Myles turned 2 yesterday - what a fast two years it has been. He is such a joy to our family and certainly the life of the party!

We love you Myles. Happy Birthday.

Peanut Butter Fudge

So, I tried this recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge, and it was delicious! It's from Today's Creative Blog - I have tried a few of her recipes and all of them have been great! (http://todayscreativeblog.net/).

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

3 C. Sugar

3/4 C. Butter

3/4 C. evaporated Milk

4 HEAPING tablespoons Peanut Butter

7 oz jar of marshmallow cream

1 C. Nuts (chopped) I don’t always use nuts.

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Combine sugar, butter and milk in med sauce pan

2. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.

3. Continue to boil, stirring for 5 min over med heat. (I usually stir until about 234-238 degree’s)

4. Remove from heat

5. Add Peanut butter, stir til melted

6. Add marshmallow cream, nuts and vanilla

7. Pour into buttered 9×9 in pan. ( I use a larger one since I like my fudge thinner.)

Cinnamon Honey Butter

So, this year I made some Cinnamon Honey Butter for some friends and neighbors - and I thought I'd share the recipe. It's pretty much delicious, and REALLY simple!

CINNAMON HONEY BUTTER

1 cup honey

1 cup butter, softened (don't melt)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in your kitchenaide (I actually used about 2 tbsp more of butter so it wasn't so honey tasting). Mix using the whisk attachment until smooth and creamy, scraping down sided of bowl often.

I used a spatula to pour the mixture into a big ziploc bag, cut a whole in the bottom corner, and squeezed into jar.

Enjoy,

Thanksgiving and Such

Well, we had a very wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We spent Thanksgiving day with my mom and sister and her family. Jack was supposed to go with Steve, but he let us keep him for the dinner which I was so thankful for! We had a great time - but, certainly missed Dad! Everyone says that the first year is the hardest, but I think it will be hard no matter how many years it has been!

My sisters kids stayed with my mom from Thursday to Saturday. The slept at our house on Thursday night because my mom had to work on Friday. We took the kids to McDonald's for lunch and then Dusty and I took the older kids to Harry Potter 7 that night. My mom also took all the kids to Megamind earlier in the day - so, Duncen and Myken were movied-out by the end of the night!

Saturday we took the kids to Pirate Island - we missed Jack though! Then my mom took them home. I think they were pretty spoiled while they were with her, but that's what Grandma's do I guess. We also got a new car that night - it's really for Dusty but I really like it too.

Sunday we got Jack back and had fun making homemade donuts (thanks to my friend Jean-Marie). They were FANTASTIC. We actually dipped them in cinnamon-sugar. Yummy!

So, we had a great holiday. I'm just sad it's over! This weekend Dusty and I will be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary in Park City - Christmas shopping, here we come!

Happy Birthday Bree!

Happy Birthday to by little girl - she's not my baby anymore. Bree turns 6 today. We love you Bree!!

Myles

I thought I'd journal some of the words Myles is saying now. He sure loves to babble - and he'll only talk on his own time, so no forcing him to do anything he doesn't want to do!! lol
Mom - he says this all the time. He walks around the house calling for me. Especially when I'm not home.
Dad
Hi
Bye
Choo-Choo
Sun
Shoes
Grandma (only once)
Jordyn (only once)
Mouse (for Mickey Mouse)

He says a lot more, just nothing you can understand. I sure love My Guy!

Cooking and Such...

So, if you know me very well you know I do not cook very often! I'm just so busy! What a great excuse, huh... Well, about 2 weeks ago I started a new diet, and it has really helped me cook every night for my family. I have tried several new recipes that the family has really liked. And, it's been great sitting at the table eating as a family. And, I have lost 17 pounds which is good too...
I am certainly enjoying cooking - which is a first! Go Me!!

Family Update

So, we have had a pretty busy October! I'm very glad it's over. Here is a few of the things we've been up to - it's a pretty long post:

Myles is sure growing! He will be two in December - I can't believe it. He is still the comedian in our family and sometimes we just sit and watch him do his thing. He is also a little mischievous and likes to get into trouble! The first thing he does in the morning is grab my phone off my night stand, crawl under my bed and hide! He loves to play games on my phone, but I don't always let him. So he thinks he's being clever by hiding - which works most of the time. Now we know when we can't find him, look under the bed!

He also has a hard time eating - he likes to play with his food. I left the kitchen for 1 minute and this is what I found when I came back. He had dumped his cereal on his head - milk and all! This morning, he had a plate of eggs, a granola bar, and some milk. Dusty kept moving his granola bar and milk and he would get mad. He would quickly place them back to where they were supposed to be. Hmmm.... Looks like he has some of his mothers OCD tendencies!

Myles was a monkey for Halloween - which if you've read my post a few down, you'd understand why :). He sure looked adorable in his costume.

Bree lost her first tooth the other day. The only problem, we couldn't find it. She lost it while I was at work and our babysitter Jordyn noticed her tooth was gone - meaning, Bree didn't realize when it fell out. So, we left the tooth fairy a very nice note explaining what happened, and she left Bree $1. Thank Goodness!!

She is loving school so much which I am very thankful for! I also love spending time with her and Myles while Jack's at school. A few weeks ago, the three of us went to lunch at Zupas - and they did great. They love that place - and so do I!!

