Happy Birthday to THE Man of the house

The Birthday boy and sons:)

The boys are always happy to help with the candles!!

We had quite the happenin' party with, one little frosting sampler and...


Micheal Jackson...(wait a minute, who invited that guy!?)


and a video-game crazed teenager ("vidiots" as his teacher says:)

(Connor was acutally just checking the score of the World Series for his Dad)

...and another Birthday Boy?

While Bridger was digging into his slice of cake--he all of sudden stopped and said with eyes wide "Mom, oh no, we forgot my cake!" Which was true--on vacation we celebrated at Fudruckers with burgers and fries and ice cream, and at his birthday party we decorated sugar cookies. So, TJ put 5 candles into the half gone cake and we all sang the birthday song again and viola--Bridger was perfectly pleased:)

Such an sweet guy!

Happy happy Birthday my darling husband!! You are loved and adored!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Haloween Goodies for you!

Photo

We are bursting with excitment for Halloween around here!
We have lots of fun Halloweening to do in the next couple of days.
I thought I would share with you some of the free goodies I have found to help us get into the Halloween spirit:)

First up:
Bridger's Birthday Party will be at our Haunted House tomorrow .All the children will come in their costumes and be greeted by Hagatha the witch:) I have my painted my nails a nice shade of black in preparation.

To download these cute toppers click here

We will be sending everyone home with some Rotten Pumpkin Teeth, found here.

We have lots of fun games planned, including some coloring pages here.


Over the next few days I will be making these Halloweenish foods for my crew:

Recipe for apple smiles here


Mummy Dogs recipe here

Last, but not least I found these delightful halloween joke notecards for the boys lunch. They love them! Get the free download here.
Hope you enjoy these Halloween goodies!
Have a spooky week:)

Menu Monday is back

Monday--Teriyaki Burgers french bread easy buns, spinach and apple salad, carrot sticks

Tuesday--Pinenut, Pesto, Tomato Pasta with sauted zuchini, caesar salad, roasted acorn squash

Wednesday--Tiki Masala (but with light coconut milk instead of cream), brown basmati rice, Roasted lemon parmesan brocoli, sliced apples

Thursday--White Chicken Chili (to bring to a church Halloween Party), corn bread

Friday-Brad's Birthday Dinner per request Cafe Rio Pork Burritos, Cilantro lime rice, refried beans, salad with cafe rio dressing, white cake with chocolate frosting.

Saturday--Macaroni and Cheese Gratin with a jack o lantern face for Halloween, Green salad with Grandma's ranch dressing, fresh pineapple and grapes, garlic bread

Sunday--4 Packet Pot Roast, wonderful mashed potatoes, green beans, 30 minute rolls with homemade strawberry jam

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday Bridger!

This morning we all sang to him while we were still in bed here in the early morning light. It was sweet!

He then gave birthday hugs and exclaimed "I get to pick my birthday breakfast, right?"

To my relief he picked cereal:) Phew! That is exactly what we have stocked in our little condo!

We are off to rent bikes for exploring the Hilton Head island and celebrating our big 5 year old boy all day!

Beach Bums

It is offical...I am in love with this place! Hilton Head Island is heavenly!

What is it about the beach that is so...good for the soul?!

We are now cozy in our hotel room enjoying Monday Night Football, but this morning we were up at the crack of dawn with 5 boys begging to get to the beach.

So that is where we spent our day and it was PERFECT!

Our activities included:

Early morning football in the waves

More digging

What a happy surprise that in the middle of October, it is still warm enough to swim!

Oops, TJ dropped his head:)

The boys spent hours diving for sand dollars and builing sand castles.

Coleman had a cute little pet crab for a couple of hours.


We finished off the day with a walk on the beach (with the football, of course) before retiring to our room to cheer on the TN Titans!

I had a very tired little three year old at the beach this evening, who is now bouncing off the walls at bedtime! Why is that?

Up tomorrow: a birthday boy! Yeah!!
Well, I am off to snuggle my baby boy and try to remind him that he really is tired!
TN is up by 14, mayble I can talk the boys into turning the game off and hitting the sack?? Wish me luck!

Hilton Head Island

We rolled into beautiful Hilton Head Island, South Carolina last night and as soon as we checked in we headed for the beach.

We got there just in time to enjoy a gorgeous sunset! The image of my 5 boys running and laughing along the waterline with this amazing sunset as a backdrop was MAGICAL!
I didn't have my nice camera to capture the shot, but I am sure that the picture in my mind will last forever!

(My little point and shoot does better with still shots--very slow shutter speed:)

This sweet lady offered to take our picture but I didn't want to stop the boys from their play , so I just grabbed my honey. She told us she had one condition for her services...that we kiss for the shot:) "Easy Peasy" as my little Cannon likes to say!



One thing I know ...boys love to dig!

And I found this in the sand...I guess our boys are still proud BYU fans even though they can't win a game this year (well, OK fine, I guess they have won, once:)

Well, it is now bright and early and we are headed to the beach!! Woo hoo!

We are thrilled to find that we are only 5.5 hours from this gorgeous beach!!

Autumn Love

Have I mentioned that I LOVE this time of year? Seriously, this just might be my favorite time! There is something so wonderful about the Fall! And it reminds me of my sweet Dad who has always loved this time of year.

I love...

