Monday, October 31, 2011

Trick or Treat!

Well, Halloween this year was great.  The boys are at a good age for trick or treating and we almost made it around the whole neighborhood.  We are fortunate enough to have a TON of kids in the hood which makes for a fun and safe night.  We came home to an empty candy bowl {as expected} just to fill it right back up with all of the loot we grabbed. 

Here's our little sweeties...
Pharaoh Aaron AKA "Phaaron"   Walk like an Egyptian...


Dejavu? Yep, this is last years costume.  I bought Ty a Darth Vader costume for this year and last minute, he refused to wear it!  He didn't want his cape to drag on the ground and he didn't like how the belt was too big for him.  He is such a perfectionist!  He was OK with high waters though...



Phaaron and his friend Avery AKA Taylor Swift



Notice our group got larger as the night went on...Good times.


Sunday, October 30, 2011

Happy Halloween!

We have been ready for Halloween for quite a while around here.  It's one of Aaron's favorite holidays because of the decorations.  We have been walking and driving all around the neighborhood to see all the spooky houses almost daily.  Aaron said he's memorizing them so that when it's over, he won't forget how haunted they looked. 
Honestly, I'm ready to move on to Christmas...the decorations are cuter!

Ty loves Halloween too, but he's all about the costumes and candy. 
 The boy loves to dress up.


Anyway, we hope you have a spooktacular Halloween!!!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Choco-Pumpkin Bread

Makes 3 loaves or 2 dozen muffins

Ingredients:
12 Tbsp. {1/2 sticks} butter, at room temperature
3 Tbsp. molasses
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2/3 cup orange juice or water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
3 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional Cream cheese filling:
1 stick melted butter
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Butter three 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf pans or paper your muffin tins.  Preheat oven to 350.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and molasses together.  Beat the eggs in one at a time.  Add OJ, vanilla and Pumpkin and mix well.

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add the pumpkin mixture, stir well with a wooden spoon to combine.  Add chocolate chips and pecans. Stir.
For filling, combine all three ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.  Set aside.

Spoon into prepared pans.  If using the cream cheese filling spoon half of the bread mixture then place 4-6 dollops in the middle and add the remainder of the bread mixture on top.  Each pan should be about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 1 hour, or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy your pumpkin yumminess!
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Swing batter batter swing!

In the spirit of the World Series, we decided it was about time to teach these boys about baseball.  They are not a part of a team or anything {yet}, but they are getting the basics down.  First of all, Ty found Jeremy's old baseball jersey from high school in the closet the other day so he absolutely HAD to have Jeremy wear it. 

Ty loves it and has a natural athletic ability for sure.  He's swinging lefty and he's got quite the arm on him.  He actually broke 3 wiffle balls in half!  

As for Aaron, we kind of had to bribe him to at least try it.  He loved hitting the ball, but as far as running and catching went, not so much.  
 
He said he would do it for candy corn, but he wouldn't like it...as you can see, he didn't.  Check out those flared nostrils!

Needless to say, I don't think Aaron will be making a career around baseball.
Ty on the other hand is pretty serious...we'll see.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Sweet stuff

One of our favorite things to decorate, and eat, are frosted sugar cookies.  I let the boys have free reign to put as much "stuff" as they wanted on top and they took full advantage! 




Nothing like a job well done...mmm...

I'm not sure if we had more sprinkles on the floor or the cookies when we were done! Good, clean, fun is not always so clean...unfortunately. Oh well, we had a lot of fun anyway.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Pumpkin Farm

Another fun time at our famous Pumpkin Farm.  We did the usual stuff and yes, it is the same every year, but that doesn't stop us from having a great time.

Here's the boys waiting for the train ride.

The boys had to pick the perfect pumpkin, but not before I coerced them into a couple of posed pictures.  I actually had to bribe them into posing...




Ty's getting tired and in the zone.

Look at those eyes!

Love my boys...

Ty had to have the big ice cream cone...gave me an excuse to "help" him out so he didn't get too messy.

We had a fabulous day...we'll be back next year.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Playing catch up

I have been a really bad blogger lately.  I have a great excuse, having triplets for someone else and all, but it's time to get back in the saddle.  So, I have been trying to make up for lost time and documenting things from this summer that I just didn't get around to.  

I really feel like blogging is such a great way to capture history.  I use my blog to share all the haps around here with not only my family and friends, but almost as a family journal.  It is so great to go back and read stories that otherwise would be lost to the deep abyss of my ever forgetful brain. One of these days I'll turn my blog to print and have a book to look back on too.  Speaking of history, look at what I came across today...
Ty's first Oreo.  The boy gets into his food.
Alrighty, on to the catching up...I have a lot to do!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

A new song

We have a new theme song 'round here...
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth! 
Of course you have to imagine it with a lisp to get the idea.  
I can't help but smile every time I see this smile.  
He looks so different and so dang cute!  I love it!