It's always such fun to have the whole family together!
In an effort to communicate more, James says, 'oh!' and points excitedly at EVERYTHING lately (dog, tree, truck, food...)
James loves Duncan and was hoping he would share his ball with him.
Duncan was a good sport and let James have it, hoping to play a game, I think. This picture makes it seem like James has quite an arm, huh? Well, I'm pretty sure the ball didn't go more than a foot or so.
I thought this picture was so cute. My dad is a cyclist....that's why he's wearing spandex.
Our friend Natasha introduced us to an outstanding turkey rub recipe, in case anybody is interested. Between that and brining the turkey a day in advance and roasted garlic in the mashed potatoes, we're slowly but surely 'perfecting' Thanksgiving dinner!
An annual occurrence at our Thanksgiving is celebrating Joel's birthday--Happy Birthday, bro! We fished around and actually found a 2 and 5 candle...just perfect! We stuck them in a pie I made....Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie...I may do another post on that pie sometime soon...
Just too sweet not to post...James just doesn't usually stand still long enough for a hug...glad I caught him loving on his Aunt Elizabeth!
Family photo!! It's been a long while since we've had a good picture all together. Next year we'll have a new baby girl to add to the photo! (can you tell how excited I am about my little niece arriving in February?)
For some reason, I've really slacked off in the food photography lately! That doesn't mean, however that I haven't been trying new recipes. There are quite a few I'd really like to share! The photo above is of sweet potato fries!! I have tried multiple recipes only to be disappointed with too-sweet fries. I'm trying really hard to like them because I've heard and read of the many nutritional benefits. So I googled 'savory' along with sweet potato fries and came across this recipe. YUM! James gobbles them up as quickly as I can put them in front of him and Mark likes them, too! Yay! A keeper! Here's the link to the recipe. I omitted the red pepper flakes and fennel but did use the coriander. It adds so much I'd recommend buying some if you want to try them out. I also used olive oil and spaced each fry so that none were touching, turning them all over half way through baking on a jelly roll pan. Enjoy!
And this is my version of a homemade chipotle burrito bowl. I make chicken fajita meat and sliced bell peppers using this recipe, a batch of cilantro lime rice using this recipe, and set out warmed up black beans (which I quickly season with garlic and cumin), shredded cheese, sour cream, and salsa. An assembly line works best for this type of meal with so man options. It worked great for a crowd a few weeks ago (7 adults) and James loves it, too!
And here are a few honorable mentions. So sorry not to have photos, but most of them are pictured if you follow the links:
White Chicken Chili----HERE. I use more like a cup of green salsa and at least two cups of chicken broth, though. really yummy and quick. I've decided to make more soups to have around for my lunches during the day...I'm just not much of a cold sandwich person...this has a little kick, but I love it!
Taco Soup---HERE. I made this tonight and am seriously contemplating using it to replace my chili recipe. (GASP!?) I'll have to consult Mark about that first, though. This has fire roasted diced tomatoes in it. Where have these been all my life? I made a half recipe and then, as suggested by my friend Heather, I added extra tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce.
S'More Bars---HERE. Enough said, right? I made these for the annual pumpkin carving party. I ate one tiny square, because that's all that was left. I couldn't have taken a picture if I had wanted to. They vanished. They are SO SO good.
No-Rise Orange Rolls---HERE. I was so intrigued by roll dough that didn't have to rise. It has cottage cheese (of all things) in it. Don't worry, you puree it with other ingredients--there are no chunks of cottage cheese. The dough is not tangy, either. Just really great! The dough was really easy to work with, too! I'll be making them again...
These are a couple of pictures I took last week...before Mark raked up all the leaves. James had fun playing in them!
my first diaper cake; Andrea made one for James' baby shower a few years ago and we thought it was SO cute that we wanted one for Amy's shower, too! 
these two little cuties were the gift bearers for Amy...they also claimed to have given her most of the gifts she opened and were just as excited about them as anybody there! 
a few guests (Amy's mother-in-law on the right)
chatting online with our dear girlfriend who lives too far away to have made it to the shower...we love you, Susan!
Amy with the three co-hostesses (myself, Andrea, and Kelly)
