Cornocopia

Of course while Christopher's parents were in town....we made the traditional cornocopias! We actually did this for the first time last year in our little family, but it has been a tradition in Christopher's family for a very long time. Basically you can make little fruits, veggies, or whatever your heart desires out of a delicious almond fondant and you put it in a sugar cone. It really looks like a cornocopia. It's lots of fun to see what the kids come up with...and...it's delicious!
Our fondant had some issues with not being firm enough (I had the SAME issues last year) even though we almost doubled the amount of powdered sugar to improve the situation. I was happy to know that it wasn't just the fact that I was doing something wrong. We had the pros with us and they had the same problem. Apparently, it is just Texas humidity and if you leave it out overnight it is the PERFECT consistency in the morning! This is important to remember for next year.
Uh-oh....Texas humidity strikes again! Kate was rolling some red fondant into an apple....but the heat from her little hands melted it first! We found that a nice coating of powdered sugar on the table and hands really helped the stickiness.
Grandma showed the kids how to make several of the different fruits and vegetables including apples, oranges, pea pods, peppers, watermelons, and bananas. It was really cool to see all the different ideas she had and how to do them.
Dallin was pretty self-sufficient this year. He was really able to do a lot of it himself with a little instruction and help now and then. Grandma helped him out by adding her masterpieces to his stash of cornocopia food. In this picture you can see the red pepper on the right....a lot of the items kind of melted and are harder to make out. The orange blob in the middle with the brown spots is the pizza Dallin made. Pretty clever! He even gave it some red sauce. Here is the picture of Dallin's cornocopia finished.
Kate was mostly interested in making an apple or two, squishing the fondant, and eating as much as she could. I mostly made/helped her make hers.
Here is a closeup of her fruits and veggies. In this picture you can see a watermelon, a pineapple, a pumpkin, a strawberry, a banana, and a pea pod.
Here she is getting her horn ready. If you can't tell...she has eaten many of the "veggies" already
And the finished product.....

Our Trip To San Antonio

So, everyone knows that when you come to Texas....you HAVE to visit San Antonio to see the Alamo. I think it is an unwritten law somewhere. Since I was a kid in Dallas, every relative that came to Texas (and we have A LOT of them...who come separately) has wanted to go see the Alamo. This has only increased since my parents moved to Austin (much CLOSER to the Alamo). So.....at the risk of sounding terribly un-Texan, I can say that I don't really care for driving out and visiting the Alamo. I remember thinking it was fun as a young kid, pouting and brooding about having to go AGAIN as a teen....now...FINALLY...as an adult, I am finding more and more things that I can enjoy about the trip to San Antonio.
So when Christopher's parents came to town....guess what they wanted to see....? LOL Yep...the Alamo. Christopher's mother grew up her first 13 years in Texas and never saw it, so it was one of those things that simply could not continue to be undone. And I have to say that the trip to San Antonio with Christopher's parents has been one of my very favorite trips there. I even find myself looking forward to going back again so that I can see some things I didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked. It was really fun!
Of course, we started at the Alamo. On the walk there, we passed a monument with names of those who fought at the Alamo. Did you know a Kellogg fought there!? Neither did I! It was pretty cool to know we had a relative fighting there.
(Johnny Kellogg is the bottom right hand name in the above picture :)
Once we got to the Alamo, my kids spotted the police officers there and started jumping up and down and pointing "look mommy! look it's REAL cowboys!" Yep....the police officers there wear cowboy hats. LOL My kids were thrilled to get their pictures taken with REAL cowboys. We quickly walked the kids through the Alamo and out the other side into the courtyard. Not being a history buff myself, and having seen the inside of the Alamo many times I find that I would rather skip the crowd and enjoy the presentations and scenery outside in the courtyard. Plus, the kids can run around a little more freely there. We told Christopher's parents to take as much time as they liked inside and to meet us in the courtyard when they were done. We really enjoyed exploring the courtyard with the kids. They really loved looking at the giant fish, exploring the cannons, and sitting in a carved out log pretending it was a boat. It is a really beautiful and spacious courtyard and you can overhear the presentations they give so it is quite relaxing.
By the time Christopher's parents came out and met up with us, the kids had noticed the HORSES pulling carriages outside the Alamo. They were VERY excited and impressed and definitely wanted to ride. Unfortunately, the rides were quite expensive so we proceeded on our way. However, the last driver in the line caught our attention and struck an amazing deal with Christopher's mom. So...we got to go on a carriage ride/tour!!! It was really cool! In all my visits to San Antonio, I have NEVER been on a carriage ride before. It was really cool to see things in San Antonio that I had not seen before and hear some information that I had not heard before. Plus, I don't think I have EVER been on ANY carriage ride before and I felt very important and had a great time. Our driver was very friendly and at the end of the ride, she bravely let both of my kids climb up in the front and help "drive" the carriage. They ate this up and were so very excited (and I thought it was pretty awesome too). The carriage ride gave us some ideas of other things to see in San Antonio on this trip or others in the future.
After the carriage ride, we decided to take Christopher's parents down on the river walk for a bit (also this way we could get to one of the places we saw on the carriage ride since it had a riverwalk entrance). I always think the riverwalk is beautiful and relaxing. It just has a fun and romantic vibe. There is the smell of good food, ducks on the river, waterfalls, plants, live music, shops....like a little town away from the town.
Once we had walked a little ways, we found the entrance to "Rainforest Cafe" which we had seen on the carriage ride and my mom had also told me about. It was a pretty cool place. It was a rainforest themed restaurant/shop. Even the tables and chairs were shaped like animals and some even had tails. There were big trees and mists and a lake with a "sleeping" crocodile. So we took the kids over to look at it and.......it popped its head up and started roaring. (It was animatronic of course). The kids both jumped and Kate shrieked. We had to laugh because the thing kept roaring and every time it did, Kate would scream....over and over and over. LOL Dallin also found a tree with a face. I think he must have jumped back 5 feet when it "bit" him and started talking. It was so funny.
We finally emerged to the street and enjoyed strolling past all of the interesting things there are to do in San Antonio. I was amazed at how much I had never noticed before. We saw crazy mirrors that distorted the kids bodies. They really got a kick out of that. We met wax Superman and a GIANT T-Rex head and arms. Kate wouldn't get near it at all without crying. Dallin was immediately interested, but when it started roaring and moving, he was pushing pretty hard against his daddy! We even saw "Stumpy", a creepy looking half-man with a spine sticking out at Ripley's Believe it or Not. He had a pretty scary voice synthesizer, but was handing out lollipops to the kids. At first Dallin was scared of him, but as soon as Stumpy produced candy, Dallin was totally willing to go and get it and talk to him. Kate, on the other hand,....did not care WHAT he had...she was going no where near the man and made her daddy get the sucker. I just kept thinking of the "stranger danger" footage of the guy saying "want some candy little boy?" and thinking that dallin would jump at the chance no matter WHO was giving it to him or WHAT they looked like. Hmmm...good....I guess we will be having that talk AGAIN...every day...for the rest of his life.
After that we were pretty pooped. We were having a wonderful time and hated to leave, but we needed to get back before we were too tired. It was really fun and probably one of the most enjoyable trips I have ever had to San Antonio. Hopefully, we will be able to do it again soon!

