Working them hard....

My parents came for their annual visit last week. The morning they flew in Charlie was singing in his bed, "It's morning, it's morning, Grandma is coming today!" Our car had been making a "bad sound" so when I went to pick them my Dad noticed it right off and said it was the breaks! Seth was getting ready to leave for a conference to San Francisco so he had no time to do a break job. My dad was nice enough to step in and do it. After two days and MANY trips to Auto Zone my car is running like a champ. Thanks Dad! Charlie sat outside for hours keeping him company.

My mom is a women of a million talents. She can pretty much figure out how to do anything. I've always wanted a Halloween costume, so we started in on a Mini Mouse costume. I really shouldn't say "we" because she did it all herself, but I kept her company and listened to some fun family stories. Of course the costume turned out perfect! Thanks mom!

I have hated my kitchen floor from the moment we moved in. Call me a snob but it was bad. Think of a cracked, dirty, cafeteria floor. It soaked dirt in and the only way to get it off was with a magic eraser. Thanks to some friends who first made the investment, I purchased some peel-and-stick linoleum from Lowes. I conveniently planned this project for when my mom was around, because if you know my mom, you know she can do flooring! It turned out Beautiful! Every time I walk into my kitchen I get excited. I'm shocked when I sweep it and get a pile of dirt because it never looks dirty!

Before:(

After:)

Laying the final piece!
We did manage to have a little fun while they were here. We did the Michigan tradition of going to a cider mill to pick lots of apples, eat lots of donuts, and drink lots of cider!


From all those apples came this yummy apple crisp, another Aunt Nancy recipe!
We also went to Dearborn (near Detroit) to the Ford Rouge Plant. They have a great tour and you can walk around on a cat walk and watch them make the Ford F-150. My Dad was in heaven and I think my mom enjoyed it just as much. You can see this machine with a large arm that picks up a wind shield and plops it down right into place. Very cool!

Thank for coming mom and dad and for everything you did for us while you were here!

Fall Has Arrived!

I LOVE fall! I've loved going through the transition into a new season over the last few weeks. I still really feel like I should be in school (I still have dreams I'm missing classes and flunking) at this time of year, I guess after 17 years of going I'm still adjusting not having to go. It's been fun to watch Charlie love preschool and beg to go. The leaves have just started to change but will hopefully peak when all the visitors come at the end of the month. Football is in full swing but poor Michigan, I guess we can always watch BYU. The cider mills and apple orchards are in full swing and I love buying apples for 99 cents a pound! Halloween costumes are being planned out and will hopefully come together! Lastly, fall brings on Soup Season! My wonderful Aunt Nancy made me a cookbook when I got married of all of her favorite recipes and her Autumn Soup recipe is a favorite in our house! Here is the recipe if you need something hardy and good!
Autumn Soup

1/2 lb ground beef (sometimes I use a full pound)
1 can tomato soup
3 cups water
3 potatoes, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp A-1 sauce
Brown ground beef and onions; drain. In a large pan, add diced vegetables and cover with water. Cook until tender. Add remaining spices and sauces and hamburger. Simmer a couple of hours. (usually I just let it simmer 20 min and it still tastes delicious)

Natalie and I have had a lot of conversations about Tortilla Soup. There seems to be about a million different ways to make it! I've tried many, but this is my favorite!
It is a bit more time intensive than crock pot versions but well worth it.
Mindy's Tortilla Soup

1/2 onion, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
3 cans of chicken broth (4 cups)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3 cooked chicken breast, shredded (I usually just boil it)
1/2 c. med picante sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chili powder

Saute onion and green pepper until transparent. Add chicken broth, soup and chicken. Bring to simmer and then add picante sauce, salt pepper and chili powder. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Crunch up tortilla chips on the bottom of a bowl and pour soup on top. Top with sour cream and cheese! YUM!

Matthew has become completely obsessed with trains. I love watching him get so excited in the morning when he runs to his trains. We have magnetic ones which are great unless he is trying to ram to ends together with the same polarity, he can get so mad they won't go together he'll throw them and cry. He's starting to learn that if they won't connect together to flip one around. We have the wooden train set from IKEA and I highly recommend it. We've had it for two years and it's still in perfect condition and it's cheap compared to other wooden train sets!