Fall Things

Oh my! It's been a while since I've blogged...

...We've done some fun fall things since I last wrote. We took a day to celebrate my Birthday as a family. A little late...but better late than never, eh? We went to the outlet mall, Cabela's, and Cracker Barrel, to look around. Joel got some new duds at the Outlets - his wardrobe was severely lacking. Kenzie tried out a couple of rocking chairs. They're so cute, but pricey!

We also went to the pumpkin patch! This is an annual thing for us. I got a GOOD deal on tickets this year, but we had to use the tickets pretty quickly and since Joel wasn't able to go - a friend came along with her kids. We had a great time! Too much fun! :)
I also made pumpkin scones. They're so yummy! Last year, I made them with partial whole wheat flour and they were still good, but this time all I had was the regular unbleached...I think they were even better.

Happy Fall, ya'll!

Spa Night

I turned another year older and celebrated with friends and family at a relaxing spa night. My friend Shelley sells Beauticontrol and we spent the evening at her house getting mini facials, sampling lotions & potions, and enjoying homemade chocolate cake and strawberries. Can it get much better than that? I think not. :)
The masked group!
Me with my sweet Sister-in-Law Annette.
Happy feet! My friend Noelle rubbed lotion on my feet for me while I held my Sister's baby. Wow, that's a real friend!
Chocolate goodness. Yum!! My Mom makes AmAzInG cake!!!

I'm thankful for another year that God has given me. This past year held blessings and trials and while I still have a long way to go (and much more to learn), I feel like the Lord taught me a lot this past year. I love how He continues to show me new things through His Word, the study of it, and good friends. Here's to another year and more learning & growing! And thank you to each of you who were able to make it out for the evening.

Garage Sale FAIL

We had a garage sale last weekend. We went through the finding and pricing of items. And the organizing and advertising our sale. And after paying for my portion of the ad that ran in Saturday's paper...I cleared $3.60. I'm trying to decide what to do with my earnings. I may start investing. Anyone have any good stock tips? Or perhaps I should split this amount and stash it away for my kids' college funds. Hmm...The possibilities are endless, really.

It wasn't a waste of time though because I got to spend quality time with my Mom and Sister. And that is PRICELESS. Also, my Mom brought homemade zucchini bread one day and blueberry muffins the next. Those are not to be taken for granted.

This coming weekend, we will try again! This time the sale will take place at my Mom's house. Surely, our sale can't flop twice in a row, right? This will be a multi-family sale, with lots of items that are priced to sell! And sell they shall! I'm trying to be positive.

Since we had some times on our hands...This is some of what went on:
Reading and lounging.
Kenzie liked the stickers. And we had free time, what can I say?
Mr. P enjoyed playing Xbox in the garage, with his cousins!

Playdate

I took these pics the other day at the little playground in our neighborhood. It's nice to have somewhere to walk where the kids can play and have fun.

Lately

We had a wonderful weekend. Friday night, Joel and I had a date. It was perfect. We had dinner at a new to us Mexican restaurant (with free salsa, yay!) and then we walked around Border's and spent too much money because they are having some crazy discounts right now, since their stores are closing!

Saturday afternoon and evening, we spent some time with friends. So. Wonderful. The guys had some R&R while us gals took off shopping. We hit up a couple Goodwill stores and I got a few cute things. I think I have a new favorite clothing store...It's hard to buy things at other stores when Goodwill is about half the price of SALE prices elsewhere! They even have their "color of the day" stickers...where if you're lucky enough to find something you like with that color, it's only 99 cents. We also got pizza and played games and stayed up late because our kids were staying overnight at my parents'!

Kenzie did great at Grandma & Grandpa's house, but Mr. P was naughty and so he has to suffer the consequences. One such consequence was having several favorite toys taken away. I told him he'd get them back at the end of the week if he had a good attitude this week. He was like, "Ugh...I know I'll NEVER get them back!!" Hmm...At least he's honest, ha! So far he's done pretty well at obeying so he just might earn them back by the end of the week, we'll see!

On Labor Day, we had a restful day...Got some things done and enjoyed time together. In the evening, we had my Sister and her family over and we grilled out. Good times!

We started homeschooling this week! I officially have a Kindergartner...crazy! So far, Mr. P is doing well and really enjoying it. Excited to begin Kindergarten!

Day 2 of Kindergarten...working hard. :)

Blue-eyed girl!

Summer Supper

Simple, fresh, and tasty. This is a meal I grew up with. Last Summer I was nursing a newborn that did NOT like it when I ate tomato products. So I missed out on the Summer treat of fresh garden tomatoes. Yum!! My Dad is an amazing gardener and he supplies us with fresh produce this time of year. We had this for supper the other night:
Toasted bread layered with fresh tomatoes, onions, and bits of bacon. THEN...comes the good part.Creamy cheese sauce poured over top, sprinkled with paprika...Yum!

Here's the recipe for the cheese sauce:
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 C. milk
1 C. Velveeta, grated

Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Blend in flour until smooth. Add milk slowly, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and cook 1 minute until it thickens. Add cheese. Remove from heat & stir well to blend. Enjoy!

Living on the Edge

Besides the fact that there is a near mishap because she gets too close to the edge of the couch...I LOVE this video. Her laugh makes me smile.