Halloween Celebrations

This week has been the week of parties. The boys have been dressed up in their costumes since Wednesday. It started with a story time party. I made monster crackers for that one.

Story time group.... Jake was the only one crying. A true Dragonsaurous.

Jason turning Audry into a mummy.


Monster Crackers.

Thursday was the big preschool party and trick or treating at the businesses. It also included a haunted house visit (Jason didn't like it, but Jake thought it was funny). They were also in the kiddie parade down town and in the costume contest. The boys had a blast and the costumes were amazing. We even saw a headless horseman on a pony.... so cute.

Jason's preschool teachers Miss Bethany as Minnie and Miss Anna as Indie "Anna" Jones

Now they are preparing for a Haloween weekend with Grandpa, Grandma, Lane and Chance. They are very excited. Colin and I have our own costumes picked out. I will be "Barb" the Builder (a female version of Bob the Builder) and Colin will be Billy Mays... I will post pictures of this one. Have a happy Halloween!!!!!

Keeping busy

The last couple of weeks have been tough, but if we learned anything from Grandpa that is you have to LIVE life. So we are grabbing every day and living it to the fullest. Despite Jake getting very sick... croup, high fever, sinus issues and more we have been able to do a lot. On the list was insulating the garage.

Jason helping install the ceiling.

With Halloween approaching Jason's preschool went to the pumpkin patch to get some pumpkins. He had a great time.

Some of Jason's preschool class at the pumpkin patch.

There was fire prevention week and the boys really enjoyed that. Jason will teach everyone about calling 911 and how to stop drop and roll.

We had a side note with a cat. This poor thing was starving and was very vocal about it, so we moved a dog house out by the garage and started to feed it. It is still officially a stray, but for now Jason is calling her Minnie.

Last night we took on the task of carving pumpkins because this is the week of Halloween celebration. The boys have costume parties, a haunted house and a lot of candy to collect.

Sunday the 1st is Dad's b-day so happy birthday. We can't wait to see you Sunday. Have a great week everyone and enjoy the holiday. Take care and I will have more soon. To look at all of the new pictures that I have check out my link and explore.

Grandpa

A story teller and joker at heart Charles Scott was one to light up rooms when he entered. He loved airplanes, projects, dogs and spending time with family and friends. Any person that met him never forgot him. He brought laughter and smiles to so many.

I have so many stories I wish I could share, but I will cut it down to a chosen few. There were those about dirt ball fights with the neighbor children, playing hookie, and toy airplanes when he was a child. He was a man of so many talents and he loved to tell stories about all of his adventures.

After joining the Army he had to go over seas via banana boat. Not many things could get the best of grandpa, but that banana boat almost did. Boy did that boat make him sick. While in the Army he had so many adventures and there was nothing better than listening to him tell stories about them.

Now all of us that are related to him are so lucky that he met Grandma Scott. Thank goodness they had my dad and uncle Ron. He loved to take pictures and documented everything very well. He had a video camera when Dad and Ron were kids and he had so many great videos. There was one in particular of Ron and Dad sledding. He loved to show that one both forward and backward, real motion and slow motion, laughing the whole time.

Every person that met him came away with a story, a smile and a laugh. I was fortunate enough to have such a great man as grandpa. I learned so much from him. He taught me how to fish, how to check if a spark plug had a spark, and how to snipe hunt. There was this one time when he greased up my tricycle for me. As I was going down the hill, my handlebars broke off and I was so sure Grandpa sabotaged me. He gave me a hard time about that every time I saw him.

We never had a dull moment with Grandpa around. Watching the dogs dig was even exciting. There was always a joke or a prank. That is how I will remember him, happy and full of life. He lived every day to the fullest. Grandpa will live on in our hearts and through our memories.

Service will be at 2:00 Wednesday the 14th of October at the LDS church in Meeteetse. In lieu of flowers please give donations to the Park County Humane Society, Box 203, Cody, WY 82414. Thank you.

Eat On!!!!

For me cooking is just a hobby that keeps our bellies from growling. I love to put ingredients together and have them turn into something so tasty that it is hard to stop eating. I look at recipes and put my own twist on them based on my family’s taste preferences. The cold months are my favorite by far. This is when my whole house smells wonderful. When it is hot I grill, cook a little on the stove. That really makes me get creative, but the cold weather comfort foods are the best in my book. So, here we are waiting for more snow to fall and I have a meal that I can’t wait to get in the oven. Today we are having scalloped potatoes, roasted ham, asparagus, and salad. My house is going to smell amazing. Here is a recipe for scalloped potatoes that just sounded great. You can substitute garlic for onions, cream for milk or any other cheese you like, but this is what I had in my pantry. Also, if you garnish with some parsley…… BEAUTIFUL!!!! I hope everyone enjoys. Have fun and now to get cooking.

Three Cheese Scalloped Potatoes with Onions

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 pint 1% milk
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 slices provolone cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 1 1/2 quart or larger casserole dish with butter or nonstick spray.

Layer the potato slices in the bottom of the casserole dish. Dot with some of the butter cut or pinched into small pieces. Arrange the onion slices over the potatoes, and then pour some of the milk over. Sprinkle part of the Cheddar cheese over the layer, and season with salt and pepper.

Repeat layering of potatoes, onions, cream and Cheddar cheese, then top with the slices of provolone cheese. Season again with salt and pepper.
Bake for 1/2 hour in the preheated oven, and then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top. This will create a semi-hard cheese crust.

Continue baking uncovered for another 30 minutes, or until potatoes is tender when tested with a fork.

Hello winter?

Lester very cold and covered in snow.

The last week has been full of fun, cold, travel and great company. We started out last week trying to get everything finished before the cold hit. Boy did it come in fast. The boys just loved it. They have been playing in snow and eating up every second of it. Last week we also had a visitor. Our friend Maggie was able to come and visit. It was lovely!!! We enjoyed the perfect cold weather meal and had a great time catching up.

Our stew and rolls for a relief from the cold.

Maggie and Glacier.... can't wait for them to visit again.

It was sad to see Maggie go, but we had a busy rest of the week. Last week was Homecoming week in Thermopolis!!! GO BOBCATS!!!!! Jason's preschool had a float in the parade on Friday and he had a blast. His teacher Miss Bethany ROCKS!!!!

The Kiddie Kollege float.

After enjoying the parade we were off to Gillette for my Uncle Mike's wedding. It was a good time had by all. We even got to try some family brew. Yes, there are people in our family (although distant to me, I feel some closeness to them) that have a brewery. I loved the beer and will be trying that again. While we were there we also got Jake a new bed. He no longer sleeps in the crib, it is a twin all of the way. (you have to go to my Picasa site to see the picture of his new quilt and his bed)

Sis and Uncle Mike!!! The newlyweds.

Yesterday Jake turned 18 months old!!! So today was his be appointment. He is right on track at 24.2 lbs and 31 in tall. His vocabulary is ahead of schedule and he is doing beautifully. Friday both boys go in for flu shots as well. That should be exciting. I hope all of you are doing well. To look at the rest of the pictures including Jakes new bed please click HERE. Take care, stay warm and I apologize I have fallen behind on my foody blogs, hopefully this week. I will leave you with a picture of the boys playing when it first started snowing.