A while back I vacuumed the living room. But what I considered "good enough" was apparently what Levi considered "just getting stared." He asked me to move the couch and vacuumed behind it, then proceeded to vacuum in between the couch cushions.

Whoa, little man! I think maybe I'll retire early and let him be in charge of house cleaning and chore charts.

Pumpkin Patch

We had a blast at a local pumpkin patch this last week! Levi loved the corn pit and the hay rack ride. Matt and I loved the pedal-powered go carts.

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

   

  

  

We recently got to babysit our nephew while my sister and her husband took a day trip. We enjoyed having him around, and did a couple of projects while he was with us.  First, we made our own colored, shaped soap using the directions here.  I'm not sure who had more fun with that- him or us. :)

We also made oven s'mores (YUM) with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.  Here are a few pictures... aren't the ones of him and Matt together so cute?

Funny Boy

There is this adorable little boy in my class...he is so polite and seems to say "Thank you" constantly! He also has been making me laugh lately... I'll call him Charlie...

The other day, the aide was handing out snack. She was standing in front of Melissa, trying to give her a cracker, but was having difficulty pulling the cracker out of the packaging. The aide said, "It's stuck!" Charlie told her, "No, that's Melissa."

Then today, I was asking the kids if they were going anywhere for spring break. Multiple children replied that they were visiting relatives or going to another state. Charlie exclaimed, "I'm going to swimming lessons!"

Dental School

Matt was accepted to our top choice of dental schools!! Whoo-hoo! I'm proud of him, and we are looking forward to this new phase. Life is good...what more can I say?

Okay...but I do have a little more to say! I feel like we are constantly receiving blessings from Heavenly Father lately! I know it's true that when we do the best we can, Heavenly Father will guide our lives and bless us with the things we need. I can truly say that my cup runneth over. Of course, that doesn't mean that our lives will go just as we plan, or that hard things won't happen to us. They will. But, it's all a part of His plan to give us the opportunity to become like Him. So, though it's often hard to see, our trials are just one more way Heavenly Father blesses us. I just can't stop being grateful!

Valentine's Day

So, I never posted about Valentine's Day. I got to exchange valentines with my students at Matt and I each made a special something for each other. I made my students heart-shaped crayons using some silicon molds I have, and Matt helped me print out some tags from online to go with them. I had to be sure to tell the children that my valentines were CRAYONS and not candy- some of them looked pretty edible!

Anyway, when I came home from work I found this AMAZINGLY perfect giant heart shaped cookie and note from Matt:

His years as a concrete finisher with his dad made him REALLY good at making things that require attention to detail. Can you tell?? I thought that maybe he had used a heart shaped pan, but he made his own mold using tin foil! Seriously impressive.

I guess I'm corny, because I decided to paint a rock for Matt (and I wrote him a love note, of course!). Please don't laugh too hard...

We also got to go out to eat with my parents (Mexican...YUM!). It was a good day...and I'm so lucky that Matt is always my Valentine!!

We had dinner in a pumpkin last night. I'm putting the recipe here...mostly so I will be able to find it again next year!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

• 1 medium pumpkin
• 1 lb. browned burger (seasoned with dried onion and garlic pepper)
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup+ chopped mushrooms
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• Worcestershire sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 350* F. Cut a lid on the pumpkin and clean it out (like you do to carve a jack-o-lantern). Mix the remaining ingredients together and spoon them into the pumpkin. Replace the pumpkin's lid and put it on a cookie sheet. Bake for 1-1.5 hours. Remove from oven and serve immediately, using the pumpkin insides as the vegetable for your meal.

I also baked a pumpkin pastry. I followed this recipe:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/pumpkin-pecan-braid/ab7406fe-a543-4024-8e20-ed857833924c#?term=halloween&fv=AND(HasGridViewImage%3ATrue)&pi=3&ps=9 except that I left out the pecans and used an alternate frosting/glaze that was similar to this recipe:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cream-cheese-frosting/12359c92-19ae-4184-b501-fab0df6f8b1f?WT.mc_id=taf_recipe_BC.

So, I guess we celebrated Halloween with delicious baking, and all I can say is "mmm-mmm."