One of the best artichoke dip recipes ever

I was craving a good

artichoke dip

today.

Just had to make it!

And, I have to admit,

ate a good amount

right out of the oven.

I hear it's supposed to

rain and snow

over Thanksgiving weekend.

If you are having company,

or even if not,

this hot dip is a great dish to serve

to company

or yourself

to warm you up.

Enjoy!

Get the recipe here.
And have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Parents' week at the dance academy

I got to go and watch

Sydney and London

in their dance classes last week.

Sydney's classes are

rehearsing for the upcoming

production of

Tarzan, which will be

at the end of January.

We are so excited to see it!

More on that, later.

And London's not old enough

to rehearse for Tarzan yet,

but I thought the

pictures were cute anyway.

Thursday is her favorite day of the week.

She loves to dance.

Thanksgiving lunch

Yesterday was the

big Thanksgiving lunch

at the school.

London and I went

to eat with Jordan.

It was cool.

The place was

all decked out

and festive-looking.

The ladies worked hard

to give us all a

nice Thanksgiving meal.

The pumpkin cake

was delicious.

And the company

couldn't have been better.

Getting crafty

Recently, I found a

new hobby.

I started making jewelry

and am having

so much fun with it!

These are some things

I have made.

This one is a random mix

of glass/resin beads.

Silver filigree,

moonstone, and glass beads.

Silver dragonflies,

black hematite, and mother of pearl.

Turquoise, silver melons,
mother of pearl. Jasper and silver melons. Tiger eye and shell beads.
If you would
like me to make something
for you or
someone you know,
let me know!
I'd love to.

Sunday afternoon

Family dance

If you want to have a

great time

with your family,

go dancing together.

We did last night,

and it was

a total blast.

Austin had

the moves!

He really knows how to have fun.

Jordan spent
the evening
teaching the
little kids
how to dance.
It was so cute.





Syd did the robot
and a few other
cool moves
in the circle.

There's nothing better

than a dad

dancing with his

daughters.

That was the most fun

we've had together

in awhile!

(At least a couple of days) :)

Try it sometime,

you'll be glad you did.

The guys and the girls

Last night,

Austin and Doug

went camping

with the Scouts.

They enjoyed

beautiful scenery
and slept well (relatively) in their tents
waking up to about 6 degree temps.
Wow. I so admire their
determination.
They did have fun.
However, it's times like this
that I am so glad
I'm not a guy.
The girls and I
made a night out of it.
We went and got a new movie to watch.

The kids picked out
their favorite tv dinners
and pulled all the blankets
and pillows off their beds.



We had a great time,
watching and eating,
in the comfort of our warm house.
It was delightful.

The girls had a slumber party,
all 3 of them,
in the family room.
This morning,
we had a lazy time
making pancakes and bacon
for breakfast.

Jordan decided today
was "dress up like a cowgirl" day.

Camping is fun and all,

I really enjoy it,

but I think I would draw the line at snow.

We admire the men in our family, though,

and sure missed them last night!