Milk Drunk

Two tired boys,,,passed out with their bottles of milk.

Deer Hunt Weekend

A few Saturdays ago it was the opening day of the Deer Hunt. This year Tanner had a deer tag for the very first time. He was pretty excited to go. Per tradition Landon and Tanner road up to the top of the mountains. Landon's brothers Trevor and  Layne, a couple of Layne's kids, Jack, and a few of Layne's friends went as well. 

Bryce was in heaven when we dropped them off at the trail head and he got to spend some time riding the horses.

This picture was taken right before Landon handed him off to me-he immediately started crying and continued to do so most of the way back to Grandma's house. Maybe in a few years he will be big enough to go.

 Here are the mighty hunters!!!

Unfortunately the few days they spent on the mountains didn't end up with Tanner getting a deer. Saturday afternoon we decided to take him out on a little road hunt. By the time we pulled out we had 7 kids along with Landon and I piled into Landon's truck. It was an interesting ride. When we go to where we wanted to hunt we had Tanner get in the back so if we saw anything at least he would be able to shoot at it. We saw several does and then right before our eyes materialized a buck (2 point). We were all in the car yelling shoot it Tanner!! He was in the back having gun problems-he was trying to jack a bullet into the chamber, but in his excitement forgot there was already one in there so he kind of jammed it. By the time he figured it our the little buck had fled the scene. Tanner was disappointed, but at least the other kids were excited that they saw one.

The next weekend Tanner was able to ride back up to Fillmore with my Uncle Brad. Then he went hunting for a few days with Uncle Cody and Aunt Mandy. However, they didn't have any luck either as they only saw does each time they went out.

Tanner had fun though and is already looking forward to next year.

Book Worms

Headed to Fillmore I looked back and the kids both had their noses buried in a book. They are such book worms and Bryce is turning into one as well. I myself am a book-worm my mom said she would always find me up late at night hiding under my blankets with a book and a flashlight. My kids are the same way. It seems like anytime I ask them to do something they have to finish the page or chapter they are on. Sometimes it is frustrating, but overall I am glad they are spending their time with their noses in a good book.

Caramel Apples

Last week my sister was in charge of the combined activity for young-women. They were making caramel apples, so she asked me to come over and help her do a test run. We tried a new recipe and it turned out so well. It was the best caramel apple I have every eaten. Caramel apples are seriously one of my all-time favorite treats!!! I included the recipe in case any-one wants to try it. 

Ingredients:
Granny Smith apples
2 sticks butter, salted
1 stick butter, unsalted
2 cup granulated sugar 
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark, doesn't matter) 
1 14-ounce can sweetened, condensed milk
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Wooden skewers or lollipop sticks
Variety of candies and nuts
Clear cellophane wrap/bags

In a heavy 3-4 quart saucepan melt the butter over low heat.  Add the sugars and stir slowly until well combined.

Increase heat to medium. Stir in the sweetened, condensed milk and the corn syrup. Continue stirring until well combined.

Increase heat to medium high, continue stirring until mixture starts to boil.  Once it starts to boil clip a candy thermometer to the saucepan (don't let it touch the bottom of the pan) and reduce heat back to medium.  Here are different stages of how it will look as it gets to the full boiling stage.  It takes approximately 30 minutes from this point to the end.  Just keep stirring and inhale all that deliciousness.  I want to bottle up that scent and have it in my house all year long :)

The final temperature you are looking for is 234-240 degrees (soft ball stage).

Once you've reached the proper stage remove saucepan from heat and stir in vanilla.  Let the caramel sit for about 5 minutes and then begin dipping.

Bottling and Red and Blues

My Grandma and I usually do a little bit of bottling each year. This year tomatoes were hard to come by...all of ours died and this seemed to be the case with a lot of people who usually have extras that they give us. In fact everything in our garden died except our jalapeno plant-which produced and is in fact still producing like crazy. (we did find out that a pipe leading to the garden was broken so it likely wasn't getting the water it needed to survive)

So when life gives you lemons...make jalapeno jelly. We have never made it before but since we had an excess of jalapeno's on hand we decided to try it. It turned out pretty good and tastes great for a snack on crackers with cream cheese.

