Fondue Fun!

Yesterday and today we had parent/teacher conferences for the girls. Both of them are doing very well in school and as a reward we decided to have a special 'Good Grades Dinner'. (Thanks to my friend Heidi for the great idea). Jason thought it would be fun to break out the fondue set. We had steak, chicken, shrimp and broccoli that we cooked in a broth recipe, then used BBQ sauce, teriyaki, butter and ranch for dipping sauces. They thought it was great that they were 'cooking' their own dinner. I really enjoyed it because it gave us quite a bit of 'quality' time and conversation around the dinner table as a family. I feel like they are speed eaters most of the time, but the fondue actually kept them interested and entertained while providing nourishment at the same time. Tatum picked out mini cupcakes at the store for dessert and they were able to have all they could drink Sunkist in the 'fancy glasses' (quite the treat for them).

The Box. . .

It's decided~I'm telling Santa no need for anything but boxes this year. We received a package today. After I took the items out, I set the box and the packing in the kitchen. The kids have played with it all day. They started out just dragging each other around in it, then decided to make a fort out of it by cutting a door and skylights. Of course it needed to be decorated too.

Then of course only Tatum would figure out that she could use the packaging too~so this is how she was running around the house. That crazy girl.

Jenny Lake

Some friends from Utah were in Jackson for the Lotoja bike race, so I headed over and we hiked around Jenny Lake to the Hidden Falls then took the ferry back. It was my 1st time there and the scenery was beautiful. It was a lot of fun catching up with old friends. I didn't take my camera, but LeAnn was nice and emailed these pics to everyone after.

Halloween 2009

Gotta love the teeth!And here they are all dressed up and ready to go . . .

Jake as Spidey~he was obsessed with spinning webs.

Tatum the Cowgirl~apparently this is how a cowgirl stands (she was doing this in nearly every
picture).

Cambrie~The Amish Girl

Just a day in the life . . .

We were invited to a family Halloween party, but as of just a couple hours prior, we still didn't have costumes. This is what we came up with. Some joked that Jason's hit a little too close to home in today's economy. Oh well, if you can't laugh about, what can you do?
Happy Halloween!

Shooting Stars

Halloween afternoon we headed out to let the kids shoot a little .22 Jason has. Cambrie turned out to be a dead-eye. Tatum didn't do too bad either and Jake needed both hands to pull the trigger. They found it more fun to climb the mud hills and slide down them, so we had quite the dirty kids when we were done. Just a little good, clean fun.

Tatum's Shot ~ Not bad.
Here's the dead-eye
Cambrie's shot. Seriously?!

After this she shot straight through a soda can.

Pumpkin Carving

The kids kept asking and asking when we were going to carve pumpkins, so to say they were excited would be quite an understatement. Jason cut off the lids, let them clean them out, then they drew the face and we carved whatever they drew. They turned out great and they loved having them lit up on the porch.

Jake deep in thought. This is his new favorite hat.
Tater loved the mess. Surprise, surprise.
Still fishing for pumpkin guts.

Jake's finished pumpkin.

Tatum's finished pumpkin.

Cambrie's Jack-o-lantern.

Jake's Trip to Grandma's House

Since Grandma was coming back in just a few days, and Jake hadn't stopped asking, "When do I get to go to Grandma's house?" we decided to let Jake go home with her. He was so excited and felt like such a big boy. He helped me pack his backpack and was ready to hit the road.

All Smiles . . .

There were a few tears, but it was actually Tatum. She was so upset that Jake was leaving her. Jake on the other hand just said, "Tatum's whining, huh! I'm not whining though!"

Anti-Cancer Party ~ Woo hoo!

Jason's Mom got the good news that she was in total remission so when she said she was coming to visit for the weekend, we decided to have an Anti-Cancer Party. The kids made decorations. I didn't get pictures with the decorations, but Cambrie drew one that was so cute. It was a picture of a Hospital and Grandma walking away saying, "Bye, bye! I'm all better!"

That night after Grandma arrived we headed to O'Rourkes for a celebration dinner.

Cambrie got a brownie sundae for dessert and wasn't sharing with anyone.
Tatum and Jake digging into their sundae.

Grandma and the kiddos.

Me and Jason.

4 Wheelin' Fun~

Jason has started letting Cambrie drive the 4 wheeler on her own (very slowly around the house). Here she is taking a spin.

Jas, Tater and Jake

Cambrie's Field Trip

Cambrie's 2nd grade class took a field trip to Cosmic Apple Farms. I gave her a camera to take with her and was pleasantly surprised with the cute pictures she came home with. It did make me laugh when she told me that she wasn't able to get many pictures at Cosmic Apple because the camera didn't hold enough. We downloaded them on the computer and I showed her that over 40 pictures were taken on the bus before they ever got to the farm. She was a little surprised she had taken that many pictures. She sure loved having her own camera. I think these girls really enjoyed themselves.