Fall Sports

The kids are loving fall and playing the sports that go along with it! We will begin with youngest to oldest! Sydney is playing soccer for the first year and can't get enough of it! I love watching her run circles around everyone that is huddled together around the ball. Literally...she stays on the outside...away from the chaos! Once she gets the ball she is amazing! Her first game she got one goal. The second game she scored two goals! It was so cute! I laugh half the game! She can get a bit frustrated...Things don't go her way so she runs off the field, gets a quick drink and runs back on! She doesn't care that her team is setting up for a throw-in or a kick-off. Adorable little princess!


Hunter loves Flag Football! Most of his team is one or two years older than him, but they are great and he feels tough! He goes after the ball, blocks great and even has a "Hunter Play". When they do the "Hunter Play" he is hiked the ball and runs straight through two linemen.

McKay can't get enough football! He plays everyday at school and a few days after school with his friends! He is getting into the plays, knowing the calls and working hard in his games! He can't wait to play tackle in a few years!

Love Fall!!!

Amazing that fall is here and winter is just around the corner! The colors are amazing and the weather is perfect...just a little cold at games. The other day we headed up the mountain behind our house...never been up there before. The colors were beautiful and it was brushed with a little snow on the ground. The kids loved going up there! The boys used my camera and got some great photos. Here are some of the kids.


The other day my sisters, Mom and I headed to Gardner village. It is all decorated with Witches, pumpkins and Halloween. We had a blast heading through most of the stores (not the ones where the kids could break everything), running through the hay maze and riding the donkies. It was so cute to see the kids laugh at witches and get into the Halloween spirit.



Tonight we had our annual Tate Family Halloween Party. Our family is so big that it is not logical to hold it at someones house! There are currently 20 grandkids and 12 adults. Therefore we hold it at one of our ward houses. This is one of the highlights of the year! This year we played Halloween Charades, played in the bounce house, played basketball and football. We had a great time having an Ichabod Crane(legand of sleepy hallow) walking contest!


We loved that Grandpa Tate dressed up in his Yo-Yo competition outfit (yes he won numerous awards in yo-yo contests). He even knocked an oreo off Steves finger!!! Amazing that he hit the oreo and that he fit into his vest he wore at age 12!!!

The costumes were great as always!!! I love seeing what people choose to dress up as! Here are some photos. Sorry I wasn't able to get pictures of the Williams family!!! If you get some send them over so I can add them!
Jonathan and Rachel Browning Family

Sarah and Chris Ames Family

Warren and Suzanne Tate (Grandpa and Grandma)

Dave and Julie Tate Family

Steve and Jamie Tate Family

Honey Lime Enchiladas

I have been sick of the same old things for dinner lately! There are always a few people who don't like what I have made and at times...not one kid likes what is for dinner! There is no way that I am going to fix five different things to please everyone! At times I think the only way everyone will be happy is if we all pick our own cereal to eat. There are many days that I decide that I will never make dinner again...until it's time to make dinner the next day. I have found a few blog sites that have some great meals. Here is a great one from The Sisters Cafe that we LOVED here Chez Browning. As a short cut, I cooked the chicken in a crockpot (with a crockpot liner for less mess)with the sauce.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

1.5 lbs pork or chicken, cooked and shredded

Sauce:
1/3 c honey
1/4 c lime juice
1 Tb chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder


2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce

equal parts mixed together of:
mozzarella cheese, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded
flour tortillas


Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes.


Lightly spray 2 pans with non-stick baking spray. (I usually use one 9x13 and one 9x9 but it may vary with how thick you stuff your enchiladas) Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish.


Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle more cheese on top - don't be stingy! (I sometimes use more like 1 1/2 cans- you can freeze left over enchilada sauce in a baggy.) Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and place enchiladas nearer the top of oven. Let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy. It is now time to WOW your family!!

If you make this comment and let me know how you like it!!! If you have any others to mix up my routine please let me know!!

Hunter's Baptism

We are so excited and proud of Hunter for making the decision of being baptized! He worked hard and prepared for his big day! His baptism was suppose to be the first Saturday of September, but was changed to August 22nd so he could attend the Oquirrah Mountain Temple dedication the next day.
We had a fun Family Home Evening to get ready for the big day! We talked about the importance of baptism and about when Christ was baptized. We even walked through the process...each kid wanted a turn! It was so cute to see all of them so excited!
All our family and two friends families came! Hunter had about 52 people there to support him!

Your family is so proud of you Hunter! Heavenly Father is proud of you!


We are grateful for all those who were able to come and participate in the confirmation of Hunter! There are so many great men in his life that are wonderful examples. (Yes, we really missed you Becca and Joel) He is lucky to have the constant companion of the Holy Ghost!


