Lawry's Giveaway Winner!

I love it when I get to choose a winner for my giveaways! It's always fun to be a winner.

The winner of the Lawry´s Giveaway is comment #16! Congratulations Andrea, you have won the Lawry's “What´s Your Flavor” kit!

A Tale of Two Buzzes

Once upon a time there were two space rangers. They were courageous, strong and daring! Not to mention handsome! Meet Buzz Lightyear and....um, the other Buzz Lightyear! (Just don't ask who's the REAL Buzz Lightyear, or there will be trouble!)

The Buzzes had a mission directly from Star Command: Find the evil lord Zurg and foil his evil plot to destroy Halloween as we know it and steal all of the Halloween candy!

And so our intrepid explorers set off on their mission. Determined to find Zurg and perhaps enjoy a little bit of Halloween candy along the way.

They traveled to strange and distant planets and looked high and low. The Evil Zurg was nowhere to be found!

But the space rangers would never give up their search! Determined to find Zurg and stop his plot, the two Buzzes decided to blast off into space. To infinity and beyond!

They landed on a most bizarre planet. The leaves on the trees were still changing colors to orange, red and yellow...  and yet there was snow everywhere! What kind of a crazy, mixed-up world is this?!

Undaunted to Buzzes will continue their search.Will the Buzzes Lightyear find the evil lord Zurg? Will Halloween be saved? Can you doubt faces as cute at these?!

Stay tuned for next week's episode and the exciting conclusion to our saga!

The Autumn Breeze Chilled my Trees!

Autumn has always been my favorite time of year! I love it when the air finally turns crisp, longs sleeves and pants come out of hiding, and the treetops bloom with vibrant colors.

I love it when dinner warms your house and your belly, the hot chocolate comes out of the pantry, and everything smells of pumpkin and spice.

I love taking walks with my boys and listening to the leaves crunch beneath our feet. I love watching our lawn turn from green to yellow as our trees shed their leaves.

I love it when behind our house, Mount Timpanogos puts on his gorgeous golden-orange coat.

Autumn signals the beginning of the happy holiday season... my birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. My boys' excitement for the fun to come is infectious and brings a smile to my face.

Autumn is the most beautiful and splendid season of the year. It is just too bad that it comes to an end so quickly! This week we got a little reminder that winter is waiting in the wings.

Imagine our surprise when we woke up to find about 3 inches of snow on the ground yesterday! The trees were bowing down with the added weight of the snow on their limbs.

Luckily the snow all melted before evening came, but it seemed to me the air was a little chillier and Autumn seemed a bit more fragile than before.

In a way the brief appearance of snow was a blessing. It reminded me to take time to live in the moment and enjoy Autumn while it is here. Instead of rushing around with my to-do list in hand and my eyes closed to the beauty all around me, I should take time to watch the leaves bloom with color and fall; listen to the sound of giggles as little feet crunch leaves on the ground; feel the fresh, cool breeze from the mountains; bake those yummy smelling pumpkin cookies and just... ENJOY!

Perfectly Portable Pepper Phones

It looks like the end of our gardening season has arrived! Temperatures at night have been headed for the low thirties, so we figured it was time to go outside and pick the last of the produce before it got frozen.

This year we still had tons of bell peppers out on their plants.  Some of our peppers are HUGE! This one is about as big as Eli's head!

We picked at least a bushel of peppers! What do I do with all those peppers, you are asking yourself? Well, we cut them up and freeze them. Then I use them all winter when I made things like fajitas and pizza. They are also really good on salads if you let them thaw for a minute.

While we were checking out all the peppers, Jonah decided that some of the peppers were shaped like phones. Next thing you know he and Eli were running around with peppers up next to their ears, having conversations on their pepper phones!

Even Honey Daddy played along and placed a call on a pepper phone! Isn't he a sport to play along with the boys?

Wouldn't you like a have a pepper phone too?


Looking for some fabulous blogs to link up with? Visit A Beautiful Mess, Supermom, and Parenting by Dummies.

Falling for Orange

I am so happy that Fall is finally here!

Our valley is finally blooming with color as the leaves on the trees start to put on their Fall finery. Everywhere you look porches and doorsteps are adorned with pumpkins, ghosts and spiders and my little ones are full of energy and excitement as Halloween approaches.

One sure sign that Fall is here is the arrival of orange. Halloween and orange go hand in hand and it seems the closer we get to Halloween, the more orange seems to appear.

Many bushes near our house are sporting these orange berries. I don't really know what kind they are, but I think they are really bright and beautiful!

