Hooray for Spring Break!

I couldn't find Ne-ne a few days ago and as I searched the house this was what I found! There was a movie blasting and Sharra's CD player going yet she was still able to sleep.

Ginny and Aviendha were playing Halloween and these were their costumes. They would come around the house to different doors with a shopping basket and do the "trick-or-treat" call. But if their pretend homeowners didn't have any candy, they were told to "look again" as both girls pointed their weapons at the door. Hmmm...little worried about this approach.

This is my very favorite picture of Stephen so far!!! This is how he smiles and I absolutely love it. The part of his smile that doesn't show up in still pictures is the whole body wriggle. his arms reach out, his legs just start a-kickin' and he arches his back in excitement. It's pure joy in action and it just melts my heart every time.

The flash on my camera is pretty wimpy so this is not a very good picture. We got to have an Easter egg hunt with the cousins on my side of the family the Friday before Easter. They loved it! And despite all our complications getting down to my parent's house, we were glad we came.

More cousin time the next day as we got to be part of little Trevor's blessing. We made the kids sit still for a few minutes for a picture before changing into play clothes. This was the best shot of about 10 that I took. It's hard to be patient and sit still when there's a full-size trampoline, a playhouse with a slide, and a giant cardboard box to play with downstairs. Not to mention cousins we don't get to see very often! Whew....

Merry Christmas!!! uh...it's April...I mean, Happy Spring Break!

Finally, we got to go to Baby Animal Days over Spring Break. One of our very favorite traditions. As usual the day we picked threatened rain and was freezing!! The worst part though was that when we were getting packed up to go in the morning, the sun was out, the air was warm, and there wasn't a cloud in sight! A half hour later, as we were pulling into the Heritage Center parking lot, dark clouds were moving in and a frigid breeze was blowing; I should know better and come prepared for the worst--this is Cache Valley after all. I was glad I threw a pile of jackets for everyone into the back seat at the last minute as a "just in case"! Gloves, stocking caps, and parkas would have been a better choice. Oh, well.. the cold kept the crowds away and we were able to get through the pony rides, the train ride, and the baby bear exhibit in less than an hour! The kids got to see ducklings, chicks, baby bunnies, piglets, foals, and calves. They participated in the candy cannon launch, tried homemade molasses cookies and got to watch kettle corn be prepared. They got to play all kinds of rhythm instruments from the Arts Alliance and were treated to cotton candy or a rock candy sucker. What a fun day!!

Tubby, little cubby all stuffed with fluff...

or something like that--check out those legs!

Our two little chubbies

Not the best shot, but it shows how big our little man is getting to be. This pic is almost a month old so it doesn't quite do his chunkiness justice. Stephen is now 5 and 1/2 months and over 15 lbs. He hates rice cereal alone, but mixed with peach-banana smoothie... well, I'd find that hard to resist too! He's almost got sitting up mastered and he's starting to learn to put himself to sleep at nap time.

Getting Prepared...

...for whatever. I just have felt a compelling need to get my food storage organized and completed lately. I have felt a whole new respect for the phrase "anxiously engaged in a good cause", for that's the best way you can describe my feelings lately. So, we've been working on getting it set up for a while, but it's such an overwhelming task, esp. for 7 people! -whew- So, then our Stake had a women's conference a while back and I was so excited to go. They were going to have a special food storage class that was supposed to help out with it, make food storage simple, yada yada yada. Well, I ended up missing it due to outside forces, but.. thanks to the world wide web, I found the class info at YouTube. If you're interested and I haven't already told you about it, google Wendy Dewitt. She's amazing! There's a nine part mini series on YouTube that will tell all. In a nutshell you chose seven breakfasts and seven dinners that your family WILL eat, multiply each ingredient by 52 and you'll know right down to the tsp. of salt how much food storage you'll need to have for a year's supply.
Well that was a while back and all this time, in between real life, I've been trying to pull my recipes together. Drum roll, please...da da da--today I finished them (ok, as close to finishing as I've ever been--I've got two or three little things to check on or tweak and then done; so...good enough). And here's what we're going to get 6 months of storage for. I like a little more variety in my meals than just fourteen different choices so we're going to work toward this 6 months and then get new recipes for the next 6 months. It will make a bit more work, but then we're not stuck having things that aren't our favorites over and over and over again.

