General Relief Society Meeting

Joe fed the kids grilled cheese tonight.

I went with some friends and watched. . .

the General Relief Society Meeting.

for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

It was a nice dose of inspiration and a reality check :)

Check it out here on the LDS website.

G-Force :)

We adopted a guinea pig back in May

 (well actually 2--that story to be updated soon, you can find it in May)

Jake

Jakeson

Jakers

Any of the above he can be called.

Peyton loves his guinea pig, so does Addison.

They are very good about taking the responsibility for his feeding and cleaning.

Addison had soccer tonight--every Friday night :)

What was for dinner?  Day 302

The kids had free hotdogs at soccer.

Joe and I had this little number by Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Ham and Pasta Skillet Dinner

She always has yummy stuff and this one only took about 30 minutes to make.

And it tasted good.

What's for dinner? Day 300

Tonight Peyton had Pack night for Cub Scouts.

They had a uniform inspection (first one).  Which made me need to get it gear and put his badges on his uniform.  He has had his shirt since February and some patches soon after.  And I am only now getting them on?!?!  Yikes!

We needed something quick for dinner.

We had some yummy sandwiches found here.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

I should have left them in the oven longer to get the cheese a little more melty, but they were good.

What's for dinner? Day 299

We had a delicious, very quick meal tonight.

I had a little complaining from Peyton becuase of the onions and green peppers in it, but. . .

I thought it was delish!!

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

(not my picture :(  Forgot to take one with the drama of the onions and green peppers)

Find it here

I did not make the cheese sauce however.  I just used a slice of Provolone with a little mayo and mustard on the bun.  I may try the sauce another time.  But the slice was really quick and yummy.

What's for Dinner? Day 298

We really like Alfredo--so in an attempt to try a healthier version. . .

we tried this skinny-chicken-broccoli-alfredo.

Skinny Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

with Homemade Breadsticks

Let's just say it didn't taste like Alfredo.  The breadsticks were good however :)

It wasn't horrible and the kids actually ate it without complaint!

But I probably wouldn't make it again.

Off They Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder. . .

I had a weekend all to myself.

I am pretty sure that it has been years since that has happened.

Pre kids!

Joe took the kids with a friend and his 5 kids to Ensign Ranch in Eastern Washington.

They went "camping".

They. . .

 didn't get much sleep

rode horses

played on the obstacle course

ate chili dogs

and pancakes

told stories

enjoyed nature

AND GAVE MOM A BIG BREAK!!

 Peyton is riding Caleb

Peyton is helping out with the horses along with Elder Curfew-one of the caretakers at Ensign Ranch

 Addison was riding Banner

Dinner, daddy style :)

I didn't go out and play much but it was a lovely weekend.

I cleaned out so many rooms in the house and got everything nice and organized.

I watched multiple chick filcks and cried and most of them :)

I organized a bunch of files in my office.

and went to dinner with some friends!

And then I was ready when they all came home today!

It was a nice break and a nice reunion!


As a side note:  my sister said she was firing my from the blog world if I didn't catch things up :)  And I won't be able to print an accurate book at the end of the year if I don't get things caught up.  I'll get it all caught up over the next week :)  Just for you Amber!!

What's for dinner? Day 186

We had the most delicious and easy chicken today!

Broiled Parmesan and Lemon Chicken

Find it here from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

It was so easy to make and the kids loved it!

We had some fresh green beans

 and blueberries from our Bountiful Basket. 

Add a little rice

and Yummy!!

What's for dinner? Day 185

What's for dinner?  Day 185

We are starting to get busy and dinner's are getting tricky.  But I'll post the days we do have something yummy or easy!

A little marinara with some fresh herbs we got from our Bountiful Basket :) and some penne pasta.

and a little green salad.

Addison's dance recital

Today Addison had her end of year dance recital today.

She did her ballet number--"Fly to Your Heart"
with her teacher Miss Sarah.

Then she chose Red Robin for lunch afterwards :)

Such a surprise!!

What's for Dinner? Day 183

I am the co-chair for Addison's end of year carnival this year.  This afternoon we put together the 250 goodie bags to give away so I did not cook dinner :)

~Kids had McDonald's~

We had some ~yummy spicy chicken teriyaki~ from this Teriyaki restaurant down the road from our house:)

There are just nights like that!

