The Blessings of the Harvest...

I have always loved fall. Who doesn't? A break from the long hot days of summer. The beautiful changing colors of the trees. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Even school starting is a good thing for some. But I am loving fall more and more each year as I learn more and more about canning and preserving food. Fresh foods are always best but home-canned or frozen goods come in a close second. I don't grow all my own food but I usually get fresh food from farmers markets or family and friends. I can't say I am an expert at preserving yet (I tried making fruit leather and failed miserably) but I am getting better. In previous years I have made apricot and apricot-pineapple jam. I have canned and frozen corn. I have canned peaches. And this year, I dug into some apples.

This year, with the help of my amazing husband, we canned 14 quarts of of peaches, froze 12 quarts of corn, canned 14 quarts of apple pie filling and picked 100+ lbs. of red potatoes.

This was our most productive year yet.

Besides canning, I also wanted to make some snacks for the kids to have for after-school. I have a "snack cupboard" that the kids usually raid the minute they get home but with the snacks containing all kinds of ingredients I can't even read and being as pricey as they are, I needed to find an alternative. I have tried making fresh snacks but who has time to bake up a fresh batch of cookies or muffins everyday. They like to eat veggies and fruit but once in a while it is nice to have something special. I wanted to make some home-made snacks that they can throw in the microwave instead. They are healthier, cheaper and faster. I made apple-pumpkin streusel muffins, apple bread, chocolate-caramel apple turnovers, apple strudel, apple pies (which aren't really for a snack), chocolate-chip cookies (froze the dough), zucchini muffins, banana muffins and banana chocolate chip muffins.

These are apple-turnovers. I adapted them from several different recipes I saw. I put cut up rolos in them too but I think I might prefer to make them just plain apple next time. I also used Rhodes rolls and pre-made pastry dough. The pastry dough ones definitely came out better but the Rhodes rolls worked pretty good too. They actually freeze great. When microwaving them, the pastry isn't quite as flaky but still good.

This was the first apple pie I made from scratch. I looked and looked for apple pie recipes and narrowed it down to two. So I made both. They both were excellent. This first one was from America's Test Kitchen. The filling was sooo good.

This next one was from All Recipes...you can get it here. The crust came out fantastic on this one. So the next time I make one I am going to use the filling of the one recipe with the lattice crust method of the other. Then I think I will have a "perfect apple pie." recipe.

These are Apple Streusel bars from ourbestbites.com. Chris LOVED these but maybe that was because it was our first dessert in over a month. :) They were pretty good. I used half the almond extract the recipe called for and it was plenty. But, then again, I am not a huge almond extract fan.

These muffins are pumpkin-apple streusel muffins (recipe found here). Great muffin, moist and not too sweet, perfect for freezing and having for an after school snack. I haven't tasted the apple-bread yet because I just put it in my freezer.

1 year!

I have enjoyed different forms of exercise my entire life. I know for some of you, that statement may want to make you throw something at me, but it is true. I love how exercise makes you feel strong, flexible, and even more coordinated. And contrary to what some might believe, exercising does give you more energy. Exercising also helps fight off depression, stress and sickness.

Finding the time, the place, babysitters, and energy, however, is a different story all together. I have worked out for brief periods here and there in the last 10 years but life gets in the way and I stop for awhile. I think the longest period was about 6-8 months. I even got a treadmill about 5 years ago that helped for awhile. We lost it in the basement flood. :( Plus I was getting bored with it.

A year ago, Chris and I decided that we had to do something about our health. We were both over weight. We were out of shape. My family has a bad health history with most of my grandparents dying in their 60s. I was done having kids, which has been one of my many excuses for not doing something sooner. So we pulled on our sneakers and finally joined the gym. I know you don't have to join a gym to exercise or lose weight but we both figured the money aspect of it would keep us motivated to keep going. It worked. We have been going to the gym now for one full year. Sometimes we were only able to go once a week and sometimes we would miss a whole week at once but we didn't let that discourage us. We would just start again.

