Rollin, Rollin, Rollin...

Pretend that today is Nov. 10...This marks the day that Connor started rolling! I can't believe he is already doing this! It seems like yesterday that I had him! These pictures are not of Connor rolling (mostly because he started to the night before Ben left and the camera was packed up), they are of his nightly routine. I lay him in bed and he kicks and kicks, stops, holds his feet and starts over again. This goes on for about 10 minutes and then he wears himself out and goes to sleep. I can just sit and watch him the whole time...too cute:)

Connor at 4 1/2 months.

St. Petersburg

These are pictures from St. Petersburg...Day 4 and 5. They loved St. Petersburg, so much more than Moscow. Honestly though, I think they loved the Pizza Hut more than anything;) I really don't know what most of these things are...Ben will give his input when he gets the chance. I'm just adding what I know:)

It was snowy in St. Petersburg (in Moscow it had a drizzley mist...not cool). Ben, Mom, Brandon.

Typical B picture.
Ben along the river.
Hermitage Museum.


Mom, Brandon, and Dad

Kaluga

After Moscow, the crew went to Kaluga...which is where Brandon served the majority of his mission. He was Branch President there for 9 months. This is the one place that B wanted to go back and see. They were able to go back to the branch and go to church there.

The new Branch President (who is only 20 and has been a member for a whole 2 years), a missionary, Dad, Brandon, Mom, missionary in front of a beautiful building.
Ben said this is a typical view of what Kaluga looked like. Ain't it purty?
This is so shocking to me...This is where they held church. The Elders have a 3 bedroom apartment: one room is where they sleep, the 2nd is the Branch Presidents office, the 3rd room is the "chapel". There are 12 members of this branch. They only have 2 hours of church.
My mom, a little old lady, Brandon, dad, and Ben.

Moscow Trip...Day 1 and 2

Day 1: My Family went to Moscow first and here are a few pictures they sent me. I guess it gets dark there at about 4:30 pm every day, so they don't have much daylight...which probably works out great since they are probably exhausted walking around everywhere. The first day Brandon and the Mission President picked up everyone from the airport and then went to the Mission Office. They were then able to go to the Kremlin and the Red Square and then called it good. Their hotel is right next to the Red Square.

Mom, Dad and Brandon at Red Square, this is a museum

St. Basil Cathedral...how beautiful is this! I would love to see this in person.

Gun...this is where people used to go government shopping back in the day, now it is a "Galleria" type place with high end shopping.

Day 2: On the second day they walked around Moscow and spent an arm and a leg on souvenirs. Ben said it's pretty cold and drap and dreary. He also said the drivers are CRAZY! They will just ride up on the sidewalk if they need to. You have to watch your every move:)

Brandon in posing with weird graffiti man.
Ben in front of St. Basil Cathedral

My Sweet Granny

This morning my Great Grandma...Granny passed away. She was just the sweetest thing you have ever met. Our family likened her to the "Energizer Bunny" because she just kept going and going. She never slowed down. I have many memories of going to Disneyland with her and just visiting. She just turned 98 years old and led a great life. She always had a smile on her face and just sweet as can be. She would send a Hallmark card for EVERY holiday: Halloween, C-mas, Valentines, Easter, birthdays...everything. The boys always looked forward to opening them:) She will truly be missed. I love you Granny!

Noah is totally in love with "his Granny". He talks about her all the time: "My Granny said I could do this or that", "My Granny love PBJ", "My Granny likes to eat ice cream", the list goes on and on. He was only 1 when he met her, but she left a good impression on him!

The picture above is of 5 generations: top: Dad, me, Caden. Bottom: Granny, Noah and Grandma.

NoT Complaining...Just VENTING

Ben left on Wednesday to go to Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg) and then on to Prague. He is going with my parents to pick up my brother, Brandon from his mission!! Can't wait to see him! He will be gone for 10 LONG days. So excited to be stuck with all 3 boys for that long. Lets hope my patience will last that long. HOWEVER...if it continues to be like last night...Mama is going to snap real quick.

Last night had to be the WORST night EVER. I'll give you a little (or long) idea of how my night went:

Thursday Night:

8pm: boys FINALLY in bed after goofing around and not listening

8:20: Caden comes running to me..."Mom I'm going to throw up!"