The leaves have finally started to change color. It seems most of the ones around here turn yellow or red, but every once in a while you spot a bright orange tree. I LOVE it!

The apothecary jars on my front table are filled with Halloween candy. My favorites? These yummy Palmers peanut butter and chocolate pumpkins! So delicious!

Did you know that part of my front fence and side fence is orange? I like the think that the previous owners didn't realize that the stain was exactly this color. We haven't gotten around to painting it yet... in the past 5 years we've lived here!

Last night I went to a Witch's Brew. It was a super-fun party where all the ladies came dressed as witches with decorated hats. I neglected to take a picture of myself all dressed up, but here is one of my hat. I thought it turned out pretty well, don't you?


I wanted to participate in You Capture, but was late. So I made it my Photostory Friday too!

Pregnancy, Weight Loss and Wardrobe Malfunctions

Can I just say how much I hate maternity clothes?

It is so hard to find maternity clothes that actually fit well. Especially when your baby bump isn't that big! And we won't even talk about trying to find clothes that look good and are comfortable at the same time!

I am one of those lucky people who don't really show for quite a while. I have a long torso, so I don't really "pop out" that much (ie. I just start looking pudgy). However now that I am 18 weeks pregnant it is very apparent that there is a little something growing in my midsection. My baby bump has gotten to the point where I can no longer wear my regular clothes. Not even if I try for the rubber band trick.

Time to break out the maternity clothes, right? No problem, I've been through this twice already, so I have my stash ready to go. Except this time when I got out my clothes I discovered something...

None of my maternity pants fit me! What the ?!?!

Then it hit me... in the 3 years since I was last pregnant I have lost over 25 pounds. Hooray for me, right?! Only my maternity stash is mostly useless, since the pants hang off me. Now what am I supposed to do?

To make matters worse, the maternity shirt collection that I used to share (ie. the ones not purchased by me) is not longer available for me to wear (don't ask). So basically I have about 7-10 shirts and absolutely no pants to wear. Great!

I admit that I was pretty close to having a meltdown over this dilemma. Maternity clothes are not exactly cheap and I don't exactly have the funding to go buy a whole new maternity wardrobe. I admit had visions of myself wearing a muumuu and hiding out for the next five months.

Luckily that didn't come to pass! One by one my awesome, generous friends came forward to help me. My friend Melinda let me go through what was left of her maternity clothes and keep whatever I wanted, since she can't have any more kids. When my friend Andrea found out I had bought 1 pair of maternity pants and that's all I had, without hesitation she loaned me all of her maternity pants and skirts. Then my friend Karyn brought over 2 huge (we are talking 73 quart) storage containers full of maternity clothes and said I could borrow anything that fit me.

Aren't my friends the best ever?!

I was thinking about how lucky I am to have friends like these when I passed by a road sign today. I have often passed by this sign as I ride my bicycle or drive around my town. Today I just had to stop and take a picture:

Serendipity is a propensity for making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated. I think moments of serendipity are all around us if we only look for them. While searching for a solution to my maternity clothing dilemma I found out something completely different. I discovered I am truly loved and have the most kind and generous friends a woman could want!



Looking for some fabulous blogs to link up with? Visit A Beautiful Mess, Supermom, and Parenting by Dummies.

Lawry's Giveaway

Have you seen my spice cupboard? It is overflowing with seasonings and spices because I love to make my family food with flavor! Needless to say I was very excited when MyBlogSpark contacted me about doing a Lawry's review and giveaway.

Did you know a recent Lawry’s survey found that your choice of flavor says more about you than you think? The nationwide poll looked at preferences for tart, spicy, sweet, and savory flavors and found that your choice can reveal some interesting aspects of your personality.

So what´s your flavor?

• Joyous Joiners – Tart Flavors
  If you are one for tart flavors, you tend to be extremely happy overall, particularly with your family, finances, work/life balance and even your health. As a Joyous Joiners you are an extrovert who loves to entertain at home, find it very important to join in social events in your community and are active on the greatest number of social networking sites.

• Self-Assured Adventurers – Spicy Flavors If your preference is for spicy flavors, consider yourself a confident, adventurous individual with a passion for travel and cooking. You are the biggest risk taker and although impulsive, you are not reckless – as a Self-Assured Adventurer you also tend to be resourceful, analytical, and most able to “look at the big picture.”

• The Sweet Lifers – Sweet Flavors
  As a Sweet Lifer, home and family are close to your heart. You are the kindest and most loyal, although you probably wouldn´t admit that as you are also the most modest. As an individual that prefers sweeter flavors (honey and fruit-infused), you are influenced by your parents, enjoy family entertainment, and consider yourself spiritual.