Froot Loops....Not Just For Breakfast Anymore

One of the very first things we did with Grandma was make froot loop necklaces during preschool time!!! With all the crazy things I come up with for the kids to do....we have NEVER done froot loop necklaces. They went completely NUTS! They had so much fun, and were surprisingly skilled at it! I was very impressed.
Here they are working on their project. Grandma had some really great plastic needles (with a threader) that she used on the yarn so the kids could string the froot loops more easily. It REALLY made a big difference and all 3 kiddos caught on quickly and were able to be successful at it using the needle. Grandma was kind enough to get us our own set before she left! (Thanks Grandma!) They also work well with beads! Here is Bracken working on his froot loop necklace. Notice those mad froot loop stringin skills!

Kate took a LONG LONG time on her necklace. LOL I don't think that girl does ANYTHING in a hurry. She is sooo meticulous. (I wonder where she gets that from!?) She also kept eating the art supplies (but insisted she wasn't.....hard to believe when it was dribbling out of her mouth!) She was slow and sure, but she did a great job...ALL BY HERSELF! What a big girl!

Grandma was so great to help out all three kiddos and make sure they all got their necklaces made. They had so much fun! Dallin really impressed me the most with this activity. He has a very short attention span so I had visions of him shoveling mouthfuls of froot loops in his mouth and being done...or being frustrated with it and storming off (with a moutful of froot loops :) But I was VERY glad and proud to be wrong! He stayed completely on task and focused. He caught on VERY quickly and was able to string froot loops in groups of 2-3-and even 4!! He had his necklace done lickety split and was very proud of it. He ate very few froot loops......until he finished the necklace....I think it was gone before dinner. I was very pround of him doing so well with it!

Here he is wearing it on his head! He was very proud of it! It was a way fun activity that we will definitely have to do again! Thanks Grandma!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

November brought lots of fun to our house as Grandma and Grandpa Kellogg came down to visit us from Utah. The kids were simply beside themselves. They have truly missed their grandparents since we left Utah in July 2008. Grandma and Grandpa were able to stay for several weeks and even Thanksgiving....so many of the next few posts will be our fun adventures with them. The top picture is of Dallin and Grandma doing crayon rubbings. This (and painting with the Dora paint with water that could be done over and over) were some of their favorite pasttimes. Grandma brought LOTS of fun toys for the kids to play with while she was here. They really enjoyed her collection of Chevron cars! She also had many many crafts and fun activities for them to do. They simply had a BLAST!

This is one of my favorite pictures. Kate really enjoyed spending quiet moments with Grandpa, and every time he sat down, she quickly set up her tea set and insisted on a tea party. She even convinced him to use real water a few times (this is funny because those tea cups have dribble holes in them...I have NO IDEA why...and if you look closely you can see the water running out of Grandpa's cup in the picture.). At the end of the tea parties, they would be soaked but happy! Grandpa spent a lot of time playing with the kids-throwing balls and frisbees and kicking the soccer ball.
The kids really enjoyed the visit and have many wonderful memories of the time they got to spend with their grandparents!

