Fall Puppies

I took this picture a couple years ago but I love it so much.  Two of my favorite things...the fall and their smiley faces.

Pumpkin Pie Anyone?

Look at these filthy creatures on my pumpkins! Yup folks, those are slugs.  So disgusting.

Last year I stretched my culinary expertise and made homemade pumpkin pies and pumpkin butter out of A-L-L the pumpkins we carved.  If you remember the size of Kennedy's pumpkin last year you can imagine how much pumpkin I had at my fingertips.

It was much more work than popping open the Libbey's can of pumpkin I usually do when making "fresh" pumpkin pie. I used two different pie recipes and Shane definitely had a favorite, one that was surprisingly better for you I found in a Cooking Light magazine. We were both amazed at how many pies one pumpkin could make....we had pies falling out of the freezer there were so many and there are still two containers of pumpkin butter left.

I was looking forward to trying new recipes again this year and using some of it for pumpkin puree.  I'm going to pick up fresh pumpkins today and save them for cleaning and baking next weekend.  This year Brittany mentioned trying to make her own from scratch pumpkin pies.  I'm sending her good thoughts today for slug-free pumpkins.

Spooky Movie Night

Since we did alot of Halloween themed spooky activities this weekend, we decided our movie night should be spooky too.  These were the choices:

Belle prepared the popcorn, giving Dan and Lady a few bites too. 

Kennedy picked Coraline which to our surprise came with 3d glasses for all of us! Yay!

 Sadly, I did not make it through this movie with both eyes open.  It did make me feel better to wake up mid-way through the movie and see Shane and Belle asleep on the floor too.  Kennedy was the only one who stayed awake.  We will have to finish it another time when we haven't had such a big weekend.

Pumpkin Carving



Carving by fireside



Shane took matters in his own hands with power tool carving.  For some reason, this reminds me of something my Dad would do (considering he used to light our birthday candles with a propane torch).  Go big or go home!  I love that Belle added her finishing touches to everyone's pumpkins (and her arms).

Everyone was clearly thrilled with their spooky pumpkins.  This picture is even spookier with Dan and Lady.

Spooky Porch



Kennedy and I have a tradition of cleaning and baking pumpkin seeds.  We are not above squirting a few at each other (or at Dad) as we work.





Punkin Patch

Saturday we spent the afternoon at the pumpkin patch.  Our hay ride led us to the perfect pumpkins for the front porch. Belle found the little pumpkins (gords) a bit more her size.

Besides finding the perfect pumpkins, we got to do lots of other fun things.  Kennedy got to fire a corn cannon at a sweet ride.

Even scarier than the sweet ride, was that Shane after looking at the construction of the corn cannon, thinks he could (and probably should) make one himself!

Hay bale climbing

We tried to find our way through a corn maze.  After multiple attempts, one which led us back to the beginning, and a few in completely the wrong directions, Shane and Kennedy blazed a trail to the finish. We were warned at the maze entrance this was against the rules, along with smoking.  One out of two isn't bad...

We all went for a ride on the cow train.  Shane and I didn't find the ride as comfortable as the girls did so the 2nd time the girls had to do it solo.

Hay bale maze



Limo Truck

Shane has spent the last few weeks working on the truck Don brought home for him.  One weekend they replaced the intake manifold and heater core.  Belle liked helping her Daddy. I personally have never been able to work on an engine while wearing a dress so this is impressive to me. 

After successfully getting the truck running again, Shane started working on the inside.  He took out ALL of the seats and shampooed the cushions.  He ripped out the carpeting and stinky pad that was underneath and replaced it with rubber flooring.  He also cleaned up the whole dashboard and all the doors...it smells so much better in there now!  And no mousetraps! Yay!  We drove the truck most of the weekend and it ran great.  It was so funny to me how excited the girls would get when they knew we were taking the "family truck." 

Shane ordered new seat covers for the front seat which have not come yet so he hasn't put the passenger seat back in.  Until the seat covers come, I get to ride in the back with the girls.  I have tons of leg room and get to look straight out the front window...very nice. It does feel a little strange though when we drive it without the girls...I'm in the back and Shane is in the front.  It's our version of a limo truck and I feel like I'm being chauffeured.  Unfortunately, it's usually to places like Walmart and Costco for groceries but still fun!

Minus 1

I got to see two of my three sistas Saturday morning for coffee and pumpkin bread. It was a great start to the weekend!