In the last year, Chris has lost over 55 lbs and I have lost over 40 lbs. Now, I can't let you believe that we didn't cheat a little. I call it cheating. Others may not. Chris and I did the HCG diet once in March and once in September. Chris lost all his weight from doing the diet but I only lost 30 lbs from the diet and the other 10 just from working out. But even though we "cheated," we have to work at keeping it off and I AM determined to keep it off! I would like to lose 10-15 more lbs but Chris doesn't want me to lose any more...he wants me to keep my girly figure. Gotta love him for that, right! Our gym membership lasts another two years so until then, I plan on continuing to work my butt off! Literally. :)

But today maybe I will celebrate with a piece of cake. :)

Everything Halloween!

Don't worry, Allie is OK. It is just makeup. :) A week before Halloween, their theater group showed them how to put on scary make-up. They loved it. I didn't get a picture of Austin's before he washed it off but he had a screw through this hand and a cut on his face. They actually showed them how to do it so Austin was trying to tell me but it all went over my head. :)

Asher was a puppy for Halloween.

Abigail was a lady bug... this is her without her wings.

Allison was a cabbage patch doll. This costume was made for me when I was 5 years old by my mom. She used to make all our costumes...she did awesome! (See pic below) Allison would only agree to wear the costume if she didn't have to wear the wig so I said she didn't have to. The new cabbage patch dolls don't have yarn hair like they used to anyway.

This is me with my two younger brothers in 1986.

I knew the day would come when I would have to actually learn to sew and this Halloween was it. Austin wanted to be Link from the Nintendo video game Zelda. The cheapest costume we could find for Link was $50 and it was a "not very good" home-made one. For $50 I figured we could make something cheaper. By the time we were done we did spend around $50 but it turned out better plus I learned to sew (with the help of my mom of course...she did the hardest parts) Chris worked on making his shield which is really what made the costume. He did an awesome job on it!

Don't you think it looks like him?!

We went to the school carnival where the kids danced the night away. They had a DJ that threw out big candy bags to all those who were dancing. My kids danced for a good 2 hours and all ended up walking away with at least two bags of candy plus some rulers.

Some of our family put on a "Haunted Halloween Train" and so we went and let the kids do that which of course they loved.

As it gets dark, the Haunted Train ride gets scarier for the older kids. But since my kids knew everyone in it, they loved it anyway and kept going on it over and over and over again.

John, Keith, Anne and Tyler all helped to "scare" during the Haunted Train ride.

Garage transformation...

Well, kinda. We have had a half garage transformation.

Chris and I call ourselves, purgers. (No, not that kind of purging!) The purging where you get rid of your stuff constantly because you don't like clutter and if you haven't looked at it in over a year then it is making your life harder not easier. We have always been like that. Constantly moving has helped. More kids has not. Since getting rid of our kids isn't an option (I worked too hard to get 'em here and they've grown on me) then we have to figure out more storage options. Our house is getting more and more crowded with "stuff." I really don't like "stuff." But some "stuff" makes life funner (I know that isn't a word for all you picky English people out there, but I don't care) and some "stuff" makes life easier. There is "winter stuff" and "camping stuff" and "garden stuff" and "baby stuff" (which I could probably start getting rid of but am still a little emotional about some of it) and don't forget the "massive-load of Holiday stuff." But what do you do with it all? Put it in a bin and place a nice label on it and stick it in some room or closet. That is what we have been doing lately and will probably keep doing.


Our garage was getting way over-loaded with "stuff." We couldn't go out there without tripping over something. And trying to find that "something" that was hidden in "that box" was getting to be a half hour ordeal. I don't know about you, but we don't really have time to look for something for a half hour or usually longer. So my handy husband got out the tools again and built me some shelves. They weren't the shelves I originally wanted (those were around $700 more) but they turned out amazing and we still have the other half of our garage we can do something with. Plus he built me a little sitting/shoe bench and we are going to put some hooks above it to hang more "stuff."

These are the before...scary....

This is the after. I love the feeling of a little organization and hard work and "wahlah," look what you can accomplish. It feels so good!

