Going Camping

We're going camping today. Do you think it can be smooth sailing and easy packing?



Why no. No it can't. (Kate flushed a banana peel, that's all I'm saying.)

Egg-In-The-Hole

Alyssa is becoming quite the cook at our house. She can make several meals all by herself. Here she is making "Egg-in-the-holes" or "Peek-a-boo-sandwiches" 0r "Watkins Sandwiches" or whatever name you like to call 'em.

I called them Watkins Sandwiches when I was little. My friend had a recipe book and that's what they were named in it. I even wrote a report in 2nd grade all about how to make Watkins Sandwiches. :) Anyhow, any name you call them, these little diddies make a great meal.

Try-It-Tuesday

Yes, it's Tuesday, and yes I do have a recipe to share, but first I have a couple of movie reviews for you. (And I want your opinions on them.)

First up Batman...

WHO in their right mind said it was okay for Christian Bale (aka Batman) to talk like that??!! I couldn't even take him serious. Every time he opened his mouth I busted up laughing. (By the way, I haven't seen the first Batman. I didn't even know this was a sequel until my BIL told me, so I don't know if Batman talks like that in it too, but I hated it.) Heath Ledger (aka Joker) on the other hand was fabulous. So creepy! Such a bummer that he's gone because I have a feeling I would have been a huge fan. Over all it was a good show, pretty dark and not really for little kids. If you can get over Batman's idiotic disguising voice, then I say it gets 3 1/2 stars.

Second Mama Mia...

Yes, we had a GNO (Girls' Night Out, learned that from the Hannah Montana 3D concert.)last night and went to the 10 pm show. Waaaaayyyy too late for me to see shows like that. After 10, everything is EXTREMELY funny to me. Anyway, it was very cute, lots of great music. Who knew Meryl Streep could sing like that? And how about hunka hunka Pierce Brosnan? I've loved him since I was little and he was Remington Steele. The show made me want to sing a long and get up and dance. It's a little bit cheesy (as musicals often are) and I didn't like it nearly as much as I liked Hairspray. But all in all, I give it 3 1/2 stars too.

Okay, enough movie talk. Let's get to the real purpose of this post, Try-It-Tuesday!

Easy Carmel Apple Dip

I got this recipe from Julie @ Shep's Herd several years ago. I don't even know if she remembers giving it to me, but I love it and am sure glad I got it.

8 oz cream cheese

1 to 1 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix it all together until soft and creamy. Serve with apples, or any fruit you like.

It tastes a lot like carmel. I could sit and eat just a bowl full of it without any fruit.

Can't wait to see what you all have to share with me today! :)

Family Bed

This, my friends, is the reason I MADE Jarom buy me a king sized bed....

I think if you just laid cross ways and curled up in an L position, with you left foot touching your head and disjointed your elbow, there would be room for you too. :)

Saturday Night

Isn't there some song about "Saturday Night"? (If I had Jennifer P.'s amazing elephant brain and musical lyric prowess I'd know.)



Anywho.....Look what Daddy surprised us with today!

The poor kid has been riding a pink princess bike for the past year. (That's what happens when you only have sisters.) He is SO excited about his new bike. I think he could do it without the training wheels so maybe next week we'll attempt that feat.

And guess what July 26th means? Hannah Montana's Best of Both Worlds 3-D tour t.v. premier!!!! Whoo-hoo!

Elise Hansen Designs

All you scrapbookers out there should check out my friend Elise's new stuff. Head on over to Elise Hansen Designs and get yourself some freebies and find out how to win a mini kit or blog layout. She's just getting started in the digi-scrap design world and my is she talented. My July header is all Elise Hansen paper and elements. Cute stuff I tell ya!!

It's Pioneer Day!

Today is Pioneer Day, the day we remember the sacrifices our ancestors made coming out west to settle in the Salt Lake Valley. My friends in UT get the whole day off work, have parades, fireworks, the whole shabang. Here in Idaho it's not as big of a deal. Usually there are church parties and such.

This year, I've decided to celebrate by making some Pioneer Woman's apple dumplings. I've been wanting to try them forever so today is the day.

Pioneer Day always makes me remember a few things.

First, when I was about 13 the youth in our church went on a pioneer reenactment over-nighter. We made handcarts and then pulled them for 2 days with all our provisions. It was TOUGH!! We got caught in a terrible thunder and lightening storm, mud up to our ankles, and our hair stood on end because of the static electricity in the air due to lightening. It was scary. We were at the top of a hill trying to come down, but we had to do it slowly and one cart at a time. Those of us waiting for our turn to get down had to sit 100 feet apart from each other, so that if the lightening hit anyone it wouldn't travel and hit anyone else. How's that for calming? Thankfully, no one was hit and I have never appreciated the pioneers more.

Second, our family reunion to Martin's Cove, WY, where we dressed in pioneer era clothing and pulled handcarts for several miles in the heat and dirt. I was pregnant with Carter and had a horrible migraine headache. Near the end, I gave up and had to ride out on the wimp wagon (aka 4 wheeler) with my mother in law who needed a knee replacement. Jarom will never let me live that one down. He always tells me I would have died on the plains, and I don't argue with him.

