Octoberfest

It's that time of year again! And a very successful Octoberfest it was! The menu was: Bratwurst, shrimp, purple potatoes, garden carrots, fruit, and apple crisp for dessert. We live for good food and new recipes at our house. My mom is so cute to start new personal family traditions, we sit under the big tree and enjoy the leaves and the cool weather in the fall. I just love spending time with my family, we laugh and play football, and the kids climb moms trees.






Mandi serenaded us while Ella danced, and danced, and danced. Never a dull moment!


Easy and YUMMY apple crisp.

Tricks and Treats

I walked into Dillon's room today and got FREAKED out!! On Saturday he told me he was going outside to look for bugs, and was super excited when he found a grasshopper! I didn't think Dill had the guts to actually catch one (usually Kasi runs the bug catching business) when to my surprise he had found one and had decided to have it be his very own pet (running free) in his bedroom. When I screamed as it jump attacked me, Dill came running in and said , "Hey buddy I wondered where you were."




(Dillon and his pet)

Funny Little Girl

Preschool:


Kindergarten:


1st Grade:


2nd grade:


I can't believe my Kasi Bug is a THIRD GRADER! Time goes by so fast, and I take it for granted. I love this girl so much, she brings so much to our home- drama, fun girly stuff, attitude, humor, and love.

3rd Grade:

Gone Fishin'

Kas and Dill have found a love for fishing! It's in our blood. Some of my favorite memories are fishing and camping with my family and friends. Dustin had been promising to take them, so we loaded up and head to Silver Lake. My Dad and Dustin were the the only ones to reel them in but Kasi and Dill enjoyed the teamwork:).

Cousin Sleepover 2009

We combined boys and girls this year and had a Drive-In. We made cars, had a concession stand and watched a movie. The weather didn't cooperate so we had to watch it in the garage-HOT! But I think other than; that we had a blast!

Work with a Payoff!

Summer did finally arrive at our house- if you wonder where we are- we're at the pool. While the kids play in the water, I enjoy the sun while reading a good book. But at night when it cools down a bit we are enjoying our new patio and fire pit! Derek is the man! Endless days and nights he slaved in the backyard ripping up sod and using it to cover weeded flower beds, then prepping and putting down a very beautiful patio! He is also quite the gardener- he built me these awesome garden beds! It has been so nice to sit outside and eat in our backyard. Derek is such a talented, hard worker and it paid off for the whole family to enjoy! And of course I need to give a shout out to Mitch for the very cool gas fire pit he helped us with! We can make smores without having to shower off the smoke smell!














And finally our first harvest- ZUCCHINI! Here are two recipes we enjoy making, if you have any send them to me because these zucchini start producing faster than we know what to do with them! Or stop by and we are more than happy to share!



Zucchini Bread
INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 cups chocolate chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Or make it your own and add raspberries instead of chocolate chips with some lemon zest for a more summery taste!

Fried Zucchini
INGREDIENTS
3 zucchini
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Wash and dry the zucchini. Trim off ends, then slice zucchini into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Place cornmeal in a medium bowl, and toss in zucchini slices, mixing thoroughly to coat.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place all of the zucchini pieces into the hot oil and fry over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Watch zucchini closely, adding more oil if it begins to brown too quickly. When it is golden brown on one side, flip it over to brown on other side. It will clump together as it cooks, that is what you want.
When zucchini is evenly browned, turn heat down to low and cover pan with a lid. Allow it to steam until zucchini is slightly tender. Turn zucchini, replace lid, and steam until soft. Remove lid and turn heat back up to medium-high. Fry on both sides until crisp. Serve hot.

We love to sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake till melted then pour spaghettie sauce over- it's so good and the kids LOVE them!

Summer?

Kasidee is out of school for the summer! But we are not sure if summer got the message! My kids just want to run wild, but the weather won't cooperate. We did manage to squeeze in a hike though!

Battle of the Sexes

Kasidee had written her note first. So Dillon asked Derek, "How do you spell allowed?" As Derek told him he said. "It would probably be easier if you just did it." But first he did tape up the word "NO" and the Kidz Bop CD.
FYI, I am allowed in Dillon's room. The rule only applies to "other" girls :)

Happy A Day!

Today is our 8th anniversary! We have no plans at the moment. Which is totally cool with us- sometimes doing nothing is awesome. We talked about going somewhere but this week our Kasi J has drained our fun funds. Her face swelled up and we went from dentist to doctor from Amoxicillin to Augmentin, totalling over $250 because our insurance is lacking! Oh well, the things we won't do for our kids.

