Christmas Happenings

So, as it is for everyone this time of year, it has been busy! The blog has been neglected...so here is an overview of some Christmas happenings with the Selin family!

1. A couple weekends ago we went to Santa Landing at Jordan Landing. They had Santa come in on a firetruck, balloon animals, face painting, hot chocolate, and visits with Santa- all for free! It was chilly but a lot of fun. Dawson has been seeing Santa on TV, in pictures, from a far at the mall; and everytime he sees him he shouts Santa! Santa! all excited. The minute we got into Santa's cottage and I put Dawson on his laps it was hysterics! I couldn't help but laugh. What did he do that night when he saw Santa on tv again? Santa! Santa! I guess it's good he still likes the guy at least, right?


2. That weekend we also headed downtown to look at the lights at Temple Square. They were beautiful as always and we had a ton of fun hanging out with Missy, Jen, Jeremy, Heather, and Tyler.


3. The following Wednesday we went to the library for a Christmas Storytime. They read some stories, sang some songs, then the big guy in red made his appearance. Dawson was very excited when Santa walked in, took a candy cane from him, gave him a high five, and even played with his hat, but would not go anywhere near the guy's knee. At least there were no tears this time!


4. This past Saturday we went out to dinner with Tammy, Rob, Brandy, Dave, Cassidy, and Jared to eat and swap gifts. We had a lot of fun eating and chatting it up with these great people who have become like a family to us. Afterwards, we headed home and Christopher, Dawson, and I made a Gingerbread House. Dawson enjoyed putting candy on the house as much as he enjoyed putting it in his mouth. When we weren't looking he would at lightening speed shove a bunch of candy in his mouth or swipe some frosting off the house and eat it. Such a sugar-holic.



What a wonderful time of year it is, and we are so grateful for the birth of our Savior, our wonderful families, friends, and loved ones. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with good health and lots of love!

Tasty Tuesday

On cold, snowy days like today, I feel constantly chilled and all I want is something to warm me up. One thing that always does is this Wassil recipe I got from my good friend Tammy. She makes it all winter long; brewing up a big pot of it then putting it in a pitcher in her fridge so she can daily pour a mug of this yummy drink and warm it up in the microwave. I just had to have the recipe so I could do the same! Added bonus? It has citrus juices in it which means lots of vitamin C to help boost your immune system during the cold, sick months.

Wassil
Tammy Olsen

2 1/4 c sugar
4 c water
2 cinnamon sticks
8 allspice berries
10 whole cloves
sprinkle of ginger powder
4 c oj
2 c lemon juice
2 quarts apple juice

Boil sugar and water until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients and simmer. *Note The longer you simmer it the more "spicer" it gets, enhancing the drink with the cinnamon, cloves etc. If you like something mild, simmer maybe only 10 minutes; if you like those spices, simmer longer, like 30 minutes. After you are done simmering make sure you remove the cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, and cloves.

Week in Review

It has been about a week since I have last blogged, so I thought I would do a week in review to cover the happenings of the Selin household.

1. Last Wednesday Chris and I celebrated our 6th anniversary! We kept it low key this year, deciding that we would rather keep it low key on misc. years and do something big on milestones like 5, 10, etc. Christopher brought me home some very beautiful long stem red roses, 6 actually....one for each year! We had a easy, lazy, hang out day then went out to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack that night...yum!


2. Last Saturday I went to The Festival of Trees with my friends Summer and Stacy. This is the first year in 5 years that I have not actually been on a committee for it; but instead I took Dawson and we looked at all the trees, bought yummy goodies, and went home with a very loved elf wand! It was fun to be on the other side and participate that way....but I missed working there and probably will again next year. (I apologize, I brought my camera and didn't take a single picture...it was crazy busy and I was just trying to make my way around the place!!)

