Happy Halloween from a Fairy and her Dinosaur

What were you for Halloween?

Thomason Farms in Enumclaw : A Pumpkin Patch Outing

 

If your looking for a Pumpkin Patch to go to and you have little ones in the area,, I highly reccomend this one. They had so many thing for little kids to enjoy, and it wasn't too crowded. Our favorite things were the tractor ride, the hay ride, and the most favorite, and where we all laughed the most and spent the most time was the corn box.  Jaron and Brad played the parts of corn monsters/ acrobats.  It was very fun.

Kid Update

WARNER B.

The Warbler is snoopy, playful, destructive, tender hearted, and a tease. He loves dressing up in tutus and tackling his older sister. The key to winning this little pups heart? Simply let him throw a ball at your face, or throw him into a large fluffy pillow. He'll love you for life.  On any given day, this boy could spend hours throwing rocks at our fence and tossing dirt over his head and down his back. He can mimic pretty much any animal noise in his own little way. And its pretty hilarious. If you really want a laugh, show Warner the mess he made from dinner and say with a gasp "Warner look at that mess you made"! To which he will stare at it, give an equally large gasp back and say "GASP, Oh Dang!". 

OLIVIA G.

Liv is a smart and inquisitive child.  She sings made up songs to go with whatever princess she is pretending to be, making her magical moment in her magical world even more wonderful.  To Liv, jeans are clearly unacceptable, and only dresses can be found on this little gosling.  She loves to help me cook. Pouring and stirring while helping to make cookies or cakes makes her day. She loves to mother Warner, especially if it means that she gets to wash his hair for him in the tub and dump water on his head. She loves snuggling with Dadda, and loves singing songs with Mom. She doesn’t have a favorite color, because she loves all of them the same. I guess you could say that she's non-discriminatory.  She is an avid reader (meaning that she loves looking at books or being read to) and artist.  On any given day, this little princess could spend hours singing magical songs outside in her “Mulon” dress.  Violin is coming along swimmingly, and if she really likes you, she might just play her little fiddle song for you.  

Oh yea, and one more thing. She's a flirty little thing. 

 

What was your favorite part about today?

Almost every night when I tuck Olivia in bed I ask her this one question before she goes to sleep. "What was your favorite part about today"?  Tonight when I asked her what her favorite part about today was she said without any hesitation, "Going to Uncle Derek's house". 

Jaron's little brother Derek Brown has been in Bellevue, Washington for the past 10 weeks, waiting for a visa to go through so that he can get on to his original mission call which is to Hermosillo, Mexico.  When we found out that Elder Brown was being re-routed to the Seattle mission, we weren't sure if it was a blessing from the Lord, or a test from the Lord to see how well we would stick to the mission rules.  Well, I'm happy to say, I really believe either he, or we must be doing something right, because tonight, Elder Brown just happened to be at a mission fireside that was held at our Stake Center.  Jaron, being the ward mission leader, of course, was going to attend, and I and the kids of course were going to attend.

We anxiously awaited, and finally he arrived looking as handsome and wholesome as ever. Derek is one of  those kids that I just pray that my boy will grow up to be like. He did perfect in school, literally, he was a national merit finalist or semi-finalist, and he got a full ride scholarship to OU last year.  He has always done what's right, and is he's so stinking hilarious and fun to be around.  I seriously love the kid.  Tonight was wonderful. And I have to say "Going to Derek's house", i.e. the chapel, was my favorite part of the day too.

 Warner was pretty cute with Derek. I know he probably doesn't remember D since he hasn't seen him since he was 2 months old, but he kept looking at Derek and smiling, and then he would walk within a foot or two of him and turn back around only to go back to where he was, smile, and walk toward Uncle Derek again with a big grin.

 Liv, however, had no problem recognizing Derek and gave him lots of big hugs. After our 30 minutes of chatting was up, I asked Liv if she wanted to say anything to Uncle Derek and she said "Yea, I love you Uncle Derek!"

We love you too Uncle Derek. Keep up the good work. We pray for you every night.

Halloween Fun

If you need some fun Halloween craft ideas for your kiddos, here are two things that we have done for FHE the past couple of weeks that have been big hit with the kids and Jaron :).

Paper Plate Halloween Ghosts

 

Vampire Suckers

 Warner's vampire was never born I'm afraid. He just doesn't quite understand the whole patience is a virtue thing yet.

Next week we are going to do these babies:

 (Image source)

Paremesan-Roasted Butternut Squash- My new favorite dish.

This is SERIOUSLY the best thing I've tasted since my Momma's terriyaki salmon.  But, how could it not be delicious when its cooked in cream and drowned in Parmesan cheese?

  This little side dish doesn't have to be a side dish at all since its so rich. We had it with a chicken salad and homemade whole wheat bread.   Mmmmm. . . I'm telling you de-li-CIOUS. I can't wait to make it again.

Parmesan-Roasted Butternut Squash

21/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
¾ cup heavy cream
3 sage leaves (I didn’t have leaves, just powder and I just used about 1/3 teaspoon)
2/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiono

Preheat Oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Toss squash with cream, sage, 1 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper in a 2-quart shallow baking dish (I used a three-quart and it worked great). Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Stir in half of cheese and sprinkle remainder on top. Roast, uncovered, until squash is tender and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving (cream will thicken).

Thinking back to warm summer days. . .

A Summer Day from Jessica Brown on Vimeo.

Girls are so much fun.

 Thanks to Value Village once again for some more dress ups for only $4.99. Ah I love thrift stores! 

Pictures of a Lovely Little Fairy

 Today I caught this little, lovely, fairy climbing down from a the high cupboard above the desk with a piece of gum in her hands. Hmmmm. . . very sneaky.

I said, "Hey Liv, you know, you can't just take gum from up there.  You really should come ask me first".

"But, Mom"
said she,
 "When I don't ask, then I just get to have it."