Thanksgiving and other happenings

Our dining area is too small for comfort when dining with a large group. So we set up a table in the living room and it worked out just fine!

We had sooo much food, and all of it was so good!

Dennis and Larissa's delicious pumpkin roll. Yum!

It's always fun working in the kitchen with my mom!

Puttering around the kitchen

Mom and I, working on the potatoes

It has been too long since I have posted. Here's an update: Tyson and I have both been pretty busy this past month. Tyson spent a week in Michigan on business, getting some training on a new system. Between that and his regular work schedule he is also working on the final thesis for his bachelor of theology degree. I have been busy too. In between running after first graders I am working on the final project for the graduate class I am currently taking. Next week we are meeting up with Tyson's family in Orlando for a few days. Disneyworld, here we come! After that, we are booked solid with social engagements through Christmas. Even though we are busy, this is our favorite time of year and we love it!

Due to Tyson's on-call schedule we had to stay in Mountain Home for Thanksgiving. Luckily for us, my parents agreed to spend Thanksgiving at our house. Our good friends, Dennis and Larissa (and Dawson) also joined us for dinner. Jen and Bridger- we missed you! But we're glad you were able to enjoy the holiday with Jen's family. The photos are from our Thanksgiving dinner. Happy Holidays!

Apples, Apples Everywhere!

Tyson and I have a yearly apple picking tradition. I love picking apples! Autumn is my favorite season, and apple picking just cries out fall to me. This year we picked about fifty pounds of apples. What do you do with that many apples, you ask? Can and freeze! Last weekend and again today we spent a few hours peeling, coring, and chopping apples. Twenty-two pints of apple sauce and a couple of frozen pies later, we are down to the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. Last year we stumbled upon a very simple yet delicious applesauce recipe. We made a few pints worth last year and ate it within a week. So, this year we decided to dedicate most of our apples to applesauce. Last Christmas Tyson bought me a very nice canner/pressure cooker that we have used for canning our applesauce. It has made the canning process so simple! I also find it is nice to make and freeze several apple pies for the holidays. All I have to do is pop them in the oven when we need them. Can you believe Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away?

Our Famous Family Came To Town

We had a great visit with my family this past week! They stopped in Mountain Home a couple of days before the Nampa, ID show. This time they drove up, as the Nampa show is the first in a string of dates in the North and West. They even were able to park the huge tour bus along-side our house. Good thing we live on a corner!

We got free tickets to the show, and it is true that you get what you pay for. Since the Nampa Civic Center sold out, our seats were in the very last row. Happily for us, it is a good theater and there aren't any bad seats in the place.

Naturally nobody in the family thought to get out a camera until an hour or so before the concert started, so all of the pictures we got are backstage!

I know its too early for Christmas, but...

This year's White House Historical Association ornament is now available. The one to the left is the most recent one for 2007. Naturally, half the people in the world have a tradition of collecting a holiday ornament. Sadie and I like this series because the ornaments are shiny, classy, and tell interesting snippets about our nation's history. Even the boxes they come in are fun to look through.

We got started in this collection as the result of a gift. My grandparents in California, Gene and Gypsy Cherryholmes (but we just call them Poppo and Mommo) sent us the 2002 release one year and we loved it! It was beautiful and caught the light in a way that every good Christmas ornament should. We don't actually hang these ones on the "main" tree. Instead we picked up a silver "table" tree that goes well with the styling of this collection.

Why, you ask, do I bother posting this in October? No, I'm not one of those who ushers the Christmas season in prematurely--even though it is one of our favorite times of year. Last year, we didn't order the newest one until we were already decorating for Christmas. Naturally that meant that by the time our 2006 ornament arrived, we were packing up and putting away all the decorations already! Didn't make that mistake this time! We've already ordered the 2007 one.

Welcome Home!

Welcome home Jen, Junie, and Abby the dog!

Couldn't help myself

Okay, my mom sent me these pictures, and I just couldn't help myself. We totally have the cutest niece ever! We love you Junie!

Great News!

After just over one month, Jen is finally being released from the hospital! What a blessing it will be for their family to all be under the same roof again. We are so thankful for her amazing recovery!