goodbye november...

we will miss your splendid colors, the beautiful weather, and ALL of those leaves that found their way to our yard from our neighbors trees.

recipe share - sweet potato puff

I wanted to make sure I posted this recipe before we totally leave the month of November behind. I have never been a sweet potato fan until I tasted this little dish. This dish screams Fall/Thanksgiving. I made it for the first time, this year to take to Thanksgiving dinner at my in laws. If I am not mistaken, I believe my Mom got this one from one of her best friends, Kathy Clark. Thanks for sharing it, Mom & Kathy!

Sweet Potato Puff

Ingredients:
4-5 Large sweet potatoes (bake them until they are tender)
3 c. mashed sweet potatoes (the ones you have just baked)
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. coconut

Topping:
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 TBS. melted butter
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. pecans

Bake sweet potatos in oven until tender. Mash/mix as you would regular mashed potatoes.
Mix sweet potatos, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy. Stir in your coconut.
In a buttered casserole dish, pour sweet potato mixture in.

With a fork, stir topping ingredients: brown sugar, melted butter, flour, and pecans. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture & bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
Enjoy!

turkey day 2009

We love Thanksgiving. We love this time of the year. We love that we get to enjoy family, delicious smells coming from the kitchen, football games on the TV, homemade rolls & pies, & moments to reflect on ALL that is right in our little world. With Thanksgiving comes a few yearly "must do" traditions. First up, the turkey bowl with big & little turkeys playing this year :-). John organized the annual turkey bowl & they all met down at our neighborhood park. I took a break in my holiday cooking & ran down to the park to get a few pictures.



























Can I just say that I am happy to report that there were NO injuries & my hubby can still walk :-). That is a HUGE blessing in of itself.


Since both of our families live close enough for us to get to them during the holidays, we have alternated Thanksgiving dinner with each of our families. This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving with John's side of the family. My SIL, Petra hosted Thanksgiving at her house this year. Everything was wonderful. She is a great cook. She cooked the main dinner & everyone else brought the side dishes. Here are of few photos from our turkey day!






























































One of these days I will get my nieces to smile at the camera instead of hiding under their sweatshirts :-).

After dinner,Aunt Heidi took the kids on a turkey trot. This is another yearly tradition that my Grandma Shore started years ago. After dinner, you go on a walk to burn your dinner off before you eat your dessert. For the kids, it becomes a race, for the adults who choose to go, it is a nice walk :-).

Once again,I am in awe of the many blessings I enjoy in my life. I am Thankful for another year that has been filled with those many blessings, wonderful friends, & family that I could not live without!

scootin' along

It is one thing that this boy can ride a scooter with perfect balance & no problems... it is another sight to see him wearing a motorcycle helmet while doing so. This was the only helmet he would put on for our trip to the park today! We got lots of giggles as we walked by.

bay area fun

With a week worth of vacation for the boys, we knew we had to head home for one of the days. Our first stop was Grandma & Grandpa Shores house. When we pulled up in front of their house today, a flood of memories filled my mind. One of my favorite memories was lunch at their house every Wednesday while attending college. I was lucky enough to attend college with my sister, Amber & my cousins, Kerstin & Mike. Every Wednesday, we would show up for lunch. A few of our friends started tagging along. They loved lunch at G&G's too & looked forward to it every Wednesday. Soon, it became lunch & a few card games with Grandma & Grandpa. Such good memories. In true Grandma style,the table was all set & ready for lunch. I was so glad that my boys got to spend some time with them & enjoy one of Grandma's yummy lunches. As the boys have gotten older & more involved in school & sports, it has made it hard to have spur of the moment visits.










































Grandpa even pulled out his out Japanese riffle for the boys to look at. They thought it was so cool. John loved hearing about Grandpa's stories from WWII.


















Grandma took the boys for a walk around the block, not once, but twice. One walk before lunch, one after. Another fond Grandma memory. We are so thankful for the time we were able to spend with them today. They really are one in a millions. The are kind & very generous to all those around them.

Next stop, one of our favorite parks in Los Gatos. It was a gorgeous Fall day. We couldn't pass up a trip to the park. John & I remember playing at this park when we were kids. The plane & fire truck are still there.




























Next stop, Grandma Sandy & Grandpa Randy's house. My boys love to play at their house. They love seeing their cousins. We had an early turkey dinner with all the trimmings. This is our year to spend Thanksgiving with John's family. After dinner, we enjoyed FHE together. We had a Thanksgiving lesson. I passed out foam leaves to everyone & challenges them to write a note to another family member telling them why they are thankful for them. Then we enjoyed ice cream sundae's & more family time.



















