Merry Christmas

Our visit with Santa Claus was pretty traumatic!

Harley got a smaller cast on, and is still running around everywhere. She actually has it off now, but she still walks kind of funny, we are hoping she'll get over it soon.

My Baby Sister turned 18!


She likes Betty Boop, so we got her a pretty sweet awesome bag. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be when I ordered it online, but luckily she still likes it!

Grandma and Grandpa are still spoiling Harley...

It's not even Christmas yet!

It's been a while, sorry. I had to catch everyone up on the rush of the month. We had to hit the stores by 6 on black Friday. Luckily I'm the one taking the picture, so you don't get to see me, but here's my crew. Morgan is keeping us in good spirits with her attire!

Harley's Newest Adventure

Harley had a little mishap with Grandpa on the slide last weekend. She has a small fracture on her tibia. Here she is sporting a stylish bright pink cast that goes all the way past her knee. The fracture is pretty low on her leg, but I think the doctor put it up so high to discourage her from walking on it. Unfortunately that hasn't stopped her. Hopefully it will still heal up nicely because she cruises around like a drunk pirate on a peg leg!

Happy Halloween

Our little witch!
Harley & Rylee at Grandma's house

That is the biggest smile we got all night!

Little China

I had to post this picture, it's super cute!

My mom got this little Chinese outfit for Harley a few months ago.

Carving Pumpkins

Harley was a little hesitant starting out, but with a little coaxing she went to town!
(I don't usually dress her this fashionable, but I didn't want to ruin a good outfit)

She enjoyed sticking her hand in the pumpkin and squishing the insides in her fingers,

she even had to try a little taste!

The Final Product!

Unfortunately the wind was blowing pretty good that night because our pumpkin fell off the porch and got smashed pretty good. It was either that or the pumpkin smasher who did the evil deed!

A Teacher's Proud Moment

Morgan played in her school talent show last night and won 3rd place! I didn't teach her lessons for very long, but I still like to take some credit for her awesomeness! I love you Morgan!

Last Camping Trip of the Season

We went to the dunes last weekend for our last trip before winter. We had a great time, I'm sad I didn't take more pictures. We actually had a crazy experience on our way there. We left Friday morning and were making pretty good time when we had to make a quick stop to change Harley's diaper. I was hoping she would sleep on the way there, but that wasn't happening. So we stopped to make her ride a little more comfortable. Shane got her out and changed her diaper. There wasn't a lot of room in the car, so he had her laying on the driver's seat. She was pretty squirmy since she'd been in the car seat for a while, so she wasn't really holding still. She finally got preoccupied with keys hanging from the ignition (I think you know where this is going). So the diaper was taken care of and I put Harley back into her carseat. Shane went to find a safe riding place for the diaper and when we went to open our doors to put ourselves in the car...LOCKED! Harley was locked in the car!

I was freaking out. Luckily the car was running and the AC was on, because it was pretty warm by this time. But still, we were in the middle of nowhere, our phones are locked in the car, and Harley is locked in. Despite my efforts to coax her into opening the door, we weren't getting anywhere. I finally got desperate and started waving my hands at the next car I saw driving by. It was a nice older couple from Kanosh. We asked if we could use their phone and we called 911 to see if we could get a highway patrol or someone to come help. No one was available. The couple offered to go into the closest town and try to find someone who could help. They left us their phone and headed off. Shane and I said a quick prayer. Then I started feeling a little better.

Meanwhile, Harley is completely content in the carseat smiling at us and pointing at us. That made things a little easier. Shane tried rigging up some sort of wire contraption to slide in the window, but nothing was working. The couple finally came back and said they found someone, HOORAY! They had stopped at a random store and explained the situation to the cashier. I don't believe in coincidences, only the hand of Providence. Her husband was a locksmith! The only one in town. She called him right up and he was just getting ready to head out for the day. He came right over and used his little tools and had the car unlocked in no time. He didn't even charge us either! I know someone is watching out for me and my family and I am so grateful that our prayers were answered by some wonderful strangers that day!

Murder Mystery Dinner Party!

