Stone Soup with Mya

My sweet niece invited me to her school to have 'stone soup' and watch a little program they had prepared. It was so fun to see her with her friends and to have that one-on-one time with her. The soup was quite delicious but portions were pretty skimpy. Everyone got one stone (meatball) so I cut ours up in tiny pieces so we could savor it!

We also had rolls, cider and pie for dessert...

They sang several songs that I hadn't heard before. Mya did such a good job and I'm so proud to be her Aunt!

Thanks for the fun day Mya Mia! I sure love you.

So You Think You Can Dance.. dance.. dance

Being huge fans of the show and all, Jaymie and I decided to purchase some mediocre tickets to SYTYCD. It was an AMAZING show! I got to see most of my favorite dances from the season. We laughed and cried and felt like we were 28 again!! The zoom on my camera is stuck, so I pretty much can only take pictures of things in a twenty ft. range. Like I said, mediocre tickets. So I apologize for the lack of dancers... Love you Jaymes: enjoy

Avocado What??

A couple years ago Jessica Seinfeld was on Oprah talking about her book "Deceptively Delicious." I hung on every word she said because I loved how she snuck in things like pureed cauliflower (one of my faves) to mac 'n cheese. This is literally how I've always cooked. When I'm making a meal, I open my fridge to see what veggies are hanging around, then toss them in! It almost always works as long as you don't go crazy. My absolute blue ribbon tried and tested winner in the cookbook (yeah, i bought it the next day) is AVOCADO pudding. Trust me on this!

Melt 1/8 c butter in a pan

Stir in 1 pureed (or just mooshed) avacado, 1/2 c powdered sugar

Add 1/4 c cocoa powder & 1/2 tsp vanilla

Cook 3-4 minutes over med-low to thicken

Put mix in food processor or blender

Gradually stir in 1/8 c cornstarch

Purchase of the Century

While garage sale-ing with my sister out in Surprise we came across THIS!

It makes my children SO happy and they play on it for hours! Their friends come over and are obsessed with it! I can even ride it :) You bet I do!

The best part is, it cost me a whopping $5. Chump change.

Disney trip!

We got a chance to take the kids to Disneyland for 3 days and it was Lucas' first time. He was so enamored with everything that he saw, especially the characters which he called gogs (dogs). We had an amazing time just being together!

Waiting for the big kids to get out of Indiana Jones. I love how his head is sandwiched between the two girls.

Watching the parade that first night


Mya, Jaycie and Jaxson riding the tram back to the hotel.


I always wonder who is under these costumes. Am I hugging a 16 year old girl or a 52 year old man?? You never can tell.

Ready for day 2!

My boys

Jaycie, Stitch, Me and Lucas

???

I LOVE the old fashion ice cream parlors there and it was SO hot that we just had to get something to cool off. Lucas got his own cone with a scoop of strawberry :)

Lucas had as much fun watching the ducks as he did on any ride. I guess vacations are more for the parents...

Heffalumps and Woozles..

While Elliot and J went on rides me and Lucas hung out at the splash pad by Bug's Life. Watching him was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me! He got soaked to the bone and had the best time. He would make a friend then follow them around and laugh hysterically. When we were finished I had to strip him of everything (socks and shoes included) to squeeze all of the water out. It was so hot that he dried in no time.

Homeward bound

October Happenings

Prescott

Matching outfits and matching hair for Sydni and Jaycie

Whitney ande Lucas

Snuggles with Uncle Kyle

Just bein' silly

Ditch Day

I was craving some good ole quality time with my kids (mostly J since she's away from me during the day) so I woke her up and said "No school! We're going to the zoo!" I packed some lunches and we headed out. They both had an awesome time seeing all of the animals and I loved up on them and soaked it all in.

The petting zoo cracked me up! A deer would not, I mean ever, let go of Jaycie's dress. By the time we got out of there, it was drenched in deer spit. She wasn't a fan at all, but didn't want to lose her cool. Lucas tried to ride anything that wasn't too much taller than him. He had no fear!

Watching the penguins get fed

The log ride is pretty new to the zoo and we only had enough cash for one of us to go (plus Lucas wasn't tall enough). Jaycie contemplated going for hours, then finally took the plunge and loved it!

Lunch break

Anniversary Dinner

For our 9th anniversary, which fell on a weekday (and followed a super busy weekend), we decided to take the kids with us on a special date. We went to The Melting Pot and oh my was it delicious.

{ These were waiting for me on the table when we got there }

High School Reunion

Yes ten years have come and gone! Our reunion was last month and it was a blast. It was very well planned out and family friendly! Saturday afternoon was a picnic (that I helped put together) at Cactus Park (my hood). We had lots of great treats, a big slide for the kids, face painting, balloon animals and fun games to keep the kids happy. It was a bit of a busy weekend for us to say the least, but I had a great time seeing old friends and meeting their little ones!

Amber, Annette, Summer and Me. This was us looking "fierce." Not sure I know that face..

Parker, Me and Lucas on the slide. It was such a hit!

Lindsay, Alecia and Me at Macayo's that night.

Garett, Summer, Me and David. We were all supposed to go to Sadie Hawkins one year, but I got grounded (I was kind of a bad kid). We always had the best time together and were quite the foursome!

Pumpkin Carving with Cresaps'

A pumpkin for each of us! It took a while :)

Halloween

My beautiful Indian princess

My little scallywag pirate! I didn't plan the whole pirates and Indians thing, it just happened.

Mermaid Shayne loving on Lucas ♥

running to the next stop

He was so funny to watch! He never accepted candy that was handed to him. He would side swipe their hand and just grab whatever he wanted from their bowl. Nobody minded because he's just so dang cute!

Costume #2 - Tom Cruise from Risky Business. We got sick of his pirate costume (he'd already worn it twice) so we put on his boxer briefs, a church shirt and some white socks for his next reveal.

Costume #2 for Jaycie - ballerina

The cute "Ghosts in the Graveyard" cake that my Mom made