Happy Halloween

David the Shark

Sadie the Bumblebee

Last night we went to a Halloween Carnival. Mike dressed up as a Sheriff, I was a witch and little Calista didn't even get a chance to dress up in her bee costume, she slept through the entire party like a little angel. There were tons of games, the highlight was watching Mike get countless pies in the face....what a good sport.

Trick or Treating!

Whats for dinner

I have made alot of hamburger soup, and this one is pretty good. It is cheap to make and is good on cold nights

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 cloves minced garlic
1 (2 ounce) package onion soup mix
6 cups boiling water
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup celery, sliced
1/4 cup celery leaves
1 cup sliced carrot
1/3 cup dried split peas
1 cup elbow macaroni
grated parmesean cheese
Directions
1In a large saucepan, brown meat, drain excess fat.
2Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, seasoned salt, and onion soup mix and garlic.
3Stir in boiling water, tomato sauce, and soy sauce.
4Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
5Meanwhile, prepare celery, celery leaves, and carrots; Then add to simmering mixture with diced tomatoes, and split peas and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
6Add macaroni and simmer for 30 minutes longer, adding more water if necessary and stirring occasionally. Season with more salt and pepper and spices if needed....
7Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese over individual servings.
8To freeze: place soup in a rigid container and freeze. To reheat: remove from freezer and thaw. Place soup in saucepan and heat, stirring, until hot.

I usually make a salad and these baking powder biscuits to go with the soup. They are the best biscuits!

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) COLD butter
1/3 cup whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425. In large bowl sift flour and baking powder and salt. Cut butter into bits with pastry blender with flour until size of peas. Add milk and cream stirring until just combined. Mixture will be wet. Transfer dough to floured surface and kneed dough 4 to 6 times gently until smooth. Do not overwork the dough. Roll out dough into 1/2 inch thickness and cut with round cutter. Bake on cookie sheet 10 -12 until pale golden brown.

7 years

Happy Anniversary!

Mike and I have been married for 7 years on October 25. We celebrated last night and I can't even believe how fast the time has gone. We have accomplished alot and have grown together. I can't imagine going through life without Mike, he is perfect for me.

Pumpkin Carving

Last night we carved some pumpkins

David wanted to have a scary skeleton and Sadie wanted a friendly face.

We made carmel apples and toasted the pumpkin seeds

We had a wonderful family night!

A weekend without Mike

Usually I am the one who leaves Mike to take off to California or Calgary, but the tables were turned this weekend. Mike headed to St. George for a little boy bonding. He had to pick up a piece of machinery, and then did some dirt biking. We had a pretty busy weekend without him though... On Friday Hill and I took the kids out. I love having my sis here, it is so fun. Saturday was such a beautiful day, which was very busy. David and Sadie went to a birhtday party at the new bounce place at the Rex. Then David had a primary practise, after that we spent the rest of the afternoon outside playing. At night we got to babysit a friends kids so they could go celebrate a birthday. By the time I got all the kids to bed I was pooped.

I did manage to get some cute pictures of the kids this morning.

The Wrap!

This is the greatest invention ever. The Moby wrap has saved me! I have 3 kids, only 2 arms, but when one is tied to me I can still cope. My friend Melinda sells these wonderful wraps and Calista and I got to be her instruction models! Calista spends most of her time in my wrap and I love it. Any pregnant ladies out there, you need to get one!

Happy Thanksgiving eh...

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow CANADIANS!

Party Time!

David had his birthday party yesterday!

We invited all of his friends and had a big party. He wanted an alligator cake, but ended up getting cool snake cake because I couldn't figure out how to make alligator legs... We had the party at the clubhouse, Thanks Michelle for all the amazing balloons and decorating help!

The face paint lady Sherri came to the party and did a wonderful job painting all the kids faces!

Most of the boys wanted to be tigers, so the entire party there were little tigers crawling on the floor and growling at everyone....

Calista enjoyed the party.
The highlight of the party was the scavenger hunt, Hill got some friends to come and dress up (the pirate and Fred Flinstone in the background) they did such a good job, the kids LOVED these boys.

Thank You so much to all of our friends for coming to help celebrate David's 4th Birthday.

brrrrr

Isn't it a little early for snow?

This morning we woke up to cold wet snow. Of course David and Sadie wanted to try to build a snowman, and go play outside. We lasted about 20 mins then had to go inside to warm up.

With the change of the weather, I have gotten a cold.... This weekend all I wanted to do was stay home in my pj's and snuggle under a blanket. Hopefully Mike and the kids don't get sick.

cute cali

My sister in law Siri is making me birth announcements, and I have been trying to get the perfect picture.