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.