3. Dawson's Hat. This past week or two Dawson has been obsessed with his "hat." This is not a normal baseball hat, a winter hat, or even a Santa hat. This is a little oval stacking box that I have as a decoration in my bedroom. It fits his head just perfectly and he will wear it for hours. We even had a day where he didn't want to take it off when we went to the store and we walked around as other mothers commented on how cute his green, flowery, boxy hat was as they gave me a knowing smile of been there done that when your child decides to take fashion in their own hands. Christopher calls him "Africa" when he wears it because he looks like he is wearing one of those round, tall native African hats that men wear. I am not sure what Dawson will do when he out grows it, because the next box up that I have is even too big for Christopher's head.


4. Tasty Tuesday- here is yesterday's installment of Tasty Tuesday. This recipe is my favorite Christmas cookie recipe and I actually made it this past week. My grandma has made these every Christmas since I can remember.

Crescent Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 t. vanilla
1 c confectioners' sugar
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl on med. speed, beat butter, vanilla, and 1/2 c sugar until smooth. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in flour until blended, scraping the bowl as needed. Stir in pecans with a spoon. Take about a tablespoon of dough and shape into a crescent shape with hands, place on ungreased cookie sheet. (These cookies don't rise much so they don't need too much room.) Bake about 10-15 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and put on tray to cool, sprinkling cookies with remaining sugar while still warm. (I like a lot of powder sugar so I roll mine in the sugar when the are still warm but ok to handle.)

5. Last but not least, I would just like to say that last night I got all my Christmas gifts wrapped and ready to go. I am done buying them all and they are nestled under my tree...yay! We watched Dark Knight as we wrapped and I loved it, Christopher had seen in but it was my first time...thumbs up!

Tasty Tuesday

Here is another great recipe I found in Paper Crafts Gourmet. I LOVE this White Chili so much, I can eat a big ol' bowl full of it! Yum-Yum!

Janice’s White Chili

6 Fifteen oz cans of Gr. White Northern Beans
6 Cups diced or shredded cooked Chicken Breasts
2 teaspoons Cumin
5 Cups Chicken broth
2 Medium onions - diced
2 Four oz cans chopped green chilies
1 1/2 teaspoons ground Oregano
1/2 teaspoon red or Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
24 oz tub Sour Cream

Boil onions in broth for 15 minutes

Add all ingredients (except sour cream) - simmer one hour
Fold in sour cream
Recipe by Janice Marriott

7 Random Facts About Me

I was tagged by Tammy to list 7 random facts about myself and then tag others to do the same. Here are my 7 facts/quirks:

1. My kitchen has to be clean. 24/7. Mainly my sink area. I cannot go to bed if there are spots on the faucet, the towels are messed up, counters dirty, and floor not swept. If you were a fly on the wall you would find me multiple times a day keeping my sink clean and spot free.

2. Two bad habits of mine are cracking my knuckles and biting my nails.

3. I took ballet for about 7 years. I even could do pointe but stopped after I sprained my ankle a couple of times.

4. When I was about 3 years old, I fell out of a 2-story window and walked away with only a bruise.

5. If I could go back to school for anything, I would go to culinary school. I enjoy cooking and can follow recipes pretty well, but I would love to learn the insides-out of it and know how to make my own things and what seasonings go with what.

6. When I am around the house I love wearing loungy-sweats-comfy clothes. Almost everyday for at least part of it, you will find me in some sort of lounge clothes.

7. I hate spiders. When I see one my heart speeds up a bit and I get freaked out. I have a really hard time killing them because I don't want to get too close. I use to put a glass over it and would wait until Christopher got home but now I can't do that with Dawson. I have to talk myself into it before I kill one.

I tag Laurel, Andrea, Bridget, Liz, Sarah F., Bri, and Kim.

Tasty Tuesday

This one is a favorite of mine, and seems to be one of those recipes that everyone loves and wants. I made it at my last book club and everyone really liked it. My friend Brandy gave it to me, she got it from Paper Crafts Gourmet Magazine. I was talking to a gal at the grocery store checkout who was asking what I use the vanilla almond bark for, and she said her mom makes the same thing but instead of chocolate chips uses M&M's.

