Halloween Traditions

Yesterday was a busy, busy day.  It started with pumpkin swirl pecan french toast.  I love anything pumpkin and I love french toast!  Then with my pink rain boots, not because it was raining, but because I love those rain boots, we started pealing more apples; 28 jars worth!  We still have so many apples we are now giving them away.  While working on apples, we listened and watched parts of Time Out For Women which was video streamed live for the first time.  It was so enjoyable.  I was interrupted by Tony to take the plastic bins of summer clothes to the storage unit, which was an order by mom.  Last time I went there I said I wasn't going back, ugh, seriously that place is down right saddening that I still don't have perfect access to my stuff, but that it is piled high in boxes that I didn't pack.  At least I was able to get my winter clothes out for the changing, freezing cold temperatures that have come with the end of October.  We listened to the BSU football game while making long johns, otherwise known as maple bars.  My grandma use to make these for camping trips and Halloween.  They were really, really good and so very, very unhealthy.  I know that I haven't had one in at least 15 years, probably longer.
For the first time in 11 years I was home for the Young annual Halloween Party and for the first time in 11 years I brought a guy to an extended family function.  He had full warning ahead of time, but was a champion and seemed to have fit right in per my cousin Alisha.  I was impressed indeed.  It was a wonderful evening of hayrides, soup eating, trunk or treat, grandma's hot chocolate, long johns, and characters from Disney movies, Fred flintstone, animals, witches, mummies, super hero's and baseball players. I wasn't disappointed in the least bit!  The after events of the evening were just as fun and entertaining!

End of Oct. FF

I can't believe this is the last full week of October. Oh, how fast the weeks fly by.
1.  We have lots and lots of apples still left over at our house, even after canning on Monday.  More apple canning to come for sure.
2.  Tuesday Tristen and I made my friend Emma's curry.  It is so yummy and made me miss my friends and lunch bunch where people actually show up in CLT.
3.  I had a nice long chat with a few guys this week about being a PA.  It made me realize all of the things that I have done over the past several years and all of the people I have been able to touch because of my profession.
4.  Today I went to the funeral of a friends brother.  I hadn't seen the friend since High School.  It was nice to be able to support him in his loss.
5.  This morning we went to the Boise Temple open house.  It is beautiful.  The colors of dark wood remind me of the Nauvoo Temple.

6.  The kids came over tonight and we decorated Halloween buckets.  They all turned out rather cute indeed.  I have not been home for Halloween festivities in 11 years.  I'm so excited to be home this year.

Apples, Applesauce, and More Apples

Yesterday morning dad and I trudged out (me in my awesome rain boots) in the rain to our friends orchard.  We picked and still had plenty of red apples from last week, but we realized after our first batch of applesauce that we needed to mix the red and yellow apples.  Since we had only picked a basket of yellow apples last week, we went out to pick more this morning.  It was pouring rain the entire drive and I was praying the entire drive that it would stop while we picked apples and guess what?  It stopped long enough for us to pick entirely too many apples, again.  There are just so many apples out there that are free and I don't want them to go to waste.  I'm in love with my rain boots and felt like a kid stomping over rotten apples in them.
We spent the entire day making applesauce.  I only cut myself once and it still hurts and is still bleeding.  It is such a sense of accomplishment to hear the pops from the jar lids letting us know they've sealed.  Needless to say, there are still boxes, laundry baskets, and a garbage can full of apples and we did 60 quarts of applesauce!  Today for lunch bunch I'm taking, yep apples, a pumpkin dip and a carmel apple dip who I believe I got the recipe from my friend Taya that I love.  Teneille is coming home this weekend and guess what is on the agenda?  More apple canning!

Autumn FF

Autumn is here and is rather fabulous indeed!  I remember Autumn as being cold here in Idaho when I was growing up.  Well folks, it's still warmer than normal here and I love it.  It really feels like Autumn (instead of Fall).  Fall to me sounds like getting ready for Winter, which I am so not a fan of if you haven't figured that out by now.
1.  While Troy and Becky went on an elk hunt earlier this week, we watched all four kids.  We all needed to get out of the house so we, well some of us Gavin, Beckett, Tristen, Aidree, Dad and I took a trip to our friends apple orchard.  The weather was beautiful and since it had rained earlier that morning I figured I could wear my new pink rain boots, even though my feet were rather hot by the time I was finished and I really didn't need them, but enjoyed wearing them anyway.  The trees were covered with beautiful apples and within 30 minutes all of our boxes and baskets were full and we had no more space for any more apples except for our tummys.

