Thanksgiving, etc. with the Davis'

It's been a Davis-filled month, we celebrated Ariana's 10th birthday a few weeks ago & then wrapped things up with Thanksgiving at the grandparent's.

I always wanted an Easy-Bake oven....

Aiden & Aunt Anne

(not from either party but way too cute not to throw in here)

Olivia & Megan doing.... something?
(I think that Livvy looks like Yoda with my sweater on)

Aunt Jaime & Aiden crashed out on the couch

the kids paused mid dress-up games to make their turkey apples

Catching up: Thanksgiving

Ok, so I'm trying to make ammends for all the time I was MIA in the blogging world & hit a few highlights.
Rick's family came for Thanksgiving & there was much fun had by all.
Lots of cousin time, shopping, & Wii-playing all around.
Too bad they had to go home & we had to go back to our lives.

Look at our cute little decorations, aren't we festive?

Livvy, Ariana, & Carter.... the kids were all zoning out for cartoons in the morning while preparations got underway.

Trevor & his cousin Brandon, they look so much alike sometimes it's freaky.

Cousin-time at the park while the turkey finished cooking.

The ladies playing Wii, Mario Kart to be exact.

Olivia & her Ryan, she's soo in love with him. We adopted him for a few days while Jacqui & Brynnah had to stay in Salt Lake for a Dr's appointment.


Ok, so this one isn't related to Thanksgiving at all but it was too cute to pass up.

Busy week

So, we've had a busy past few weeks.

We made two trips to the Boise area, one to Chuck & Anne's for a week of Thanksgiving & then back again the next weekend to Jaime's for Ariana's baptism & an early Davis family Christmas party. It was a lot of driving w/ yucky school inbetween but it was so much fun & well worth it.

Aunt Crista & the girl cousins: Megan, Ariana, & Olivia.

Santa was smart enough to bring both Megan & Olivia the same ballerina Barbie...what a guy!
P.S. for those of you who don't know, this is our sister-in-law, Anne (a.k.a. Joshua's mom).

Trevor was mighty impressed with his dashing knight whatnot. He got all suited up & began sword fighting any cousin that would take him on. I actually think Megan held up the best.

Trevor got this dinosaur pop-up book from Aunt Crista, it was a major hit w/ him & Carter.

While we were on our way back from Boise Tanner & his fiance MacKenzie were on their way back up to Rexburg from visiting Laura in Provo. They stopped by for a quick dinner of Dutch Babies, played w/ the kids, & were on their way again.
They are such a blast to have around & the kids absolutely adore them. When they walked through the door Trevor went running up to them & his first words were, "There's your sword Uncle Tanner!"

...and so the battle began.

Pumpkin bread & pie crust

Ok, so I'll admit that at first I felt extremely guilty about posting these 2 recipies on my blog. But, then I decided that they are so good that they should be shared & bring happiness to the people I love.
My mom would want it to be no other way.
These are Pat Russell specialties, some of her best: pumpkin bread & her awesome pie crust.
Trust me, give the pumpkin bread a try & it will become a tradition for Thanksgiving & Christmas...many people have been converted.
As far as the pie crust goes, its from one of the orignial Betty Crocker cookbooks, in fact...you can't even find it in the recent ones anymore (I checked). It's a little different than your typical pie dough: its an oil pastry. This means its a little salty & has some extra flavor, perfect for those really sweet pies. Yummm.
So, I dedicate this post to my wonderful mom who taught me how to cook & how to bring joy to others with food. Please enjoy.
I love you mom.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Pat's Pumpkin Bread

4 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 C sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
4 1/2 tsp cinnamon
*Mix in large bowl, create a well in center.
Add:
1 1/2 C oil
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 large can pumpkin
*Mix well.
Stir in 2 C (or 1 bag) chocolate chips
*pour in to greased & floured bread pans. Makes 9 mini-loaves or 3 large.
**Bake @ 350' x 1 hour (40-50 min. for mini loaf) or until toothpick comes out clean.

(great warm or cool, also freezes well if wrapped in foil)

Best-ever pie crust (for a 2-crust pie)

2 3/4 C flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
just under 1 C oil
1/3 C water
*Mix flour & salt. Make well in center, add oil & cut until looks like meal. Cut in water 1-2 Tbs. at a time (begin when dough is just starting to come together like meal). Gather dough togther, immediately roll out for pie pan.
**Bake @ 425' x 10-13 min for one crust pie/ baked shell or according to directions for filling.
(Because this is an oil pastry it the dough is not as soft as when using Crisco...trust me, it tastes so much better & is the perfect flaky pie-crust if not over-handled.)