Trick-or-Treat

We went to Mickey's Trick or Treat (again) this past Friday night! It was Awesome!

They have done SO much with the park having it in Disneyland this year instead of DCA. They bring in so many more decorations, lighting, fog and so much more to give it a different feel than normal. There is a Halloween parade and fireworks that are JUST for the party. This year we went as Eric and Ariel : )

Hook was trying to 'hook' Brody ; )

We partied at Jacks Club and bottom left....a pic of my handsome husband with the fireworks! : )

Just had to do a little hair maintenance with my dinglehopper ; )

It was such a great night! I love this tradtion!! : )

Pumpkin chili goodness!

I made this last week, when it was all cold and rainy. We LOVED it and it is perfect for those cool fall days coming up (hopefully). What I love most about it, is that because of the pumpkin and turkey it's not heavy like normal chili's. You can also do a lot to this recipe to make it your own. I did A LOT of adjustments (To taste and to fit what we already had). : )

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion (Substituted with Onion powder)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (Left out this time)
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper (Left out this time)
1 clove garlic, minced (Substituted with Garlic powder)
1 pound ground turkey
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 dash salt
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream

Added:

1 can of corn

1/2 can of black beans

Cinnamon to taste

Chicken broth to make it less thick and add flavor

1/2 bag of chili powder seasoning

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

{ For more tips and details, find recipe here }

Cannons

The week before Halloween we got to spend a couple days in the parks with the Cannon family (Brody's family from UT). It was so fun to finaly get to spend some time with them! We loved spending those days with them---and we got to go to Mickey's Trick or Treat party with them! It was a blast!

top left: Julian the pirate on a cannon...get it? ; )

top left: This group was the Electrical light parade. It was awesome!

top right: Julian, Richard and Gracie

We had a lot of fun on pirate island!

Enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Blue Bayou!

We headed over to DCA, and Crush picked Gracie as his first person to talk to! It was so fun!

bottom left: Gracie and I with our Minnie ears! : )

Such a fun group!! Thank you for letting up tag along! Hope to do it again soon!

We love you guys!!

iPhotos

Here is another post of photos from my iPhone...

A couple months ago I got to watch my friend Camille's little girl Gabby. It was so fun to spend some time with her....and she looked too cute napping not to get a pic!

This is Jeff and Brody after moving Jeff and Camille's stuff back here to Orange County. It was a long day! haha

One of my favorite things. : )

Jeff Lewis from Bravos 'Flipping Out' at one of my Dad's accounts in LA. He came in with his assistants and He and I exchanged "Hellos". His show is one we have watched from the beginning, it was so fun to see them in person!

I caught this happy face firework on one of our Sunday drives to watch the Disneyland fireworks! : )

About a month ago we had record breaking highs! We couldn't believe how hot is was. It never gets this hot in Irvine.

We ate at the Crab Cooker with my family and all the couples who were here for the Mission reunion. Even though I'm not a fish eater, I love this place.

As you can see, I don't really like that idea : )

Right now you can see the Christmas all set up in the back lot at Disneyland. Can't wait for the park to be dressed up for Christmas!

Lunching at Pinks in LA last week. Yummm...

Disneyland fireworks Halloween night.

At Grauman's Chinese Theater in LA this past week...

That's all for now.... : )

Dallinland

We had such a blast with the Dallin's (my cousins from UT). It was a couple of the most fun days we have had in the parks in a long time. We just instantly fell in love with their family and are SO glad we got to spend this time together and make these wonderful memories!

The kids just loved the rockets! : )

(Top right: Stacy and Ronan---Love that photo)

Top left: Brody, Taylor and Kaden. Right: Annah in Wonderland Left Middle: David and Ronan

We spent some time back in the petting zoo by Big Thunder....I had no idea that was still back there.

We all got ice creams and it was so hot (and the ice cream wasn't too hard to start with), we had to eat them quickly before they melted. Ronan had some fun with that : )

Brody and Ronan waiting for Turtle Talk to start...

