I AM T H A N K F U L ! !

Isn't Thanksgiving a GREAT holiday?!? I love it! I love getting together and thinking of all the things I'm grateful for... like this guy- isn't he handsome in his headdress??

Seriously though, I am so THANKFUL for Kelly! He works so hard and is a terrific husband and father. He gets to have Lasik eye surgery at the end of the month and I am so excited for him!

So, for Thanksgiving this year we drove to Utah to be with my fam. We decided to drive through the night, and that was a dream come true! The kids slept for 8 of the 10 hour drive!! When we finally stopped the car (at 4am) Addison said "Are we there already?!? Like I said, it was a miracle and I vote that we drive through the night for all future trips!

The first evening we went to a great place called Jump on IT! It is a warehouse with wall-to-wall trampolines! The 'kids' loved it! and by kids, I mean Kelly, me, and EVERYONE who went! Laynie obviously had a great time... this brings up another 'thankful'- I am an thankful for Laynie, and at this moment I am thankful that she waited to get sick until AFTER our trip. (Poor girl has been sleeping now for almost 17 hours with only short wakeful moments to get a drink!) Laynie is a wonderfully sweet girl and is such a big help to me! We love you Laynie!

Addison also L.O.V.E.D. Jump on IT! and jumped all of his energy right out! I am so thankful for Addison! He is becoming such a great reader and it is so exciting for me to listen to him read a book and not even have to help him! (very much!) He is a good big brother and so fun to have around!

Woo! GO Mama! This picture can represent my "thankfulness' for a healthy body- I even landed that back flip!!

Thanksgiving morning it is a tradition in the Pickett household to play Soccer...so here's a little husband-wife action on the field! Kelly doesn't love soccer cause he's not as good at it as all the other sports in the world, but he was a 'good sport' and played hard to lead our team to victory!!

Miss Hailey watched the big game from the playground! I am THANKFUL for Hailey! Could there be a better baby? She is happy and easy-going, she is SILLY and makes us all laugh! She is Snuggley!! and she just learned to sing "I am a Child of God"- It's ADORABLE!!

Nope, I'm not giving Mary a hug, I am totally doing an illegal hold so that she wouldn't get the ball. Soccer is way more fun without all the rules :) I am thankful for my sisters!...and my brothers! We have a great family and I feel blessed for that!

The aftermath- It was a beautiful day!

And a family pic- Got to take advantage of Dad at every opportunity! Thanks Dad! I am Thankful for you!!

Thanksgiving table with our cute crafty place cards...I am thankful for DELICIOUS food!

This is Mt Timpanogos temple, where Kelly and I were married 7+ years ago. I love it. We went as a family on Friday and It was wonderful to be in the temple with my fam! I am Thankful for the Temple!!

Next activity for Friday was to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ditto! Grandpa recently had a stroke and we were thrilled to witness his recovery and to give both he and grandma some LOVE! I am THANKFUL for modern medicine that is a miracle in so many lives!!

After visiting grandma and grandpa, we rode TRACKS to temple square to see the lights! Addison and Laynie LOVED riding a train!

SO BEAUTIFUL!! and so Christmasy! I am THANKFUL for Christmas and how easy it is to think of the Savior during the season!

Me and Hailey waiting for the Train to take us back to our parking spot...Haley had a blue dum-dum...and then a blue tongue!

Friday night was our gift-exchange with the Picketts since we won't be together on Christmas... My mom gave each of us an ABELSKIVER pan!! Kelly and I were trying to look Danish...not sure why the look on my face equaled a Danish look in my mind...but we are REAL excited about our Abelskiver pan! I made them yesterday!

My mom made the girls these great nurses uniforms...almost identical to the ones she made for me and Becca 25 years ago! Laynie and Ella LOVED them and went around 'fixing' everyone all morning!

Saturday morning we went bowling at the Wilkinson Center! I am THANKFUL for BYU! It was so fun to be back on campus and walk through the Bookstore and all around the campus that was mine for 6 YEARS! It was a wonderful time of my life and I loved it!

Speaking of BYU, one of the highlights of the trip was going to the BYU vs Utah game! Not only did we go, but we got to sit on the front row at the 45 yard-line!!! (Thanks Casey!!) It was an exciting game and SO fun to be there with all the other screaming fans!!

