Halloween Fun #4

Finally this holiday is over. Does it seem like it is the only holiday that draaaaags on?  I like it but still its time to move on. While the last little stragglers came I completely cleaned up Halloween. Hahaha. Bring on Thanksgiving!

We debated on letting the kids go but in the end we let them hit a few houses of our neighbor friends and then they came out to pass out.

What I love about my street is that it is SUPER kid friendly. Someone gave away Capri Suns and Pretzels, and another house gave away fruit snacks.  My kids had several houses where they could choose candy or a card game. My kids chose a game.  There were lots of friendly faces on our street too! 4 people from my ward who don't even live on my street came to Trick or Treat!  Our neighborhood is cool, but my street in particular is pretty great. I wonder if it has something to do with being next to an elementary school or the fact that our houses are filled with kids. Either way - I like it! :)

 What was so great was that Nathan couldn't just sit there idle so he brought out the rake and shovel and cleaned up the yard while we waited for the treaters.

Which basically means it turned into this...

 and this...

 We got so many compliments on our house and while the kids were cleaning up the leaves, Scarlett (who should have dressed up as a piglet) started to dig right in...

Mmm Hmm.

Anyway it was a fun night and here is the last post about our Halloween adventure because I need to edit one of Nathan's school essays. Haha.

Halloween Fun #3

Today was an awesomley low key day. We went to Lowes, Target and then came home and did a few more house projects.  We swung by Nathan's parents house and saw Nathan's old boss where his wife didn't believe I was 24 weeks along.  Yes, I get that a lot. Then we went to the Arvada 1 and 2 wards Trunk or Treat.

 Of course we got there early, so my kids ran in the grass and were being so silly.

 The kids got to play some games while we ate, then it was time to head outside.

Here are my nephews, they were transformers that actually transformed!

 Sydney is now 5 weeks!

Now the most current picture of the Witte grandkids...until next Sunday. (minus Sydney and the one growing inside me :))

Halloween Fun #1 and #2

We started out our day getting ready for Lucas's PreSchool Party. Here he is. He is not a dog, or just a plain dalmatian, he is a FIRE DOG and that is what he has been telling people since the costume was purchased.

 The girls, I mean Bridget cried because she wanted to wear her costume too, but I told her she could be twins with Scarlett and that was cool with her.  Mrs. McDonald even mentioned how cute the twins were when we arrived at school.

Now I am not saying they look like twins, but they are sure starting to really look alike. See...

 I really feel lucky to have such cute kids. :)

They did a little parade at school had a little party with games and fun and then it was pickup time.

Lucas was so excited he fell asleep in the car.

We waited for Nathan to get home and then headed out to the Ward Trunk or Treat.

Fire Dog, Kitty and Monkey.

Our theme this year is pets.

You will see us all together tomorrow! :)

 Here is Scarlett telling me and anyone else who would listen what a monkey says..."ooh-ooh Aah Aah Aah"

Here is Bridget and some of her good friends. Chaira and Camryn. 

Bridget was telling them all about her upcoming party and they were ALL ears!

Lucas and his bud Anna. She had such an AWESOME costume. She was Mary Poppins and her brother was Bert. AAH I loved it.

It was a quick little evening and I can't wait for the festivities to continue tomorrow!

Family Birthday Celebration

Noah's 5th birthday is Oct 30th and Bridget's 3rd birthday is Nov 8th.  So we decided to have a mini joint party for the both of them since Bridget is insistent on having an all girl party with no boys for her very first friend party.

Bridget was a ride animal. She wanted to ride everything and climb everthing.

Scarlett was just collecting lost tickets and laughing when she got to ride something. 

 Elijah was so smiley with me and seemed pretty happy with anything.

 Scarlett again, just silly and happy.

Lucas thought it was cool until tickets started spitting out of the machines. His eyes lit up and realized if he only played games that spit out tickets he would have the most tickets. So he would grab a coin, play a game and then run his tickets to Nathan to hold on to. Lucas was a ticket scoring machine!

