hoping they remember this

A few weeks ago I was reading a book to the kids that had a maze in it and they loved doing it---they are definitely in a maze-craze right now. I asked them, "Do you remember the corn maze at the farm we went to the last few years?" They had no clue---they didn't even remember going to a pumpkin patch. It truly surprised me that they had no memory of us going the last 3 years, every year, in the fall.

So they then decided they wanted to surprise their daddy with a trip to the maze. They kept it secret for most of the week besides the one clue K gave her dad, "BIG Corn!" He really thought we were crazy and had no clue what they were so excited about until the last day, when Zan couldn't handle it anymore and spilled the beans!

It was such a perfect day......a corn maze, pony rides,
Sitting on the tractor,

Holding hands with each other to search for their favorite pumpkins.

Here's hoping they never forget this perfect day of fall fun!

what a wonderful thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I loved making all of the food although Matt, Ben, and Sue made fun of me for the vast amount we had. But we have been loving the leftovers! Today I'm going to try to create a leftover layer casserole in the crockpot. I'll let you know if it turns out well.






We had such fun decorating and eating our Morning Muffins on Thanksgiving day! The kids also enjoyed making placemats and name cards to decorate the table.





Thanksgiving really is more special when you're surrounded by happy children. The house was filled with giggles, shrieks, and fun!  One of their favorite things to do was playing dress-up like princesses.  Matt was thrilled to see Zander participate!

A special thanks to Sue for letting me have the great photos from her camera.  We are going out today to get my early Christmas gift,  a new camera.   My current one has finally gone completely out after about a month of driving me crazy!   I hope to figure the new one out quickly and blog again soon.....I have some Christmas (and Thanksgiving,  a little late) crafts to share.  I know I'll want to share pictures of the Christmas season with you too.  

thanksgiving treats

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  I'm sitting here on Thanksgiving morning,  sipping my coffee with one of my best friends,  getting enough energy to start cooking for the day.

But I've been happily busy baking all week.  Here are a few of our treats for our special day.

To set the atmosphere,  I made this fall display on the island.  

The pinecone jar was simple to make.  Place some pinecones in a mason jar,  tie with a fall ribbon, and tada!  Instant decoration.  (You could do the same with Christmas ribbon)
Here are my Double Chocolate Chip cookies.  I used a standard Chocolate Chip recipe and doubled the number of chips.....just half of the doubled chips were White Chocolate.....yum!
One of our cutest snacks is the turkey cupcakes.  I just baked the cupcakes,  frosted with chocolate icing and decorated with candy corn, mini chocolate chips, and orange icing for the nose.  The kids loved helping with this!

Here is Zander helping with the pumpkin pie he has been begging for, for two weeks.  I wondered why he wanted pumpkin pie so much,  since we never eat it, and then saw this recipe on Noggin.  So now I know why pumpkin pie seems so exciting!  I hope he enjoys it as much to eat as he has been anticipating. 

We are very thankful to have our friends,  The Nelsons,  with us today.  I hope all of you have a special day!