Thanks family for a wonderful Thanksgiving trip!! Can't wait to see you all again at Casey's wedding!!

Oh how I LOVE a GREAT Deal!!!

I have been a little obsessed lately with good deals. There are 3 blogs I check most every day (http://www.fabulesslyfrugal.com/, http://www.fistfulofcoupons.com/, and http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/) to see what great deals I just can't miss. Today, as I left Rite Aid I was positively giddy! I just realized, maybe I have an addiction to good deals!! Every time I get one, I definitely experience a "high"-- oh great...I need counseling! But back to the deal- Rite was having 'Buy one get one free' on all Herbal Essence products, and from a blog I learned that there was also an Herbal Essence coupon for 'buy one got one free' in the paper. I don't even get the paper...but my ultra-couponer friend Sarah gets 4 newpapers!...she gave me her 4 coupons since she doesn't use Hearbal Essence. So, I bought 2 huge boxes of fruit snacks (75% off because they're Halloween shapes), one package hair bands, and 8 herbal essence products, all for $3.82! Amazing right?!? I almost felt like I was stealing! I love it!

In other news... Congrats little brother Casey!! He found his true love, Katalyn, and they are getting married in December! Yay!! That means a trip to Pennsylvania for the Ditto Family! We love you Casey and are so excited for you!

TRICK OR TREAT...

The new Faces of the Ditto Family!

Laynie and I were witches...interesting though that she had to wear a mask to be an ugly old witch and I, well I think I look just the part! Kelly was the Riddler from one of the batmans...Addison was a sweet skeleton, which costume I bought at a garage sale for $1 and Hailey's costume was even cheaper...I found at the consignment shop's $.25 sale! Oh how I love a good deal!

This picture demonstrates Hailey's OBSESSION with her daddy!! She L.O.V.E.S. daddy!! She is reaching out for daddy cause he's taking the picture...even two seconds away from him is clearly too much!

Hailey and our next-door neighbor were both little lions! So cute!

Here is the not-so-great-picture of the cousins just before we walked out the door to go trick-or-treating...no one wanted to hold still in that moment...wonder why?!?

Some of the Halloween treats at our hoppin party! YUMMY!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Dancing Queen!

Laynie performed her Halloween dance for us yesterday...it was a delight. She certainly does not mind being in the spotlight.

Why is she the only one spinning you wonder? I asked myself that question also...

She and her friend Kate were both witches!

And a bow at the end of course!!

In other news...can I just say that I am so thankful to have a friend who is a pediatrician who calls me in August to tell me to sign up for the H1N1 study THAT DAY! I did, and Addison and Laynie got the swine flu vaccine in the first part of September! Now almost everyone we know has had it (or something like it...) but my kiddos, nothing! Even KELLY was sick this week-- he was sure our house was freezing at one moment, and then he was sweating the next! He could do nothing but sleep for two whole days! But I still have healthy kids (knock on wood!) So, not only did the kids get vaccinated, "they" also got money! and no, I did not give it to them OR put it into their college funds (does that make me a bad mom?) but we DO contribute to their college fund every month :)

WE *** LOVE *** FALL!!!

We are soaking in the last few days of warm-ish weather! Hailey is obviously particularly happy to be outside! She continues to be the best and happiest baby around! She has started talking just like any other girl: non-stop! She has quite a few words that are very clear (At least to her family!) She LOVES her daddy and says that word the most, she asks for her "binker" (pacifier), she tells me she is "all done" when we're eating, and she tells Addison and Laynie to "STOP" when they are bugging her! But my favorite thing she has learned is to sing "oh, oh, oh, oh, ooohhh" in 'Welcome to the sixties' from the Hairspray album- It's Adorable!!

Don't you just want to eat her up?

My attempt at an "artsy" shot...go ahead and critique it dad...

Laynie is doing great with preschool and ballet...next week is their Halloween performance in ballet. We have seen little glimpses of the dance this week- it should be cute! Pictures to follow I'm sure...

Addison was so excited when the leaves started to fall- every year of his life we have raked leaves and jumped in them! The leaves that fall in this yard however are a far cry from the amount of leaves that fell in PA. But that didn't get him down, he raked and raked and....