You are such a good boy Hunter! Continue to follow the example of Jesus Christ. Your Mom and Dad are very proud of your decision to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Your brother and sister love you and are grateful for your kindness, service and friendship. Congrats!

The next day we had the opportunity to attend the Oquirrah Mountain Temple dedication inside the temple! What an amazing opportunity for us and the boys! We arrived nice and early and had about an hour wait in our seats. After the second song Hunter was ready to get home! We still had about six talks and a few songs to go! The messages were inspirational and great for all of us to hear! At the end of the dedication the children in our room were able to line at the railing of the grand staircase and look down at President Monson and President Eyring waving up at them! What an amazing experience for our cute boys! They were excited, humbled and touched by the spirit! We are so grateful to have a temple so close and to stand as a beacon to all of us each day.

August Celebrations

Wow! August is sure a busy month in our house! It all started with the boys starting school again. They decided to drop the gifted and talented program to go to school with their new friends and neighbors!

They are so happy and are loving it! Here is a picture of McKay with Ms. Simi. She is so good for McKay! She is outgoing, fun, dedicated, kind, exciting, funny and energetic.

Hunter enjoys his teacher! Actually, I got to meet her last year on Sydney's preschool fieldtrips. She ran another preschool that we got together with. She is very kind, fun and great for Hunter.

Next was McKay's Birthday! Amazing that my oldest is now 10 years old! He is growing all the time and therefore his stomach is a bottomless pit! I can't keep enough milk or food at the table for him. For his birthday he had been begging for a ripstick and I let him know that he was not getting one...I had already bough one but wanted it to be a suprise. So, we told him we only bought one present and he opened a UofU t-shirt.

He loved it, but I could tell he was a little disappointed...not a single toy! So I finally brought out the "big" present. Check out the excitement on his face!!!

Then it was Jonathan and my anniversary! It was interesting! Our family caught the stomach flu that was going around! It hit all of us except McKay...lucky boy! So, at anniversary time I was still sick and Sydney was throwing up constantly! We didn't want to lose our money from a priceline bid so Jonathan packed up the boys and headed up to Midway for an evening of swimming, watching movies and making memories! Happy Anniversary Babe! I love you!
Finally was Hunter's Birthday! The big 8 years old! He was so excited to start cub scouts! So excited that he did all the requirements to earn his bobcat in 2 hours (while getting over the flu). He had a great birthday! He got his request of root beer floats instead of cake!

What an exciting time! Sure love you all and Happy August!

Oakley with the Brownings

We love spending time in Oakley, Utah! My Dad owns property there and we go four wheeling, camping and do cook outs over the fire! There are great places to go hiking and exploring. We decided to have some of the Browning family join us for a cook out and fun!



As you know...food is good when you cook out over a fire! Sydney loved the Cheetos and we all loved Jasons "invention" of putting the chocolate inside the marshmellow before you cook it over the fire! Little Isabelle even loved being in the great outdoors!

Riding the four wheelers was a huge hit for everyone! We drove through rivers, over bumpy rocks and cruzed over fields! Hannah and I had a great time watching Aunt Marissa drive one for the first time!


Here are some more cute photos from this fun get away!





Well...it was a blast! We need to go to Oakley again...hopefully everyone can make it!!!

Fun in July!

It has been forever since I have posted! There are many events I want to share! First, we spent the 4th of July in Oakley with the Tates. We camped out, went to the Oakley Rodeo and just had fun being together!

Here is a cute picture of Sydney wearing Grandpa's cowboy hat!

We were so lucky at the rodeo that it finally stopped raining! We were lucky enough to set up camp and our tent in the rain! It only made it more fun and exciting!

Hunter spent a great amount of time digging for dinosaur bones! I swear he just about dug his way to China! All the other boys tried to get in on the fun, but it was "Hunter's Hole". I am amazed at how much time a child can spend on something once their mind is into it!!!!

We headed up to Smith and Moor House (sp?) and the kids had a blast throwing rocks in the lake and climbing up the rocks. Kids never get enough of that!


We also had a blast swimming and having a bbq with the Browning Family! We love heading over to "Grandma Carol's" pool and letting all the kids have fun splashing around!


Aren't the Hakanson kids great! I know that Sydney can't get enough girl time with Hannah and Eliza! We actually had Eliza and James stay with us in August for a week. Sydney and Eliza got all dolled up every day and James was their prince!!!

After swimming we headed over to the Hakanson's for a bbq. The kids love going there to play, catch potato bug, rip stick, etc!



We sure love being with both our families! We are lucky to live so close to most of them!