I love my family. They are at the top of my list when I count my blessings. Today was just one of those perfect days.

mvp

Garrett's very 1st soccer season has come to an end. We enjoyed his last game & team party today. Garret had so much fun...he was all smiles on the field. He loved that he got to be on the same team of some of his very best friends. His coach was awesome & so good to the kids. Coach Andre stepped up & coached the boys when we were in need of a coach & he didn't even have a son/daughter on the team. Garrett loved playing for him. Along with their trophy's, coach Andre said something about each player & their ability on the field. He told Garrett that he was the MVP of the team & that he played hard.

Here is Garrett with coach Andre.










































Garrett & his best buds.

enjoying life

We have had a super fun, busy week at our house. We have enjoyed so many little things in our little world. The older boys continue to have soccer practice 4 nights a week. Scouts for both boys. Piano lessons for Tanner. You should hear him play Jingle Bells, it sounds like Jingle Bells...I love it!!! I helped in all 3 classrooms & enjoyed the art docent lesson with Tanner's class.
I was able to be Tanner's date for his Honor Roll dinner with his classmates last night. I am so proud of Tanner & another perfect semester under his belt. I think the favorite part of the evening for the entire class was the apple cider & being able to eat in the Teachers lounge :-).
























































I am really looking forward to date night with John. We are seeing the midnight showing of New Moon (tonight/this morning). I am thinking I need to squeeze a nap in at some point today :-).
















Loved having this little Turkey greet me with his perfected "gobble gobble" at kindergarten pick up!
note to self: this is why you carry your camera at all times!

















Keeping busy in the scrapbook layout arena too! Here are my latest two designs for GT. As aways, you can call(916-771-8010) Green Tangerines to purchase yours.

This weeks KOTW:



















This weeks release for the 12 weeks of Christmas (Jan. pg.):

do you have a gui-target?

**Make sure to pause the music player on the left!



At 2 1/2, this boy continues to crack me up on a daily basis.
This is his new favorite toy to lug around the house! For days now, I thought he was saying he wanted to go to Target -LOL!

Recipe Share- French Breakfast Puffs

Okay, these are SO good. I found this recipe on my friend, Amy's Frosted Bake Shop blog. Check her out! Let me just say that if Amy has blogged about it, with yummy pictures and all, it is a recipe you'll want to try. This quickly became an instant favorite at our house.

We enjoyed FHE {family home evening} tonight. Tanner gave the lesson, the whole family tried to sing a Primary song w/out ruining it & I made the treats. You guessed it, we enjoyed these French Breakfast Puffs as our FHE treats. The leftovers are being saved for tomorrow's breakfast. That's how yummy they are.

French Breakfast Puffs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 tbls. melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease your muffin pans. I made 24 mini-muffins, but you could make regular muffins instead.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening. Add the egg and mix well. Stir the flour mixture into the shortening mixture alternately with the milk.

Spoon the mixture into your muffin pan. Bake the muffins for approximately 15 minutes, or until they are golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Just watch your oven.

While the muffins are baking, melt the butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. When the muffins are done baking, remove them from the pan and immediately dip them into the butter...
and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Enjoy!!!

kit of the week

here is a look at this weeks kit of the week from Green Tangerines.



















I used a little Reminisce pattern paper, a little Crate Paper, Thickers(cause they're still a fave of mine), Bazzill cardstock & American Craft brads. I am feeling very thankful for all the blessings in my life. The last couple of weeks have been very hard. I am very grateful for my cute little family who constantly makes me smile. Grateful for loving parents. I have fantastic friends who know just what to say & do when it is needed the most. To them, I am so grateful. It is the little things that REALLY mean the most on a daily basis. I am taking the time, each day to reflect on all that is GRAND in my life.

p.s.
The pictures of the boys were taken by Chris Harder of Chris Harder Photography! We had a our yearly photo shoot with he & his wife a few weeks back. There was even a perfect family shot(or two or three or four) for our Christmas cards. YIPPEE!

apple hill

We love adding new traditions to the ones our family already enjoys on a yearly basis. We have lived here for 6 1/2 years & FINALLY made our way to up Apple Hill for the first time. The drive up was absolutely gorgeous. Along with all of the gorgeous Fall colors, this sight made my heart skip a beat...made me want to hug my Grandpa Shore(he served in World War II) right then & there(btw, I did call him when I got home). What a sight it was to see all of these American flags blowing in the slight breeze today.


























