Hillbilly Housewife

After almost two weeks of not feeling good... I woke up feeling great and with lots of energy! It's chilly and cloudy today.

The perfect setting to be domestic.

Did you know there is a canned pumpkin shortage this year?
So I made my own!

Then I made a batch of granola.
Charles' favorite.

I planned on grinding oat groats and wheat,
but my grinder jammed after the oat groats. Bummer!
This is Robert and Shea NOT helping.

The pumpkin being smooshed up...

Baked pumpkin seeds....

The fruits of my labors...

rolls (with ground oat groats - of course!)

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.


pumpkin cream cheese bread - very yummy!

yes - I'm tired. and full.

Friday Night Lights

The life of a high school marching band stud...

8:30 to 4:00 - school. boring school.
4:00 - quick break. MOM! take me to Wendy's. i NEED a Frosty. and some greasy nourishment.


4:30 to 11:30. marching band stuff.so handsome!

pre-game (we thought the game started at 7... but it didn't start until 7:30) Robert and I sat with Marti and Russ Wallace... thier son plays on the football team. Yes, it was cold. No, we didn't win.

Grandma and Grandpa are here!!

I have the world's best in-laws.

They come visit every spring and fall for 4-6 weeks and we LOVE them! Travelling is getting a bit hard on them, but they are troopers.... Andrew just moved out, so they are in the back bedroom with their own couch (which I'm pretty sure is going to be Shea's bed while they are here:)

Charles getting into a book...

Shea and Grandma reading together...

Shea is sooo happy her Grandma is here!

Pictures from Kayla!

Kayla sent these pictures with her last email.... She said Alle's baptism was wonderful! She is having a wonderful time and I certainly can't believe she has already been out almost a year!!!

But it will be so great to have her home!

September Frugal Challange

Love this challenge!

Going from $200 (what I did before our trip to AK) to $300 a month for food was a breeze! I even had a bit left this week to stock up on things that don't normally come on sale. I ended up right at $300.

My goal for October is to stock my freezer and start making more things with my wheat/oat/bean food storage. Nothing like putting it in writing!

i hate my best friend.

I know... we look happy in this picture. I know.... she came all the way to Alaska to be with me. I know, I know... she has to finish raising my kids if Robert and I die. (don't go feeling too bad for her, there's plenty of life insurance for a house cleaner, therapy and lots of ice cream)

Why the sudden animosity, you ask?
She is paying her house off!!
Now. Not in years (like me and most of my REAL friends) but in actual DAYS it will be completely free of debt. I realize that I should be happy for her. Even celebrate with her... she is the one that got me into the whole "coupon-frugal" craziness that made my trip to AK a reality and will eventually help me pay off my house. But no. I can't get past the jealousy. I'm shallow and self-centered.

Playing..

Last week Shea and I had lots of fun.... Monday was a half day at school so we had a girls afternoon with Sophia. We had lunch at Rosa's and played the rest of the time.



Friday after school Sophia and I picked up Shea, Kiersten and Brenda and headed over to pick out pumpkins...
Then we went to Legacy Park. Lots of fun!!

Karaoke Kayla

I don't know that Kayla wants me share video :) But hey, what can she do about it!!

Pictures from Kayla!

Kayla sent me the disk from her camera... FULL of pictures! I picked out a few fun ones and will post more later.

Doing the happy dance

in Alaska pj's

(Shea has matching ones - of course:)

Kayla and Sister Graf

This is Adam Rose...

he grew up with our kids in American Fork, UT

and his parents bought our house when we

moved to TX. Weird that he we sent to Seattle...

just like Kayla!!

All the best missionaries must go to Seattle!

Kayla, Adam Rose and Sister Graf

emailing their moms at the library on P-Day

Busy young man....

Braden's life had become crazy busy! Here's what last Friday/Saturday looked like for this great kid:

Friday
6:30 a.m. Seminary (where he is class president)
7:45 early band practice (trumpet)
8:30 - School. boring school
Went with marching band to Midland for a football game... didn't get home until 2 a.m.!

Saturday
9:00 - half day merit badge clinic - earned his communications badge. He is a life scout getting ready for his eagle.

Afternoon - I had a few people that needed a place for their kids to be on Saturday - so Braden played host and did a great job entertaining them.

Evening - Braden went over to his "job" of doing yard work for Carol Weathers. She pays him good money to pull weeds and he's been pretty good at saving much of it.

Saturday night - exhausted !!

here is Braden checking his facebook account...

in his spare 2 minutes a day :)

UGH!

photo taken at 5:45 a.m.

he has actually been fabulous about

getting up for seminar!