What's for Dinner? Day152-182 :)

One more month's worth :)  and then I am back to a regular blog schedule.

Life is calmer and more organized, until it gets disorganized again.

Day 152

Joe had a work dinner tonight--which for us means we probably had quesadillas or McDonald's.  I don't remember which :)

Day 153

Spinach, Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

We had a yummy Our Best Bites Salad tonight.  Find it here.

Day 154

Spaghetti, french bread, veggies and dip

Always a good "go to" meal.  Just dress is up a little different with salad, veggies, rolls, bread, etc.

I don't follow a recipe, just brown some ground beef, throw in a few cans of tomato sauce, maybe some mushrooms, some basil, oregano, garlic, onion, maybe some thyme or parsley, salt and pepper. 

The kids love it, especially Peyton!  He always ends up with a red mouth and a smile on his face.

No pic!

Day 155

Azteca

I didn't want to cook tonight :)  And since tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, I thought we could go get some Mexican.  I am pretty sure we won't be back.  For what we got and the price we paid I was not a happy mommy:)  I'll stick to cooking at home ;)

Day 156

Tamale Pie

Tonight we had our Cinco de Mayo dinner.

We had a yummy Tamale Pie that we found on the back of the Alber's conrmeal box.

You can find it here.

Joe said it was one of his favorite and why didn't we have it more.  The kids complained about it a lot before eating it and then they ate some and found out that they liked it.



Then we had to rush off to baseball :)

We were to have homemade Churros for dessert, but I ran out of time and energy. 

So we'll make them tomorrow :)  Or else the kids will have my hide!

Day 157

Sausage Pasta and Homemade Churros

We had a version of our favorite yummy italian sausage pasta.

Italian Sausage

Bowtie pasta

Tomatoes

Onions

Garlic

Italian Seasoning

Chicken Broth

Mushrooms--normally I like fresh but we had to use canned this time

Normally we add bell peppers too.

Then the kids talked me into making the Churros.  I was pretty sure that I would not be able to get away without making them!  They were really easy to make, but took a long time frying each of them.

I had to pipe them out into the oil in a pastry bag and the dough was VERY thick.

The kids LOVED them however!  And they did help make them.

Find them here at AllRecipes.

Day 158

BBQ hamburgers, fruit and veggies

It's those normal regular meals that I always forget to take a picture of :)

Day 159

Fresh tomato and Squash Salad, Fresh Green Beans, Roasted Red Potatoes and Strawberries

We started getting Bountiful Baskets--a coop produce business here, and so we have a lot of fruits and vegetables each week.  The kids love seeing what we get because it is always a suprise on what you get.  You never know what the variety will be.  But you get roughly 50% fruits and 50% vegetables.

Anyhow, most of our dinner tonight was from Bountiful Baskets-

The salad was from a Cooking Light book and it was actually really good.  Even Joe liked it and he doesn't like squash much :)

Day 160

Chili Mac

Another Cooking Light recipe.  We are trying to cut calories without giving up flavor.  So fa so good.  The chili mac was yummy but Peyton was desappointed that it didn't have more cheese in it :)  Not so much like mac and cheese for him

Day 161

Joe went to a dinner for work again, who knows what we had :)

Day 162

Blackened Chicken Salad

This was another Cooking Light one that no one really liked.  Probably won't be making it again :)

It looks good though! 

Day 163

Subway

Day 164

Mother's Day

Steak, Sauteed Mushrooms, Roasted Red Potatoes, Fresh Fruit

Joe cooked :)  It was delicious!

Day 165

Fresh Tomato Basil Quiche

This was pretty yummy.  We had some artichokes and honey dew that we got from our Bountiful Baskets.  Another Cooking Light recipe.  Joe said it was good as a leftover.



Day 166

Red Robin

Happy 5th Birthday Addison!!

She loved the Birthday sundae!!  And the singing after a minute :)

Day 167

Chicken Soft Tacos

Easy, quick chicken soft tacos.