And third, the birth of Halle. No she wasn't born on pioneer day or anywhere close to it. She's a November birthday, but the doctor sang me pioneer songs during labor. Halle was stuck and the dr. needed to use forceps to get her out. I kind of argued with him (okay I really argued) because I didn't want him to use them. I was afraid of them. So he sang me the popular children's pioneer song, "For some must push and some must pull..." I didn't think it was funny, but now I am sentimental about that silly song.

Crazy Sleeper AGAIN

Guess where Little G fell asleep this time?



Yep, the back of the couch. Guess "Leven Thumps" was a little to deep for him. I was reading out loud to the kids and the next thing I knew Carter was sound asleep. Man I just LOVE him!!!

Try-It-Tuesday

It's Tuesday again. Time for sharing you best recipes. Queen is on the ball and already has one up. Be sure to check it out, Lemon Chicken, it sounds yummy and easy. Just the way I like them. And Lisa has a yummy ice cream cake recipe up today too.


Tamale Enchilada Casserole

You will need:
Grated cheddar cheese
Grated mozzarella cheese
Grated Monterrey Jack cheese
8 large tamales cut in half (Winco has fresh ones in the deli that are good)

Combine:
2 (15.5 oz.) cans chili with beans
1 (10.5 oz.) can enchilada sauce
½ c. tomatoes with green chilies
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
1 green onion, chopped
Use any large cooking dish, slow cookers are good, or Dutch oven.
Line half of the tamales in dish, and then add half of the chili mixture. Sprinkle with 3 kinds of grated cheese. Add another layer of tamales and more sauce and more cheese. Bake at 350 until bubbly and cheese is melted.

I sprinkle the green onions on the casserole after baking.

This is my Mother-In-Law's recipe and I love it. It's great to use in the dutch oven when camping too.

*****If you have a tried and true recipe, leave a comment with the recipe title here, then post the recipe on your blog so we can all check it out.*****

Big Day for Birthdays!

Big day for birthdays today! Happy Birthday to my niece

Liberty who is 6 years old today!




Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister in law

Melissa who is 20 something today. (I don't think she'd care if I revealed her age, but just to be sure, I won't.)

And also Happy Birthday to my Grandma. For some reason I can't find any pictures of her to post. I'll have to keep digging!

Hope everyone has a great day!!!!

Happy Birthday Miki!

Happy Birthday to my DEAR friend Miki! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father put Miki in my life. She is as loyal as friends come and means the world to me. I had the best time with her visiting this past weekend. When she left I was sad to go back to my office/spare room and know I didn't have her in there to chat the night away with.

Miki thank you for making me laugh so much and for being the best friend a girl could have. Hope Mark hooks you up with something "fun" (on no, I said the "f" word) tonight!

Dove Emergency!

We had more trauma at our house today. Jarom walked into the garage and found a little dove sitting in the corner. It didn't even try to move when we got near it. I couldn't tell if it was hurt or sick or what. But you know me, I can't let an animal die without trying something.

So Dr Doolittle (aka me) put some gloves on and picked the poor little bird up. It had a funny piece of wheat or something that looked stuck in it's mouth and kept acting like it was choking. So I got some tweezers and removed it. Then I notice what looked like popcorn seeds stuck in the poor bird's throat. After a little while of doctoring I got several kernels removed and gave the bird some water from a syringe. The poor thing was SO thirsty. It drank and drank and drank.

It is still very weak and doesn't act right. We've put it in a box in the backyard for the night with some more water. I've tried my best to prepare my kids for a dead bird in the morning, but we'll see what happens.

Some of you may remember this bird story. Do these animals know to come to my house because I will try my best to rescue them? :) My heart (and my kids', especially Halle's) is too soft for these kinds of events.

UPDATE: Halle of course, woke up bright and early to check on the bird. I peered into the box to discover the poor thing was dead. GROSS!! (I do not do dead things.) I told Halle it had died and she just started crying. She's such a little tender heart. Sometimes nature is hard to take. And now I have a lovely dead bird in a box in my backyard to deal with. YUCK!!!

Happy Birthday Alex!

My niece Alex turns 13 today. It's simply a technicality though, Alex turned a teenager when she was about 3. She's a great big sister and such a help to her mom and dad. Welcome to teenagerhood Alex!!!!

My Visitor!

Miki's here!!! So fun for me to have a friend. We're doing all the hot IF attractions. Thanks for coming MIKI!!!!!!!!!! (And thank you Mark for letting her.)

Happy Birthday Gabby!

Happy Happy Birthday to our niece Gabby. She turns 3 today, Hip Hip Hooray! Gabby is the quietest, most docile kid I think I've ever met. They say she is a jabber box at home, but I've yet to hear that. Hope you have wonderful birthday Gabby!!!

Whoa! Dude, I'm Trippin'!

Poor little Carter had to have some dental work done yesterday. He has an extra front tooth (the dentist calls it F plus) which makes for some serious crowding in his teeth.
Extra tooth + Crowding = Cavities. The dentist decided that we should slightly sedate Carter and just get it all taken care of, plus the work was on his front teeth which are extra sensitive and sometimes traumatic for little kids.