Vanilla Chex Mix
Heather D. White

1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
3 C. Corn Chex cereal
3 C. Rice Chex cereal
3 C. Wheat Chex cereal
2 C. salted dry-roasted nuts (peanuts, cashews or almonds)
2 C. small pretzel twists
2 C. miniature marshmallows
1 pkg. (20 oz.) vanilla-flavored candy coating (almond bark/ambrosia)

Place chocolate chips in freezer to chill. Mix cereals (you can buy a Chex
assortment box of all three at Costco for pretty inexpensive), peanuts,
pretzels and marshmallows in a large bowl; set aside. Microwave candy
coating in a large microwavable bowl uncovered on High for 1 minute 30
seconds; stir, breaking up large chunks. Microwave about 30 seconds longer
or until coating can be stirred smooth. Gently and quickly pour coating
onto cereal mixture and fold in until evenly coated. Stir in chilled
chocolate chips. Spread on waxed paper; cool completely. Break into
chunks. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. You won't be able to
keep your hands off this stuff!!

Happy Birthday, Christopher!!

Today is Christopher's Birthday, and to commemorate this fabulous event I thought I would blog about 28 things that Dawson and I love about our Dad and Husband since he turned 28. Here is our list:

(First 14 are mine)
1. Spiritual- he is so good at having us read family scriptures and prayers.
2. Always can make me laugh.
3. Not afraid to be silly or goofy- he's really a big kid at heart.
4. His baby blues!
5. Hardworking for our family so I can stay at home.
6. People enjoy being around him.
7. Loves helping and serving others (that's why he is a great nurse!)
8. He is a bottomless pit and will always finish what I don't eat (yet I don't know where it goes.)
9. Great Dad!!! I love watching him play with Dawson.
10. Takes the garbage out for me and is always willing to lend a helping hand.
11. Nice to everyone and not judgmental.
12. Always buys me flowers still, even for the heck of it.
13. He will try anything once and is pretty daring.
14. He always puts me and Dawson and everyone before himself.
(Next 14 are Dawson)
15. Wrestles with me.
16. Plays cars and makes all the cool sound effects.
17. Gives me baths and reads me bedtime stories.
18. Loves candy and sweets just like me...and usually shares his goods!!
19. Loves football and takes me to see the Cougars play.
20. Pulls me in the wagon.
21. Let's me stay up late and cuddle in bed with him.
22. Helps me say my bedtime prayers.
23. Teaches me about Jesus.
24. Tickles me and makes me laugh.
25. Always makes sure he has time to spend with me and give me attention.
26. Tries to have "guy time" every once in awhile with me.
27. Works really hard so I can be provided for.
28. Let's me help him do manly things like work with his tools or help with yard work.

Party Party!!

Sorry I have been slacking, but here finally are some pictures from Dawson's Birthday party. Thanks for everyone coming! We had a great time eating food, watching Dawson open presents, and having him blow out the candles with all you guys. He loves all his new toys and playing with his new cars.
And here is what the kids did for majority of the time:

Tasty Tuesday

This is always a crowd pleaser when I make it, and I usually don't have much left over. It has all the good stuff in it that you would put on top of a baked potato. A white veggie puree would be ideal to mix in to it, and with the bacon and cheese no one will notice the extra veggies!

Baked Potato Soup

2/3 c butter
2/3 c flour
7 cups milk
4 large baking potatoes, baked, cooled, peeled, and cubed
4 green onions, thinly sliced
10-12 strips of bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
3/4 t salt
1/2 t pepper

In a large pot over low heat, melt butter. Stir in flour; stir until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Add potatoes and onions. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until soup begins to bubble. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir until cheese is melted. Serves 8-10 people.

Dawson at 2!

The other day we had Dawson's 2 year doctor check-up so I thought I would do a post with some "stats" about Dawson at 2. *Note* The picture is from the other day when I was on the computer blogging. I think it describes a typical climbing, mischievous, problem solver 2 year old. The candy is on the table and Mom said no, so how can I get it? I know! Climb up myself when she is not around and unwrap and eat as many pieces at I can!! *Second Note* Dawson just walked in the room looked at the picture and said "candy!!" Oi. My child is a sugar addict and I don't even let him have a piece every day.

