Building a snow cave!

Weston and Tharren

Peeky

These boys play this everytime Weston is in his highchair. It is so cute to watch and they can get laughing so hard!

Thanksgiving in Colorado

We had such a great time in Colorado for Thanksgiving! We played hard ate lots and had a blast with Nana, Papa, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. We couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving! We miss you all already
!

Rides on Papas tractor lawnmower!

I thought this was too funny!

For most of the time we were in Colordao it was beautiful and 60 degrees, then we woke up to 6 inches of snow the day after Thanksgiving!

These four boys are too cute together. They are all within 1 year of each other and have the best time, most of the time! We sure do love cousins!

Papa Duffy has a tractor! A tractor lawnmower that is! Wyatt was in seventh heaven and cried everytime some one else took a turn!

Here is what Papa did for half the afternoon! Thanks Papa for the fun rides!

Weston has learned to do this and can even pull himself up to standing! Check out his fat rolls on his ankles!

I set up an ETSY store! I decided to put some of my favorite past times to good use. I love to make jewelry so I set up an online store. Check it out when you get a chance! Here is the link.

Check out the cheeks on this boy!

This was on Halloween. Tharren had to work so me and the boys went to some friends house and had a blast. Wyatt went trick-or-treating with a bunch of kids and was so excited everytime someone gave him a candy. He would run all the way back to me yelling "I got chocolate!" He was the first to quit and then sat in my friend Abby's stroller while we walked with everyone else.

I love this picture of Weston. Everytime I go get him from his nap this is how he greets me, he is so happy! He has 4 teeth now, the second top one just broke through! No more gummy smiles.

Wyatt the seafarer!
We went to Port Huron today and got to tour a gun ship. Wyatt thought it was pretty cool but was sad that we didn't get to go for a ride.
Just across the river is Canada, that was pretty cool!

Wyatt also loved the big wheel and turned it from side to side.

He also got to sit in the Capitain's chair.

Cold Weather + Warm Food = Happy Family

The weather here is definitely getting colder, we woke up a couple of mornings to frost on everything. So it was time to try some new recipes, or at least bring back some golden oldies! The first was Spaghetti Pie from my childhood:

Spaghetti Pie

6 oz spaghetti cooked
2 T butter
2 beaten eggs
1/3 c Parmesan cheese
*mix all this together and form into a crust in a pie pan

1 c cottage cheese
*spread over bottom of the crust

Sauce:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion
1/4 c chopped green pepper
8 oz can stewed tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
1 t oregano
1 t garlic powder
1 t sugar
salt and pepper to taste

pour sauce over cottage cheese
bake uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes, sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese and cook 5 more minutes.

The second dinner is a wonderful Chicken Pot Pie that my friend Abby made for us a couple of weeks ago and I just had to have it again, it is the BEST!

The recipe tells you to cook your own chicken and use the broth (recipe below) But I had left over turkey that I used and canned chicken broth, it turned out great! It seems like a lot of work but it is OH SO WORTH IT! So don't be shy, this is not a hard recipe to follow or make!

Chicken Pot Pie

STEP 1: Cook Chicken:

3-4 lbs. Chicken
4 c. Chicken Stock (or 4 c. water + 4 bullion cubes)
1 Yellow onion, split in half
2 dry bay leaves
1/2 t. whole black peppercorns (or ground pepper, whatever)
1 small bunch fresh thyme
1 rib celery, cut in 3 pieces

Combine all ingredients above in a large stockpot, add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered 1 hour. When chicken is cooked, remove the chicken and reserve the stock. Remove the skin & bones, shred into bite-size strips, set aside. Strain stock and save for later.

STEP 2: Crust:

1 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 T. fresh thyme leaves
10 T. chilled butter, cut into small pieces (1 cube + 2 T. of another cube – save the other 5 T.)
3 T. ice water
1 egg yolk

Pick enough thyme leaves to make 3 Tablespoons. Set 2 Tablespoons aside. Combine flour, salt, thyme either in a food processor or in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water and egg yolk, mix until dough holds together. Try not to over mix. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, flatten into a circle, wrap well, refrigerate at least 1 hour.

STEP 3: Filling:

Remaining 5 T. Butter
9 oz. red potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1/2” pieces
1 large onion, diced (or 12 pearl onions, peeled & cut in half)
1 medium leek, white and light-green parts only, sliced into 1/4” thick rounds
2 carrots, peeled & cut into rounds
6 oz. mushrooms, sliced or cut into chunks

THEN LATER:

5 T. flour
2 c. reserved chicken stock (save the rest for another use.)
1 c. milk
2 T. fresh thyme
2 T. chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
2 t. salt
Zest of 1 lemon (optional)

Heat oven to 375º. Melt 5 T. butter in large sauté pan or stockpot over medium heat. Add potatoes and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes, until potatoes begin to turn golden. Add leeks, carrots, and mushrooms, cooking 4-5 minutes more. Add 5 T. flour, and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in reserved chicken stock and milk, bring to a simmer. Cook until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes. Add reserved chicken pieces, chopped parsley, and remaining thyme, lemon zest, 2 t. salt, and ground pepper. Transfer to a large casserole dish. Set aside.

Working quickly so you keep the dough cold, roll out the dough until it is 1/4” thick, transfer to a baking sheet and chill if necessary. Otherwise, place dough over the top of the chicken mixture, tuck extra dough around the edges. Cut slits on top to allow steam to escape.

Optional: Brush top of dough with egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 1 T. heavy cream. Bake 35-40 minutes, until crust is golden. Serve hot.

Chili-Cook-Off and Trunk-or-Treat

This was at our ward activity this weekend.

Wyatt and two of his buddies, Reed and Elise

Our little monkey!

Me and my dear friend Abby!

Frankenmuth

We went back to frankenmuth to ride the river boat that was closed last time we went. We sure missed you Grammie and Papa!

Weston had rice cereal for the first time and loved it! OK so maybe he just like playing in it!

Fall here has been so colorful! We sure are loving this time of year.

We took a fun little day trip to Ann Arbor and walked along this beautiful trail
by a river that had a bunch of bridges and beautiful fall colors!

What a weekend

With Tharren being ever so busy these days I am always on the hunt for some fun and entertaining things to do, so when my great friend Abby called me and said she was asked on Thursday to put on a wedding on Saturday, I of course joined right in. Anyway, the whole story and pictures are on her fun blog that I am linking here Take a look, it was so fun and we laughed through the whole thing. I really think it turned out well and the couple was so grateful. It was crazy at times especially since I had Wyatt and Weston with me the whole time. Thank goodness for Moby wraps. So thanks Abby for the fun as always! And as soon as the wedding was over and cleaned up, I raced home to do flyers and sign-ups for our up coming chili-cook-off and trunk-or-treat, needless to say My kids and I took a long sunday nap! Hooray for fun, event filled weekends.

Weston looks like he is giving Wyatt a little advice.

These adorable hats were made by my amazing sister-in-law Teresa for our two little pumpkins, they are too cute!

I don't know if you can see them but Weston has two teeth! I can't believe that he is at that stage already!