Thanksgiving Weekend!!

This past Wednesday, we traveled down to Southern Utah to spend the weekend with our families! It was so nice to go "home" even though our home is now in Herriman. It was a such a "spirit lifter" to see our families and visit with them. I especially enjoyed seeing my family because it has been almost 3 whole months since I have seen them. I have missed them terribly since moving up north.

After arriving in St. George Wednesday night, we headed to Marks parents home to have dinner with them and his little sister and her husband. My father in law made his famous shrimp and crab legs. As always everything was divine! I love seafood, so I always look forward to my father in law making it for Mark and me!! After dinner, we spent the evening catching up and visiting.

On Thanksgiving Morning, we took our time getting ready for the day and watched The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. While waiting to head to my in laws for Dinner, my sister in law Nicole took some family pictures for me. They turned out great! We are planning on using them for our Christmas Cards. This is one of our family photos:

Our first family photo!

On Friday morning, I met my mom and little sister Tiffany at Krumpets around 7. We then headed to Tai Pan and also JCPenney to do a little Christmas Shopping. I made out like a bandit at Krumpets and got so many things on sale. It was a lot of fun to spend time with my mom and sister.

We had fun making fun of this wreath because it had a huge bird on it! We had to quote a couple lines from the movie, Dumb and Dumber. I know we are such dorks!

Some of my cute purchases I made on Black Friday:

My cute berry wreath!

My Snowman Plate and Winter Wonderland Block!

My Santa Claus cookie jar!

My Family, Friends, and Faith Plates and plate holder!

On Friday and Saturday, Mark and I took the kids to spend those days with my Parents in Hurricane. It was such a blast to see all my younger brothers and sisters. We had a lot of fun visiting and hanging out. On Friday night, Kaleb went with his Aunt Kamberee to see Madagascar 2. He had so much fun going on his date with Aunt Kam!

Kaleb and his Auntie Kam headed off to the Movie!

On Saturday Night, me and all of my brothers and sisters and their boyfriend and girlfriends headed to the movies to see Twilight! We had a lot of fun.

Mark and me waiting for Twilight to start! I was so excited!!

My Brother Kaden with his cute girlfriend Amber!

On Sunday, on our way home from Southern Utah we stopped in Beaver and met up with some good friends of ours. They make the drive to Northern Utah each year to see their families for the Thanksgiving weekend. Since they were making the trek back down and we were going back up to Northern Utah, we both thought it would be fun to take a break from driving and see each other. It was so nice to see you Todd, Liz and Sydney! It was so good to visit and catch up with you. We miss our great friends and neighbors!

Our Thanksgiving weekend was a blast! It was so good to spend time with family! What a great Blessing our Families are to us! We love you all and were so glad we got to spend the weekend with you!

Sunday Best!

This past Sunday, Kaleb and Karmindy looked so cute in their Sunday Best!! I thought they looked very festive in their fall colored Sunday clothes! Our little photo shoot before Church produced some very cute pictures, so of course, I couldn't resist sharing them with you all!! It amazes me how quickly time flies by! My kids are getting so big! It is hard for me to except that Kaleb will be 4 in January and Karmindy turned 6 months old this month! I feel like an old woman. One thing is for sure though, and that is, that my love for my kids grows everyday! I love my little prince and princess!

I've been tagged!

My dear friend Sydney tagged me!! To play you open your fourth folder and post the fourth picture! I thought this was too funny because our fourth folder is entitled

"munkins." (Very appropriate for the Thanksgiving Season) Munkins is what Kaleb used to call pumpkins back in the day when he was just a little mite. He is around two years old in this picture! It seems like only yesterday when we had this picture taken. It is truly amazing how time flys by!! My little boy is really growing up and losing the baby face and getting the little boy look! Sniff!

We wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for all our blessings! Especially our dear friends and Family.

I tag: Teresa, Tasha, Maren, Autumn, Megan, Nicole!

Anyone else in a recipe rut?

Lately, I have been in what you would call a recipe rut! Has anyone else experienced this? I get so tired of making the same things over and over during the month and ache for some new recipe to try. Well, I found a yummy new recipe for Orange Chicken. One of my friends featured the recipe on her blog and since our little family (especially Kaleb) loves to go to Panda Express, I thought I would give it a try!! It was a huge hit with the the men in my life! Mark came home to a house smelling of oranges and ginger and was so excited to see what was on the menu for the evening. Kaleb told me that my orange chicken was good like Panda! Wow, what a compliment! Since our family enjoyed it so much, I thought I would share the recipe with all of you that are aching to have something new to fix and are in the same recipe rut. Why go out and pay extra on Chinese when you can stay home and make it as good or even better than the chain restuarants?

Orange Chicken
Ingredients:2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-1/2” cubes)

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 eggs (beaten)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce

1 ½ cups water

2 tablespoons orange juice

¼ cup lemon juice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon orange zest (grated)

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon ginger root (minced)

½ teaspoon garlic (minced)

2 tablespoons green onion (chopped)

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Step 1: Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer (or use a wok) until completely cooked.

