Gingerbread House Contest

Thanks Emily for allowing us to use your place of residence as our Gingerbread House contest location.

The kiddos had a great time making (and eating) these beauties!

Oh, and even some of the "big" kids got into the action.

Aunt Cheryl's

What fun!! We came out to ride horses and go caroling, and ended up getting rained on--phooey! But that never stopped us from enjoying ourselves!!

The girls loved watching the horses, and yes Meghan and Haley had the chance to ride BAREBACK for about 5 min. They loved it--thanks Logan and Colton!

Well, at least Haley got to ride a horse, and Sadie got to fly a plane.

We did get rained out, but we still had lots of goodies and enjoyed socializing with friends and family--Thanks Cheryl and Ed for letting us come out!!

What a pleasant sight

It has been kinda chilly the past couple of mornings, so I've been putting Caitlyn in long pajamas. I heard Caitlyn one morning after she woke up. When I went in, this was what I found.

NO PAJAMAS!!

Not only no pajamas, but she was bouncing like crazy in her bed. Needless to say, we now use a safety pin in the zipper to keep them on.

WooHoo. . .It's Christmas!!

Well, it's not quite Christmas, but I'm usually behind on my blogging, so I thought I'd try to post a little about Christmas before it snuck up on me.

For dance, Meghan got to perform with her class at a big festival here called Misteltoe & Magic. She had lot's of fun and they did a great job!!

This year Brian allowed me to set the Christmas tree up early. We actually set it up the weekend before Thanksgiving. I guess he figured we wouldn't have time later because we were going to Rachel and Cameron's for Thanksgiving.

I also think this was the 1st time that I didn't get to put any decorations on. The girls pretty much did it all by themselves. I figured I'd have to redo some of the ornaments, but I have to admit the tree looked pretty impressive without my help, so I left it alone.

Mac the knife

So I got this WONDERFUL brand new knife set. I absolutely love each and every one of them. However, there is one that doesn't love me back!

This big long knife is for cutting bread, english muffins, etc. Oh, and I guess it's also for cutting ME! I have used it several times and cut myself at least 3 times. They weren't tiny little cuts either, they went deep and bled for a long time.

The cut in this picture isn't so bad, although it hurt like crazy, but it is deep (I know it's difficult to see). So, now whenever I need to use this knife, Brian jumps in and offers to cut whatever it is I'm about to cut. Thanks Brian :)

Veterans Day?

O.K., I know I'm backtracking, but I just remembered I had these pictures, so I thought I'd throw them in.

Meghan and Haley entered a poster contest for Veteran's Day. Well, believe it or not they BOTH won 1st place.

I know the pictures are kinda hard to see, but they are both standing pretty much right below their pictures.

Haley's is the one with all the stars, and you can see part of a flag.

CHUNKY POTATO SOUP

Ingredients

3 medium red potatoes (although I use regular potatoes)
2 c. water
1 small onion
3 tbls. butter
3 tbls. all-purpose flour
Crushed red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper
3 c. milk
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 c. shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 c. cubed cooked ham

Directions
1. Peel potatoes and cut into 1 in. cubes.

2. Bring water to a boil in large saucepan. Add potatoes and cook until tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Set aside potatoes. Measure 1 cup cooking liquid, adding water, if necessary; set aside.

3. Peel and finely chop onion. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion to suacepan; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and tender, but not brown.

4. Add flour to saucepan; season with pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Cook 3-4 min.

5. Gradually add potatoes, reserved 1 cup cooking liquid, milk and sugar to onion mixture in saucepan; stir well. Add cheese and ham. Simmer over low heat 30 min., stirring frequently.

Finally Thanksgiving!!!

We were SOOO excited to be able to go somewhere and visit FAMILY for Thanksgiving. Rachel and Cameron let us come and stay with them, and we had a great time!!

Shortly after arriving there, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with Roast Turkey, homemade dressing (THANKS Cameron), 3 different types of pies (THANKS Rachel) and the list goes on and on--anyways, THANK YOU Rachel & Cameron!!!

