YUMMY!!!!!

I can not wait to try this! I hope any of your who love the combination of these ingredients will find this equally as exciting as me. Oooh I love to try new recipes. Gotta love the holidays!!!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen


Ingredients
2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix
1 (5.1-ounce) box cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping
1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional
Directions
Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.

Grandpa's bithday wishes

Happy birthday Mike, Dad, Grandpa, we love you so much and thought we would do it a little differently this year. So enjoy my crazy oldest, the sweet and innocent middle child and snotty #3. :)

This is what we woke up to this morning.

Gavin thought it was pretty funny seeing Mommy trying to get it unstuck from that position. ;)

See where the stool is?? well that is where it was originally and due to the high winds and lots of gigantic trees surrounding us the trampoline did not get out unscathed.

We had a very nice weekend with lots of being lazy (what we do best) and managed to get out for some fresh air and family time. We even had some hail on Friday night so basketball for Grace was cancelled, she was so disappointed.

but they made the most of it and played outside.

not sure what she's doing here..................

Handsome boy:

with his handsome Daddy:

not too bad for a self shot. ;) just desperately needing haircuts!

And then I just have to share my life with a toddler at this moment in time because I really think my girls were not at ALL like their little bro or I have completely blocked it out (which would make perfect sense also). He cannot have help while eating, he must do it himself or he just won't eat! So this......................

and this.....................

are what I have left after EVERY meal. Two of the things that I clean up most are milk with nasty soggy cereal and sticky rice that won't sweep up so you have to get down and pick it all up by hand, oooh it's fun and really...what else do I have to do????

He is my busy boy, cute.....but such a stinker. ;)

Halloween 2009

Haylee had her fist party at school and it was a success. Gavin and I even got to be a part of it and get in her room for the 1st time so I was super excited about that. Haylee was so cute and excited to have us in there (I will enjoy it while it lasts). It was a pumpkin theme and the kids did a little pumpkin bowling:


Some fun crafts and play dough stations.

And of course food.......

Poor spider man did not get the memo to leave his disguise at home.

After that one we headed down the hall to Grace's fruit and vegetable party......oooh boy those kids could hardly wait to dive into all those delicious veggies........
but her teacher is so great that she actually had those kids EXCITED for it!!!
You had him at "fruit"

So this is what happens when you bring a rowdy boy in to a 2nd grade class room to volunteer.......the teacher babysits so Mom can get pictures. :) Love Mrs. Batten.

but I got some good ones. These girls were just too cute not to. ;)

So to finally get to our Halloween day we started at the church "Trunk or Treat" which was held in the afternoon this year with it falling on a Saturday so that was nice. We got there right when they opened and let the kids go crazy on the jumpy things and at the carnival while everyone else was lining up for the trunks. They had a ball and looked so cute!

May I announce to you Veterinarian Grace, Dorothy Haylee and the little monkey man Gavin.

Gavin wanted to get his face painted after he saw the girls get theirs and he sat there so nice and quiet.

The rest of the afternoon he went around pointing to his cheek. :)

They got some fun prizes and of course loads of candy.

We went home and gave them all nice long naps so we could head back out for round two...........Haylee changed into a spider witch that night though but I forgot my camera and when we got home she was not really in the mood for pictures. All in all though another successful halloween and Gavin was right up there ringing door bells and yelling his version of "trick or treat" and then holding his hands out for candy and waving "bye bye"....and off he went in search for the next house. Makes me sad to think about how fast this time is going with them......they are such great kiddos and we are so lucky to be their parents. :)


Thanks for checkin' in on us and "Happy November"!!!!