2.  Of course since we had all of our apples, we spent a day this week canning apples and applesauce.  We only got through half of the apples, so of course next week we'll have another canning day.

About the cutest 1 year old ever!

 3.  Last night I went to my first ever BSU Dept. of Kinesiology yearly reception in the ever so lovely Skybox that over looks the city of Boise.  The view and especially the sunset were beautiful.  Tristen came with me and we had a lovely time eating heavy hor dourves and dessert.  The best part was seeing my college advisor who helped me become the record holder of 34 or was it 36 academic adjustments and who helped me become the first person to graduate with a Health Promotion degree from BSU.  She would hardly let go of me and I think she hugged me at least 6 times.  Not all college professors are cold hearted.  It had been at least 10 years since I've seen her.  I also ran into a PA who works at the Student Health Center, where I had done a years internship, who went to the same PA school I went to and let me know she was retiring in 1 year and that I would maybe be able to fill her position when she leaves.  From day one I've thought it would be so fun to work there.  We shall see what the future holds.  We came home with an awesome BSU mug of candy, those were the booby prizes, needless to say our tickets didn't get drawn for the big prizes.  I never win anything.
4.  Sunday I went to my ward for the first time since the end of August, not because I'm in active but because of working Sundays and vacationing.  Of course I only went to RS, because I went to Tanners friends homecoming and my cousins farewell.  The meetings were all so good.  I sure miss my normal Sundays.
5.  It's sugar beet harvest season.  On my way to Lowes this morning I saw the fields being harvested and really should have taken a picture, but on my way home this afternoon I passed the Sugar Beet Factory.  Lots and Lots of sugar beets.  The smell is just starting up, lets just say it doesn't smell like sugar.



6.  Today was filled with breakfast with the sisters that I VT, a meeting for Super Saturday, a little shopping for Super Saturday with a 60% off coupon to Jo-Anns and lunch with mom, cousin Alisha and Aunt Carol.  It has been a good while since I've not had plans on a Friday night.  After my evening jog, I have a movie from red box, some crafts at my finger tips, new issues of North Carolina's Our State and Southern Living and the house all to myself should be a great evening!

October Fabulous Friday

1.  I seriously can't believe it is nearly the middle of October.  What I'm really happy about is that it is still in the 70's here.  However we have had a few chilly mornings with a wee bit of frost on the ole windshield.
2.  I enjoyed General Conference this past weekend, pizza before the priesthood session, girls night out at Deseret Book with mom and Tenielle, and I tried to find the beauty of sage brush and wide open space on my drive from SLC to Boise; after a lovely week on the east coast it was a little difficult.
3.  After a year of being out of commission, I finally got the vinyl cutter up and running.  Happy day indeed.
4.  Our family went to the Pumpkin Patch this week.  It was a beautiful evening.  We went on a hayride, picked out pumpkins and played in the hay.

5.  I had a long, lovely chat with my friend Lauren this week.  Oh, how I miss my CLT friends.

6.  We still have tomato's in our garden.  I love the long tomato season in Idaho.  

7.  The leaves are starting to turn yellow, orange and brown and falling to the ground .  I love the sound of crushing leaves under my feet.

