And I Get Candy for Me?

Taylor: Mom, are we going to go trick-or-treating?

Me: Yes, we will go today!

Taylor: TODAY?!?!?!?!?!?! At my school?

Me: No, not at school... Here at the houses in our neighborhood.

Taylor: In our neighborhood? ...Which houses, Mom?

Me: All of them!

Taylor: All of them?????? And I get candy for ME? Goodie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween was a lot of fun this year, as Taylor is finally grasping the concept. Taylor loved being a pirate, and Reilly really liked her black cat costume.

And of course, the candy. Always the candy.

Jacky Lanterns

Today Bryson came home early to carve pumpkins with the kids. "Jacky lanterns," as they call them. And so we stripped Taylor down to just his pants (he is a magnet for all things gooey & sticky) and safeguarded the kitchen table with today's newspaper in order to protect it from the pumpkin onslaught.

Taylor & Reilly were really wary of the pumpkin innards, but were really excited to pick the shapes out that would make up their jack-o-lantern faces. Taylor wanted circle eyes, Reilly preferred triangles.

In the meantime I was fixing up a pumpkin of my own in the kitchen... Tonight I decided to get creative and make dinner in a pumpkin. I had a recipe years ago back in college that was really yummy and I have yet to find a similar recipe to recreate it. So I just decided to wing it tonight. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Dinner in a Pumpkin:

1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. ground pork sausage
salt & pepper to taste
a few shakes each of: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, fennel seed & chili powder (just go with me on that one)
1/2 onion, diced
1 medium apple, cored & diced (tart is best-- we used Jonathans... what else?)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 T brown sugar
~32 oz. chicken stock (2 cans or one of the big boxes)
1 1/2 c. brown & wild rice mixture (or use what your family enjoys)
1 sugar pumpkin
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

In a large skillet over medium high heat, mix ground meats together & cook until browned. Drain off fat and mix in salt, pepper, spices, onion, apple, mushrooms, & brown sugar. Stir in stock & rice. Cover & cook until rice is tender.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove top of pumpkin by cutting straight across the top (if you cut it jack-o-lantern style the top will collapse in on itself as it bakes). Scoop out pumpkin innards.

When meat/rice mixture is done, add the condensed soup and stir well. Season the inside of the pumpkin with salt, pepper, a little brown sugar, nutmeg, & some chili powder (there it is again!) Spoon the meat mixture into the pumpkin, replace pumpkin top.

Place the pumpkin on a large baking sheet & bake for 1 hr - 1 1/2 hrs at 400, or until the pumpkin is tender. Scoop out portions of filling and parts of the cooked pulp & serve. This is especially yummy with some crusty homemade bread & apple cider from Southridge Farm. :)

Enjoy!!!!!!!

Heirloom

I love history. I think we, as a culture, place way too much importance on the here and now and forget to pay the past the respect it's due. In particular, I love learning about my own family history. For a few years now I've been collecting stories, artifacts-- things to compile and cherish so I can better teach my own children where they fit in the interconnected weave of generations past and present.

Last week I was lucky enough to inherit this bureau from my aunt, who was nice enough to think of me when she decided it needed a new home. As you can see, it needs a little TLC to get it back to its gorgeous self, but I am absolutely ready to get to work.

This dresser belonged to my Great Grandmother. It was given to her by my Great Grandfather just after World War I.

I am completely in love with it.

I think sometimes that this crazy fast-paced world we live in leads us to believe that newer, faster, bigger is always better. But I disagree.

A Girl of Many Words

I remember going in for Reilly's two-year checkup recently and the physician asking if she was now speaking in two-word sentences. I almost began laughing out loud because Reilly, despite being quite small for her age, has quickly developed the uncanny ability to speak clearly and articulately. Bryson even taught her to say that word-- "Articulate." It makes me giggle every time she says it.

Now just the other day Bryson was lounging on the sofa reading a novel-- feet up on the furniture, his brown loafers resting casually on the carpet below. Enter Reilly, the big shoe lover of our household. She walks over to her daddy's shoes, puts her little feet into the soles and says...

Daddy's shoes? No.
Big shoes? Not exactly.

What this little two year old exclaims is-- no exaggeration-- "These are the biggest shoes I have ever seen!"

Bryson & I just stared at her for a moment, then looked at one another and started cracking up with laughter. And this is one of the highlights of my day... looking forward to what interesting things will come out of my princess's mouth. Could life get much sweeter?

Me and My Shadow

This morning I was getting a few things done upstairs when I heard Taylor in the hallway having this one-sided conversation:

Taylor: Hi! ... I'm so happy to see you today! ... How are you doing? ... I'll see you soon! ... I love you! ... Bye, Shadow!

I came around the corner just in time to see him kissing his shadow on the wall goodbye.