Boil some chicken, shred it up, add some onions, cumin, garlic, chili powder. . .cook until a bit crunchy.

Warm a tortilla, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, salsa. . .add chicken.

Oops, no picture :)

Day 168

RS Enrichment

They had dinner, I don't know what my family had.  But I had a nice time visiting with the women in my ward.

Day 169

Activity Day Mother/Daughter

"Un"-Tea Party

I am the Primary President in my ward and I have some of the most FABULOUS people serving with me!!

The Activity Day leaders had a fantastic Mad Hatter Tea Party!

Three of the leaders have girls in Activity Days so I got to go attend and help serve food and manage one of the games.

The served some yummy food!

Croquet with pool noodles and flamingos

Tweedle Talk--a trivia game

and a giant chess game.

Day 170

Costco Spinach Salad

Addison and I went to Costco yesterday, so we picked up a Spinach Salad for dinner.

Today we had her friend birthday party so we needed an easy dinner :)

Day 171

Kneader's Turkey Sandwiches, Fresh Fruit, specifically Watermelon, Potato Salad, Spinach Salad, Chips

We had Addison's family birthday party today.

The only thing she requested was watermelon.  I had to get her to add some other things :)  We settled on Kneader's turkey sandwiches.

Which is roasted turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomato, avocado, Kneader's sauce (mayo and mustard with some salt and pepper), on a nice soft bread.

Mmmmmm!  Delish!

Day 172

Joe went out to dinner again for work?!?!?

Lucky guy!

I don't know what we ate--might have been McDonald's :)

Day 173

And again ?!?!?

He did bring me some truffles tonight from John Howie's Steak House :)

Day 174

Tuscan Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce.

Find it here

It was very easy!!

It was good, not great :)  The kids gave it a thumbs to the side.  They didn't like the sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce.

Day 175

I can't even remember what we ate because Joe and I got invited to go to a Body Pump class that a friend teaches at Gold's Gym

Yikes!!

Both of us were sore for days afterwards, we had obviously not done any weightlifting for some time.  It did feel good though (after a bit).

Day 176

Temple and Thai

at Thai Ginger

April Date night (in May)

Because April was so crazy with the move we failed to have our April date night :(  So we moved it over to May.  We went to the temple tonight and out for Thai afterwards.  The kids stayed with Paul and Caprielle.

Day 177

Papa Murphy's

Papa Murphy's has become my new favorite take out pizza.  They have a lot of choices, the are close, it seems fresher becuase you watch them make it, I think that makes it less calories as well :)

Peyton and I had been out to get him new glasses :(  He got new ones in February, then he tripped and fell yesterday scratching (badly) one of his lenses.  However did you know that they (at Target) will not replace just one lens?  And because we had used our insurance already, and I had failed to purchase the protection for $35 because I thought that they would be fine.  Well almost $200 later for new lenses (luckily our HSA will pick it up) I did not feel like cooking dinner, so pizza it is.

But we did do S'mores afterwards in the backyard.  They kids thought that was great.

Day 178

Sausage Ratatouille

I found this recipe years ago in a Family Fun magazine and have threatened to make it ever since then.  We got eggplant in our Bountiful Basket this week so it seemed like the perfect time.

We had Ratatouille for dinner and watched the Disney movie Ratatouille.  Addison was suprised that there was such a food :)

Day 179

BBQ Hot Dogs, Melon (Honeydew and Cantaloupe), Corn on the Cob

Since it was Memorial Day we figured we should BBQ (because isn't that the opening of BBQ season?, I actually BBQ anytime of the year, but. . .) but we thought we would go easy.

The kids of course thought is was great, BBQ is the best way to eat hot dogs in my opinion, and Joe added chili to make his a chili dog.

Day 180

Chicken Cutlets with Mushrooms and Peppers

We tried another Cooking Light.  It tasted fine, but was nothing to write home about :)

Didn't get a picture, see it wasn't that memorable.

Day 181

Chicken Rice Casserole

A tried and true favorite of the kids

No picture, we had much more drama this night (to follow in a post of it's own)

Day 182

I think that Joe is working on a once a week out to dinner with customers.  Good for him!