Thanksgiving

We celebrated family thanksgivng last week when the Bowens flew in to Lubbock. We all cooked a rather delicious thanksgiving meal and vegged on the couch in sweats. Excellent day, really. So on the calendar's Thanksgivng, Cam and I (who are we kidding, just me) didn't want to cook, so we ate out at none-other, but the Golden Corral!! Knowing we were not going to take it easy on a buffet, plus it being the annual day where "gluttony becomes a patriotic duty," we started the day with a run:



All week it's been in the 70's, but on Thanksgiving the high was 40 (yes, I know you Utahn's were in the teens) but for running, it makes for some cold ears and noses. Here I am catching my breath while trying to get feeling back in my ears at the end of the run.




Then off to the Corral, yeeeehaw:



Good thing we got there a few hours before closing! sheesh... had no idea they would be this packed! We had to wait for an hour to get any food. Happenin' place, in case you were wondering.




We were stuffed to the brim. It actually was pretty good, and it doesn't hurt to be able to have a taste of everything. That is what I love about buffets... you can have a piece of this and a taste of that, cause sometimes thats how I roll.

Afterwards, we went straight to see Harry Potter 7 then came home and again vegged on the couch in sweats with the fire on. A very fun Thanksgiving!

Apple Orchard

We have been dyin for something fallish to do around here... well for anything to do around Lubbock, period. We heard about a pumpkin festival at an apple orchard 25 miles outside of town going on Saturday and decided we had better partake of this opportunity. Cam is pretty supportive of my over sensitive desires to be festive. There wasn't much in the way of pumpkins by the time we got there, but we picked some apples, tried raw honey with the bees, and browsed all the different apple butters and jams. We walked away with a gallon of fresh apple juice...ahhh... some black raspberry ram, and tummies plus a bag full of apples.



The Process:





It was a UTAH game day. Hence, Cam's shirt. I promise we wash it every week... it just seems like in most of our pictures recently, he is wearing it.



What are you gonna do with a bag full of apples? Make apple pie, of course.




I don't have a pie pan yet, so I had to use oven safe bowls. 'bout right for two people, I'd say. Now if it only felt and looked like fall weather here.

Soup Season & Some Spooky-ness

I love soups. I love making them, love the way they smell up the house, love the way they warm you up, love the amount of left-overs one pot makes for 2 people, and mostly I love eating them.

One of our favorites 'round this home is a minestrone recipe I got from my mom-in-law Deb. Since I made it the other day, it re-kindled our fondness of it and so I wanted to share it.



also made ghost shaped biscuts with it, because I quite enjoy any chance to make it feel like halloween and fall.

Minestrone Soup

1 lb. Italian Sausage
1 C diced onion
1 C sliced celery
1 C sliced carrots
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 (15 oz.) can Tomatoes
1 (15-16 oz.) can Tomato sauce
2 C. water
5 tsp. beef boullion
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1.4 tsp. pepper
{add at the end...}
1 (15 oz.) can red Kidney beans (undrained)
1/2 C elbow macaroni
1 C cut green beans
1 C sliced zuchini

In large pot, brown sausage. Add all ingredients EXCEPT beans, zuchini, and macaroni and Simmer for 20 mins. Add remaining ingredients, and let simmer until noodles are soft and cooked.

Also, if you are looking for super cheap halloween decorations, here are a few ideas. I got this first one (bat's in the lamp) from my sister Teigan, she's done it for a few years. And I have seen a few others, Martha Stewart has a how-to up about it also.


I used this as a template, re-sizing it once. Just cut out on black paper, and tape inside lamp. I don't have a normal lamp shade lamp, so I had to use the one above our kitchen table. Cam is so afraid of them:



Or just google "bat template", that is how I found it.