Bree was a fairy witch for Halloween - not sure what that is, but we found the costume at Old Navy and she loved it. She took every opportunity possible to wear it...

Jack had his last flag football game on the 21st of October - and I think he really enjoyed it. He is still struggling at school, but I keep hoping things will get better for him. He is really a great boy and I just love him! He has been home from school the past two days sick - poor guy. He is also really good with Myles. I am always finding Myles laying on Jack or sitting next to him - I just love it!

Jack was a storm trooper for Halloween - I believe that's from Star Wars the Clone Wars. He's a little obsessed with Star Wars. But, he looked awesome non the less!

I've been keeping busy with marching band. September & October are really my busy months, and this year is no exception. We have one week left, and we have won all the competitions so far. My guard has also taking the best guard trophy at all the shows. I am so proud of all their accomplishments!

Dusty is still loving work and I am grateful everyday that he has a great job that he loves. He has also been a very patient husband through these past two months. He keeps busy taking care of our yard - Saturday he and Jack picked the apples from our tree. We only got 3 box fulls this year (last year we had more like 7), but that's ok because it will be easier to make applesauce with and not be so overwhelming!! We carved pumpkins the other night, and that's really Dusty's thing. He is great helping the kids while I sat and watched.

This month we celebrated my mom's birthday, as well as my dad's. We went to lunch for my mom's birthday and then had her over that night. We watched Beauty and the Beast and had a pumpkin cake roll after.

For my dad's birthday, we met at the cemetery with balloons that had messages on them. We all wrote a little message for dad/grandpa and set them off. It was a fun thing to do - something we'll do every year on his birthday. It was pretty emotional for my mom and I, but I'm so glad we did it. I miss him every day and still can't believe he's gone.

That about wraps up our last few weeks in October! Pretty crazy. Hope you all are doing well.

Flag Football

Jack started playing flag football last month - and he loves it, which surprised us a little. He's never shown any interest in football until now! But he is doing a great job and learning a lot. He even scored a touchdown at his last game. Way to go Jack!!

My Little Monkey!

Myles is a little mischievous! He loves to climb onto EVERYTHING! Below are just a few of his climbing adventures - the sink is my favorite. Last week, he had climbed onto the island and was drinking my diet coke. Well, when I saw the monkey costume at Old Navy I couldn't refuse - he will be my little monkey for Halloween!!

One Year Ago

It's been one year (yesterday) from the bus crash that took the life of my friend Heather. It was a pretty emotional day for me - which I'm surprised about. Dusty took me and the kids to Delta to see Heather's grave. I'm so glad we went. We took flowers and were able to spend some time there. I still miss her everyday but I am so thankful for the chance I had to know her and have her as a friend.

I also had a show Saturday night with my guard. They did great and took 1st place. The below picture is my staff and I - we are pretty stylin' I'd say...

I Hate October

So, I really do love fall - but that's about the only thing I like about October. Over the past few years, it has turned into a month of sad memories for me. As my dad's birthday is approaching, things just get stirred up and I just feel, well sad!
Last year on the 10th was the bus accident - I'm sure that will be a day I will never forget. And, on the 22nd, my dad would have turned 69. Each day that passes, I wish I could have him back to talk to him and ask his advice. I just miss him so much.

On the other hand, I have a lot of things to be thankful for in the month of October. My brother-in-law and nephew both have a birthday in October, my mother-in-laws birthday is on the 9th, my grandpa's is on the 6th (my dad's dad) - and I'm very thankful that he is still here with us. And, my mom's birthday is excatly one week before Dad's. So hopefully all the celebrations can help with the saddness...

Here are three of my favorite pictures of my dad - I just love the one of him when he was little.

Jack

Yesterday was a good day for Jack. He came home from school and only missed one on his math test! He also sat down and did his homework without complaining, read out loud to me, and scored a touchdown at his flag football game!

Way to go Jack. I am a very proud mother!!

Fun Pictures

I found these pictures on my dad's camera. Some were taken a while ago - in fact, the picture of my mom with her siblings, 2 have passed away. Also, the one with my Aunt Ann - both my dad and Uncle Jac have passed away - all within 2 years.
I just love the pictures of my dad with the kids - he was such a great grandfather. I miss him so much!! I really miss the calming influence he was to all of us - I wish we could feel that right now :). But, I know he is always with us.

I'm a Failure!

Here are the reasons I am feeling like a failure of a mother...
Here we are in the 3rd week of school and Jack already hates it. For some reason, he has it in his mind that he can't do the work so he won't. He is behind in his reading, and he hates to do it. He hates homework, and most of the time he hates me! I'm not sure what happened but Jack is miserable right now! And, I am completely at a loss as to what to do!!
I have met with his teacher, tried getting him to read with someone, and other things that are not helping. Sometimes I feel I am not cut out for this mother thing.
But, the truth is I love him so much and I am heart broken that he is struggling so much right now. I have tried everything I know to do, and nothing is working. I'm just trying to figure out where I went wrong so I can fix it and get my little guy happy again! Any suggestions are welcome...

Kindergarten

Bree started Kindergarten today - what?? I can't believe she is old enough!! She was so excited - she couldn't sleep very well last night. She is SO different from Jack - he doesn't like school.

Here are a few picks of my baby girl. Good luck today Bree!!