Weight: 22 1/2 pounds (He has pretty much coasted in the 2nd percentile since he was born.)

Height: 34 inches (45th percentile)

Favorite Foods: Yogurt, String Cheese, Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches, Macaroni and Cheese, Grapes, Peaches, Corn, Crackers, and Goldfish.

Dislikes: Pretty much any green vegetable. He pokes them and says "ewwww." He is not a big meat eater either.

Favorite Activities: Going outside (so sad it's cold now!), playing with his toy cars, watching the movie Cars, coloring, rough housing with Dad, cuddling with Mom, and helping with whatever chore we are doing.

Other Random Facts: His best friend is Addy...they are so cute together and anytime he sees her he shouts "ADDY!!" and runs to her. He will now pretty much say any word you say. He is starting to use short phrases like "Mom, milk please!" or "all done." He can identify stars, circles, the colors blue and yellow and sometimes orange. He counts to 3 and when he sees a letter he calls it "A." He is a typical boy who loves making sound effects, knocking things down, crashing things, and anything rough. Dawson is a little comedian who feeds off of people laughing at him. He will make silly faces or put something on his head or do something funny and if he sees you laughing he will keep doing it. He is starting to pretend more and I love watching it. He will get a bowl or something and put it on his head and say "hat!" He will line his cars up and drive a couple out and have them crash then park them back by the others. Physically, he can almost jump with both feet, can take his pants and socks off, run away from you quickly, and put shape blocks in their matching holes. He is always very sweet and will give you kisses and hugs and say "Love you!!" He likes being like Dad and every Sunday morning when Dad is getting ready for church Dawson has to put on deoderant, shave, spray cologne, and put on a tie just like Dad (pretend to that is!)

Sorry if the post all about Dawson and his little accomplishments was boring. Like most people, this is partially a journal for me so I can remember all the little things and have them documented, even milestones that Dawson has hit.

Happy Birthday, Dawson!

Dawson turned 2 today, and I honestly do not know where these last 2 years went (just like any mother would say, right?) We are having a party for him this weekend, but had to do something to celebrate the actual day!! This morning when he woke up he got to open a few presents...one from us, one from his Grandma and Grandpa Springer, and one from my Uncle. He loves the little table we bought him, he keeps sitting at it and saying chair! with a big smile on his face. The Cars themed cars from my uncle was also a big hit of course, as well as the Spin and Crash Raceway from my parents. He has played with nothing else all day! This afternoon after his nap, we decided to make it a tradition and go to Build a Bear and out to lunch like we did with him last year on his birthday. He was super excited when we got to Build a Bear and picked out a dog this time, and he loved stepping on the push peddle to stuff his puppy. After that he got to brush him, "bathe" him, and name him...Benji was the keeper. After that we headed over to Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch/early dinner (aka cheaper lunch prices!) We had a yummy lunch, Dawson loved his Mac n Cheese and they even brought out a mini sundae and sang Happy Birthday after which he got to blow out the candle. Overall Birthday? Success! Stay tuned for an update all about Dawson, and a post from his party! PS When you tell him to smile and say cheese...this is what you get...

The Birthday boy at his new table!
His present from grandma and grandpa
Stuffing his dog at Build a Bear
D's new bud Benji
After a delicious lunch! He was too into the sundae to look at the camera.
PSS....Last night was Young Women in Excellence, so Tasty Tuesday was neglected. Watch for next week though...Baked Potato Soup!

Four by Four

I was tagged by Brandy so here goes! I am suppose to go to the pictures area on my computer, pick the 4th picture in the 4th file and post it. Then I explain the photo and tag 4 friends.
This is a picture from Easter of 2007. We were actually in Illinois, visiting my family. Here are me and Dawson (4 months) coloring Easter eggs in my parents kitchen. It was D's first Easter. My mom had put the sticker on Dawson's forehead and I remember Dawson was mad at me when I took it off and it left a red spot. We had a great Easter that year, sticking to the traditions of the Easter bunny hiding our baskets and eating a big yummy dinner.

