Halloween Fun!

What a fun day! Dad and Mom came over to visit and have coffee while we were carving pumpkins! 

This evening we joined a bunch of friends for appetizers, chili, and cornbread, and then Trick-or-Treated in their neighborhood. Greg and I dug out our cow costumes from many Halloweens past; Joshua was Harry Potter (glowing magic wand and all); and Hannah was Cleopatra!  Also in attendance ~ a hunter, a cowboy, a bumblebee and a flower, and a pirate! oh yeah, and the kids were dressed as a washing machine, a mad scientist, a football player, Little Miss Smartie Pants, the girlfriend of Joe Jonas, and a black-eyed butterfly (or something like that!). 

...and then it was back home to hit our own neighborhood for a while! 

It was a GREAT day! Now we're back home and ready to eat candy and watch movies!!!

Destination Book Fair ~ Read Around The World!

We're in the midst of hosting a Scholastic Book Fair at school ~ it's been a great week!  The students had the opportunity to "break dress code" for a $buck$ a day (wear flip flips, chew gum, or wear hats) - the money went toward purchasing new books for the children at Mean Street Ministry.  Joshua and Hannah shopped for all sorts of great books - some of their choices?  39 Clues, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Dragon Princess, Magic Tree House, Phineas and Ferb, Look at Lucy, Star Wars, and much more!!!  

...it started innocently enough...

Last fall, this fine little fellow was waiting for us on the porch with a giant chocolate chip cookie from Mike and Gail.  After Halloween was over, Greg wanted to give him back (after all, it's one more thing to store somewhere!).  The kids and I won, and he's been holed up in the storage room until now...  In the past two weeks he's shown up on the toilet, in the closet, laying in bed, on the porch, in a pile of stuffed animals, in the shower - pretty much anywhere unexpected!  Believe me, if you're not expecting anyone to be standing in the bathroom, he's a little freaky in the middle of the night!  It's become quite the adventure trying to scare each other in new and unique ways!!! 

Snow! Snow! and More Snow!

awww - I'm loving the snow! 

Too bad I didn't bring my camera to work - the snow has drifted up outside my window at work and it looks so totally cool!  The kids are off another day with Greg - I'm sure snowmen and a snowball fight are in the works!!!  We're still under a Winter Storm Warning until 6 p.m. - current temperature is 24-degrees...  Last night we had elk stew and hot chocolate (lots!) with marshmallows, relaxed in front of the fireplace, built forts all over the living room, and watched movies - a great way to spend a snowy evening inside!!!

...here's our backyard...  18" and it's still coming...

Snow Day!

YIPPEE! Our first Snow Day of the 2009-2010 school year!!! We have a foot on the ground and it's still coming down - whee!!!  ...elk stew in the crock pot and fresh-baked chocolate chip and M&M cookies ready to eat! 

Hannah's Birthday Celebrations Continue...

Hannah had her buddy party today - a week delayed but tons of fun! We had pizza, chips and salsa, and cake - and did some bowling - woohoo!

A great group of kiddos!

Check out the amazing cake that Jack at Masterpiece Cakeshop made for her - the dragons are 3D and fully edible! He has unbelievable talent and the cakes are always delicious!!!

Celebrations! Celebrations! Celebrations!

Yippee!  Greg is starting work on Monday as a Management Development Trainer for ProBuild!  Needless to say, we headed to Red Robin last night to celebrate :-)  The kids both had giant vanilla shakes, Greg had a New Belgium Fat Tire, and I had a Tropical Mai Tai - yummy!  It's been a long time since we splurged like that!!!  Hannah's postponed birthday party is tomorrow so she is psyched to be having her buds together for a little bowling, pizza, and cake!  Tomorrow night we're hoping for a celebratory meal with some great friends.  It's going to be a great weekend!

Up To Our "Ears" In Corn

...POPCORN, THAT IS!
The Scouts are finishing up their last week of Door-To-Door Popcorn Sales. I was fortunate enough to have another mom take over the duties this year, only to have her undergo emergency gall bladder surgery this week! Back to the computer I go for online ordering...

I'm proud to say our boys have sold over $4200 worth of popcorn products with 31% coming back to their own Pack! Way to go, boys!!!

ps - anyone need a Cheese Lover's Tin?!?! :-) hehe

Get well soon, Veronica!!!

Happy 8th Birthday, Hannah Meta!

Just think - 8 years ago we were on our way to the hospital anticipating our little girl's arrival ~ what a day it was and what a wonderful adventure it continues to be! God has truly blessed us!!!

Happy Birthday, Angel Baby!

Birthday Update ~

We spent the day relaxing in our jammies and watching movies. Aunt Gailie stopped by with goodies, as did Boppa Tom and Grammy Darls - and Hannah got lots of birthday phone calls! While we were eating cake Hannah said it was her best birthday ever - what a girl!

Ever had a day like this???

I just love this - too funny!

ENJOY!

H1N1 has come to Vassar Way

Yep - it's true - Joshua and Hannah are both down for the count. Hannah was confirmed yesterday after only having a low-grade fever and a cough and congestion - Joshua woke up today with a 100.7 fever and a cough! Needless to say they're staying in through the weekend. Poor Hannah - she should have been born in another month! October has been tough for us - last year we were quarantined due to whooping cough. Birthday celebrations on hold again!

I believe we're all going to come into contact with H1N1 at some point so start washing those hands twice as often, drink lots of fluids, pump up the healthy foods and vitamins, and get some exercise!!! (OK, so the "get some exercise" is just a reminder that we should all be doing that anyway!)

Chicken Tamale Casserole

...but much simpler than rolling individual tamales...

I made these last night for dinner and they were so yummy! We left off the sour cream and doused them with chopped lettuce and tomato instead! YUM!

1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White)
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
Cooking spray
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Cooking Light, November 2008

Fall Concert

Last night was Bethlehem's Fall Concert. The beginning and concert bands performed, as well as Celebration Singers (5th/6th grade), CrossFire (7th/8th grade), and Jubilation Ringers. We were very impressed with the performances. Joshua started to "self-teach" himself the clarinet over the summer and is doing well in beginning band! His choir performed three really fun numbers, too!

Rockies Playoff Game 3

The Rockies-Phillies Game 3 was actually postponed due to freezing temps and snow on Saturday - instead they played at 8:00 pm Sunday night! Hello - that's bedtime for more than a few of us around here :-) The boys bundled up, packed the hot chocolate, and hit the road after dark! Unfortunately it wasn't a whole lot warmer - 32-degrees at first pitch - but Greg and Joshua had a GREAT time even though the Rockies lost... We're hoping for a win tonight in Game 4 - we're NOT ready for baseball season to be over!