Apple Picking

I was out for a whole week with a kidney infection...but, now I'm back!! Then our camera wasn't cooperative the next week.

We went apple and pear picking last Sunday afternoon. We have our own apple trees in the orchard right outside our neighborhood, but we were able to pick apples and pears from other trees as well. The kids LOVED it and kept eating as many apples as they could. We are planning on making apple crisp and will definitely have to eat some with caramel. Yum, Yum!!




Just can't eat enough of those apples!

Nathan stayed home with sleeping Jamin.

Remembering 9/11 and a Day Off for Dad

Nathan has accrued so much vacation time that if he doesn't start taking time off he will lose it. He went to school with the kids this morning to volunteer and this is a little of his day with them. This is his account of the day.
"The principal at our kids' school started the day talking about why we as Americans should take time to remember important dates in our nation's history. Many of the students were not even born on 9/11/01, so he briefly reviewed why today is so significant. Later that morning, all three first grade classes walked to our neighborhood fire station with flags they had colored in class. The flags were mounted on wood stakes so they stuck them in the grass around the flag pole. They also made a thank you note for all the fire fighters who selflessly serve our community."
As a family we went to the fire station after school to take a few pictures of Andrew and some of his first grade friends.



He also had lunch with Andrew and helped in Sarah's classroom. Then he spent the afternoon with Spencer. We LOVED having "time off" with our dad!!!

It's the Little Things

Tonight when it was time to get Spencer out of the bathtub, he said, "Mom, want to hear me talk Spanish under the water?" Sure enough, in between the bubbles I could hear, "uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco." It was THE cutest thing and I had him "perform" it for Nathan and then for Sarah and Andrew. We all laughed and clapped our hands for him!!! After two sessions of swim lessons this summer and four days in preschool it seems we have an underwater bilinquist. Some days, it's the little things that make my day!

What do you do with all your zucchini???

I heard about a great recipe today and had to try it. It was "delish" and so I will share it...just in case you are wondering what you are going to do with all your zucchini!!!

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. sugar (that's one and one half cup of sugar - i can't make it look right)
2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 c. shredded zucchini

Mix the first three ingredients. Mix the next four ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture. Fold in the zucchini. It will seem a little dry but just keep folding. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes in a greased 9 X 13 pan. Top with chocolate icing after cooling.

Chocolate Icing

6 T. cocoa
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
enough milk for the consistency you like

Mix together.


We really liked this recipe and will definitely make it again. We used a different icing so I'm not sure about this one, but included it anyway. I'd have included a picture of the brownies but we ate it before I thought about it - oh well. Enjoy!!!

I'd LOVE for anyone to share any other wonderful zucchini recipes - Please!!!

Lunch with the Seniors

We were privileged to have Nathan's Seniors come for lunch today. They got here around 11ish and left around 1:30. Our cute kids made their salads and Nathan made yummy soup to eat from a bread bowl. Then we had fresh fruit and gingerbread for dessert. The kids showed off their skills at cup stacking and Wii and Sarah played several songs on the piano. All of the Seniors told us that they had a wonderful time and that the food was delicious. We all hope to do it again soon!!

Delicious

I often refer to my cute kids as being "delicious", because they are SO good I could just eat them. Today as I was making my favorite healthy cookies from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook and Benjamin was enjoying his chocolate pudding, I couldn't help but think that he looked exceptionally "delicious"!!!! I think he is just so cute even if he is a little messy!!!!



I love this last picture - he loves to look at the pictures after they have been taken and he's trying to "say", let me see now how cute I am!!!

Happy day for Spencer

Spencer is thrilled to be the third cute Smith kid to attend Miss Becky's preschool. Today was his first day and he was SO excited to go! Our whole family LOVES Miss Becky and we couldn't be happier for Spencer to get to spend the year with her. Doesn't he look so grownup!

Our Favorites Weekend

Earlier in the week, I had several friends ask what we were doing for the long weekend. I was feeling a little sorry for myself because other than going to Twin Falls for the day, we hadn't been on ANY trips all summer. So, I decided that we would have a "Favorites Weekend" and do all of our favorite things. We started the "favorites weekend" right after school with making snow cones and then going to the pool. I also thought this might be our hottest day of the weekend and I was right. Dad met us at home with pizza and TWO Friday Night Movies. We watched Hannah Montana's Concert and the new Ariel movie. We love Friday night movies!! Benjamin LOVED the concert as much as Sarah and stood in front of the TV most of the show with his microphone singing with Hannah. Maybe his nickname "Jamin" will payoff someday.

Saturday morning we played prize Disney Bingo and got some really fun prizes. (We learned how to play prize bingo at Nathan's work. Every time you get a Bingo you get to pick a wrapped gift and open it in front of everyone - all the old people ohh and ahh so our kids do that as well.) Then we got ready to go to the movies. We all drove to the Dollar Theater on the other side of town and Sarah and Mom went and saw Kit Kittredge. Sarah and Mom LOVED the movie!!!! Then it was Dad, Andrew and Spencer's turn to see a movie and they saw Kung Fu Panda. They also LOVED the movie and came home to show us their karate moves that they learned. (Poor Benj, got to do errands and take a nap in the car.)
On Sunday, we went to church and then had a little quiet time. We love having friends over for a meal on Sunday, but before we could invite someone over, we were invited over to some friends house for dinner and to celebrate their youngest's first birthday. Fun, Fun!!! My friend, Kaye made THE BEST deep dish pizza I've ever had and she so sweetly game me the recipe....so, if anyone is interested...maybe I'll post it...wait...I'll ask Kaye first if it's okay. She also let our kids have 3 cupcakes each...yes, she is a favorite for them and me since she shared her recipe.
Monday consisted of several favorites for everyone. Nathan loves to work in our garden and our yard, so he did a little work in both. I love to bake so I made whole wheat bread and chicken noodle soup (it was a total soup day as it was cool and breezy - perfect September weather). The kids played with each other, went on a hike with Nathan and then we all went to the zoo.






It was a very busy weekend full of our very favorite things, but our very favorite part was being together!!!!