Trick Or Treat

We had a very fun Halloween. We spent the evening at Nana and Papas house with the entire Sharp family. (Halloween is Nana's birthday so this serves a dual purpose). We had a yummo birthday dinner and the kids enjoyed huddling around the PSP to watch a Dora Halloween special that Christopher had downloaded for them.
Though they felt that they had waited AGES.....it was FINALLY time to get into costume. Aren't they sweet!?


Here is Madison in her too cute pumpkin costume. I am especially fond of this costume since Kate used it last year. Kate was an adorable pink princess.....completely decked out WITH a crown, princess slippers, necklaces, bracelets, boa, purse, and 2 wands. Talk about bling! She kept twirling around saying "Look at me! I'm bootiful! I am pincess! I turned into a pincess!" And here is Dallin as the Spectacular Black Spiderman WITH webslinging action (which we threatened to take away if he even THOUGHT of pointing it at another kid). It think he looked really cool and I loved this shot of him before we went out. We put glow bracelets anywhere we could think of since it was dark out...he was wearing black....and let's face it the kid is FAST and has the attention span of a gnat! LOL

They started out trick or treating at Nana's where they got FULL SIZED candy bars! YUMMO! Of course...they also got to pick whatever they wanted out of the goody bag (that is the benefit of trick or treating at your nana's :)

Here they are waiting at another door. Dallin had it pretty much down this year. He did NOT go into houses like last year and was pretty aware of how it worked. He did have to be prompted to say thank you a few times though....AND he stood there and argued loudly with a little old lady through 3 different sets of trick or treaters how he was "HANDSOME" NOT "CUTE!"......he didn't let the fact that she kept closing the door between trick or treaters slow him down any. He kept right on....I am hoping she was hard of hearing. Kate caught on quick that people would put candy in your bucket and was VERY VERY excited. She didn't quite get the order down though. She couldn't reach any of the doorbells and when people would open the door she would stand there with her bag out....then AFTER they put the treat in she would perkily say "trick treat! thank you!" and keep repeating it like a mantra as she marched back off the porch. She did NOT like the idea of having her bag emptied into a backpack to make it easier to carry. After I assured her that Madison would NOT get it, she grudgingly gave in. Madison was fun to watch this year. She is soooo smart at such a young age and definitely understood that if she went to doors and held out her bucket....she would get CANDY! She also insisted on packing around her own bag and would cry if anyone tried to help her carry it. She almost freaked out when we emptied it into a bucket....so we had to put some candy back in for her so she wouldn't feel robbed.

Here they are running to the next house. We were really getting the hang of it. Dallin ended up splitting off with Christopher before too long because he was sooo much faster than the girls and we wanted him to really be able to go and have fun. The girls really went at about the same pace and it was fun to see them go together. People seemed surprised that they were out trick or treating so young.....but we all stayed with them and it was only 7pm....it didn't seem
that weird to me. Here is a short video I shot of the kids trick or treating at a door. I had hoped for a better one...more true to their mannerisms that evening, but they were a little distracted by the cackling skeleton. Overall, they did great! Madison made it down several streets before she was ready to go home. Kate made it a street or so more...and Dallin got a good 2 streets more than the girls. They had a great time and remembered all the rules :)

Here is Kate with some of the "stash" after they got home. We let them pig out on candy that night, but then they had to earn it with good behavior....plus I had to "test" some to make sure it was safe. Kate kept organizing it and RE-organizing it. She was pretty miffed that she couldn't get it to ALL fit in her bucket. LOL Funny girl.


Finally, it was time to unwind with some Halloween specials and opening of gifts. The kids always enjoy helping to do that! I love that they always say "It's Halloween AND Nana's birthday!" It is a total two-fer! Happy Birthday, Nana! We love you! And Happy Halloween!

Carving Pumpkins

Why are we all in pajamas and lookin so crappy, but I'm still taking pictures? Because I had to document that we DID carve pumpkins this year in SPITE of the fact that we all ended up sick. I think we spent all day long huddled in a mass on the pullout couch. Good times! Dallin was relentless though in his pursuit of a carved pumpkin and we didn't feel we could deny him any longer. So we dove in. Christopher helped Dallin and I helped Kate. The top picture is Dallin showing me the face he wanted on his pumpkin. It was pretty funny when he kept pulling this face at Christopher and telling him "like this dad! like this!"
Here they are taking guts out of the pumpkin. They thought this was pretty disgusting so Christopher and I ended up doing most of it.

Kate thought it was so gross that she demanded a spoon and refused to keep touching it. Normally I try to toast the seeds and we make a whole evening of it.....but....we were just happy to get the pumpkins carved this year.



Here is what we ended up with. A scary face for Dallin and a Princess pumpkin WITH accesories for Kate. They were very impressed. We were just glad it got done at all! Good times!