Back in the kitchen....

Ok, this is all food from the day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving day. I absolutely love this. I love food, I love cooking, I love baking, and I love taking pictures of it and sharing it with you all! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do =)

Apple Butter.....first time making it. It's really good! I can't wait for next years apple harvest so that I can make even more!

The beginning of Frog Eye Salad. If you've never had it, you should. And if you have, you're probably going to start drooling soon!

Here are the frog eyes! You mix together the eyes (pasta) the night before and let it sit overnight in the fridge. I could almost eat it just like this, but it's really better when you add all of the good stuff!

All mixed and ready to refrigerate!

Thanksgiving Day..... The start of my pumpkin pie. And not just pumpkin pie. Maple Pumpkin Pie with a Maple Cream Cheese Swirl =) Oh yes.

And back to the Frog Eye Salad. Time to put everything together. Here we have the fruit....mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks and crushed pineapple.

And then the frog eyes and lots and lots of Cool Whip =)

Mix all of the above together and then add marshmallows (at least twice as many as the recipe calls for) and coconut =) This is one of my most favorite foods.

And yet another break for some Glazed Pumpkin Scones. I really did do all of these things on Thanksgiving day!

And finally, the finished Frog Eye Salad! It all has to chill together for a while, so this is the final product, chilled and ready to eat. Mmm, I wish I could just eat some of that right now!

Don't forget about the pie! This was a really delicious pie. I will definitely make it again, as long as I can remember how I did it =)

Jammy Time!

I don't know what it is about pajamas, but I LOVE them. I love buying them, I love wearing them, and I love putting them on my boys. They're comfy and cozy, cute and cuddly =) And these pajamas really thrill me. Little Brother and Big Brother! I love it. And it's even better that they're camo, because in this house, camo is a primary color ;)

Alright, alright. I still see it. The similarities are JUMPING out at me =)

Oh, this face! So serious and I just want to smooch him all over!

Oh boy(s)!

Jude came over to hang out with Caden and Brock, and after dinner, I offered them some marshmallows as a treat. For some reason, they wanted to sit under the table to enjoy their treat. They thought it was the best thing ever. I love watching kids. The smallest things thrill them and it just reminds me to slow down and appreciate the little things in life!

Nothing sweeter.

There is nothing sweeter to this mama than a peaceful, sleeping baby. I could watch both of my boys sleep for hours.
It's just so sweet to me. I love it.


And yes, poor Brock has a shiner. I don't even remember how he got this beauty. It's too hard to keep track with him.
He's always got something going on since he's so wild!

Ok, I finally see it........

How much my boys look alike! I have never really seen it. I always hear it, but until I saw this picture, I didn't see it. But now, I do. Look at them. It's crazy. They really do look a lot alike! But even now, I still think that they look so different, too. But goodness, they are sure some cute little boys, huh?

Happy Halloween (yes, seriously!)

I said I was behind and I meant it =) I mostly just want this stuff on here for the day when I finally turn this blog into a book, so I can remember everything! And yes, they can turn blogs into books! It will just be my photo album filled with memories and stories =)

This year (technically last year) for Halloween, we had a Transformer (Bumblebee) and a really rough and tough Spiderman! See that spiderman?? Look how scary he is! Oh, no? He's not scary? Well, he tried. Caden, er, I mean Bumblebee, on the other hand was one tough fella. He LOVED his costume!


Bumblebee got to go trick or treating with Papa.........

And Spiderman got to come to work with Mommy!

And then, Spiderman got wounded. He shut his little finger in a door and ripped off a whole lot of skin. It was very painful and he wasn't a happy Spiderman anymore. Poor Spiderman.

Oh this boy!

My Brock is sure something else! He's WILD!!! He's into everything, climbs on anything, jumps, falls, runs, and.........

hangs =) He certainly keeps me on my toes!

Taking some time out for love =)

"With free and unconstrained love I give you all I am and all I am to become. Take this ring, and with it, a promise of faith, patience and love for the rest of my life."

8 years ago, Nigel and I spoke these vows to each other. I can't believe it's been 8 years already! We decided that we needed to take some time to ourselves and remind each other that even though things have changed drastically since the day we stood together and made those vows, we are still madly in love. Last October, we took 4 days and went to Redmond, OR to the Eagle Crest condo that my parents have. (And yes, I'm really blogging about last October =) I'm slightly behind!) My mom and Nigel's mom were so gracious to take care of our precious blessings so that we could have some much needed alone time together. I only have pictures from one day, though! We spent most of our time relaxing and not doing anything! But, we did hike around Smith Rock one day, a beautiful day! Our 4 days away were amazing and refreshing. I missed my boys so much! I hadn't been away from Brock overnight at that point, but I think it was good for both of us. Nigel and I got a chance to just be us and enjoy conversations and meals without interruptions. It was amazing and we will definitely be doing it more often than once every 4 1/2 years =)

This hike was SERIOUS!!!! It was uphill. Really high. But so incredibly beautiful.

I mean, beautiful. And we were blessed with the perfect weather. Sunny and mid 60's to low 70's. Perfect.

I love this man more than I ever thought I could. Deeper than I knew love could go. We have been through so much together, grown so much together and changed so much together. This journey we are on is incredible. Incredibly hard at times and incredibly amazing at times. It's been a wonderful 8 years and so many, many more to come!

These pictures were taken on our way to Redmond. This was a cabin that was completely engulfed in flames. We saw the smoke while we were driving up Mt. Hood and when we got to Government Camp, we saw this. We had to pull over to get a closer look. I had never seen anything like this before. So devastating =(