Feeling very grateful on this Veteran's day. I want to express my gratitude to all of the men & women who have, are now, or will serve our country in the future. So very grateful for their sacrifice on behalf of our great country. Thank you!

We had so much fun today! The sights, the smells & the company were perfect. We enjoyed apple orchards, the hay maze, Carmel apples, the photo ops, and all that this beautiful land has to offer.




































































































































It really was a perfect day...one we will look forward to, year after year.

12 weeks of Christmas

This week marks the 8th week of the 12 weeks of Christmas. Are you thinking, "what is the world is Raimi talking about"? Green Tangerines has been releasing calendar pages(one by one) for the last 8 weeks. The idea is that you pick up your featured month each week,go home & create your page. By the end of the 12 weeks, you have a completed calendar to give as a gift...or you keep it for yourself. You decide. I had the opportunity to help create pages for the 12 weeks, along with Kristen, Kathy, & Brenda. Here is a peek at this weeks release. You can call the store at 916-771-8010 to get your pages today. Don't worry, you can still pick up kits that were previously released,

total stinker...

and i love her so! I bet you thought this was going to be another Brody post, didn't you? Today is all about my Grandma Shore. I received the first Christmas card of the season one week ago. Yes, you read that right...one week ago. As soon as I spotted her handwriting in my mailbox & saw the Christmasy themed return address label, I knew exactly what she was up to!


















Here is the note I received.

















Don't you love the HA! HA'S! at the top of the note :-)? My Grandma is known for her letter writing. She is a great pen pal. I often find notes in my mailbox from her, just telling me that she is thinking of me. She often sends notes commenting on what a great family we are all a part of. She never forgets your birthday & each year, you can always count on Grandma being the first person to get her Christmas cards out. When John & I were newly married, I thought it would be fun to see if I could get my Christmas card to her before I received hers. During the years that followed, it became a fun game to see who could send their card out first. One year, I left it on her counter as we left her house after Thanksgiving dinner. Another year, i mailed our Christmas card in January, 12 months early. It has been a fun little tradition during the last 13 years. She totally beat me to it...this year. I love her & the smile she puts on my face!

Do you have a favorite holiday tradition that you are looking forward to?

p.s. one of my favorite things about her notes is the handwritten number on the back of each envelope. You can tell by that number how many letters she has sent out during that one year. It is very fun to see how busy she has been with her letter writing.

kit of the week...halloween style

Here is a peek at this weeks kit of the week. Perfect way to get all of those Halloween pictures scrapped. I created this layout using the new Bo Bunny Halloween line. It was based off of Brenda's Shaving Cream layout. There is room for 8 photos. I love when I can get a ton of photos on one layout. I changed the pp, Mer created/designed our darling little ghost die cut & I added some American Craft brads. Super fun & super festive. I titled my layout HAPPY HALLOWEEN. You will get an entire package of white THICKERS in this weeks kit...so you can change the title to fit your Halloween adventures.

Hope you are having a great day! It has been a pumpkin pie(with whip cream) kind of morning around here!

p.s. if you would like a fun giggle today, check out my friend Kinsey's "today's todon'ts" post on her blog(one post after her darling new mini album)...totally made me GOL(giggle out loud) & smile. Love you Kinsey Girl :-).

happy birthday to you!!!

{don't forget to pause the music to the left}

Sending special birthday wishes to my dear friend, Free. Free is AMAZING! She is kind, funny, smart & so very thoughtful. There isn't a holiday or birthday that passes without a beautiful handmade card from Free arriving in our mailbox.
I met Free when I taught scrapbook classes for the Memories store in San Jose, Ca.. We have stayed connected through emails, random phone calls, & snail mail. Free was able to travel up this way back in June. We got to spend the entire day together chatting, laughing, shopping & eating lots of good food.

Today we celebrate you, Free. I know things aren't always easy or ideal for you! We hope today is special & we hope that you know that we are thinking of you! Love & miss you! Happy birthday!

{Here is the layout I created with the photos from Free's visit back in June}

conversations with Brody

While snuggling with Brody tonight,I asked him what his name was. He said "Brody Shore Krupp". A few minutes later, I was putting his jammies on & could tell he was thinking, thinking hard. He looked at me and said,
"Your name is Mama Shore Krupp". I started to giggle & so did he. I love the connections he is making on a daily basis. For the record, my full name is Raimi Ann Krupp :-).