This week I am Thankful for.....

1) Nice weather for a whole week of early release days!!

2) A job for my husband, that has him working from home so he could join us a couple of days ago for his "lunch break" to the park. (wish I had brought my camera....that was a fun day)

3) Living in an area that has all kinds of bugs, frogs, and other creepy crawlies right in our back yard---the kids have spent all kinds of time exploring and finding all of the above!!!

4) Dollar Store finds, like bug cages that have given Jared and Kayleigh a lot more than $1.00 worth of fun this summer/fall!!!

Jared's and Kayleigh's latest frog find!....Trust me, we find many frogs, but this was different than the normal tree frog that we usually find....it was pretty big compared to the others in our backyard, so Jared asked me to take a picture of it and blog it!!!

A MUST TRY RECIPE!!!

Every couple of years, my sisters and sisters-in-law pool together some of our favorite recipes, and thanks to skills of my sis-in-law, Liz H. C. and Camie, we have a fun collection of recipes. Well, a couple of nights ago, I tried one of the recipes from our 2004 collection.....why I waited so long to use this, I don't know....but, you have got to try it....it is yummy, and it even passed the Jared test!!!

Beef/Chicken Marinade (from Amy)

Marinade your meat over night or for several hours

and this is the BEST and fastest BBQ ever.

1/2 c. oil

3/4 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. worchestire sauce

2 Tbs. dry mustard

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 clove garlic

Throw everything in a ziplock bag, along with the meat....marinade as long as possible, then grill!!

Thank you Amy, for a super yummy recipe!!!

P.S.

Jessica was looking at my last post, and asked why I didn't include a picture of her Jonas Brother side of her pumpkin....sorry Jessica! I must have overlooked that picture.

Pumpkin carving and painting.

A few years ago, we started painting our pumpkins, instead of carving them. It was while Matthew was in school, and had very little time to spend....so, we decided instead of taking tons of time scooping and cleaning out pumpkins, we would paint them....it was fun, so that tradition carried through....but, this year Jared wanted to carve his pumpkin....so, Jared carved (well, I carved his pattern for him)....and Jessica and Kayleigh decided to stick with painting.

At first, Jared wasn't so sure of touching the pumpkin innards....but, then he and Kayleigh (and I) really got into it....I guess we forgot to take pictures of all of us covered in gunk....but, it was fun!

Observing my kids with their pumpkin painting/carving styles:

Jessica--- definitely takes after Matthew ....she had one half of her pumpkin painted with all of the Boston Sports team symbols....and on the other side, she copied one of her Jonas Brothers CD covers....she definitely likes to show her interests to the whole world....well, anyone who will see the pumpkins!

Jared...... takes after KeriLyn...... He thinks a little "outside the box"---you can't really tell from the pics, but he had me cut off part of his stem to use for the nose.....I remember one year, I made a grandpa pumpkin, using cotton balls for hair, and wire to make some glasses!!

Kayleigh..... well, just like everything else, Kayleigh has her own unique style....of course, it involved a lot of blue paint!!!

TOFW

I had an awesome Saturday last weekend! I got to go to Time Out for Women with a group of sisters from my ward. This is what I did with my birthday money from Mom and Dad. Thanks Mom and Dad!!! And, Thanks, Matthew for watching the kids all day so I could go.

Thank you, Kristen, for making this happen!

Silver Buckle Fall Fun!!!

A friend of mine email us early last week, giving us info for a FREE family fall fun day at a near by Farm....Silver Buckle. Well, given it was free, we decided to go.....it was a fun Saturday event for us.

PETTING FARM AREA.....THEY ALSO HAD GOATS

PONY RIDES

HAY RIDE

FREE PUMPKINS

Did I mention, this was all FREE! and FUN! They also had free hot chocolate, rice krispy treats, and they had a pile of hay, where the kids got to search for candy!!!

Thank you Silver Buckle Farm for giving us something fun to do.....and, thank you, Monique for including us on your email list!!

There's No Turning Back Now!!!

After many months of being sick of my hair, but having no idea what to do with my hair, I decided today I was finally sick of my hair....so, I was very sparatic, hopped in the car this morning, and went to get my hair cut!!!

Before.....

After.......

I think I like it....of course, I still haven't really worked with it yet....so, we will see what tomorrow morning brings!

Good Bye Annastasia.....

We knew this day was coming....Annastasia's family left today for Hawaii. Monday was Jessica's last day to hang out with Annasasia....she came over right after school, ate dinner with us, joined us for FHE, and hung out a little later into the evening. It was a sad night to have to say bye to Annastasia. We wish her and her family the best of luck, and hope they will come back and visit soon!

In the meantime, Jessica could really use a new best friend around here!! It wouldn't be a day with Annastasia and Jessica without a little bit of Jonas Brother conversation!!
Future rock stars????
Fun times together!!!

We will all miss Annastasia....even Kayleigh and Jared....she was like another sister!! Although, I think Kayleigh is a little hopefull of a little more barbie time with her big sister, and Jared is hopefull of some fun play time with Jessica, too. I don't think they realize, though....what I have come to realize over the past year.....Jessica has really grown up, and has entered into the teenage stage of life.....loves listening to music and just hanging out in her room!!