We were all just so cute, Disney decided to package us to sell. : )

This was my first time on the Silly Swings. They were so much better than I expected....just wish it were a longer ride.

(top left: Annah)

It was a warm day, and when we came across the water area in bugs land the boys took the opportunity to cool off! (as you can see bottom right) : )

Two of my favorite photos here; David and Annah (top right) and Brody and Ronan (bottom left)

We still can't believe we got everyone on Tower of Terror!! Some liked it a little less than others ; )

Day 2: Back to the rockets! : )

We did splash, and got SOAKED! I'm pointing to Annah, who is down there somewhere : )

The boys on Thunder Mountain. (left middle: Taylor, Kaden, Ronan and Brody)

After Splash we got some treats, and after that, Ronan fell asleep at Haunted Mansion : )

It was such a blast and we hope to do it all again soon!!

Thank you for a great couple of days! We love you guys so much!! : )

Conference weekend...

This past General Conference weekend Brody and I flew to Utah to meet my parents, who were there for my Dad's 30th Mission Reunion for the Christchurch, New Zealand Mission. We had been a part of some of the festivities here in CA and wanted to be a part of more, and take the opportunity to see a session of conference live!

The day we got there we went right from the airport to the church building where they were having lunch and a testimony meeting. The testimony meeting was amazing! It was so great to hear all the former missionaries bear their testimonies of their mission and their love for President and Sister Phil Sonntag. Over 300 people were there for the reunion!

After the testimony meeting, we all headed straight to the Salt Lake Temple and did a session. That was nothing short of amazing! It was so special to be back in the temple we were married doing a session! I loved every sec of it! : )

We stayed at the Little America, and I just fell in love with this hotel! It was luxurious, but at the same time felt like you were in a Cary Grant movie or I Love Lucy episode. You just feel like you have stepped back in time. : )

We met a small reunion group of close friends at 'The party house" for lunch and to watch the Saturday session of Conference. The house they rented had a basement with a full on velvet curtained home theater! Some of us watched conference down there on the BIG screen, and took a little nap! : ) At this lunch, they made the meal that they all remember Sister Sontag making for them at the Mission Home. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and peas. It was SO good!

Saturday night we dropped the guys off at the Conference center for Priesthood and we went to do a bit of shopping at Deseret Book and the Sweet Tooth Fairy (they were giving away free mini cupcakes for ladies night)! After we picked up the guys again, we all drove up to Park City to eat at The Main Street Pizza & Noodle Co. that has been our favorite place to eat in Park City for many years! : )

Sunday Morning, we picked up AD and drove out to visit with Grandma Shannon and family! It was so much fun to see everyone!

Sunday afternoon's session! : )

Being at conference was amazing! When President Monson walked in, everyone got super quite and stood up, the spirit was so strong! It is a TOTALLY different experience to be there live, we loved it so much!

After conference was over we spent some time on Temple Square!

(The Plaza is where I spent the night before our wedding, and JB's is where my friend Malia and I went for breakfast the morning of the wedding) : )

We took a little drive to find Brody's Grandfather's gravesite, and also found Pres. Hinckley, Taylor, Grant, McKay and more. It was pretty cool, and being at Hinckley's was a bit emotional, it's still seems so fresh and it's still kinda sad not hearing from him at Conference.

Our last night there we went over to The Grand America, where we stayed the night of our wedding to looked around a bit more. It's such a beautiful hotel!!

(Brody showed me the little flower shop where he got the roses he surprised me with the morning after our wedding. I still have them at my desk at home) : )

We had a little too much fun at the hotel.....but thats nothing new! : )

We came home to rain! And got to walk off the plane on to the tarmac for the first time in a long time! That was pretty fun! : )

It was such a fun trip, we had a blast!!

We are SO glad we decided to follow them up to UT! : )