...sweet and savory....

My friend, Krissy is a very good cook! In fact she cooks for us almost every week. It has been one of my saving graces during this deployment. Just being in her kitchen while she finishes up whatever meal she is making instantly calms me. I'm not sure what it is about it, but I feel more relaxed within minutes. Maybe it is knowing that we are going to have a home cooked meal that I didn't have to prepare or maybe it is chit chat between Krissy and I, or the sound of the kids enjoying each others company in the background. Whatever it is, I love it! And I hope that I can return this gift to her someday. Did I mention she bakes too?  She makes best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies you will ever taste!

She cooked for us often before Donnie deployed as well. Donnie's favorite is her beef tenderloin.  He told me to learn how to make this while he was deployed. 
So this weekend, I did...


Beef Tenderloin
Krissy didn't help me cut up the meat once it was cooked so I might need a few more tips, but I think it turned out pretty good. 
There wasn't a single piece leftover

I learned how to cut up the meat (the trickiest part), how to season it, how to sear it perfectly, and how to watch it closely in the oven so that it cooks to the right temperature.  She also showed me how to make a delicious horseradish sauce to go with it! I felt bad having this meal without Donnie, especially knowing how much he likes it, but practice makes perfect.  So we will probably have it a few more times before you get home just to perfect my skills! 

The kids and I also spent some time in the kitchen this weekend making pumpkin rice crispy treats! 


John carefully decorating his pumpkin treats!

Luke was very serious about decorating too!  One of his pumpkins got messed up and he was very upset.  I suggested that he just eat that one and we could roll another one into a ball for him.  Next thing I knew he was crying because when he tried to wash the icing off in the sink, it ruined his rice crispy treat!  Bless his heart, he was so upset.  Thankfully, he has a wonderful big sister who let him put icing her last pumpkin ball.   



Katie making her pumpkin look like me!

TaDa!  Looks just like me don't you think?



Some treats with my sweets!

...fall fun...

It is hard to put a weeks worth of fun into one blog post, but I'm going to try!  Donnie's parents came out to visit and to make sure we were all ready for this winter.  I am so thankful that they were able to make the drive out to see us!  The kids loved every minute they got to spend with Grandpa and Grandma!  We made the most of our time together.  For the kids that meant playing outside with Grandpa and Grandma even if it was a little colder than they would have liked on most days.

They loved having Grandma and Grandpa around to watch them at all of their weekly activties.  Luke showed off some of his best moves at gymnastics this week! 

The kids all had soccer games at the same time this weekend.   And since I can not be at two places at the same time, it was great to have the grandparents here so the kids could have someone cheering for them the entire game!  We won't be so lucky this weekend!

Grandpa and Grandma also treated us to some of our favorite activities while they were here.  Brunch at Tin Pan and a trip to Old McDonald's Farm! 

 The kids LOVE feeding all of the animals at the farm!

The boys playing with the antlers from the reindeer on the farm.  John was pretending his was an ax! I guess he was planning to chop down a Christmas tree!

 Reindeer Luke! Check out those antlers!  Too cute!

 The hayride to feed the pigs and the cows is always a highlight of the day!

 

This time of year you can also find a great pumpkin patch on the farm! But you have to make it through the corn maze first!

Katie searched through a lot of pumpkins to find the perfect one!  She wanted to get her pumpkin right out of the pumpkin patch!

The boys decided to get one that had already been picked! John picked out the biggest pumpkin he could find on the farm! It was so heavy that he had to roll it! 

Picking out the perfect pumpkin is hard work!  Luke could barely lift this pumpkin, but he was looking for one without any dirt on it! 

When you live so far from family, you celebrate when you are together, no matter what time of year! So we rolled Halloween and Christmas all together on this trip!  Grandpa and Grandma took them on their annual Christmas shopping trip!  Katie used her Christmas money (and a little bit of her own) to get an iPod touch!

The boys decided on electric scooters!  They LOVE them!  In fact, Luke just informed me today that his scooter was built for speed!

There is no such thing as down time, at least it sure seems that way!  They painted and carved pumpkins until their hands hurt!

John doesn't do pumpkin guts! (Me either, so GROSS!)

I love that we make the most of our time with family!  Thinking back over the week makes me smile!  We cuddled up and watched movies, played new games on the iPads, spent time outside, ate lots of good food and way too many sweet treats, we laughed and best of all just enjoyed being together!

 

...savoring the sweet memories of

Grandpa and Grandma's visit...