He is also "Afraid" of these:



again, just a template, cut out on black cardstock paper. These templates are from:

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/glitter-silhouettes

there are links for all of them on that page. I didn't want to waste all that black ink, so I actually traced the outline on a regular sheet of white paper, cut that out, then used it to cut out of black card stock. If you have anymore decorating ideas, I would love them... I can never have enough!

birthday camping to the MAXX, pepsi maxx

This weekend we went camping in honor of 3 birthdays: Cam's, mine, and Porter's. Since we moved to Lubbock, and the Foulgers moved to Denver, we found a spot pretty smack in the middle: Santa Fe, New Mexico. We met in town, then drove up into the national park and found a pretty good little site. we had some SERIOUS fun. It was a perfect good-bye summer, hello fall weekend too. Warm enough for t-shirt hikes up and down mountains (literally...) during the day, and cool and crisp enough for sweatshirts and crackling fires at night. LOVE THAT! We played lots of games, including boys vs. girls in sharades...wow. We each made up prompts for the other team and I got to act out a "a show-off giraffe who has to be center of attention", and also "viciously stabbing a cat sitting in my lap." Too bad you missed it. It really was a FIERESOME belated birthday celebration for Cam and I and a happy 29th to Mr. Porter. We love you Foulgies, and wish the rest of you could've joined us. Come on, everyone... let's GO!


"it's Porter's Birthday" faces.



Double 'sMore!! NO WAY!


After a hike... santa fe in the background...


Twinner tents... both of them wedding gifts from eachother+... set up "downstairs" so we could talk back and forth all night. or yell random words starting with a-z in the alphabet.

football season

It has started again. College football... Cam's love affair. especially now that we have DVR, he gets to watch all his games, and I get to watch this:

brithdays and moving

for our birthdays this year, we moved OUT on Cam's and moved IN on mine :) Not the least frustrating way to spend any day, let a lone a birthday, but we still enjoyed some good treats.


key-lime pie is both our favorite, so I made one for cam, and we just ate it with forks straight out the pan. plates were already packed, you see. But that is what we wanted to do anyways :) If anyone needs a good recipe, the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook one is tried and true in my book. Let me know if you wanna try it.

We stopped at every state sign on the way down. Felt a common trend among the posing:


Finally residing in:

Two WONDERFUL things about being back in the south are: Raisin Cane's fried Chicken and Bluebell icecream. Which I was luck enough to enjoy BOTH on my birthday:


Thanks to Cori, Trav, Merika and mama Bowen for a DELIGHTFULLY delicious birthday meal and ohhhhhhh, the chocolate cake. which Cori named "death by chocolate". 'bout right.

Thanks to everyone for the birthday love and help moving. We are getting settled here in Lubbock. Spending lots of time being quite Lost, but still excited. :) A new adventure for our 29th and 25th years!

Lately, been busy with....

camp fires with friends



love affair with jack sparrow :)



DISNEY LAND and california with the Bowens!!!



3-arch bay... just lovely:



dax loved being chased by the waves :)




sun-babes




these pictures don't do justice to all the work we've done on our house... .the before picture is not from the beginning. Didn't take a move in picture... so you can't see the HUGE difference. but this shows... some... :) Got it ready just in time to move. Oh yah, that's been taking up MOST of our time lately... packing, cleaning and saying good-byes :(



We've squeezed in some fun this summer.

latest wedding video

Really a well done wedding and a lot of fun. I quite enjoy learning new camera and editing tricks and trying them out. This was one of my best friends Eliza's cousin's wedding, so I loved spending the day with her and liz, you make an EXCELLENT assistant, just name your price :) just thought i'd share... eventhough you don't know them... they will remind you or inspire you to be awesome and in love.


my video blog, as they come: www.tiasbowen.blogspot.com (tosha, help me out here with your lovelies)

Oh say, can you see...?

I contributed to save this firework show, and I am pleased. What's Independence Day without them? Jo mama was able to be with all of us Bowen clan for the evening, yahoo!



Watching as they build up....




To the GRAND FINALE (yeah baby):

Glory, Glory Hallelujah.



O'er the land of the FREE, and the home of the BRAVE.