It's Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year to start baking up goodies and we celebrate lots of birthdays starting in October. (Jeff for starters....) My favorite flowers are mums and if you cut them back early spring, they will bloom during fall! Love them.... Halloween time, gives me an excuse to dress up & be crazy! Fall is a fun family time in my kitchen, Brooke helped with dinner this week and wanted to share this recipe! Enjoy, it's one of her favs! SOUR CREAM NOODLE BAKE

1 8 oz. package of noodles

1 lb. ground beef

1 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 16 oz. carton sour cream

6 green onions, chopped

3/4 cup shredded cheese
Cook noodles according to package. Rinse and Drain. Brown meat and drain off fat. Add pepper, garlic salt and tomato sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Next, chop green onions. (Brooke's favorite part)Add green onions and sour cream to your noodles. Layer noddle mixture and beef.Top with Cheese and Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.

Boys Working Hard

I am really excited about this post because it means that I can finally say those words I've longed to hear myself say....our fence project is underway. Yes, even with all the long hours/hardwork/running back and forth, we cannot wait for the end result!

Blaine is at his comfort zone when he is with his daddy, busy in the dirt. Blaine loved breaking open the bags of concrete. I was the supervisor (aka - driver and I cleaned up their mess).

Can't say enough about my brother & friends for lending their expertise and time this past weekend to help get this all started!!

School "ROCKS"

After hunting Miley this morning.....it's an every other day thing with her as she likes to run and chase the birds/rabbits/trash blowing in the wind.....we headed to school 5 min. before 8. Love small town Bushland USA, takes 3 min to get to school!

Blaine's first day in Kindergarten went very well. We are both in LOVE with Mrs. Riggle. Blaine gets his stitches out today! YEAH! My little Blaine is not so little....stop growing so fast please!

Brooke just shines around her friends and cannot wait to see her grow even more in 4th Grade! It's her last year in Elementary, glad that she & Blaine will be at the school together this year...my little girl is growing up!

She told Jeff to wake her up at 6 so she could do her hair. After flat ironning, we ended with a side messy bun and head band. I do not have any opinion on her hair or clothes...it's all Brooke. I miss those days but can't complain at her independence! Very proud of her!

Team #8

What a weekend of wonderful blessings all around us! We couldn't get to everything and the next two weekends are just as full!

Xcel Lineman's Rodeo started out Thursday afternoon preparing for Cooking Team #8 to STOMP the competition! We had over 150 lbs of potatoes for Jeff's homemade fries. They started at 4:30 AM Friday and starting cooking fries from 3:00 to 9:00. I had to show up TWICE during the day just with ice or other items we ran out of. It was worth it all as the guys WON 1st Place and the "TAILGATE TITLE". Already planning for next year to stay CHAMPS! This event is new and will be open to the public so hopefully everyone can come next year and cheer them on!

While we were busy with the competition, Kevin Henry was awarded his Diploma from Wayland Baptist University. We were sorry we couldn't be there but already seeing wonderful things happening for Kevin and this is one more accomplishment to be proud of!

Lastly, Saturday from 9am to 10 pm we held the 100th Year Anniversary of the RUTHART FAMILY Reunion (now "officially" the "RU" UNION). I've had the pleasure working on the reunion committee for two years now and it was another successful reunion with over 75 people attending in Canyon, TX. We even held Minute to Win It games for the kids to challenge the adults. It was an hour of fun the kids were very proud to participate in for prices!

Lake Fun

My kids are a little wild on the lake, that doesn't surprise me any.....Jeff and I are a little more careful now, my body just doesn't "recover" as easy as it used to! Had a blast at Lake Texoma for the 4th with Josh pulling the kids on the tubes! He has an awesome ski boat! Mom & WD's new Pontoon was like a PARTY on the water and provided plenty of SHADE. It was a hot July 4th!

Blaine & Breanna on the "HOTDOG" Tube (yes, Blaine is standing up)

Brooke's Cake Boss Party Pics

Saturday night we celebrated Brooke's 9th birthday with a CAKE BOSS Party Theme! We used the kitchen island for our different icing / decorating "Stations". The girls were great little bakers and decorators! The glitter icing didn't harden real well so we won't recommend that next time. Funny though, one of my favorite ones decorated by Maddie was white with pink icing that just said "HI". I ate that one! We used Strawberry Cake and Confetti Cake with cream cheese icing for our cake balls. YUMMY! We made two batches, the first one for all the party guest and then the last batch was for the girls to take home in their own goodie bags! We didn't get finished with our 2nd batch until 2 am...we had to stop a few times to dance as the girls put on a NEON DANCE-A-THON at midnight! What a fun age for a slumber party and I can't wait to do it again!

Sunday was Father's Day and Jeff was called out to work at 5 AM so I lacked a little sleep...but once the girls all got up, I had them pick out their favorite treat! We wrapped each one up so they could write a note and give to their Dads! They were so proud!

