Thanksgivin'

My darling sister, Rebecca, was so sweet to come down to visit us for Thanksgiving.

We were excited to meet her "Man Candy" she brought with her.

We'd heard lots about John Wesley Sanders.

{Mostly about his biceps and kindness and kissing abilities}

Still, we were a little nervous.

  We were thrilled to see these two!

 {We put them to work, peeling potatoes for dinner}

Rebecca seems so blissfully happy, Wes is super awesome and treats her so amazingly well.  We can see how in love, FUN, and perfect they are for each other. 

 And the man can peel! 

When company comes, I like to try new recipes out.

Hence the lattice-topped pie.

Darren engineered the criss-cross pattern, and it turned out so pretty!

{I mean, manly.}

Before baking, you pour some yummy carmelized sauce over the top.

 At dinner, we opened our Gratitude box and took turns reading our blessings.

I LOVE spending holidays surrounded by family!

After we eat dinner, our family has a crazy tradition.

I'm a little scared to tell you what it is.

 It's called the Turkey Shoot.

Basically, we sit in chairs in the backyard and chuck mini wiffle balls at our kids while they run across the yard gobbling like turkeys and flapping their elbows.
It's great fun.

Apparently our mini wiffle balls were lost in the move.

So we had light saber fights instead.

Awww.... aren't they so cute together?

Antique Desk Remake

This gem was painted and stenciled by my Mama in the late 80's.

We inherited it, so...

I decided to be brave and refinish it.

I refinished a dresser once, back when Alexander was a baby.

As I was slathering on the pleasant-smelling orange stripper, I thought,

Why haven't I done this more often?

Two or three hours later, it came to me.

Oh yeah.

BECAUSE IT'S A BIG FAT HUGE PAIN!!!

This was quite a unique little treasure, under all the coats of paint.

Some little rebellious student had carved Kort "48" into the underside of the desk lid.

This is the ink well, scrubbed & shined by Darren.

American Seating Company was Darren's company's greatest competitor when we lived in Maine.

The desk is circa 1930's.

 Are you ready to see the only furniture refinish ever to be posted on this blog?

Here it is!

Courtney does her homework on this lil' beauty every afternoon.

Napoleon Meets Nerf

I looked upstairs tonight, and saw Darren doing the Napoleon Dynamite dove with nerf darts on his glasses.

Random, but funny, very funny.

Gearing Up for Christmas

Disney style!

Mickey looks so cozy & festive!

Did y'all know Santa's reindeer hang out at Disneyland before the big night?

Goofy or Pluto?

I think I'll call him Gloofo, just to be safe.

My latest craving...caramel apples rolled in chopped peanuts.

{My mouth is watering just looking at the picture!}

Glam'd Up Target Shoes

I needed grey shoes, but these were just too plain Jane...

...so I made some felt rosettes for the toes!

I'm resisting the urge to add some to my sneakers :)

Jolene's French Dip Sandwiches

One of Darren's favorite meals is French Dip with Au jus. 
A darling lady in our AZ Stake {the BEST cook ever} shared this recipe.
It is amazing.
Maybe a little more than amazing.

Large bottom round roast

Rub roast with salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder

Brown roast in oil, then place in crockpot

Combine 2 cans beef consomme, 2 packets Au jus and 6 cups water

Pour over roast, then cook 6-8 hours

Take beef out of juice & shred

Reserve juice for dipping

Just before serving, butter rolls & sprinkle Parmesan cheese on them. Broil until golden brown.

{I've learned the hard way that broiling only takes a minute or two:}

Super easy and soooo good.

Leftovers:

Add a can of tomatoes with green chiles {like Rotel} to the beef to make bean & beef chimis.  Equally delicious!

Threes

Blessings come in threes, right?!?

Today Darren was called as a counselor in the Bishopric.

For the third time.

This has been the only time the call has come as a surprise to both of us.

This particular Sunday was quite ironic, as dear Bishop Randall's family {the Bishop who Darren was serving with in AZ} came for a visit and went to church with us.

Darren's observation:

It just goes to show you can run from a calling, but you can't hide!

You'll do great, babe.

Trunk-or-Treat--Arizona Style

We did it.  We crashed the party.  It was so wonderful to see our 7th Ward friends!

So many great families, so many memories.

