Oct 1st: Isaac and his buddies had a lot of fun playing in our leaf pile.
... What a cute little knight! Wait. Let's take a closer look. Yep, that is a tiny piece of a leaf stuck to his face by snot. Awesome.
Oct 2nd-8th: Craig, Eve, and I took a trip to Utah. Craig's firm sent him there for the purpose of attending an annual fireside for the Mormon Scholars Foundation, which he does some legal work for. Thankfully, we were able to arrange babysitting for Ella and Isaac (HUGE shout-out to my parents and Craig s parents for keeping them and loving on them during that time!), and I was able to take the trip with Craig and visit with my family out there. We stayed with my sister, Cora, the whole time, and my other sister, Lenore, flew out from California for the time so that we could all be together. It was SO great to be with my sisters. They are my best friends, and that time with them was definitely much needed! It was also so nice to have that get-away with Craig. Unfortunately, Eve developed an ear infection on the way to Utah, and was extremely lethargic every single day, and out of control/out of her mind every single night from the pain. She screamed and cried for hours every night of the trip, throughout the night off and on. It was pretty miserable for all. We took her to an urgent care place who prescribed her meds, but they didn't really start to make a difference until the day we got home. Despite that craziness, we made the best of our trip, and had a great time!
Here is Eve looking especially casual and chubby as she waited to board her first plane.
We had some Waffle Love that Cora raved about and said we could not leave without trying. It did not disappoint! Also, check out Cora and Eve. This was while she was acting lethargic, and before we knew it was an ear infection. Poor baby.
It was the weekend of General Conference, so here we are watching from Cora's couch.
More GC action with my sisters. I love those girls!
And between session we made the BEST homemade cinnamon rolls EVER. Seriously. The recipe for the dough is perfect. It is elasticy and melts in your mouth just like Cinnabon.
I got the recipe from a friend, who got it from her grandmother. It was her grandmothers most loved recipe.
Recipe:
Cinnamon Rolls
Mix and let stand 20 minutes in kitchen-aid:
4 T. yeast (4 pkgs.) in 1 cup warm water and 2 T. sugar
2 c. scalded milk
2/3 c. shortening
4 t. salt
3/4 c. sugar
4 eggs beaten
1 t. vanilla
8 rounded cups flour
(Don’t make the dough too stiff - needs to still be a bit sticky)
Knead
Let rise to double.
Roll out. Spread with softened butter (this recipe is so big that it makes two large rolls. I use one stick of butter per roll). Sprinkle (generously) with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll up and cut into rolls. Let rise to double. Bake at 350 for approximately. 20 min.
*notes*
I do what it says at the beginning (I just wait until it gets kind of frothy). Just add the rest in once the yeast mixture is ready. If possible, it's nice to have room temperature eggs. Or make sure that the milk is warm enough that when you add in the eggs that the mixture doesn't end up being too cold--or else it takes a lot longer to rise. Then add in no more than 7 cups of flour total, and keep the last cup to add in a little at a time. By the time you're done mixing it, it should still be just a little sticky. After it rises and you go to roll it out, add in flour to keep it from sticking to the cupboard. I take it pretty easy with the rolling pin so that it doesn't flatten the dough too much.
My little nephew Rocky. He wanted potato chips with his cinnamon roll for breakfast. His mom wasn't around, so I said, "Yes, you sweet lil honey chil'." I'm his auntie, so it's allowed.
Wow, did Craig and I seriously not get one picture together? That is sad. I had a great time with him... and I love him to death. Buuuuut, here is another shot with my sisters.
The trip home ended up being a pretty major disaster. We had two layovers, and at the first one (our second plane) they had to do some minor work on the plane that shouldn't have lasted 20 minutes or so. Well, we ended up being stuck on the runway for over an hour and a half, and would have missed our connecting flight. It was the last connecting flight of the night, so we ended up having the spend the night in AZ. Eve was happy to not be traveling anymore, as you can see from the photo below... but ended up screaming for the majority of the last leg home the next day. Eve is a sweet little thing who went through a rough time, but I don't think I will voluntarily fly with a baby anymore!
Oct 10th: Ella wanted me to take a picture of her standing like this. She said, "I like to stand like this now. It is really comfortable." Yes, it totally looks comfortable!
Oct 11th: Craig took Ella on a Daddy/Daughter date to see Disney Princesses on Ice. Ella loved it, and loved having that special one on one time. When Isaac saw that Craig was posing for a pic with Ella, he wanted to one with him too.
Oct 12th: I woke up and made some special smiley-face pancakes for the kids. Nailed it! I really did try. We changed it to a Halloween pancake instead.
Oct 14: Ella was excited to wear this outfit that she picked out herself for school. Polka dot pants, leopard print cardigan, Halloween headband. Who am I to tell her "no" and break her little heart???
Oct 15: I noticed that my backyard was infested with these things and freaked out. I took this picture and asked people on Facebook what the heck it was. Apparently it is just ladybug larvae! Who knew lady bugs look like this before they become their prettier self???
Oct 17: Eve was especially irresistible in this little sleeper.
Oct 19th: My brother Gibbs, and his wife, Keri, and their two cute girls flew in for a visit from Utah. It was so great to see them and spend time with them while they were here. We had a lot of fun. During the weekend they were here we took a trip to Kings Dominion to get some roller coaster action on. It ended up being much more busy that we had expected it to be (because it was their second to last Halloween "fright fest" weekend before Halloween) but we still had a great time.
Ella was just barely under the height to be able to get on some pretty sweet adult roller coasters that she was so excited to try. We put up her hair in an ultra high bun, but that didn't fool the workers.
Oct 21st: While Gibbs and Keri were still here, we took a little trip to Carter Mountain to pick apples, and then went to the Downtown Mall for lunch. We had a blast with them. Their girls are so cute and full of life, and we loved all the time that we were able to spend with them!
My mom and dad at the beautiful Carter Mountain Orchard!
Oct 21: During a few perfect weathered afternoons, we had a backyard full of neighbor kids. They would go from one back yard to another to another, and just played outside for ours. What a magical childhood these kids are having!
Oct 23: Just recently Isaac has started to show a real interest in Eve. Up until now he has been a little indifferent. He was always kind, but never really went much out of his way to play with her or give her attention up until this time. Now he tries to hug and kiss her a lot, make her laugh, help her walk, and play with her. I love the little bond that is forming between them.
Oct 24th: I was leaving to take Isaac to preschool when I felt that I had a majorly flat tire. I was not happy... especially because it was a precious preschool day! Luckily a friend of mine took Isaac to school, and I took off the tire, and put on the spare like the seriously awesome and impressive chick that I am! AND now Eve knows how to put on a spare if she is ever in the same situation. I was pretty proud of myself, if you cannot tell.
Oct 30th: On the last day of preschool before Halloween, the kids were able to wear their costumes to school. Here is Isaac the knight with his buddy before school.
On the same day, Ella had a book character parade. Instead of dressing in their Halloween costumes, they were asked to dress as their favorite character from a book, and to bring the book along too. Ella was, of course, Fancy Nancy. I love that fancy girl of mine!
She spotted Eve. Sweet big sis.
No comments:
Post a Comment