Halloween Party #1

Happy Halloween! We are Princess Peach, Mario and...

little Luigi!

I love dressing up! I love our costumes this year. Isnt Baxter's just the most adorable? We've made him wear it all week cuz its so cute. We found it on etsy.com and Matts off ksl.com and mine from Toys R Us. We had such a fun party at Chad and Melinda's on Friday night. We played games, hung out and ate lots of festive food and candy. Thanks for planning the party Melinda!

I made the veggie dip with the carrot hand from an idea in the Family Fun Magazine. I made the Ranch dip with sour cream and then peeled 5 carrots and put almond slices for the fingernails. This was served with baby carrots and snap peas.

I made the yummy Halloween chex mix. How? 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 white karol syrup, 1 cup packed brown sugar, mix those 3 and melt in microwave, put 1/2 cup pecans, 1/4 cup almond slices and 12 oz of chex mix cereal on a cookie sheet and poured the butter/syrup/sugar mix on top. Baked in the oven at 275 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 min. Then when all done add candy corn and brown and orange M&Ms. Delicious!

The spiders are oreos with 1/2 pretzel each for the 8 legs and raisin eyes stuck on with peanut butter. All in all I was very happy with my Halloween snacks and treats. They even tasted good.

My nieces and nephews are soo adorable. I love my family- everyone looked so great in their costumes. It was a blast!

I got surgery on my leg on Friday and it bled on my costume :( But I'm feeling better. I have 3 stitches and no more weird lump by my knee.
On a more uplifting note I finished the book Hunger Games. Well I dont know if thats uplifting haha 22 kids dying and the love triangles...
It was soo good. Except for now I have to read the second one because the end leaves you wondering. I started Catching Fire today. Thank goodness for the Kindle app on my phone. Oh yeah. I got a new phone. the iPhones were too expensive for my work so we got Tmobile Samsung Vibrant, Galaxy S- and I actually love it.
I cut my bangs...still deciding if I like them or not. Matt, Baxter and I have been having a great weekend and love the rainy, fall weather. I love Halloween and its the first holiday that I've decorated our little apartment. We have 2 more parties next weekend and might go to frightmares or a haunted house. Thats all for now folks...until next time.

Week away from home

Matt's parents were so lucky to go on a Cruise up the East Coast to Canada and then to New York. We stayed at their house while they were gone and our dogs, Baxter and Milo, LOVE each other. They love playing together and here is a cute video-

They played tug-o-war with a sock. I knew I should take it away so the scok wouldnt get destroyed but it was just too cute- so I sat back and watched them til the sock was indeed destroyed. They are so cute. I love doggies.

Last week I went to lunch with Melinda, Mikell and Kenzie at Buca de Beppo. It was delicious and fun. Sorry we missed Kenzie's birthday party! But here are some cute pictures of her-

Happy 1st birthday Kenz!

On the way home from work the other day I saw this---

I was like AHH what the heck. I'm glad people still get into Holidays. I love October and I love Halloween!

♥ Cedar City ♥

Matt and I had such a fun weekend down in Cedar City! Friday we saw the movie RED with Sabrina, Tim and Austin. On Saturday I went to the Parade with lots of friends in Alpha Phi. We really got into it and got lots of candy. Sarah, Whitney, me, MichelleSUU won the football game! Good job.

After the parade Jessica, Sabrina, Jackson, Carson and I went to the Pastry Pub for lunch. I love my sisters and nephews! I love all my family!

Jackson and Carson loved Sabrina's roommates room! and super hero stuff.

That night we had Alpha Phi Alumnae Tea. Everyone looked so cute in their "tea party" hats and dresses.

Noel, me, AshleyMy A-Phi family- Kaily, Kady, Me, Nicole

Look how many alumnae came. It was a great turn out and fun to get to know some incredible new women. I love Alpha Phi! Jenny, me, Whitney

It was so fun to get together with all my friends, especially all the girls that have graduated and were at SUU when I joined Alpha Phi.

Saturday night was a BLAST! Matt, Tim, Austin, Sabrina, Kady and I went to this awesome tunnel up the mountain with a river running through and we hiked up the tunnel. It was so adventurous...(I'm sad we forgot to take pictures.) Kady and Sab are two of my favorite people and Tim and Austin are some of Matt's best friends so it was so great. The next day Matt said "That was so fun last night. Did you have fun?" about twenty times. We loved it and miss Cedar City. We'll come again.

Top Reasons to have a DOG

BAXTER COLUMBUS ROMERO

Black Toy Poodle. 5 pounds. Born April 9, 2010.

Playful. Lovable. Explorer. Best Friend.

1. He is SO friendly! Before I had Baxter I met probably 3 people at our apartment complex. Now I know about 30 friends and neighbors. They all know Baxter by name and love him. It’s so easy to meet people and make friends when you have an adorable dog. He always goes on walks with me.

2. He is a great companion. He cuddles with me when I watch TV, when Matt is working, on his computer or in the bath. Baxter is so soft and makes me feel so happy.

3. He is the best dog in the world. He doesn’t bark. He is excited to see me when I come home from work. He sits on my lap when I drive. He obeys when we tell him to sit, come and lay and love his treats. (Poodles are one of the most trainable breeds and very intelligent.)

4. He makes me laugh. A lot. I love when he gives me kisses, when he tackles his ball or bone, brings pinecones in the house, barks at himself in the mirror, races around the apartment or anything adorable that he does.

5. He helps me appreciate things more. He helps me appreciate Matt when he takes him out to go potty, especially when I’m too tired. Baxter always stops to smell the roses, leaves, bushes, grass, dirt, yes everything. I cant be mad when I'm around Baxter because he's just too cute and lovable.

Besides my wonderful husband, Baxter is my favorite thing in the world.

I love him. He's the BEST dog ever!

Oh yeah, we won some little stuffed animals at Boondocks and he LOVES the monkey. Its hilarious. I'll have to take a picture or video. He loves to play and can also be very relaxed and comfortable. We love our little baby! (My dad kinda makes fun of us and says he has a grand-dog because we treat him like a little child haha) He really is part of the family.

Brazilian Coxinhas

The Coxinha (co-sheen-yuh) is a popular Brazilian snack. It's made from shredded chicken and spices, enclosed in batter made from flour, potatoes and chicken broth and then covered in bread crumbs and deep fried. They are delicious!!

This is what our kitchen looked like afterwards... and we didnt even get in a flour fight haha.

What a mess!?!?! Matt is a great chef!

Matt has been home from Brazil for over a year now. He loves the Brazilian food. Brazilians must be very talented cooks because it took us not 1, not 2 but 3 tries to make coxinhas. [I wanted to quit trying but Matt insisted that we could do it and I'm glad we tried again- it's not so bad now that we know how. And it was well worth it!!]
The final product was delicious! and we took them to his families the next day for Sunday dinner. Last Sunday after General Conference we had a favorite foods dinner at Matt's grandparents house and both Matt and Lauren wanted to take Coxinhas for their favorite food. They were a great hit and easier to make this time. It takes practive to be a good cook- right?The first time we tried to make them was a few weeks ago at Scott and Jessica's house (they turned out to be a runny mess and we threw them out). Scott made really good Brazilian style hot dogs- where you put mashed potatoes, chips, corn, peas, right inside the bun with your hot dog. They were good. We also played a game and it was fun hanging out. Matt, Me, Jessica Carson, Baxter, Jackson
My nieces and nephews are so cute and good with the dog. We love him.
It was fun learning how to cook a new food and it tasted so authentic and delicious!