We had a murder mystery dinner party a few weeks ago. I invited my whole family and gave them each a character they had to dress up as. We were all pirates. Harley had to go to bed, so she wasn't invited. Meet the crew:

Carry Oakey and Eave Hoe (that's Warren in the back, he's kindof creepy)

Sophie Silverbrass and Barnie Caul

Warren Peace and Yu Lie

Gayle Force and Sir Lancelot Britworth Jones

We are just getting started here, the game had three rounds, so we had three courses to our dinner. More information about the mystery unraveled in each round, and my mom ended up being the murderer in the end. It was so much fun!

Aerospace Museum

We went to the Aerospace Museum a few weeks ago. It was pretty interesting. The kids had more fun with the stroller and finding rocks and other treasures.

Here are the guys. I wanted my dad in the picture too, but he was too slow.

The girls.

You can see a little baby pooch!

Here is our little family next to the huge plane. Miriah thought if she crouched down really low, she wouldn't be in the picture.

The pilots of the family loved it!

Morning Routine

I try to brush Harley's teeth while I brush my own...

We just end up brushing each others!

Dune Trip

I tried to get Harley in the picture with her cousins, but she wouldn't stay in one place long enough for anything; too much exploring to do. The other kids had a lot of fun playing with the sand toys!

Here is our humble abode! It looks quite small next to all the nice toy haulers, but it works great for us!

Here is my sister and brother in law, they just found out they're having a baby GIRL! YEAH!

Harley LOVED playing in the sand!

"This Little Piggie"

One of our friends has a few pigs and they just had piglets last night, so Harley got to visit them this morning. She wasn't sure what to think at first, but she warmed up pretty fast.

My Beautiful Ballerina

I haven't decided what Harley is going to be for Halloween yet, but she's telling me that a ballerina is not it! lol

Harley's Shoe Fedish

Harley LOVES Shoes, give her a few pair and she's entertained for at least 5 minutes - and that's pretty Good!

New Recipes!

I'm always looking for zuccini recipes in the fall when I have a ton from my garden. This one is yummy, I just tried it tonight...

Calabacita Chicken Stew
I got this recipe from my Pillsbury Bake off cookbook, it makes a lot, so I downsized it a little...

Olive Oil
1 lb. Boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed, uncooked
1 medium zuccini
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can of corn (I prefer frozen, add as much as you want)
1 can diced tomatoes with green peppers and onion, undrained ( I just used 2 fresh tomatoes, diced and peeled, and a little bit of fresh green pepper, I added a little salsa for some juice too)
1 can chopped green chilies (I didn't use the whole can because I'm only making it for 2)
Garlic Powder
Ground Cumin
Salt & Pepper
Fresh cilantro

Cook chicken in olive oil until no longer pink. Add it to a pot with all the other ingredients except the cilantro. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered 15-20 min. or until zuccini is tender. Stir in the cilantro, cook 3 min. longer stirring occasionally.

Super EASY, I had all the ingredients, and super good!

This next one looks DELICIOUS in the picture in my cookbook, but I haven't tried it yet. Shane isn't really a dessert kind of guy, so I have to make it when I know other people will eat it. If anyone tries it, let me know how it is!

Cherry Cream Crunch

Base and Topping
1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash Salt
1/2 cup butter/margarine softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Filling
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
1 TBS grated lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice
Dash salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 can cherry or blueberry pie filling

Heat oven to 425 F. In a large bowl combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, dash salt, butter, and vanilla until crumbly. Stir in coconut, oats, and walnuts. Press 2 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 inch glass dish; reserve the rest of the mixture for topping. Bake 12 min. or until light golden brown. Meanwhile, in another bowl mix all the filling ingredients except the pie filling. Spread filling evenly over partially baked base. Carefully spoon pie filling evenly over the condensed milk mixture. Sprinke the rest of the crumb topping over top. Bake 15-18 min. longer or until the top is golden brown. Cool 30 min. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Some other fun family pictures

I love this picture of Harley, I just wish Emmit wasn't covering Moroni's face and Miriah didn't look drunk! lol