Weekday Dinners

Ok Guys, I thought it would be fun to share some of our weekday dinners. All of these dinners take about thirty minutes from start to finish...gotta love that!Nothing super fancy, just yummy food that the kids usually eat. I enjoy cooking and experimenting with different flavors. The kids don't turn their noses up to anything, so that is good. And Dave will eat anything...thank goodness!

Monday night: Salmon,asparagus, and long grain rice. The kids gobbled this up. The salmon was delicious. I marinated it for 30 minutes in a little olive oil, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce and costco's seafood seasoning. Then I broiled it till it was flaky. Spencer couldn't get enough.

Tuesday: Yellow curry Thai chicken with veggies, brown basmati rice, naan and fresh cilantro from our garden sprinkled on top. It had a little kick to it, but it was so flavorful! My kids are getting used to brown rice...as long as it is smothered in some sort of sauce.

Wednesday: One of our favorites, Taco soup. Seriously, this is the easiest meal to throw together in a crockpot. And it is really good for you.

Thursday: Beef stir fry with thin spaghetti. Another favorite. Soy sauce, light zesty italian dressing and garlic make the flavor so good. We always put crushed peanuts on top for a little crunch.

Friday: Ham with scalloped potatoes and carrots. I used hamsteaks and they cook up much faster than a big ol' ham. The kids and Dave love these carrots. After I have cooked them, I add a little butter, salt and maple syrup. Yummy!

Saturday we had pizza and Sunday we had pork chops with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and veggies. We fed the missionaries and I didn't have time to take a pic...sorry. Enjoy!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Yes, that is me when I was six weeks old...my neck wasn't real strong then :o)Today I am 34 years old. I can't believe it! I actually love being in my thirties. My family and friends keep asking me what I am doing today. So, I thought I would put it on here. 8:45 -take Evan to school. 9:00 -take Bridgete to preschool. 9:15 -pick up Filippo to school and take him to his orthodontist appt. 10:40 -drop Filippo off and run to get Spencer some lunch- He is starving! 10:55 -drop a satisfied Spencer off at Kindergarten and help in his class for an hour. (This was me in Kindergarten.) 12:15 -pick Evan up from shool. He has a minimum day. 2:00 -pick Bridgete up from school. 2:30 -pick Spencer up from school. 3:30 -pick Filippo up from school. (He stays an extra hour for GATE) 4-5:30 -talk to Jenny. Calm and reassure her for her dance interview and audition. Pick her up when she is done. Let's hope it all goes well.(This is me in high school...senior year 1992.) 5:00 -make a healthy, but tasty dinner...maybe beef stir-fry? We will see. 6:00 -take Spencer to tball practice. Leave Evan with him while I run Filippo to swim practice. Drive back to Spencer's practice. 7:00 -Spencer's practice is over. Now, hopefully Dave comes home somewhere in this time frame to pick Filippo up. 7:45 -Filippo's practice is over. 7:30 -Stake Aux. Meeting. I am in the Primary presidency, so I would really like to go if I am able to. I will be thirty minutes late...but it is the best I can do. 8-8:30 -come home. Have some yummy cake with my family. I am hoping they will all be magically bathed and ready for bed when I get home...I might have to drop a few hints :o) And that my dear friends, is my birthday. I wouldn't change anything for the world. I am so blessed and nothing makes me happier then doing what I am doing right now. (Ok, you know I am choked up from writing that last sentence :o)

I'm Bringing Classy Back!

Ok, I have decided to become more classy. I have noticed in this world that classiness is dying out. Rarely do you hear people say, "Now there is a classy woman." Right? So I have taken upon myself the challenge of becoming a classy woman. How is this done, you might be asking. Well, I am figuring it out. I do know that a classy woman has wonderful manners, always looks presentable, is very ladylike in all she does, and no one knows about her bodily functions (I could go on about this, but we will leave it at that.) Wish me luck :o)

The Cruise!!!!!

Oh my goodness...what a vacation! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Amanda (and Lilly) and Mom for watching the kids so Dave and I could get away. It was so great but we were definitely ready to come home and hug and kiss our kids.

Anyway, this is me and Dave in Jamaica. We just climbed up Dunn's Waterfall. It took about 45 minutes to climb to the top. It was a lot of fun, even though we both fell down :o) Is it so beautiful, or what?

Everything was so lush and green. It was a feast for the eyes.

After the waterfall, our driver & tour guide, Phil Lafayette, took us to a little dive for some jerk chicken and pork. Yummy! Dave and I are posing above, waiting to eat. Don't look to closely or you will see sweat pouring off of us. The sun seems so much more intense down there.

After we ate, we went tubing down a river. Again, it was so beautiful. Sorry no pictures of that...I did fall off my intertube and my knee got all banged up...how embarrassing! But...I didn't cry :o)

He also drove us around for some sightseeing. Here we are looking down on our ship, the Grand Princess. And he drove us thru Fern Gully. All you could see was green. Sadly, there was a lot of poverty. It makes me so grateful to live in the USA.

Grand Cayman Island was our next stop.We went on waverunners, swam and held stingrays, and snorkeled. The sand was white, and the water was warm. It was paradise! When we started out on our waverunners it was pouring down rain. You couldn't see a thing and it hurt, too. I held on tight while Dave tried his best to see. That didn't stop him from going as fast as he could. I laughed and screamed the whole way. The stingrays were huge! We tried our best NOT to think about the Crocodile Hunter while they were brushing up against us. We took turns holding one. It felt like a raw chicken breast, only it was as big as a tire...with eyes...and a deadly tail. Snorkeling was awesome. We saw all sorts of fish. The water was so salty that it was hard to dive down in it. You could float effortlessly for hours. That made Dave happy because he doesn't float so well. It was just amazing.

Our third stop was Cozumel Mexico. We went to Tulum to see the Mayan Ruins. It was fascinating to learn about their way of life. It is hard to believe that these buildings are still standing today. Below is a Mayan temple.

Here we are on a cliff with a ruin in the background. Look at that water!This was the hottest place yet. It was about 90. Our shirts are soaked thru but I don't think you can tell. The ruins were really amazing. From this point of view, it was absolutely breathtaking.

Here are our dear friends Kory and Starr. They went on the cruise with us. They moved to Arizona a year and a half ago. It was so great to see them again. We had a great time together.

Angel's Camp

We went to Angel's Camp with my Mom and Dad. It was wonderful! The kids had a great time swimming, playing tennis, arcade games and spending time with their grandparents. We miss them so much. Filippo, Grammy and Jenny Bridgete and Grampy We went up to Calaveras Big Trees...ummm no one thought there would be snow. It was still beautiful even though we couldn't walk on the trails. Me and my hubby!

Gymnastics

Bridgete walking on the balance beam (note...her feet are just like her mother's.) This was Bridgete's final class...they all took turns posing for the camera. Bridgete isn't into being the center of attention, so she wasn't too sure about the whole thing. When the class was over I asked her if she wanted to do it again. She said, "No thanks Mom." I think we will give ballet another shot, but what she really loves to do is run. Yep, that's right...run. She can almost take all of her brothers and sister in a race. It is a crack up.

MIA

Ok, for what it's worth, my computer was down for three weeks. It was actually kind of nice not to have so much technology in my life, but it also made me a bad bad blogger. Sorry. Dave and I are going on a cruise TOMORROW...by ourselves! We cannot wait. We are headed to Jamaica, Caymen Islands, Mexico and the Bahamas. Watch out virgin pina coladas...here I come! By the way, it is 9:30pm...we leave in 13 hours and I have not packed a thing. Better go!