The next day we decided to go to the Houston Zoo, and all I have to say is, "WOW"!! It was a lot bigger than our Zoo here, they even had a Sealion show which the kids all got a kick out of! In fact this Zoo was so large, that we were there for at least 2 1/2 hours and we still didn't get to see it all. Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to go back and visit again!

Brian and Kirsten got along real well from the gecko. I guess Brian is just a "girlie man"--I mean that in the manliest way (I guess coming from a family of 7 sisters and 4 daughters will do that to you).

The next day was Wii day. Meghan was showing Uncle Cameron just how many times she could beat him, although she had the advantage since she has played all the games before, and Uncle Cameron has not. I'm sure there will be a rematch soon.

All-in-all, we had a marvelous time and can't wait until we get to have them over to our house again or until we can visit them again!

Funny Joke!

Well, I thought this one was too good to pass up. Sorry if you don't approve, I don't mean it to be mean, it could include anyone who doesn't really understand the game.

Football FINALLY makes sense..........
A guy took his blonde girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience. 'Oh, I really liked it,' she replied, 'especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents.' Dumbfounded, her date asked, 'What do you mean?' 'Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was: 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!' I'm like...Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!!

Having Fun!

As I was getting ready for church, I heard some commotion and decided to go and check out what it was.

To my great asstonishment, nothing bad was happening--actually the opposite. My girls had found something quite funny to do with their little sister.

They discovered that she fits perfectly into the little play shopping buggy. With a little help from dad who egged them on, they took turns wheeling her around the house. Of course in our house nothing fun comes without expense, and yes poor little Caitlyn took a tumble as Sadie decided she was big enough to do it "all by herself".

Needless to say, Caitlyn tried climbing back in about 1 minute later.

I thought I'd throw this picture in of Brian and the girls. He told them to all get on, so Meghan and Haley climbed right on for a ride to bed. He's SO strong!

The Toothless Wonder!!

Needless to say, just by looking at the picture, you might be able to tell that the Tooth Fairy is probably going broke just from visiting our house.

Haley has lost so many teeth, that it's a wonder that she's not on a liquid diet. There are certain things that she has a hard time with, such as: whole apples, pizza slices, and even her sandwiches for lunch.

However, there are things that she can do that others can not. She can stick almost her entire tongue through the whole--and that is pretty cool according to her.By the way when this picture was taken, she was also missing 2 or 3 bottom teeth (back in May).

Recipe of the Month. . .

Speedy Layered Chicken Enchilada Pie

So, I only put the recipes that I thought were really good, or that my family went "nuts" over, here is one that I tried for the 1st time, and everyone enjoyed it--wow!

Although the picture may not look so good, it really was delicious and easy to make!

1 pkg. (11.5) Flour tortillas

2 c. Cubed Cooked Chicken

1/2 c. Uncooked Instant Rice

2 c. Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (8 oz.)

1 can (15 oz) Black Beans, Drained and Rinsed

1 can (19 oz) Hot Enchilada Sauce (my kids don't like things spicy, so I used regular)

1 c. Frozen Corn, thawed and drained (I used a can of corn instead)

1 c. Thick 'n Chunky Salsa

2 tbls. thinly sliced green onions (I opted not to use this)

Reduced-fat Sour Cream optional

Heat oven to 350 F. Spray 2 qt. casserole dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix the chicken, rice, 1 cup of the cheese, the beans and 1 cup of the enchilada sauce.

Tear tortillas into strips or triangles and layer them in the bottom of the baking dish. Top with 1/4 c. enchilada sauce and half of the chicken mixture. Top with another layer of torn tortillas. Spoon corn over this layer. Spread salsa over corn and layer with final tortillas. Top with remaining chicken mixture, enchilada sauce, cheese and green onions.

Bake uncovered 35-45 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated and cheese is melted. Cool 5 min. Top with sour cream and chopped green onions.

The Morning After. . .

So this is what I woke up to Saturday after Halloween. Yes, Meghan is sorting through her candy. Oh, it brought a tear to my eye :)

You see, when I was a kid, this is exactly what my brother and I used to do--FAITHFULLY--every Halloween! We would 1st sort through our candy seperating each piece into a different pile (i.e. favorites, not-so-favorites, and don't like). We would then--thanks to my smooth talking brother--trade. . .no, more like he would choose which ones of my candy he liked, and give me something in return from his not-so-favorites or don't like pile--I just thought it was cool that we had so much candy! Love ya Adam!!!