• The Conventionalists – Savory Flavors
  Your passion for savory flavors shows you have an enthusiasm for politics, enjoy camping and hiking and love outdoor barbeques and American cuisine. Along with the other Conventionalists, you tend to be more introverted than the rest of the groups and often describe yourself as a homebody.

I would have to say that my flavor is a mix between the spicy and sweet flavors.  What’s your flavor?

I have a Lawry´s “What´s Your Flavor” kit to giveaway that includes a marinating dish (10x15 pyrex!), a set of metal skewers, Lawry´s two new marinades, as well as a sample of each of the four new Seasoning Mixes and a bottle of Lawry´s Seasoned Salt.  I also got a kit to try out.  Lawry´s provided me with the free product, information, and gift pack through MyBlogSpark.

 This gift pack arrived in the mail just as I was trying to decide what's for dinner. I checked out the seasoning mixes and found I had all I needed to make the Chimichurri Burrito Casserole. It was so easy to make and was delicious!

Yum! I know you could use this kit to make your family a delicious dinner!
The kit includes the following new marinades and seasonings:

Marinades

• Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ gives meat a delicious sweet and sour flavor with a touch of Szechuan heat

• Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato includes extra virgin olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet red bell peppers and the perfect blend of herbs

Seasoning Mixes

• Asian Style Beef & Broccoli – This easy to prepare stir fry meal will remind your family of their favorite Asian restaurant. The dish combines beef, broccoli and seasonings with a hint of garlic. Serve it over rice and you have a complete, satisfying meal.

• Chimichurri Burrito Casserole – Lawry´s gives the familiar Burrito casserole a new twist with this traditional Latin American sauce. With a few simple fresh ingredients, mealtime just got a lot more exciting.

• Mediterranean Sundried Tomato & Garlic Chicken – Add a taste of the Mediterranean to your family´s casserole. This easy to bake casserole combines chicken, pasta, tomatoes and Feta cheese to easily make a flavorful meal any night of the week.

• Tuscan Style Chicken Marsala with Garlic and Basil – Chicken Marsala is a restaurant favorite, but it might not make the menu at home. This effortless version comes together on your stovetop with just a few fresh ingredients. Flavorful garlic and basil gives this meal its own Tuscan flair, perfect for serving over pasta or rice.

How to Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what your flavor preference is (tart, spicy, sweet or savory) and give me examples of foods that match it.

Bonus Entries:

• Blog about this giveaway (Please leave a link to your post)
• Grab my button and post it on your blog.
• Follow my blog (or tell me you are a follower)
• Spread the word about the giveaway using whichever social networking method you prefer (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) One comment per method used.

Please leave a comment about each entry and include a valid email address so I can contact you if you win.

This giveaway will end at midnight on October 25th. The winner will be picked via random.org. 
Open to US residents only.  Good Luck!

Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas

Oh my word! Our weekend trip left me totally exhausted and Monday I could barely function. Maybe it has something to do with being four months pregnant, driving 6 hours to Vegas, riding 42 miles in Viva Bike Vegas on Saturday, and then driving home on Sunday.

Then yesterday my youngest had a stomach bug, so we have mostly been hanging out at home. Instead of showing you pictures of a sick boy or tired mommy, I decided to show you some of the fun we had in Vegas. The evening following our bike ride we had just enough energy to take the boys to Fremont Street, which was not too far from our hotel.

Our excursion was timed absolutely perfectly. We found a place to park and walked 1/2 block to Fremont Street. Within 10 minutes of our getting there the show started. While we were waiting we walked around and showed the boys some of the iconic sights like Vegas Vic, the famous 50 foot tall winking neon cowboy:

and the Glitter Gulch Cowgirl.

We also saw our share of impersonators. From rock stars and showgirls to comic book heroes.

This was all very fascinating to the boys, but not nearly as cool as the show! The neon lights and signs dimmed and the music started. We got to hear "American Pie" by Don McLean, which was cool because we could all sing along.

The boys loved watching the colors and images on the canopy overhead. I thought the show was pretty cool too!

Check out how wide the boys eyes were! It was hard to get a good picture of how excited they were by the show because of the low lighting and the fact that they kept moving their heads to watch the different pictures go by.

Even though we were tired, I'm glad we took the time to take the boys to see Fremont Street. They absolutely loved it! It didn't take us very long to get back to the hotel, which was great because we were all ready to crash for the night!

Hosted by Cecily and Mary