Pumpkin carving

preparing the pumpkins

serious faces..haha.. and kelly playin with a scalpel

our finished pumpkins. (L-R) Grandpa Fred, the headless horseman, and a bat

yesterday our friends kelly and spencer came over for some pizza and pumpkin carving. This was my first time believe it or not. I've cleaned pumpkins out before but my dad always did the carving. The one on the left is mine.. grandpa fred. Ha! it was supposed to be a witch but ended up lookin more like an old man so we named him Grandpa Fred. haha! it was lots of fun.
Good food, good fun, great company. Thanks for comin guys!

Kristen & Conrad's wedding

So It finally happened! Kristen is married. this is the cute couple right after they were married.

Drew and I at the reception.. this is such a bad angle on our faces

the bride and groom with there awesome exit (rockin a 4 wheeler)

haha! this is too funny. you cant tell but we were dancing and Drew dancing.. you just have to see it. He was getting really in to it. I couldnt stop laughing

Our wedding crew: Jill, me looking prego (which i'm not!), Drew, and cousin Niklas (he even caught the garter)

Falling for Fall

so I've really been trying to get into the fall season. Its a little difficult here in Arizona because the weather hasnt quite changed yet. Dont get me wrong, I'm much enjoying the 80 degree weather over the 100+ we had weeks ago. But it just hasnt hit me yet. I love the fall smells of spices, pumpkin, campfires outside...aaaggghhh.

I've gotten some seasonal candles to start it off. Well, its not exactly fall frangrance but it sure is yummy! Then today I made some pumpkin bread. first time ever! I came across the recipe last night and thought it just might be the ticket!

I had a little bit of a hard time finding mini bread pans so I settled for the disposable ones (Deb said it was okay). But they sure are cute! Deb also said you can make them in soup cans for a different look, she actually prefered that way because she said you could wrap them up cuter. who knows. haha
I did have some difficulty getting the time down. My oven (which usually works great) was struggling today stayin hot. So I think the first batch (3 loaves) were in for almost 40 minutes as opposed to the 20 they are supposed to be in. But I got it figured out and they are fine. Non of them burned so dont worry.

the finished product. Sorry I started eating this loaf before I decided to take a picture of it. haha. but it sure is yummy. It'll be a nice 'welcome home from a long day' for drew. In case anyone wants Deb's recipe its as follows:

2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
2 cups pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 boxes vanilla pudding (not instant)

Mix sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add 2 boxes of vanilla pudding. Add nuts if desired.

Use soup cans or small loaf pans.
Spray with Pam and fill 3/4 full.

Bake at 350:
soup cans- 40 mins
tomato sauce cans- 20-25 mins
mini loaf pans- 20-25 mins

NOTE: one thing I learned, the middle should be firm to touch before removing from oven ;)

enjoy!