I knew it was really fall when....

… I woke one morning this week to the sound of the furnace kicking on – I really love that sound.

… I could see my breath when I went out in the morning for my walk.

… I bought my first pumpkin pie scented candle

… I bought my first (emphasis on first) bag of candy corn (from the photo it looks like I better buy another bag soon)

… We attended our first high school football game of the season – Go Wildcats! (ranked #2 in the state)

… I put on closed toe shoes.

… I have tomatoes coming out my ears from the garden so have been having fun with lots of tomato recipes this week – including some yummy tomato and basil soup, bruschetta, (recipe below) tomato tart, and more!.

… I can no longer see the top of my kitchen table because it is always covered in homework!

This week’s accomplishment:

-Helped my dear friend who is undergoing cancer treatment work on her scrapbooks.

-Held a successful Creative Memories Trade Show for 200 people on Thursday.

-Enjoyed eating beignets when I took a friend out to lunch for her birthday.

-Jim and I survived our second ballroom dance class!

-We found a darling homecoming dress for Cali – it just needs a little “Modestification”, oh yeah – she still needs a date too! In fact we found two dresses and bought them both since they were on sale – cheap – now we’ll have one for MORP too! (You’ve heard of food storage – well we believe in dress storage! Be prepared!)

-Jim and I enjoyed dinner out and an evening at the temple

-Survived driving the dance car pool three times this week (a four hour ordeal each time) as our carpool buddy was sick

-Jim spent lots of time in the garden deadheading and trimming preparing the garden for winter.

-Jim finally got a new cell phone. The children affectionately called his old one “the brick” but when it died on him in the middle of “no where” Montana – or was it Wyoming ( he was in Idaho and one of those other states a couple of days this week) – he had to bite the bullet and buy a new one. He is so excited because the numbers are HUGE on the phone – so he can actually see them. The girls gave him a lesson in how to take a picture with his new phone too!

-Cali survived a whole week of getting up early for Cantores practice each morning and Tessa survived riding the bus to school all week.

Boy Update:

Clark’s accomplishment for the week was – he had a date! He took a date to see Homecoming Spectacular (Logan’s show)

Clark also got called back for a second interview at the MTC and was told as soon as they have a Spanish opening he has a job – yeah Clark!

Logan survived Young Ambassador rehearsal and had the opportunity to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at BYU’s Homecoming Spectacular.

O.k. just for a bit of humor for your week. Last night at 11:50 pm. as I was trying to stay awake waiting for Cali to get home from the movies (midnight curfew) I was reading through the BYU Police Beat from the Daily Universe – well I actually found it pretty entertaining - thought I’d share a few with you.

Sept. 10: An individual held a sign offering free hugs in the Harold B. Lee Library. When asked by an officer to leave, he declined to leave the area and continued offering free hugs. (Emailed Clark and Logan to make sure this wasn’t either of them )

Sept. 4: A bicycle was reported stolen from a bike rack near the Wilkinson Center. The owner had gone into the bookstore to purchase a lock for the bike. When he returned, the bike was gone. (Just a little late)


Sept. 7: A microwave was reported stolen out of Budge Hall in Heritage Halls. This is the third time it has been taken. It is speculated that somebody has selfishly taken it for their personal use. There are no suspects. (Why else do you they think someone took – to share with the poor?!)

Sept. 10: After stopping a student for skateboarding on campus, the police officer found that he had an active warrant out of Provo City’s 4th District Court. The individual had been stopped and warned four times prior to this incident. He was allowed to pay for the warrant instead of being taken to jail, and was transported to Wells Fargo to get the money (Now where else but Provo would the police drive you to the ATM to pay off your fine!)

Sept. 7: A 7-year-old boy was found walking in the Harmon Building parking lot without shoes. After much persuasion, he reluctantly gave police his home phone number. Police found that his sister, who was supposed to be watching him, did not know he had left. Police took him home and spoke with his mother, who assured them she would make sure it didn’t happen again. (Now was it the fact that he didn't have shoes on that tipped them off or that he was a 7 years old wandering around alone?)

Sept. 7: An 18-year-old female student was reported behaving oddly in the bookstore. When University Police arrived, she was outside the bookstore, behaving irrationally, dancing around, singing, throwing personal possessions out on the lawn and giving irrational answers when questioned by police. She was taken to the hospital and kept for observation. As far as police know, she had gone without sleep for a couple of days. (Sounds like me when I don’t get enough sleep )

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil:

We have been making this a lot lately due to a bumper tomato crop. I taught Tessa how to make it so she is now the "official bruschetta babe". Today after church when she was making it our neighbor Hannah was over. Hannah and her family had been to Italy a few years ago and Hannah told us that when they were in Italy they had prepared the bread toasts by coating them with olive oil, a sprinkle of Herbs de Provence and then some fresh grated Parmesan cheese and then toast under broiler. Well I just happen to have all those things so we tried it and it was wonderful! We will definitely do it like that from now on - thank you Hannah!

6 or 7 roma tomatoes, skinned and chopped into small pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 baguette style bread sliced into 3/8" thick slices, brush on a thin layer of olive oil and then toast under broiler 0r try our new way with a sprinkling of herbs de provence and grated Parmesan cheese and then place under broiler.

To skin the tomatoes we put them into boiling water until the skins crack and then place them in cold water - the skins pop right off.

Chop tomatoes finely, add garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar in a bowl and mix. Chop the basil thinly, add to tomato mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon tomato mixture onto bread toasts - enjoy! Yum!!!