Table for Eight

Survivor South Pacific Pumpkin ... carved by an amazing woman in Provo, UT.   Happy Ha lloween Weekend ...    from our family to yours! Zu made this snow-witch yesterday. (PS: Zu refuses to wear pants. Even in the snow. Oh, well--at least she has a jacket and one mitten.)

There's a great scene i n the movie The Bird Cage , where Robin Williams' chara cter is concerned about his partner's sta te of mind ( played by Nathan Lan e ).   A s he ( Williams) laundry-lists his concerns , Lane's character heads o ver to their "Humble Man-Servant" ( Hank A zaria) and says, "Give me a PIRIN" tablet and I'll be fin e." To which William s' character says, "You're giving him drugs?" To which Azaria replies, "No. Shhhh ! It's A spirin with the 'A' and the 'S' scratched off. " Fol ks. I think Dave and I have been living that scene over and over again these past two weeks--as life has dealt us some pretty overwhelming challenges. And honestly, if it weren't for the PIRIN tablets (and a n insanely funny /supportive family ) , I think I'd have a head ache the size of Tex as.   So, what are the challenges? Well, I think they're norma l every d

A modern take on s'mores. Okay, first things first: YOU HAVE TO MAKE THESE updated S'mores . We got the recipe from a Halloween magazine and tried them Monday. They. Are To. Die. For. And ... so simple to make!  1. Just use graham crackers (chocolate or regular). 2. Add a spoonful of Nutella to the graham. 3. Add a spoonful of marshmallow fluff (aka "heaven"). 4. Smoosh the two grahams together and Ta-Da! 5. Oh, and roll the edges in sprinkles if you like. Our family loved these (so much so, that our teenage boys snuck the ingredients downstairs and ate them as a midnight snack!) Anyway, it's such an easy/fun recipe--I don't know that I will be making traditional s'mores for a long long time. These rock. Okay, and here are some other random things I wanted to share from this past week. (Time feels like it's moving at warp speed! For you, too?) 1. Pumpkin Man. Art with a sense of humor. This welded Metal Man turns into Pumpki

We've been visiting this pumpkin patch since our oldest was 11  (he's 17 now)--and it's still one of our favorite Halloween things to do here in Utah.  PS: I should note that the Corn Maze totally freaks me out. I mean, I go through it--for the kids--but it scares me the entire time. ( Am I the only person who never saw Children of the Corn but still seems to know the entire plotline? How is that possible?) *** And I have to share this.  It both embarrasses me AND makes me proud: I made my first tater-topped casserole.  (Now, if that doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will.  PS: Our kids loved it, so I will post the recipe later today. I'm in a hurry now. Sorry!) *** Oh, and Survivor Philippines! We haven't talked about that either! I'm loving this season, especially the strong women playing (Denise, RC, Abi, Lisa, Dana ....). I'll write about that later today, if ya can