Halloween 2010

Some pictures of our halloween fun....


Alex the Dragon.




Alan was Buddy Holly.




Cole the Troll 'Harry Buttgrump'.

Inspired by the Monty Python song, Ian was a Lumberjack...but he looked so much like Paul Bunyon, I had to turn Riley into Babe the Big Blue Ox-retriever!

While at FBCLS's Trunk or Treat, Ian tucked his candy bag into his hat...which made him look like a garden gnome!




A VERY hairy smooch from my boys.



Do I need a trim or what!?!?!!








Another fun-filled halloween....although this one was a lot hairier than most!

Behold!.... The Cinnamon Bread

I've been enjoying baking bread now for awhile. It's fun & easy, it makes the house smell heavenly when it's baking, and the boys LOVE IT....what more can a mama ask for?!, and it's TOTALLY YUMMY! Lately, I've been making CINNAMON Bread & it's really been a hit. I'm using Pioneer Woman's recipe.
Here's a my cinnamon bread... beginning to end.

Ingredients are pretty basic & simple. (Not all are pictured.) Milk, butter, sugar, eggs, yeast, salt & flour. The one element I've added - a mixture of regular white sugar & some granulated brown sugar. This added a little different element that we really like.

(I've skipped a few steps/photos, but Pioneer Woman.com has the recipe.)

Add enough flour to mixture until it comes together & then let the mixer knead it.


Add more flour as needed...







Now, just for fun, do a little kneading by hand... the old fashioned way, to bring it to the right texture.


When it's nice & smooth, it's time to let it rise. Plop it into an oiled bowl & put into a warm place...like the oven. This will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.






Now the dough should have doubled in size.


Roll it out onto a counter, baking sheet or whatever workspace you have.


Pour melted butter on it.


Then sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over.



The next step can be messy...roll the dough towards you, sealing the butter-sugar-cinnamon inside.



The most difficult step for me - getting the rolled up dough into the baking pan.

Put into the oven to rise again for about an hour.




After the 2nd rise - it's ALMOST time to bake! The dough should again be doubled in size.

Brush the top with an egg/milk wash.



Isn't this pretty!?!



Bake the bread for about 40 minutes. (If the top is getting too dark, put aluminum foil on top to shield it.) Bread is done when the inside temperature is 200 degrees.

Enjoy the WONDERFUL scent of the bread baking. It's absolutely mouth watering!

Set aside to cool.




Even though it tempting to slice into immediately, I've learned it's better wait until it's cooled...or else it will fall apart like this loaf from a couple weeks ago. Oh well...it still tasted WONDERFUL!

Behold, the bread...almost makes it worth getting out of a warm cozy bed to have some freshly toasted!

Our Other Band Member

All my blogging lately has been about Ian & the HS band, but we have another very active band member around here...Cole. He's in the TMS pep band. They go to most of the middle school games & are learning how play all those fun songs in the stands & to be crazy-fun just like the HS kids. They haven't quite got all the crazy dancing, singing, yelling down...but give 'em a break. Their games are on Saturday mornings! It's easy to be wild & crazy on Friday nights, but most of us are rather subdued & quiet on Saturday mornings.

By the way - The TMS Indians Football team has done VERY well this season. (A first for TMS!) They're headed for the playoffs! WAHOO!

This past Saturday's game the TMS band director (who is also Blake's Phi Mu Alpha fraternity brother), invited his TMS alumi/HS kids to join the middle school kids. So for once - Ian & Cole were playing in the same band. Ian had a lot of fun trying to teach the youngin's the ropes of HS band. AND just for kicks, Blake & I brought our piccolos & joined in too. The one & only time our entire family playing in the same band. How cool is that!!!

Here's some pictures from Cole's Pep Band season....



He just LOVES having me take his picture.









I wanted ONE good picture of the boys together in the same band.

ONE!

This is the cooperation I got....






But my favorite picture of the day kept reminding me of someone else...





Then it hit me ~ Cole looked like the muppet character ZOOT!

Just some favorite pictures of the band this season...