Halloween Scenes

Mexican Pumpkin Soup & Jack-O-Lanterns

On Sunday I was in the mood for pumpkin, so I made a simple pumpkin soup for dinner for the four of us who were home.  Lavender refused to eat it and John and Evan didn't finish their bowls.  Fortunately I made a small batch and I was able to eat the leftovers for lunch a couple of days this week.

Tonight I decided to try again. I got the recipe from Gluten Free Goddess and changed it a little bit.  I doubled the recipe and it made a nice big batch. It was a little too spicy for Lavender, Brianne and Leighton, but the rest of us really enjoyed it.

Mexican Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons coconut oil
1 small red onion, diced
1 7oz can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 15-oz. can pumpkin (or 2 cups fresh cooked)
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained
5 medium red potatoes, peeled, diced


Add at the end:
Salt and pepper, to taste 
Approx 1/3 cup almond or coconut milk
1 drizzle of honey
Juice of a small lime

Instructions:

Heat the coconut oil in a large soup pot and saute the onions.  Then add the chiles, spices  and garlic. Cook gently for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a high simmer; cover, and lower the heat; simmer for 25 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.

Taste test for seasoning adjustments. Add salt & pepper, milk, honey and lime juice.

Warm up some corn tortillas and cut in half for dipping.

Serves 4.


I don't have a photo of the soup, but here are the jack-o-lanterns the kids carved.

Final Adventures

The kids had an amazing time in Switzerland. They were able to meet some of our relatives and even see the house where their great, great grandpa was born. When we visited my grandpa in the last few years of his life, he was much more talkative than he had ever been. He gave them advice and they will always remember grandpa telling about the three mountains in his favorite oil painting: the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

They never imagined they would get to see those mountains in person! Marianne told me she felt her great grandpa near and that he was happy they were there in the land of their family. Our Swiss relatives were so excited because they knew my grandparents well, but Marianne & Aaron were the first of their descendants to visit and sign their guest book.

Another Birthday

Our grandson is here!

He's a little guy, just 5 lbs 6 oz and 18 1/2 in. As you can see, he's getting lots of love already!

Two, Three, Four

The girls were drawing pictures the other day and I loved to see the difference in their artwork.

At two and a half, Lavender's picture looks like scribbles. And that was the face I got when I asked her to smile!

Leighton is three and she drew a round head and two round eyes. It may be hard to see because she covered it with scribbles, but trust me, the "person" is there.

Four and a half year old Brianne drew a complete picture of a person, and used different colors very intentionally.  She also got her favorite letter on there!

I love seeing the girls grow and progress and it is especially fun to see three different stages all at once with our cute little artists!

Happy, Happy Birthday Daddy Dear!

My dad has always been a teacher. After his PhD thesis was written, he taught courtroom judges about non-verbal communication. His early working years were spent as a university professor. Later, he offered seminars and classes in forgiveness and relationship-building. Over the years, he taught thousands of people in his church callings. Most importantly, he worked to teach his five children many important life lessons. This was no small feat for someone who was without a father during most of his formative years.  This post explains how he taught me to read, keep the commandments, work hard and be prepared. Dad taught me lots of other things as well.

"Quality" is the lesson stands out in my mind. It was taught bit by bit over many years. As I was growing up, my dad frequently talked about quality. He encouraged us to choose high-quality friends and to always do quality work. He made a point of getting to know my friends and he let me know he was proud of the great people I spent time with. Dad didn't judge my friends based on their religion or family circumstances. Instead he appreciated their individual strengths. One of my good friends was incredibly intelligent, mature and a very hard worker. Her family struggled financially and Dad helped her find work during high school and college.

As we got older, Dad reminded us of the importance of finding a quality spouse. He often reminded me that I should get to know the family of those I dated, because "you don't just marry a person. You marry a family."  Dad told me that he trusted me to choose a great spouse because I had always chosen outstanding friends. Fortunately, he approved of John as soon as he met him. John was relieved to "pass" the not-so-subtle "interview" with my Dad.

Dad taught us to do quality work in every situation. I remember him teaching my brother Scott how to mow and edge the lawn. Scott learned to do a better job than the gardeners and the neighbors hired him to take care of their yards. My siblings and I were given the chance to work at Dad's business. One of the first jobs was stuffing envelopes.  He had a particular way he wanted us to fold the mailers. He explained the reason behind the folding and the importance of doing it correctly.  Then he made sure we knew how to do it right. I think of  my dad any time I stuff an envelope.

