Pumpkin Point Farms

Warning: This is a very picture heavy post. Just to let you know!

 One of my favorite fall traditions is taking the kids to a pumpkin patch. Isn't it everyones? If my Instagram feed is any indication then yes it really is. We have been taking the kids to the same one for  6 or 7 years. It is the best. It is called Pumpkin Point Farms. For locals it is at 11800 south and 3600 west.

It is row after row of pumpkins. They are already picked which I actually love. It is great to be able to just pick the pumpkins up and go. No fuss no muss. 

They have wheelbarrows that you can take with you to really load up! 

They even have wheelbarrows for the kids. Watching the kids trying to push the tiny wheelbarrows is so stinking funny! They try so hard to control them and they just can't. I wish I had a video of it because holy moly it is so cute. 

They have tons of photo ops set up which is great. Trucks full of pumpkins, Tow Mater, a horse trailer full of hay, piles of hay bails. And so on!

So cool!

On top of all the other photo ops they have a whole row of tractors that the kids can climb on. The tractors may be my kids favorite part. Can you tell? I mean Nicco doesn't even look kind of excited, emirate?!

I swear Lola liked being there. She has just gone into the stage of hating her picture taken. Lovely.

They also have two different corn mazes. One is pretty small and one loop so it is perfect for smaller kids. They also have a much larger one that is better for bigger kids. My kids did not like the big one! They cut through the corn to get out of it. Yeah my kids are THOSE kids. 

And last but not least Mater!

So cool! 

This is the gentleman that owns the pumpkin patch. The couple that owns the Pumpkin Point Farms are charming. Plus they really seem to appreciate having people come down to their patch. Oh and they do a hay ride from 5-7 every night. BTW. So fun! Everyone should check it out! Their prices are so reasonable and they are great people. Go local!

Peace Out- AnneMarie

Our Christmas Daily Advents-Making the Christmas Season More Memorable

A long time ago we were having the talk we always have with our kids to discuss last years Christmas to discover what worked and what didn't. (PS if you don't have this little talk you should!! It is amazing what is important to them and what we as moms and dads are doing that isn't necessary and can relieve stress by letting it go.) It became clear that when we discussed the presents/gifts they couldn't remember most if not all that they had received. This was less than a year before!! (in their defense  they were little but still....)

BUT

They could remember with some awesome clarity the things that we did together. 

Welcome to the birth of our

DAILY ADVENTS
(this is what we will be doing this year)

Nov 28: Decorating the house and tree

NOV 29: The Family Thanksgiving Dinner

NOV 30: Wisemen still seek him (FHE)

DEC 1: Make our advent calendars

DEC 2: Sign Christmas cards and Hot cocoa bar

DEC 3: Sibling shopping and Crazy candlelight  dinner

DEC 4: Read our fav Christmas stories

DEC 5: St Nicholas Shoes

DEC 6: Ward Christmas Party

DEC 7: First Presidency Devo and munchies

DEC 8: Northpole breakfast for dinner

DEC 9: Sing along

DEC 10: Make gingerbread houses

DEC 11: Eggnog and popcorn night

DEC 12: Ho Ho Someone or Toys for Tots shopping

DEC 13: The Forgotten Carols and dinner

DEC 14: FHE Lesson w the grandparents and   Christmas dinner

DEC 15: Elf on the Shelf Arrives (all 30 days was too much)

DEC 16: Make and deliver neighbor gifts

DEC 17: Random acts of kindness day

DEC 18: craft night and plant candy cane     seeds

DEC 19: jingle bell jaunt

DEC 20: baking and treat making day

DEC 21: Family Christmas Party

DEC 22: Saran Wrap ball

DEC 23: Jammie movie marathon and pizza party

DEC 24: Lunch out and movie, family puzzle           building, make cookies for santa.             finger foods, open jammies and a             family devotional.

There you go...What do you do to make the season memorable?? If you have questions on what any of these are feel free to comment!! We love nice comments from nice people!!

LOVES

Emily

Twas the Sunday Before Halloween

We decided to start a new tradition this Halloween. We have plenty of traditions for Christmas and even a few for Thanksgiving. Halloween kind of gets the shaft around here. So I decided that from here on out we will be doing a haunted Halloween dinner the Sunday before Halloween. This year we basically just threw it together so next year will be a little more epic!

Coming up with the menu and the names was my favorite part!

We ate earth worms! Have you seen those jello worms floating around the internets? They were cool looking but we will not be doing them next year. They were a whole lot of work. My thumbs started hurting from squeezing them out of the straws. All in all they were cool but not worth the effort. We will be getting a heart mold or something if we choose to do jello next year.

Next we had a garlic snake. You need some protection against vampires, right? I love garlic bread. It makes the meal complete.

Our main dish was bloody bones. Or baked pasta. The same recipe I have shared here. I added extra sauce so they would be extra bloody! We also had Witch Ashes or parmesan to sprinkle over the top. 

We ate ghost brains on the side. Or cauliflower as non-halloweenies would say. We also had goblin finger green beans. 

To finish out the meal we did bloody murder cupcakes. Box mix and store bought frosting to the rescue!

