Babies!

Ever since my girlfriend had her baby Trey has been

obsessed with babies....

He put the diaper on her, rocked her and held her

Look how sweet he is being to the baby!

He walks around the house

saying 'shh' and rocking the baby....

such a good little daddy!

Silly boy! I told him to say "Cheese"

And he did! :)

Halloween at School

At Kaylie's school the

kids dressed up for halloween

and had a parade for the parents....

Kaylie wanted to be a butterfly

and I thought perfect cause Auntie Ro and Uncle Kyle

gave her wings for her birthday, all we had to do was

add a tu-tu and we have a pretty darn cute butterfly!!

Kaylie and her friend Liv

Here she is with Jackie, who I have never heard say one word...EVER

When the kids play outside on the playground Kaylie

makes Jackie follow her around and calls her "baby"...

Jackie does follows Kaylie around and does everything Kaylie tells her

My mom swears I did the same thing

at her age, so I guess she comes by it naturally!

The class posing for a picture

Finishing up their loop of the parade

Trey wanted SO BADLY to be a part of the parade...

so I finally let him at the end!

T-man

Trey got rug burn on his nose at church....

you have to fall pretty hard to get rug burn on your nose!

that boy!!! LOVE him!

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patches sure have changed since I was a kid

I sure don't remember rides and animals....

I just remember pumpkins!

We went to a pumpkin patch with Grandma-Ba-Pa today

The kids had a great time, who wouldn't

it was like Disneyland!!!

Ha, hay horses!!!!

the kiddos running through the pumpkins

picking out their favorites!

strong man Trey picking two!

Trey was too small for most rides, so he

only got to ride the car!

Kaylie LOVED the tractors

but she was one CRAZY driver, seriously.....

she will never be driving one of my cars!

she kept running into the hay bale

and the guy kept saying

"There is Kaylie again, in the hay bales!!!"

she didn't care, she thought it was the best

thing ever to be driving her own car!

the only ride Trey was big enough to ride was the train....

and he rode it well!

Kaylie and Grandma....

look at that HUGE pumpkin!

family tractor picture...

our little piggies!

Kaylie driving the boat,

this was on a track so she couldn't crash it!

We had a great time at the Pumpkin Patch &

I can't believe how much the kids are growing!

So very thankful for healthy, growing kids.

Man, I love them!

Hand-Me-Downs!

I rarely say no to hand-me-downs because,

you just never know what you will get.

If they didn't want it, I can give it away just as easily,

right?!!!

This summer we have been so very blessed by:

a BMW pedal car

a little tykes van and car

a water pirate ship

along with

wagon, dump truck, lego table, 2 trikes and a glider

and a DOLL HOUSE!!!!

fully equipped with tons of accessories!

We are super blessed by our generous friends....

how did we get so lucky?!!!

Thanks for thinking of our kids,

they LOVE their new toys!!!

It's What's for Dinner!

I've never really done this before, but seems like it's only

fair to share some of our favorite meals....

Tortilla Soup comes in many different forms, but

I love this meal and it couldn't be easier!

Put 3 largish chicken breasts in a crock-pot with Taco Seasoning

(I use a packet of Lawrys Chicken Taco Seasoning), cook 4 hours on high

then shred the chicken. Add 2 cans of corn, black beans, diced tomatoes,

and chicken broth. 1 can (4oz) diced green chilies

cook 4 hours (or more) on high

Serve over crushed tortilla chips, top with cheese, avocados, and sour cream

You won't be sorry you made it!

Again, there are a lot of ways to make mac and cheese,

but I haven't found one I like more than this

Old-Fashioned Mac & Cheese

1 pound of macaroni, slightly undercooked and drained

4-5 cups of béchamel sauce (white sauce) – see below

8 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp)

dehydrated onion

salt and pepper to tasted

buttered breadcrumbs – see below

In a 13x9 pan add about half the cooked macaroni; top with half the béchamel sauce, sprinkle about 1-2 tsp of the dried onion over the sauce, then spread a couple of big handfuls of cheese, making a nice thick layer. Repeat. Top with buttered breadcrumbs and bake until bubbly around the edges, the cheese is melted, and the breadcrumbs are toasty, about 30-45 minutes.

Note: it may seem like a lot of sauce, but the macaroni soaks it up quite a bit. The dried onion is key.

Béchamel Sauce

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

4-5 cups whole milk, or half and half

salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. Add the flour all at once and whisk until smooth and bubbly. Add salt and pepper, I use 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ a tsp of pepper. Slowly whisk in the milk until all the lumps are gone. Stir until sauce thickens slightly and boils, be careful not to scorch the bottom. The sauce should be kind of loose. If it’s too thick, add more milk to thin it out. Add a couple of cups of cheese or to taste and stir until blended in.

Buttered Breadcrumb topping

Whir 2 pieces of bread in the food processor or blender

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and pour through the spout onto the crumbs while the processor is running. Spread over the top of the prepared mac and cheese.

ENJOY!

Time to Celebrate!

A little someone started school today!

And we have many many years of school

pictures ahead of us!

It was a happy day here! She couldn't be more

excited about starting school....

she even sang a "I'm going to preschool" song

last night....

And although she was excited about school, she

was kind of over pictures! She just became silly!!!

Us as we were waiting in line for school to open!!!

A friend of mine growing up was there with her daughter too

This is the girls meeting and showing each other their name tags!

She had to find her row on the mat

Kissing brother goodbye....

so sweet!

And one last photo, she was ready for me to leave but I

had to capture the moment!

She came home with lots of stories and is

looking forward to going back....

but was disappointed she doesn't

get to go tomorrow!

now, what am I going to do with my free time?!!!

:) Its a good problem to have!

Lesson in Sharing

Kaylie, Trey and Devin were playing out front with some fun, new, free

toys we were given. Kaylie came inside to tell me something and

then realized Trey was playing with her van- she did not

want him to so she went running out to get her van back

and must have forgotten that we have two steps on our porch

because she went flying off the porch and landed forehead first into the driveway

OUCH!!!

Surprise Get-A-Way!

Devin had a surprise anniversary trip planned for us

and after my miscarriage it was just what I needed.

we went over to Kyle & Ro's to pick up a 'hat'

and SURPRISE they came with us!

We stopped on the way for a little In-N-Out

We told the person taking the picture it was our first

time at In-N-Out...otherwise why would

you be taking a picture there! Ha!

After checking into the hotel we went wine tasting

I've never been.....

Everything was so beautiful and the wine,

Oh, so good!

The next day we went to the Mid-State Fair

and saw Lady Antebellum!

A-MAZ-ING!!!!

It was a much needed time away with Devin and an

added bonus of great friends!