Fall Celebrations!

Mmmm, it's fall. I love fall. Have I ever told you that? I'm sure I've mentioned it a few dozen times. Well, it's my favorite season.

Fresh school supplies
Falling leaves (until I hear Husband grumbling about raking them then I feel guilty for wishing them to fall)
Hot Apple Cider
Caramel Apples
Pumpkins

Saturday, we celebrated fall with the Ignacio Family. Sarah and I have been friends since...forever - let's just say 20 years kinda like forever, right? She brought over some yummy treats and crafts to share with our kids.

I made HOT apple spiced cider from R.W. Knudsen Family using their spice bags and jarred Cider. We had leftovers so we had it the next day with breakfast and I kept the bags in...note to self I should remove those. I think it was a bit spicer than we would want.

Sarah made Martha Stewart's chocolate cupcakes. The stencils were hard to find but I think she did an amazing job piping and decorating the cupcakes from scratch! Then she made these snazzy, Cups O' Dirt - Sarah will probably have her recipe on her blog.

I made Chicken Tortilla Soup with some yummy toppings. Then made some dips - Pan Fried Onion Dip and TJ's Artichoke Spinach Dip with some beer bread, Crunchmaster Crackers and pretzels. Husband says that the onion dip is good but messy because the onions are so long so maybe I would chop those up a bit smaller for easier eating.

I bought whole wheat mini pitas from Whole Foods and they were moldy...even though I got them 3 days prior. :( So, Husband made these with some french bread I bought the day before. We use roasted garden vegetable pasta sauce (365 brand from Whole Foods) to bump up the health value in these bad boys. Actually, that's all we ever use for a marinara type sauce. These were a hit for the kids. They didn't miss the mini pita aspect at all.

Sarah was very generous with her crafts. She got each child their own Halloween mug to make and their own spooky spider.

Husband's cousin, Kae came over with some of her co-workers (she works at a daycare) and they got crafty too because they clearly aren't around kids enough! Thanks, Sarah for planning these fun crafts for the kids!

Sarah suggested we take more photos together...it's either just him or the kids. He played taxi driver/assistant chef/lego builder that night. Isa had her very first Halloween party with her homeroom at a friend's house sans adults for the exception of the Mom of the house and with boys+girls. ::gulp:: I was more worried than Husband. The kids are all very nice and we know majority of them. Isa came home saying she had a good time until the boys thought it was funny to turn off the lights and she accidently got punched in the face. She didn't have any marks...so I'm guessing she wasn't punched too hard. Plus she was giggling about it. Sounds like she had a blast to me!


Isa came home and was so excited to play with Kaelee then Nana went with Aunty Mari to see Rainbow City Band's "Enchanted" at Edmonds Performing Arts Center. So, Kaelee got special time with both girls separately. Nana loved the performance and talked about how she saw what was happening in her head from the movies while the songs would play. Thank you, Aunty Mari for taking Nana out on a special night. I haven't seen that caramel corn you got her at intermission since she got home...I will have to ask her about that. :)

OMG, when they tell you to chill the apples do it. Make them as cold as you possibly can because then this happens! The caramel slides off into a gooey blob. We made Honey Caramel Apples. They were still delicious regardless of how much the caramel slid into a blob.




All the kids got into their PJs and settled down from their sugar induced evening.
Honestly, it wasn't half bad. The cupcakes were very rich so most of them only ate half and the Cup O' Dirt was sort of the same concept...then the caramel apples were too gooey so we saved those for another day so the caramel could harden a bit more.





It was a fun night filled with good friends! Thank you, Ignacio Family!