my baby...

 she is also my little bff.  

she hangs out with me daily and has always been my little sidekick. {like she won't leave me EVER}  

i complain sometimes, but i secretly always wanted a clingy child. ~wink

she's been cracking us up lately with what she says.  she can be so 

demanding and sweet at the same time. 

I love it when she grabs my face and says "i love you SOOOO much" and then 

kisses me and hugs me so hard trying to hurt me! haha  

she always says to cory and me every night before bed, "i love you with all mine art",
"your the best mom and dad ever"  we just love it!   then she will go and pinch one of
her siblings and then smile at us. 

she's still a bit naughty! haha

I'm totally hooked on "instagram",  like i need one more thing to be involved with. 

but it is addicting and so fun.   

look for me if you Instagram... "shashtay"

just having some girl time...

nordstrom cafe and pedicures!

Semi- Finals for Football.

these boys played their hearts out!  

it's always so fun to watch Boston play football.  He loves it with a passion!  

 his team made it to the play offs and into the semi finals. 

 we were hoping for a win but we lost 24-14 on saturday.

my camera died during the game, so thank goodness for my iphone.

we are now planning the end of the season party for these football players!

& now... 

onto basketball!

pumpkin time!

we were kinda lazy this year with our pumpkins.  i was surprised we even waited 

to carve them until halloween eve!

 we carved one pumpkin and spray painted the rest. 

 the little ones liked doing their favorite pumpkins.... i think they turned out pretty cute.

fall break

In beautiful Deer Valley!

we went with our friends the skousen's and stayed in her parents cabin {crazy beautiful home} 

for the break!  It was beautiful weather, the kids all got along just perfect and we ate so much food! 

 marisa is an over achiever in the kitchen and the food was not only delicious but so so pretty! ha 

we played plenty of basketball, air hockey, x box, lots of games, 

and sat in the hot tub & sauna every night! 

the mom's did plenty of cooking and baking while the dad's went on a bike ride!

thursday we all went to lunch at the 'blue Iguana' in Park City and then off 

to ride the Alpine Coaster and flying eagle!

friday we went to an awesome Indoor pool with slides and diving boards. 

where Boston and Cameron were doing every sort of trick off the hi dive! 

they make it look so easy. 

saturday we headed home and went to the BYU vs. Idaho State football game.

we sat in their box seats with them and had a Blast!!

Did i mention i LOVE fall...

ivy was not too happy to go on this, but don't you worry she was 

just fine and fully enjoyed the coaster.

we made some cute "owl" cupcakes...

marisa and her cafe rio night!  yummmm

yah we had some 'dance off's'...

 Olivia and Kate surprised us by jumping off the high dive for their first time!

we cruised all over the deer valley resort on these babies... it was the Most fun!  

oh and the kids loved it too.

it was nice to get away and enjoy the fall colors.  i love playing card games, baking goodies and snuggling up to a good movie.  

thanks Skousen's!!

BYU vs. Idaho State...

we won {big time!}

dinner in a pumpkin.

1 small-medium pumpkin (about the size of a volleyball)

1½ lbs ground beef

1/2 c chopped carrots

1 small onion, chopped

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 can sliced mushrooms

1 small can cream of chicken soup

1-1/2 cup  cooked rice ( I used egg noodles instead, which was a big hit in my family)

put all ingredients in the scraped pumpkin and cover.  cook 350 for 45 min.

fall cooking...

We've been making all sorts of delicious treats lately, and mostly all the fabulous

 ideas are found on my beloved 'pinterest'

Pumpkin Pound Cake!

{very delicious}

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves and pudding mix; add to egg mixture alternately with pumpkin, beating well after each addition.

Transfer to a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serves 12-16.

Mummy Dogs!
my kids loved these babies...


 Cut crescent roll dough into thin strips and wrap around hot dogs. Bake according to crescent package directions and use ketchup or mustard for eyes. I cut my hot dogs in half to make them bite-sized.

another fun favorite for my kids is this...

we order our pumpkin bread bowls from kohlers or macey's.

Lion House Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

2 tsp. chicken soup base, or 2 bouillon cubes
3 cups canned chicken stock (broth)
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cans (10 1/2 oz. each) cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup evaporated milk or 1/2 cup whole milk
Roux (equal amounts of flour and butter used to thicken). I don't even use roux. It is thick enough without it.
2 cups cooked diced chicken (sometimes I use a can of chicken)
2 1/2 oz. (about 4 cups) cooked noodles (I use "Country Pasta, homemade style egg pasta" from Costco. It's like homemade.)
Heat chicken soup base (or bouillon cubes) and stock together. Add carrots, celery, and onion, and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add cream of chicken soup and milk. Thicken with roux as desired, then add cooked chicken and noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 2 1/2 quarts or 10 one cup servings.

Happy cooking!!!

the cutest fans...

we had our first play off game on saturday and we WON 18-12!  it was super intense!!!

Boston played very well, probably one of his best games.  He sacked the quarterback 3 times,  recovered an onside kick,  and then saved an extra point so we wouldn't tie the game!

yah he's cool like that...

halloween s'mores...

we stole this super cute idea from my friend jane.  marshmellow peeps s'mores! 

 have you tried this? 

they are so delicious!

  we went to a few stores locally and nobody had the halloween peeps!  

so let me save you the time,  we found them at our local walgreens.

...then decided to make some for some of our buddies for their after school treat!

Cornbellys

this week our fall weather is beautiful! we've been trying to enjoy as much

outdoor activities as possible.   

last week we were pulling out our winter clothes, i honestly thought winter came early.

but, this week we're in shorts.  

so,

that means Cornbelly's here we come!

this year they are celebrating their 16th anniversary and it is so much better than

before.  lots of stuff to do for the kids, and plenty of haunted mazes too.

we grabbed some friends on early out and headed to thanksgiving point for some 

fall fun!!

who would have thought we would be so hot we needed some "shaved ice?" haha

this boy was all about the haunted stuff and loved the mechanical bull.

yummmyyy...

 

I made it for my 'matilda jane" trunk show, and yes it was delicious!

{found on pinterest}


Chunky Avocado Salsa

1 medium tomato

2 avocados
1 cup of sweet white corn (I get a frozen bag from Costco)
1 Bushel of green onions

1 can of black beans
, drained
Garlic Pepper (I never have this, so I leave it out)
Garlic salt w/ parsley

Tapatio Sauce ( i actually used zesty italian dressing)

Place drained black beans and corn into a large bowl. 
Dice up the tomato and green onions and add them in the bowl.
 Season with the garlic pepper, garlic salt and tapatio sauce to taste. 
Mix everything around and then taste it to check seasoning.

 Add chopped avocado and mix it around one more time (I do the avocado last so the little diced pieces don’t get all mushy in the initial mixing process).

on to the PLAYOFFS!!

Woot Woot CAVEMAN!!

on saturday we played the other #1 '6th' grade  A team and ended the game 0-0  where Boston made a sweet hit and caused the fumble and recovered the ball!!

It was awesome!

so both teams got 4 plays each and they scored. ugh... 

well we are now going into the playoffs as the #2 team.  can't wait to see these 

boys play these next few games.  

Our team is awesome and boston has such great friends!  

one of the boys is our neighbor and one of boston's good friends so it is so much fun.

here are the last few games we've played.  one against his buddy calvin from school {lehi}

 and another against his buddy cameron {the other AF A team}

Boston #7

the fan club!

half time!

 boston with his buddy cameron who plays on the other A team

              boston and garrett                                                              hayes & brenner

I brought the after game treats this time and i had our local grocery store kohlers 

make these awesome sugar cookies!