 1/4 t kosher salt (divided)
3/4 t pepper divided
1 T canola oil
2 T unsalted butter
16 oz gourmet wild mushroom/portabella mushroom blend
2 T minced garlic
8 oz bow tie pasta
1 C heavy cream

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat Large saute pan on med-high 2-3 minutes. Pre-season all sides of tenderloin with 1/4 t each salt and pepper. Add oil to pan and sear pork on each side 2-3 minutes. Place tenderloin on baking sheet and bake 25-30 minutes or until internal temp is 160 degrees.
Boil pasta according to directions.
Melt butter in the pan used for pork. Add Mushrooms and garlic. Cook 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally. Season mushrooms with remaining salt and pepper and stir in cream. Cook 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally until sauce is reduced by 1/3. Drain pasta and toss in the wild mushroom sauce.
Remove Pork from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Makes 4-5 servings.

After picking out all the mushrooms my kids loved it.

Veterans Day

REMEMBER.......

Our freedom did not come free. Remember all the soldiers that have fought for our country. They have made it possible for us to enjoy our freedoms.

Scout campout

Breakfast time!

Lane and Gene went on a scout campout this weekend. Fun but chilly! Lane was able to pass of a few scouting requiremnets and have some fun too. The weather was cold and rainy all day Friday. The rain finally stopped but it was still cold.

Fall Break

View from our room

Mini Golf

Speed Racer

Wonderworks

Aquarium

I am a little slow getting these pictures pulled off of my camera. We went on a weekend trip about 2 weeks ago. Gene had a business trip scheduled and the kids were out of school for Fall break so we were able to tag along. We spent the weekend in Gatlinberg, TN. It's close to Knoxville right next to the Smokie Mountains National Park. It was beautiful, even though it rained most of the weekend. The kids had fun at a the Aquarium and a place called Wonderworks (children's museum). We played a lottle mini golf and practiced our race car skills. There was so much to do there we will have to make another trip to enjoy it all. Maybe next time we will go to Dollywood.

Fall is here.

I love waking up to a cool crisp morning with the sun shining. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed fall until this month. Moving to a place that has beautiful Fall weather has been nice. Don't get me wrong, I loved San Antonio but there they have 9 months of Summer and 2-3 weeks of fall (cooler weather). But the leaves don't change colors, they just fall off the trees sometime in January. After about 3 months of a mild Winter they head back into Summer again.

Fall is my favorite season!

Mom's visit

Mom is here visiting. We spent the afternoon on the General Jackson River Boat. It was a lot of fun. We had a tasty Asian lunch and watched the Peking Acrobats. The kids enjoyed the show.

Happy Halloween!

Pirate

Grim Reaper

Devil Dog

HOLY COW!

We had a lot of fun tonight. Early in the afternoon we went to Daddy's office and the kids filled their bags. Later in the evening we ate dinner with our neighbors and after we were full of chili the kids were ready to do some trick or treating. Lane was the Grim Reaper went with friends for the first hour or so and then cam back home to trick-or-treat our neighborhood. Riley was a pirate. She only lasted about 3 blocks and then she wanted to come home and check out her loot. I was HOLY COW!......I got a lot of laughs! Grandma was here vising and she was a ghost. Gene stayed home to pass out candy and even the dog dressed up (not by her choice). The weather was great! It was sunny all day and in the 70's. A little cooler in the evening but not bad at all. Over all we had a fun and safe Halloween. Enough candy to last us til Christmas!

Happy Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Patch

Fall is here! Last week we spent the day enjoying the fall weather. Took a drive south to Chapel Hill to visit a pumpkin patch. The kids had fun at the petting zoo and found the perfect pumpkin.

Future Ravenwood H.S. dancer

Riley and her friend Jacqueline went to a dance clinic at Ravenwood Highschool and performed at half time at the football game. They had a great time!!!

Recipe of the week!

Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust:
1−1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar
Filling:
3 − 8oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
Whipped Cream
Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the
bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 mins. at
350. Set aside. Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until
smooth with an electric mixer. add pumpkin eggs,and spices, beat till smooth
and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60−70 mins.or till the top turns a
bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then
refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut.
Serve with whipped cream.

Happy Bday Riley

The big 6! Riley had her birthday at a place called The Factory. It's an old over factory from the 50's that they have remodeled into a shopping center full of antique shops, furniture stores, art galleries, boutiques and a pottery shop. The girls had a blast. They were able to pick either a fairy princess or a unicorn. They were all VERY colorful. We made it through the cake and ice cream sugar high. I can't believe she's 6. Time sure does fly!!!