I tag Jen A., Holly H., Laurel H., and Carrie P.

Tasty Tuesday

First off, I would like to start by saying Happy 100th Post to my blog!! Whoo hoo! I can't believe I have reached that in just a little over a year and I hope to soon get in put into a cool little book so it can be a family journal.

Moving on, tis the season for warm, yummy, comforting foods like soups, casseroles, and crockpot dinners so for the next while I will devote Tasty Tuesday to those recipes with maybe a sweet treat thrown in here and there. I will also make mention of what veggie purees would be good to mix in with the various recipes to give it that healthy boost. Missed the veggie purees? Scroll back through my Tasty Tuesdays to get them! Here is one of my favorites....Enchilada Casserole. I cannot even remember where I got it from, probably allrecipes.com. I have made it enough now though that I can just thrown it together and it's delicious! I like to mix in the orange veggie puree since it blends well with the red enchilada sauce.

Enchilada Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 can refried beans
1 can red enchilada sauce (your preference on the heat!)
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 tortillas

Brown ground beef and drain off fat (I even rinse my ground beef to get off more of the fat.) Mix in 1 can refried beans and 1/2 can enchilada sauce. Cook until warmed through. Spray a 9x9 baking dish. Pour a little bit of enchilada sauce on bottom of pan, spread. Place a tortilla down and pour and spread a little more sauce. Top with 1/2 the meat mixture, then layer of cheese. Put down another tortilla, sauce, other half meat, cheese. Top with one more tortilla, the rest of the sauce, and a good layer of cheese on very top. Cover with foil, bake 20-25 mins until bubbly. Remove foil and bake 5 more mins to slightly brown cheese.

A Halloween Treat!

We had a very fun Halloween with plenty of treats and luckily no tricks! All day long all I heard from Dawson was "Candy!" We went to our wards Trunk or Treat, which turned out to be a pretty good event with lots of candy, hot chocolate, and cute little trunk or treaters dressed in their finest. Afterwards, we headed to the Olsen's for Tammy's annual Halloween Bash. If you don't dress up, you are not allowed in the door! And yet again, she out did herself with a fabulous party. We had a donut eating contests, played a candy bar game, a lifesaver game, and tried to figure out what the body parts in the mystery bags really were. Not only that, but we had a very yummy dinner with the most scariest table decor! Overall we ate good food, laughed a lot, and had a good time....a would give this Halloween a gruesome+!!

Chris and I...or should I say Shaggy and Velma.
My sister Missy and neighbor Sheri...the punk rockers.
Me, Missy, Dawson, Jen, and Jeremy at the Ward Trunk or Treat.
The gang at Tammy's party...Blue Men Group (Tammy and Rob), Hippie and Redneck (Brandy and Dave), Waldo and Wenda (Jared and Cass), Punk Rocker (Missy), Orange Witch (Carole), TuTu Fall Witch (Shannon), Velma and Shaggy (Me and Chris), Bat (Dawson), and Knight in Shining Armor and Princess (Ben and Des.)
P.S. Couldn't you imagine me having a cute little girl one day...just pretend the red hair was blonde like Dawsons!
Yes, he hated that I put my wig on him and he had a big fat tear roll down his face...he still tried to smile and say cheese though when I took the picture!

Witch's Night Out and The Pumpkin Patch Party (a not so tasty Tuesday!)

Since I need to catch up on last Friday's happenings, because I finally got the pics on the computer; I am skipping a Tasty Tuesday but will hopefully redeem myself next week with a fabulous recipe (now I just need to figure out what that recipe is!!)

