Catering Service

It was my pleasure to help my mom out this week.  It has been an emotionally draining week for our family, but especially Mom.
My sweet Grandma had a stroke on Tuesday & it has left her in a pretty sad state.

So when my mom remembered she was supposed to have Book Club at her house on Thursday, she was feeling a little overwhelmed.  Good thing she has a good helper living with her.  : )
I had a great day!  I did all the things I love best:
*Cooking
*Cleaning
*Baking
*Serving
I put together a Spinich Salad with Raspberry Poppyseed Dressing.

For dinner I made Chicken Tortilla Soup {this recipe has fast become a family favorite...it is sooo good - thanks a million to my Mother-in-Law who introduced it to me}.

A special request was made by my mom for dessert.  She wanted my homemade Coconut Cupcakes with a {healthy} dollop of Whipped Cream.

Mom actually put the table together.  I could not have done this...

Then to top off the day, I got to go to a bridal shower with a friend I have not seen since before Texas.
Miss Marianne

It was a GOOD day. 
Now, if only I could get Grandma to feeling better...

Hide-N-Seek

I babysat for my sister a couple weeks ago.

Nora was carrying her stuffed animals around & I asked her if they had names.

She told me her puppies name was Caca {yes, like poop}.

Lucy & I looked at each other & laughed.

I asked Nora if she knew what caca was & she shook her head 'no.'

I told her it was 'narbles' {if you're not a member of the family...narbles are what Nora's older brother,Bennett,calls poop}.

Nora got a frustrated look on her face & yelled, "NO! STOP!"

I guess she didn't like that I told her the reality of what she thought was a clever name.

Lucy & I had a good laugh.

Then they showed me the closet with all the stuffed animals.

Nora started taking them out one by one & telling me their names.

I realized there was an obscene amount of stuffed animals & said there were enough stuffed animals to bury someone in. 

Well, that sounded like a good idea to them.

Can you find two hands? 

{One belonging to me & the other to Miss Nora?}

Need assistance?

We've been found!

Sorry about the mess Sissy Poop! :-)

Ghostly Greetings

There were lots of visitors that dropped by to celebrate Halloween with us & of course, take some Spudnuts off our hands.

I have the most creative & fun brothers & sisters.  They really go all out!  This year was no exception.  The nieces & nephews were looking adorable as always.

Let me introduce you to our visitors that evening!

I think Jesse needed to cough.  : )

Queenie has her first shiner.  : (

Lyddles ♥ Ariel!  It was so nice of her mother to make all her mermaid dreams come true.

Mr. Potato Head was also lovingly designed & made by his sweet mother.  What a cutie!

The funny thing about an infant mummy is they walk like a mummy which really adds to the costume.

Harry joined us again this year.

The picture of these next two characters hardly does them justice.  I don't know if the picture causes tears of laughter, but the real-life picture caused tears of laughter.

Enough said?

Hat's off to you Cowboy!

Laynee is such a cute little gal!

These guy's personalities are as cute as their costumes & little faces!

Alice helped pass out candy to the hundreds of trick-or-treaters.

(Beth - I think I captured a cute pic of Luey.)

Even the dog was feeling festive.

Joe looks like he is ready for blast-off! 

"To infinity & beyond!"

Oh, Zurg!  Not only do you look like Zurg, but you act like Zurg which makes you irresistibly kissable!

Last, but certainly not least...

"Nice ascot!"

Yours truly did not dress-up, but Jordan did!  When we were at Disneyland a big guy pushing a stroller zoomed past us.  He was wearing this shirt & we HAD to have it!

Happy Halloween!!!
P.S.  Do you like my Candycorn Cupcakes I made for the Ward Trunk-or-Treat?

Flux Capacitor

If you asked Jordan how is weekend was, he would tell you it was the best weekend of his life.

The little

big kid

in him was thoroughly satisfied.

Jordan & his friends spent their youth riding quads, golf carts, & dirt bikes at Sycamore Creek.

So he is thrilled when I allow him to take me, his quad, & the Taco (Tacoma) there.

