Football Fanatics

The greatest fans of all time . . .

watching the cutest football player EVER . . . #37! Go big D!


the half-time entertainment was pretty exciting too--Micah had both his uncles all to himself for a little game of toss

Fall Cooking is THE BEST!!!

I love comfort food. ALL of it! I love cooking when it's cold outside and you want to snuggle up to your stove. I love eating my creations with my family . . . even if they don't appreciate them ; ) and I love sharing a new fabulous find with my friends! So here you go: my latest find. It's PHE-NOM-IN-AL. Seriously. Melt-in-your-mouth loveliness. In pancake form. : )

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 c. flour
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl; wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir together just until evenly moistened.

The only way to have these pancakes is with homemade vanilla syrup. We actually have to keep a bottle in the fridge at all times, because it's fabulous on everything from these pancakes to regular ones, especially if you add bananas and pecans . . . or anything fruit . . . or just straight from the bottle on a spoon (I don't ever do that . . . just the kids . . . ) ; )

Vanilla Syrup

3/4 c. butter
3 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. buttermilk (cool side note here: did you know that if you don't have "real" buttermilk you can substitute 1 T cider vinager + milk to make a full 1 cup? I usually do 1 t of vinegar, though--it seems like enough)
3 Tbsp. light corn syrup
3 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. vanilla

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a large pot. Remove pot from the burner; add baking soda and vanilla. Mixture will froth up and rise considerably. Stir regularly and let sit until the syrup settles and bubbles are gone. Serve warm.

Lick-your-plate-clean. Seriously. Enjoy!

I do have to give credit to Misty and Carla for the find--thanks gals! from the bottom of my stomach . . . : )

Micah's Love Carrots!!

We started a garden this year, and Micah was in charge of the carrots. We got some seriously-funky-shaped ones, including these "love carrots." Micah is super-proud of his carrots!

Oh dear . . .

here we are in October and no dress day pic yet! ok, here you go:

First Days of School!

We started another school this year that has a uniform policy--makes getting dressed in the morning a cinch! My favorite part is that Micah wants to match with his siblings SO BADLY, and now he can without them even knowing! ; ) Monday is a "dress" day, so they'll wear their nicer uniforms and I'll post that picture then.

Love this hair!

Check out Micah's hair--he's dancing at my cousin's reception. ; )

New Favorite Song!

Napping-Not-So-Much

This was Micah and Sophia's attempts at napping together--I snuck in the room and they were telling stories, then ran to get the camera. When I got back, Micah was saying, "now go to sleep!" I started taking pictures and they happened to notice . . .

Sweet idea, but foiled by the mom. Better luck next time, kiddos!

What do we do in the summertime?

Fun Handcart Days Pictures!

From playing with the neighbor's puppies, riding ponies at the park, eating popsicles at the parade, and jumping and spinning afterwards, it was a fun-filled day!