Pumpkins

The pumpkin patch is open and we LOVE it! Two boys each very proud with the little pumpkins we picked out yesterday.

James: I love to eat pumpkins! (Said as he pretends to eat the pumpkin)

Luke: Duke's pum-pn. (Luke's Pumpkin)

So cute! I love fall!

Funny

"I am just like Uncle Morgan. I have candy up my nose."

~James Morgan

Grilled Chicken and Kaddo Bourani

Last night we had an awesome dinner, if I do say so myself. Yum yum!! In addition we had Trader Joes Naan and John's Sangria. Delicious!

Amy, ask and you shall receive, here is my pumpkin recipe:

Kaddo Bourani (Afghani Baked Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce)

3 lb pumpkin (I used a long neck pumpkin, pie pumpkins are also good)
1/4 cup canola oil
3 cups sugar

First I roast the pumpkin at 300 degrees for about an hour. It works best if it is cut into a few pieces. Once it has started to soften pull out of the oven and cut off the rind. Then chop into large pieces and put back into your pan. Add oil and sugar and continue baking for 1.5 hours or until nice and mushy.

Yogurt Sauce:
2 cups plain yogurt
4 cloves garlic minced
4 teaspoons chopped mint
BIG pinch of salt

Mix together and refrigerate until ready to use.

Spiced Grilled Chicken

Marinate 4 chicken breasts in 3 tbsp of ground cilantro seeds, 2 tbsp of cumin, 1 tbsp of coriander, 1/2 tbsp of chicken flavor bouillon and 1/2 cup of canola oil. We left it in the fridge for a couple of hours before grilling.

Mixed Veggies

Peas, corn and some okra with 2 tbsp butter and a handful of fresh cilantro, 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tbsp garlic. My veggies were frozen so I added 1/4 cup water and boiled until they were soft.

Out and About

Uncle Morgan and Auntie Julia are in town! Time to party!!

Luke gives Aunt Julia the sweetest smiles.

James learns all kinds of tricks from Uncle Morgan.

Hopefully he won't learn this one until he is older.

This morning we told James that Uncle Morgan was downstairs. James yelled at the top of his lungs, "UNCLE MORGAN, I"LL BE RIGHT THERE!" He yelled so loud it actually reached their ears down in the basement. Good thing the boys really slept in today or else that could have been a rude awakening to the weary night travelers.

Tonight we are grilling and making afghan pumpkin. Like I said, time to party!

Fast Fast Fast

On the way home from church last night James and I had the following conversation about a traffic light.

J: I see a gree light!
M: Green light means GO GO GO!
J: Yeah Mommy. And yellow light means FAST FAST FAST.
M: What does red light mean?
J: STOP!

Not sure who taught him this, but I have a pretty good guess!

Friends don't let friends...

...eat an entire pan of peanut and chocolate goodness. Emily, I don't know what you put in these things but I cannot stop. My partner in crime, Luke, is also making a dent in the leftovers. Wowzers these are delish!

Totally unrelated, a picture of the cutest girl on the planet.

Also unrelated, Luke you are getting to be such a big boy!

Our day in pictures

Picnic with Eli and Caroline, Luke is beyond excited.

PB & J = Yummy

"Hiding in the bushel"

Cutest girly ever!

Say cheese if you want a cookie!

Potbelly chocolate chip cookies = Bliss

On the way home.

Where do you sleep?

Today James had his first session with his speech therapist. He really liked her right away because she knew all the characters in the Car Movie. Smart lady!

She was asking his questions, and one of them was "Where do you sleep?" James got a mischievous look in his eye and said,

"ELI"s BED!"

And then laughed hysterically at his joke. This morning Eli and James had been pretending to nap in Eli's bed. These boys are so cute together. James will be heartbroken when Eli moves.

A couple more pictures from our water adventures yesterday.

A photo of these two boys back when they were still babies (4 months I think). Where did the time go?

Old Town Fountain

Today we had Potbelly sandwiches and played in the fountain near old town. Can you tell that we had so much fun? Some funny points from our day out with Eli and Caroline:

*My eldest son became an exhibitionist and at one point I was chasing a naked 3 year old around the fountain attempting to put pants on him.
*Eli was the fastest and would get a running start to speed through the water.
*Luke was the first to walk right up to the fountains and was completely soaked in about 3 seconds.
*Caroline was the cutest of all in her watermelon suit. EVERYONE was smiling sweetly at her as they walked by.

No one wanted to leave when it was time to go. But promises of doing it again sometime this week seemed to appease the older boys. And don't tell the kids, but Mommy would happily do this everyday if I got a diet coke and those yummy cookies from Potbelly.

There is just something about this video that is so sweet. Little boys enjoying a fountain on a hot summer day. Enjoy!

Pizza Party

Tonight we had a pizza party with our favorite princesses! So much fun! Luke wasn't too sure about eating at the princess table, but he did think that Princess Bell looked like "Mama". He got an extra cookie for that sweet comment.

Look who is coming to dinner...

Some of our best friends came over for dinner tonight. James and Luke could not have been more excited to see these two walk in the door.

Luke and Caroline were fast friends. Ready...set..go!

Luke kept trying to steal kisses, he is a charmer that one!

Eli and James instantly went downstairs. No thanks, I don't need dinner when my best bud is here to visit. Lots of cars and lots of tools, what more could these guys need?

Little sister sure can keep up with the big kids!

We had a blast guys, let's do it again!