THE MUSICAL

Here's what I've been busy with for the past 6 weeks. MUSICAL PRACTICE. Sundays and Tuesdays or Wednesdays have been all about this project. My Aunt Suzanne was asked to be in charge of the whole thing so she got my mom to be her #1 and I also got to help out. My job was/is the Alto section. I LOVE MY ALTOS. They were the best group of kids to work with - so eager and they happily put up with all my silliness.

The show is called "Like a Mighty Army". You can see all the "army" props: shields, swords, flags... it will be a very visually stimulating show with lots of color and video of the kids. The music is all army themed with a lot of it taken from the seminary cd tracks. I love it. One of my favorites is Kelly's solo. She has the perfect voice for the part!



Now we are down to the wire with practices on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and performances on Saturday and Sunday. That's 5 nights just this week! Needless to say, the kids are getting tired. They've worked long and hard for this production and they are pooped! Notice them LAYING on the floor and trying to take a nap in the middle of rehearsal.


So come and appreciate all our hard work as we wrap things up this weekend with 2 great performances!

Saturday, October 25th
at 7:30PM
at the East Stake Center

and

Sunday, October 26th
at 7:30
at the East Stake Center.

Two Fall recipes you MUST try!

This first recipe I served last week for our book club dinner and the ladies gobbled it up. It was very yummy and so fall-ish. You'll love it!

Pear and Greens Salad
by Linda Larsen, About.com

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6+

Ingredients:

1/2 c. olive oil
3. Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
2 heads butter lettuce or spring mix, torn into pieces
2 pears, cored and chopped
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans
1/2 c. crumbled bleu cheese or feta

Preparation:
Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, salt, and pepper in a jar with a very tight lid. Shake well until sugar is dissolved and the dressing is blended. Set aside in the refrigerator. Prepare the pears a few minutes before serving and coat with a small amount of the dressing so they don't turn brown. Toss the salad greens with the dressing just before serving. Arrange pears, nuts and cheese decoratively and serve.



This next recipe is actually two separate recipes I got from our recipe exchange (thanks Michelle!), but smooshed them together to make one DELICIOUS soup! I served this one at Grandpa Burton's birthday party and all the men loved it. I think it was the sausage that did them in. Matt said it reminded him of a jambalaya. I like it because it has cilantro - my favorite ingredient!


Black Bean and Sausage Soup
by Jennifer Ward

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook: 5 hours
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. celery, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 tsp. grated lemon or lime peel
2 cans black beans
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 c. water
1 16 oz. jar medium Pace Picante Salsa
2 (3 oz.) Italian sausage links, hot or mild
1-2 c. prepared brown rice
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
1-2 chopped avocados
sour cream for garnish

In a large saucepan, heat oil and cook onion, celery, garlic, and red pepper until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer vegetable mixture to crock pot or slow cooker. Add beans with their liquid, lemon or lime gratings, salsa, bouillon, water, salsa and sausage. Cook on high 5 hours. Just before serving: using tongs, remove sausages to a cutting board, cut into bite-size pieces and then return to slow cooker. Stir in cilantro and prepared rice. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chopped avocado and a dollop of sour cream on top for garnish.

Boys and their Cars

Jackson and Tyler watched Disney's Cars movie I don't know how many times this weekend. They were obsessed with this show! Whenever we had to go searching for Jackson we'd always find him at Grandma's house, on the bed, right next to Tyler entranced with this show. They are both obsessed with cars in general right now. Trucks, cars, tractors... you name an automobile - they like it. Even McDonald's satisfied their car addiction by offering Hot Wheels toys in their Happy Meals. These little guys are easy to please and I like it.

picture project

My family room wall has been screaming for some artwork or something, anything! It's been bare for about 2 months now and I finally got around to doing this picture project. I took some old pictures of our families, uploaded them to costco.com, changed them to sepia, and ordered the right sizes. I had all the frames, but had to spray a couple of them silver. The hooks I found on ebay and the ribbon is from Walmart. Easy peasy.

BEFORE

ALMOST

AFTER

I just love the old wedding photos and the pictures from when we were kids. The styles were so different back then. Now we get to enjoy them all the time!

Grandpa's 80th Birthday Party Slideshow

Grandpa Burton turned 80 years old last month. We threw him a lovely party complete with family and friends from out of town. The Reids and Hernandez's drove up and so did Uncle Bob & Aunt Nancy. Grandpa's good friends the Boswell's also came and stayed for the evening. I didn't get pictures of everyone there, but here are some fun ones from that night. My favorite is baby Lucy's close up. Those blue eyes are to die for! And make sure to check out Grandpa's stylin' hip shirt. I love that he's sporting the Mexican guyavera.

My little chefs

These kids are so cute when it's time to cook at Joy School. They'd rather eat all the cookie dough than wait for the cookies to bake!



Our letter of the week was the letter C. "C" is for Cookies!

The BARBIE Cake

So this is about the 3rd time I've made a "Barbie Cake". This one was for the school carnival cake walk. I love that the girls "oooh" and "ahhh" over it. I only had about 5 minutes to frost it so it wasn't going to be anything fancy. Frosting and sprinkles. That's it. I was trying for lime green frosting, but it came out more avocado than lime. Guacamole Barbie Cake? Mmmmm.... Anyone have any quick/easy/cute frosting ideas for next time?


So here are my tips for making the Barbie Cake.

1. Spray your Pampered Chef 4 quart mixing bowl with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Fill your Pampered Chef 4 quart mixing bowl 2/3 full of cake batter. (This requires more than one cake mix. I just mix up 2 together then fill the bowl 2/3 full.)

2. Bake at 325 degrees until a wooden skewer inserted down the middle comes out clean (about 40 minutes).

3. Lay a piece of foil across the top of the bowl while it cooks so it doesn't burn!

4. Wait 15 minutes for it to cool before inverting it onto your serving plate.

5. I cut out a small portion of the cake where I plan to insert the Barbie. She goes in a little easier that way.

6. The dollar store "barbies" work best because they are just a little shorter than the authentic Barbies.

7. Frost and enjoy!

Some oldies but goodies

I'm working on a little art project for the family room. I just love getting a small glimpse into the past...

Dad's In-N-Out Bday

Happy Birthday Dad!


There could be no better way than to celebrate with a delicious burger and family.


I love it when my family takes up half the restaurant. I also love the "kids table"... far away from the adults. (On a side note... Lizzie ate her first hamburger at In-N-Out at Grandpa Louie's Birthday party. Her daddy was so proud!)

Fall Pleasures

There are many things in life that are simple pleasures. Fall decor is one of them. Pumpkins are so orange and round. Berry garlands are so delicious. Wreaths are wonderful! And a new pumpkin spice air freshener puts the whole house in a festive mood.



WELCOME FALL.