Step 2: Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.

Step 3: Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions. Enjoy.

**This recipe was a little time consuming to make but was well worth the effort. I didn't deep fat fry the chicken, I just poured a little oil into the bottom of a huge pan and stir fried the chicken that way.

Kaleb + Karmindy = Sweet Kids!

This morning after I got the kids ready for the day, I realized they were both matching so I thought I would take a few pictures of them together. They were both very cooperative and they both smiled which almost never happens!! Lucky Me!

My Two Miracles!

Since this is the month to acknowlege our blessings, I thought I'd express my gratitude for my two little miracles. My children. Kaleb and Karmindy have been such a blessing in my life and at times I don't feel worthy to be their mother because they are so sweet and have such strong spirits about them. It has been so fun to watch them progress through each milestone. I am truly grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a mother. At times it can be a thankless job but it is so worth being apart of their lives and teaching them to do what is right and be good people. It is very rewarding when you watch them interact with others and they exhibit the good things that you have taught them. Lately, I have really enjoyed hearing the cute little things that come out of Kaleb's mouth. Here are a few highlights:

Kaleb: "Mom, look it is snowing! Heavenly Father and Jesus turned the snow on! How sweet of them!"

The snow would stop and Kaleb would run to the window and say: "Heavenly Father? Will you turn the snow back on for me?" Amazingly, it would start to snow again!

While sorting laundry, Kaleb will help me put the right colors in the right piles. I thought this would be a great way to teach him his colors. He asked me where to put his red shirt. I pointed and said, "That shirt goes in the red pile, it is right over there." Kaleb said, "Mom your a genius!"

While looking at homes to buy, Kaleb will run into the house we are looking at and say, "Oh, this is a cute kitchen!" (Hmm, I wonder who he has been listening to?)

Kaleb has also configured a super man out fit! He is a cowboy/lightning mcqueen, batman superhero! My son is so creative! Here is a few pictures of his creation:

Karmindy is also smiling more and getting more of a little personality or attitude if you will! Karmindys new trick is to suck on her bottom lip. Here are a few pictures of our little DeeDee:

What a blessing my two little miracles are. I love you both so much!

Roger, Roger ~ We are 10-9, over!

Mark started our son out young in passing on the addiction of playing computer/video games. Marks biggest obsession right now is WOW or world of war craft for those of you who aren't familiar with the gaming world. (Believe me, I didn't know a thing about it till Mark started playing the game!) Mark has been trying to convince me for months to try it out but I just can't decide if I want to dedicate the time to it! Plus, I have a lot of my own personal obsessions to keep me busy. I have my blogging addiction, face book addiction, cooking addiction, scrapbooking addiction, and bracelet making addiction. Just to name a few. They all keep me busy and I just am not sure if I could fit anything else in. However, Kaleb loves when his dad is playing and will go over and sit on his lap and put on his dads huge headphones! (Mark recently got a new set of Headphones and convinced me that he needed to have them because he would be able to hear the sound effects better.) As you can see from the pictures, I gave in. Boys and their toys! I will never understand, but then again, I am sure that men can't figure us women out either!

So "Thankful" for My Husband, My Best Friend!

Many times our blog features our cute children, so I wanted to feature my husband for once!! Mark is a remarkable guy and I feel so very fortunate to have him as my husband, my eternal companion, and best friend. Mark is a wonderful husband to me and a hands-on dad to our two children. I also love how Mark is always very considerate of me and my feelings. I love you honey, and appreciate all you do for our little family!
I got this spotlight idea from my cute Sister-in-law, Nicole.
It is always fun to find out new things about
your friends and family!
(Thanks Nicole!)

What is his name: Mark Robert Frisbey

How long have you been married: 5 years and almost 1 month! Hurray!

How long did you date? Mark and I started dating in September of 2002 and were married in October 2003. So a year and one month!

Who eats more sweets? That is a toss up! Mark lovess his candy and I am a desserts person.

Whose parents do you see most? We truly try to see them both equally. Since moving 300 + miles away though it makes it harder to see both!

Who said I love you first: Mark did. I know that he said it first but couldn't remember where. Isn't that so sad. I know I should know. I asked Mark if he remembered and he couldn't remember where either. I guess the place doesn't matter just that we both said it to each other! Love ya babe!

Who is taller? He is. Mark is 5'11 and I am 5' 31/2!

Who is smarter? I like to think we are both smart! Mark has his strengths and I have mine. It will be great when the kids get in school so we can send them to the parent who excels in that area!

Who does the laundry? I do, but I know Mark doesn't mind helping out! I am a lucky girl to have a husband that pitches in!

Who does the dishes? Mark does. We have a deal. Whoever makes dinner does the dishes! Nice, eh?

Who pays the bills? It depends. Just whoever gets around to it first. We remind each other! We are a good team!