There was some water in the Salt River so we rode upstream as far as we possibly could & stopped at this LARGE rock

to enjoy the scenery & take a few photos.

Jordan wanted a picture of me on his quad in the stream.

Kid in a candy store, I tell you!

On the drive home, Jordan got a phone call from his friend Nate Schmidt who had the best news to ever grace his eardrums.

Get this...his favorite movie BACK TO THE FUTURE
would be re-showing in theatres for 1 weekend only! 
That's right my friends - - the universe has finally heard the cries of nerds everywhere & granted their very deepest ♥'s desire...

BTTF + The Big Screen = Pure Bliss

So on October 25, 2010, (exactly 25 years To.The.Date. when Doc calls Marty & tells him to meet him at the Twin Pines Mall) my husband saw his favorite movie as it should be seen - on the big screen!

Side note:  I did not share this little tid bit of information from our recent Disneyland trip, but given the circumstances, I am compelled to tell you now.  We visited the site (Twin Pines Mall parking lot) where THE delorean reaches 88 mph & first blasts off back to the year 1955. 

Jordan went to both showings & had a grand ol' time.  I did not completely realize how nerd-tastic my husband was until this weekend.  Not that I am looking down on him for it.  Being nerdy gives you a couple golden stars in my book.  For I myself, am a nerd.

Anyway, I found these photos on Jordan's computer & I thought they would sum up this post quite nicely.

P.S.  I did not know a single BTTF fact until marrying BTTF's biggest fan.  Boy, would I have been missing out on some pretty fabulous useless facts.

P.S.S.  Jordan really, truly, honestly thinks he is going to own one of these someday...

   Dreamer.



Halloween Time at Disneyland

Because my husband loves me,

he took me here for a quick get away.

We had a blast, just the two of us, at Disneyland...good times.

Highlights include:

• Drinking special blend of Coke only found at Disneyland
• Eating churros
• People watching
• One year old kid with lightsaber performing some very advanced Jedi moves
• Spotting Halloween costumes [including entire group dressed as Mario Kart characters]
• Riding the rides
• Perfectly overcast weather all the day long
• Hanging out with eachother & saving the galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg

{Don't be fooled by the scores in above picture, I actually think Jordan is Space Ranger 1, thus he is whipping my booty.}

So from me...

to you...

Thank you for a fabulous trip! 

You know how to make me one very happy princess!

Ghosts of Halloween's Past

In honor of this time of year, I present to you [drum roll please]

Halloween costumes from my past!

Are we so excited?

We begin with The Bunny Rabbit.

Cute & Irresistible!

So cute & so irresistible that, in fact, I wore it

not once, not twice, three times!

{All 3 years must not have been photographed, but I am guessing by the 3rd year I had almost outgrown it, check out the high waters on above picture.}

I did make a cute bunny rabbit, until you compare me to my adorable niece Tawny!

Full group shot including Ben as a 50's greaser (The Outsiders), Tim as Pollyanna, & Bethany as ??? my mom's miniature version of herself???

Another costume that got worn more than one year was The Yellow Ballerina.

Again, I can't quite identify what Bethany is exactly?

Another year I made a last minute costume (because honestly I do not care for dressing up.  Lame, I know) & this is what I came up with,

The Grandma

Classic poses Grandma!

I regret to inform you my most genius costume was not photographed. 

It was also my last year I was allowed to trick-or-treat & so it was also the last year I dressed up. 

Picture, if you will, a paper mache Jack-in-the-Box head.  Like I said, genius.

Due to my lameness, I do not dress up anymore. 

This does not mean I do not enjoy Halloween.  I quite like it actually.  I like to watch others dress up, especially my adorable neices & nephews.

Oscar...I mean, Spiderman.

Bethany as a Mermaid & Heather as a Tootsie Roll

& me as a Party Pooper.

I am excited for this years costumes.  My siblings are very creative & have some pretty amazing plans for this year.  As for me...I get my Halloween kicks by making [& eating] these babies!

Happy Halloween Season, Everyone!