8:20 and 10 sec. later: he threw up...on the tile and carpet

8:35: Noah is now sleeping in my bed, Caden in his bed, throw up cleaned up

8:45: Caden keeps coughing and can't sleep...lays on the couch with barf bucket next to him

8:55: Caden throws up everywhere but the barf bucket...all over the couch (thank goodness for leather), pillow, blankets, rug

9:15: laundry is going, couch and rug are cleaned, new blankets and pillows out for the poor boy

9:30: Connor is finally fed and asleep...way too late for the poor boy, Caden is good and I can finally watch my shows and relax...

11:45: Caden still can't sleep, I am sooo tired I tell him I'm going to bed and that's that. So lights out

midnight: In bed laying down and Noah wakes up to go potty. I go help him and see he has hives all over himself. Give him medicine and go back to bed

12:30: Caden comes running to me sits on my bed for 2 seconds and runs away. I follow him to catch him peeing on his dirty clothes basket, which is next to his bed...he opted for that rather than the toilet. So, I clean that up and the carpet. In his defense...he sleep walks quite frequently...just didn't know he could get in such a deep sleep in 45 minutes.

1:15am: Connor wakes up (not normal...he has slept through the night since he was 2 mo. old)...I feed him and put him back to sleep

1:35am: Text from my Dad saying they made it to Moscow safely and all is well! YEAH! So I called my brother to tell him the news...which he asked me to do. Finally some sleep!!

4:30am: Connor wakes up AGAIN!! I go deal with him and am so tired I feel like I might hurl myself.

6:30am: Ben calls me...YEAH! Tells me about all that is going on and what they have done and are going to do. So relieved to hear from him!

6:45am: Connor wakes up...AGAIN. I rock him to sleep and go lay down

6:55am: Caden wakes up and can't go back to sleep...I threaten him and we go back to sleep

7:05am: Noah makes a LOUD toot and says, "Mom...you wanna smell it?"

7:08am: I am out of bed and the day begins.

Ok, I feel better now and realize that I need to take a nap today. If anyone calls and I don't answer, you will know why.

Peanut Butter S'Mores Turnovers

Yes, these are as good as they look:) They are a gourmet S'Mores. I loved them, Ben loved them, Caden liked them and Noah licked the marshmallow off and called it good. I think they have such a fun presentation and are just something different. Try different things like instead of a chocolate bar, use Nutella...I am so doing this next time! Anyway, hope you like them!

The layers...1/4 of a graham cracker, then a chocolate bar (thieve them from your kids Trick-or-treat stash), then the peanut butter. I don't think I put enough PB on mine so make sure you do the full 1 TBS.
Crimp the edges with a fork and don't forget the slash marks to let the steam out.
How pretty are these?!
Look at that goodness! YUM! Check out Recipe Girl's blog for her pictures, they look amazing!

Peanut Butter S'Mores Turnovers

from: Recipe Girl

1 box Puff Pastry (2 sheets), thawed
3 whole graham crackers, gently broken into fourths
9 small milk chocolate bars (I used Hershey’s .49 oz. bars)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
small bowl of water
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp. water (to make egg wash)
1/2 cup jarred Marshmallow Creme (or Fluff)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.

2. Lay Puff Pastry on cutting board. Working with one sheet of Puff Pastry at a time, cut on three folds, creating 3 rectangles (about 3″ x 10″ each). Cut each 3 x 10 rectangle in half. You’ll have 6 pieces to work with for each sheet of Puff Pastry.

3. Assemble turnovers: Lay graham cracker on 1/2 of each square, top with chocolate that has been cut down to match the length of the graham cracker. Scoop a scant 1 Tbsp. peanut butter on top of each chocolate bar.

4. Working with one turnover at a time, wet edges of Puff Pastry and fold (over) in half to meet opposite edges. Gently push edges together to stick; use fork to seal edges together and create ridged pattern. Repeat with each turnover until all are sealed up. Gently move sealed turnovers to baking sheet with a small spatula. (At this point, the turnovers may be refrigerated for up to an hour before baking- cover baking sheet with plastic wrap- when ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and continue with instructions).

5. Brush turnovers lightly with egg wash, then use a sharp knife to cut two small slits into the top of each turnover.

6. Bake 15 minutes, or until turnovers are puffed and golden. Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes. Scoop marshmallow creme into a zip baggie (don’t zip). Microwave for 8 seconds to soften. Zip bag and snip a small piece off of the corner of the bag. Drizzle marshmallow onto the top of each turnover. Serve immediately.

