This is some serious apple bread.....

This bread is just delicious! I took an apple bread recipe and added cinnamon, and a brown sugar topping and it basically made the most gooey, moist, and amazing bread ever. I know so humble about it....but just try it and you'll see. Andin helped me chop the apples, and we also made a yummy applesauce recipe that his class made at school! It is made in a crock pot and is very good, if anyone wants the recipe let me know! We decided the bread could be even more tasty with drizzled caramel or a thin glaze on top, if you can handle it any sweeter!



4 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil
1 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
1 t baking soda
3 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3 c apples, sliced

topping
mix about 3 T butter with enough brown sugar to make a crumbly mixture, add 1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix with an electric mixer. Pour batter into 2 greased loaf pans, or 4 mini loaf pans. Bake until cooked through, and top is bubbling. *If the topping gets too brown just cover with foil until the center is done.

Just remembering this.....

....one of those moments you will never forget!

Some more photos of the leaves back when we stopped in Chicago to visit my dear friend Amanda and adorable Ethan! Missing you two already!

Peaceful picnic.....

The other night the kids were so lucky to have their cousin Emmi, and aunt Erin spend the night. We had so much fun together the next day, watching the new Tinkerbell, making crafts, playing hide and seek, and mostly our walk and picnic at the park! It was so nice under the shade of the vibrant green trees. We played Frisbee, ate Halloween candy, and got the Frisbee stuck in the tree! Emmi was determined to go climb and get it! I loved having time with those two very special people because in a couple weeks they will both be moved far far away from us. Erin leaves on her mission on Tuesday, and Emmi and her family are moving to Indiana very soon. What will we do without these precious people in our everyday lives!?

It must be Halloween.....

Halloween is already here and gone, but here are some things we did this past week!

Bobbing for apples.....Andin's favorite activity since we discovered that it was a fun summer activity trying to keep cool!



Halloween parties! Thanks for inviting us Luc! We finger painted gourds, ate cupcakes, and had a spooky lunch.





Andin's school Halloween Parade! He was so cute marching down the catwalk with his little class. He has the most tight knit class, and a wonderful teacher! Cambria and I had fun helping with the party making Bat magnets, and playing pin the face on the pumpkin!





Andin's school Trunk or treat! He was lucky enough to have his Aunt Heidi, cousins Emmi and Jake, and my sisters and parents there! We had chili, and walked over to the school together. Aunt Erin stayed the night and we had our first fire in our amazingly retro fireplace!





Halloween night! Let me just say, the kids were such good sports letting me completely throw together their costumes after being out of town for the majority of October! Cambria went between being Dorothy, a cat, and a ghost. Then when I asked for the 'final answer' before I left for Joann's she threw me for a loop saying she "really really wanted to be a pumpkin!!" I found an adorable and super easy tutorial using an orange pillowcase, and changed it a bit for Cam. It worked great! (Although she refused to let me stuff it!) Andin knew he wanted to be Luke Skywalker for a while so that was pretty easy! Did you know you can sew foil onto felt? I never would have tried that if I wasn't in such a pinch. Trick-or-treating was so fun with Emmi and Jake and later on my sister Hailey! They got far too much candy and Cambria was all about checking her bag out for long periods of time holding everyone up while she gazed into her bag lovingly. Oh Halloween.



The kids had a fun sleepover at their Anna's house, while we went to a Halloween party with our friends Matt and Nicki! It was Nicki's birthday so we were out to party! It was so much fun! We stayed up until all hours of the night watching scary movies and eating cranberry salsa! (Don't be jealous!) We were Johnny Cash, and June Carter.

Nashville is cool....

We had so much fun visiting music city! The downtown vibe was awesome, and although we aren't crazy about the new era of country we were very pleased that the city was all about the old school stuff we love.





We found the best bbq at Jacks, walked the streets, the walk of fame, tried on cowboy hats in gift shops mingled with Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley paraphernalia, and walked across the bridge for an amazing view of the city. I was feeling the vibe of Nashville, I'll tell you what.









After the urban morning, we decided to head out to the beautiful 'Belle Meade,' an original 1820's plantation on 30 acres of beautiful land. It was the home of John and Susanna Harding who bred horses for the Kentucky derby, and English races. Apparently five US presidents had stayed there and there was a chair Teddy Roosevelt gave the Harding's still in the living room! It was so fascinating to take the tour and learn about that ridiculously rich southern family, there are so many cool stories I could type but it would be so long! We were able to tour the mansion, greenhouse, winery, dairy, greenhouse, and gardens. It was really sad to see the slave's cabins on the side of such a magnificent plantation, and to think that people lived there and were not free.









And how could we leave Nashville without a concert at the Grand Ole' Opry!? Again, not country fans....and some of it was so not our style...but it was awesome. I love live music and it was really amazing to be in such a beautiful and historic venue. If you even like country here were a couple of the performers; Mallory Hope, Trace Adkins, The Oakridge boys, little Jimmy Dickens..who is 88 and hilarious, Montgomery Gentry, and the classic Jean Shepard, to name a few. Devin and I were laughing because someone like Trace Adkins would come on stage and everyone was screaming and standing up....and Devin and I are like who is that!? The lady next to me was so blown away that I didn't know the Oakridge boys....I thought she was going to pass out. We were in standing room only, because the show had sold out. But it worked out for the kids because they could move around, and Cambria sure moved around! She was a dancing queen busting out all the moves! We were laughing so hard watching her feel that old country sound. Right on.



We had an awesome time there, and an awesome trip! We drove through New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas! We saw so many new places and things. You may think we're crazy, but we sure had an amazing time together!

day thirteen....

...getting together with the girls to make jam with our raspberries. (I'll have to post how we did it because Anne taught us a new way, and it was super simple. Thanks Anne!) I just love these girls, they are the best! Ally brought me yet another giant bag full of treats and activities for our drive home, just like she did when we moved and drove back to Arizona. It is so thoughtful and even included a recorder...her signature instrument. (I'm sure the kids will love that, and after 10 hours Devin and I won't!) I am so lucky to have friends like these, and not all the girls were even there! You are all welcome in Phoenix anytime! (That will be tempting in February and you KNOW it!!)

day twelve.....

.....we walked to what Andin has always called the "stick park." He was in heaven playing at his favorite spot with Porter. The walk over was pretty eventful, with three kids falling off their bikes, Andin wanting to ditch his scooter on the way home, and Devin having to ride Porters bike home after a fall. We were laughing through it and I was soaking in the fall day, and time with our friends..it's almost time to leave.