My Little Spooks

I LOVE HALLOWEEN! I'm not sure why I like it so much. In reality it doesn't have a whole lot of meaning to me except for seeing tons of cute kids in awesome costumes and using my kids to score free candy from strangers ;) Well, it is so fun to decorate for it and plan costumes. I think I started loving Halloween because when I was growing up Dad would leave to go to the Priesthood session of General Conference and Mom and me and my sisters would decorate for Halloween. Then when Dad came home he would see our spookified house. I just always thought that was so much fun. That was a good tradition.

Anyways, for better or worse, it seems like making holidays special is kind of the mother's domain. Now that I'm the mom, I get to do it. I love it! It's definitely in my top 5 favorites of being "Mom." It was pretty fun this year because Mila remembered Halloween from last year and so she was excited about it. Also, she picked out what she wanted to be. She started telling me like 2 months ago that she wanted to be a pink butterfly and she never changed her mind. I bought Emmitt's garden gnome costume last year after Halloween. Here they are...

 My little pink butterfly all ready to go.

 She was ecstactic about the jewels I put on her face. She talked about how we were going to put them on all day.

 I actually made her little skirt. I know there's the no-sew method, but I thought it would look better this way. I thought it turned out quite cute. She was thrilled with it so that's all that matters :)

 We only got the beard on him for about 20 seconds. It's not even totally on. He HATED it from the moment he saw it. He definitely doesn't look happy about it.

 Of course he slept through some of it. I was just glad that he was content enough to ride in the stroller the whole time. We definitely did not need E on the loose.

It was near to impossible to get a good picture of him. He was running through the house while I took these. I attempted the beard again. Wasn't happening.

They are so cute!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! 

How Do You Like Them Apples?

Another awesome thing about fall is that apples are crazy tasty and cheap. One of the grocery stores here has been having apples for 49 cents a pound. We've been buying a lot of apples. I was there the other day and they were 24 cents a pound! My bargain-loving heart was going wild! Anyway, I really wanted to make some apple butter while I could get the apples cheap. I ended up doing a shorter, easier method and just did it in the slow cooker. Incidentally, while trying to find a recipe to use, I found out that in Enon, a town right next to Springfield, they have an apple butter festival every year at the beginning of October. I just missed it! Next year, perhaps.

 I started by peeling, coring, and slicing about 9-10 lbs of apples. I used a bunch of different kinds of apples: Jonathan, Ida Red, McIntosh, Gala, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Jonagold, Cortland, and Rome. I think using different kinds made it really flavorful. I added about 1 1/2 cups white sugar, about 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, a couple teaspoons cinnamon, a couple teaspoons ground cloves, a bit of ginger, a few splashes of vanilla, and some pumpkin pie spice because I wanted some nutmeg flavor but didn't have any. My measurements were not at all precise because I didn't have any measuring utensils so I was using a plastic cup and a plastic spoon to measure things out. I let it cook on high for 2 hrs then let it cook on low all night and a good part of the next day. I ended up with this...

 My non-precise measuring left me with too-sweet apple butter that tasted more like sugar, cinnamon, and cloves than apples. So I peeled, cored, and sliced probably another 5 lbs of apples cooked them in a pan on the stove to break them down quickly and then added them to what I already had. The result...

 Perfection!

Hopefully, if you give this a try, the cooker part of your crock pot won't end up looking like mine. This is after I tried to clean it, too.

Totally worth it.

Two posts in a week? I'm surprised the universe didn't explode.

I'm Fallin' for Fall

Has it really been almost 2 months since I last blogged? Time flies. I'm so happy it's fall! I love this time of year. I was so sad when fall first came because it had been super hot and then suddenly it was SO cold. I thought Mother Nature was going to skip out on the crisp air and sunny days that I enjoy so much about fall and go straight to winter. Things have warmed up again and aside from some rainy days, we've been having a beautiful fall. I like some winter, but since I've had kids I feel like it lasts too long. I get so tired of having to bundle everyone up to go anywhere and it takes so much more effort to go out and play. I am pretty lazy though.

 This tree is outside our bedroom window. I've been staring at it in the mornings before I get out of bed and admiring its beauty as the leaves have been changing over the last few weeks.

Happy Fall! I love it! 

The Crazy Kiddos

It's always fun (and frustrating too) to see what the kids think up. I'm so glad I get to stay home with them. I would hate to miss all of this! 

Well, maybe not this...

Poor Mila. We were at my mom's and Mila was playing with the cousins in the basement. She said she fell and hit her mouth on a chair. Luckily, my sister saw her first and cleaned her up. She said there was a ton of blood. I'm not sure I would have handled it too well. I think I would have freaked out. Her front teeth were uneven like this for a few days, but they have pretty much gone back to normal. 

Emmitt decided that dumping the cereal on the floor would help him find the marshmallows easier. Annoying but funny.

Our cabinets hadn't been put up in the kitchen yet. The kids had so much fun playing in them! They would play with them like they were little houses. They would knock on the door to each others houses and go visit. Really cute!

Enjoying a snack in the corner cabinet.

And Emmitt is a total climber now. I'm not too happy about it.

Caylee, Mila, and Conlon got into Grandma's makeup...again. This time Mila also put lotion in her hair.

Playing naptime.

Searching for stars...in the middle of the day.

The Mila and Emmitt Club. No mommy allowed.

Watching Dad work.

Worn out. Getting into mischief is tiring.

How do they sleep like this?