*Fat Pumpkins on the porch--just waiting to be carved!

*spooky decor here and there much to the delight of my children

*our glowing Mr Bones to welcome evening guests


*oh and the leaves...we are surrouned by trees here in Tennessee. They canopy the roads and fill all available space! I love the bursts of autumn color they offer and I am mesmorized and charmed by the way they softly flutter through the air and then dance excitedly around passing cars. Beautiful!







And look at the size of this one! We grow some serious leaves here in Tennessee!

*and last but not least I love baking with pumpkin this time of year! Yum!

This pumpkin cranberry bread is amazing and makes your home smell divine!
I also highly recommend these pumpkin pancakes with apple cider syrup:) I will be making them this weekend! Can't wait!

For some reason my heart has been so full lately.

I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for all the beauty in the world, and the simple but powerful opportunities for happiness that He lovingly provides.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

PS thank you for the sweet emails and comments!

A couple of Firsts: Two Wheelin' and T.P.'d

Bridger has mastered his two wheeler without training wheels! wooo hoooo! He is so darn cute proudly zippin' around the neighborhood on his minature bike. The image of his pumping little legs and happy smile is forever imprinted in my mind! Precious! I feel so lucky to be a Momma!

And I am afraid that the many years of being TP'd have begun. We woke up to this lovely sight last weekend. The boys think it is pretty sweet. Mostly, they just can't wait to get in on the action. Did you TP people growing up? Brad and I grew up together and we used to grab our friends and TP each other all the time. We thought it was a blast, but I am sure our parents thought other wise! I guess this payback now:)

PS

Sorry about the lack of "Menu Monday". I have had a doozy of a week so far and it is only Tuesday night. Lets just say, that due to an emergency with one of our friends, I was feeding and putting to bed 8 sweet little boys last night! It was quite an adventure for our household. Things are thankfully back to normal now for my friend and I am back to just 5 boys again--but needless to say, a few things had to go yesterday, such as blogging:)

Weekend Yeah!

photo credit
I LOVE this time of year...

Weekend Plans:
(*orange words are links!)
Clean my bathrooms; enlists the boys!
Make some fall treats to Boo our friends with
Visit an apple orchard and sample some fresh cider and homecooked fritters
Fast this Saturday-Sunday
Have some yummy family meals, including this warm and wonderful soup
Really connect with my children--inspired by this sweet parenting message below:)

Love this quote from the above video regarding family meals:

"It is not the food, but the family interaction

that nourishes the soul"

Have a Happy and Sweet Weekend!

Football Stories

My boys are a little crazy for football. I mean, really you have to be a little crazy to wear 10+pounds of gear, for 3 hours a day in 90+ heat and humidity, while chasing and smashing each other as hard as you can, all for a little brown ball:)

What a glorious pass time, huh?!

Actually, I did enjoy watching the boys play, and even more I was so impressed with how hard they worked and committed they were. It was a lot of loong, sweaty, difficult daily practises and they never dragged their feet about going even when they did not get the playing time their hearts desired. That is determination and true toughness!

I love it when my boys are a great examples for me!

Did you know that it is not cool to grin while wearing a football uniform?

I had to crack some seriously funny jokes to get this much...
(actually I think they were teasing me and my desire to snap some pics)

(TJ as a sixth grader was one of 7 boys to make the JV team. His games were a few hours before Connors)


Connor forgot the order form and check that I filled out for football pictures, so I made him do our own little photo shoot as punishment:)
A little Connor trivia: He has been #84 since he started football in 5th grade.



One with the brothers...
Coleman and Cannon have the football face down.
Bridger (batman) needs a little work.
Little brothers wanted to get in on the football shots too!
Yeah, I am kinda worried about Bridger's football career with all those smiles and cute sparkly eyes...at least he will charm the cheerleaders:)

Menu Monday

Today I happily woke up to a chilly home! I am seriously excited for the change of seasons! Summer was wonderful with the warm sunshine and hours spent at the pool, but now I am in the mood for wearing sweaters and enjoying warm soup! We left our bedroom window open last night and I slept so well with a cool fresh breeze coming in! Fall is in the air and I have loaded up on some beautiful squash, sweet potatoes and pumpkin to enjoy on this weeks menu. Yum!

*denotes recipe is on Sisters Cafe--if you can;t find them send me an email at melandboys@gmail.com

Monday:

Crustless Quiche* with broccoli, mushroom and fresh parmigiano, fresh pinapple, and warm pumpkin muffins*. FHE treat: caramel apples

Tuesday:

Spinach stuffed shells (from the freezer), roasted garlic cauliflower*, wholewheat garlic bread, caesar* salad, sliced nectarines

Wednesday:

Black Bean Burgers, zuchini sticks & 5 minute marinara sauce for dip, fresh sliced pears

Thursday:

Chicken Tereyaki* Fried (brown) Rice, black grapes, spinach salad with carrots and ginger soy dressing, roasted butternut squash

Friday:

Date night Mom and Dad--Buttered whole wheat noodles & peaches for boys

Saturday :

White bean and Tomatoes, with garlic and spinach saute over spaghetti squash, artisan bread*, pears, parmesan tilapia filets

Sunday:

Creamy Potato Leek Soup*, Honey whole wheat rolls, spinach salad with apples and blue cheese, baked sweet potatoes*, cheese cake bars*