Any who, 8 reasons I love my hubby:

1. Derek is a hotty
2. If you ever have to remember a movie line he is your man
3. He gets up EVERY TIME I hear a noise or get scared
4. He makes me laugh
5. We have awesome "insider" jokes
6. He is a hands on fun dad
7. He does a lot of the small things, which are the important things to me
8. He watches me eat Leatherby's caramel straight from the jar and doesn't make a comment. (I lie he totally made a comment which is why I had to post it)

Haribo

I almost forgot a significant part of the trip!! Me and Derek love the Haribo line of treats. Takes us back to the good old days when we would buy a bag of Frogs for lunch at school! We also really enjoy the Coke Bottles. Well looky at the size of this goody!! We hid this treat from our kids and hope to find this giant sized Coke Bottle here in Utah somewhere. Keep your eyes open!!






It's like eating 10 little coke bottle's, AMAZING!

Disneyland 2009

First let's clarify: A Vacation is when you go somewhere and get some R&R. A trip is when you go somewhere and you are more tired when you come home than before you left.

This was our Disneyland TRIP :)

We flew out to San Diego on Sat. Being in the hair bizz you get good info from others who have already "been there done that". (Thanks Kathy and Kelli) So me and the kids went to Old Towne and had some good old fashioned Mexican fun. Old Towne is where the first troops of the Mormon Battalion went to assist the early settlers from Mexico. We ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant and discovered a treat we hope to soon enjoy again- Churro's dipped in chocolate! And while we ate, a Mariachi band played. After, we watched an "interesting" outdoor circus. It was free, the kids loved it, but I would not have paid to see it!

The long thing in Dillon's mouth was a permanent fixture there for the majority of the trip- Kasi found a purse with a long strap (like the one I wore, she likes to be matchy). But our Dilly found this red flute that he very much enjoyed. I asked the kids what there favorite part of the trip was and Kasidee said "the worst part of the trip was that FLUTE!"

The other 20 members of our Kuehne family trip came later that night. Here's a pic of the whole gang.

The next day was mothers day so we went to Coronado Island and played on the beach, ate at a yummy pizza/pasta place and later devoured some delicious ice cream. When I unpacked Kasidee's luggage there was a HORRID smell seeping from it- Kasi had snuck in some little clams that had killed over! She is a stinker!

Literally!




Kasi and Bailee looking for sea shells (and clams)



The next day was Sea World. My favorite part of the trip. It is so fascinating what these underwater animals can learn. A dog is one thing but creatures under the water that can do tricks on command is awesome. Our family unanimously agreed that the Dolphin show was the funnest.





Then it was off to Anahiem for 5 days; it was Disneyland for 3 and Knotts Berry Farm for 1. It was a mad house!! Economic crisis WHAT? We weren't the only ones who had Disney on the brain. It was SO crowded. It's hard for a 4 yr old to wait 45 minutes in line. But my kids where definitely troopers. Dillon was head over heals in Tommorowland. I didn't realize how big Star Wars (Star Tours) was here. The one and only thing Dillon wanted from Disney was a double sworded Light Saber. This thing stood 6 ft when opened! Me and him sat and watched the Jedi shows and rode Star Tours way more than my stomach could handle:). It was hard to get him to ride anything else. And while we were watching the show Dillon said "I really miss Luke". His bestest little buddy who he can't associate Star Wars without thinking of. I feel like all we did was eat! Every 5 seconds someone wanted a slushy or cotton candy, ginormous pickle or a big ol' sucker that took all day to finish (Dillon). All the kids got along so well and my sis-in-law 10 month old twins were AWESOME. I hope she realizes how lucky she is. Those sweet kids never made a peep and camped out in a stroller the whole time!











And this was how Dillon took a nap everyday.

But the most adventuresome part of the trip was the day we were "supposed" to come home. My dad works for the airlines so we decided to use buddy passes. Getting there was no problem, but coming home was a different story. Needless to say we stayed one more night with no luggage. No shoes for Dillon, and topped of with an earthquake.

Definitely a trip to remember! Now a much needed nap 4 days later because I am still tired!

Spring Pictures

-Courtesy of Angie Seare Photography


I am having troubles deciding on which pictures to get! I loved them all!!