It was thrown together and we used a plastic tablecloth from Wal-mart but it was so fun! The kids absolutely loved it. They are currently planning our themed Christmas dinner. It was totally worth the effort. And we now have an instant tradition.

Health tip-Laughter is great medicine!!

I have Hidradenitis suppurativa. (hi-drad-uh-NIE-tis sup-yoo-ruh-TIE-vuh)Its a mouthful!! It will flare if I am under either physical or emotional stress. (and it is not pretty)  I have discovered that laughter is very much necessary for my own health and I need it every single day!!

Check out what laughter can do for you and me...

Laughter brings the mind and body back into balance.

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system.

Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart.

Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

I am very lucky to come from a very laughy (I think i just made up a word) family. Both my siblings and my children are some of the funnest and funniest people I know. My dad tells amazing jokes and my mom makes me giggle just by being her cute self. My hubby has a laugh that gets me laughing just because he is...even if I have no idea what he is laughing at. (who are we kidding it is me a good portion of the time with out me even trying. Just living. I seem to crack him up. No idea what I do, but it makes me so so happy to hear him laugh) 

Lets all keep laughing my friends! Its important!

I know I will and do!! 

Hidden Falls Hike

I mentioned a while back that my family made a goal to hike weekly. It has been fun adventuring a bit. The kids LOVE it! Being in the mountains and in nature seems to put them in awesome moods. Like woah! That is something I can really get behind. 

Here is one of our latest adventures. Hidden Falls! Now to say this is a hike would be a little bit of a fib. But dang it is pretty and totally worth doing. That being said it is more like a nature walk. Which I am totally down with. Hidden Falls is found up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It is a little bit hard to find. Anyone who has driven Big Cottonwood canyon is aware of that super tight S curve about 4 miles in. Right at the beginning of that curve is a little parking lot. Park there or along the road. You have to really watch for it or you will miss it! You can hear the falls from the road.

If you parked in the parking lot you will see these stairs. Go up those stairs and through the wooded area and then across the road. Yeah across the road! Needless to say you need to be extremely careful crossing that bit of road because the cars are going very fast down that patch. So be so careful. We ran across even though we didn't see any cars just in case. From that point it is pretty self explanatory. Follow the sounds of running water! 

My little adventurers at the beginning of the walk.

Nick climbing up and not being able to get down some rocks. HA!

This was their first glimpse at the falls.

It was a great little waterfall. And freezing cold! This is melted snowpack so it is very cold. So be prepared for that.

Facing the falls is a little rock face that my kids couldn't help but climb. Especially Lola. We lovingly refer to her as our little mountain goat. She just bounds up rock faces and mountains like a baby mountain goat.

To get to the falls you may have to get a little wet because you are walking up the creek to reach the falls. I was able to get up through to the falls without getting my feet wet but Nick and the kids all stepped in the creek. Make sure you wear shoes that you are okay getting wet! Be prepared for stepping in freezing cold water too. 

Getting to the falls is a little tricky. You will see these stairs to your right. Don't take them! Follow the path down to the creek. But really we want to go back and take those stairs. That path takes you to two different vista points. Maybe next time.

Of course on the way down we had to stop and enjoy the views. So beautiful! Nicco was in love with this canyon. It will be one we visit often because his reaction was awesome! He talked about how amazing it was and how he liked it so much. How it was the most beautiful place he has ever seen. It may sound weird but when he was talking about it it made my heart swell. It seemed to skip a beat. He is a tender boy and he sees the world in a different way. I will never forget his reaction. 

All in all a fun little adventure spot. It would be a great walk to do to wind down your day or get it started up the canyon. It was a great respite from the heat down in the valley! Have you been on any hikes lately? Were they family friendly? We are always on the lookout for fun family hikes! 

A camping hack!! What? No more dishes!! YES!

 Awh camp sweet camp....Our family loves camping!! We love being together and disconnecting from all the devices and truly enjoying each other. Look....we even carved our sentiments into the sand.  Awwwhhhhh......................................

Cute right?? Yep. I love camping BUT....I really hate (oh wait my mama told me not to say hate) OK...I really strongly dislike, with a passion, washing dishes while camping. Needless to say not ideal and kinda yucky actually.  Well....once again necessity being a mother...here is my solution. (with the help and giant brain of my cute hubs we make a great team he and I; I must say) 

First we added about half an inch to an inch of water to the bottom of our cooking pan.  Then we put a Reynolds crock pot liner (you know those things intended to keep your crock pot/slow cooker clean)into the bottom of the pot over the water like you see below.  As you can see, its not made to fit inside our smaller than a crock pot pan, but it really does work. I promise. I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking....

BEAUTIFUL!! 

Please note we have only tested this over the camp stove. No idea what other cooking methods would do....Enjoy!!

A kids dream summer activity and only a buck a kid!!

Shaving Cream WAR!!

Are you looking for something super fun to do this summer that won't break the bank? Why not a shaving cream war?? At only a dollar a can (we just do one per kid) it doesn't get much less expensive than that. We have been doing this since the summer of 2005 and only let the kids do it once a year to welcome in the summer. For good reason too it does a number on the hair but....they love it so its totally worth it!! 

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking....:)

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you do for inexpensive family fun??

Comment and let us know! 

We love to hear from nice people!