We also ended up getting some tomatoes 2 different times and were able to make a couple batches of salsa. A staple around our house.

One day while making the salsa-we realized that we needed a few more peppers than what we had planned. We jumped in my car for a quick trip to Wal-Mart. On the way I was cruising along and of course we passed a cop who quickly pulled out, he was parked on the side of the road, and began following me with his lights going-UGH!!! I pulled over and he came up to get my license and registration. I guess I was speeding a little bit 41 in a 30 zone, but seriously who knew?! My Grandma even told me she never goes 30 on that road but that now she will be more careful. Luckily the cop went easy on me and just gave me a warning. Maybe he thought I couldn't be to bad of a person if I was hanging out with my Grandma right ;).

Fall Carnival

Chloe's school puts on a Fall Carnival every year. It is one of the events we really look forward to.

They have a cake decorating contest for the cake walk. The winning cakes win prizes and the other cakes are used for the winners of the cake walk.Chloe and her BFF Brydee love making cakes for this. This year we went a little more intricate and my sister Tiffanie came over to teach the girls the art of fondant. They had fun dying it, rolling it, and shaping it. I think their cakes should have been winners for sure-but unfortunately they weren't. Oh well they still had a blast and I'm sure they will be doing it again next year.

 The carnival itself was lots of fun-Chloe's favorite event-the Zip Line. Good thing we got there early so she was able to go 3 times before the lines got too long. Bryce also had a blast playing on the bounce houses and slides and doing all of the carnival games-with Tanner and Daddy's help of course. The only thing he didn't like was the Haunted Hallway.

 He was pretty happy about his balloon and toy lizard that he won.

We love Fall Time and all of the great activities that go along with it.

Breaking the Barrier

We usually go out to my Grandma Marshall's house at least once a week. She has all kinds of things she does to keep babies out of places they shouldn't be. She ties cupboard doors closed and puts up chair barricades to keep them out of stuff. We knew it was inevitable that one day soon one of them was going to figure out that they could simply climb over the chairs. Yep-Bryce figured it out last week. He was so proud of himself once he realized what he had done. He also tried to grab Preslie and pull her over with him. Now there is no stopping him ;)

Car Full of Cuties

Tired Boy

"Spray Spiders"

Bryce is at a stage where he is into everything. He is so curious and wants to do whatever we are doing. He also is at just the right height where he can grab stuff off tables and counters plus he is able to pull himself up onto any chair or stool or anything else so he is just trouble waiting to happen. One of his favorite things to do is to open the dishwasher and take all of the dishes out-he thinks he is helping-not usually the case! He has also learned that he can push the water dispenser button on the fridge when he wants a drink-which usually ends up in a tiny bit of water in his cup and a whole bunch on himself and the floor. Another favorite past time of his is to try to run the computer which usually ends up in some of the settings being change or other weird things.

Last week one day Bryce and I were out doing a little bit of clean-up in the garage and around the house. I was spraying for spiders and ants. When I was done I shut the valve on the spray and put it down. Then I turned around to grab something else..I got sidetracked for just a second. When I turned back around Bryce had somehow managed to dose his whole head in bug spray. I think there must have been some left in the hose. I of course screamed and ran him in the house where I thoroughly rinsed out his eyes and washed the rest of his head. I asked him what he was doing and he calmly said to me "spray spiders"! Well I guess that explains it.

Weekly Soccer Update-TIED GAME

Chloe's team had a hard fought game last week. It was a nail bitter and was neck and neck the whole game. Both teams played excellent defense as the ending score can attest 1-1. Although they tied Chloe's team is still ranked number 1, because the other team had tied another game as well.Chloe is loving this season and so are we. It is so fun to watch the girls really learn how to play the game and put their skills into play. I don't know if we can say they are still undefeated although they haven't been defeated yet-LOL.
#teamUnited #soccergirl #numbersix

Bucket Heads

For some reason Bryce and Preslie think it is so fun to put these buckets on their heads and run around the house. Funny Kids!!!