Making the Bed

So the kids are starting to make their beds in the morning and Blaine really takes this seriously! Over the past few weeks, I've discovered Brooke just throws her bed together....litteraly...she is such the Pre-Preteen! Blaine, however, takes about 15 minutes and makes sure his sheets are straight and this morning cracked me up so I just had to share!

Alex is his White Tiger that is blind and missing a nose. HE ADORE's this little guy and this morning he was part of his "make the bed" routine!

I love this guy! Makes my heart smile....

It's worth the wait

Well we are mostly all moved in and had a wonderful night sleeping in our new home after a little dinner and family relaxation! Jeff was called out to work due to the wind and fire in Dumas but friends came to my rescue to help put my bed and dresser together. I couldn't imagine my life without your support and love! I wanted to post a few pics of projects I've been working on for the house - we refinished an old table for Brooke's room (used to be my Aunt Connie's over 12 years ago and may have gave $5 for it)??? I'll take Aunt Connie's hand-me-downs anytime!

Here's my recent "bargain" from Antique Shopping - an old chair for my porch and in PERFECT condition.Recovered this old antique stool for my bathroom vanity

BEFORE PIC

AFTER PIC

My Cowboy Coffee sign I've had for months waiting to put it up in my new house (looks great above my antique Hutch) that I refinished a few years ago!

Lastly, here's Blaine's bathroom all finished and Cowboy Perfect!

Come out and see us, we'd love to have you visit our "It's worth the wait" Henry Home!

March Birthday fun Friday night with a concert with friends and celebrated Brooklyn turning 4 at Discovery Center. We loved the Dinosaur exhibits and playing around on Saturday. We ended our weekend with "SAND LOADS" of fun working on our barn. We shoveled about 5 hours worth of sand filling our 4 horse stalls. The doors got put up before we could use the tractor to spread it, luxury of Jeff being out of town. Great news though, he'll be in Canyon/Amarillo area most of the summer!

Kids in The Kitchen

Wouldn't be Valentine's around my house without a few special treats and it's even more special having the kids join the FUN!

Valentine Chex Mix

Box of Honey Nut or Rice Chex cereal

1 cup white vanilla baking chips (Blaine keeps asking where I put the leftover bag)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup of Valentine M&M's

1/4 cup of sprinkles

Directions:

In a small bowl, place baking chips, peanut butter and butter and melt in microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Stirring every 20 seconds until melted and smooth. Pour box of cereal in a large bowl or container and pour butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Place 1/2 the mixture in a large zip lock bag and add powdered sugar. Seal bag and toss until evenly coated. Spread on wax paper or foil and let sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir in candies and sprinkles into remaining cereal in your container or large bowl. Mix well and spread on waxed paper or foil to cool for 15 minutes. Mix both cereal mixtures together and store in airtight container.

Brooke took this to her school party with a wooden spoon and valentine ziplock baggies (Dollar Store) so everyone could take a spoonful home as their Valentine Treat.

SNOW DAY = LOTS OF FUN

Spent the day sledding with cousins! Here's a cute picture of Crockett & Blaine (little dare devils)We worked up an appetite and ate at Jorge's Mexican Restaurant...yummy... tried out the new 4WD in an empty parking lot doing a few donuts! Upon returning home and putting on dry clothes, the kids filled a bowl with fresh snow and we made Homemade Snow Ice Cream! It was a great Wednesday.

Castle Time

We created a castle over the weekend for Brooke's 3rd grade school project. One of her favorite TV shows is Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss. Poor Blaine, his sister talks the show up like, "Blaine they are going to make a space ship out of cake" so I think he's just as hooked as she is now. So, we got some ideas from the show and decided to tackle our castle "Cake Boss Style".

First, we took 25 rice crispies and molded them, cut them, shaped them, colored them and about 100 toothpicks later - Walla!

The castle gate is made from Popsicle sticks painted brown and glued together.

Drawbridge is held up with paperclips and string.

Can you find the queen of the castle? We taped a picture of Brooke in the window of the "Tower" made of marshmallow.

Flagpole was made with dad's creative pocket knife work.

Blaine helped paint the water and make the crocodile. What's a castle without a crocodile right! It was a fun project and smelled Delicious!

