A Playdate

Sara had a little friend over for a playdate

and they played so well together.

Don't these two little gals look just so cute?

They had a lot of fun checking out our neighbor's navitity.

A Pumpkin Pick Me Up

I received such a pleasant surprise this morning!!

My doorbell rang and I was greeted by a sweet gal with a delicious plateful of pumpkin bars. Yum!

Thanks Laura!! You totally made my day!!


For the recipe check out Laura's blog.

Autumn Kids Fun Run

The boys participated in their first kids fun run. We certainly hope this starts a love of life long health and fitness.

Way to go boys!! We're so proud of you!!

Daniel & Jared ready and eager for their race.

Our little fitness gurus in the making!

Jared at the finish line

One of the parents labeled Jared as the kid to beat in the next race!

Daniel just after crossing the finish line

Can you tell he loves it when Mom takes pictures? NOT!

I thought the little guy on the ground was hilarious, very dramatic!

Jared & Daniel after the race enjoying their ribbons.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

We enjoyed another very yummy dinner in a pumpkin!!

Thanks for sharing your recipe Eva!

Pumpkin Stew

A Taste of Home, Dec 2005

2 lbs beef stew meat, cubed

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 c. water

3 large potatoes, cubed

4 med. carrots, sliced

1 large green pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 med. onion, chopped

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp beef bouillon

1 can diced tomatoes

1 pumpkin (10-12 lbs.)

In dutch oven, brown meat in 2 Tbsp of oil. Add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Stir in bouillon and tomatoes. Wash pumpkin; cut a 6 to 8 inch circle around top stem. Remove top and set aside; discard seeds and loose fibers from inside. Place pumpkin in a shallow sturdy baking pan. Spoon stew into pumpkin and replace the top. Brush outside of pumpkin with remaining oil. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not over bake). Serve stew from pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin iwth eash serving.

Just Because...

On Saturday night, Bryan surprised me with these.

Why?

Just because...

I don't know how I got so lucky!

Pumpkin

I absolutely LOVE pumpkin!!

Pumpkin scented candles, pumpkin scented soap, pumpkin soup, pumpkin as a veggie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies...Yummy, yum, yum!!




So when a dear friend learned of our love for all things pumpkin, they shared their family recipe for a dinner in a pumpkin. My oh my, was it tasty indeed!!!

Halloween

We spent a fun day as a family. In the afternoon, we enjoyed attending Daniel's class fall festival. After school we carved our pumpkins and chowed some pizza before heading out for some trick or treating fun. We ended our evening by watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Scary!

Daniel & Jared are modeling their jack-o-lantern faces

A vampire, a princess, and a pirate ready to trick or treat!

Jared decided he didn't care for the pirate costume we purchased so he went digging in the dress up box and put together a pirate outfit that he liked better!

The minute Sara walked in the door, she kicked off her princess shoes and dug into her candy, wrapper and all!

Where has the time gone?

I'm not sure when it happened but our little Daniel is looking a little more grown up. He looks so smart with his glasses.


Daniel,
You will always be mommy's angel baby!
I love you!!

Another one lost

Jared came home from school today with a little itty-bitty treasure chest. Inside the treasure chest was another lost tooth.

Whoa! My baby is losing his teeth!

Cub Scout Space Derby

Daniel participated in his very first Cub Scout Space Derby.

He did a great job of sanding, shaping, gluing, and painting his rocket.
And it was a real learning experience for mom, too!

Daniel with his "golden bullet"

Getting ready to race....

Daniel's golden bullet earned BEST in the category of:

Worth Its Weight In Gold!

Way to go Daniel!!

We're so proud of you!

Gratitud

I'm grateful for....

...brotherly love

....happy children filling our home with music

...smiling faces sitting on pumpkins

...a little girl that recognizes when she's tired and puts herself down for a nap!

New Doll House

Sara LOVES the Dora the Explorer doll house!!!

Thanks Auntie Raquel!!