His guilty pleasure~ I would say his guilty pleasure is WOW!! (World of war craft!)

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does. I used to before we were married but that is usually the side that is closest to the door so it is good he sleeps on that side so if intruders come in he can beat them up for me!

Who has more friends? I would say I do because I am a pretty social person. Mark has good friends too. We both feel that it is better to have quality over quantity!

Who cooks dinner? I do most nights, but Mark is also an excellent cook. Love your curry Babe!

Who is more stubborn? We are both really stubborn.

Who kissed who first? I waited so patiently for Mark to kiss me. He took forever but It was worth the wait! Mark kissed me first on my parents front steps. We laugh now about it because it was such a "romantic" place to have a first kiss!

Who asked who out first? This was another thing I waited patiently for! :) Mark and I had an institute class together and I thought he was cute and I knew that Mark liked me but it took him a whole month or so to get up the guts to ask me out. It actually was fun to watch because I knew he wanted to but I must have made him nervous. I was the class rep and would take my time gathering my books, in hopes he would come over and ask me out! He finally did! Our first date was lunch at Charlies in St. George!

Who proposed? Mark did! After a yummy dinner at Red Lobster, Mark took me to a park where we had gone on previous dates and proposed to me there! This is also a fun memory because I was a little suspicious because Mark brought me "white" roses (not that that was unheard of - Mark was very romantic and sent me flowers/roses on many occasions, just not white roses!) and also at dinner when I went to hold his hand there was this huge box in his pocket! Hmmm. Those were the days! I am not too easy to surprise. It is like that at Christmas. I can shake a box and tell Mark what he got me! (Thanks a lot to my dad for that gift.) I really frustrate Mark at Christmas time because of this wonderful gift of premonition!

Who has more siblings? I do! I have two brothers and two sisters. Mark has one sister and two brothers.

What is your favorite thing about him? Mark is always really considerate of me and my feelings. Just an example of Marks consideration for me, this past week he took the kids and went and did the grocery shopping for me so I could have a break from doing the shopping and as well as a break from the kids. When they all got home, he had Kaleb ring the doorbell and hand me a bouquet of pink roses. He got me the roses to cheer me up because I have been having a hard time adjusting to being so far away from home and from family and friends. I also really love his smile and the way his eyes twinkle when he smiles! His smile gives me goose pimples!

An Apple Harvest!

On Saturday, Mark and I spent the morning canning Apple Pie Filling together! I have such a trooper of a husband! He peeled the apples and I cored and sliced them into the bottles. My Aunt Linda gave us a huge box of apples several weeks ago and we didn't want them to go to waste so we thought we would take the opportunity to can them to enjoy at a later time. I was so thrilled all of our cans sealed!! It is so nice to see the pretty bottles up on our pantry shelf. It really gave us a feeling of accomplishment knowing that we are putting something away for a rainy day- even if it is something yummy to enjoy and not the most nutritious! Today, I got ambitious again and since one of Marks favorite desserts is Apple pie I made him another one! It has been a fun challenge to try and make the crust from scratch. I feel really proud of myself for doing it and can tell that I am getting better at it! I will contine to work on making apple pies while we have apples. In the meantime, hopefully we won't get too sick of apple pie! (A special thanks to my aunt for the apples, as well as, the encouragement and also the yummy pie recipe. Also to my mom for walking me through the canned apple pie recipe!)

This is my second attempt at making apple pie! I thought this one turned out so much better than my first one! I can tell I am improving! What do you all think?

Once I get it mastered everyone is welcome to come over for a slice! :)

Rice Cereal!

On Halloween night, we were really adventurous and decided to attempt to feed Karmindy rice cereal. She has eaten rice cereal in a bottle but we wanted to see if she would take to eating it with a spoon! She did great and went to town eating! Karmindy loves her rice cereal! She is definitely going to be a little fooder!

Happy Halloween!

We had a lot of fun celebrating Halloween this year! The day was a pretty typical day. By evening though, we celebrated with style! After a yummy dinner of Domino's Pizza and soda, Kaleb, Mommy, and Daddy frosted sugar cookies and enjoyed sampling the finished products. After making and frosting cookies, we got the kids ready in their costumes and took them to a few homes around the neighborhood. We came home a little early because it started sprinkling on us. The rest of the evening we spent eating candy and handing out candy to the brave trick or treaters who trick or treated out in the blustery weather!! What troopers! Here are a few pictures highlighting our Halloween:

Karmindy with her new halloween hair bow!

Kaleb getting excited to frost cookies!

Frosting Cookies!

Look at that cheesy grin!

Mark and Karmindy frosting cookies!

A few of the finished products!

Karmindy with her daddy!

Karmindy and Mommy all ready to go trick or treating!

Karmindy our cute little bunny!

Karmindy was tired after trick or treating. She is falling asleep here.

Me with my beautiful kids!

Kaleb and Mommy!

Trick or Treating is tiring work! ZZZzzzz!