Courtney misses these girls!  How seriously cute are they?!?

We had to keep with tradition & finished up the night at Rawhide.

Shocking!  Darren's in the electric chair!

Happy Haunting!

Temple Trip

We woke up in the wee morning hours to come to a very special event at the Mesa temple.

 The kids & Darren went to the visitor's center and watched the Joseph Smith film while they waited.

 Hooray!  This darlin' little lady had a special day today:)  Congratulations, Karen!  So happy for you, my dear friend!

You sassy thing, you!

Trunk or Treat--California Style

 Xanderman only went to one car for Trunk-or-Treat.  The rest of the time he passed out candy.

{No masks, so we had to do our best with eyeliner}

 Maggie is our favorite!  The Wimmers are an awesome family & little Maggie cracks us up like no other!

 Here's Jack---in all his Halloween glory.

My monster man!

Yeah, stuff it in, baby!  Cotton candy is the best!

Costume Parade

This is the first year the kids have been able to dress up for Halloween at school.

 Jack Skellington {mask and makeup not allowed}

The 6th graders actually provide the valet service for the school pick-up and drop-off.  It is considered a real honor to be a valet.  The kids do such a great job!

6th graders are considered "too old" for the costume parade, but all the younger grades participate.

Courtney's princess-ly patience was being tried, as she was sandwiched between two butterflies. 

These wings keep smackin' me in the face!

Company Rocks!

Since the week of my surgery, we've been flooded with company!

Loved it!  So....

Josh, Jamie, Tyler, Camryn, Stephanie, Kathie, Raeo, Cheryl, Jeanette, Kirk, Netalia, Maleah, Nick, Sheri, Cole, Jacob, David, Amy, Braden, Tristen, Camden, Jaren, Jenni, Jeff, Jaclyn, Lizzie, Layten...

I loved visiting with you all, but am extremely sorry I didn't get pictures documenting our wonderful visits together!

I was recovering.

Thanks for visiting us in SoCal!  XOXOXO's

Fall is in the Air!

On my walk home today...

It's Halloweeeeentime!

This fall season has been so FUN at Disneyland. 

We love all the fall decor, characters in costumes, and of course, Haunted Mansion Holiday.

In September, the Haunted Mansion closes for a few weeks.  The anticipation is palpable, and when it reopens, Tim Burton's Jack Skellington has taken over. 

 Xander's been a little obsessed with Nightmare Before Christmas ever since then.

He's waited weeks to get an autograph from Jack.

 Jack's girlfriend, Sally {who creeps us out in the movie} was actually very sweet & pretty

This nightmare is a dream come true!

I'll admit it.  We're Disney addicts.

Movie Fright Night

Since I was still in recovery mode, we decided to have Courtney's "friend party" later in the month & make it Halloween themed.

We held it outside, and had so much fun decorating for it!

{Our little princess, decorating the rosebushes}

Silhouette makes these ADORABLE cupcake pics and wrappers that you can print and cut out.

We filled skeleton hands with popcorn {complete with bat rings}...

Put some poms in the palms...

Put out twinkle lights, snacks, eyeballs in a cauldron, a few ghosts in the trees...

Courtney picked the movie Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein.  Throw in some glow sticks, pass the pumpkin, a mummy wrap & you've got a horrifically fun night!

Newport, Not Hawaii

It was a little blustery at the beach today. 

{I stole these pics from Mom's camera}

Every few years, the Rooses enjoy their timeshare in Hawaii.  Apparently California beaches don't compare after you've been to Hawaii. :)

We had a fun day searching for shells, warding off seagulls & reading.  Mom has a Kindle--jealous!

10/10/10

Happy Birthday, Princess!  Our doll, our sweetheart, our baby girl!  We adore you!

Breakfast:  Mickey Mouse pancakes with strawberries & whipped cream.

Grandpa took over pancakes while I was on camera duty.  He did a magnificent job!

Grammy gives the best hugs!  What a special Birthday to have your wonderful Grandparents here.

We missed Darren today, since we didn't get to see much of him.  He gave a fantastic talk in church, and then had to drop some friends off for their cruise.

1st attempt at fondant.  Don't laugh.

7 years old!  We feel you've been a part of our family always.

Happy Birthday, beautiful girl.

We LOVE you!