New Year

My New Year started off with a NEW RING and I couldn't have been more surprised. I lost my ring in my apartment 5 months ago and searched high & low only to finally admit it was LOST...I wore an old fake one for the longest and hated it...just felt wrong? Jeff took the kids shopping and they presented it to me the morning of Christmas Eve. I love it! If I find my old one I plan to do something really special with it for Brooke's 16th birthday? Mom put her rings together and made me a pendant that I absolutely love and gave it to me for my 21st birthday. I still remember it and love something old turned into something new. Maybe why I love painting furniture so much...
Staying busy with the house so - in less than 90 days - we hope to be moving in. Starting the barn this week and Jeff decided to put a shower in it? To wash the dogs and horse blankets...really? I'll be washing them and a water house would've worked just fine and not have to clean another shower? Making decisions on the house has really surprised me - I usually over analyze everything - but with the house it has been easy. Sheryl - my Amarillo Mom that I've adopted - aka Shane Woodard's mom - is my go to girl on my final color combinations since Jeff is color blind. I'll picture something in my head, run it by her and she helps make it happen. Having someone like her at this final stage is a blessing! We finish each others sentences and I just love her.
Cabinets are being stained, lights and appliances have been ordered, paint has been picked out and I'm thinking of painting a wall ZEBRA in my laundry room? I know crazy right....but cannot wait to move in!

OBD!!!

OBD - Oh Breaking Dawn, are you ever going to be here??? I think I'll re-read the book after my friend Tracy sent me this picture. It's not from the "movie" but I can imagine some beach scenes now.....

Back to BootCamp

Fall is here and I am getting back into our routines since school started. Our weekly practices now include 2 hours Basketball. Homework luckily hasn't been so bad but heard 4th and 5th grade is a whole new ballgame. Our dinners have been on the fly lately so eating healthy is not working out for me. I try to get my good healthy meal in for lunch and totally bomb with my dinner choice (Sonic and Taco Villa).

I got a bright idea that I would get back to my BootCamp routine this week as we have mostly been doing the 5k workout the past few months. Cardio is great but the muscle and fitness challenge was missed, WELL UNTIL THIS MORNING.

My Morning Recap: I woke up this morning with a little soreness in some muscles I haven’t used in a while.

Then, reality hits, I raise to get out of bed and have a flashback of SUMO something I hope to never see again….

It hurts to squat to the sitting position, once I have finally made it to my chair,

I find “relief” and hope I don’t have to get up anytime soon…

Fun, Food & Rides

It's Fair Time!

We couldn't help but spend Sat night out with family and friends at the Fair for some Fun, Food & Rides. I couldn't hardly wait to get my annual cheese on a stick and giant corn dog..to then finish the ride home with a funnel cake! Brooke started making the "vomit" face about half way through the Pirate Ship Ride...she's the top right hanging on for dear life as Cayla and Ashtyn can't get enough.

Surf's Up or should I say down...Blaine had so much fun this year because he was tall enough to ride most of the rides. These were just a few of his favorites!

Before I Eat

Brooke's Grasshopper Pie

Brooke's third grade teacher, Mrs. Brown, has extra books in her room she allows the kids to checkout - and Brooke came home with a cookbook. The teacher joked with her that she needed to bake her a pie and that is exactly what Brooke picked out to make. Today, she delivered a special piece to Mrs. Brown.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 ou.) package of cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 (8 ou.) tub whipped topping, thawed

1 cup chopped Keebler Fudge Shop Grasshopper Cookies
3-4 drops of green food coloring

1 Chocolate Pie Crust

DIRECTIONS:
Mix Cream Cheese and Sugar with an electric mixer until well blended.

Fold in whipped cream

Add chopped cookies (we placed cookies in a small Ziploc bag and chopped in small pieces using a measuring cup)Add your chopped cookies and food coloring, lightly stir until blended.

Spoon into Pie Crust.

Chill for 3 hours or overnight.

Big Boy Bike

What good is it to have a bike and no where to ride....we picked up Blaine's bike that we were keeping at Sharon's and brought it out to Carl's (where we have the horses turned out). This gave Blaine a chance to ride all day! He was so excited when Dad took off his training wheels and proud to have a big boy bike!

Goodbye Summer, Hello School Year!

Even though summer at the pool has been fun, we are ready for Fall and Football! Our house is about to be underway as we made final preps with the builder yesterday to get our Appraisal started and get to go from there. I think we'll be taping off where the house will be this weekend so I am really really excited for this YEAR at Bushland! We had a great morning and just a quick little 20 min drive to the school was really nice. It gave us a chance to visit and prepare for our day. Bushland held a Pep Rally this morning for grades 1 - 8th in the Middle School Football Field. The Mascot "BLACKHAWK" was so funny and danced to Miley Cyrus with the Cheerleaders....Get your hands up and bobbing your head like ya....whatever...we all were singing along!

Big Boy started Pre-K at Bushland Elementary today. He loves his teacher and already made a few friends that will also join him in his after school care with Jennifer Albracht. We are so fortunate to have had the referrals and already have met some wonderful friends!

Here's Brooke and her new teacher, Mrs. Brown. We love love love her and were so excited that one of her friends, Claire McCown, was also in the same class this year! The girls ran Track together this summer and became good friends. They will start Volleyball next Monday and Brooke is ready to start! Go BUSHLAND!