Piggy Surprise

Grandma Tawny knows how much Bryce loves his 'Farm Animals' so a few weeks ago she sent him a picture of a cute pig wearing green galoshes. He loved it. Imagine our surprise when we checked out a library book called "Pocket Piggies" and started reading when we came across the same cute picture. He thought it was so funny. Now he will always turn to that page and say 'Mama' (Grandma)

AC Problems

The past week we have had some problems with our a/c-in fact we have pretty much been without one for the entire time. Luckily on Tuesday they were finally able to get it fixed and luckily it has only been between 80-90 degrees and not over 100 like it gets in the middle of the summer.

It hadn't been running well for a few week, so we finally called. The first company came out and replaced the condenser motor thinking, but not checking first, that was the problem. Of course it wasn't. They told us it was some other costly problem. We called for a second opinion. The second company came and told us it was the blower motor. This guy also told us to call the first company back and tell them that and that they might somehow compensate us for their mistake. So we did. The first company came back and sure enough, this time they tested, the blower motor was bad. So they replaced that and refunded the cost of the first motor as well as the service charge. 

So now we finally have ac again and don't have to live in a house that's 80 degrees with all the windows open and all the fans running-I am so grateful for things like ac. I can't even imagine living long ago when they didn't have things like that-especially in St. George!

Soccer Game 5

 Chloe's team has now played 5 games...and they have won all 5. So yep another win last week...Chloe made some great runs and passes, but didn't score any goals herself. She mostly plays forward, but during this game she took a little bit of a turn as mid-fielder. She is learning the positions and team work really well as well as some nice footwork. We are so glad we were able to get her on this team-her coaches are the best.

At practice one night Coach Seth came over and was talking to Landon. He said he was glad Chloe was on the team and hoped she was liking it because she has been a great addition and really helped them out. He said that she hustles so much and never complains-but that the other girls made up for that-hahaha. He said maybe give her a year to warm up and she might be complaining right along with them. That is possible at home she never stops talking and can have a serious attitude at times. Him and the other coach really seem to like her though.

#soccergirl #numbersix #teamUnited #stillundefeated 

Grandma Came to Town

Sometimes its really hard having your Mom live in another state. The kids miss her a lot and I know I do to. At least she calls almost everyday. Bryce loves to talk to her on the phone and to listen to her sing 'Good Morning Merry Sunshine' to him.

The kids were all so excited last week when her and Jeff came to visit. It was raining that weekend so they took all of the kids to Jumping Jacks. It was a riot-everyone got in on the fun.

 How many kids can you fit onto a tiny carousel? to many to count-haha

 We also went to feed the ducks while they were here.

Friday night Chloe and Tanner had a sleepover with Grandma Tawny and Grandpa Jeff. They also got spoiled with frozen yogurt. Bryce was so sad when they pulled out of the driveway and left him behind-maybe next time he can go too.
Hopefully they will be able to visit again soon.

Carousel

Can you say pure joy? He was a little hesitant to get on a first...but he cried when we had to leave.

Farm Activities

I have been trying to do some preschool type activities with Bryce and Preslie a few times a week. Of course we have been doing 'Farm Theme' Stuff since that is Bryce's favorite thing right now. He loves it when I find videos of chickens, pigs, or sheep for them to watch on the laptop. We have made cotton ball sheep, hand-print chickens, and muddy pigs. Neither of them was to sure about the mud (chocolate pudding) Bryce especially freaked out when I put it on his hands-he of course then wiped it all over his body trying to get it off (luckily his shirt was off). Preslie wasn't to sure at first either, but once she realized you could eat the mud she thoroughly enjoyed it-haha. There was no way Bryce was eating that stuff!

Bryce's favorite activity so far has been feeding the ducks. He cried the whole way home when it was time to go.