Halloween Fun!

It was a great Halloween!

We carved pumpkins.

We had 300 trick-or-treaters this year.

The boys made a great haul.

Ahh Life. Is. Good.

Preparing for Halloween

I love Halloween! I love the costumes and all the fun. This year Spencer is knight, Jacob is a Ninja and Luke is a monkey.

Last night we went to the library, they hosted a Halloween magic show. It was pretty fun and everyone got to wear their costumes.

This morning was also a fun time for photos. I finally was able to take all three boys in together for a photo! I love seeing them all together. The photos turned out great!

So funny!

A friend of mine gave me this link. I laughed so hard! I think we have heard almost every comment made. . . .Ahh peolpe are so . . .  silly.

I love this smile!

We have snow, peolpe!

The last two days it has snowed. Spencer played at a neighbor's house this afternoon.

Look what they built!!! Halloween is still a week away. I am just glad I got my bulbs in last weekend.

Family Photos

My sister Janelle took some photos of our family today. I think she got some cute ones.

Grandma meets Luke

My mom spent a quick night with us on her way to Idaho. Even though we only had an evening to spend together, we had a great time. Here are some photos of Grandma Bassett and Luke.

New seating

Our living room is quite small. We have seating for 4, and frankly with our growing family it is hard to all be in that room, (add a couple of home teachers and it is down right crowded.) So, we got a new couch. We had a love-seat in there and now a small couch that seats 3.  Like I said, the room is small so finding the right furniture is a challenge. I wanted something modern but also comfortable.

I was looking for something with a little more quality construction, but couldn't find the style I wanted. I love the look of this piece and although it is not real leather, I like it.  So now we have a seating for 5! I can't wait until the home teachers come :)

Blessing Gown

When my nephew Dean was born 2 1/2 years ago, my sister Tiffany crocheted a blessing/christening gown with cotton thread from him. It blew me away. The work, the detail, the staggering amount of time! It took over 100 hours of work to complete it. It truly was a gift of love and time. This heirloom quality gown is just breathtaking. I might try to get some close ups so you can see the work.

Anyway, as a surprise, Tiffani started to make one for us last year (after we were matched with Caralee.) As it turned out, she did not finish it. Then she started working on it again when we were matched with Katie. Now that we have Luke and are home with him, she completed the labor of love. Isn't it just lovely.

I am deeply touched by such a loving and thoughtful gift.

Book List 2012-2013

Having three little ones is a little overwhelming. At times I must admit I have had some Will Ferrel -“Get off the shed!” moments. It’s not pretty, I’m just saying. I think it is a combination of being overly tired, not getting enough sleep and not feeling rested.

It is like taking a herd of cats to the store whenever we go shopping. I have decided that I cannot take all three to the store unless I need less then 10 items. It is just overwhelming and . . .  annoying.

I thank heaven for drive-thru pharmacies, banks and dry cleaners.

My favorite thing to say is “Why don’t you go outside and play.”

I change about a dozen diapers a day, today I had 3 poopy diapers before 11AM.

Sometimes I just need a break.

Enter, book club. . .

I love my book group so much. We have been doing it for about 4 years. I love the ladies and now, more then ever I just need an evening when I can chat and talk about things other then why you can’t have cookies for lunch. 

We usually have a nice mix of fiction, non-fiction and usually a classic or two. We select books in September and we have a great list!

Life is so good
by George Dawson

The Jaguar Prophecies
by Phyllis Gunderson

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy
by Annette Gordon-Reed

These Is My Words (Sarah Agnes Prine, #1)
by Nancy E. Turner

Carnival Girl: Searching for God in the Aftermath of War
by Sonja Herbert

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls

Ragtime
by E.L. Doctorow

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand

I just finish “Life is so good” (4/5 stars). I really enjoyed it. It has been a nice break from life on the boy farm and I can’t wait to talk about it next week. All the books look good and I can’t wait to see “Ragtime” in June.  I think that is my favorite book club tradition, we read one book a year and we also see the musical/play that it is based on. (We have seen, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Three Musketeers, A tale of two cities, The sound of Music and now Ragtime.)