Servings: 12
Yield: 12 Turnovers

Cooking Tips
*Use any sort of chocolate that sounds good to you. Just cut it down or break it into pieces that fit on top of a 1/4 of a whole graham cracker. (Leftover mini Hershey’s bars from Halloween work great!)
*I tested this recipe with real marshmallows and they didn’t work as well as the marshmallow creme.
*This recipe can be easily cut in half- just thaw out one sheet of Puff Pastry.
*These are best served while warm & gooey, but they can certainly be eaten any time!

Zesty Slow Cooker Barbeque Chicken

This is one of my go to's when we have company. I love it! I always have the ingredients and it is always a hit. I made it for everyone after Connor's Blessing.

Zesty Slow Cooker Barbeque Chicken

Adapted from allrecipes.com

6 frozen chicken breasts

1 (12 oz.) bottle bbq sauce

1/2 c. Italian salad dressing

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. liquid smoke

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbeque sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken. Cover and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

Happy Halloween!!

Yeah, I know...a little late in posting Halloween. Oh well! We went over to our friends, the Wildes for a fun little Halloween party and then after we went trick-or-treating. It was a fun night with friends!

Here are all the kiddos: top: Noah, Annalee, Aliza. Bottom: Lilly, Addalynn, Mavery, Caden, Connor, Grace, Evan, Jake
We thought it best to just let them act goofy since that was all we were gonna get.

This little guy just loves his thumb...At first he couldn't find his thumb because his costume got in the way...we figured it out eventually:)

Evan, Cden and Ben goofing around.
They attached a wagon to the Lawn mower and had a hay ride. The kids LOVED it!
Doughnuts on a string...have to eat it with your hands behind your back.

I just have to laugh at this picture! Look at that look on Connors face! too funny!
The spread...you know parties are all about the food!!

Oreo Truffles

I love, LOVE making these things. They are so easy and taste amazing. You can make them for any occasion and do whatever...just look at Bakerella:)
Oreo Truffles

1 pkg Oreo cookies

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

Chocolate (milk, white, vanilla, dark, Andes mints (which happen to by my favorite)...whatever works)

Mix Oreos and cream cheese in a mixer until well combined. Roll into a ball...I use my baller, so I'm not messy, put on a cookie sheet lined with Parchment paper. Add a sucker stick if you want. Put in freezer until set.

Melt chocolate according to directions and dip the truffle in, let it drip a bit, and put back on the parchment paper. Put back in the freezer until set up. Put in bags and tie a ribbon around them and pass them out and let people think you spent all day in the kitchen:)

Trunk-or-Treat

We went with our friends, the Lancasters, to their trunk-or-treat in Lewisville last Friday night. The kids had a blast and got a load of candy! I do have to wonder about the people who go to trunk-or-treats who tell your kids..."you have already been around once, you only get one candy"...but then their kid has gone around like 10 times AND they give you one jawbreaker. Whats up with that??? My kids caught on real fast and just skipped her. So...here are my cuties: Noah is a Ninja, Caden is Anikan Skywalker and Connor was a frog.
Hannah and Caden
More treats please!!
This is what my sweet little Connor did...slept. How cute is he!
My boys on Halloween day. So what is up with Hobby Lobby shirts. I pre-washed the t-shirts that the boys are wearing and it shrunk all right...at the sleeves! Look how short Noah's shirt is! I guess I will never buy a shirt there again! They are $2 for a reason!

Candy Corn Cookie Bark

This stuff is Crazy Good. It is such a yummy concoction that you just have to eat more to figure out what it reminds you of. Ben thinks it is Frosted Animal Cookies. I just like the sweet and salty mixture. Either way...it is good. I have already made it several times this Halloween and I plan on making more for all the holidays coming up. You could easily substitute M&M's for candy corn or whatever...be creative;)

Candy Corn Cookie Bark

from: RecipeGirl.com

14-16 whole Oreos, broken up

1 1/2 c. mini pretzels, broken into pieces

1 lb. white chocolate (chocolate wafers or almond bark)

1 c. candy corn

brown and orange colored sprinkles

Place waxed paper on large cookie sheet.Spread cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 cup of the candy corn into a 9x13 inch rectangle on the waxed paper.

Place chocolate in glass measuring cup and heat in microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth.

Drizzle melted chocolate immediately over cookie mixture, spreading with spatula (if needed) to coat evenly. Top with reserved candy corn and colored sprinkles. Work quickly before chocolate hardens.

Place into refrigerator until firm. Remove and gently break apart into small pieces for serving. Store in airtight container.

Yield: about 2 dozen pieces.