Going...Going....GONE

Jared lost his first tooth!!

The tooth was really bothering Jared so he asked Mom to yank it. I just didn't have the heart (rather stomach) to do it. So, Jared waited patiently until Dad got home and asked him to yank.

Dad was more than willing!!

Music

Okay so my friend put a link on her blog to some amazing cello music.

I just love the deep rich sound of a cello so I had to share it too. Enjoy!!

Click on the picture to hear the sample

Thanks Dacia!

Silly Venetian Hats

Jared & Sara

Sara & Daniel

Moments like these...

As a parent, I find myself worrying and wondering...

am I doing the right thing?

is it enough?

Then along comes a moment like this...

and I feel a peace that what we are doing as parents isn't all that bad.

Daniel & Jared working on their General Conference booklets

during the Saturday morning session



Sara playing conference bingo

(with a little help from mom & dad)

Just Because...

All aboard!!

Sara, Jared, Daniel on their way to toothbrush valley

Sara LOVES wearing momma's shoes

click-clack-click-clack

Sara hiding under the trampoline

Our Summer Vacation

Travel Log: Day 4

(Wed. June 18, 2008)

We spent day 4 of our vacation at the beach (Coronado). The Herrera Family was so nice in letting us use their beach condo. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Jared, Grandpa Flores, & Daniel setting out to explore the tide pool

I just love Jared's smile!

Daniel, Sara, Aimeè in the tide pool

Sara just LOVED being left to float with her life jacket

Daniel all geared up for snorkeling


Our little family in the tide pool

Our little family on the beach

Daniel & Jared playing in a fresh water stream where it meets the ocean



The boys & Bryan playing in the freshwater stream



Sara taking a little snooze in Coronado pool
For the record, she did her very best to keep up with her brothers but at the end of the day, she was just plain tuckered out!




Uncle Kevin, Aunt Melissa, Michael (Uncle Kevin's friend), Daniel, Bryan, Jared hanging out in the pool after playing in the ocean




Grandma Kemp, Sara, Grandma Flores

Our Summer Vacation

Travel Log: Day 3

(Tues. June 17, 2008)

Bryan, the boys, and Grandpa Flores enjoyed a little fishing in Gatún Lake. The had a wonderful time. After they had their fill of fishing the guide took them to Monkey Island to feed the monkeys. What fun!

While the men-folk did their thing, the women-folk went shopping! Grandma Kemp took us to her favorite place to pick out some beautiful handmade linens. The workmanship was just so beautiful!!

Daniel & Grandpa Flores ready for a morning of fishing

(the guide is in the background)

Daniel & Jared

(notice the big boat behind Jared)

Daniel, Bryan, & Jared ready to go!

Time to feed some monkeys!

Daniel & Jared eating the bananas meant for the monkeys. Yum!

Enjoying a swim in the lake after fishing & feeding monkeys!

A little about Gatún Lake....

The lake is situated in the valley of the Chagres River. It was formed, and the river widened and deepened, by the construction of the Gatun Dam about 10 km (6 miles) from the river's mouth in the Caribbean Sea in 1907–1913. The geography of the area was ideal for the creation of a large lake here; the hills bordering the valley of the Chagres open up widely around the area of the lake, but come together to form a gap just over 2 km (1.4 miles) wide at the location of the dam. The damming of the river flooded the originally wooded valley; almost a century later, the stumps of old mahogany trees can still be seen rising from the water, and submerged snags form a hazard for any small vessels that wander off the marked channels. Gatun Lake has an area of 425 km² (164 square miles) at its normal level of 26 m (85 ft) above sea level; it stores 5.2 cubic kilometres (183,000,000,000 ft³) of water, which is about as much as the Chagres River brings down in an average year. With the creation of the lake many hilltops became islands. The biggest and best known of them is Barro Colorado Island, home of the world famous Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). The lake has given its name to the Gatun structure, which may be an eroded impact crater. http://www.answers.com/topic/gatun-lake