Our Family Pictures

GARDNER ViLLiAGE

Saturday October 24th we spent the afternoon at Gardner Villiage with my parents. Gardner Villiage is a really fun place to visit around Halloween time. It's decorated with 1,000's of pumpkins and witches everywhere! There are also a lot of cute and fun shops. We had a great time wandering the spooky streets of the villiage!

Beware: PICTURE OVERLOAD!{I couldn't believe how many ladies were dressed up like witches! I felt a little left out!}
{It was pretty CHILLY so we bundled Max up. I LOVE his hat..he lookes like a little Scandinavian boy!}{Max LOVES his Grandpa!}{What CUTE Grandparents!}{Max was mesmerized by the geese.}{Like I said there were WITCHES everywhere...here are a few of my favs:}{This one was really SCARY! It doesn't look like it from the picture, but it was! The legs moved so the witch was pedalling the bike which made it look unbelievably REAL! CREEEEPY!!!}

It was a GREAT way to get us all in the mood for HALLOWEEN!!!

UTAH vs. UNLV

VS.

October 17th we went to LAS VEGAS with several of my Uncles, Aunts & Cousins {23 of us!} to the UTAH vs. UNLV football game in Las Vegas. We had a BLAST! We left early Saturday morning and picked up Kenneth & Nikki in St. Geroge. We had lunch in Mesquite and then met up with my family at a park in Henderson, close to where my cousin Dan & his wife Jordan live. We had a few hours before the game started so we played games & relaxed. The weather was WONDERFUL, it felt like summer again! It was FUN to spend time with some of my family that I don't get to see very often.

The game was AWESOME! We had the best seats that were really close to the game.

Of course the Utes WON & we were all happy to have been there!

We got back to St. George at about 2:30am! Ken & Nikki are so NICE to always let us stay with them...we LOVE visiting them!!! We spent Sunday with Ken & Nikki and drove back home late Sunday night. Even though it was a super short trip, it was TONS of FUN! {Max looked so cute in his UTAH sweatshirt!}

{Dave & Ken playing FRISBEE @ the park}

{Max's 1st time SWINGING!}

PuMpKiN pAtCh

Each October we go to a local pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. We always have such a fun time walking through the patch searching for just the right ones! Here are the 3 pumpkins that we chose this year!

6 MONTHS

MAX is 6 months old today!!!

He's CRAWLING all over the place!

We LOVE this lil guy so much!

I can't believe we've had him for 6 months! He brings so much HAPPINESS and LOVE into our family.

apple dumplings

Every year when Fall rolls around there is something in the air that just makes me want to bake!

Dave served his mission in Pennsylvania and has been telling me all about these apple dumplings that they have there in the fall.

An apple dumpling is a warm and flaky pastry dessert, like your own personal apple pie. The apple dumpling recipe actually originated with the Pennsylvania Amish and its popularity has spread throughout America.

So Monday night for our Family Home Evening activity we made our first batch of apple dumplings.

They are AMAZING!

These are how the dumplings look before they are baked.
These are the dumplings right out of the oven.

Pour the warm syrup over the warm dumpling just before serving.

Serve with a scoop of Vanilla Bean ice cream and drizzle with warm caramel sauce!

Apple Dumplings

Ingredients :
1 pastry for 2-crust pie
Syrup Ingredients:
1 cup granulated white sugar, 2 cups water, 3 Tablespoons butter (softened) 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.
Filling Ingredients:
6 apples (peeled and cored), 1/2 cup granulated white sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg, 2 Tablespoons butter (softened).

Directions:
1. Roll pastry slightly less than 1/8" thick. Cut into 7" squares.
2. Bring syrup ingredients to boil. Boil 3 minutes.
3. Put apple on center of each pastry square. Fill with mixture of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. Dot each with teaspoon of butter.
4. Bring points of pastry up over apple and overlap.
5. Place a few inches apart in baking pan. Pour 1 cup hot syrup mixture around dumplings.
6. Bake at 425 degrees F for 45 minutes. Just before serving pour rest of warm syrup over dumplings and serve with vanilla bean cream.

sitting up

~Max is now sitting up all by himself~

One of Max's favorite activities is to go outside. He has loved being outside since he was just a few weeks old. There's just something about being outside that makes him happy. Here are a bunch of pictures I took of Max outside playing with (a.k.a. eating) the leaves....

In this picture he's upset becuase Mommy's not let him eat the leaves :(
He's been trying to sit up on his own for a few weeks now, but he's finally mastered it!

Well, sort of....

THE END