Haunted Harvest

We heart the Springs Preserve. Not only is it a fabulous indoor/outdoor experience that we can enjoy all year long, but they also have fantastic special events. We experienced our first of the season last night with Haunted Harvest. I invited Lindsay and her family to join us and give the Springs Preserve a try. Luckily, a good friend of mine works for the Water District and hooked me up with coupons so we all received a couple of bucks off admission (I have a few more if you want to check it out. Seriously, we have an annual family membership and use it all year long. This would be a great time to see what the Springs Preserve is all about). Anyhoo, Lindsay, Wes and Nate met us there for some good pre-Halloween fun. The kids had a blast trick-or-treating and playing carnival style games. The weather was lovely so it was wonderful to be walking around outside. The light up the entire garden area and it is truly beautiful. Abbie and Daisy even danced with Sponge Bob, Patrick and a witch! The hayride was sold out until 8 p.m. so we passed on that but otherwise, good fun all around.

All in all, I'd say a good time was had by all. Abbie fell asleep on the car ride home. Both girls are sitting at the table now going through their treat baskets.

Introducing....

Jude Palacios Hurd

I finally got to meet little Jude on Saturday. He is just as a baby should be...sweet, cuddly, lovely smelling, happy to be held (even by a new friend). I loved every minute I got to spend with him but sadly, he got hungry and I promised Tripp not to stay ALL afternoon. But I easily could have. With his old man hair, big cheeks and tiny chin I was quickly smitten. No "Little Mr. Sunshine" here. Of course, the grown-up company was delightful as well. Mom and Dad are definitely glowing. And who can blame them, with two handsome boys...

Fall Garden

We planted our fall garden this week. The girls and I had fun at the nursery picking out our plants and visiting the turtles and fish. Abbie even pulled her own wagon and filled it up with plants while Daisy rode in my wagon with her friend the tomato plant.

We have a variety of starter plants as well as seeds this fall. I've left a couple of plants from the spring including the basil, chives and pepper (it finally has peppers on it!).

We planted the following:
*Lettuce - a few varieties
*Spinach
*Tomato
*Peppermint
*Chives
*Green Onions
*Artichoke
*Lots of Pansies

Phase Two of our backyard remodeling moves into gear this week as we will put the finish coat on the flagstone, begin digging the trenches for the trees and garden area II and begin leveling the rest for sod.

Cooking Group Week Four - Chicken Satay

This week we tried an Asian inspired meal with Chicken Satay and Red Curry Peanut Sauce. To say it was a hit is an understatement. Everyone loved it. Tripp isn't a fan of the flavors of the far east or probably even Indian food for that matter but he even really liked it. Daisy ate a ton of chicken and sauce, as did Kyle.

I made a yummy cucumber salad as well. Again, a hit. Abbie ate a ton of brown rice and cucumbers so I was pleased with that.

All the recipes were courtesy of one of my very favorite recipe blogs Prudence Pennywise. You can check out the full recipes for Chicken Satay, the Red Curry Peanut Sauce and the Cucumber Salad here.

As for week three, sorry everyone but Tripp was in Brazil and Kyle had every activity known to man last week (soccer, Court of Honor, Greenspun Open House, you get the picture) so I just didn't get around to trying something new. I needed old standbys last week...

Court of Honor

Kyle had a Court of Honor last week. He has been working so hard in the scouting program that he not only advanced two ranks, but earned a ton of merit badges and was recognized as the scout who earned the most merit badges since the last Court of Honor and tied for the most required merit badges. It certainly doesn't hurt that his dad loves the scouting program and encourages him to always do his best and try harder.

Tripp was recognized for his service at Scout Camp this summer and going above and beyond despite not being a part of the scouting program. Unfortunately, he was in Brazil and wasn't able to attend.

Abbie enjoyed watching Kyle get his awards, seeing him present the pins to his mom, and eating the cookies afterwards.

Eagles 2009

Fall soccer started in August and Kyle was lucky to end up on the Eagles for another season. This is his fifth or sixth season on the team and he really loves it. Kyle has always been a natural athlete but soccer really is his thing, especially goalie. He has the two greatest coaches a team could ask for. They do an amazing job with the boys and I really feel like they never make one kid into a star...each one gets a lot of encouragement and attention. They are positive when they need to be and tough when they don't. Out of all the sports, teams and coaches we've been through with Kyle, these two are truly the best. Kyle has excelled and we know it is due to the coaches and his true love of the game.

Many of the boys on the team return every season so he's been playing with them for a few years now. They play well together and have developed some good friendships. We really couldn't be happier for Kyle or prouder of him.

And best of all...the pictures always turn out fabulous. The coach's wife takes the photos each season and spends her own time (and money) getting a couple printed for each player. She does a great job getting each kid to smile and look like they want to be on the team (not always easy with 12 yr old boys). The professional photographers have nothing on Christi. Tripp and I are so thankful every season that she wants to do it. It saves us a lot of money and these are some of the best photos we get of Kyle ALL YEAR LONG.

His games are Saturdays at Anthem Hills Park. If you're ever interested in checking one out, let us know. We may even have an Eagles t-shirt in your size!

Can't forget to mention our friend Don who kindly designed the Eagles logo. Thanks!!!!

Brazil

Tripp left yesterday around noon for Brazil. I've been disgruntled about this trip from the get go. I'm normally pretty supportive of his job in general but something about this trip in particular has really bugged me. It's been on again, off again so many times now I can't count. He is missing a session here in the states that he actually would have liked to attend that would only have required a few days away. Because of the entire on again/off again nature of the beast he had to take an extra day away to procure his Visa then missed his window for the Yellow Fever vaccine because of other travels. Not to mention missing soccer, General Conference, Court of Honor, and Greenspun Open House...I just have been in a bad mood about it. Then yesterday he arrived in Houston and the plane to Brazil had mechanical difficulties and I just hoped it didn't crash.

But this morning he arrived and his hotel is 10 minutes away from this...
Somehow, I can't be frustrated or angry anymore. This is the Campinas Brazil Temple. He caught a picture of it from a cab maybe (haven't got the full story yet) and hopes to find time to go back during his visit. He knew he wouldn't have time for sightseeing (in fact we loaned our camera to Kyle's soccer coach who left yesterday for India) but he is going to try and carve out some time, even just to walk the grounds.

Not many Americans see this temple unless they serve a mission in Brazil and since Tripp served his country instead of a mission, I feel like he deserves to see this lovely temple. Maybe this trip was just a chance for him to see it. Maybe the European contingent can't do the training without him. Or maybe I needed him to be near it because now I'm certainly a lot less angry about the entire thing. It certainly is lovely...