When was the last time you told your shadow you loved her?

A New Calling

Shell Shocked. Truly, there are no other words to describe how Bryson and I have felt for the past few days as we have let the reality of the situation sink in. When the Stake President called us in to speak with him last week, we assumed simply that Bryson was going to be released from his current church assignment of serving as our congregation's Elders Quorum President. But no...

"We'd like to extend you a calling to serve on the High Council," were the words that came out of the Stake President's mouth.

What???
No, seriously.
What???

I whipped my head around to glance at Bryson, who was clearly as blindsided by the call as I was. After a few moments, however, Bryson regained his composure enough to accept.

"Are you willing to sustain your husband in this new calling?" came the next question.

But, really, there is no question. Of course I will. I would support Bryson through anything-- he is my rock, my soft place to fall, my best friend.

Besides, we know we won't be alone on this new chapter... Perhaps Bryson's favorite scripture passage says it best:

And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left , and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and my angels round about you, to bear you up.

- Doctrine & Covenants 84:88
With promises like these, it's hard to doubt... despite the overwhelming feeling of it all.
And so we trust and move forward.

Jalapeño Girl

With all the salsa-making occurring in our home lately, our kitchen has been a treasure trove of produce. As I was cleaning up for the day, I noticed something rather strange... a half-eaten jalapeño pepper. Not merely sliced, mind you-- this pepper had an enormous bite taken out of it. I asked Bryson about it, and he seemed as perplexed as I was. The next morning I asked Taylor and Reilly about the mysterious jalapeño. Having eliminated one suspect already, I was pretty certain of the secret pepper eater's identity, as Reilly eats everything and Taylor eats nothing.

Me: Taylor, Reilly, do you know who ate this pepper?
Taylor: No.
Me: Reilly, did you eat this pepper?
Reilly: Yes. (joyfully) My pepper!

Reilly then proceeded to pick up where she left off, munching on the pepper as if it were an apple. Seeds, membranes, the whole enchilada. Apparently she takes after her southwestern-bred Grandma. :) We love our little girl!

Lincoln Is Our Friend

Taylor: Mom! There's a temple on my penny!

Me: Actually, it's not a temple, it's a special place called Lincoln Memorial. They built it for a very good man who led our country named Abraham Lincoln. That's his picture on the other side of your penny.

Taylor: Oh! ...Mom?

Me: Yes, Taylor?

Taylor: Lincoln is my friend.

The Most Wonderful Man on Earth

Just for the record, let it be known that I am married to the most wonderful man on Earth. Well at least I think so. Today Bryson came home with a beautiful bouquet of flowers-- just because.

It couldn't have been a better day for a surprise like that, since I had been refereeing Toddler Smackdown XXIV all day. (Reilly has suddenly discovered that she is two now.) By the time Bryson arrived home I was frazzled, stressed out, and hopelessly surrounded by a messy house. After I gave him a well-deserved hug & kiss, he began to clean up the kitchen as I continued to try my hand at conquering the mountain of laundry.

Now I know that there are countless men out there probably doing similar acts of kindness in their families... But I just want to let Bryson know how much I love him and appreciate all he does to make me feel loved in return. I'm crazy about my husband!

The Enemy

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I promised in the last post to tell the sad tale of Reilly's jack-o-lantern demise... And as you can see, it suffered a drawn out and tortuous death... by squirrel.

The current archenemy of my garden is a ground squirrel that has shacked up underneath the concrete steps leading to our front porch. We have been dealing with him on and off for the past two years now. He is currently living on a steady diet of tulip bulbs and now, tragically, Reilly's prized pumpkin that we picked from Grandma & Grandpa's pumpkin patch. We have tried all sorts of humane ways of extracting him... and when that did not work, sadly, we tried all sorts of inhumane ways of ridding ourselves of him. This squirrel is indestructible.

I am trying to be patient, but when your little girl becomes crestfallen over the loss of her Halloween pumpkin the desire for vindication quickly becomes an obsession. I really don't want to hurt the little bugger-- he's actually really cute. But messing with my family has been the final straw. This squirrel has officially been served his eviction notice.

The Big Red Barn

Over the weekend we decided to take a trip to Southridge Farm, not too far from our home. It is something we have always wanted to do, but for some reason we have never made the trek before. On this particular day we were lured in by the ice cream. You see, the Rowleys-- who own the family farm-- are also alumni of Utah State, where Bryson & I graduated. Utah State is located in the middle of dairy country, and as such, produces some of the best ice cream you have ever tasted. The Rowleys sell this "Aggie Ice Cream" at their farm. The fact that you can also pick a pumpkin from their pumpkin patch, enjoy the local apple harvest, and go on a hayride... Well, on this day it was all just an additional perk. :)
But enjoy it we did! After some fantastic rocky road ice cream we let Taylor grab a wagon and discovered the offerings to be had on the farm! (Taylor believes fun is exponentially increased if a wagon is involved.) Reilly enjoyed being transported around like a princess along with the goodies we found along the way. We picked out the perfect pumpkin for Reilly's replacement jack-o-lantern (more on that story in a following post). We sampled & purchased to-die-for apple cider that is made fresh on site. (Which, coincidentally is transported throughout Utah, and my parents purchase up in Cache Valley, where Utah State is located. Ah, trade. :) ) Then we found the motherlode.

