TWILIGHT!!

Oh yeah! Twilight is finally out and I went and saw it Friday morning 12:10 am. I really liked the movie! It definatley lacked on the love story (which is why the book is so good)- but I was happy to see the movie! I wasn't so sure about Robert Pattinson playing the perfect man Edward but now I love him! Thanks to all the gals who came - and who wore the I Heart Edward shirts - keep them for the next one! Can't wait to see "New Moon"

Happy Halloween

Can you believe Halloween is already over?? I was excited this year to dress up Walker, especially now that he can walk! Before he was born I saw this cute chicken costume at Old Navy and I wanted to buy it. But I didn't. Luckily my sister-in-law Jill did! So I borrowed it from her. Walker looked so cute in it. It was so funny to watch him walk - he is still a little wobbley so it added that perfect touch to the costume. We did pictures with the Mauss grandkids at Enghs Gardens. Great place. Halloween day was crazy, but we went to Jake's work, with my older sister to trick-or-treat at Jordan School District (highly recommend- Great candy there), to my parents, to our neighbors for a great soup dinner, then finally out to do some trick-or-treating. Walker only lasted a few houses and he was done wearing his costume (can you blame him?) But it was fun. I love handing out candy and seeing all the creative costumes. Here are a few pictures:

This is the best picture I got of all the kids. How Cute!! Annie was Hannah Montana. I loved the wig. Jackson was the red powerranger, Walker the chicken, Bowen a dog, and Luke a monkey. Cute bunch of kids!

Just chillin in his chicken costume!

Going Domestic!

I had a great opportunity last week to can applesauce. I have never canned anything before so I was really looking forward to it. My cute neighbor, Tricia, has a red delicious apple tree in her front yard. So she provided the apples and jars and I provided the kitchen. We had such a great time. It took us from 9:30 to 4:00. We ended up getting 28 jars done. I really felt like a pioneer - canning my own food for my food storage! Walker loves applesauce so I am excited for him to eat it. It is all natural. She dosen't spray her tree for worms and we didn't add anything to the mixture. Thanks to Denise for coming upstairs and helping us. You saved us so much time!

Here is the process:

Cut up apples - we cut up two tubs of apples. You just cut them into quarters. You can even leave the core it will be discarded later.

Boil the apples - dump the cut up apples into a big pot and put it on the stove. You only want the water about 1/4 the way up the pot you don't want it to cover the apples. Cook the apples until they are soft to the touch - the softer the better.

Smash the apples- Tricia has this really cool masher. You put the apples in the top and shove them down with a mallet while the other person turns the handle. As you turn the handle the machine separates the core from the good stuff. and then you have applesauce!

Can the applesauce - make sure your cans are VERY clean. We even put them in the oven while we made the applesauce so they would stay warm and not collect any bacteria. Fill the jars, put them in the big pot - shut the lid - boil them for 20 minutes so they seal and WA LA - you have applesauce!!

Denise and Tricia cutting the apples. There were a ton of them! The first batch of apples waiting to get soft!

The finished product. Yummy! Can't wait to do it next year!!