More Fall Fun

We had the opportunity to go out to a Pumpkin Patch in Shallowater (small town outside of Lubbock) this Wednesday. Yay! More fun fall activities! We had a good time going on hay rides, picking pumpkins, and of course, seeing the turkeys, which was Grace's favorite part. :)

Insert a *BIG* sob here- my baby doesn't look like a baby anymore! Look at that big girl!
Grace, Joshua, and Claire

I just have to note that I had to take four or five pictures to get one with all three heads sticking through! Figured it was silly at that point to push for one with everyone actually looking at the camera!

Okay, well as you can see, it wasn't the best day for getting kids to look at the camera at all! Oh well, at least we had a good time, right?

You know your husband is a busy law school student . . .

... if your 3 year old son has ever asked "is today a day when Daddy comes home?"

(I can't decide if this one makes me want to laugh or cry!)

... if when playing "mom and dad" with his sister, your son sits at the computer and "works on projects" because apparently that is what daddies do.

... if your daughter cries for Daddy all the way home from dropping him off at school.

... if your son's idea of make believe is to find the thickest book on the bookshelf (Work and the Glory, in this case) and says he has to read his "evidence" book.

Now, can I ask you, what kind of a three year old, even knows what evidence is? I don't think any of us will know what to do with ourselves when Bryan goes to work instead of school! :)

Coolest Cooking Gadget EVER!!

Okay, so maybe not to everyone, but I thought this was the coolest thing ever! Maybe I just don't get out enough! :)

What is it, you ask? It is a pelmenitza. We ordered it off eBay and it came to us all the way from Ukraine! It is used to make Pelmeni, a Russian food that Bryan really liked while on his mission. When I went to visit him in Denver this summer, he took me to a Russian restaurant and I had pelmeni and LOVED it. So when Bryan found a recipe online we knew we had to buy one of these gadgets and give 'er a whirl.

So you make the dough. It's a really elasticky dough and you roll it out really thin. You place it over the pelmenitza. Then you put the filling (ground beef, ground pork, onions and seasonings) in the middle of each little circle. Then you roll out another piece of dough and put it on top. Then you roll over the whole thing several times and Wha la! This is what you get:

Yes, I know it is dorky, but they just came out so perfect, and they even tasted just like the stuff I had in the restaurant! I was more excited than Bryan, I think! :)

Here they are all cooked up. We fried them, although in Russia they boil them and drizzle them with butter. I like them either way, but Bryan prefers them in the non-soggy version. :)

So anyway, the recipe made over 200 pelmeni, so if anyone wants a taste, just come on by!! We've got about a three month supply in our freezer! :)

Apples, anyone?

We just had one of the greatest weekends ever because on top of the awesome pelmeni making experience you just saw pictures of, we got to go to a local orchard for their Apple Butter Festival! There were hayrides, a petting zoo, yummy apple turnovers, and, of course, tons of apples for the picking! We went with our friends the Odells and the Strattons. Thanks for the good time guys!

Here Joshua and I are pushing the cool little cart with a bucket for our apples. The kids had a great time pushing them...

...or riding in them! :) Isn't she a cutie?!?
The happy apple picking family.

(Or almost happy: Grace was trying desperately to get away!)

Here are all of the little apple pickers/eaters. These apples are so yummy!!

And of course the hayride! What little kid doesn't love a ride on a tractor-pulled trailer? SWEET!

A Child's Prayer

Last week had kinda been one of those weeks where I felt like we survived, but not much more. Things were just a little crazy schedule wise, and then it rained A LOT, so we weren't able to get out much. By Saturday I was feeling a little burned out and just wanted the week to be over so we could start fresh with the next week. :) Then we sat down for dinner that night and Bryan asked Joshua to say the prayer. This is what he said:

"Heavenly Father, thankful we can have Happy Jose (aka "Sloppy Jose," it's one of his favorites) for dinner, thankful Mommy and Grace can be best friends, thankful Daddy and Joshua can be best friends, and thankful Mommy and Grace and Joshua and Daddy can be best friends everyday . . ." and then he ended his prayer.

It was such a sweet reminder to me that there are little things each day to be grateful for, even on the days, or weeks, that everything else seems out of control. I'm grateful for my Joshua!

Puddle Jumpers

One of the days last week we got quite a bit of rain here in Lubbock.

Thanks to our parking lot's (and Lubbock's, in general) poor drainage system, we had some HUGE puddles to jump in. The kids kept begging the whole time it was raining to go out and jump in them, so as soon as it stopped we were out the door. We had a ton of fun and our neighbor got a kick out of it, too - - he was laughing at us pretty hard!! :) What can I say, we provide good entertainment!

The Guymon Family Knows how to PARTY!!!

Just some favorite pictures from the party we had at Grandma and Grandpa Guymon's last month (so I'm a little slow :) ... ). It was great to be together and we had a wonderful time. It was so fun to see Wayne and Kristen and new baby Stanley as we hadn't seen them in way too long! We missed Russ and Katrina and their boys and can't wait for the next family gathering when hopefully the circumstances will allow us ALL to be together!