Chicken soup for the soul -

. . . a smile goes a long way, but wouldn't it do a lot more good right at home?

Moday in the kitchen

Today I am going to use my brand new Apple peeler my mom bought me when I went home in September. Our neighbors gave us two dozen apples yesterday. Half of them were goldens, they are so fresh and delicious. So, today if all goes well I am planning on drying some apples and making an apple crisp. And hopefully some home-made noodles for Chicken noodle soup. So, that is my Monday :)



P.S Have you looked at Tip Junkie blogspot lately? She has posted some cute Halloween ideas. I especially like the witch hat cookie :)

Dallin's Drawing

"This is a picture of Dallin driving in the front seat of a rocket and his Daddy is in the back seat with his arm's in the air, with a BIG smile on his face" :)

Pink Christmas

Today I was excited to see a pink envelope in my mailbox :)

I am participating in a girlfriend give and get Christmas this year. At the beginning of this year I discovered the world of blogging and one blog that I have enjoyed is EVERYTHING PINK. This gal is amazing and she has started this Pink Christmas. If you participate you can donate money for a good cause and in return you receive a pink envelope with lots of special little goodies and a girlfriends name and you have the opportunity to make a Christmas gift to give to a new friend. The pink envelope we all received was full of wonderful discounts and ideas from many sponsors. I will share more about what was inside the envelope later. You can click on the Pink Christmas link on the side of my blog to see all the sponsors who are participating. I'm having fun already trying to think of some good ideas to do for the gal that I received. It's a secret, I can't tell who I have. But, I am excited that she will have a pink Christmas this year. And the best part about all of this is that because there are so many participants this year some great donations are being given!!! A big THANK YOU to EVERYTHING PINK for organizing all of this, it's nice to be able to be a part of it!

Relief Society

Last night a group of woman from my local ward/church got together. There was an expert lady that came and taught us how to reduce our food bill by using powered milk. We had quite a feast of all the food she made with powered milk - cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, ice-cream, she showed us how to make sweetened condensed milk (this recipe was just like what you would buy in the store and the plus side is that you save a couple dollars making it yourself), evaporated milk etc. Everything was pretty good, it's not fair to compare it to what we are use to. With my family alone we spend a lot of money on milk products and it was so neat to learn how to make it from scratch. A good home making skill to know if ever needed. I am going to try and experiment with some of the recipes she gave us. I love knowing that i would be able to make these things on my own and not have to be dependent on the grocery store. You just need to collect some essential items and you will do just fine. The world is struggling financially, the cost of living is sky rocketing and I am so GLAD that our church teaches us how to be self sufficient. I love that even though I don't have family close by members of the church are my family and we can gather together with all ages and help each other grow and learn. No matter where we go in life we always have the church and it is the same everywhere! And everyone is so willing to serve in a heart beat. It's a great blessing!


If you are interested in having some of these recipes I can e-mail you the packet she gave us. Let me know :) Next week this lady is doing a class on using your beans in food storage to make soups and for sprouting to use for a salad. She had some sprouts for us last night with homemade oyster crackers and ranch dressing. It was really good and you can sprout your beans in the off season of gardening and have a fresh salad. All of these recipes are much healthier for you than what you would probably buy in the store. Lots of Food for thought :)

Dallin loves SKELETONS

Today Dallin and I had fun making a Paper Plate Skeleton :) He wanted to color the bones green, "do something different other than the plain white" that's my boy! Whatever makes him HAPPY!

This idea was found from an old 1982 book my Mom would use a lot with us kids! The picture below of the Ghost chocolate pie looks good too! And notice the oranges colored with black marker for jack-o-lanterns. Creative ideas from "TODAY'S TIPS FOR Easy Living - Dian Thomas"

Trick or Treat?

Give me something good to eat :) I would like to share a treat with you that i love at this time of year . . . This treat was my Grandpa Penhallegon's favorite and he passed it on to family and i would like to share it with you ;) Do try! It's a yummy treat!!

CANDY CORN

+

CASHEW NUTS

a perfect combination with sugar, salt and a nice crunch :)


I can't believe I only blogged once last week ;) What is happening to me?, I have been slacking in my reports. Well, we had a relaxing weekend listening to General Conference, we got out our fall decorations (thank you HONEY!) We have had fun decorating, enjoying the joyful simplicities of October. I hope all are well! I will post again real soon :)

Preschool --

Tomorrow is my turn to teach our Preschool group. Are you all familiar with First School? It has great ideas for activities and crafts. On Friday Dallin and I made some bats, you can find some fun ideas in the Halloween section. So, I have been busy this morning preparing to teach the Letter C. Dallin is excited to have all his Preschool friends over to his house tomorrow!


