Half-Way Done!

We are a little more than half way done with our cookie orders. We made about 130 dozen cookies in three days, and have 117 dozen left to go! Everyone has pitched in to help, so it has truly been a family affair. Since our furniture was occupied with cookie stuff, we had to have a picnic dinner on the dining room floor. I was the only one who spilled my food! I enjoyed a nice break today which included working out and then going to Starbucks to drink a latte and read a good book!

The Cookie Season Has Begun!

This weekend we officially kicked off our cookie baking season! We did a family devotional about giving and talked about the kids earning money helping with the business so that they can buy a Christmas gift for their friends and family. We ended with everyone taking a turn to pray, to ask God to help us to work together as a family and to be hard workers over the next couple of weeks. We all put our hands together and shouted "Tricia's Cookie Kitchen" as we went to work. We put together boxes, cut ribbons, put labels on bags. We tasted our new "Double Chocolate Chip" cookie and all agreed it is one that we will be selling this Christmas. We ended our afternoon together walking up to Starbucks to get a "cookie season kick off" hot chocolate and coffee. It was a great afternoon, and it was so neat to work together as a family.

1st Annual Post-Thanksgiving Golf Game

Eight of us ventured out today for a game of golf. Peter golfs every 7 years, so he's set until 2015. No, actually, he had a great time and is planning on spending his birthday money (yes, his birthday was in April) on some men's golf clubs. It was a little challenging to play with clubs that were way too small for him. He still managed to have some great shots, though! Conner said his favorite part was Grandpa letting him drive the golf cart for 2 minutes after we were done :) Conner did have some wonderful shots and said that he would love some golf clubs for Christmas. The most exciting thing about my golf game was finding our brand new camera in our golf bag that I used almost three months ago! I think I did have a couple of good drives and 1 good shot off the fairway. Grandma was very patient with all of us and amazed us with her countless good shots! She kept us all having fun and helped us to see the positives!

Happy Thanksgiving

This year we had a potluck for Thanksgiving (Mom finally decided that it might be just a little too much work to make everything for over 30 people! ) Mom always has the tables beautifully set, just like out of a magazine. Peter, Conner, and I had fun making 10 pounds of mashed potatoes using a recipe from a cooking class that I had recently taken. We were amazed by the amount of dishes that had to be washed for just one dish, so we had to take a picture. We also brought chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars! Needless to say, the food everyone made was delicious! What was even better, though, was spending time with everyone. We played some games and held the newest member of our family, baby Mia who is almost 3 months old. We feel like the luckiest people in the world to have such an amazing family.

Outdoor Soccer is Done

The outdoor soccer season has come to an end. It absolutely poured during McKenzie's last game. Kelsey didn't seem to mind. Conner did a great job coaching and encouraging all of the girls on Kelsey's team. Kelsey sure loved having her big brother help her this season, and her team was undefeated which was pretty exciting. McKenzie had her best season ever and was as quick as lightning! She sure doesn't get her speed from her mom :) We celebrated McKenzie's season with a dinner at one of her teammate's house. I'm not sure I could have 50 people over for dinner, but it turned out great! Now the indoor season has started - McKenzie was invited to play on a classic team, and Kelsey is continuing to play with half of her team from rec.

Baking Time

For the past two years, Conner has loved making pumpkin pies. He also LOVES cheesecake. When we saw the recipe for a pumpkin cheesecake pie, we knew we had to make it! We had a lot of fun hanging out in the kitchen together, making our own pie crust (the first time I'd ever done that!), and, of course, taste testing our creation. We served everyone a piece of delicious pie while we watched our favorite show, Extreme Home Makeover, together. The pie was even more delicious the second day after it had been chilled. Conner will be bringing one for Thanksgiving Dinner.

It was a Happy Halloween

What a fun night! Conner was a Packer fan, McKenzie was someone who had just gotten out of bed, and Kelsey changed her costume at the last minute from a baby to an Oregon Duck fan. We began the night over at Grandma and Grandma's with a wonderful party with our cousins. We came back to our neighborhood for 2 hours of trick-or-treating. The weather was amazing! The kids came back home and did the annual sorting and counting of candy. The kids gave Peter and me all the Baby Ruths and Almond Joys, so we got to have some candy, too :)