Food Network 101- Starring Baker Boy...

Blake came home from school today and decided he wanted to play "cooking show." He pretended just as on Food Network how to make and prepare his own version of chocolate chip cookies (or as stated in his recipe, gourmet chocolate chip cookies) He had ALL the ingredients scattered about the counter as he talked and walked us through the process of his famous cookie recipe.

This is a copy of his recipe. He actually wrote the recipe just before the "show" started. He told me it was my souvenir for attending. ( and helping) He wanted me to file this "one and only" gourmet recipe in case I wanted to make these cookies again someday. My favorite part is when he mentions using a "twitch" of vanilla. That vocabulary is so Blake!

He proceeded to tell just how to put the cookies on the cookie sheet and in what order so that they wouldn't melt into one another. It was a hoot!

This I must say, was the BEST part! I explained to Blake, I'd never seen anyone on Food Network describe how to lick the beater when finished sharing a recipe. His reply; " really? that's the best part." "And it tastes sooooooo yummy."

Thank you to Blake, for inspiring me to use a recipe more often, and most of all, giving permission to "lick the beater" when following his recipe. :)

High School Musical 3!

I Love Musicals! I think I'm as bad as the kids if not worse. We've been anxiously awaiting the release of HSM3 as the movies and the music have become a big hit in our house.

With the movie having been in the theaters a few weeks now, McKenna has been anxiously waiting to go. We would have gone the first week it opened, however she wasn't going to go without her cousin Cheyanne. Knowing her cousin was going to be moving to the area within a few weeks she decided it would be worth it to wait. We FINALLY went last weekend and everyone had a great time. My sister-in-law and I were as much into the movie, dancing and singing to the music as much as the girls were. (of course they claimed we were embarrassing them) Nonetheless it was fun and we ended the evening with a stop at mall singing and dancing as we shopped. :) ( The video of McKenna anf Troy dancing below is so funny)

So Funny......

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Looking Back At HALLOWEEN

Seems like the month of October has come and gone so quickly. The week of Halloween especially seemed busy with party's, pumpkin carving, school events, cookie decorating, and even a Halloween piano recital.

Blake's Mr. Pumpkin was FULL of seeds this year. ( or as he would say it, "full of guts") It took him a good HOUR to scrape this one clean.

Leave it to Steve to master his pumpkin carving skills by using a chain saw or something of sorts to help the kids carve their pumpkin's.

McKenna and her "BOO" pumpkin.

Blake's creative masterpiece.

I LOVE baked pumpkin seeds. After we saw how many seeds we had to work with, I got the butter & garlic ready with a sprinkle of Johny's seasoning and baked em. Yum! They were tasty.

One of the the other things we did the week of Halloween is have our friends the Jorgensen's over for our annual "GHOOOOOLISH GOURMET." We have done this with them the past few years and it has turned into a family favorite. Each year we pick a new featured menu item and enjoy an evening together. The kids absolutely LOVE it! They're always a bit leery of what will be served as they read the menu and try to figure out what each item will be because.........YOU GET WHAT YOU ORDER.


Travis, McKenna, Blake & Wes

Gearing up for a bit of "witches brew."

Blake and Wes finished off the evening by enjoying their "dirt n worms."

The kids were off from school on Friday, but had their Halloween piano recital. It was fun to see all the students in their Halloween costumes and not to mention playing all Halloween music. When our piano teacher moved a while back, we were in search for a new one and really hit the jackpot. We LOVE her! ( even if we do have to drive almost into Meridian, it's worth it)
She even dressed up for the occasion herself. Gotta love it.

Happy Halloween 2008!

Pumpkins & Adventures In The Corn Maze

We LOVE this time of year when fall comes and we start to get in the spirit of the various Holidays that come between now and the 1st of the year.

One of our favorite Fall activities is to go pumpkin hunting at a GREAT pumpkin farm we came across last year in Star. They have the BEST pumpkins we've ever seen! They come in so many colors, sizes, shapes, etc. It's great. We usually get several and decorate both inside and out. Not to mention it usually takes the kids quite some time to pick out the PERFECT pumpkin.

We had to have a silly picture :)

We also hit the corn Maze last week as it has become a family tradition. We thought as the kids were getting a little older it would be fun to take them when it started to get a little dark out. We would then proceed through the maze with our flashlights. Big Mistake! Our evening of what we thought was going to be fun, turned out disastrous. Not even 5 minutes into the corn maze, both kids were complaining of being scared ( mostly because of the added spooky sounds teenagers were making as they made there way through the maze) Nonetheless, we only lasted about 15 minutes before turning around and heading back out. Luckily, we were able to get our tickets back and we went back the next day in the daylight and spent a couple hours having a great time.

Blake wanted to use the camera to take a picture of Steve & I. Of course Steve is NEVER serious when the kids try to get a picture of him. It's actually pretty funny. He loves to give them a hard time.

Blakey & Mom ( he tells me he's to old to be called Blakey, but he's so darn cute, I just can't resist!)

When everyone decided we weren't having any fun, we at least need to get the scared face, as well as the silly face pictures before we could call it a night. When all was said and done, we ended up renting a fun Halloween movie along with popcorn and treats. :)