Busy, busy kids

My mom watched my kids last week so I could run some errands. While I was gone she taught James and Julia a new craft. They haven't stopped since. The first day they needed constant help but now they can thread a needle, separate the thread, and put the hoop on the fabric. I am amazed at how many little projects Julia has finished all by herself. She has already made my Christmas gift, which I am certain will be one of my most favorite gifts this year. James was reluctant at first until he heard how his Uncle Jack is quite crafty. Uncle Jack is really cool and tough and way into sports so that gave James the green light. Besides, a missionary needs to know how to sew. And someday I bet his wife will be happy he can do basic sewing, right?

These are all original designs, the pile has grown tenfold since I took this.

A stick of butter on Halloween night

Halloween night I ate no candy!

But shoot, I may have eaten a whole stick of butter.

We had chicken tortilla soup and this cornbread with honey butter

You MUST make this . I have tried many cornbread recipes, even the one where you add a yellow cake mix to a box of cornbread mix (which I didn't think was all that great) This is THE only corbread I will ever serve in my house again. I want to serve soup and chili once a week just so I can accompany it with this.

Sometimes I post a recipe and hope people that try it will like it as much as I do and worry they may not. I have no doubt this will be a winner in your kitchen. So put it on your menu for a cold day this week with your favorite chili and get cooking. You can thank me later. Just beware, before you know it you may consume an entire stick of butter in the form of this honey butter.

Ready for action :

When we went to Grandma Susan's house to trick or treat, we were greeted with this sign:

When we looked in the window, this is what we saw. How cute is this?

It was a fun night, butter and all.

The look on Addie's face is the look I had on my face when I ate the cornbread,

sheer joy I tell you, sheer joy.

Strange things have happened

Tonight we had a family Halloween party. There was witch hat decorating, pumpking carving, Halloween movie watching and picture taking. Very strange things happened when we saw our pictures . .. . mwaaaahahahahahah.

Make your own spooky pictures here

Guessing game

Who doesn't love children's artwork? I pulled this little treasure out of James's backpack and it is one of my new favorites. He was asleep so I couldn't ask him about it. It took me a minute to figure out what this four headed monster really was. Can you figure it out?

Grandma Susan's annual Halloween Party

My mom throws parties for her grandchildren that they look forward to all year long. Last night was her annual Halloween Party, fabulous as always. When we arrived it was decked out in tasteful Halloween decor and the tables set perfectly. One of my favorite things about her dinner table is everyone gets their own miniature salt and pepper shaker. (click here to see my post from last year on her Halloween Decor, it's to die for)
The food was fabulous. On the menu this year, broccoli cheese soup, rolls, salad and of course, Dunford chocolate donuts. A must for Halloween parties and every day of the year really.

We had a little photo session:The kids decorated haunted houses

Of course, the traditional Grandma Susan treasure hunt. Treasure hunts started with my mom and dad's first grandchild and continue strong for all fun get togethers and holidays. This one was my very favorite. She gave each child a glow stick and then made trails around the house of each color. The house was pitch black and the kids had to follow their own color which led them to a treasure. It was so fun, the adults had as much fun as the kids for this. I wish I could have gotten better pictures, but you get the idea.

Great big thank you to my mom, Grandma Susan for another wonderful party!

Yummy fall treat

This simple treat is a family tradition, I don't remember a Halloween growing up where there wasn't a big glass pumpkin full of this. It is the perfect combination of sweet and salty, soft and crunchy. It is kind of snicker-ish-y tasting, and you don't even miss the chocolate. I dare you to sit in front of a bowl of this and not eat every last corn and grain of salt. (P.S. Target does not carry Spanish peanuts, I already checked)

Fall festival

Last night we ventured over to Farnsworth farms for their weekend fall festival, it was so cute. It is just a little farm and on the weekend they show "It's the great pumpkin Charlie Brown" on the side of a trailer, have face painting, carnival games, a hay ride, a bounce house, food and some vendors. I felt like I was in a very small town, it was super cheap and the kids loved it! Everyone picked out a pumpkin, of course James hunted the biggest one on the farm which is great until you have to pay per pound, silly boy. I was just happy to find a pumpkin patch that offered more than just getting a pumpkin in the middle of a big empty field. For some reason I am bugged by pumpkin patches that just throw some pumpkins on the ground and call it good. We want hay rides and games and fun, patch people. We will definitely be going back every year.