In the gigantic crisper we found boxes upon boxes of apples for sale. One of the perks of living in a semi-rural area is that we are surrounded by local orchards. Typically we get apples from Bryson's parents, but this year a cold snap devastated the apple harvest. Luckily for us Southridge Farms is doing just fine. Bryson is a huge fan of the Jonathan apple. Not the Jonagold. (Believe me, I've made that mistake previously.) Jonathans are the key to this man's heart. Unfortunately, they are difficult to find at market-- they aren't particularly good storage apples and possess other quirks that make merchants overlook them, or charge an arm & a leg per pound when they are to be found. But in the Rowley crisper...

JONATHANS! Beautiful, red, sweet-tart Jonathans. Honestly, these are some truly yummy apples. We bought a 38 lb. box for $22. Like I said, the man likes his Jonathans. ;)

Overall, it was just a fantastic way to spend the early evening hours on a seasonally Autumnal Saturday. To support the local farmers and enjoy time-honored tradition... it just doesn't get much better than this.

Week of the Tomato

After bottling several batches of peaches and jam earlier this summer, I thought I was done with canning... at least for awhile. Rewind to last week. Indian Summer in our area has been very long and warm-- as if the tomato gods smiled down on us this year. I had no intention of putting up any tomatoes for long term storage, until Bryson and I drove over to his parents' farm to harvest the potatoes and acorn squash we raised in an obliging part of their field. The first freeze of autumn was expected in a couple days, along with stormy weather. And no one likes to dig potatoes in the freezing rain.

It was there in that field I saw them: Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! My mother-in-law had repeatedly offered their excess tomatoes to us, but being worn out and ready for a little breather in life, I had repeatedly declined. However, seeing the enormity of produce the conservationist in me took over. I simply could not let the tomatoes go to waste.


And so for the past week I have been the resident Salsa Queen. :) I have made batch after batch of Mexican Garden Salsa, Salsa Verde (an excellent use for green tomatoes!), and the remainder have been lovingly dehydrated for use through the winter months as sun-dried tomatoes. Que bueno!


I know I'll appreciate the unparalleled flavor of homemade salsa from fresh vine-ripened tomatoes during the harsh Rocky Mountain winter... Just give me some time to recuperate from Tomato Week. :)

West to Pine Nuts

In the spirit of spontaneity, our little family took a day trip into the West Desert to go 4-wheeling with Bryson's parents and harvest some wild pine nuts. This road trip took us about 50 miles west of Milford-- pretty much the middle of nowhere. Once out of Milford, the only sign of life we spotted were some pelicans surrounding a little oasis, and a few antelope dashing through the brush.

Bryson: Look, Taylor! Out the window! What do you see?
Taylor: Oh! Cantaloupe!!!

We literally drove through two valleys with a whole lot of NOTHING before we reached our desired location. Seriously. As we drove though one of the valleys I counted one tree. ONE. I was beginning to question the sanity of the trip planners taking us to forage pine nuts in a land with no trees, but we kept following the directions on Bryson's GPS unit, which continued to instruct us to go "west to pine nuts!" And sure enough, eventually we came upon a pretty stretch of land full of cedars and the desired pinyon pines. Huzzah! : )

We spent the greater part of the day on our ATVs, cruising on trails through desert scenery one could paradoxically only describe as lush. Soon our trip became a treasure hunt of sorts as we began searching the pinyons for obliging cones. Due to environmental factors, the pine nut harvest was quite spotty this year. A couple promising looking areas turned up with nothing... quite. Taylor did discover an old, sun-bleached animal bone that he thought was extremely cool. He probably would have brought it home with him, if his mom hadn't intervened. : )


Bryson: Wow, Taylor, that's a neat bone. What are you going to do with it?
Taylor: I'm going to build a cow!

A while later we hit the jackpot, and found a tree with several cones ready for harvest. Later in the day we found another location with a good supply.

4-wheeling in the West Desert was a fantastic experience. Being surrounded by such stark beauty and having the wind fly past as you ride... It makes you so grateful to God for the glorious creations found in nature. I drove out into the desert expecting to find pine nuts. I didn't expect to find God. But I guess it shouldn't be such a big surprise...

"All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion... do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." - Alma 30:44