Then it was PIZZA time.

Scarlett ate 4 whole pieces by herself!

Then prize time.

Then someone from the Witte's past walked up to Nathan and Ryan and chatted with them.

His name was Tommy Ferguson and he told me some stories about Nathan that I needed to add here.

He is 5 years younger than Nathan. One day he came over to play with Nathan's brother Jared but Jared wasn't home. Then he asked to play with Ryan but Ryan was somewhere else. Since Nathan answered the door he finally asked Nathan to play. Nathan happy for any kind of attention said sure and they were playing some sort of game in the backyard when Nathan decided that at that moment he needed to teach little Tommy  Algebra.  Tommy sat there listening to Nathan for almost 20 minutes which if you know Nathan it was probably only 5, but you know kid time. Hahaha. Tommy said that Algebra seems cool but he wanted to keep playing just regular games in the backyard and Nathan obliged. What is so funny about this story is that I can totally see Lucas doing the same thing.  Maybe he learned Algebra earlier that day but he was still pondering about it and needed to explain the awesomeness of Algebra or Math in general to someone else.

I also laugh because Nathan is currently taking Calculus and complains about it but is totally rocking that class. What a brain. Haha.

Okay back to the party.

 Bridget was enamored with Baby Sydney. The whole way home she was telling me how happy she was that she gets another baby sister.  She told me that she really wants 5 more sisters making that a total of 8 Wittes for me to birth. Uh sorry honey - Mommy is not going to have 8 kids. Neither is Auntie Veronica. She made a little frowny face and I told her she could have as many little girl friends that she wanted. We will see if she asks about it again tomorrow. :)

Then present time.

I wish you could have heard Bridget's Gasp when she opened her present.

She even said with a southern voice "Oh Mommy A Belle Dress!"

Totally adorable.

We picked out Guess Who? for Noah - he didn't quite get the awesomeness of that game, but he will.

Even if I have to play it with him for him to see why it is so GREAT!

 Of course we need a picture with good ol' Chuck

A quick bus ride. 

A neat game of Air Hockey.

 and the moment Bridget has been waiting for...

The Dress!

It was so fun and I am totally wiped out. I also saw a friend there and got to catch up a bit.

Stay tuned for WAY too many Halloween pictures. 1 school party, 2 trunk or treats, halloween itself and some other fun things.

Don't miss out

The giveaway ends on Friday!

Here is the Link to the Toddler Boredom Buster Blog!

Check it out and Don't Miss out!

Hey You!

My mom has another blog. Did you know that?

Here is the link

If you have a cute toddler like me, or know a cute toddler like me who sometimes gets bored or likes to do fun things but has the attention span of well - a toddler you should check it out.

There are lots of fun activities for toddlers, and lesson plan helpers for moms of toddlers too!

Check it out because there is an AWESOME giveaway that ends on Friday and you get to pick what you want and get a $50 gift card with it too!

Remember that attention span thing I was talking about earlier? - Yep, so there right now. Bye!

Oh and yes, I do have my mother's huge feet - Thanks a lot HORN side!

Sally Lunn

A long time ago before I was a Witte I used to dream of baking breads and cookies for my family and friends.  I used to cook for friends all of the time, in fact if you knew me when I was single you probably were invited to one of my "famous" dinners for the missionaries or for the parties where we totally pig out on foods that I had been dying to try.  If you were a super good friend you probably prepared a meal with me and probably gave me a recipe to make since I was game for anything.

I am still this way actually, but I am more shy about it with the people in the ward.  I love to bake. I have posted about it several times.  I was shocked when my own father one of my cooking heroes told me last weekend that he wasn't a very good baker. WHAT?!?!  Well, I am trying to show my children all that is good with food and baking since becoming a Witte I have been more into breads and doughs.

