Pie Night

Joseph's family has a yearly tradition of holding Pie Night the night before Thanksgiving. The idea is that nobody ever has room for pie after Thankgsiving dinner, and then if you do eat any, you may not really enjoy it like you'd like. So they eat their pie the night before and have lots of different kinds to enjoy and invite family and friends over for it. Since we weren't with his family this year for Thanksgiving, we decided to have our own Pie Night here.Neither one of us had ever made a pie before, so we decided to buy all the fruit ones (cherry, apple, berry, and pumpkin) and then I made key lime and chocolate satin pies, and Joseph made an oreo pie. He was pretty pleased that his was the first to go. Sophie obviously really enjoyed the chocolate pie. I think she had 3 pieces of different pies by the end of the night! Plus she got to stay up playing really late so she was in heaven and wants to do it again already.

We spent Thanksgiving with Peter & Abby's family at Abby's sister's home in Orange County. They were nice enough to open their home to us even though we're real "extended family". The food was all delicious and we had a great time! Happy Thanksgiving!

I Found My Toes!

And I haven't let go since. It helps me to roll when I hold onto them. I'm a-rollin' everywhere!

I Did Twilight Opening Night

That should have been put on a pin or sticker for me to wear around today to explain my bloodshot eyes and sluggish gait. I don't know why I agreed to go with my friends to the midnight showing of Twilight, but it was actually really fun and I felt like I was just one of the many teens there standing in line 2 hours before the movie began (except that I wasn't wearing a "Team Cullen" or "Team Jacob" or "Team Edward" shirt like most of them were, and probably none of them had to wake up at 6:45 am to take care of kids all day, with no nap. Their parents simply let them skip Seminary, school, etc.... And they're not almost 30 like me!) It was worth the sacrifice, though. We had a great time and I really liked the movie. Of course, I went into it with very low expectations since I knew nothing could measure up to what I'd imagined in my own mind from reading the books, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well they did. I really liked Robert Pattinson as Edward, probably even more than Kristen Stewart's Bella. It was fun and romantic and perfect for a girl's night out since my hubby wasn't about to come with me (even though he's read all the books! Yes, ladies, he mostly read them to indulge me so we could discuss them, but he read all 4! And even that wouldn't convince him that he wanted to come see it with me in the theater.) So if you're undecided, just see it--you might not be disappointed after all.

Some Recommendations

I have found two things this week that I would love to share with anyone who might be interested. The first is a book that a book club I'm in read a couple months ago, but life has been busy so I just finished it this week (plus, this thing is long!) It's called The Poisonwood Bible and is written by a very gifted author, Barbara Kingsolver. It's about a Baptist preacher in the 1950's who drags his wife and 4 daughters with him to Africa to try to convert the small village they go to live in. It was fascinating to learn about the way of life in a small village in the middle of the Congo and the current history of that poor war-torn country. My favorite part was that it was told from the perspective of the wife and daughters with them rotating chapters to tell the story. The author gives them each such a distinctive and incredible voice and it made it so much more interesting and entertaining to tell it that way. If you're a fan of historical fiction I would recommend this book.

I also came across a recipe that I tried this week because it just screamed Fall goodness to me. It's a pumpkin curry soup that was really easy to make and so delicious. I love cooking with curry powder because it makes my whole house smell like curry the rest of the night, and I love the smell of curry. I hope you'll enjoy it like I did!


Pumpkin Curry Soup

From verybestbaking.com

Curry and white pepper add zest and flavor to this creamy, Fall favorite. Served with hot, crusty bread and a pear and walnut salad Pumpkin Curry Soup will be a favorite at your table this fall.
Estimated Times:Preparation - 10 min Cooking - 20 min Yields - 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup (1 small) chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk

Directions:MELT butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in curry powder, salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute.ADD broth and pumpkin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk. Transfer mixture to food processor or blender (in batches, if necessary); cover. Blend until smooth. Serve warm.

Strike!

Joseph got Veteran's Day off last week so we decided to go bowling. Cuz, you know, what better way to honor our veterans than by bowling. Hmm...(What a hunk!)

We got a lane for ourselves...

...and then we got Sophie her own lane with bumper guards on it. She had a lot of fun bowling a few times. She'd carefully carry her heavy ball to the front and then one of us would help her get it rolling.
And then sometimes she'd stick around to see how many pins she hit, but most of the time she'd promptly turn around and go back to her bench without even a backward glance. (And yet, her score was almost as good as mine!)

She just enjoyed chilling on the bench with Pillow, watching us bowl. We had a great time and love when Joseph has time off to come play with us.

An Evening of Excellence

I'm the Personal Progress leader in our ward and was in charge of our Evening of Excllence that we had last night. It thankfully went really well and all the girls and their parents came. We focused on the temple and had neat speakers and musical numbers and video presentations. But I am glad it's done! We have a great group of Young Women who are beautiful, sweet, sensitive, fun...

