video of song.....

Thankful

Somehow, moving brings so many new things. New house, new friends, new life. Can't say that I LOVE all these "new" things. But when you are forced to do things in your "new" life like having a holiday in the "new" place, you find out that you could really learn to LOVE

For instance, being close enough to your family that they will come and eat at your Thanksgiving table....pretty cool.

And for once we were the family that could take in a couple of sweet college nieces and a daughter that needed a table to put their feet under.Here we are doing pie dough...turned out pretty darn good...

oh, and when mom saw the roll dough rising on the counter said she sure was hungry for a cinnamon roll.....so we rolled em out and stacked em in...they were great appetizers.

We had unusual guests for dinner....haven't seen this pair for oh....about 20 years or so. I mean at Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad came to our house!! I convinced Dad to carve the meat....tradition!

it was great to eat together and talk about the silly and the strange and what we were thankful for....(I was pretty thankful to get to sit...)

We then served pies...ah yes, the pies...

I made just a few...cocoanut cream, raisen cream, black and blue berry, french silk, and Neil made two oreo cream and we bought a pumpkin. They were gone pretty quick but I am remembering them every morning when I put on my jeans.

THe high light of the day HOWEVER, had to be my great shopping find. I had been looking for some new nuetral color napkins and found a real deal in Ross. I was so proud of myself. I mean I found them on clearance and the price was just so phenomonal! 99 cents for four. I smiled all the way home. Of course, I bragged it up with everyone Thursday as we set the table...that is until I opened the package and saw the "real deal". Seems like there is never really a "deal" unless you are CATHOLIC....

NO WORRIES FOLKS....no one turned on their religion today. We just wiped up with em and tossed them in the laundry for a good soaking. ( a little sudsy baptism won't hurt em)

We decided on a new tradtion for this UTAH life....head on downtown to see a few of the lights they've been putting up since...SEPTEMBER.

We were not disappointed...just in my camera skills.

maybe if you squint, or turn off the lights, or shut your eyes.....

It was cold but beautiful. A nice tradtion to start.

"Octo-ver" move over...

One of my little kids used to call it that....I like it. SO, we have survived our first Octover in Utah. Generally it was ok. Halloween was cold and nasty for our one trick or treater from this house...she went as a "ghoulish fashionista".

Stacey went as a artsy..."cat fish" to her art club party. She came pretty close to winning that one.

Oh and speaking of cold....why does SL arrange for one of the most popular bloggers to come to a book signing at a "lettle" tiny bookstore??? REALLY?? For any of you out there that haven't clicked onto http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/, are really missing out. She is a world famous blogger and now has a great cookbook, that I ahem, took to get signed. Silly me. Thinking I would be one of a few..make that a few hundred women...yikes.

The line stretched down and around the block and then we found out that you needed a ticket with a letter on it. WE didn't have one. The waiting time was estimated to be about 4 hours. HA...my life is too short. I even offered to the new friends I had made in line, that I would sign their books and they could sign mine. Everybody laughed but nobody handed theirs over. Emma and I stood and chatted about and hour with all of our new friends and then called it quits. The "Pioneer woman" walked by me and I coulda tripped her, I was that close...it was enough.

Emma and I went and enjoyed an ice cream and called it a day. Here's proof that we were there.

Happy blogging.....

Maple-flavored day

Just a random day, I set out with my camera and my mp3 player set on Michael Buble's newest stuff, grabbed my golden-golden and I was off!

Enjoy the view....

ok, I just HAD to throw this last one in....made me laugh out loud. Then I came home and worked on this....

Still needs some work, but the juices are starting to flow again. The view from my deck at night is amazing....hmmmm.

Sick of boxes-sick of organizing-time for.... C R E A T I N G!!

Yeah,I am sick of boxes, sick of taking things out of boxes and looking for a place for it. And because living with part of it in storage for a bit, made it not so important.... like the one glass candlestick, the 2 red ceramic apples, 3 plate hangers and a partridge in a pear tree....HA.

I have decided that the place for some of it will be in a dark box somewhere in the basement.

Anyway, I am sick of looking for stuff that still needs a home and happy that so far I haven't missed it...

SO- with the change in the weather any of you that know me...know how much I love FALL.