One of my favorite breads to make is the Sally Lunn. Its like a Brioche.  I was given a bread maker from my mother in law a long time ago - and I used it so much that within the first year of owning it it DIED!  I still make the Sally Lunn all of the time but have never shared it...Until now. (go ahead and gasp)

Here is some cool history about Sally Lunn herself.  What is cooler than Bath?  Its in 3 of Jane Austen's novels! Northanger Abbey (one of my favs), Persuasion and Mansfield Park! So

I usually make it in a loaf pan and serve it with my family's FAVORITE Raspberry Jam. But this time we made it in a Bundt pan with Strawberry Jam and I think this is the best way to eat it!

Here is the recipe and some cute pics too!

2  (1/4-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast

1/2  cup  warm water (100° to 110°)

1 1/2  cups  milk

3/4  cup  sugar

1/2  cup  butter or margarine

1  teaspoon  salt

2  large eggs

5  cups  all-purpose flour

Combine yeast and 1/2 cup warm water in a 1-cup measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes. Heat milk and next 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Cool to 100° to 110°. Beat yeast mixture, milk mixture, and eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Gradually add flour, beating at lowest speed until blended. (Mixture will be a very sticky, soft dough.) Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk. Stir dough down; cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until dough is doubled in bulk. Stir dough down, and spoon into a well-greased, 10-inch Bundt pan or tube pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 20 to 30 minutes or until dough is doubled in bulk. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into center of bread comes out clean. Remove from pan immediately. Serve bread with Blackberry Butter, honey, molasses, or jelly, if desired.

I was so excited to teach my kids about tempering and leveling flour. This was great fun.  We made the first part before nap and finished up after nap.  It takes 2.5 hours to make and another 30 minutes to bake so this is a PERFECT Sunday activity!

 We talked about yeast and what it does.

 Cooling down the milk mixture over ice.

 Leveling.

 It grew!

 Mmmm

I am glad I could teach my kids about patience and how much homemade bread is worth the wait! 

Guts and Junk

We carved kun-kins this morning because Nathan didn't have to work! Yea!!! He made breakfast, watched the kids so I could run errands alone AND fed them lunch and put them down for naps!  He cleaned the kitchen and even managed to touch up our room because it got a new makeover too!  Did I mention that I love him? Cause I totally do! :)

Anyway the kids were SO excited to carve this year so they pretty much did most of it on their own.  I touched up the faces and that was it!

 Before we carved we were a little posessive over who picked which one.

This is also to show those who've been asking for a prego picture of me how I was able to hide it for so long...I credit it to my 33 pound weight loss RIGHT before I got pregnant!

 23 weeks and there it is.  I need to defend my hair, it has been raining and this is the result...wildness in all its glory!

 For some reason this year all of the kids were really into stabbing the pumpkins. Should I be worried?

 This picture kills me because they know whats inside, no surprises here but still shocked. Hahaha.

 Again with the stabbing!

 Notice the white man tongue thing Nathan has goin' on? Mmm Hmm Sexy! Hahaha

 Scarlett would NOT touch the guts, she called it junk. "No Junk! No Junk!" she would yell. So cute.

 Bridget announced that her pumpkin was a girl and that she needed eyebrows and hearts and lips, the pretty kind.

Nathan couldn't take the ineffeciency of the kids so he showed them how to scoop it properly.

 Done!

Here is a cute video - Not in the right order but it's cute...ignore me because for some reason I feel the need to yell when I am recording. So annoying!

If the video doesn't work HERE is the LINK

After, like way after the kids were giggling and laughing with Nathan playing who knows what when I overheard this...

L: "Are you naked? Are you naked?"

B: "Hahahaha"

L: "Are you naked? Well, Are you naked?"

Dad: "Lucas, we don't ask little girls if they are naked, that's inappropriate"

L: "Oh, okay" - pause - "Are you dressed? Are you dressed?"

I couldn't help but laugh

 Crazy little people!