...and a little bit crazy, so I fit right in. :)

Here's all the girls with the leaders who helped me so much to make the night a success. I love my calling!

I don't know why this ended up being sideways because I took it horizontally and it looks right in the folder, so I don't get it. Anyway, this is the cake that I did for the night. (It's the Young Women torch and theme in case you can't tell. :D) Sophie was disappointed it wasn't another birthday cake for her, but luckily there was a little left over so she could still have some.

Card Shark

When I was at my parent's house a few weeks back we played 5 Crowns one night and Avery was all eyes. She loved looking at those colorful cards right in front of her face and would even go cross-eyed when they got too close. She was also the good luck charm and whoever had her on their lap would usually win the round. She spent most of her time with Grandpa which is why he won the game. This is why I'm never taking these girls to Vegas!

Strollin'

Sophie's cousin Austin stayed with us for a few days last week and they had so much fun playing together (when they weren't fighting over the same toy, of course). Austin loved pushing this little baby doll stroller around everywhere and especially liked it when Sophie sat down in it and he got to push her. What a strong little guy!

4 Months Old

Since I can't post the professional pictures I had done of the girls a couple weeks ago to show Avery right now, I'll use these sub-par ones instead since they are the most recent. She's 4 months old now and getting so long (and lean). We visited the doc yesterday and here are her measurements:

Height: 24 1/2 in.--50th percentile

Weight: 11 lbs. 11 oz.--20th percentile

Head circumference: 70th percentile

Current accomplishments:

• Rolled over from tummy to back twice, but not again since.
• Likes to be standing all the time on her strong little legs, facing out to see the world.
• Reaches out to touch anything within 5 inches of her face.
• Puts everything straight to the mouth, especially her fists.
• Loves to look at faces, including her own in the mirror because that baby never fails to smile at her!
• Loves to smile and giggle! Our favorite thing to do is try to get her to drop her paci from her mouth by making her smile. It's the easiest game to win!

We sure love our angel Avery girl!

Wicked Good Time

Joseph and I had a wicked awesome night last week as we were able to go see the amazing musical that's swept the nation, "Wicked." It was an early 30th birthday present from my parents and so so much fun! We'd seen it in New York a couple years ago and loved it so much that we were really excited to see it again. It didn't disappoint, that's for sure! And we even had the understudies for the two lead parts, but there's no such thing as a weak voice in this kind of production. Glinda wasn't our favorite simply because she wasn't as over-the-top as we've seen, but if we had nothing to compare it to she would've been fantastic. Elphaba was incredible and still does all my favorite numbers (though "Popular" is so much fun it's hard to beat.) Thanks for the tickets, Mom and Dad!

A Halloween Marathon Week

It was a really fun Halloween this year because Sophie understood what was going on for the first time. In fact, she got trick or treating a little too well for her own good and stopped asking for a treat and just started grabbing once she saw the goods. But she was usually good about saying thank you and didn't consume too much candy. I wish I could say the same for me and Joseph! (Sorry for the long post, but it's easier to do it all at once than piece meal. We just had a very busy Halloween week!)

Sophie was the cutest Pixie and Avery the cutest Pumpkin at the ward Trunk or Treat.
The weather's been a little warm for this costume during the day, but perfect for it at night!

When we were in Utah last week my Mom made pumpkin gingerbread cookies with Sophie. She made some interesting faces with the candy, but was so proud of herself. Here's a big "Ta da!" as she shows off the finished product.

We went to a Halloween party on Monday for the MOMS Club we're in here. I was glad we had so many chances to wear our costume so that we really got our money's worth!

The kids all got to decorate a cookie with frosting and sprinkles, and I think Sophie got a little frosting on her cookie, but most of it made it straight to her mouth. But she wasn't the only one!

They also cracked open a pinata, something Sophie's never done before. She loved swinging that bat at that pumpkin but managed to only slightly tap it. Oh well, the best part is grabbing the treats inside once it's busted open anyway!

We went to a pumpkin patch to find some pumpkins, but after we saw the prices we just ended up getting some from the store instead. I'm all about supporting local small farms and businesses, but not if I have to give my right arm for it!

This was the cutest little pumpkin there anyway (and I'm not talking about the orange thing.)

And they had a great big one for Sophie to play in!

That night we carved them up. Sophie had a blast doing it for the first time and helped Dad create a kitty cat for theirs.

So I followed up with an attempt at a dog for mine.

Sophie especially loved seeing them all lit up on the porch.

On Halloween morning the venders on the main street here all stand outside their shops and give out candy, so we fought the crowds for Sophie's first chance at trick or treating for the day.

Avery is such a happy baby!

Halloween night we went trick or treating in Ladera with Sophie's cousin Austin. They were serious about their candy-getting (and consuming)! We also celebrated Peter's 28th birthday with him with a yummy dinner. Happy Birthday, Pumpkin Peter!

Gabe and Avery were both pumpkins. These two are 8 weeks apart and were so cute side by side!

All four grandkids together. Whew! We made it and had a great Halloween week!