Click on this link to see more :) FIRST SCHOOL


Have a great Monday!


Here's a quote for the week :)

Oh, it's delightful to have ambitions. . . .And there never seems to be any end to them-- that's the best of it. Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does make life so interesting.

--ANNE SHIRLEY

A Golden Delicious Apple

My Mom gave us some large golden apples when we were home in Washington.
Isn't it a beauty?



The colored apple in this picture below is the size of apple we buy in our stores here in Idaho. That is a sad comparison!

Thanks Mom and Dad for the delicious golden apples!

SWEET MEMORIES

Our Trip to Washington

My Husband had a work convention to go to in Kennewick WA so the family decided to travel with him. We dropped him off and then continued on for a couple more hours to my hometown. The kids did well traveling and they were excited to see there Washington family. Our first evening there we went out to pizza with my oldest sister's family and Great Grandma :)


It was a short and SWEET vacation. The next day Ma-key came and took us up to Leavenworth to a Smallwood's Harvest Farm. You will see from the pictures below how fun it was for the kids to be with there Ma-key. The weather was perfect and the kids had loads of fun!









We have been on a vacation every month for the past 5 months and my kids are beginning to wonder where there true home is. We don't have any more road trips planned now until November. We will be staying home for the month of October and be having fun with lots of fall craft ideas for Halloween. I will be posting some fun ideas later :)

A Recipe For.....

I found this Recipe at Michelle's Blog Another amazing lady out there in the blogging world with lots of great ideas! I tried this recipe last night and it was really good! What a creative idea for a recipe card too :) Enjoy!

HAVE A GREAT FRIDAY -- Friday nights are date night for us so i am looking forward to that :)

To Be Happy . . . .

Blog stocking :)

Check out these absolutely, adorable - - - Homemade baby onesies is that not the cutest little boy!!!!



Also, at Everything Is Pink she was featured on the blog Lil' Peanut Patch, click on the links below for some fabulous ideas! The blogging world is so amazing to me. So many creative people out there!

Lil' Peanut Patch

Everything is Pink

Monday Night Family Night

this pretty little girl knows how to make you smile :)

The girls were in charge of the evening treat --- Apple Crisp --- Mmmm Mmm Good

Four ingredients Apples, Sugar, Flour and Don't forget the BUTTER!

Sunday Nature Walk

Idaho-o-o-o

We had a nice family hike Sunday afternoon. We went out by lake Lowell.
The kids had fun finding sticks, climbing on logs, looking for birds and feathers. . .

This area was next to a stream and there were so many cotton trees it looked like we were hiking in a summer snow storm.

There was a busy little beaver in the forest!

Dallin learning how to skip rocks on the lake :)

A Psalm for Life

Let us, then, be up and doing
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing
Learn to labor and to wait.

-HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

September Memories

This is a picture from where i grew up and my parents posted this picture on there blog. When i saw this picture it brought a flood of memories to my mind. It may not mean a lot to some of you who look at it but, i would like to share what it means to me. The month of September growing up meant it was apple season in our valley. I grew up in a town in WA that was known as the apple capital of the world. A lot of orchards have come down in the last 15 years, including our own. You can't make enough money for what it takes to grow the apples. Anyhoo, i remember as a child the days of September when i would just be starting a new semester of school, i would go out in the orchard and pick a golden delicious apple, i LOVE the spell of orchards. I was extremely spoiled to live by an orchard and be able to walk out our door and enjoy plenty of fresh fruit. I am disappointed with the apples we have to buy at our stores, it will never compare to what i had as a child. I remember many times sitting on a ladder eating an apple doing my homework. Or going outside picking one and bringing it back inside and then doing my homework. I loved starting the beginning of the school year like that. I definitely enjoyed eating an apple more than doing the homework ;)

Almost everyday i would be outside in the orchard. I long history but, I had seven sheltie dogs that i would need to take care of when I got home from school. So, i spent A LOT of time out in the apple orchard walking up and down the aisles. It was a beautiful seven acres of land. I would walk up to the hill top and be able to look out at the valley. I have had many quiet moments just pondering, admiring the beauty,playing, working, praying on that land. I really contribute a lot of who I am to what I became living on that property. I wish everyone could live on an orchard I am sure people who have grown up on a farm or some land feel the same way. There is something special about being in the outdoors.

Here is the only apple tree on the property today. There use to be trees clear to the top, up by the house you can see in the picture. I am grateful for the many sweet memories i have of living on an apple orchard. It was a beautiful place to grow up! Bitter sweet memories! Sad to be gone and no longer have those days where I can just walk out my front door and enjoy an apple but sweet because i am blessed to have wonderful memories.

