Halloween Fun!

What a fun Halloween weekend we had! On Friday night we hosted our "Fall Party" for our cell group. It is a tradition that is several years old....although this year we had to do 2 separate parties--one for our cell and one for our sister cell, which was kind of sad. Our schedules just didnt line up :( We ended up having a great turn out and a great time! Trev and I love trying to come up with a creative and funny costume each year...this year we were Dora and Diego, which might be my favorite costume yet! Here are some pics from the night...

Diego and Dora :) (and backpack of course!)

The Cudds--the ladybug, policeman, and Nurse Ashley :)

YUM! Homemade caramel apples!

Gloria's yummy Halloween themed cupcakes.

The Browns

Our first time to use the fire pit--we made Smores! YUMMY!

Baby Evelynn and me

The whole gang! We had a great time!

Gloria dressed up like me...haha, she even used my badge!

Lily with black hair--she left this wig on for like 5 minutes! It was hilarious!

On Sunday, we spent some time with Trevor's parents and Pamela. We ate some delicious Taco Soup, caramel apples, passed out candy, and carved pumpkins! It was really fun to watch Pamela get so excited about all the "American" traditions.

Pamela's first time carving a pumpkin!

Scooping out pumpkin guts...so slimy!

Anybody want a bite of pumpkin??

Us with our finished products....so cute!

Happy Halloween!

Happy 2nd Birthday Vandy!

Today is our sweet puppy Vandy's 2nd birthday (which I guess means we should call him a dog not a puppy)! He is such a good dog, and we are so happy that we decided to adopt him just under 2 years ago! Here is a picture of our sweet little fam today on V's b-day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY VANDY! :)

Fall Festivities

So far fall this year has been zooming by...school is really busy these days, but I am trying to squeeze in some fun things too so that I don't loose my mind! :) Here are some of the fun things that have been keeping me busy this fall....

Mom and I went to Walden farms a few weeks ago. They have a pumpkin patch, cafe, games for the kids, and much more! I cant wait till Trev and I can take our own kiddos there!






My mom and I also recently took a whirlwind trip to Wilmington, NC, and got to stay in my aunts beachhouse @ Myrtle Beach....putting my toes in the sand and the ocean was pretty much the best part of a very short trip with LOTS of driving...



Trev, Courtney, Tim, and I got to go to the Preds game last night courtesy of Lighthouse, and we had a blast. Courtney and I were officially on a sugar high after eating cotton candy and a funnel cake!!! YUM!!! Too bad the Preds lost!

I hope everyone else is having a great fall so far!!!

An EXTREMEly awesome week!

So, like I mentioned before, the school that Trevor works at got picked to be on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and have their preschool re-done. It was an amazing, busy, and tiring week. Trev and I got to go help some....although the real props goes to my dad in law and sis in law...they worked their booties off! The finished product is AMAZING!!!! I got a "sneak peak tour" of the (almost) finished new preschool and there are no words to describe how awesome it is! There are toys galore, state of the art technology, play stations and SOOOOOO much more. Unfortunately, there was no picture taking allowed so everyone will have to tune in on November 7th 2010 to see the episode air! As part of the process, Trev and I got to go to the grand ole opry last night and Carrie Underwood was the surprise guest.....she was so good to see in person--she is very down to earth and sounds just as good live as she does on her CD. It was lots of fun and I was so thankful to go! What a great week!!!! Here are some pics from the week....

My favorite pic...me and TY!!!!!!!

The designers waiting for the big reveal...Paulie, LeAnne Touey, and Tracy

My mom in law and her kindergarten class

Carrie Underwood at the Opry

Me and my boo at the concert :)

Trev and I working at the build site

Court, Shana, me, and Konstance getting ready to start helping!

THANKS EXTREME MAKEOVER!!!!!

I am such a bad blogger...Life lately

So I realize it has almost been 2 months since I have blogged. I guess all that blogging in July overwhelmed me so I needed a break :) Really, the truth is Trev and I have been extremely busy the last two months. Trev started back to school teaching and I started back to school as a student. I am finishing up my MSN program so I can be a nurse practitioner....scary right?!?! Anyways, all that school has left me with pretty much zero time! Anyways, to all you thousands of people who read my blog (ha ha) I am sorry for being such an inconsistent blogger lately....Ill try to do better! :)

When I have had spare time lately I have been working on my newest hobby of sewing. My awesome mom gave me a sewing/monogramming machine and it has become somewhat of an obsession/desire to learn how to make things. So far I have made several burp cloths, a baby blanket, and a nursing cover (aka "hootie hider). Most of these things were for my friend Brittany who is having a baby in November. My next project is a dress :) I am kind of a "trial and error" sewer rather than going by the books, so my projects often have some unique imperfections...but I am learning as I go. I hope that one day I can make my own kids some cool clothes! Here are some pics of the projects...

Burp cloth for my cousins baby

Burp cloths for baby Avery

Flannel baby blanket

Hootie hider...for feeding your baby inconspicuously :)

Another exciting thing in our life is that Trevor's school...LCS got chosen to be the recipient of Extreme Makeover Home Edition! It was a really exciting time, and it is such a blessing. They have been building since Friday and will do the big reveal this coming Friday....Cant wait to hear them say MOVE THAT BUS!!!!

Ty and the crew announcing that EXTREME IS HERE!!!!

Lastly, we got to be a part of some of our dear friends, Aunna and Terry's wedding today. It was a beautiful day for a wedding, and we had fun sharing it with them!

Me and Terry's sister Laurie--who has become one of my good friends!

Terry's niece and nephew

Me and my sweet hubby :)

Me and Jude

Jude staying occupied during the wedding

The happy couple! Congrats Aunna and Terry!

Well thats about it for now...I will try not to let it be 2 months before I blog again. We got a new camera so maybe I will be taking more pics! :)

Blackberry Grunt

Today at Target blackberries were on sale, so I decided to buy some and search out some sort of recipe for a blackberry dessert. I ended up making a Blackberry Grunt--Alton Brown's recipe. Apparently a grunt, similar to a cobbler, is a dessert with a fruit filling topped with biscuits. I was a little nervous about the biscuit topping, but it ended up being really delicious. The biscuit soaked up the juices quite nicely and added some stability to the super sweetness of the blackberry filling. It was a great summer dessert, and paired with some vanilla ice cream, it was heavenly! Here is the recipe just in case anyone wants to give it a shot!

The Recipe:

Ingredients

• 9 1/2 ounces all purpose flour, approximately 2 cups
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
• 1 cup buttermilk (fyi if you dont have buttermilk on hand you can make it by combining 1 Tbsp of white vinegar then add milk so that the total volume is 1 cup--let sit for 5 minutes)
  
• 1 pound 3 ounces fresh or frozen blackberries, approximately 4 cups
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a piece of foil on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any drippings.

Place the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into the bowl of a food processor and process for 3 to 4 pulses. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl and, using your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture until about half of the fat disappears and the rest is left in pea-size pieces. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the buttermilk and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon just until it comes together. Turn the mixture out onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper that has been lightly dusted with flour, shape into a ball and wrap and store in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Combine the blackberries, sugar, water and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Pour the mixture into a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place over medium heat. Bring this to a simmer decrease the heat to medium low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until the liquid is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Retrieve the dough from the refrigerator and gently drop it on the fruit mixture using a 1-ounce disher or large spoon, evenly distributing it over the top. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow the grunt to cool for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.