So off we went at 7 am to the dentist office. Carter drank the loopy drink (some form of valium I think) and about 10 minutes later he was higher than a kite. I tried not to laugh at him, but it was hilarious.

I was reading a magazine and a page came up with a Mustang pictured on it. Carter is WISE to the Mustang. His daddy has trained him well. Anyway, Carter kept saying, "Whoa, wook at dat Muthang." (His poor speech was so slurred.) And he kept trying to grab it off the page. He had all sorts of hallucinations. He was wearing his hat and kept asking me what was on his head. He saw "bugs", "rainbows", and all sorts of things that I couldn't see. At one point he asked why the wall was moving.

On the ride home I turned into our neighborhood and he said, " Whhhhhoooooaaa! (Just like a surfer dude.) What are those things?" He kept trying to grab some bits of invisible somethings out of the air.

When we got home he wanted to walk by himself, but he couldn't and it frustrated him so badly. (He looked like a cat fresh from the vet after being fixed.) He just started bawling. His emotions were all out of whack. He'd bawl, then laugh, then ask why there were two t.v.s. Poor kid, he was so confused, but his teeth are fixed.

What do you name?

Over at Peterson's Go Public yesterday, Jennifer hosted a Q&A session. A funny topic of naming things came up. For instance, some people name their homes, others name their furniture, and then we have the car naming people (myself included). So I thought I would throw the question out there to all of you. What do you name? And what is it named?

I am a car namer. EVERY car must have a name. I've had:

Bertha (may she rest in peace) a 1976 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, my first car and my ride all through high school. Can you believe I don't have a picture of faithful Bertha? Update: I found a picture! Bertha is the red car in front of me.

Peter (Can't find a picture of the full outside, so here's the inside of Peter.)

Clark WAAYYYY in the background. And yes, I am shoveling poop off the sidewalk. Don't ask.(Technically neither Peter nor Clark were mine, they were Jarom's, but I named them so I claim them.)

I should also mention my little brother's Totelerone. A beauty of a pickup; manure green, rusted out floor, the whole works. What a great little pickup

The Smurf-mobile What a great college car my little Geo Metro with blue coordinating hubcaps was.

Blue Thunder While on the topic of college, I also had a bike that I LOVED. Good ol' Blue Thunder, and my room mate had Purple Rain. Sadly they were both stolen a week after we bought them.

Sophy, Our first new car. (We had a VW Jetta in here somewhere too, but I hated that car so it didn't get a name. We also had a car we inherited from my dad's farm. We affectionatly called it The Beater. The exhuast pipe had a hole in it that made exhaust come into the car so we had to drive with the windows down. That thing went through more oil than it did gas. And I almost forgot our Chevy Mini Van, but we just called it the van. )

Jarom's mustang is Sir Henry.

And trusty Dixon is our latest edition. Don't forget Sacajawea pulling up in the rear.

What do you name?

Try-It-Tuesday

Holy Bananas! Is it REALLY Tuesday again? Where in the world is this summer going?!

Today's recipe is absolutely one of my family's favorites. My little Halle was a vegetarian for the first part of her life. This was the only way I could get her to eat meat. She would even request this meal. (Of course we didn't tell her it was meat until much later in her life.)

Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole

6 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
2 cans cream of chicken soup
½ c. melted margarine
12 oz. sour cream

Place shredded chicken in a 9x13 dish. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Spoon topping mixture over top. Bake 350 for 30 minutes.

Topping mix together:
2 rolls crushed Ritz
½ c. melted margarine
1 T. poppy seeds

*We love the topping so much, I actually use a little more butter and a 3rd roll of the Ritz crackers.

We like to serve a spinach salad w/strawberry vinaigrette, rolls, and a fruit salad on the side. Mmmmmm.....goodness.

****If you have a tried and true recipe you'd be willing to share, leave a comment with the recipe title and post the recipe on your blog so we can all check it out. Thanks for playing; the more the merrier! ****

Happy Birthday Owen!

Today Owen turns 3!! Every year (for the last 3 years anyway) we've all gone to the swim park to celebrate Owen's birthday. It's lots of fun and we hope the tradition continues. I don't know what we'll all do when Owen decides he wants a train party or something other than a swim party. We come home exhausted and rather red. Jarom says I look like Neapolitan ice cream with my chocolate previously tanned skin, my strawberry newly sunburned skin, and my vanilla NEVER been exposed skin. (I think I just look tasty. ;) )Thanks for the fun everyone and Happy Birthday to Owen!!!

Carter in the tire swing.

Kate sporting her sunglasses. (I had a really cute picture of my nieces and my girls, but I deleted it in my haste to get this post up. I HATE it when I do that.)

Hair Show

Alyssa and Halle have really gotten into trying to do hair lately. Especially using the curling iron. Luckily for them they have two very willing participants. Here's Kate sporting her "who-ville" do and Carter has a "Jimmy Neutron Wave" (in Halle's words). (Also notice Alyssa's two barrel rolls and Halle's "perfect kink". ) Maybe I should submit these styles to the "She Does Hair" blog. Which by the way, if you have girls and haven't checked that site out you really should.