(Another) Trip to Cali

Last weekend (I'm behind - I mean the weekend of the 19th) we went to California for our friend's surprise birthday party on Friday night. Mike is Jeff's best friend from growing up, and a bunch of their old friends from Yucaipa were at the party. It was hilarious to hear all of their stories from high school. Jeff's parents watched the kids that night, and they were nice enough to watch them again Saturday morning so Jeff and I could go to the Redlands Temple.

Saturday afternoon we met some of Jeff's friends at the apple orchards in Oak Glen. Lexi was so excited to wear a balloon hat and ride on a little choo-choo train.

Sunday we went to church and had dinner with Jeff's family then drove down to San Clemente to stay with Mike & Lindsay. On our way down, we got kicked off the road due to a fire burning on a hill to the side of us. (This was the start of the fire that was in Orange County). It was pretty scary to see such a big fire burning so close to us and know that if the winds changed, it could head our direction at any time.

Monday we woke up and there was tons of smoke outside from all of the fires. Despite the poor air quality, we decided to head to Disneyland as planned. Jeff and I finally redeemed our annual passes that his parents had given us. We spent most of the day at California Adventure, which I had never been to. Loved it! They have the best roller coaster I have ever been on, and we loved Soarin' Over California, the Bug's Life kids rides, and the Maliboomer. Lexi was hilarious dancing with the Miner 49's band. They asked kids to come up and learn a dance. She didn't follow instructions like the other kids, of course. Instead, she just pushed her way to the front of everyone and just danced around. It was hilarious! She stole the show! We stayed until around 8:00pm, and by that time Jeff, Lexi, and I were exhausted...but Jackson was somehow wide awake! Where do kids get their energy from???

Jeff had to work the next morning, so we drove home that night. Due to the fires, the I-15 was closed, so Jeff and I had to drive through an alternate route which didn't get us home until 2am. We were dead, but it was such a fun weekend, and we can't wait to go back to Cali for Thanksgiving.

Friday night we took the kids to a pumpkin patch.

Jackson hung out with Jeff

while Lexi got to go on rides!

He was still happy!

I attempted to get a cute shot of the kids with the pumpkins, but this is the best I could do with my SLOW camera (after which I informed Jeff that I need a new one!)

Saturday night we took the kids to the BYU/UNLV game. It was Jackson's first football game, and he loved it!

We were all happy that BYU won!

And Sunday, we went to church.

Fall Treats

Last night we had a meeting at my house for a Music Makers group we're starting. I though it was a perfect excuse to make some yummy treats! I served Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust. Yum! I especially loved the crust! I found a few recipes off of allrecipes.com that I combined to come up with this:

Crust:
1 1/2 c. gingersnap crumbs
3 T. brown sugar
6 T. melted butter

Mix and press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan.

Cheesecake:
2 packages cream cheese
3/4 c. sugar
1 (16oz) can pumpkin
1 1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
2 eggs

Beat cream cheese and sugar. Add pumpkin and spices and mix. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Pour onto crust. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Chill overnight.

Top with a layer of homemade whip cream (add sugar and vanilla to taste).

NOTE: I thought the cheesecake could be a little bit sweeter. I think next time I try it, I'll increase sugar.



I also served Carmel Fondue with apples and banana slices. This recipe has been a favorite for years, and it's so easy.

1/2 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. karo syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Warm almost to a boil to melt sugars. Add vanilla.

Weekend Fun

Friday night we had a ward luau. We dressed the kids up for it, and it was a lot of fun to eat and hang out with our friends. Lexi loved it. She danced up front during all of the musical numbers they had. And she found a few packages of butter that she thought was some type of dip, and she went to town! I think she was on her second package when we found her. Yuck!



We spent most of Saturday and Sunday watching general conference (which was great! I loved so many of the talks and felt really inspired to live better.), but Saturday night we went out with our friends to Tony Romas, since they had some all-you-can-eat ribs special. Halfway through the meal we piled all of our bones on one plate, and we were amazed at what we had eaten. Kris and I tied for the most with 2-3/4 racks of ribs each! I think we're all done with ribs for a long time!