Moving on...last Friday I went to Witch's Night Out with Tammy, Brandy, Cassidy, Shannon, and my sister Missy. We have been going all together for a few years now (this was Missy's first time) and has become tradition to all get dressed up, go out to dinner, and walk and shop around Gardner Village. This year, like all the others, was a fabulous event! We were able to get in at the Naborhood Bakery and eat some yummy soup and sandwiches, and then hit up all the cute stores. I love that Gardner Village gets all decked out with the Witch Statues there and halloween decor. Every year it also never ceases to amaze me how many women love this fun girls night out and how elaborate some of their costumes and make up are! Here are a few photos from the night:
While I was having a GNO, Christopher took Dawson the Gymboree for their Pumpkin Patch Party. They have one every year, and I thought this year he would really have fun and understand more of what was going on so I signed him up and him and Chris had a "guys night." I of course made sure Christopher was armed with a camera so I could see all the fun they had! It was an hour and a half long, and they did some various fun activities. First they played in the gym area where they "bobbed" for apples, "made" pumpkin pie, and collected little pumpkins that were hidden all around. Then they had a craft time where they made a ghost hand and a little Halloween paper chain. After all the fun they were sent home with a goodie bag filled with a sugar cookie and a juice box. The night was a sucsess! Here are some pictures of my cute little bat and all the fun that was had:

Pumpkin Carving

Well, this is a bit out of order....I wanted to blog about Witch's Night Out and Dawson's Gymboree Pumpkin Patch Party since that happened on Friday, but the pictures from one of our camera's are being funny and wont go onto our computer! So, I will move on to Saturday. We had our ward's annual Chili/Bread/Dessert Cook-off Saturday night and we had a lot of fun! There was tons of yummy soups and chili's it was hard to choose from...not to mention the huge table of breads and desserts. Delicious! Dawson ate his fill of candy corn that night, as it was spread out all over the tables. This caused a sugar high and lots of running around and playing with the kids. He has this problem with getting so excited with other kids he gets really rough and bear hugs them. Poor Landon Tuckett was the victim of it this time and got knocked over! Hopefully he is not too scared of Dawson now. After the ward party we came home and Josh, Summer, and their cute little 4 week old baby girl Reece came over to carve pumpkins. We had lots of fun, trying to figure out what to carve, digging goop out, and carving funny faces. Christopher tried his hand at a template of Sarah Palin but gave up part way through because it was so intricate. We laughed a lot and ate carmel fondue and had a fun INNOCENT time! As you can see by the pictures, we ONLY carved some cute pumpkin faces and thats ALL. So anyone who may be suspicious of some weird happenings around the neighborhood should be careful who they accuse!!! P.S. Go BYU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whose In the Bathroom??

This evening I was in the kitchen cooking dinner talking to Christopher, when I heard the bathroom sink running water. It kept running and running so I shouted to my sister Missy (who is living with us for a couple of months) "Are you washing your hands or something?" I was answered with a "No, why?" Christopher and I both turned to look at each other with quizzical looks because that meant it could only be 1 of 3....the dog, the cat (who lacks imposable thumbs), or Dawson. We headed to the bathroom and found this (which is recorded from the second time he went up and did it):

Fall Happenings

We have been enjoying the lovely fall weather (sometimes) and great fall activities that have been going on around here lately! Here is a recap from the last couple of weeks!