LOVE THE COLORS-

of changing leaves,

of everyone else's mums in their yards (MAYBE NEXT YEAR FOR ME),

of the sky muted blue,

of pumpkin fields covered in orange polka dots,

the purples, and oranges, and rusts, and golds and glitters of the SEASON.

SO, I made some velvet pumpkins..

And Alicia and I have been on the quest to find the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie recipe....
this one is a pretty darn good contender. (According to Jacque', you must let the dough cure in the fridge for 24-36 hours to let the vanilla do it's magic.) They were pretty magic, but I haven't met a warm chocolate chip cookie that wasn't....

And I also found an amazing recipe for pumpkin muffins and I figured that they could be EVEN better with a coating of brown sugar frosting....mmm. THEY WERE.

But alas, Monday comes again and the boxes are calling...(stupid partridge wants a home on a shelf outta the box-) and I need to sort some more. But the holidays are coming and I saw a recipe for chocolate truffles that I need to try.....

Come on over-

It's been a rare event in our lives. This having family close by...

We've lived two different lifetimes- one where in FLorida we had babies and baby blessings, baptisms and birthdays (all "B" things....weird), anyway, with no family in the audience.

Even when we lived in WA it was an unusual thing to have family come.

And we are NOT blaming anyone....except maybe the airlines but that is another blog.

Now we have moved to a place with family in our neck of the woods and we "LOVE IT".

And when they fly in from the MIDDLE EAST -even better!!!

I've always wanted lots of people on my couch on a Sunday evening. Cousins and nephews and daddies all mixed up together....

And there were new cousins that had never met, but look like us...
And cute babies with aunties..

and a couple of real cute coeds on load from BYU....

AND THEY BROUGHT KEY LIME PIE....(I crave this all of the time....)

We had great treats to share and see the "little" brother acting so culinary and all...

oooo and here are the "middle children" holding the table down...


We laughed and told a few stories and watched a little football and an inning or two.

BUt it was over soon and everyone left and the couch was really empty again...

So we made promises to see each other a lot more of each other and who could say no to that?

On the banks of the mighty Mississippi....

We took our flyer miles and hopped a jet for Kansas to see Alicia and Brian who are starting a new life of graduate school in the land of Oz.We were first treated to a few numbers on the Kansas State University Organ by our favorite and most handsome son in law, Brian. Ate a few cookies by his sweet, clever wife and looked around Lawrence. We were impressed with the campus and this impressive bld.

It is a beautiful building constructed specifically for the organ... no pianos allowed.

As we drove along the green roadways of Kansas, and then Missouri, I was astounded once more with the beauty of this country. Yes, there are wide wheat fields but there are long pastures and fields and fields of green. And having lived in the desert for the past 11 years, I admit, I have missed the GREEN.

We stopped on a quiet hill and walked a little trail to the site of ADAM-Ondi-ahman....it was peaceful and serene.

It was a beautiful place and the "residents" were quite calm and friendly....
Then it was back in the car for more miles, and more miles. We got in around 11ish and found the missionaries still badged and waiting like they had just got home. IT WAS SO GREAT TO SEE MY MOM AND DAD!!!
We got up early the next day and met some of the locals....It was wonderful to meet and smell em....( only a farm girl would say that!)










We took a carriage ride and loved it.



ELDER TIBBITTS talked "shop" with the handler.

We were able to go to the new temple and do a session with our 3 generations.... now that was WAY COOL. (and that climbing to the top of the spiral staircase was pretty breathtaking-the view and the huffing and puffing.)

We went to the visitors center and I couldn't help but contrast the time I had been there before when Alicia was just 2 and Steven was turning 5. We were on our way to Florida.

This is now-looks like someone has been gardening.....

There was this really nice looking ,friendly missionary couple sitting there in the shade....
We then followed Parley Street to the end and took a long look at the mighty river.....Mom says she is really going to miss it. I suspect she will leave a part of her heart there....



We got up the next morning and attended Sacrament meeting with them....everyone was warm and friendly...they get trained to do that...



Here's that daughter of mine....trying for the favorite grandchild spot....
Then we were off in the car again-headed towards Carthage. It is always sobering and yet peaceful. The grounds just felt sacred.


Then we were "on the road again" and we stopped for a FINE Sunday dinner at a royal resturant....and it was time to get the queen home. We had eaten all the Twizzlers and cookies we brought. There is no place like home....