Well, thanks to him I have many a fond memory of seperating and trading candy! So when I saw Meghan's like and dislike pile, well needless to say it brought back those memories. I keep trying to get my girls to go through their candy, but surprisingly enough, they aren't as interested.

Meghan and I've been Tagged

Meghan and I decided to both be tagged, so we'll post Meghan's answers 1st.

1. Favorite TV Shows:
SpongeBobSquarePants
Fairly Odd Parents
Deal or no Deal

2. Favorite Places to Eat:
Sonic
Taco Bell
MacDonalds

3. Things that happened yesterday..........
We went to the Zoo
I went to a dance practice
I played games with Haley and Sadie

4. Things I'm looking forward to........
Getting lots of presents
Closing my fast
Going to church

5.Things on my wish list: I Wish.........
That we can go to Phoenix to celebrate christmas too
We lived next door to Grandma and Grandpa Winter
We could stay home from school every day

O.K. My Turn!!

1. Favorite TV Shows:
NCIS (just found out what a cool show this is)
Life
Pushing up Daisies

2. Favorite Places to Eat:
Mercados
Outback Steakhouse
Olive Garden

3. Things that happened yesterday..........
Cleaned my house
Went to "Boo" at the Zoo
Enjoyed watching my girls play games like I used to play when I was younger (i.e. hide the can)

4. Things I'm looking forward to........
Misteltoe and Magic (So I can watch Meghan dance)
The 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional
Seeing all the pretty Christmas lights
Going to Rachel's home for the holidays

5. Things on my wish list: I Wish.........
We had enough money to visit with family whenever we wanted
We had an inground pool in our backyard
Our yard was all fenced in so we could get a dog and awesome swingset!

6. Tag 8 people:
(1) Jamie E. (2) Jenny R. (3) Kelsey (4) Jonathan (or Melinda) (5) Melissa (6) Erin C. (7) Sara C. (8) Brian

Better Late than Never

Oh man, did I miss the carving of the pumpkin, and the other pre-halloween pictures of what we did?
Well, then here they are, just catch up where you can :)

We had a Halloween playdate at our house with all the LITTLE ones. They made things out of dough which we then microwaved, and they hardened up so they could color them with markers. They also made candy necklaces, and cute little treat bags made from Halloween socks--CUTE!


















Then we ate "Mummy Dogs" and Cheetos, and had chocolate frosting brownies for dessert--Caitlyn obviously loved them!!

The next evening we were finally free from the craziness of the week, so we carved our "Tiki" pumpkin. Thanks Dad!!

The girls were very hesitant about getting down and dirty, until Caitlyn decided she wanted to try, then they were all-for-it (mostly).

The Final Results--Ooooooooo, way cool!

The next day was class parties. I went to Haley's in the morning and Meghan's in the afternoon. However I didn't have my camera for Meghan's (but they were almost identical). No sugary treets at these parties, the school has a rule that they can only have 2 holidays with sweets, and I think it is Christmas and the end of the year parties. Maybe that's why Haley looks so sad :( Or maybe it's the fact that she sits at a table with 3 boys (nah, she loves that--a little tomboy--sort of)

That evening we hit the mall 1st, because they do a trick-or-treat thing for each store. If you couldn't tell, Sadie is a Princess (although, she had said she wanted to wear a different dress that has wings that attach to the back so she could be a butterfly--which I brought with us, but at the last minute she changed her mind), Meghan is a Fruit Bat and she helped make her own costume, she also had some ears that she made, but that day was Crazy Hair Day at school, so she figured that her hair kinda looked like ears, and Haley is --yes-- a cheerleader (I've decided that this look just comes naturally to her) After the Mall, we headed to our church for a Trunk-or-Treat and roast your own hotdog meal. It was lots of Fun!

Oh, and we had an additional trick-or-treater--our little Caitlyn Bumblebee. She was the 1st one who actually enjoyed wearing this costume. She even wanted to put it back on after I took it off. My other girls couldn't wait to take it off when they were this age.