1. Ride With a Witch- Me, Dawson, Jen, Jeremy, Selina, Cameron, Sheri, Lexi, Parker, and my sister Missy all went to Gardner Village a couple of Fridays ago to go on a Ride With a Witch. We went last year and had a ton of fun and decided to go again. For only $2 a person, you get to go on a horse-drawn black wagonette ride with a spooky witch who tells you tales and has you assist in some scary music making, cackling, and spell casting. So much fun and Dawson was pretty captivated by the witch.
2. Wee Witches Weekend- The following Thursday Dawson and I headed back to Gardner Village this time with our friends Stacey and Addy for the new weekend they do for kids. Dawson and Addy had a blast! They had a costume parade, hayrides, pony rides, finger nail and face painting, various crafts, and yummy food! Addy just wanted to groove to the spooky tunes they had there and Dawson just wanted to eat cookies for dinner. The two of them are so funny together now, they play little games like peek-a-boo and will get each other going in a fit of giggles!
3. This Is the Place Haunted House- Following that, Chris, Missy, Heather, Jen, and Jeremy decided that weekend they wanted to go to a haunted house of sorts. They settled on This is the Place cause they had coupons and our friend Sheri said it wasn't too scary. Where am I in all this? At home, going to get a Jamba Juice with Summer because I just don't do scary!!! The rest of them said they had fun and even got a picture with Beetlejuice. I had the hot chocolate ready and waiting for them when they returned!
4. Halloween Cookies- That Sunday Chris didn't have to go in that night for work so we decided to make Halloween cookies. They looked cute and tasted pretty good too. Dawson didn't even get to frosting his cookie because he ate all the frosting before it could hit the cookie! Such a little sugar-holic!!
5. Scarecrow Festival- We ended our two-week Fall spectacular with the Scarecrow Festival last Friday. Since moving into our house and meeting the Fuller's, we have gone almost every year to see Lexi dance there and every year she does great. This year was even more of a bonus because there were a few other girls from our ward who performed as well! Great job everyone!! After the performance we let Dawson play in the bounce houses, try some games, and get his face painted. I was so impressed! I told him that the girl was going to paint Elmo on his face and he sat as still as a rock. He would keep asking me....All done? And when I would say no he would hold still again. When he saw the end result in the mirror he got a huge grin on his face and kept pointing to his cheek saying Elmo! We headed out the gate with a bag of kettle korn and some pretty fun memories.
Stay tuned for some more fun Fall Happenings....this Friday is Witches Night with a group of gals I have gone with for the last 3 or 4 years! Also coming up is our ward chili cook-off, pumpkin carving, trick or treating, and a party!

Tasty Tuesday

One Word- YUM!!!

Caramel Apple Bars
allrecipes.com

2 c flour
2 c quick cook oats
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1 1/4 c butter, melted
2 c apples- peeled, cored, sliced
1/2 c chopped walnuts

1 bag caramels, unwrapped
1/2 c evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 15x10 inch jellyroll pan. In large bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda. Stir in butter and mix until crumbly. This is the crust. Press 1/2 of mixture into the pan. Bake for 8 minutes. In small pan, heat caramels and milk until smooth consistency, adding more milk if needed. This is the caramel filling. Spread apple slices over baked crust, sprinkle on nuts, then pour caramel filling over the top. Crumble remaining crust mixture over everything. Bake again 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before cutting bars. **Note, it's a bit more messy, but I like to cut them and serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top....delish!!

Fall Time in Illinois

Last year in October Dawson and I made a trip back home to Illinois to visit my family. We went and stayed at their camper during the Halloween weekend they have there and also visited Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm. We had such a good time, my Mom and I decided that we needed to do it again; so 2 Tuesdays ago Dawson and I went back to visit and we had a splendid time! We were able to go for a fun-filled week of lots of activities. It was my sister Becca's High School Homecoming; and they had a parade and football game we went to. My sister was on the french float in the parade, and everyone threw Dawson tons of candy and he kept waving to all the high school girls and saying hi and they would "aww" over him and throw him more candy. Talk about working it! The football game was fun, but cold until I felt something warm on my leg, Dawson had peed thru his diaper....fun! So we only stayed the first half. The camping weekend was fun, it's a Yogi Bear campground so we definitly weren't roughing it. They had a costume contest (Dawson is a bat this year), trick or treating, a haunted barn, and many other fun activities. Sunday we left and went to Goebbert's, a family tradition since I was a little girl. They have yummy cider donuts, a petting zoo, corn maze, a farmer's market, and a tractor ride to go out and pick a pumpkin. Dawson would not stop running around to look and touch everything it was hard to get him to hold still for pictures, but I got a couple of cute ones. We had a fun time with my family, Dawson stayed up way to late while we were there, ate too much candy, and played and played with Grandma, Grandpa, and his 4 little Aunties....aka he was spoiled. He also came home saying "ssshuuuurrrre" sarcastically like my sister Becca does. Lovely. PS I would like to thank Dawson himself for sleeping almost the whole way there on the plane and the whole way back!!!