I just love reading and I lost my Kindle in June (during the evacuation)  and have really missed it. Dave surprised me yesterday and ordered me a NEW one. It is the Paper White Kindle. I am so excited. He is so thoughtful. . . it is the perfect gift.  He surprised me with my first Kindle and I couldn't be happier that he surprised me again. I can't wait until it arrives!

Conference weekend

We’ve had a fun conference weekend. I took this opportunity to take some photos and had to share some.

You can see Jacob and Luke together, too cute!

Also Spencer built a fort and was very proud and asked me to take a photo. I think it looks pretty darn good, no blankets were injured in the making of this fort.

We all enjoyed watching conference and got some shots of Dave and boys watching together. They were mostly good, except when they were acting like 2 year olds and 5 year olds :)

Saturday night was topped off by our doughnut making extravaganza. Janelle and Tiff came and we made doughnuts while Dave and Chris went to the priesthood session. The doughnuts were pretty good. I will make them again for SURE. Some doughnuts were better looking then others, but I think I have learned some techniques so next time they will look better. The glaze was yummy and everyone enjoyed them.

Spencer took this photo. . .he has a pretty good eye.

Priesthood Doughnuts

 Every 6 month I made "Priesthood Scones" for general conference. I started doing this when Dave and I got married. It is great to send the men off the the Priesthood session of conference and have the women hang out and chat and make scone. Then when all the men come home, they tell us about the session and we all enjoy some scone.

Well, after 17 wonderful evening of scones and chatting. . . I am ready to shake things up a bit. . . OK, I know this is crazy talk. . . but how do you feel about priesthood doughnuts? Still fried bread with sweetness. . . but we swap out honey-butter for glaze.

I found this recipe in Pintrest and am excited to give it a try. So. . .Let's see how it all goes!

Priesthood Doughnuts

Doughnuts

2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105°-115°)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm WHOLE milk (scalded, then cooled)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour
canola oil

Directions:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2-quart bowl.
• Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour.
• Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
• Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Stir in remaining flour until smooth.
• Cover and let rise until double, 50-60 minutes.

(Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour.

• Gently roll dough 1/2-inch thick with floured rolling pin.
• Cut with floured doughnut cutter.
• Cover and let rise until double, 30-40 minutes.
• Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 325°.
• Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula.
• Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface. (use chop stick to help)
• Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side.
• Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain on cooling rack.

Creamy Glaze

1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1  teaspoon vanilla
4 -6 tablespoons whole milk

Creamy Glaze: Heat butter until melted.
Remove from heat.
Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze set on rack then when slightly cooled.

makes 24 doughnuts

Ideas:

Let the cut doughnuts rise in the refrigerator over night for a more tender texture
Glaze once, let them dry and glaze them again
Substitute 1 cup of the regular flour with 1 cup of cake flour for extra fluffiness

Autumn Moon Festival

It is that time of year, it is time for the Autumn Moon Festival! We celebrated last weekend on Friday. I had a wonderful, wonderful time. My sister and her husband came over and our good friends and neighbors the Barrons come over.

The food was yummy. Wendy brought Vietnamese spring rolls, Chris made pot stickers and of course we have the old standbys, Moon cakes and hot cider. I found a new hot cider recipe, I think I will use it again. I just loved it.

Hot cider:
1 cup tang
1 cup sugar
1 packet lemonade drink mix
1/2 tsp cinnoman
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Add one tablespoon to 8 oz. of hot apple juice.

I made the apple juice from frozen concentrate (2 cans), then dumped in about 1/2 the mixture for above and put it in a crock pot.

We got lanterns for Spencer and Jacob, they are plastic dragonflies with lights and their wings flap. They also played "It's a small world," (. . .and I am kind of sick of that song.) We got them at the local Asian market. The boys had a ball, they were running around and playing.

Then it was time for stories (my favorite part. . . ok Mooncakes are # 1 then stories are # 2.) We read Lin Yi's Lantern (a story about a Chinese boy and the mid autumn festival) and also a legend from Vietnam (How the monsoon rains came to be.)

Luke slept during most of the fun, but I think next year he will be running around like a maniac with this older brothers. (Today at the doctor's office he was 9 lbs. 15.5 oz.)

Here are some photos of the night.