Breakfasts

Monday:
biscuits with honey or jam
hashbrowns with ketchup
fruit drink

Tuesday:
oatmeal w/ milk, fruit, brown sugar
hot chocolate

Wednesday:
pancakes w/ jam, syrup, or powdered sugar and peaches
hot chocolate

Thursday:
cream of wheat w/ milk and brown sugar
fruit drink

Friday:
muffins w/ jam
bottled fruit
hot chocolate

Saturday:
breakfast casserole w/ ham, sausage, or spinach--ketchup and crystal sauce on top
fruit drink

Sunday:
breakfast cake
bottled fruit
hot chocolate

Dinners (week #1)
Monday 1:
sloppy joes w/ homemade buns
bottled peaches
oatmeal cookies

Tuesday 1:
pork chops w/ green beans
applesauce
rolls

Wednesday 1:
chicken w/red sauce over pasta, topped w/ parmesean
peas
choc. cinnamon cake

Thursday 1:
beef stroganoff over pasta
green beans

Friday 1:
ham and potato shreds casserole
corn
choc chip cookies

Saturday 1:
lemon pepper chicken spaghetti toss
bottled cherries
banana bread (?) OR cinnamon raisin bread

Sunday 1:
bean soup
garlic bread
snickerdoodles

Dinners (week #2)
Monday 2:
meat w/ sweet and sour sauce over rice
pineapple cookies

Tuesday 2:
chicken pot pie
jello w/ mandarin oranges
pumpkin bread

Wednesday 2:
pork and beans w/ rice
pumpkin pie
OR
tasty beans and rice
pumpkin choc chip cookies

Thursday 2:
chili
cornbread
pears

Friday 2:
split pea with chicken soup
biscuits w/ honey
dutch apple pie

Saturday 2:
pork chops with apples
beets
mashed potatoes and gravy

Sunday 2:
greek casserole
corn
sweet rolls

Daily extras:
1:grandpa's wheat bread w/ honey or miracle whip, hot chocolate
2:oatmeal bread w/ jam, fruit drink
3:cornbread w/ honey, smoothies
4:spinach-cheese biscuits, fruit drink mix
5:rice-a-roni, pudding
6:whole wheat pretzels, popcorn, bottled fruit
7:mac and cheese, wheat thins

Once a month treat:
1:tootsie rolls
2:holiday/b'day cake
3:smore's melts
4:no-bake cookies?
5:banana cream pie?
6:caramel popcorn

This last group was my own idea. Over the course of a year or however long you've got to be on your food storage rotation, birthdays, parties, holidays are going to come up. Something out of the ordinary makes it that much more special and helps to make it a true celebration!

Yes, all of these are things that can be stored with a wet pack canner, vacuum sealer, pressure cooker, or original packaging for at least 1 year--I hate rotation, plus I barely have time for it so the less often the better. All the details can be found at Wendy's blogspot:
everythingunderthesunblog.blogspot.com

oh, those precious moments!

Before I forget this one I have to blog it. I'm running around like crazy trying to get my kitchen cleaned and laundry done and Ginny brings me her copy of the Book of Mormon. She hands it to me and asks me to read it to Ne-Ne. So I open it up and read the first scripture that I see. It's about if we keep the commandments of God, He'll bless us. I didn't even get to finish the whole scripture before she rips the book from my hands, looks at the page I was on, and says, "He will?! (pause and then big grin on her face) awwww....that's nice. I like Him!" I couldn't help but laugh as I told her it is nice and He likes you too!