The Third Degree

Dawson is obsessed with cars. Toy cars, real cars, the movie Cars, pretty much anything with four wheels. I once went to go get him out of his crib one morning and the first thing he said to me was "cars!" We will be driving and he points to all the ones that really catch his eye and says Mom, car! My response now is yes, we are SURROUNDED by cars!!! Anyways, when he watches the movie Cars (which he requests to watch multiple times daily but does not get to watch it that much) I pretty much get the third degree until the movie is over. I wont complain, an hour and a half of him sitting there is NOT a bad thing! I have learned not to let him watch it around meal times or sleep times otherwise if I turn it off it is total meltdown. Here is a video of him watching Cars with his Cars pajamas...usually he is holding a toy car too but not this time!!


PS For you parents with your car lovers out there (Lindy) here is a website I found from the movie Cars that has fun little games like Maters memory game, a color the picture, and tractor tipping.

Tasty Tuesday

For the last few years I have thought it would be neat to learn how to can fruits or veggies. It has always intimidated me and I have never had the equipment necessary so I haven't bothered. Well, this year I talked about it to a couple people, read a few peoples blogs, and found out my friend Sheri was borrowing her mother in laws canning stuff and was willing to teach me so I decided to try my hand at it! I just bought one box of peaches and decided to can just that to see if I liked it and could do it. The result? Much easier than I thought! As long as you follow the instructions it's really not hard and it's kinda fun to know that I made 14 jars of peaches. I definitly commend all you canners out there who have done like, 50 jars of produce because it was a lot of work just for 14! I think I am sold though and this time next year maybe I'll get daring and do peaches AND green beans!!
Interested in preserving?? Check out www.freshpreserving.com
PS....I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Brandy whose birthday is tomorrow! Thanks for being such a great friend and I hope you have a great day! :-)

I Stuck!

This happened the other night while I was at Young Women's. Christopher was scaling my counters and cleaning off the tops of the cabinets, walked into the other room, came back, and found Dawson climbing on the chair to "help" but got stuck instead. **Note** Do you see Dawson's "alfalfa" hair do? That's compliments of Christopher as well.

Tasty Tuesday

As fall is slowly creeping up on us, I am bringing out more and more of my fall/winter recipes like soups, casseroles, and yummy things in the crockpot. Since it's not so hot out I also bake more and love filling my house with the smell of something freshly baked. I found this recipe last year and fell in love with it because well, it's 2 ingredients. Yep! 2! They are called Pumpkin Spice Muffins and they are actually low in fat because you use a can of pumpkin in place of oil and eggs. Pumpkin is also really good for you, scoring high in antioxidants (anti-cancer properties) , iron, zinc, and fiber. So tomorrow morning, whip up a batch of these yummy muffins and enjoy with a tall glass of milk (my favorite way to eat them!)

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 package spice cake mix (dry)
1 (small) can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, mix cake mix and pumpkin until moist (may still have lumps but that's ok, don't over mix!) Spray or line muffin pan. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full (batter is sticky and will look lumpy on top!) Bake for 15-20 minutes or until done (toothpick comes out clean!)

Signs of a Sugar Addict

I think I may have a sugar addict on my hands...you be the judge! It amazes me how he can tell the difference between candy/treat and healthy food/snacks. He is ALWAYS willing to take candy or share a yummy goody....yet if it's something good for him like pretty much most vegetables besides a few, he says ewww and pushes it away. The mind of a toddler is a smart little thing!

1. The sugar-glazed over eyes
2. The sugar coma
3. The face stuff...must have it all in your mouth!
4. Slyly trying to sneak it from Mom and Dad (I love his face in the picture, so guilty!)
5. Eating/drinking anything of a sugary substance that (mom) leaves laying around
**Note, these are over the past year....he doesn't consume sugar like this regularly!!