Elasta-girl

Have you ever wished you were elasta-girl? Not just a costume you put on at Halloween. I mean the authentic arms stretching to eternity elasta-girl. You could grab a baby tumbling down the stairs, or catch a glass falling before it shatters or, even, scoop up a baby and hold him high above your head for about 20 minutes so that you could catch your breath. (You know he would love it.)

Asher has definitely made me think that being elasta-girl would be awesome. He is so busy all day long. Sometimes it almost seems like he is looking for the next thing to get into. We take him from one thing/place and he immediately goes to the next naughty thing/place. The whole family has now learned to keep all doors closed, all cupboards locked, and books off the ground. Even with that, he still keeps me on my toes...like just 30 seconds ago, he learned how to open the dishwasher and broke a glass. Luckily, he wasn't hurt.

I know it is just because he so dang smart. He is very observant. He loves to watch you do things and repeat them. He loves to figure things out. I sometimes can't believe he is only 13 months old. I remember people telling me that they thought Austin was ADHD when he was little because he was like Asher is. He just turned out to be a smart kid and he is NOT ADHD. I am really hoping Asher turns out the same way. In the meantime, I am going to need to learn super-human powers so I can make sure he doesn't get hurt or hurt anything/one else.

Oh yeah, did I mention he climbs too! Now you may be thinking..."Geez, Jennifer, you have had 3 other children, you should be used to all this by now." I know, I thought the same thing. But he REALLY is harder. The people at the gym daycare even had to rearrange their furniture because he kept climbing on everything and they didn't want him hurting himself. So it's not just me. :) But look how cute he is. He is so proud of himself for helping clean up the mess he made.

One day, the girls were yelling for me to come and get Asher because he was stuck. I ran to see what was the matter and this is what I found. He really was stuck. I thought I was going to have to call Chris, or worse, the fire department. I finally, and carefully, got him out but ever since he has discovered the vents, they have become his new best friend. Let's just say that if we are ever missing something, the vents are the first place to look.

My Sweet Allison

Allison turns 6 today. She is growing up to be an amazing little person. She is always helpful when I ask her to do things around the house. She is always optimistic and always points out the special little details in life that make life so amazing. She always gives compliments to people like, "You are the best cook mom," or "I like your shirt today Emma," or "You look handsome Austin." It is so sweet. (She gets that from her Dad).

Today, I stopped by her class at school just to ask her teacher how she was doing. Her teacher said she was great and could have 20 more like her. What a compliment!!! Just what every mom wants to hear.

She wasn't always easy, and I'm sure that one day it might change again but for now we are enjoying everything about her!

This is her at 3 months

This is her first birthday...she loved her little horsey from G&G Carter.

Isn't this face so Tinkerbell!

No one else would go near this spider (even the boys) until after Allison did it.

Once again, a Halloween picture I love...she makes such a beautiful Cinderella.

This is her with her football makeup on...her lovely brother put it on.

I love this picture my sister-in-law took of her. She wasn't meaning to show her shoulder...she is actually very modest and doesn't like to show her shoulders. She would probably be upset about this picture. But I love it!

Zion Ponderosa

My sister and her family invited us to go to the Zion Ponderosa last weekend. It is a campground a couple of miles outside of Zion National Park. We were debating on whether or not to go because we have SOOOO much stuff to do around our house and it seems like we can never catch up and something else always comes up. But we don't see them very often and it sounded fun AND THEY BEGGED...so we went. :) It was a lot of fun and we are so glad we went.

First we went swimming in the pool. I didn't get any pictures of the slides but the pool had two slides, two hot-tubs (which is where we spent most of our time because we were so cold) and a waterfall.

The next thing we did was go on a Jeep Tour. For anyone who knows me really well, you would know that I HATE four-wheeling. I could give you a dozen reasons why I hate it but I won't bore you. I will just let you know that I have changed my mind and now LOVE four-wheeling in the RIGHT vehicle. We went on a jeep ride and it was the perfect vehicle to go 4-wheeling in. It was safe enough for me but dangerous enough for the guys! A perfect combo, right!?