1 Year Ago

1 Year Ago I left my "normal life" for what I thought was going to be an even better life.  I've thought often would I have made the same decisions then if I knew then what I know know...I'm still wondering.  I've learned that the grass is not always greener on the other side.  It has been a year of ups and downs, however all in all it has been a pretty good year, in totally different aspects from other years.  It is nice to be closer to family, like really close as in still living with my parents with no intentions of leaving any time soon.  Until I feel like I have some kind of direction regarding where to live other than here, I'm not going to make that big of a move.  There so many things that I miss about my "normal CLT life..."
~My Girl Friends-I miss just dropping by and having a good afternoon, evening, or morning chat.  I definitely don't have that here one iota.  In fact I don't even think people just drop by these days, without penning it into their schedules.
~Being able to make my spinach shakes in the morning and leaving the blender full of water in the sink, while at work.  That would never fly in my mothers house.
~My House, My Flowers, My Closet, My Garage, My SPACE!
~Lunch with Girlfriends
~My gym classes, group power and spinning.
~Panera Bread, Aldies, O'Charlies, Amelies, Trader Joes, Talbots Outlet
~My job in the ED; the wonderful people I worked with there who truly were my friends and not just people I worked with and some of the awesome things I saw while working there.
~Sunday lunch with the Beachums and other church friends.
~My ward.  I loved my ward!
~Sister's Sigg, Middlebrook, Beachum, Werger and others who gave me motherly advice.
~Playing the Organ.
~Rain, major downpours.
~Black People and their beaded hair.
~Southern Accents.
~My neighbors, who always looked out for me and my house.
~Cooking, Baking Cookies and taking them to friends.  I hardly cook here.  So sad.
~Late night Dairy Queen runs.
~Mamma and Pappa Middlebrook and all they did for me.
~The Beach!
~Sister Maers Lemon Pound cake and monthly home teaching treats.
~The Doctors Lounge and 2 hot meals a day, a fridge of whatever I wanted to drink, and the professional relationship I had with the specialists that I met there.
~HUMIDITY
There are many more things that I miss, but you get the jest.  There are things that I do love about living in Idaho...
~Not having to fly home for vacations or holidays.
~Seeing my nieces and nephews on a more regular basis.
~Mom doing my laundry, even though I tell her I can do it myself.
~Lunch with my sisters.
~Working normal hours and sleeping normal hours.
~The Kuna Library.
~Saving money for another house, when I finally decide when and where.
~Winco, Cafe Rio, USwirl, The Robins Nest.
~Living at home and not feeling like I have to make a decision now of where I will eventually end up.
~Having a pool in the back yard.
~Weekly Costco Runs with mom and Tristen and then running into my sister-in-law.
~Being in Bronco Nation!
~Being closer to family.
~After work jogs with Tristen

4 States in 1 Day

Our last day of vacation was Friday.  It was rather relaxing.  We drove along the Maine coast line, but had a hard time seeing the ocean behind all of the trees.  We did stop for a few minutes.  I love the beach.  This beach reminded me of Hilton head because of the hard sand.  My camera caught some great shots.  There were huge shells on the beach.

We stopped at a few stores including a Crate and Barrel outlet, but since I didn't have much room in the ole suitcase I couldn't really purchase anything.  We drove to what was suppose to have the best lobster rolls in NH, but they were just ok.  The one I had earlier in the week was to die for.

We stopped at some ice cream stand on the street, which had delicious pumpkin and coconut ice cream.  We had been saying we were going to get ice cream every day and were always too full after dinner.  We found a Charming Charlies in Massachusetts where we spent over 2 hours there.  I bought some great jewelry.  I love that store and so did Jenny.  It was her first time and I think she thought I was joking when I said I usually spend 2 hours there. Yes, we found another Panera Bread and I was in heaven with my Chicken Fugi Apple salad and Vegetable Pesto soup!  We got stuck in bad traffic outside of Boston, but eventually made it to Connecticut where we had to stop one more time for Dunkin Donuts.  I actually didn't eat my smashed Boston cream donut until I was on the plane.  It was so flat from my computer laying on it, but delicious as ever.  We got up yesterday morning at 4am to catch our early flight which got us to SLC by 1030.

 It was nice to have the day to listen to conference and hear the announcement that guys can go on missions at 18 and girls at 19.  I don't know how I feel about that but I support the church.  There is a new all you can eat pizza, salad, and pasta restaurant in Bountiful that we went to for dinner, even though I wanted a home cooked meal.  It really was pretty good, especially the dessert pizza.  The pizza crust had a sweet taste to it and was about the best I've had.  Afterwards the boys went to the Priesthood session and we went to Ladies Night at Deseret Book and Sams.  Today we will watch conference and I will drive home and start reality tomorrow.  I think I've had enough vacation for a while.  Reality and Routine are nice, but so is vacation.

 I loved these sayings...and the wall behind Tony.