Fall Is In The Air!

We just love this time of year! Here is a slideshow from our trip to Vala's Pumpkin Patch this weekend and one of our favorite fall recipes! Happy Fall!

Autumn Pork Chops

4 pork chops
4 T. butter, divided
2 red apples, cored and halved
3 T. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. cinnamon

Arrange pork chops in a 9x13" baking pan; spread one tablespoon butter over each pork chop. Lay one apple half cut-side down on each pork chop; sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 mins or until pork chops are no longer pink. Makes 4 servings.

There's No Place Like Home. Right, Mom???

My mom and grandma had planned on going on a trip to Sweden this past week. However, a situation arose at the last minute and they had to reschedule for June. Needless to say, Mom was sooooo disappointed. But, after a weekend of mourning, she decided to make the best of it and spend a week doing fun things around here! (My mom and grandma have now put the "best" in making the best of a bad situation!)

On Tuesday afternoon, Mom came over to play and transplanted some lilly-of-the-valley from her garden to mine. The kids had a lot of fun digging in the incredibly tough Nebraska "soil" (more like rock). They each liked the great-big shovel, of course.

Then, on Wedesday, we all went to the Children's Museum! We have not been there since Christian was about 7 months old and Emily asks to go about once-a-week. (They charge for adults and also, anyone over 24 months is considered an "adult". It's extortion, but I figured for once or twice a year, just to deal with it. We can't get there often enough to justify buying a pass.) It wasn't crowded and so we pretty much had the run of the place. We had some lunch and then the kiddos crashed all afternoon! So great!

Today, my mom came over while Emily was at school and played with Christian so that I could have some free time! I ran my little heart out at the YMCA, I got some stuff for a Christmas project for the kids at Hobby Lobby, and, what day alone would be complete without a trip to Target? Christian and Grandma had a very busy morning as well--playing trains and playing with the vaccuum and trying out Emily's rollerskates outside!

So, I know Mom was very sad about having to reschedule her trip, but, I'm glad she's been able to have a good time working on projects, shopping, and playing with us! There's no place like home!

Okay, is my house really THAT cold???

Apparently, Peter thinks so.

Have a Very "Hoppy" Weekend!

We're getting ready for Halloween....how about you??

Six Quirks Tag

My "quirky" friend, Rachel, tagged me. Accordingly, I'm supposed to come up with six quirks that I have. Hmmm....Do I do anything weird??? ME??? I've decided to ask the supreme authority on the subject, Cubby, and see what he says.

#1 I try and be very organized. Almost to fault. However, there is one place that is almost never organized. My purse. (In college it was my backpack.) It boggles Cubby's mind how I can be so OCD about almost everything else, but my purse is a jumble of receipts, snacks, and toys for the kids.

#2 I set the alarm for 6:00 every night and yet some (most lately) mornings, I can hardly get out of bed before 7. I am not a morning person (ask my best friend from high school, Michelle, who would be at my house to pick me up everyday before school and EVERY day, I would be late....she's a really good friend for sticking with me!!). Anyhow, getting back to the alarm. Some mornings I can wrestle my inner demons and get up and run. Lately, however, I'm just too tired! Cubby says I just should admit this to myself and set the alarm for 7:00 instead of lying to myself that maybe the next morning will be different!

#3 When I get stressed (or bored, or restless), I pick. I pick my mascara off, I pick at my eyebrows, I pick at my nails. Anything really. It's been a nervous habit of mine since geometry. Darn those proofs!!! So, if you really want to know how my week has been, check out how thin my brows are looking and you'll know without asking!

#4 Milk. I have a super-sniffer nose when it comes to milk. It's only skim for me and I can tell if milk is getting close to its expiration date and this makes it too "sour" to drink.

#5 When Cubby is watching the TV by himself, I'm always nagging him to turn it down. However, when the kids are watching, I usually am the one to turn the volume up so that they can hear it. I swear that their shows are quieter than his. Go figure.

#6 Finally, my last quirk would be that I skip ahead in books and read the ending! Yes, I can't stand to not know how a book ends while I'm reading it! What if I were to die and then I'd never know how it ends?? Also, it is hard for me to go to sleep at night with questions about what going to happen next floating around in my head. And, one more thing, I like knowing how it ends so that I can take my time reading rather than rushing through it to get to the ending. I pick up on details on how and why things happen too that otherwise, I'd miss.

Okay, that's it for me. I'm going to tag my sister-in-laws, Whitney and Sara, and my friends Maylene, Ilise, Maren, Diana, and Heather!

Emily's "New" Bike!

This weekend marked a major kid-milestone for little Miss Emily: her first bicycle! She had once asked for a "blue bicycle with a princess basket." We looked around at various stores and shops and could not find a blue girl's bike. (Apparently, only the boys want blue now-a-days.) I was telling my mom about it and she told me that she still had my old Schwinn bike (which happened to be blue) up in the attic! She got it down and we took it into the High Gear bike shop for new tires and to get it cleaned up. (Evidently, the bike is quite the collector's piece and we got quite a few offers for it while we were there! I'm so old my bike is now an antique! Go figure!) Cubby then ordered a princess basket off of Amazon (b/c stores don't carry just the basket--usually it's the princess bike with a basket).

Well, it all came together on Saturday and she was so thrilled! We'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

Her first reaction to her bike

Sitting so pretty!

Going for her first ride

Coming back and doing great!

First Haircut

Before....sweet little baby boy wispies!

During....NOT too thrilled with the whole concept of the haircut....

After! (Big-boy hair now! Sniff, sniff!)

Please note: We did not cut the top--just timmed up the back as to avoid the all-too-common "baby mullet" look. I saved his little wispy curls in a tissue--the hair is just as white as the tissue!! The back looks so much better--thanks, Albanie, for squeezing us in!