Earlier in the day Abigail mentioned that she wanted to go on the "boing-boing." I wasn't sure what she was talking about until finally she pointed over to a girl jumping on a trampoline. So Allison and Abigail got to go on the "boing-boing." I am not even sure what it is really called but "boing-boing" works for me. Austin got to go on the zip line and Kody climbed the rock wall...like a spider, I might add.

We had so much fun! Thank you again Stacy and Ed for inviting us!!!

Back to School!

Austin started third grade a little over two weeks ago now. He says he hates school but I think deep down he actually loves it because he is always writing, drawing, reading and asking how to solve math problems in his spare time.

This is him trying to be serious for mom....

...this is what he is really like! Goofball!

My second baby was off to start her first day of Kindergarten a week later. There were only a few tears...none on her part. She was as excited as ever. The first thing she said when she walked through the door coming home was "That was awesome!" And she was bummed she didn't get any homework. She says she can't wait for homework. Funny girl. If she only knew, right? Austin was really excited that they would be riding the bus home together. I hope it stays that way.

I had to get a picture of her pretty hair...I was so proud of myself. :)

She wanted to ride the bus but I wanted to drop her off so we did both. She rode the bus and then I followed and walked her into school.

Getting off the bus and getting into the lines to go to each of the classrooms.Hanging up her backpack. My big girl!

Summer Vacation

We have had a busy summer this year and I can't believe it is already over. I really wasn't ready. I love having my kids home and being able to go and do anything at the drop of a hat and not having to plan everything around school. But I also love watching them grow and learn and experience new things and starting a new school year is part of the whole process so I guess it is good in it's own way.

Because we have been so busy, there are so many things that I never got around to posting - like our summer vacation, our last camping trip, playing at the park, Austin's baseball games, etc. I may not get around to posting about all of them but I thought our summer vacation would be worth taking a trip back in time for. So here it is.

This year we went up to good ole' Salt Lake City. I have only been once since Chris graduated college 5 years ago and it was a one day trip for business so we didn't do much of anything worth writing about. This time we went to Lagoon, a first for me and the kids, the Hogle Zoo, Temple Square and Cabela's.

We learned something very important about our kids that will help us plan better vacations in the future. There is no need to spend loads of money on fun activities because the things they enjoyed the most were free, like Cabela's, swimming in the pool at the hotel (which I guess isn't technically free) and Temple Square.

The first place we visited was Cabelas. Chris went here on a business trip once and thought the kids would love it. He was right! There are huge fish aquariums to see and we were lucky enough to be there for feeding time. They feed them worms, pellets and live gold fish. The kids LOVED the carnage! They also got to feed some other fish some pellets. There were lots of real "stuffed" animals from Zebras and Lions to Deer and Bears. And they played a hunting game. Plus they loved looking at all the outdoor equipment you can buy!

I love these cute pictures of the kids sleeping in the same bed at the hotel. They woke up excited for the next adventure.

Lagoon was fun but for "die-hard" Disneyland fans it was a little disappointing. Austin and Allison were brave enough to ride Lagoon's scariest roller coaster "Wicked." I was actually scared for them but they loved it! We also loved "Rattlesnake Rapids," so much even that the kids went on it twice in a row, once with dad and once with mom!

The next day we went to Hogle Zoo. Growing up in Southern California and going to the San Diego Zoo every year it is hard NOT to be a little disappointed with Hogle Zoo. However, Zuri, the baby elephant won me over completely!! I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the baby elephant and we sat and watched her play with her mom for probably a good half hour. It took Zuri about 10 minutes to walk over this log and it was so fun watching her try to figure it out. Then she played in the mud for a little while just like a little kid would, not like an elephant normally does. AND then we watched as her mom feed her some grass and then you could see she was getting sleepy and they walked off together for a nap. It was the sweetest thing ever!!!

The last thing we did was go to Temple Square. We have been several times before but there is always something new to see. We actually got to see the top of the Conference Center this time. It has been closed every other time we have tried. We ate lunch at the Nauvoo cafe for the first time. We also got to see the new movie "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" which was amazing! And we visited the Church History Museum.

FUN TIMES!! :)