Trunk or treat

We went to our church's trunk or treat. There was a chili cook off, carnival games, pony rides, and then the kids went trick or treating from trunk to trunk.

Halloween piano recital

My piano students. 13 students came, I have 18 students. Pretty good turn out! I loved all of their Halloween costumes.

We had a lot of yummy Halloween food, crafts, fog machine, bubble machine, dry ice,face painting, bean bag toss, relay races, and pumpkin bowling. I like to have fun and relaxing piano recitals so the kids get used to playing in front of people in a non-stress kind of way.

Alex and Ben playing in the dry ice fog, Alex and Katelyn played their piano pieces so great, and Joel did an awesome job helping me set up all day for the recital. Alex played twinkle little star, and Book of Mormon stories. He played really really fast and did a great job! Katelyn played The Caravan, and Blue and Low, she played so awesome and got a lot of compliments!

I wish there were three of me, actually four of me. I didn't get any pictures of the kids doing crafts and games because I was too busy trying to talk with parents, man the food, man the crafts, and man the games. But other than that this recital was a huge hit.

Pumpkin Patch

Alex and Katelyn had a field trip to the pumpkin patch. We got a school tour and learned about how a pumpkin grows, how to roast seeds, and how indians used squash. They got a hay ride, got to play in the hay playground, pick out pumpkins and eat a yummy sack lunch. What a fun day!

Fall Pictures!

Benjamin, 2 years old

Alex, 7 years old

Katelyn, 10 years old

Smashed Potato Soup

Made this for dinner tonight, it was easy and delicious, this might be my favorite potato soup.

Smashed Potato Soup

Ingredients
3-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped yellow and/or red sweet pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons bottled roasted garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream, half-and-half, or light cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
Sliced green onions ((optional)
Directions
1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine potatoes, sweet pepper, garlic, and black pepper. Pour broth over all.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
3. Mash potatoes slightly with a potato masher. Stir in whipping cream, cheddar cheese, and the 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions. If desired, top individual servings with additional sliced green onions. I topped with extra cheeese too:) Makes 8 servings

Rotisserie Chicken

I have been trying really hard lately to plan our meals ahead of time, you know, before actually going to the grocery store, and it has really helped. Taco Bell has missed us.

This week I planned my meals mostly around chicken. I bought an already cooked rotisserie chicken ($4.98 at Costco) shredded it all up and saved it. It makes any dish any night of the week go by extremely fast, and it tastes delicious.

Last night for dinner I used shredded chicken, threw it in a frying pan with some spaghetti sauce (from a jar left over in the fridge) threw in some taco seasoning, and done! Tortilla chips, lettuce (I used a spinach mix last night and really loved it), sour cream, refried beans, salsa, and some shredded cheese. Easy, delicious, and the best yet, it uses items I always keep so it's good for a fast-I-don't-feel-like-cooking meal!

I love Fall!

First Day of October we made Mummy Hot dogs, monster mouths, orange juice, orange jello, and had cute little pumpkin straws! The kids made a graveyard in the middle of the mouths.

We love Fall! We decorated for fall on the first day of autumn, never mind that it was still 100 degrees! :)

These are the pumpkins from our garden! One of them was on for too long and rotted, and there are a couple more still growing!