I like the saying "pictures are worth a thousand words" These two pictures i am sure could even say much more than that!

Well, I haven't blogged for a few days and I miss blogging everyday. It's nice to have a way to journal and be able to share with friends and family. My computer at home is officially non save-able. We thought maybe I just had to much stuff in the memory so my Husband took off all my pictures and documents and that did not make a difference. So, in due time I am hoping to get another computer.

So, have i mentioned that i love this time of year :) We have finally just been having low tempo days and it feels great. Here are some little tidbits about this week - a group of us local Moms organized a pre-school group with five of our kids. I am excited about that! On Sunday I was released from my primary calling that I have had for a little over 2 1/2 years teaching the 10-12 year old girls. I learned a lot and enjoyed that calling and now I am excited to have a new calling as a Primary Secretary. I will be serving with a wonderful Presidency! It's really nice to have a change! I am also happy because my little girl that I have been trying to potty train for the last nine months is officially a BIG GIRL! No more diapers! Yippee! She really has done well! So, that is all my good news!

Movies

This last week i think we were in the mood to watch movies. We watched three :) Mr. Magoriums wonder emporium - Had a great message! Kung Fu Panda - Hilarious! and Pride and Prejudice - Love the music! So, if you are in the mood to watch a movie i would definitely recommend Kung Fu Panda! It is at our local dollar theater and this is the last week :)

Have a Great Monday

ROARING SPRINGS WATER PARK

We enjoyed a last splash weekend at the water park today. Dallin is such a brave little boy, he is definitely a thrill seeker, and he does not hesitate going on big slides. The bigger the slide the bigger his smile will be :) The kids had a great time!

Pigtails :)

I love this gals blog it's called . . . a little sussy. I adore her photography skills and when I was looking at her blog today, she had gone on a road trip and found this adorable vintage kit. SO, CUTE! Penny LOVES to have her hair in pigtails. The higher you can pull her hair up the better! She will say "higher mom higher" Pigtails on little girls are so cute, you could even make your own kit yourself for a fun gift.

For more info. on the kit you can find it here :)

Dear Friends and Family,

Cute card found at Micheals craft store

More pictures of Sunflowers :)

September - The Harvest Month...Summer is over and autumn has arrived.

Our neighbors have an over abundant garden of veggies and they were kind & generous and gave some to us. My garden thumb was not so green this year, I have one tomatoe bush and one squash bush, and it looks like my veggies will be ready just in time for when the frost hits. I planted a little to late this year. This has definitely been my off season. Hopefully, next year I will have better luck with my garden. We are already starting to prepare some more ground for next year. Anyhoo, tonight i made a veggie stew and it was fresh and delicious. I used almost all of those veggies in the bowl and we ate almost the whole pot of soup for dinner. We probably should have rationed our portions a little better!


Poor D. woke up today with a little flu bug. He slept in until 11 am, he was awake for two hours and then took another three hour nap. When he woke up from his nap he was feeling better and looked 100% better too. The one thing that sounded good to him when he was feeling better was the thought of banana bread. So, we made him some and 1 1/2 loaves were eaten in an hour. He was a little hungry :0 When he gets sick it hits him hard and fast but it also goes away quickly. THANK GOODNESS!


Picking peaches at the church orchard. Once again we tricked the kids into working while they play. This picture above is just for Ma-Key. I asked Dallin if I could take a picture and he said "WAIT, i want to pick a peach so Ma-key can see what I am doing" He knows why we take pictures! So, that Ma-key and friends can see them on the blog ;)

Welcome September 1st

Autumn to winter, winter to spring,

Spring into summer, summer into fall --

So rolls the changing year, and so we change;

Motion so swift, we know not that we move.

-DINAH MULOCK CRAIK

September is already off to a good start. It 's a beautiful breezy morning, All the windows are open in the house, breathing in the fresh air, Sausage is frying in the skillet , little sausage piggies soon to be in our hungry tummies, leaving out cheese because cheese cost $8 for a block, holy mackerel we can definitely cut back on our dairy intake to save a little money in that category, If the weather permits we are planning on going to a BBQ with friends, dark rain clouds are floating around outside, we were going to go to Roaring Springs water park but due to inclement weather they are closed today, so hopefully this next weekend we will be able to enjoy a last splash for the year. It feels like Autumn outside and I absolutely positively love it! I am in the mood to start baking and canning --September, the harvest month!! We might also go pick some peaches today. I love the smells of fall !!

Have a Beautiful Day!