Of course, Dad always wanted me to do a quality job on my schoolwork. I remember Dad reading over my assignments to discuss the ideas I was presenting. Dad knew he wasn't the best at proof-reading and he left that to Mom, but he was all about the big picture!  He encouraged me and challenged me to always do my very best, particularly in my writing.

Dad even wanted me to be a quality driver. He and Mom carefully prepared me to get my driver's license when I turned 16. I hated driving the bright yellow station wagon to school, but then my Dad came up with something I thought was even worse.  He told me a could drive the nicer, smaller car, but it had a manual transmission. He explained the importance of learning to drive a stick-shift, especially if an emergency were to arise. He took me out to practice, but I was grouchy and humiliated when some boys from my high school showed up in the parking lot where we were practicing. I refused to practice any more with Dad, so he told me I could learn on my own. I was only allowed to drive the stick-shift from then on. We lived in a very hilly area and I stalled the car and rolled backwards down many hills before I finally mastered the art of a using that clutch.  At the time, I thought my father was mean for "forcing" me to drive the (very nice, new) car with a manual transmission. Twenty five years later, I finally realized the gift of quality my Dad had given me. My oldest son was a car enthusiast, and he wanted to learn to drive a stick-shift so that he would be ready to drive expensive sports cars. We borrowed my brother-in-law's Honda and headed to a church parking lot. As we drove around, Ryan began to get frustrated and clearly it was my fault. Finally I asked him to stop the car. I grabbed my cell phone and called my Dad. It was a short conversation.

"Dad, I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted when you tried to teach me to drive a stick-shift." Dad started laughing.  It was a long time to wait for an apology, but he didn't seem to mind. And Ryan eventually learned how the clutch worked. His dreams later came true on several occasions when he got to drive Porsches.

I many not have always appreciated my Dad's focus on quality when I was growing up, but I surely do now.  I love you Dad!  Happy Birthday!  Have a QUALITY Birthday!!

Our quality family circa 1982, around the time I learned to drive a stick-shift

Show Me Your Scary Face!

Big News!

Marianne has been admitted to BYU for winter semester. She starts in January! Congratulations sweetheart! (And in case you're wondering, that's Florence, Italy behind her.  She'll always remember where she was when she got the good news.)

Three-Fifths Done!

Our travelers have been in Europe for three weeks and have two more to go! They've been to:
London
Bergen & Oslo, Norway
Berlin & Dresden, Germany
Prague, Czech Republic
Rome

Now they're in Florence, Italy and they still have Switzerland and France left to see!

The couch surfing and B & Bs have worked out well. There was one place that was dirty and smoky, but John got online and found them a cheap hotel, so all was well! He is a pretty amazing travel agent/concierge!

I have enjoyed daily updates from Marianne. She sends me pictures and we chat every night once she has wifi.

Aaron doesn't usually contact me unless I make the first move or request pictures.

They are both great photographers, but it is fun to see the difference in their styles. Marianne sends me funny selfies that make me laugh, photos of her meals, pictures of their rooms, favorite paintings/sculptures and beautiful shots that she has edited.

Aaron sends landscapes, architecture and photos with interesting angles and/or points of view.

Here are a few shots for fun. Can you guess who took them?

Lavender's Weekend

In her own words, "I climbed a mountain. It was swippery. I went on top of the BIG ROCK."

Evan, being an awesome big brother, took her on a not-so-little hike in the hills near our house. When my phone rang and Evan told me to come outside, I was shocked to see them up so high. And they were indeed on top of a huge boulder. I'm not sure I want to know how he got her up there. I had to go inside when they started to climb down. I couldn't bring myself to watch!

When Evan asked her if she wanted to go on a hike, she was very excited and came down wearing her fancy gold shoes. She informed me that "these are my hikin' shoes." We convinced her to change her shoes, but I decided not to push my luck and I let her wear her pajamas.

Another weekend highlight was babysitting Teddy who is, for lack of a better word, our granddog. Lavender has loved having him here. She insists on kissing him on the lips and says he likes lots of hugs. We know she really loves him because she even forgave him when he ate her last piece of sidewalk chalk!

Saturday

I love General Conference weekend! We get to be inspired with wonderful talks and stories from prophets of God! Watching conference is always an adventure with three little girls. We use the projector so everyone can see and hear. We also have quiet, conference related activities for the girls. We try our best, but let's just say that we all get a lot more out of the afternoon session which conveniently coincides with naptime!

Our morning of attempted conference watching was also punctuated with texts and pictures from our travelers who have to take advantage of free wifi when they can. They have had a great adventure in Berlin and are headed to Dresden next. Norway has been their favorite place so far!

And hey, two out of three sessions today isn't bad!