peppermint s'mores!

I am in love with all things peppermint...I buy peppermint gum, peppermint toothpaste, peppermint lotion, peppermint chapstick {it's the best! especially if you like cool colored lips :)} and even peppermint candies...LOVE these, they are so soft and melt in your mouth! And I really buy these ALL year round! But, we have kind of started a little family tradition with my parents to serve peppermint icecream with home made hot fudge sauce around Christmas time. And seriously I just can't wait for this stuff to get on the shelves this time of year. So, the other night while grocery shopping I spotted it and got way excited but knew I couldn't wait to make the hot fudge sauce, so while staggering around another aisle I came upon these. I knew I had to make something, knowing that I couldn't go wrong with peppermint! {with or without the hot fudge sauce}...And voila!

An easy, cheap, tasty treat!! My kids called them s'mores, not only because of the grahams but because the icecream looked fluffly like marshmallows!{that may depend on the kind you buy, this is what I like}. And even though we scarfed them down fast this time, next time I make them I will try drizzling them with the hot fudge sauce and adding a dollop of whipped cream on top! I think it would make a great easy, seasonal dessert for any party!! YUMMY!

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is the BEST yearly reminder of everything I am thankful for. Who doesn't need a good reminder? But I love how it begins the wonderful spirit of the holiday season...a whole month of preparing to celebrate the Birth of Christ! It truly is a blessing to be thankful, to have the power of gratitude in recognizing EVERYTHING I am thankful for. Like others, I don't know where to begin with such a simple question of what I am thankful for because it is everything. But to truly answer What am I thankful for? I am most thankful for my life!

So please take a few minutes and enjoy this wonderful message from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints:
In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

I would love to know, what are you thankful for?

Fall leaves...us happy!

yes, happy! (but only after all the leaves have truly fallen and are all cleaned up. Sheesh!) And I know this isn't the greatest shot but I have loved the beautiful sunsets lately!

and to add to the happiness...here are a few late...very late, pictures of what we have done this past season.

Dane (far right) played flag football and of course, LOVED IT!


And he was lucky enough to have his Dad (far right) help coach! (so serious).


We had fun soaking up the sun at Wheeler Farm and Gardner Village while hunting for witches!


And Ava (top, middle in pink and white) enjoyed her preschool field trip to a corn maze and pumpkin patch where she picked out the "smallest" one. That's why it's so hard to see!


Halloween night I went out with a BYU cheerleader, a pea pod and Darth. . .
It was "spooktacular"!
(Ava's pumpkin is on the porch on the far right...still kinda hard to see!)


Then earlier this month we spent some fabulous days in Idaho, on the farm.
Dane and his cousin were proud to hold some pheasants and the gun and spend lots of time with the men hunting! (nice birds, Derek!)


Even Deacon got in on the action!
(Thanks Beus' for helping keep our fun family tradition alive...we love you guys!)


So, here's hoping Fall "leaves" you happy too because if you're like me snow is only fun for like one day, Christmas Day, and then I'm ready for Spring.