JUMPED! Happy Fall!!

What's For Dinner?

The question "What's for dinner?" is not my favorite...only because it is almost always followed up with (imagine your whiniest whine...) "Ahhh mom, I HATE that dinner!" I've come to expect the response, and hardly ever anymore do I give the lecture about how 'when mommy works hard to make something yummy...blah, blah, blah.' At least when I expect a bad reaction, I am pleasantly surprised by the good ones! So, here is what WAS for dinner at my house last week, some of our FAVS!

Fettuccine Alfredo with grilled Chicken, Focaccia bread, and green salad
The recipe for the focaccia bread and the Alfredo sauce is most important here...everything else you can figure out I'm sure!

Focaccia Bread
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 TBS yeast
(let sit for a couple of minutes)
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp. salt
enough flour so it's not sticking to your hands
Let it rise until doubled, roll it out flat and sprinkle Olive oil and Parmesan cheese on top
Let rise again and bake hot= about 425-450 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes

Alfredo Sauce (my sister will cringe at this recipe...it's not for the health fanatic)
1/2 c butter
1/2 c cream
3/4 c Parmesan
Melt butter and cream together on low, add Parmesan and cook on low until completely melted, stir every couple of minutes.

Chicken Broccoli Soup in Homemade Bread bowls
The recipe for the bread bowls is the same as the focaccia bread, but instead of rolling dough flat, roll into medium-sized balls, let rise and then bake for about 15 minutes. After bowls have baked, carefully cut a circle shape off the top and then scoop out bread from the inside of the bowl with a spoon.

Chicken Broccoli soup
3/4 c butter
3/4 c flour
4-6 cups milk (depending on how thick you like it)
2-3 cups cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it)
1 head broccoli
2 chicken breasts
sat and pepper to taste
Bake and cube chicken breasts. Steam the broccoli and cut into small pieces. Melt the butter and whisk in the flour, add milk and cheese. Cook on low until cheese is melted. Add broccoli and chicken. Cook on low for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Rice and Beans
So easy, and so tasty! Warm up some black beans and put a couple of heaping spoons on top of some sticky rice. Pile high with cheese, tomatoes, green onions, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and crushed tortilla chips. This is my fall-back dinner when I only have a few minutes to come up with something! It will be ready to serve by the time the rice is done cooking!

Chicken Parmesan with fresh Marinara, Focaccia Bread and Green Salad

Usually a Sunday dinner, but it was Kelly's birthday!

Chicken Parmesan
Pound chicken breasts (or I like to use tenderloins) flat with a rolling pin. Dip in melted butter and then this mixture:
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 tsp. paprika
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Fresh Marinara (a great way to use up tomatoes from the garden)
1/4 c olive oil
20 medium-sized tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. salt
Blanch and skin tomatoes, (may also use canned tomatoes!) cut up and dump into olive oil. Add garlic, basil and salt. Cook, covered, on low for as long as you can. Then to thicken it up a bit, remove cover and boil until you reach desired thickness. Unbelievable taste!

Veggielicious Pizza with white sauce
I have lived Papa Murphy's Veggie Supreme since I had it for the first time. This is my attempt at re-creating it at home. The pizza crust is...you guessed it, the same recipe as the focaccia bread, just roll it out thinner.

White Sauce
1/4 c. Ranch dressing
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
Blend in Food processor or blender until smooth, spread over crust.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of sauce and then pile with favorite veggies: tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, artichoke hearts, spinach, etc. Top with another 1/2-1 cup mozzarella.

X-Country!

I'll admit that it took a long time for me to figure out why "X-country" meant "cross country," but I've got it now.

So when Addison brought home a paper about joining the cross country team, I was thrilled! I was feeling a little guilty about not having signed him up for soccer or T-ball or some other extra-curricular activity, and now here it was: one hour practices after school (requires no extra driving), 2 meets at the local park, and best of all? FREE!

Addison and 2 first grade friends before their first meet!

Out of about 35-40 first graders, Addison took 13th place! He would have done even better than that if he wouldn't have stopped 20 feet away from the finish line to wave at his mom who was video taping! GOOD JOB ADDISON!! We are proud of you!